November 2024

Notre Dame de Sion High School | Volume 46 | November 2024

what’s inside

Posing for a photo with Sion’s cardboard cutout of Sister Winnie, administrators Katie Glatz, Katie Axtell and Kathryn Gormly dressed up as nuns for Storm Stomp Oct. 31. Storm Stomp is an annual basketball tournament centered around fundraising for student scholarships. “Originally, I wasn’t going to participate but I really enjoyed it although we didn’t advance this year,” Glatz said. “It was easy to get around in my nun costume.”

editor’s ink

Happy Fall!

We are so excited to be back for our November issue, just in time for the leaves to begin turning colors and falling from the trees.

As a staff, we’ve been working hard this past month to give you the very best, most accurate information just in time for the election. In light of the election season, we’re diving deep into the world of politics and government, exploring the ways in which our current government works and the issues our country faces, especially as it relates to us as students. With the election consuming our media, conversations and relationships in the past few months, we ask you to take a moment to reflect on what it means to be American and how we can uphold American values in a divided country.

Ask yourself how we can become more civically engaged on pages 7 and 21, then follow up with our staff editorial on gun control on page 12 with students’ experiences with gun violence and lockdowns on page 13.

Our cover story this issue centers on the intense polarization present in the United States right now and the threat that the division within political parties brings to democracy. Through the perspective of a younger generation, this story explores how now is the time to educate ourselves and to work towards unity so that we may grow into adults who strive for progress.

Take a breath of fresh air before you reach the end of the magazine with light-hearted reviews of sweet treats in Kansas City and the recently released sequel to “Joker.”

Ella Warden

Senior Ella Warden spends her mornings at the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS), a program which introduces students to a professional workspace while giving them college credit.

Before diving into the issue, take a few minutes on page 4-5 to re-familiarize yourself with our two main political parties’ beliefs and the notable events of this election season.

On one last note before you head into the issue, I am so proud of our entire staff. We’ve worked tirelessly on this issue, with consistent background research and fact-checking, to produce stories we hope spark questions and prompt discussion in you to search for a more unified world.

“It’s an awesome opportunity for kids to explore different majors that they want to pursue in college,” Warden said. “My class that I’m in right now is digital design and photography.” CAPS is meant to mirror going to a job. Students show up in full business attire.

student space on the cover

“We have a storefront called Creative Corner where we sell products and make jewelry,” Warden said. “Our Instagram is BV Creative Corner.”

Warden attends CAPS every weekday morning. However, she says that CAPS does not interfere with her workload.

“I think it helps me balance the work even better,” Warden said. “And I think that with having Sion and doing CAPS, it’s just such an awesome opportunity that I think so many girls here should look into if they’re interested.”

Thank you and please enjoy!

Cover art by editor-in-chief Caroline Deacon and reporter Greta Martin

SPREAD AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY REPORTER GABRIELA SWINDLE, BASED ON AN INFOGRAPHIC FROM “INFORMATION IS BEAUTIFUL”

LEFT

PARTIES LEANING TOWARDS THIS IDEOLOGY

COMMUNISM LABOUR DEMOCRATIC

COMMON VALUES AND TRAITS

HELPING THOSE WHO CAN’T HELP THEMSELVES POSITIVE ROLE MODELS

CHAMPIONS OF DOWNTRODDEN SELF EXAMINATION

POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES RANGE ALONG A SPECTRUM AND PROVIDE UNIQUE OPTIONS ON VARIOUS ISSUES.

liberal progressive looks to the Future equitable access egalitarian inclusivity idealism FAIRNESS

first presidential debate

June 27, 2024

Incumbent President Joe Biden and former president Donald

faced off for the first presidential debate hosted by CNN.

Remarks offered by the 81-year-old nominee and his 78-year-old opponent left audiences wondering if the age gap didn’t feel larger.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump was shot and wounded in his upper right ear while speaking at an open-air rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.

The shooter, 20-year-old Matthew Crooks, fired eight rounds from an AR-15 rifle, killing one audience member and injuring two others.

trump assassination attempt at pennsylvania rally July 13, 2024

republican national convention

July 15-18, 2024

President Joe Biden became the first incumbent to drop out of a race since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. He is the only president to withdraw after winning the primary.

Biden endorsed Kamala Harris, though a new nominee could not be secured until the DNC.

biden drops out of the race July 21, 2024

democratic national convention

Aug. 19-22, 2024

Trump

IDEOLOGIES GUIDE

OFTEN, CITIZENS ARE NEITHER ONE OR THE OTHER, BUT RATHER HOLD MIXED BELIEFS.

Before reading the issue, examine the infographic below to help inform your perspective throughout the next 23 pages.

PARTIES LEANING TOWARDS THIS IDEOLOGY

CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN

COMMON VALUES AND TRAITS

UPHOLDING ORDER

HELPING THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

STRONG ROLE MODELS

NATIONALIST

CHAMPIONS OF OPPORTUNITY

MORAL STRENGTH

MILITANCY

conservative traditional honors the past equal opportunity duty meritocracy pragmatism

working toward indiviual opportunity

economic Freedom

SEASON TIMELINE

presidential debate Sept. 10, 2024 trump faces a second assassination attempt in west palm beach Sept. 15, 2024

Former president Donald Trump faced off against newly nominated Vice President Kamala Harris in a split-screen debate on ABC.

The two famously covered topics like Haitian immigrants in Ohio, abortion, gun rights and policy plans.

Secret Service members arrested Ryan Wesley Routh Sept. 24 at Trump International Golf Club after they found him with a weapon while doing a sweep for the impromptu visit.

Vice President Nominees JD Vance and Tim Walz debated on a national stage hosted by CBS. Viewers were struck

candidates.

boo bash BUSTS THE BUDGET

BY AVERY WILLIAMS REPORTER

AStudent council revives an old Sion tradition for a night of fright and fundraising, but the event left us behind the goal for supporting Redemptorist Social Services.

fter at least five years without a fall dance or mixer, student body president Addi Bowes and other student council members worked to eventually approve a Halloween Dance for all grades.

After meetings and rumors about a potential Homecoming Dance, scheduling allowed for Sion’s first official Boo Bash Oct. 25, a themed dance that brought together students for a night of fright and festive celebration.

The dance was a success for the intimate group that attended. Fairies, vampires and princesses were among some of costumed attendees at the dance. Sophomore Raven Silvers dressed up as a black swan.

“We were just really hype and really happy to be there,” Silvers said. “My friends and I didn’t have any plans for Halloween so the Boo Bash was a super fun way for us to hangout.”

Fall Dances used to be an annual tradition and the theme changed each year, but eventually student interest dropped off which ended the event.

“My original goal for starting the dance up again was to have a homecoming because there’s so many perks to being in an all-girls school, but you don’t get the typical American high school experience,” Bowes said. “We don’t have Friday night football games or homecoming, so we decided to try and start the tradition back up.”

Another senior eager to restart this tradition was Tessa Lind. As a member of the student council, she joined the Boo Bash Committee, which comprised of students responsible for decorations, music selection and fundraising activities.

“Obviously, it’s a Halloween dance so we wanted it to feel spooky, but also cute,” Lind said. “We only spent $50 on decorations, but we got a big ghost inflatable that we placed next to a photo area where people could take pictures.”

The underlying purpose of the dance was to raise money for Redemptorist Social Services Center, a non-profit agency that has provided a lifeline to the poor and elderly of metropolitan Kansas City since 1986, but low turnout brought up concerns and conversations about how our school supports the organization.

“I have been trying to move away from fundraising being just fun and games for us,” junior class president Heidi Nance said.

“I am uncomfortable with that. It feels a little dystopian.”

Nance’s starting ideas to work toward change include using the expertise of theology teacher Paul Kramschuster to present on the severity of the issue.

“I’m hoping the school will be receptive to that,” Nance said. “I’m hoping that if we portray how truly dire this is and the importance of our impact, then people will find the empathy in their hearts to make a difference.”

Boo Bash sold 120 tickets to fundraise for Redemptrist, but due to DJ costs and the breathalyzing company fee, the event lost money.

“It’s more than just Socktoberfest or competing with other grades to win civvies and a day off of school,” Nance said. “What we do for Redempterist affects real people, and it’s worthwhile in its own right.”

I PUT A SPELL ON YOU

cheerdleader, and black swan, the girls showed off their moves on the

HOPPIN’ TO THE BEAT

In the Sion gym, sophomore Luella Mook laughs while she dances during the Boo Bash Oct. 25. Surroundeding her are her friends dressed as charcters from Alice and Wonderland. “I tried to convince my friends to dance with me because I was the only one, ” Mook said. “I looked like a clown at first but they ended up joning in.”

| ALEXIUS WOLFF

REDEMPTORIST WISH LIST

Peanut Butter

Mac and Cheese

Protein & Prepackaged Snacks

Canned fruit and vegetables

Ramen and cups of noodles

Socks and underwear

Dancing together, sophomores Raven Silvers, Annmarie Wesley and Addison Porter in the gym during the Boo Bash Oct. 25. Dressed as a vampire,

floor.

PHOTO | ALEXIUS WOLFF

PHOTO

First time for Everything

These are some of our teachers’ first voting experiences and their advice for you.

Science teacher

Tracy McNair had her first election in November 2004. Since she was in college, she did research by reading the free newspapers in the UMKC student lounge. She did watch the presidential debate, but was not able to watch the vice presidential debate.

BY REPORTER NORA GEDNEY

She continues to vote in every presidential election, but does miss some of the general and municipal elections.

Some advice she gives to new voters this year is to get to the voting offices early.

“If your voting location has limited parking, you might

have to walk a long way in inclement weather,” McNair said. “And the lines may be long if you go before or after school.”

History teacher Taylor Hersh’s first election was in 2008 when she was 18. She had a similar experience to many of the seniors of this year. She was able to vote right when she turned 18. She was still in school, but Hersh made sure to conduct thorough research before casting her vote.

“I think it’s

Fimportant to understand each candidate’s position and what they plan to do once in office,” Hersh said. She was also able to watch the debates. Hersh thinks the debates are important to watch so you can get analysis from credible sources.

“My political position was similar to

rench teacher

my parents because I relied heavily on their guidance,” Hersh said.

“As I grew older and more independent, my political position became more greatly informed by my own experiences.” Some advice she gives is to make sure you know your information prior to voting. Don’t put it off

to the last second and be thorough.

“When you go in to vote, take a notecard with your choices on candidates and issues,” Hersh said.

“That way, you don’t forget what you’ve researched, and you don’t have to memorize your selections.”

Elizabeth Lopez first voted in the election of 1988. She presses getting your information from reliable sources, as there can be false information. Sometimes people on social media make false claims to promote their preferred candidate.

“Don’t just get your news off social

English teacher Chrissy Nance cast her first vote in the election of 2000. When she first entered the poll office, she recalls being very nervous.

“I was nervous to go to the polling station because I didn’t know what that would be like, but once I arrived there, they had the nicest people,” Nance said.

media because a lot of the stuff on there is exaggerated or even false or made up,” Lopez said. She also advises researching each candidate to know their policies and their views. Even though you may know who you want to vote for prior to casting your vote, you should still do research on the other

candidate. She also recommended you vote as soon as possible. Since Generation Z is now nearing or at the voting age, putting your vote out can help represent the younger generations.

Lopez also says to keep up with debates so you can get views from the candidates themselves. The news gives good information

but hearing the candidates’ views can show you things as well.

her “I Voted” sticker off at school. She was proud of her experience and wanted to show it to others.

Before the election, Nance did intensive research on the two parties, even more than she does now. She valued knowing what both sides’ policies were.

After voting, Nance was very excited to show

“I watched the debates because growing up, my parents always watched debates

and I knew that was important,” Nance said. She grew up understanding the election process, which encouraged her to research and vote with the correct amount of knowledge. Her family had an impact on her decision as well, as her views were similar to her parents. She was able to talk to her friends and family about their perspectives which was

helpful to get an opinion outside of news sources.

For new voters Nance strongly believes in the importance of voting as soon as you turn 18.

“You think about women’s right to vote and how that really wasn’t that long ago when women or people of color couldn’t vote, Nance said. “It’s such a privilege to be able to do it.”

Politics Pony Club

Amidst an election year, the place of celebrity opinion and works is put into question as well as the measure of their influence on voters.

n Saturday, Aug. 17, an A.I. generated image of Taylor Swift in an Uncle Sam outfit was reposted by former President Donald announcing an endorsement from Swift. Later, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, Swift posted an announcement on Instagram endorsing Kamala Harris.

“Recently I was made aware that A.I. of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to this site,” Swift wrote on Instagram. “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election.”

With over 11 million likes, this post generated many opinions on A.I. in the election, and more predominantly, celebrity endorsements. People began to question the truth of presidential posts as well as the reality of endorsements on social media.

“The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”

On the other hand, singer Chappell Roan recently announced a “non-endorsement” with a statement on the candidates and political climate.

“I have so many issues with our government in every way. There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone,” Roan stated to the public. “There’s problems on both sides. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote—vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.”

With this announcement, controversy and questions on

celebrities’ place in such a pressing election rose. There are mixed emotions on how societal figures should use their platform and express political alignments. Many people felt it was neglectful for her to publicly condone not voting in our democracy. Others applauded her realism in this polarized year. For celebrities like Roan, they jeopardize parts of their fanbase when they share their opinions on controversial matters within the nation.

Another high profile struggle within this election is music release for campaign events. The team of the popular singer Celine Dion issued a statement after one of her songs and music videos was played at a presidential campaign rally without her permission, leading to a public response.

“In no way is this use authorized and Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use… and really, that song?” the statement said.

This post also attracted attention and raised debate on the ethics of artists’ works in political events, bringing to question how large the impact of celebrity opinions are on U.S. citizens during elections. Does hearing the music of one of your favorite singers at a campaign make you more inclined to vote for them?

Articles on celebrity endorsements in the election frequently mention a study by the Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance. The study showed that endorsements by famous figures can tremendously impact the election as well as increase voting numbers. In hopes of rallying America to vote, some high profile celebrities add voting links on their social media platforms.

The study is interesting to ponder especially in relation to the truthfulness of its findings within Sion. When posed the question “How much does influencer or celebrity opinion on political candidates affect your own thinking and opinions of a presidential race?’ on a scale from zero to ten, zero being “not at all,” and ten being, “all I consider,” 45 of 107 students voted zero., indicating little reliance on celebrity viewpoints.

In any election, big, we should account for the views of those who have platforms, but keep our votes in alignment to our beliefs.

DEBATE DEBUT

An in depth look at Sion’s revival of the debate team after four years.

BY BRIDGET BENDORF WEB EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ILLUSTRATIONS | BRIDGET BENDORF

AAfter four years, Sion revived its Debate Team with the addition of coach Caleb Westbrook to guide the new participants in their first season of Debate. He plans on teaching public speaking skills and proper ways to research topics and policies throughout the world.

fter four years, Sion revived its debate team with the addition of coach Caleb Westbrook to guide the new participants in their first season. He plans on teaching public speaking skills and proper ways to research topics and policies throughout the world.

Westbrook competed in speech and debate at Southwest Baptist University, and has been a coach for seven years. His teaching style revolves around experiential learning and helping the students research and learn how to debate.

Westbrook competed in speech and debate at Southwest Baptist University and has been a coach for seven years. His teaching style revolves around experiential learning and helping the students research and learn how to debate.

“While I provide the foundation for effective communication and argumentation,” Westbrook said. “It’s the students who do the research, build their cases and participate in the events.”

“While I provide the foundation for effective communication and argumentation,” Westbrook said, “it’s the students who do the research, build their cases and participate in the events.”

Debate helps underclassmen get acclimated to the Sion community while also learning valuable life skills such public speaking.

Many students are interested in debate as a way to get involved with Sion without doing a sport, and it helps underclassmen get acclimated to the Sion community while also learning valuable life skills such as public speaking.

“I thought it would be a good skill to have as someone who is interested in law as a possible future profession and it seemed like a fun extracurricular activity to try out as a freshman,” team member Vivi Lukas said. “I hope to build a toolbox of skills like public speaking and being able to respond to rebuttals.”

“I thought it would be a good skill to have as someone who is interested in law as a possible future profession and it seemed like a fun extracurricular activity to try out as a freshman,” freshman Vivi Lukas said. “I hope to build a toolbox of skills like public speaking and being able to respond to rebuttals.”

Sports at Sion are very popular as a way to participate in the community, and by adding a new extracurricular it helps students who have different interests get involved.

Many students are interested in debate as a way to get involved with Sion without doing a sport. Sports are very popular as a way to participate in the community and by adding a new extracurricular it helps students who have different interests stay involved.

“I’m excited to have a space to talk about current world events and a place to argue in healthy ways,” sophomore Abby Gural said. “It’s like how people put frustration into sports, I put mine into my debates and speeches.”

“I’m excited to have a space to talk about current world events and a place to argue in healthy ways,” sophomore Abby Gural said. “It’s like how people put frustration into sports, I put mine into my debates and speeches.”

By learning about real world political policies and ideas, as well as how to have a healthy argument, students will prepare for their future careers.

By learning about real world political policies and ideas and how to have a healthy argument, these skills will help students prepare for their future careers.

“The career I want to go into is going to have a heavy focus on discussion of policies and debate of ideas. I thought that it

“The career I want to go into is going to have a heavy focus on discussion of policies and debate of ideas. I thought

that it would be important for me to have a basic knowledge of debate, especially because I might want to participate in recreational debate in college,” senior Greta Grossman said. “Ever since I was little I’ve wanted to do debate and I’m excited that we have it here now.”

would be important for me to have a basic knowledge of debate, especially because I might want to participate in recreational debate in college,” senior Greta Grossman said. “Ever since I was little I’ve wanted to do debate, and I’m excited that we have it here now.”

Throughout the season, the team has learned the different forms of debate as well as how to structure arguments, find evidence and research the topics given to them. As tournaments get closer, the practices will be more focused into smaller groups to prepare for future tournaments throughout the season.

Throughout the season, the team has learned the different forms of debate as well as how to structure arguments, find evidence, and research the topics given to them. As tournaments get closer, the practices will be more focused into smaller groups to prepare for future tournaments throughout the season.

“First-year speech and debate team members compete in novice tournaments, rather than varsity tournaments, against other beginners, so it allows everyone to ease into public speaking instead of immediately getting thrown into the fire against highly experienced opponents,” Westbrook said.

“First-year speech and debate team members compete in novice tournaments, rather than varsity tournaments, against other beginners, so it allows everyone to ease into public speaking instead of immediately getting thrown into the fire against highly experienced opponents,” Westbrook said.

Many students hope to gain useful life skills such as reliable research, public speaking and how to stay informed on real world issues from debate. As the program grows, students are excited to get real world experience that will help them in college and future careers.

Many students hope to gain useful life skills such as reliable research, public speaking and how to stay informed on real world issues from Debate. As the program grows, students are excited to get real world experience that will help them in college and future careers.

“I’m excited to gain more knowledge about the prompts because they’re about real world scenarios that we actually research with the news,” junior Surriya Quddus said. “I’m excited to meet new people from different schools and learn about public speaking.”

“I’m excited to gain more knowledge about the prompts because they’re about real world scenarios that we actually research about the news,” junior Surriya Quddus said. “I’m excited to meet new people from different schools and learn about public speaking.

Though the season is off to a great start, the team is imited on the amount of time they are given to practice, as they only practice twice a week for 45 minutes.

Though the season is off to a great start, the team is imited on the amount of time they are given to practice, as they only practice twice a week for 45 minutes.

“In the future, I hope that we have an elective speech and debate class, increase the number of students in the program, compete in more events and qualify for the national tournament,” Westbrook said. “That is what we are aiming toward in the future, but as a new program, we have to take things one step at a time.”

“In the future, I hope that we have an elective speech and debate class, increase the number of students in the program, compete in more events and qualify for the national tournament,” Westbrook said. “That is what we are aiming toward in the future, but as a new program we have to take things one step at a time.”

City of Civics

Three Sion teachers ventured into New York City this summer for a conference run by Civic Spirit aiming to provide teachers the resources to foster knowledge of government in students.

BY MANAGING EDITOR ELLA SATTERWHITE

This summer, three teachers traveled to the Upper West Side for a five-day development opportunity on teaching civil discourse.

“I’m always trying to figure out how we can do a better job of teaching students how to dialogue, especially in a context where, in the world around us, we do not have good dialogue modeled for us,” mission director Annie Riggs said. “The rhetoric in the world is divisive, and it tries to force people into polarized positions when, really, it’s more about getting to know them and connecting with them. And yet, we never get to practice that.”

The conference included trips into the city to museums as well as visits and presentations from various experts.

“I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the political scientists’ and legal scholars’ thoughts on the Founding Fathers’ writings,” world history teacher Taylor Hersh said. “I don’t teach U.S. history, so I enjoyed revisiting these topics that I haven’t studied since I was in college.”

The conference was run by Civic Spirit, a Jewish organization that partners with educators and schools rooted in a faith tradition to strengthen their capacity for comprehensive and non-partisan civic

education. One of the conference’s main features was providing hands-on activities to apply what the teachers were learning.

“A lot of times it’s the question you start with. If you start with a question that’s extremely polarizing, then yes, it’s going to force people into polarizing positions,” Riggs said. “But if you ask a question that’s rooted in someone’s experience or their values, you can talk about the same topic, but you can do it in a way that allows for more give and take and more openness to somebody else’s perspective.”

For example, instead of asking whether the Second Amendment is good or bad, you could instead ask about people’s experiences with guns. The conference itself also modeled this structure with the questions it asked the teachers to consider.

“One of the questions they started out the conference with was something along the lines of ‘What makes you feel like you belong to America?’ They had each one of the teachers respond with an experience in their lives when they felt like they belonged to the country, and tapped into that life experience as a way to talk about your values, about the country and what you want to see happen in the country,” government teacher Lindsay Moore said. “I was just struck by the variety of answers. I just thought it was so interesting to hear how so many different people would answer that question.”

Moore was so inspired by the question that she included it at the beginning of her first-semester government class. Instead of having a discussion, Moore asked students to journal their responses and

she continues to provide journal prompts as the class evolves.

“Since this year is an election year, I have used so many things I learned in my honors government class, especially about trying to get people to talk to each other civilly across what seems like a very divided political landscape,” Moore said. “Giving students the toolset to be able to engage in these dialogues that - instead of dividing a community - can actually bring a community closer together… That’s the whole goal.”

Particularly in the polarized landscape of today’s politics, teachers can be cautious about bringing up elections in the classroom. However, Moore holds that the election can provide a unique lens to teach through.

“It’s stressful, but also such a great opportunity,” Moore said. “We pulled in the presidential debates and the vice presidential debates. We talked about voting. We’re going to talk about down-ballot voting, which is about looking at other people on the ballot than just the president and vice president, and then it’s a great jumping-off point to let students explore ‘What do I believe in and what are my values?’ and connect back to who they are as a person.”

The teachers at the conference also participated in an activity centered on a technique called reflective dialogue, which Moore has now applied in her classroom.

“I had people talking about their own political values and their own experiences that are tied to those values in small groups,” Moore said. “It was in a very structured sort of way that I think made people feel a little more comfortable than they would normally feel if they were just in a free-flowing conversation.

There were specific questions and people could only respond with other questions rather than making a statement or a counterstatement.”

Emphasis on talking itself was a theme of the conference. There were around 20 participants, who were encouraged to frequently discuss the topics they were being instructed in.

“It is important to regularly practice dialogue in order to build meaningful relationships with those around us and to broaden our own perspective,” Hersh said. “I felt fortunate to dialogue with participants at the summer institute who had experiences and opinions that were different from mine.”

All three teachers are applying the lessons they learned in their own ways. Moore utilizes various exercises in her classes while Hersh ran a fall deep dive session focused on conversations with family. Riggs is hoping to implement lessons at the grade school.

“All that we’re trying to help students do is think.,” Riggs said. “How do we give faculty the practice together to talk through some of these scenarios that might come up in class? How do you work through this situation? How could you ask different questions that would achieve a better result with students?”

None of this is easy. Asking people to be vulnerable and honest is difficult, as is having productive conversations in a time of political division.

“Why ask students to do this? Because it makes them uncomfortable. If we’re wanting to build a courageous and curious community, like the theme is for this year, then I think it’s through having these types of conversations that we make connections with each other,” Moore said. “We learn to be curious about one another, rather than judgmental about one another. If we can do that here at Sion, I feel like that’s just one step toward maybe getting it into the broader culture, because that’s what our country needs right now.”

A Night in The City

Every day, the conference took up much of the teacher’s time, running from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with four to five sessions. This left only the night to relax, decompress and explore New York City. One evening activity that government teacher Lindsay Moore chose to participate in was attending the Broadway production of “Suffs,” a musical production covering the work of female suffragettes to gain the vote.

“It blew me away. It was so good and so relevant to many of the ideas we’re talking about,” Moore said. “If we’re talking about American history and bringing all people into the conversation, then the story of how women got the right to vote just seemed to dovetail right into that.”

Lindsay Moore Annie Riggs

taylor hersh

PHOTO SUBMITTED | LINDSAY MOORE

is GUN CONTROL under control?

The Second Amendment has long been debated due to its unclear wording and abundance of commas. While gun owners and gun rights advocates maintain that the amendment’s sole purpose is to guarantee citizens their right to own and use weapons, those in support of gun control cite the “well regulated Militia” part as proof of its irrelevance.

Although the Second Amendment is still regularly discussed and its true meaning remains controversial, what we can be sure of is its impact on the United States. Lawmakers from both parties are hesitant to act on gun violence. Meanwhile, hundreds of mass shootings occur each year, and new technologies are making it easier than ever to purchase or even make your own firearms. Children as young as five have to participate in intruder drills at their school because the reality is that school shootings are a scenario that students and teachers need to be ready for.

“There’s a lot of people who are using the Second Amendment as an excuse to own, like, an assault rifle, which I think is really unneeded right now,” freshman London Trahan said. “I feel like we’re trying to fight the problem with more guns,”

Proper gun control laws are the right thing to do here, but neither party is willing to put in the work to create these policies.

Unlike most issues, both presidential candidates have a similar stance on gun laws. Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have both mentioned that they own guns, and neither candidate has proposed anything that resembles a firearm ban, contrary to the claims made by Trump during the presidential debate.

“She is destroying our country. She has a plan to defund the police. She has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun,” Trump said in the debate, which aired on ABC News on Sept. 10.

Ever since current president Joe Biden

STUDENTS DESERVE SAFETY

CONTROL

announced he would no longer be running for reelection and Harris stepped in in his place, Harris has made her stance on guns very clear.

“Tim Walz and I are both gun owners,” Harris said in that same debate. “We’re not taking anybody’s guns away.”

Throughout her presidential campaign, Harris has repeated this point, likely to appeal to more conservative voters. She’s said that she believes the current discourse surrounding guns is unproductive and unnecessarily polarizing, and that she herself is pro-gun ownership, but also supportive of regulations.

“We are being offered a false choice,” Harris said to CNN in 2019. “You’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. It’s a false choice that is born out of a lack of courage from leaders who must recognize and agree that there are some practical solutions to what is a clear problem in our country.”

Trump has historically been very vocal about gun rights, and his supporters are largely made up of rural voters, who, according to recent research, are more likely to own guns and therefore more likely to support a candidate who is more defensive of gun ownership.

According to Pew Research Center, 35% of Trump’s voters in 2016 were from rural areas, compared to only 19% of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s voters. In a different study, Pew Research Center found that people from rural areas were far more likely to be gun owners than people from suburban or urban areas, with a total of 46% of rural respondents saying that they owned a gun.

Conversely, Harris’ voters are expected to be from more urban areas, like Clinton’s were in 2016. People from urban areas are less likely to own a gun, and Pew Research Center found that only 19% of respondents from urban areas owned a firearm.

Trump has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the nation’s most powerful

Our leaders, regardless of political party, are not doing enough to mitigate gun violence.

political organizations. The NRA lobbies heavily against gun control, spending millions each election cycle to support progun candidates. According to OpenSecrets, the NRA has spent over $140 million directly funding the campaigns of pro-gun candidates since 2010.

Both candidates have stated that they support red-flag laws (laws that restrict access to guns for people deemed threats) and background checks for those looking to buy a gun, though Trump later rescinded both of those statements after receiving criticism from the NRA, according to the Washington Post

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been over 400 shootings in the United States in 2024, and it’s very unlikely that sound regulations will be put in place anytime soon to curb the growth of that number. Shootings like Columbine (1999), Sandy Hook (2012) and Uvalde (2022) cannot be described as anything other than tragedies, and they largely caused by our leaders not prioritizing gun safety, with many preferring to quietly accept campaign money from the NRA instead. If you were to look at all the school shootings in the U.S. on a timeline, you’d notice a pattern: they have not slowed down at all. It’s clear nothing is being done about gun violence because it keeps happening, even over 20 years after the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. Instead, we just gain more tragedies to mourn.

Unfortunately, children are growing up in a world where schools, a place of safety and learning, are now unsafe. Sion, like many schools in the area, has experienced threats of violence multiple times.

While both candidates may support some gun safety regulations, it’s clear neither party is willing to do enough to truly get to the core of the issue: citizens of the United States are still worried for their safety at school, sporting events, celebratory parades, the mall and so much more, and this will continue to be the case until leaders from both parties work together to create comprehensive solutions to this issue.

This editorial reflects the views of the Le Journal staff. Staff members voted unanimously in favor of this editorial.

i don’t know YES NO YES SOMETIMES NO

not just a drill

ISion students recall their own experiences with gun violence, intruders and lockdowns.

do you think firearm laws need to be stricter? do you feel safe at school? do you feel safer at school with sion’s new safety measures?

t’s difficult to believe that gun violence events could take place in Kansas City, but there have been countless threats or instances of it in the area spanning over ten years. Sion students are unfortunately not unaffected by these. Senior Aubrey Nichols was exposed to the effects of threats of violence at a young age.

“I was at dance class when I was seven years old, and someone on the floor above the dance studio was seeing a therapist and threatened to shoot up the dance studio. A SWAT team was called and all the dance girls had to sneak out of the studio, but when we got out the front doors, the SWAT team was lined up on either side of the walkway, 15-20 of them on either side, with guns taller than I was pointed at the doors,” Nichols said. “We then had to sprint through a forest to get to a safer neighborhood. All I remember is getting my jazz shoes muddy and worrying they would be ruined.”

Threats of violence should not be something that children in dance class or school need to worry about. But even Sion has faced such danger. This year, Sion has increased safety measures due to recent threats of violence against the school, but these were not the first instances of Sion students being affected by lockdowns.

“During the Thursday of Puffs tech week, there was an intruder at Avila University. At first we didn’t know if the person was armed. Everyone involved with Puffs had to stay in the Black Box theater. Many of us didn’t have our phones with us because we had to keep them in the green room,” senior Elwyn Patterson said. “Eventually they found out that the intruder was not armed, but had barricaded herself in a classroom full of students.”

Although the intruder was not armed, the students in the theater did not know that until after the event occurred. This uncertainty is what most of the students involved remember when recalling this incident.

“People were crying, calling their parents and in disbelief. I called my mom and told her the situation; I can still remember the

conversation vividly. I was whispering, but she couldn’t understand me at first,” senior Kate Schneeberger said. “I kept repeating we were in lockdown, but she didn’t know what I was saying and thought I was one of my brother’s friends pranking her. When she finally understood what I was saying, she was silent. She didn’t want to get off the phone, but I had to because it was my friend’s phone.”

After the lockdown ended, director and theater teacher Maggie Killian decided to end the rehearsal early rather than continue to run the show until the end. Students went home shaken, reflecting on the potential gravity of the situation that had taken place.

“It dawned on me then that I could have been in a lot of danger. I might not have been able to tell my parents goodbye. I went home with a friend, who took a couple other people home as well. It was only when we got in the car and started driving that I began crying,” Patterson said. “The only thing I can remember saying is, ‘I don’t want to be another statistic.’ I hate that looking death in the face like that is commonplace. I hate that what happened to us that night is pretty tame, all things considered.”

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” - Second Amendment

As the two party political system pulls Americans towards opposite extremes, the foundations of our democracy are threatened.

BY REPORTER GRETA MARTIN & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

CAROLINE DEACON

Campaign signs line yards as you drive home from school, littering the green with slogans. At home, Fox News blares from your TV on one channel as CNN berates conservative ideologies on another. The first presidential debate in June ended in one candidate dropping out, the second in September is mostly remembered for TikTok memes and SNL skits. As we watched Harris and Trump hurl insults at each other across a distance much larger than just the 12 feet between them, we sat bewildered, at a loss for words.

How have we come to this point?

It’s shocking to see civil discourse that was once the bare minimum of expectations and respect for not only presidential candidates, but for any elected officials. In older eras, even candidates with completely opposing perspectives maintained a certain level of decorum both on and off the podium. As we flash forward to the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections, the handshakes and nods of respect have been replaced with cruel jabs, personal attacks and misinformation. Once, as election season approached, arguments might have been heated and difficult, but wouldn’t have resulted in the destruction of relationships. Now, the lack of civility branches far beyond the debate stage, breaking connections and creating ignorant citizens, too often blinded by their own perspectives.

“Politics has just become who can slander each other the loudest,” junior Brooke Stewart said. “It’s gone from being concerned about the good of the country to ‘us vs. them.’ It’s more about why you shouldn’t vote for that person than why you should vote for this one.”

In our heated two party system, we often forget that opposing candidates or perspectives were meant to be just that; Opponents. Someone who you’re in competition or disagree with, but still deserves the same dignity as you would give to your friends and family. In the end, it’s vital to remember that our opponents are human, and deserving of respect no matter their policies or beliefs.

An enemy is someone who you intend to take down, who is to be defeated at all costs, in any manner. Viewing the opposing side as the enemy alienates them as people. They become less human and the idea of collaboration becomes preposterous. This dangerous belief makes it difficult for people to empathize with one another. It’s easier to justify attacking someone else when generalizing them into one group or idea.

“You should be debating the issues and not the person,” theater tech teacher Maggie Killian said. “I feel like we’ve really gotten away from that as a society. While we feel really divided right now, I hope people will realize that’s not sustainable and come back together.”

Crumbling From Within

A sequence of unexpected events unfolding during the 2024 election season – from President Joe Biden dropping out in mid-July to the two assassination attempts on former president Donald Trump – has drastically increased tensions between the Democratic and Republican parties. As hatred for the opposing side increases dramatically, so too do loyalties to political candidates or parties.

“People have made those political parties their entire identity and that’s what makes this dangerous,” Stewart said. “To a degree we should be involved in politics, but not to the point where it dictates our lives and everything we do.”

According to Pew Research Center, roughly 63% of Republicans and 50% of Democrats say the majority of their friends share their political values. When constantly surrounded by our own perspectives, we become uncomfortable with listening to differing ones, therefore building a higher wall between all American citizens as a whole.

How many of your friends share your values? Your political perspectives? Your party? Are you quick to distance yourself from someone with opposing belief systems? In a generation where every image on your screen is catered to your own beliefs, it can be easy to forget the variety in the world around you. If we as a culture don’t work to repair this flawed mindset now, we will only become ignorant and narrow-sighted in the future when our voices are amplified and our votes counted.

“In AP U.S. History, we talked about Washington’s Farewell Address,” Stewart said. “He warned against a two party political system. And we know that ‘a house divided against itself may not stand.’ That’s America right now. We’re collapsing because nobody can agree on anything.”

Americans harbor the idea that the opposing party is an imminent danger to the U.S. and that people who support that party or candidate must be crazy, stupid or both. Although there have always been disagreements between political perspectives, this unfiltered hatred towards one another has not always been present.

In the 1960’s, a survey was conducted by Stanford University that asked parents if they would be displeased if their child married someone of the opposite political party. Only 4% of Democrats and 5% of Republicans said they would be displeased. In 2010, the same question was posed and 33% of Democratic parents and 49% of Republican parents said they would be somewhat or very displeased.

“People are deemed so bad on one side or the other,” junior Summer Bannigan said. “I don’t think having a different political opinion from me is bad. I think it’s just how different people think. I feel like even if you have different political opinions on something, you can still be friends. That

a

un on more perfect

your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other.” “ George Washington

shouldn’t stop you from having those conversations or listening to another person.”

In the past decade, tensions between the political parties have reached a breaking point. Neither side is willing to cooperate with the other. Over the past 30 years, bipartisanship has decreased by 30% in both the House and Senate, according to Quorum. In 1989, around 35% of bills passed had bipartisan support, but this number has since decreased to 21%. As students, now is the time to ask ourselves how we can go into adulthood with a mindset focused on bettering our nation’s unity. American Public Square, a non-profit Kansas City-based organization that aims to “mitigate the chasm between both extremes” heavily encourages high schoolers to learn how to respectfully participate in our political climate, offering discussion and speaker based events to facilitate civil discourse.

“Why? Why are we so polarized? Why are we so hateful?” American Public Square community development director Alana Muller said. “It’s because right now, for whatever reason, at this time in our history, in this time in society, we are more individualistically focused, as opposed to community focused.”

No Other Options

Nowadays many voters lean to straight ticket voting, placing all of their votes with their preferred political party. Other voters feel pressured to vote with the mindset that choosing a third party candidate is possibly throwing their vote away. When it comes time to cast a ballot, the decision can often be reduced to red versus blue, rather than evaluating candidates based on their plans and policies. However, with this mindset, it’s impossible to ever break free from the intense division that has infected our culture.

“People may feel inclined to vote for a third party candidate, but they don’t feel like those candidates have a chance to win,” Killian said. “So they feel like they have to pick a side.”

As a divide with no in-between continues, citizens on either extreme have become volatile and political sectarianism has become a threat to society. This deep hatred towards an opposing party, and many times blind loyalty to your own, pulls the country apart. Due to our two party system, extremes are inevitable, but this isn’t how it has to be. Through a multi-party system or the implementation of rank

choice voting, the current divisiveness could be quelled.

Rank choice voting allows voters to select their top candidate, as well as their second and third choices, continuing until all candidates are ranked. This means that candidates from smaller parties such as the Green or Libertarian Party have a stronger chance in the polls. If the first candidate you select on your ballot has the least votes, your vote is automatically cast for your second choice candidate and so on. This process could potentially take away some of the sharp divides between parties and force voters to consider all their options for president, not just the Democrat and Republican. People need to feel like they have an option outside of just those two main political parties and truly evaluate their own beliefs and ideologies to determine who they want to cast their vote for. So many times, due to the political climate of today, we see voters’ only reason for choosing a candidate is to vote against the other party. Rank choice voting would give voters more options of candidates who may be preferable to them, no matter their political affiliation.

“Leaning completely into a party’s values rather than yourself, I feel like you start to lose yourself,” senior Maeve Glennon said. “You lose your beliefs. You lose what you value. It’s almost as if there are these ‘cults,’ almost more of a fan club. People don’t see beyond what they’re being told, or they don’t listen beyond that. You have these leaders and you follow everything they say and then maybe you don’t see the full truth or facts. This is becoming super harmful to people.”

Do people disagree based on their political affiliations or their ideological beliefs? Data was collected by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to determine division based on ideology. The results found both parties held many overlapping beliefs. For example, a majority of Democrats and 40% of Republicans reported that they agreed with creating a federal database to track firearm sales and banning assault-style weapons. This along with other statistics regarding racial, social and immigration issues have a substantial amount of overlapping beliefs from both sides. So why does it still seem absurd to agree with your “opposing” political party in any aspect?

“Being loyal to what you believe and your values is important,” Glennon said. “I’ve seen a lot on the news in the

past of Democrats who have gone over to the Republican side and Republicans who have gone over to the Democrat side over the years. I think it’s neat that some people can recognize that. That they feel like their identity with one party is shifting to another because they’re values are staying the same and they can understand that.”

Rebuilding a unified community is a necessary task for our generation. This current state of our country, where a deep dislike or hatred for an opposing party is almost expected, is not sustainable.

“It’s they and we.‘If you don’t agree with me, I hate you,’ right?” Muller said. “It’s gotten so ugly. But to me, what this is really about is community. It’s how do you build relationships to create community? As human beings, we have this deep need for connection, whether we’re introverts or extroverts. I don’t think it matters. I think we have a need to connect with people, and the way we do that is we establish community everywhere we go.”

A House United

In his Farewell Address, George Washington wrote that political parties “serve always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. [They] agitate the community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms, kindle the animosity of one part against another, foment riot and insurrection.”

Is that not what our country has become? Quick hatred for one another, ears muffled by ignorance, eyes locked in a single direction? As this election season passes and we enter into the next four years with a new president at the helm, we must keep Washington’s concerns at the forefront of our minds. Somewhere along the way, our democracy has forgotten the truth. Our opponents are not also our enemies. They simply care deeply about protecting something different than the other. It’s critical that we remember this again. The threat to our democracy isn’t just the red or the blue; it’s the inability to listen and this constant polarization that prevents us from unifying towards progress.

“There’s this quote that says something along the lines of ‘the people around you may not look like you; they may not sound like you; they may not have the same clothes or money, but this is their country too,’” Muller said. “We have an obligation to embrace differences and different perspectives. We’re not doing that right now. And wouldn’t it be nice if we could

get back to that.”

This isn’t an easy task. It requires critical thinking about not only your sources and those around you, but yourself. Learn about the government before criticizing it. Understand the other political party before reproaching it. Empathize with those you disagree with before mocking their values and continue to keep yourself informed.

“Read or listen to a lot of different sources,” Muller said. “Whether it’s podcasts or YouTube videos or actually reading newspapers. Get that [information] from multiple sources to understand what the various issues are. It’s time consuming, but if we’re going to be an informed citizenry, it’s really important to have more than one perspective. Don’t just listen to Fox News or MSNBC, but if you have to listen to one, listen to the other one also, or find a more neutral source for your information.”

We must build our country back up, united. We must work to bridge the divide severing the threads of unity those who built this country hoped for. As young women, we must begin to engage in conversation with the past, ourselves and the present, using our ears before our mouths, our empathy before our pride. If we can not, our own voices will ruin us as we fight bitterly amongst ourselves, letting our once unified country crumble around us.

“I hope we start talking again,” Muller said. “We start caring about each other again as humans in a way that says ‘this is your country, this is my country; we can have different perspectives but isn’t it a gift that we both get to be here and it belongs to both of us?’”

WHAT CAN WE AGREE ON?

Pew Research Center conducted a survey to determine what issues Americans agree on, regardless of political affiliation. This graph shows the number of Americans who think these issues are a “very big problem” or “moderately big problem” for the country.

92% the ability of dems and reps to work together 91%

66%

TAKE ME OUT TO THE Ball Game

For generations, Kansas City’s sports culture has been lively with some of the fan favorite traditions including the Tomahawk Chop, tailgating, Red Fridays and the Hot Dog Race.

BY LAUREN HAGGERTY REPORTER

As a city full of culture, pride and strong sense of community, it would only make sense that Kansas City’s sports teams are filled with the same. KC’s baseball team the Royals and football team the Chiefs have brought attention to the city, partly because of the traditions that stem from them.

For generations, game days have been one of the most exciting days in the KC metro area due to the joy and connection that is brought from them. People sit in the parking lots and tailgate before the games or even just stay at home and have a barbeque with their family. Game days allow people to connect with each other and share a passion for KC sports.

“For my family, Sundays are some of the most fun days because we always gather together in my living room to watch the Chiefs play together,” senior Abby Wendte said. “After a long week or weekend I know I always have something to look forward to.”

The beginning of Chiefs games are extremely extravagant. Fire blows out of the players entrance and military planes fly across the stadium. A special nominee, who is usually a former Chiefs player, also bangs a large red drum during the pre-game ceremony.

“The first time I saw it in person I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life,” junior Ava Johnson said. “I was sitting with my sister, who is five years younger than me, and she talked about how cool it was for weeks. To this day it is my favorite part of the game.”

Starting in 1991, Chiefs fans also routinely perform the infamous Tomahawk Chop. This gesture is done during the banging of the red drum and after touchdowns. Kansas Citians also like to do this at the end of the national anthem, finishing the song off with “home of the Chiefs.”

“It honestly has just become a habit for me at this point,” junior Merrill Patt said. “I think it is so funny, and I love seeing peoples’ faces light up when they say it. It’s such a Kansas City thing.”

The traditions don’t stop at music. Kansas City has a tradition of Red Fridays, where everyone wears their Chiefs gear throughout the day. Occasionally, there are some superstitious people out there who have a winning shirt they wear every red Friday.

“It’s such a nice break from purple,” Patt said. “I just feel like since I wear purple every single day it’s really nice to have a break and see a flash of a different color. It’s like a breath of fresh air.”

With red being a prominent color in the city, there has been an abundant amount of it the past two years at the Super Bowl parades. Thanks to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the

Chiefs have won three Super Bowl trophies in the past five years. Kansas City has hosted a parade each time, where the players gather at Union Station, and all of Kansas City gathers around them to see them on their path there.

“Last year was probably my favorite one because me and all my friends got to gather together on the sidewalk,” Wendte said. “It was freezing out so we all had to snuggle together under blankets and had so much fun watching them all pass.”

While the Chiefs capture a large percentage of Kansas City’s attention, so does their baseball team. While the Royals haven’t made it to the playoffs since 2015, they recently recruited shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. which has significantly improved the Royals’ track record.

“My family loves the Royals and we try to go to every game,” Johnson says. “It’s so refreshing to see them doing better and not being in such a bad mood leaving the stadium.”

Even when the Royals were losing, their traditions and spirit still made the games memorable and entertaining to attend. For children, they have an area called the ‘Outfield Experience’ where kids can show off their baseball skills and enjoy activities like a carousel and mini golf.

“I remember going there a couple times when I was younger,” Wendte said. “I just got a new baby sister, so when she is older it would be so fun to take her there one day.”

Children also love the Royals’ mascot Slugger. He is mainly located on the field to bring energy to the fanclub, but occasionally he will make laps for photographs and greetings.

“When I was little it was so terrifying,” Patt said. “I don’t know why but I had this horrible fear of mascots and every time I saw Slugger I ran to my mom crying.”

Both the Chiefs and Royals have similarities in their traditions that fans carry from game to game. For example, tailgating is a huge part of the game day experience. Kansas City’s tailgating culture is known for its barbecue, friendly competition and large crowds. Tailgates for Chiefs games start more or less four hours before kickoff and are a rite of passage for Kansas City residents.

“This summer, me and my friends went to so many Royals games, but my favorite part was always tailgating with our families,” Wendte said. “We would all eat the best food and talk for hours. I am so ready for summer again.”

All in all, Kansas City is a place filled with a lot of tradition and culture when it comes to their sacred sports teams. These traditions instill a sense of connection and belonging between citizens, and that is what makes these traditions so valued.

“I love Kansas City, wow,” Patt said.

Gold

Red, White, Gold and Blue

Kansas City Sports teams updates with the Chiefs and Royals.

BY ALEXIUS WOLFF REPORTER

To kick off their season the Kansas City Chiefs, poised to defend their title as back-to-back Super Bowl champions, have become the only team in the NFL still undefeated. Week one of the season, they faced the Baltimore Ravens. From the start, the game was intense. rookie sensation Xavier Worthy, making a remarkable impact, scored the first touchdown, setting the tone for the rest of the game. As the second quarter rolled around, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker stepped up and made a 25 yard kick that put the Chiefs ahead. Breaking through the Ravens’ defense to score running back Isiah Pacheco extended the lead, but Worthy wasn’t finished and scored yet another touchdown. With just 34 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson launched a 45 yard pass to wide receiver Rashod Bateman, igniting hope for Baltimore fans. As the clock ticked down, Jackson threw a last minute pass to tight end Isaiah Likely in the end zone; he seemed to have scored but, with the tips of his toes barley out of bounds the call was overturned. The Chiefs secured the victory 27-20.

In week 2, the Kansas City Chiefs faced

As summer days grew longer the thrill of a new season filled the air, the Royals began their season with a mix of hope and uncertainty. Spring training shocked many fans because the Royals did well. Pulling off a few impressive wins early on, the Royals quickly became in the running for the playoffs.

the Cincinnati Bengals in a game that had fans on the edges of their seats. Both teams were tied at 3-3 the end of the first quarter and every yard was a constant fight. Progressing through the second quarter, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a 50 yard pass to wide receiver Rashee Rice. Right before halftime the Bengals pulled ahead. After halftime to start the third quarter, Chiefs offensive tackle Wanya Morris made an incredible catch for a touchdown, flipping the score in favor of Kansas City. In the fourth quarter, the momentum shifted again when cornerback Chamarri Conner scooped up a fumble and sprinted into the end zone, extending the Chiefs’ lead. Near the end of the game, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson nailed a 40 yard kick, putting Cincinnati back in a very close lead with only a two point difference. With time running out, the Chiefs pushed to get into field goal range. As the clock ticked down to just three seconds, Butker stepped up and nailed a 51 yard kick, sending the ball soaring through the uprights and sealing a thrilling victory at 26-25.

In week three of the season, the Chiefs faced off against the Atlanta Falcons with

comeback against the Atlanta Braves, where the Royals scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to secure a 5-4 victory. Their wins helped them and by the end of the first half of the season they had a 15-9 record.

the goal to keep their winning streak alive. The game started with a lot of excitement and it didn’t take long before the Chiefs made their move. Rice scored a touchdown, and the Falcons tried to respond, but the Chiefs kept their momentum going. In the second quarter Butker nailed a 45 yard field goal. In the third quarter Butker added another three points. With just 1:16 left in the third quarter, wide receiver JuJu SmithSchuster made a spectacular play, scoring a touchdown. The Chiefs celebrated another hard-fought win with the final score being 22-17.

Week four of the season the Chiefs faced the Los Angeles Chargers. The game started off with the Chargers taking the lead. As the first quarter continued, Worthy broke through the Chargers’ defense to score a touchdown. As the game progressed, both teams battled fiercely. The Chiefs fought hard to maintain their lead, but the Chargers weren’t going down without a fight. With only moments left in the fourth quarter, Chargers running back Samaje Perine sprinted through the line and scored, closing the gap in the score. The Chiefs ended up taking the victory 17-10.

passion for their game by putting their passion into action.” Roberts said

“Last year they were terrible,” sophomore Kate Suter said. “But this year they did so much better. Their pitching was good, their bullpen was good, and overall they started off with a really good season.”

Testing the team’s resilience from the very beginning, the Royals started with a tough schedule. The first game the Royals played the Blue Jays, losing 4-2, setting a disappointing tone. In the following weeks, they found the rhythm they were looking for. By the end of the month their record was 6-4.

“The first couple of games I definitely think as a team they surprised the fans,” Suter said. “They connect the runs and hits in the innings, which compared to last season was a huge improvement.”

Midway through the season, the Royals enjoyed a six game winning streak. A key moment for the team was the thrilling

“Their record halfway through the season shocked me to be honest,” Suter said. “I don’t think they have been this good since they won the World Series in 2015.”

The second half of the season had new challenges, including injuries to key players. Despite this the Royals pushed through as younger players stepped up to the plate and helped lead the team. The Royals had a standout performance, winning a complete shutout game against the Orioles.

“I think the shutout helps boost their morale,” sophomore Sophia Roberts said. “It gave the team more confidence and showed their determination and grit of the season.”

Their efforts paid off when they secured a postseason spot after a win in the the second-to-last game of the season. With a final record of 21-15, the team earned their place.

“I felt it proved them and showed their

To start the playoffs strong, the Royals won against the Orioles in the first round. The series was filled with high pressure moments and some unforgettable plays. Unfortunately, the season came to an end after losing 3-1 against the New York Yankees. A disappointing loss, but the Royals sure left everything on the field showcasing their growth, making it a step in the right direction.

“I feel like this year we turned things around showing the MLB that we are a legit team and we have the potential to make it all the way to the World Series,” Roberts said.

Looking back on the season, it’s evident that the Royals went through a rough journey. From their strong opening to the mid-season winning streak and the disappointing playoff exit, each moment added to a story of perseverance. The teamwork and determination shown this year have established a strong base, ensuring the Royals will continue to be a team to follow.

SION’S AGENDA...

While the country considers policies for our nation, Sion has its own forms of councils and government, but sometimes they aren’t enough.

AAs we watch political leaders make decisions for our country and run for office, we observe one of the founding principles of the United States: democracy.

Sion, though on a smaller scale, has democracy through the Student Council (STUCO), which is a school organization that gives each grade representation, leadership and the opportunity to make a change. At least in theory. In reality, STUCO can be seen as a planning committee rather than a true government.

Sion holds annual elections where each class casts their votes on which of their fellow students will represent the classes’ opinions. Once elected, STUCO meets every Wednesday morning for meetings that include discussion on upcoming events and how to increase student engagement. For example, Spirit Week themes are pitched and voted on by the council and carefully placed throughout the week.

STUCO also organizes our Sion dances (Winter Formal, Prom, and now Boo Bash). Members try to make these special events something everyone will enjoy and be excited to participate in. Dances are expensive and planning is extensive, so students need to rally numbers to make sure the events are successful.

Finally, fundraisers like the newly announced “Socktoberfest,” are also planned by STUCO. The council convened to create initiative and involvement, through incentives like civvies days. The days that we have outof-uniform or sweatshirt days are brought to the board by STUCO with a formal request. Fundraising updates announced at the end of the week are also totaled by members of STUCO.

What STUCO rarely does is make appeals to the administration. When new policies are announced, such as the change to the dress code banning shorts on Fridays, STUCO is usually not involved or consulted on such situations. To many students, this disparity between the planning and policy aspects of STUCO can make the duties of

STUCO feel shallow.

When students are not encouraged to bring their concerns and ideas to the administration, the school can easily become stagnant. Additionally, the lack of space for elected leaders of classes to express the views of the wider student body can lead to individual students taking more harmful actions.

For example, last year the complaints from the senior class about faculty were inappropriate, resulting in a reprimanding email sent to the entire class.

None of this is to say STUCO is unimportant or trivial. The work of organizing all the events that take place in the school and creating skits and dances to hype students up takes hours of students’ time. However, STUCO is not enough. Students need a sanctioned way to address administration.

Nevertheless, the student council creates connections both in and out of Sion. Through the dances, spirit week and other events, the student council helps us bond with each other while simultaneously creating outreach opportunities like our relationship with Redemptorist. Even though the student council is not a true government and does not have the power some may wish, the members of STUCO complete vital work to create the events and entertainment that make the community of Sion legendary.

Maybe the new Academic Council could fill in the gaps.

The Student Academic Leadership Council is in its inaugural year. This program was initiated in hopes to create a student board to help with Sion’s Life Beyond Sion Conferences and school courses. This council was decided by an application process and requires semiregular monthly meetings led by Sion faculty members Katie Durkin, Emilie Lai and Ellen Carmody. The 2024-2025 school year council has great potential to act as an avenue of student voice.

Four years ago, the course catalog did not contain Forensic Biology, Internal Impacts or Global Impacts Microschool. In just four years, the Sion community has created truly unique courses that help students pick classes they have a passion for. At the same time, Deep Dives look extremely different than at the the beginning of our experiential

learning program.

As students, we spend a lot of time picking classes that pique our interest and walking through our conference schedule without realizing the planning each curriculum or class takes. From where to put student desserts to what to pack in goodie bags, every little detail of Deep Dives takes meticulous planning and work.

The council has not begun to speak on curriculums and what the student body may feel passionate about in courses, but the staff of Le Journal looks forward to watching the process of walking through our catalog. This may be a brand new seedling for Sion, but we have no doubt that this council will plant wonderfully new concepts and advancements into the community’s roots.

C IVIC ITIZEN

Civic engagement can be a confusing topic, especially for the younger community.

World history teacher Richard Shrock explains it as having an interest and impact on your community through involvement and getting

“Whetherinformation. that’s your small community, like here at Sion, or your bigger community,” Shrock said, “you should think about yourself as part of all of those and be thinking, ‘How do I engage with that community?’” So how can we engage in our community? Some ways could include volunteering at local nonprofit organizations, after school programs to learn more about politics and having conversations with others about their views.

“Civic engagement is how people participate in their community,”

AP U.S. History teacher Chris Schreiber said. “Whether that’s through volunteer

Civic engagement is important in both large and small communities and it can be simple to participate in once you learn to understand it.

BY REPORTER EVELYN CRAMER

work, running for office or organizing for non political causes. But it can also be outside the realm of purely governmental. It can be anything you’re doing to contribute to the community that you live in.”

For Shrock, one of his acts of civic engagement is contributing his time and energy to Sion.

“I devote a ton of time, energy and feelings into this place. I think about things that help us here. I think about what our struggles and challenges are, and that’s pretty easy, right?” Shrock said. “Because I’m here every day. I’m confronted by people that I care about and I see what their struggles are and I want them to be happy.”

Large-scale civic engagement is more difficult, especially if you aren’t around the larger community or actively a part of it.

“It’s easier to hide from those struggles of the larger community,” Shrock said. “I don’t have to see that every day and I should probably pay more attention to those things.”

Schreiber participates in community differently, volunteering with his mother at Harvesters as a form of civic engagement along with teaching.

“I think there’s a lot of things you can do,” Schreiber said.

“Whatever you’re passionate about there’s groups of people who are also passionate about that. Find that group of people, work with them, and learn from them. That is a great way to get started.”

Sophomore Layla Love also believes that it is important to participate in civic engagement, especially when it comes to local engagement. For example, she thinks that it’s good to get to know the smaller community around us like our neighborhood.

“I think civic engagement is important because it makes you get to know people in your neighborhood, because everybody has a different story, and everybody does things differently,” Love said.

IMPORTANCE OF VOTING

According to the Pew Research Center, in 2020, 34% of eligible voters did not vote. In midterm years, the turnout is even worse, with 54% of voters not voting in 2022.

”I think it’s important to vote because it’s the bare minimum that you can do to try to change the environment around you. We’ve made it easier and easier to register to vote. I could vote today, leave work and go to the polling place in Kansas. There’s no reason not to vote,” freshman world history teacher Richard Shrock said.

“But I think even though it’s super easy to do it, you have to think what kind of vote is going to help you and your community. And that’s not simple. The nature of your community is complex. To use your vote to advocate for something you care about means educating yourself about what the

right decision is.”

Voters can vote over the mail, early or on election day. However, many do not take the time to vote at all.

“I think some people are maybe turned off by politics in general, right? I know when we talk about it in class there’s some people who just don’t want to talk about it, they don’t want to engage in it for a variety of reasons.” AP U.S. History teacher Chris Schreiber said. “And so people just aren’t active politically for whatever reason.”

Our country’s large population can lead to people believing their vote doesn’t matter. Our system of voting and the electoral college can compound this, making it seem even less important for one person to vote. The amount of young adults voting is even smaller for reasons including not being educated enough to feel capable

or feel the need or want to vote.

“A better approach for all voters is to think about the political issues in your community, figure out what those are, and try to vote in elections on a local standpoint,” Shrock said. “You can do that by talking to the local city council member running for city council in your district about their beliefs. That personal connection on a local level would help you understand the issues better. You can call their opponent and talk to them. You have easier access to information on the local level and that’s a great place to start. And I think starting to understand those local issues better can translate into thinking about larger national politics issues.”

A House Divided

Political debates at the dinner table can be acceptable if families are open to understanding different perspectives and allow themselves to respect each other’s opinions, if discussions about politics are dealt with respect they can even be conversationally enriching.

BY RILEY PINTADO REPORTER

America is more politically divided today than it has been since the country’s founding. According to Pew Research Center, the gap between Democrats and Republicans has nearly doubled since 1994, with Republicans going from being 70% more conservative than the average Democrat to 94% more conservative. Both sides of the political spectrum tend to view the other as more extreme than they actually are, and experts are beginning to blame the media for widening the rift.

“Both Trump and Harris supporters say if the other wins, it would result in lasting harm to the country,” researchers Michael Dimmick and Richard Wike, who led and published the study, said in an article.

Political tension in America continues to rise. Therefore it’s only natural that certain political policies may be a topic of debate at your Thanksgiving dinner table this year.

I don’t know how it is for everyone, but it seems at every family reunion, dinner or general get-together, one family member always has a political opinion to share about topics such as gun control, abortion, racial justice, climate change, law enforcement, internal engagement or immigration. Just one remark about any of these highly controversial political topics can spark a heated debate among the family. To be honest, sometimes these small disputes can be extremely entertaining to watch and spice up an otherwise uneventful dinner. However, I also understand that they have the ability to break up a family. Over the years, I’ve heard that these arguments are the kind of things you watch from a distance and that you should never engage in them.

As someone who was fortunate enough to attend the Politics Across the Thanksgiving Table Deep Dive session with social studies teachers Taylor Hersh and Lindsay Moore, I learned how to appropriately engage in discussion about current government affairs with my loved ones.

In my own family, we are pretty split politically. With half of us living out in the country and the counterpart being from the city, we naturally have different values and prioritize certain ideals. Therefore, it’s difficult for us to get through a family gathering without at least a little bickering.

As I stated earlier, sometimes it’s entertaining to watch. You listen as some of the adults begin poking fun at each other’s opinions, and people are laughing because it just starts out as some lighthearted fun. However, that one person takes it too far and suddenly everyone’s shouting. This can be aggravating when you are trying to catch up with loved ones you haven’t seen in a while and all they want to do is scream about which presidential candidate they think would run our country best.

Motivated by my own family to take Hersh and Moore’s Deep Dive session, I walked away with a valuable life skill, which is to understand that everyone holds their own political opinions for a reason. To understand that particular person had to have undergone certain life experiences that led them to think that way humanizes them. Therefore, I personally believe that if handled with respect and empathy, politically charged conversation can actually add to a Thanksgiving dinner.

Instead of fighting each other for having what we believe to be the wrong opinion, if families had polite political discussions where they actually ask each other questions and actively listen to their respective responses, I believe that the debates about our government could be educational for all parties involved. It would allow family members to be vulnerable with each other which helps relationships grow.

Of course, this method will only work if the other members at your Thanksgiving gathering are willing to actually listen to each other, which sounds naive because that is definitely easier said than done. By opening up and expressing the reason behind why you hold your beliefs, you give your family an opportunity to understand you better. Even though this

can seem scary, it allows for more open communication.

I was told by my parents that if someone tries forcing their political views on you the socially acceptable thing to do is just smile and nod. However, I personally think that participating in these dinner time debates is actually enjoyable when done respectfully. I believe that as teenagers, talking respectfully about politics can prepare us for the real world. It can allow us to formulate different views based on different perspectives. In a world where even basic human rights have been reduced to political talking points, we are slowly losing the privilege to stay disengaged from politics.

As teenagers, speaking about political issues at the dinner table with family members can teach us how to respectfully voice our own opinions. This way, when we become adults we will be well rounded enough to embrace discomfort while also being able to engage in civic discussions when other adults feel the need to voice their opinions.

Politics should not be seen as a taboo subject at the dinner table. While there are moments where conversation among family should be light hearted, humans are generally closed-minded, therefore respectful discussions about government affairs allows family members with different perspectives, views and experiences to learn from each other, and see why people think the way they do. You could learn more about certain family members and slightly close the political divide at least in your own family.

So this year, try getting involved in the annual political debate, but please don’t yell at your family members for having a different opinion. Instead, ask them why. I promise there will be significantly less screaming and you’ll be able to enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey in peace. If not, you have full permission to blame me.

Good luck.

Senior Charlotte Zender explains that politics at the dinner table is all about how you approach it. She thinks that political talks can be good, but instead of heated debates we must make sure that the conversation stays a dialogue.

“When talking about political topics at the dinner table, if you keep converstaion at a calm dialogue it can be nice, however most times this is not the case. People can get offended really quickly and want to defend their opinions, which is completely valid because everyone is entitled to their own beliefs,” Zender said. “However if heated debates happen frequently it can be exhuasting, especially for teenagers who are trying to form their own opinions and do not need to be attacked and scrutinized by their family members.”

HJunior Freshman

igh schoolers’ schedules are usually extremely full. Between classes, homework, extracurricular activities and even work, the average teenager does not have much free time.

According to junior Merrill Patt, dinner with your family should be a nice leisurely activity where you can unwind from your day and spend time with your loved ones. Patt explains that politics is a strong topic of conversation and the dinner table is a time to talk with your family about your day, not who you’re going to vote for.

“It’s such a strong topic because people have such strong opinions about politics. Whenever my parents bring up politics at the dinner table, I don’t even know what to say because I will be talking about my day and out of nowhere my parents will start cursing candidates,” Patt said. “It can be really annoying because my parents always talk about politics. Sometimes I just want to have a conversation without it turning into a lecture about what’s wrong and what’s right.”

Sophomore

As people, we are generally closed minded, so family get-togethers where everyone has a different opinion can be tough.

Sophomore Sophia Roberts explains that she is okay with politics at the dinner table as long as everyone remains civil. Roberts further explains that political discussions with the family can be insightful, and can introduce her to interesting viewpoints and perspectives she had not thought of before. As someone who comes from a politically split family, Roberts believes that dinner time debates can be pretty entertaining to watch.

“Everyone in my family has pretty strong opinions, especially my dad and my aunt,” Roberts said. “They are never vulgar, the two of them just do not like being told anything other than their beliefs. We haven’t had any issues this year but with the holidays coming up I’m sure we will soon.”

Freshman Isabella Douglas is okay with political talk in family settings as long as everyone stays respectful to each other’s opinion. However, according to Douglas, if people start interrupting each other with their own opinions, things can get fairly heated, making the whole interaction awkward and uncomfortable.

“Sometimes I think politics can veer into other topics, like religion, which can lead to heated conversations, where people aren’t necessarily yelling. It becomes more they’re making jokes but the jokes are meant as mean insults,” Douglas said. “When this happens I just want it to stop. Everything becomes super awkward, especially because I only really have a small say in it. We could be having a good moment just a few minutes ago, but then it just becomes really awkward, and it just ruins Thanksgiving.”

JOKER: FOLIE À FLOP

On Oct. 4, Joker: Folie à Deux was released in theaters, and disappointed loyal Joker fans, box offices and myself.

BY LAUREN HAGGERTY REPORTER

Movies like “Joker: Folie à Deux” have never stood out to me as I’m buying a theater ticket, but I wanted to see the musical spin on this version so I went into it with little expectation. Two worlds were colliding, and I wanted to see if they exploded into fireworks or into a bomb. At first when I left the theater I thought I was the only one who felt an overcast of discontentment and overstimulation. Since I didn’t know much about super villain movies prior, I assumed my experience was based on a lack of interest and missing knowledge of how the movie was supposed to be. I quickly realized I wasn’t alone in my opinion.

Turns out, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” starring actor Joaquin Phoenix and singer Lady Gaga, was a disappointment not only to myself, but also at the box office, significantly underachieving initial expectations. The film faced criticism from audiences and critics—quite a contrast to the overwhelming success of the first “Joker” in 2019.

Unfortunately, “Joker: Folie à Deux” feels like an aimless exercise in style and a shallow viewpoint, more focused on its own audacity than on delivering any meaningful plot. Watching the movie felt like an uncanny dream that you are just waiting to wake up from.

The film opens after a vintage Warner Bros. logo with a cartoon short, “Me and My Shadow,” animated by artist Sylvain Chomet. It’s supposed to foreshadow the events of the film while also revealing to the audience that our main character, Arthur Fleck, suffers from dissociative identity disorder. The short ends, and we see that Arthur is an inmate at Arkham State Hospital, and the film leaves us uncertain about which perspective to trust. Is he a misunderstood victim with a mental health disorder, as his sympathetic lawyer later presents in court? Or is he a manipulative sociopath, as the district attorney argues?

I loved how the cartoon foreshadowed the plot of the movie

and I found myself reflecting on it a lot while watching. It acted as almost a guide post, especially with the random bursts of musical performances throughout the film, but it also made me question my own thoughts and interpretations, not necessarily in a good way.

Director Todd Phillips made a bold choice by casting pop icon Gaga alongside Phoenix and incorporating live musical performances. Gaga’s and Phoenix’s talents as character performers help make scenes somewhat enjoyable, even though the whole movie feels like a fever dream. The film features a jukebox soundtrack with well-known songs spanning from 1940s Broadway to 1970s pop. However, I found that Phillips struggles to meet the ambitious standards he sets for himself, often falling short.

While “Folie à Deux” is not the first musical to explore song-anddance sequences as manifestations of a delusional mind, it heavily emphasizes this idea. Throughout the film, emotional moments are expressed through gruffy renditions of pop hits, often interrupted by an orchestra that seems almost invisible to the other characters. Most performances lack vocal expertise, with Phoenix’s halfspoken singing feeling more suited for karaoke than Broadway. The cast, specifically Gaga, acknowledged that neither character is a professional singer and even argued that their less polished performances make sense in context. However, this choice leads to a dullness where the songs blur together, overshadowing the story’s progression. The story itself lags, with minimal action between musical numbers. Towards the middle of the movie I was simply ready for it to be over. Arthur goes to trial and faces the bleakness of his cell each night, while familiar faces from the previous film make brief appearances. Although a shocking act of violence occurs during the trial, the overall plot feels fragmented and lacking momentum, resembling fan fiction rather than a cohesive film.

The structure might not resonate

well with dedicated Joker fans, who may be confused by a sequel that lacks typical superhero elements like fight scenes or villainous suspenseful moments. I was left questioning whether the events are real or merely in the characters’ minds, which is an intriguing concept but struggled to sustain my interest for nearly two hours and 20 minutes.

Despite the exploration of their disturbed psyches, little is revealed about their motivations. Something I did know about the stereo-typical relationship between Harley Quinn and the Joker before going into the movie is that in previous movies they had been a team. In this version of

the movie however, it felt as if both their motivations were toxic and manipulative. Arthur remains a “poor little clown,” while Gaga’s character Lee is so poorly developed that her true nature—whether vulnerable or manipulative—remains ambiguous.

At the end, Phillips seems to close the door on any possibility of future sequels. This may be a relief for both the filmmaker and the audience, as “Folie à Deux” feels like a muddled, heavy-handed film made by someone who appears to hold both his characters and his viewers in disappointment.

The Sweet Spots

BY ELLA SATTERWHITE MANAGING EDITOR

PHOTOS | ELLA SATTERWHITE

Sometimes before, during or after school, I have a craving for a sweet treat to get me through the day, like Sthe sugar cookies at a few bakeries near Sion.

McLain’s Bakery

McLain’s sugar cookie featured cute seasonal designs. I went for the pumpkin cookie because of its high frosting content (what can I say, I love frosting), but mummy cookies were also available. The icing was a lighter consistency, meaning that the cookie was not too sweet while still having textural diversity. My biggest complaint was definitely that the icing was fairly unevenly distributed due to the design, meaning some bites

Billie’s Grocery

Billie’s Grocery presented a very refined sugar cookie design. The cookie had a white swirl of icing with small circular sprinkles in one section, appearing very elegant. This design also had the advantage of even frosting distribution, meaning that every bite had a perfect ratio of frosting to cookie. The frosting was reasonably thick, but light enough to not be overwhelming, and melts in your mouth. The cookie itself was very similar to McLain’s, but the frosting elevated the cookie. One

other benefit of Billie’s Grocery is the large selection of gluten-free items, including this sugar cookie. I could not even tell it was gluten-free until I saw it marked as such on the menu. Overall, the cookie presented a beautiful take on a classic treat but was not particularly creative or unique. This was also the most expensive of the three cookies I tried.

DISTANCE FROM SION: 3.3 miles, 9 minutes PRICE: $4.25

didn’t have any at all while others were almost overpowered by icing. The plain cookie was somewhat average, neither impressive nor disappointing, and did not feel satisfying to enjoy without the icing topping. If you head to McLain’s, I would recommend getting one of their other pastries, which from past experience I can confirm are delicious.

DISTANCE FROM SION: 3.1 miles, 6 minutes PRICE: $2.90

My favorite cookie of the three was from the Lemon Cake Bakery by Cafe Europa. This cookie was by far the most different. The cookie itself was sweeter and encrusted in bits of sugar, providing a satisfying crunch and an enjoyable eating experience with just the base cookie. Additionally, the cookie was topped with a tart lemon glaze, bringing an explosion of flavor to your taste buds. My only

complaint would be the uneven distribution of glaze, because I wanted that citrus magic in every bite and it was limited to the center in an uneven splotch. This cookie was also the least aesthetic. Still, the taste reigned supreme for me, making this cookie my top choice.

DISTANCE FROM SION: 3.1 miles, 8 minutes PRICE: $3.75

The Lemon Cake Bakery by Cafe Europa

SION GETS SPICY

Sion’s Journalism and Digital Storytelling class did their own spin off of the viral show “Hot Ones,” a pop culture talk show that is known for asking celebrity guests detailed questions, while they attempt to complete ten rounds of consuming spicy hot wings.

BY MARY KATE LILLIS REPORTER

Shrock

Ava Doyle

“Hot Ones” is a pop culture talk show that has gained over 500 million views on Youtube with its 8.6 million subscribers. Host Sean Evans is known for asking his celebrity guests detailed questions while they attempt to complete ten rounds of consuming spicy hot wings.

Sion’s very own Journalism and Digital Storytelling class decided to do their own spin on the show while picking up some journalistic skills along the way. Freshman Anna Chelepis is one of the hostesses of the show, giving her a platform to show off her bubbly personality and energetic spirit.

“I wanted to be a hostess because you are truly interacting with the people you are interviewing, and I also would rather be in front of the camera than behind it,” Chelepis said. “I really love this assignment because it’s a different type of journalism than just writing. You really have to do your background research to ask those important questions and be able to ask them in person in front of a big crowd.”

According to the New York Times, the show “Hot Ones” was founded in 2012 by Complex Networks in an effort to create a spark of pop culture.

“People are looking for something to puncture the veneer of celebrity,” executive producer Chris Schonberger said to the New York Times. “Interviews were becoming less experiential and gamified, and we wanted to change that.”

Schonberger and Evans claim their rise to popularity was due to their dedication to the craft of interviewing. Notre Dame

de Sion’s journalism teacher Valerie Crook tried to implement this craft of interviewing into her curriculum by teaching her students informed questioning.

“The main purpose of this project was to learn how to not only ask a question, but a informed one by doing extensive background research on the teachers we are interviewing.” Crook said. “I even had a journalism professor from Mizzou named Mark Horvit come in, and teach them so many techniques on how to research everything about a person from just learning some Google techniques.”

After learning how to properly be informed and ask interview questions, students choose their school’s versions of celebrities to interview. They all finally decided on two veteran teachers, Richard Shrock and Reynold Middleton

“We decided to pick Mr. Middleton because he is one of the teachers who has taught at Sion the longest and he is super funny,” freshman hostess Grace Lutman said. “We picked Mr. Shrock because he seemed super excited about the idea and has traveled to so many places so we figured he would have lots of good stories to tell.”

Like every good production, the main stars are not just the ones in front of the camera. Part of this journalistic assignment includes a camera crew and a marketing team to produce and promote the show.

“I do love the idea of this assignment because it not only helps with interview skills but other parts of a production as well,” camera crew

member Avery Yahaya said. “Working on one thing as a whole class is very different though, we are learning to work together on a very large scale.”

Producing the show involves both sections and requires them to work together as a team, helping to build up their teamwork skills and improve their journalistic qualities.

“I would say it is kind of hard to work fully as a team sometimes,” freshman Ava Doyle said. “It does majorly help with building communication skills and honestly some friendships too as you get to know some people a little better than before.”

Doyle was also one of the members on the marketing and social media team, which her jobs included promoting and marketing the production.

“I think marketing plays a big role in these types of productions,” Doyle said. “If you really think about it, marketing is some of the main reasons why people even buy or watch anything now, so learning how to promote that is a great skill to have that is not necessarily journalistic but goes hand and hand.”

The productions were set for October and November as the class prepared their final interviews and marketing strategies.

“I am honestly just really excited to show everyone what we created as a class,” Chelepis said. “We have been working so hard on it and I think the school is going to find it super entertaining while we learn many journalistic skills along the way.”

coming up... As the first episode of Sion Gets Spicy is soon to arrive, the students are already preparing for the next segment, starring math department teacher Reynold Middleton. “I am excited to see what questions the students have preapred for me” Middleton said. “Oh, and to eat some spicy wings too of course.”

AnnaChelepis

IF I WAS PRESIDENT I WOULD...

“Renovate the White House to make it a Barbie dreamhouse.”

“Make everyone wear pink on wednesdays.”

“Make Chappell Roan do a concert in every city for free.”

“No schools are allowed to have a full week. Unacceptable.”

“A mandatory nap time at 1 p.m.”

“Makethenationalanthemthe skibiditoiletsong.”

OF THE 54 STUDENTS WHO FILLED OUT THE POLL, 39% KNEW ABOUT HOW MANY ELIGIBLE VOTERS ACTUALLY VOTE

INCORRECT

CORRECT

“Make everyone in the country give me a dollar.”

“Everyonemusttattooa gorillaontotheircalfwhen theyturn18.”

How well do we know Politics?

OF THE 54 STUDENTS WHO FILLED OUT THE POLL, 75% OF RESPONDANTS KNEW HOW MANY VOTES ARE IN THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

43/49 people were correct when asked what the branches of government are in the U.S. EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL

46/50 PEOPLE POLLED CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED THE NUMBER OF BRANCHES IN THE US AS THREE

34/50 people were correct about the date of the presidential election 2024 NOV. 5

34/45 PEOPLE WERE CORRECT ON THE NUMBER OF SENATORS IN KANSAS two

36/44 PEOPLE WERE CORRECT ON THE NUMBER OF SENATORS FOR EACH STATE there are always two senators per state, making 100 senators total in the legislative branch