Spark 2015-16 Issue 6

Spark Lakota East High School lakotaeastsparkonline.com May 18, 2016 $5 Newsstand

‫سلم‬ The Arabic word for peace (salaam) and the word Islam have the same root letters, symoblizing that the Muslim religion is rooted in peace.

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(513)

779-1500

2017--ARE YOU READY TO HAVE SOME FUN! Unde ia b n Ask

About our

e BEST! h t y l

CONTENTS issue #170

Current speCiAls!

Ask for “The Spark Special” and help The Spark raise money! You get $100 off any package, and $25 of the double-discounted $39 session fee will go to The Spark! Limited time offer--call right away for details and to make your Senior Portraits help The Spark!

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---Liv N. Elite’s photographers are so friendly, fun, and helpful--you can tell they really care. And they’re really good too, I guess that’s because they do it all the time. They are clearly not part-timers!

---Bob S.’s mother, Betty I always knew I wanted to go to Elite for my Senior Portraits. Every time I’m on Instagram and see a great Senior Portrait, it’s from Elite! I wanted the best. I enhance photos I take myself, so I can tell Elite’s post-production is incredible and whatever they do, the images really POP. I’m so glad I chose Elite Photography for my Senior Portraits, and you should too! You won’t regret it!

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18 37 64 102 122 134 united cultures of america

East sophomore Shamil Abdu immigrated to America from Ethiopia and feels torn between the two cultures.

senior profiles

worth the wait

mod squad

hitting the next level

the wait

Spark dives into the crazy and interesting lives of selected students from the class of 2016, and they will truly be missed.

International adoption calls for Renee Sicina to weave her daughter’s native culture in with today’s suburban American culture.

From bell bottoms to shift dresses, fashion trends from the ‘60s are making a comeback in the stores and on the runway.

East senior Kianah Towe and junior Rachel Lewis will both be continuing their softball careers at the collegiate level.

Families who choose to adopt children rather than have biological children sometimes face criticism.

Lakota East 2016 Seniors: Thank you all for your support! All of us at Elite Photography want to wish you the very best going forward beyond high school to the rest of your life! Make it a great life. :) We’ll miss you!!

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to and from the editor | opinion

Spark

FAMILY IS FAMILY

Spark ED BOARD

2015-2016 STAFF

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Nina Brillhart

Brittany Meister

Christine Shi

Maddie Weikel

MANAGING EDITORS Design Christine Shi

News Nina Brillhart

Package Maddie Weikel

Co-Culture Katy Johnson

Broadcast Emma Stiefel Co-Culture Christine Shi

Feature Brittany Meister Sports Aly Thomas

Photography Sydney Rader Opinion Kelly Krajewski

Art Manjot Kalkat Infographics Manjot Kalkat

EDITORS News Vincent Galioto

News Emma Stiefel Package Erinn Aulfinger

Sports Allie Church

News Sophia Spivey Package Michelle Chu

Opinion Cara Satullo

Feature Alyssa Hetterich Package Cristina Francisco

Opinion Victoria Negron

Infographics Cassia Chryssovergis Co-Copy Maddie Weikel

Photography Cara Sieber

Photography Richard Giang

Culture Lauren Wilson

Art Sarah Aftab

Art Julia Sanders

Infographics Sophia Chryssovergis Co-Copy Katy Johnson

BUSINESS TEAM Business Director Nina Brillhart

Co-Fundraising Manager Kaily Hauck Business Collaborator Emma Presar

Co-Fundraising Manager Madeline Alsip

Public Relations Dillon Horter

Business Collaborator Sarah Mullins

WEBMASTER Emma Presar

ADVISOR Dean Hume

CONTACT US c/o Lakota East High School 6840 Lakota Lane Liberty Township, OH 45044 (513) 759-8615 ext. 15118 www.lakotaeastspark.com lakotaeastspark16@gmail.com

Spark is a publication that is produced at Lakota East High School. The magazine is completely non-profit and student-generated through the efforts of the Journalism I, Journalism II and Journalism III-Honors classes. The publication material may not always reflect the views of the Lakota Local School District or the publication as a whole. Content is controlled and edited by the staff editors. The staff will publish only legally protected speech adhering to the legal definitions of libel, obscenity and invasions of privacy. The publication is produced every five weeks on recycled paper.

Production costs are recovered through advertising, subscription sales and fundraisers. The purpose of Spark is to inform the students, faculty, and community members of news, information and issues that may influence or affect them.

On any given day in the United States, more than 423,000 children are in the foster care system, and nearly 115,000 of them are available for adoption, just waiting for the right family to find them, according to the Dave Thomas Foundation on Adoption. Adoption is often seen as a last option for those who are not able to have their own biological children, but this is very limiting to children waiting to be adopted.

Society so readily focus on what adoptive parents miss when adopting that people often times overlook the unique joys of adoption that biological parents miss out on.

Creating a family by adoption is not the same as creating one by birth, but neither form is superior to the other.

“Instead of trying to inflict a model based on Biblical misinterpretation or a warped perception of world history we need to open our eyes to the myriad family structures that exist,” said Emily Heist Moss, a mother of adopted children and “pro-family” advocate. “We need to build policies around the way people actually live instead of the way some people wish they lived.”

While there are times like having sonograms and seeing the delivery of the child, that adoptive parents will not experience, these parents reach other benchmarks in the process of growing a happy and healthy family. On the other hand, there are emotions and defining moments in the family’s development that parents who don’t adopt will never undergo either.

“If you haven’t adopted, you haven’t felt the breath-holding

excitement of ‘getting the call’ announcing that a birth mother has chosen you [as in] domestic adoption or that a child has been referred [as in] international adoption,” said Dawn Davenport of The National Infertility and Education Nonprofit. “You’ve missed the wonder of meeting a fully formed human being that is your child, complete with all the unspoken possibilities of that relationship.”

The “average family” model of a mom, dad and 2.4 children is no longer a reality. In fact, between 1960 and 1996, the proportion of all children under age 18 who were living with two married parents decreased steadily, from 85 to 68 percent, according to the Family Structure Trends Data Bank.

Adoption is not a last resort or a less valid way to make a family.

Many people elect to adopt children rather than having their own for many reasons beyond not having the ability to bring their own biological offspring into the world.

“There are thousands of children in the world who can no longer be brought up by their birth families for various reasons,” said adoption advocate Rachel Argyle. “There are also thousands of loving people with a stable home to offer them—just like me. Combining the two seems like a perfectly natural choice to adopt to me, and [it] always has.”

Whatever way a person chooses to become a parent or add to their family is the right way for that person. What comprises a family is not for people on the outside of one to say. Family can only be defined by those living within one.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR COMMUNITY Dear Spark, Throughout the 12 years I’ve spent in school, I have never once heard anyone say, “My parents are going to be so mad that I didn’t learn enough today,” and that has bothered and confused me for a while. I’ve come to notice that the priority of students goes like this: First being grades, and second being what/how much they’ve learned. Students stress about getting homework done and stay up late and study so that they get good grades on their tests and assignments.

I’m not going to dilute the importance of grades, because they are very important. I feel as though we should be striving for education and spending our school days waiting to learn rather than waiting for the next test to get an “A” on.

Colleges look at your transcripts to see what your grades and GPA have looked like over the years and they base your eligibility to be enrolled on that. They try to compensate for this by using standardized

tests to discover what you know and what you’ve learned, but many studies show that even this isn’t the best way to detect a good student.

I’m not here to discover the next best way to find good students, but rather shine light on what school really means to students. I think society has forgotten what school is for. Yes we learn at school, I’m not denying that in the least. Through our struggle to get good grades, we do learn.

But it should be the other way around: we should be learning and as a result, getting good grades.

There are students (many students) that show that this is how they work with their school work. They do try to learn, and as a result, they get good grades. Not every student works like this and, I believe, the majority of students don’t either. School should be about learning and with learning, positive grades should result. This should not be skewed any longer. I can only hope that the future proves to highlight true learning over grades. —Scott Peters, Jr., William Mason High School student

ON THE COVER

Spark ONLINE

design maddie weikel photography christine shi

The Spark encourages letters to the editor, letters can be sent to the publication at lakotaeastspark16@gmail.com or delivered to room 118 at the Lakota East main campus. Letters must be signed, and the staff reserves the right to edit the letters for length, grammer, invasion of privacy, obscenity or potential libel. The opinion editors will contact writers for confirmation.

This issue, Spark took the opportunity to allow the voices of students at East who are Muslim to be heard regarding barriers to reducing discrimination.

Pictured is a stained-glass window found in the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati mosque.

Every Muslim interviewed mentioned that Islam is a religion that values peace, and referenced that the Qur’an says, “Whomever kills a soul, in no retaliation for another soul or to spread corruption in the land, it would be as if one killed the whole of mankind.”

Follow more stories at www.lakotaeastsparkonline.com to keep up with the latest school, district and community news and learn more about in-depth topics covered by the Spark staff.

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opinion | from the editors

from the editors | opinion

FULL CIRCLE

“FEMINISM”

photography richard giang

photography richard giang

MADDIE WEIKEL I

n August, I made the mistake of trying to cover “racism in general” for the first issue package as if discrimination reaches African Americans from the same angle it reaches Chinese Americans or Pakistani Americans. In spite of the lack of direction across the package, I dove into what I intended to be Millennials’ perceptions of “racism,” but I truly researched how Millennials perceive racism against African Americans.

Preaching the woes of colorblindness, I was ironically unaware that I was thinking colorblindly myself, not in a sense that the solution to racial inequality is for all races and ethnicities to blend into one universal culture but rather in a sense that all groups of people have the same contemporary story.

It wasn’t until I began working on this issue’s package about Muslim students at East that I was able to pinpoint the reason why the first package never clicked—race relations in America extend religions, cultures, languages, histories and nations beyond “white” and “not white.”

While the history of the most famously victimized nonwhite group, African Americans, is at least briefly taught throughout elementary, junior high and high school, only 84 of 363 East students surveyed have had any type of dialogue about Islam in a high school classroom. And because there is no grade attached to worldliness and no way to log “learning about Islam” on a resume, students are not incentivized to educate themselves, and an “A” in classes that leave no time for contemporary discussion is viewed as “good enough.” And, when students are exposed to Muslim culture, 80 percent of 383 East students surveyed get a majority of their information about Islam from the media, whose solid credibility was attacked by all of the Muslims featured in the package, one of whom says she felt and sometimes still feels like people are not only deterred by but also afraid of her because she wears hijab as if she were “all the evil in the world.”

After conducting a focus group at the beginning of the package cycle with around 20 East students who are Muslim, the primary frustrations that were also voted as the most damaging barrier to reducing both explicit and implicit biases against Muslim Americans is a lack of education paired with a widespread apathy that discourages the pursuit for knowledge. When people are uncomfortable discussing what they have no motivation or urgency to engage in, the solution starts to become simply ignoring it, and ignorance breeds misunderstanding. This is not saying that students wouldn’t be willing to listen if information were being fed to them, but this wave of enlightenment may not happen before the next strike

by ISIS or proclamation that “Islam hates us.”

While students may research what is important to them, race relations is what’s important to the world, and being unable to civilly navigate through a conversation about diversity could be detrimental to any career in today’s globalized world.

Understanding and appreciating that the dichotomy of a working community is diverse strengthens critical thinking skills and problem solving as people learn to appreciate situations from multiple points of view, but no one gets a medal for being “not racist.”

Until the incentive of becoming a well-rounded and highfunctioning citizen is measured in units that our praise-craving brains accept, it is everyone’s duty to take responsibility for our patches of ignorance. We as a nation have not yet learned that it is unacceptable to equate Muslims with terrorists, and until we see that notion as outlandish as equating our fellow Americans with property, we will be nowhere near “good enough.”

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BRITTANY MEISTER

I

n today’s culture of hyper-individualism, the role of women continues to change. While the expectations of women to be nurturers, who occupy supportive roles in their families and that of the business world continues to remain in place, a strong focus upon narcissism continues to preoccupy the discourse and images that women can, at times, portray of themselves.

Kim Kardashian and Emily Ratajkowski posting topless photographs of themselves on Twitter is a recent case in point.

Kardashian and Ratajkowski’s semi-nude picture may have been intended as an expression of female power in a largely patriarchal society or as an example of women having the confidence to show off their bodies. Yet, it’s hard to believe that these women are posing semi-nude, defiantly giving the finger, just to make a political point about their own liberation.

There is very little that the Kardashians do that does not involve monetary incentive, and their brand implies that they are seemingly carefree seductresses.

Women, like Kardashian, who have posted multiple nude photos are contributing to sexual objectification—the very opposite of liberation. Clearly there are different standards and societal norms between when a woman chooses to objectify her body compared to when a man chooses to do the same. When a woman chooses to objectify her own body, this is her choice and responsibility—as it is for a man. Posting a topless picture on Twitter suggests that being nude is the most important way to define womanhood or what femininity is. The message that nudity equals power isn’t always true, especially when a culture driven by lucre, and not by women themselves, defines what is or is not the ‘acceptable’ female body. This is problematic for women, especially teenage girls, who are routinely judged for their physical appearance. Kardashian and Ratajkowski could have equally made their point with their clothes on— but a Kardashian with her clothes on does not sell in the same way as when she portrays herself either nude or semi-nude.

The Kardashian women understand their target audience well and use their sexuality to leverage attention upon themselves.

Perhaps Marilyn Monroe shared a similar work ethic or understanding of the culture around her.

As more young women are saturated with images of celebrities posting pictures of themselves in revealing ways, should we conclude that this is now the “new normal” that defines womanhood in the 21st century? But, then again, we would be wise to reflect upon the connection between body images of an explicitly sexual nature and that, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), an American is sexually assaulted every 107 seconds. Woman who often put themselves and their bodies in the spotlight of social media may be surprised when men approach them in a sexual manner, when in reality, this should be no surprise at all.

Feminism encompasses so much more than the mere physical representation of women and all the erroneous misrepresentations that go along with it. Feminism incorporates the differences in the way that women look at the world that differs from men and what their unique talents and contributions are to social progress and innovation. While it is true that women and men will always express themselves physically, there is much more that defines personhood than just physical appearance. Women have the ability to innovate, compete and serve in equal measure to men, and sometimes even more so. To relegate what feminism means, and its contribution to the ongoing understanding of women’s roles, to appearance only, is not satisfactory nor is it acceptable— perhaps it is even degrading. .

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briefs | news

BRIEFS: NEWS

stories bryn mangold, karmi white, julianne ford and morgan kile photography emma stiefel

CURIE NEWTON SCHOLARSHIP Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work.” This is the motto that about 850 Creekside and Liberty Early Childhood students had in the back of their minds as they began the Curie Newton Program that began on April 1 and ended on April 15.

The Creekside and Liberty Early Childhood Schools’ Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) sponsored a science enrichment program for kindergarteners and first graders. Named after two scientists, Madame Curie and Sir Isaac Newton, the program is designed to have young students work together and problem solve with different science experiments and topics, such as friction, force and gravity.

A member of the Curie Newton chair at Liberty Early Childhood School (ECS), Andrea Smiley, was thrilled about the program when she first found out about it.

“The title of the event caught my attention when I first signed up for the PTO this year as my oldest entered kindergarten,” Smiley said. “I studied science in college and graduate school, so I felt it would be a good fit. My husband and I have always been passionate about encouraging young people to pursue an interest in science, math and engineering.”

The goal for the Curie Newton Program is to demonstrate more advanced science concepts and terms in a way that kindergarteners and first graders can understand and use in the classroom.

“I want to inspire confidence in the students by giving them the opportunity to come up with the answer themselves,” Liberty PTO chair member Daniel Colpi said. “Many students are extremely bright but might not be as good at memorizing.

Exposing children to different learning styles and different instructors shows them that there are lots of ways to learn and that they are all valid.”

The Curie Newton Program was made up of several interactive stations that guided students through different science laws and theories. The students at Creekside and Liberty worked on a number of experiments and simulations during the three-day period. Kindergarteners focused on using their senses to make observations; they identified liquids and used every sense but sight to find out what liquid is inside of the jars. The kindergarteners also learned about vibrations and how sounds are made, and they made observations on what kind of sounds a rain stick makes. At the

end, they were each given a rain stick to bring home.

First graders spent their time learning about force, friction and gravity. One station involved pool noodles, which the students had to align to make roller coasters. Another station had toy cars and ramps or various materials to discuss how to overcome friction and allow the car to go the furthest. The final table had both a ramp and a pulley system set up so that the students could measure the force it takes to lift heavy objects.

“I learned that it is easier to move a bucket of rocks with a pulley versus carrying it and that gravity pulls everything the same,” Liberty ECS first grader Duncan Colpi said. “I liked being a real scientist and making up our own hypotheses.”

The Curie Newton Program is projected to grow to the other early childhood schools in the Lakota Local School District in the next few years.

Creekside’s Vice President of Programs, Trisha Dunkerly, was impressed with the success of the program this year.

“The students walked away from the program with knowledge they couldn’t learn straight from a book,” Dunkerly said. “They were able to explain what they did and the principles they learned.”

RELAY FOR LIFE UPDATE

As the big day quickly approaches, senior head chair Rose Middleton works with the rest of the chairs and committees to make sure everything is in place for the annual Lakota East Relay for Life.

“We all work together to get everything done,” Middleton said. “There’s so many things that go into it all like the teams, games and chaperones.

There’s so much more than meets the eye.”

Jodi Zerbie, the former Community Manager, was with East for two years before she found a job elsewhere in March. The Relay participants welcomed new Relay Community Manager Addie VonDenBenken with nearly a month left until the event. Although they start planning at the start of the school year and spend about eight hours a week working on the event, things become more hectic as Relay approaches.

In the Relay for Life organization, it is common for the Relay community managers to switch out periodically. Prior to Zerbie joining East, Relay had a new community manager every year for four years straight. Middleton, however, was “surprised by the change” because it was so close to the event. Although Relay is mainly student-run, the community manager guides the students and helps them with whatever they may need as well as some of the legality issues that may occur leading up to the event.

“We’re just working with Addie to get her caught up on everything as much as we can,” Middleton said. “It’s hard of course, but Addie is doing her part and working with us to make Relay the best — Daniel Colpi, Liberty Early Childhood School PTO chair mem

“I want to inspire confidence in the students by giving them the opportunity to come up with the answer themselves.”

ber

it can be.”

VonDenBenken was a videographer for weddings and promotional videos but felt like she was being pulled in a different direction.

VonDenBenken wanted “to do something more personal” and do something to help a cause that she knew all too well.

“My Oma [grandma] had cancer as well as my Aunt Di,” VonDenBenken said. “I wanted to make my passion my career since I have been affected by cancer multiple times, and my heart couldn’t be happier with this wonderful opportunity.”

Though being thrown into such a big program so late in the game definitely has its challenges, VonDenBenken feels like she “works better under pressure” and is always up for the challenge. Last year, 36 teams participated, and this year, East’s Relay for Life has 65 teams and counting, which will be one of the largest outcomes East has had.

“I’m sure the teams will dwindle down and be combined,” Middleton said. “However, if they stay the way they are now that would be amazing.

Either way, I know the turnout will be really great.”

As an incentive for teams to raise their money quickly, the teams that raise $100 will be able to pick their own tent spots on the football field. This year Relay will have its annual Mrs. Relay as well as more team-based activities, such as the infamous balloon popping game where people use their feet to pop the balloons on other people’s ankles.

East senior Elizabeth Johnson will be returning to create her caricature drawings as a mini fundraiser and a pastime for students. This year, they are also adding a point system for teams that win the games as well as if a team member is walking around the track at all times. At the end of the event, teams will be awarded gold, silver or bronze prizes.

“We have a lot of side fundraisers because we just want to raise as much money as we can since we will have so many students right there,” Middleton said. “The fundraisers will be things like bake sales and the caricatures, which everyone really enjoyed last year.”

Event coordinator and East senior Maddie Alsip has been working with her committee since the beginning of the school year to find activities that will get every person involved and bring some fresh events to the table. The main goal for the activities throughout the night is to get students involved as well as keeping everyone alert and awake.

“A lot of our activities geared towards easy things that everyone can do, not a ton of athletic stuff, though we will be having an ultimate frisbee tournament,” Alsip said. “We wanted to try out some new things this year like a Ships and Sailors game called ‘team machine’ where teams have to form a machine using their bodies.”

The large turnout at past events shows that every person enjoys the event and that each person relays for a different reason. East junior Madison Wageneckt has been a part of relay since her freshman year. Prior to this year, Relay was a good time and lighthearted for her, but this year, it is so much more than that to her.

“I relayed last year for fun and because my grandma had cancer a few times,” says Wageneckt.

“But this year, my grandma passed away, and I’ve never been more passionate about something.

I have a reason now more than ever to Relay, to honor my grandma.”

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gym renovation | news

news | briefs

BRIEFS: NEWS (cont.)

GYM RENOVATED WITH MORE TO COME

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS

story lina kaval | photography sydney rader

Five Lakota students were announced for the 2015-16 National Merit Scholars in February of 2016, including Lakota East seniors Chris Pitaniello and Kaylee Rice and Lakota West seniors Tiger Li, Jacob Harrison and Lukas Leininger.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) Program Guide, 8,600 Merit Scholars were contacted out of the 1.5 million juniors that took the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the fall of 2014.

Originally Rice’s score earned her a semifinalist spot along with 16,000 other high school seniors nationwide. After completing a thorough application with the help of East counselor Angela Fisher, she was announced as a National Merit Scholar.

“The largest piece [of the application process] was the letter of recommendation and characterization of the student,” Fisher said. “I knew that this was a part of the application where I could try to make Kaylee and Chris stand out from the many other semi-finalists who were academically outstanding.”

Each semifinalist was contacted privately about their standings for the scholarships. If the students were not announced as finalists, they received letters of commendation, which were given out around the fall of senior year to those who meet a nation-wide set cut but not the statewide score cut-off.

The cut-off score to be a semifinalist in Ohio was 215 for the class of 2016. According to TestMasters, in recent years the college board has changed the grading scale of the PSAT to a 200800 per section. The total score can range from a 400 to an 1600 and is the sum of the section scores.

According to Rice, being selected as a Merit Scholar is a major reward for her hard work throughout high school and made her college selection easier.

“Being named a Merit Scholar is a huge blessing to me,” Rice said. “It’s opened a lot of doors as far as paying for college goes.”

Being announced a Merit scholar meant Rice received a full-ride scholarship to her first choice, Harding University, after filling out an application.

Rice will be studying either history or English.

Harding is a private Christian college located in Searcy Arkansas that has a Merit Scholar program.

Robert Rice, Kaylee’s father, was extremely proud of his daughter’s accomplishments “We were very excited when Kaylee was named a finalist,” Robert said. “It is really quite an honor and we are very proud of her.”

For Pitaniello, being named a Merit Scholar completes his time and work at East. Pitaniello plans to continue his academic career at Purdue University after also considering The Ohio State University and Georgia Institute of Technology.

“It’s accumulative of my years in schools,”

Pitaniello said “all of the test scores I have been working to earn, everything I have been working toward.”

According to East principal Suzanna Davis, this is just another example of outstanding academic achievements that both Kaylee and Pitaniello have earned.

Center for Foot “It’s exciting any time to Care podiatrist have students recognized Dr. Kristin Titko by the College Board and demonstrates National Merit,” Davis what students said. “They have taken their will do during the internship. academics to the very highest level and are able to perform well on the PSAT test.”

To Kaylee, the Merit Scholarship is just another reassurance of her Talent Support Christine Cavanaugh told Spark. time commitment and dedication she has put “It’s a hands on experience. It will be exciting to into her school work. Kaylee’s time at East will be the students, and we look forward to this journey remembered as she heads down to Harding in the with Lakota.”

At the First Financial Bank internship, students fall of 2016.

“I will definitely miss my friends and the cross will explore the “finance area, commercial lending, country and track teams a lot, because I’ve been customer lending, banking center operations and through so much with them,” Kaylee said. “At marketing,” according to Cavanaugh, allowing Harding, I’m looking forward to making new them to “see more of the back office and the other operational areas of the bank and how we perform friends and hopefully studying abroad.” and what we do for clients everyday.”

Center for Foot Care podiatrist Dr. Kristin Titko told Spark that the students in her internship will assist with escorting patients and entering records and observe how she diagnoses, tests and This summer Lakota juniors and seniors will treats patients.

“I hope they benefit [from the internship in] participate in four new internships at the Center for Foot Care, First Financial Bank, Valley Central several ways,” Titko said. “Getting exposure to the Bank and Various Views Research in addition to medical field and on proper patient care, which is the seven other summer internships offered by the not just treating the condition but being respectful of private information, how to communicate with district.

“We continue to expand student internship people of all different types of backgrounds and opportunities in our internship framework,” Lakota how to practice medicine in an efficient manner, Executive Director of Program Development as well as getting exposure to different types of and Strategic Partnerships Lon Stettler told Spark medicine, not just podiatry.”

East sophomore Marissa Howard, who will in an email. “We are striving to provide these opportunities for more Lakota students in new be participating in the Center for Foot Care in-demand career areas. We are beginning to have internship, applied for it because she wanted to businesses contact the district to partner or offer learn more about being a medical professional.

“I think it will help a lot because I really only an internship at their place of business.”

The Center for Foot Care internship will teach know the anatomy and the injuries now,” Howard students about the medical aspects of podiatry and said. “Knowing the one-on-one relationship about running a business. Both the First Financial between the doctor and the patient will help me Bank and the Valley Central Bank internships will get an idea of how exactly the doctor world is.”

East Honors Anatomy and Zoology teacher give students an opportunity to learn more about financial careers. The Various Views Research Julie Deak, who managed the Center for Foot Care internship will teach participants about marketing internship application process at East, has seen how internships can help students like Howard and marketing research.

During all the internships, which last anywhere determine their future plans.

“Students at this time in their lives are trying to from 20 hours to two weeks, students will be able to “spend time with professionals to see what a job figure out what’s going to be their life’s passion,” is like in the life of that professional,” according Deak said. “They’ve got their whole life in front of them and so many things to pick from, and they’re to Stettler.

“I think this is going to be an invaluable still trying to figure out what they like and are educational experience that students won’t pick good at. These internships tell people what they up in a classroom by looking at a textbook,” First get excited about, and they can also tell them what Financial Bank First Vice President Director of they don’t want to do.”

NEW LAKOTA INTERNSHIPS

Lakota East’s main gym was renovated in March to leave time and space to renovate the bleachers during the summer.

L

akota East students passing by the gym in late March may have noticed sounds coming from the gym and signs saying not to enter. The gym floor had been in the process of renovation for three weeks by the Cincinnati Floor Company during this time period because of the cost savings and other renovations to the gym.

The reason for replacing the gym floor was because it is almost eight years old. According to East athletic director Richard Bryant, the typical gym floor can withstand about nine years of use.

“We had some pretty significant damage to several areas of the finish,” Bryant said. “We were at a point where we needed to sand it down and start over.”

According to Jason Bebout, the Cincinnati Floor Company’s project manager, the renovation process consists of sanding the floor down to bare wood and then staining and sealing it. Game lines for basketball and volleyball are painted on next, followed by two coats of gym floor finish. Bebout said that a normal gym floor could go through this process four to five times. According to Bryant, this renovation would be the third, including the first time the floor was finished 20 years ago.

The timing for this renovation was also a significant factor in the building process. Normally, school renovations take place during the summer in order to not disrupt academic learning, but for this project, it was necessary for the renovation to take place before school ends.

Cost savings were the main factor of the project occurring during the summer. According to Bryant, the stretch of time before the summer “would be considered the ‘non-peak’ time for those [companies] that repaint gym floors.” Taking advantage of the ‘non-peak’ time made renovation

costs slightly under $20,000, while competing prices for the floor averaged about $40,000.

Funding for the renovation came from the district level athletic improvement dollars, building level athletic funds and the East Athletic Boosters.

According to East Athletic Booster President Michael Goldman, the Boosters donated $10,000, about half of the cost of the renovation. Revenue from the concessions stand, Spirit Shop and the annual East Booster Bash were main sources of the Boosters’ funding.

The floor also had to be completed before summer because the bleachers are being replaced during the summer. According to Bryant, the total time to renovate bleachers takes several months.

“We would not have been able to [renovate both] the gym floor and the bleachers over the summer without displacing several hundred of our student athletes and all of our camp athletes,” Bryant said.

The time period to renovate the floor could also not be in May, due to the many activities that require the use of the gym floor. According to Bryant, the Underclassmen Awards Ceremony, Senior Awards Ceremony and Graduation Rehearsal all take place in the gym and were all non-negotiable dates.

There was also the option of replacing the bleachers first and then renovating the floor. But this goes against the typical timeline of a gym renovation of finishing floors first, which helps keep new bleachers clean from sawdust produced by sanding the floor.

“It would have broken my heart to put beautiful black new bleachers in and then cover everything in dust,” Bryant said.

The new bleachers, which are planned to be

installed in early July, will be black instead of the current dark red. The black bleachers will fit the school theme better than dark red and match the black and white floor.

East Principal Suzanna Davis was pleased that the floor renovation gave administrators “the opportunity to do some new and creative things.”

“We selected a bright white stain, which is very different from the traditional manilla color,” said Davis.

The new floor, which puts a bigger emphasis on school colors by using black, gray and white, was designed by the athletic department. According to Davis, planning for the gym renovation was coordinated, which helped make the color scheme consistent.

Though the timing of the renovation ensured that summer sports would not be affected by the floor renovation, it did affect the East boys’ volleyball team.

The team had to be moved over to the freshman campus for practices and games, but the renovation were worth the wait, according to varsity player Jay Patel.

“All of us were not happy because we had to move to the freshman campus for those two weeks,” Patel said, “but then we were hyped for the new gym floor. [The old floor] had scratches on it from poles and stuff. Sometimes it had dust on it, so you had clean your shoes more often.”

Bryant also agrees that the new floor is a dramatic improvement to the gym.

“I put it at or near the top of any floor that we play on,” said Bryant. “Any time you can start over from scratch and make [the floor] nice, new and shiny, I think the community is happy and proud of some of the things that we did.”

The East main gym floor was renovated for the first time in eight years.

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Lakota Local School District receives the Ohio Board of Education report card for the 2014-15 school year, announcing that the district has improved in several areas. story sophia spivey | infographics tyler bennett

L

[tests] because they waste time and stress kids out.”

Colleen Fritzsche, Connor’s mother, feels that these assessments can be helpful in improving a school’s ability to teach students, even though some students struggle on these exams compared to their actual grade, because it is used as valuable data for the state.

“Schools may need some proficiency testing to assess students absorption of the curriculum,” Colleen said. “I am worried about the redundancy of this test. Some kids are worse test takers than others and shouldn’t solely be judged on that test.”

This was the first year the ODE gave grades for K-3 Literacy, which measures how well schools accommodate struggling young readers. According to Lakota Executive Director of Media & Community Relations Lauren Boettcher, the state reported no grade for Lakota in K-3 Literacy due to that fact that less than five percent of Lakota kindergartners are reading below grade level.

“Literacy is a major point of emphasis, and we won’t be satisfied until every child is on track in their reading,” Lakota Superintendent Karen Mantia said in a press release, “but we continue

AMO rating (percent)

PASS

PASS

source education.ohio.gov

akota earned relatively high marks on the 2014- used to evaluate what the school and district as 15 report card released by the Ohio Department a whole need to work on because the district is of Education (ODE) on Feb. 25 for Ohio always looking at data and constantly evaluating school districts. These evaluations measure where they are successful and where they need to districts’ academic growth and individual students’ continue to focus. progress based on six different components.

“Certainly data is important to me, and The six components are: Achievement, Gap certainly we are all very proud of the report card Closing: Annual Measurable Objectives, Progress: when it is successful,” Davis said. “It is definitely Value-Added, graduation rate, K-3 Literacy and an indicator of where we need to make changes Prepared for Success. when there are areas of needed focus. We put so Due to policy making changes, all four state much time and effort into what is going on in our 73.1% Lakota’s AMO testing content areas, English language arts,2014-15 math, classroom on arating daily basis, so I put so much more science and social studies, must be provided by value into what I see daily with teachers and with 60.0% the same test provider. According to the ODE students.” website, over the past several years, students have According to East sophomore Connor been spending 56.7% less time taking standardized tests Fritzsche, even though the tests are used as Lakota’s 2013-14 AMO rating in one testing sitting. Even though the frequency valuable data that goes towards the ODE report of the tests used for this data over the past several card, it does not show the entirety of each student years has dwindled, the results are still used as data and is not as helpful 37.5% as using the data of each to see students’ foundational learning. The results student as a whole. are also compared with past results to see the level “No, [I do not find standardized tests necessary of improvement. because] they only reflect how well you can take a According to Lakota East Principal Suzanna test on a certain day. Grades are more reflective,” Davis, the ODE state report card is just one piece Fritzsche said. “I feel like we should get rid of

FAIL

FAIL

HISTORY old OF grading OHIO STANDARDIZATED TESTING scale new grading scale Spark gives a brief look at how Ohio’s assessments have changed in recent years.

OHIO GRADUATION TESTS adopted: 2005

Examination given to high school sophomores. Students must pass reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies tests in order to graduate.

PARTNERSHIP FOR ASSESSMENT OF READINESS FOR COLLEGE AND CAREERS TESTS adopted: 2015 Ohio changes to PARCC tests because of Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts. Some students chose to opt out of the tests.

AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH TESTS adopted: 2016

AIR and the Ohio department of education developed the new math and English language arts tests. AIR also created the science and social studies assessments for the PARCC tests. source education.ohio.gov

CLOSING THE GAP The Gap Closing grade measures how well Ohio high schools help students succeed regardless of race, ethnicity, or disability. Due to the a change in the grading scale, Lakota showed a positive improvement for the 2014-15 school year.

make great strides in this area. By introducing intervention supports like all-day kindergarten, academic coaches and remediation plans, we were able to move a lot of struggling students to a level of proficiency.”

The ODE did not give Lakota a grade for the Prepared for Success component this year. This component shows the district’s ability to prepare students for their future based on involvement and performance in tests like Advanced Placement (AP) exams, the ACT and the SAT as well as post secondary programs such as College-Credit Plus.

There are two subsets in the Achievement component: Indicators Met and Performance Index. According to the ODE website, the Achievement: Indicators Met subset measures the amount of students in each content area and each grade level tested who passed tests such as the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) test.

Because Lakota only met 32 of the 33 of the indicators for the the Achievement: Indicators Met subset, the district earned a score of 97 percent. According to Lakota Executive Director of Curriculum & Instruction Marlon Styles, in the past, Lakota met 100 percent of the state indicators.

For the 2014-15 report card, however, the ODE added a new indicator for gifted education, which Lakota failed because it didn’t meet the Gifted Performance Index component.

This component, one of the three that must be

PASS

PASS

73.1% Lakota’s 2014-15 AMO rating

60.0%

source education.ohio.gov

LAKOTA REPORT CARD RELEASED

Annual Measurable Objective (percent)

report card | news

news | report card

56.7% Lakota’s 2013-14 AMO rating

37.5%

FAIL old grading scale

passed for a district to meet the Gifted Indicator, measures how well gifted students do on tests.

According to a Lakota press release, Lakota students had a 15 percent higher average than the state in this particular subset.

Lakota earned a 81.8 percent in the Performance Index, which measures level of achievement for each student. This year, Ohio counted all students who opted out of testing as a zero in the calculation.

According to ODE Associate Director for Media Relations Brittany Halpin, data such as the ODE School Report Card data shows educators, school administrators and families where their school is succeeding as well as areas where they need to improve, which in turn helps students raise their potential for the future.

“Ohio School Report Cards give your community a clear picture of the progress of your district and schools in raising achievement and preparing students for the future,” Halpin said in an email to Spark. “The information measures district and school performance in the areas most critical to success in learning.”

The graduation rate component is split into both four and five-year graduation rates. According to the ODE website, the four-year graduation rate is the percentage of students who graduate from secondary school with a regular diploma in the standard number of years, while the five-year graduation rate is the percentage of students who graduate from secondary school with a regular diploma in five years.

FAIL new grading scale

Lakota had 93.5 percent of students graduate in four years and 96.1 percent graduate in five years.

Even with the scores Lakota received, Mantia said in a press release that “the Lakota school district will never be satisfied with anything less than 100 percent graduation rate.”

The Gap Closing component, also known as Annual Measurable Objectives [AMOs], measures the year-over-year improvement in performance of nine different subdivisions of student groups.

In this calculation, points are awarded to districts that can “close the gap” or increase the percent of proficient students. The nine different subdivision are: Asian/Pacific Islander, White, all students, multiracial, African American, Hispanic, Economically Disadvantaged, limited English and students with disabilities.

“Those [AMO targets] are predetermined over a six-year period,” Styles said. “The state changed their AMO targets for the sake of the report card you have in front of you [2014-15 report card].”

AMOs compare the performance of student groups to a state goal for a district in reading, math and graduation. Lakota’s grade for this component improved from an “F” in the 2013-14 school year to a 73.1 percent in the 2014-15 school year.

The Progress: Value-Added component indicates how well a district can reach a year’s worth of growth for students.This component only considers the average growth for students in fourth through eighth grade over several areas that tend to focus on reading and mathematics contents.

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voting | news

AMERICA’S NEWEST VOTERS Though turnout rates for young voters have traditionally been low, many Millenials have been paying attention to and getting involved in the 2016 presidential election.

story emma stiefel | photo illustration emma stiefel infographic tyler bennett

One of East AP and CP Government Teacher Tisha Menchhofer-Grote’s students fills out a voter registration form she got from her classroom.

S

he made sure everyone at the polling place knew it was her first time voting. Not even the arduously long process of filling out an electronic ballot could dampen her excitement.

She was only 18 years old, but she was determined to have her voice heard.

Lakota East senior Molly Sizemore’s enthusiasm for politics is unusual, however. Only 23 percent of 18-29 year olds joined her in voting in the Ohio primary on March 15, according to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

Though CIRCLE Youth Coordinator and Researcher Abby Kiesa emphasizes that young people turn out at very different rates depending on their race, gender, education, marital status and other demographic factors, total youth voter turnout has been consistently low. For example, in the 2012 general election, 41.2 percent of 18-24 year olds voted, compared to 58 percent of 30-39 year olds and 72 percent of people 65 and older, according to the US Census Bureau.

“I feel like the average kid just feels really uncomfortable,” Sizemore said.

“Like, ‘Oh politics, oh my God.’ They freeze up, like, ‘Can we go back to talking about the weather?’ But I feel like it’s important that we talk about these issues because these are our issues just a few years down the road, and the actions taken now are going to affect us later. It’s important to stay involved and know what’s going on with your world.”

Though youth voting rates for primary elections this year are still low, several states saw turnouts that surpassed record-setting 2008 numbers, according to a CIRCLE report, and many young people have been paying close attention to the 2016 presidential campaign.

Nationally, according to the Pew Research Center, 83 percent of 18-29 year olds have learned about the 2016 election from at least one source of

information. At East, 71 percent of 387 students surveyed reported that they have researched presidential candidates on their own or watched at least some debates.

“I think the level of interest is extremely high,” East CP Government Teacher Peter Maus said. “[Compared to the last 15 years], this primary process has gotten more conversations within the classroom from a more diverse group of students.

In years past, one or two students have been aware and discussed it. Now about half the class is aware of the candidates and the issues.”

Yet of the five states that held primary elections on March 15, Ohio was the only one that had a youth turnout rate lower than that in 2008; Florida, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina all saw increases.

One reason Ohio’s 23 percent turnout rate did not surpass the 2008 25 percent record may be because of confusion over whether or not 17 year olds who will be 18 by the November general election were able to vote in the presidential primary.

Under Ohio state law, according to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s Press Secretary Joshua Eck, voters must be 18 to elect candidates, but 17 year olds can nominate candidates if they will be 18 by the general election. This year, Husted specified that those voting in the presidential primaries are electing delegates who will later nominate a presidential candidate at the party’s national convention, not nominating presidential candidates themselves.

Some 17 year olds who had been planning to

“In years past, one or two students have been aware and discussed it. Now about half the class is aware of the candidates and the issues.”

—Peter Maus, East CP Government teacher

69 percent of 163 East students surveyed who will be 18 by the November general election plan on voting in it.

vote in the presidential primary were enraged at what they saw as their sudden disenfranchisement.

Several of them sued Husted in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, and others protested the decision outside Husted’s office on March 11, including East seniors Isaac Mitchell and Mitch Bockhorst.

“Through JSA, [Junior Statesmen of America] there was a protest up in Columbus in front of [Husted’s] office,” Bockhorst said. “Isaac and I were probably two of the people who came the farthest. There were a lot of people from local Columbus schools and a whole bunch of news stations. It was good to see people who care about politics and kind of break the stereotype of young people not caring.”

The same day as the protest, the judge in the Franklin County case ruled in favor of the 17 year olds, and Husted issued a directive to County Board of Election Members instructing them to count the votes of those who will be 18 by the general election “in the same fashion as voters age 18 and older.”

The decision was released only four days before the primary election, however, and “the confusion over eligibility may have affected the turnout among 17-year-olds,” according to the CIRCLE report.

Several other factors specific to the 2016 presidential race may be affecting youth voter turnout. Many of the candidates have also been making an effort to reach out to young voters.

The Bernie Sanders campaign has been especially successful in doing this; according to a CNN exit poll, 85 percent of 18-24 year olds voted for him in the Democratic Ohio primary.

“It’s clear that the Sanders campaign had a really big outreach program built,” Kiesa told Spark. “Young people are actually being talked to about issues, about the campaign. The other piece of it is sort of feeling like you’re a part of something, like you’re part of pushing back on this kind of institutional politics that’s in a rut in Washington, DC.” Focusing on issues is another aspect of Sanders’ campaign that makes him popular with young people. According to Kiesa, when asked in exit polls “about what mattered more to their vote for president, issues or something about this person’s leadership and experiences, the majority of young people, more than adults, say issues.”

East senior Philipp Corfman, for example, voted for Sanders in the Ohio primary because he feels that the candidate best addresses the three issues about which he’s most concerned.

“My No. 1 issue is climate change, and [Sanders] has the most comprehensive climate change platform,” Corfman said. “Number two would probably be campaign finance, and he’s an incredibly remarkable candidate in that he’s not supported by a super PAC [Political Action Committee]. Number three is foreign policy; he’s the only candidate left who has any kind of sensible foreign policy.”

Another factor that may make candidates like Sanders more appealing to young voters is that they don’t seem like “just another candidate from the establishment,” Ohio State University Emeritus Professor of Political Science Herbert Weisberg told Spark.

“Usually, it’s the candidates who seem more exciting, who seem more energetic, who don’t seem to be politics as usual, but seem to be promoting change [that appeal to young voters],” Weisberg said, “candidates who are coming from a different perspective and are talking more to young people.”

Such candidates, according to Weisberg, have included Robert Kennedy in 1968 and, more recently, Barack Obama in 2008. Obama’s campaign was particularly successful in gaining the support of young voters. According to a Pew Research Center report, 66 percent of 18-29 year olds voted for him in 2008, compared to 53 percent of total voters.

“For 66 or 60 percent of people to vote one way is unusual,” Weisberg said. “It happens occasionally, but usually people stay with their party for a while, so it could have long-term

effects. The other time it happened actually was when Ronald Reagan ran. Young people really went to him more than you might expect, and you could see that cohort continue to vote more Republican through the years.”

Young voters’ strong support for Obama and Sanders’ appeal may indicate “a realignment of the country more to a Democratic direction,” according to Weisberg, and many people today see young people as overwhelmingly liberal.

In 2014, according to the Pew Research Center, 28 percent of 18-33 year olds identified as Democrats, 18 percent identified as Republicans, and 48 percent, more than any other age group, identified as independent. When asked to choose between the two parties, 51 percent said they were or leaned toward being Democratic and 35 percent reported they were or leaned toward being Republican.

Kiesa, however, emphasizes that young voters are a diverse group that can’t be accurately described with any single label. According to her, how successful a candidate is with young people

76 percent of 134 East students surveyed who are old enough to register to vote have done so or plan to do so within the year.

depends on “what contest you’re talking about, and what their campaigns have done to reach out to young people, and what issues those campaigns are talking about,” not just ideology.

“There are issues where young people trend more liberal and Democratic than other generations,” Kiesa said. “But as a whole, when you look at how young people say they identify, it’s really diverse, and there’s a huge number of young people who identify as independent. All young people aren’t the same, so we can’t say all young

PATH THROUGH THE PRIMARY

Below is a simplified look at the electoral process from the primary to the general election. in the ohio republican party, all delegates go to the candidate with the most votes

voter ration regist form votes must first register before voting in the primary

source vote.ohio.gov

voters select party affiliation to vote on their party’s ballots

election republican democrat

all 66 delegates to Kasich 81 to Clinton 62 to Sanders in the democratic primary, delegates are awarded proportionally by votes per candidate

candidates with the most delegates after each state primary represents their party in the general election

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voting | news

news | voting

“As a whole, when you look at how young people say they identify it’s really diverse. All young people aren’t the same, so we can’t say all young people do this or all young people do that.”

A TEAM THAT INSPIRES At Independence Elementary, the Team Inspire program has brought a group of sixth graders together to give back to their community. story sarah mullins | photography used with permission from kelly carstens

—Abby Kiesa, CIRCLE Youth Coordinator and Researcher people do this or all young people do that.”

Kiesa has seen “a good deal more interest from the Republican party in reaching out to youth,” reflecting the conservative young people there are with whom to engage. Ohio governor John Kasich’s 2016 presidential campaign, for example, created the Young People for Kasich coalition to get young voters involved in the campaign.

“The Millennials really do have the potential to swing this election, even in the remaining

82 percent of 382 East students surveyed agree or strongly agree that it is important to vote and participate in politics.

primaries,” Young People for Kasich National Chair Gregory Caruso told Spark. “We’re just at the very beginning, at least for me, in getting very involved in the campaign and on the trail. But if we can start organizing a group of people and getting the word out there through social media, Kasich can be the most attractive conservative candidate for young people.”

No other campaign representatives responded to requests for comment about their strategies to engage young voters.

In addition to candidates’ campaigns reaching out to them, young people may also become more likely to vote if they are engaged in politics as high schoolers. “[One change could] be making it easier for people to start voting in high school,” Weisberg said. “If you make voting a habit, then people would be more likely to stay with that habit. So the more that one can start getting young people voting, as soon as they turn 18 or as we’re seeing this year in Ohio a little before that, that might be something they’re going to stay with as they get older and become young voters.”

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Some reformers working to raise youth turnout rates by engaging high schoolers have gone as far as suggesting that the voting age be lowered to 16; other proposals have included involving young people in politics as poll workers or with mock elections and including more civics education in social studies curricula.

“What is in a civics or government curriculum really matters,” Kiesa said. “Research indicates that there’s some curricular pieces that can lead to positive behaviors in the future, like actually casting a ballot or registering to vote.”

East AP and CP Government Teacher Tisha Menchhofer-Grote has discussed voting and political participation with her students and encourages them to get involved. This year, she’s helped 25-40 students register to vote, she estimates, including East junior Payton Souders.

“Getting registration forms from [MenchhoferGrote] and having her send them out for us was really helpful,” Souders, who voted in the Ohio primary, said. “I thought I might as well [register] if it’s this easy. Taking this AP government class has helped me know and realize how important it is for everybody to get involved. Democracy doesn’t work without the say of the people, and considering I am one of the people, it’s good to have a say.”

Yet not all students get the same amount of civic education. According to data from CIRCLE, states vary in whether or not they test students on social studies or civics and in how many years of social studies they require for graduation.

East senior Molly Sizemore discusses politics with senior Caitlyn Strunk and sophomore Weston Lindner.

“Some young people have had a class in high school where a teacher brings elections and voting into the curriculum,” Kiesa said, “and some teachers will teach about how to cast a ballot and register to vote, but not all young people are exposed to that kind of curricular influence.”

If all teachers did educate their students about voting, however, they could be able to “reach a broad cross-section of young people,” according to Kiesa, and close the turnout gaps between some groups of young voters.

A CIRCLE survey found that 60.2 percent of young people who remembered learning about voting in a high school class turned out to vote in the 2012 election, compared to 43 percent of those who don’t remember receiving any such education.

Sizemore, for example, remembers “being inspired” to vote by one of her high school teachers and that, in addition to her longstanding fascination with politics and the lasting impressions an eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C. left on her, has made her determined to continue voting in the future.

“Heck yeah I’m going to vote again,” Sizemore said. “This is just the beginning of a long line of voting. I feel like it’s important that I should vote. Don’t complain about the president or any politicians if you didn’t vote yourself because you had the opportunity to change that and you didn’t take that opportunity. You’re given these rights in the Constitution. If you’re not going to exercise them, that’s just your fault. I think that’s dumb.”

A board at Independence elementary displays the themes of each month for Team Inspire’s the Big Give service project.

A

group of students sits at a table covered in water bottles with a sign advertising the water they are selling for a dollar to raise money for underprivileged orphans in Third World countries.

These students are part of the first Heritage Day celebration, where every student in the school gets to learn about other cultures and how they live.

The students are selling the water with their other peers as a part of Team Inspire, which Independence Elementary started three years ago.

The organization is meant to encourage students to be contributors to their community and leaders of their school.

“The kids are really giving back to our community,” Team Inspire founder, advisor and Independence guidance counselor Kelly Carstens said. “They serve as role models and leaders for the rest of the kids in our school. With everything that we do, they are constantly working hard to help here at Independence.”

The group was started because East senior Emily Britton suggested to Carstens that Independence start Team Inspire as an elementary school version of National Honor Society.

Team Inspire is currently comprised of 52 sixth graders who have shown leadership and initiative through an application process where they had to write an essay, get two teacher recommendations, a parent signature and sign a contract saying that they will uphold the academic and behavioral standards of the school.

The group meets once a week on Wednesdays during lunch and recess to discuss what they can do within the school to make it better. Their theme this year is “The Big Give,” according to Carstens, and they have tried to do at least one service

project each month.

Team Inspire has done more than 15 service projects this year, such as collecting shoes with Soles for Souls, collecting food and wrapped gifts for Compassion Tree and providing Thanksgiving meals for Independence families who could not afford to buy their own. “[Team Inspire] is an amazing group of people,” Team Inspire member Michael Bullock said. “There are so many people who are doing such kind things for different people through things for the Big Give like fundraisers for charities, hospitals, needy children and other things like that.”

One of Team Inspire’s goals is to increase good decision making and behaviors within the school. Independence Elementary keeps a record of the number of students who have received inschool and out-of-school suspensions in previous years, and Principal Greg Finke has noticed that the number of these suspensions has gone down in the last few years.

In the 2013-14 school year, when the pilot program of Team Inspire began, there were 15 combined in-school and out-of-school suspensions. The next year, which was Team Inspire’s first full year, there were 12. The goal for this year was to have fewer than 8 suspensions, and so far, there have only been two out-of-school suspensions and no in-school suspensions.

“I lend a lot of that to Team Inspire,” Finke said. “Typically, sixth graders are the kids that would get an in-school or out-of-school suspension because of the choices they make. They know the difference between right and wrong, and Team Inspire has encouraged more of them to make

the right decision. From their leadership and being able to share that level of expectation, we’ve really seen a decrease in bad behaviors.”

Carstens does not assign permanent positions for the students, like president or vice president, but instead has them rotate leadership roles in every project so everybody is in charge of something each year.

“I like them all to have the opportunity [to be a leader], because they are in sixth grade,” Carstens said. “I want them all to feel at one point in time that they led an initiative, whether it was designing the poster, deciding how to put up the tree, deciding where to put our gifts for the giving tree or figuring out how to distribute the gifts to the teachers. The roles aren’t defined, so everybody has that potential.”

The students in Team Inspire have become role models for their peers, encouraging good behavior and being leaders that the younger students can aspire to be as they get older, according to Carstens.

“Team Inspire has improved the school by impacting the students,” Team Inspire member Courtney Rindfleisch said. “We have changed the smiles on peoples faces, and little kids see us and say they want to be in Team Inspire.”

Carstens hopes that the program will continue to grow so they can have a greater impact on the school and the community.

“For the past three years, it has been great to have a group of kids that are leaders in the building, that teachers respect, that parents look up to and that other kids in the building just admire,” Finke said. “It is great to have a large cohort of kids who, if you need something, you can just ask, and it’s taken care of.”

5/9/16 2:59 PM

assimilation | news

news | assimilation

UNITED CULTURES OF AMERICA As the number of American youth who have at least one immigrant parent remains high, these teens are faced with a struggle of identity and belonging. story nina brillhart, richard giang and kelly krajewski photo illustrations richard giang

M

y name is Richard Giang, and the earliest I can remember having any issue with my identity as an Asian American was in the fifth grade. It was in the bathroom before lunch washing my hands, and all the sinks were taken.

One of my classmates was waiting in line to wash their hands and was growing impatient. He then chose the smallest kid in the line, me, to pick on.

He grunted, “Hurry up, Chinese kid”. I didn’t really register it the first time, so he yelled it louder so that everyone could hear. I didn’t really know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. And I did what he said. I didn’t think much of it, but it has always been in the back of my mind.

Eventually, I decided to ask my dad about it.

I asked, “Dad, why would he call me Chinese?

I’m Vietnamese, why would he pick on my like that?” He said that they were picking on me because I wasn’t like them—because I didn’t look like them—because my parents weren’t from the same country as theirs. I didn’t really understand at first. I thought to myself, “That’s ridiculous. Why would they do that? It doesn’t even make sense.” I continued to think about it, but it just didn’t add up.

However, the comments continued in sixth grade and through middle school. I adopted an identity, “Rich, that Asian,” and it’s a title that followed me for three years. At first, I embraced it.

I filled the group as the “smart” and “responsible” kid, which is good, or so I told myself. I used to always bring leftovers from last night’s dinner to eat for lunch, that is, until I received a comment from one of my classmates: “Is that P.F. Changs? Why would you bring that?” It’s comments like those that just made me want to assimilate more.

I eventually grew unhappy of my position, trailing behind the popular crowd, fitting in but also sticking out at the same time. Growing up in Lakota, I only knew of two other AsianAmerican kids for the first half of my life, and even now in high school, we’re still a very small minority. Everyone that was Asian was labeled with it. It was just normal. I wanted to break the mold. I wanted to fit in so badly. I did everything I could to be with the people that rejected me so early in life. It was an irrational desire, but I had to do it.

I did it, I got in. I was accepted, and I hung

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out with them everywhere and all the time. At football games, at parties, at school. I was finally in. Then I realized that this didn’t solve anything.

If anything, it made it worse. I always had to put on a mask before I went to hang out with these people. My old friends knew this, I mean, my true friends knew this. But I’m a stubborn person, so my mom tells me.

It wasn’t until freshman year that I realized what I was doing wrong. It was after Lunar New Year in February. It was late, and my mom and I were driving home from the family party in Columbus. It’s a drive I’ve made 30 times a year throughout my life, so it’s nothing too special.

Well, there was one thing different, the aux cord had broken and the radio was out of range of the channels I liked, so there was a silence about the car that didn’t seem right. It’s situations like these that I’d put my earphones in and lay back to take a nap, but not this time. My mom noticed me about to get comfortable to take a nap, so she intervened and began to tell a story.

This wasn’t a story that she would normally pull out from her childhood to lecture me about doing my chores or getting enough sleep—this was a story that I wanted to hear. It was the first time that she gave me an unadulterated story about her past life in Vietnam. She didn’t want to use it to get me to do anything. She just wanted to satisfy my curiosity of her mysterious past. She just wanted to tell a story.

So began an hour and 45 minutes of raw storytelling that finally led me to my decision of choosing my identity. She began with war stories of when my grandpa was imprisoned by the North Vietnamese. He was in prison for more than a decade, and during that decade, my mom and her twin, being years older than the other siblings, assumed responsibility because my grandma had to work to support the family. She told me of the insane lengths she had to go to in order to take care of the house. She told me of visiting her father in the prison. She had to trek through miles of mountains and fields in order to just see him. That was only a few times a year too. After hearing these unbelievable stories, I could only grasp the surface of what my mother had gone through.

This “tradition” of storytelling continued for the next few trips, and I loved every bit of it. Aside

from the wonder and amazement these stories gave me, it helped me realize just what my parents had gone through and how much they struggled and persevered to get me to where I am today. This made me realize that I shouldn’t feel completely obligated to assimilate to the side of my parents, but rather, that I should just be myself.

My parents grew up in their own generation, and I’m growing up in mine. Circumstances have changed completely from when they grew up, but morals remain the same throughout time. There is a balance for second-generation immigrants, and it’s up to them to choose whether they lean toward their American culture or their parents’ culture. Learning about my parents’ pasts taught me that I don’t need to make a decision but rather that I just need to accept that I am a second-generation immigrant and that my culture is all my own.

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he term “anchor baby” has been used frequently in a derogatory sense by politicians such as Donald Trump in the latest presidential race, which is greatly centered around immigration. In an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, Trump said, “I don’t think [anchor babies] have American citizenship. We have to start a process where we take back our country. Our country is going to hell.” This label describes a child of an noncitizen immigrant in a country which has birthright citizenship, according to the 14th Amendment, especially when the child is viewed as providing an advantage to family members seeking to secure citizenship or legal residency in the United States. For many secondgeneration immigrants, including East junior Bemni Amsalu, the usage of the name gives many natural-born citizens the wrong impression, ultimately invalidating their “Americanism.”

“It’s like saying racism ends when someone is half white,” Amsalu said. “I may look like my parents and have their Ethiopian genes, but I am an American, and I, along with other second-generation immigrants, deserve to be respected as so.”

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Pediatrics Professor Lisa Vaughn noted that second-generation immigrants face the difficulty of simultaneously respecting their parents’ cultures and discovering their identity and how they are going to express themselves.

“It’s particularly hard for second-generation immigrants to figure out where they fit in because in a way they really are American. [America is] where they’ve been raised, but their parents are still from that traditional culture,” Vaughn told Spark. “Whether you’re a kid or an adult, coming from another culture or country [causes a lot] of tension and pull between your birth culture and the culture that you’re living in.”

According to work cited in a recent study conducted

by Vaughn and Associate Professor of Psychology in the McMicken College of Arts & Science Farrah Jacquez, 244 million people, which is 3.3 percent of the world’s population, lived outside their country of origin.

This number is expected to continue expanding in many countries. Of all nations, the United States hosts the largest number of immigrants. Immigrant youth are the fastest growing population of children in the United States. According to Child Trends the population of first- and second-generation immigrant children in the United States grew by 51 percent between 1995 and 2014, to. Population. Now, 18.7 million, or a full 25 percent, of all U.S. children are either first or secondgeneration immigrants.

Even though this balance can be hard to find for many second-generation immigrants, East sophomore Rehan Khan feels that he shouldn’t be denied the title of an “American” just because he doesn’t look like the stereotypical white American.

“I lived in India for a year and a half. It doesn’t have the biggest effect on how I choose to live my life,” Khan said. “I’m American. I was born here.”

East junior Bemni Amsalu has learned to live her life as an American teen while celebrating her Ethiopian heritage.

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news | assimilation

East sophomore Rehan Khan’s parents immigrated to the United States from India, and he embraces both his American and Indian heritages.

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han has to deal with constant ridicule based on the preconceived notions that people have developed surrounding his race. He said that he wishes others could show respect for his culture and not define him by it. Khan doesn’t want his peers to be colorblind, but he also doesn’t want them to hold the expectations that he has to express his parent’s culture to the extent his parents do.

“I was bullied for being Muslim,” Khan said. “Well, kids always assumed I would kill them because of where I was from and how I looked. They didn’t even know for sure if I was Muslim.”

Amsalu and her two younger sisters didn’t grow up completely “Americanized.” They grew up in a hybrid culture of American and Habasha, and Amsalu said that she sometimes found herself deciding in which situations she would be more Ethiopian-American and in which she would choose to be more assimilated-American. For most people, the discussion of a common side dish wouldn’t stir up much feeling at all, but for Amaslu, talk of vegetables in second grade opened a world of questions. Amsalu realized for first time that her predominantly Ethiopian upbringing was outside of the norm.

“It was the first time I realized everyone else didn’t grow up on a mix of NPR and Ethiopian oldies,” Amsalu said. “I was so confused by even simple things like baked potatoes. I was convinced they were some kind of American delicacy.”

Amsalu recalled asking her mom to make her a baked potato after returned home from school that day and being further confused when her mom explained that it’s just a hot, seasonless potato.

“I thought my mom took offense,” Amsalu said. “She kept asking me if I didn’t like her cooking or if I thought it wasn’t good enough for me.”

It was never about not loving her mom’s cooking or being tired of eating the fresh injera, which is a spongy kind of bread eaten with a lot of Ethiopian dishes, her mom made every day. Amsalu just wanted to feel connected to the cultural experience of food with her peers.

For East senior Christine Shi, the pressure to fill a specific role wasn’t from her peers but instead stemmed more from her church community, which shares her parent’s cultural traditions. At school, no one questioned why she toned her black hair blonde. Instead, she received many compliments for her edgy style. But when it was time for church, she faced opposition.

“To this day, my parents and some adults from my church tell me they wish I never would have changed my hair color and that they miss my black hair,” Shi said. “It’s upsetting that I accidentally offended people I respected and looked up to through my choice of self expression.”

A 2016 commercial for Dove hair products featured a variety of women saying that they feel pressured to wear their hair a certain way, and one of these women was a blonde Asian. This subtle tension has highlighted Shi’s struggle of deciding if it is more important to please her parents or trust her own sense of individuality. Shi said that she just happened to express herself in a way that is more socially acceptable to this generation of Americans than to more traditional Chinese Americans—expressing herself as a Millennial is never for the purpose of spiting the people in her life who are not her age.

A diversion from traditional Chinese expectations as simple as changing the color of her hair did not smother Shi’s sense of Chinese identity, and, similarly for Amsalu, despite the stereotypes from peers and pressure to prove her identity by “acting American,” Amsalu is grateful for her parents’ efforts to expose her to Ethiopian culture as a young girl.

After Amsalu started kindergarten and her parents saw how quickly a

assimilation | news

child can lose her fluency if she’s constantly surrounded by people who speak English, Amsalu spent at least two hours every day during her childhood summers studying Amharic.

“Of course I was jealous of the kids who didn’t have to sit in a stuffy basement every day and practice school stuff during the summer,” Amsalu said. “But looking back on it now, I am grateful. I know the language, and my little sisters know it even better than I do. Now those kids who I was jealous of because they got to play outside are jealous of me because I can speak Amharic.”

Growing up, Amsalu had to use her language skills to mediate between her parents and other people. On occasion, her mother might not understand a doctor’s diagnosis, and Amsalu would do her best to describe the equivalent situation in Amharic.

“When most kids are little, they have their mom explain everything to the doctor,” Amsalu said. “I had to do that for myself and sometimes for my little sisters.”

As a child, Amsalu felt the obligation to her family to maintain her Habasha culture. But as she grew, this obligation faded, and it became more a matter of personal desire to be connected to her parents’ home country.

“In the beginning, I think it was about my parents and wanting them to be proud of me,” Amsalu said, “but now I do it for me. I practice the language and encourage my sisters because I want to—not to please someone else.”

This dedication to learning the language was just one of the reasons that Amsalu has been referred to as the “perfect second-generation kid.”

“It’s kind of funny,” Amsalu said. “The other moms at my church will point out me and my sisters dancing or speaking or wearing certain clothes and ask their kids why they aren’t more like me and my sisters.”

Rehan’s mother, Hana Khan, believes that the fact that her children are second-generation immigrants holds an advantage because they “get the best of both worlds.”

“I think it’s an ideal situation,” Hana said. “America itself is a melting pot.

They are at a much greater advantage by integrating the two cultures and assimilating the two cultures.”

However, Rehan’s father, Imran Khan, recognizes the difference between the time period in which he grew up and the time period in which he is raising his children.

“In our case, our experience has been within our [Indian] culture,” Imran said. “We are bringing up our children along the lines [of our culture], although we do understand that we are in a different environment [in America] and that we have to make sure that our children are not left out. We try to make a blend between our culture and the American way of life.”

While Khan said that he sometimes notices that other American parents place less pressure on their kids, Vaughn said that many of the immigrant families with whom she has worked simply just want something better for their children. “[Parents who immigrated to America] made so many sacrifices to come here,” Vaughn said. “A lot of times, it’s because of the kids that they’re [in America,] so they wanted the kids to have a better life. I think there’s a lot of fear of what kids are exposed to in our culture here in America, and [there’s the anxiety of], ‘Will they be exposed to risky behavior or will they do things that might bash up that dream?’”

Rehan’s and East sophomore Shamil Abdu’s parents agree that from an outside perspective, America provides a vast amount of opportunities and is a great place to come for wholesome education.

According to the World Economic Forum, the United States is ranked fist out of 131 nations in global competitiveness, using primary and higher education as part of its calculations. While the United States attempts to deliver an “adequate and equal education” through high school to all of its citizens, India, although it produces many scientists and engineers, “provides a low-quality primary and secondary education to much of its population.”

“Both my husband and I came to his country as students. We came to get our Master’s Degrees. We experienced first-hand that the training and methodology here when it comes to education is far more superior at the higher education level than it is available in India, and we thought it would be ideal for our kids,” Hana said. “They would have much more opportunities [in America], and if they worked hard and if they believed in themselves and put the effort in and believed that this is the land of opportunity, then they

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news | assimilation

countries.

“Compared to how I grew up in India, I do not feel could dream anything that they wanted to be.” that I am being strict with my kids at all,” Hana said.

Within her experiences with American “[Our kids] may feel that we are being strict with them in education, the actions of some kids in comparison to how they see their American friends being Amsalu’s classes would give her pause. She raised, but the only reason that could be is because we didn’t understand how they could be content have certain guidelines or certain rules within the family with low grades or think it was acceptable [that stem from our Indian culture].” to talk back to adults. These differences in

Rehan feels the difference in culture between behavior could have been a reflection of his Indian and American identities when it comes to his the differences in values between Amsalu’s observations of his parents versus his observations of his household and her peers’ households. The friends and their parents, and he said that he sometimes importance of school was emphasized in feels like he has to constantly weigh how much of his Amsalu’s house from a young age—her Indian culture he can express while still being seen by his parents would even give her extra math peers as “normal.” problems and reading to do beyond her

“My parents have lived in many places that I normal homework most days after school. have not lived and have experienced things I have not “Other kids would be so confused when and know things that I do not,” Rehan said. “Being that I told them about the math practice,” said I haven’t experienced these things, lived in these places Amsalu. “I just thought it was normal. I or gained this knowledge, I sometimes feel that they’re didn’t understand why they were confused. overbearing, and I get that feeling from the American Education and good grades were just really culture. But if we were raised back in our home countries, important to my parents.” we’d be completely fine with it because that’s the culture Rehan recognizes that he and other secondof the land. Since there’s a mix of culture and I see that generation immigrants push disciplinary my friends are laid back, I compare my life to theirs, and boundaries a little more than those kids [because of that comparison,] it all seems a bit unfair.” who actually grow up in their parents’ native Rehan has traveled all over the world and lived in six different countries on three different continents, however one of his most memorable places he lived was India.

Through Khan’s travel experiences, he has grown to appreciate from where his family originated. He believes that there is a necessary balance for second-generation immigrants to maintain between their American heritage and their immigrant legacy.

“I think it’s important for second-generation immigrants to go back to where their parents immigrated from in order to gain a better understanding of where they came from,” Rehan said.

“They should want to understand why their parents do what they do and why they do it the way they do it.”

Abdu, being an immigrant from Ethiopia himself, sees the combination of Ethiopian values combined with American education is the ideal upbringing.

He has experienced this, but because his little brother and sister came to the United States when they were younger, they’re more “Americanized” than him.

“If they came over here when they were older and when they had learned the morals and etiquette East senior Christine Shi of the Ethiopian culture, then they expresses herself by dying would’ve succeeded here better her hair, and although some more traditional because Ethiopian behavior paired Chinese Americans with American education would disapprove, she is have them set,” Abdu said comfortable being herself.

Respect, especially of elders, is an important aspect in the productivity of the American education system, and both Abdu’s and Amsalu’s Ethiopian culture emphasized this behavior. For Amsalu, even thinking about sassing her parents makes her cringe at the possible consequences.

“Talking back is just not something that you do,” Amsalu said. “When I hear a little kid talk back to their mom or try to fight with their parents, I get nervous for them. Sometimes when I was in school, teachers would be upset with the class and wonder why I didn’t say much for the rest of the day, and it’s because I was taught you don’t ever talk back to adults.”

Being the oldest of three sisters, Amsalu feels the typical pressures of being the eldest, but her responsibilities extend beyond the typical “keeping an eye on her sisters,” or helping them with schoolwork. Amsalu feels it’s her job to make sure her younger sisters take pride in their culture.

“The feeling is always there, but it usually only gets brought to the surface when I feel like they’re embarrassed of being Ethiopian or when someone is trying to tell them to be ‘more American,’” Amsalu said. “But when that happens, I’m always there behind them saying, ‘No, that’s a part of you. Be proud of that.’”

With messages of invalidation and skepticism from people of high political power and from certain Americans whirling about, Rehan and Amsalu said it is important for them to stay true to who they are. By definition, both of them and their parents are legal American citizens, and by definition, they have the right to live as Indian Americans and as Ethiopian Americans.

“Second-generation immigrants have to live with their parents’ culture—they can’t deny it,” Rehan said. “But it’s not a burden. It’s a gift.”

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student feature | feature

NOT SO FAR APART story emma stiefel | photography sarah yanzsa

They grew up on different continents and one endured a tragedy unimaginable to the other. Now, however, Prerna Gandhi and Graci Doll are as close as sisters.

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hey live in the same house 15 feet apart, give each other clothing advice, can tell when one of them is in a cranky mood and even finish each other’s sentences.

Unlike most sisters, however, the two girls don’t have to worry about their favorite shirt or pair of jeans mysteriously going missing. One’s short and the other’s tall. They don’t even wear the same size shoes.

In fact, Mount Notre Dame High School (MND) senior Graci Doll and University of Cincinnati Blue Ash freshman Prerna Gandhi met only two years ago. Since then, however, the girls have become as close as sisters, and Gandhi now lives with Graci and her parents, Endeavor Fifth Grade Science and Social Studies teacher Melissa Doll and Duke Energy Mechanic Operator Scott Doll.

Gandhi came to Cincinnati from Rohtak, India, to receive treatment for burns she suffered during an acid attack on June 18, 2011, when she was 13 years old. That day she and her friend, Yashika Khatri, were riding a scooter home from school.

The next thing Gandhi knew, she felt her side burning and fell off the bike.

Two boys had thrown sulfuric acid on her.

The chemical is available to ordinary consumers as a drain cleaner and is also used to make batteries, explosives and fertilizers. It’s extremely corrosive, and burned through both the epidermis and dermis of Gandhi’s skin, creating third degree burns on the right side of her face and neck.

The resulting scars would require skin grafts and countless surgeries to heal. But these medical procedures would only mitigate the damage done, not reverse it; Gandhi’s appearance was changed forever.

She didn’t know any of this, however, as she laid on the ground and watched as her skin fell off

and disintegrated into ash.

“I had no idea what happened,” says Gandhi.

“I had never even heard of acid attacks before my attack. I felt like my whole side was on fire, but I didn’t get what was going on.”

Then she heard a few women, who had heard her and Khatri’s cries for help, say “oh, someone threw acid on this girl.’” But she still didn’t understand. “‘Ok, what is acid?’” she wondered. “‘And why did they throw acid on me?’”

She was rushed to the hospital, where she found out what had happened. While she was recovering, the police came to question her about the incident. Since many acid attacks in India are associated with shaming a woman for some perceived offense, they assumed that the two boys must have targeted her because she had offended them and wanted Gandhi to tell them what she did to make them assault her. But Gandhi didn’t know those boys.

It was eventually discovered that they had been hired by Khatri’s aunt to attack her, not Gandhi.

The aunt had seen her niece driving the motor bike earlier, and gave the boys instructions to “‘drop acid on the girl driving the motorbike,’” not knowing that Gandhi and Khatri would switch places.

Gandhi still doesn’t know the full story of why Khatri’s aunt would want to harm her. She’s heard that the aunt was envious of the Khatri family, possibly because of a rivalry over being able to marry off their children. The aunt had only one daughter and no sons, so she wouldn’t receive a dowry from her child’s marriage. And so it would seem that, jealous of her sister, she decided to “destroy their family” by attacking her niece with acid.

“A lot of times in India there’s family feuds based off of trying to be the best,” Graci helps

explain. “So there’s competition, and in the competition I guess you feel like you have to destroy someone else’s face.”

The aunt’s plan failed, of course, and it was Gandhi’s face that was destroyed, not Khatri’s (only a few splashes of acid landed on her neck and arm). After the attack, Gandhi’s life “revolved around surgeries and surgeries,” as she was treated at the Rohtak Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and then the Apollo Hospital in New Delhi.

“Looking at my condition, I thought my life just ended,” Gandhi said. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to study any more and stuff like that. But my parents forced me, [they said] ‘Prerna, you have to study, because for a normal person if you don’t study there is nothing,’ so I got motivation from that.”

She did study, but at home, away from her friends. The only times she went to school her sophomore year were to pass her 10th and 11th grade exams, which she took in a separate room with only teachers present. When she did start leaving the house, it was at night, and she always covered her face with scarves to hide her scars.

“I never talked to my friends anymore,” says Gandhi. “I felt ashamed, like I looked horrible, and I didn’t want to face those people. But my friends were supportive, they came to me, [and] said ‘Prerna you’re fine.’”

She returned to school for 12th grade and graduated in 2014, when she was 16. It was then that Gandhi’s uncle, who often traveled for his job, started looking for a foreign hospital that could better treat her injuries.

He eventually discovered Shriners Hospital in Cincinnati, which the family could afford since it treats patients for free until they turn 21. The hospital’s doctors would primarily work

on reconstructing Gandhi’s scars, which had contracted and were restricting her range of motion, as well as on cosmetic procedures like giving her the appearance of eyebrows.

While focusing on Gandhi’s medical care, the Shriners Hospital staff also wanted to make sure that she was supported socially. Matt and Heidi Flege, who hosted her and her mother when they first came to Cincinnati, helped her meet people around her new home.

“While she did travel to the United States for medical care, we also wanted her to have some structure and routine,” says Shriners Hospital Social Work Care Manager Donna McCartney.

“We really worked with her on all levels. A lot of that came from her host family making connections, some came from the community, and some were made through the hospital.”

And so the day came when, hoping to introduce her to another girl her own age, Matt and Heidi brought Gandhi to the Dolls’ house to meet Graci.

Their first meeting didn’t go so well; Graci, who had had a swim meet earlier, was sleeping.

Soon after that, however, Gandhi walked past the Dolls’ garden, where Graci was picking tomatoes. They exchanged awkward “hi”s, and Graci promised to come visit Gandhi and take a walk with her.

“A couple days later we went for a walk,” says Graci. “We talked about just random stuff.

American stuff, Indian stuff, comparing [the countries], and she talked a little bit about going to college here because she thought America was pretty cool. After that I made a point to do stuff with her like watch horror movies, she loves horror movies.”

While watching movies like Cabin in the Woods and the Human Centipede (Gandhi wanted to watch the sequel, but Graci refused), the two girls got to know each other and became good friends. Then that fall Gandhi told Graci that she was bored everyday, since all she did was sit in the Flege’s house. Graci came up with the idea of them going to MND together and emailed the school’s administrators, who decided that Gandhi could shadow classes.

During December, however, Gandhi found out that the Fleges would be moving for Matt to

get his PhD. When she told Graci about their impending relocation, she immediately suggested that Gandhi move in with her.

At first Gandhi thought she was “just being nice,” but by July they were living under the same roof. That summer they were constantly together, often sitting side by side in Graci’s brown Toyota Camry, driving around Cincinnati.

“We drove everywhere last summer,” says Graci. “Our car is like the symbol of our friendship, because it’s where most of our memories happen, where we’ll just die from laughing and stuff like that.”

Gandhi also grew closer to Melissa and Scott after moving in with Graci. Gandhi and Scott enjoy cooking and experimenting with dishes like Indian meatloaf (Scott even bought a tortilla press to make Indian flat breads called chapatis), and she often spends time with Melissa while Graci is at swim practice. She affectionately calls them Ma and Pops, and they see her as their own child.

“We’ve got three children now,” says Melissa while considering the family’s future. “Our oldest [Tony, Graci’s brother] is dating a blond so we can have little blond grandchildren, we can have grandchildren with black hair and grandchildren with brown hair like Graci, just great grandchildren.”

Graci’s other relatives also understand that “Prerna’s part of the family,” says Melissa, and have met Gandhi at various holiday gatherings.

The grandparents of the family “worry about her just as much as they worry about the other ones,” and ask about Gandhi’s school work or well being just as they would inquire about Graci or Tony.

While spending time with her “new family” in America, Gandhi has continued to communicate with her own parents and younger brother, who live in India, by “Skyping them all the time.” Last August, however, she got to see them in person when she went back home for the first time. She returned to America in December, in time for her to celebrate Christmas with the Dolls.

While back in India, Gandhi attended festivals and weddings, went clothes shopping and saw her friends and other people she had known before she left for America, many of whom were shocked to see how much more confident she was.

Prerna Gandhi poses with the Dolls for a family photo.

“When I went back to India I started wearing short sleeves,” Gandhi said. “I was so proud of myself. People, when they saw me they were happy and surprised about how my personality changed. Before I wouldn’t talk or laugh or stuff like that, and now I’m just normal.”

When she first came to Cincinnati, Gandhi would always cover up her scars by wearing long sleeves and a Hello Kitty scarf and styling her hair so that it masked the right side of her face; she was willing to suffer through the summer heat in order to avoid others’ stares.

Graci, however, was concerned about Gandhi’s discomfort (and doesn’t like Hello Kitty). She began sweetly but forcefully encouraging her to dress for the warm weather. Eventually, after getting short sleeve shirts and swimsuits for Gandhi and pulling her hair back, Graci’s big sister-like persistence paid off. Now she happily points out how, after pushing Gandhi’s hair into her face to demonstrate how she used to wear it, she flicks it back so that her face is showing. ...continued on page 109

“You hear a story [like Gandhi’s] and [you think] that that happens to some kid in some remote area whose life is so different from mine. But her life is really not any different from your life up until that point.”

— Melissa Doll, Endeavor fifth grade science and social studies teacher

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A baker at Stan the Donut Man donut shop cuts dough to make donuts.

EAST’S NEXT

TOP MODEL East junior Marissa Sturkey found a passion in modeling.

story karmi white | photography sydney rader

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East junior Marissa Sturkey poses in a photoshoot with Founder and Editorin-Chief of 35mm magazine Nick Sabatalo.

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s she steps in front of the camera for the first time, heart beating and palms sweating, she strikes a pose and instantly finds her confidence in the flashing light. Not only does she never want it to end, but she finds happiness in creating her own art.

East junior Marissa Sturkey started modeling in December 2015 after the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of 35mm magazine, Nick Sabatalo, said he saw model potential in her and wanted to help her build up a portfolio. Sabatalo is a former contestant on America’s Next Top Model Season 20 and continues to model and photograph using film photography.

“When he told me he wanted to take pictures of me and that I had the features to be a model I was like woah, okay let’s do it,” says Sturkey. “I wanted to see the pictures right away and it was something that felt so natural.”

As soon as Sturkey got in front of the camera she felt as if she was creating her own form of art and traveled to a place where she could truly be herself.

Modeling has become a way for Sturkey to express herself in a way she never thought she could.

“I love how you can be a shy person normally and then once you get in front of the camera, you can be a totally different person and create the character that best fits the style of the shoot,” says Sturkey. “For me it was amazing because I am a shy person, but once I stepped in front of the camera, I could be whoever I wanted to be.”

When Sturkey went to her parents, Pam and Paul Sturkey about pursuing modeling, they were extremely open to the idea. They could see the excitement she had built up and how ready she was ready to do the hard work necessary in creating a decent portfolio. However, Pam and Paul had to build up their knowledge of the modeling industry before they could let Marissa dive head first into the field.

“Since she was so interested, I was more than willing to sit down and take the time to learn about what exactly she would be doing,” says Pam. “I’m still learning how it all works every day.”

Every shoot Marissa has done with Sabatalo has been done using film photography, a type of photography using specific film that is a chemical emulsion on a plastic substrate that is extremely sensitive to light. Film photography dates back to the late 1800’s and is still used today by photographers like Amanda Friedman and Simon Watson. The idea behind using film photography for most photographers is that it cannot be photoshopped as it’s about taking one shot and capturing it all right there.

Sabatalo was excited when he first saw Marissa because her “natural beauty radiated.” He instantly thought about how great film photography would compliment her.

“When I first saw [Marissa], her hair was natural and she didn’t have any makeup on and just a plain white shirt,” says Sabatalo. “She just had that natural look and she didn’t need makeup or anything for you to see that.”

The amount of support Marissa has received from her friends and family has been completely overwhelming and encouraging. They have been supporting her passion for modeling because they can see the effect it has had on her life and personality. They’ve always seen her natural beauty, but it’s made them happy because Marissa is embracing it and learning to love herself.

“I’ve definitely noticed a change in Marissa’s confidence level,” says Marissa’s good friend and East Junior, Anika Waits. “She makes modeling seem so effortless, which is a talent that not a lot of people possess.”

Marissa was nervous to try out modeling, but after taking a few test shots with Sabatalo, it started to come naturally to her. Once she found something that was for her, something that she hadn’t quite known prior to modeling, it was something she wanted to keep doing.

“Even if it’s only little shoots here and there for now, I want to pursue it and be a good model and just see where it takes me,” says Marissa. “It just makes me feel powerful and proud of what I’m doing.”

ROLLING OUT THE DOUGH

Thought of during a 2016 brainstorming session as a way to increase excitement about Butler County, the Butler County Donut Trail, a string of nine donut shops was born by creating a “passport” as a fun way to create traffic within their stores. story sarah mullins | photography cara satullo

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little girl with blonde pigtails walks into Stan the Donut Man, she hears the little bell jingle as the door opens, she smells the fresh donuts and gazes wide eyed at the display. She turns to her mom and asks if she can have a bag of donut holes and get some for her best friend, too.

Stan the Donut Man is one of the Mom and Pop donut shops that is taking part in the Butler County Donut Trail. Stan the Donut Man has been in business for almost 60 years and has been a staple to the community. Mom and Pop donut shops are small, independently owned businesses that make fresh donuts by hand every day.

“I literally grew up on donuts,” says Martin “Stan” Crowe, owner of Stan the Donut Man. “My family has had a donut shop since 1960 somewhere in the world, and this is the fourth shop that we’ve had. My dad sold his other shops, so this is the one remaining shop with a Crowe in it. The shop was named after my dad, Stan Crowe.”

The Butler County Donut Trail is a string of nine donut shops that people can go to, buy donuts and get their “passport,” which was started as a Butler County Visitors Bureau (BCVB) initiative to introduce people to the county on January 20. It was thought of during one of the 2016 brainstorming sessions as a way to increase traffic and excitement about Butler County, according to eMarketing manager Kathryn Trucco.

“The Donut Trail is self guided so you can complete it at your own pace,” says Trucco. “The Donut Trail is great for anyone ages two to 92.

We’ve had people from all age ranges and from all over the country completing the Donut Trail.

We’ve had 12 different states represented so far in completers.”

The bakeries participating in the Donut Trail are Jupiter Coffee and Donuts, Kelly’s Bakery, Martin’s Donuts, Milton’s Donuts, Mimi’s Donuts

and Bakery, Oxford Doughnut Shoppe, Ross Bakery, Stan the Donut Man and The Donut Spot.

All of the shops have seen an increase in traffic since the Trail started, according to their owners.

“Even locals don’t know we are back here, but the Donut Trail has put us on the map,” says Sherry “Mimi” Richardson, owner of Mimi’s Bakery. “[The Trail] has shown a lot of people we are here and has really increased business.”

When people go on the Donut Trail, they can print off a passport from BCVB’s website, or there are passports available at every participating donut shop. Each time someone buys a donut at one of the shops, they receive a stamp on their passport, and once all of the blanks have a stamp, they receive a t-shirt with the Donut Trail logo on the front and on the back it says, “Traveled. Found.

Devoured,” which is paid for by Butler County.

“Basically folks who visit the Donut Trail travel around, eat great donuts, share stories and have a lot of fun,” says Trucco. “Once they complete the entire Trail, they come in and see us or mail their passport in and then we’ll give them the exclusive Donut Trail t-shirt.”

People can do the Donut Trail in as much time as they want—three days or three weeks— it is completely up to them. For the passports, originally there were words on a sticker in each shop that you could write down, but they were changed in March so people would have to buy donuts to get a stamp of the word. All passports with words written in had to be turned in by April 30. There is no current end date for the Donut Trail.

People are finding out about the Donut Trail in a variety of ways, whether it be a friend, the BCVB Facebook page or they wandered into a donut shop one day and picked up a passport. Mother of three Amy Brunner says that she found out about

the Donut Trail when one of her friends started a Facebook page for moms so that they could all go do the Trail with their children.

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he Trail is a great bonding experience for families, according to the Brunner family.

Families will go spend a weekend traveling all over the county to go taste these delicious donuts and take pictures in front of all the donut shops they can find.

Even the employees of the donut shops are getting in on the action, going to all the different markers on their day off. They have their own philosophies on how to approach the Trail after seeing so many people come in after trying to hit every shop in one day. “[The Donut Trail] started out with a big burst of people trying to do it all in one day,” says Kelly’s Bakery employee Brittany Hargis. “They would come in at the end and not want to eat any more donuts. I like to go once a week on Sundays and get multiple donuts from one place.”

Most of the donut shop owners work late hours to make sure the donuts are fresh for the morning. Working anywhere from eight at night to two in the morning, they all have a strong passion for their work.

“I just enjoy what I do,” says Terri Niederman, owner of The Donut Spot. “I’ve worked other jobs, but I really enjoy making donuts, even if it means working late hours every night, and I don’t think I will ever grow tired of doing it.”

Flash forward ten years, and that little girl that was staring wide-eyed at the fresh donuts hasn’t moved. She’s still staring at the mouth watering donuts, but now she is exploring all of the donut shops throughout the county, discovering that there are even more delicious donuts than she could have ever imagined.

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dart | feature

Aaron Wade is practicing the piano at home.

Georgia Howard is sporting her WWE merchandise.

THE SOUNDS AND COLORS OF MUSIC

Becoming a master of several musical instruments, East junior Aaron Wade discovered at a young age that he has synesthesia, which allows him to relate different colors with musical notes. story and photography sophia spivey

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he mind and reality combine as blue beams of color flashing between this world and the next. For some people, music just gives them a feeling, but for Lakota East junior Aaron Wade, it takes him to a new world filled with new dimensions of color because he has synesthesia.

Aaron was never officially diagnosed, but he realized he had synesthesia when he mentioned the color of a song to his mother, Kim Wade, a few years ago. His mom had no idea what he was talking about and decided that it was time to research. Aaron and Kim came to the conclusion that Aaron had synesthesia after they went through all the similarities Aaron showed towards the neurological phenomenon.

Synesthesia is the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body. It can come in different forms such as; smell relating to taste, or touch relating to taste.

For Aaron, colors are associated with music, months, letters and numbers which help him to remember daily items.

“My friend’s birthday is on June eighth and June is a green month and eight is a pale yellowwhite so I just know that her month is green and the number is yellow,” says Aaron. “Even in math I can remember mathematical formulas and streams of letters. Words take their form of a color by the first letter.”

Mixes of yellow and orange dance across his field of vision as the swirl of light moves from the

memory of events to playing instruments.

Wade initially realized his love for music when he played the drums for the first time as a child. After learning the drums, Aaron moved to teaching himself how to play the piano.

“We hired a piano teacher for him,” says Kim. “The first time she heard him play she came up to me after and said ‘now how long has he been having lessons?’ and I said, ‘well he’s never had lessons before,’ so I think it is one of his Godgiven abilities.”

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fter that, Aaron decided to learn how to play as many instruments as possible including guitar, piano, tin whistle and the ukulele. His love for music doesn’t stop there, as he also sings and composes his own songs.

Aaron’s brother Nick feels that this adds another layer to Aaron’s abilities and shatters any idea that his talent is limited. “[Synesthesia] probably adds a whole new dynamic in his musical endeavors,” says Nick.

“When he is composing, not only is he creating music for all to hear but he’s also creating his own private painting or light show, something only he can experience. He doesn’t even know the extent of his abilities.”

Aaron is not sure as to whether each color he sees is related to emotions or the meaning behind each color, but he has noticed that the color schemes that he sees are determined on the key signature of a chord or note.

Some of the color schemes he sees include; white piano keys being either very vivid or pastel, C major being a bright and lively green, E major being a pastel blue and E flat being an earthy blue.

East junior Tyler Redmond stands by the fact that Aaron’s synesthesia only heightens his ability to quickly pick up anything he does because he not only feels the music, but also sees it.

“It affects him in a positive way, making him an outstanding musician,” says Redmond. “When he hears a sound, he sees blotches of color which he associates with that sound.”

East junior Chontevia Lewis firmly believes that Aaron is a once in a lifetime talent and brings passion to all he does, especially when it comes to expressing himself through the art of music.

“The way he connects with the music is purely esoteric and I wish I could understand it,” says Lewis. “He composes to show people, even himself, who he is and what he is feeling and his synesthesia helps him reflect that. By seeing the colors of each key signature, he can better portray his mood into his music.”

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ot only is Aaron musically gifted, but he is also a kind person. According to East junior Cameron Greer, Aaron’s synesthesia is not the only thing that makes Aaron an extraordinary person as he is always willing to stick a hand out for someone in need.

“Aaron has a charisma that makes people ...continued on page 109

WOMEN IN WRESTLING

Defying preconcieved notions, East junior Georgia Howard actively engages herself in the WWE, hoping one day to join the action packed world of professional wrestling.

story victoria negron | photography cara satullo

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he’s surrounded by screaming fans, waving signs and flashing lights. While music blares and fireworks bang, East junior Georgia Howard watches in awe at the stunts taking place before her. She sees the performers that she’s looked up to for her whole life just a few feet away in the ring. She’s in the center of her universe, a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event, and she’s never felt more at home.

“I love the adrenaline. You can feel the energy through the crowd in reaction to what’s happening in the ring,” says Howard. “It just made me feel like that’s where I’m supposed to be.”

Even before she was born, professional wrestling has been a huge part of Howard’s life.

Her father, Brian Howard, had been watching WWE events ever since he was four years old and continued to watch the network on and off for more than 30 years. Georgia’s mother, Leah Howard, recalls watching WWE with her brother when they were young.

“I used to watch wrestling every Saturday morning with my brother, and [Georgia’s father] would watch it when he was a kid too,” says Leah.

“He was still watching it when I was pregnant with

Georgia, so really she’s been watching it ever since she was born. When she was a toddler, she could barely say [the wrestlers] names, but I could hear her passion already forming in her voice.”

Although some parents may prevent their children from watching WWE because they fear it is too violent or dangerous, Georgia’s parents fully encourage her. In their eyes, behind the occasionally over-the-top stunts and frequent violence, the WWE possesses the ability to teach young children life important lessons about hard work and passion to excel. In the WWE universe, all the performers have equal chances to excel as long as they are dedicated and passionate about what they do. This led Georgia to see that, despite her small stature, she could tackle even the strongest obstacle.

“Of course you see the big guys up there in the ring and most would expect them to dominate any competition,” says Leah. “But then you see the little guys like Rey Mysterio flying all over the ring. Georgia saw that drive, and it gets addicting watching it time after time. The little person can win a fight against the bigger person as long as they have the drive and passion for what they do.”

In the past few years, the WWE has made huge strides for the equality of women in the industry.

In the early years of WWE, women were far from equal. While men were performing stunts, women were having pillow fights in the ring. More recently, female wrestlers like Lita and AJ Lee have been able to perform stunts and break barriers set by years of sexism in the industry.

From July 30, 2008 to April 3, 2016, the championship for women was known as the “Diva’s Championship.” The belt awarded to the winner of the championship match was pink and silver, resembling the shape of a butterfly. On April 3, this controversial title was changed to the “Women’s Championship,” and a belt closer in appearance to the one awarded to the winner of the Men’s Championship was revealed. The decision was met with overwhelming approval from fans like Georgia and her parents.

“Empowering women has been a huge movement in the WWE recently, and it’s amazing to see,” says Brian. “Women used to have pillow fights while men were performing all these stunts.

Now women are half the typical show and ...continued on page 109

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community feature | feature

Janai stands in her performing outfit for East Women’s Silver Choir, which she joined because of her love for singing.

THE LITERATURE OF PRANKS Mason high school language arts teacher, Kurt Dinan, writes to inspire students and teens alike with his new book, “Don’t Get Caught.”

AE HELPINGJ HAND very Friday at East, the halls are filled with chatter among students asking about each other’s afternoon plans, and every Friday, East sophomore Janai Coleman has the same response.

She will be spending her time with East’s Operation Hawks at the Community Meal Center in Hamilton for about three hours, where she helps prepare meals for anyone who is hungry.

“The soup kitchen is eye-opening because you realize how fortunate you are,” says Coleman. “You can’t really picture it until you see it. I think every time I volunteer, it’ll be around 500 plates served, [which is] just a crazy amount to me.”

Ever since joining Operation Hawks—a student organization that puts a focus on impacting lives and improving the community—during the fall of 2015, Coleman has made it a commitment to give back to the community. She has always had a passion for helping people, and the goals and values of this organization align with her own, giving her an outlet to do what she loves.

“I believe that if you reach out to people in need, you have a sense of a situation other than your own and realize that you really have to count your blessings for what you have,” says Janai’s father, Victor Coleman. “Doing what she does, she sees a lot of that.”

anai comes from a large family with 13 siblings, including half-brothers and half-sisters. Her family values the ideas of selflessness and compassion, and she has grown up surrounded by this encouraging atmosphere.

“I think maybe she picked it up from us,” says Victor. “My mother was the same way. She was constantly helping others. I come from a family of business owners, but we still reach out because it’s a blessing to help people.”

This caring tendency isn’t only brought out in Janai’s volunteering but also in her friendships. She is often a person that people turn to for advice and encouragement, which allows her to establish deep bonds with the people close to her.

“She’s really supportive,” says Janai’s friend, East sophomore Kennedy Davis. “She’s the best type of friend to have. She’s always there for you, and it’s like when you succeed, she succeeds too. She’s just as excited for you.”

By playing this supportive role in her friendships and community, Janai has seen a glimpse of what she wants to do for the rest of her life. While still undecided about her future career, she is strongly considering entering the field of psychology, which would allow her to continue offering guidance in a professional setting.

story erinn aulfinger | photography fair use

East sophomore Janai Coleman is all about giving back to the community. story and photography cara satullo “When I was in eighth grade, I realized I wanted to [go into psychology],” says Janai. “I had this friend who had problems with depression and anxiety. I was always helping her, and I felt like I could potentially help people get better.”

Along with psychology, Janai has also considered a career in singing but knows that it’s a tough field to break into. She’s a member of East’s Women’s Silver Choir and believes that music is a powerful tool that influences people and can initiate change. With that kind of impact, Janai thinks that music is best used to empower people and not to encourage detrimental behaviors.

“It was a shock to us that she had an interest in music, but when I was that age, I did also,” says Victor. “I think that love for music kind of makes you who you are. There are a lot of things that calm the soul with music.”

Throughout every aspect of her life, Janai’s compassion for others shines through, whether it be in the soup kitchen, with her family, among friends or in choir. She has a selfless attitude and works to make the world better through volunteering and singing.

“I try to bring everyone together and not leave anyone out because I hate being in that situation and being that person who’s not included,” says Janai. “I want to be able to help with that somehow.”

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eist Rule #15: Gather as much info as you can.

Former East Language Arts teacher Kurt Dinan did hours of research on pranks online and in books for his debut novel “Don’t Get Caught,” following the advice he gave the characters to “gather as much info as [they] can.”

The current William Mason High School Language Arts teacher says he wanted to make the pranks “over the top” to entertain young adult readers.

Inspired by his love of books with elaborate plots and the opportunity to write fun pranks, “Don’t Get Caught” follows Max, a high school nobody who falls victim to a prank at his school and bands together with four other misfits for revenge on the secret society that has framed them. Max offers 25 “Heist Rules” as the book progresses. Dinan says he resembles some aspects of Max’s personality as portrayed throughout the novel and through the “Heist Rules.”

“I’m definitely like Max in that we both have the same dark and sarcastic sense of humor,” says Dinan. “Also, like Max, I was terrible at athletics in high school and equally terrible with girls.”

Heist Rule #12: Have an insider.

When he was 30 years old, Dinan took a writing class at Miami University. Although he did not express interest in writing when he was younger, through receiving laughs and positive feedback from his work, Dinan developed a new passion for writing. He says writing is the only

skill he has ever been “really good at.” The class gave him the opportunity to meet with a group of writers who gave him feedback on his first short stories while keeping him motivated. Dinan says the sarcastic, conversational tone he wrote in his daily emails to colleagues also helped to give him writing experience and inspired the current voice he portrays in his novel.

Dinan began writing “Don’t Get Caught” in December of 2012. During the two-year writing period, he wrote ten drafts of the book. He signed with agent Kerry Sparks in August of 2014, and she sold his book to Source Books, an independent publishing company outside of Chicago. The deal was finalized in December of 2014.

After teaching four years at East and 15 years at Mason, Dinan says he has applied the skills he developed in his own writing to aid his students in brainstorming writing techniques and using description. With the help of his students, Dinan says he learned to write in a realistic voice for young adult novels, using their communication as a point of reference.

“I’m surrounded by teenagers all the time. I can’t help but be engaged with their language and the way they communicate and behave around one another,” says Dinan. “Even just being around students has influenced [my writing].”

Eighth grader at Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School Jamison Hume says Dinan’s

sense of humor appealed to his age level. He says the unexpected twists and turns drew him to the book and kept him engaged.

Dinan’s wife and Mason High School Language Arts teacher Jen Dinan says she sees Kurt’s interaction with high school kids is depicted in his writing. She says he “gets” high school kids and is able to relate to their problems through his own struggles with writing. “[Kurt] brings his writing life into [the] classroom with his kids and can be genuine about [the difficulties that arise during the writing process],” says Jen. Heist Rule #2: Be cool.

East Algebra II and Precalculus teacher Patrick Kreider considered Kurt a mentor after he “took him under his wing” when Kreider first started teaching. He says he remembers the pranks they played on each other and suspects that this pranking influenced Kurt’s love of pranks that are reflected in the novel.

“As a first-year teacher, you want to know the basics: how do I survive the year, how do I handle the kids in this situation or that situation,” says Kreider. “Kurt was a master at that.”

Heist Rule #16: Be ready when your team needs you.

Jen says although sometimes stress and “bad writing days” can leak into their family life, Kurt ...continued on page 109

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community feature | feature

Liberty Junior School social studies teacher Dave Schreier sits in front of one of his classroom walls filled with his photography.

“Dave Schreier is a great mentor and motivator of the Bible Faith Orphanage.

We thank God for this special friend.”

—Rosa Kepo, Director of Bible Faith Orphanage Outreach in Papua New Guinea

HISTORY THROUGH A LENS

our classes and do presentations on the ancient civilizations of the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas. He is able to really bring to life with his pictures what these places are like.”

Schreier’s classroom hosts dozens of photos that he has taken, each vividly depicting the country and life behind his most recent adventure.

But, look for one second longer and notice behind the colorful scenery and smiling faces are images depicting the harsher realities of life beyond United States borders.

In 2009, Schreier travelled to Papua New Guinea and was struck by what he experienced in an orphanage in Mount Hagen. The children were living in the streets after being displaced from the poor conditions of the orphanage where rats loitered around the garage as kids slept on the floor or benches. Disease and filth made a sickening image.

Since then, Schreier has made it his mission to support the orphaned children of Mt. Hagen, Papua New Guinea and other countries around the globe, often claiming that “God called him halfway across the world.”

“It literally takes me 36 hours to get there, and it’s one of those things that I yell at my students all

the time that if they only knew—it’s night and day [between schools in Ohio and schools in Papua New Guinea]. Their school in [Papua New Guinea] is very corrupt,” says Schreier. “The schools are there, but it might just be a room shared by all different ages. Even if you go through school, there may not be jobs—poverty is off the charts.”

According to Oxfam Australia, 37 percent of people are living on less than a $1.25 while 60.3 percent live without clean water. Because the children cannot sustain themselves financially, Schreier uses his website, dlsimages.com, to send all of the proceeds from his photo sales to orphanages in India, Mexico, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea. In addition, Schreier has created a non-profit website, orphanlist.org, to support the widows and orphans of Papua New Guinea.

Because Schreier spends the majority of his time in Ohio, he uses the internet to connect him to the workers at the orphanage. One longtime friend is Rosa Kepo, who is “passionately called Aunty Rosa,” a native of Papua New Guinea and director of the Bible Faith Orphanage Outreach (BFO).

Aunty Rosa works to better the conditions of the children while also enforcing the importance of education.

According to Aunty Rosa, because of the fundraising Schreier has done in the United States, the BFO was able to purchase a large piece of land, provide school and college fees, shoes and clothing, medication, blankets and food money for the children. Also, a truck for school runs, market visits and land development was purchased thanks to Schreier’s fundraising. The BFO now plans to build a fence around the new property to keep the kids safe in addition to dormitories for the girls.

“Dave Schreier is a great mentor and motivator of Bible Faith Orphanage Outreach,” says Kepo.

“We thank God for this special friend. On behalf of [the] management committee, children and staff of BFO and my family, [we] are so privileged to have come to build a long time relationship and friendship with Dave Schreier.”

Being able to aid children abroad is part of what makes Schreier a unique teacher, but it is his dedication to the students he mentors overseas and at home that makes Schreier the person he is.

“I was kind of a crazy kid, but that changed between my sophomore and junior year of high school,” says Schreier. “I decided I wanted to be a teacher, and I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world.”

Liberty Junior School social studies teacher David Schreier brings photography and teaching together to better serve the community in Liberty Township and across the globe. story alyssa hetterich | photography maya wells and used with permission from Dave Schreier

When the sun begins to peek out over the horizon, he steps out with his camera in hand, prepared to spend the whole day waiting for the perfect shot. Whether it’s standing under the blazing Moroccan sun or amongst the crowded, bustling streets of India, the subjects of his images spring to life in his camera lense and in his classroom.

For Liberty Junior School (LJS) social studies teacher David Schreier, both teaching and photography hold a special place in his heart. His first experience with taking photos came from a photography class he had taken in high school.

While it didn’t catch his attention then, 15 years ago, he caught the bug.

Walking into a camera shop in San Francisco, Schreier purchased his first film camera. From there, he and his wife travelled to Yosemite to try out the new camera.

“We went and took all of these pictures, and I

thought, ‘This is amazing, and these are beautiful [photos],’ and then I went to get them developed, and I said, ‘These are the most awful pictures on the planet. This is not what I saw,’” says Schreier.

“From that point forward, I learned how to take pictures through trial and error and slowly but surely became a photographer.”

Since then, Schreier has embarked on a multitude of trips to places including Peru, Morocco, India, Kenya, Mexico and Papua New Guinea in order to try and capture the essence of a faraway land. For Schreier, photographing hippos while on a safari or bears feeding in Alaska allows him to embrace the natural world, yet it is people he enjoys photographing the most. However, due to limited time to travel, getting the best shot comes by chance, often because of his location and timing.

“The thing about my photography is that you’re sort of looking at one to two-week glimpses of my

life,” says Schreier. “I might get one day at the Taj Mahal, so really it kind of depends on the lighting and the people there.”

Exhibiting the different cultures around the world in his classroom allows for the students of Liberty Township to see a broader range of diversity.

Teaching seventh grade world history and eighth grade American history, Schreier works to incorporate the tales of his travels into each of his lessons. This “unique, first-hand experience” is something that friend and fellow LJS social studies teacher Rick Cooper has been able to see in working with Schreier.

“Through his travels, [Schreier] is able to take something the students are learning and bring it to today, so the students are able to see the relevance and make real-world connections in their learning,” says Cooper. “For years, we as a social studies department would have Dave come into

Schreier spends as much time as he can in Papua New Guinea, however, expensive travel and life keeps him here in Ohio. To satisfy his longing to travel and comitment to teaching, Schreier hopes to one day take a class abroad to fully immerse the students in the culture they previously knew only from textbooks.

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I T A N IN

C N I C T

U O PE

O C S

The red-brick building seen here houses the newer Clark telescope, made in 1904.

The Cincinnati Observatory is a unique facility with an incredibly rich history. Stargazers often gather here to observe the night sky through one of the two public telescopes. story and photography cara satullo

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The Mitchel telescope at the Cincinnati Observatory is the oldest professional telescope in34 thelakotaeastsparkonline.com United States, first used in 1845.

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he closest a person can get to outer space in downtown Cincinnati isn’t on the 31st floor of PNC tower, the tallest skyscraper in the city, but rather it’s on the second floor of a much smaller red-brick building perched on top of a hill on Observatory Place: the Cincinnati Observatory.

As the sun goes down and the city goes to sleep—or doesn’t—stargazers make their way over to the observatory, shuffling up a short staircase and into a small, round room that houses the Mitchel telescope, the oldest professional telescope in the United States. Visitors take turns peering into the eyepiece, hoping to catch a glimpse of a planet, star, nebula or some other distant object of the universe.

“Each step along the way is like this ‘wow’ moment,” says Cincinnati Observatory Outreach Astronomer of 16 years, Dean Regas. “When they look through the telescope and can actually see the craters on the moon or the rings on saturn, that’s what I think is the most memorable.”

The observatory has been in operation since the early 1800s, when the Cincinnati Astronomical Society was founded, which is believed to be the first time in history that an organization was created by private citizens in order to found a public institution. American astronomer and Civil War general Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel played a key role in this process by going door-to-door collecting donations of 25 dollars, the average monthly salary at the time, which amounted to more than 7,000 dollars in fewer than two months.

This money helped fund the project, and former President John Quincy Adams arrived on Nov. 9, 1843 to help lay the cornerstone of this new facility.

All kinds of people pitched in to make this venture a success, and their donations were used to purchase from Munich, Bavaria the 11-inch refracting Mitchel telescope, which was first used in 1845 and is still used at the observatory today, along with the 16-inch refracting Clark telescope, which was made in 1904.

“We’re a little bit different because we have these telescopes that should be in museums,” says Regas. “Yet we let people touch them and use them. They’re like working museum pieces.”

Although the observatory started as a public institution and is used as such today, it wasn’t always that way. For several decades, it served as a research facility owned by the University of Cincinnati and in the late 1990s was almost sold and toppled over in order to make space for the construction of new condos. The surrounding community banded together to protect this historic site and helped initiate a return to the observatory’s original mission of education.

“When I first started, this place was a lot more run-down,” says Regas. “It was kind of creepy looking from afar because the outside walls were black from soot, the inside wasn’t really used much, and there was paint peeling. It’s hard to picture what it was like before.”

Following several renovations, the observatory morphed back into the picturesque building that can be seen today. The site has been dubbed a National Historic Landmark, one of nine national landmarks in Cincinnati, and has brought back the goal of public outreach.

Every Thursday and Friday nights, there are public viewing events that typically attract around 30 people. On Thursdays, admission is free with a suggested $5 donation, and on Friday, there is a fee of seven dollars for adults and five dollars for children under the age of 18. Guests are welcome to listen to a short presentation given by a professional or amateur astronomer and look through the historic telescopes, typically the Mitchel. Due to the age of these instruments, they are fairly simple to operate, and the observatory members often encourage public participation.

“I think the most surprising thing is how ready they are to let everyone play with the telescopes,” says Observatory Assistant Mitchell Camfield.

“Within the first hour of meeting these people, they were like, ‘Okay, this is how you swing this 175-year-old telescope across the room.’”

East senior Bobby Yost was able to experience one of these public viewing events first-hand

when he went to the observatory with members of the East Science Olympiad team who were to compete in the astronomy event at the upcoming regional competition. They attended to prepare for the event, to talk to people in the field and to enjoy the program.

“My peers and I had some pretty tough questions about graphs related to Science Olympiad,” says Yost. “But even if the astronomers didn’t know exactly what they meant, they were able to walk

to leave some sort of impression with them.”

While the proximity to the city allows for this close community connection, light pollution can obstruct the view of objects that aren’t as bright as the moon, planets and certain stars. In order to accommodate for this inevitable drawback, the observatory hosts “star parties” at the nearby Stonelick State Park. At these events, the public is encouraged to join amateur astronomers in viewing nebulae, star clusters and whatever else

“We’re a little bit different because we have these telescopes that should be in museums, yet we let people touch them and use them.”

—

Dean Regas, Cincinnati Observatory Outreach Astronomer

us through and provide pretty great answers that helped us.”

This open atmosphere is fostered by a few fulltime staff members and around 150 volunteers who work tirelessly to educate the public.

Typically, the location for an observatory is in a removed, desolate corner of the earth, as to avoid light pollution, but the Cincinnati Observatory’s proximity to the city works in the favor of public education. As a result, larger crowds can attend the many programs that are offered. These include Late Night Date Night, Sunday Sun-day Sundae (A Sunday dedicated to learning about the Sun while eating Sundaes), special astronomy events (like the upcoming transit of Mercury) and various classes.

“My favorite part is receiving feedback from teachers and students,” says Cincinnati Observatory Outreach Educator Katie Vaughn.

“That’s the best because I can see the impact we’ve made on students, and that’s really the goal:

might be visible in the sky that night.

“You can bring telescopes, meet other astronomers and look at a really beautiful view that’s far enough outside of the city to not be affected by light pollution, but it’s still close enough that it draws a pretty big crowd,” says Vaughn.

“There are some pretty incredible telescopes that are out there.”

At any point in the experience, whether it be stepping on the sundial, listening to a compelling presentation, admiring the architecture or gazing through the timeless telescopes, it’s difficult to not be reminded of the big picture and all that’s out there, past the limits of the Earth’s own small atmosphere.

“It’s like stepping back in time a little bit to like a steampunk Observatory, but it’s a real working Observatory where we see the stuff and use the telescopes,” says Regas. “It’s really like no other place in Cincinnati.”

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11

LAKOTA

EAST

SENIORS

From baker to future politician, gamer to Jehovah’s Witness, artist to stage star, East has met some of its most talented and unique seniors thus far. Here are 11 seniors that made the class of 2016 a class to remember.

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DALE MITCH BOCKHORST

mem

es <3

Every class needs a dash of humor, silliness and witty intellect. East senior Mitch Bockhorst has done just that while leaving a bigger mark on the school than he could have ever expected. story maddie weikel | photo illustration christine shi | art sarah aftab

B

elow are highlights from the transcription of an interview with East senior Dale Mitch Bockhorst: I have a garden in my mind, and I water it with knowledge. I made cucumbers once.

Joey Combs is the best rapper I know. What a legend. What a major ledge.

I’ve never lied in my life. That’s why they call me honest Abraham. They call me Don’t Lie Dale.

“Is anything about you real?” Ha ha no.

I like Timon and Pumbaa on their worst behavior.

I like to dye Easter eggs and put them in computers—replace computer parts with eggs. My life goal is to create the first egg-based computer operating system.

I’ll make this very clear. I identify as a Merman.

Acceptable pronouns are: mer-you, mer-me, merit, mer-he, mer-they, mer-Dale, mer-Mitchell.

I need to take three memes a day, and that was prescribed by Dr. Internet.

My stage name is Pelican. *whispers unintelligibly about strawberries* Don’t get me started on Android phones, I mean, I’ll have what she’s having.

You can tell I’m pretty loosey goosey—like a water—like a single water, going wherever I go.

“Yeah, not everyone gets Mitch’s humor,” says Amy Bockhorst, Mitch’s mom. “But we get it, and his friends appreciate him. He’s circular, and he has a way to just connect things differently than other people do.”

Mitch was nominated by the class of 2016 for three senior superlatives—Best Dressed, Most Likely to Become a Comedian and Most Changed Since Eighth Grade—all of which are interconnected in the narrative of how four years evolved Mitch into the lovable loon that will leave the halls of East for the greens of The Ohio State University (OSU) come May. Ultimately winning the best dressed superlative along with senior Kate Zenz, Mitch realized that he’s grown tremendously as a result of the raw confidence that accompanies a crisp sense of style, and this confidence has inspired him to unabashedly share his wit with the school.

“He was quiet [in middle school], but he was always really funny,” says Amy. “I had to write an email giving a little introduction to who he was to one of his teachers when he was in seventh grade, and I read it recently. He’s like the same person now he was then—compassionate, really smart,

great humor—but I think the difference between then and now is confidence in himself.”

Describing the transformation as “coming out of [his] shell” during sophomore year, Mitch says that he is most proud of how he is able to make people laugh and brighten their moods. East senior Isaac Mitchell became friends with him as a result of one of Mitch’s jokes in their fourth period U.S. History class sophomore year: the beginning of endless antics as a part of in their friend group, which Mitchell describes as “so weird that Mitch just seems like a normal person.”

“I met Mitch because we were assigned to work together on a culture project, and without telling me, he put a bunch of memes in the PowerPoint,” says Mitchell. “The presentation would swap to memes mid-presentation, and I tried to keep my composure and act like I knew those were coming...but I definitely didn’t keep my composure. That was my first real experience with Dale Mitch Bockhorst.”

Up until sophomore year, Amy says that Mitch didn’t have any real concrete passions like his brother did throughout his high school years, partly because he had yet to become consistently outgoing but mostly because he hadn’t found computer science. A mixture of formulas, problem solving, intricate relationships and creativity, computer science became a hobby after he decided to build his own computer, a community as he joined East INTERalliance and a future when he decided to study computer science and engineering next year at OSU. After three years in the program, East computer science teacher David McKain says that Mitch has improved both academically and technically since his first stab at navigating computers.

“My goal their first year is to make them better problem solvers, and he’s gifted in that way. I would be shocked if he didn’t go into [computer science] because he’s very good at it,” says McKain, who recently learned that Mitch is the first student in East history to receive a perfect score in the American Computer Science League competition. “[Mitch] naturally is able to take a big problem and see it from different levels of abstraction. Some people can’t do that, and it’s a really important skill to be successful.”

Part of the “zoom-in-zoom-out” mentality that McKain admires in Mitch is having a respectable memory. Excelling in a full six-

period day of AP Latin, AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, AP Government, Advanced Composition and Computer Science II that would make any high school senior crumble, Mitch says that he doesn’t need to dedicate much time to studying because paying attention in class is enough for the information to sink in. But he doesn’t like to brag about that. He also doesn’t like to mention that he scored a 36 on his ACT and is ranked 26 in his class in addition to being a dedicated member of six clubs. More important uses of his logically motivated brain range from recalling where he got every one of his childhood stuffed animals to organizing a camping trip with his friends, mapping out who would venture to cook which meal and how the costs of the trip would be divvied up.

C

omplementing his extreme organization, Mitch’s unique sense of humor is his most popular quality among East students.

Receiving the most votes for Best Comedian (but ultimately winning the maximum of one superlative with Best Dressed), Mitch doesn’t take himself too seriously. Mitchell pinpoints the flurry of thoughts that pour out of Mitch’s mouth as a perfect combination of how well he can remember tidbits of information and how quickly he is able to organize a jumble of thoughts to connect ideas into little quips and jokes. Out of the three superlative nominations, Mitch says that, even though he loves to sport his “Maxxinista” fashion sense, making people laugh while remaining compassionate and considerate is his most meaningful characteristic.

“I do really enjoy making people laugh, and I would say I’m pretty good at it,” says Mitch.

“Whenever I laugh and whenever I have fun, I’m happy, so my goal of making people laugh is to make other people happy. I like to be remembered by people as nice, and just a swell dude. Just trying to spread joy is something I’m passionate about.”

As someone who claims to be the son of a couple who rode the Titanic, people at school can always count on Mitch for a sensible laugh or at least a string of words that make zero sense, and Mitchell swears Mitch is a meme, all of which are accurate. And that’s just Mitch.

“I keep Dale 100 percent Dale,” says Mitch.

“When people see Mitch, I want them to see the unadulterated Mitch. The full-blown, full-blast, right-in-your-face Mitch.”

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OLIVIA

KATHLEEN

DIEHL After finding her passion for aquatic animals, East senior Olivia Diehl plans to pursue her dream and become a marine biologist and continue learning and taking care of the species she has always loved. story kaily hauck | photo illustration richard giang | art julia sanders

S

he never realized before how charming these playful, little otters could be or how amusing the penguins would look as they waddled by her feet. Each day brought about a new challenge and a new furry friend—something East senior Olivia Diehl wouldn’t trade for anything.

After completing a Summer Naturalist position with the Newport Aquarium in 2012, Diehl has fallen in love with the animals and the atmosphere in the habitats. Along with this volunteer position, Diehl also has four other jobs, and while they all have a special place in her heart, her true passion is working with animals.

“I saw [the movie] Dolphin Tale when I was in seventh or eighth grade, and like everyone else, I thought taking care of the marine animals looked cool, so I found the volunteer program and applied,” says Diehl. “At first I was giving information and answering questions from the visitors of the exhibits, and it helped me realize what I wanted to do—work with the animals.”

Diehl was one of three selected into another program called the Teen Apprentice Program (TAP) that allowed her to work side-by-side with a biologist and work with the animals in the Husbandry exhibit in the Newport Aquarium.

This exhibit allowed Diehl to work closely with animals such as lorikeets, tortoises, asian small clawed otters as well as cold and warm water penguins.

“My favorite part is definitely working with the otters,” says Diehl. “Not only are they my favorite animal, but the two that I work with now, Porkchop and Nitta, really get to know you, and that connection is so cool.”

The moment Diehl started working in the

Husbandry, she wanted to build a relationship with the otters and turtles, but what she didn’t know was how much behind-the-scenes work is put into the animals’ care. Working alongside her mentor, marine biologist Michelle Fry, Diehl has learned the ropes.

“Olivia has prepared and fed various species, she has also cleaned up after these animals as well as done plenty of dishes and laundry,” says Fry. “Lots of people view working in an aquarium as a bunch of people playing with animals all day, but a large part of our day is cleaning enclosures and washing lots of dishes.”

D

iehl has been working in her current position since she was a freshman and has become more comfortable with training and working closer with the animals over the years.

She performs tasks such as enrichment with the animals, which lets the trainer create more trust between themselves and the animal.

“The more Olivia came in to volunteer, the more she learned, and as her knowledge base and comfort with the animals improved, she was allowed to do more complicated tasks, sometimes by herself and sometimes with a group,” say Fry. “I think one of the most unique animals Olivia was able to work with was Bravo, the Galapagos Tortoise, which we had here on loan in 2014. She could walk up to him, scratch him on the shell and rub his legs.”

Through her work and love for animals, Diehl has chosen to continue her work in college and in her future professional life. She plans to attend Bowling Green State University to study environmental conservation and be a part of the

aquatic science program. With the help of her friends and family, Diehl has been able find her true passion. Longtime friend Abbie Robert loves to hear about the work Diehl does with animals and is always eager to learn more from Diehl.

“Her job suits her very well. She’s always loved animals and marine biology, and I think that it’s something that she really enjoys. You can tell by how she talks about it that she is dedicated,” says Roberts. “It’s shaped her as a person because it has shown her that it is really her passion and what she wants to do in the future.”

With support of her father, John Diehl, Olivia continues to follow her dream and pursue a career working with large marine animals, such as whales, dolphins and other animals that use sound to measure the depth of bodies of water, or sonar.

She would love to use the study abroad program at BGSU to further her knowledge of these animals in her future.

“She has worked with the aquarium for five years and is hoping to take advantage of [Bowling Green’s] study abroad program to work with marine life in the South Pacific for a year while studying in Australia,” says John. “Obviously, this means that her time at the aquarium will have a profound effect on her future.”

B

ecause Diehl has been with the Newport Aquarium since her freshman year in high school, this will be her last year, so she plans to spend as much time with the animals as she can before she leaves for Bowling Green in the fall.

“Once I got into it, I feel like I can’t remove myself,” says Diehl. “I just love it too much.”

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LUCAS REYNOLD HARRIS

Coming from a small class of 18 students in South Haven, Kansas, East senior Lucas Harris has made his first and last year at East one for the books. By becoming involved in multiple clubs and organizations, Harris is ready to continue creating long lasting memories in his new home. story colin melick | photo illustration christine shi | art sarah aftab

“

He was never the one to try and be popular, but just be a friend.

“

A

ttacking each other with jabs and smash attacks, the bright, pixelated figures of Luigi and Fox McCloud run across the 30-inch cathode ray tube in room 266 on a Friday afternoon. The right thumb of each player rapidly alternates between the “x” and “y” buttons on the controller, causing the characters to jump high and low, while the other thumb gracefully toggles over the grey analog stick, forcing each character to dodge their opponents’ strikes.

After gathering enough money from his family after his kindergarten graduation from South Haven Elementary school in South Haven, Kansas, East senior Lucas Harris bought his first video game—Pokémon Sapphire—and has been gaming ever since. Describing himself as “just a boy trying to game,” Harris can now be found amongst the 20 gamers a part of East’s E-Sports Club, playing as one of the 26 different characters of Super Smash Bros. Melee every week.

Watching Harris grow up in South Haven for 17 years, feeding, watering and caring for his family’s 90 goats twice a day, his parents, Chad and Kistin Harris, both realized that Lucas was never really a farm kid who was living on a farm. So when Chad was offered a new position as customer support and service leader at General Electric in January of 2015, the family embraced the opportunity with an open mind and looked forward to seeing what their new community had to offer.

“We lived on a farm—20 miles one way to get groceries, and things weren’t that accessible,” says Chad. “Wichita was 50 minutes away, and that’s where we would go for fun. Now [entertainment] is five minutes away.”

Although Lucas had to say goodbye to his best friends and the majority of his family, he fell in

--- Parker Ray

love with not only the environment of Cincinnati, but also its people.

Lucas was met at his first year at East as a senior with an abundance of different opportunities and experiences that he could never have imagined while living in Kansas. Adjusting from his class size of 18 to East’s senior class size of 615 in the fall of 2015, Lucas left behind being the Cardinals quarterback, point guard, lead in the school musical and student council vice president, but he has already gained so much by becoming a Thunderhawk.

“There are a lot more options to do things you want to do compared to not having anything,” says Lucas. “Getting involved in Smash Club is something I’ve enjoyed doing because I didn’t really have anyone to do it with, so that gave me the opportunity to do it with people where I made a lot of friends and have made some good times.”

Continuously positive, Lucas can always be found wearing a bright and sincere smile. His caring personality has opened a number of doors for him since moving to the area. After the Harris family looked at many different schools and areas for their family to settle down in, such as Mason and Loveland, they chose Lakota on one key thing—opportunities. From getting a job at the Lakota Family YMCA to joining East’s 2 o’clock jazz band, Lucas doesn’t seem like the stereotypical “new kid,” considering the number of groups in which he’s involved.

“When I arrived here in the summer, it was boring since I knew no one. That’s when I played a lot of piano to be better prepared for joining the jazz band, worked out all the time, played lots of video games and got a job,” says Lucas. “Once school started, it was rough not knowing anyone

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and having a heavier workload, but after a while, the work got easier as I made friends and got the opportunity to do a lot of cool stuff.”

After being surrounded by the same 200 community members his whole life, Lucas welcomed the new sense of culture and diversity he was presented with at East and within Liberty Township.

“The diversity of people was a big change coming from a place where everyone is similar, not just racially, but also personality wise,” says Lucas.

“In Kansas, everyone knew each other and lived kind of secluded, so people weren’t as talkative and outgoing. People are just really nice here.”

Not necessarily missing Kansas, but feeling rather “friend sick,” Lucas was invited by the South Haven National Honor Society (NHS) to join them on their biennial trip to New York City.

South Haven’s NHS consisted of four members, all of whom were not Lucas’ closest friends from Kansas, just his former classmates. Nevertheless, Lucas was excited to see his acquaintances and to listen to all of their stories from Kansas.

Taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the big city for five days at the beginning of March was an experience of a lifetime that Lucas would never give up, but throughout the trip, he came to realize just how grateful he was for his new home in Ohio.

“We went to Madame Tussauds wax museum, and I kept hearing [the students from Kansas] comment about how people have too much time on their hands, when in reality, it’s a crazy talented artist making art for a huge attraction,” says Lucas.

“Instead of appreciating the different culture, they just complained about how it wasn’t on a farm and how everyone was weird.”

Despite the fact that Lucas no longer has the same mindset as many of his former peers, he still remains in contact with many of his close friends through social media platforms like Snapchat.

Parker Ray, one of Lucas’ best friends from birth, still Skypes with him once every two weeks to play DotA 2, one of their favorite games that they would play together several times a week.

“My favorite thing about Lucas was he was one of the only people at my school that saw eye-toeye with me,” says Ray, who is currently a student at Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, Kansas. “He is always so happy with life. He was never the one to try and be popular, but just be a friend.”

Many of Lucas’ friends at East can also easily say the same for him. East senior Cody Shannon met Lucas at the beginning of the school year through the E-sports club. Shannon describes every day with Lucas as a new adventure, and the two quickly realized they had a similar sense of humor and became very close friends.

“He is a really great person with such a good personality and is always there to support his friends,” says Shannon. “Lucas is just so gentle.

He doesn’t get mad at anything and has fun at the same time. It’s a personality you just have to experience. Lucas is the kind of person I want to be.”

This gentle and fun personality is something that Lucas has made sure to bring with him to

East from Kansas because he uses it to create friendships and dispel the stigma of being the new guy.

“I think I’m a pretty positive and nice guy with a good sense of humor,” says Lucas. “I laugh at a lot of things, and I think that’s why I made so many friends at East, just by being kind, warm and positive. I like it when people like me, so I want to be nice, kind and friendly to people.”

Looking toward the future, Lucas debated between Kansas State, which is well known for its engineering program, something his older brother Justin Harris is a part of, and Miami University.

Ultimately Lucas decided on Miami University to pursue computer science based on one of the main reasons the family sought to move to Ohio— opportunities.

“We’ve always told our kids to find something you’re passionate about, and we will support you 1,000 percent,” says Kistin. “We’ve always told him to find something you’ll be happy doing and that you can make a living with.”

Lucas would have never imagined himself pursuing computer science as a career unless he had moved and had the opportunity to take Computer Science I as a class or have the opportunity to play one of his favorite games with his new best friends once a week as part of a school organization.

“A lot of people complain about Ohio, but I don’t really understand why,” says Lucas. “I mean, sure, it’s not the best place you can be, but I think that we’re in an all-around pretty good place compared to what it could be, and I am so grateful for that. Appreciate what you have.”

RHYS MAIR FRAZIER story michael reimer photo illustration christine shi | art sarah aftab

Read about East senior Rhys Frazier at lakotaeastsparkonline.com.

MIKE OLAWALE ALONGE

Describing himself as someone who could not be picked out of a crowd, East senior Mike Alonge knows many people who would say just the opposite. Spending time going door to door as a Jehovah’s Witness, Alonge is a dedicated and passionate person about his faith and friends. story vincent galioto | photo illustration christine shi | art sarah aftab

E

ast senior Michael Alonge has worked at the Liberty Center Old Navy since September 2015 and has been a member of the employee groupchat since its inception. It is common practice among those in the group to take pictures of one another for the purpose of creating memes. Pictures of Michael now litter the chat and have yet to stop. There are now many memes from many different people and many different places, all featuring Alonge.

It has now gotten to the point where Alonge is now frequently the avatar for the GroupMe and the name of the group chat is usually an inside joke that pokes fun at him. Alonge’s friends say that it is all in good fun and that he has a great sense of humor.

“It is not because he is easy to pick on but because of how he reacts to us making fun of him,” says East senior and Old Navy coworker Kate Zenz. “He takes it really well, and he

reciprocates. If we say something about him, he will laugh about it and then he will come back in about an hour and say something about us.”

According to Zenz, Alonge is overall a good person to work with. If Zenz is scheduled for a particularly long shift, she will text him to see if they are scheduled for the same time because the time will fly. The employees now know Alonge to be calm and never mean-spirited—an attribute that helps him when he goes door to door spreading the gospel.

Alonge and his family are Jehovah’s Witnesses who spend their Wednesdays and Saturdays canvassing neighborhoods and doing missionary work. The goal of these encounters is not to cause trouble or get into religious debate but rather to spread the word of God and, if possible, brighten someone’s day.

“We don’t push anything. That is probably one of the biggest things,” says Alonge. “We are

there to just share the scripture. You can share an encouraging thought, something that can help if they are having a bad day. Everyone has that freedom and God made us with free will. We should be able to do what we want to do whether or not we think it is right or wrong.”

For the most part, people are nice when they answer the door. While it certainly “sucks” to get the door slammed in his face, Alonge doesn’t have time to dwell on it or be mad. He will instead move on because good people shouldn’t have to be forced to believe what he believes. He says he remembers that it is none of his business and moves on. All of this is voluntary. Alonge has always wanted to go door to door and help spread the faith that he has been a part of his whole life.

Alonge started learning to give Bible readings at a young age. As he grew older, he was given more responsibilities in the church, and he ...continued on page 108

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“

“

He is extremely genuine, which is hard to be when you’re young, because kids have many faces, but Sam’s doesn’t change.

--- Tracy McKinney, Former Hopewell Junior School Life Skills Teacher

F

SAMUEL

JASON WHITE

Hearing his calling from God at a young age to become a pastor, East senior Sam White is preaching his faith to not only those at his church but also to those who seek him out at school. story dillon horter | photo illustration christine shi | art sarah aftab

inally, it’s Wednesday night again, and East senior Samuel White is getting ready to go preach to his youth group at Princeton Pike Church of God. Preaching to a group of 80 kids isn’t something that White just randomly decided he wanted to do—it’s something he believes God called him to do. Since he was a kid, White has felt it was his calling to spread the love of Christ to his generation, even to people he doesn’t know.

“I have always been known to preach and teach. As a little kid, I used to line my stuffed animals up on my bed and preach to them,” says White. “As I grew older, I would preach using a fake microphone in my room. There was a time where I stopped, and I grew farther from God and this was the time where I had to make a decision: do I believe in Jesus because my parents said to or do I believe in him because whenever I call on his name, he answers.”

White has many passions in life, but one passion that will never change for him or his family is their everlasting love for Jesus Christ. Since he was little, White’s parents, Alicia and Jason, have had a big influence on his spiritual journey. When Sam was just eight years old, Alicia and Jason received a calling from God during a leadership gathering at church that they weren’t expecting.

Sam was originally born with the name Tristan.

However, during the gathering when Sam was at the altar, draping cloths over individuals as they encountered God, Alicia and Jason received a rather unique calling from God that would impact Sam for the rest of his life.

“A lady we didn’t know that well in the church came over to me and said, ‘I see on your son an anointed like Samuel,” Alicia says. “After much prayer and thought, we had him water baptized, and after that, we started calling him Samuel.”

The good work of White through Christ wasn’t just at the altar, however, it was also during school.

When Sam was in eighth grade, he met former Hopewell Junior School Life Skills Teacher Tracy McKinney, who immediately recognized that White was a well-rounded Christian and student

with an abundance of potential.

“He is extremely genuine, which is hard to be when you’re young, because kids have many faces, but Sam’s doesn’t change,” says McKinney. “He eventually asked me if I would sponsor a Bible study in my classroom, which I agreed to, and he organized a group of kids that came in after school. He was completely prepared, and it’s been great to see him live out his faith.”

Whether it be in class, marching band or other extracurricular activities, Sam has always tried to set a Christian example for students at school.

He takes pride in spreading the Lord’s grace and Word, even to students he does not know and enjoys helping those student that seek his advice and help no matter what the situation may be.

“I have never really cared about being popular in school, but I have always wanted kids to know that God is never mad at them, rather madly in love with them and wants to pursue a relationship with them,” says White. “A lot of times throughout my high school experience, helping students has been privately. Sometimes the best quality about being a leader is knowing when not to lead and knowing when to listen to others and hear what is happening in their lives.”

E

ast senior Megan Dendler has come to know Sam over the years through school and agrees that he has exemplified a personality that many students do not possess.

Dendler has seen Christ through Sam and believes that students at East also have as well. She knows White is not afraid to express his faith to those around him.

“I think he has definitely let his light shine for Christ, and I think it’s very evident in his everyday life,” says Dendler. “When people talk to Sam, they can tell that he has a love for Christ, and he so easily shares that with other people. He’s very strong in his beliefs and is willing to share them with anyone who shows interest. He’s a great guy with an even greater heart for God.” Sam’s Youth Pastor at Princeton Pike Church

of God, Rodney White, has seen Sam grow in his faith over the last several years through the Student Leadership Team and youth band.

“I can honestly say this about Sam: he is called

by God and anointed by God,” says Rodney. “Sam has a servant’s heart. He speaks for me when I am speaking somewhere else, and he is a true blessing.”

S

am knows and believes that the Lord has opened many doors for him and that the Lord can also open doors that are closed. For many years, Sam wanted to be an Air Force fighter pilot, but that career idea suddenly changed in the summer of 2015.

“God has different plans, and I love his plans,” says Sam. “Teaching is also a passion for me, and I love that feeling when your mouth gets dry because you have been talking so much about the Lord, and that’s why I want to go into ministry—to spread God’s love to his people.”

After a very successful career at East, in which he maintained a 3.7 weighted GPA, White has decided to attend Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee to pursue his dreams of becoming a minister. Sam chose Lee because he felt like it was a place where he could relate most to people, as Lee is affiliated with the Church of God. “I would like and hope to think that people down at Lee will see Sam as a man of integrity and that if he says he will do something, he will do it to the best of his ability,” Jason says. “I hope that students also come to him they have a need of some sort, and at the same time, I hope he will find the rights friends and right type of people to be in contact with. It’s a big change for him but a good one.”

As Sam moves on in his life, he hopes his relationship with the Lord will only get better and better and that the Lord will guide him to wherever he sees fit.

“I live my life so that others see the goodness of the Father through me,” says Sam. “Am I perfect?

No, but I am learning, and that is what counts. I want to be a light in a world full of darkness.”

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VICTORIA SPENCER

SHIELDS

Finding her true sense of self while performing as various characters on the stage, East senior Victoria Shields has captured the hearts of those who come to watch her talent live. She also spreads her love and passion for Jesus Christ everywhere she goes. story manjot kalkat | photo illustration christine shi | art julia sanders

single night, but every time we walk in we hug each other like we haven’t seen each other in three years.

There is something special about the extreme difficulty of putting a show together that develops bonds like no other.”

The one group she specifically remembers experiencing a feeling of community was The

“

You just forget everything when you’re on stage. You get to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes, but it’s cool because you find little pieces of yourself in that character.

“

T

he curtain opens. A rhythmic set of waves rocks back and forth on stage. Reflecting off of the transcendent blue light, a glittering tail peaks over the crests. Then, a redheaded mermaid emerges from under the water, delighted by the fact that she’s reached the surface.

After discovering a passion for being on stage and acting for more than eight years, East senior Victoria Shields landed her dream lead role as Ariel in the Broadway version of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

“At my first audition through ActingUp, I sang ‘Part of Your World,’” says Shields. “It’s very fitting because now I’m closing with my last show singing ‘Part of Your World.’”

Shields’ mother, Debbie Shields, remembers how her daughter’s love for performing along with her extroverted personality showed even as a child.

“She kept journals where she wrote plays for her and her cousins to perform,” says Debbie.

“They were written like true scripts with each line labeled with the right speaker. Everyone else would chicken out from joining her, but she’d still put on the show all by herself for the family.”

Victoria recalls a time when she wrote a twohour, live-action movie of “Kim Possible” and then sent it to Disney along with a request to be casted as the lead. Debbie answered Victoria’s wishes when she took her to The Children’s Theater of Mason for beginner acting lessons.

From this point forward, Victoria’s natural ability showcased itself, and she signed with Heyman Talent Agency, which eventually led her to the world of musical theater.

“You just forget everything when you’re on stage. You get to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes, but it’s cool because you find little pieces of yourself in that character,” says Victoria. “When the curtain comes up, it’s seeing all of those little kids looking at you—knowing you can make an impact on someone else’s life. It feels like your heart is going to explode in the best way possible because you’re so happy.”

However theater is more than just a creative outlet for Victoria. It is also the community where Victoria says she has found her “forever friends.”

“There’s something different about theater kids,” says Victoria. “We have rehearsal every

--- Victoria Shields, East senior Cincinnati Christian Community Theatre’s (CCCT) cast of “Godspell.” After the roles were double-casted, feelings of jealousy had developed.

To appease the tension, the directors sat the cast in a circle, and each member shared something they loved about the person sitting next to them.

“I get so worried about letting my cast down because that’s how much I care about them,” says Victoria. “They’re counting on me. But when you sit and talk with them, you realize that everyone is struggling and that really lets you grow.”

Throughout her time working on “Godspell,” Victoria also built a friendship with fellow cast member Kendall Hart, who she proudly calls her best friend today. Hart not only acted as a friend but also provided support for Victoria when she most needed it.

“In the eighth grade, I had severe clinical depression, anxiety disorder and routine obsessive compulsive disorder. I was so afraid of failure because I am a perfectionist,” says Victoria. “I think failure is real and people should acknowledge it, but sometimes I have a hard time practicing what I preach.”

At the time, Victoria had let this get in the way of everyday things such as going to school. Hart saw that her friend was in a rough patch, so she invited Victoria to go to Grace Chapel with her.

“We met in an openly Christian environment through CCCT, so I never felt any restraint with talking about God,” says Hart. “I remember specifically on the closing night of ‘Horizons of Gold,’ Victoria was having a really bad anxiety attack. We went outside and walked around this garden, and I ended up inviting her to church. I didn’t know how much of an effect it was going to have on her. I just wanted to be a good friend.”

Victoria says she had always grown up a Christian but never really had a relationship with Christ. Prior to this time, she had not been to church in years except for on Christmas and Easter.

“I remember Kendall picked me up in her blue pickup truck, and she was exuding Jesus. At the time, I didn’t know she was exuding Jesus because I didn’t know him well,” says Victoria. “Even when I first walked [into Grace Chapel], I felt uncomfortable letting loose and praising without thinking who was around me. But I decided to give my life over to Christ that day. I let my arms spread so wide, and I fell to my knees.”

Now, every Sunday Victoria goes to Grace Chapel and either stands in the front row singing ...continued on page 108

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cohesive,” says Thomas. “The images don’t have to fit together, but it would exist in the same space.

You’re not using any references or images that you would copy. It’s all from the head.”

Before starting on one of his concentration pieces, Thomas doesn’t go through the same technical process that he would if he were to create a realistic piece. First he decides what he would like the tone to be, which is a large influence on the color choice. According to the the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, warm colors such as yellow, red and orange are bright and vivid, while cool tones such as blue, green and purple are calm and soothing. With that information in mind, Thomas would then decide on the content as well as the theme.

“My style is more illustrative, so my process for creating a piece doesn’t start on paper, it starts in my mind,” says Thomas. “I work on my composition by having brighter colors but also darker colors and then going back with lighter

but still fun to look at. There’s so much going on that it’s hard to focus on just one thing, so I feel like it’s a representation of his life.”

Outside of the classroom, Thomas draws and practices other styles of art to entertain himself.

When looking for subjects, he asks his friends to send him pictures of themselves so he can draw them.

“I changed my friend Elliot Foster completely with what he looks like in my art. I turned him into this crazy space dude,” says Thomas. “I was able to take someone that is my friend and important to me and turn him into this crazy character that I see him as.”

T

homas plans on continuing pursuing his interest in the creative arts throughout his college years, he was accepted into Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD), realizing that he could pursue a job in the field he loves. Although he was initially afraid of missing

“

My style is more illustrative, so my process for creating a piece doesn’t start on paper, it starts in my mind.

--- Thomas Butler, East senior

THOMAS

WALTER

BUTLER Never feeling the need to conform to the social norm, East senior Thomas Butler has taken it upon himself to share with the world his personality and style through his unique works of art. story maddie alsip | photo illustration richard giang | art sarah aftab

GI Joes—he came up with his own ways of entertaining himself. His creativity has continued evolving since he was young, starting simply as grabbing for crayons or Sharpies into pursuing a future in the creative arts.

Growing up alongside Thomas, his cousin and friend, Lakota West senior Danny Carter, shares the same memories as Lynda of him drawing. The subjects Thomas draws have changed, but his style has always reflected his outgoing personality.

“He always used to draw war scenes that my mom, who was an art major in college, was impressed with,” says Carter. “He’s always had some crazy drawings, and you can tell they reflect him if you ever get to know him.”

By experimenting with different forms of art and media, Thomas has developed and matured his artistic style. East senior Molly Sizemore has been in the same art class as Thomas for the previous two years and has gained insight into the process of how he develops his pieces from his original conceptions.

“I feel like he’s trapped in his eight-year-old self with his imagination. All his work is very vibrant,” says Sizemore. “He puts a lot of time and effort into it. He’ll think of one idea, and it will explode into a bunch of ideas.”

Part of the AP coursework required for him is to create concentration pieces, or artwork with a consistent theme or style. For these projects, Thomas chose to use stream of consciousness, which is drawing the continuous flow of ideas and images that come to his mind. Focusing in on a particular style versus experimenting in the past has helped him to advance as an artist and make each creation better than the last.

“It doesn’t have to make sense, but it has to be

colors to make it more entertaining for the eye.”

Listening to music is a large factor in helping to stimulate Thomas’s creativity. He gravitates toward hip-hop and rap because it helps to set a rhythm.

Some of the artists he listens to are Kanye West, Childish Gambino, Chance the Rapper and Frank Ocean. Thomas says that with his headphones in, the artistic process is faster, smoother and more precise.

A

ccording to Thomas, taking and applying certain techniques and ideas from professional artists is an important step to self-improvement as an artist. For him, it is important to find a balance of how much he borrows without letting the source material overtake his individual style. One of his inspirations is Banksy, who creates satirical graffiti anonymously in different cities around England.

Everything Banksy produces has political or social commentary that evokes deeper thinking, which resonates with Thomas. However, their contrasting styles helps to keep their artwork individual.

“If you focus too much on what [other people] are doing, you lose track of your own style, which is really important as an artist,” says Thomas.

“You can’t take everything because then you’re not making your own art—you’re just reproducing.”

Thomas describes his work as “intricate, colorful and bizarre.” This complex approach can be thought-provoking. He hopes to make people question the different elements that went into the piece and come up with their own interpretations.

“The thing about Thomas is that he definitely has his own style. He has imagination that puts it over the edge,” says Sizemore. “It’s kind of its own thing. It’s all over the place, vibrant and sporadic,

“

W

ith free range to express his artwork, he has adapted every space into his house into his own art studio. Working intently on a new piece, East senior Thomas Butler has taken over his kitchen table, spreading his paintbrushes and spilling paint all over.

“He spilled blue paint on my carpet,” says Lynda Butler, Thomas’s mom. “We can’t eat at our kitchen table anymore because he’s taken over.

We’ve tried to make places for him to go, but that’s where he wants to do it.”

Born with an inherently strong interest in creative arts, Thomas found his niche in drawing and painting at a young age. Lynda remembers Thomas doodling on all of his paperwork since preschool. At home, Lynda gives Thomas complete freedom to work on his artwork. On his bedroom wall she let him paint a smiley face with a tongue that he would doodle on his homework assignments.

Thomas never asked for normal toys like

out on the traditional college experience, the classes at CCAD would allow Butler to do what he loves the majority of the time.

“This year is when I decided to consider it in terms of a career,” says Thomas. “I decided if there’s an AP class for art, then it’s obviously taken seriously elsewhere, and that’s when I decided to consider it in terms of a job. I thought that I could really have a career in something I love, and I dove into the artistic side of myself.”

His artwork will be displayed in the cafeteria long after Thomas graduates from East as the 2016 graduation banner will feature his design. He submitted his design to the graduation committee, who voted on different designs entered by anyone interested in providing sketches of their visions.

Thomas incorporated several school activities with his own personal style to make sure that it would stand out from the previous banners.

“The design should be interesting, represent your class as a whole and be something your class will be proud to have your names and number attached to,” says East English teacher and Graduation Committee supervisor Sarah Dennis.

“We liked [Thomas’] because it was unusual and it was a cool representation of a lot of different facets of the senior class.”

Without any particular careers in mind, Thomas is aware not only of his artistic capability but also of his creativity. He hopes that his future will take him in a direction that requiring creativity as well as a mind that thinks outside of the box that can make people feel something.

“I realized that art has an impact on people whether you mean it to or not,” says Thomas. “As long people are thinking, then the artist has done their job.”

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CHLOE

FOXX

SIZEMORE

Despite challenges that may be considered outside of the norm for any teenager, East senior Chloe Sizemore remains positive. With her loud laugh and bubbly attitude, it’s impossible not to smile around the girl who lets the differences in her life inspire instead of discourage. story kelly krajewski | photo illustration richard giang | art julia sanders

“

I can’t help but smile when I see him. When I get home, it’s the best part of his day and mine.

“

Y

ou’ll hear an unmistakable laugh before you see her. As East senior Chloe Sizemore walks down the hallway, her attitude is contagious, lighting up the faces of people around her.

“Chloe is hilarious,” says East senior Sarah Noe, who works as a lifeguard with Sizemore at the Lakota YMCA. “She can always brighten your day. I’m always laughing when I’m with her.”

Sizemore has always had a positive disposition, even in the face of life altering news that changed her and her family’s lives forever.

What was supposed to be a standard trip to their doctor’s office for the expecting Lisa Sizemore, Chloe’s mother, revealed far more than the sex of her third child. During the sonogram, the doctor discovered that the baby had spina bifida, which is a birth defect characterized by an incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord. On average, 1,500 infants are born with spina bifida in the United States each year, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Initially, Chloe and her family found themselves asking why this was happening to them, but then they turned toward their religion for comfort.

“Right away it’s easy to ask why this is happening to you or think you don’t deserve this,” says Chloe.

“But we realized things happen for a reason. God doesn’t give out challenges arbitrarily.”

A few months later on Aug. 13, 2008, when Chloe was 11 years old, Henry Lee Sizemore was born in the hospital in which he would spend the first eight months of his life.

“My parents took shifts at the hospital to be with Henry. One would go during the day, and the other would go for the evenings,” says Chloe. “I

--- Chloe Sizemore, East senior

was older at the time, so I think I handled it better than my younger brother, Taylor. He was only four and didn’t completely understand what was going on.”

After Henry came home, he needed constant care, and he still does. Three people in the household needed be be trained to fill the eight hours a day that Henry doesn’t have a nurse with him. Chloe and her parents all elected to be trained in the needed medical attention. This necessary training is where Chloe discovered her passion for medical care.

“Henry is the only person who really inspires me,” says Chloe. “I don’t know what I want to do [in the medical field] exactly, but whatever I end up doing, I know I’ll understand what the patients and families are going through because I’ve gone through it.”

By the time Chloe was 15 years old, she was able to stay home alone with Henry, yet with this new ability came with responsibility. Chloe spends about four days a week caring for Henry after school or after work.

“I have three beautiful children who love and take care of each other,” says Lisa. “I am so blessed.”

From time to time, Chloe has to sacrifice social activities like going out with friends to be with Henry, but it doesn’t bother her to give things up for her family. Chloe’s best friend, Aubrey Neff, describes Henry and Chloe’s relationship as the average brother-sister dynamic where they hang out, laugh and tease each other. But Neff notes how you can see the effect Henry has on Chloe.

Her eyes light up every time she’s with her younger brother. ...continued on page 108

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feature | senior profiles

ALEX PARKER

SENSEL

Spending most of his free time in his kitchen for hours after a long day at school has been well worth the wave of generosity East senior Alex Sensel has spread. Although his famous cookies, popcorn and popsicles will no longer be supplied, his good deeds will never be forgotten. story nina brillhart | photo illustration christine shi | art julia sanders

and then watching others reciprocate good deeds.

“When I bring in stuff, my goal is to make people’s day just a little better,” says Sensel as he directs hungry and curious students into the classroom bakery. “And the people who receive what I bring will do nice things for others and I

“

Life is too short to not go out and do things for people.

“

1

120 eggs. 420 cups of sugar. 420 cups of brown sugar. 560 teaspoons of vanilla extract, salt and baking soda. 1120 cups of chocolate chips. 1260 cups of flour. 369 hours—10,000 cookies so far this school year. The force behind this rapid baking wouldn’t be in a magazine or on a billboard but as an icon of Lakota East. When the school floods with the smell of fresh popcorn or delicious chocolate chip cookies, East senior Alex Sensel is the first person that comes to mind.

“Some juniors ask me to get held back so I can graduate with them,” says Sensel. “While I am honored, I think I would eventually be broke.”

After witnessing the divide between particular students, whether it be by grade, sport or academic achievement, Sensel was inspired to bring people together.

“There is one thing in common with every person here, and that is food,” says Sensel. “People rarely go out of their way to do something special for others, let alone even interact with people outside of their normal group.”

First, he began making connections with certain clubs such as Junior Statesmen of America and took upon himself the responsibility to bring food for meetings. Gradually, he dedicated more and more time to baking and preparing supplies for the rest of the student body.

Sensel says that many students make mental notes to find him during extra help and even persistently question him about bringing new types of cookies. However, because East senior Rose Middleton shares classes with Sensel, she often receives the benefit of his sacrifices.

“I loved when he brought in popsicles in the fall for all the people in the senior cafe,” says Middleton. “He is not just a great baker—he is a genuinely generous, funny and kind person. I think people like what he brings in but also love him as a friend.”

Sensel added that when he brings in treats, he witnesses genuine gratitude on the faces of his peers. He believes that one person can be the ripple effect in a large crowd by routinely giving

--- Alex Sensel, East senior

see it change the atmosphere of the school, even if it is just for that day.”

But the students are not the only ones who benefit from Sensel’s dedication. East principal Suzanna Davis provided Sensel with the funds to bake every teacher cookie for Teacher Appreciation Week. This request gave him the idea “to end the school year with a bang.” He also hinted that he plans to bake enough cookies for every senior to enjoy one on the last day of school at the senior picnic.

While Sensel’s greatest demand is chocolate chip and white chocolate cookies, he goes out of his way to accommodate certain students with allergies or specific dietary regulations.

“It’s important that I bake things everyone can enjoy,” says Sensel, “or else it defeats the purpose of what I do.”

Aside from his humility, students and teachers are drawn to Alex for his selflessness. For his second school-wide fundraiser, Sensel personally took pre-orders and baked thousands of cookies to distribute. He donated all $700 of his profits to East’s Relay for Life and to Spark.

“Alex gave our paper almost $500 as a donation,” says Spark business team member Emma Presar. “That was so generous of him considering we have to raise $30,000 ourselves each year. He could have kept the money to pay for all the supplies he needed to bake, but it wasn’t even a thought in his mind.”

Not only does Sensel lighten up the day with his famous chocolate chip cookies, but he also frequently brings his pet rabbit, Larry, and keeps him in the biology room.

“Who doesn’t enjoy petting animals? It is just one more way I can make coming to school enjoyable. It is hard to come and sit through the same classes every day, be around the same people day after day and be under pressure to do well,” says Sensel. “I like being able to brighten people’s faces, and most of the time Larry does that for me.” ...continued on page 108

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feature | senior profiles

ISAAC

BRETT MITCHELL

Already making a political presence within Junior Statesmen of America and traveling to Washington, D.C. to further his knowledge about the United States government, East senior Isaac Mitchell hopes to one day become a state senator. story peyton cox | photo illustration richard giang | art sarah aftab

without looking at what party they represent.

Isaac’s mother, Tara Mitchell, is very thankful for the JSA program and has watched it influence Isaac to be who he is.

“I don’t know where Isaac would be today without JSA,” says Tara. “It has helped shape the person he is today. He has learned to think for

“

He has learned to think for himself and stand up for what he believes in.

“

I

n Washington, D.C., 600 people gather around as he debates topics such as foreign policy, taxes and social issues—all topics about which he is very passionate. When he speaks, his voice rises as the debate between the opponent and himself becomes more intense. This young political mind is one day hoping that he will make a change for the people of the United States.

East senior Isaac Mitchell is one of the copresidents of East’s Junior Statesmen of America (JSA) where the students debate different topics that are affecting the world today and also learn about the government and different sides of issues.

Growing up, Mitchell tried many different activities such as sports, but he never really fit in. What he found was that he was very good at arguing with other people and that he was able to get his point across between the opponent and himself. He liked social studies in general but fell in love with speaking his mind and being heard.

“When I was little, I tried a bunch of sports, but I was bad at all of them,” says Mitchell. “Also I am a very augmentative kind of person, and politics is something where I could argue with people in a formal way.”

In February, Mitchell traveled to D.C. with other around 25 members of East’s JSA. In D.C., a mock congress was held and students debated and proposed bills. Mitchell was the head of the Republican Party. Although he went about 40 hours without sleep over the course of the fourday trip, he had a lot of fun doing what he does best.

Mitchell considers himself to be an independent. He tends to lean Republican on some issues and Democrat on others. He would vote for the best candidate in a presidential election

--- Tara Mitchell, Isaac’s mother himself and stand up for what he believes in.”

East sophomore Weston Lindner is Isaac’s copresident of JSA and works very closely with Isaac and admires his character and treatment of others.

“Isaac is probably the best chapter president in Lakota East JSA history,” says Weston. “He’s a good leader for our chapter but is not of the conventional mold. I don’t know that I can really put in into words. He’s not what I would have expected out of a chapter president, yet he’s done a remarkable job.”

JSA advisor Jeff Flory admires Mitchell for his character and the way he is a leader to those around him. Mitchell says that he tries to play devil’s advocate when debating about half of the time because it can be more challenging to find valid arguments for a side with which he doesn’t necessarily agree.

“Isaac is very positive. He always treats other people with respect and courtesy,” says Flory. “In his two years as JSA president, I’ve watched Isaac regularly acknowledge other people’s comments, offer verbal or nonverbal clues that their ideas are valued and genuinely make people feel included and welcomed in the club.”

Recently, Isaac took part in his best debate yet where he argued about the legalization of polygamy. Some of the points made were that it wasn’t the government’s job to regulate morality and about how it was made illegal for prejudice reasons in the first place, according to Isaac.

Looking toward the future, Isaac one day hopes to be a senator. As senator, he would like to make many changes including equality among genders.

“I want to move towards decriminalizing drugs, increasing free trade, improve educating starting at a local level, keep us out of wars we don’t need to be in,” says Isaac. “I would also like to help women and minorities have an equitable experience in society.”

Attending Ball State University in the fall, Isaac will be studying political science and is looking forward to getting hand- on experience and also learning in more open classes. He intends to join mock trial, debate team, student government and some activism clubs.

“In my future, I will provide for my family and become a senator,” says Isaac. “It will be wonderful.”

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CIRCLE OF

package | adoption

LOVE After the falling through of an anticipated adoption, Jordan Denton has come to terms with the setbacks that can occur in domestic adoptions. story erinn aulfinger | art julia sanders

T

he bassinet sat ready and waiting. The house had been baby-proofed. Onesies and bags of diapers had been bought and sat ready next to the new changing table and stroller. Friends continued to drop off baby gifts and casseroles in preparation for the big day.

In September of 2014, Jordan Denton and her husband, Phil, had agreed to adopt the child of family friend Erika Fletcher. They also moved her temporarily into their home in Ohio, funded her prenatal care and joined her at the birth. After a week of parenting the baby, Ellis Fletcher, they were informed by the birth father’s lawyer that he would not accept an adoption, and so they were faced with fighting him in court or letting go of the baby.

A 2003 study by the Government Accounting Office found that approximately five percent of all planned adoptions from foster care “disrupt.”

Disruption is used to describe an adoption that fails after the child was placed with its new parents but

before the adoption is legally finalized. However, even legally completed adoptions dissolve at a rate of up to 10 percent.

“We talked and prayed with the birth mother, and she decided to parent,” Jordan says. “We tried to keep a positive attitude and trust that God had bigger and better plans.”

Erika says that the situation was highly stressful for her, as well. Unexpectedly pregnant at the age of 20 with the child of a deemed unfit father, she was concerned for the sake of her child.

She says she was at peace with her decision to give her child up for adoption, having “prayed about it.” Watching a friend in a similar situation struggling financially helped seal her resolve to put her child up for adoption.

“My son deserved better than to see his mom struggle to put food on the table or to buy him sneakers,” Erika says.

After speaking with Jordan and Phil, Erika says she felt “a wave of relief,” recognizing that she had

adoption | package

found a couple who would raise her son in the way that she would: “in a stable environment with two loving parents.”

“It almost felt as if [Jordan] were an older sister or a guardian angel,” Erika says. “She was so incredibly helpful in getting me through each day.”

She continued communication with the Dentons and journeyed from North Carolina to Ohio to stay with them for the last month of her pregnancy. Getting to know them better and seeing firsthand how they operated as a couple continued to reassure Erika that she was making the right choice. The fact that they lived in a stable neighborhood, planned to take her son to church regularly and had pets added further reassurance.

E

rika’s mother and Jordan assisted her in the delivery room as Ellis was born Sept. 20, 2014 at 2:30 a.m. Letting the baby go home with the Dentons was the “most emotional time” for Erika.

She was shocked when Jordan received the call from a lawyer that said Ellis’ birth father was not relinquishing his rights. He signed the putative father registry in Ohio, which is a state-level legal option that allows unmarried males to document all females with whom they have sexual intercourse for the purpose of retaining parental rights.

The Federal Social Security Act requires this for potential mothers and fathers to acknowledge the paternity of a child. In 24 states, putative fathers can claim paternity. This also provides rights for the unmarried father, including the right to receive court proceedings, petitions for adoption and actions to terminate parental rights.

“I went and stood in the shower until there was no more hot water, and I cried. I didn’t even know how I had any tears left,” Erika says.

After “taking time to process” that the adoption wasn’t going to work out, Erika called her mother.

She says they had to “start from scratch” buying baby clothes, a car seat, crib and stroller. She’s currently raising Ellis back in North Carolina.

“No, it’s not the life I had planned for me or for Ellis, but it’s working, and I still don’t know why God had us go through everything we went through, but I imagine one day it will make sense,” Erika says. “He is the most amazing accident to ever happen to me.”

Jordan says it was “one of the hardest things to let go of the baby [they] thought was to be [theirs].” She says after the disruption of their first adoption, they had to consider other options to become parents.

The perception that American adoptions can take multiple years or that the birth parents can step in to retake the child at some point in the future causes some couples struggling to have children to shy away from American adoptions, choosing instead to undergo In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), egg/sperm donation or to adopt overseas.

According to Director of Communications at the National Adoption Center Gloria Hochman, the decision to adopt domestically or internationally often stems from the type of child that is wanted. She says people who want infants through toddlers opt to go international, and this process can be expensive, requiring immigration, naturalization and travel to the foreign country.

The process for domestic adoptions is often less costly but takes more time because there are fewer children available, says Hochman.

The process for domestic adoption in the United States differs state-by-state and, according to Jordan, is “fairly complex.” In Ohio, there are months of paperwork, background checks, home visits with social workers, classes with the Red Cross and social workers and a Fire Department inspection of the home. Once the state approved the Dentons to adopt, they could then choose an adoption agency and “activate,” filling out more

paperwork indicating adoptive preferences, budget allowances, desired amount of contact with the birth parents after adoption and background issues that they would consider.

According to the National Adoption Center, this waiting process can differ based on the individual baby; however, the wait for a healthy infant is between two and seven years.

A

pproval of this paperwork makes a family a “waiting couple.” The agency then works with birth parents considering adoption who have filled out similar paperwork on what they are looking for in adoptive parents, and give them 10 profiles of potential adoptive parents to choose from or reject. Once a “match” is made, both sides are given consideration time to approve or reject the match based on any elements that aren’t a perfect fit with their initially recorded preferences.

If the match is acceptable to both sides, it is finalized and adoption proceedings commence.

According to Adoptive Families, a resource center for adoptive families, more than 18,000 U.S. families adopt domestically each year, and while there is no consolidated data on how many U.S. adoptions end up in the courts with birth parents wanting to re-establish parenting rights, experts estimate that it’s fewer than one percent.

“We never considered an international adoption,” Jordan says. “We know there are so many waiting children in foster care and so many more that would be aborted if not for adoption.”

As the Dentons were considering their choices, they say they focused on their end goal of becoming parents. While IVF and sperm donation had risks such as failure rates or miscarriages, their health care benefits covered more situations involving infertility issues than adoptive assistance.

“We knew we would be able to become parents, we just didn’t know how,” Jordan says. “We knew that being parents was more important to us than having biological children. We knew without a doubt that we’d be able to love a child whether he had our DNA or not.”

In the United States, while 80 percent of the “Top 100” U.S. employers, including Jordan’s employer, Procter and Gamble, cover adoptive assistance of some sort, according to a 2013 survey by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, those benefits are often more limited than those covering infertility treatments.

A

dditionally, a 2012 National Compensation Survey from the U.S. Department of Labor indicates that paid adoptive leave access is concentrated to specific types of workers. They estimate that only 12 percent of employees have access to paid family leave of any sort (for birth or adoptive children), ranging from almost 1/5 of workers in the highest wage quartile having access to paid family leave to only five percent of workers in the lowest wage quartile (which constitutes almost 25 percent of workers) having paid familyleave access. This means that potentially adoptive parents must take both the cost of adoption and the potentially unpaid leave required to complete the adoptive steps in mind as they consider adoption as an option.

The Child Welfare Information Gateway, a government-funded adoption information service, estimates that the average U.S. adoption costs $8,000 to $40,000. A international child ranges from $15,000 to $30,000. In the end, the Dentons say they considered finance into their decision to adopt but ultimately chose adoption because they had done their research weighing the pros and cons of all the options and because they continued to meet adoptive parents who spoke of it favorably.

“Prospective adopters should do as much research as possible so they become informed

consumers,” Hochman says. “They should research costs and should never send money because of something they saw on the Internet promising a baby. That baby may never materialize. You must advocate for yourself, contacting agencies and staying abreast of the status of your adoption.”

Despite their initial devastation, the Dentons were able to adopt again and celebrated the birth of their adoptive son, Jackson, in early 2015.

Their current adoption is an open adoption. Open adoptions allow the birth parents to maintain some contact with the adoptive parents after birth.

A 2012 survey of adoptions by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute says that open adoptions account for an estimated 95 percent of domestic adoptions. Fifty-five percent of U.S. adoptions are “fully disclosed,” meaning birth and adoptive parents have ongoing, often direct, contact, and 40 percent are “mediated” with the adoptive parents sharing information on the child via an intermediary, often the adoption agency, but not having direct contact.

Hochman says that it’s “important that the degree of openness be agreed upon by all parties.”

She says the advantages of an open adoption include a reduction of uncertainty for the adopted child and birth parents, while disadvantages include nervousness on the part of some adoptive parents in keeping the birth parents involved or possible violations of the agreement, often by the adopted child, who might wish to end communication with the birth parent.

J

ordan says they chose open adoption because studies have shown adoptive children have abandonment issues if they don’t understand why they were placed for adoption, but contact with the birth parents can help alleviate that.

“We want Jackson to understand that his birth parents loved him very much. Also, Jackson has a biological sister, and I believe they will want to

know each other growing up,” Jordan says.

The Dentons met Kelsey, the birth mother of Jackson, in Kansas before the birth and the birth father a few days afterward. They spent time in the hospital with the baby and birth mother and now communicate with her twice a month, sending her pictures or videos via email, which they say she’s happy to receive. They also send letters to her and the birth father via their agency every six months as part of the open adoption guidelines.

Kelsey did not respond to Spark’s request for comment.

Associate Psychology Professor and Director of Clinical Training at Clark University Abbie Goldberg says that open adoptions have been linked to positive outcomes for both the adopted child and birth parents in the form of not having to wonder about the other’s state of mind or motivations.

“Many adoptive and birth parents describe these relationships as powerful and enriching.

Sometimes, issues with boundaries or communication can arise, but rarely does anyone want less contact than they have,” Goldberg says.

Today, Jackson, who recently turned one, is a happy, healthy child who loves playing keyboard with his granddaddy, climbing up and down the stairs and sliding down his indoor inflatable slide. The Dentons are also godparents to Ellis, now almost 18 months old, with a “bubbling” personality, loving to talk and climb things. The two boys got to see each other at Christmas this past year and spent a lot of time standing on either side of a glass-paneled door, smiling at each other and blowing kisses. Erika has since met her fiancé whom she is marrying in the fall.

“Adoption is a long and hard road, but it is worth it in the end,” Jordan says. “Find an adoption support group, talk to other adoptive parents. We’ve all had the same struggles. You will get through it. The waiting will not last forever.”

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MISSING

package | adoption

PIECE

adoption | package

An adoptive mother talks about her daughter’s transition into the welcoming arms of her new family. story aubree dix | art julia sanders

T

he air was crisp, and the visible breath of an exhale matched the patches of snow that dotted the neighborhood yards. The car door was shut and one step, two, three were taken along the path to the front door of the house across the street. Once the front door opened, the visitor stepped inside. And without a second to spare, the door of the entryway closet burst open, revealing a surprise attack by two young boys and a little girl, all of them shouting and yelling in ways that were too adorable to be scary.

It is their customary hello to every guest.

Avery Mefford, 29 and an artist, is a mother of three in Cincinnati. Luke*, 7, is her oldest son, after him comes Henry*, 5, and then Rachel*, 3.

It doesn’t take much to see the physical difference between the boys and Rachel. From the pigment of her skin, it is obvious that she is adopted.

According to Avery, however, the distinction isn’t made in their household. Blood-related or not, Rachel is the boys’ sister.

“No matter what they share, it is clear that sibling relationships fundamentally affect the children’s sense of self, their self-assurance or insecurity, and other crucial aspects of their life’s journey,” says Jane Brown of the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).

Two years passed before the adoption process was complete. For Avery, those years were filled with complications with America’s and Taiwan Republic of China’s governments that “just didn’t care,” paperwork that got lost or needed to be shipped overnight, and very little communication with the daughter she was waiting to meet—the daughter who would complete the family.

Finally, Rachel could come home. Together, Avery and and her husband, Greg, an engineer, boarded a plane to Taiwan where they spent the next two weeks. It was during the middle of the second week that they got to see their daughter’s face without having to look at a photo or sit in front of a computer screen.

The long-awaited moment, which Avery described as “beautiful and amazing,” is one she will never forget. She remembers her daughter, who was 19 months old at the time, standing amidst other children in the orphanage when their eyes met, recognition clear on Rachel’s face.

“When we picked her up, I had to hold her for five solid days,” Avery recalls. “The only time I could put her down was when she was asleep, [or else she would cry.]”

Avery explains that Rachel’s orphanage in Taiwan would have strangers volunteer to help care for the kids. When the strangers left, they never returned, so Rachel developed a habit of screaming for the endless list of visitors to come back. The orphanage warned the married couple that Rachel had high anxiety, but Avery didn’t mind toting her daughter around every minute of every day, not if it helped Rachel feel safe and secure.

“She didn’t get off my lap until she [met] her brothers, and that was the first time in five days that I got a break,” Avery says, glancing at Luke as he sat beside her. “She felt at home with them. She got up and started playing with them.”

According to licensed independent social worker (LISW) Andrea Bohlen, who works at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, actions like Rachel’s are completely normal.

“I never see kids who don’t have adjustment issues,” Bohlen tells Spark. “It’s a huge change for a child to be taken out of their familiar surroundings, [and one] adjustment-related issue [is] separation anxiety.”

Bohlen explains that separation anxiety is when a person fears that “[he or she] might be left again.” Usually it’s in connection with the parent or caregiver, not with siblings, though it is possible if a newly adopted child witnesses a sibling, for example, going to school.

Avery claims that it was because of Luke and Henry that Rachel began to be herself. Rachel got acclimated so quickly that after spending half a day with her brothers, she had a tea party with Luke.

According to Luke, one of his favorite games to play with his sister is wrestling. “[It’s] really rough wrestling. Throwing things, running into each other,” Avery says. “[My younger son] is more quiet and doesn’t like to play rough.

Henry and Rachel do a lot of typical younger activities together, like play Play-Doh for an hour.”

Unsurprisingly, both boys were ecstatic when their sister finally came home. Not only did their

“When [a child is] in adoption or foster care, [they] come into that new family because [they] experienced trauma in [their] first family,” Spencer-Truman says. “Whether it be physical pain or neglect, sexual abuse or just the mere pain of abandonment, [they have] to do something with all those feelings.”

In addition to coping with past traumas, being a new member of a family brings on a whole other tidal wave of dilemmas.

“Seven Core Issues in Adoption,” published

by Silverstein and Kaplan in 1986, explains seven negative emotions and how they can impact people involved in an adoption process. They include: a child experiencing a lack of control; rejection; a struggle for identity, which can lead to extreme actions to secure a sense of belonging; and shame for being different from the rest of the family.

According to Spencer-Trueman, the Seven Core Issues “can be applied to nearly every adoptee” and even birth and adoptive parents in some ways.

“Rejection, guilt, shame, [and] identity issues [are] fairly universal,” Spencer-Trueman tells Spark. “[However], you have to imagine that for the adoptee it’s like taking a magnifying glass and placing it on top of [those] feelings [to make them] much bigger.”

“Adoption is a beautiful relationship created out of a lot of loss.”

—Avery Mefford, parent

parents help them understand the situation by talking about it and reading books on adoption, but also they let Luke and Henry help in many ways throughout the process. Avery says her boys Skyped with Rachel and helped mail papers. They also helped write cards and find toys for any care packages that were sent to their sister.

“It’s a little bit more exciting to bring home a child from adoption that can talk to them and play with them. An infant sucks up all of mom’s time, and that’s not fun for most kids,” Avery says.

Although the small gaps in age appear to work for Luke, Henry and Rachel, the impact that an adopted child’s age has on the family is controversial among experts. Some believe that age plays a large role while others say it has nothing to do with family relationships.

According to OhioGuidestone foster parent recruiter and trainer Holly Spencer-Trueman, there’s a possibility that issues can arise due to the interruption in birth order.

However, adoption navigator for Adoption Network Julius Jackson states, “Age has no role in sibling relationships. How [relationships] turn [out] often begins and ends with the parents and what they come to it with.”

The Mefford family has adjusted more comfortably; however, not every adoption situation is the same, and some are more complicated than others.

Spencer-Trueman tells Spark that it’s common for adopted children to create issues within their new families due to struggles they dealt with in their past or problems with mental health.

A fourth issue observed by Silverstein and Kaplan dealt with intimacy, which was seen between Rachel and Greg. At first, Rachel struggled to stay home with him without Avery, so the family created a therapy book. The book showed pictures of Rachel with her mom, them separating, Rachel being with Greg, and then Avery returning, and then said ‘Mommy always comes back’ in Mandarin. Rachel always carried the book with her.

The article by Jane Brown stated that adopted or foster children who don’t cope with their feelings can resort to stealing or destroying belongings of another sibling, having violent outbursts, publicly embarrassing a sibling or claiming an unequal portion of parental time and attention.

Avery says that she hasn’t noticed any atypical problems among her children. She and Greg talked to their sons about being patient with Rachel as she learned that her family members wouldn’t abandon her, and Luke oftentimes consoled her whenever she was distressed.

The two final emotions that pertain to the “Seven Core Issues in Adoption” are grief and loss, both of which were experienced by the whole Mefford family.

“Imagine someone took one of your siblings out of your house. You can only have three pictures of them, you don’t know if they’re in a safe spot, you can’t talk to them, and you don’t know when you’re getting them back,” Avery says.

“It’s a very lonely type of grief because [many] people don’t understand.”

Director of National Youth Action Adoption

and LISW Patricia Hill says that in order to deal with the grief that accompanies adoption, support groups are available during and after the wait for an adopted child to come home. Once the adopted child finally joins his or her new family, therapy is highly encouraged.

Avery believes the grief comes from multiple directions. There’s grief from the birth family, because they’re losing a child; from the adoptive parents if they can’t, but wanted to, have kids biologically; from the adoptive parents who didn’t get to witness their new child’s firsts steps or first words; and from the adopted child who’s losing a family connection, possibly along with birth culture, birth country and citizenship.

“Adoption is a beautiful relationship created out of a lot of loss,” Avery says, recalling that she cried almost daily due to her constantly being upset. “It’s really hard when you get pictures of your baby, and then you get [new] pictures of them and they look like they’re four.”

Luke, Avery says, frequently tried to help his mom feel better. He would give her hugs, pray aloud for her and ask when his sister would be coming home. He, too, wanted Rachel to be with her family.

Even before the family was united, the Meffords knew that they wanted Rachel to understand her heritage, so they began taking steps to help her incorporate her Taiwanese birth culture with her life in America. In order to ensure that Rachel feels completely understood, loved and accepted by her family, they created a life book that tells of Rachel’s background in Taiwan and of her beginning in America, that way she can refer to it as she grows older.

In addition, they are members of a Chinese church local to the Tri-State area, they have formed friendships with families in the TaiwaneseAmerican and Chinese-American community, and Luke and Henry even attend Chinese language school weekly.

To an expert on adoption, the actions taken by the Mefford family would be seen as healthy.

According to Spencer-Trueman, it’s wisest to tell an adopted child all information regarding the adoption by the time the child is 12 years old.

Spencer-Trueman also recommends that the child be told from birth that he or she is, in fact, adopted.

“Secrets are toxic. A child’s history belongs to the child, [even] if it’s a difficult history,” SpencerTrueman says. “If [the adoptee] finds out from the neighbor who goes, ‘Oh yeah, I remember the day your parents brought you home,’ it is incredibly damaging.”

Hill shares the same thoughts, believing the best course of action is to create a photo album.

From there, she advises families to constantly tell the adopted child his or her life story like it’s “the best story in the world.”

“If adoption is presented that way to children, it’s not [traumatic],” Hill says. “And [tell] it that way to your family and friends. Everybody has a life story—it’s [no big deal].”

To the Meffords, it isn’t. Whether any of Avery’s children came from her womb or from across the world, they’re all her kids. And bloodrelated or not, Rachel is still Henry’s and Luke’s sister, the same one whose coming home made them ecstatic enough to jump and dance around, the same one who is now a part of their hide-inthe-closet prank.

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adoption | package

WORTH THE

WAIT

Through the process of adopting internationally, Renee Sicina balances issues that can arise with a transracial adoption along with incorporating her daughter’s culture into their lives. story cristina francisco | infographics bailey spaulding and lexy harrison | art julia sanders

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mother dries her face after rinsing it with water and brushing her teeth. Her daughter stands next to her, mirroring every action. Then the mother leads her daughter into the small bedroom that features Ethiopian trinkets on the shelves, and they change into their pajamas. On the floor of the bedroom, Renée Sicina lathers lotion onto her daughter as she continues their nightly routine before tucking her into bed. Anticipating a “good night” from her daughter, Renée waits. Instead, three-year-old Eden says,“You can’t be my mom because I have brown skin and you have white skin.”

It was the first time Eden mentioned the difference between herself and her mom in a way that hurt Renée. When Eden was prompted to ask this because her friends questioned why she looked different from her mom, Renée offered her daughter words of comfort and tried to help her understand.

“It was heartbreaking to hear that from [Eden],” Renée says. “I told her the only thing you need to be a family is love, and I explained that she will see all kinds of families in her lifetime and what they all have in common is love. No one kind of family is right or wrong because of its members and what they look like. She was happy with that explanation and hasn’t mentioned it again.”

Eden is one of 2,511 children adopted from Ethiopia in 2010, according to U.S. Department of State, and one out of 11,058 children who were a part of an intercountry adoption worldwide, compared to the 6,438 children adopted in 2014.

Although intercountry adoptions are decreasing, they are becoming culturally acceptable in the United States, according the National Council for Adoption (NCFA).

Julie Claiborn, the communications manager for NCFA, says that there are still challenges in transracial families, specifically to ensure that “a

child has a connection to his or her birth culture,” which helps to develop their identity.

“Intercountry adoptions in general are declining dramatically, but that is due to a host of complicated reasons, not due to racial issues,” Claiborn says. “Increasingly, social workers are being trained on how to help adoptive families prepare for the challenges of raising a child of a different race.”

Claiborn attributes some of these challenges to situations such as how to care for black hair or how to incorporate a child’s birth culture into the family’s everyday life. Wanting to make Eden feel at home, Renée worked to familiarize herself with the Ethiopian culture. She shopped at the local markets, buying traditional clothing and trinkets to display around her house, and she also brought

tablecloth and napkins to celebrate the Ethiopian holidays. She bought an Ethiopian cookbook and has tried some of the dishes.

Renée’s decision to adopt came from her desire to become a mother. Her options were domestic adoption, international adoption or artificial insemination.

She ruled out domestic adoption because she would first need to be a foster parent. Then the adoptive parents or birth parents could change their mind about keeping the child. Renée also decided against artificial insemination because of the expensive costs and fear that there wasn’t enough time to become pregnant as a single mother.

Before meeting six-month-old Eden in 2010, Renée had come to terms with her decision to

adopt internationally after months of researching questions such as whether she could adopt as a single parent, the cost, the wait time and the likelihood of getting an infant.

Initially Renée choose to adopt from Vietnam and was placed on the waiting list to be matched with a child for two years. Then Renée was told that she could no longer adopt from Vietnam because of fraudulent adoptions. It had come to light that mothers were giving up their children in return for money or not voluntarily giving up their children as required by the United States. Due to this, a ban was placed on United States adoptions of Vietnamese children in 2008 and lasted for six years before it was lifted.

“Losing that adoption was extremely painful,” Renée says. “I was dreaming of a child and what she would look like just like any expectant parent.

So when the adoption didn’t go through, [it was a loss, and there was a mourning process].”

Renée was given the choice to cancel the adoption or adopt from a different country, and after a month, she chose to adopt from Ethiopia because of the availability of children and the shorter wait time, which in 2009 was about a year after the paperwork was submitted to referral because Ethiopia’s government allows single women to adopt.

Nicky Losse, the program director of Children’s Hope International, the agency that guided Renée through the process, attributes a country’s own regulations to the time it takes for an intercountry adoption to occur.

“Each country has different requirements and different processes,” Losse says. “[However], all families have to get a home study completed and receive United States immigration approval. Then they put their paperwork together for the foreign country. Some countries have a central authority, and some have a court system.”

Once the documents were translated into Amharic, they were sent to the adoption agency stationed in Ethiopia. The Children’s Hope International has a transition home there called The House of Hope, where Eden was moved when she became eligible for adoption.

During the 14 months waiting for the paperwork to be matched, Renée took 15 hours of parental classes, a cardiopulmonary resuscitation class and a childhood development class. She later received a referral, a child and time to decide whether she would accept the child.

Despite going through the lengthy process of filling out paperwork or waiting for referrals, parents can often be denied participation in an intercountry adoption. Kim Paglino, the program director for The Donaldson Adoption Institute, says that these denials can depend on the agencies’ requirements, which vary from country to country.

“States can say that they require four hours of education, while the agency can require six hours,” Paglino says. “Parents can be denied for not meeting financial requirements or for committing certain crimes.There are also some agencies that deny adoptions based on age and weight requirements.”

After the preparation courses and paperwork, the adoption process began in Ethiopia, and Renée took a week-long travel trip there along with other families to meet the judge and her child.

“The trip was full of joy because I got to spend a week with her,” Renée says. “She stayed in the

transition home, and I had to stay in a hotel, but it was also heartbreaking because I didn’t get to bring her home.”

Eighteen months later and after not being able to adopt from Vietnam and a second travel trip to Ethiopia, Renée brought Eden home; however, Eden’s transition to Renée’s home took a while before she began to feel comfortable.

In any adoption, Jane Hoyt-Oliver, a professor of social work and social welfare policy at Malone University, says that there are possible psychological effects that can be because the child is experiencing reactive attachment disorder due to trauma before the adoption, or the “intersection between parent and the child’s personality.”

Renée, who also has graduated with a degree in Child and Family Studies, says that trauma could include losing their family or feeling a loss of a familiar environment such as the way they were held or the scents around them.

“For every three months a child spends in an orphanage, they are typically one month behind in their emotional and physical development,” Renée says. “In Eden’s case, she wasn’t delayed, but the first time I held her on my first trip to Ethiopia, she wouldn’t look at me. It took the entire day for her to finally look at me and also took almost the entire week for her to take a full bottle from me.”

The adjustments for an transracially adopted child also continue as he or she grows older. HoytOliver relates this to situations such teaching a child how to drive.

“A lot of white parents don’t understand how to teach a child to manage things like driving while black,” Hoyt-Oliver says. “They need to think about how to address the police if this happens. “ The desire to see these situations be handled equally can often be reason enough for parents to adopt. According to Hoyt-Oliver, some parents want to create a world where race is not

Cost of International Adoption

There are many different options for international adoption. The three most popular countries for it are China, Ethiopia and Haiti.

Total Cost: China $31,801-$36,338 Ethiopia $34,125-$45,960 Haiti $43,205-$54,650

Application Fee China $300 Ethiopia $300 Haiti $300

United States Processing Fee: China $3,500 Ethiopia $3,500 Haiti $3,500

Post Placment Reports: China $1,600 Ethiopia $1,600 Haiti $1,200

Document Processing Service: China $750 Ethiopia None Haiti None

Travel Costs: China $8,000-$10,000 Ethiopia $8,000-$10,000 Haiti $5,500-$13,000

Third Party Costs:

Placement Processing Fee:

China $1,480-$4,450 Ethiopia $1,955-$4,450 Haiti $4,705-$8,250

First Home Study: China $2,500-$2,900 Ethiopia $2,500-$2,900 Haiti $2,500-$2,900

China $900 Ethiopia None Haiti None

Adoption Program Fee: China $9,300 Ethiopia $18,900 Haiti $25,000 sources www.holtinternational.org

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adoption | package

“When adoptive parents can provide [a loving and permanent home] a transracial adoption is seen as preferable to growing up without a family at all.”

—Julie Claiborn, National Council for Adoption Communications Manager as important as it appears to be, and because of this, they want to create a family that “makes a statement about their desire to see a world where all people are treated equally.”

Other reasons can include not being able to have children biologically, already having success with parenting to their own biological children and

wanting to give this same opportunity to other children. There are also religious reasons such as disagreeing with abortion or wanting to start a family.

Running errands with Eden, Renée has not encountered any negatively racial comments.

People will often stare, ask questions or

TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION

There are many different options when it comes to adoption, including variation in age and race.

12%

Races Adopted 6%

Caucasian

1% 1%

51%

African American Hispanic Asian

29%

Other Two or More Races

Ages of Children Adopted Under a Year Old 2.8%

1 - 5 Years Old 54.4%

6 - 10 Years Old 26.7%

11 - 15 Years Old 13%

16 + Years Old 3.2% sources www.acf.hhs.gov, www.adoptionhelp.org

compliment them both.

“I had one sales person say to me, ‘You’re another mom with a chocolate baby,’” Renée says. “[But the staring] doesn’t bother me, and I also don’t notice it anymore. She’s been my daughter for so long, and people who are staring usually stare out of curiosity or because she’s a beautiful child.”

Renée does get nervous and worries about Eden’s future because of the “protesting with black lives matter.” She says that while Eden isn’t a child of slavery, she will have to explain the history of black people in America and Ethiopia’s history.

Parents informing a child about the culture from which they were adopted helps to further a child’s transition into the home as well as the ability to form connections with people who are the same race as their child.

Hoyt-Oliver says it’s important to have people who can “speak into the child’s life.” While these people can include extended family members, often times these conversations don’t occur. In a study conducted for her book, “Parenting in Transracial Adoption: Real Questions and Answers,” she found that when extended family members were not as engaged about the transracial adoption, “painful discussions” had to occur.

“Depending on the age of the child, he or she becomes aware that other grandchildren or cousins are being treated differently,” Hoyt-Oliver says. “[In one family], there was a conversation with the extended family that included the adoptive parents saying that unless [this mistreatment] changes, they weren’t going to come back to them.”

Fortunately for Eden and Renée, the struggling relationships that may be seen in other families are not a concern for them. Renée’s parents, who already have older grandchildren, Kegan and Kaleb, wanted more grandchildren and were accepting of Eden.

Rather than being treated differently from the other grandchildren, both Kegan and Kaleb have established a healthy relationship with her. Kaleb, especially, has formed a close bond with Eden and has been nicknamed “the Eden whisperer.”

“There are times when she is being stubborn, and Kaleb is the only one who can get her to do anything,” Renée says. “[When she doesn’t want to eat] he will say, ‘You just have to eat two bites. I bet you can’t do it,’ and she does. She will then go to Kegan if she wants to roughhouse or play.”

The healthy relationships formed between the extended family and the adoptive child are encouraged by adoption agencies, and, despite other issues that can arise, intercountry adoption are becoming encouraged by agencies.

“When adoptive parents can provide [a loving and permanent home], a transracial adoption is seen as preferable to growing up without a family at all,” Clairborn says.

Despite the fact that the process to adopt Eden almost took four years, Renée does not regret her decision. Even with issues that can arise, she agrees with Clairborn about encouraging others to adopt internationally.

“Adoption is a wonderful thing, and I would recommend it to anyone,” Renée says. “With that said, you have to know what you are signing up for.

Prepare yourself for the inevitable rude questions from well-intended strangers. [And even though it took almost four years,] Eden was totally worth the wait.”

not adoption, which confuses a lot of people.”

The circumstances for reasons of foster care today have changed, says Greg Janson, Associate Professor of Child and Family Studies at Ohio University.

“Fifty years ago,” Janson says, “a foster kid was a kid whose parents fell on hard times, died or there was no relative who could take them, but they were basically ‘normal’ kids. The kids who are in foster care today are kids who would be in residential psychiatric care 30 years ago.”

B

FOSTERING

REUNIFICATION

Originally created to provide care for children whose parents had passed away, the foster care system has the goal to reunify children with their biological parents or caretakers.

story and infographic michelle chu | art julia sanders

*denotes name change

T

he laughing voices of two little boys and an older girl rang against a bubbling stream and bird calls. The group ran around the park, past an amphitheater, field, cabin and playground, encouraging each other to not fall behind or risk being caught by ancient Romans. Finally, they quickly shut the doors to the WABAC Machine and drove off, leaving their pursuers far behind.

Emilee and her two younger foster brothers, Aidan* and Liam*, sometimes play pretend at Keehner Park in West Chester and recreate scenes from the movie, “Mr. Peabody & Sherman.” They call Emilee’s car the WABAC Machine, the fictional time machine used by Mr. Peabody, Sherman and Penny Peterson in the Disney movie. These moments reflect the love and joy in the family’s bond; Emilee’s family has endured court hearings and numerous caseworker visits since her parents, Heather and Mark, became licensed foster parents.

Heather and Mark began training to become licensed foster parents after Heather substitutetaught a girl in third grade who brought in a book

to school that essentially contained the story of her life and the five failed foster homes she had been in. Heather was shocked and moved after examining the contents of the girl’s book.

“I didn’t know what [the girl] could have possibly done that would [make someone want to] give her back,” Heather says. “My husband and I talked about it, and our goal in going to foster care was to give kids stability until they could go home or until they could find an adoptive home forever.”

According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), which collects information from state and tribal title IV-E agencies on all children in foster care and those who have been adopted with Title IV-E agency involvement, 55 percent of foster children had a goal for reunification with the family in the fiscal year of 2014. In the same year, 51 percent of foster children returned home to their parents in the United States.

“When you do foster care, the goal is to return the children to their families,” Emilee says. “It’s

utler County Children’s Services Ombudsman Chris Pater finds that group homes, where several children are placed in a private residence with a caregiver and residential treatment were used more often in the past than now. She attributes the change to increased research and training throughout the foster care system.

Reasons behind why the demographic of foster kids has changed dramatically is because the foster care system simply does not have the funds for psychiatric hospitals, Janson says. The county is responsible for costs of foster kids and would be paying a $1,000 a day for the child to be in a hospital for his/her condition.

“Most people think Children’s Services can just go out to do a home visit,” Pater says. “[Then] if they see something wrong, they can just automatically remove kids and take those children from the parents.”

However, there are other criteria for the agency to follow in the removal of a child. Children in foster care are removed from their families for three main reasons, says Pater. When police are called out to a house and arrest a parent or parents, Children’s Services helps find care for the children living in the home. If the police find the conditions unfit for the children living there, called a police removal, then they can make the decision to notify Children’s Services. The case is moved to court and caseworkers testify as to why the children were removed, and the judge can decide temporary custody with an ex parte order. For 72 hours, parents and their attorneys can also go to court for custody.

If a family has been working with the agency and the caseworker finds the conditions of the home to be unsafe, such as if the home is dirty or there is evidence of drug addiction, the caseworker will decide with the agency if they should write a complaint to the court for temporary custody.

Parents have the option of agreement for care, in which they voluntarily agree to give temporary custody to the agency but have the jurisdiction to essentially take back their child at any time.

Caseworkers continue to be responsible to follow up and assure that the child is safe at home with their parents or may follow the procedure of the first two reasons for removal and file a complaint for custody of the child with the courts.

After having been integrated in working with foster care agencies, Heather recognizes the myths of a foster care removal.

“The county doesn’t want to take people’s kids away,” Heather says. “It really has to be proven that there is a reason.”

According to Janson, the most significant reasons why children are taken from their family and put in foster care today are due to neglect and abuse. This is defined as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which

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results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation or an act or failure to act that presents an imminent risk of serious harm,” according to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Many foster care children are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, furthering the reason why many were placed in psychiatric treatment in the past. Many families are often not able to properly help their foster children due to this diagnosis, Janson says.

“The problem is when you recruit foster parents and you try to train them, most normal people think love and structure is enough,” Janson says. “But in reality, as soon as the kids start to feel comfortable, they start acting out. If you’re in foster care and you have a history of trauma and abuse, physically, you might look 16, but emotionally, you’re nine or ten.”

Leaving the System KEY reunification with primary caretaker

Unite d

Sta t

Unde ia n

es

living with relatives adopted

Ohio

51%

Ask

the y l b

About our

BEST!

Current speCiAls!

age out other

13%

46%

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21%

sources adoption and foster care analysis and reporting system fy 2014 report, public children’s services of ohio 2015

Pater says that the reason behind the wait is often scheduling hearings when the group of attorneys, caseworkers, prosecutors, foster family and biological family are all available.

Before the courts have control of the case of the child, the foster care agency can create a safety plan, which is a written agreement between the agency and parent for the child to stay at a relative’s home while the parent receives treatment. Furthermore, if parents follow the case plan to treatment and prove they can resume responsibility of their child, the wait can be shortened considerably.

D

uring the process of waiting, foster families, including Emilee’s family, work on recreating the idea of love to their foster children.

“The single most important thing to work on is attachment, or the ability to have a deep, rich and rewarding emotional relationship with another human being,” Janson says. “Your idea of love and the kids’ idea of love are probably different because [in their previous situation] they learn to distrust, to withhold emotions and learn that they’re alone.”

Emilee’s family are members of the Church of the Latter-day Saints, and their faith and values help transform the idea of love by supporting

Aidan and Liam after the boys visit their biological parents. Visits can be difficult for kids because there may be triggers that were resolved by therapy that come back, says Pater. When those triggers arise, it is a combined effort of the family to reassure the boys that they are safe and cared for.

“When [the boys] used to come home from the visits, it felt like they had taken four steps back,” Heather says. “If they had been potty-trained for weeks or months even, now they’re having accidents all day long. But they always have to have that time; it’s a legal obligation.”

Even with these setbacks and difficulties, Heather and her family continue to be supportive of the foster care system and share passion to care for others by taking care of Aidan and Liam, even in the uncertainty that the future may hold. ”In the beginning, everybody is very idealistic,” Heather says. “Unfortunately, there are people in training or foster care who foster to adopt. A lot of times, it turns out that they believe or think or feel that they can love the baby or the child enough that their problems will go away. And sometimes that can be really hard to deal with, that you can’t love or change everything for a kid. You can’t make things normal for a child who’s never been given a shot at normal.”

“When you do foster care, the goal is to return the children to their families. It’s not adoption, which confuses a lot of people.”

—Emilee, foster sister

2017--ARE YOU READY TO HAVE SOME FUN!

The primary purpose for foster care is to reunite children with their families; however, they may still exit the foster care system in other ways.

H

eather and Mark went through 40 hours of training the first year to become licensed and now continue with 40 hours of additional training every two years. During the sessions, they are given instruction or watch videos on foster care or adoption and will write follow-ups on the content. Emilee and her younger brother and sister, when they turn 18, are required to complete some training themselves but not as extensive because they will no longer be permanent residents at their home.

Still, the hours of training do not make up for the actual experience in the integration of the system. Until a foster family is immersed in the system and has a foster child, families will not be able to fully understand the highs and lows of foster care, Pater says.

“I’d like to say that [foster care agencies] prepare parents as well as they can,” Pater says, “but I think until you do it, no one is ever fully prepared [to take in a child].”

Before taking in Aidan and Liam, the family fostered a pair of sisters. As her first foster children, Heather says she didn’t expect how talkative they would become at night and “divulge on all the things they were scared about, worried about and all the bad things that had happened to them.”

Although there had been initial frustration working with the agency, the family’s close bond with the sisters in a short time made it difficult for them to let go of the girls after they left.

“Within that month, they were completely trusting [of us],” Mark says. “They knew we were there to take care of them in a way that they had rarely, if ever, been taken care of before.”

The frustration of foster families, says Heather, is that although they find that caseworkers are often working hard, the rules of the foster care system and government slow the process of reunification. And for the biological parents or caretakers of the child, the wait can be agonizing.

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SUNNI & SHIA SECTS

I S L A M

Following the death of Prophet Muhammad, a political dispute in the Muslim community concerning succession led to the divide that exists today.

majority Shia

LANGUAGE

PRIMARY COUNTRIES

SPEAKERS (MILLIONS)

chinese

35

1,302

spanish

31

427

english

106

339

arabic

58

267

hindi

4

260

0.9% 1.8 MILLION

majority Sunni 19%

infographic manjot kalkat, cassia chryssovergis and sophia chryssovergis

Syria

Lebanon

24% Iraq

Israel

Iran

Britain

72%

France 76%

61%

Italy

31%

56%

Poland

30%

42%

Spain

52%

Kuwait

Egypt

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Out of 435 members in the House of Representatives, two identify as Muslim. There are no Muslim senators.

favorable

24% Germany 69%

Jordan

West Bank

MUSLIMS IN CONGRESS

Regardless of their linguistic, cultural and racial differences, Muslims all read the Qur’an, which is written in Arabic.

After a number of attacks within the past year, some European countries have blamed the group of Muslims as a whole rather than the specific radical terrorist groups.

unfavorable

In light of recent political positions and continued media coverage of terrorist attacks, Islamophobia in America continues to fester. While changing the minds of people who are set in their anti-Islam beliefs is unrealistic, through the voices of Muslims in the community, Spark tries to reach the apathetic Americans who may not know enough about Islam to form opinions for themselves.

ARABIC LANGUAGE

EUROPEAN VIEW OF MUSLIMS

UAE

10

Oman

9

Sunni Shia

Yemen

90

KEITH ELLISON (D - Minnesota) 2007 - current

individuals of the United States population identify as Muslim. Ten percent of all legal immigrants into the United States are Muslim. They also have the youngest median age (23 years old), resulting in the highest fertility rate among other religions.

mosques located in the Greater Cincinnati region

ANDRÉ CARSON (D - Indiana) 2008 - current

THE HOLY QUR’AN

has been translated in 114 different languages

ISLAM GROWING FASTEST

What grade are you in?

Have you ever been made to feel embarrassed because you are Muslim?

Are either of your parents immigrants?

12th 9th 11th

The Muslim religious group is projected to be the only major group to increase faster than the world’s population as a whole.

yes

Estimated change in population size, 2010-2050

10th yes

Muslims

73%

Christians

MUSLIM HEAD COVERING

35%

Hindus

Some women wear a head covering because they believe that God has instructed them to wear it as a means of fulfilling the commandment of modesty. However, this decision is left to the individual and is made whenever she feels ready.

34%

VIEW OF ISIS

From an opinion survey proctored by the Pew Research Center, it was found that different countries have varying opinions about terrorist groups. unfavorable

favorable

Lebanon Jews

11%

Unaffiliated

Buddhists

What language do you speak at home?

don’t know

100%

16%

Folk Religions

Other Religions

no

9%

6%

-0.3%

35% growth in overall global population

HIJAB

NIQAB

BURKA

the general term for modest dress code; a head scarf that hides the hair, ears and neck

veil that entirely covers the woman’s mouth and nose while leaving a small opening for the eyes

full cloak that covers the head and body along with a grille to cover the eyes; traditionally worn in Afghanistan

Israel

97

12

Jordan

94

33

Palestine

84

Indonesia

79

4 18

Turkey

73

8 19

6 10

Nigeria

66

Burkina Faso

64

8

28

Malaysia

64

11

25

Senegal

60

Pakistan

28

9

14

11

20

arabic: 9 moroccan arabic: 1 urdu: 2 english: 8 french: 3

EAST CONNECTION A focus group of 12 Muslim students within Lakota East were asked the following questions.

Which sect of Islam do you identify with?

Do you believe in God?

From where did your parents immigrate? algeria: 1 france: 1 iraq: 2 india: 1 kuwait: 1 lebanon: 2 morocco: 2 pakistan: 1 palestine: 3

Shia yes Sunni

29

62 sources pewresearch.org, congress.gov, washingtonpost.com, bbc.com, ethnologue.com, arabsinamerica.unc.edu, nytimes.com, npr.org, spark survey, zabihah.com

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BREAKING BARRIERS

According to a recent survey of East students, of those surveyed...

65%

have limited or no knowledge about Islam

80%

get a majority of their information about Islam from the media

37%

have been taught that Islam encourages violence among its followers

19%

believe Islam encourages violence among its followers

63%

are concerned about a rise in extremism that perpetrators link to Islam

story maddie weikel | infographic manjot kalkat | photography christine shi and maya wells

As media coverage of ISIS and controversial platforms from presidential candidates highlight explicit biases against Muslim Americans, the previously overlooked implicit biases are becoming more visible, calling for increased interaction with and education about Islam.

W

ith the end of her senior year swiftly approaching, it was time for East student Amena Sheikh to choose a location for her graduation party, and the family thought they had found the ideal spot. On the website, it was perfect—the computer screen flashed vibrant trees and plenty of green space so the adults and graduates could mingle, a playground and basketball court so the kids could play and a beautiful inside space in case of rain.

Eager to schedule the party, Sheikh’s parents rolled up to the park for what was intended to be a final inspection, but it was difficult to get a good look at the lush greenery when parents were ushering their children to different areas and the feeling of penetrating stares was clouding their judgments.

“My dad didn’t feel comfortable in the area because it was so unfamiliar, and a majority of the people who my parents passed while driving didn’t seem too happy to see them,” Sheikh says. “[Onlookers] returned with stares. My dad says it could just be him stereotyping, but he felt unwelcome and unwanted, and it just gives you a kind of stiff feeling. No one has to trade any words—you just know.”

Despite the seemingly flawless portrayal on the park’s website, Sheikh decided to celebrate her graduation with friends and family in her own West Chester community, which both she and her mother, Khitam Abuzeyada, view as accepting and generally open-minded. Nationally, however, the numbers don’t exactly line up.

Not only did Americans on average rate Muslims less favorably than any other world religion in a 2014 Pew study, but YouGov also found in 2015 that 60 percent of Americans surveyed either do not want to or are indifferent about learning more about Islam.

In the midst of anti-Muslim sentiment from 2016 presidential candidates and from the international media’s coverage of ISIS attacks, the information from which the average American draws when making everyday judgments about Muslims is often negative and skewed, according to Boston University Professor of Sociology of Religion Nancy Ammerman. From uncomfortable looks in the grocery store to seeing people pull their children close when she and other women wearing hijab pass by on the street, Sheikh has felt the twangs of misguided prejudice that she knows can be clarified with even one positive interaction.

“The hardest [form of discrimination] was being able to find a job,” Sheikh says. “I’ve sent out a lot of resumes three separate times to places that I would think would accept a lot of people, but for some reason they turned down mine. I’m not even sure why, maybe because of my name, but I have a lot of qualifications that would work for [entry-level] jobs. I work at Lush now, but I feel like they accepted me because their ethics is they try to get a lot of diverse workers.”

Sheikh only suspects that her religion was a factor in her unsuccessful job search, but the Metropolis British Columbia (MBC) Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Diversity found in 2011 that English-speaking employers in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are 40 percent more likely to respond positively to a job applicant with an English-sounding name than an applicant with an ethnic name, even if both candidates have identical qualifications recorded on their resumes.

Those employers most likely do not express explicit signs of discrimination, but, according to the Implicit Project, through which more than two million Americans have taken an Implicit Association Test (IAT) that most accurately

“There’s a real fear that if we do ask questions, either we’ll look stupid or we’ll cause conflict.”

—Nancy Ammerman, Boston University Professor of Sociology of Religion

measures subconscious bias, most white Americans have some sort of bias against at least one group that is not white. Whether or not these implicit biases are recognized is unclear, but the ramifications are real.

For the people like the majority of scorers on the IAT who find themselves resting in the gray area between absolute support for and extreme hate of Muslim Americans, there is little motivation to break their normal routines to seek out reliable information, but their misinformed subconsciouses make inaccurate judgments whether or not their personal connections to the issue is causing any explicit problems.

“The relative distance between the Muslim experience and the traditional American religious experience is really the largest barrier there is,” Ammerman tells Spark. “[For this reason], it’s easy for people to be mislead about Muslims because we call on whatever knowledge and experience we already have, so if we have a picture about what an experience is, we will draw an analogy.”

I

t is not unreasonable, according to Ammerman, for people to prioritize other aspects of their lives over researching American-Muslim culture, especially if they feel apathetic toward or disconnected from the Muslim community.

In West Chester, however, residents live in the same township as the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC), and both Sheikh and Abuzeyada feel safe and respected in the community because people at least see Muslims at “normal” places like grocery stores, gas stations and schools.

But beyond the limits of West Chester, Sheikh and her family are concerned with the incorrect correlation of Muslims with terrorism that runs rampant. In efforts to disassociate ISIS with the religion of Islam, many Muslims refer to the group as “Daesh,” which is connected to an Arabic word that means, “one who crushes something underfoot.” Abuzeyada, as well as ICGC educational speaker Shabana Ahmed and Sheikh, explain that a central teaching in Islam states that killing one person is equivalent to killing the whole world in the eyes of Allah, which makes the relentless association of Islam with terrorism extremely painful and disheartening.

“For us as Muslims, killing is major sin no matter what, even if it’s an ant,” Abuzeyada says.

“If it does harm, you have a reason, but if it doesn’t harm you, you can just avoid it. So when

Hopewell Junior eighth grader Sarah Sheikh, mother Khitam Abuzeyada, East senior Amena Sheikh and seventh grader Yusuf Sheikh are active members at the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, which is located in West Chester.

it comes to killing a person, it’s something huge.

For us, after you die, you go to heaven or hell, but if you ever kill a person, you would never, ever go to heaven.”

According to a New York Times analysis, since 2014, ISIS has carried out or inspired at least 29 deadly assaults targeting Westerners around the world, killing more than 650 people, the most recent of which being the attacks in Belgium and Turkey in March. Because 65 percent of 368 East students surveyed have limited or no knowledge about Islam, the group is more prone to believing stereotypes popularized through incomplete media coverage. With every shooting, bombing or violent act that makes the news, Sheikh says she and ICGC friends pray that the perpetrator is not Muslim because there is always a “microscope” watching the community’s every move.

“Everything has its own good and bad, but when a tiny, small thing happens, it affects us like a bad apple affects the whole thing,” Abuzeyada says. “We all get affected. Every single Muslim gets affected. I feel like people judge you before they talk to you just by your look, and they don’t need to know you and they don’t want to know you. They just know whatever they know from the media, and they label you as the bad apple.”

Popularized by John McConahay, the term “modern racism” refers to the perspective that although racism is wrong, minority groups are

making “unfair demands” when calling for justice or bringing light to systemic or implicit biases, according to Social Psychology Network.

City University of New York Graduate Center Distinguished Professor of Social Psychology Michelle Fine tells Spark that because these dominant forms of subtle discrimination make it more difficult for people who are suspect to the claims of discrimination to recognize it for themselves, telling victimized groups that they’re exaggerating their conditions has historically been a way for dominant groups to “deflect guilt and responsibility.” The most logical and most effective strategy to combat systemic biases against Muslim Americans is therefore interacting with peers and colleagues who are Muslim in order to “put a face to the group.”

“I don’t think people who are in pain are going to seek out ways to humanize groups that they have been taught are responsible for their pain,” Fine says. “I think that’s a lot to ask, but we could normalize the interest in humanizing each other and challenging the stereotypes.”

Holding the third pillar of Islam, zakat, close to their hearts, Sheikh and Abuzeyada are both active in the community, and the importance of volunteer work and charity that is emphasized in the pillar is shared among all members of ICGC. As a leader of one of four youth groups at ICGC, Abuzeyada organizes volunteer events like Hands

Against Hunger trips, masjid cleanups and making lunches for the Cincinnati homeless population at least once a month from August to May. Sheikh currently takes part in a program called Success in School and tutors children in the community who recently came to America as refugees, and she believes that any act of service no matter how small not only strengthens the community but also remedies inaccurate perceptions of Muslims.

“It’s not like [the Muslim community] is sheltered. We like to reach out,” Abuzeyada says.

“We’re trying [to connect] from our side so much.

We’re trying so hard, and we’re enjoying it and we love it, but still we’re small. We’re not big, so it’s hard for our voice to be heard.”

Because of what the psychology world popularly claims to be a “fundamental ingroup bias,” humans naturally have an affinity for people who are “like” themselves, or members of their ingroup. While some disagree, Ohio State University Department of Psychology Chair Richard Petty describes the evolutionarily natural bias against outgroups as “just a reaction that is negative compared to your own group.” He says that studies have shown that a group of people wearing green shirts have this same comparatively negative reaction when they first see a person who is instead wearing a red shirt, but the bias dissipates as soon as that person wears green.

While the solution is not to have everybody “put

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East senior Amena Sheikh tutors refugee students once a week through the Islamic Center’s program, Success at School.

story vincent galioto

O

on the green shirt” and melt out of all diversity, the inherent reaction that the human subconscious has to unfamiliarity is a considerable and often invisible barrier to reducing discrimination against any outgroup. And Petty says that the added factor of fear when considering discriminatory judgments against Muslims magnifies the issue.

“Even if your deliberative attitude [about Muslims] is quite positive, odds are that you have an automatic bias,” Petty says. “Now you’ve got a case where your deliberative attitudes are in conflict with the automatic things, so even if you get to the point where your conscious, deliberative brain doesn’t want to be biased, your more primitive, automatic side goes, ‘Wait a minute, they’re different. Should I be afraid?’”

This automatic bias further complicates the expectation that people will take initiative to properly educate themselves about Muslim culture, but Petty says that because this bias “colors judgments” of all outgroups, he has “total confidence that people will change.”

For the time being, Sheikh says that, in her experience, many of her peers are hesitant to ask questions about Islam and specifically about her hijab. With a total of four people initiating conversations with her about Islam in all four years of high school, Sheikh says that the level of dialogue about different cultures and religions is not strong enough in the community for people to see a safe and accurate picture of Islam.

With the typical American maxim that sex, politics and religion are private matters, Ammerman says that while this perspective is not atypical, it is ironic because of how integral religion has become in people’s identities. Sheikh says that even though she wishes people were more comfortable addressing topics about religion and culture, she understands that discomfort because

she doesn’t always know how to frame a question to a Sikh man who wears a turban. Regardless, Sheikh says that she is always pleasantly surprised by the “flood of questions” she receives when she herself initiates a conversation, hoping that people will share what they learn with friends and family.

“There’s a real fear that if we do ask questions, either we’ll look stupid or we’ll cause conflict,” Ammerman says. “There is a pretty strong sense in American culture that religion is something around which people fight—It causes riffs, it causes differences, it causes people not to be friends anymore—and people don’t want to risk that. The degree to which that’s the case can certainly be argued either way, but people think that they don’t want to intrude and they don’t want to risk exposing the possibility that there might be some irreconcilable difference.”

For the people on the extreme end of the spectrum, it is not productive for Sheikh to try to change their perceptions of Islam. She says that people in the West Chester community have never explicitly acted or spoken hatefully to her face, but it’s a different scene on social media. She says that her general defense mechanism when confronted with violence or hate on Twitter is to educate.

Because it may not be that person’s fault that they are uneducated about Islam, Sheikh says that bias is not a concrete or intentional character flaw.

“Whenever I tweet about being proud to be Muslim, there’s always someone who says, ‘Well you’re part of a religion of killers,’” Sheikh says.

“It is offensive, but I’d just be adding to the fire if I tried to argue. I give facts and support what I say with accurate things so I can educate the person rather than respond with anger because violence and anger are never the answer.”

While the Millennial generation is sometimes criticized for being deceptively tolerant of

outgroups and for having a post-racial society mindset, both Fine and Sheikh say that they have noticed a rise in solidarity among groups who are Muslim and groups who are not Muslim.

From groups on college campuses uniting Jewish and Palestinian students to MuslimAmerican and LGBT momentum in addition to Black Lives Matter groups collaborating with Muslim-American students, Fine says the level of interaction is helping to clarify steps that people could take to reduce prejudices that they in the past might not have recognized within themselves.

“I don’t believe it’s natural [to gravitate toward people who are like you],” Fine says. “It is so socially and politically overdetermined what differences we retreat from, which differences we integrate, and which differences, like someone being an artist, we find interesting.”

While the struggle to separate implicit bias from automatic reactions and to measure the necessary amount of societal change persists, the country cannot make any progress if people refuse to listen to new information, even if it conflicts with the rhetoric they have already heard. Whether a natural bias, developed prejudice or both, the first step in remedying misconceptions and easing tensions is meaningful and sincere dialogue, and Sheikh is optimistic for change, especially with the momentum of support that has risen from the negative backlash from presidential candidates.

“There is a movement of people who are becoming more and more supportive of Muslims, but there are two sides like tug of war,” Sheikh says. “We just need a final push. I don’t know if there’s a final goal to reach, but right now we just want everyone to be accepted and seen in the same light so I have just as much of a chance as someone not wearing a scarf to get an entry-level job or get accepted to college.”

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

n March 13, 2016, crowds lined up outside the Savannah Center in West Chester to hear businessman and presidential candidate Donald Trump speak. Before the candidate arrived, Lakota West sophomore Nina Emlemdi and two friends were dropped off by her father.

They had three signs which read, “Integration not Deportation,” “Why take away what makes America great,” and “Trump likes Nickelback.” As they walked into the crowd with another protester, a man jumped out and grabbed the signs.

“This was my first [experience] without my parents, and I was scared, honestly, because I didn’t know what to expect, and out of nowhere, a guy grabbed my sign and ripped it,” Emlemdi says.

“The older gentleman behind me tried to get my sign. The guy got back and spit on my feet, and I was shocked, so I didn’t know how to react.”

Emlemdi and her friends were not there on the behalf of any group. Her parents are from Libya, and she has other relatives who immigrated to the United States, so when she heard Trump’s comments on religion, she decided to act.

“My aunt immigrated here and is at Wright State University,” Emlemdi says. “When someone you deeply love is getting hurt by his comments, it means more. If the younger majority doesn’t say something, then who will?”

On Dec. 7, 2015 after the Paris and San Bernardino attacks, Donald Trump called for a

ban on Muslim immigration to the United States.

According to a press release from the Trump campaign, “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

Educational speaker from the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC) Shabana Ahmed says that many Muslims are choosing to get involved in politics on their own, especially with the recent rhetoric of this campaign. She says it is hard to clear up misconceptions about the religion because there is not one voice. According to Ahmed, Muslims were particularly frustrated about recent calls from the Trump campaign to restrict Muslim immigration to the United States.

“We do have more people coming into politics because they feel like they need to have a voice and an image about mainstream Islam,” Ahmed says.

“The problem with Islam is that there is a problem, but in other faiths, there is a spokesperson. We don’t have a spokesperson or a priest to tell the world. The whole concept of Islam is that there is no intermediary between Allah and yourself.”

Months ago, when Trump announced his candidacy, Emlemdi thought it all was a joke. She saw videos on the Internet of Trump’s comments on Muslims. Her family in Libya also thought it was a joke and couldn’t believe that a reality TV star was running for President.

Looking around, she could see the crowds of

people who had come to attend the event. Among the people there were fellow classmates.

“I hate to say it, but his slogan, ‘The silent majority stands with Trump’ is true,” Emlemdi says. “I never anticipated how many people would come out to see this man speak, and it’s people I know. I was walking with the sign, and as I looked, it was people at my school and people that I talk with every day. After that, I haven’t looked at them the same, but after the event, I felt a new pride in myself. I felt more confident not only in myself but in my beliefs.”

And while it is far from the majority, a portion of East students identify with the idea that Trump represents the voices of those who are afraid to speak out. Out of 342 East students surveyed, 69 said that they sympathized with Trump’s ideologies about monitoring Muslims in America.

Nina’s mother, Fatima Emlemdi, who teaches at ICGC, supported her daughter’s decision to attend the rally and is proud that she was able to stand up and voice her opinions.

“I said you have to go there and rally like you should and let your voice be heard. You are a proud American regardless of religious affiliation,” Fatima says. “We are proud Muslims, and being Muslim does not take away our pride in being American. We are so proud to use our rights as Americans and to say how we feel, and it is just to clarify some misconception about Muslims, like that not all Muslims are terrorists.”

G L O S S A R Y

Allah divine name of God, denoting the absolute Oneness of God Allahu Akbar “god is great” in Arabic Arab describes countries that are politically members of the Arab League Haddith a narration/tradition reported from the Prophet and the Imams Hijab head covering worn by some Muslim women that acts as a screening between men and women Imam leader of the congregational prayer, salat, which Muslims offer five times a day Implicit Bias thoughts and feelings of prejudice outside of conscious awareness and control ISIS Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, extremist militant group that aims to control all land stretching from Syria to Iraq

Islamophobia prejudice against Muslims Jihad literally means “to strive” in Arabic; an inner struggle for excellence Masjid Muslim place of worship, mosque in English Muhammed the Last of the Messengers of Allah to mankind Muslim (n.) someone who practices the religion of Islam, (adj.) pertaining to Islam Qur’an central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God Sunni sect of Islam rooted in the belief that the new leader after Prophet Mohammed died should have been elected from among those capable of the job Shi’ite sect of Islam that believes the new leadership after Prophet Mohammed should have passed directly to his family

source al-islam.org

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islam | package

MEDIA EVALUATION

story john ferguson | infographic christine shi

As breaking news alerts and news apps continue to enforce the brevity of media, the Muslim population faces the consequences of partial reporting.

H

e sits in the far back corner of the room, waiting anxiously until the moment finally arrives as it always does. He takes a deep breath as the instructor cycles through the H names. “Jihad Khan?” With a red-hot face, he sheepishly mouths a “here” as he instantly feels the eyes bore holes in his skin.

East sophomore Jihad Khan is a proud Muslim, but his name bears weight as America’s antiMuslim rhetoric grows increasingly outspoken.

According to a November 2015 Brookings study about American attitudes toward Islam, 61 percent of people polled had an unfavorable attitude toward the second largest religion in the world.

“Most people are nice about it, but there was one incident where I was taking an extracurricular,” Khan says. “The instructor saw my name on the sign-in sheet, and he came over to me and said, ‘I saw your name, and I was wondering who would ever name their kid like that. It’s going to get you killed someday.’”

For some Americans, their first introduction with Islam occurred 15 years ago. Within a span of two hours, 19 terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center (WTC) and took 2,749 lives. The suicide hijackers defended their actions as their call to “jihad”—a struggle to defend their religion that they believed would earn them a martyr’s place in paradise. However, Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC) educational speaker Shabana Ahmed says that most Muslims strongly disagree with this definition.

“Jihad is a struggle within yourself. [American media] has taken the word and spun it into a holy war—to kill all the infidels,” Ahmed says. “You hear examples where Muslims want to blow themselves up in malls and government buildings because they’re doing it for a free ticket to heaven; that’s not the same definition.”

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the WTC, media outlets all around the world decried the chief motivation behind the attack as an

extension of Islamic belief. Anti-Muslim rhetoric is at an all-time high 15 years later, but a closer look at the origins of Islamophobia in America reveals that a partial cause may be Western media bias, as suggested by some scholars.

Mohamad Elmsry, Professor of Communication at the University of Northern Alabama, suggests that personal agendas in the media industry may be a potential source of bias.

“Al-Qaeda, the 9/11 attacks and then subsequent attacks in Madrid, Bali and London provided American Islamophobes with quite a lot of impetus,” Elmsry tells Spark. “Well-funded writers and media personalities were able to exploit the violence perpetrated by Muslims for personal gain, and also to help strengthen a burgeoning anti-Islam agenda in the United States.”

Islamophobia has risen to new heights in the 2016 presidential campaign, but much of the media biases predate the election campaign. A December 2014 study published in the Journal of

TERRORIST INCIDENTS IN AMERICA Although the stereotype is that most terror attacks are associated with Muslims, few of the recorded terrorist incidents in America were perpetrated by people who identify as Muslim.

4/22/1990 Earth Night Action Group 5/27/1990 Unknown Puerto Rican Group

2/3/1991 Popular Liberation Army (PLA) 2/18/1991 PLA 3/17/1991 Unknown Puerto Rican Group

1990

4/5/1992 Mujahedin— E—Khalq

2/26/1993 international extremists

1992

4/1/1991 PLA 9/17/1990 Pedro Albizu Group Revolutionary Forces 1/12/1990 Eugenio Maria de Hostos International Brigade of the Pedro Albizu Campos Revolutionary Forces 2/22/1990 Up the IRS, Inc.

sources fbi.gov

11/27-28/1993 Animal Liberation Front (ALF)

1994

11/19/1992 Mexican Revolutionary Movement 12/10/1992 Boricua Revolutionary Front

7/20-22/1993 American Front Skinheads

*

yourself. [American media] has taken the word and spun it into a holy war—to kill all the infidels.”

—Shabana Ahmed, Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati educational speaker a damaging reputation for a faith of more than 1.6 billion people. After the horrendous November 2015 Paris attack and the March 2016 Brussels attack, global media journalists snapped into full focus, covering these attacks with a frequency and depth unparalleled since the Charlie Hebdo attack in January. But, just hours prior to the chaos, targeted attacks in Beirut and Baghdad had already left more than 61 people dead and 291 injured— and went unreported.

A closer look at news coverage via Google searches revealed that nearly 21,672 articles and news reports have been published about the attack in Paris, but only 1,292 were found about Beirut, and just 392 were written about Baghdad. Criticism of the media spiked early last year when coverage of the Charlie Hebdo attack yielded over 22,000 articles. Twelve individuals were killed. Later that same day, at least 38 were dead after a bomb blast in Yemen. 565 articles were written.

Most news outlets depict the Middle East as a region constantly embroiled in turmoil so a terrorist attack in a Muslim-majority nation is seen

as nothing more than ordinary. Western nations are an exception to this, and therefore provide a huge media opportunity. Many news analysts and experts such as Nahid Kabir, a Research Fellow on Modern Muslim Affairs at the University of South Australia, term dub this the “empathy gap.”

“The media tends to focus on one item or one incident or ignore equally horrendous incidents, but we have to remember that media is a commercial business and people buy it when it is catchy and more sensational,” Kabir says. “News of terrorism will dominate the headlines on the cover page and it will go on and on. Racial profiling through the media causes Muslims to become the target of hate crime, unfortunately fixating to the negative perception of Islam.”

Khan remains proud of his Muslim identity and background despite widespread misunderstanding and unease about the rising trends in the United States; however, one thing is clear—America is currently in a struggle itself, a jihad of its own, to determine its stance on the true depiction of Islam in the world.

date perpetrator

*

non-muslim muslim

7/2-4/1999 Benjamin Nathaniel Smith 8/10/1999 Buford O’Neal Furrow 6/9/1998 8/28-29/1999 EPBM 3/19/1999 ALF 6/25/1998 Raymond EPBM Anthony 1/3/2000 Suspected Sandoval ALF 6/27/1998 3/27/1999 1/15/2000 Raymond ALF ALF Anthony 4/5/1999 1/22/2000 Sandoval ALF ELF

1996

3/1/1994 Rashid Najib Baz

“Jihad is a struggle within

KEY

7/12/1996 SBR 7/27/1996 Eric Robert Rudolph

4/19/1995 Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols

Communication found that Muslim perpetrators were 81 percent more likely to be portrayed as terrorists by the media than to be actual terrorists.

Incident after incident, Muslim terrorist attacks are seemingly becoming more prevalent with each passing month. However, some critics point out that while people may argue it perpetuates these widely held misconceptions, the terrorist attacks only seem to point at a grim reality. Stanford Economics Professor Matthew Gentzkow suggests it may just be reality.

“I think there’s no question that if there is a bomb blown up in an airport tomorrow, and it turns out that the people involved are terrorists, the media and everybody else are going to jump to the conclusion that it probably involved Muslims,” Gentzkow says. “That may happen to a greater degree than we think it should, but some element of that is also reflecting a reality. It’s a difficult balancing act and question for what is the right standard for what is fair coverage.”

Khan argues that the root of the problem is the rise of radical Islam and the generalizations about the religion as a whole.

“The verse [in the Qur’an] about ‘killing the infidels’ misrepresents that [Muslims] are supposed to kill everyone else,” Khan says. “If you read the rest of that verse, it explicitly states that you should only do so if you are acting out of self defense. Killing one man is really like killing the whole of humanity.”

Khan’s beliefs were echoed by similar sentiment at ICGC where Ahmed describes the plethora of misconceptions and misunderstandings about the holy book of Islam, the Qur’an.

The media bias against Islam can be particularly damaging when a small minority of Muslim fundamentalist extremists and their actions create

7/2/2000 ALF 7/20/2000 ELF 1/2/2001 ELF 2/20/2001 ELF 3/9/2001 ELF 3/30/2001 ELF

9/9/2001 ELF 9/11/2001 Al—Qa’ida 9/1-11/2001 Unknown 10/14/2001 ELF 11/12/2001 5/11-12/2002 ALF ELF/ALF

2000

4/1/1996 Spokane Bank Robbers (SBR)

1/2/1997 Unknown 1/16/1997 Eric Robert Rudolph (ERR) 2/21/1997 ERR

10/19/1998 5/9/1999 Earth ALF Liberation Front (ELF) 1/29/1998 ERR 3/31/1998 Ejercito Popular Boricua Macheteros (EPBM)

2002

5/7/2000 Revenge of the Trees 10/24/1999 ALF 11/20/1999 ALF 12/25/1999 ELF 12/31/1999 ELF

*

4/15/2001 ELF 5/17/2001 Clayton Lee Waagner (CLW) 5/21/2001 ELF 5/21/2001 ELF 7/24/2001 ELF

12/1/2000 Mark Warren Sands 12/9-30/2000 ELF

1/1/2003 ELF 3/3/2003 ALF

1/19/2004 ELF Suspected

12/27/2004 ELF

7/7/2005 Animal rights extremists Suspected

2004

7/4/2002 Hesham Mohamed Ali Hedayat 8/2-10/2002 ELF 8/11/2002 ELF 9/15-16/2002 ELF/ALF 11/26/2002 ELF/ALF

3/18/2002 ELF 3/24/2002 ELF

8/3-9/2003 ELF 8/22/2003 ELF 8/28/2003 ELF 8/28/2003 Daniel Andreas San Diego (DASD) Suspected 9/26/2003 DASD Suspected

2006

4/1/2004 Sean Michael Gillespie/ Aryan Nations 4/20/2004 ELF 5/4-7/2004 ALF

1/5/20052/5/2005 ELF 4/13/2005 ELF

9/16/2005 ALF 11/20/2005 ELF

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RICH WITH HISTORY RELIGIONS RELIGIONS AROUND AROUND WORLDTHE WORLD RELIGIONS AROUND THETHE WORLD package | islam

islam | package

Wallace Fard in 1930.

The Nation of Islam is on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of hate groups for “its theology of innate black superiority over whites and the deeply racist, anti-Semitic and anti-gay rhetoric of its leaders,” and its teachings aren’t in line with mainstream Islam. It gained many AfricanAmerican followers during the Civil Rights Era, however, by mixing Islam with ideas about black nationalism and economic independence “[The Nation of Islam] made a big impact in North America,” Moosa says. “It showed that there could be an alternative to white religions and Christianity. Many also found a sense of community in the Nation of Islam and more independence and a way to affirm black people for who they are and what they are.”

While the Muslim community evolved and expanded in America, Muslims in other parts of the Islamic world began to debate the role of their religion in government.

“Some people were saying that things should remain secular,” Gordon says. “Others wanted a balance, and then others wanting Islam to be very much at the center and to be the source not only of religion but also politics. So there’s been a furious debate, and it’s still going on, and it takes violent forms and it takes nonviolent forms.”

The intersection of religion and politics has at times become extremely violent, as people, many of whom are from Middle Eastern countries with a history of political turmoil like Syria or Iraq and

frustrated with their lives, commit acts of terrorism in the name of Islam. The roots of terrorism are complicated, but, according to Gordon, “It has to do with the lack of political representation, the lack of economic opportunity and a tremendous sense of alienation of anger of frustration.” “[Political and religious violence] can get very extreme, as we saw with 9/11, as we’ve seen more recently in Paris and Brussels,” Gordon says, “but I think that it’s one form that political protest takes, that’s how I read it. It doesn’t make it acceptable, of course, it’s completely unacceptable, but I think one has to connect it with decades of very oppressive politics and a lack of economic opportunity.”

After 9/11, many Americans began equating Islamic terrorism with the entire religion. Before the attack, a lot of people understood Islam in “a very benign way,” according to Moosa. Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati educational speaker Shabana Ahmed, for example, remembers how “nobody really cared” that she was a Muslim when she was growing up in Chicago before 9/11.

“There was no issue about being a Muslim when I was growing up,” Ahmed says. “My friend came to my house and saw the carpets in one of the rooms and said, ‘Is that a magic carpet?’ [so people would associate Muslims with] silly things that they’ve learned from various cartoons or things like that, but nobody ever had any negative things to say about Muslims.”

Yet post-9/11 misconceptions about Islam

weren’t “just invented overnight,” Gordon says; a long history of misunderstanding Muslims and a “lack of knowledge about Islamic teachings, Islamic history and Islamic institutions” all contributed to the rise of Islamophobia.

“9/11 brought out these misconceptions, but I think that they were always there,” Gordon says.

“There’s a very long history, even going back into the medieval period, of particular individuals, particular groups and particular institutions seeing it advantageous to misrepresent Islam. But certainly 9/11 brought everything to the fore and focused attention on forms of political extremism in the Islamic world that people call Islamic extremism, fundamentalism or terrorism.”

Since 9/11, more recent conflicts in Muslimmajority societies in the Middle East and terrorist attacks on Western countries have helped Islamophobia remain prevalent. Moderate Muslim Americans like Elayyadi and her family are often targets of renewed suspicion and prejudice every time an incident like the San Bernadino shooting or the Paris terror attacks occurs.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” Elayyadi says. “My mom listens to NPR a lot, so whenever we put on these stories, and you can hear the name of the person who perpetrated [an attack] and you can tell it’s a Muslim person, typically depending on their name, your heart just drops. Once again, people are going to say, ‘This religion is horrible, they just want to kill everyone, why do we allow these people into our country?’”

the second Islam islargest the second religion in thereligion in the mIslam is theissecond largest religion inlargest the world after chritianity. world after Statistics chritianity. show Statistics show world after chritianity.

Statistics show T by year the year that2050 by the it year willthe be 2050 the it will be the that that by the 2050 it will be practiced most religion practiced in world. the religion world.in the world. mostmost practiced religion in the story emma stiefel | infographic megan norcum and dani dudash | photography cara satullo

Dating back to the 1500s, American Muslims have helped to shape the culutre of the United States, and the history of the religion helps put contemporary struggles into perspective.

hough she tells it in the modern American teenager vernacular, the story is almost 14 centuries old.

East freshman Iman Elayyadi can trace the history of her religion, Islam, back to 610 C.E., when the first verse of the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel in a cave outside Mecca, a city in modern-day Saudi Arabia. Muhammad, as Elayyadi explains, thought he was hallucinating and “kind of freaked out.” He ran home to his wife, begging her to cover him and telling her, “I think I’m crazy.”

“And so she covered him, and he explained to her what happened,” Elayyadi says. “She was like, ‘No you’re not crazy, blah blah blah, whatever’s going on, I believe you, don’t worry.’ He’s like, ‘Well, it’s telling me I have to spread a message,’ and she’s like, ‘You know what, you’re my husband, you’re not crazy, I’m going to follow you.’ And so that’s where it began.”

From then on, Muhammad gradually began to teach Islam and attract followers. As the religion grew, its adherents were often persecuted

by Meccan pagans, and many would flee first to

Abyssinia, about where modern-day Ethiopia is, and then to Medina, a city in modern-day Saudi Arabia.

According to Elayyadi’s mother, Naima Marjani, who teaches Arabic and Religious Studies at the International Academy of Cincinnati, the Quran was revealed to Muhammad until he died in 633 when he was 63 years old, leaving behind a new religious tradition with a following that would eventually include millions of believers on every continent.

In 2010, the Pew Research Center estimated that there were approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, accounting for about 23 percent of the global population. Only 20 percent live in primarily Arab-speaking North Africa and the Middle East; in fact Indonesia, a Southeast Asian country where 209 million Muslims live, has the largest population.

“From the 7th century on, Islam grew from being a Middle-East-centered faith or religion to being global, and that was over many centuries,” Miami University History Professor Matthew Gordon says. “With each engagement with new

people, new cultural patterns, new ideas and new ways of practicing religion were brought in and combined with these Middle Eastern forms. I don’t think you want to talk about Islam as being fixed at any point. It’s constantly evolving, and it’s constantly changing. It’s growing ever more complex.”

There are approximately three million Muslims currently living in the United States, and they account for a little less than one percent of the total adult population. The religion has been in the country longer than many might think. According to University of Notre Dame Professor of Islamic Studies Ebrahim Moosa, the first Muslims to come to America in significant numbers were slaves from Africa, and “some of them converted to Christianity, while others could not practice [Islam] openly.”

During the late 1800s, Muslims started willfully immigrating to the United States from the Middle East. Since then, American-Muslim communities have become very diverse.

“Early immigrants were from parts of the Middle East like Lebanon and other places,” Moosa says. “Now every conceivable nationality of Muslims from different parts of the world are available in the United States. So it’s grown much more diverse, and there also are third and fourthgeneration communities of Muslims that live in America.”

In addition to immigration, the AmericanMuslim population has also grown as a result of people converting to Islam, many of whom aren’t Arab. According to the Pew Research Center, 38 percent of Muslims are white (including those of North-African or Middle-Eastern descent), 28 percent are African-American, 28 percent are Asian and four percent are Latino.

“There’s a misconception that the Muslim population in the United States is primarily Arab or immigrant,” Gordon says. “And I think that that’s probably true of a lot of Muslims in the United States, but certainly not all of them. There is a very substantial African-American-Muslim population, there’s a substantial Anglo-American population. Many people from Central and South America have also converted to Islam; there are a lot of Spanish-speaking Muslims, particularly in the Southwest and in the South.”

Many African-American Islamic converts played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 60s. Most notable, perhaps, was Malcolm X, who converted to Islam while in prison and rose to prominence as part of the Nation of Islam, a group founded by

sources pewresearch.org, sources adherents.com, pewresearch.org, worldometers.info adherents.com, worldometers.info ces pewresearch.org, adherents.com, worldometers.info

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sources pewresearch.org, adherents.com, worldometers.info

23%

1.25

1.50

15%

0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00

15%

0

5%

East freshman Iman Elyyadi holds up her copy of the Qur’an, which acts as a book of guidance for many Muslims.

Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity. chritianity. Statistics show that by the year 2050 it will be the most practiced religion in the world.

31%

billions of adherents

%

RELIGIONS AROUND THE WORLD

7%

CHRISTIANITY

ISLAM

catholic

sunni

protestant

shia

orthodox

HINDUISM

BUDDHISM

6%

FOLK RELIGIONS

vaishnavites

mahayana

asia-pacific

shaivites

theravada

other

lamaism

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package | islam

islam | package

CULTURAL IDENTITY

story sarah yanzsa | infographic noor ghuniem and sarah yanzsa | photography emma stiefel

—Sean Anthony, Ohio State University Associate

Because Islam is a prominent religion in so many countries around the world, different cultures have unique relationships with the culutre of the religion while still staying true to the central belief system.

A

scream fills an upstairs bedroom as East sophomore Hijran Jasim comes running frantically down the stairs toward her family with tears in her eyes. Jasim quickly tells her family the horrors she just witnessed in the upstairs room. Everyone is quick to brush it off and laugh about it, because finding critters on the walls is commonly seen from time to time in Iraq.

“It’s normal to find a lizard at your house just along the wall,” Jasim says, “but when I first saw one, I about cried.”

This was just one of the few culture shocks Jasim learned to handle when she first visited Iraq the summer before fifth grade. Jasim has been there a total of four times and has experienced many

intense cultural differences in the country, which has a Muslim majority compared to America.

There are about fifty Muslim-majority countries in the world today and countless countries with Muslims as minorities, as of 2010 according to Pew Research Center, each country having a different culture.

“Islam is a global phenomenon and there are many cultures that fall under its umbrella,” Ohio State University Associate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Sean Anthony says. “One of the most common misconceptions is that there is such a thing as ‘Islamic culture’ in general.”

For Jasim, Iraqi-Islamic culture is different

“One of the most common misconceptions is that there is such a thing as ‘Islamic culture’ in general.”

Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

from American-Islamic culture. Out of the many differences, the one that stands out to Jasim the most is the level of strictness in the two countries when concerning some practices such as wearing the hijab, which, while associated with the religion, is a cultural practice.

“In Iraq, you will see kids who wear the hijab at a young age. They stress the hijab a lot to little girls, even though it’s not the full hijab,” Jasim says.

“You’ll see them wearing it, but they’ll be wearing short-sleeve shirts and capris, which is fine because they’re still kids, but they start teaching them at a young age.”

Compared to the United States, the hijab is worn by women when they choose to wear it.

East sophomore Hirjan Jasim and Liberty Junior eighth grader Noor Jasim come from a family that is originally from Iraq, but they practice Islam the same as Muslims around the world.

Though the culture surrounding Islam varies from country to country, the way it is practiced stays the same.

“There are no differences at all, at least I don’t see any,” Jasim says. “We pray five times a day like they do over there, we read the Qur’an, we celebrate things the same day they celebrate it.”

In the United States, specifically, Islam is made up of a very diverse population with 63 percent of Muslims in the United States right now being first-generation immigrants from other countries, according a 2015 Pew Research Center survey.

This diversity accounts for how Islam in America is also very diverse culturally.

“From mosque to mosque within the United States, you’ve got different ways of practicing [Islam], the same thing would occur all around the world,” Anthony says. “What’s different in the United States is that it’s really a combination of the way of which Islam is practiced all over the world.”

American culture has greatly contributed to Islam, says the Executive Director at the Cincinnati Branch of the Council on American Islamic-Relations (CAIR) Karen Dabdoub.

“One thing the American culture has really contributed [to Islam] is the American spirit of questioning,” Dabdoub says. “What I hear from a lot of Muslims who have been immigrants to this country is that they really start to learn about their religion when they come here because they get questions like, ‘Why do we do it this way?’”

From what Dabdoub has seen, many times Muslim immigrants come here and practice Islam without understanding the real reason behind some religious or cultural practices because that is the way they were raised to do so.

“They realize that if they really want to be Muslim and they want their kids to be Muslim, growing up as a minority in this country, that they have to understand what [Islam] teaches in order to live it properly and faithfully,” Dabdoub says.

“It’s helped us to throw off all this cultural stuff that religiously has no meaning and has helped to bring together a community that is very religiously diverse.”

This among other features separates Islam in America from elsewhere. Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at the University of Notre Dame Gabriel Said Reynolds says that Islam in America is distinguished by its diversity.

“Many Islamic countries are either Sunni or

Shi’ite, and religious education in public schools tends to form relatively uniform ideas about how Islam is to be practiced,” Reynolds says. “Since Muslims in America do not receive religious education in public schools, they tend to develop many individual, distinctive ideas.”

These ideas could entail, for example, whether a woman must wear a headscarf, or whether a woman should go to mosque on Friday (or only men) and how strictly other aspects of Islamic law should be interpreted, Said Reynolds says.

As for the Sunni and the Shi’a, Islam breaks into two branches. About 87 to 90 percent of Muslims are Sunni and 10 to 13 percent are Shi’ite, according to the Pew Research Center as of 2009.

Few mosques in America identify as exclusively Sunni or Shi’a.

EFFORTS FOR EID

Where: Montgomery County, Maryland Reason: Article comes out complaining Eid is not a holiday; a few years prior the school district allowed excused absences on Eid. Support: Unsuccessful

2013

Where: Montgomery County, Maryland Reason: B.O.E. votes to eliminate holiday references from calendar; Muslim community also requested at least one Eid off.

Support: Unsuccessful Where: Virginia Reason: A petition was started by three students as an effort to take the day off.

Support: Unsuccessful

“There are some minor differences between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims in regard to the call to prayer and the practice of prayer itself,” Reynolds says. “The more major differences pertain to the differences in the literature known as hadith, [which is] the sayings and deeds of Muhammed. Sunnis and Shi’ites have different hadith collections.”

Jasim believes the reason American Islam is so different than other countries, including Iraq, is because people tend to adapt to the culture, recalling incidents where her hijab was pointed out by younger kids or how some Muslims who wear an abaya, which is a robe-like dress, or a niqab, which is a cloth that covers the face, tend to stick out.

“In America, you have [other religions] who don’t follow the same religion and don’t do the same things as you such as wearing the hijab or praying five times a day,” Jasim says. “When you come here, you want to fit in a way where you aren’t the sore thumb sticking out.”

In Cincinnati, the mosques are multicultural as opposed the ones that might be found in larger cities such as New York or Chicago. These cities are large enough to afford to have mono-cultural mosques specific to a country or region. The only exception to that in Cincinnati would be the WestAfrican-Muslim population. They are the newest immigrants and prefer to have sermons in their native tongue of French because their English is not very good, according to Dabdoub.

“The environment [in Cincinnati] has helped create more of a level atmosphere,” Dabdoub says. “Everyone is coming together, speaking English, because that’s the only common language, and leaving off the cultural practices that are not a part of the religion.”

2014

Where: Montgomery County, MD Reason: Montgomery votes to take Eid off on Sept. 12, 2016 Support: Successful 2015

Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr are major Islamic holidays and are among the most celebrated in the world. Due to lack of recognition, students are constrained to school work during Eid. Efforts across the country have been made to identify the Eids as public holidays.

Where: White House Reason: Petition on the White House’s page to recognize Eid as an official public holiday has more than 127,000 signatures.

Support: TBD Where: New York Reason: The largest school district in the country will officially close all of its schools on Sept. 24, 2016 for Eid- al- Adha.

Support: Successful

2016

sources christianity.com, islam-guide.com, religionfacts.com, jewishvirtuallibrary.org

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RELIGION

IN SCHOOLS

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According to a 2015 report conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), 52 percent of Muslim students in public schools were insulted or abused before in their life. Even 27 percent of the girls who wear a hijab have been faced with teacher or administrator discrimination.

“I think [Muslims] go for the religious aspect but many don’t go to Muslim schools,” Al-Marayati says. “It’s just possible for our community to have so many Islamic schools while majority still go to public schools.”

Loyola Marymount University Professor of Theological Studies Amir Hussain specializes in today’s Muslim societies around the country and their behavior. He says about four percent of Muslim youth in the United States attend Islamic schools to learn more about their own religion.

“I don’t attend an Islamic school because it would stress me out as I’m not fluent in Arabic, but I’m still learning,” Lutfieh says. “Plus, I’m too used to being in public school my whole life to attend one now.”

In a 2004 Harvard study conducted by economist Caroline Hoxby, she states that many charter schools are fairly new and have an effective curriculum once they are experienced. Once they have the time to organize, they are able to provide the education and be established in their community. Because charter schools are younger compared to the traditional public school system, many Muslim families continue to enroll in public schools to acquire a more developed education.

For Dina, her parents personally teach as much as they can so she doesn’t need to go to INTAC. Also, she prefers to remain not taking any religious

UN

East sophomore Dina Othman lives walking distance away from the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati.

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alking to the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC) from her house is almost a daily routine. As she passes the stream of houses to the end of the block, she eyes the magnificent gold building that is as familiar to her as home. The blacktop pebbles crackle beneath her sandals as she continues down Plantation Drive. Soon enough, the black, metal gates greet all welcomers while creating a sanctuary from reality to a tranquil haven. Sometimes she is accompanied by her friends, while other times, with her family members. For as long as she could remember, East sophomore Dina Othman has always been venturing to learn more about her religion.

Because Othman lives so close to ICGC, attending the mosque whenever she can throughout the weeks or days is conventional. But for outsiders of the religion, it’s outlandish to go to religious areas more than a couple times a week.

Right next to ICGC, the El Sewedy International Academy of Cincinnati (INTAC) is a charter school that some East students who are Muslim attend on weekends in addition to ICGC. “It’s easy to practice my beliefs in this community because we can practice and pray at home or at the mosque freely,” Othman says. “The mosque, which is masjid in Arabic, is the Muslim gathering place for people to pray, like a church for Christians. Masjid means ‘place of worship.’”

Founded in 1995, ICGC is the largest of seven mosques in the Greater Cincinnati area. On special occasions, ICGC has social events, youth groups and social services similar to churches in the West Chester area. They include fundraising dinners, kids’ summer camps, Cub Scouts, the ICGC youth annual barbecue and even having the Family Assistance Committee collecting and aiding local Muslim families in need. Every year, there are also youth conferences that are planned and carried out by the teens with guest speakers. Contrary to popular belief, mosques aren’t any different from other religious buildings. President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council Salam Al-Marayati has been attempting to improve society’s knowledge of Islam for more than 15 years.

“Islamic schools are just like any other school.

They have math, English, social studies, and, just like Catholic schools teach the same topics but add Catholic studies or Biblical studies into their curriculum, [they teach Islam],” Al-Marayati says.

—Shereen Salem, East sophomore

A

Even though few people feel adequately informed about religions that are not their own, teaching about religions in schools is often seen as taboo because it is difficult for some people to distinguish between teaching about religion and preaching religion.

Islamic religion, but all the other classes are just like Lakota’s 40-50 minute classes.”

ER IC

story sidney li | infographic manjot kalkat | photography maya wells

“INTAC has one period for

DEPAR T

ISLAM IN SCHOOLS

“They teach that there is one God, there are messengers of God and how we have to believe in them equally, and the divine revelations from the Torah, the Bible and the Qu’ran. [Islamic schools] teach Muslims that we have judgement and that we are held accountable for our actions in this life.”

When Othman immigrated from Jordan at around 13 years old, her family was in search of a better life. Othman says she expected America to be the most accepting when it came to her religion because it was considered the “melting pot” of the world. Her seven-member family pursued a better life in hopes of traveling across the Atlantic Ocean. Even though she had moved to America at a young age with her mother, Samar Odeh, and father, Ahmed Othman, Dina knew she was fortunate for being able to express her religion without any restraint from the government.

Once arriving in West Chester, Dina was able to create tight-knit bonds with friends such as East sophomore Shereen Salem and Colerain junior Duha Lutfieh. Despite meeting Salem and Lutfieh at different settings away from the mosque, Othman and her friends attend some of the prayers together at times during the weeks. They say that attending and practicing prayers daily is critical for many Muslims because it’s intended to strengthen their faith.

“INTAC has one period for Islamic religion, but all the other classes were just like Lakota’s 4050 minute classes. There weren’t many students, so you were with the same students all day,” Salem says. “On Mondays, they teach you Arabic, because we need to be able to understand the Qu’ran.

Depending on [your heritage], your Arabic varies.

Tuesday, they teach Islamic studies; on Wednesday, we learn the Qu’ran and the surahs; on Thursday, it is Arabic again and Islamic studies on Friday.”

According to the 2011 U.S. Mosque Study report, there are at least 2,100 mosques, some of which are associated with Islamic schools in the United States. In 2000, there were 1,209 mosques nationwide. In the same way, the average number of converts per mosque in 2011 was 15.3 percent.

“For [our family], we pray five times a day, once at five in the morning, noon, 3:30, 5, 7, and 8 p.m.

We usually go to the West Chester mosque down our street,” Odeh says. “Many mosques are used throughout the week for prayer, study or as a place for rest and reflection.”

IT ED AM STATES OF

ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE prohibits governmentfunded works, like public schools, from granting favorable treatment to any religion

FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE reserves the right of a person to believe what they worship as well as engage in religious practices as long as no harm is caused

classes or schools, but Dina is considering taking some Islamic classes in the future as well.

Beside being touched on by some history subjects, there are currently no religious-based classes in the curriculum for the students at East.

Being a public school, there is no set religion by which most or all students are allowed to be encouraged to abide. East Principal Suzanna Davis says that there are sometimes natural connections in the historical, literary and artistic perspective throughout the courses with pieces of religion threaded throughout.

“People usually think our religion is based on violence, which isn’t right, and they aren’t informed,” Salem says. “If our school has classes about religion, people could learn more about other people’s religion and culture to better understand others.”

Faculty Associate in Interfaith Studies at Hartford Seminary Lucinda Mosher believes that many public schools don’t offer religious classes because they fear overstepping the First Amendment. It is easy for opponent to argue that an objective course that teaches about religion rather than preaches a religion is “religious education” similar to Sunday school classes.

Overall, Americans still continue to be divided over the idea of how much church and state should be separated.

“I don’t feel like we should have any religious classes at East,” Othman says. “Some people in our school think that because I’m Muslim, we shouldn’t talk or be friends. But I have a lot of friends from many different religions and just having those classes might separate us more.”

Schools may not forbid students acting on their own from expressing their personal religious beliefs.

Schools may not discriminate against private religious expression by students.

Students are allowed to be taught about religion, but are not allowed to be taught religion in public schools.

type of school

public: assigned

public: chosen

private: church-related

private: secular

percent of students in the United States

73%

15%

9%

3%

sources uscourts.gov, law.cornell.edu, ed.gov, nces.gov

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CHANGING TIMES

story noor ghuniem | infographic sean mcgraw

Because the Millennial generation is characterized by the prevalence of social media, AmericanMuslim teens sometimes interact with their religion differently than their parents.

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or each society, each culture and each religion, forthcoming generations bring new trends, and East freshman Zaynab Darwiche believes this to be more than accurate, especially regarding Muslims.

“I feel like it’s kind of harder now for us as teenagers, and especially after 9/11 because our parents have had to deal with some discrimination,” Darwiche says. “I don’t feel as much discrimination now because Islam is more in the media, but it’s still in the media in a bad way.”

In 2012, a team of researchers in the UK conducted a survey on social media users found that 53 percent of participants said that social media had changed their behavior and that 51 percent said it was negative behavior. In addition to that, Enough is Enough, an organization that works to maintain internet safety, found in their survey that 95 percent of teenagers who use social media have witnessed cyberbullying, and 33 percent have been victims themselves.

Darwiche relates with these statistics, going further to mention she sees Islam being negatively portrayed on social media, especially in the sense of Islamophobia. Although not viewing it as the primary cause, she believes that “without social

ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS sources christianity.com, islam-guide.com, religionfacts.com, jewishvirtuallibrary

media, Islamophobia maybe wouldn’t have been a thing because people wouldn’t exactly assume terrorism is Islam.”

Today, 90 percent of young adults use social media, compared with 12 percent in 2005, according to Pew Research Center. Sammar Orra from the MBA Executive Board Islamic Council of Ohio finds that “the underlying fear of Islam has been evolving these last couple of decades” and has been affecting the youth of today more than ever. Ashraf Traboulsi, a board member with the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC), shares similar views.

“Islamophobes have a platform to basically spread their hate, to spread their claims and to basically attack everybody,” Traboulsi says. “They are finding followers on social media, and it has become an open season for all to say whatever they want about Islam and Muslims and spread, most of the time, messages that twist the meaning of the Qur’an or twist the meaning of what Muslims should believe in, and they spread it as facts.”

In addition to his position as a board member, Traboulsi teaches an all-male class at the Sunday School held at ICGC. He highlighted the bullying that Muslim youth experience today because of

CHRISTIANITY

their religion. As his classroom of boys, ranging in ages from 14 to 18, were interviewed by a visitor from Xavier University who was writing a paper on diversity, Traboulsi found that his entire class, who ended the interview in tears, had been bullied in school, whether they were called a terrorist, a turban head or told that “their cousin Osama Bin Laden had been killed.”

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ith apps like Twitter and Instagram, youth have access to post about the religion with the click of a button.

Darwiche even goes to mention how “with social media, a lot of news gets around faster.”

The bullying inflicted because of how Islam is portrayed on social media, however, even goes to expand beyond the walls of the Internet.

“Certainly, our parents’ generation has never really been dealt this high degree of Islamophobia.

The younger generation basically “grew up” around this premise—it’s almost second nature for us to be ‘on alert’ in defending the faith and providing clear guidance to others who may have any misconceptions of Islam,” Orra says.

“Our parents’ generation was in a position of explaining what the religion of Islam is. Now, we

ISLAM

JUDAISM

based on teachings of

Jesus Christ

Prophet Muhammad

Moses

number of adherents

2.4 billion

1.6 billion

14 million

common denominations

Protestant, Catholic

Sunni, Shia

Orthodox, Conservative, Reform

main scripture

The Bible

Qur’an

Torah

core beliefs

The Holy Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit

The 5 Pillars of Islam

There is one God

place of worship

church

mosque

synagogue

religious leaders

priests, pastors

scholars

rabbi

popular holidays

Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, Lent

Ramadan, Eid

Chanukkah, Purim, Yom Kippur

find ourselves defending against myths, biases and prejudices.”

An additional organization has risen within this generation—the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). It was founded in 1999 and has intensified ever since, having a large impact on how Muslims are viewed and portrayed. Orra points out that “movement by big media has created a trend toward ideologies that create antiIslamic sentiments. Ismaeel Chartier, Imam at the Clifton Mosque, shares similar views and proceeds to expand upon how Muslims are now perceived due to terrorist organizations like ISIS. “When a white male shoots up a movie theatre, it doesn’t sell like a foreign man doing the same action,” Chartier says. “The sensationalism categorizes the other as a terrorist or jihadist as we turn a blind eye to the atrocities of ourselves.”

In other aspects of generational trends, Darwiche does not feel like she can distinguish whether she is living in a time where it is harder to be a Muslim than it was for her parents, considering her parents did not grow up in Americanized societies. Darwiche’s mother grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, which is a heavily Muslim and Arab-populated area, while her father grew up in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War, which was from 1975 until 1990.

In fact, much of the Muslim youth find something along this line to be true, where their parents are immigrants from other countries,

and the children of this generation are Muslimborn Americans. Of those who are 18 and older, 63 percent of Muslim Americans were born in another country and immigrated to America, according to Pew Research Center.

With that being said, she finds racism in those who glare at her for wearing a headscarf or speaking in her second language, Arabic.

However, she doesn’t find this discrimination prominent within the younger generation, as her peers in school ask questions out of curiosity, not ignorance. Nevertheless, Darwiche has different views on the older generation of society.

“I think it’s definitely the parents [who make discriminatory comments] and how the parents are talking at home, especially with the younger kids,” Darwiche says. “I feel like the older the kid, the more they can make the opinion themselves, but when they’re younger, it’s based off of what their parents are telling them or what their parents say.

So if the parents are talking about how [Muslims] are bad or not good, their kid will hear that, and they’ll start thinking it.”

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eing a part of an older generation of Muslims in America, Traboulsi does have views on how the Muslim parents differentiate from the Muslim youth. He sees that the parents find it critical to focus on spiritual aspects of Islam, such as salah (prayer), siyam (fasting), going to the masjid (house of worship), reading the Qur’an,

wearing hijab and much more. However, in this forthcoming generation, Traboulsi observes the youth focusing more on the translation of faith into actions.

“What I see in the younger [generation] is that they are focusing on the actions, especially toward, ‘How do I help others, what am I doing,’ almost like activism in regards to the homeless, in regards to the poor, with regards to fighting cancer and other things,” Traboulsi says. “But there is a disconnect with how these things have to come from a spiritual source, so it’s almost like focused on the action, but it is not very clearly linked to the spiritual aspect.”

Through all the generational trends and differences, one thing stays constant. Muslims find that if one wants to learn about Islam, they shouldn’t assume, search on the Internet or listen to rumors. They want people to get to know them.

They want them to learn firsthand what a Muslim is like. They do not want the negative perceptions to destroy how their religion is viewed in society.

“We’re not what the media says we are. If you want to know how a true Muslim is, first of all, don’t research them. Meet a Muslim person and see how they actually are because the media portrays it all wrong, and you actually have to meet somebody to know how they are and what they believe,” Darwiche says. “My biggest advice would be don’t listen to what the media says—what the media says is not what we are.”

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A LIFE OF PRAYER

The Qur’an is written in the language Arabic and contains 114 Surahs, which are chapters.

The largest chapter in the Qur’an is Surah Baqarah, which is made up of 286 Ayats.

Within the Surahs, there are a total of 6327 Ayat (singluar Ayah), each of which is a sign from God.

story emma presar | infographic julia sanders | photography aly thomas

The Muslim holy book, the Qur’an, offers guidance and peace of mind through its stories and teachings, and with almost every Muslim firmly believing in God, prayer is important to spirituality.

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he school has a basketball court and a bell that tells the kids to move to their next class. There is a principal, administration, teachers and students just like any other school, but the only difference is that all the placards, signs and artwork on the walls are written in Arabic. There is a prayer room, and all the posters around the building have Islamic teachings.

“Our religion is our life,” Naima Marjani says.

“You cannot tell where our religion stops and our life starts.”

Marjani is one of the many religion teachers at International Academy of Greater Cincinnati (INTAC). She teaches her students about the religion of Islam and different levels of Arabic so that her students can translate the Qur’an. The book, which is said to be the “book of all people” and not just for Muslims, is traditionally written in Arabic but has been translated into more than 1000 different languages. Some INTAC students International Academy of Greater Cincinnati religion teacher Naima Marjani explains the purpose and importance of the Qur’an.

even have the entire Qur’an memorized. Many students take time every day to study, memorize and translate the Qur’an.

“What makes us different from most religions is that we don’t use a translated version of our holy book,” Marjani says. “We learn Arabic so that we can translate the Qur’an for what it really is.”

Islam has a total of five pillars that Muslims are taught to follow every day. The first pillar is Shahada, the profession of their faith. This means that they should accept their one and only God, Allah, into their life. Similar to a baptism in Christianity or consecration in Judaism, Muslims profess their faith by saying, “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” After this profession, the four other pillars follow.

The second pillar is Salah, which means prayer, and encourages saying five prayers a day facing the holiest city to the religion, Mecca, which is in Saudi Arabia.

The prayers are spread out at different times throughout the day. The first prayer is Fajr and should be repeated twice in one sitting. Dhuhr is the second prayer that should be repeated four times privately. Asr is the third prayer that should be repeated four times. Maghreb is the fourth prayer that should be repeated three times, and lastly there is Isha, the final prayer, that should be repeated four times. Muslims recite stories from the Qur’an and start each prayer with ablution, which is the cleansing of their hands, and say, “Allahu Akbar,” which means “Allah is great.” East junior Sondos Hasan learned all of her prayers at a Muslim school in Jordan when she lived there nearly 10 years ago.

“I try to read the Qur’an at least once a week, mostly on Fridays,” Hasan says. “I also recite it every day in my prayers. Since I have lived here, my mom and dad have explained things to me that I hadn’t learned or that I am still confused about, so my learning never stops.”

Within every prayer, they recite certain sudas, or stories from the Qur’an. The third pillar is zakat, or almsgiving, which requires that Muslims give 2.5 percent of their net worth to charity to better the community. Some people may not know that Muslims do this because the community typically keeps it under the radar, according to Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati educational speaker, Shabana Ahmed. She says that Muslims don’t tell anyone about donating to charity because they don’t want to receive anything in return.

The fourth pillar is Sawm, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. Every Muslim gets up very early at about 5 a.m. to eat breakfast, then they have to fast for the rest of that day. Family and other Muslims come together during this holy month to be thankful for everything they have been given, to get wiped clean of their sins and to get closer to Islam and to God. “In the month of Ramadan my mom wakes us up early before the first prayer and makes us all eat breakfast, and after we all pray together then go back to bed,” Hasan says. “Usually we spend the whole day getting closer to our religion, so we will read the Qur’an together and pray together more often. It feels like everyone is coming together in unity and that all of these burdens are being lifted from your chest.”

Most Muslims that never have enough time to pray take time off from work during Ramadan to pray and unite with their religion and others who share it. The fifth and final pillar is Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. They only have to do the fifth

All but two chapters start with, “In the name of God, the most gracious, most merciful...”

QUR’AN

pillar once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically capable.

Ahmed says that while the pillars are all important to the religion, not every Muslim has to follow each pillar “to a t” in order to identify as a practicing Muslim. The pillars and the Qur’an are very important to any Muslim, including Sondos’ mom, Nadia Hasan, who teaches her daughters the way of the Qur’an.

“The Qur’an leads you for everything in your life: how to live, how to make contact with other people, how to make communication with everything—you can learn anything from the Quran,” Nadia says. “You can learn about your body, about your brain, just everything. If you ever just take the Qur’an and read it, you will understand what it means to everybody here.”

For people who want to read the Qur’an in one month, the text is divided into 30 Juz’un.

“If you ever just take the Qur’an and read it, you will understand what it means to everybody here.”

—Nadia Hasan, East parent

THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

SHAHADA (BELIEF)

SALAH (WORSHIP)

SAWM (FASTING)

States that “there is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah,” and emphasizes the monotheistic belief of Islam

States that Muslims must recite the daily prayers five times a day, and they bow in order to symbolize their submission to Allah.

During Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims do not eat or drink from dusk till dawn.

ZAKAT (CHARITY)

Although not defined in the Qu’ran, it is expected for Muslims to share 2.5% of their wealth with the less fortunate.

HAJJ (PILGRIMAGE)

Muslims are required to go to Kabba, located in Mecca, at least once in their lifetime and walk around it seven times.

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culture | movies

B

eyoncé

REVIEWS: MUSIC LIFE GAVE BEYONCÉ LEMONS “Lemonade” is yet another installment in Beyonce’s musical revolution that bridges the music industry with social and political issues, providing a voice for the silent majority. review richard giang | photography fair use

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eyoncé’s sixth studio album, “Lemonade,” took over iTunes charts, selling 200,000 within the first 24 hours, and gained a 787,000-strong viewership during the HBO premiere of the visual album, which was expected from the queen herself. The anticipation all grew out of a single tweet she sent out on Saturday just hours before the release. There is controversy as to what inspired the album, but whether it was about her father cheating on her mother or Jay-Z’s affair, this fiery album will dominate the charts for the next few weeks.

Beyoncé’s album constitutes a wide variety of subjects ranging from celebrity gossip to music business to African artists and women ascendancy.

The passion-filled lyrics that flow throughout this album convey Beyoncé’s opinion on each subject and her call-to-action for women and African Americans to disprove society’s preconceived notions. This album is yet another power play of Beyoncé in changing not only pop culture but also politics. Through her music, Beyoncé has developed a revolution of her own, becoming a symbol of African-American and female dominance and identity.

In terms of a genre, “Lemonade” doesn’t fall into just one category.

Beyoncé goes back to her R&B roots while simultaneously satisfying those who enjoy her hip-hop side. She also introduces through “Daddy Lessons” a more instrumental song that contains hints of country but is by no means a normal country song. The varying genres and intense subjects allow for this album to stand out as a testament to Beyonce’s power in the media.

Starting from the beginning with “PRAY YOU CATCH ME,” Beyoncé

WEEZER (WHITE) WEEZER At this point in Weezer’s 24-year-long career, the prospect of a new album is like the latest “Star Wars” movie: there’s hope that it carries on the tradition of the early chapters while avoiding the malaise of the much-maligned middle period. Weezer has recently reevaluated what made the band appealing in their glory days with their most recent release, dubbed the “White Album.”

Weezer took the “White Album” as an opportunity to drop in several aural easter eggs, from the iconic guitar line of “El Scorcho” in “California Kids” to the opening chord of “Wind In Our Sails,” bearing resemblance to “Falling For You.” Guitarist Brian Bell wrote with Rivers Cuomo in the Blue-era throwback “LA Girlz,” and the album-closing, “Endless Bummer,” that goes from an acoustic strum-along to a full-band crescendo loaded with guitar acrobatics.

The record has an undeniable Beach Boys feel—something evident from the harmonies of the opening track, “California Kids,” through the Brian Wilson-esque piano plunking of “(Girl We Got A) Good Thing.” The theme gets lost on the record’s back half; however, with the falsetto-heavy R&B number, “Jacked Up,” along with “Summer Elaine And Drunk Dori,” loaded with some truly odd turns, a jarring key change and a bridge that attempts to be as grandiose as those on “Pinkerton” but misses the mark.

Still, the “White Album” proves that when Weezer wants to, they can still hit that magical sweet spot between bubblegum pop and cathartic rock better than anyone else. There’s no better proof than back-to-back tracks “Do You Wanna Get High,” influenced heavily by “Pinkerton,” and “King Of The World,” a gem that emulates Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray. In Weezer’s attempt to return to their early-’90s glory days, they fall short but still possess their classic sound. — Victoria Negron

LEMONADE ARTIST: BEYONCÉ RELEASE DATE: APRIL 23, 2016 ALBUM PRICE: $17.99 (TIDAL)

sets the initial tone with a soft and slower song but increases the tempo and intensity with “DON’T HURT YOURSELF,” featuring Jack White.

That’s just the beginning. She then proceeds to take the audience on a rollercoaster of emotional songs that will leave you mad at your ex from 2008 (“SANDCASTLES”) and punching a wall out of pride (“FREEDOM”) at the same time. From beginning to end, this album details Beyonce’s emotions taken from her reaction the affair that inspired the album.

Using natural instrumental sounds from the piano, drums, violin and others, Beyoncé blends in with studio-manufactured sounds in order to complement her world-famous vocals. The result is an album that lives up to any expectation.

This album’s collaborations with different artists adds that much more to it. In “FREEDOM,” she and Kendrick Lamar produce a powerful song about African-American pride, and they are the perfect duo for the subject.

In “DON’T HURT YOURSELF,” she and White incorporate intense vocals that perfectly illustrate her anger. “6 INCH” contrasts The Weeknd’s highpitched vocals with Beyoncé’s smooth, raspy singing to produce a catchy hit.

Beyoncé’s musical revolution is an unrelenting hurricane. Album after album, she builds her case with beautiful music that conveys powerful messages. Her music is a double-edged sword, entertaining the masses and voicing the thoughts of the unheard. She takes over the charts every single time she releases an album and deservedly so. It’s a $17.98 ticket to a front seat of a revolution—a small price to pay to experience societal change.

CLEOPATRA THE LUMINEERS “Cleopatra,” Lumineers’ second studio album, was long-awaited, coming out four years after their first release. Packed with meaningful lyrics that ooze with artistry, the whole album has a soft and soulful mood, which is perfect for this Denver-based band. The lyrics for each song have a more serious intention than the foot-stomping songs featured on their first album.

The Lumineers did not create this album to have a quick top-’40s hit song, which would just be played on the radio over and over again. Instead, they created it to make music that has grown with them as a band and to explore a new sound. This album is already bound for success at the No. 1 spot in the Billboard’s Top 200 ending the week of April 23, 2016.

The background music varies from slow to more impactful beats, which help to add emphasis to lead singer Wesley Schultz’s soft voice. None of the songs are very high in energy, but they stick within the style and have a range of faster to slower-paced tempos.

“Angela” follows the story of a girl who spends her whole life running away until she finds home back with her love. The verses are acoustic, which pick up with a big note finishing off the chorus. When Schultz sings “home at last,” he does it with a soulful impact.

Unlike many other artists whose songs are repetitive for the sake of being catchy, The Lumineers tell a story in each of their songs. The instrumental is designed to follow the buildup and climax of the stories. This album is soothing and meaningful.

“Cleopatra” isn’t a pick-me-up album, but the melancholy sound is perfect to just sit back and enjoy their attention to detail. This is definitely a catchy album, and it wouldn’t be surprising if a few songs, such as “Ophelia,” were soon featured on the radio non-stop. — Maddie Alsip

REVIEWS: MOVIES NO LONGER JUST A CHILDREN’S STORY

movies | culture

THE JUNGLE BOOK DIRECTOR: JON FAVREAU RELEASE DATE: APRIL 15, 2016 RUN TIME: 111 MINUTES

Jon Favreau turns a childhood classic into a new and visually improved film with beautiful voice acting and superb cinematography to create an extravagant remake of “The Jungle Book.” review christine shi | photography fair use

“

T

he Jungle Book” gives the original animated film a live-action revamp with new computer-generated (CGI) wonders. Even with the stigma of overusing CGI in movies, “The Jungle Book” finds the perfect balance.

Rather than drowning the film in special effects, the movie makers perfectly blend the special effects into this movie in such a way that it only adds to the film and doesn’t take away from the quality of the film whatsoever. The remake follows the original film relatively closely, but adds a few elements to the create a more contemporary film.

As young Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is run out of his jungle home by a tiger named Shere Khan (Idris Elba), he must go on a grand journey to discover where he truly belongs and who his real friends are. Along the way, Mowgli is mentored by a strict panther named Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and a lovable bear named Baloo (Bill Murray).

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR DIRECTOR: CEDRIC NICOLAS-TROYAN Usually when major motion pictures pull inspiration from timeless classics, it’s exciting to see a new side to iconic characters. Even though “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” is tied to The Brothers Grimm’s original “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” the apple couldn’t have fallen farther from the tree. The only character that is white as snow in this move is the ice queen, Freya (Emily Blunt). The character of Snow White is mentioned, but she is not seen on screen once.

The plotline focuses on Freya and her attempt to conquer the North.

After being heartbroken by her lover, she builds her own kingdom and recruits children to become her huntsmen. Out of all the kids, Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain) show the most potential as warriors.

Coincidentally, the two develop feelings for each other, yet Freya has made love illegal in her kingdom and will stop at nothing to divide them.

“The Huntsman: Winters War” is half-sequel-half-prequel to “Snow White and the Huntsman,” but they don’t connect completely. Ravenna (Charlize Theron), Freya’s sister is back again with her mirror, and she may be golden on the outside, but her heart is black as coal from the mines.

Probably whistling while they worked, the writers combined a wide range of genres together in this film. Hemsworth manages to bring intensity to the action-packed battle scenes and love scenes as well. Thanks to the witty banter of the dwarves, the comedy element doesn’t fall short.

Although this new take on Snow White was entertaining, the story seemed to be missing something other than just Snow White herself. The movie wasn’t the fairest of them all, but it’s still a good one to see just for the elaborate sets and special effects. Above all else, the costume design was on point, and Ravenna’s makeup artist was brilliant.

Visually, the movie exceeded expectations, but the story felt unfinished as if they just let the apple drop with only one bite taken out of it. “Happily Ever After” is sometimes too predictable. Not fully satisfied when it was over, the viewer wasn’t hungry for more. — Lauren Wilson

The movie features action and peril but also has moments of comic relief, which provides balance. Its soundtrack is flawlessly integrated and is simple yet complex. It’s easy to find music that works well with a scene.

Thirteen-year-old Sethi’s character as well as the other actors’ animals and humans came to life beautifully to say the least, but Sethi goes beyond that.

He acts in the entire movie alone and proves that he has the talent to act in a movie that requires him to show every ounce of his ability.

Although well-written, some scenes seemed unnecessary to the plot and served solely to accumulate a longer runtime. However, these scenes were so rare that it hardly took away from the film as a whole.

“The Jungle Book” is well-crafted remake of its original family-friendly film. It creates a beautiful balance between a well-crafted cinematic experience and a loveable family film.

MOTHER’S DAY DIRECTOR: GARRY MARSHALL Garry Marshall’s latest movie, “Mother’s Day,” puts a national holiday, concurring storylines and exclusive cast at the forefront of its theme. This entertaining drama/comedy proves that even during family adversity, life goes on and there are ways to have fun and enjoy it as it is, no matter how crazy it may be.

“Mother’s Day” features the lives of Sandy (Jennifer Aniston), a happily divorced mother with two young boys; Miranda (Julia Roberts), a popular TV home shopping network spokesperson focused on her career and not her family; Jesse (Kate Hudson), a married mother who doesn’t tell her parents anything about her family; Bradley (Jason Sudeikis), a widowed father trying to look after two teen girls; and Kristian (Britt Robertson), a single mother who has worries about marrying. All live extremely unique lifestyles with their kids and families in Atlanta, Ga. The movie follows each of their chaotic lives, as individuals and parents, and highlights the days leading up to the long-awaited holiday, Mother’s Day. Each day presents a new challenge for these parents and comes with some bizarre twists and unexpected events that impact all of their families. As Sandy deals with her ex-husband remarrying, Miranda goes through the process of reconnecting with her daughter. At the same time, Jesse tells her parents about her husband and son who they had not previously known about, Bradley losses his wife and has to deal with taking care of teen girls, and Kristian tries to focus on her baby girl and boyfriend. Each face these roadblocks and similar problems, however as the occur, the parents soon begin to realize how special Mother’s Day really is.

This hilarious and jam-packed film gives a distinct tribute to Mother’s Day and really connects its viewers to the holiday from a comical standpoint.

The issues that arise for each family throughout the movie can be deemed as common for most families in the United States and allow viewers to relate easily to them. “Mother’s Day” really sets the bar for holiday movies, given its remarkable plot and exceptional actors and actresses.

— Dillon Horter

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culture | video games

Star Fox Zero is a nostalgic and entertaining revival, but it falls just short of the series’ former glory. review tyler bennett | photography fair use

A

STAR FOX ZERO DEVELOPER: PLATINUM GAMES, NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT ANALYSIS & DEVELOPMENT, NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT PLATFORMS: WII U game allows players to experience new routes through the story. The game also challenges the player to beat high scores, collect hidden medals and clear exciting bonus missions. Unfortunately, “Star Fox Zero” lacks a harder difficulty and any sort of competitive multiplayer—important features present in “Star Fox 64” nearly 20 years ago.

“Star Fox Zero” is so close to being the perfect successor to “Star Fox 64,” but it has too many minor issues that can’t be overlooked. It’s a solid game that’s definitely worth playing, but it’s certainly not the Wii U system-seller for which Nintendo is so desperate. That being said, “Star Fox Zero” still pulls off the charm and thrills of “Star Fox 64” that made it worth experiencing again and again.

ROOM ZOOTOPIA INSIDE OUT THE BIG SHORT DEADPOOL EDDIE THE EAGLE HOW TO BE SINGLE SISTERS ANT MAN THE MARTIAN THE FORCE AWAKENS THE REVENANT

Spark editors choose 2015-16’s greatest media hits. review christine shi and katy johnson | photography fair use

DOPAMINE / BØRNS DEATH OF A BACHELOR / PANIC! AT THE DISCO WIPED OUT! / THE NEIGHBORHOOD 25 / ADELE THE LIFE OF PABLO / KANYE UNTITLED UNMASTERED / KENDRICK LAMAR BADLANDS / HALSEY I LIKE IT WHEN YOU SLEEP, FOR YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL / 1975 MIND OF MINE / ZAYN

MUSIC

fter a 10-year hiatus, Nintendo has finally brought the “Star Fox” series back to its roots. “Star Fox Zero” is the first game in the series developed

by Nintendo since the release of the 1997 classic “Star Fox 64,” and series creator Shigeru Miyamoto returns as the lead producer.

“Star Fox Zero” is essentially a remake of “Star Fox 64” and shares a similar story. Players control ace pilot Fox McCloud as he fights in the Lylat Wars to avenge his father’s death. The game takes players across the Lylat system as they encounter Fox’s rivals and a diversity of planets. “Star Fox Zero” is also a return to the classic arcade-style flight shooting gameplay featured in “Star Fox 64.” Players pilot a variety of vehicles in linear scrolling levels or fly freely in large arenas as they shoot down enemies and avoid obstacles.

Like previous entries in the series, “Star Fox Zero” uses the control sticks and face buttons to maneuver vehicles, but the shooting controls are drastically different. Using the Wii U gamepad’s built-in motion controls, players must tilt the controller to aim their weapons. At first this seems like Nintendo’s excuse to make use of the Wii U gamepad and fix what isn’t broken, but after a while, the motion controls works surprisingly well. Though the controls are very demanding at times, they give players more control by making aiming independent of movement. Overcoming “Star Fox Zero’s” steep learning curve definitely pays off, as learning the motion controls eventually enhances the gameplay.

The game also makes use of the cockpit view, displayed on the Wii U gamepad, for more precision aiming. This occasionally helpful feature is mostly optional, but it is mandatory for some boss fights. Being forced to focus on two screens or switch view modes is just an unnecessary distraction from a game that requires so much focus to remain in control.

“Star Fox Zero’s” primary vehicle is still the classic Arwing spacecraft, but it introduces two new crafts: the Walker and the Gyrowing. The Walker instantly transforms the Arwing into a ground-based vehicle, giving the player more options and acting as a suitable replacement for “Star Fox Assault’s” onfoot combat. The Gyrowing is a slow but agile hovercraft utilized in a stealth mission. The variety that the Gyrowing adds is nice, but it doesn’t belong in a “Star Fox” game with its slow pace.

The new features of “Star Fox Zero” are hit-or-miss, but the game mostly delivers on its promise of emulating the tried-and-true gameplay of “Star Fox 64” without relying too much on its source material. Piloting the Arwing and Landmaster tank is just as fun as ever, and the game is still full of high-paced action and impressive boss battles. “Star Fox Zero” looks and sounds exactly how the classic “Star Fox” aesthetics should look in high definition, but it isn’t the most technically impressive game, even for the Wii U. “Star Fox Zero” makes up for this with its superior performance, achieving 60 frames per second with some rare exceptions.

As far as modern video games go, “Star Fox Zero” is incredibly short, and a playthrough lasts only a couple of hours. However the game encourages players to replay levels to discover all the game has to offer. Replaying the

MOVIES

THE FOX AWAKENS

2015-16 STAFF PICKS

WHY NOT ME? / MINDY KALING SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA / BECKY ALBERTALLI WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE / JOSEPH FINK, JEFFREY CRANOR ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL / JESSE ANDREWS THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN / PAULA HAWKINS THE WALLS AROUND US / NOVA REN SUMA MOSQUITOLAND / DAVID ARNOLD NONE OF THE ABOVE / IW GREGORIO MORE HAPPY THAN NOT / ADAM SILVERA MISLAID / NELL ZINK

BOOKS

REVIEWS: GAMES

staff picks | culture

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culture | staff playlists

staff playlists | culture

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MUSIC INTERVENTION

culture | music intervention

Aside from being used for entertainment, music’s usage is becoming more prominent in different aspects such as helping with psychological improvements and emotions. story cristina francisco photography maya wells

East junior Kat Eroskey is surrounded by music every day.

music intervention | culture

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fter a stressful day at school, East junior Kat Eroskey lies on her bed, listening to the soothing notes of Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor. As she stares at the ceiling, her eyes follow the fingering charts, and she becomes more relaxed with each note that reaches her ear. Abruptly, she gets up and walks past her walls that are plastered with more fingering charts, adjudication sheets and numerous posters of her favorite bands. Eroksy reaches the corner of her room where she searches through her bins of records and, soon enough, the sounds fill her room again.

For some people, their interaction with music is limited to car drives and the occasional background music heard throughout retail stores, but for Eroskey, it’s a part of her everyday life not only in school but also outside.

“Not only do I practice on a daily basis, but I am listening to music or thinking about it constantly,” Eroskey says. “Music is what I am most passionate about [because] I can always count on music as a way to express myself. There is just something so soothing about being able to listen to any song in the world when I get in my car after school.”

Aside from music being able to help listeners process a stressful day at school or be used as a pastime, there are a variety of new ways in which music is being used that can psychologically affect the listener. In a Frontiers in Human Neuroscience study, the Center for Interdisciplinary Music Research at the University of Jyväskylä, the University of Helsinki and Aalto University in Finland found different ways in which music can be utilized and the effects of these usages.

Participants were evaluated on the Music in Mood Regulation scale (MMR), which shows how people may regulate their mood with music.

The MMR divides the way people use music into categories including: Entertainment, Revival, Strong Sensation, Mental Work, Diversion, Solace and Discharge.

Diversion involves listening to music to serve as a distraction. Solace involves listening to music that matches how one is feeling, whereas with Discharge, music is matched to the emotional state to better express the emotion.

In addition to these findings, the report included studies conducted by the American Psychology Association that said the use of distraction and positive reappraisal “correlate negatively to undesirable outcomes such as depression, whereas inefficient emotion regulation strategies such as venting, suppression and rumination relate positively to depression and other mood disorders.”

However, for Eroskey, using solace and discharge have helped her and not affected her on a higher level psychologically.

“When I’m upset or sad, I will tend to listen to softer music,” Eroskey says, “However, if I’m really frustrated with something that happened, I will try to listen to super upbeat, pop music to channel my energy into belting out some Demi [Lovato] rather than going off on someone.

Confident, that’s me.”

15 percent of 768 East students surveyed use music in the form of solace.

“If a person is having a bad day, turning on a certain kind of music can help make them feel better. Sometimes you have to be sad before you can move forward.”

—Laura Brown, Ohio University assistant professor of music therapy

This positive aspect of music can also be used as a healing method especially in the growing field of music therapy. Music therapists use this for a variety of non-musical tasks such as improving social functioning to have psychological improvements. Some of their clients include people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and autism.

Music therapist Shonda Malik has worked with a child who was “in his own world and not talking.” Later, he was diagnosed with autism and received music therapy. His initial reaction to music was paying attention, increased eye contact and spending a longer amount of time on one activity instead of jumping from one thing to another.

Music therapy has also helped Malik work with clients who have suffered effects from strokes.

“With someone [who is older and suffered] a stroke, they try to regain the ability to talk,” Malik says. “For them, the section of the brain [that processes] languages was damaged, and because they can still sing, someone who is not able to speak a sentence can sing a sentence.”

The connection between music and the brain is also seen in kids who go into band. According to Malik, research shows that students in band have a “measurable difference” in brain development compared to kids who don’t learn how to play an instrument. The training that they go through when learning to play an instrument is making new connections in the brain; therefore, there is more brain development.

touch and sight. The test results showed that, while musicians and non-musicians had “identical capabilities to detect and discriminate information based on a single sense,” people who received longer musical training were better at “[separating] auditory and tactile information and not falling prey to illusions when presented with multisensory stimulation.”

A

his advanced brain development is found in a 2015 study conducted by the Rotman Research Institute that found that older adults who received musical training in their youth were 20 percent faster in identifying speech sounds than their non-musician friends.

Participating in two bands at school as well as in two extracurricular bands, Eroskey says that being a musician has helped her concentrate on multiple things at once. Being involved in these multiple bands and learning to play “challenging pieces” is helpful to Eroskey because she deems it “vital to [her] growth as a musician.”

“If you’re playing a slow ballad, you want to make sure you’re playing with the appropriate tone and dynamic levels as opposed to a faster, more vigorous pace,” Eroskey says, “[At the same time, you have] to watch the conductor, listen for intonation and identify how your part fits into the band as a whole.”

The Society for Neuroscience found in a 2013 study that musicians have an enhanced ability to integrate sensory information from hearing,

dditionally, Laura Brown, an assistant professor of music therapy at Ohio University, says music can help improve mood because it can help one further experience a negative emotion that needs to be experienced.

“If a person is having a bad day, turning on a certain kind of music can help make them feel better,” Brown says. “Sometimes you have to be sad before you can move forward. Music therapy just uses all those ideas in a much more clinical and individualized way.”

The effect of using music to cope with a negative emotion may also be harmful, says Brown. While music may help the average listener experience emotions such as sadness, music therapists are further trained to help facilitate that sadness and then process it so that patients “don’t necessarily feel stuck in it.”

Listeners who may not know how to facilitate and process emotions such as sadness should be aware of the harmful effects, and this also include listening to the lyrics.

“When listening to lyrics, you have to consider the meaning behind what you are using and the direction you are trying to go,” Brown says.

“There are unique areas of the brain that process language, but when you are using music with lyrics, that activates those areas as well as other parts.

You have to be aware of when you are using music and when you are not.”

While Eroskey realizes that some songs can be painful if the piece is connected to a painful memory, she doesn’t view the lyrical aspect of music as harmful but rather as “full of emotion.”

Instead, she focuses on the positive aspects.

As Eroskey works on building up her personal repertoire, practicing music and surrounding herself with it, music continues to be helpful and vital to her growth as a musician. At the same time, she is hopeful for the future of music.

“It’s fantastic how many genres there are and how everyone has a different taste,” Eroskey says.

“There are so many talented people in the world with so many songs in their head just waiting to be put down onto paper. I’m excited to discover new music in my life. The possibilities are endless when it comes to music.”

31 percent of 768 East students surveyed use music in the form of entertainment.

17 percent of 768 East students surveyed use music in the form of diversion.

T

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culture | sleep

69 percent of East students surveyed said they don’t feel awake enough at school in the morning.

A SLEEPLESS SOCIETY A number of factors including new technology, large workloads and poor time management are creating a barrier for adolescents when it comes to getting the recommended amount of sleep.

story, photography illustration and infographic cara satullo

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he last bell has rung, and hundreds of students are pouring into the halls to go home, but for East junior Rebecca Addison, the day is just getting started. After school, she drives 20 minutes to her dance studio, where she practices for several hours. When dance ends, she drives 20 minutes back home, and by now it’s 9:10 pm. She eats a late dinner and starts homework. Finally, at 1 a.m., she goes to bed, just to wake up four hours later so she can get to school on time.

This kind of busy schedule is common for high school students, with 70 percent of students not getting enough sleep, according to Medical News Today. At East, 75 percent of the 455 students surveyed typically don’t get the recommended 9-10 hours of sleep, with 66 percent getting four to seven hours and nine percent getting zero to three. This pattern of chronic sleep deprivation in teens has become a normality in modern society as a number of factors, including school, technology and extracurriculars, increasingly take precedent over getting a good night’s sleep.

“It’s not really an option to go to bed early because with the schedule I have for school, I have to make sure I have all of my homework done so that I’m prepared for my tests,” says Addison. “In order to do that, I have to be awake more at night.”

Addison isn’t the only student who frequently stays up late to keep up with her schoolwork, with 20 percent pulling all-nighters at least once every

month and 35 percent staying up past 3 a.m. once or more every week, according to Medical News Today. Pulling all-nighters may seem necessary to students every now and then, but the the benefits aren’t greater than the downfalls in most cases.

Lack of sleep has been linked to lower GPA by a number of studies, including one done by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

“When you pull an all-nighter, even though you’re awake, cognitively you’re not doing as well,” sleep physician Sanjiv Patel tells Spark. “Sleep is integral for memory allocation, so the night before a big test, if you try to cram in a bunch of extra information, you haven’t really slept to lock those in.”

Along with decreased cognitive function,

percentage of East students surveyed who drink coffee

55%

pulling all-nighters usually comes with poor diet choices. Students who are up late will often snack on processed foods and continue to feel hungry throughout the rest of the day.

“When you don’t sleep as well, there are hormones that are released in the body and in the brain that make you want to eat more,” sleep physician Junaid Malik tells Spark. “You will actually not feel full when you eat, [which] will lead to weight gain, and then weight gain causes another cycle to occur, which is sleep apnea, where you stop breathing.”

Lack of sleep introduces health risks involving diet and also leaves some students turning to drugs to help stay awake. In a survey released by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, 20 percent of college students admitted to the abuse of prescription stimulants at least once in their life, and 64 percent did so to obtain a higher grade.

More commonly, students will use caffeinated beverages such as coffee or energy drinks to stay awake. At East, 55 percent of students said they drink coffee, and of those students, 37 percent said they do this to increase wakefulness. People often forget that caffeine is also a drug and happens to be the most commonly used mood-altering drug in the world. It’s estimated that between 80 and 90 percent of adults and children consume caffeine habitually in North America, according to the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns

sleep | culture

Hopkins University.

“Drug abuse comes into it because [if] you’re sleepy, you’ll start picking up on drugs that’ll keep you awake such as caffeine pills [and] the monster drinks,” says Malik. “Then some people will resort to other things [such as] amphetamines.”

While many students fall into this category of snacking and drug abuse, others actually neglect food because they feel like they don’t have time to eat.

“My diet is not healthy because of my time,” says Addison. “Last night, I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner, I woke up late this morning, so I didn’t have breakfast, then I had to skip lunch because I was taking a test, so I haven’t eaten a full meal in close to 24 hours.”

With empty stomachs and sleep-deprived brains, a task as simple as driving to school becomes a dangerous feat. A study by researchers in Australia shows 18 hours without sleep produces an impairment equal to a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .05, and after 24 hours of wakefulness, a BAC of .10; while a BAC .08 is considered legally drunk.

“What happens for most people [who have pulled an all-nighter] is intermittently during the daytime they’ll start to have what’s called microsleep, where their brain shuts down for a minute or two,” says Patel. “The danger is that happens while you’re driving. If you’re going 65 miles per hour on the highway, a 5 second dropoff could kill you.”

The danger of sleep deprivation extends from car crashes to all kinds of mishaps, with 274,000 workplace accidents being linked to insomnia every year, according to a survey done by researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Beside the risks this causes for safety, there are also economical downfalls with these accidents adding up to $31 billion in extra costs.

These effects of decreased GPA, poor diet and accidents arise when a person loses sleep, but more issues are brought up when this lack of sleep becomes a lifestyle.

“Patients that don’t get enough sleep on a chronic basis tend to have higher risk of developing blood pressure, diabetes, they tend to gain more weight and probably have an earlier mortality,” says Patel. “They die earlier than the patients who get the right amount of sleep.”

Getting the recommended amount of sleep every night is vital in avoiding these outcomes, but a number of factors are preventing people from doing this. Students in particular have difficulty because after hitting adolescence, they naturally tend to stay up later. This tendency can interfere with the student’s ability to wake up early and feel alert at school, with 69 percent of East students

SLEEP AT EAST The percentage of surveyed East students typically receive the following amounts of sleep in a night.

37% of East students who drink coffee do so to stay awake

surveyed saying they don’t feel awake enough to be at school in the morning.

“People get what’s called delayed sleep phase, and that’s basically where your biological clock clicks backwards, so instead of being sleepy at nine or ten, you start to feel sleepy at 11, 12 or one,” says Patel. “That’s actually a pretty normal phenomenon we see in teenagers.”

When students’ commitments such as school and extracurriculars don’t correspond with this more natural sleep schedule, this can pose problems in the classroom. The first class of the day is often inefficient, with up to 28 percent of students falling asleep, according to a National Sleep Foundation poll. Some choose to stay home entirely, and research from the University of Minnesota has linked this sleep deprivation directly to school dropout rates.

“I have more absenteeism in first period, more people coming in tardy, and they’re sleepdeprived,” says East Anatomy and Zoology teacher Julie Deak. “They’re in overdrive because they’re running late and struggling with too many things to do, and sleep always is the last thing on the list.”

While students often struggle with early school start times, there are a number of factors that play into this decision. Traffic flow, bussing, the ability for parents to drive kids to school before going to work, the schedules of surrounding schools and the ability to maintain a cafeteria crew are all important considerations as well.

“We used to have a 7:15 start time, so we have evolved a little bit from that,” says East Principal Suzanna Davis. “[But] if we were to start making significant changes to the start time, that could throw lots of schedules into disarray.”

Even if schools did start later, this may not entirely solve the issue. Technology has played a significant role in increased sleep deprivation, and this could also prevent students from getting the rest they need.

“Four hundred years ago when the sun came up, you did what you had to do, then when the sun

0-3 hours

9%

4-7 hours

went down, people got sleepy and went to bed,” says Patel. “Now we have artificial light, and your brain is being flooded all day long when it normally would start to slow down around sunset.”

Beyond the impact that artificial light has on human biorhythms, there’s the added influence of the Internet. Social media allows people to stay constantly plugged in, no matter what the hour is, and this constant interaction can keep students awake longer, as well as increase the amount of time it takes them to complete homework.

“In the past if you had stress, there was nothing you could do about it at night, so you slept,” says Malik. “Now we can email, we can text, [or] whatever it is to communicate. Our lines of communication have made it so we tend not to sleep when we should.”

In general technology creates a barrier in getting sufficient sleep, but in some cases it can actually help. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos have popped up all over the internet, which are combinations of soothing noises designed to stimulate relaxation and help people fall asleep. Furthermore, people can set up lights inside their houses to dim as night approaches, in an effort to simulate sunset. It’s a matter of utilizing this technology in a productive way, because if it isn’t utilized it can easily become a distraction.

“Sometimes I’ll be looking for an ASMR video to help me fall asleep, and I’ll end up on Instagram or Vine,” says East junior and People of All Cultures Alliance vice president Aaron Wade.

“You need time to wind down, but winding down turns into a 12-hour long Netflix binge-watching marathon, then it’s time to go to school.”

With the challenges posed by technology, many schools wonder if pushing back start times would really make a difference. Students may use the extra time to get some more sleep, but they could also use it to stay up even later than before, or even wake up earlier to do things in the morning.

“When we started the OGT schedule and the upperclassmen had late arrival, I saw that as a great opportunity for students to get a little extra sleep,” says Deak. “I was surprised at the number of students who saw that as a nice time to catch up with friends [and go] out to breakfast.”

Sleep often falls to the bottom of the priority list, and this leads to dangerous accidents, bad health and decreased mental well-being. While the solution may be unclear, it is obvious that sleep deprivation runs rampant in modern society.

“One of my biggest things as a sleep physician is to tell people you have to make sleep a priority,” says Patel. “Sleep is fundamentally important to us and to all of our functions, but it’s not something we pay much attention to.”

(recommended range)

8-10 hours

66% 24%

11+ hours

1% source spark survey

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culture | from the editor: autism

from the editor: autism | culture

REALISTIC REPRESENTATION KATY JOHNSON F

rom the time East junior Josh Thompson was seven years old, his mother, Tona Thompson, began to notice that Josh couldn’t discern facial cues. When play-wrestling with a friend, Josh didn’t pick up on the body language of the other boy that signaled his disinterest. Tona quietly told the friend that he needed to verbally inform Josh of his feelings to make sure Josh understood.

This need for translation continued as Josh took statements literally and sometimes said the “wrong” thing in social situations.

“He might say something and it was right, what he said, but it might not have been tactful,” Tona says. “And of course, when kids are younger, they aren’t tactful anyway, so that didn’t help.”

Josh delved into phases of fascination with certain topics like the Titanic or ancient Egypt, devouring DK books and soaking in as many facts as he could. During a family visit to a museum exhibit, Josh brought his book and was able to recognize many of the artifacts.

In sixth grade though, when he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, Josh was surprised.

“Imagine thinking nothing’s wrong,” he says. “You’re a little bit off, but nothing’s wrong. Then people sit you down and say ‘hey, guess what, you’re diagnosed with this thing called Asperger’s,’ which is the very high end [of autism.] But it’s basically that I was born without the ability to read facial expressions, body language, and all that fun stuff. And so, obviously I had this, but I had no idea that I had it.”

The National Institute of Child Health and Mental Development estimates that 1 in 500 people have some form of AS and that 1 in 68 children in the US have some form of autism.

After Josh was diagnosed, he was pulled out of his class and away from his friends in order to join a class that would offer him extra support and accommodations.

However, it wasn’t until his family moved to West Chester for his eighth grade year that Josh really found the help he needed.

“Josh kind of determined where we were going to live,” Tona says. “I wanted a larger school district where he could have more

tools at his disposal so he could be successful. Lakota had a great reputation and we were used to a big school district, so it was a good move for us.”

Josh has definitely found this to be true at East. Through speech pathology practice with Mrs. Revelette and support offered by Mr. Combs, he attends regular classes. And, freshman year, he found a new passion through acting classes and the theater program.

“What’s the one place you go when you can’t read facial expressions and body language?” he explains. “Theater, the one place where you need to read facial expressions and body language in order to do good. Theater’s been amazing with that. Just the community of theater, the people there are just amazing people.”

When asked whether he was worried if any of these friends would look at him differently if they knew he was autistic, Josh replies instantly with “Nope! If they know me, then they’ve known me, if they didn’t, then whatever.”

However, Josh has had people treat him differently in the past because of his diagnosis, describing adults treating him with pity and “walking over with a fake smile.” This stigma is nothing new.

As late as the 1950s, autistic children and children with other developmental disabilities were sent away from their families to mental institutions. Today, this othering of autistic children still exists but not to that degree. The Interactive Autism Network describes several of these less overt stigmas: when Japanese schools tried to start offering special education for students with developmental disabilities in 2007, teachers at one school “engaged in a very elaborate dance to get parents to accept extra help.” a 2011 study in Korea showed that while the autism rate was 2.6 percent, two-thirds of autistic children were undiagnosed because their parents prefer an attachment disorder diagnosis; when British parents who avoided having their children diagnosed as autistic were interviewed for a study, they worried that a diagnosis would make “[the outside world] start thinking, ‘Oh, well maybe I don’t want my child to play with him.’”

These opinions tend to find common ground in media, which has featured numerous harmful tropes and stereotypes about autistic people; the most common one being that autism can be cured or at least alleviated. An article titled “Who Gets to Stay Autistic?” by Alyssa Hillary on the Disability in Kid Lit blog explains that characters who are labeled as autistic are “pushed to imitate neurotypicality” while their “autistic neurology” remains the same.

“Reading stories where characters display autistic traits, we find that these traits are a unique strength and intriguing aspect of the undiagnosed, but something the narrative typically seeks to pathologize and eliminate in those who are directly stated to be autistic,” says Hillary. “Who gets to stay autistic? Only those of us who are passed off as quirky, weird or odd, rather than disabled.”

This attitude toward explicitly autistic characters contributes

toward what TV Tropes calls the “Throwing Off the Disability” trope. Characters with disabilities, developmental or otherwise, in a climactic moment of triumph, are suddenly as abled as everyone else. In a less dramatic fashion, these characters will present as more neurotypical, the desired norm to which they should aspire.

In Cynthia Lord’s Newbery Medal-winning novel, “Rules,” the narrative follows 12-year-old, neurotypical Catherine who has an autistic brother, David. Catherine pushes David to act more neurotypical, coming up with rules—hence the title of the book—for how he should act. She wishes there was “a pill he could take to wake up without autism.” Even Catherine’s parents push David to their idea of normal, refusing to answer when he speaks using echolalia, the repetition of other people’s words or sounds, a trait common in autistic people.

Catherine’s desire for a “cure” for autism is prevalent in mainstream society, specifically for the well-known nonprofit organization Autism Speaks. The organization, as stated on their website, is “dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism.”

However, this search for a cure that would make autistic people neurotypical is something that the recent neurodiversity movement, supported by smaller nonprofit organizations like the Autistic Self-Advocacy Movement (ASAM), is seeking to change.

“The neurodiversity movement works toward a world where people’s brain differences are seen as valuable differences rather than as things to be fixed,” explains Autism Acceptance Month, a co-advocate of ASAM. “Proponents of neurodiversity want to make it easier for people of all neurotypes to contribute to the world as they are, rather than forcing them to attempt to appear or think more typically.”

ASAM is “run by and for autistic people” and follows the mission statement, “Nothing about us without us.” This differs from Autism Speaks—the organization began in 2005 and did not include autistic people on its Board of Directors until December of 2015 in response to pressure from a non-autistic author who joined the Boycott Autism Speaks movement of which autistic individuals had already been a part. Its current board, however, includes 10 parents of autistic children and one individual with an autistic relative.

At the forefront of the neurodiversity movement is a push for diverse books in young adult literature that include autistic and other disabled characters and shed damaging tropes. One such book, “Rogue,” a story about Kiara, an autistic eighth grade girl whose naivete leads her into a dangerous situation, was a 2014 nominee for Best Fiction for Young Adults by the Junior Literary Guild. Lyn Miller-Lachmann, the author, is autistic as well, providing a more nuanced look into Kiara and autism in general.

“By portraying our experiences, we are connecting to young people on the spectrum who see that they are not alone and they can tell their stories,” Miller-Lachmann explains. “Our stories also

“Our stories also show neurotypical readers and viewers what our lives, thoughts, feelings and experiences are from the inside, so they have a more nuanced and informed awareness of our experiences.”

—Lyn Miller-Lachmann, author of “Rogue”

show neurotypical readers and viewers what our lives, thoughts, feelings and experiences are from the inside, so they have a more nuanced and informed awareness of our experiences. There’s a saying that ‘if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.’ As more autistic characters appear, written by autistic authors, that will become abundantly clear.”

Miller-Lachmann hopes this rise in neurodiverse representation will lead to “a new generation of autistic authors of books, screenplays, and other works who can have a real impact on popular media.” She explains the importance of this representation by saying, “Growing up, I suffered from both bullying and exclusion because I was different. It traumatized me, and until the popular media include neurodiverse people telling our own stories, we will continue to be misunderstood, bullied, and excluded.”

Josh expresses an interest in seeing more characters like him in stories of different medias as well. But in the meantime, he’s enjoying time spent acting, doing activities with his church youth group and playing Pokemon.

“Josh has always just been Josh,” Tona says, shrugging. “He’s always been outgoing and able to be himself at home. Now, I enjoy seeing him interact with a bigger group of friends.”

With the expanded group of friends he has, Josh can explain the importance of making acquaintances, whether or not they’re autistic.

“It’s worth it to just get to know people,” Josh says. “If people don’t always have the time or patience to do that, I understand, but sometimes, it really is worth it.”

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culture | photoshoot

photoshoot | culture

VINTAGE

The ‘70s groovy past makes a comeback with this season’s vintageinspired trends. story and photo illustration christine shi models anna wilkinson, matt kleman

retro-inspired sunglasses and sun hats provide a nice “summery” touch to any retro outfit

whether it’s denim or suede, fringed or embroidered, the unisex vest ties together the ‘70s look perfectly

classic ‘70s band tees like these Pink Floyd shirts give any outfit a casual, timeless touch

the ‘70s revival includes “throwbacks” like this maxi cardigan with fringe and embroidery

embroidered denim shorts of any kind are a necessity for ‘70s fashion

bell bottoms of any kind, jeans or sleeves, are a ‘70s statement

classic converse give a relaxed feel to any outfit

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through the ages | culture

culture | through the ages

MOD SQUAD T

A criminal, an athlete, and a beauty— or at least a fashionable modern representation of these infamous Breakfast Club characters is recreated.

he British invasion in the 1960s started with the Beatles and ended with Twiggy. Somewhere in between the two, the culture of mod evolved. With the current revival of mod in Europe, it won’t be much longer before the style is prominent again in America. Even though not everyone is wearing the iconic 1965 “Mondrian Dress” by Yves Saint Laurent, there are still mod elements incorporated into today’s trends.

As for the hair, it was outta sight. Massive volume and large bumps that can only be created by today’s “bump its” defined the Brigitte Bardot style. Straight hair, pixie cuts and beehive styles were also popular in the ‘60s. To achieve those far-out bumps, Ultra Clutch hairspray was a must.

Makeup in the ‘60s marked a change from the simple elegant looks of the 1950s. Either blue or white eyeshadow was the color of choice. Then the crease of the eye was lined, and bottom lashes were drawn on with eyeliner. For real, massive lashes were the focal point and gave the overall makeup look a baby-doll feel.

“I love the bold, fun makeup from the 1960s,” says East junior Lilyana Bryan. “I really try to make my eyelashes stand out with mascara. Twiggy’s eyelashes were goals.”

Because the mod style was defined by clean lines and structured articles of clothing, accessories added a little flare to most simple outfits. Scarfs and oversized headbands were worn as accent pieces to popular hairstyles. Like the big hair, big jewelry was in style. Many of the abstract pieces worn back then are comparable to statement jewelry worn today. Funky shades also evolved from the mod trend, large circular frames or even chunky square frames, made big sunglasses perfect to catch some rays in.

Again, the modern style of ‘60s fashion shift-ed away from the typical conservative styles of ‘50s with the introduction of the shift dress. The boxy cut of the dress hid curves and portrayed a slimmer, boyish figure, which was desired at the time. Dropped waistlines also worked to conceal a woman’s hourglass shape. Sixties clothing was all about creating an illusion.

“The popular silhouette was long and slender, very rectangular or A-shaped,” says collections manager and adjunct instructor at Drexel University Monica Stevens Smith. “The ideal [body shape] in the ‘60s was a very youthful woman who lacked curves. The 1960s featured many trends set by a younger demographic, because of this the youthful styles like the shift dress prevailed.”

Shifts weren’t the only trendy dress style. Peasant dresses were in the groove too. Some peasant dresses were embellished with Peter Pan collars or longer, pointed collars.

Buttons and pockets also added a pop to the simple peasant

a series on the impact of fashion trends

THROUGH THE AGES

story and art lauren wilson photography illustration maya wells models amber herzog, mollie black, meagan thomas

With the ever-evolving world of fashion, its not surprising that we are experiencing a shift to modern mod. From classic shifts to Peter Pan collars, iconic 1960s trends are back again.

dress. Hip hemlines of the all the dresses in the 1960s were often very short to portray mile-long legs. “[The 60s] were the first time where legs were the focal point of the silhouette,” says Smith. “Hemlines only got shorter after the mod fashions came around. Since then, legs have often been in the spotlight, creating pressure on women to be thin, toned and tanned.”

Miniskirts were also a killer trend and were paired with bright-colored tights or knee-high socks to further emphasize legs. That being said, the ‘60s also marked the first time in history when women began to wear jeans. This led to the trend of bellbottoms, starting in the late ‘60s and carrying on through the 1970s, as the hippie trends came into style.

“The adoption of blue jeans in the 1960s was important,” says Senior Adjunct Professor of Fashion Design, Visual Studies and Diversity Studies at California College of the Arts Melissa Leventon. “[Jeans were] a sort of ‘classless’ uniform for middle-class men and women. For women, society was finally accepting pants as appropriate female clothing, which was a battle that had begun more than a century earlier.”

Unreal mod trends were influenced by the prominence of op art and pop art in the culture of the ‘60s. These abstract pieces of art inspired designers to create far out threads.

Bright colors, checkerboard print and other unique patterns were modeled off of Andy Warhol and similar artists’ pieces.

“Pop art was a style based on graphic advertisement and primary colors,” says East art teacher Linda Augutis. “I think that translated into [1960s] fashion with the bold colors.”

Many current designers reference the ‘60s mod style to create their modern-day collections. Recently, Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2013 show was built around modified checkerboard print shift dresses and flashy headbands. Not all mod is brought back on the runway; stores like Topshop and Zara have revived the 1960s mod trend through their collections.

“We’ve been in a continuous cycle of revival since the 1960s,” says Leventon. “There is something we call the ‘cycle of fashion.’ All styles have a fashionable life that is finite, eventually as fashion moves ahead, styles start to look dated, and eventually we stop wearing them. Now after about 20-25 years people, start riffing on [a past trend], which eventually brings it back into fashion, and the cycle starts again.”

In today’s fast-paced world, the modern muse for fashion design is constantly changing. Not only do past trends influence new designs, but other cultures’ and countries’ fashions are incorporated into the melting pot of American apparel. What is in style today may be gone tomorrow, but it will always show up again in the future.

(Above) Mollie wears a classic ‘60s shift with a checkerboard print vest. Amber models the timeless ‘60s style peasant dress with bright red tights and a floral scarf headband. The abstract sweater from Dillard’s worn by Megan gives off mod vibes and is paired with a miniskirt and high knee socks.

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LOCALMOTI VE

story lauren wilson, gabbie behrmann | photography cara satullo

Right: It’s no joke: Lester’s Rock N Roll shop did in fact open on April 1 this year.

Owner Chris Lester came up with the concept of having a music shop (the rock side of the store), and a skate shop (the roll side of the store). “I’ve worked in music stores my whole life,” says Lester. “It’s nice to be doing it for myself for a change.”

Le

Mrs. S

Savorie

pEndleton Art Center

Triple moon coffee co.

Above: The Middletown Art Center is just one of the four Pendleton Art Centers where artists can rent space to showcase their work. The Pendleton Art Centers are owned by the Verdin company, a sixth-generation, family-owned clock and bell manufacturer. “This is a community revitalization project,” says DiTammaso. “[The Verdin company] buys old buildings, guts them and puts in spaces for community artists, photographers and small business people.” them and puts in spaces for community artists, photographers and small business people.”

Above: After finding out about her daughter’s severe eczema, Renee Selby started making homemade soap products for her family, which evolved into a business out of necessity. All of her products are handmade and organic with no preservatives. Coming up with different scents is a trial-and-error process. “I just enjoy the freedom of creativity,” says Selby.

Left: From signature Hobos to Hotpies, Savorie Gourmet Cafe and Market has it all. Owners Joseph DiTammaso and Kelvin Eldridge run their cafe and the Artisan Market in the Middletown Art Center. “We support micro-businesses,” says DiTammaso.

“We have multiple vendors that we represent, and we use them in the products we make.”

central ave.

Right: For only being open one year, Triple Moon Coffee Co. is one of Middletown’s most well-known local shops. They are famous for their homemade coffee and sandwiches. Barista Heidi Cox says the story behind the name is simple. “The owner’s mother always referred to [her daughters] as the ‘triple moon girls,’” says Cox, “so she named her shop after that.”

l shop l o r n k c o r s ster’

o. elby’s soap c

localmotive | culture

Tucked away in the heart of Middletown is the eclectic street by the name of Central Avenue. This hidden gem with art, and canal district roots is in the process of revival with 18 new local shops to be added this yaer.

Beauverre Stained Glas s Studios Above: Founded in 1838, BeauVerre Stained Glass Studios is the oldest continually operating stained glass studio in the United States. When employee Janett Hydeman was in college, she had always dreamed of working with stained glass. As she started working at the Middletown location, she immediately fell in love. “It usually takes one person a month to make a piece,” says Hydeman, “but we always have a lot of fun.”

Right: Middletown has been always divided into the art and canal district. It’s like a split down the middle. The mural of Port Middletown by artist Eric Henn combines both the history of the stop on the Erie Canal and the modern art movement in this town.

Murphy’s Landing

Port Middletown

Above: For people looking to indulge in delicious seafood or prime rib, Murphy’s Landing is the way to go. When owner Jay Moorman opened the restaurant about three years ago, he incorporated salvaged stained glass windows, chandeliers and a pipe organ from the First Baptist church that was demolished.

“I hire bands every weekend from May ‘til October to play [in the street outside of Murphy’s Landing],” says Moorman.

“There’ll be people dancing out there.

You can sit on the patio and eat steak, have a bottle of wine and watch a free concert.”

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LOCALMOTIVE The small town of Yellow Springs is a blast from the past. It definitely fits the “hippie town” mold, with everything from vintage clothing stores, artist hub’s and record shops.

super-fly co

mics & games

Above: Ever since he was a child, Anthony Barry’s world was constantly revolving around comic books. About eight years ago, he opened Super-Fly Comics & Games, which offers variety of comic books, mangas and collectibles for purchase. “I don’t remember a period of my life before comic books,” Barry says. “I started collecting fiercely to the point that I had to open a store, which led to this.”

airy young’s jersey d

farm

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localmotive | culture

Yellow springs

story lauren wilson, sidney li, sean mcgraw, charis williams, gabbie berhmann | photography cara satullo

Right: Enhanced by the handlaid brickwork, Aleta’s Cafe is a fresh experience just like the food.

Despite being mostly a sandwich shop for the moment, all the ingredients are organic and made every other day. Owner Gregg Pastorelle, who has 22 years of experience under his belt, decides the items on his menu by what is in season.

“There’s not really any conceptual idea to the menu,” says Pastorelle.

“Every three months, [the menu] changes.”

Left: Since 1958, Young’s Jersey Dairy Farm has been famous for having an assortment of homemade ice cream flavors such as peanut butter, black walnut and peaches and cream.

Current manager Brian Patterson is head of a staff of 370 employees who make Young’s Jersey’s familyfriendly atmosphere salient from others.

“We focus on entertainment,” Patterson says. “There are batting cages, golf courses, driving ranges, inflatables, rides, a restaurant and, of course, our ice cream.”

e

Iona boutiqu

Right: More than four years ago, Jose Soto opened his shop, Twisted Tines, where he sells handmade silverware jewelry. Jose is a self-taught artist, and he makes all his jewelry in a workshop in his basement.

Jose Soto made his first spoon ring to impress a friend. “I guess she must have been pretty impressed,” says Soto, “because now we’ve been married for 40 years.”

Above: Named after a 1986 Pretty in Pink character, Iona Boutique reflects the 1980s aesthetic of its namesake. “The style of clothes that we sell is pinup ‘50s, vintage-style ‘80s, and vintage style,” says salesclerk Elizabeth Anderson.

“I’m really interested in vintage fashion and music and movies, so it’s right up my alley.” With a style all its own, Iona Boutique is the perfect place to embrace the inner Material Girl.

Right: For 35 years, Mr.Fub’s Toy store’s business has been booming and it has scored major points with all of the kids. “The first thing the kids say when they walk in is wow,” says employee Stefany Lewis.

The owner gets all of the store’s products from independent companies, that no other stores buy from. So it’s true, Mr. Fub’s is really one-of-akind.

e

aleta’s caf

Below: Yellow Springs has always drawn in artists, and since 1983, between 18 and 19 artists at a time have been involved in the cooperative store, Village Artisans. From woodwork to glasswork, Village Artisans showcases handmade local art in-store and at events like Art on the Lawn, coming up on August 13. Pottery artist Diane Collinson, who is just one of the artists featured at Village Artisans, says when you get into a flow, “you don’t want to brush your teeth or comb your hair—you just want to work.

When you get in that kind of mode that’s the best thing [about being an artist].”

Mr.Fubs

toxic beauty records Above: Friends asked Josh Castleberry what he’d do if he had a million dollars, and he said he’d open up a record store, so that’s just what he did. About nine years ago, Castleberry spearheaded the rebirth of the record industry, when he opened his store Toxic Beauty Records. The shop has both new and used vinyls, all from different genres and time periods because “good music is good music,” says Castleberry. “It doesn’t matter when it came out.”

Village artisan

s

twisted Tines

Right: Dark Star Books first opened in Yellow Springs in 1984. Since then, it has brought a wide variety of unique books on almost any topic imaginable from shamanism to science fiction. You can also find the store’s sleepy black cat, Mr. Eko. “My favorite part about working here is being around books and the cat,” said Lee Blasingame, an employee of more than 30 years. Dark Star Books fits right in at Yellow Springs, it’s a very peaceful and collective place. “That’s the thing I like about this town,” says Lee. “You can be a little strange, and that’s okay.”

dark star

books

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MICHAEL OLAWALE ALONGE ...continued from page 45 began reciting five-minute discourses where he could relate Biblical passages to everyday life.

His parents, Jacob and Comfort Alonge, are also heavily involved in the church and made faith an important part in Michael’s upbringing. The family devotes a few hours each day to pray and meditate on God’s word, and they look to the Bible for guidance in everyday life.

“As we share our knowledge, it in turn helps us to live and remember those principles daily in our own lives,” says Comfort. “As it seems, no other human wisdom works. It all comes back to divine wisdom and our humility and ability to rely on God’s higher standard of living.”

According to Michael, most people are open to his beliefs. Most misjudgement is from the brief encounters that he has going to houses.

People at school don’t seem to have a problem; however, sometimes he will have to deal with misconceptions. Michael says one of the biggest misconceptions is why witnesses do not celebrate holidays like Christmas. According to Jehovah’s Witnesses official website, they do not celebrate Christmas because it was rooted in pagan customs and because of certain Biblical passages such as Luke 22:19-20, which says that Jesus commanded the celebration of his death and not his birth.

“It is kind of like a different lifestyle, and we don’t do the same things that everyone else is doing,” says Michael. “People will ask me, ‘Why this and why that,’ and some people take it well and say that makes sense and see my point of view, and other people say, ‘No, you are stupid, why would you do that?’ People have their own misconceptions and don’t want to believe.”

Michael says his biggest struggle is “staying in line,” which means not bowing into the pressure he faces from his peers and culture to do things against his beliefs. It can be as simple as avoiding a party where he may find himself in a risky situation. He avoids the situation before it even happens and people know him well enough that they won’t bother trying to make him do anything he does not want to do.

“You just have to keep your head up above water and know that you are doing the right thing and not just doing what everyone else is doing,” says Michael. “I can only prove to myself that I know what I am doing and that I am making the conscious decision. I can’t just say that I am doing this or doing that when my friends are doing this.

It is because I can prove to myself and tell myself that I am sticking to what I believe.”

Michael’s parents are proud that he has continued with his faith. Comfort says that the entire family strives to be “24-hours-a-day Christians,” which is possible but requires a lot of work. Michael learned how to avoid the pressure through his parents and learning through the mistakes of others. It is this lifelong training that Comfort believes is the key to how Michael remains different from his peers.

“From our life experiences over the years, Michael’s dad and I have tried to instill in him from infancy that real happiness comes from living by divine standards,” says Comfort. “These rules

found in the Bible are there for our protection, and as long as humans are imperfect, living by those simple laws is the only guarantee to our happiness.”

Michael is different from his peers in that respect, but he fits in with the rest of his class.

He goes to sporting events, asks questions in class and makes sure to get his homework done on time. Michael says that if he were walking down the halls of East, his peers wouldn’t be able to pick him out of the crowd.

But the workers at Old Navy see him as more than a face in the halls. They know the bubbly Michael who has awkward comebacks and who can be a calming companion on a six-hour shift.

“I think he is a pretty normal kid, but once people start to get to know him, he becomes extraordinary,” says Zenz. “He is just a great person.”

VICTORIA SPENCER SHIELDS ...continued from page 48 at the top of her lungs or joins the worship team on stage and sings in front of the congregation.

Debbie accredits the change her daughter made in her life entirely to Victoria herself and the way she absorbed the support Hart had provided.

“She grabbed onto her faith, and that is where her passion comes from. It poured into everything: school work, theater and real friendships,” says Debbie. “I was always there for her, but I could never fathom what she was going through because I had never experienced anything like it. She’s touched so many people’s lives and has matured amazingly.”

Next year, Victoria will be attending Belmont University in Nashville to major in Entertainment Industries.

“This field is all about putting on a show rather than finding the funds for a show. It expands beyond music, and honestly I’m not really sure where I’ll end up,” says Victoria. “I don’t want to be a slave to my security, and I don’t mind moving from place to place because I usually end up too comfortable wherever I am.”

Victoria’s long-time friend Samantha Lee says she has seen a huge change in the personality and spirit of Victoria over the years. She says Victoria is a forgiving and selfless person that has helped her with her own faith. Lee believes that no other school would suit Victoria better than Belmont.

“It’s all about sophisticated art and creativity— the hipster atmosphere is perfect for her,” says Lee. “I’m so excited for her to come back and tell me about what she’s done in Nashville because there are so many things for her to explore, and I know she will work hard and go after them.”

Along with pursuing a career in the same field as her passion, Victoria hopes to one day use music to bring the gospel to other countries through missionary work. She believes this is the best way she could spread the positive influence faith and worship has had on her life is as it was first introduced to her through music.

Having been voted “Most Likely to be on Broadway” by her classmates, it is evident that

Victoria’s life on stage has developed her into the person she is today. But both on and off stage, her exuding positivity, confidence and outgoing nature define her.

“Whenever you see her in the halls at East, she always says hi, and her shoulders go up and her hair flips up,” says Lee. “Regardless of what’s going on, she will brighten your day just being her joyful self.”

Whether it be landing her next dream role as a screenplay writer for Pixar, being a worship leader, instructing pilates, designing swimsuits or being a waitress at Disney’s Primetime when she’s retired, Victoria says she will pursue everything in life with everything she has.

“I have this insane zeal for life where I just put all my passion into every single thing that I do,” says Victoria. “I usually exhaust myself doing that, but why do something if you’re not going to put all of your heart into it? Find something you love so much that it sets you on fire, makes people want to watch you burn, and then let it destroy you.”

CHLOE FOXX SIZEMORE ...continued from page 52 “I can’t help but smile every time I see him,” says Chloe. “He is in his bed all day, and when I get home it’s the best part of his day and mine. You can’t be negative when you see him smile and be so positive through everything he faces.”

After graduation, Chloe will be taking her big personality and positive attitude to the University of Cincinnati (UC). Also coming with Chloe to UC is Neff, and despite the classic warning to not room with your best friend, starting in the fall, Chloe and Neff will be living under the same roof.

“Chloe is past the point of being my best friend. She’s more like a family member to me,” says Neff. “It will be like having a piece of home with me.”

Even on the most overcast days, Chloe’s sunsoaked personality powers through the clouds.

She views challenges as opportunities to grow and inspires action in her life. Nothing about her attitude is forced or fake, and it’s the first thing people think of when they visualize Chloe. Her genuine love for life and the people surrounding her make Chloe a source of major joy and comfort.

“When I think of Chloe, I instantly hear her laugh and see her big smile,” says Neff. “I know if I’m with her, I’m going to have a good time, but I also know if I need to open up to someone, then she’s my girl.”

ALEX PARKER SENSEL ...continued from page 54 Although Sensel is graduating, his passion for baking and for other people will not disappear.

He hopes that someone will follow his lead and continue to make East a lively place to be.

“Life is too short to not go out and do things for other people,” says Sensel. “I can’t change the world, but I can spark a change in school to inspire others to live more compassionate lifestyles.”

NOT SO FAR APART ...continued from page 25 Melissa sees Gandhi’s current “outgoing, bubbly personality” as a reemergence of what was “suppressed in her when everything happened.”

“There’s a video of Prerna when she was little,” says Melissa. “She has these little bell things on, and she’s making all this noise doing a traditional dance. You see this little preschool-aged girl [with an] energetic attitude. You knew that if you were her mother and took her out in public you had to keep your eye on her or she was going to be gone in a minute.”

Now the vitality of that little girl has been brought back out in Gandhi, but “in a renewed definition, because she’s 18 now and has a purpose.” She loves to make friends and dance and, as Melissa and Scott have observed, isn’t really different from any other teenage girls.

“You hear a story [like Gandhi’s] and [you think] that that happens to some kid in some remote area whose life is so different from mine,” says Melissa.

“But her life is really not any different from your life up until that point.”

It can be difficult for people to realize that “there’s no difference between Prerna, the victim of an acid attack, and any [other girl],” when it makes them think about what they would do if the same terrible thing that happened to Gandhi happened to them or their child. Despite this discomfort, however, Melissa believes that “we need to wake up as a country to looking at [how, if] we want to say we do good, why are we allowing these things to happen in different countries?”

“When it becomes uncomfortable, we say it’s a culture difference,” she says. “[But] it’s not like saying ‘they wear bright beautiful clothing and dance their traditional dance and I don’t want to do that,’ that’s a culture difference. A culture difference is their food. A culture difference is not where you cause harm and we turn and say ‘that’s your country’s culture,’ because that should not be a part of your county’s culture.”

Though they can see that “people’s children in different countries are no different than our children,” Melissa and Scott aren’t planning on trying to take in any other needy people from around the world. In fact, they aren’t planning at all. For them “there’s only one Prerna,” and they see their lifelong commitment to her as nothing more than “we have a daughter, and these are her needs.”

“If you try to help everybody, you’re kind of only saying ‘look at me, I’m helping everybody,’” says Scott. “But when you focus all your energy on one person, and then that person focuses on somebody, that’s how it changes.”

The Dolls will be changing the world, then, through car rides to and from college classes and doctor’s appointments, through conversations over Skype and around a language barrier, through watching movies and playing on the Wii, through mixing cultures into meals like spices, through Graci and Gandhi’s petty arguments and adventures getting lost downtown and laughter and plans for the future and late night conversations about life, and through simply being a family.

gravitate towards him,” Greer adds with a laugh. “The only people that don’t seem to like him are his brothers which is just a byproduct of sibling rivalry, not a reflection of his personality.”

Aaron believes that having synesthesia has helped shape who he is and helped him become so compassionate and full hearted in everything he does.

“I am definitely very thankful for it, but it can also be frustrating,” says Aaron. “For example, the key of F major is yellow green and orange and I see it, but can’t put it on paper, I can never represent it pictorially. It can help me remember things, I can remember the colors of people’s names even if I can’t remember their name.”

THE LITERATURE OF PRANKS ...continued from page 28 gravitate towards him,” Greer adds with a laugh.

“The only people that don’t seem to like him are his brothers which is just a byproduct of sibling rivalry, not a reflection of his personality.”

Aaron believes that having synesthesia has helped shape who he is and helped him become so compassionate and full hearted in everything he does.

“I am definitely very thankful for it, but it can also be frustrating,” says Aaron. “For example, the key of F major is yellow green and orange and I see it, but can’t put it on paper, I can never represent it pictorially. It can help me remember things, I can remember the colors of people’s names even if I can’t remember their name.”

among several of her peers. Every Christmas her classmates would obsess over their brand new Barbie dolls while she would go on and on about her brand new WWE wrestling ring. She felt like an outcast as no one seemed to understand why she was so invested in the world of wrestling.

“I stopped watching because no one really knew what I was talking about,” says Georgia.

“There’s also a lot of criticism around it as well. If I said I watched WWE, then someone would say, ‘You know wrestling is fake right?’”

Although Georgia was aware that professional wrestling is scripted, planned and acted out, this aspect of the matches was something that she has enjoyed ever since she was born. She loved being entertained and captivated by the dramatic story lines and potentially dangerous stunts every week, but some of her peers felt that it wasn’t a genuine sport. However, a family friend and close friend to Georgia, Brenda Sims, has seen the positive impact WWE has had in her life.

“Georgia is a loyal fan and dedicated to her favorite wrestlers,” says Sims. “She is passionate about it just as any other sports fan would be with their favorite event.”

Eventually, Georgia began to realize that she watched wrestling for her own enjoyment and that the opinions of others don’t matter as long as she is happy. Realizing this, she found her way back to the world of professional wrestling and has become even more captivated by its drama and action than ever before. Although she remains reserved, when given the chance, she’ll talk about her passion endlessly.

“Now it’s much easier to be a fan. I wear merchandise every single day,” says Georgia. “You eventually just stop caring what everybody thinks.

After all, I wouldn’t have a life-size cutout of my favorite wrestler in my room if I was ashamed.”

WOMEN IN WRESTLING

THE LITERATURE OF PRANKS

...continued from page 29

...continued from page 31

performing outrageous stunts just like any other male wrestler would.”

Brian believes that it is important for Georgia to see her female role models breaking barriers and pushing for changes within the entire professional wrestling industry.

This empowering push of women further strengthened Georgia’s love for WWE and sparked her interest in pursuing a career as a professional wrestler. She was exposed to strong female role models her whole life, so her wish to someday be just like them continued to develop day by day.

“These women were my heroes growing up, and they still are to this day,” says Georgia. “I want to become a wrestler one day, and I think that over the years I’ve gained enough knowledge to be successful. I may not look the part, but I have the passion and the drive to get there one day.”

Despite her love for the sport, Georgia stopped watching WWE events on television from 2010 to 2014. She would occasionally check up on what was happening in her other world, but other than that, she was disconnected. This was a result of the fact that as she got older, she started noticing that wrestling had a pre-established stigma

always focuses on their family when he is with them. Kurt says his family and job responsibilities always come before writing. He acknowledges that sometimes it is a struggle to balance all the different aspects of his life.

“I have four children and a full-time job. When I get writing time, I have to use it,” says Kurt. “I try to write 500 words a day. If I can get those 500 words in, the pressure and drive to write is alleviated. I write when I can and I don’t freak out and get all tense if I don’t have that time.”

Kurt says he writes whenever he gets the chance, including before his students arrive at school, Sunday mornings and after his kids are in bed at night. After the success and positive response of “Don’t Get Caught,” Kurt says he can’t wrap his head around the idea of his book being sold around the country.

“When you write something, you don’t really expect that someone is going to read it,’” says Kurt. “In my head, it’s just a fun little story I wrote.

It took me years to get there and a lot of work, but I’m just happy it’s out there, and I’m happy people are enjoying it.”

Heist Rule #22: Gloating’s for amateurs.

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scouting report | sports

GET IN THE ZONE story erinn aulfinger | photography aly thomas

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wo-point-six seconds. She’s unrecognizable as she whizzes past. Dirt flying. Cleats flashing.

The infielders don’t have a chance to think or waver before acting.

Two-point-six seconds is all it takes for East senior Melissa Jacobsen to get from home plate to first base. It’s this speed that allowed the utility player to steal 14 bases and score 30 runs in the 2015 season and earn a college scholarship opportunity to play at Cleveland State University (CSU).

“When I’m playing, I feel in control, confident and in the zone,” Jacobsen says. “I think about my legs pushing harder and faster [while] trying to beat the ball to the bag.”

Jacobsen learned about softball watching her older brother Matt Jacobsen’s baseball games.

Melissa’s father, Jake Jacobsen, says unlike the other young kids who played and paid no attention, Melissa was watching and learning the sport.

After seeing her natural talent and interest in baseball, Jake encouraged Melissa to start playing softball when she was seven years old. He says he remembers Melissa sitting in the dugout with the older boys from her brother’s team, chewing sunflower seeds, spitting out the shells and talking about baseball. Jake says Melissa could keep up with some of the boys three years older than her.

“I almost choked a few times when Melissa would ask [an older] player why he did or did not do something on the field,” Jake says. “She had a mind for the game before she stepped on the field for the first time.”

This tenacity follows Melissa into her current success as a player. East varsity softball head coach, Steve Castner, says Melissa’s potential as a freshman evolved into her current ability through hard work and adaptability. He credits Melissa’s speed, natural talent and her ability to bat from the left side as her methods to “place pressure on the opposition.” In the 2015 season, she had a .389 batting average. Castner awarded Melissa with the most improved player award during her junior year.

“Melissa is a leader by example and will be one of the top players in the league and city,” Castner says. “[East’s softball staff] believes she will be successful at the next level because she has the foundation and skills needed.”

Melissa is a left-handed slapper, which is a player that starts on the left side of the batter’s box and runs through the box when making contact with the pitch. College coaches expect a left-handed slapper to get from home to first base in less than 2.9 seconds. Slapping is a technique that is unique to softball—it is a new and quicker method to get from home to first quicker. This is needed in softball and not in baseball because the distance between the bases is 60 feet while in baseball, it is 90 feet, causing a quicker game in softball. Melissa switched from her dominant right hand to batting on the left side her freshman year, allowing her to improve her time to first base to 2.6 seconds.

Jake says softball has taught Melissa to prioritize her time to achieve her goals of being a

good teammate and player.

“She didn’t have anything handed to her athletically or academically,” Jake says, “but she has thrived on the field and in the classroom.”

Melissa’s tough mentality helped her earn a scholarship to CSU to play softball in the Horizon League. After three years of actively sending colleges her player profile, attending summer college softball camps and practicing 49 weeks of the year, Melissa was rewarded with a verbal offer to attend CSU. Melissa says that at first she didn’t want to play college softball because of the amount of work it would involve, but after talking to coaches, she understood all the advantages of playing. Through

her acceptance, Melissa is receiving a scholarship and free dining in addition to discovering new friendships among her teammates.

Touring the CSU campus for the first time, Melissa fell in love with the atmosphere. Melissa and her family met with the coaches, and Melissa was convinced that CSU would be her home.

Currently, Melissa is planning to study sports management and play middle infield, third base and outfield for the CSU softball team.Melissa plans to never give up playing, whether through coaching her future kids or joining an adult league.

“I [never] want to completely let go of softball,” Melissa says. “I’ve been [playing] for so long, and I cannot imagine my life without it.”

“Melissa is a talented softball player thatworks hard in every game we have played against Lakota East.

She is a leader out on the softball field.”

—Keith Castner, Lakota West head coach 5/9/16 3:05 PM

sports | scouting report

scouting report | sports

SETTING STANDARDS

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“Kirill is strong and has a fast serve when he gets it in, He has good doubles awareness and a strong forehand” —Mike Reid, William Mason head coach

Q&A

TRACK AND FIELD NICK WADE

interview maddie alsip

Maddie Alsip: How many seasons have you participated in track?

Nick Wade: I’ve been doing [track] since I was a little kid, like eight or so. I used to do it in the summer with Amature Athletic Union (AAU) and now I just do it with the school.

MA: What first got you interested in track?

NW: I played football so when I was little my parents put me in track too since I needed to do something in the summer. Then we found out I’m not fast so I was like “oh well this isn’t going to work out,” but then I found the events I’m in now, which is shotput and discus.

MA: What are your individual goals for this season?

NW: Last year in shot put I got 40 ft, so this year I’m hoping for 50. In discus I got 120ft so I’m hoping for 130 or above.

MA: What do you hope to improve on most from last season?

NW: For both of them definitely my distances, but this year I want to make sure I place at state.

Last year I made it to state but I didn’t place.

MA: Do you feel like competing with your brothers motivates you?

NW: Yeah it certainly does, Zach is the one who does the shotput and discus with me. He is actually better at discus and it really motivated me to beat him.

SERVING SUCCESS story alyssa hetterich | photography sydney rader

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hen he steps on the court his persona, is elevated. His volleys are angled such that an opponent can do nothing but watch as the tennis ball flies by. His serve strikes fear into the eyes of the opponent from the very first point.

For East senior Kirill Smolyanksy, tennis is the game where his energetic personality excels while his positive attitude keeps him and his partner focused from point to point.

Playing on varsity for the past four years, Smolyanksy has developed friendships and bonds that he hadn’t been able to in other sports like football. This is something he credits to the smaller size of the team—the football team hosts 94 boys compared to the 12 on the tennis team.

One bond that Smolyanksy has been able to cultivate is with East junior Matt Spaulding, who has been his doubles partner for the past two seasons. In 2015, Smolyansky and Spaulding had a 5-1 record as partners. Because doubles is a game of strategy, Spaulding relies on Smolyanksy to keep his head in the match.

“Kirill always knows how to keep me focused while we’re playing because I always get mad when I miss a shot,” Spaulding says. “Kirill is always saying, ‘It’s just one shot—keep your head up.”

This positive approach is reflective both on and off the court as Smolyanksy uses his energetic personality to motivate his teammates. At last

year’s Coaches Classic, his motivation skills were put to the test as he and Spaulding faced three matches, each one more difficult than the last, to reach the championship.

“We won the first match 7-6 and the second match was another 7-5, 7-6,” Smolyanksy says.

“Being able to push through was a good feeling, and to make it to the finals was really special.”

In addition to making it to the championship of the Coaches Classic, he also holds the record for the most doubles matches won in a single season at East. Though, this is not the only accolade in Smolyanksy’s record book, as he and his longtime partner and friend, East senior Brad Barren, made it to the first round at districts. That was the first time a doubles team from East had completed such a feat and is something Barren hopes Smolyanksy will repeat, but this time without him.

“I’m really upset I couldn’t play this year because of my shoulder injury, but Kirill play has blossomed into an even greater tennis player,” Barren says. “I’m looking forward to watching him go far in the OHSAA tournament this year.”

Smolyanksy looks forward to finishing the season strong and enjoying the novelty of stepping onto East’s courts for his final season.

“I’ve been playing tennis all my life; I love volleying, I love the energy,” Smolyanksy says. “I get an adrenaline rush every single match.”

he speedometer ticked up with the laps.

Reflected in his eyes was 40 mph as he pressed the accelerator. The course was a labyrinth of sharp turns and last-minute decisions.

For East senior Bradley Meyer, an injury during his eighth grade year at a local indoor go-kart racing facility, threw his plans off track. The crash left him with a back injury. Before the accident, current boys’ volleyball team captain Meyer was practicing to be a varsity starter, but now, he found himself afraid to put more strain on his injury and play to the best of his ability.

“I can’t imagine jumping 300 times in a match, but I do it five days a week,” The 6 foot 3 outside hitter says. “I eventually ended up telling the setter ‘don’t set me’ in some points because it hurt to throw my back up and swing.”

East head coach Brittney Billiter says although Meyer’s injuries haven’t affected his playing in games, it has kept him from preparation time in practices. Billiter says Meyer is a well-rounded player, and with his momentum giving him a powerful downward hit, it unfortunately puts more emphasis on the jumping, which puts heavy

story erinn aulfinger photography richard giang

strain on his back and knee. When Billiter notices Meyer having difficulties because of his injuries, they modify the practice drills.

“I know he would want to be playing and preparing more, but Meyer always plays 110 percent, which is why he has injuries,” Billiter says.

“He’s always going for balls that are in the stands.”

His go-kart injury coupled with volleyball’s toll on his body resulted in Meyer developing Patellar Tendinitis, or jumper’s knee, in his right knee.

This causes strain on the tendon connecting the kneecap to the shinbone. According to the book, Arthroscopy and Sport Injuries: Applications in High-level Athletes, 40 percent of volleyball players suffer or have suffered from this injury during their careers.

Despite being part of the 40 percent affected

by Patellar Tendinitis, Meyer doesn’t let his injuries set him back. In the 2015 season, he achieved a .590 kill percentage and 47 digs.

“There are going to be things that happen [that can] make you immobile for a certain period of time, no matter what sport you are in,” Meyer says.

“Just keep going, don’t completely lose yourself, be

“Brad is truly a leader on the court. He has always been a talented athlete, but he takes the time to coach our varsity team players.”

—Brittney Billiter, East head coach

smart and don’t give up.”

Billiter has been Meyer’s coach for the past four years and says she has seen him grow physically and mentally in the sport, becoming a role model and a sort of honorary father figure for the other boys.

“He started as a freshman and didn’t take that role lightly,” Billiter says. “A lot of freshman could come into that role and be timid, but Meyer wasn’t.

He didn’t try to overtake upperclassmen, but he was definitely confident on the court.”

East junior and teammate Evan Kuhlman says he looks up to Meyer as a role model. He remembers the Beavercreek semifinals game when he says he noticed Meyer’s leadership the most.

“Nothing was going our way, and we won basically on Brad’s shoulders,” Kuhlman says.

“Brad’s a big part of our team and brings a lot of energy to every game.”

As a senior, Meyer says he feels more responsibility. One of his jobs as a senior was to plan practices and help run them. Meyer says his main focus is the success of his team.

“Volleyball is a game of mistakes,” Meyer says. “If everyone were playing perfectly, there would never be an end. I need to make sure all my teammates are happy and having fun, because that’s what [volleyball] is all about.”

STAT FOCUS LAKOTA EAST ATHLETICS 86

Number of strikeouts senior Kianah Towe has

11.23

Justin Dwyer’s time for the 100 meter dash

.414

Junior Winston Owens’ batting average

1:02.43

Sophomore Zoe Lape’s time in the 400 meter dash

90

Number of kills senior Evan Kuhlman has

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sports | student sections

student sections | sports East students participated in Hawaiian night last year in a win against Northmont High School.

E-A-S-T EVERYBODY

East athletes and coaches talk about their personal experiences with the impact of student sections.

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believe that we will win! I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win!

It was the first game of his final high school football season. East senior Dalton Strunk glanced up from the turf and scanned his eyes across the crowd. He caught sight of his closest friends, peers and students he had never seen before, all cheering for his team.

From this moment on, Strunk vowed to make his presence at every East athletic event he could to support those who did the same for him.

“I have so many friends that came to support me, and I feel like it’s important to not only go and support them but to also go and support my school,” Strunk says. “The more support you have, the more likely you are to succeed. Every [sporting event] I could go to, I went.”

Out of 26 games, Strunk only missed five of East’s 2016 boys’ basketball season. He attended almost every away game, including Districts, Sectionals and Regional Semi-Finals, which were played at Wright State and Xavier University, respectively. He served as the self-proclaimed “leader” of East’s student sections at these games, encouraging the cheering.

“The student section is almost like having that extra person on the court that not necessarily is playing, but can cause distraction and create momentum,” Strunk says. “I tried to get as many people involved as I could and get as loud as possible for our school.”

Although he was mostly devoted to and a prominent figure in basketball, Strunk made it his goal to attend at least one event of each of East’s 30 athletic programs during his senior year. As a football player, the offensive lineman, who will

story allie church photography sydney rader

attend Miami University on an athletic scholarship, says having a student section supporting him motivated him to play to his best.

“Seeing that group of support gives you a fire,” Strunk says. “When you see all those people there, it makes you want to get the win.”

According to sports psychologist Allie Wagener, at almost every high school, football and boys’ basketball are the two dominant sports in regard to student section turnout. Wagener says that this is primarily due to the sports’ popular reputation in today’s athletics and the number of players required to field a team.

“One of the factors that makes those two sports more popular at the high school level may be the large amount of media coverage,” Wagener says. “March Madness, the Super Bowl and the NFL or NBA finals are all events that are highly covered. This may cause young athletes to aspire to achieve the same success as those featured athletes.

Football requires a large amount of members, so the number of participants is naturally going to be larger. If there are more athletes on the team, more fans will be there.”

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lthough football and boys’ basketball attract the masses at East, other sports have grown in popularity across the United States and have therefore done the same in Lakota athletics, including boys’ soccer. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), in 2015, the number of male students playing soccer at the high school level throughout the country was 432,569 kids, 34,218 more than in 2010. East boys’ soccer head coach Jeremy Hilen says that while the size of the student

section fluctuated from game to game, student involvement has overall increased over the past few seasons. “[Student turnout] tends to be up and down depending on the opponent we’re playing and on when we’re playing. We tend to see a lot more student participation on the Saturday games, and [Lakota] West and Mason certainly bring a good crowd,” Hilen says. “Soccer is a very popular sport, growing still in our nation. In my opinion, it’s one of the most fun sports to watch, and I think our program has been built around a lot of success.”

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nother sport increasing in awareness and participation across the country is girls’ lacrosse. According to NFHS, in 2015, 847,85 female athletes played high school lacrosse, compared to 68,768 participants five years ago.

Unlike boys’ soccer, however, lacrosse is not recognized at East as a school program; instead, it is considered a club sport. Therefore, the Student All Sport pass that is purchasable for $50 and can cover the entry fee cost for any East athletic program home game does not cover the $6 cost of entry for lacrosse games. For this reason, girls’ lacrosse defender and junior Grace Rupp says that students aren’t educated or interested in the sport and subsequently don’t attend.

“Lacrosse is a new sport and is not as recognized as other sports are,” Rupp says. “Having a student section would bring more advertisement to the sport, would make people want to play more and would get people involved in the program.”

According to boys’ volleyball head coach Brittney Billiter, girls’ lacrosse isn’t the only sport about which students aren’t fully knowledgeable.

Billiter says that because of the lack of youth volleyball leagues, boys either don’t know how to play the sport or aren’t interested.

In past years, Billiter struggled to put a full varsity and junior varsity team on the court. For the 2016 season, however, she was able to create two 14-person teams. Billiter credits this increase in student participation in the program to the addition of a group of freshman who played together during junior high for their private school volleyball team. She says that they could have possibly recruited their friends to play as well.

With this rise of athletes playing boys’ volleyball came a slight increase in the amount of student support, too. According to Billiter, overall the change has not been hugely significant, and people are still not fully educated on the sport.

“I think when a lot of people think of volleyball, they think about their parents playing in the backyard and not of their peers,” Billiter says.

“They don’t know how exciting it is, and for boys, it’s a secondary sport. I’ve noticed more people [supporting the boys] than usual this year, but boys’ volleyball is definitely an overlooked student section sport.”

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he softball program at East, like girls’ lacrosse and boys’ volleyball, is also not well-known and does not have a meaningful student turnout. In 2015, the 24-6 softball program placed 3rd in the Greater Miami Conference (GMC) with a 14-4 GMC record. With 145 strikeouts, Towe placed 2nd in the GMC on the mound. For the hard work that they dedicate to the sport, the girls deserve a strong student support system, especially being currently second ranked in the city, says East head softball coach Steve Castner. According to Castner, there is a lack of respect for female athletes, including his players. Nonetheless, he says the girls don’t necessarily need a student section at their games to be successful.

“Unless you’re going for some type of title, people aren’t really interested in female sports,” Castner says. “They work hard, but I don’t think they’re getting what they’re due. I think they will eventually, and respect for the female athlete is getting better. They get more pumped up when there is a strong student base, but if they’re playing well, a student section means nothing.”

Wagener agrees, saying that female sports have much less media coverage than their male counterparts. This male-based popularity and coverage disperses all the way to the high school level, resulting in less support for females, and more for males.

“There is certainly a discrepancy between male and female athletic fan support,” Wagener says. “A huge part of it comes from the media, since men’s sports are covered more closely and given more hype. A reason this happens is that there are more male sports fans who are interested in watching their own gender compete, so there is more money produced from men’s sports, more advertising and better quality of coverage, which just continues the cycle of popularity. There is so much talent in women’s sports that they should get covered just as well as men’s sports do.”

Despite entry fees and gender discrepancies, East’s athletic department encourages student participation for all sports in any way possible, says athletic director Richard Bryant. They offer incentives, like ticket giveaways and cheaper presale

tickets to motivate students to support their peers. “[Ticket giveaways are implemented] 100 percent just to get kids to games,” Bryant says.

“We’re better when we’re being supported, and our kids are being supported by the masses.”

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o encourage students to participate further, some programs at East are finding alternative ways to make student sections more appealing.

According to baseball head coach Ray Hamilton, within the next few years, the baseball program intends to construct a platform down the right field line for the sole purpose of creating an area for students to gather.

“It’s always really nice when we have a large contingency of students at our games,” Hamilton says. “They add to the game and make it more exciting. With this area, the student section can be their own entity and have a little bit more freedom to be vocal and do what they do.”

While some sports have larger student sections than others, they all serve the same purpose: to offer support and to motivate athletes before, during and after games. According to head boys’ basketball coach Clint Adkins, having a consistent student section fostered an intense atmosphere suitable for motivation.

“We only lost one home game this year,” Adkins says. “When you have that home court advantage and the student section behind you, it definitely motivates the guys and gives them an extra edge in crunch time.”

Boys’ basketball ended its 2016 season with an 18-8 record, winning Districts and Sectionals and losing to Centerville 37-36 in the Regional Semi-

“The cheers and support of school fans can give [athletes] the extra energy they need for victory,” Wagener says. “It is like an extra teammate on their side, but we encourage players to stay focused on his or her own game versus checking the stand or becoming distracted by what is happening with the fan section. At times, it can be highly distracting or affect confidence, motivation and energy levels in a negative way.”

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oys’ volleyball defensive specialist and junior Ryan McAlister says that due to the close proximity of the volleyball court and sidelines to the student section, what is said can affect the way he and others play.

“Sitting right by the student section, you can hear everything they’re saying, and it’s terrible,” McAlister says. “Most of the reason that we succeed or fail in volleyball is because of our attitude. The student section is fun, but when it comes to slamming another team, that’s when it crosses the line. It should be fostering healthy competition.”

Although there are times when student sections can negatively affect athletes and how they perform, according to Bryant, they overall create a positive experience for both athletes and students.

“What student sections provide for our athletes and our school is experience, and it’s a positive one,” Bryant says. “You walk out of [the facility] exhausted because you’ve been screaming for two hours. That’s the stuff that kids remember. Those are memories, and that’s the kind of stuff you hold on to [after you graduate].”

To Strunk, being a part of a student section

“Having a student section would bring more advertisement to the sport, would make people want to play more and would get people involved in the program .” .

—Grace Rupp, East junior

Finals. With East placing second in the GMC and within the top 16 in the state of Ohio, senior and forward Jon Fox says that the student section played a part in the program’s success.

“When you have your peers there watching you, you get a little more fire and little more intensity,” Fox says. “It’s more fun to play in a loud gym when everyone is cheering. In basketball, momentum is a really big deal so when were on a roll, it keeps us going, and when we’re down or in a situation where the gym is dead or not a lot of good plays are happening, it gets us going. That helped us a lot down the road.”

For the most part, student sections are a positive aspect of high school athletics. According to Wagener, when utilized in an innocent way, they can help student athletes tremendously. When students rely on attacking mistakes and personal character, however, they can be more detrimental than helpful.

is more than just cheering for East’s athletes. It’s about being a part of something and connecting with those around him.

“School spirit is such an important thing, and for me it’s about getting everyone involved,” Strunk says. “It’s one of the only times we can come together as an entire school. A lot of high school is everyone doing their own thing. Juniors are preparing for ACTs, seniors are preparing to graduate, sophomores are preparing to drive.

Everyone has their own thing, and I think [being a part of a student section] is the one time we can all come together.”

At the end of his first senior football game, Strunk gazed at the scoreboard and read the numbers to himself: 35-34. He then slowly moved his eyes to the student section for the second time that night and smiled.

I believe that we just won! I believe that we just won! I believe that we just won!

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sports | track

RUNNING THROUGH THE PAIN

East senior Kaylee Rice came back to run a personal record in Cross Country after spinal fusion surgery her junior year. story dustin horter | photo sydney rader | infographic tyler bennett

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ang. The sound of the starting gun shatters the eardrums of runners as they sprint by.

It’s a perfect morning: dry grass, no wind and the sun has barely peeped through the clouds.

These types of days scream, “personal record” to the field of cross country runners but it is still just a normal day.

For all except Kaylee Rice, it’s a normal morning. Rice strides through Voice of America park (VOA) just like everyone else, doing what she loves: running. However, she can’t help but notice that she is feeling a pain in her back and an unusual shortness of breath.

This is because Rice, like one out of 33 people in the United States, suffers from Scoliosis.

According to John Hopkins Medical website, Scoliosis has no known cause. In early adolescence, it causes the spine to become curvy and potentially collide with organs that lie near the spine. Rice experienced a lot of pain and frustration in her junior year of cross country.

“I felt like I was putting in a lot of effort and not getting any better,” Rice says. “I found out that my spine was keeping my right lung from working right, which made running even more difficult.”

Despite the difficulty Rice was handling, she managed to run a season personal record of 20:52.20 5K at the OHSAA 2014 State Cross Country meet. Almost immediately after the conclusion of the 2014 season, Rice was told spinal fusion would be necessary to fix her spine.

Spinal fusion surgery consists of steel rods, hooks, screws and other metal devices in order to straighten out a patient’s spine.

Even though the outcome of Kaylee’s surgery wasn’t determined yet, her teammates still showed her endless support throughout the process.

“Before the surgery, my team was very supportive of me,” Rice says. “I was worried the surgery would make me a lot slower, but through it all, my teammates gave me lots of encouragement.”

Kaylee’s father and coach Rob Rice was very confident the surgery would fix his daughter’s

East senior Kaylee Rice runs in the GMC race at Voice of America Park.

back, but he was concerned about the future of Kaylee’s health and the longevity of her running career post-surgery.

“I have to admit, I had my doubts about her ever again,” Rob says. “As a father, to see my little girl go through such a painful process, my biggest fear was that she would never be pain-free again.”

The surgery on Kaylee’s back proved to help her overall health. The placement of a large steel rod and support around Kaylee’s back had resulted in a substantial amount of growth by the time Kaylee woke up. Rob stated that once Kaylee went under for the surgery, she was 5’1”, but when she woke up, she was 5’3”. A four-month recovery period would cause Kaylee to rest rather than run

her highly-anticipated junior year of track.

“It was hard to be patient,” Kaylee says. “It was a really slow process, and it was hard to be patient and give myself time to heal.”

Former teammate and current runner at the University of Dayton, Abbie VanFossen, a statequalifying runner at East, was there to witness Kaylee’s determination throughout her running career and supported Kaylee through the surgery.

“I was so incredibly proud of how amazingly she handled the process,” VanFossen says. “She has always and continues to show unceasing determination not only in athletics but also in every aspect of life.”

Although it had been tough for Kaylee, she began to joke and laugh with her teammates regarding her new and improved back. Current cross country teammate and friend Kathryn Creehan shared that Kaylee’s ability to laugh at herself even though the fact of the surgery was serious was what made the whole process special.

“On any rainy day of practice,” Creehan says, “our team would always joke with Kaylee and say, ‘Everyone stay away from Kaylee in the storm, we all know she’s got a big lightning rod in her back!’

Kaylee would always laugh off the comments because she knew we genuinely cared for her a lot.”

After the recovery period for Kaylee’s surgery and the quest to strengthen her back had ended, Kaylee was able to successfully run cross country for her senior year. Kaylee was able to improve her 2014 personal record in 2015 by nearly a minute, running a 19:57.90 5K at the OHSAA District meet.

Her cross country personal record and determination to keep on running has led to Kaylee’s decision to pursue her running career in college. Kaylee will join her brother at Harding University to run cross country and track.

“Once I got back my fitness back, running was a lot easier than before,” Kaylee says. “Overall I feel like the surgery made me a better runner.”

BACK IN ACTION

Kaylee Rice’s surgery not only corrected her spine, but also helped improved her running abilities.

2015 SEASON

2014 SEASON Before Rice’s surgery, her spine affected her right lung’s oxygen intake.

2014 5K PERSONAL RECORD:

20:52.2

After a four month recovery, Rice says that running is easier than before.

Spinal fusion surgery implants bridges between vertebrae in the spine to hold it together.

2014 5K PERSONAL RECORD:

19:57.9

East senior coxswain Bethany Kelly directs the Great Miami Rowing Center athletes during a regatta in Gerogia.

Q&A

ROWING: BETHANY KELLY

interview aly thomas photography used with permission from alison weikel infographic michael croy

Aly Thomas: How long did you row for?

Bethany Kelly: I rowed for a whole year, two spring seasons and one fall season.

AT: What was your favorite part about rowing?

BK: My favorite part about rowing was getting to travel.

AT: Who did you row for?

BK: The Great Miami Rowing Center, now known as Row America Hamilton.

AT: Where was the coolest place you travelled to for rowing?

BK: We went to Georgia and raced on the site where the USA Olympic team practiced.

AT: What was the practice schedule like?

BK: Monday through Friday was from 3:45 to 6:00 and Saturdays we practiced from 8:00 till 11:00 in the morning.

AT: What was the hardest part about learning to row?

BK: I personally never had to learn how to row, I was the coxswain, I sat in the front or back of the boat, depending on the size, and encouraged the rowers to continue on with the race. I also steered the boat.

AT: What advice would you give to someone learning to row?

BK: I would tell them to try their best to succeed and get along with everyone else.

AT: Why did you chose to begin rowing?

BK: I didn’t plan on it. My friend Haylee (Kelly) dragged me into it. She convinced me with trips out of state, medals and a sweatshirt with my last name on the back.

AT: How hard did you find rowing to be at first?

BK: At first it was really fun but then it wasn’t fun after a while.

AT: How was your team experience with rowing and and is it crucial to the sport?

BK: My team experience was terrible. I ended up leaving after my third season because I was tired of being treated like I wasn’t a relevant part of the team. If you don’t get along with the people on the team then you really have no purpose being there.

So overall the team experience is very crucial to the sport and the kind of experience you have.

SWEEP BOATS

8

generally have a coxswain but have fewer variants when it comes to the number of rowers

7

6

5

4

3

2

STERN (PAIR)

MIDDLE PAIR

BOW (PAIR)

two rowers set the stroke rate for the rest of the rowers

strongest rowers, where most of the boats power comes from

responsible for the stability and direction of the boat

4

3

2

1

COX

COXSWAIN

steer the boat, coordinate the power and rhythm of the rowers

1

SCULLING generally do not have a coxswain but have many variants on the number of rowers BOATS

TYPES OF ROWING BUMP RACES

ROWING TERMS Octuple: 8 rowers to a boat Quad: 4 rowers to a boat Triple: 3 rowers to a boat

boats compete to get ahead of each other and bump other boats from behind; multi-day race

Double: 2 rowers to a boat Single: 1 rower to a boat Bow: the front of the boat

HEAD RACES

Stern: the rear of the boat Shell: what the racing boats are often called

boats are timed at intervals of 10-20 seconds at distances from 2,000 to 12,000 meters

Cox Box: projects a coxswains voice to the rowers Power House: the middle crew of the boat

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sports | scouting report

scouting report | sports

East junior Erin Smith enjoys rock climbing at Red River Gorge in the summer.

LITTLE WANDERER East junior Erin Smith goes outdoors every day and participates in a variety of alternative sports.

story jennave traore | photo used with permission by erin smith

H

er fiery red strands of hair catch the eye in a field of pearly white snow. Her hands grasp tightly around her parents as they guide her skis through the crisp, winter wonderland. At only two years old, crawling led to walking, and walking led to skiing. For East junior Erin Smith, her early passion for exploring the slopes transformed into an everyday hunger for not one but multiple alternative sports.

Smith’s love for nature and the outdoors keeps her on her toes, and she never has a dull, sitting moment. A typical day could range from rock climbing at Rock Quest or Red River Gorge to biking at Loveland Bike Trail to kayaking around

Winton Woods. For Smith, the possibilities to be active are endless.

For each sport, there’s a different story for Smith. For kayaking, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision with her friends that lead to buying them with her mom. Every since she bought kayaks, Smith will float when the water is calm or she’ll go for something more hard core like paddling down the rapids. Other than Kayaking, rowing is another sport that tones muscles, burns calories, and assist in getting in shape while enjoying the serenity of the outdoors. Even though Smith doesn’t participate in rowing, there are many similarities as well as differences. For skiing, it’s been a journey

her parents started ever since she could walk.

Erin’s mom, Marie Smith, supports her daughter in all of her endeavors.

“I’ve been there for her. I think [her activities] are great,” Marie says. “They can be very fulfilling.”

From junior high up until this year, Erin participated in a team sport, tennis, where she built “character and self awareness.” In Lakota, there is a “five solid” requirement to be eligible in any school sport. Because she wouldn’t be eligible to play, because she chose senior flex, she chose to not continue tennis. Her previous varsity B coach Cindy Strahan saw Erin as a strong competitor, but she sometimes became her own worst enemy.

“Erin sometimes let her mental game dictate her physical game. Once she could overcome [that], Erin was unstoppable,” Strahan says. “She has a natural athleticism and a fighting spirit.”

That fighting spirit is what helps her continue skiing for so many years. She witnessed others give up after falling multiple times, but it had no effect on her. Instead, she accepted “the learning process” and decided to keep trying. After years of getting the sport down, Erin realizes that it’s not about competing with others—it’s about coming together with the sport.

While participating in a variety of alternative sports, Erin finds the beauty of nature through photography. While out on the slopes, at a climbing gym or exploring a trail, she often pulls out a camera to capture the moment. To continue the opportunity to have those moments, it wasn’t hard for Erin to decide on an eventual major in environmental science. That way, she can continue doing what she loves while giving back.

During spring break, Erin traded in warm weather and sunshine for something she adores: snowy weather and skis in Summit County, Colorado at a resort called Copper Mountain.

There, she spent a couple of weeks skiing, hiking and taking photos. At times, she experienced inspiring moments where she considered being a ski instructor. That way, she would show other like-minded people how to put their hearts and souls into anything they do.

Some like-minded people have already entered into Smith’s life in the form of two sisters from Sunman, Indiana whom she met on the slopes as toddlers. Ali and Abby Trabel share the same passions for alternative sports. Erin’s love for being outside in general is why she’s best friends with the two. Abby knew from the start that their shared interest would bring them together because “Erin doesn’t do these for fun,” but they are her true devotions. To Ali, Erin can take her artistic and creative spirit to make anything into an adventure.

“An average day with Erin includes planning for future adventures and finding cool new places to explore,” Ali says. “Nothing stops her. She puts her heart and soul into it, and I think that’s why she’s so good at what she does.”

Erin is also into alternative or extreme sports because of the thrill. The lack of competitiveness that is found in recreational sports is also what keeps her coming back. With foundation built from her family and new growth from friends and coaches, at the end of day, sharing passions and getting outdoors are the most essential, even if that day features a 15-mile bike ride.

“By going outside and enjoying nature,” Smith says “you have to get along with everyone and enjoy life.”

THE LAST RUN East senior Autumn Combs runs the 400 meter dash in practice on the East track.

story kathryn creehan photography sydney rader

U

nlike other students, East senior Autumn Combs finishes her homework on a cold afternoon by the long jump sand pit in the midst of a track meet.

Combs competed in track and field for three years. Because she decided to cheerlead her freshman year, she didn’t run, but by her sophomore year she realized that she missed track.

She fell in love with running the 400 meter dash and the long jump. She first found her love of track from her middle school cross country coach and says once she tried track, she fell in love instantly.

With a new head coach and the motivation of it being her last year at East, Combs is determined to compete at her highest potential. Her new head coach, Rodney Heath says he sees great potential in Combs and says he see how her leadership impacts the team. “[Autumn] leads by example. She might not know that people are paying attention to her work ethic, but she goes all out every time,” Heath says. “ As a senior, young athletes will look for an example from an upperclassman.”

Sophomore teammate Zoe Lape has also seen Combs’ impact on the team. Statistically, Combs jumped a personal record of 13’09” her junior year. Lape says that she leads not only with her athletic ability but also with her persona.

“Autumn is the type of athlete who wants to teach others. She is always on top of people making sure they are doing things right,” Lape says. “She is a good athlete and is always wanting to get better every day.”

As a senior, Combs wants to make every race count and to finish off her high school track and field career on a high note.

“It’s my last year, and I want to do the best I can. I want to be pushing myself,” Combs says.

In order to run and jump at her highest potential, she says she had to put in extra work during the winter. Combs regularly lifts weights and runs on her own during her offseason.

“I’ve been lifting on my own and running at the gym,” Combs says. “There is a lot of strength training and core training in the offseason. I usually do long-distance runs in the offseason at places like Sharon Woods and Keehner.”

Combs is eager to compete and has set the goal that she would like to jump more than 16 feet this season. She is also excited to see what the season has in store for her teammates.

“I’m just so proud of everyone,” Combs says.

“Everyone has improved so much over the years, and I can’t wait for the season to start.”

“Autumn is a hard worker and a good leader.”

—Tony Affatato, Mason Head Coach

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sports | scouting report

scouting report | sports

THE FINAL GOAL

A

t eight o clock, the whistle blows which signals the beginning of the East lacrosse game. For East senior Matt Kleman, it signals one of the final times he will ever hear that whistle.

After deciding he will not continue lacrosse in college, Kleman’s senior season will be his last.

This impending end has motivated the defender and co-captain to give it everything he has and he wants to make a lasting impression on all of the underclassmen he leaves behind.

“The sport has made me into a leader,” Kleman says. “It has helped me be more confident in who I am.”

Kleman decided to focus on academics in college at either Ohio State or Otterbein University, where he plans to major in Engineering.

To Kleman, his senior year playing lacrosse is all about leading his team. East junior and fellow co-captain Zach Martin says he sees Kleman’s level of commitment towards the team.

“He leads by example, and has taught me to be more humble.” Martin says. “I would say his leadership shows the underclassman that they need to strive to be excellent in all aspects of what

STAT FOCUS LAKOTA EAST ATHLETICS .563

senior Hannah Messer’s batting average

.94

senior Ryan Middendorf’s earned run average

:13.34

senior Brittany Wall’s time for the 100 meter dash

:18.03

senior Ben Wegener’s time for the 110 high meter hurdles

27

number of digs senior Brad Meyer has

story julianne ford photography richard giang

they do on and off the field.”

Throughout his years playing lacrosse at East, Kleman was named captain his junior and senior year. This title comes along with dedication and commitment according to Kleman. The captain sets the example for the rest of the team and leads their own practices.

East Head Coach Matt Tassos sees Klemans dedication and leadership in everything he does for the team.

“Matt has be crucial in revamping our culture and since day one has always been a ‘we’ guy instead of a ‘me’ guy.” Tassos says. “You will never win a game individually in lacrosse and Matt works hard to make sure we play as a team.”

Kleman prides himself when it comes to the team’s relationships. His philosophy is if the team has a strong bond off the field, they will have a tight one on the field.

“Matt is a leader both through his own actions and verbally of others,” Tassos says. “If we had more players put in the amount of work that Matt has, then we would be a very dangerous team.”

Over Kleman’s years he has developed a strong

“Matt showed that he has the skills needed to embrace the role of a starter.

He is very aggressive towards the ball when needed.”

—Ron Cheek, Kings head coach

“Hatfield is a leader because he has the most experience on the team, and all of the other guys that haven’t been on varsity as long look up to him.”

—John Sherman, East junior

relationship with many of his fellow teammates.

Including Lakota East sophomore Jaden Kaznowski who labeled Kleman as his hero.

“He doesn’t care what other people think about him, he focuses on himself,” Kasnowski says. “I really respect how he handles himself on and off the field.”

Kleman’s leadership abilities and quirky humor always encourage the players according to Kaznowski. From shouting at practice to hugging the defensive players after they score he always sets an example.

“Matt makes jokes a lot that boost the morale and makes the atmosphere happier.” Kaznowski says, “He also is nice about criticism and helps you in a positive way and not negatively, he always is helping someone who needs a little guidance.

Kleman says his last season is one he will remember forever. From volunteering with his team at Matthew 25 Ministries, to leading and mentoring younger players, it has a lasting impact in his life.

“It’s worth it, to look at your team as a senior and to see that you developed the team into what they are.” Kleman says. “To me being a role model means being responsible and to inspire players to get the best out of themselves.”

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME story hanna sylla | photography richard giang

T

hrough years of determination and hard work, East senior first baseman Austin Hatfield achieved what he had dreamed: playing the sport he loved in college.

Due to Hatfield’s athleticism and years of experience, he received offers from CarsonNewman University (CNU), Ashland University, Seton Hill University and Bellarmine University.

Hatfield says that although he enjoyed each university, he knew that choosing CNU, located in Jefferson City, Tennessee to study business was the most beneficial school for him.

“The main reason I chose the school that I did is because it was the best school academic-wise out of my top five,” Hatfield says. “I also had the best scholarship opportunity there, and I knew it was better to go to a smaller school and have the ability to actually get to play.”

As his senior season begins Hatfield says that he has goals set for himself including making firstteam Greater Miami Conference (GMC). He believes his team has the ability to win the GMC and make a run in the state tournament. With a recent shutout victory of 4-0 over the 2015 state champions, Moeller High School, Hatfield believes winning the tournament, although a long-shot, is not out of the question.

“Winning the state championship is always the main goal,” Hatfield says. “We just beat the

defending state champions, so I definitely think it’s a reachable goal.”

Hatfield contributed to the Thunderhawks’ 14-12 (12-6 GMC) record last season with 16 hits and 10 runs batted in.

Hatfield says that he tries to show leadership among his teammates because he is a senior. Junior teammate John Sherman says that Hatfield leads by example in addition to always making sure the team, especially the younger players, are focused in practice.

“Hatfield is a leader because he has the most experience on the team, and all of the other guys that haven’t been on varsity as long look to him to see not only what he does in the game, but how reacts in other situations too,” Sherman says.

Tracey Hatfield, Austin’s mother, says that he has earned his spot playing at the collegiate level due to his persistence and immense determination.

Through numerous years of taking Hatfield to tournaments, practices and private lessons, she is glad it has all finally paid off.

“Austin has worked hard improving himself in baseball for many years,” Tracey says. “His goal at a young age was to play college baseball. The one thing that has improved over the years is desire to want to be the best he can be. Austin’s love for the game is strong, he has pushed himself to get better each year in a very competitive sport.”

Q&A

GIRLS’ LACROSSE JACQUI LOHMAN

interview hanna sylla

Hanna Sylla: How do you think you’ve improved as a player during your past few seasons of lacrosse?

Jacqui Lohman: I have realized that everyone has to work together to obtain a goal. Without your team a player is nothing, but with a team behind you, you can really get somewhere.

HS: What is the outlook of your upcoming season?

JL: My outlook is to have fun and sure that my team is ready. Because it is my senior year, I really want to play my fullest and not take for granted all the team has given me through my four years at East.

HS: What ultimately made you decide to play lacrosse at ONU as opposed to another school?

JL: ONU contacted me and I took them up on their offer because they had engineering. Many schools that contacted me didn’t have the program and education comes first.

HS: What did you do throughout your time as a lacrosse player to prepare yourself to play at the collegiate level?

JL: I have done multiple travel teams throughout the summer. During the summer before freshman and sophomore year, I played on a team through East. When I played on Velocity Elite team, we then would travel all summer and play in tournaments.

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softball recruitng | sports

sports | softball recruiting

HITTING THE NEXT LEVEL East senior Kianah Towe and junior Rachel Lewis prepare for collegiate softball through an intense travel softball schedule in the summer.

story and photography aly thomas

I

am proud to be a part of the 6%,” read the instagram post that came three days after East senior pitcher Kianah Towe verbally committed to play softball at the University of Missouri at St. Louis (UMSL). Only 6% of high school softball players continue their careers at the collegiate level and Towe was able to end the recruiting process half way into her junior year, after years of emailing college coaches and traveling miles across the country, aiming to get more exposure.

“The recruiting process was long and hard for me,” Towe says. “It was by chance that at a tournament in St. Louis, the UMSL coach turned around from the other field and happened to see me pitch.”

After watching her pitch that day, UMSL head coach Brian Levin says that he knew he wanted her in his program.

“I noticed her immediately because of the movement she had on her pitches. The thing that

East junior Rachel Lewis hits against Middletown in the 2015 spring season.

really drew my interests was her presence out there. She pitches with such tenacity,” Levin says who made up his mind right there that he wanted her to be a part of his program. “She knows the game and has this awareness on the field that you just can’t teach. She is going to be an incredible asset to our program and we are really looking forward to having her in our uniform.”

Levin invited Towe to come visit the campus the next day, but since Towe was travelling with a teammate, she had to wait until December to visit.

After spending the day looking at the campus and meeting the girls on the team, Towe decided that was where she wanted to continue her career after considering Urbana University, Bowling Green State University and Bellarmine University.

“Coach Levin told me he wanted to be like a father figure to me when we were sitting in his office that day,” Towe says. “That made a huge impact to not only me but to my dad also. I was going to be six hours away, so having someone who cares not just about me as a player but also as a person was big.”

For junior shortstop Rachel Lewis the recruiting process was a lot different. While Towe committed during her junior year, Lewis committed to Northwestern University in her freshman year, before she even saw a pitch at the high school level.

“The recruiting process was really overwhelming,” Lewis says. “Once it started, it was like they all came at once. It was a lot of big colleges. I wasn’t really expecting that. I was barely a freshman and I had all these big schools talking to me.”

Lewis took her first unofficial visit to Northwestern and it ended up being the only one she took. She verbally committed on her way home from the visit, and ended up having to cancel previously scheduled visits to the University of Kentucky and the University of Missouri.

“I wanted to go to school in Chicago. I also wanted to go BIG 10 or Pacific Athletic Conference (PAC) 12,”Lewis says. “The campus was perfect for me, it wasn’t too big, you can walk everywhere, there is a ton of stuff you can do around it. The coaching staff was phenomenal, they seemed like they really cared about you as a person and not just an athlete.”

Because Lewis is only a junior, the Northwestern coaching staff can not comment about an athlete until she signs her National Letter of Intent, which happens in an athlete’s senior year.

In the summer, Lewis and Towe spend their weekends preparing to play at the collegiate level by playing travel softball. Towe plays for the Miami Valley Xpress Gold which is located out of Dayton, Ohio. Lewis plays for the Beverly Bandits

and plays with other athletes that are scattered around the midwest region of the United States.

They spend an average of only 2 days during the week at home and spends the rest of the week travelling to tournaments across the country including: New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, Indiana, South Dakota, Florida, California and Nevada.

Towe is going to a tournament in Cancun, Mexico this summer.

Towe says that the biggest challenge with playing such a time consuming schedule is trying to get rest.

“Trying not to get burned out by the end of the year can be a problem for some players because you are never home and if you are home you are packing,” Towe says. “Also a lot of people just don’t understand why you do it. You can’t really talk to anyone about it because they don’t understand the places you have been to and the competition you play.”

Beverly Bandits head coach Chad Moran has been coaching Lewis since her freshman year.

Moran says that Lewis is one of the most gifted players at the high school level and of her travel ball age group.

“Rachel is one of the few females players I have been around that I believe has a chance of making a living off playing softball,” Moran says.

“Her combination of speed and power is the best I have seen in my 10 plus years of being around high level travel softball. She is truly fearless on the bases and really enjoys running them. She will continue to grow as a hitter and overall player. I am excited to see how far she takes it.”

Lewis says that her goals for the future includes playing for Team USA softball and leaving a legacy at Northwestern. Towe says that her goal is to lead her team to winning a National Championship.

For now, Lewis and Towe are at the helm of the number two team in the area according to the Cincinnati Enquirer coaches poll. Towe currently holds the Greater Miami Conference (GMC) record for number of career wins in her career.

Lewis was one of the leaders in the GMC for batting average last season with .546 and 10 home runs. Towe and Lewis also both finished first team all GMC last season.

East Head Coach Steve Castner says that both athletes are successful right now and will be successful at the next level because they regularly work on their skill.

“Kianah seems to love softball and when she is on the mound she gives you everything,” Castner says. “Rachel works hard improving many aspects of her game which is why many things she does look easy when in fact they are difficult. When an athlete keeps their focus on improvement they always seem to work hard and accomplish great things.”

Towe and Lewis are also only half of the college bound players on East’s softball program. Senior catcher Mackenzie Reick will be playing at Owens Community College and senior centerfielder Melissa Jacobsen is signed to play at Cleveland State University. Towe and Lewis both say that is great to have other players on your team who compete at the same level and are just as dedicated to the game.

“I have watched them play my whole life and grown up playing with them,” Towe says.

“Watching to see where everyone goes and seeing hard work pay off is amazing.”

“A lot of people just don’t understand why you [play travel softball]. You can’t really talk to anyone about it because they don’t understand the places you have been to and the competition you play.”

— Kianah Towe, East senior

East senior KianahTowe pitchesagainst Middletown in a 17-0 win last season.

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sports | ultimate frisbee

ultimate frisbee | sports

East senior Cara Sieber stands with her teammates during a game.

“I didn’t get to see all the work she put in, but she did everything she could do to be ready for tryouts and when she was there it all paid off and she was named one of the best players in the country as she became a member of the United States Junior National Team.”

— Kyle Romard, Lakota Ulitmate coach

THE ULTIMATE TEST

East senior Cara Sieber made the United States Junior National team for Ultimate Frisbee and will playing in Poland this summer. story kaily hauck | photography used with permission from cara sieber

B

ecause East senior Cara Sieber’s parents met over a game of frisbee, Sieber has been brought up around ultimate frisbee. She wasn’t thrilled with the sport at first, but she soon adjusted, and two years ago, she began her career. After her father and brothers convinced her to try the sport, Sieber fell in love. Ever since she filled a temporary spot on a summer league team, ultimate has found a permanent spot in her heart.

Her love for the sport deepened the more teams that she joined and now, three teams later, Sieber loves it more than ever. Sieber is a member of the Lakota Ultimate team, which is a mix of East and West students. She has been a member of the Lakota Ultimate team for two years, and with the help of the coaching staff, including her coach Kyle Romard, Sieber has improved greatly.

“I remember her first practice two years ago when she could barely throw over 10 yards, and now she’s taking control of games and throwing deep throws 40-50 yards to people for scores,”

Romard says. “Not only has she improved in her ultimate abilities, but also in her leadership abilities.

Cara is now one of the captains on this team and she leads by example. She struggled with this role early in the year, but she has now come to flourish in this position and has really lead her team in the right direction on the path to succeed.”

She is also a member of the Milford girls’ team and Omega, a club team. Along with her love for the sport, Sieber has also made new friends. Her long-time friend but new ultimate teammate, East senior Katie Mckearin, joined the Lakota ultimate team and Milford girls’ team at the beginning of the 2014-15 season.

“Cara got me into ultimate. It was around the beginning of junior year and she [Sieber] had gone to two Lakota practices because she didn’t know anybody, and she didn’t want to play alone,” McKearin says. “I knew the whole Sieber family played, and I thought it seemed fun, so I joined the Lakota team too.”

Sieber is a team member who has contributed to the increase in numbers of the Lakota United Ultimate team. According to Romard, Cara alone has completely remodeled that atmosphere and has helped to keep many people on the team.

She has doubled the numbers on the team and has really helped people enjoy their time learning about and playing ultimate.

Since McKearin started playing ultimate, the two girls’ relationship strengthened. Starting the 2015-16 season, Sieber decided to try out for the 2016 Junior National team, and throughout the process, McKearin was by her side. Only a select few of applicants from across the country were granted a tryout with the team, and originally Sieber was waitlisted, but luckily within the last days of tryout announcements, Sieber got an email that changed her career. She was offered a tryout.

In the month following, Sieber traveled to Florida to participate in the East Coast tryout. With high spirits, Sieber trained vigorously to gain a spot on

the team, in hopes of representing her country.

“I remember going to her house for a team meeting and walking through her garage, seeing a self made agility ladder on the ground she had made out of duct tape to help work on her footwork,” Romard says. “”She regularly went to practices with her friends outside of school team practice for her to get extra reps and extra work for worlds. I didn’t get to see all the work that she put in, but she did everything she could do to be ready for tryouts, and it all paid off when she was named one of the best players in the country as she became a member of The United States Junior National Team.”

About a month after the tryout, tThe coaches of the Junior National Team emailed Sieber telling her she made the team and asked if she would accept the spot. Sieber says it was a cool opportunity, so she accepted immediately.

“When I made the team, I screamed a lot. I called Katie, and she was the first person I told,” Sieber says. “We were talking right before, and I was saying that I really wanted to make the team.

And then 10 minutes later, I got the email.”

After being one of 24 to make the team, Sieber began training and preparing for the 2016 World Junior Ultimate Championships (WJUC) in Wroclaw, Poland. But before the team travels to Poland, Sieber and her teammates will meet in Seattle, Wash.ington for a bonding weekend and then again for a week-long training camp to further prepare for the WJUC, which is July 31Aug. 6.

“When I found out that Cara had made the team, I was so happy and proud of her that I wanted to tell everyone I knew,” Romard says.

“She has the opportunity now to play for the world team. I couldn’t have been any more proud of her.

As her coach and her friend, I am very excited for her to show what she can do on the biggest stage of ultimate.”

With the support of her coaches and teammates, Sieber was able to make her dream a reality, and she now has the opportunity to represent her country and all of her various teams in the 2016 WJUC. “It was two days of tryouts, to get on the team that and I was very sore afterward,” Sieber says. “It was a lot of playing frisbee, but it was super fun meeting new people, a couple who made the team as well, and I cannot wait to get to know the team and the sport more.”

FRISBEE HISTORY: -In 1968, Joel Silver introduced the idea of Ultimate Frisbee in Maplewood, New Jersey.

-In 1970, Joel Silver wrote the first and second rules of the game.

-The first college ultimate game was played between Rutgers and Princeton on Nov. 6, 1972.

-Rutgers won the game 29-27.

-The first organized tournament was played on April 25, 1975.

East senior Cara Sieber reaches out to catch a frisbee.

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column | opinion

AMERICAN DREAM JOHN FERGUSON L

ittle more than two minutes into the rally, I had already lost faith in American democracy. As the light drizzle extinguished the last dying protest outside, a buzz of nervous excitement electrified the eager crowd inside. Reporters stood anxiously waiting in the back. Supporters, impatient and restless, awaited his arrival. An hour and a half late, Donald J. Trump burst through the doors with both hands raised in triumph as he ascended the podium and onlookers gazed at their hero, their savior. It took another five minutes before the crowd could settle down. Then, he spoke.

I’ll admit, it was fun to watch him. His flamboyant jokes, his cheeky insults, his unorthodox personality; quite simply, he’s an entertainer. He’s brutally honest, but even better, not “politically correct,” setting up an “us vs. them” scenario against traditional political ideology. The fact that he is so real has made him a sensation and made us lose sight of the danger this country is in.

Trump’s meteoric rise in American politics has quite simply shattered every single political taboo and tradition in the book. He’s declared an all-inclusive travel ban on Muslims entering the country, called upon Mexico to pay for a 2,000mile long wall on the southern border, and labelled women as “dogs” and “fat pigs.” He’s also the same man who has a good chance of becoming the 45th President of the United States.

Despite his pugnacious and demagogic nature, Trump has accomplished something no other politician has ever done: expose the economic and cultural anxieties of everyday Americans and their depth of frustration with politics. He’s grasped a basic concept that if a leader can connect with followers through their guts and not their ears, they no longer have to bother with the details.

Followers merely say, “I trust you.”

Trump’s common appeal is not complicated. He offers simple, tidy solutions to complex problems.

Worried about terrorism? Ban Muslims. Lose your job? Deport Mexicans. Feel second class? Make America great again. What people miss are the underlying questions that are left unanswered, and

along with it, the same exploited sense of fear that has launched other politicians to alarming heights.

But, to be fair, looking past the soundbites and the millions of other Trump columns, he is not the sole source of the problem. In fact, he’s just a part of it. Everyone is guilty of the current condition of American politics, meaning that the root cause is much deeper. His rapid popularity points to preexisting fear that he simply uncovered, not created; nativist and anti-immigrant sentiments are all issues that predate Trump. He’s pandering to a political base and a large part of America that’s quite frankly hungry for anti-Muslim rhetoric.

The insecurity of silent America has remained dormant for years until this unconventional election with unconventional candidates set the stage for an outpouring of public sentiment and restlessness. Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush announced they will only allow Christian refugees but received limited backlash for blatant Islamophobia. Ben Carson objected to the notion of a Muslim president, but there was no widespread retaliation.

Like Trump and his fellow candidates, this is not the first time in U.S. history that politicians have unfairly ostracized minority groups without immediate reprimand. America’s beloved fourterm president Franklin Deleano Roosevelt authorized the systematic and deliberate internment of Japanese Americans with Executive Order 9066 in the midst of World War II hysteria.

Despite the flagrant overstep of American values, history threatens to repeat itself yet again.

Comparisons have even been made with Germanführer Adolf Hitler after many were disturbed at images of Trump leading a “oath of loyalty” at a recent and particularly raucous rally at the University of Central Florida.

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rump is able to capture a mob mentality by capitalizing on an atmosphere of shared fear, possibly his greatest psychological tactic.

After watching hours of debate footage and rally speeches, it is greatly apparent that he is a master persuader. He’s an architect of fear—an incredibly powerful emotion. The brain starts to prioritize differently, shortcircuiting the normal long pathways through the orbitofrontal cortex where people evaluate situations in a logical and conscious fashion and consider risks and benefits.

Not only does fear force people to focus intensely on the thing that is causing it, but it shuts down higher thinking and leads to the next most logical emotion: anger, according to Affinity Counseling Services. The zealot sets up this powerful paradox in a way that makes it seem as if disagreement with his logic and accusations automatically leaves you at the mercy of anti-American agitation.

Trump’s rise has been an urgent wake-up call to take a closer look at exactly how the man has been able to capture the hearts and minds of so many angry Americans across the nation. While it may not be distinctly clear whether Trump will win the presidential election, what is clear is that America will most definitely not be “great” again.

The insecurity of silent America has remained dormant for years until this unconventional election with unconventional candidates set the stage for an outpouring of public sentiment and restlessness.

MEN THE MINORITY CHARIS WILLIAMS T

he usual background noise of the class couldn’t muffle the words—or the impact they caused.

During biology class, a side discussion started in which one student seemed shocked when another told them that men were raped, and a third proceeded to blame the male victim for the sexual assault. Unfortunately, the same reaction occurred in social studies just a week before when something similar happened. Two boys in the very back row joked that men don’t get raped. One even chimed in between chuckles, saying that if a woman tried to rape him, he’d sit back and enjoy every minute of it.

Yet, according to a survey in 1998 by the National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2.78 million men in the United States have been victims of sexual assault or rape, and this doesn’t take into account the 68 percent of sexual assaults that are never reported.

Additionally, 98 percent of rapists will never spend a day in prison, according to the Justice Department’s 2012 National Crime Victimization Survey. According to a 2002 Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994 Study, 46 percent of rapists who were released from prison were arrested again within three years for another violent crime.

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f the seven periods in my school day, I heard discussions of rape culture in three during the same week without the usual discretion used when speaking of sexual assault of women.

The gender socialization that is still rampant in society can make it especially hard for male victims to report their sexual assaults. The challenge for men is their ostensible societal role in which they are supposed to ooze masculinity and strength, therefore making the possibility of them being raped seem unlikely. Additionally, because sexual assault has a disproportionate number of victims per gender, with 1 in 6 American women being sexually assaulted, according to a 1998 survey done by National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, rape is often

The challenge for men is their ostensible societal role in which they are supposed to ooze masculinity and strength, therefore making the possibility of them being raped seem unlikely. perceived as a woman’s issue.

This was exemplified when Shia LaBeouf claimed he was raped during his #IAMSORRY performance art project in 2014, in which he put a paper bag on his head that read “I’m not famous anymore” to represent the early 20th century art form in which the performer is a victim. He said, “One woman who came with her boyfriend, who was outside the door when this happened, whipped my legs for 10 minutes and then stripped my clothing and proceeded to rape me.” But he was not believed, even after two collaborators confirmed putting a stop to the assault. Piers Morgan commented LaBeouf ’s claims were “absolute baloney,” which reflects the incorrect societal assumption that men don’t get raped.

Furthermore, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, the majority of perpetrators of sexual assault against men are other men. The taboo of male-on-male intercourse can influence a male’s choice to report the assault, despite the fact that a man raping a man does not mean the victim is suddenly gay. The physical strength that men are stereotyped to possess may be useless in the face of manipulation, emotional coercion or psychological pressure, all of which are methods of forcing someone into complying with sexual assault, according to Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). Rape isn’t limited to physical; it can also be mental.

“‘I’ll kill your sisters,’ [said] my stepfather on my 13th birthday. Little did I know they were told almost the same thing,” writes a male sexual assault survivor to Project Unbreakable, a photography project to give a voice to survivors of sexual assault. Submissions include a picture of a poster with words from the rapist or abuser.

M

oreover, complying with sexual assault doesn’t mean the victim is responsible. Many victims believe afterwards that they are at fault, which results in sexual assault victims being four times more likely to contemplate suicide, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol and 26 times more likely to abuse drugs, reported by RAINN. This doesn’t mention the shattered trust, the disbelieving peers, and the skin-crawling feeling of disgust that have been so often described by victims of sexual assault.

“Don’t worry, boys are supposed to like this,” writes another male sexual assault survivor to quote the words of his abuser.

While 44 percent of sexual assault victims are under 18, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics: Sex Offenses and Offenders 1997, the emotional effects of being raped could last a lifetime. Until people decide it isn’t funny anymore, sexual assault will still continue once every 107 seconds; kids will still make jokes in social studies and play a blame game in biology.

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column | opinion

MORE THAN ENTERTAINMENT KARMI WHITE T

he modern zoo is a far cry from the cement and iron cages of the past. There is no comparison to places like the old SeaWorld where animals were simply there to give the audience a show.

Zoos enhance our understanding of things that are happening every day all over the world that would otherwise be left in the dark. Having a zoo in your city or even state lets you experience things you would never be able to see, like elephants drinking water or cheetahs running at 75 miles per hour. At zoos, visitors and their families can go and learn and watch the animals with which we share our planet in a form of their natural habitat.

The main goals for most modern zoos is to educate the public about different species as well as taking endangered animals and bringing them to a place where they will flourish and eventually reproduce enough to go back out into their natural habitat. For example, the mission statement of the Smithsonian National Zoo states, “At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, we save species. We provide engaging experiences with animals and create and share knowledge to save wildlife and habitats.” Zoos all over the country offer different programs for the general public to acquire a better understanding of not only the animals but also their natural habitat. The Saint Louis Zoo has offered such exhibits and programs since the 1960s. Each school year, more than 10,000 kids

and adults attend their classroom presentations, zoo tours, overnights and outreach programs, according to the Saint Louis Zoo website.

There are many different projects within zoos that are aimed toward helping endangered species increase their numbers to the point where they are able to be released into the wild without the fear of becoming endangered again. These programs, such as the BBF recovery program at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which bred the Black-Footed Ferrets back from near extinction in the 1980s, help to preserve species that might have otherwise gone extinct. Furthermore, there are more than a dozen zoos all across North America that participate in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP). The program works toward breeding certain endangered species to help enhance the health and sustainability so that the populations are genetically diverse and demographically stable enough to survive in the wild.

W

ithin the SSP program are different projects like “Operation Oryx,” which began after the Arabian Oryx’s numbers dropped dramatically between the 1940s and the 1950s.

The Phoenix Zoo agreed to participate only two months after opening in 1962. The last nine Arabian Oryxes arrived at the zoo in 1963 to form

The main goals for most modern zoos is to educate the public about different species as well as taking endangered animals and bringing them to a place where they will flourish and eventually reproduce enough to go back out into their natural habitat.

the last known herd. By 1972 Arabian Oryxes were considered extinct in the wild but through the hard work of the Phoenix Zoo, by 1980 the Oryxes were reintroduced into their native habitat where now approximately 1,000 roam freely.

The small but mighty stories such as the one of the Arabian Oryx goes to show that zoos hold more importance than the world could ever truly understand.

All over the world people like Dr. Oliver Ryder dedicate their lives to the research and betterment of animals and their existence on this planet.

Ryder serves the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research as Director of Genetics and Kleberg Chair. Ryder has dedicated his career to performing extensive research in finding ways to save endangered animals in a program known as the Frozen Zoo. This zoo is currently working to preserve the living cells of the remaining animals in the endangered species category in hopes that one day they will have the technology to bring back those species. According to the Frozen Zoo, they have cells from more than 9,000 species already that could help genetic diversity, leading to a higher chance of survival. Though the Frozen Zoo doesn’t hold the animals for an extended period of time like traditional zoos, they still share common goal of wanting to help endangered animals now and in the future.

Along with having programs that work with the animals, many zoos offer programs that help the public’s understanding of how vital wildlife is to our survival by getting them closer to the animals. The Cincinnati Zoo offers many educational programs such as overnight stays, zoo camps and The Zoo Academy, which all aim toward enhancing the public’s understanding of the animals who live inside the zoo’s walls.

Zoos are important to mankind because they enhance our understanding of the wild and give us the ability to help species in need. Research done by zoos all over the world helps to save animal species on a daily basis. They are no longer a tourist attraction purely for the selfish enjoyment of the visitor; they are the home of education and expansion of knowledge of the animal world.

Zoos have come a long way from what they were and have helped us work toward the advancement of different species all across the world.

GARBAGE EATERS SEAN MCGRAW I

n 1930, a British mathematician and philosopher named Bertrand Russell published a book called “The Conquest of Happiness.” In it, he attempted to solve the “ordinary day-to-day unhappiness from which most people in civilized countries suffer.” This unhappiness apparently never went away because, according to a 2013 Harris poll, 67 percent of Americans claim to be unhappy with their lives, and according to founder of AllAboutDepression.com Dr. Prentiss PriceEvans, another 20 million Americans suffer from clinical depression. Russell argues in his book that people are unhappy because of the habits they form and the way they act and view the world.

The media naturally plays a significant role in this by portraying unrealistic situations as reality.

It’s difficult to escape the mainstream media’s influence, because for many people, it’s their only source of entertainment and news.

The media tends to support a consumer culture that puts pleasure over true happiness. It adulterates beauty standards and stigmatizes unhappiness.

This combination can lead to depression among the consumers of media. A study conducted by The Journal of the American Medical Association of Psychiatry says, “Television exposure and total media exposure in adolescence are associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms in young adulthood.” This exemplifies the need for people to be mindful about the media they’re consuming.

Much advertising hinges on making people feel insecure or as if their lives are lacking something.

Brian Primack, a pediatrician at the University of Pittsburgh, said that “many ads are designed to make you feel as if your life is imperfect if you do not have this soap or this car or this computer or whatever else is being advertised.” Advertising constantly reminds viewers of what they don’t have, and it exploits their desires, insecurities and fears. A market research company called eMarketer predicted that American companies are to spend more than 200 billion dollars on advertising this year. Therefore, this method of advertising by playing on people’s unhappiness or stigmatizing their condition works.

“Pharmaceutical advertisements provide a sort of stigmatizing way of looking at women [with depression],” said associate director of the University of Michigan Depression Center

Michelle Riba. “A lot of women look horrible, haggard and worn and are single—then after they get treated [with the drug being advertised], they look better.”

The unhappiness caused by advertising works in the advertiser’s favor because the more depressed people feel, the more likely they are to buy a product that will guarantee their happiness.

Popular media frequently shows happy, perfect people with happy, perfect families and romantic relationships. This causes viewers to feel outcasted from society because this incredibly fake image is presented as reality, and it makes them less likely to seek help.

“Many people feel embarrassed or ashamed of their symptoms because our society places illogical taboos on mental health issues over physical conditions,” said clinical psychologist Nikki Massey Hastings. Furthermore, 65 percent of Americans with severe depression don’t receive treatment, and there is one death by suicide every 12 minutes, according to Mental Health America.

“Materialists are more likely to overspend and have credit problems,” says University of Missouri business professor Marsha Richins. “They believe that acquisitions will increase their happiness and change their lives in meaningful ways.”

Media doesn’t only contribute to unhealthy consumerist habits, it also changes definitions of beauty. People frequently change the way they look, act and speak so they can fit into society’s standards of attractiveness. According to the

Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank, more than 10 million cosmetic procedures have been done since 2014. Many people will even sacrifice their health to conform. Ever since the boom of reality television, eating disorders in teenage girls have tripled, according to WebMD Medical News.

A study at the University of Toronto asked 118 female students about their mood and satisfaction with their bodies after viewing images of female celebrities that were published in magazines.

“The experimental group responded immediately with depression and hostility after viewing the ‘ideal women’ shown,” said Leora Pinhas, a lecturer in the university’s department of psychiatry. “Think about how many hundreds of photos are in some of these fashion and lifestyle magazines, not to mention billboards, television and movies.”

P

erhaps people could learn to find beauty in what is around them, not the things that they don’t have.

If people abandon consumerism, it may be easier for them to find happiness. People should create their own standard of beauty, and most importantly, look for it within themselves and seek help if they are struggling. They shouldn’t expose themselves to the facade of perfection that the mainstream media supports. If they do this, their lives will become a more satisfactory experience.

Happiness isn’t easily achieved, but with the right viewpoint and actions, it becomes attainable.

People should learn to find beauty in what is around them, not the things that they don’t have. If people abandon consumerism, it may be easier for them to find happiness.

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column | opinion

UNEDUCATED GUESS

MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN KATY JOHNSON A

s the token LGBT friend and acquaintance for most people in my life, after I heard the Supreme Court ruling that same sex marriage was legal nationwide on June 26, 2015, I decided I should probably make the equivalent of a press statement with a Facebook post. Quickly logging on, I saw a fairly even split between people as happy as myself and people making essay-length posts on how America had clearly lost all morals.

I could shrug off most of those hateful posts, but a well-worn sentiment was present in a photo shared by a family member. “No, I don’t think homosexuals should marry; it says so in the Bible,” it said, and then followed up with the practiced phrases, “Yes, I still love you. Yes I’ll still be your friend.”

It always surprises me when people who say that they still love me don’t feel the cognitive dissonance that comes from immediately adding that they don’t think LGBT people deserve to marry or have explicit protection from discrimination. They separate me from the community, but that’s not how it works. My sexuality is a huge part of who I am, and if someone “doesn’t support” that aspect of me, they don’t really love me.

This cognitive dissonance remains present at a national level. During a 2015 Republican debate, John Kasich said he had attended the wedding of a gay friend, leading to former candidate Marco Rubio later saying he would attend a gay wedding if asked. However, this small show of support is considerably weakened when Rubio believes businesses have the right to discriminate against LGBT customers. Add to this Kasich’s removal of protection for transgender workers under Ohio’s now solely LGB non-discrimination policy, and the support for the LGBT community dwindles further.

Support from the Democratic party may feel half-hearted as well. Hillary Clinton, while speaking at Nancy Reagan’s funeral, said that “because of both President and Mrs. Reagan – in particular, Mrs. Reagan – we started a national conversation when before no one would talk about AIDS.” The LGBT community reacted swiftly, and for

good reason: the Reagan administration literally laughed when the AIDS crisis was first brought up by the media and took no action until thousands had already died. Although Clinton issued a long, profuse apology the next day for “misspeaking” on the matter, it was still a large and ignorant mistake to relatives and friends of those who were affected by AIDS; in addition, it never condemned the Reagans for their lack of response to the crisis.

And yet, even after all this scrambling, what’s really terrifying are the politicians who don’t hide behind a veil of faux support. Former presidential candidate Ben Carson supported a U.S. constitutional amendment reversing marriage equality. North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore called an ordinance to protect basic LGBT rights in the state “wicked and filthy.” Ted Cruz attended a rally in August of 2015 where Pastor Kevin Swanson advocated killing gay people— “Yes, in Romans 1:32, the Apostle Paul does say that homosexuals are worthy of death. His words, not mine!” Swanson yelled—and no major news outlet batted an eye. Though Cruz’s campaign eventually backpedaled on the issue months later, it’s clearly just that—backpedaling.

When these statements and positions are still acceptable in our society, the LGBT community needs real allies to stand for all of our rights, not people who would merely attend one of our

weddings. When “anti anti-discrimination” acts are being put into law in North Carolina and Mississippi and transphobic “bathroom bills” are being pushed in numerous other states and cities, we need allies who remember our past. And, when the Trevor Project reports that suicide rates among LGBT youth are four times higher than their peers, we need allies who will speak out against people who would take even more of our lives.

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ometimes it’s easy for me to forget, with the supportive friends and immediate family I have around me, that people exist who would deny me the right to my life. I feel safe enough to have a two-inch diameter button on my pencil pouch that says “I’m bi, my guy.” But with the 2016 election approaching on the horizon, I and my community, both local and nationwide, have been dragged back into a less idealistic reality.

It’s a reality where I’ve seen the slur “f*g” scratched into the locker next to mine twice since sophomore year; where I’ve been told lesbians are only lesbians because they’ve had bad experiences with men in their childhood; where friends are afraid to come out because of the reactions they’ll receive. In an atmosphere I’ve been assured many times is accepting, these small things add up to a terrifying message: no matter how safe I may feel, the reality could quite feasibly be worse.

Sometimes it’s easy for me to forget, with the supportive friends and immediate family I have around me, that people exist who would deny me the right to my life.

HALIE KESTERMANN T

his year the idea of “free college” has been a hot topic of debate. Last year, President Obama proposed a plan that would provide “free” community college tuition to everyone.

Even more recently, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has called for free tuition for all public four-year universities. Many argue that in 2016, education could just be a basic right for citizens in the United States–a given. Since the beginning of the “No Child Left Behind” program, everyone feels as though they must attend a four-year school to make a living. But students and their families struggle to afford it when the value of their paychecks is decreasing while cost of tuition goes up exponentially every year. As a recent college applicant, I know the anxiety that arises when given only two options: get a degree but leave college crippled by debt or enter into the work field less prepared and less likely to make good money.

So let’s say public colleges are totally free. It’s an alluring thought but not completely original because many European countries have had tuition-free universities for decades. That would make it much easier for poorer, less-privileged students to enroll, and it would be a no-brainer for students whose families are already able to afford at least some college tuition. However, with the federal financial aid options that are already available, most low-income families can already attend community college and pay no net tuition.

If the goal is to turn colleges into high schools, then yes, maybe we should make them free. The government can only do so much, and without community-member’s contributions, progress can’t be expected to be made in schools. Lakota still doesn’t have adequate transportation, such as bussing, or a full seven-bell schedule. People are unwilling to let taxes go up much more than they already are. The government can’t be expected to cover the cost of every citizen to get a college education. If they tried, they would divide up the money equally so that every college got their share and then The Ohio State University would look just like Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati. That kind of standardization in

GUEST COLUMN public schools would limit options and discourage healthy competition between programs.

Instead of simply getting rid of tuition for everyone, colleges can do their part by cutting out unnecessary costs. For most state schools, the cost is wrapped up in a huge bundle and given to every student at approximately the same price. But many college students don’t necessarily need or use all of the resources provided. Making colleges more major-centered eliminates the need to pay for extra classes. After four years of studying literature in high school, an engineer-in-training doesn’t need any more general education English classes.

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ociety’s obsession with the idea of campus life being critical to a person’s development is out-of-touch with reality. The stigma of community college as being “drop-out” central discourages effort and lowers the standard for people that want a streamlined, quick education.

And, after 18 years, most people are sick of school anyway. Not everyone is meant to go to college.

We should be pushing more options such as trade schools and apprenticeships, as they encourage students that are both hardworking and profit-

oriented. But for those students who make it their goal to go to a four-year university, it should be known that higher education is an investment. The discussion between students and their families on how much money they are willing to provide for such education needs to happen early, because they can’t expect the government to be able to take on everyone’s tuitions and provide quality services.

Financial aid has become more readily available to prospective college students. I have personally been lucky to receive several scholarships from the college of my choice because I have worked hard since the very beginning of my education, and my efforts have become recognized. Society needs to focus its attention and its money toward seeking students with drive. Those who succeed in an academic setting have been succeeding for the first 18 years of their lives. Those who are highachieving are likely to receive many of the meritbased scholarships schools have to offer. There should be more complex scholarships and special loans for students of middle and lower-class families who have the talent and ambition to better themselves–students that otherwise would not be able to afford their goals of becoming a working professional. Families that have the ability to pay to send their kids to college should pay for a good college. The more money people can invest in education, especially research-schools, the better our community will become.

I know the anxiety that arises when given only two options: get a degree but leave college crippled by debt or enter into the work field less prepared and less likely to make good money.

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from the editors | opinion

opinion | from the editors

THE POWER

OF ASSUMPTION NINA BRILLHART photography richard giang

C

onsidering the political fiasco of 2016 regarding presidential candidates, it is hard to survive a day in Good ‘Ole “White” Chester without engaging in or overhearing a fiery debate. It is almost comical when I hear my classmates call Hillary Clinton “evil” or say Donald Trump is going to “Make America Great Again” then proceed to embarrass themselves when they can’t cite anything that I didn’t see them retweet on Twitter the night before. It is obvious by their vague claims that they have never dedicated the time to watch any of the debates or educate themselves with information from a variety of sources. Easily accessible is now synonymous for truth.

Even worse, dare I ask them to support their positions, they just babble and mention something they heard from their parents or from an obviously biased source. What is concerning is that these people who are parroting someone else’s beliefs are not doing it passively but instead with fiery passion, taking offense at any comment made in opposition to what they are regurgitating. If people are going to bat for beliefs that they have never researched themselves, it is going to allow sources with power to have more control over masses of people.

On Christmas Eve many children set out cookies and milk for a fat man in a red suit they have never met. The only reason they get excited to do it is because their parents told them there is a man named Santa Claus who delivers presents in one night to all the good kids. In fourth grade, I even fought with a kid because he told me Santa wasn’t real. I knew he was wrong because my parents told me that Santa was real. That day when I got home from school, my parents finally told me the truth. What was most embarrassing was that I wasn’t able to come to the conclusion on my own and I had made a fool of myself defending something I assumed was true.

But it’s not uncommon for kids to be inclined to take adults’ words as truth. Students go to school and write down everything their teachers say while few question what is being taught. Unfortunately, as those kids become adults, they never break these passive habits. People tend to blindly follow well-known people, believing what they say as gospel. The tendency is to soak up what is easily accessible.

It is our social obligation to question what we are told and to educate ourselves beyond what may sound true. Lacking initiative to come to conclusions by oneself is dangerous because it prevents people from developing the skills to think for themselves. It is equivalent to handcuffing yourself to a post where you only become familiar with one perspective.

Truthfully, no one is more wrong than those who will not admit that they are wrong. In a country that is experiencing dramatic political changes, it is critical that people be able to listen to different perspectives and discuss rather than search for information that only supports a specific agenda. If people are after their own ideas, then they aren’t after the truth.

From the time we start talking, other people’s ideas are pressed upon us. In order to prevent teenagers from adopting the habit of absorbing what they are told, there needs to be more opportunities for students to think for themselves.

Grades should be recorded based on how well a student can support or refute any topic after gathering credible research.

Perhaps students should be required to watch debates and take notes, so that they are processing the information and developing their own opinions or people and issues. The future of the country rests in the hands of the Millennial generation. In order to progress, we need to look in a mirror and see the need to break passive habits and inabilities to reason, because there can’t be any large-scale revolution until there is personal revolution.

132 lakotaeastsparkonline.com March 2016 ISSUE 67 POST PROOF.indd 132-133

TO FUTURE SPARK STAFFS

CHRISTINE SHI photography richard giang

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akota East High School’s newsmagazine, “Spark,” has a particular reputation: the completely self-funded, studentrun NSPA National Best of Show Magazine for more than 20 years is known around school as a kind of “cult” or more friendlier, a tight-knit microcosm of life on a magazine staff. It is said to pull innocent teens in and suck the life out of them and, in return, leave them with nothing but a nicely worded recommendation letter.

Going into the journalism program almost blindly, I decided that I would only get out of it what I put in; so I went all in.

My Journalism I year in tenth grade, I sat at the front room 118 and dove straight into the paper the second I heard about each section. My sophomore year, I spent the majority of my time taking on new work and constantly learning, rewriting and redesigning as much as I could.

Then, my junior year didn’t care that I had a passion for the paper. It flooded my schedule with AP classes, standardized tests and responsibilities at my church. My Spark career could barely find its place in my schedule. My passion for the paper began taking a toll on the rest of my life and priorities and forced me to reevaluate my time and duties, and I could see why people saw Spark as a cult for which I had drank its kool-aid.

Thus, over the next couple of months, I was forced to manage my time, my priorities and even other people. I barely slept, and my diet consisted almost solely of intensely caffeinated lattes and Cheetos. I desperately tried to solve the paradox of how to have successful, unpaid group work with a staff of teenagers. I was burnt out almost every night as I slowly but surely changed my responsibilities from consisting less of learning the Adobe programs we use and creating content to teaching others what little I had taught myself about Indesign and to delegating work.

By the end of my junior year, I had found the delicate balance between life and the paper. I had worked to the best of my ability in my school, home and church life, and by the end of the year, collected a handful of national awards for my review writing and graphic, layout and advertising design, an arsenal of skills in photography, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Lightroom and Illustrator and had been selected as one of the Editor-in-Chiefs for the following year.

I felt relatively successful my junior year. I believed that I could have it all: a good amount of content in the paper and a leadership position with enough of a voice that I could be creative. However, all I wanted next was to finally settle into the role of a chief and let my creative freak flag fly.

I spent the following summer in a Spark wormhole: from creating the new redesign of the paper to rewriting our legal policy to organizing our new staff to meeting with printers and advertisers and designing and helping to evaluate and fundraise for our $40,000 budget. My role had shifted from a balance between a small leadership position and content creator to one of four leaders with a lot of responsibility and not much time.

I immediately jumped into my senior year the same way I took on my junior and sophomore years. I took on content that I soon realized I couldn’t handle, and I just barely met all my responsibilities as a chief. This year has been a learning experience to say the least. After under performing and personally failing the first couple of issues, I finally realized the age-old lesson that every leadership conference tries to drill into your head: you can’t do it all yourself.

From taking on too much and losing control to taking on too little and having no control, Spark hasn’t just taught me what a Pulitzer Prize is but also also how to manage myself, what I have and what I need to do. Spark wasn’t and isn’t simply an extracurricular activity or even a “cult” for me—it’s a passion and a lesson that has shaped me into who I am, and I can safely say that I got much more than just a recommendation letter.

5/9/16 3:07 PM

opinion | editorial cartoons

EDITORIAL CARTOONS “The Wait” —Goldie Bristow

“Virtual Reality Check” —Sarah Aftab 134 lakotaeastsparkonline.com March 2016 ISSUE 67 POST PROOF.indd 134-135

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