October 2022

about how

Editor's note

Students are the new conquered in the campaign for knowledge itself. Technology bombards us with supposed truths about the world. It guides us into positions of thought and tells us what to believe. But on the flip side, politics at tempts to conceal the world from what some believe to be unsafe. Industries, governments and algorithms dictate what we see and never will see. For our in-depth, we chose to cover the way information is influenced for consump tion and its effects on our status quo.

Besides our information wars, a much more physical, deadly conflict is happening in our world. It has been eight months since the Russo-Ukrainian war began, and much attention has been placed on the geopolitical impacts of the war: gas prices, potential nuclear war and military alliances. But what is said of the civilians whose lives are decimat ed and reduced to the “collateral damag es” of warfare? In this issue, we feature a Ladue family who experienced the mo ment Russia’s invasion began firsthand.

We focus on the impact that war has on those caught in the crossfire, who ultimate ly have no choice but to adapt their lives around this violence. And we ask readers to imagine the impact war had on this fami ly’s life and multiply this effect among the millions of Ukrainians who are displaced or still under fire.

Finally, Panorama would like to wish students a warm and cozy autumn season.

Panorama staf

EDITORS IN CHIEF

Max Eastman

EDITOR

NEWS STAFF

Joseph

Samarathunga

FEATURES STAFF

HEALTH & SPORTS STAFF

Lathan

WRITERS

MANAGING EDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

EDITORS

Tarek

EDITOR

& ENTERTAINMENT

IN-DEPTH STAFF

Charlie

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Hsiao

OPINIONS STAFF

Phoebe

&

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT STAFF

Zegel

Max Eastman Olivia Hu Allen You

Seeing

Table of contents

Torn

Panorama policy

Our Policy

Panorama is a student-led monthly newsmagazine that strives to inform and entertain Ladue 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 on important issues. Panorama aims to reflect the diversity of the population it serves and to observe the journalistic principle of doing no harm.

All surveys are completely anonymous unless otherwise stated and results cannot be used against respondents. Panorama will not share the names of anonymous sources. Panorama is produced by the newspaper class of Ladue Horton Watkins High School, and students on staff make all content decisions. Panorama operates as a public forum by practice

and is not under prior review by administration. All opinions expressed in the Panorama do not necessarily reflect those of the Ladue School District, nor do individual opinion columns necessarily reflect those of the rest of the Panorama staff

Scholastic Journalism Associations

Panorama is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, Quill and Scroll and the Missouri Interscholastic Journalism Association. Panorama earned a Pacemaker in 2021, was a Pacemaker finalist in 2019 and has been a CSPA crown recipient since 2019.

Credits

Front cover art and design by Olivia Hu. Back cover design by Mac Huffman. EIC photos by Sydney Collinger.

Clothe

LADUE BLUE Anonymous

The Caito Family

Jim & Kathy Davis

The Gaither Family

The Gyawali Family Allison Hawk

Heidi Long Real Estate

June Ogden Husseini Family

The Patney Family

The Riddle Family Bill & Rowena Coates

GOLD

Amarakone Family

The Anderson Family

The Chang Family

The Daun Family Freeman Family

Sponsors

Dennis & Judy Holcomb

The Jain Family Karen & David Kurtzman

Southern Lochmoeller Team

The Logan Family Myckatyn Family Olesia & Michael Myckatyn

The Petersen Family

The Emmi Walker Family SILVER Anonymous

The Biernacki Family

The Hawkins Family

The Jansen Family The Jurgiel Family

The Kirby Family

Marc & Krista Luckett

The Lustberg Family

The Ortliebs

The Tobin Family

FRIENDLY Anonymous Anonymous

The Bauer Family Nancy Beals

The Brennan Family

The Brunnquells

The Caster Family

The Childs-Klein Family

The Claybaugh Family Jerry & Pat Coates

Benjamin Collinger Salon Elysium

Heather Garrett Interior Design

The Levy-Kurtzman Family

The Li Family

The Liu Family Lynne & Mike Lippmann

Debbie & Harvey Lustberg

Chris & Joanne May

The Pearlstone Family

The Ramos Family Tim, Liz, Allison & Abby Rea

Schonbrun Realtors

The Smith Family Amit & Brianne Sood

The Walker Family Tracy Zuckett

ABOVE: Freshman Campbell Cross holds a stick in her mouth for a student to put the candy corn on. The candy corn activity is an example of a minute to win it game. “The competition aspect was very fun,” Cross said.

RIGHT: Freshman Brendan Huddleston participates in the candy corn activity. He balanced a stick in his mouth. “The activity taught me how to work well with others,” Huddleston said. (photos by Vincent Hsiao)

Link Crew brings spirit

by Emmi Walker managing editor

by Mimi Zhou associate editor

Ladue introduced a new way to create school spirt for the freshman class by appoint ing Spirit Squad Link leaders. They plan games for the freshman class to play during homeroom seminar. Some examples of the games the freshman have played are dodgeball and knockout.

“[I think it is beneficial] because it is fun to have time to play a game and bond with everyone in the grade,” senior Liza Yanuck said. “Having a warm environ ment that greets and bonds freshman is really important and shows that [at] La due, we are a family.”

Being a freshman can be an intimi dating experience, especially because high school can be overwhelming and unfamiliar. This new environment comes with new challenges, and the recent ad dition of spirit squad serves to encourage cooperation between freshmen.

“[The games] motivate me to bond and work with others in my grade,” freshman

Mason Marden said. “It helps me [col laborate] with others to solve problems better.”

By addressing these important growth areas, students will hopefully go into high school more prepared — and more spirited. Especially after the pan demic, school spirit declined because students were unable to see each other face to face.

“Small ways to build school spirit is the main goal. We desperately need to find ways to build school spirit after COVID,” English teacher Shruti Upad hyay said. “The current senior class is the only class who has experienced a normal high school setting. So a lot of the responsibility falls on the seniors to teach the younger freshman and sopho mores how the high school runs.”

The seniors have stepped up to this challenge, recognizing that they are in a unique position. Their role impacts school spirit which has larger effects.

“The school spirit is so essential to build a good school climate and cul ture,” said Upadhyay. “The concept of Link crew can be a very powerful expe rience because freshmen have a place they can go to to ask questions.” P

The Nook gives back

by Sydney Collinger photo editor

The Nook exists to give to char ity while also bringing the Ladue community together and support ing local artists.

Founded by Mary Lemkemeier — a former Ladue mother — The Nook operates as a nonprofit orga nization that donates its profits to child life services at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Their profits fund education, playtime, art and music therapy to improve the qual ity of life for kids in the hospital.

In their first year, they raised $5,000. However, they have in creased revenue which has allowed them to donate more.

“Last year, our third year, we were able to give a $24,000 check to [the] Children’s Hospital,” Lem kemeier said. “And this year we’re hoping to give more.”

Since its establishment, they have been a volunteer-run organi zation and still rely on volunteers.

Classes that range from Mah jong to instructional watercolor welcome all and bring the commu nity together while raising money in the process.

Lemkemeier is involved in the process of organizing gatherings.

“[There was] a woman who came in and offered to teach canas ta, a woman who just came in and offered her art,” Lemkemeier said. “So it’s fun how much the community knows of us and is supportive of us.”

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Band performs at events

A look into concert, pep and symphonic bands' new music and performance opportunities

by Avery Anderson news editor

Freshman Joan Gaffgan plays the fute at a Friday night football game Oct. 7. She plays in the concert band. “It’s a good thing I like performing because we do a lot of it,” Gaffgan said.

Senior section leader Nathan Goldstein plays the trumpet Oct. 7. He plays on the bleachers with the rest of the pep band every home football game. “Music is my life,” Goldstein said.

Pep BandConcert Band

The concert band has been busy this year; they have performed at La due’s first post-COVID pep rally, the powderpuff football game, the KSDK pep rally and home football games.

“It was a much bigger commit ment than I was expecting,” fresh man Joan Gaffigan said. “But it’s worth it because it’s so fun.”

The concert band does not require auditions to join the band, but it’s still a huge responsibility.

“We have a concert in December,” Gaffigan said. "We have two pieces already that we’ve been working on.”

Gaffigan said she enjoys playing with both the concert and pep band and that the combination of the two is the most exciting.

“It’s been a lot back to back this year, it’s honestly kind of insane,” Gaffigan said. “But I look forward to every performance.”

“I’m a nerd,” senior Nathan Gold stein said. “That’s all there is to say.”

Goldstein is the section leader for the trumpets, meaning he’s in charge of every trumpet player at pep games, making sure their cadence is correct and they’re playing the correct mea sures at the correct time.

“If someone messes up, it’s techni cally me messing up,” Goldstein said. “So there’s definitely some pressure attached to the title.”

Goldstein also talked about his ap preciation for the differences in sym phonic and pep band, and how each band has something different to offer to music.

“I prefer classical music, not the pop that the pep band plays,” Gold stein said. “But the energy of the pep band is unmatched. It’s so hype and just a high-energy experience every time.”

Freshman Kimmi Lin plays with the percus sion section Oct. 7. She is in pep and sym phonic band. “Performing at games gives me an idea of what a concert might be like,” Lin said. (Photos by Sydney Collinger)

Symphonic Band

Freshman Kimmi Lin is a member of the symphonic band, one of La due’s band that requires an audition before being admitted.

“They would call us into the room and Ms. Elstner, the percussion di rector, couldn’t see us,” Lin said. “It was totally blind.”

Lin has been playing music since kindergarten and has an extensive list of skills. Due to this, she is an in strumental member of the pep and symphonic band.

“I can play the marimba and the drums,” Lin said. “As well as the gui tar, ukulele, piano and bass guitar.”

With her skill set, Lin made sym phonic band as a freshman. Outside of performing, she enjoys class.

"We can talk more since the class is smaller,” Lin Said. “I feel closer to them and I really like performing, so it’s something I really enjoy.”

Learn more about Kate’s story

As the lights above the mul tipurpose room twinkled, the various hues of orange corsages and boutineers are illuminated. It seems as though every shade of orange is represented at this year’s homecoming, but beyond the vi brant aesthetic of the flowery accessories there is a deeper meaning. The orange flowers are supporting Kate Sewing’s fight against leukemia.

“I didn’t know about the orange rib

eryone.”

The plan was organized by two of Sewing’s best friends, seniors Sofie Fehr and Alyssa Jackson. Fehr made a group chat with many of Sewing’s friends and told everyone to share it around the whole school.

“I wanted to find something small to do that would still make her be a part of the night and feel special, so that is how the idea of the orange corsages and bou tonnieres came up,” Fehr said. “[The or ange flowers] is something simple that

There has been a lot of support for Sewing and it has come in a multitude of ways, through the excepted — her friends and family — and the unexpected, the entire student body and her teachers.

“I’ve also had some of my favor ite teachers send me gifts and letters,” Sewing said. “Mrs. Kaufman and Mrs. Durham sent me a little package of stuff they knew I liked and they both wrote me letters. I don’t think either one of them will ever know how much it meant to me.” P

LEFT: Kate Sewing sits in the hospital clinic. She recieved blood because her hemoglobin levels were low. “The chemo made my hands and feet go numb, made me really tired, gave me terrible bone pain, made me sweat, made me shake, made my eyes blurry, changed my taste buds and made my stomach weak,” Sewing said. (Photo courtesy of Kate Sewing)

RIGHT: Kate was released from isolation in her hospital room after being confned in the room for three weeks. Kate and her mom, Jenny Sewing, and her dad, Brian Sewing, all went on a family walk in the hospital. “Once I was able to leave my room, living there got easier. I would go for walks around the foor,” Sewing said. (Photo courtesy of Kate Sewing)

After senior Olivia Goeke was awarded homecoming queen, she hugs freshman Risa Fingerman and shows off her orange corsage on Oct. 15th. Goeke’s date ordered her corsage from Schnucks to raise awareness about leukemia. “I choose to wear the ribbon to support Kate and her fght against leukemia,” Goeke said. (Photo illustration by Vincent Hsaio)

by | MIMI ZHOU

Playing it by ear

Senior Gramm Raedeke composes and performs his album live

by Richie Jiang features staff

Contrasting white and blue lights meet together in an oth erworldly glow. Faint, ethere al sounds and whisper-like strings resonate through the room, al most like something from a dream. And it is. This is senior Gramm Raedeke's musi cal vision. This is “Stridulation.”

With 15 electronic dance music (EDM) songs, Raedeke’s first album is the result of four years of solo composing and mix ing. Raedeke played through his album live to an audience of students and teach ers in the Black Box on Sep. 29.

The Performance Raedeke played live instruments over a bass backing track for all 15 songs. As the backing track was pre-recorded, Rae deke had to practice numerous hours for the performance.

“I had planned it out for a few months over the summer,” Raedeke said. “I didn’t have any sheet music because I figured I made this music [so] I should know how to play it. And so I had to practice a lot for that.”

In addition to the songs, Raedeke also included spaces for his live instruments to shine. These came in the form of drum breaks and solos.

“There was some parts that were just improvised,” Raedeke said. “Where I just gave myself a minute, or I would say during this section, I’m just going to do a keyboard solo.”

Among those who came were Raede ke's friends, fellow band members and former teachers. In total, Raedeke had to play for over an hour straight.

“I thought that Gramm's concert was amazing. You could really tell how much time and effort went into it,” freshman Norah Murphy said. “I think that my fa vorite part was how he went from instru

ment to instrument and how everything blended together seamlessly. I really liked the part where he played on the drumset, the skill level was crazy.”

In order for the performance to hap pen, Raedeke had to propose it and orga nize it himself. Although Raedeke is the first to do such an event, the process is open for anyone with their own ideas.

“I think it’s great," band teacher Aaron Lehde said. "The idea of: oh, let’s do more of this, I’m totally on board with. But I just know what a high bar that is. I hope there are more students who reach for it and achieve that.”

Stridulation

Consisting of 15 EDM songs, Strid ulation is available on major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Bandcamp and Soundcloud. The songs are a collection of Raedeke’s four years of composing work, with the original concepts for pieces ranging from eighth grade to this year. As

Senior Gramm Raedeke plays the drums while performing his album. He had began preparing for the performance for months in advance. "I had really gotten really familiar with when everything started and stopped," Raedeke said. (Photo courtesy of Gramm Raedeke)

Raedeke does not have a professional set up, it is harder for him to get audio qual ity to the highest level. However, he still produced a studio quality album. “That being his first project, I’ll say it sounds pretty mature, pretty well put to gether,” Lehde said. “There’s things that he will invariably improve upon as he goes, and it’s not so much like a right or wrong thing. It’s just he’ll add more tech niques to his toolbox and be able to make certain choices because he knows how to make this choice or how to make this choice, things like that.”

Going through the process of releasing an album has also helped Raedeke learn more about music production. In order to release his album simultaneously, Raede ke had to focus on the technical aspects of putting on a song online.

"When you’re making music, you nev er think about the very technical aspect, like how many decibels do I need to lim it this to,” Raedeke said. “And how many bytes do I export this as? Just within the releasing thing it was very eye opening to just see the inner workings of how all that gets done.”

Upon release, Raedeke's album recei eved positive feedback, with many of his teachers and peers noting a favorite piece or part.

“I think it is a really awesome album, and I think it has a really cool idea and vibe to it,” Murphy said. “There are a lot of parts in the album where there will be a sound that you have never heard be fore, and it's really cool.”

Composing Raedeke first began composing pieces in eighth grade using GarageBand. As he had learned the piano for four years, he tried experimenting with the app.

“When I first started, I really didn’t know what I was doing,” Raedeke said. “I just did whatever sounded good to me.”

Over time, Raedeke refined his musi cal technique, better learning the intri cacies of composing. To do this, Raedeke continued building experience into high school and took AP Music Theory during his junior year.

“Now I really know what I’m doing a lot more and the process is faster,” Rae deke said. “It creates a better workflow

for me, but I always still have a long way to go and I’m always trying to get better at doing what I do.”

To compose, Raedeke uses Ableton Live 11, a music composing software for computers. In addition, he has a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) key board and acoustic instruments.

“It’s a pretty minimalist setup, but for the concert that I had last week, I really expanded it,” Raedeke said. “I had a whole drum set and there was a Theramin there and there was some percussion stuff there as well. So I could expand on that and add more sounds that weren’t on the album to the live performance.”

While coming up with concepts for his songs, Raedeke sits at his keyboard and plays whatever comes to his mind. Once he finds a melody and chords, he adds percussion and other instruments.

“I have to sit there for a couple hours, maybe until I get something good,” Rae deke said. “And then I can roll with that and quickly get that 'finished.' And then later I can go back because the best thing to do is to not just get something that’s five seconds long, but rather where you complete the song and then go back and change what you want.”

It can often take anywhere from one to three months for Raedeke to complete ly finish a song. Raedeke often focuses much of his time on the quality and mix ing of the instruments.

“But really it’s all about getting it to a place where if I was just listening to other music, and then my song came on, would it sound like it would fit in?” Raedeke said. “Would it sound the same in terms of the quality or would it sound bad?”

Adding strings

In addition to his live performance of his album, Raedeke also composed a piece, “Sound Aquarium,” for the school orchestra’s fall concert. Raedeke wrote parts for strings and percussion, but also included his own unique touch.

“He had included a Theramin which is kind of a unique instrument that you don’t hear very much,” Lehde said. “It’s something where you don’t actually touch the instrument, you wave your hands within an electromagnetic field that it creates. And depending on where

you place your hands, it changes the pitch and changes the volume.”

In addition to his composing, Raedeke dedicates a lot of time to practicing. For instance, he often arrives one hour early to school everyday to practice. This dil igence has paid off in the form of mem bership of groups such as the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Mis souri All-State Band.

"He’s won many awards, and he’s au ditioned into great really high perform ing groups,” Lehde said. “Those are all trophies on the wall. The thing that really impresses me is how he does the work. He shows up and he gets it done, which is a real mature mark of a great musician.”

Future plans Raedeke is currently working on an EP that will focus more on classical music, but still blends with EDM. He does not currently have any plans to release a sec ond album.

“Right now I'm going deeper into the classical side of things,” Raedeke said. “I kind of want to make something a little more organic this time. I'm just trying things out at this stage, but I'm happy about that though.”

After high school, Raedeke plans to pursue music production in college. After graduation, he hopes to work in the mu sic or possibly even the movie industry.

“There's something I want to learn more about: the audio recording engineering side of things,” Raedeke said. “It's good to have that versatility and that wide range within music. But also I still want to keep playing in an orchestra or something like I normally do, but just in a low capacity. I still enjoy it, but I want to primarily focus on making recording and producing music in college.”

Raedeke's musical journey has been filled with learning and advice. With his progress, he has found his own important ideas to offer to other student composers and artists.

“Even if you're a little on the fence, just get it out there,” Raedeke said. “That's the best thing you can do. If you have something that you enjoy doing, there's no reason why other people shouldn't be able to see that. And you never know what that could do for you.”

P

LEFT: After the invasion began, the Zolochevskiys went to their building’s basement. Nataliia’s bed consisted of a mat and a pillow. “For us, it felt like a week," Nataliia said. "We couldn't eat anything. You were just drinking

BELOW: Nataliia and Iurii Zolochevskiy sit in chairs with friends. They made makeshift areas to wait out

bombing. “We went to the basement,” Nataliia

“We

them

illustration by | RILEY COATES & ALLEN YOU

Torn from home

TOP LEFT: Decorative lights illuminate a Kharkivpark pavilion. Ukrainian cities are much morewalkable than American ones. “The most surprisingthing is that people use cars a lot,” Oleksandr said.“As a European, we walk a lot. We don't use cars. Wemostly use public transport.”

BOTTOM LEFT: A university stands behind fountainsin Kharkiv. Ukraine schools differs a lot from the U.S.“The biggest difference, frstly, is just the buildingsthemselves,” Oleksandr said. "You have two gyms[and] a pool. My [Ukrainian] school wasn't really big.”

LEFT & RIGHT: Apartment buildings in Kharkiv collapse in certain parts due to heavy artillery. Luckily, the Zolochevskiys’ apartment made it through Russian shell ing. “I thought that I would not see my house again,” Oleksandr said. “I thought that it would be destroyed really fast be cause when you see Russian troops

kilometers from

house, it’s defnitely

the

sign."

of the Zolochevskiys)

photo illustration by |

SYDNEY COLLINGER

by Allen You editor in chief

Gunshots pop. Blink. Missiles whistle, then crash. Flinch. Okay, breathe. Breathe because it wasn’t him today, not his whole family that got gunned down in a car, like the one he saw in the news. But who knows what could happen next? A rocket could hit his building, and he would meet the same fate as the building right outside his win dow. Crumpled, like paper. Every jet’s scream is death’s whisper.

Oleksandr Zolochevskiy, his father, Iurii, and his mother, Nataliia Zolochevs ka loved to travel. Dubai, St. Louis, Kyiv and the rest of Europe were green pas tures, but there was no place like home: Kharkiv, Ukraine. Walk in any direction, and there’s something to see and some thing to do. Besides the new fountains, a zoo was under construction.

The family’s apartment lies 60 kilo meters (37.3 miles) from the Russian bor der. The city’s limits reside a mere 30 km away. Russian citizens regularly come to enjoy its parks, food and entertainment. But one night, Russian soldiers crossed their border while Kharkiv slumbered. And they shook the earth.

“Feb. 24, early in the morning, we heard a lot of explosions and gunshots and we just couldn't believe that this was happening,” Nataliia said. “We were just running all over our flat thinking about what to do. We heard that something is flying, whistles of the rockets, and we heard that something is exploding, mov ing, a lot of different noises.”

False alarm?

The impossible had happened, and they were among the first to realize it. Be fore that day, the Ukrainian government had successfully convinced the popula tion that war with Russia was extremely unlikely. After all, their economies were intertwined, and Russia wouldn’t risk an all out war with other world powers, like NATO, just to annex Ukraine. Putin was just posturing.

“At first, I thought that maybe it was training, a drill, in case it would actually happen, because everybody was really nervous about it,” Oleksandr, 16, said. “I thought that it was just a false alarm. But then I heard a few explosions near my house, and I saw flashlights in the sky. And I understood that, yeah, it's actually happening.”

In a race against time, the family grabbed whatever they needed and hunkered in the basement of their building, as advised by the government.

“In case of an emer gency, I packed a small bag and put in it some documents, jewelry, money and medical records of our family,” Nataliia said. “It was just laying on the floor for a week. So when all this started, the first thing we took was this bag. We also took some pillows and something to cover ourselves when we went to the basement.”

And they waited.

underground subway for another day, and their chance might fade.

"You can't eat, you can't do anything. I understand that my city, my country that I love is in real danger. And I can't really do anything about it. I can't fght for it. I can't do anything."

“We didn't really have a lot of time to think about it,” Iurii said. “Of course, there was a short period of time where we understood that we'll probably leave our flat, our city forever. But our main con cern was just to save ourselves. Still, your brain just doesn't want to accept the idea that you have to leave everything and that it will never be the same again. So it was the most difficult part of it all, that it’s time to accept this thought that you have to start a new life.”

It was decided. They packed everything they could and gave away everything else to those who decided to stay. By taking a minor road towards the south of Kharkiv, they were able to evade Russian violence.

“So the first hours of the first day, we thought that maybe it would be over in a few days or something,” Oleksandr said. “Maybe they will stop or they will just [annex] the whole of Ukraine — because it's Russia, right?”

It didn’t stop. Bombing after bombing rained despair on the vibrant city.

“The first, the second day, it felt like a month or two months because there's so many events happening, and you have no idea what to do,” Oleksandr said. “You can't eat, you can't do anything. I un derstand that my city, my country that I love is in real danger. And I can't really do anything about it. I can't fight for it. I can't do anything.”

A tough choice

The family, with no guarantee of to morrow, had to choose between aban doning home or weathering the storm. But the Russians were advancing fast, and there was only a tiny window of time to leave without getting shot or blown up. Hesitate, stay at home or bunker in the

“A minute after we left, they started to shell the city,” Oleksandr said. “So while we're here we can hear that there's ex plosions behind us. We just drive and you can see flashlights in the sky, something is exploding and that these missiles hit something. But luckily, we haven't seen any Russians.”

The family made it, but the city didn’t.

“You have this thing when you're ac tually alive and you're out of the city,” Oleksandr said. “We're out of the shell ing and you see how other people suffer. And you can't really do anything because you feel some kind of guilt that you didn't stay there and that you have left these people.”

From Kharkiv, the family headed to Kremenchuk, the only safe crossing along the Dnipro River. They slept on the floor of a kindergarten for a night. They then kept going southeast before turn ing north towards Ternopil, where they stayed with friends for another night. From Ternopil, the family continued to Chop, one of three border checkpoints between Ukraine and Slovakia, where the Zolochevskiy’s first son, Alexey, stud ied architecture in Bratislava. After 70 to tal hours of driving, they finally escaped the war. But while Nataliia and Oleksandr

Oleksandr Zolochevskiy, sophomore

were ready to head to Alexey, Iurii took a different route.

“When we're crossing the border to Slovakia, I got the paper that I was invit ed to the military office so they could do some medical examinations of me and decide if I would go to the army or not,” Iurii said. “But because of my health and age, they decided that I would not go to the army. So I just stayed in Ternopil and volunteered a lot.”

Safe, at last

Nataliia and Oleksandr both made it to Bratislava on Feb. 30 and stayed with Alexey’s boss’s family for a month. March 30, they took a short trip to Vienna, Austria and then a long flight to Chicago. At Chicago, former neighbors Galina and Vitaly Sergach picked them up and drove them to Creve Coeur, Missouri. Galina and Vitaly, who’ve lived in the U.S. since 2014, offered to house them, and they stayed at the Sergach’s until June, when they decided to find their own place.

In August, Nataliia and Oleksandr re ceived two years of Temporary Protec tion Status, making them legal residents of the U.S. They had finally integrated, and they decided to stay as long as the war raged. And finding their footing in the U.S. was easy, as years of traveling to St. Louis made them well equipped to live in the foreign country.

“When we came here we had an un derstanding of what the U.S. is,” Nataliia said. “We have a lot of friends here. And we also have a small business. So when we came here, we knew what we would do here and how we're going to live here. That's basically why we chose the U.S. because we’ve been coming here every year since 2015.”

In early September, the Ukrainian forces began their counteroffensive. And the first breakthrough region sparked major hope in the family. It was Kharkiv.

“My day starts with taking my phone, and the first thing I’ll do is I’ll start with all the news,” Oleksandr said. “Every day, I read the news. Every day, you're check ing all the information, checking the map. Always. And last month, the news was re ally good. I'm just so excited about it, that we actually [took back] everything, that

our army’s really strong and that Russia is just not as powerful as it [seems].”

A new beginning

With Ukraine on the upper hand, Iu rii left Ternopil and came to St. Louis to work on their small business, a real estate venture. And when the family had time, they attended a Ukranian Greek-Ortho dox church to connect with the Ukrainian community of St. Louis.

“So [Vitaly and Gelina] introduced us to the Ukrainian community,” Iurii said. “We celebrate New Year here; what Christmas [is for you], for us is New Year. We also met a lot of people there. Of course, we talked with people that were also affected by the invasion. Everyone was affected, somehow. And every per son, every family has their own story about how they survived the invasion and what they were doing in the first days.”

Settled, Oleksandr considered return ing to school.

“We started to look at what kind of high schools they have here,” Oleksan dr said. “And we found Ladue. We start ed to research it a bit more. And we find [out] that this school is really good. We were looking for apartments in the Ladue School District because we really liked the school. Even though I only saw all the photos and I hadn’t been inside, I really liked it. We were like, ‘I have to go there.’”

So he did. In August, Oleksandr be gan his sophomore year at Ladue. His main struggles now: advanced chemistry and math analysis. As for how long he’ll stay in St. Louis, well, it kind of depends. But he’s been enjoying school. He can breathe. Breathe because it could be him one day walking those familiar streets, beginning to piece back together the life he once had.

“Of course, I would like to go back to Kharkiv because we like the city and we know it’s good,” Oleksandr said. “But it's not the same as it was before the 24th. I’ll go to school here and finish it. What will happen next? I don't know. I hope that the war will be over when I finish school. But the American government gave us a permit to live here for two years. So after wards, we’ll see what we’ll do.” P

Oleksandr Zolochevskiy sips tea from a mug. When he takes time to relax, he likes to talk to his friends from Ukraine. “Everyone is pretty much settled where they are, so I talk a lot with my friends,” Oleksandr said. “It's really interesting, too, because they're living all around the world. Someone’s in Denmark, someone’s in Germany, someone’s in Italy and even France.”

Iurii Zolochevskiy watches a video of a collapsed Ukrainian bridge. Rus sian troops constantly bombarded highways, making car travel unsafe.

“The most diffcult and dangerous part of the whole trip was the frst 5200 kilometers,” Iurii said. “Because we live in Kharkiv, which is on the eastern border of Russia, there were a lot of Russian troops.”

Nataliia, Oleksandr and Iurii Zolochevskiy lounge with their Pomeranian, Daisy, who endured the entire trip from Kharkiv to St. Louis with the family. Pets accompanied many displaced Ukrainians. “Most people thought that no body would take their animals with them,” Nataliia said. “But when we came to the border, we saw so many people with their animals. We saw turtles, parrots and dogs. Most people tried to save their animals.”

(photos by Sydney Collinger)

CENTER LEFT: Oleksandr Zolochevskiy sits in a patio chair. The Zolochevskiys’ new patio consists of a grill and homegrown veggies. “Fruits and vegetables are tastier because Ukraine is an agricultural country,” Iurii said. “It’s just more organic. For example, here, you have special shops where you have organic food. In Ukraine, everything is organic.”

ABOVE: Nataliia and Oleksandr Zolochevskiy pet Daisy in the kitchen. Nataliia does a lot of cooking, prepping recipes popular in Ukraine. “We have a national dish, which is a soup called borscht,” Nataliia said. “Also in Ukraine, Italian cuisine is really popular, like pasta. And Georgian food, it’s so good.”

LEFT: Pineapple cake rests on the counter. Nataliia Zolochevskiy experienced a striking difference of food products when arriving in the U.S. “We have really good Ukrainian cuisine,” Nataliia said. "[Ukrainians] have absolutely different bread. It's better."

From pastime to passion

Sophomore Amelia Goldwasser shares her passion for film and collecting media

by Katie Myckatyn features staff

If you were to ask three different people how they would define "art," you would end up with three independent definitions. To soph omore Amelia Goldwasser, her response is just as unique.

“Art is the expression of a person in any form,” Goldwasser said. “And to me, there’s no better example of it than mov ies.”

For reasons beyond her control, Gold wasser’s passion for film extends past the usual fondness for the screen observed in the average movie-enjoyer. She grew up with lymphoblastic leukemia, a com plication that kept her from the typical childhood experience. Much of Goldwas ser’s time was spent on the couch, mon itored by doctors and woozy on steroids. Her one comfort was the small television in the corner of the hospital room.

“It gave me an escape,” Goldwasser said. “I couldn't really do much else, so I relied on the movies [the hospital] played to distract me.”

With such an origin story, it makes sense that the rest of Goldwasser’s life would be affected in one way or another by the outlet she discovered.

“[Amelia’s] interest in film has trans ferred into our everyday,” Cary Goldwas ser, Amelia’s mom, said.

Cary majored in Communication Arts: Radio, TV and Film at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With Amelia’s own interest piqued, Amelia's had every op portunity to expand her own growing knowledge from her mother’s formal ed ucation on the topic.

“As I got older, I got bored of the cheesy sit-back-and-turn-your-brain-off movies I’d grown accustomed to,” Amelia said. “I got hooked on more intelligent film and directing with an intent.”

In her opinion, exposure to a broad range of perspectives through movies teaches a person understanding and em pathy. The complexity that can be ob served encourages an increase in critical thinking and creativity.

“Movies are a way for you to view oth er people's experiences and see lives you can't have yourself,” Amelia said.

Stemming from her dedication to film, Amelia has found herself in the business of collecting.

“Being able to have a movie that you can always show to someone is a really valuable thing to me," Amelia said.

Proudly displayed, Amelia's growing assortment houses about 20 movies of various genres. Each of them originate from the Criterion Collection, a compa ny that specializes in the physical copy of classical and contemporary cinema from around the world.

“It incentivizes you to collect with the numbers printed on the spine, so it's like, can I fill in the spaces in between them?” Amelia said. “It's really satisfying to have a complete collection set out in front of you.”

Overall, this love of film has allowed Amelia to gain new perspectives on life throughout the world.

“Watching artsier movies leads you to watching foreign films,” Amelia said. “Seeing cultures from around the world represented in film has really enhanced my understanding of other people and provided me with a broader narrative.”

Sophomore Amelia Goldwasser lays down with her DVD collection. She has collected from the Criterion Collection for around a year. "When people say that they don't like movies I don't really get that," Goldwasser said. (Photo by Sydney Collinger)

We are a non-proft boutique run entirely by volunteers! All our profts go to the St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

OPEN 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday!

VISIT US AT: 9794 Clayton Rd, St. Louis, MO 63124

SPREAD DESIGN BY ANNIE ZHAO

illustration by | ANNIE ZHAO & OLIVIA HU

Seeing is believing

by Rory Lustberg in-depth staff

For You page has never been so true. You open TikTok, your eyes anxiously scanning the screen as the three dots wiggle. Suddenly, a cute dog pops up. You watch it. You like it. You scroll. Next, it's a hair tutorial. Swipe. An ad for a toothbrush? Pass. As you watch more and more, va riety between the videos gets smaller. There are no more dogs or toothbrush ads, but there are a large number of vid eos convincing you that Donald Trump was the real winner of the 2020 presiden tial election.

The more you see, the more the ideas start to make sense. Soon, every time you open the app, someone is waiting with a new perspective for you to take in. As you become convinced, you believe everyone thinks like you. Because how could they not? Everyone has the same app, and when you talk to your friends they all agree with you. So, why would you listen to anything else?

Social Media and Algorithms

An environment that perpetuates one’s own ideas, also known as an echo chamber, is something that almost every one encounters. This thinking especially affects younger audiences through social media as sophomore Adam Ye expresses.

“If you're starting to click on some things you agree on, because obviously you agree with them, and you want to see more about what they say, then the algo rithm starts recommending you more and more of that stuff,” Ye said. “And eventu ally, you only see what you like, right? You don't see the opposite viewpoints. And you don't get to form a well rounded viewpoint, a cohesive viewpoint.”

History teacher Mike Hill understands how difficult it can be to challenge longheld beliefs. At Ladue for 24 years, Hill sees the effects of echo chambers.

“It is so hard [to change one’s ideas],” Hill said. “I can understand how people will fall into a comfortable ideology and will not want to hear any other perspec tives because at the very least it's incon venient to look at other people's perspec tives. At the very most, it's exhausting.”

While being inundated with oth er’s views can be exhausting on its own, when people begin to take those ideals to heart, they can start to block out other people’s positions. Sophomore Grace Ag new experiences this most through social media, especially on Instagram.

“When [people] are pretending like what you're saying doesn't have any im portance at all, it hurts,” Agnew said. “And it's hard not to let it get to me.”

As social media echo chambers inten sify, they can start to jump off the screen and into real life. This notably occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, during the insurrection of the Capitol by rioters believing con spiracy theories from social media. Ye sees this process as directly perpetuated by the media algorithms that feed people more and more of their own ideas.

“Maybe it just starts out as a state ment, right?” Ye said. “And then some one reviews that statement, and it turns into an argument, and then it turns into a massive debate, and then people will start actually going out into the real world and doing physical harm.”

To prevent falling further into one’s personal echo chamber, many advise fact-checking what you see on social me dia or seeking out perspectives from the other side. This ensures that opinions aren't based on biased information. And though the swirl of information can be hard to get out of, Hill says that informa tion-based opinions are best.

“You have to have a rationale for [your opinion], and as long as you do, it doesn't matter if I agree with you or not,” Hill said. “You're critically consuming and you're analyzing information. And that's all we want you to do.”

Government

The silencing of others’ perspectives is not a new fad. In Missouri, the Senate Bill 775, which allows librarians and teachers to be criminally prosecuted if they pro vide books with visually “sexually explic it” material to children, is newly in effect. This widespread push to ban books with controversial topics disproportionately affects LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communi ty members, something Ladue librarian Mary Kate Mortland has seen firsthand.

“It minimizes individuals' feeling of worth within a community because they're not reflected,” Mortland said. “They don't see themselves, or they recognize the fact that all of the content and the books that are being banned connect with them and their identity markers.”

From July 2021 to June 2022, 81% of books banned in the United States either had LGBTQIA+ themes/protagonists, or protagonists of color, according to Pen America. Many minority students read to see themselves represented, so pull ing these books off the shelves can make those students feel isolated and sup pressed. Ye, who immigrated to the Unit ed States from Shenzhen, China in 2017, uses various forms of literature, specifi cally books, to progress his understand ing of different perspectives.

“I've been pretty into Asian authors because of my ethnicity, since I immi grated here and it's a whole new culture,” Ye said. “I guess I'm using books as a way to see how people of my ethnicity here in the U.S. see our own culture.”

Missouri Senate Bill 775 has impacted many school districts, including Rock wood, Parkway and Mehlville. These schools have all removed the affected books from their libraries, and there has been push to ban more. Ladue has not been impacted yet, and librarians are hopeful it remains that way.

“Book banning, wherever it's happen ing, is unfortunate, and it's harmful," Mortland said. "It silences voices."

The downfalls of staying immersed in one’s own echo chamber and limitations of book banning

"To be more open-minded,

"I think that if we were taught

"[We can] intentionally try

Daphne Golden (11) Leah Jones, Counselor

Garon Agrawal

by Maia Kobabe

by George M. Johnson by Sherman Alexie

by Jonathan Evison

through time

U.S.

by Ashley Hope Perez

Angie

ZHAO

Pano perspective

As you trudge down the hallway towards second hour, you hear rushed whispers behind you.

“I heard he cheated on her yesterday.” But you know this person, there’s no way he would do that.

Bleary eyed and barely awake, you make the hike to third hour. Raised voices walking past catch your attention. “No, I swear he told me that she had broken up with him.” That chang es a lot, do the people saying he cheated know that?

When lunch finally rolls around you sit next to your friend, the one everyones been talking about. You ask if she’s all right, and she tells you her side of the story. You can’t help but wonder what his side is.

Information is consumed through bits and pieces of the big ger picture. Major world events, political happenings and celeb rity drama are all accepted hungrily by the public. On a smaller scale, the gossip spread throughout school hallways are exam ples of how news can get diluted when filtered through so many different sources. All of the members of the above scenario told their version of the truth, and yet none were real. Only through hearing multiple perspectives can you understand the full story; similarly, only through viewing various sources can you broad en your understanding of the events happening around you.

When urging someone to diversify their media, the mean ing can so easily get distorted; this runs the risk of perpetuating stereotypes. Movies such as “Slumdog Millionaire” are not go ing to educate a person on Asian culture, in actuality they will only affirm the preconceived notions that one may already hold for other cultures. Many people, even subconsciously, will be drawn towards informative sources that are aligned with their current views. Thus, instead of challenging their thinking and actually becoming informed, they halt the possibility of prog ress towards a diverse perspective.

The Ladue community should seek out differing viewpoints when learning about a topic. We should actively listen to and read the words of oppressed peoples. We should learn about the Black Lives Matter Movement from the perspective of Black people, and the #MeToo movement from women in the work place. Social media has become a surprising resource for broad ening your perspective, as it offers a platform to people whose voices have been silenced in mainstream media. It is imperative to see multiple sources and read opposing sides before we begin to form and share our own opinions. There is space for every voice within today’s media, if we could only spur our ears to lis ten and our minds to absorb.

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.

Panorama staff members

The Ladue community should include a diverse set of viewpoints when analyzing issues

illustration by | TAREK AL HUSSEINI

Trick-or-Treat Treasures

by Arti Jain opinions staff

You and your friends walk up to a home, pillow cases in hand. Orange and purple lights illuminate spider webs, with a lone spider hanging on the bushes. The sound of ghosts swishing around causes the hairs on the back of your neck to stand straight. Bats spread along the trees, with purple glowup eyes glinting in contrast with the dark night sky. As you walk up the front steps you see a plethora of pumpkins, exhibit ing designs as simple as a pair of eyes and as complex as a skull. Brrrring! Footsteps scurry across the hallway at the sound of a doorbell. As the door is thrown open, you yell, “Trick-or-treat!”

This very scenario has been experi enced countless times by a multitude of students, all from different religions, ethnicities and backgrounds. Halloween, a holiday which originated about 2,000 years ago, is a major part of one’s childhood. Full communities are able to come together and celebrate, throwing parties, giving out candy and dressing up.

In 364 of the 365 days of the year, hearing a doorbell ring at 7 p.m. is usually

the cause of annoyance. However, on this one special day, instead of throwing the door open with a huff, many lovingly lis ten as children tell them a joke and take a handful of candy.

Essential connections with others are often forged during Hallow een. Due to the increasing popularity of group cos tumes, best friends or even family members are able to spend time together brainstorming and creating costumes.

One memorable Halloween, years ago, my friends and I dressed up as Gru’s min ions. We went all out, holding Bob’s teddy bear, Stuart’s guitar and Kevin’s sign, the three of us bounded across my neighbor hood, laughing at dumb jokes and chew ing on delectable candies. By this time, I had lived in my neighborhood for two years. One would think I would know the others who lived in a 500 foot radius from me. However, that night, I discov ered five Ladue students, all of whom I had never met before. Had I never gone out and trick-or-treated, I would have been deprived of the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.

The tradition of Hal loween is vital in connecting with others and make lasting memories. Especially in this day and age, where social isolation is

rampant, I implore you to go celebrate on October 31. Whether you de cide to throw on a costume, go trick-or-treating, go to a party or simply open your door to eager candy-lovers, take advantage of this oppor tunity to engage with those around you, and have some fun while you’re at it.

Killer obsessed

The glorification and romanticization of serial killers harms memory of victims

by Jay Heintz

opinions staff

You've been driving for hours now, and the only thing keep ing you sane is the true crime podcast booming from your radio. The words make you gasp at the gory details, yet you empathize with the killer's backstory.

“Authorities found a map in Robert Hansen's Anchorage home marked with tiny ‘X’ symbols,” it recounts, “showing where the ‘Butcher Baker’ killed and bur ied his victims in the wilderness. Even then, some were never found.”

For a long time, people have been fas cinated by true crime. The inner work ings of a serial killer's mind is an infatu ating mystery, but there’s a fine line that must be walked between fascination and glorification. We have to remember that behind these seemingly entertaining “tales,” the victims are real people, not just entertainment.

In the new Netflix series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,'' they take Dahmer, a violent murderer, and human ize him. This encourages sympathy in a way that is harmful to his victims’ memo ries. Though the original idea of the show

by | JAY HEINTZ

might not have been to do this, the end result is the same, and the damage that has been done is the same.

Some people who have watched the show have been posting on the internet about how they pity Dahmer. One Twit ter user said, “I feel bad for this cannibal and serial killer that ruined so many lives. My heart aches for Jeff the child and I want to save him.”

There's a difference between feeling bad for a child that grew into a bad person and excusing his adult behavior because of your sympathy towards his younger self. Childhood abuse does not excuse murders. There are plenty of good people who have had upbringings like Dahmer’s. Someones childhood trauma does not dictate what they do in adulthood. They still make the conscious decision to kill.

Xanthe Mallet, a criminologist at the University of Newcastle, writes, “Re cently, a student in one such tutorial ex pressed admiration for notorious U.S. se rial killer Ted Bundy, even going as far as to say she was attracted to him.”

Killers are often portrayed as attractive in the media. But remember, they don’t deserve to be romanticized by people sit ting in their bedrooms 40 years later. The increasing popularity of true crime in the

media has fueled interest in violent and dangerous perpetrators. This means the victims continue to be overlooked. Vic tims and their lives should be the main focus of each retelling of a case, but they are perversely made into only receptors for their murderer’s violence. It's unfair to ignore their whole lives before death. They are not just pawns in the telling of a killer's story.

You most likely have heard names like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer or the Zodiac Killer. Names you don't hear as often are Richard Guerrero, Susan Curtis, Timothy Jack McCoy, Jennie Vincow and Betty Lou Jensen. These are the victims of these murderers. The fact that many don’t rec ognize any of them is the problem.

Next time you listen to true crime, be more aware of the victims’ memories and how what you look at affects their fami lies and friends to this day. If it’s hurtful to either of those, don’t promote it. In stead, there are podcasts featuring cold cases. These decks have cases that have gone cold over time, and the police need help solving them. Spreading this infor mation benefits investigations, causing many more tips to be called in. Hopefully, each case going is to get the one tip that breaks the case wide open.

of

JUNKIEMWMH

Ashley Flowers draws cards from her personal cold case card deck and retells them. These cases have been unsolved for years, if not decades.

Her hope is that this podcast

This podcast is hosted by Payton and Garett Moreland, who are a husband and wife. They

humor

and

Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat spread awareness about true crime through this podcast. They have created a non-proft called "Season of Justice" that provides funding for forensic genealogy and next-generation sequenc ing, and it awards money to victims' families.

photos

The decoration debate

by Max Eastman editor-in-chief

Never too early:

Afavorite family tradition of mine is taking our dogs on a walk through our neighborhood ev ery weekend. These weekly dog walks are made all the more exciting once the fall and winter seasons arrive. Their several pee breaks on trees or in our neighbor’s yard are much improved with lights strung up in said trees or skeletons dotting the yards. These complex dis plays, of both fall and winter, are physical representations of the exciting and joyful times to come.

I hear every year that “companies are pushing holidays decorations too early” and that “Christmas lights need to stay in December.” And every year I find myself feeling sorry for those who have embraced the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge without even realizing it. They must walk the streets during winter months constantly averting their gaze for fear of the bright, festive lights burning their eyes. The sound of phantom jingle bells ringing makes them break out in a cold sweat. These are the members of society whose porch lights are dark on Halloween night, devoid of decorations and even candy for hopeful trick-or-treaters. These are those to which I am speaking.

The holidays are a time to spread holiday spirit. That is an undeniable, irrefutable fact. Another undeniable, irre futable fact is that holiday decorations spread said holiday cheer, whether it be the spooky spirit or the jolly tidings of winter. Therefore logically, having holiday decorations out for as long as possible is enhancing the hol iday spirit. Anyone who shames those who holiday decorations earlier than others are simply saying that they don’t enjoy the holi day spirit.

by Charlie Berezney staff writer

Many people have seen the commercials for say, K-mart, putting out their Christ mas decorations early. Many other stores do that too, and not just with Christmas. They even put out Halloween decorations in September!

Every year this is done: Halloween decorations in Sep tember and Christmas decorations in November.

Multiple people have agreed that setting out the dec orations and selling them before their specified holiday month is stupid. I’ve had people admit to seeing Hallow een decorations being put up in August. Crazy, right?

There’s barely a chill in the air that gives the true Hal loween spirit. To me, it should feel like common sense to not put out decorations before their said month.

There’s another point to make as well. As someone with a birthday in September, I find it rude to start put ting out the decorations early. I get the hype for Hallow een and Christmas, but it feels like my special day is be ing overshadowed in a sense. It’s not the most important point, but to someone like me it feels rude.

Now, what exactly counts as early? As said, setting out the decorations before the holidays month is too early. I would recommend to set them out within about two weeks before the holiday. However, if it is an early month holiday like Valentine’s Day then set out the dec orations on the first of February. It is not said aloud that much these days that it is stupid to set out the decora tions early. Part of it is the reason of it just being unex plainably dumb.

I know there are some who may disagree with me and find being the festivity fun. However, I know there are many out there who agree with me and just have not said it aloud. Of course, people can do what they want, how ever some may be sacrificing how they look in the eyes of others.

It’s too early:

illustration by | PRANAVI CHINTHA

Should holiday decorations be put out early or is there no such thing as ‘too early?’

Clothe thyself

Sophomore Kate Sheley sits on a couch in her Bernardo cos tume in front of the set for the fall play, "The Complete Works of Wil liam Shakespeare (abridged)." The costumes of the play are based on traditional brown and green Shake spearian costumes with a twist. "It's such a wack show," Sheley said. "So putting on random colored tights is kind of the aspect of bringing a pop of color to the show."(photo by Aditi Navjith)

ABOVE: Senior Michael Haybron poses for a photo in the green room back stage. Everyone plays different roles depending on the play they are attempting, and one of the roles Haybron plays is Romeo. "Right now [the wig] just looks awful," Haybron said. "But it's very signifcant because it adds a lot [to the] comedy [of the play]."

RIGHT: Juliet Capulet, played by senior Kaden Missey, dies alongside Romeo. The play follows kids trying to put on all of Shakespeare’s works but failing miserably instead. “[By playing women in dresses] I'm wearing the comedic aspect of the play,” Missey said. (photos by Aditi Navjith)

LEFT: King Henry VIII, played by sophomore Ella Braig, cuts off his wife's head, played by senior Alice Valentino, in the football game scene. The crown in Braig's hand represents a football. "The crown has many purposes but it is used as a football in this scene," Braig said.

CENTER MIDDLE: It’s the end of Romeo and Juliet and senior Kalina Weber, who narrates, introduces "Titus Andronicus." Their cos tumes are unique to their characters and to the person in them. “We each got to choose how we wanted to put [them] together and how they would match,” Weber said.

CENTER RIGHT: The Moor of Venice in "Othello," played by senior Josh Goldman, points to a random audience member as he says his lines. His character wears a boat that dangles from his neck because he thought that "Moor" meant a place to tie up boats. "It's just very random that I have boats around my neck," Goldman said.

Pumpkin pandemonium

A review of the strangest pumpkin spice products available this fall season

by Tarek Al Husseini art editor

We’ve all been there, Aug. 30, walking into a grocery store and being hit in the face with the choking smell of cinnamon brooms (I’m fairly sure I'm allergic), seeing pumpkins, gourds and fannels everywhere. 22 more days until fall but people are already ready to replace the blazing heat of the summer with

PUMPKIN SPICE HUMMUS | 1/10

As an Arab, whenever I go shopping at the gro cery store and see things like Lemon-poppyseed or chocolate hummus, I feel like a crime has been committed against my culture. Not only did I feel this way when I saw the product, but I felt per sonally attacked by how much of an abomination it is. Slapping the word hummus onto this pump kin spice product is defamation to Middle East ern culture. The color alone is enough to deter me from even considering buying this product. The smell that followed rose a lot of inconsisten cy and specifcity — ranging from Burr Oak sum mer camp to Niacinamide. Every sniff brought out a new note that was missed before, but it was “defnitely pumpkin spice.” Now, if you asked ANYONE (besides whoever made this product) if hummus is sweet they would tell you no. The

the heat of a hot coffee featuring the most iconic fall favor… pumpkin spice. I don’t know about you but this year in particu lar I have seen some weird pumpkin spice products. Who knew that people would see an opportunity to capitalize on such a popular combination of spices? As a self-proclaimed food ex pert and Food Network star, I feel as though it is my duty to tell the world what I think, because somebody out there wants to know who thought pumpkin spice hummus was a good idea.

taste test panel and product development team liked the idea of sweet hummus. The second ingredient is quite literally sugar, so maybe it’s my fault for go ing into this not thinking it would be sweet — but who can blame me?

The best way I can describe the favor overall is that it tastes like the way perfume smells. Think the smell of going into an old la dy’s house who really likes cinna mon candles, or a Micheal’s at the start of fall. My best advice for any one who wants to try this is to go into it thinking it’s more like a cookie butter than a hummus. Either way, I’m going to need more of that pumpkin seed salsa.

PUMPKIN BUTTER | 7/10

When I think of PB & J my brain automat ically thinks of peanut butter and jelly, but I think we need to normalize a seasonal switch to pumpkin butter. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what pump kin butter is, it’s basically a thick, trans lucent, jam-like spiced pumpkin spread. It looks a lot like orange apple sauce, complete with its natural jiggle. The jar is very aesthetically pleasing. It really says “it’s fall guys! You should only eat pump kin stuff!” The taste, however, was unex pected. To be blunt, it was not bad at all,

especially consdeirng what the product is — a concentrated spice and pumpkin spread. I’m not really sure what I should have been expecting, but the intense fa vor hit me like a bus that was flled with those cinnamon brooms. It was very strong and very sweet (considering nine grams of sugar are in a single tablespoon sized serving, I’m not surprised), but it wasn’t remotely bad. The overpower ing nature of the favor does its job, not only does it tell you to eat pumpkin spice stuff, but it makes sure you do.

Imagine you have a sandwich with thick slices of roast turkey, perfectly crisp pieces of iceberg let tuce, a slight sweetness from a bit of cranberry sauce perfectly bal anced out with the smokiness of bacon and notes of white cheddar and mustard. Now imagine if this “perfect sandwich” was

on whole wheat. Whole wheat bread has the ability to make everything into a mediocre experience; that’s how I feel about these chips. I don’t think they are a bad vehicle, but they are like whole wheat bread in chip form. If I was blindfolded and asked to smell the chips, I would’ve said it was a piece of card board. I’m antagonizing these chips — honestly they didn’t taste bad at all, but they weren’t what I predicted. I expected a light crunch with a pumpkin spice favor, what I got was a pleasantly crunchy chip with a very faint pumpkin spice taste and strong pumpkin seed taste. They were overall pretty okay, but you might be better off buying some normal tortilla chips.

Pumpkin spice bagels are like pep rallies, it’s meant to be fun, exciting and trendy, but when executed, it’s really just kind of boring. On the surface, you are enticed by the bright colors of the packaging and the description of pumpkin four and pump kin spice bits throughout. What you get, however, is simply anticlimactic. The bagel, by my standards, was fne. It had a nice texture that wasn’t too tough (although I prefer a crisp

ier crust), and it appetized me with the specks of color from the “per fectly balanced spices” and vari eties of four. It just didn’t taste like much of anything. I’m not sure what else to say besides, the bagel, like a pep rally, was average.

Imagine you are in an airport at 2AM for a con necting fight. It’s cold outside, your jacket is starting to feel a bit uncomfortable and all you want to do is sleep. You walk up to the closest Starbucks in the terminal and order a pumpkin spice latte. These pumpkin espresso beans

are what that coffee in that moment would taste like. Some thing that costs too much money, something that was good and then wasn’t, but you still want anyways. These little rabbit pooped-shaped candies are some of the most addictive things I’ve ever eaten. Not just because they have caffeine, which is an addictive substance (according to my AP Psychology text book), but because they are such a nice pumpkin spice snack.

I’ll admit I’ve never had a Twinkie before (the one chance I got, my brother stole it from me), but honestly I wish I continued liv ing without. The minute I opened the plastic wrapped sponge, I was reminded of my seventh grade Spanish class. It was like a bad fall Yankee candle, the kind you would keep in your base ment and never light; except in Spanish my teacher did light it, and the day it fell off her desk and broke was a day I will re member forever. The color was weird, while a normal Twinkie is Minion yellow, this one was salmon-colored. One might even say it looked like a fat fnger. It took barely holding it to leave

grease spots on my keyboard. Being told that “it tastes like memory foam,” and asked “why is it weirdly wet?” only made me even more excited. I’ll admit, it wasn’t that bad. Yes, the cake was reminiscent of cinnamon sugar. Yes, it was cloyingly sweet and yes, the texture was rubbery… but I could see myself enjoying this as a kid. It’s almost like it's meant to be bad, and that’s what makes it good.

This product isn’t pumpkin spice, but I wanted to try it with the tortilla chips. This fall salsa was defnitely not authentic, and it’s spice level is designed for those with no tolerance, but it’s fa vors compare to a TexMex restaurant dish - specifcally in the

fall - but in the best way possible. The pumpkin spice tortilla chips were a perfect vehicle for it too. The salsa brought out more of the pumpkin spice favor and made for a really good combination. So if you buy the chips, buy the salsa.

Critiques from the crypt

by Olivia Chen A&E editor

by Michael Zegel A&E staff

What sets "His House" apart from horror movies made purely for adrenaline rush is its purposeful approach to serious themes such as escape from war, survivor's guilt and PTSD.

twist is heartbreaking and provides the thought-provok ing perspective of a couple named Bol and Rial who have escaped war in South Sudan.

movie utilizes aspects of horror by featuring a chilling Voldemort-looking "apeth" (the Dinka, a South Suda nese ethnic group, word for "witch.") However, the horror of "His House" comes less from the monster and more from the tragic plot.

illustration by | OLIVIA CHEN

Michael is movie exceeded my expectations. I came across the trailer for this movie. A hus band, wife and their “daughter” ee from Sudan by boat. ey are placed in a government home and they start to discov er a secret hidden in their walls that begins to torment them every night. e movie had great pacing; my attention was always focused on the screen. It has a very original storyline and a great twist. While this movie wasn’t lled with tons of horror, the scenes that con tained fear did it well. e only aspect holding this lm back is some of the i y CGI. Overall, great job from Net ix.

Going into this lm, my only impression of Pennywise was him being a playful (cute, even) redheaded clown with a gigantic forehead. at is de nitely not the case anymore a er watching this movie. "It" did a great job portraying him as a creepy feral freak. e movie didn't hesitate to be disturbing from the get-go. I swear I could feel Pennywise's teeth in my own arm. e main characters being a group of children made it more en tertaining than it would have been if it were adults running from a clown. While "It" was pretty scary, the comedy aspect toned it down.

Even as the chief horror ex pert, I have never actually seen the movie “It." Nonetheless, I went into this movie dialed in; no ounce of light was present in my room to accentuate the movie watching experience. ere were multiple scenes that had my heart absolutely pumping, but nothing I had to hide under my blanket for. is movie has great visuals and Pennywise is one scary looking "thing" but the main kids make it hard to take the movie seriously which I thought was a great aspect of it. While it wasn’t scary, I prob ably will be avoiding redhead ed people for a while.

A er watching "Hereditary" in broad daylight, I felt okay (or so I told myself.) at was un til my friends and I were driv ing around at night and saw a deer. My throat started itching and my friend immediately closed the car window. is movie is really twisted, dark and traumatizing. e graphic visuals were disturbing, with many of the scenes involving heads (or lack of.) Having to watch a helpless family slowly spiral out of control in an eerie setting was unsettling. e ac tors pulled everything togeth er. is movie will de nitely stick with me for a long time, but not in a good way.

is movie was freaky. It wasn’t so much a horror movie, but one huge punch to the brain. All the buildup in the scenes were all just the weirdest thing imaginable over and over again. It takes every "what if" and makes it happen. e visu als of the movie are beautifully done, bringing everything to life. is movie also happened to appeal to my number one hated aspect of horror movies: ugly noises. e clicking in this movie is the only thing holding it back from a ten. Overall, this movie is incredible. It has no jumpscares, but puts all the scare factors right in front of your eyes.

From feld to court

by Lathan Levy health & sports staff

Christopher Geisz played three years of high school varsity volleyball and club volleyball in college. He coached the Lindbergh volleyball team for five years and even managed to pick up a state title in 2014. This is his first year coaching volleyball at Ladue. Previously he was a lineback er coach for the football team.

“It’s hard to say that there’s just one thing [that made me switch],” Geisz said. “The opportuni ty to run a program of my own was appealing. I also recognize the fact that there were not a lot of candidates for the job. I was wondering why there weren’t a lot of candidates, why people wouldn’t rise to the challenge. I’d like to rise to that chal lenge if I can. I’ve given myself back to that com munity as much as I can. This is a new challenge for me, and it’s exciting.”

Geisz’s impact has been felt by all players, including sophomore Gabby Clinkscale on the var sity volleyball team.

“He holds us to a high standard because he knows that we can reach our goals,” Clinkscale said. “Sometimes he’s really critical of us, but I feel like we need it as as team.” P

Coach Geisz makes a substitution while speaking to ju nior Maddy Gladson. The Ladue team beat Mehlville Oct. 8 taking the win with a 3-1 set lead. “He’s really nice and caring. He devotes all his time to the program and makes practices fun,” Gladson says. (Photo by Rachel Liesman)

LEFT: Senior cap tain Megan Ouyang celebrates a point with partner

Freshman Kayla Chan. This team won the MSHSAA Girls Doubles State championship. “We have good team work,” Ouyang said. “That’s really good for a doubles team. And then also on the court, we can laugh be tween points really easily.” (Photo by Vincent Hsiao)

Tennis takes state

Ladue tennis players take home state championship

by Mimi Zhou associate editor

Anice thumbs up. Thats what their private tennis coach gave senior Me gan Ouyang and freshman Kayla Chan after they won the MSH SAA Girls Doubles State champi onship, on Oct 14. The final score was 6-0, 6-4.

happens,” Ouyang said. “After we won [state], our coach walked onto the court and she was like, ‘Well, this is crazy,’ because she hadn’t really experienced that be fore, individuals at least.”

“You imagine it differently than you actually feel in the mo ment,” Chan said.

on Oct. 14. The final Chen

Half an hour later at the Springfield Cooper Tennis Com plex, where the state tournament was held, freshman Angela Chan won her singles final match 6-1, 6-3, making her a state champion and a nationally ranked player.

“My biggest strength was my confidence,” Chen said. “I knew I was likely [to] win state. I feel like knowing that helped my keep my mind on track.”

This assured sentiment was also echoed by the doubles team. Overall, the girls tennis team, led by captain Ouyang, has had an unprecedentedly strong season.

“We were actually able to get everyone who played individu als to qualify for state, which is kind of unheard of; it hardly ever

Despite the players making their singles and doubles sweep seem near effortless, challenges were presented along the way. On top of windy weather conditions and wrist injuries, there were also rules barring them from attend ing private coaching.

“You’re not allowed to go to clinics,” Chen said. “They help me a lot with conditioning and just hitting. So when I couldn’t go to that, I had to find other ways to get my tennis in.”

But after quickly adapting to these challenges, the players were able find success on the tennis court. Joined by the rest of their teammates, they won the overall team championship title on Oct 22.

on Oct. 22.

“I’m really proud of my team, because all of us were able to medal,” Ouyang said. “We had to battle with ourselves because we had this expectation of winning state, but we couldn’t get lazy. We had to play the way we usu ally play to make sure that we did eventually win.”

Christopher Geisz switches to coaching volleyball

Blue & White done right

from

about

Mia Wallis (12)

"I had a lot of fun getting to play on a team with

it was all

Adonis Whitley (12)

"It was an amazing night. I had so much

Dolan (11)

"Going from

Taylor Babb (12)

"Powderpuff was really fun

ABOVE: Seniors Adonis Whitley and Chase Allen begin lighting the Blue & White night bonfre Oct.

"Getting

Whitley said. (Phot by Mac Huffman)

TOP: Senior Claire Fredman runs the ball by her teammates Oct. 12. The seniors won the game 21-7. “This was my frst time getting the ball and I was very excited," Fredman said.

MIDDLE LEFT: Junior Beau Dolan calls the next play for the team. Dolan was the junior head coach. “Making all the plays and watching them be ran is super fun and cool," Dolan said.

MIDDLE RIGHT: Junior Maddy Gladson runs away from senior Emily Pesce to gain yards during powderpuff. "Maddy was really fast," Pesce said, "No way I was going to catch her."

BOTTOM: Junior Kingsley Eastman pushes senior Mikki Stern's hand away. Eastman was a wide-reciever. “Everyone was super into it and I'm really excited to play again next year," Eastman said. (Photos by Mac Huffman)

“Most of these guys [on the basketball team] aren’t in my grade or my friend group but I grew much closer with them [by] being a manager."

Rory Bland (12)

Boys basketball

“Filming [is the hardest part], you have to flm the whole entire game. You can't watch the game normally, you have to watch it through the camera."

Sofa Fehr (12)

"Me and my friends decided to become managers because we already go to a lot of the games and we wanted to give an extra hand."

Emily Pesce (12)

Boys and girls soccer Boys lacrosse

Hear them loud Managers perspective as teammates

Taking a deeper look on why being a team manager is worthwhile and fun Work frst, play later

by Max Eastman editor in chief

Glory and recognition are a few of the main reasons peo ple are involved in sports.

Having an entire crowd scream your name is a dream of many athletes. However, for athletics has nothing to do with the acclaim one will gain but rather the act of being part of something bigger than themselves. This is the case for many of the student-man agers for Ladue sports teams.

Student-managers are students here who have taken upon themselves the responsibilities associated with keeping a Ladue sports team up and running. These responsibilities can range from taking stats and filming during games to running the clock at practice. While these may seem like simple tasks, they are extremely important.

“I learned [from being a manager] that you really gotta pay attention to what you're doing,” girls soccer team manager Logan Wallace said. “You have to make sure you're doing a good job because it is going to reflect poorly on you later when people look at stats, look at the times players played, or when they look at the film. The small things really matter.”

Being a manager for a sports team here at Ladue is a big commitment. Man agers are expected to attend many of the practices and all the games possible and

act as more than just a spectator. They're more than a fan or friend.

“It’s tough having to commit time after school to something that I'm not actually playing,” boys basketball team manager Mia Wallis said. “It’s worthwhile though because it is worth it to make friends with all the guys on the team, many of which I wouldn’t have made friends with without managing. It’s also super fun to hang out with the other managers.”

The social aspect of being a manager is very much akin to being a player on the team. As managers spend nearly the same amount of time with the team as players do, they form close bonds with the players on the team.

“I have a lot of friends on the team but I have also met people through being the manager,” boys swim and dive team man ager MJ Bezzant said. “There are a lot of peo ple that I wouldn't have met without managing, both upper and lower classmen.”

and girls soccer teams manager Sofia Fehr said. “I’m still really good at watch ing soccer. It’s great to still be able to be a part of it.”

This is a phenomenon not restricted to injured players, however.

“I originally decided to be a manager because some of my friends were on the basketball team and I love basketball,” boys basketball manager Rory Bland said. “I’m on a rec-league basketball team so I wouldn’t say I’m the best at basketball, but [being a manager] is a great way to be involved with the school and get to hang around basketball.”

There are many factors that make a sports team successful. Many of these are outwardly visible to those watching the games. However, some of them may go unnoticed by the common observer, and should always be ac counted for.

"I wouldn’t say I’m the best at basketball but [being a manager] is a great way to still be involved with the school and get to hang around basketball."

In addition to get ting to experience the camaraderie that is being part of a sport, managing is a way for students to remain involved with a sport that they love with out the athletic demands.

Rory Bland, senior

“I cannot play the sport anymore [due to an ACL injury], so [I manage because] I still like to be around the sport,” boys

“I would say being a manager is just as important as being a coach or being on the team,” Fehr said. “We may not be playing but we are doing other things. They [the play ers and coaches] are always relying on us to have the perfect film so they can watch it the next day or get the correct stats to upload. You're just as much a part of the team on the bench as you are on the field.”

Boys swim team breaks records under new leadership of Robert Peglar

Q: How long have you been coaching swim for?

A: Counting Ladue, about 25 years.

Q: What is the Ladue invite?

A: [It] is a large invitational meet, we literally invite [10 to 15] other teams to come and swim. The boys won this year [by almost 100 points] , so we were the best of 12 teams and which was really great.

Q: What’s about this year’s team makes them faster?

A: It’s two things. The student athletes are bigger, faster, stronger than in years past. The other change is training techniques. I always look to the Olympic and university level coaches. And I’ll tailor training to the individual more than in years past.

Q: What record did you break?

A: It was a 1:01.27 [100-meter] breast stroke, I swam 59.95.

Q: What has been your favorite moment this season?

A: Breaking my record and the bus ride to [Columbia Missouri Invitational] because that my frst team bus ride because of COVID.

Q: What has been your biggest accomplishment this season?

A: Guiding the freshmen along and getting to know them better. I give them a lot of tips on strokes and make sure they’re on pace.

Q: How do you get in the right mindset for a meet?

A: I tend to just distance myself from everybody before like a big race and drink a lot of water.

TALK TO THE TEAM

“Our team’s biggest accomplishment is flling the spots of seniors last year because we had a lot of good swimmers. This year the seniors have all become super fast and put in time in the offseason. Now we’re one of the best teams in our district.”

“The atmosphere of the team is really different, I feel like it’s been reinvigorated a lot. There’s just an energy surrounding the team. You can’t quite put your fnger on it, [but] it’s different than last year. Everyone’s doing really well which is exciting.”

Senior Andrew Chen swims the frst leg of the 200-meter medley relay. The team took frst place at 1:35.85. “I had multiple personal bests at the Ladue Invite,” Chen said. “Additionally, we won the meet which was a plus because that day was my birthday. (Photo by MJ Bezzant and photo illustration by Mac Huffman)

Q&A WITH RAY HU

Q: How much caffeine did you drink?

A: 4 scoops of pre-workout with some MiO, but I took 1.5 scoops frst then 2.5 a little later and it was 1.3 grams of caffeine.

Q: Did you feel okay after?

A: I felt very good in the moment [but] through the race I felt everything was slowing down.

Q: Did you preform well?

A: I performed exceptionally well, I dropped 1.5 seconds off a time that I haven’t PR’d in around two years. Now I’m ranked 9th in the state for the 100 [backstroke].

“[During the Ladue invite] I tried to encourage [the team], especially freshmen who didn’t get to swim as many events [as the seniors.]

Especially [because I’m] friends with a lot of the freshmen this year. [There’s] 10 freshmen on the team this year.”

Brendan Raskin (12)

Oliver Stern (10)Maxwell Crane (11)

Q&A WITH DANIEL GARZAQ&A WITH COACH PEGLAR

Junior Logan Wallace headbutts a ball during a game against Chaminade. Ladue lost 0-4. "[When playing against a hard team] you can't even think that they're a tougher team," Wallace said. "You can't beat yourself up before the game even starts. You have to just go into that game, knowing that you have a chance of winning, and that you can compete." (photo illustration by Mac Huffman)