Lakota East Spark 2019-2020 Issue #3 by Lakota East Spark

How we can make sure we’re including people? How we can share our faith with other | section people and make sure the people around us feel cared about and loved? • it story would take so much stress off of our shoulders. If not, we should be excused from the work students do on that day during the holiday we take off for • GSA absolutely helped because I was able to find more people that were going through what I was going through • people have always been gay. I don’t think people are really necessarily inventing new things. They’re just inventing new words to describe what they’re feeling • I think the political climate and the overarching culture has perpetuated the specific factors that contribute toward why sexism continues exist • School it’s easy to use harsh words • I didn’t lose any friends, it’s Lakota to East High more family thatlakotaeastsparkonline.com I lost • in our society you’re valued by how much money you make • she January $5her Newsstand put down whatever she 2020 had in hands and said, ‘You better not be [gay], because I can’t handle losing a daughter’ • in my opinion I think everyone is human and everyone really comes from the same source • call it a hate culture, you can call it a partisan conflict on steroids in which both sides hate each other • after I came out, I felt like I could talk to my parents more. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest • to experience prejudice is painful. And that pain cannot simply disappear into thin air • a feminist is a person who stands up for human rights, [especially] when it comes to gender expression • it’s a culture of discriminatory behaviors and actions that are offensive • it was painful when my friends told me that I would look •better if I wore my hair straight • so you have a kind of mutually reinforcing process where politicians become more extreme in their attitude • that continues to happen and perpetuates the disparities that keep people from being at equal levels and being treated fairly •I legitimately thought I was losing my mind • I don’t think white people understand that fear, or the seriousness of being pulled over. it’s like they don’t understand their privilege of not being afraid • people should not be mistreated at all, but [they believe that] mistreatment should not come from a place of what a person’s gender is • those racial prejudices that are woven through every institution • women aren’t taken seriously on a whole lot of levels • my hair also is one of the things that makes me stand out among everybody • all it does is ostracize members of the community who are not Christian • I think a lot of times adults look at me think that I’m trying to make a political statement. I’m not. I’m just trying to exist • I find it funny how misinformed people are • in one way or another, that pain is something that absorbs into the soul. It chips away at a person’s confidence and cannot be forgotten • we have to continue working to make things like this better • I legitimately don’t know if I would be alive if I had to live as a female today, because it was torture. • a lot of people will say, ‘Well, that’s just the way it is,’ without seeing that if the sexist inequality is a product of the culture, it’s still a problem. • the fact is, too much change at once is scary if you’re not trying to be radical • it’s hard being African American and going to an all white studio • it’s hard to stay hopeful all the time. I had to call emergency numbers [for] one of my friends because they were going to end their life because their family didn’t accept them • he pulled out a switchblade, flipped it open and pointed it at me [and said], ‘If me or my friends ever see you in 2020 a men’s bathroom again, January lakotaeastsparkonline.com 1

Spark

HATE

section | story

2 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS #191

NEWS 8 Lakota begins work on a Master Facilities plan which could have major implications for the district.

FEATURE 22 East biology teacher Glenn Terndrup guides his freshmen students into the world of mindfulness and meditation.

PACKAGE 8

22 44

38 Spark takes a look at the increasing polarization within America and how it feeds hate culture.

CULTURE 44 Spark staffer Riley Higgins shares her take on six different types of bubble tea.

SPORTS 53 Butler tech student shares her life as a gymnast on the Lakota East gymnastics team.

OPINION 61 Title: Exclusive Part 1, Spark Broadcast Editor Brayden Barger discusses Title Nine

ONLINE 53

See No Evil, Hear No Evil: editorial cartoon by Alexandra Fernholz January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 3

Spark

2019-2020 STAFF

Editors-in-Chief: Rebecca Breland Alexandra Fernholz Anna Mullins Business Manager: Rebecca Breland Asst. Business Manager: Gavin Mullen News Editors: Shelby Alderman Rachel Anderson Culture Editors: Ekra Khalid Isis Summerlin Package Editors: Eliza Bush Shiloh Wolfork Sports Editor: Mason Wise Feature Editors: Alanna Schlaeger Abbie Westendorf Opinion Editor: Regan Denham Photography Editors: Andrew Marshall Cassandra Mueller Art Editors: Alexandra Fernholz Cassandra Mueller Graphics Coordinator: Kelly Johantges PR Director: Rebecca Breland Webmaster: Alexandra Fernholz Broadcast Editors: Brayden Barger Nicco Morello Copyeditors: Rebecca Breland Alexandra Fernholz Anna Mullins Advisor: Dean Hume

4 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Every issue, the staff tackles an issue that affects both society and our local culture. This issue, the topic chosen was hate culture. Hate culture is so ingrained in our society that it can be hard to identify and pick out from anything else, hence why the entire issue is printed in greyscale. The Spark staff is aware that the topic we have chosen is complicated and multifaceted; in choosing greyscale we are not trying to minimize the complexity of the issue, or make it seem that hate culture is only a black and white problem. The Spark Editorial Board decided that this color scheme was our best course of action because we felt that it accurately depicted the subtlety, yet impact that this topic has on those it affects. To properly cover this package, the staff tackled the issue from many different angles, including race, gender, and political polarization. The stories for the package have also been covered in a variety of different ways, including both personal narratives by our staffers and the traditional style of in-depth reporting. We acknowledge, however, that there is a hole in our coverage: the LGBTQA+ community. This is because the LGBTQA+ community has had a much more personal, complex relationship with not only hate, but their identity. As many members of the LGBTQA+ community have told us, one’s gender or sexual identity is a ‘process’ more than anything else, and we wish to acknowledge that process by letting them speak for themselves. However, this is more complex than a singular story. For this reason, the Editorial Board has decided to omit our LGBTQA+ coverage from this issue. Rather, we will be covering this topic, and this topic alone, in a future issue. The staff acknowledges that this is an extremely sensitive topic, which is why it is important to us to cover it honestly, objectively, and most importantly, correctly. Some of the stories in this issue may contain content that may not be suitable for all ages. These stories will be marked with a small editor’s note at the beginning of the article. These stories may contain expletives in quotes that do not express the opinions of the staff or publication as a whole. -Spark Editorial Board

The Spark encourages letters to the editor. Letters can be sent to the publication at lakotaeastspark2019@gmail.com or delivered to room 118 at the Lakota East High School Main Campus. Letters must be signed, and the staff reserves the right to edit the letters for length, grammar, invasion of privacy, obscenity or potential libel. The opinion editor will contact writers for confirmation.

ON THE COVER

designed by alexandra fernholz Hate is a multifaceted, multi-faced issue. There is no one person or group who can represent the problem, which is why we instead opted to use a series of quotes which can be found in this package to represent the multiple voices, experiences, and opinions we have discussed in this package.

chief column | opinion

JUST A KID

REBECCA BRELAND

photography alexandra fernholz

ou’re too young to understand. You’re just a kid. Ask any teenager today if they have had these words uttered at them. Most, if not all, would say yes in some capacity. When it comes to ability, a person’s age always seems to be brought into consideration. As if they cannot have an opinion, function at a certain level, or be doing what they are doing because of their age. Look at child activists today. Called words like ‘stupid,’ ‘naieve,’ and labeled “just a kid” because their views don’t align with some adults’. The fact of the matter is, the length of a person’s time on this planet does not dictate their ability or the impact they can have. In today’s day and age, I am proud to be “just a kid.” Because these kids are doing some pretty awesome things, some even changing the world. But these kids who are speaking out and taking action are only belittled by their older counterparts. Child activists like Greta Thunberg, who started an entire movement to stop climate change, have been labeled “just a kid” by the general public as well as people in positions of power. As if being “just a kid” is such a bad thing. Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas are being silenced because their age somehow affects their ability to speak on an issue. Students who have experienced great tragedy first hand and therefore want change are being told to shut up and sit down because the time they’ve been alive is not enough. To this I ask, “When is it going to be enough? At what age exactly will we start being listened to and respected? Why should I have to wait to form an opinion?” People are starting to realize that this perspective is faulty and that times are changing. People are taking notice and taking time to listen. Student voice is more important than ever and what we say is starting to be taken into account, but there’s still more work to be done. I’ve experienced this first hand in journalism. When I contact sources, I normally get nice replies and great interviews, but sometimes it doesn’t quite work out that way. Many times I have been told no to an interview because I’m still in high school. Professors, politicians, and doctors believe that because of my age, this will affect my ability to perform an interview and write a story. Of course, I do not have a degree, but when I am told a source will not speak to me because I am “just a kid,” I see an issue. The phrase “just a kid” is belittling for everyone involved. Why limit children by saying “just?” They are kids and their voices deserve to be heard, just as much as anyone else’s. Kids should be proud of the fact that they are kids. We cannot let our age dictate what we do. If you have an interest in something, do it. If you have an opinion on something, share it. How are kids supposed to believe in themselves and their abilities if we constantly belittle them by labeling them as “just a kid?” This label stunts the voices of the entire next generation, only leading to more and more issues down the line. Let them take this time to grow and find themselves and if sharing their opinions or trying certain things is the way they choose to do that, let them. We might still be kids, but the word “just” belongs nowhere near that word. •

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 5

news | photo captions

LAKOTA photography riley higgins

ller

andra mue

hy cass photograp

s, but r many year akota East fo L s won at as t cl ar t ht ar has taug in her AP ts en ud ter. st l inda Augutis m e al e first se es the first tim roughout th th in k k or or 2019 marks w w r to ei udents wards for th d lows for the st al ye la se Scholastic A sp ur di co ly g ic ll, year-lon will be publ k or w t’s en The fourth be . AP stud scholastic show igation, choice. Every e prestigious st th ve areas of their h in ug d ro ne th ai to view called a sust t’s ha visually,” w it for the public ng er w to rend on developi ho s n cu ar fo le d ey an “Th ng that will r choice d] is somethi ar a topic of thei e aw or ic pl st ex la ey th a scho lie Mazey . “[Receiving hool.” -Nata sc gh hi nd Augutus said beyo their resume always be in

ive teachers competed against one another in dances from the popular social media app Tik Tok at the East pep rally on Friday, Jan. 17 in an attempt to stir up excitement for the East vs. West basketball game later that day. “I thought it was really entertaining and fun to see all of the students laugh about something that is a big part of our community,” said East sophomore Anna Dailey, who participated in the rally as part of East’s dance team. -Mary Barone

photography al

exandra fernho

onors Anatomy and Physiology teacher Julie Deak conducted a hands-on simulation with her anatomy students about nerve impulse conduction for nerve cells. She discovered this simulation, a visual representation of nerve impulses. She used this exercise to evaluate the students’ understanding as an introduction to the chapter or a review after the chapter. “The simulation is very visual, very manipulative, [and I received] overall good feedback from my students,” Deak said. “The big question I had for them was if they liked it more as an introduction to nerve impulse control or as a review, and the class seemed to be favorable to doing it as a review.” -Caitlin O’Donnell

6 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

fter a Lakota-wide survey, district offi cials held a comm conversation on Jan unity . 9 to talk about the culture of Lako schools. During th ta e meeting, the Yo uth Truth - Natio Nonprofit Student na l Su rve y results were sh bringing up the op own, ultimately inion of the comm unity about culture schools. One of th within our e survey results show ed that on a scale of average amount of 1-5, the respect shown from teachers and adults of different backgro for people unds is a 3.99, acco rding to the student Superintendent Ro s.Assistant bb Vogelmann how the district could br numbers up to create ing these an overall positive cu lture in Lakotaschoo “As our culture reflect ls. s our behaviors, we also want our ideas to action,” Vogelm to lead ann said. “We want our knowledge to lea in order to be the be d to skills st district we can be .” -Caitlin O’Don nell

RECAPS

briefs | news

LAKOTA RECEIVES MOMENTUM AWARD

he Lakota Local School District added a new award to its collection for the fourth year in a row. Their newest addition is the Ohio Department of Education’s (ODE) Momentum Award for 2019. The Momentum Award is awarded annually to districts who exceed expectations in student growth for that year, as stated on the ODE website. Individual schools within the district can also earn awards. “[The Momentum] Award is given to schools and school districts that earn straight A’s in their value added rankings from the state,” Independence Elementary Principal Greg Finke said. “There are subgroups [which include] a gifted subgroup, a special education subgroup, and what they call the lowest 10% [subgroup], which would be academically the lowest 10% of your student population.” Independence received notable recognition, along with five other Lakota schools: Endeavor Elementary, Freedom Elementary, and Lakota East and West. “[The school] is making sure that those students [in each subgroup] all rise beyond what is expected,” Finke said. “All of those subgroups of students earned an A, which means they scored well beyond what was expected on the AIR test.” Additionally, two Lakota schools received the All A Award and the Overall A Award in 2019. The All A Award is awarded to schools who received A’s on all of the applicable

measures of their report card, which can include; achievement, progress, gap closing, graduation rate, improving at-risk K-3 readers, and prepared for success. While the Overall A Award is awarded to schools who earned an overall A on their school report card, as stated on the ODE website. Liberty Early Childhood school (LECS) was one of the two Lakota early childhood schools who received both of these awards. These two schools are among 50 schools in Ohio to earn the All A Award and 209 schools to earn the Overall A Award. On the LECS report card, only one area is active, due to the limited age groups within the school. This is in the category of ‘achievement’ which they earned an A on the most recent report card. LECS Principal Carrie Montgomery said this is the first time LECS has received this award, because before second graders joined the school for the 2019 school year, there was not enough data available to track students’ success. Despite this, Montgomery said that the school has to keep the students on track throughout the school year and into the following year in order to receive this award, which can impact the learning environment. “We continually try to meet students’ needs, whether they come as a non-reader, or whether they come as a reader,” Montgomery said. “[We are] continuing to try to reach benchmark and beyond that benchmark for students, to make sure that they are prepared to meet that third

grade reading guarantee.” Montgomery said that her staff and the parents creatively help the students in the areas they are struggling by working with them to make sure that they understand the concepts. Whether that be as a non-reader and generally not being able to read as well as other students or as a reader and just needing help on more specific things. “My staff works really hard to make that happen,” Montgomery said. “But it also is in partnership with our families that do the nightly reading and make sure that their students are being exposed to reading as much as they can.” Heritage Early Childhood school also earned the Overall A Award with an A in achievement and gap closing on their school report card. Heritage Principal Missy Alexander said that Heritage focuses on the individual student’s needs, which helped the students to become better in academics, allowing Heritage to earn the Overall A Award. For example, teachers set up stations that help a certain student or group of students on a specific skill that they are struggling on, which in turn makes them become more confident in their academic abilities. “The relationships that [the teachers] are building with [students] is instilling some of that confidence [in them], and that sometimes goes a long way,” Alexander said. “If the kids know that you believe in them and that they can do it, that sometimes helps them get where they need to go.” -Cassandra Mueller

SHORTAGE OF SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS

t is a typical morning as students come trickling into Lakota East, making their daily walk down Main Street to start their day. To their left stands Butler County Sheriff’s Deputy Doug Hale, East’s School Resource Officer (SRO) of 25 years, smiling at everyone scurrying past. Hale grins and says hello to students each morning in his standard black uniform, but remains prepared for action behind his bulletproof vest and gun at his hip. “[SROs] are around the students all the time, so if you feel something and know somebody, you can go and take care of it,” Hale said. SROs are police officers stationed in schools to provide safety and prevent crime. They work with the administration to create a secure environment for students and staff. SROs can make arrests, investigate threats, and act in cases of danger. As discussed at a School Board meeting on Dec. 9, 2019, Lakota is currently short two SROs.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office is in the process of finding officers to fill positions, but training has not yet begun. “We have some personal issues and people getting killed off and someone got hurt,” Superintendent Matt Miller said. “You have to find the right person,” Hale said. “You have to take somebody that’s got some experience and knowledge on how to deal with many different situations.” The Sheriff’s office is looking to fill the empty positions with retired officers. “It saves the school district a lot of money, because the only thing they are paying for is [the officers’] wages, there are no benefits,” Hale said. Once finding an officer deemed fit for the job, prospective SROs will be sent through a 40-hour basic training course held by the state of Ohio. “We put them through many different things that occur within the schools and try and give

them as much information as we can,” Hale said. In addition to learning how to handle situations in schools, officers must also learn to build relationships with their students. In a survey conducted of 215 East students, 69% report that SROs help them to feel safe in school and 55.8% of students feel comfortable talking with them. “It helps knowing that there is someone there to protect us who also has our best interests in mind,” East sophomore Piper Dorr said. SROs present in the schools helps the teachers by providing another layer of support. “By being present, being aware, having another set of eyes, and having someone the kids can trust and look up to goes a long way,” East Chemistry Teacher Liz Goskey said. “The biggest thing they can do is build relationships so that everybody knows that they are part of a community just like everybody else.” -Marleigh Winterbottom

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 7

LAKOTA MOVING FORWARD

Lakota begins work on a Master Facilities plan which could have major implications for the district. story, photography, and infographics alexandra fernholz additional photography riley higgins

(Above) Lakota Treasurer Jenni Logan presents at a community conversation about finances.

FACILITIES PLANNING:

PART ONE

akota is following in the footsteps of several other Ohio school districts by taking the first steps of a Master Facilities Plan which could have major implications for the district. The plan, which is still under construction, could leave Lakota with new school buildings, changed grade configurations, or no change at all. For now, though, Lakota officials are asking questions and examining data to decide how to proceed. “You ask more questions than you answer,” Board Member Brad Lovell told Spark. “The question is, are we using [our facilities] most appropriately? Are there cost savings efforts that we can put towards them? And do they really meet the needs of what [the strategic] plan says we should be doing?” The first step of Lakota’s Master Facilities planning process involves the district enrolling in the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC)’s Expedited Local Partnership Program (ELPP). The program allows Lakota to receive up to 26% of the money spent on a facilities plan which follows

the state’s requirements, so long as Lakota declares how they plan to obtain the funds, whether by bond issue or by local resources. Lakota’s school board passed a resolution to participate in the ELPP program at their Dec. 9, 2019 meeting by a 3-2 vote, jumpstarting the potentially years-long process. Passing a resolution to participate in the program does not commit Lakota to putting a bond issue on the ballot, nor does it bind the district to any state plan. “When I’m looking at an opportunity for 26% to come back from the state, I would hate to see us pass up that opportunity,” Lakota Treasurer Jenni Logan said. Logan explained that the resolution passed by the board does not commit Lakota to a levy in 2020. Instead, Lakota can use some of the surplus $107 million in its treasury toward any facilities plan approved by the board. Lakota’s cash balance has more than quadrupled since 2012. “The state does require us to say that we would go for either a ballot issue or use our local resources,” Logan said. “So, in our

facilities plan | news

LAKOTA’S PROJECTED CALENDAR: Master Planning Phase january - april 2020 Meetings between Lakota, VSWC Architects, and Educational Consultant

Educational Visioning Phase january - march 2020

Meetings between Lakota, Educational Consultant, various community members, and Lakota members

Board Action

Release to Community january - march 2020 Open houses and online Q&A sessions

january

february

may 2020 Board is presented with finalized master plan, votes on whether to proceed march

april

may source lakota district

resolution we have ‘and/or’ which we’ll either seek a ballot issue or use local resources. It’s a state requirement if [we] want to participate in the program.” Funding from the state is contingent on the State Controlling Board Approval. Districts which apply for the ELPP program must raise their share of the funds within 13 months before funding can be released. According Chief Operations Officer Chris Passarge, any funds spent on a Facilities Plan would come from Lakota’s General Fund or the Permanent Improvement (PI) Fund. As of 2019, Lakota has had a balanced budget for the last seven years.

owever, Board Member Todd Parnell, who voted no on the resolution, had several concerns regarding the plan. “If we knew what we were going to do, and we knew what we’re going to spend [on the Facilities Plan], that’s one thing,” said Parnell, who is also a member of the Facilities Committee. “We have no clue. I can tell you I’m not going to support a levy or bond issue with absolutely no plan, no idea of what we’re going to spend, and $100 million in cash. It doesn’t make any sense.” According to the official language of the document the board passed at the Dec. 9

meeting, the board agreed that “the School District Board intends to move forward with a ballot issue and/or apply other local resources in November 2020.” Whether this means a levy or bond issue in the future is up to interpretation. Board Members Parnell and Lynda O’Connor see “levy.” For Lovell, the other member of the Facilities Committee, the decision was a “no brainer,” because Lakota would be able to receive funds towards annual upkeep and maintenance projects which begin as early as the summer of 2020, as well as any work on the Master Facilities Plan. “We’re spending $4 million this summer alone on standard updates with funds that are already allocated,” Lovell told Spark. “Putting the facilities planning aside, this is a no brainer just to get a million of those dollars back in the future. It’s putting the cart before the horse when you look at the facilities planning. However, when you look at our daily operations, it makes logical sense to put [ELPP] in place-we should have probably done it years ago.” Lakota will not immediately receive reimbursement for expenditures. Rather, the district will get credit for the work completed to the OFCC standard, credit for which the district will be reimbursed at a later date.

STAGES OF ELPP: Phase One: Eligibility/Application

Phase Two: Facilities Assessment and Master Planning

Phase Three: Project Agreement / Discrete Portion / Funding

Phase Four: Expedited Local Partnership Program Project source ofcc

news | facilities plan

Treasurer Jenni Logan: “When I’m looking at a project, in an opportunity for 26% to come back from the state, I would hate to see us pass up that opportunity.”

LAKOTA’S STRATEGIC PLAN: • WE are Personalized • WE are Future Ready • WE are Fiscally Responsible •WE are In This Together source lakota district

OTHER SCHOOLS WHO HAVE RECEIVED ELPP GRANTS: • • • •

Winton Woods Middletown Northridge Reading Community

source ofcc

Board Member Julie Shaffer: “We can choose start over in a year. It’s a different situation if it handcuffs us to a decision. The state plan is ridiculous but it is the only way to retain that money.”

Board Member Todd Parnell: “If we knew what we were going to do, that’s one thing. We have no clue. I’m not going to support a levy or bond issue with absolutely no plan.”

“If it’s in our master plan and we do work [on a facilities plan], we will get credit for that work. So when our number does come up, any money invested is credited to us at a future date,” Lakota Passarge said. “So it’s a combination of short and long term vision: what we need to do now, what we need in the future, and how it’s going to be paid for.” According to OFCC Planning Manager Steve Roka, that credit won’t be available immediately. “[Districts receive their funds] when the district transitions to the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program (CFAP),” Roka told Spark. “When they transition, the credit they’ve accumulated under ELPP counts toward their local share of the project. That transition occurs whenever they are close enough or the resources have become available for the OFCC to fund their school district.” Of all Lakota’s 22 school buildings, (not including the Career Readiness Academy, renamed the Academy) seven are over 40 years old. Both East and West are 22 years old. Currently, Lakota’s facilities plan is still under development. The board is not set to vote on a finalized plan until early summer 2020. However, in order to receive funding, the board

is required to approve ELPP participation and submit an application to the state before signing any construction contracts. For Board Member Lynda O’Connor, this requirement was flawed in that it put “the cart before the horse.” “There is no determination on what price of the plan we’re going to implement, there’s no determination on cost, we’re committing to an intent to place a ballot issue on in less than 12 months with no community involvement at this point,” O’Connor said at the Dec. 9 board meeting. “I have requested a master plan for some time now but I am very uncomfortable with this process and I can’t support it at this time.” According to Roka, this is a “corporately normal circumstance to find ourselves in.” “[The state] don’t allocate resources toward planning a school district until they have an application on file with [the OFCC}], we’ve accepted it and then we understand what the district’s timing and need is for their project, as well as how it fits into our overall districts that are waiting in line,” Roka said. If the district decides not to do any work on a future facilities plan in 2020, they will be able to recommit to the ELPP program again

“The facilities plan that we’re talking about, we’re not going to lay out this plan and do it all next year. It is for the sustainability of the next 20 years.” - Kelley Casper

facilities plan | news

Board Member Lynda O’Connor: “It’s still the cart before the horse for me. There is no determination on what price of the plan we’re going to implement, there’s no determination on cost.”

Board Member Kelley Casper: “You’ve got to be able to look at the big picture. We still have the final say. It’s not like we’re saying, Okay, do whatever you want [to the state].”

Board Member Brad Lovell: “I think it’s fiscally irresponsible for us not to do it. Why would we give up 26%?”

next year. “The plan is part of the process - it gets the ball rolling on our side,” Lakota Superintendent Matt Miller said. “[But] we’re not bound to do [ELPP].” Lakota is one of many local districts to use state funds in recent years to restructure their existing facilities. According to Roka, this is because Ohio’s General Assembly has been ‘very generous’ when allocating funds toward K-12 facilities. ELPP financing recently allowed Mason City Schools to complete a series of renovations on their existing middle school, open a new elementary school in fall 2019, and reorganize the 10,500 student district into four buildings. Mason City Schools, which has been a part of the ELPP program since 2001, has been eligible for ELPP funding since 2013, when the district completed renovations on their high school, early childhood center, and intermediate school. The district received about $34 million, or 80% ELPP funding, for these projects. “[Funding is based on] a percentage ranking of school districts, and that list is developed by the Department of Education annually,” Roka said. “[The list] is based on enrollment divided by the wealth of the school district. So whatever that percentage is at the time the commission serves that district, that’s the percentage ratio of state and local [funds] toward the project cost.” Ross, Hamilton, Middletown, Talawanda, and Finneytown have also received ELPP funds toward various facilities-related projects, among other districts. At this time, Lakota’s facilities plan remains in its early stages. According to Board Member

Kelley Casper, it’s important the district keeps “the big picture” in mind when coming up with ideas for the plan. “The facilities plan that we’re talking about, we’re not going to lay out this plan and do it all next year,” Casper said. “It is for the sustainability of the next 20 years. We don’t have a $100 million facilities plan right now. Unless you’re all keeping it from me, because I haven’t seen it.”

rather than physically visiting the buildings based on the work Lakota has done in the past 11 years. This time, Lakota wanted to think bigger based on the 2019-2021 strategic plan passed in December 2018. “We haven’t really looked at [facilities in] a long time. Education is changing and facilities should match the education program,” Passarge said. “So there’s a lot of crazy creative things you can think about for this whole process that’s where it’s fun.” Now that the board has approved Lakota’s participation in the ELPP program, the district will proceed with the next step in the process: getting community feedback. Insert predicted planning calendar From January to late February, the district is planning a series of small community focus groups to gauge community interest in various ideas and come up with a few new ones. “We will engage many different groups from [students] to retired people to business people to parents,” Casper said. Based on input from the focus groups, the district will work with Educational Consultant Tracey Richter to create Lakota’s “Educational Vision,” which will be presented to the board in early March 2020. Then, the district will work with Masonbased company VSWC Architects to assemble a Master Facilities plan for the district. Along the way, updates will be given at board meetings regarding the progress of the plan. But for now, the board is still asking questions to determine in what direction the district should take its buildings. “There’s so many questions,” Lovell said. “It’s gonna be a wild ride this spring.” •

uch board discussion has regarded the data collected from Lakota’s enrollment and demographic studies. “The first few meetings we had for the facilities meeting, we were just looking at data,” Lovell said. “[We’re having] the conversations around the data to help make informed conversation around what might be a possibility in the future. [Right now] it’s more about the questions than it is about the answers.” The beginning stages of a facilities plan involve an assessment conducted by the state of all a district’s individual buildings. According to Passarge, the physical walk through of Lakota buildings by state personnel was last done in 2008, at the time of the district’s last master facilities plan. “[In 2008] it was more about looking at facilities [and] best practices,” Passarge said. “We mainly looked at what we need to do to update our buildings. We didn’t look at replacing buildings or doing different things. Sort of a mini version of a master plan.” According to Passarge, for Lakota’s 2020 master plan, the state completed an estimate of what updates Lakota’s buildings would need

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 11

news | incubator

THE FOURTH E

UNCHARTED LEARNING

Lakota is offering a new entreprenuer-based class next school year. • story mia hilkowitz | infographic rachel anderson

or years, Lakota has focused its curriculum on preparing students for the three “E’s” after graduation: enrollment, employment, and enlistment. But next school year, the district will be adding a fourth E to their program: entrepreneurship. Next fall, juniors and seniors at both of the Lakota high schools will have the opportunity to enroll in a new entrepreneurship-based class called INCubatoredu. The class, which will be done in partnership with the organization Uncharted Learning, is a full-year course centered around students building a business. Uncharted Learning is a nonprofit that provides entrepreneurial-based programs and classes to schools around the country. Working in teams, students will go through the business model process to develop a product or service to eventually pitch to investors at the end of the year in a “shark-tank” style. Director of Member Experience at Uncharted Learning Stacy Sniegowski said that INCubatoredu is not like other classes students will take during their school careers. “It’s not where a student sits and listens to a lecture,” Sneigowski said during the INCubatoredu informational meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12. “But it’s where students are actually starting a business in class in order to learn how to do business [itself ].” According to Sniegowski, since INCubatoredu’s founding in 2013, there have been over 25,000 student-run businesses and products developed, and more than 50,000 students enrolled in the class world-wide. “An INCubatoredu student who took the class his senior year as an elective didn’t quit his company when he went to college,” Sneigowski said. “Halfway through his freshman year in college, he took his company [Snap Clips] on Shark Tank [in 2018].” Lakota Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Keith Koehne told parents and students at the presentation that Lakota wanted a business program for its schools because of the growing entrepreneurship industry in Cincinnati. “[Cincinnati] was named by Forbes magazine as one of the hottest startup cities in the United States,” Koehne said. “We are positioned to be successful here in this area and to provide our kids with some amazing experiences. So we knew that in order to launch something like this, we had to be able to find a partner who would be worthy of the work that we’ve got going on.” According to Koehne, it has taken 12 months “to get to this point” of announcing and organizing the program. Lakota had been

working on finding a partner for their class when they came across Uncharted Learning, out of Illinois. Following this, a group of Lakota administrators attended the Incubatoredu “National Pitch Night” in Chicago to listen to students speak about their experiences and learn more about the program. Director of 7-12 Curriculum Andrew Wheatley said that the course will consist of a combination of experimental learning and conventional business lessons. “This is a course where we’re learning about entrepreneurship and [where] students get to own their learning, but we’re also learning traditional business skills and knowledge and putting them into practice,” Wheatley said. “[There are some lessons] like value propositions, market sizing, distribution, financial revenue, accounting, and legal that starts to set the stage.” Currently, the plan is to offer the course to juniors and seniors at both East and West Main Campuses. INCubatoredu will enroll 100 students in total, 50 from each campus. Students can apply online to enroll in the class. If over 50 students from each campus sign up, a small team will “blind score” the applications to determine placement. East sophomore Katie Jessee is excited about the course. She was at the informational meeting and plans to enroll in the class in the 2020-2021 school year. “Learning how to build a business and build it how we want to, not how the teacher tells us to is great,” Jessee said. “[The class] will teach us how to fail and learn from our mistakes.” Lakota plans on offering a second-year course during the 2021-2022 school year called ACCELeratoredu for students whose businesses received funding the year before and are continuing to develop. The informational meeting also had a panel of Cincinnati based entrepreneurs and business experts to talk about the importance of pursuing a course like INCubatoredu. Panel guest and Director of Operations at startup organization Possip, Christine Fisher, said that the skills learned while taking a class like INCubatoredu will help students throughout their life, no matter their career path. “Big companies are trying to mimic what startups have been doing for the last couple years and viewing a lot of the new innovation that entrepreneurs were bringing to business, as critical to their operations,” Fisher told Spark. “So no matter [student’s] paths for afterward, the skills you can learn as an entrepreneur are really going to carry forward.” •

12 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

427 teachers in the 2019-2020 school year

250 schools in the 2019-2020 school year

50,000+ students impacted over five years

25,000+ student-developed business & products over five years

9,000+ IOS apps developed over five years source uncharted learning

show choir | news

SHOW CHOIR NAMED PE SUBSTITUTE In accordance with new Ohio House Bill 166, students will have another way to fufill their graduation requirements. • story natalie mazey | infographic kelly johantges

ong gone are the days of dodgeball and sweaty school days. Show choir is now joining the likes of marching band, cheerleading, and basketball, allowing for students in Ohio to be waived of the PE requirement for high school graduation, so long as students take it for two seasons. Introduced by Ohio Representative Tracy Richardson (R-Marysville), the amendment added show choir to the list of activities that can excuse students from the 0.5 Physical Education (PE) credit needed to graduate. Being excused from the 120 hours of PE instruction does not award credit, and students must still meet the minimum requirement of credits to graduate. After completing two full seasons of interscholastic athletics at the high school, which includes activities from bowling to baseball, students can complete the PE waiver. As show choir joins the ranks, the same rules apply, meaning two full seasons must be completed to fill the waiver. School districts across the state have a choice to adopt the waiver policy, and the Lakota School Board has decided to allow show choir to count, although there is yet to be a high school level show choir in the Lakota District. School Board President Brad Lovell was in support of adopting this new practice. “If there’s recommendations coming from the management and recommendations from the state, then [we] consider it as a board,” Lovell said. “If it fits with the culture of the district, then [the board] moves forward with it.”

The exemption was passed by the Ohio General Assembly in Sept. 2019, and allows school districts to choose to excuse students from the PE requirement after performing in a show choir for two full seasons. According to Lovell, allowing students to choose how they want to fill the requirements to graduate helps foster individuality and highlight the diverse gifts of students across a district of 16,500. The lessons learned in a PE class don’t necessarily need to take place inside the confines of the gymnasium. “I would say that the intent of physical education classes is that [students are] learning healthy lifestyles, healthy habits, and [they’re] being active,” Lovell said. “I don’t think that that has to be specifically geared towards one specific program.” States including West Virginia and Illinois have opted to the same, following the trend of states recognizing that physical activity can be present in programs outside of traditional sports teams. Although there is not a show choir program for high school students in Lakota, choir teacher Nicole Fink heads the show choir at Liberty Junior School (LJS). The program averages about 30 to 42 participants per season, which lasts from January to April, and is open to any student at the school. According toFink, the program allows students to gain self confidence, as well as being an athletic activity, and should fully qualify to waive the PE requirement. “Show choir singers first have to learn the music, then put the show together,” Fink said. “It’s all dancing the whole time, there’s no break in between, so that definitely fills the [PE]

Do you support show choir being used as a PE exemption?

requirement.” Singers like seventh grader Jackie Griggs, who is currently in LJS’s show choir, are given the opportunity to create the choreography themselves before teaching it to their peers, resulting in a two-hour long catered show. “I really enjoy learning the Disney songs,” Griggs told Spark. “Coming up with the choreography is also really fun.” The singers participating in show choir learn leadership skills in taking the initiative to put the show together. Rehearsals last about an hour and a half, along with the hours put into it outside of the classroom as students choreograph, rehearse music, and find solos they’re interested in singing. “It really becomes their show,” Fink said. “It’s me pointing them in the right direction and then they take off with it. That part is really special to me.” Show choir may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of gym class, but Fink has seen the stamina and enthusiasm required to put on a show, showing that this program fulfills the requirements needed for a gym credit. According to Lovell, allowing another program to waive PE requirements is only furthering opening doors for diversity and allowing more students to find their ‘thing’ through fulfilling a requirement for graduation. “Our job is to create opportunities for students to thrive, and we have to recognize that every child is different. Forcing kids through a certain lens isn’t always the best option,” Lovell said. “There are things that every child needs to do, but I think the more opportunities we give them the better they’re going to be prepared for the future.” •

65.7% No 34.3% Yes

source lakota east student survey

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 13

news | edchoice

According to the state of Ohio, VanGorden Elementary school is considered ‘failing.’

Above: Liberty Junior School is one of eight Lakota Schools which are considered underperforming by the state.

EDCHOICE UPROAR Teachers and administrators are in an uproar following the recent expansion of a voucher system in the district.

story and photography ava huelskamp | infographic alexandra fernholz

he Ohio Department of Education has recently expanded the EDChoice program for the 2020-2021 school year, evoking much criticism from parents and the Lakota district alike. EDChoice is a voucher system put in place for students whose public school’s grade was considered failing. The vouchers provide money for students in a ‘failing’ school to go to a private school if they choose to do so, and the vouchers will be paid for by the local public school district. Many complaints surround the fact that the program, which used to be small, has since expanded within the last two years. In the 2018-2019 school year, 300 schools were eligible for EDChoice, according to the Lakota School District’s website. This number has jumped to over 1,200 schools for the 20202021 school year, a 300% increase in two years. The financial impact of the program is a concern to many who are educated on the

program. The cost has been declared at $4,650 for students in grades K-8 and $6,000 for grades 9-12, culminating in a total of more than $65,000 to the public school district over the course of a student’s academic career. East history teacher Pete Maus has been following the details of EDChoice and has issue with the financial consequences of the program. “I disagree with putting [voucher payments] all onto the taxpayers dollar through the property taxes in those school district funds. It would be more manageable if [the funding] was done through the state’s contributions,” Maus said. “If it’s going to continue, I would see that as a better way than to take dollars that are needed by the school district to relocate to a private school.” The vouchers are paid for completely through local tax dollars, with no help from the state, according to Lakota’s website. The school must also continue to pay for the vouchers even

14 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

if a school’s report card improves or is removed from the EDChoice list. Lakota Superintendent Matt Miller discussed the topic with the school board at the Dec. 9, 2019 board meeting. Miller has shown a strong opposition to the way Lakota’s finances will be used in this program. “I’m okay with school choice, but I’m not okay with public tax dollars going to parochial schools or private schools,” Miller said. The other members on the board were in agreement for additional reasons. Then-Board President Julie Shaffer has expressed complaints with the scoring system of school report cards, including the usage of old data that is no longer relevant. “When you create a system that deems a school as failing based on one D or F in one subcategory, and are looking at data that may be seven years old, I don’t think that is a valid metric,” Shaffer said. “My own kids came

edchoice | news up through one of these ‘failing’ schools that also received the state’s momentum award for outstanding student growth year after year. I saw firsthand the great work that was happening.” Schools are graded in six categories: performance, graduation, lowest 10% (whether or not the school ranked in the lowest 10% of public school buildings on the Performance Index on the Ohio School Report Cards for any two Performance Index rankings from 2014, 2018 and 2019), literacy, district performance, and academic distress. Currently, there are eight Lakota schools considered underperforming: Shawnee Early Childhood School (B school grade), Adena Elementary (C school grade), Endeavor Elementary School (B school grade), VanGorden Elementary (B school grade), Woodland Elementary (C school grade), Hopewell Junior (C school grade), Liberty Junior (C school grade) and Ridge Junior (C school grade). School report card grading measures school growth more than anything, which Maus sees as a problem. “Anytime you get into a situation when you’re measuring growth, there’s going to be a point when you’re really successful that large growth is going to be difficult to [measure],” Maus said. “If you get to a point where you’re at 95/96%, showing three points of growth is going to put you to perfection. We all strive to be perfect, but realistically that’s not attainable.” An issue that has arisen within the district is the way public schools are graded compared to private schools, the latter of which are not graded by the state at all. Miller believes putting private schools up against public ones is an unfair practice, because of the fact that students in the private school system are not tested the same way as public school students are. “We’re not comparing apples to apples when you’re able to pick and choose what students you get; we don’t have that choice,” Miller said. “Also tied into this are the metrics around testing. [Private schools] don’t have the same guidelines.” The disconnect between school report card grades and quality of education is the Momentum Award, which Lakota received from the Ohio Department of Education for exceeding expectations in student growth for the year. Miller described the award in relation to the school report card as “failing with momentum,” while Board President Brad Lovell called for action during the December board meeting. “Our community should be outraged. Either our legislators fell asleep at the wheel, or they’re intentionally trying to privatizing public education,” Lovell said. “We have got to stand strong and our community has to step up and say this isn’t right.” •

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO TRANSFER SCHOOLS? Public School K-12 Student

Lives in a District with EdChoice Listed Buildings

Does Not Live in a District with EdChoice Listed Buildings

Currently Attends an EdChoice Listed Building in their Residential District

Not eligible for traditional EdChoice

Does Not Currently Attend an EdChoice Listed Building in their Residential District

Eligible for traditional EdChoice

Is Assigned to an EdChoice Listed Building for Next Year in Residential District Eligible for traditional EdChoice

Is Not Assigned to an EdChoice Listed Building for Next Year in Residential District Not eligible for traditional EdChoice

source education.ohio.gov January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 15

At East’s annual craft show, NHS set up a craft booth where they collected donations to build a solar array.

SOLAR STRIDES National Honor Society (NHS) takes on an ambitious project this year as they plan to build a solar array for East. story and infographic eliza bush | photography cassandra mueller

s she’s walking to her fourth period Advanced Placement (AP) Literature class, she rounds the corner and spots the gold poster taped strategically to the wall. She reads each word, even though she’s seen it a thousand times and a smile of satisfaction spreads across her face, knowing that she gets to be a part of this project. East Senior and NHS Secretary Eve Beiting is excited about this year’s unique NHS service project: a solar array, which will make Lakota East the first public high school in Southwestern Ohio to be partially powered by solar energy. “This project is doing a service for the community as a whole as well as servicing the environment,” Beiting said. “This project is going to benefit the entire school and have a positive impact on the environment.” The five NHS officers decided in the summer that their annual service project would be

environmentally-focused with the tag name “Earth to East.” It wasn’t until the Fall that they decided to pursue a solar array and named the project #NHSolar. NHS advisor and East Spanish teacher Maria Maine was surprised when the idea of the solar was initially came up at a planning meeting. “[My co-advisor and I] thought it was a very ambitious project, but that it would have a really big impact,” Maine said. Maine has been an NHS adviser for two years, working alongside East English teacher Andy Alexander. This is the first year NHS has undertaken a project like this. “It’s a very large scale project compared to previous years,” Maine said. “In today’s society the environment is an issue that has come to the forefront and we wanted to make an impact in any way we could.” President and founder of TMI Energy

16 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

Solutions Mark Gillespie, who is currently among the many local companies developing a design for the array, believes utilizing green energy alternatives such as solar panels present schools with a number of benefits. “There are multiple reasons why a school would utilize solar energy,” Gillespie told Spark. “One of the most important reasons is to reduce fossil use and enter into the renewable market. Sometimes you can even save money by using solar over the long term.” The 104 NHS members will pitch in to this year-long project by planning fundraisers and volunteering at events. On Dec. 13, NHS hosted a “Solar Shootout” in which students bet on which faculty members they predicted could make the most baskets in 30 seconds during the Colerain v. East basketball game. In the week leading up to the event, students put money into labeled jars of faculty members and students donated money

solar array | news

How Solar Panels Work:

source the solar advantage to the jar of the teacher they wanted to have a disadvantage in the game. The “disadvantages” included wearing a banana suit, oven mitts, and duct taped sunglasses. On Jan 25, NHS will host the second annual Sadie Hawkins dance with a 1980’s theme. This will likely prove to be their most profitable fundraiser, based on the revenue it generated in 2019. In order to fund a project of this magnitude, NHS will have to raise more money this year than they have in previous years. The officers are unsure of the exact cost of the array, as it depends on the size of the project and its placement. Based on current fundraising predictions, they tentatively anticipate the array will be constructed above the gymnasium. Gillespie says solar energy prices range greatly depending on the types of materials and the size of the array. “Solar panels are sold by the watt, which can range anywhere from about 40 cents a watt to 70 cents a watt,” Gillespie said. “But all that gives you is the panel. Then you have to build the array, which is constructed of panels, racking, inverters,

wiring, and monitoring. [In the end], they can cost anywhere from $2.50 to $2.75 a watt.” Maine doesn’t want to impact of this project to stop at East, though. She hopes the solar array will benefit the community as well. “It will make both Lakota East and the district more environmentally friendly,” Maine said. “Using green energy will [also] positively contribute to the environment and the community’s well-being,”

eiting anticipates that this project will have huge implications for environmental awareness and proactivity. The project, she says, is designed to not only produce a physical product, but to inspire action among the community and student body. “I’m hoping that we can inspire the community to take action that will benefit the environment,” Beiting said. “It’s important for future students to know that other students were able to make a change like this.” East Principal Suzanna Davis is also excited about the project because she anticipates that East’s leadership in this area will empower other

districts to look into green energy. “Anytime we see a high school that’s pursuing this type of an aggressive project, both to support the environment as well as to to look at cost saving measures, that’s leadership,” Davis said. “What does that mean for this district and other districts? It means that we become kind of the standard of which other districts may look to in terms of looking at options for solar energy.” Gillespie also believes that East’s transition into solar energy may inspire other Lakota schools as well as other districts to follow suit. “I hope that [the array] will inspire the whole district to take a look at what other solar projects they can do to enhance their green footprint and then spread that out to other schools,” Gillespie said. Beiting hopes the impact of this project will be present after the NHS members graduate this spring. The solar array, she says, is the legacy that her and the other NHS members will leave behind. “Providing solar energy will have a really big impact,” Beiting said. “The solar array will outlive this NHS year.”•

“I’m hoping that we can inspire the community to take action that will benefit the environment. It’s important for future students to know that other students were able to make a change like this.” — Eve Beiting January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 17

news | voting age

TO THE POLLS

Above: For almost 50 years, the national voting age in the United States has remained 18 years old, but the polls may begin to lean younger following a recent trend.

Yellow Springs, Ohio will vote on whether to change the local voting age to 16 in March of 2020, and the City of Cincinnati Law Department is also looking to lower that voting age. story and photography mia hilkowitz

or many high school students, their biggest concern would be on an upcoming chemistry test or finding a date for next week’s dance, but East sophomores Jessica Taylor and Tanner Pencek are having a different debate. While Taylor believes that voting at 16 would solve many of the problems the country faces, Pencek doesn’t agree, concerned that teens won’t use their new rights appropriately. Taylor and Pencek aren’t the only ones voicing their opinion on the issue. Across the country, cities are working to change their voting age, forcing residents to consider the implications of allowing teenagers to participate in elections. The debate is serious and pertinent as cities in southern Ohio look to drop their local voting age in future years. For almost 50 years, the national voting age in the United States has remained 18 years old ever since the 26th amendment was passed in 1971. But the polls may begin to lean younger following a recent trend of U.S. cities pushing to lower their local voting age to 16. During their November 2019 election, the Village of Yellow Springs Ohio voted on Village Charter Amendment 13, which if approved,

would have lowered their local voting age to 16 years old. Issue 13 would have allowed 16 and 17-year-olds village residents to vote in council, mayor, and area-specific races. Council President for the Village of Yellow Springs Brian Housh told Spark that the “Vote 16” initiative was brought to his attention after a school walkout was organized at Yellow Springs High School during March of 2018, following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Housh was asked to come in and speak in his role as Village Council President, which made him “think about his comments” and consider the initiative. “Part of the idea of allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to vote is that they have a stake in the future,” Housh said. “They’re affected by gun violence and they pay taxes because they work, so that’s when [lssue 13] first started to be talked about.” Despite support among local youth, the measure in Yellow Springs, which has a population of around 4000 residents, failed, 52.5% of voters rejecting the ballot issue. Housh said that one reason the measure could have lost support was because of its ties to other

18 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

ballot concerns. The amendment would have also extended the village mayor’s term from two years to four years and allowed non-citizens with green cards to vote in local elections. Although Yellow Spring’s Charter Amendment 13 was rejected, campaign manager for Vote16USA, a national campaign dedicated to supporting efforts to lower voting age, Brandon Klugman told Spark that there are still major benefits from allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. “Lowering the voting age to 16 can help people become lifelong voters and increase voter turnout or participation in the long run,” Klugman said. “At 16 most people are in a more stable place in life, at school, and have support, [so they are] more likely to participate.” According to a 2018 U.S Census report, only 35.6% of eligible voters ages 18 to 29 voted in the 2018 midterm election. “So far there have been four cities in Maryland that have [lowered their voting age] and the results have been really positive,” Klugman said. “There’s been more passionate young people in those cities eager to vote. And [the cities] have seen 16 and 17-year-olds vote at higher rates than older voters.”

voting age | news

“If teenagers were able to vote they might see voting as a chance to express their beliefs for what they feel right worldwide or locally.” -Jessica Taylor Takoma Park, the first city in the nation to approve lowering the voting age, felt this effect even during its very first election. In the area’s first election after the change, the city saw 17% of eligible voters under 18 go to the polls, double the 8.5% turnout rate for eligible voters 18 and older. But in future years, a younger voting age may be getting closer to the Lakota area. The City of Cincinnati law department is looking to see if rules allow for their voting age to be lowered to 16. Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld announced his support for the issue on Twitter on Oct. 24, 2019.

ast Social Studies teacher Samantha Miller said that she feels the typical 16 or 17-year-olds lack the knowledge of government, civics, and politics to be able to vote. “[East students] take government junior year, and even though [students] have learned a lot of the basics like the three branches of government, some of the more detailed parts about voting and the structure [students] don’t learn until later,” Miller said. “If this does become a more common thing, the state needs to change when government is taught.”

Out of 206 East students surveyed, 58.7% said they have a good understanding of government, civics, and political issues. Despite this, Miller believes that if new younger voters go out to the polls there would be significant outcomes. “Right now many of our voters are older. If the politicians and the people deciding what goes on the ballot realize that there is that younger age group, what we’re voting on would change,” Miller said. “If you put something on a ballot about education in front of a 60-yearold, it’s going to be different than if the voter were a 16-year-old.” East sophomore Jessica Taylor feels that adults need to listen to teenagers more when it comes to political issues. “If teenagers were able to vote they might see voting as a chance to express their beliefs for what they feel right worldwide or locally,” Taylor said. “I feel that all teenagers are stereotyped as being irresponsible and uneducated because we’re seen as ‘too young.’ I want to get rid of that stigma because in the world there are smart teenagers who have good ideas.” East sophomore Tanner Pencek disagrees. “16 and 17-year-olds should not be able to vote. We are just entering adulthood. Some of

us are just learning how to drive, so why should we have a say in politics?” Pencek said. “I think the main issue with 16-year-olds getting voting rights is that the majority of them wouldn’t take it seriously.” Pencek also thinks that teenagers wouldn’t be able to vote effectively for themselves. “They’d be voting not based on their personal beliefs, but they would be voting based on what they hear from others,” Pencek said. “I don’t think we’re responsible enough to voice our own opinions on a cause.” In a recent Spark survey, 28.7% of East students think that 16 and 17-year-olds should have the right to vote. Currently, Yellow Springs is planning to put the issue back on the ballot in March, this time separate from the mayor’s term and immigrant voting rights. But even with the failed November ballot issue, Housh thinks that the vote on Issue 13 still had an impact. “It was important to [the council] that we put [the issue] out and start a conversation,” Housh said. “It makes sense to engage people at a younger age. The way we’re looking at it in Yellow Springs is if [teenagers] are involved in the community, then they should have a say in the local issues.” •

DIVING IN

...continued from page 54 the guys who have swam in years prior, or those who just joined the program, everyone has been seeing significant improvement since last season.” As the team approaches the end of their season and prepares for another postseason run, they all share the same goal of qualifying for state. Each individual may have their own goals in mind, but at the end of the day, this group of four has very high expectations heading into the state meet. “We are aiming for some very high goals this year, and we are feeling pretty confident with where we are right now as a group,” Evan Devine says. “There is definitely a different energy at our championship meets, but when the time comes, we’ll be ready to go.” •

photography jake ratliff January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 19

section | story

East senior Keeley Goldberg raised over $650 for Eastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hope Squad by selling 222 wristbands.

keeley goldberg | feature

#ITISREAL East senior Keeley Goldberg started a mental health campaign called #itisreal, and sold wristbands to raise money for East’s Hope Squad. story rachel anderson | photography ekra khalid

ast senior Keeley Goldberg smiles as she sees bright green wristbands adorn the wrists of her classmates. A flash of green opens a nearby locker. Another green wristband picks up a fallen pencil. A beam of green fills an empty water bottle with water. Green is the color chosen to represent mental health awareness. It is also the color of the silicone bracelets Goldberg sold as a part of her #itisreal campaign. Throughout her life, Goldberg never understood why she would panic in certain situations or why she would have to leave school early because of an upset stomach. It wasn’t until her junior year of high school when she had the answer. “I am diagnosed with anxiety, and I didn’t figure it out until last year. When I was diagnosed, I told people and they didn’t care, or if I freaked out in certain situations they didn’t understand. Some people even thought I was faking it,” Goldberg says. “So that’s why I’m saying it is real and [mental health] is affecting people and is hurting people. Mental illness is not a joke.”

me a better person,” Goldberg says. “I wanted to give them a thank you for being there and being selected because they’re [in Hope Squad] for a reason.” Goldberg gave Hope Squad the money on Jan. 9. as a way to show her appreciation to thank them. One of the Hope Squad advisors that changed Goldberg’s vision on teachers was East government and psychology teacher Justin Dennis. He believes that Hope Squad tries to open up the conversation that “it is okay to not be okay.” “[Giving Hope Squad the money] was an unbelievable gesture and unbelievable thought on her part,” Dennis says. “We’re going to do our best to reach more kids [with the money] and organize more activities where kids feel that they’re not alone and that if they are having any type of mental struggle that they do have people here that are willing to support them.” Dennis believes that starting #itisreal shows Goldberg’s courage to be able to show vulnerability. He realizes that as a teacher, he needs to acknowledge mental illnesses because students are not going to learn until they defeat

know what they’re going through because I deal with mental health as well. It’s really sad to see people struggling and to feel like they’re not being properly represented.” Johnson bought a bracelet from Goldberg. She believes that spreading awareness is the best way to stop the stigma around mental illnesses. “I think that people are scared to come forward. So saying it is real is so true,”Johnson says. “It’s not just a phase - it is real and

- Goldberg started the organization in late october of 2019 - Bracelets were sold for $3 each - 222 bracelets were sold - $667 were raised by the bracelets sold - She donated the money to East Hope Sqaud on Jan. 9

“We all say we want to change the world or make an impact. But you have to do the work and [Goldberg] stepped up.” - Justin Dennis The idea came to Goldberg in August of 2019 and she started to sell bracelets in October. She sold 222 bracelets as a way to spread mental health awareness. She earned a total of $667, and all of the proceeds went directly to East Hope Squad. Goldberg believes that Hope Squad is trying to prevent stigma around mental illnesses, and the teachers and students in Hope Squad have made an impact in her life. “Everyone [on Hope Squad] was selected for a purpose. They represent the school as being positive and happy, and there are so many teachers that are in Hope Squad that have made

their own mental struggles. “The best thing about Keeley’s idea is not only spreading awareness, but that she wanted to see an impact in her own community,” Dennis says. “We all say we want to change the world or make an impact. But you have to do the work and [Goldberg] stepped up. I’m so proud of her and what she did.” East senior Hannah Johnson and close friend of Goldberg understands firsthand the impact mental illness has on a person. “A lot of people in my life struggle with mental health, and it has definitely helped me see the world differently,” Johnson says. “I

something people struggle with. It’s something that shouldn’t be passed over, and [the bracelets] are a good way to advocate it.” Along with the bracelets, Goldberg posts encouraging messages on her Instagram and Twitter. She also wants to carry #itisreal with her in her future years and teach the principles of it to students as either a teacher or counselor. “No matter what I do, I want to talk about how important mental health is,” Goldberg says. “I want to prove to people that you are not alone. You’re not your diagnosis. There are ways to get around it, and there are people like Hope Squad to help you.” •

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 21

feature | glenn terndrup

MIND OVER

MATTER East biology teacher Glenn Terndrup guides his freshmen students into the world of mindfulness and meditation with a slew of different practices designed to calm the mind.

story and photography ava huelskamp | infographic kelly johantges

e takes a deep breath as he guides the closed-eyed students in his Honors Biology class through a mindfulness exercise, instructing them to take their right pointer finger to slowly trace the outline of their left hand. East Honors Biology teacher and certified yoga instructor Glenn Terndrup is branching out from the traditional path of education to introduce mindfulness and yoga practices to his high school students. Terndrup has 200 hours of yoga teacher training certification at Drishtiq, the studio where he practices, as well as an undergraduate degree in biology education, and a master’s in secondary education. Terndrup’s journey to yoga began with a rented DVD from the public library, which then led to a discovery of mindfulness. Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. “I was listening to a series on anxiety and they talked about how if the mind is wired a certain way, you tend to have more anxiety,” Terndrup said. “All of the sudden I realized, this is the way my brain is wired. Instead of thinking this is the way things are, I realized I

needed to find techniques that would help me step out of the wiring of my brain.” When Terndrup was a freshman in high school, he experienced one of the crippling roadblocks that 248 million people worldwide experience: anxiety. His discovery of mindfulness at 47 years old led to the school requesting that he implement mindfulness practices into his classroom, and his students seemed to receive it well. “Last year I had one person who said they were getting ready to do a recital or music contest, and they were really nervous,” Terndrup said. “They [told me they] started doing deep breathing and they felt themselves calm down.” Not only has East administration enforced Terndrup’s mindfulness practices as part of his personal professional development plan, the school has also introduced a meditation session to the XH, or study hall periods on block days as a way to further bring the benefits of mindfulness to students. East junior Allison Browning made her way down to the auxiliary gym for the sessions, and said the meditation even lulled some people to sleep. “It’s really great to dedicate that time to take

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care of yourself because I’ll be honest, we don’t do enough of that outside of school,” Browning said. “We’ve got sports, we’ve got homework, we’ve got family obligations, we’ve got jobs, and there’s so little time that we actually sit down and relax.” Drishtiq yoga instructor Deb Bagely has been joining East students in XH to guide them through lulling meditations. Bagley has been practicing yoga for 17 years, and been a teacher for seven. She acquired 200 hours of yoga teacher training to be a certified instructor, and is currently working on 300 more hours. Bagley recognizes the importance of being able to turn the mind off, for teenagers specifically. “I love working with kids, especially young adults. I find it really important for adolescents and teens to know what it is to actually be relaxed and to be able to turn off everything that’s going on around them,” Bagley said. “Guided meditations are a really easy access point for most students.” Fighting anxiety hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for Browning, who is still on a journey to find coping mechanisms that work for her. “As far as my research, I’m severely anxious and mildly depressed,” Browning said. “Both my parents had bad childhoods, which affected

glenn terndrup | feature their mental health, and it’s this big snowball effect. But I’m trying to break apart that snowball, I’m taking care of myself.” The Cleveland Clinic provides website support, and shows that the frontal lobe of the teenage brain is still developing during teenage years, which means it often doesn’t communicate well with the amygdala, or the part of the brain responsible for emotions. East School Psychologist Jayna Rodarte says there’s a correlation between meditation and these parts of the brain. “Mindfulness and meditation can help teens strengthen decision making skills, attentional control, and emotional regulation,” Rodarte said. “Studies have suggested this happens because it improves communication from the amygdala and the frontal lobes of the brain” Trauma can oftentimes largely invoke spouts of anxiety, which Bagely has discovered in her lifetime. The peacefulness of yoga was a welcome friend that helped her cope. “I almost lost my mom and my husband’s parents, I had a daughter that was trying to kill herself; it was a really difficult time,” Bagely said. “I didn’t really understand what it was about yoga that made me think it was the place I could breathe and have some space.” According to Teenmentalhealth.org, one in five teenagers suffer from mental illness, or 20% of our population. What Terndrup and Bagley hope to do is show kids there is another way to fight out of the jail of anxious thoughts.

Happy Baby

This position allows you to return to being an innocent young baby. While in this position, you are insinuating the fetal position. The space between your legs and chest allows you to feel the things close to your heart. Move side to side to release all tension between your shoulders and back.

“Kids have fallen into that trap of not being able to sit with emotions or see them for what they are,” Bagely said. “I think with students that desire to escape this, the level of stress or the sadness of anxiety has led to looking for other other ways [to escape their illness]. But mindfulness and meditation draws you back to seeing that you have control over your thoughts and you can make a better choice for yourself.”

ne tactic Terndrup uses to aid his freshman students with meditation is diaphragmatic breathing. In the way humans typically breathe, we stay in sympathetic mode, which is a shallow breathing technique that slightly instigates a fight or flight response, Terndrup said. Deep breathing engages the parasympathetic system, which means the nervous system calms down. Although Terndrup tries to give his students as many tools as possible, he has his speculations about the cause of mental illnesses. “Social media causing kids to compare themselves is---from what I’ve heard from the experts---a huge problem. The internet has an ability to consume our attention,” Terndrup said. “I don’t think kids have the type of downtime that they need in their mind where they’re just calming their mind. There’s always something to stimulate the mind.” Bagely would agree that mindfulness is an important practice for adolescents to calm their racing minds and find peace in every day.

Anjaneyasana

“I usually explain it like a puppy. You’re not supposed to treat the mind like, ‘you have to sit’, ‘you’ve got to stop this,’ ‘you’ve got to be quiet,’” Bagley said. “It’s more about watching the puppy start to wander, and coming back there to anchor to your breath, [and the] sensations you have in your body. And with that, reining the puppy back over and over and over again. That’s the key to really being able to understand that we don’t have to respond to every thought that comes into our mind.” Mindfulness has made its impact on Browning, who says she was reintroduced to meditation during the XH sessions and is trying to implement it more and more. “I was having a lot of issues with friends,” Browning said, “being able to zone out for 40 minutes, go into my mind, and just relax was really helpful. It helped me refocus myself for the rest of the day, and be more aware of myself.” Terndrup hopes to help teens combat anxiety with mindfulness by encouraging them to step out of their brains and notice things about the way they think. “My ultimate goal would be to get [students] to be observers,” Terndrup said. “We get down on ourselves or we condemn ourselves for our behavior instead of just being curious. I think curiosity is a better approach. [For example], ‘Why am I doing this,’ and ‘that was kind of weird,’ or ‘I wonder what my brain is trying to do.’” •

Tree Pose

The stretch of your arms towards the sun unites you with all of the Earth. The spread of your fingers releases any expectations, judgments, and unwillingness to accept whatever the experience may have to offer. By the bend of your back you’re opening your heart and becoming vulnerable. Your legs ground you to your roots.

Your arms, chest, and heart move upward towards something higher. The shape of the pose calls for a strong standing leg (tree trunk). The balance of this pose makes you find your inner peace and center. Going with the wind, while staying rooted in your power, will help you find peace in whatever comes your way. source the chopra center

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feature | shantelle oyako

Local volunteers encourage students to get a good breakfast and maintain attendence at Woodland Elementary School. story gavin mullen | art kelly johantges

olling out of bed with weariness in their eyes, they shower, eat breakfast and go out the door for another day of class at Woodland Elementary school. At this suburban school, this is the normal routine for an average student. But for students that are financially disenfranchised, it is not that simple. Shantelle Oyako a full time mom, employee, and volunteer at Woodland, founded and successfully maintained the Get to School club, a “all inclusive” organization where students are motivated by their peers and teachers to go to school to get an education at Woodland Elementary school. “We have always wanted to make sure that our kids knew that we were all the same, we all come from the same place, [and] that there are no differences,” Oyako says. “It is important for me to pour into these kids in all areas of their lives whether that be socially, emotionally, psychologically, or financially.” The club meets one Friday every month and has a different event every time. The last event that Oyako and her team of volunteers organized was a holiday party, where the students enjoyed dinner donated by volunteers and teachers. The students then each received a gift from a wishlist they made in the previous weeks, donated by teachers, business owners, and parents. “The hottest item this year was the new LOL dolls. So many of our girls wanted them, yet they were so hard to find as all young girls around the world wanted them,” Oyako said. “They

were just stunned at what they got. Total excitement.” The organization began when she noticed a recurring attendance problem with this subset of students and decided to take matters into her own hands. “In order for kids to be educated they [have] to be in the seats,” Oyako says. “We wanted to make sure that we gave them the support that they needed to be successful inside and outside of school.” The club is self-funded by Oyako, local businesses, and Lakota staff she has reached out to. The club is completely unique to the elementary school, no other school in the Lakota district has something quite like it. “The club could not have lasted without [Oyako’s] determination and energy pushing for this club to go on,” Woodland Principal John Wise told Spark. Many of the students who attend the Get to School program are impacted and motivated by Oyako and her determination. “I’ll never be able to leave [the club]. The kids are impacted in such a tremendous way and are motivated to do better,” says Wo o d l a n d Special Education Te a c h e r

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43% of children in Ohio live in low income families 85% of children in Ohio whose parents do not have a high school diploma live in low income families 372,340 ethically diverse Ohio children live in low income families 110,186 low income children in Ohio live in families with no parent present Sharon George. “[The students] build better relationships with their teachers and make more friends. So many children who were left friendless now have people to count on” Some of the kids that participate in the club have also feel that they have built better relationships. “We make friends and talk to other people and teachers. I’ve made a lot of friends here and I really love coming,” says Woodland fifth grader Tyler. Oyako started the club in 2014 with 29 students, this year it has evolved to 113 students from all different ethnicities and cultures. The club has helped these students have a sense of community and an infinite supply of support behind them. “We want our children to value e d u c a t i o n ,” Oyako says. “We want them to know that they matter. •

lina miesse | feature

STICK TO YOUR ROOTS

East sophomore Lina Miesse reflects on the current climate in society towards the Hispanic community.

story rehab jarabah | photography riley higgins

s Lina Miesse comes home from a long day of school and band practice, she’s immediately welcomed with a familiar setting. Her mother who is a university professor who teaches Spanish, Nohelia Miesse, greets her, and like they normally would, they converse in Spanish. With the current comments made by President Trump constantly speaking his mind about how he feels about diverse groups of people, it’s easy to question your identity and to reflect on yourself. Lina is no different. At home, she finds herself, but around others, she tends to feel like the odd man out. “I don’t necessarily question my identity as much as I feel that I don’t fully fit in with the Hispanic kids, even my cousins, since I grew up surrounded by American culture with bits and pieces of Hispanic culture,” Lina says. “But around my fully American friends, they don’t always understand how current events may affect me or my family. That’s never their fault, but it’s a side effect of growing up with two cultures.” All three agree of their disgust in the empowerment some feel when the President speaks about their community in a vile way; calling their community drug lords and rapists, insulting their countries, and imprisoning their community in cages in the border. Nohelia explains how she felt “disgusted, angry, and embarrassed.” However, throughout it all, they know to stick to their roots and remember their identities. They each have their own ways of remembering their Hispanic heritage in such a simple but effective way; Lina and her sister Milena Miesse are both reminded by the influence of language and food in their home, by speaking Spanish at home, while Nohelia teaches Spanish at a university. •

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package | umbrella

HITTING HATE

HEAD ON Spark Package Editor Shiloh Wolfork recounts her experiences with hate culture and explains how she has become stronger because of them.

story shiloh wolfork photography riley higgins infographics kelly johantges

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For me, hate culture has never been considered a single term or idea but instead, a gradual and continuous collection of experiences and events that are charged with judgment and ignorance. With that said, hate culture isn’t something that can be easily explained. To be impacted by the realm of discrimination and intolerance that is included within hate culture is truly something painful. To experience prejudice is painful. And that pain cannot simply disappear into thin air. In one way or another, that pain is something that absorbs into the soul. It chips away at a person’s confidence and cannot be forgotten. According to Director of the Women’s Center at Kent State University, Cassie PeggKirby, hate culture is perpetuated by a series of events, not triggered by single instances. “Hate culture can be death by 1,000 paper cuts. I think sometimes we hear a lot about the more courageous individual circumstances, but the environment and the climate itself can be perpetuating that hate. It’s sort of an ongoing low hum,” Pegg-Kirby told Spark. “We acknowledge hate culture when something shows up in the news or we hear about a story but the reality is that people feel like they need to sort of wear their battle armor on a regular basis because it is a low hum in the background.” As a curly-haired African American person who didn’t used to have the same pride in my culture that I do today, it was painful when my friends told me that I would look better if I wore my hair straight. As a young woman who didn’t used to possess the confidence that I have today, I was discouraged by my rude male peers who loudly interrupted me and spoke over me when I was asked to present something to the class. Hate culture is not simply racial prejudice or discrimination on the basis of gender. Hate culture is an atmosphere in which it has become

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As a 16-year-old, I can safely say that I haven’t always been this way. The reality is, I used to be a shy 10-year-old who would beg my mom to straighten my hair so that I could just ‘look like everyone else.

customary to judge people on the basis of any and all things including gender, sexuality, ethnicity and race, and political values. In a survey of 211 East students, 154 said they had been impacted by hate culture. According to Senior Legal Analyst at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, Kyle Strickland, hate culture is connected to the perpetuation of social inequalities. “It’s a culture of discriminatory behaviors and actions that are offensive,” Strickland told Spark. “That continues to happen and perpetuates the disparities that keep people from being at equal levels and being treated fairly.” Out of 212 East students surveyed, 186 knew what hate culture is. According to Pew Research Center, nonwhite people are more likely to see the advantages of being white. Specifically, Americans see disadvantages for African American and Hispanic people in the United States. In an April 2019 study, 56% of all adults say being black hurts people’s ability to get ahead at least a little, and 51% say the same about being Hispanic. While 59% say being white helps people’s ability to get ahead. However, the views about the impact of being Asian or Native American have a more positive/ negative mix. Strickland says that people believe that racism no longer exists because of the progress that has been made. However, many ignore how much more needs to be accomplished. “There are many people in society who think that racism is over. They believe that [because] Barack Obama, the first black president was elected, we’re in a post-racial society. That’s not true,” Strickland told Spark. “In fact, we see it every day and in many cases, where racism is very alive and well and the white supremacist ideology is continually spread and has [continued to] fan the flames of hate. It is a

form of domestic terrorism that happens where people believe that they are better than other people simply because of the color of their skin.” Ever since elementary school, my parents instilled an appreciation for education within me. My parents are the reason that I believe my intelligence to be such an important part of who I am. My mom especially always stressed the value of the mind. She said “Even if you face hardship, your intelligence is something that no one can ever take from you.” From a young age, I was always completely aware of race and that the privileges that existed for some, and not others, were oftentimes due to race. I’d say that this acknowledgement of the issue at a young age only inspired me to work harder for the goals that I wanted to achieve because I knew that I had to. According to Pegg-Kirby, privilege, especially racial privilege, promotes a competitive nature Have you been impacted by hate culture?

39.6% No

60.4% Yes

source lakota east student survey In your opinion, does hate culture exist at East?

27% No

73% Yes

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that prevents every person from reaching an equal status within society. “When individuals or groups are striving for equity or inclusion, those who have the privilege or power see that as a threat. Whether you’re talking about someone who’s white or someone who’s male or someone who’s cis-gender,” PeggKirby says. “Instead of looking at it as leveling the playing field, or giving everyone equitable opportunities and resources, people do view it as if there’s more for others and less for me. It perpetuates this view of the world that is based on scarcity versus abundance.” A lot of my most disheartening experiences have been race-related. I’ve had many kids simply ask me, “So what are you? Are you mixed (biracial)?” When I tell them that both of my parents are African American and I just have a lighter complexion, they’ll question me again as they stare at my hazel-green eyes and light brown hair, “Oh! So you’re adopted?” I’ve had so many of these encounters that I grew used to the questioning growing up. I’ve learned that people see me as unusual or rare for a black girl. I’ve been called “pretty...for a black girl” and I’ve had someone who I believed was a friend tell me he’d never date me because I am black. According to Strickland, even though children may be insensitive regarding race, they are not entirely responsible for their beliefs or behaviors. “[Racism] is 100% a learned behavior. No one grows up hating someone because of the color of their skin,” Strickland told Spark. “It’s very much a social construct that is taught. And unfortunately, people continue to pass it on from generation to generation.” It used to be harder to confront the constant questions and puzzled glances. But now, as I have learned to use my voice and to appreciate the people who love and support me for all of the beautiful melanin coursing through me. I have learned to question others when they

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It’s never too late [to lessen the existing hate culture]. It’s really about changing our institutions, systems, structures and giving people the access to make change. As long as there are people who are willing to do the work. -Dwight ‘Kip’ Holley

question the person that I am. I wonder why does my racial makeup matter so much to the people surrounding me? Shouldn’t the most important thing be the contents of my heart and the way that I treat others? And if I were biracial, would it change the way that people treat me? Colorism is discrimination based on skin color in which those with lighter complexions are often treated more favorably than others. According to Pew Research Center, 43% of Hispanic people with lighter skin experienced discrimination from time-to-time while 54% of Hispanic people with darker complexions experienced discrimination. Colorism specifically continues to thrive within the African American community. According to The Guardian, the difference in pay rates between darker-skinned and lighterskinned men mirrors the differences in pay between white and black people. Strickland says that just because racism isn’t as extreme as it used to be, it is still necessary to recognize its presence. “Just because we’re not seeing the same levels of explicit racism, necessarily by our government, as we did in the past, we still see racism. And we see that carried on from the time of slavery,” Strickland says. “People are hated and discriminated against just because of the color of their skin and we’ve got to be able to call it out.” Out of 201 East students surveyed, 168 said that they would speak up if they witnessed hate culture. According to Pew Research Center, racism is not the only proponent of hate culture. People also tend to experience division based on differences in political values. In 2012, when Barack Obama was running for a second term against Republican candidate Mitt Romney, I was in the fourth grade. Being in a mostly Republican area, I had grown used to having different opinions than my peers. However, these differences in opinion had never before led to blatant intolerance. That was, until lunchtime, when someone who I had considered to be my best friend at the time refused to sit at the same table as me because my parents proudly supported Barack Obama. According to the Scientific American

magazine, partisanship is one of the most divisive conflicts between groups in America with 86% of Americans seeing strong conflicts between Republicans and Democrats. Liberals and conservatives not only disagree on policy issues, they are often unwilling to live near each other or get married to members of the other group. This rejection based on strong group membership is known as affective polarization, meaning that a person’s feelings are different toward members of the group that they identify with compared to outsiders. Pegg-Kirby says that the constant competition between groups with different beliefs drives the lack of empathy that prevents unity. “We should look at society as a place where there is more than enough for all of us versus there’s a limited amount and we all need to get our fair share,” Pegg-Kirby says. According to Pew Research Center sevenin-ten women believe that a major reason why women are underrepresented in top positions in politics and business is because they have to do more to prove themselves. Six-in-tenwomen say that gender discrimination is a major obstacle to female leadership in politics and business while 36% of men say this is the case within political occupations. For East junior and Co-President of East Medical Club Lyna Sennoun, sexism is an unfortunate part of everyday life especially when it comes to education. “[Sexism] is not something to be debated. It exists and affects nearly everyone. When I think about sexism in my life, education is the first thing that comes to mind. Just the fact that there are some places in our world today that still deny education to young girls is mind blowing,” Sennoun says. “Even being a female in the education system, there are certain stigmas built to restrict certain professions to certain genders, such as the notion that all engineers are men or that a woman shouldn’t be trusted to be president.” Pegg-Kirby explains why it can be difficult to stay hopeful in the fight for equal rights among genders when people have become accustomed to simply dealing with the injustices that exist. “We know [inequalities] exist. But how long do you fight the fight, and people don’t

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hear you? It becomes [a matter of ] how hard do you have to push to be recognized and empowered. It’s kind of a lose-lose,” PeggKirby says. “You show up as a leader but you’re looked at as bossy. It’s very difficult and I think the culture, the language, the perception, even among women is look how far we’ve come. Women are graduating at higher rates. We have representatives and women who are college presidents. But if you drill down a bit further, it’s still overwhelmingly white males in those spaces.” In a survey of 205 East students surveyed, 46.8% say that efforts by the school administration to ease hate culture have been somewhat successful. According to Researcher at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity Dwight “Kip” Holley, there is still hope for lessening and addressing hate culture in the future. “I’m of the mind that it’s never too late [to lessen the existing hate culture],” Holley says. “It’s really about changing our institutions, systems, structures and giving people the access to make change. I’ve met a lot of people who are really working hard to increase a lot of understanding and justice. So as long as there are people who are willing to do the work.” As a 16-year-old, I can safely say that I haven’t always been this way. My hurtful experiences have gradually molded me into the person that I am today. But the reality is, I used to be a shy 10-year-old who would beg my mom to straighten my hair so that I could just “look like everyone else.” It hurts me to think that there was a point in which the system of prejudice and hate that is ingrained within people at such a young age was able to make me feel that I was less than others. And it is heartbreaking to know that there are so many little girls of color who feel the same way that I did. I haven’t always been proud of the body that I inherited from the strong women who came before me. Now, I can truthfully say that my physical insecurities have forced me to undergo a personal transformation that has magnified my desire to be a part of a generation that works toward fighting hate culture with love and positivity. •

religion | package

“IN GOD

WE TRUST” The controversial “In God We Trust” KentuckyHouse Bill 46 continues to fuel the debate of the appropriate involvement of religion in schools nationwide. story mia hilkowitz | photography riley higgins | infographic alexandra fernholz

East sophomore Dania Hantush has experienced hate culture as a Muslim-American.

package | religion

tarting the 2019-2020 school year, Kentucky students may have noticed something different when they walked through their schoolyard doors. It wouldn’t have been an annual new coat of paint or a new parking lot. Instead, students may have been surprised to see new, massive signs boldly displaying the motto “In God We Trust” on the walls. House Bill 46 passed by the 2019 Kentucky General Assembly in February went into effect this year, requiring all Kentucky public schools to “prominently display” the motto in their buildings. The legislation, filed by Republican State Representative and Christian Minister Brandon Reed, has received significant push back from some school districts and civil rights groups, including the Kentucky American Civil Liberties Union. The controversy surrounding the situation has continued to fuel the debate around the separation of church and state in schools nationwide, including Butler County. Cincinnati Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center Program Manager Jessie Frank, told Spark that part of the reason laws like House Bill 46 receive support is due to the United State’s (US) historical roots in Christianity. “[The US was] definitely founded on a lot of Christian principles,” Frank says. “I don’t think [a law like House Bill 46] is necessarily new, to be quite honest. It’s an ongoing debate. [The US has] operated on accepting God and Christianity in a lot of our legal and educational systems, almost as like a pillar, but I don’t think it needs to continue that way.” Frank believes legislation like the new Kentucky law is not appropriate today when the US has grown to be much more diverse. “When our country is growing more and more diverse religiously, racially, and ethnically I’m not sure there will be any positive impact [from this law],” Frank says. “If anything, I think that all it does is ostracize members of the community who are not Christian.” According to Pew Research Center Religious Landscape study, of 35,000 Americans surveyed, 70.6% reported following Christian religion, 1.9% were Jewish, 0.9% were Muslim, 0.7% were Buddhist, 0.7% were Hindu and 1.8% followed other world religions. 22.6% reported being unaffiliated and 0.6% said they “didn’t know.”

As a follower of Hinduism, East sophomore Pratikchhya Rimal shares her religion with less than 1% of the US. She feels that as a part of a less dominant religion, she has experienced challenges at school, especially around the holidays. She describes on experience this last October when she was absent from school for religious holiday, Dashain. “I took off school for one day for Dashain. And I was so stressed out the next night because of the amount of school work we did the day I wasn’t here,” Rimal says. “I have to do all this extra [work] when other people who celebrate more mainstream holidays get two weeks off. I can’t enjoy my holiday.” Lakota allows students 13 days off for Winter/Christmas Break, and another four days off for Easter Break. Currently, the district does not provide any other religiously affiliated holidays off. Rimal believes that a simple solution to the unbalanced workload and stress students like her feel from missing school would to excuse the absence of the day missed. “All we’re asking for is just one day,” Rimal told Spark. “It would take so much stress off of our shoulders. If not, we should be excused from the work students do on that day during the holiday we take off for.” According to Miami University Professor of Comparative Religion John-Charles Duffy, another factor influencing religion in school is the advancements of politics over the last several decades. “American religion has undergone a lot of changes since the 1960s,” Duffy told Spark. “First of all, immigration laws changed in the 1960s, in ways that have made our country more ethnically and religiously diverse than it used to be. At that same time since, you have people looking outside those mainstream religions and exploring different kinds of traditions.”

he Immigration and Naturalization Act, or Hart-Celler Act, passed in 1965 overhauled past quotas set to limit the number of immigrants outside of Western Europe coming into the US. The act allowed for many immigrants who would have previously been barred from entering the US to receive visas. This resulted in more than 18 million new immigrants entering

the country over the following three decades, triple the number admitted during 1960. Duffy says that as these two factors increased the religious diversity of the country, religion started to define a divide in American politics. “In the 1960s, we’re talking about the civil rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement. That created a climate where a lot more Americans became politically liberal,” Duffy says. “In the decades following that, Americans who were more politically conservative rallied and tried to counter that influence. We’re still living in a time where we have a lot of those same political issues, and those issues often tend to be really closely tied to religion.” A 2016 Barna survey found that many religious groups attribute religion to have “a lot of influence” on their political beliefs. For example, 75% of Evangelicals reported their religious beliefs having a strong influence on their political views.

owever, a 2019 Pew Research study found that 63% of U.S adults felt that religious groups should keep out of political matters all together. The same study also reported religion being tied to the learning environment, with 37% of adults saying university professors were “unfriendly” towards religion. In the district, Lakota Outreach Diversity and Inclusion Department (LODI) Champions for Change provides resources for teachers who might want to know more about cultural celebrations. But while Lakota has some training for teachers regarding religion and cultural responsibility, they are not mandatory. East sophomore Zane Charif wishes that there was a better “basic understanding” of different religions at East among both teachers and students. “I’ve been asked if I sleep in my hijab and if I wear it in the shower,” Charif says. “I find it funny how misinformed people are. The fact that people don’t know that if you’re a Muslim you follow the religion of Islam not ‘Muslim,’ is pretty shocking to me.” Director of the Harvard Religious Literacy Project Diane Moore explains how people tend to establish their knowledge of different religions. “Most people learn about religion from

“How we can make sure we’re including people? How we can share our faith with other people and make sure the people around us feel cared about and loved?” -Olivia Faraci

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63%

of U.S. adults felt that religious groups should keep out of political matters altogether.

their own faith experience and from the media,” Moore told Spark. “Neither will provide citizens with an understanding of how religions are internally diverse, how they evolve and change in different historical and cultural contexts, and how religions are embedded in all dimensions of human experience and not simply isolated in the so-called ‘private’ sphere of belief and ritual practice.” Charif came to East last year as a freshman after going to the International Academy of Greater Cincinnati, a private Muslim school, through her eighth grade year. She explains that her parents sent her there to keep her religion as a priority. “I became stronger in my religion,” Charif told Spark. “Also there was a sense of community, because everyone with me [at school] was of my same religion.” According to a 2019 Pew Research Center study, 58% of adults in Ohio reported being “highly religious,” 56% saying religion is “very important in their lives.” For Moeller High School religion teachers Anthony Corder and Jerry DiCristoforo a sense of religion is a fundamental part of the Catholic high school social and cultural environment, which is why many parents choose to enroll their children in the school. “There’s a religious culture to the school. I think religion classes are one component of that,” Corder told Spark. “It’s a study, but there’s a devotional side to it as well. It can help encourage people in their faith, and there are

prayer opportunities built into the class as well as [community service].” DiCristoforo says that having teachers devoted to teaching religion in the classroom can help benefit students in ways a more conventional class may not. “Religion teachers are like witnesses to the faith,” DiCristoforo told Spark. “We’re cheerleaders exhorting students to live out the values of the school. We often are making connections to things that the school community experiences, and we talk about it in light of our faith, and even connect [our faith] to current events.”

order and DiCristoforo estimate that around 20 to 30% of students at Moeller are not Catholic, but think that religion classes can still have a positive impact on those students. “I feel like everybody who comes here knows to expect that they will have religion classes all four years,” Corder says. “I think everyone is willing to talk and engage in class to the ability and degree that they feel comfortable doing so.” East YoungLife leader Olivia Faraci believes that being involved in a religious group like YoungLife can have a positive impact on teenagers even in a public school. According to the YoungLife website, the organization is a nationwide youth program with the mission of “introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith.” “Something that we talk about is how we

can make our school different. How we can make sure we’re including people?” Faraci told Spark. “How we can share our faith with other people and make sure the people around us feel cared about and loved?” Faraci recalled how she has seen religion impact one student specifically. The student, she said, had come to Younglife as a freshman and seemed to always be “up to no good.” But by their junior year, Faraci saw how the student seemed to have changed in both their actions and emotions. At one of the meetings, the student opened up in their discussions and was much more “considerate.” “I was brought to tears because I could not believe where they had come from, from how they were freshman year and how they treated other people,” Faraci says. “Sharing these things, and thinking about people in another way, you would never think about unless something is impacting you, which is what God was doing in [their] life.” With the differing arguments on the appropriate involvement of religion in school, the debate over Kentucky’s requirement of the “In God We Trust” signs remains active. Still Charif still believes that gaining a “basic understanding” of other religions is a necessary first step before making decisions like this. “We are getting better at informing people so that they don’t accidentally discriminate against people,” Charif says. “But it still happens. So we have to continue working to make things like this better.”•

source BBC

Head Coverings Worn by Muslim Women:

Hijab: Square scarf covers head and neck

Chador: Full-body cloak

Niqab: Viel for the face; eyes remain visible

Burka: Full body, covers the face (mesh screen covers the eyes)

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 31

the

section | story

SEXIST

OVERLAY story eliza bush | photography ava huelskamp

Spark takes a look at the presence of sexism at the global, national, and local levels. Note: this article contains language that may not be suitable for all ages.

crinkle formed in between her eyebrows as she contemplated how she would answer this next question: “What is sexism?” She knew it was more than the dictionary definition, but the East junior wasn’t sure where to draw the line. She sat pensively for another moment before finally deciding on an answer. “Sexism is the belief that one gender has greater superiority to another,” self-proclaimed feminist Anna Florence finally says, realizing it was much more simple than she had originally thought. “It’s the belief that the other should not have as many opportunities.” Florence is passionate about feminism and female empowerment because of the female role models she has seen in her own life, including her mom Amy Florence, who teaches Advanced Placement (AP) Economics at East. “Last year [my mom] was a department chair [for social studies], so she worked really hard [and still] had a lot of stuff to do at home,” Florence says. “Both my parents equally parent and my mom has a career.” Ohio Organization of Women President Carolyn Casper says one of the most noticeable features of sexism is the gender wage gap present in both developed and developing countries. Casper says solving the problem of the wage gap could implicate increased equality for women in other areas as well. “In our society you’re valued by how much money you make,” Casper told Spark. “Receiving equal pay would help [women] a lot.” According to payscale.com, in 2019 women in the United States (US) made 79 cents for every dollar a man made, meaning the median salary for men is 21% higher than it is for women. In some countries, the gender pay gap is far wider. In Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Argentine, and Mexico women make between 49 to 68 cents for every dollar a man earns. Casper is, however, optimistic about the progress that has been made in equal pay

among genders since she started working with the National Organization of Women (NOW) in 1974. “When I first started working with NOW, women made 59 cents for every dollar a man made, but now it’s 78 cents or, in some places, 82 cents for every dollar,” Casper says. “It’s hard to challenge the structure because it works well for men to stay in control and continue to pay us less. It’s been very hard but it’s been worth doing.” Comparing the earnings of men and women can be difficult because wages are measured as an average of all female earnings and all male wages, referred to as the uncontrolled gender pay gap. A majority of the disparity between male and female wages exists because fewer women are in high-paying jobs than men. When comparing the average earnings of males and females in the same job, referred to as the controlled gender pay gap, women still lag behind, making about 98 cents for every dollar a man makes. According to online Professor of Human Sexuality Yvonne Fulbright, women have made progress in other areas as well. “As the 18th century drew to a close, you did see more women, especially those from wealthier families, start to attend college and start to get higher education qualifications,” Fulbright told Spark. “We started to see a movement with more of them working outside of the home, getting more educated, and getting the right to vote in the first half of the 20th century.” Women today continue to pursue educational opportunities. According to the Pew Research Center, among adults ages 25-64, women are more likely than men to have a fouryear college degree. Women even surpass men in their attainment of post graduate degrees. In 2017, 14% of women ages 25-64 had advanced degrees, compared to only 12% of men from the same age group. Much of this progress can be attributed to the rise of feminist organizations like the

32 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

Women’s March who seek to unite women not only in ideas, but in location. Each year, the Women’s March hosts their trademark event, a march on Capitol Square in Washington D.C. In 2019, this event drew over 100,000 attendees. Feminism is a growing movement that is supported by both women and men. According to a poll conducted by the Washington Post, 60% of women describe themselves as feminist as well as 33% of men. Fulbright describes feminism as a movement that fights against discrimination of all forms, not just sexism. Feminists, she claims, fight for human rights, not just female rights. “A feminist is a person who stands up for human rights, [especially] when it comes to gender expression,” Fulbright says. “People should not be mistreated at all, but [they believe that] mistreatment should not come from a place of what a person’s gender is.”

he Women’s March also hosts “sister marches” in major cities around the world. Florence hopes to attend the Women’s March at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati on Jan 18. “Feminism and female equality are two causes that are very close to my heart,” Florence says. “I want to go to the Women’s March to support all of my fellow women and make a stand about how to make America more equal. I think it would be a really great experience to connect with other women and learn more about their experiences.” While organizations like the Women’s March give women a voice who would otherwise have none, Casper is still discouraged by the ways women are lagging behind men economically, professionally, and, even, legally. According to Casper, a significant roadblock for women today is the continued failure to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). “Women aren’t taken seriously on a whole lot of levels,” Casper says. “The main solution

East sophomore Dawn Davidson has spoken out publicly against sexism.

Fulbright is not alone. According to a survey conducted in 2017 by the Pew Research Center, approximately four in ten women say they’ve experienced gender discrimination in the workplace.

ven men have started to notice a difference in the treatment of men and women in a professional setting. East Senior Paul Briggs feels that the problem isn’t only discrimination in the workplace, but the representation of women in the workplace as well. “The issue is fighting back against a culture of men who are very controlling,” Briggs says. “If you look at CEOs of companies and how many of those are women, it’s not equal. A lot of people will say, ‘Well, that’s just the way it is,’ without seeing that if the sexist inequality is a product of the culture, it’s still a problem.” East Principal Suzanna Davis, however, applauds the ways in which the teachers and administrators have made Lakota East an inclusive environment, not only in terms of gender, but also in the equality of all people. “[We support gender equality] in the way that we conduct our daily business and in the way that we ensure that multiple voices are heard,” Davis said. “It’s [about] how we can create an environment, as a school, that is inclusive of all students and that is celebrating all of our differences. Being different is what brings us together. So rather than trying to focus on what is different about us, we spend a lot of time focusing on what brings us together.” While Florence believes that East teachers are successful in being inclusive of other faculty members and students, she feels that students do not meet the same standard of sensitivity and inclusiveness. “Just walking in the hallways, you constantly hear people saying things that are not okay,” Florence says. “People will say things like, ‘look at her ass,’ “she’s such a whore ‘she’s such a slut.’” Briggs has noticed a similar attitude from East students, but has seen it manifest in different way. “As most comedians will tell you, there’s a negative truth in most jokes and that holds up,” Briggs says. “Sometimes a really macho guy will make a joke about women being inferior and when you point out that it was a really misogynistic thing to say they’ll say that it was just a joke. It’s

“

Women aren’t taken seriously on a whole lot of levels.

“

[for that] is for the Equal Rights Amendment to become part of the Constitution of the United States so women will be legally on the same footing with men.” The ERA was introduced in 1923 by the National Women’s Political Party. It proposes equality between the sexes and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. The wave of feminism in the late 1960s breathed new life into this bill and by 1972 it was passed by both Congress and the House of Representatives and was sent to the states for ratification. It, however, failed to receive the three-fourth majority required to amend the Constitution. Modern activists like Casper continue to work to have this bill passed today. Because of her experience teaching human sexuality courses and her previous position as sex columnist for Fox News, Fulbright has experienced gender discrimination in the workplace in several ways. “A lot of people make assumptions about me and my sex life, based on what I do professionally,” Fulbright says. “I was the sex columnist for foxnews.com for a couple of years and was recieving comments from my superiors like, “You don’t look like you’d be a sexpert.” They expected me to do poses that were more sexy, cleavage shots, because of me being the ‘sexpert.’ People feel they can take liberty in exploiting my sexuality, because of what I do and what I teach.”

sexism | package

-Carolyn Casper

always just a joke, which is [still] unacceptable.” Fulbright believes that sexism is a deeply rooted issue and picking it apart must begin, first, at the individual level and then, also, with the younger generation. According to Fulbright, instilling an anti-sexist value system in children will shift the path of sexism. “Look around your household. How are you supporting a lot of the misconceptions we have about gender? What kind of media are you exposing your family to? What kind of books are you reading? If there are storylines that are problematic, how can you have those teachable moment conversations with your children?” Fulbright says. “Take time to really pick apart the story, get your child’s thoughts on them and then empower them with a value system that counters the messaging they’re getting.” Casper argues that offensive or insensitive comments may be unintentional, so it’s important to call people out on their sexist behaviors, so they don’t become habits. “When somebody says something like, ‘hey ladies’ [in a condescending way], go and talk to them,” Casper says. “I personally don’t care to be called a lady. I am an adult woman and I’ve worked hard for that. Also when they call women ‘girls,’ but they call the boys ‘men,’ go and point that out to people. It’s uncomfortable, but we need to draw attention to it.” Looking at how far women have come since the beginning of the 20th century, Briggs is hopeful about the future of sexism, but feels it will be difficult for women to get the footing they need to spark social change. “It all started, in the U.S. at least, with trying to get equal voting rights, which was a big, scary leap for the people who were in power then,” Briggs says. “So every time that something changes, it involves a change in the power structure and it involves a change in who’s supposed to be represented and whose voices are being heard. The fact is, too much change at once is scary if you’re not trying to be radical.” •

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 33

section | story

REDEFINING

RACISM

East student Lauryn Dixon speaks out about the effects of the “new era of racism.” story and photography riley higgins

he lights of the SDA studio floor dim as the first performance of the Nutcracker begins. The crowd claps excitedly as each dancer enters the stage to the tune of “The Sugar Plum Fairy.” The pristine image of each dancer is completed by the uniform makeup, costumes, and tights. This is for everyone but the only African American dancer in the studio this year, East senior Lauryn Dixon. Dixon wears the “skin color” tights designed to match the paler complexion of the other dancers, but the tights fail to match her skin tone. For Dixon, this has become the norm as she constantly struggles to find pointe shoes, tights, and even band-aids to match her brown skin. “It’s hard being African American and going to an all white studio,” Dixon says. “I cannot tell you how aggravating it is wearing tan tights, thinking that it’s supposed to match everyone, when it doesn’t match me.” For Dixon, it is the small things including the color of tights, or the change in expression on an administrator’s face when a person of color walks into the office that shows what Graduate research assistant at the University of Cincinnati Anthony Stone calls the ‘new era’ of racism. “I see it a lot in the lunchroom when the administrators are watching certain tables,” Dixon says. “I will see this one group of rowdy kids, and just because of their skin color I will see a change. I will see the look of the administrators change so fast and become so stern.” Although definitions differ, MerriamWebster defines racism as “A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” Stone has a different definition. He loosely defines the new era of racism as “moving from overt racism to covert racism.” “People aren’t marching the streets daily in white robes and hoods and businesses aren’t displaying signs segregating people,” Stone says. “Now, people say ‘ I’m not racist, but…,’ only proving that racism still exists.” Different people have different definitions of race. “[Race culture is] the culture of people designated to that socially-constructed race,” Stone told Spark. “This includes the food,

language, heritage, and customs of a group. The group is given a racial title, usually by the western world.” East sophomore Aya Darwiche, a LebaneseMuslim American, thinks race also incorporates geological background. “It’s not just a skin color,” Darwiche says. “It is where you are from.” For Briana Shamim, a sophomore BengaliAmerican at East, race has a different meaning. “I think it’s basically about how people look to other groups of people who look the same way they do,” Shamim says. “In my opinion I think everyone is human and everyone really comes from the same source. But essentially, I think race is like how you look and when you’re associated with the same kind of people that look the same way you do.” East Indian-American senior Arjun Bhatti believes that ancestral origins are determining factors in a person’s race. “[Race is] a certain type of people and culture that has been going on for a while,” Bhatti says. East senior Dawn Hilton says that as an African American high school student in 2020, she has had many encounters with the ‘new era’ of racism. “My definition of race culture is things like roots and traditions that come from a specific race,” Hilton says. For Hilton, this includes her hair. “My hair also is one of the things that makes me stand out among everybody,” Hilton told Spark. “When my hair is natural, it is really big and it’s really curly. And there’s like a lot of traditions we sometimes do in my house that come specifically from my race.” Whether she is a spectator to the prejudice or a victim of the racist remarks

34 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

herself, Hilton has noticed how a student’s race impacts their life outside of school. Hilton recalls the time her parents sat her down at their kitchen table and gave her ‘the talk.’ The talk included an explanation to the excited 17-year-old of how her life may be in danger if she were to be pulled over. Her young ears took in every step of how to react when put in a situation that could be harmless to people with a different complexion, which for her was a ‘sad realization.’ According to an NPR poll, 50% of black Americans have experienced racial discrimination while interacting with police. The talk did not come as a surprise to Hilton, as she had been aware of the warnings and responsibilities that came along with being a young black driver ever since her older brother had gotten his license two years previously. “I don’t think white people understand that fear, or the seriousness of being pulled o v e r,”

East senior Lauryn Dixon has experienced “new era” racism at her dance studio.

race culture | package

64%

of Americans say that racism remains a major problem today in American society and politics.

Hilton told Spark. “It’s like they don’t understand their privilege of not being afraid.” The dawn of ‘new era’ racism does not neglect to account for the hundreds of years of American racism perpetuated by laws, policies, and intrapersonal relations. Director of American Culture and English at Miami University Carol Olausen works with minority students who are coming into the Miami culture. “I tend to see when [students] face microaggression,” Olausen, who is her fifth year in the position, told Spark. “I have not seen them face full on hatred or aggression, per se. But I do know that they can be targeted by rude comments, on campus and in the community.” An analysis of student visa data suggests that in 2018, as many as 1,064,586 international students came to the U.S. to study at American colleges and universities. At Miami University, 1,753 of the 23,249 students admitted to the class of 2023 were from outside of the U.S.. “For other people to come to this country, it’s hard. Language is an issue, understanding the culture is a really big issue. When [the students] get here, they’re excited. They want to meet people, they want to ‘get it right,’” Olausen says. “It’s hard because they don’t know all the unwritten rules that we have in our society for how we interact with one another. But that’s classically American: you get into a group and you’re just with your group. You’re not curious or interested in what other groups are doing.” A poll done in 2017 by NPR showed that 55% of white Americans believes their race is discriminated against. The same poll also found that 49% of African Americans polled believe the prejudice stems from individual perceptions of race. Shamim has noticed this separation in the Lakota East lunch room. “Most people usually go along with members of their own race,” Shamim told Spark. “I sit with mostly Muslims and that is pretty much true for the entire school in general.” Olausen finds it difficult to “break down the walls between people.” Working with people from different cultural backgrounds poses many questions to improve the modern separation students face on a daily basis. “How do we get [minority students] in the same room talking to each other as people, instead of as representatives of a group? Because you don’t represent a group any more than I do. People jump to that conclusion,” Olausen says. “If you look a certain way, you are therefore only of that group.” Since the 18th century, racism was at

-NBC News

the heart of North American slavery and the colonization and empire-building activities of western Europeans, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. “This country was founded on so called racial prejudices,” says Stone, who has researched topics regarding race representation in media since 2018. “[It is] those racial prejudices that are woven through every institution.” While reading through many US history textbooks of today’s era in a high school classroom, you will find the knowledge taught is from a Eurocentric point of view. American history is not the history of all of the people that make up the “melting pot” of America. It’s primarily about those of European descent. One month after his inauguration Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the U.S., broke history by inviting African American educator Booker T. Washington into the White House, making him the first president to have a black man as a guest in the White House.

t the time, the evolving nation did not respond positively to the attempt of peace between the government and the oppressed minority. On Oct. 16 1901, and quickly put pressure on the new president. These actions encouraged Roosevelt to retreat from efforts to encourage the prosecution of peonage cases in the South, preventing southern states from uprooting the systems of involuntary servitude. During his time as governor of New York, Roosevelt abolished school segregation throughout the state. Roosevelt’s administration exposed major disparities in the American education system. The Roosevelt Institute, a campus network, revealed the National Youth Administration of Roosevelt’s time disproved the common belief of the 1930’s that education should be based off the economic status of that individual’s family. The NYA worked to undo that system that placed African-Americans, and other minorities, at a disadvantage. Despite these efforts, a major disparity still exists in the American education system. According to the Pew Research Center, 52% percent of black Americans say being black has hurt their ability to get ahead. According to the study, which was done in 2019, 76% of African and Asian Americans and 58% of Hispanics say they have dealt with discrimination. In today’s world, race prejudices shape legislation, shape laws. They shape services institutions provide, and they shape the way that people interact with one another.

“Those prejudices are re-lived and revealed, not only by the things that are taught, but by some of the curriculum,” Stone says. “The rules and codes of conduct of the school system are built in, or written in policies that discriminate against people of color.” Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not define “color,” the supreme courts a read “color” as its commonly understood meaning – pigmentation, complexion, or skin shade or tone. Title VII prohibits race/color discrimination against all persons, including Caucasians.

n a Spark survey, 83% of surveyed East students say people have abused the internet to promote hate culture. This includes the current phenomena of many Americans who do not belong to the African American race, using the “n-word” in an online setting. Dixon believes this current trend perpetuates unhealthy racial profiling. “To know where that word came from and how it develops, I don’t understand how you can make a joking connotation out of that at all,” Dixon says. According to a Washington Post poll, 31% of white Americans have used the n-word in the last five years. “I don’t think [anyone] can stop people from joking about it. It’s mostly in front of groups and they [say it] to be edgy and cool. But at the end of the day, they are saying hate,” Bhatti told Spark. Ethnic slurs, racial “jokes,” offensive or derogatory comments, or other verbal or physical conduct based on an individual’s race/ color constitutes unlawful harassment if the conduct creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment, or interferes with the individual’s work performance. Despite some social progress, people still feel the effects of racism in today’s society. The Southern Poverty Law Center documented 1,020 active hate groups in the United States in 2018. When narrowed down, about 36 of the nation’s hate groups are found in Ohio alone. This number has increased by 10 since the year 2000. “What it would take for things to truly progress is for society to acknowledge the violence and despicable history of America,” Stone says. “The injustices as well as some of the history that has been ignored. The genocide of indigenous groups, the genocide of black and brown people, and the fact that we had internment camps durning WWII.”•

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 35

package | disabilities Hopewell Junior 8th grader Trevor Whalen has had nonverbal autism since birth.

HOPE for

HATE story and photography ava huelskamp

For years, people with various kinds of disabilities have been the subject of various forms of mockery. However, society is slowly learning to treat these people like what they are: people. 36 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

he slowly trudged out of the doctor’s office, eyes downcast after receiving what felt like life-altering news. She had known something was different, but she never could have guessed what it was. East sophomore Kira Day was diagnosed with high functioning autism at the age of twelve. Speaking to the doctor about her diagnosis left her in disbelief. “My first thought when that happened was, ‘you’re wrong, because I can function fine,’”Day told Spark. “In fact, I was taking honors classes at the time so I was thinking, ‘how could that be possible?’” As a person with what Day calls an “invisible disability,” she has noticed students in her school being judgemental of people who might be a little different. High functioning autism is often hard to spot, because the person may appear to not have a disability. “The real problem that I’ve faced with autism is how other people react towards it. [I’ve] heard kids trash talk autistic people,” Day says. “I remember one time I was sitting at a table with three boys and two of them started trash talking a girl with Asperger’s syndrome. They said ‘she’s so retarted’ and they just started laughing.” According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, 60% of students with disabilities report being bullied regularly compared with 25% of all students. Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Constituent Communications Manager Fern Miele proposes a simple solution to the harsh treatment of these individuals. “Social media is doing a lot to help,” Miele told Spark. “People are able to share awareness messages and mark days of awareness that go a long way toward educating people about disabilities.” East Junior Paige Whalen is sister to Trevor Whalen, an 8th grade student at Hopewell Junior School (HJS) who has had nonverbal autism since birth. Trevor takes medicine daily to aid with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), anxiety, and going to sleep at night. Because Trevor is nonverbal, he has had to develop alternate ways of communicating and getting acclimated into a normal school setting. The school tries their best to implement this into his day, by introducing him to socializing with students his age. “A lot of what [his teachers] work on is social skills, because [Trevor] can’t communicate with anybody,” Paige says. “So he goes into other people’s classrooms and sits down and learns what they’re learning.” East Intervention Specialist Jeremy Hilen believes that the social piece makes a huge difference in special education students’ well being. When they experience interactions with ‘regular’ students, it impacts them.

disabilities | package “It’s great because they get to meet a new face and they hear a new voice, even if they can’t verbally respond back. Over time [you] see a good connection,” Hilen says. However outside the bubble of school, not everyone is that empathetic. “[Our family] would go to the store and would always have to avoid the toy section, because [Trevor] would pick out everything and put it in the cart,” Paige says. “But I remember I had to take him out of the toy section because we had to leave, and he started crying and getting upset. Everyone around us would just look at us in disgust, like, ‘What are you doing?’ or, ‘why is he acting like that?’” East High School Psychologist Jayna Rodarte has experienced similar situations while working with students with similar disabilities. “One situation was [with a past] student who was wheelchair bound. She was saying that at her old school she would get called names, and [students] would try to include her, but she never really felt included,” Rodarte told Spark. “She wanted to be on the cheerleading squad. And because she couldn’t do the whole routine, [the squad] wasn’t really willing to have her on the team.”

aige recognizes that there’s still a need for people to be more sensitive in the face of a person with disabilities. According to Paige, who has learned to deal with the situation, not everyone understands the complexity of the brains of people with disabilities; the way they act is often not their fault. Through her experience, the opinions of onlookers can show through hurtful words and facial expressions. “I just want to say if this was your kid, you would be as upset as I am,” Paige says. “I want them to understand that [Trevor] can’t control it. It’s not his fault. This is just who he is and [our family] shouldn’t be looked at as aliens.” After Day’s diagnosis, she noticed that people around her tried to put her in a box, or in other words label her as one thing. But she realized she didn’t have to buy into it. “[Not caring what others thought] allowed me to build my own box however the heck I wanted. If I don’t want a box, I don’t have to make one,” Day says. “And I most certainly was never going to go into a box somebody else built for me. Because at the end of the day, it is my life, and autism is a part of it.” Miele believes that despite some hurtful encounters, treatment of people with disabilities has taken major strides from the past, when the disabled struggled to find work and faced judgement on a daily basis. “There are so many more employment options for those with disabilities,” Miele says. “So many more employers embrace those with disabilities and want them to be integrated into their workplace. [With this in mind,] things

can only improve.” A step schools have been taking is making 504 plans available for students. These are plans that enable students with disabilities to receive accommodations for certain impairments, such as extra time on tests. When deciding if students are eligible for a 504 plan, according to Lakota East Assistant Principal Dennis Smith, the district has a ‘team’ approach, with parents, students, and administrators working together to achieve a plan. The team considers factors like documented physical or mental impairments, and if the impairment substantially limits major life activities-like walking, seeing, hearing, breathing, or speaking. While Day is appreciative of the plan, she has sometimes noticed that teachers shrug their shoulders when Day reminds them of it. “Sometimes people are really good about [the 504 plan],” Day says. “But there were also times where they ignored it.” Rodarte believes bringing awareness to the subject is the best way to prevent discrimination. “People just need to be aware that people struggle in that way,” Rodarte says. “And just having an attitude of kindness, in general. You never know what someone is struggling with.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has collaborated with the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina

State University to make public features more accessible for people with disabilities. Items like sensored doors, automatic transaction machines (ATM) adjusted to accommodate the hearing and vision impaired, and captioning available for all TV and video presentations are some things the CDC has been trying to implement. Considering 48 million people in the US have hearing loss and 7 million have visual impairment (according to the Bureau of Internet Accessibility) there appeared to be a great need for these types of public features. Hilen started his career helping Special Education students because he felt there was a need for it, but he unexpectedly gained something from the career as well. “It gives me a perspective of gratitude for the things that [people without disabilities] can do on an everyday basis,” Hilen says. ”It continues to encourage me when I see the students that go through daily struggles with a positive attitude. It keeps me motivated to continue to wanting to give them the best education that they deserve.” According to Rodarte, there is also hope for an overall community impact. “It would empower [people with disabilities], ” Rodarte told Spark. “It could open up doors that we don’t even know exist. It could better our community and better our world. We have no idea what the unlocked potential could be if we just encourage them.” •

Common Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change Doesn’t express emotions or feelings and appears unaware of others feelings.

Has poor eye contact and lacks facial expression

Has specific food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or refusing to eat foods with a certain texture Doesn’t speak or has delayed speech, or loses previous ability to say words or sentences. source the mayo clinic infographic alexandra fernholz January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 37

package | polarization

THE AMERICAN

DIVIDE

Spark takes a look at the increasing polarization within America and how it feeds hate culture. story ianni acapulco photography riley higgins photo illustration alexandra fernholz

he room fills with the soft symphony of careless noise: the chatter of people filing in, the shuffle of desks and chairs, the dulled thuds of backpacks dropped onto floors. The day’s debate topic makes its appearance on the board as the gavel bangs the meeting into commencement, and East junior Leighton Heiner finds her place on the counter beside East Social Studies Teacher Matt Newell’s desk, settling into the space just as East junior Allie Pratt takes her seat in Newell’s desk chair. For the two teens, Junior Statesmen of America (JSA) is an important experience that’s helped form their views and is an experience that allows them to interact with both ends of the political spectrum. Despite having exceedingly polarized views, the students in the club are still able to talk to each other and have meaningful conversations about politics. Pew Research Center, which has documented the rift for many years, defines polarization as the vast and growing gap between Republicans and Democrats, but Former Chair of Political Science Department at Columbia University Robert Shapiro wouldn’t put it so delicately. Shapiro told Spark, the current hate culture, or “partisan conflict on steroids in which both sides hate each other,” found its start in the 1970s as political parties drew apart ideologically on all manners of political issues. Shapiro says that both Republican and Democrat parties are now very different from each other on a myriad of issues, many of which evoke all kinds of emotions. “[Polarization] creates a boundary between the parties and the people,” Heiner told Spark. “[When] you can’t find any compromise, the Democrats are ‘bleeding hearts’ and the Republicans ‘don’t care about anyone else,’

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because it’s just easier to separate yourself like that.” There are several issues, according to Shapiro, that evoke strong emotions on both sides of the political spectrum, and part of it lends to how politicians deal with these issues. According to Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University Joshua Simon, politicians are, in part, a reflection of the society that voted for them, something that he likens to a feedback loop. Politicians can be drivers of public opinion; the way they talk about issues changes the way people think about them. “You have a kind of mutually reinforcing process where politicians become more extreme in their attitude,” Simon told Spark. “And at the same time, the population as a whole becomes more and more extreme.” For Pratt, this occurrence seems natural. “I think that’s just the world we live in,” Pratt says. “Anytime there’s a change in a nation, there’s going to be people taking opposite ends of the spectrum. And I think that the polarization of politics—the highest level of politics—needs to be resolved.” Another survey by Pew Research Center done in September of 2019, many Americans said they don’t fully trust many of those who hold positions of power and responsibility.The survery shows that 79% believed that members of Congress admit and take responsibility for their mistakes only a little or none of the time, and 57% of Americans thought the same thing of their local elected officials. In a survey done by Pew Research Center in July of 2019, 85% of Americans thought that the political debate in the U.S. had become more negative and less respectful, and 73% of Americans said that the ‘heated’ rhetoric by politicians raised the risk of violence. Director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism Brian Levin at California State

polarization | package University says he’s seen spikes in not only hate crimes, but hate speech as well. “[The] election of 2016 was the worst month for hate crimes in 14 years, going back to the first anniversary of 9/11,” Levin told Spark. “We’re seeing instances of actual fatal hate crime or terrorism taking place around similar catalyic events whether they be elections, highly conflictual trials, as well as issues relating to police use of force and legislation.”

n a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, 2016 data revealed that African Americans were the most common targets of hate crimes and hate speech in most, but not all, of the larger cities. In 2016 and 2017, California had double the number of “confrontational, often violent” public rallies, often involving anarchists, leftists, Trump supporters, and white nationalists. “The stakes became higher,” Shapiro says. “So politics [have] become more intense because the stakes are higher and [that] added to [the way] some specific issues have inflamed politics, and also how certain personalities have rubbed the other party the wrong way.” According to Levin, this is a splintering that’s occurring demographically. He says that by looking at social surveys and data, it’s seen that people feel they’re the most racially polarized they’ve been in decades, feeling not only polarized politically, but entrenched in that polarization. “We have this fragmentation in the body politic and social reasons that gives an opportunity for extremists to sculpt a message that relies upon fear,” Levin told Spark. “In normal times, when there’s trust in institutions and folks are getting along, those gaps don’t exist as an opportunity, but under current conditions they do.” In Pratt’s eyes, it’s not an issue with people’s views so much as it is about coming together and collaborating. She says that within JSA, there are people from both ends of the political spectrum, either very liberal or very conservative, who are able to talk to each other and ask questions on their views without becoming hostile. “And I think that at some point, professional politicians need to get over that point of ‘I don’t want to listen to you because you’re not working for exactly the same goal as me’” Pratt says. “That ‘my way or the highway’ type [of ] deal.’” According to University of North Texas Principal Lecturer Wendy Watson, one of the major factors that contributed to this political polarization is the economy. “The economic collapse in 2008 and the ongoing sense the economy isn’t great has led to the idea that when another person wins, you lose,” Watson told Spark. “That makes [people] see other people as a threat.” New York University professor of Politics

Howard Rosenthal, author of the book Polarized America, would be inclined to agree. The book, which was written along with Nolan McCarty and Keith T. Poole, is an analysis of how the polarization within America has been accompanied by greater economic inequality. Rosenthal says that polarization creates elected representatives, senators, and presidents who pay for policies to protect the welfare and income that favor the development of the rich. According to Rosenthal, most of the polarization in the past 40 to 50 years has been in favor of the Republican Party. “Those [who favor the development of the rich] believe in what [is] called free market capitalism,” Rosenthal told Spark. “And they are not terribly concerned with the welfare of those less fortunate.” According to Watson, the other major factor that has contributed to hate culture and the rise of hate speech is the internet, which she says has “given us a way to say horrible, hurtful things to each other without looking each other in the eye.” “We see ‘Republicans’ or ‘Liberals’ as stupid, bad, immoral ... and that’s where the conversation stops,” Watson says. “As a result, it’s easy to use harsh words. It’s much easier to use a racial epithet when you are tweeting than when you are across the dinner table.” For Simon, the internet was something that held promise as a technology that would allow people to meet others different from them, challenging their view about the world by exposing them to views that differ from their own. But it didn’t quite seem to hit its mark. “In fact, the internet doesn’t necessarily work that way,” Simon says. “We use all these programs on the internet, all these apps [and] social media that insulate us from people whose views are different from our own.”

ate speech is p r o t e c t e d under the First Amendment so long as it doesn’t incite violence, but according to Levin, what the internet has done is dissipate the hate movement. Without the barrier of physically coalescing, people are joining each other on the internet in what he sees as a significantly increasing number of extremist movements over the last

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 39

package | polarization decade. But there’s also been a shift, where more “loners or duos” are becoming radicalized on the internet from a “24-hour rally and buffet of hateful rhetoric.” “It’s easier to go on the internet than it is to join the group, particularly if you’re in wide, far-flung places,” Levin says. “So, just as the internet has provided a social media community, it’s also a hate community that’s not bound by organization or borders.” Shapiro says that there’s a lot of people finger-pointing at the role of social media, and helping them foment and maintain that that view of the media. According to Shapiro, the key thing is that “the divisiveness and hatefulness in politics has been created by politics itself and not by the media.”

nation in anything that [Trump] says; it’s mostly an ‘us against them’ rhetoric,” Pratt says. “[There’s] not much compromise in what he wants to achieve.” According to Simon, it makes a difference in a country’s culture to have a president who says politically divisive things that uses people’s attitudes towards particular issues to his advantage. “Even though they didn’t come out and say things like Trump says, they also, in their own ways, help to cultivate and sustain the hate culture,” Simon says.

But this ‘hate culture’ doesn’t appear exclusively in extremes. Levin says that this “horrible, bigoted rhetoric” has roots in the mainstream, but now this rhetoric is being used as a sort of “political currency”. “What we’re seeing is a blurring of the line,” Levin says. “Extremist political views which, in the past—would not have had an entrée—now, are parts of mainstream socio-political culture, which is unfortunate. And what that does is broadens the potential pool of people who have subscribed to those bigotries.”•

ccording to a survey by Pew Research in December 2019, the evaluation of news media in the “Trump era” is overshadowed by partisan dynamics. The exploration combined more than 50 different surveys conducted by the center, combining over 100 questions that measured possible factors that could drive trust in the news media. In the end, it concluded that in the Trump era, nothing could match the impact of one’s political party affiliation. The survey found that while 5% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say that journalists have low ethical standards, 40% of Republicans who strongly approve of Trump’s job performance say the same thing. In comparison, the statement was true for far fewer Republicans who only somewhat approve of Trump (17%) or disapprove of him entirely (12%). In a poll by Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm, the happiness gap between whites and nonwhites surged during the Trump era, something the Washington Post called “the growing gloom among nonwhites”. For the better part of the past two decades, whites and nonwhites were generally a few points apart on happiness, but 2020’s 14-point gap surpassed even that of the 10-point gap during 2005, the year of Hurricane Katrina. As for the current president, Simon says that though one has to be alert to the things that are new, those shouldn’t completely cover up the things that stay the same. “I don’t see any kind of unification of the

“We see ‘Republicans’ or ‘Liberals’ as stupid, bad, immoral... and that’s where the conversation stops. As a result, it’s easy to use harsh words. It’s much easier to use a racial epithet when you are tweeting than when you are across the dinner table.” -Wendy Watson 40 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

snow banks | culture

SNOW BANKS AT THE BANKS

Katie Tassos helping a kid on the snow tube ramp.

Jerry Neaves carving an ice sculpture.

The first annual Snow Banks at the Banks created by The Banks retailers transformed downtown to a winter wonderland. story and photography ekra khalid

new winter event series, the first annual Snow Banks at the Banks, is where all the snow will be at during this not so snowy winter in Cincinnati. Every weekend this January, Freedom Way in downtown Cincinnati will be transformed into a winter wonderland full of fun family activities from snow tubing ramps, ice sculpture carvings, horse carriage rides, to award-winning snow effects and more. A live snow blizzard by an Academy Awardwinning special effects producer Dieter Sturm, goes off every 30 minutes for attendees to experience the festivities of the season while sitting near the bonfire pits and enjoying hot cocoa with s’mores. “The concept of having snow, when we don’t have any snow, which you can sled down on or ride a tube down or build a snowman [with] is a novelty,” Banks project executive Phil Beck says. “That’s the fun aspect of it. It creates a fun environment.” According to Beck, during the first quarter of

the year, the Banks downtown were struggling because no seasonal sports events were going on during the month of January. This year’s goal was to bring people in the Tri-State area to the Banks to help local businesses. An idea sparked which came to be known as Snow Banks. “Snow Banks is aimed to be an affordable event full of fun for family and friends,” Snow Banks Event Organizer Jackie Reau says. Tickets are $5 for a full day of admission and free on Friday nights. “There’s not a football or baseball game going on in January, so it’s a lean time for businesses,” Reau says. “Nobody was really doing an outside festival during the winter season, so we thought it would be a great time to have an event.” “The overall atmosphere of snow banks is welcoming and full of fun winter activities,” says senior Reem Khalil who went to Snow Banks with her friends. Some attractions at the event include The Frisch’s Big Boy Snow Tube Run, a 50-foot long snow tube ramp near Sky Star Wheel, horse

carriage rides courtesy of the 2020 Cincinnati Auto Expo, a snowman-making village at Great American Ballpark and AC Hotels Rooftop Igloos. Among these attractions are also live ice sculpture carvings in front of Great American Ballpark. “I like the atmosphere and it is good to see the community here all together. I’m getting a lot of good feedback from people who were watching me carve,” Snow Banks Ice Carver Jerry Neaves says. The Snow Banks committee has put lots of planning into this event. They provide a unique and fun-filled experience for families to partake in during a weekend in January. Ole Miss student Katie Tassos worked as Event Manager for Snow Banks and helped out with planning the event. “Come on down to the banks, It’s great for all families, all ages,” Tassos says. “There’s something for everyone to do, just give it a try.”•

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 41

culture | diy

DIY STICKERS

Are you tired of your bland and boring

Are you tired of your bland andlooking boring ChromChromebooks? Are you for a way books? Are you looking for a way to personalto personalize your belongings in a fun and ize your belongings in a DIY fun and simple way? simple way? This offers an affordable alternative to online suppliers. This DIY offers a way to spice up your laptops using materials found around your house, and offerings an affordable alternative to online suppliers.

Materials:

Parchment paper Scissors DIY cassandra mueller | photography ekra khalid Printed out or drawn pictures Packing tape Hard surface Paper Printer (if needed)

STEPS: 1. Print out or draw 1’x1’ pictures/designs you would like for your sticker (you can adjust the image size if needed) 2. Once you have all the pictures/designs you want, start cutting them out. Make sure to cut the images on their outline so there is no white space around the image. 3. On a hard surface place down the parchment paper and weigh down the edges so they do not curl up 4. On the parchment paper lay the packing tape sticky side down, overlapping the tape about one inch, so it sticks to the parchment paper (if the packing tape doesn’t stick well that’s ok because you will take it off eventually) 5. Place your images on the packing tape leaving a little bit of room between each image 6. Place another layer of packing tape, with its sticky side down on all of the parchment paper 7. Start cutting out the images on their outline so there is no extra tape surrounding the image 8. Peel of the parchment paper to reveal the sticky side of the sticker Have fun decorating with your new homemade stickers!

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little women review | culture

LITTLE WOMEN D

irected by Greta Gerwig, the retelling of the classic tale “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, was released on Christmas Day. This is not the first time a remake has been made, there have been seven movie adaptations. Since its release, the film has raked in more than $80 million globally in the box office, doubling the $40 million that it took to film. From the narrative of the main character, Josephine March a.k.a Jo (Saoirse Ronan), the audience follows the life of four sisters who struggle to find their place in society. With it being in the 1860s, the role of women in society is limited. Each of the ‘little women’ has her own struggle. Jo with her boyish attitude, wishes to be a writer. The other three sisters, Margaret (Emma Watson), Beth (Eliza Scanlen), and Amy (Florence Pugh) each have their own desire of what they wish to accomplish in life. Along the way they encounter unexpected incidents which lead to a life-long friendship with the neighbor boy Laurie (Timothee

Chalamet). The opening scene shows a quiet and nervous Jo March in a newspaper office in New York. Jo returns to her teaching job to find a letter that a tragedy has befallen one of her beloved sisters. The timeline jumps back seven years to the happy March household on Christmas day where you begin to meet the main characters. he film continues to flash back and forth between the present and the past. If you have not read this book, this can be a bit confusing. The plot is relatively true to Alcott’s novel. Even if the movie-goer is not familiar with the story it is still possible to feel the devotion, amusement, and sorrow of the characters. The dresses and outfits fit the setting of the story very well. The music and dancing made for a lively atmosphere, which was engaging to watch. The actors and actresses truly looked and acted their parts. Though some may argue that Emma Watson may have been better suited for the lead role,

Saoirse Ronan fit the role of Jo stunningly well. She had the boyish attitude that was expected from the character. itting to the time period there is no cussing, nudity, or vulgar scenes. If one wishes to see an action movie with blood, guts, and gore then this isn’t the movie for you. Even with none of these things “Little Woman” was filled with the banter of sisters, the feelings of loss, and the joy in the simple things. Even though it may be a bit baffling, I would recommend this film to one who enjoys fun, laughter, and even a little bit of romance. -LeAnn Niederman

art kelly johantges January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 43

culture | pic six

PIC SIX: BOBA TEA EDITION reviews and photography riley higgins

Kung Fu Tea

Bambu

Milk Jar

7892 Mason Montgomery Rd #15, Mason, OH 45040

844 Kingland Dr. West Chester, OH 45069

3880 Paxton Ave Ste M, Cincinnati, OH 45209

$4.97

espite the unfamiliar purple hue of this tea, which came as a shock at first, it had the best taste of all the drinks I tried. I selected the medium taro milk tea with regular black tapioca boba balls. I immediately noticed the soothing milk flavor stick out as I expected for a milk tea, but was surprised by the delicious sweetness. After taking a few sips, I noticed a certain chalky aftertaste that was better than the dry aftertaste of the Milk Jar drink. The earthy taste of the taro root offset the bland sweetness of the milk tea, leaving an overall sweet aftertaste. The cup held about 16 ounces of product, which was amazing for the low price they offered. A downside to the drink was the two inches of boba at the bottom, which made it hard to get a good ratio of boba to tea. In addition, the straw provided required me to make an extra effort to get all of the boba out before drinking the tea. The cup was decorated with the Kung Fu Tea logo as well as the mandirin translation.

$5.25

he sophisticated look of this delicious beverage immediately made me want more. At first sip, I was met by a very rich, deep flavor of the taro milk tea and shortly followed by the silkiest boba bubbles I have ever tasted. The milk tea was the perfect balance of sweetness and rich milk. Earthy taro flavor made the aftertaste of this drink have a full body taste. The six inch clear cup had a smooth plastic film and a nine inch striped straw. The large straw made the boba to milk tea proportion balanced throughout the entire drink. The dark purple color was different then the other teas that often had a lighter hue from the taro. About two inches of small boba pearls sat at the bottom of the cup. Ornate bamboo sticks as well as the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motto and logo decorated the large cup. The price for this drink was fair considering the quality and quantity of the beverage provided.

44 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

$6.00

t a glance, the Milk Jar boba wins by a landslide. I got the strawberry jasmine tea with strawberry bubbles. One of the most disappointing aspects of this drink was the boba itself. Its flimsy exterior and excessive amount of sweetness inside left my mouth wanting more. Overall the tea had a sweet flavor, yet it left my mouth feeling dry. The jasmine tea added a neutral, flowery taste that balances the sweetness. The pink syrup altered the pale yellow tea to create a gradual pink to orange gradient while adding flavor and sweetness. Strawberry pulp littered the bottom of the cup, adding a pleasant textural component that made this particular item stick out on the intricate menu. A big black straw made it really easy to slurp up the boba itself. The cup was approximately 8 inches tall, an appropriate size for the price I paid, with a 10 inch straw. Of those inches, about one and a half were filled with the boba balls, maintaining a solid boba to tea ratio.

pic six | culture

PIC SIX: BOBA TEA EDITION Pho96 7844 Kingland Dr, West Chester Township

Millions of Milk Tea

834 Premium Outlets Dr, Monroe, OH 45050

hile not their main menu item, the boba here was amazing. This drink was the only smoothie boba in the flavor taro milk tea. The short cup was wide enough to hold a sufficient amount of product while staying fair to its low price. The coldness of the frozen drink was very refreshing, especially when paired with a pho from the restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s menu. The frozen boba balls were extremely satisfying to bite down on and were in abundance, despite the small cup. The red plastic straw was about one and a half centimeters in diameter, which allowed the thick product to be drunk easily. Unfortunately, the large boba balls often got stuck and required extra effort to get through the straw. The taro tea was sweet, which complimented the neutral flavor of the boba perfectly. The 6 inch clear cup was plainly decorated. This lid was different then all of the other drinks I tried. Unfortunately, this lid allowed for a lot of leakage, which was not appreciated.

7100 Foundry Row, Liberty Township, OH 45069

$3.46

Smoochies

$4.50

hen I took my first sip, I was immediately hit with the taste of rancid milk. Whether or not it was this particular item or batch, I am unsure, but I continued on and finished the drink. I got regular ice,with half sweetness as their clever, yet confusing, menu allowed me to tailor my drink to my exact preferences. The ice were small cubes. The boba was really sticky and often got stuck to my teeth. The almond milk tea had no flavor, leaving me to only taste the mild flavor of the tapioca bubbles. The watered down taste of the drink left me wanting much more. There was approximately an inch and a half of boba at the bottom, a reasonable amount considering the boba was smaller than the other stores. The appearance of the drink was very appealing as the clear cup was adorned with a pretty sky blue straw, about a centimeter wide. The straw, while not as thick as other ones, still allowed a decent ratio of boba to tea.

$5.95

t first glance, this drink looked scrumptious. I ordered the large taro milk tea with regular tapioca bubbles. My first sip was met with the delicious taste of a milkshake, which was a surprising twist to the anticipated earthy taste of traditional taro root teas. After the initial delight I noticed the bizarre texture. The flavorless bubbles were bumpy, and I often found gelatinous boba at the bottom. This aspect was by far the worst. The boba has no flavor, which is different compared to the usual sweetness. About one inch of the drink was dedicated to the 1/4 inch tapioca pearls, while the rest was made up of large ice cubes and tea. The straw was almost too small for the size of the bubbles, and I was left with many boba at the bottom at the end, despite there only being one inch. After I finished the drink I noticed the pleasant flavor left, yet there was a grainy residue lining the cup. Overall, this drink was saved by the creamy flavor of the tea and cute cup.

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 45

culture | hsmtmts review

isney Plus, the newest streaming service is like the others on the market with producing their own shows and movies. With this, they produced a show based off of Disney Channel’s hit original movie “High School Musical”(HSM). There was a lot of blacklash at first from hardcore High School Musical fans. But when Disney Plus announced the basis of the show, fans started to become even more excited. What Disney let fans know was that the series would follow students that attended the ‘real life’ East High while they put on a production of HSM. That’s where the name came from. Since the show is based off of HSM, they started with that as the base of the title. Then the show had elements of music with normally an original song per episode; so that’s where “The Musical” comes from. Finally, the show is a 10 episode docu-style series; so that’s where “The Series” comes from. All together, it makes “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”. Yes, it’s a mouthful but they

poke fun of it in the show as well. This series follows mainly two characters, Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) and Ricky (Joshua Basset). You can probably already guess who these two costars play in HSM; Gabriella and Troy. There are a lot more characters in the show including the teacher Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) who has played numerous roles on Broadway before. The first episode sets up a lot of the main drama for the show. We see Nini and Ricky just come out of a heart wrenching breakup when Ricky can’t say ‘I love you’ to Nini. We then see Nini get together with a senior named EJ (Matt Cornett). He is the main villain of the show and it’s been very hard for viewers to have any sort of empathy for him. Of course, out of this love triangle, you can expect lots more drama to form. Without fail, there is always some type of song that comes out of each episode. The first gives you “I Think I Kinda You Know” and the second “Wondering”. These songs have become instant hits with fans

all over social media and even hitting iTunes and Spotify charts. I have been a High School Musical fan for almost 14 years now, and I was originally worried that this show would ruin one of my favorite childhood memories. But, being a psychotic Disney fan, I ended up getting Disney Plus and watching the first episode. The first thing that I noticed was the docu-style of the show, meaning that there are little 10 second interviews of each that would show what each character was really thinking. This immediately gave me “The Office” and “Glee” vibes, which are two of my favorite shows. So, I just kept watching episode after episode constantly wanting more. But, each episode comes out once a week, so naturally I ended up watching the first episode five times. That’s how much I liked it! If you are a fan of musicals, High School Musical, The Office, or a cute love story, I recommend “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”. -Kelly Johantges

art cassandra mueller 46 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

personal narrative | culture

NEVER WENT AWAY narrative alanna schlaeger | infographic kelly johnatges However, this was not the case in New York this year. On December 29th, 2019 there was a stabbing at a Rabbi’s house at a gathering to celebrate Hanukkah. Five people were injured. Since the shooting at the Tree of Life Temple in Pittsburgh of October 2018, my temple has added more security around the building. Every Friday night my temple host services, there is now a police officer that has to let people into the building. It’s hard to believe that antisemtic acts have become so prominent that we must have a security guard in place every Friday, which was not the case before the October shooting. It has become hard to express our religion with the fear of hate constantly in the back of our minds. According to ADL.org, there were a total of 1,879 antisemtic acts in the U.S.during 2018. More than a year later, Jews still face the feeling of being judged. At the Hanukkah gathering at Liberty Center, there were multiple police officers on hand. Although this is something that has become more “normal” whenever I go to a Jewish event, this time seemed different. Surrounded by people of my own religion, I felt a sense of unease in my body as I gazed around, looking at who had come to the gathering. I often locked eyes with people

walking around the mall who looked confused as to why we were there, and again, I felt more uneasy. My unease was there since it’s hard to be able to feel confident while others may be tearing you down. My unease went away as I realized the meaning behind why we were celebrating in public. I was making my own fear go away as I realized I was participating in the judging of others in society as well. People in society have brought back the fear of Jews with the occurence of more violent attacks among Jews. According to statistica, the United States had the most violent attacks towards Jews in 2018 compared to anywhere else in the world. I was standing there with others from my religion in unity making a big statement after the attacks made in New York that week.We stood there making a statement, making it clear that Antisemitism is still prevalent in the world today. However, we aren’t scared to show who we are. We stood there as one, praying together to celebrate the eighth night of Hanukkah. I realized the real importance of Hanukkah that night. It wasn’t about the ancient story of the oil lasting, or playing dreidel and eating latkes. It was about coming together to celebrate Hanukkah and not be scared to express my religion. •

According to a survey completed in 2015, for every 14 Americans that celebrate Christmas there is one American that celebrates Hannakuh. Only 1.8% of Americans say that they are Jewish. source star news and the washington post

source star news and the washington post

he weather turns brisk as nearly 294.5 million families prepare their homes for ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’ After the Thanksgiving festivities, Christian families begin to decorate their houses for the next big holiday; Christmas. These decorations consist of stockings, garland, and Christmas trees, kwanzaa candles and menorahs. Hanukkah originated around the ‘miracle of light,’ a story which describes how the oil in the old temple in Jerusalem had oil which was supposed to last for only one night but ended up burning for eight. With the miracle of the oil lasting for eight nights, this is why hanukkah is eight nights long. This year, on the eighth night, I partook in a city-wide menorah lighting ceremony at Liberty Center. The purpose was to gather Jews in a public place in order to celebrate the eighth night of hanukkah. The gathering took place in the Liberty Center Park, commencing with a 15-foot-tall menorah which was lit at the celebration. As I walked towards the lighting ceremony, Hanukkah songs were blasting through the speakers. Rain filled the site as we gathered underneath tents to begin our prayers for the lighting of the menorah. The week of Hanukkah is filled with celebration and giving back to the community.

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 47

culture | raising stars forward

RAISING STARS FORWARD A new Ohio nonprofit works to bring active military personnel home when they need it most. story emily hormann | photography used with permission

oy and tears erupted across the wave of faces gathered at the airport, awaiting the plane carrying their loved ones to land. Eyes glistened as Steve Adkins and his wife saw the sign with their names written on it and approached their family. Between the prolonged, warm hugs and sappy reunion, Adkins could not have been happier to be home once again.

“[Coming home from Afghanistan would have been] financially tough, upwards of $2500,” Adkins says. “[Stars Forward] covered our rental car and paid us back for our already bought plane tickets. They even gave us a couple hundred bucks on a gift card to spend.” Stars Forward, a new, Ohio-based charity, works to bring active military personnel home to their families in times of both family emergency and celebration. “If there’s a soldier out there in the world who can get leave time from the military, we cover all of their travel expenses,” Executive Director Diana Mouring says. “It doesn’t matter whether they’re stationed away from home or deployed away from home, we’ll help them either way.” The organization started as just an idea to give back to the military, but it was turned into a full-fledged nationwide nonprofit by Mouring and her husband in 2019. “[My husband] Rick actually has military ties in his family going all the way back to the Revolutionary War,” Mouring says. “So, when they started thinking about ways to give back, they had this thought that they wanted to help the military because they feel like the military was responsible for the type of men they had become.” Even after the initial idea was generated, the plan to start the organization was not set into

Stars Forward attended festivals over the summer in order to fundraise enough money to bring their first soldier home. 48 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

motion until after the unexpected passing of the founder’s father. “When that happened, it no longer was just an idea to bring this to life,” Mouring says. “We are doing all of this in honor of Rick’s father’s passing.” One of the first things they had to decide on was the name of the nonprofit. The name “Stars Forward” comes from the fact that, when soldiers head into battle, the stars on their uniforms are always facing forward, never retreating. “We felt like that was a cool way to say we’re putting our military first,” Mouring says. “We’re making sure that the stars are always forward, even within our own organization.” In order to figure out what they could do to help, the Mouring family attended Family Readiness Groups for each branch of the military. These are command-sponsored organizations that provide information and emotional support to family members, usually spouses, while their loved ones are serving. “We asked them: ‘There are all kinds of things that are being done for you; what is something that’s not?’” Mouring says. “The [main] answer we got back was a resounding ‘travel.’ Emergency travel is so hard for them.”

tars Forward differs from many other military-oriented organizations because it focuses on active military as opposed to veterans and those who use the organization’s services are not expected to pay back any of it. Adkins first heard about the nonprofit through a friend of a friend while asking around on Facebook if he and his wife, Seda Adkins, could borrow a car while visiting home. He was linked to Stars Forward’s website, where he submitted a request for financial aid. “It had been almost five full years since he had been home to see his family, and his family had never gotten to meet his wife,” Mouring says. “Upon his return from [deployment in] Afghanistan, we were able to fly him and his wife home for a huge family reunion party that they had right here in Cincinnati. It brought his whole family together.” While Stars Forward would love to bring any soldier home at any time, they can only bring home soldiers that are able to obtain leave from the military. In order to find soldiers who are eligible, Mouring contacts chaplains in the military. These are people who inform soldiers when something has gone wrong in

If there’s a soldier out there in the world who can get leave time, it doesn’t matter whether they’re stationed away from home or deployed away from home, we’ll help them. -Diana Mouring their family. “We go to chaplains and say, ‘We’re a smaller organization [that is just] getting started,’” Mouring says. “‘If you happen to have a soldier that truly needs to get home or who you feel is in need of our services, please reach out to us and we’ll tell you whether or not we can afford to bring them home.’” As Stars Forward is a newer nonprofit, money is very tight. Without many grants or sponsors, the main source of income is fundraisers. “We took most of our summer this year to attend festivals,” Mouring says. “We called around to local businesses and asked for donations. Then, we were able to put those into raffle baskets, and we provided a ticket in exchange for a donation to our organization. Through doing that, we [raised enough money] to bring our first soldier home.” The Mouring family did not accomplish

this feat alone, however. Sandy Nagel and June Reiter both joined the team of around 40 volunteers early in Stars Forward’s development after hearing about the cause from Mouring. “It hit a nerve because it happened to my dad when he was in the Korean War,” Nagel says. “He had to get home because his father died, and he had such a hard time getting there that he didn’t make it [to the funeral] in time. I don’t want to see anybody else’s family members not being able to get home for an important event.” According to Nagel, Stars Forward is going to make a big impact within the community in the years to come. “It’s not just the soldier coming home,” Nagel says. “It’s not just the family, but the community and everybody else is impacted by this person coming home, and other people in the military [as well].” Reiter believes the Mouring family are the

best people to have started and directed the nonprofit. “Diana and her husband are a wonderful couple,” Reiter says. “They’re very passionate about what they’re doing. They purposefully went to the local bases to find out what the servicemen and women need as opposed to just assuming they need this.” Both women plan on continuing to volunteer for Stars Forward and helping it grow into a bigger and better organization than which it had started as. “We are working to bring at least three or four soldiers home next year,” Mouring says. “We want to find more monthly donors and get them involved with the organization, continue to find strong volunteers like the ones we currently have, and basically take Stars Forward to the next level. We’re approved to be a nationwide charity, getting there is just gonna take some time.”•

NOT MARKET SCIENCE The main building of Findlay Market has many vendors of crafts and food.

ver the Rhine has gotten a lot of attention over the past 10 years. Development has sparked a multitude of restaurants, stores, and other businesses to open up in the neighborhood for many to enjoy. Findlay Market has become a staple that has kept customers coming for more than a century. Findlay Market is a historic public market on Race Street in the Over the Rhine neighborhood. Known as one of Cincinnati’s main attractions, it offers more than 40 indoor merchants that have products that range from petite desserts to cultural dishes. The market is open year-round from Tuesday to Sunday and offers a farmers market during warmer months. Even with one step in the building, Findlay Market easily creates a distinct atmosphere for a customer. The assortment of scents and sounds blends together into a vibrant marketplace, aided by the fairy lights and crimson beams.

It’s evident that the market is from the 19th century due to the Italianate architecture, but it still looks as fresh as ever. Most of the holiday vendors were outside. One of the vendors was Mama Lynne’s Cheesecakes, a dessert business originally based in Butler County but now operates in the Findlay Kitchen. Along with cheesecakes, the handcrafted bakery features truffles and fudge, including vegan versions. “The holidays make me very happy,” Lynne Angulo the founder of the bakery says. “People need extra desserts and special things for the holidays because there’s a lot of family and friends coming over. My treats have a little indulgence while you’re still restraining yourself.” Another vendor at the Holiday Market was a craft booth ran by Kindervelt, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for

Cincinnati Children’s. The auxilary earns this money through countless events in Cincinnati throughout the year. An assortment of ornaments, stuffed animals, and other crafts was organized across the tables and hooks, each colorful and handmade. I purchased a large baby bib for my cousin for around $6. The material is thick and the sewing done on it was phenomenal. The volunteer in charge, Katrina Smith, has been attending Findlay Market events with Kindervelt for years. “We all do types of events to raise money for Children’s, and that includes selling crafts. They’re all handmade by other members of Kindervelt from across the Tri-State area,” Katrina Smith says. There weren’t just vendors and merchants at the holiday market. An octet sang Christmas carols towards the entrance of the main building, drawing a crowd of listeners. These singers were from Young Professional Choral Collective of Cincinnati Association, a nonprofit choir group based on the concept of making singing fun, not stressful. It isn’t by chance that Findlay Market is still standing strong as a hub for the Cincinnati community. Authenticity isn’t an easy thing to have and yet the public market is flooded with it. That wholesome feeling is what keeps city residents coming back for more. -Wudie Amsalu

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 49

sports | wrestling

Wrestler Max Pennix prevents his opponent from escaping the Referee’s Position. Pennix placed sixth in his weight class during this tournament.

PUT A PIN IN IT

With six of their thirteen starting wrestlers out for injury, the Hawks prepare to have their underclassmen fill the void of the seniors for the upcoming postseason GMC tournament. story and photography jake ratliff | infographic isis summerlin

he The East wrestling team walks out onto the mats of Mason High School as one of the ten schools at the 2020 Mason Wrestling Invitational. Around 200 sit in the audience to watch one of the more exclusive tournaments in the area. The team holds their heads high, anticipating a ferocious day of wrestling and reflecting on their increasing success in their past tournaments. Even with their immense preparation and drive, the team placed tenth; much lower than they anticipated. However, considering the fact that six out of their thirteen starting varsity wrestlers were out due to injuries, a sixth place finish isn’t as bad as it appears on paper. The wrestlers injured include Tavier LugoFlowers (195 lb.), Alex Epstein (145 lb.), Aaron Sharpe (285 lb.), Vince Kornau (160 lb.), Andrew Brauer (138 lb.), and Gabe Pascual (195 lb.). Of these wrestlers, Lugo-Flowers, Epstein, and Sharpe were all state qualifiers last year, and Lugo-Flowers is ranked in the top 50 wrestlers nationally. With so many of the

Hawk’s best athletes being out, the burden was high that the remaining wrestlers had to carry. Varsity wrestler and East junior Max Pennix seems indifferent to this pressure, however. Pennix placed sixth wrestling in the 152 lb. weight class, and believes that the team has some things to work on, especially considering the injury circumstances. “It’s definitely unfortunate, but in perspective, we had a lot of our best guys out, and we were facing some of the best teams in the area; teams that far exceeded the skill of many teams we’d faced before,” Pennix says. “We’ve had great placements in the past, especially at the Coaches’ Classic, so I know we’ve got the skill. We had one bad tourney, but my advice to the team is for us to get better, keep our head up, and keep pushing to be better than the day before.” Just weeks earlier, the team wrestled at Harrison High School as one of the 47 schools at the 2019 Southwest Ohio Coaches’ Classic tournament. The seats were almost sold out

50 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

- around 1000 in attendance - at the biggest competition in the Greater Cincinnati area. With the holiday season approaching fast, the Hawks were hoping to get an early Christmas present with a high placement, which they did receive with an eighth place finish overall out of the 47. The difference between this tournament and the Mason Invitational was the fact that many of the players currently injured were still healthy, including Epstein, Kornau, and Lugo-Flowers. Their performance at either tournament has reflected the health of their team. East junior and varsity wrestler Eli Willis has wrestled with East throughout his entire high school career and is going 8-3 this season, wrestling in the 170 lb. weight class. Willis believes that the Coaches’ Classic tournament finish has been a big help to the team’s mindset looking towards the GMC Finals. “That [Coaches’ Classic] tournament really showed how much we needed to work on,” Willis says. “We may have placed 8th, but

wrestling | sports that did not satisfy our desire to win, our drive to succeed. I know we have so much more potential and I think this just put us in a good place for GMCs now that we know what to work on.” This high finish in the annual Coaches’ Classic tournament also added to the Hawks’ undefeated 11-0 duals record during their standard season. East began the year winning their first two matches on opening night against Anderson and Little Miami, scoring 66-18 and 52-12 respectively. The team later went on to win five more matches at Tinora High School on Dec. 14, and then to place seventh out of 47 teams at Perrysburg High School on Jan. 10 and 11. East wrestling is once again led by a large group of upperclassmen, but this year, the team of 48 wrestlers also includes 15 freshman. However, with a majority of the upperclassmen out due to injury, some of the underclassmen have been forced to step up and fill the empty shoes of the seniors. According to Wrestling Head Coach Chad Craft, this year’s freshmen have big potential, and he hopes the younger guys can pull their weight until the return of their injured teammates. “Our focus as a staff, as a team, is to teach these young men cooperation, and so I expect big things from our seniors to guide the freshmen as leaders,” says Craft, who became East’s wrestling coach in early 2018. Since then, the team has shown to have great chemistry with their new coach, who had led them to the GMC semifinals in the 2018-2019 season. Mason High School first-year varsity wrestling Head Coach Nicholas Maffey commented on behalf of the team as both the Hawks and the Comets head into GMC season. “Judging from what I’ve seen, we’ve got two great teams that are set to give it their all and are both filled with fiery determination,” Maffey says. “I wish the best of luck to the Hawks and to our Comets as well.” Looking into the GMC postseason matchups, the Hawks will wrestle three different conference opponents in duals. Those opponents are Lakota West, Mason, and Fairfield. The only confirmed wrestler returning for the dual against rival West on Jan. 22 is senior Aaron Sharpe, who wrestles in the 285 lb. weight class and finished fourth in his weight class at the Beavercreek Invitational on Jan. 4. According to Craft, the team is preparing harder than ever in anticipation for the postseason. Pennix, as well as many other wrestlers, are proof of this statement. “I know we can do better than what we’ve been doing, but our best lineup is moving into place very soon, and right in time for duals,” Pennix says. “We will be at our best when our opponents come knocking, and we won’t let our teammates down.”•

WRESTLING CHEAT SHEET Referee’s positon: Before the start, the wrestlers get in to a position where one wrestler is on his hands and knees while the other wrestler is positioned on top.

Neutral position: Two wrestlers stand approximately 3 feet apart and face each other.

Reversal: A wrestler is on the bottom in the referee’s position and reverses his opponent to the top in the referee’s point. (2 points) Near fall: The bottom wrestler has his back exposed to the mat at a 45-degree angle or less for a count between 2 and 5 seconds. (2-3 points)

Takedown: From the neutral position one wrestler takes the opponent down to the mat from the top position. (2 points)

source www.howtodothings.com January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 51

sports | madison french

CRUSHING IT WITH CONFIDENCE H

Guard Madison French drives for two of her 11 points in a 54-33 loss to Mason.

er fearlessness and love of basketball made her approach to the game incredible beginning in the second grade. She’s never lost her love for the game since then. Despite being just a freshman, Madison French is now a varsity basketball player. Varsity Head coach Dan Wallace is impressed with French’s love of the game. “Her confidence and a love for the game help her get better every single day,” Wallace says. “I believe you can see the passion for the game in the best players.” “I like how [French] brings her confidence every night- making the right plays and making her teammates better,” Assistant Coach Alyssa Grevenkamp says. “It’s not just about scoring, it’s about getting assists, rebounds, and being an all around good teammate, helping out her team at the same time.” These are the qualities that helped French beat the odds and become a member of the Varsity squad as a freshman. “I’ve been playing basketball since second grade,” French says. “It was hard at first, finding a good balance between school and sports, but once I got it down to a rhythm, it’s easier.” The 5’9” point guard, who averages seven points a game, is the only freshman on varsity this season. Even though she’s only 14 years old, she is not intimidated by the older girls she faces. Thus far into the season, French has started all of the games. “It’s been a really good experience, it’s really fun to play with the older girls,” French says. “And make new friends that I get to see everyday.” French brings her best attitude to practices and games. This was emphasized by sophomore teammate Sarah Sewak. “She helps our team win games,” Sewak says. “She also brings a lot of positive energy to every practice and every game.” French goes into each game fearlessly, even while facing a majority of upperclassmen on opposing teams. “She takes the ball to the rim and is not scared of anybody,” Grevenkamp says. “That’s the reason she’s playing with such confidence as a freshman.” Her love for the game goes back to second grade when she first stepped on to the court. In the offseason, she keeps her skills sharp by playing for the Ohio Express AAU team. Unlike many athletes, French dedicates all of her time and energy to one sport: basketball. It’s safe to say the Lady Hawks will be in good hands for the next three seasons with French leading the team as the point guard. “She does everything from offense to defense,” says Grevenkamp. “She plays with confidence.” •

52 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

Freshman Madison French made the 20192020 Lady Hawks Varsity Basketball squad by displaying great confidence in every move. story and photography josie mckain

RAISING THE BAR Butler tech student shares her life as a gymnast on the Lakota East gymnastics team. story riley higgins | photography andrew marshall

lassical floor music buzzes behind her as Butler Tech junior Emily Devilbiss salutes the judges and begins her favorite event, bars. After chalking her hands, she completes a series of swings and flips to complete her most challenging event. Finishing with a two-handed salute to the judges and a smile on her face, Devilbiss runs to high-five her excited teammates from both East and West. “We practice together, we’re all friends. We make jokes about being from East or being from West,” Devilbiss told Spark. “Everyone is cheering for everyone, no matter if it’s East or West. It’s really awesome.” Devilbiss started her gymnastics career as an eight-year-old living in the Cincinnati area and practicing with her teammates at Gym-nation, a tumbling gym located in Mason, OH. Since then, Emily has practiced on a team every year since, recently joining the East gymnastics team her freshman year. Assistant coach Jordan Lauderback is in her first year of coaching the East Gymnastics team, though she has been a gymnast since she was seven years old. Becoming a coach after competing on the West team just last year has been a ‘fun’ experience. “She is always building us up and cheers us us on like she always has,” Devilbiss says. “Its special because I used to train with her when she was on the team.” The East and West team practice together three days a week at Flip n’ Twist, a gymnastics facility located in Hamilton. Their training is accompanied by conditioning after school on Mondays and before school on Fridays in the East weight room. A typical practice is met with a preliminary stretch to warm up loose muscles and prepare for the practice ahead. In order to work with the many other bustling teams practicing in the gym simultaneously, the Lakota teams skip around from event to event. Devilbiss, however, paves her own way. Her practices are mostly spent on her two events, vault and bars. “I kind of just go to places I guess other people aren’t,” Devilbiss says. “ It sounds like I don’t like doing my events with other people but, it is because those are the two events that I’m strongest in.” During competitions throughout the winter season, six competitors from each team are

chosen to compete on each event, depending on skill level and dedication. There are four disciplines in gymnastics: bars, beam, vault, and floor. Due to a fractured back her sophomore year, Devilbiss made the choice to take a year off to prevent worsening her condition. “I knew I wanted to do the military and I knew that if I kept going with tenacity, I would continue to hurt myself over and over again,” Devilbiss says. “I know floor takes a big toll on [my back] so that’s why I don’t compete floor.” According to Devilbiss, continuing her gymnastics career through her switch from being a student at Lakota East to Butler Tech is “crazy,” due to the constant commuting needed to get to all of her activities. “Sometimes it’s really nice, but coming from Butler Tech to East and then East to [flip n’ twist], sometimes it is a really far drive,” Devilbiss said. “Other than that it’s kind of nice.” Devilbiss is currently enrolled in the Criminal Justice Program at Butler Tech, learning about the correctional system. The skills she practices there has made her stronger for this gymnastics season. Her team does physical training, including conditioning, two days a week for three three hours to prepare for work in the field. “[The training] is just the worst,” Devilbiss says. “I don’t like working out, but it’s making me stronger for gymnastics, the army, and for being in the police world.” Teammate Ramiah Curry, from Lakota West, has trained with Devilbiss from her freshman year to her current junior year. In addition to seeing her at practices, Curry is enrolled in Butler Tech, studying digital media. “It’s fun, but it’s also hard to stay involved with Lakota West,” Curry says. “I still like to do things like be in clubs and compete on the gymnastics team.”

tarting in February, students at Butler Tech will have the opportunity to use Friday’s normal educational time to get hands on experience in their desired

field. Devilbiss plans on using “the fifth day experience” to go out and shadow police officers, corrections officers, and resource officers at schools, as well as do ride alongs with professionals in the criminal justice field.

Above: Butler Tech junior Emily Devilbiss performs on her favorite, yet hardest, event: bars. “It’s cool because there are so many different schools at Butler tech that I get to meet many different people from different programs,” Devilbiss says. Last month, Devilbiss enlisted into the army. She plans on going to Texas for four months after her final year of high school to join 68 Whiskey, a training program to become a combat medic. There, she will learn how to heal people in any type of crisis. “I’ll be trained how to put in an IV, bandage wounds, even if it is just a bug bite, I go and help them,” Devilbiss says. “The bug battling is very simple stuff, but if somebody actually gets hurt, I will be learning how to do everything on a helicopter.” Despite her hectic schedule, Devilbiss plans on continuing her high school gymnastics career into her senior year. “This is my second year doing it, and I’ve fallen in love with the team,” Devilbiss says. “I’ve always loved the sport. I’ve had some injuries throughout the way but I know that senior year I want to do it for sure.”•

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 53

section | story

Swimmer Jacob McDonald Dives into the pool as the last swimmer in the 4x400 relay. The relay team won with a record time of 3:15.92.

DIVING IN

After finishing 14th overall at the 2019 OHSAA Swimming and Diving championships, the East Boys Swim program looks to mimic last year’s success. story mason wise | photography jake ratliff

t’s a packed house inside the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio, host of the 2019 Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Swimming and Diving championship meet. The date is Feb. 23, and the crowd anxiously waits for the final events to begin. The East Boys Swim team is looking to cap off their stellar season with a brilliant performance in the state finals, and they certainly did not disappoint. A total of five boys had qualified for the meet: Jacob McDonald, Adam McDonald, Joey Kelley, Alex Devine, and Evan Devine. Jacob McDonald, who was just a junior at the time, was the individual state champion in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 4:22.17, and paved the way to a 14th place finish for the team, finishing with a total of 48.5 points. This had been East’s best finish in the state championship meet since 2016. Not only that, but the future is looking even brighter for this program. Out of the five boys that had qualified for the state meet, Joey Kelley was the only senior, which means that the other four are returning for the 2019-2020 high school swim season. Jacob McDonald, defending state champion and a returning senior, will be joined by his sophomore brother Adam, senior Alex Devine, and junior Evan Devine, all of whom will be competing on the 200 and 400 freestyle relays together throughout the season. This extremely talented group of upperclassmen have already made huge impacts on the team’s success thus far, as their statebound 200 yard freestyle relay finished third place out of 31 teams with a time of 1:28.54 at the Canton Invitational on Dec. 21, 2019. This highly competitive meet featured some of the strongest competition in the state, and may very well be a preview to the state championship meet this February.

Just weeks after their impressive showing in Canton, the group continued their success in a dominant fashion at the Princeton Invitational on Jan. 11, placing first in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays by a large margin. Their winning time of 3:15.92 in the 400 freestyle relay shattered the meet record by four seconds. This was also a very competitive meet that featured some of the best swim programs in southwest Ohio, including conference rivals Mason and Sycamore. Evan Devine, who kicked off his junior season at the Canton Invitational, was very pleased with the team’s performance thus far. He also empWWhasized the high potential that the team will have this season. “I was very proud of how our relay performed, and I think that we have the potential to be very competitive this year,” Evan Devine says. “We all work very well together and the energy on this team is very high right now.” This group of four will likely carry a heavy load throughout the rest of the season, as each of them have their eyes set on yet another state championship appearance. They not only have goals of qualifying for state as a relay team, but also in their individual events as well. This is especially true for Jacob McDonald, who is looking to repeat as an individual state champion in the 500 yard freestyle. He will be following in the footsteps of his older brother Josh McDonald, who also won the OHSAA state final in the 500 yard freestyle when he was a senior in 2015. Jacob is not only trying to defend his title in the 500 yard freestyle, but he will also be chasing a second state championship crown in the 200 yard freestyle, which is a milestone that very few swimmers have ever been able to accomplish. However, when talking about his goals at the

54 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2020

state championship meet, he showed a much stronger focus on the overall performance of the team, not just himself. He has especially high hopes for their 200 and 400 freestyle relays, which he thinks can score big points at the meet. “I think we’ve put together the relays that we want, and I’m pretty proud of what we’ve done so far,” Jacob McDonald says. “The team that we’re going to have at state this year is one of the best that I’ve seen in a long time.” Jacob also made a huge emphasis on how important the younger guys will be to the success of the team, specifically his younger brother Adam, along with Evan Devine. “With Alex and I being seniors, we will go out and do our thing and help lead this team,” Jacob McDonald says. “But with Adam and Evan, it’s really all up to them. They’re the trojan horse of this team, and I think the potential for those two is unbelievable.” Not only does Jacob bring significant experience to the table, but so does senior Alex Devine. He has qualified for the state meet before, and he knows exactly what it takes to get there. “We know exactly what times we should be hitting [as a group] at this point in the season, and right now we are consistently finishing under those times, so I’d say we are in a great spot,” Alex Devine says. “This gives us a lot of confidence moving forward as we prepare for our championship run.” Not only did Alex mention the high potential of the group that will likely qualify for state, but he also says that the program as a whole has a very bright future in the years ahead. “In general, our team has so many talented swimmers, and they just keep getting better ...continued on page 19 and better,” Alex Devine says. “Whether it be

34SCORE WITH THE

After making the East Boys’ Varstiy Basketball team his freshman season, junior point guard Nate Johnson looks to lead the team to another OHSAA tournament appearnce and a possible GMC title.

story drew bachman | photography riley higgins

veryone in the gym knew he was going to get the ball. With 11 seconds left and the game on the line, everyone, right down to the scoreboard operator, knew Nate Johnson was going to get the ball. After all, he had carried the team for the first part of the season. And he did, as three Hamilton jerseys flew at him. This is what defines East junior guard Nate Johnson- a perfect laser-beam pass underneath to 6’7 Alex Mangold for the game-winning layup. He’ll do whatever he needs to for the team to win, whether it be scoring or passing. In the season opener against Taft on Nov. 29 at the Ohio Valley Hoops Classic in Mason, East fell behind in the first quarter 19-11. But then something changed. Johnson became more aggressive, slashing to the rim with lightning quickness to score 14 points in the second quarter alone. By halftime, East was up 37-28, and Johnson didn’t stop there. He finished the game with 28 points in a 75-65 victory. The season opener was just the beginning of what’s been a dominant season for Johnson so far. He followed up his 28 point game by dropping 32 points against one of the GMC favorites Princeton. Through the teams first 11 games, Johnson is averaging 18.4 points per game. It’s safe to say that Johnson isn’t the same player he was last year, as he’s improved from 4.5 points per game, making 42% of his shots, to 18.4 points per game, making 54% of his shots. Johnson says that his biggest improvement in his game is his jump shot. “Last year I wouldn’t have shot out of the paint,” Johnson says. “Now it’s one of the main points of my game.” To go along with his lightning quickness, Johnson has the ability to stop on a dime and sink a mid-range pull up jumper. Head coach

Clint Adkins says that this aspect of his game is something that wasn’t there last year. “He’s really worked on his one dribble pull up his to dribble pull up, so he shoots the ball really well off the bounce,” Adkins says. “I would say that’s probably the biggest area of improvement in his game.” According to Adkins, improving shooting is something that takes a lot of time. “You need a lot of hard reps in order to improve,” Adkins says. “You don’t just wake up one day [and] you’re a better shooter. [Johnson has] definitely put in a lot of good work.” Johnson’s teammates also have a lot of confidence in his abilities. Sophomore forward Charlie Kenrich says that his driving ability is what makes him so tough to guard. “He really can get to the rim at will,” Kenrich says. “When he is in full attack mode, nobody can stop him.” However scoring is far from Johnson’s only strength on the court. With the ability to garner attention from multiple defenders at once when driving to the basket or on the perimeter, teammates often become open. This ability was on full display during the final seconds of the game against Hamilton. With 11 seconds left on the clock and Johnson with the ball at the top of the key, senior Alex Mangold set a screen for him. Both Mangold and Johnson’s defender went to Johnson without hesitation Johnson threw the ball inside to a streaking Mangold, who laid the ball up and in for the win. “He’s a tremendous passer who makes great decisions,” Adkins says. “He can pass the ball with his right hand or his left hand.” Johnson leads the team in assists and is fourth in the GMC with 3.7 assists, not to mention his ability to disrupt the game on the defensive side of the ball, as he leads the entire conference in steals per game with 2.5. One may expect a player who leads the team in points, assists, and steals to be arrogant.

Nate Johnson (far right) drives to the hoop laying the ball up at the Lakota East vs. West basketball game. Johnson scored 15 points contributing to the 62-42 victory for East. However, it is quite the contrary for Johnson, according to Adkins. “You might expect him to not be a good teammate but he’s the exact opposite,” Adkins says. “He’s a great kid and I think because of that, his teammates really rally around him.”

enrich also backs this up. He says that every time someone asks him how many points he has, he’ll always say less than what he actually had. “Nate is one of the most humble people that I’ve ever been around,” Kenrich says. “When you ask him how many points he’s going to score, he always says something like two.” Johnson’s skillset has caught the attention of multiple division one schools. He currently has scholarship offers from Miami, Ohio University, and Kent State, while also receiving interest from Cincinnati, Xavier, Dayton, and Ohio State. “I’m going to try to go as far as I can with basketball,” Johnson says. “The ultimate goal is the NBA.” •

January 2020 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 55

news | gavin myers

THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE East senior kicker Gavin Myers has been perfecting his craft even beyond the football field. story frankie stull | photography kelly johantges

hen most people hear the word ‘cancer’ they typically think of the horrible symptoms that coincide with it, chemotherapy, distress, and often, death. However, when one Lakota East family was struck with tragedy, they chose to take their dreadful situation and turn it into a positive and impactful event that helps many. For almost three years, Gavin Myers, East varsity kicker, has been using his platform to raise money for cancer research after his aunt, Mandy Dunn, passed away due to breast cancer in June 2016. Gavin continues to serve as an inspiration to other families that experience similar challenges. “I kind of saw the impact her death had on my family and I didn’t want that to happen to other people,” Myers said. “I decided to help others in the same situation by having all the money I raised go towards pediatric cancer research.” Approximately 38.4% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. This means that cancer is not only a deadly and uncontrollable disease, it is also an ongoing problem that desperately needs more attention. When Gavin’s aunt passed away during his freshman year, he chose to persevere through the pain of the tragedy and make a difference in his community. Kick-It is a program that allows Gavin to easily raise money and awareness towards pediatric cancer research during the football season. So far, he has raised over $9,000 to date. “Every time I score an extra point or field goal people can donate a set amount of money such as two dollars or they can donate a straight amount such as $100,” Myers said. “There’s a lot of stress behind it because if I miss, I think about the one more patient that I could have helped.” According to Keri Myers, Kick-It was founded through Alex’s Lemonade Stand by a family who lost their own child to cancer. Because of this foundation, people around the country are able to create their own websites that promote and fund pediatric cancer research. However, while Gavin’s work is greatly appreciated throughout the community, he is not the only hero in this area. In Northern Kentucky, there is also a group of kids participating in the same positive program. Gavin’s personal mission began in 2017

Gavin Myers approaches the ball to start the Turpin game on August 26, 2019, kicking off his season with his Kick-It foundation.

after he witnessed the emotional toll that was brought upon his family when Mandy Dunn passed away from breast cancer in June 2016 and his other aunt, Nicole Watkins, was diagnosed. Mandy Dunn, a former Coca-Cola employee, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36 and passed away two years later, despite her constant battle against the disease. The work that has been put into this program has not gone unnoticed by staff members or teammates of Gavin. The community recognizes the hard work and dedication that is the backbone of this program. His diligence on and off the field inspires those around him to strive to do better every day. “Gavin’s a tough worker. He’s been hurt a lot. Still, he’s coming back and he’s worked very hard to get where he’s at,”Keri said. “He’s got big goals so he has to work hard on and off the field.” However, despite all the success that Gavin and Kick-It have achieved, the Myers family still wishes that more people recognized and were educated on the program. Last year, Gavin attended a GMC athletic directors meeting alongside Richard Bryant in order to raise awareness and hopefully get other Lakota teams on board with the program. In spite of his best efforts, nobody wanted to do it.

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“It would be so awesome if more people were aware of this cause,” Keri said. “All the money goes towards cancer research, so it’s for a great cause.” Gavin’s teammates spoke highly of his dedication towards Kick-It and raising money towards pediatric cancer research. “I think that it is a great way to raise money for cancer research. He raised so much money playing the sport he loves,” said Vincent Kornau, East football player. “This shows how unselfish and how good of a person Gavin is.”

his year, Gavin decided to devote his season to Madison Smallwood, a student from the Monroe School District who bravely and courageously fought osteosarcoma for four years and passed away on June 25, 2019. With his hard work, Gavin was able to obtain 36 points for the season and raise $1,402 in total. So far, he has not committed to a college but hopes to continue playing football, doing his part in finding a cure for cancer and making a difference in the community. “Football has really helped me grow up and become a more mature version of myself,” Gavin said. “I just want to continue to go out there and do my job because I know I’ve trained for it.” •

column | opinion

CAUGHT IN THE GAME ANNA BIDDLE

photography gavin mullen | art alexandra fernholz

n 2009, an innocent game of tag quickly turned when my 3rd grade class used it to single out a student. It started as a simple game on the playground but by the end of recesses Bryan was it. As everyone lined up to go the whispers made their way down, no one under any circumstances was to touch Bryan. It was thrilling to be an eight year old with a secret mission, not only was I in on the joke, I was actively excluding someone from it. Soon enough, the game expanded to not only avoid touching Bryan but to avoid him completely. Official rules were written sloppily on torn corners of assignment papers and passed around in the halls. The lunch room became a battleground as people fought for the farthest seat away from Bryan. Eventually the exclusion began to take its toll on Bryan as he lost his lighthearted demeanor in exchange for

a cold hard exterior. No longer did the jokes roll off his back, and no longer could he shoulder the comments that followed him throughout the school. The words that so easily shot from our mouths and lodged themselves in Bryan were leaving their marks. Soon enough, the game would die down and slowly Bryan was allowed to rejoin, although he would never regained the bubbly persona he was so well known for before the game. It’s a simple statement, one most people have heard time and time again. Whispered tightly amongst friends in the busy school halls or bathrooms between classes. It seems innocent enough, because really what harm is it causing when no one else can hear the hushed words over the chatter in the hallway or roar of the hand dryers?

“I’m not racist but…” “Not to be homophobic but…” “She’s on her period so…”

ach one comes in different forms, but the sentiment is the same. The meaning behind them still stands behind the simple “but” or “so” that tries to compensate for the hatred that lurks just outside the invisible ellipsis. The comments can be easy to block out, especially when there is no personal connection or it comes across as a harmless joke. However, for the butt of the joke it hits way too close to home to simply laugh it off and continue on with the day. 10 years later, in a different classroom at a different school something similar would happen to a different person. In Sam Konicki’s lab class at Butler Tech, a Snapchat group chat was made. The students

in this chat used the opportunity to single Konicki out. “I started to feel like I was being attacked in there,” Konicki said. “After a while they just made another chat without me, and when my friend added me to that, people started leaving.” This isn’t the first time Konicki has been excluded and bullied for being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and it often becomes the place they turn to when the exclusion begins to take its toll. Despite having a community to rely on, Konicki still finds it hard to trust people due to the bullying and exclusion that has plagued them for years. “It has made me cautious with who I’m with,” Konicki said. “Basically, I’m tired of being left out.” The taunting and name calling no matter how insignificant is an ugly cycle, and somewhere along the way it became ingrained in the way in which we interact with one another. What can start as playground games, Snapchat groups and hallway whispers can turn into much more. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the reasons for being bullied reported most often by students include physical appearance, race/ ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation. Furthermore, bullied students indicate that bullying has a negative effect on how they feel about themselves (19%), their relationships with friends and family and on their school work (14%), and physical health (9%). It starts with a simple statement, a funny joke, a snide comment and maybe it ends there. But sometimes it follows people for the rest of their lives.•

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opinion | head to head

obody would ever want to have to live in a world where hate is around every corner. I was so oblivious to what was going on in the world until the day I can recall from memory. On a chilly fall day in October 2018, I walked home from school, completely oblivious to what everyone else was disturbed about. I scrolled through social media just like any other teenager, only to find memorial post after memorial post, all spreading awareness for the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue earlier that day. Three Jewish congregations had gathered for their worship service when a gunman opened fire, killing eleven people and wounding seven. This is only one of the hundreds of hate crimes we see everyday in the United States. It seems as though every time we turn on the news, another tragic headline floods our screen. Stories full of violence, politics, and shootings are not an uncommon read.This is partly because the government has not done enough to deter modern hate culture in America. Hate culture is still something relevant today, even after years of past mistakes. Slavery, segregation, and the women’s suffrage movement are all prime examples of America’s previous racism and hate. According to the Department of Justice, 54% of today’s hate crimes go unreported and 44% of the time, they are handled by someone who has no relation to the law. This means that more than half of hate crimes are not handled in an appropriate manner.

HEAD TO HEAD YES column jillian simon art alexandra fernholz photography gavin mullen

There is so much violence in the world, and yet so little change. A young white man opened fire, killing nine African American men who were worshipping at their church. A 17 year old Syrian refugee was attacked on a trolley in San Diego while the attacker made Anti-Arab and Islamophobic statements. The only way that we can prevent these acts from happening is change, and Americans can’t do it alone.

While we are allowed to hold our own opinions, we should not be allowed to publicly harass others for their backgrounds. In America, anyone can walk into a store and access a firearm easily. According to Every Town Research, 10,300 hate crimes in the United States involved a firearm. This is more than 28 shootings a day. Stores across the

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nation carry a wide selection of firearms, from stores like Cabella’s to Walmart. Although simple personal information is required when purchasing a gun, denials only occur 1% of the time. This means that just about anyone can purchase a firearm with any intention. In 2015, a book was published by Bryan Stevenson that shows that 10-35% of criminals struggle with serious mental illnesses. This means that these mentally ill people can easily access a firearm and do not have the health capacity to make good decisions with it. After a hate crime, Americans have little to no control over what happens to the criminal. They have the ability to form healing groups and protest for the respect and safety of the victim, but they can’t control the punishment the criminal receives. The government needs to be the louder voice of hope, reassurance, and determination that Americans need to hear.

ccording to the New York State Police, the best actions both government and law officials can take to prevent hate crimes are to encourage law officials to collect hate crime statistics and make them available to the public, raise awareness that hate crimes must be reported to law officials, provide training to law officials on how to handle hate crimes. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly mentioned that hate speech is protected by the First Amendment, but where should the line be drawn? It is not allowed to scream “fire” in a crowded movie theater because it incites panic. But it is not considered inciting panic

Has the government enacted enough polices to deter hate crimes? when someone is discriminated against based on their religion, race, gender, sexuality, or disabilities. To live in a world of peace, we need to also live in a world of acceptance and love for others. Differences make the world a unique place to be. This does not just rely on the people. The government needs to be a louder voice and take action to prevent hate crimes in a more public and selfless way. •

head to head | opinion

e were having lunch together, seated across from the other in the comfort of a leathered booth. My gaze shifted to my friend as she leaned towards me, unable to help but notice the way her eyes widen as they flicker to a group of older Americans a few tables away. Her head dips forward as she prepares to say something, but her eyes are still trained the other way. “I’m a little scared,” she tells me quietly, “that they might tell me to go back to my own country.” I glanced at the group myself, wondering what she saw in them to raise such a concern and found that I could not replicate that same sense of wariness. And yet for her, somewhere along the road of our young lives, she’d learned to fear the possibility of that unwanted attention. Even now, still just a teenager, she was cautious of such malintent. A government’s responsibility to its citizens is to provide the parameters of everyday behavior and ensure their basic safety. Already, several federal laws are in place to combat discrimination, with many states also having civil rights laws of their own. But the existence of these laws isn’t enough to halt all the hate that’s had generations to grow and evolve. The issue isn’t a problem with the government, but a structural problem with our society. Decades ago, the legislature took a huge step in the civil rights movement with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination. The act survived the opposition of southern Congress members at the time, but it wasn’t an instant cure for

Americans demanding everyone to speak in English or the stereotypes that follow a person around merely due to the color of their skin.

Sometimes, it’s in the everyday things you learn to ignore. While politics can have a strong hand in hate culture, there are also many things that occur separately from the government and are instead present in day-to-day life. According to a 2019 report by Pew Research Center, 64 percent of Hispanics with darker skin colors report to have experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly regularly or from time to time, compared with those with a lighter skin tone.

n another Pew report of the same year, it was reported that more than four in 10 of black people in American society today say the country hasn’t made enough progress towards racial equality and that there is some skepticism that black people will ever have equal rights with whites. There is a freedom to our government that can perhaps leave too much leeway for everyday hate, but what is the government supposed to do if they are to be held responsible for every action? Should they plaster cameras across every street to monitor us? Are we to become the society we write about in science fiction novels? The reality of the matter is that the government can’t micromanage the actions of all its citizens without compromising the

As the amount hate crimes increases year to year the question arises as to whether the government has done enough to stop them. Two Spark staffers debate this question. everything. We are years beyond laws of segregation and yet It’s clear that these issues still exist, so clearly the hate they combat stems from the people within society and not the government that resides over it. Hate is, after all, a culture: something made up of a set of beliefs and habits, an attitude and outlook passed down through the generations and built over time. The issues that hate culture encapsulates have a foundation and a structure that’s been built upon and solidified throughout by a societal machine made up of millions of moving, evolving cogs. Sometimes it’s feeling your body tense as your ride for the day rolls down the window to yell a slur at a kid walking past, or feeling exasperated when you hear older people telling you a woman’s place is at home, cooking for your family. It’s the videos on the internet of

freedom we pride ourselves so much on. Hate is something taught to us through our everyday interactions and environment, not something the government can minutely control. What people have to understand is that hate culture is ingrained in society. Policies can be enacted to deter the occurrence of hate crimes but a societal change must happen in order for the vicious attacks to stop happening. We have to become more educated, more aware, more compassionate, and more understanding of one another if we have any hope to diminish hate culture. •

column ianni acapulco art alexandra fernholz photography riley higgins

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opinion | column

ASSIGNING THE AGE RILEY HIGGINS

photography ianni acapulco | art alexandra fernholz

crolling through my favorite social media platform, Twitter, on Jan. 3, I was ambushed with “#WWIII.” My mind raced as I thought of every current issue going on that could have possibly led to a third world war, fearing that North Korea had given us our promised “Christmas surprise,” but that was not the case. Instead, when I clicked on the hashtag, I was met with my generation’s favorite way to undermine serious news, memes. The juvenile reaction to the assasination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, made one thing clear to me. People my age are not ready to be trusted with voting in official elections like the bill Yellow Springs Village Council passed at their July meeting proposed. The Yellow Springs bill, or ‘Amendment 13,’ proposed that 16 and 17 year olds in their Ohio village community should have

the right to vote in local elections, a heinous claim. Having the responsibility to vote has been debated and pushed throughout US history. Take the 1976 election, being one of the first elections where 18 year olds had the ability to vote, 13% of the 18% of eligible 18-24 year olds voted according to the US Census. This push made sense as people who are eligible to fight for our country want and rightly deserve the right to make decisions on important public matters. Such things can not be said of today’ s generation due to enlistment ages not changing. Interest and desire to vote runs low in a society where the youth have no skin in the game. In recent years, the younger generation demonstrated a low voter turnout. In the 2016 election, only 46.1% of 18-29 year olds able to vote placed a ballot, further proving the lack of interest of young Americans. Lowering that age would be ineffective. It is estimated that in Yellow Springs only 100 16-17-year-olds would have added to the 2000 civilians already eligible to vote if Amendment 13 would have made it past the November ballot. The Amendment was rejected with 52.4% of voters not approving the lower age. According to the New York Times, 75% of registered voters opposed letting 17-yearolds vote, and 84% opposed it for 16-yearolds. Effective decision making does not come from having a global perspective, as a large portion of teens possess in today’s day in age. Even having knowledge about many topics worldwide does not qualify us to make mature decisions regarding the future of a state. Around the globe, the same issues arise in the 20 countries that have a voting age lower than 18. In 2012, Argentina’s congress passed a bill allowing 16-yearolds to vote in elections for the following year. It was widely suspected that this change in age was an attempt to keep the

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former president in power, instead of trying to involve their youth. Even if these accusations were false, it still presents a true issue. What would stop politicians from trying to target the new voters who lack the maturity to recognize when manipulation occurs? However, it is not entirely 16 and 17-yearolds fault. It is widely known that the human brain does not finish developing until the age of 25. The final cortex of the brain to develop is the frontal cortex, which is responsible for judgement, problem solving, reasoning, and impulse control, the very basic characteristics of an average American teen. Although, the inability to make sound decisions about our own future should not be blamed on human nature alone. As a newly dawned 16-year-old, I have received little to no training on our government processes or what local officials do while in office. Not only would I feel unprepared to make educated decisions, I know from experience that not many people my age would be willing to sacrifice their time to research candidates running in local elections. Ohio law 3313.603 states that every high school student is required to take one half unit of government in order to receive a high school diploma. At Lakota East, this class if offered to juniors. The timing makes it difficult to receive an education regarding the decisions that would be made if 16 year olds were given the right to vote. Not only does the timing reflect poorly on the lower age, but we do not receive enough education about our nation’s government to make effective voters at the age of 16. Until the education system is changed to incorporate 16 and 17-year-old voters, any action to incorporate the youth will not be beneficial to Americans. •

column | opinion

TITLE: EXCLUSIVE PART 1 BRAYDEN BARGER

photography riley higgins | art alexandra fernholz

n our Declaration of Independence, the most important line is without a doubt, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Unfortunately, poor wording seemed to be a trend for early American documents. Specifically stating, “all men” as opposed to “all people.” As a result, a multitude of different movements have been inspired and legislature has been passed in order to include women in America’s vision of equality. Recently, Virginia voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), becoming the 38th state to do so. If Congress extends the deadline for the ratification that was set in 1972, the ERA would ingraine into the Constitution that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” That same year, on June 23, 1972, another measure for equality was signed by then president Richard Nixon. Nixon attempted to establish equality within the education system by passing Title IX, a clause of the 1972 Federal Education Amendments. Title IX states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” On paper, Title IX is a no-brainer. Equality is paramount in any aspect of a civilized society. However, since being passed into law, the policy has been met with some criticism from multiple aspects. More specifically, the way universities currently handle and enforce Title IX. Title IX’s enforcement opens doors to discrimination against men, especially in regard to sexual assault accusations and trials.

In 2011, a guidance was released by Russlynn Ali, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights from the Obama administration, that essentially declared sexual assault as a form of a sex discrimination, which then led to sexual assaults being applicable to Title IX. This new application forced universities to overhaul how they enforce Title IX, hiring “coordinators,” “investigators,” and “adjudicators” that act as police, jury, and judge for sexual accusations, which often results in suspension, expulsion, or summary ejection off campus for the accused. While this new system has good intentions in theory, in reality the adjudicatory process runs on a “guilty until proven innocent” basis that almost completely ignores due process which creates a double standard for Title IX. This is evident by a case that was just recently settled where a former student of Boston College was awarded $100,000 for being suspended for over a year when he was a senior in 2012 and having his graduation postponed until 2014, despite the fact that the original charges were dropped by the district attorney. In that case, there was exculpatory evidence that led to the charges being dropped, such as footage of the event showing the male student several feet from the accuser during the alleged incident and forensic testing showing none of accusers DNA on the male. Despite that, Boston College proceeded with the hearing and refused to look at the evidence, resulting in the punishment that was placed on the student. However, the universities are not completely to blame. As a result of recent movements like #MeToo that promote women coming out about their sexual assault, universities have been flooded with complaints and accusations. As an example,

on the campus of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, around 40 cases of sexual assault have been reported this past fall semester alone, compared to 28 cases from the 2018 fall semester, per the Oxford Police Department. This puts immense pressure on universities to get through each case in a swift manner, which limits the attention to detail necessary for these kinds of cases to be handled fairly. As a result of this, alleged perpetrators who were unjustly punished are filing more civil complaints against the universities. A 2015 study conducted by the United Educators found that out of 305 Title IX claims analyzed, more than one-fourth were challenged either through lawsuits in the

opinion | east speaks out federal courts or by complaints through the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Negligence and breach of contract rooted in the judging system made up 79% of the challenged arguments, as many institutions do not consider exculpatory evidence such as text messages. This unfair process also gives incentives to the alleged victim almost directly upon report of the sexual assault with no police report, disciplinary complaint, or investigation necessary. At Miami University for example, alleged victims are provided a temporary safe space within the University’s residence halls, transportation and/or parking options, various support options, and academic support services such as tutoring and the

ability to be exempt from taking exams, among other incentives. These incentives are very helpful of course for a true victim of sexual assault, but if no due process is put in place first to check the validity of the situation then what is stopping women from exploiting the system to take advantage of these incentives? In order to address the current judging process and essentially level the playing field for both accusers and the accused, Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of Education, proposed Title IX rule changes in November 2018 that are still awaiting release. The proposed regulations state that Title IX administrators’ “treatment of both complainant and respondent could constitute

discrimination on the basis of sex” and “a respondent can be unjustifiably separated from his or her education on the basis of sex, in violation of Title IX, if the recipient does not investigate and adjudicate using fair procedures before imposing discipline.” While it is borderline impossible to ensure complete fairness on both sides, universities and lawmakers must take the necessary strides in order to maintain as much equality in these Title IX cases as possible. Proposed regulations like that of Betsy DeVos’ must be seriously considered in order to update Title IX to fairly and equally represent both men and women. Otherwise, the very thing that was created in order to stop discrimination, will in turn promote more discrimination. •

EAST SPEAKS OUT

Has the government enacted enough polices to deter hate crimes? interviews rehab jarabah photography riley higgins and josie mckain

Johannes Fernholz

DJ WASHINGTON CAMBELL SPRADLING EMMA JACOBSON

FRESHMAN

SOPHOMORE

“No, although I don’t pay attention to the media a lot, I know through mainstream media that it is still happening often, so I’d have to say no.”

“No, hate crimes are

still happening in the world today and it's 2019. I think the government should do a lot more to deal with it because it's a non stop [thing] happening in the world today.”

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JUNIOR “No, I think there’s a lot of hate crimes that still go around today. A hate crime is when people are attacked for certain thing they have or like disorder or like almost anything like that.”

SENIOR “Yes, because I feel like the government could only do so much as a psychological thing with people. And so the government has done all they can and now it’s the people’s turn to try and do so.”

chief column | opinion

FAMINE WEEKEND ANNA MULLINS

ood Insecurity…For those of us who don’t experience it, it is something that we rarely think about. Only being reminded it exists when someone hosts a food drive for a local pantry. But for those who experience food insecurity it is all encompassing. If basic needs are not being met then nothing else can occur, the body itself is in survival mode. As a seventh grader I can remember participating in my youth group’s 30 Hour Famine weekend. The intent of the weekend was to simulate what it must feel like to live in a third world country and not have enough food to eat. Originally when the program started, students would bring cardboard boxes and pitch camp outside to live in for the weekend. After a couple of years this was deemed unsafe and a security risk so students were moved inside. I experienced the more “glamping” indoor version of the 30hr famine. While we did experience fasting, we were still offered juice during the day and a bowl of rice in the evening. At the time I felt hungry, but I was also well aware that in just a few hours I would be able to eat a large meal of whatever I wanted. Looking back at my 30hr famine experience it came nowhere close to reality. I believe many of us have seen homeless individuals sitting outside of restaurants or sporting events in downtown Cincinnati, all with signs asking for help. They don’t get to choose what meal they will receive or even if they will get food at all. They are at the whim of all of the people around them. Even though I had never truly experienced food insecurity I believed that I knew what it was and how many people experienced it. I was under the impression that if I had food then most everyone else in my community did as well. It wasn’t until last year when I wrote an article on food pantries in the Lakota school district that I truly realized the unmet needs of students in our area. According to Nokidhungry, 11.2 million children in the US live in food insecure homes, which is roughly 1 in 7 kids living with hunger in America alone. The important thing to remember is that these are real people, not just faceless children in a third world country or people on the street we hope don’t make eye contact. Food insecurity is a real issue, and it isn’t just a third world issue, nor a downtown Cincinnati issue. It happens here in West Chester and Liberty townships. Our schools work to combat child hunger through free and reduced lunches, which is a great start but that only provides for meals that occur during the school day. Local food pantries also play a large role in helping families and individuals receive food. On Saturday mornings, families can be seen lining up hours before a local food pantry opens. The weather does not matter, people line up out of fear that there will not be enough. Food pantries and organizations like Reach Out Lakota have a year round need for critical items like flour, sugar and personal hygiene items. In December my family decided to attend the Empty Bowls lunch as a way to kick off our holiday festivities. As part of the event we each picked out one of the uniquely decorated bowls, donated by local artists of all ages, and voted for our favorite chili. While sampling the soups and cheering on our favorite local fire department was fun. The highlight was that all proceeds went to support Reach Out Lakota and the Faith Alliance Summer Lunch Program, who give aid to those experiencing food insecurity in our Lakota Community. It is now January and the joy of giving that the holidays creates has begun to wear off, but just because the holidays are over does not mean that people are not still hungry. It may not be “in season” but donating and giving should be a year-round affair. •

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section | story

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