Issue 6 4 13 18

Volume 108, Issue 6

Students march, walkout In light of recent tragedies, students stand up to gun violence through national demonstrations

Friday, April 13, 2018

PH

aper ighlights

Look here for some quick reads on this issue’s features.

Page 2: We miss Smashburger.

Read about other business closures in our community on Page 2.

Left and right: students hold up signs and balloons in front of crowd. Middle: Students listen to speeches from walkout organizers. (Breen/Rossetti/DeKoker)

by Spiro Kass In the days leading up to the walkout, Koc, “They say things like ‘Oh, kids are over dramatiz@spiro_kass Pilar Valdes ‘19, Amanda Kural ‘19, Mary ing things these days and turning this into someor the past two months, there has been an out- Beck ‘20 and many other upper and lower class- thing that it’s not.’ I think they should be more break sweeping across the country. Not a typi- men got together to organize the memorial. Be- touchy about the subject because it is so personal cal epidemic of some miscellaneous infection, but fore the day of action, the students approached [for some students].” rather something far less tangible and far more Principal Brian Waterman and assured him the In comparison to LT, some schools were not empowering. From coast to coast, there has been walkout would be handled safely and appropri- as accepting to students walking out, according to an outbreak of student voices. Voices that are ag- ately, he said. the Chicago Tribune, including Downers Grove gressively stirring our nation’s political forecast “I was proud about how they handled them- North where the administration issued Saturday by shouting two simple words: never again. selves,” Waterman said. “I was proud about how detentions to every student who exited the buildEver since the school shooting at Marjory they did it in a respectful way, a peaceful way ing to participate in the demonstration. Similarly, Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and a civil way.”

Hinsdale Central student participants were issued on Feb. 14, students have been gathering in cities After the tragedy in Parkland, Waterman an unexcused absence and a truancy charge for and schools around the nation to protest against knew LT students were going to participate in the time they were absent from class, as reported school gun violence. On March 14, exactly one the walkouts, he said. Leading up to the demon- by the Devil’s Advocate, Hinsdale Central’s stumonth after the Parkland tragedy, there was a na- stration, he met with several other principals dent-run news magazine. tional school walkout memorializing the victims in the DuPage county area and West Suburban Nevertheless, the LT walkout on March 14 was of the shooting. LT students participated by or- Conference to hear each other’s philosophies a success at both campuses, with a couple hunganizing a school walkout at both NC and SC, NC on how to handle student dred NC student participants and You don’t want to think walkout co-organizer Taylor Koc ‘18 said. walkouts. Through discusas many as 900 at SC. Throughout “I want something to change, even if it may sion and thought, the LT about a school shooting hap- the walkout, students said they felt never happen,” Koc said. “It’s starting a national leadership team decided pening at your school. It’s empowered by the words and acdiscussion, and it’s sort of making people become to not punish participat- just really personal—we’re tions of the organizers, including more informed about it because they see it on the ing students as long as they participant Maddie Dixon ‘18. news so often, even if it’s not actually changing did not disrupt a peace- students and there are other “I feel like the youth is the fustudents that are dying. the current laws.” ful learning environment, ture of this country and we should -Taylor Koc ‘18 With a history of political activism, protesting Waterman said. protect ourselves,” Dixon said. for something she believes in is nothing out of the “We’re always going to “It’s not about being mean to each ordinary for Koc. Yet, there stands a large divide maintain a compassionate student centered ap- other or posing my ideas on somebody else’s, but between her previous activism and the demon- proach; we’re going to respect student’s right just creating a society that I’m proud to live in.” strations she is currently participating in. Unlike to protest and we’re going to keep the learning Students plan to make their voices heard with before, walking out in regards to school gun vio- environment moving forward,” Waterman said. another walkout on April 20 in a national school lence is a topic much more personal and hits closAs a result, student’s respected the way the walkout on the anniversary of the Columbine er to home, she said. administration allowed them to walk out, Koc massacre, Koc said. “[School walkouts] impact us as students, be- said. However, though some teachers have been Although gun laws are a large aspect of the cause [a shooting] is something that you don’t supportive, a few teachers have not been as re- protests, national walkouts are focusing on more want to even fathom,” Koc said. “You don’t want ceptive to the demonstrations as some students than just political issues. to think about a school shooting happening at wish they were.

“The walkouts were way more than for gun your school. It’s just really personal—we’re stu“I feel like some teachers are taking it on violence,” Beck said. “They were about showing dents and there are other students that are dying.” themselves to say their own views,” Koc said. respect to the 17 innocent lives that were lost.”

F

“

“

In memoriam: Hayden Miles ‘21, 2002-2018

by Grant Campbell @grantc_3100

T

he LT community lost Hayden Miles ’21 in a tragic accident on Monday, March 5.

Miles was struck by a train in his hometown of Western Springs at around 7 p.m.

Despite the tragedy of his death, members of the community still remember his charisma and happiness, including his local Boy Scout Miles’ picture in his obit- troop leaders Jim and uary. (Hallowell & James) Beth Korenchan.

“He was always very happy and enthusiastic about the things he was involved in,” Beth said. “I would see him in [scout] troop meetings and jazz band concerts. He was so enthusiastic about his music and scouting.

He was just a happy young man.”

Miles was a member of Troop #216. Before he attended Highlands Middle School, he lived in Florida. Scouting was one of the first connections he made with his new town, Beth said.

“About a week before we lost [Hayden], I was at his performance in the jazz band concert,” Jim said. “He had a solo, and I think it was his first

North Campus



one in a concert in high school. When you perform a solo, you’re improvising. You’re putting yourself out there to everyone in the audience, and you’re doing it for the love of music. He was brave enough to do that.”

Miles was a member of the jazz band and marching band. The Korenchan’s had children of their own who knew Miles from these activities.

However, some of their fondest memories are from his involvement with their troop.

“He loved being with friends on scouting adventures,” Jim said. “The first time I met him was at a scouting sledding trip with his dad. He was on the [sledding] hill the whole day. We created a little jump and he was consistently getting air [on his jumps].”

Because of his love of the outdoors, Miles received a great honor from his fellow scouts. He was elected to the Order of the Arrow. “[To be considered] you must be recognized by your peers,” Jim said. “No adults vote, and he was selected from our troop to be a member [of the Order of the Arrow].”

Miles was very close with his father, Eric Miles, and attended many scouting endeavors together. Because no adults were in the voting or nomination process of the Order of the Arrow, his father was unable to be in attendance for the ceremony. Immediately after he was initiated, he asked someone to take a picture of him with his sash and sent it to his dad, Beth said.

Page 4: You may have missed the March for Our Lives over spring break. It’s ok, we have extensive coverage on Page 4.

Page 6: Will Moran ‘18 is Mr. LT 2018! See pictures from the night on Page 6.

Page 7: Curious to see who won our ESPN Tournament Challenge? You can see who and other funny responses in the Page 7 Grid!

Page 8: This should be interesting...Sydney Kaehler ‘18, Greg Smith ‘19 and Spiro Kass ‘18 are going head-tohead-to-head. Flip to Page 8 to see this epic battle.

Page 9: Who doesn’t love a editorial cartoon? If you don’t, we’ll change your mind on Page 9.

Page 10: It’s baseball season.

We know you want to see a winning team (@whitesox fans), so read about boys baseball on Page 10.

Page 11: We’ve got all you need to know about the girls soccer team (other than Charlie Clarke’s ‘18 tailgate grilling) on Page 11.

Page 12: If you don’t know who Sean Ryan ‘18 is, you should read about him on Page 12, AOTM. Page 15: You’ve heard this song in the hallways. Want to know more about the artist?

The full scoop on this LT alumnus is on Page 15.

“They were both good with knots,” she said. Page 16-17: We’re not calling “Both were fisherman and came from Florida. ourselves Upton Sinclair, but He and his dad knew these knots and were never we did write about the meat industry on Page 16-17. afraid to teach others about them.”

Through both his participation in music and Page 20: Who secured the pet scouting, the Korenchans said that his legacy will of the month? You’ll have to live on through these passions. flip to Page 20 to find out.

“He was the scout who would always be there to help,” Beth said. “Whether an adult needed help or a scout, you didn’t have to ask. He would What’s this issue’s theme for Pulse? just see the need and bring himself forward to see Here’s the cover (Page 13) if there was anything he could do. He exemplified everything important that we hold in scouting.”

Jim echoes much the same, but also added onto his wife’s comments.

“At our weekly Tuesday night troop meeting, we held a eulogy [for Hayden],” he said. “We had 100 people at the meeting where we would normally have 50. We found out how we could come together as a family.”

Troop #216 partnered with two other local troops to cut ribbons after the eulogy. They then covered trees with the ribbons reaching from Highlands to St. John of the Cross, the host parish for his funeral. At the funeral, there was a line of at least 40 scouts saluting as the procession began, Jim said.

“He will be missed,” Jim said. “He was an enthusiastic scout. As a scout leader, you love to see an enthusiastic scout. I can tell you that’s the highest compliment.” Full story on lionnewspaper.com

100 S. Brainard Ave. LaGrange, Ill. 60525 South Campus



4900 Willow Springs Rd. Western Springs, Ill. 60558

NEWS

Page 2

Friday, April 13, 2018

Staple LaGrange businesses close

Many establishments in LaGrange shut down due to varied factors

by Mary Okkema @Mary_Okkema

A recent surge of business closures in downtown LaGrange has caused residents to question the viability of LaGrange as a pro-business community.

“LaGrange contains many diverse small businesses,” Community Development Director Charity Jones said.

“One positive aspect of this business mix is that it mitigates risk; the closing of any one of our businesses does not significantly impact the overall performance of the retail district.”

Businesses that closed recently in LaGrange include Francesca’s Bellezza, Modasi, Taco Cantina, Back Alley Burger, Runners’ Soul, Pier One and Smashburger.

Other stores and restaurants have filled the vacant space that older businesses left: Altiro Latin Fusion (1 S. La Grange Rd.), The Clever Fig (21 S. La Grange Rd.), Aodake Ramen (19 Calendar Ave.) and Forbidden Noodles (50 S. La Grange Rd).

Other LaGrange business owners said they would like more retail stores to move in.

The vacant storefront that hosted Francesca’s Bellezza is now for lease, and may be filled by a retail store or new restaurant in the La Grange Road business trend. (Okkema/LION)

“I would encourage residents around us to shop that retail,” Maria Marciniec, the owner of Tate’s Old Fashion Ice Cream Shop, said. “We only have a few little retail shops, but the prob-

lem is when a retail space becomes a restaurant, hoods and sinks are put in. Things are put in that are really hard to take out, so we are losing retail to more and more restaurants.”

The closures have had different effects on the surrounding businesses. Older businesses, such as the clothing store Chleo and Tate’s Old Fashion Ice cream shop that have long standing reputation with their reegular customers have not seen a decline or any sort of shift iin business, Chleo employee Tina Smith said.

However, We’re Nuts on Harris Avenue has seen a decrease of people in town, owner Medelin Elizaga said. She also credits the lack of people to the weather and the increase in online shopping.

However, the Community Department works to fill the vacant store fronts by promoting commercial properties to businesses that are seeking to settle in a community similar to La Grange. They do this by working proactively and directly with commercial brokers in the area and participating in networking opportunities provided by retail organizations like the International Council of Shopping Centers, Jones said.

“People from LaGrange take care of their businesses downtown,” Marciniec said. “They support them. We love it here.”

Candidates declare victory in local races

by Brandt Siegfried @brandto13 Illinois voters, including a number of LT students, went to the polls on March 20 to select candidates to represent their parties in the Nov. 6 general gubernatorial election. This upcoming fall, voters will select the winners of the governorship, other statewide offices, representatives for Illinois’ 18 congressional districts, Cook County officers, circuit court judges and a number of important local offices.

One of the highest profile races, the contest for Illinois’ Third Congressional District Democratic primary, ended in a close 51 percent to 49 percent win for incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Western Springs).

“My focus has always been jobs and fighting for the middle class,” Lipinski said.

“The bottom line is trust and my constituents trusting my decisions; that I’m going to be looking out for them.”

He faced LaGrange businesswoman Marie Newman, who positioned herself as a progressive alternative to Lipinski’s moderate record. Nationally, many analysts saw

the race as a conflict between traditional percent. According to CBS Chicago, canand progressive Democrats, however Lip- didates spent over $100 million together inski did not see his contest this way. to win their primaries; many analysts “Any congressional race is about the believe the fall matchup will be the most district,” Lipinski said. “I was not surprised expensive gubernatorial race in American [I had an opponent] because of all the angst history. and concern about Donald Trump and Locally, Illinois House Republican the question of how the Democratic Party Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) would react to [his] presidency.” won his primary battle against Burr Ridge Incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner won Mayor Mickey Straub for the 82nd House the Republican nomination District handily with Primaries can get messy, nearly 68 percent of the for re-election with 51 percent but at the end of the day against his challenger, state vote. Durkin will face Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheait’s the people in the area Democrat Tom Chlyston). Ives’ campaign was fueled that are going to decide. I’m tek in the general elecby conservative dissatisfaction tion. The district covers honored to represent the for bills signed by the moderportions of La Grange, 82nd district. ate Rauner, most notably H.B. -Jim Durkin, Illinois House of Repre- Western Springs, La 40 (which authorizes taxpayer Grange Highlands, Insentatives Rebublican Leader funding for abortion). Rauner dian Head Park, Burr faces a tough road to victory in Ridge and Willow Springs.

November, and the University of Virgin“I think elections are a discussion ia Center for Politics journal has labeled of ideas of what voters are looking for,” Rauner “the most endangered incumbent Durkin said. “Primaries can get messy, Republican governor” in the United States. but at the end of the day it’s the people On the Democrat’s side, billionaire in the area that are going to decide. I’m philanthropist J.B. Pritzker handily won honored to represent the 82nd district.” his party’s race. While he only won 45 perThe next election will be held on Nov. cent of the vote, his nearest opponent, state 6. Students who will be 18 by this date Sen. Dan Biss, came in second amongst are eligible to vote. Students can register a crowded field of six candidates with 26 online or at a local government office.

“

“

Lipinski, Rauner narrowly defeat opponents; Pritzker wins Democratic nomination

Student wins Congressional award for app Scott Turro ‘18 wins app challenge, visit from Congressman Lipinski

by Harper Hill @Harpss42

When Programming teacher Natalie Carlson casually introduced the concept of the Congressional App Challenge to her Programming Club students, Scott Turro ‘18 jumped at the opportunity to submit his complex app to the highly selective contest.

“I submitted it to experience publishing a totally finished app,” Turro said. “I worked out all the bugs and had the app tested by multiple people before I submitted it.”

Using a combination of his knowledge in math, physics and graphics, Turro created his own simulation of the old handheld children’s toy known as the Water Ring Game in which rings are shot into suspended hoops. His mobile app was named winner of the Third District Congressional App Challenge by Congressman Dan Lipinski on Dec. 11.

“The app submission we received varied significantly, and all were great demonstrations of the students’ creativity and skill,” Lipinski said in an interview posted on the LT website.

“Scott’s app stood out for the sophistication of the code and the STEM skills he demonstrated.”

The Congressional App Challenge, which was started in 2015, is hosted by members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The purpose of this challenge is to promote coding to high schoolers interested in science, technology, engineering and math. Across 42 states, 190 Congressional districts participated in the challenge. A total of 4,900 students applied nationwide, but there was only one elected winner in each participating district.

Rep. Lipinski presented Turro with the award at LT during his iOS Development class on Feb. 16. Lipinski and Turro discussed the math and physics behind the Water Ring Game app, as well as the importance of programming classes at LT, Turro said.

“I was very nervous, but it was very nice to see him,” Tur-

ro said. “[It was] definitely a huge moment in my career. I’m definitely going to be looking back, as I move forward, on that moment.”

The contestants were judged on concept, design and skill.

Students were also asked to submit a video demonstrating and explaining their app, as well as answer several short answer questions about the process.

Turro took Programming in Visual Basics his sophomore year with Carlson where he learned fundamental skills of programming, he said. During his junior year, Turro took AP Computer Science instructed by Julia Brenson, where he learned JAVA language and was able to apply his programming skills. Turro is currently enrolled in iOS Development Apple Apps with Carlson.

Although Turro is taking a development class, he worked on this app during his study hall using a platform called Processing, Carlson said. Processing is an iPhone application tool that helps users create apps.

Turro’s Water Ring Game is in JAVA which is not compatible with smartphones, so Turro’s app is not accessible by the public.

“I would have to bring it to the next stage and bring it to actual development [before] releasing it to the public,” Turro said. “But I think I’m going to stop there as production goes.

If I wanted to produce an actual app, I would create a new one.”

Instead of using a previously generated physics engine to assist in the app-making process, Turro created his own physics engine and met with physics teachers to confirm that his work was correct, Carlson said. “[Turro] went through this huge process to make it his own instead of just piecemeal putting stuff together,” Carlson said. “He did not take the easy route, but I think his product was more impressive because he did a lot of his own work.

He’s incredibly humble for a kid who is very talented.”

Turro’s app simulated the drag that occurs when dropping a ring in water, as well as includes a Z-coordinate, allowing the rings to move respectively when the phone is tilted up

Scott Turro ‘18 poses with Congressman Dan Lipinski as he accepts his award. (Jennifer Bialobok)

and down. “[The process was] very slow,” Turro said. “It was very hard to program because the app was made by an [independent] developer, it wasn’t made by an official business. It was a lot to work with, and very hard with the errors... I eventually got it.”

With a dream of going into computer science, mathematics or physics, this experience has helped Turro understand the complexity of the app-making process, as well as the importance of paying attention to detail, he said.

On April 12-14, the winners of this challenge will have their finished products screened in Washington D.C. in the U.S. Capitol building. Turro’s app will be displayed, and he plans to attend this event.

“I’m pretty excited for it,” Turro said. “There’s going to be a huge mass event. They invited me to show my presentation to Congress, so I think I’m going to take that opportunity.”

NEWS

Friday, April 13, 2018

Founder of LaGrange owned slaves

Page 3

Franklin Cossitt—1st village president, founder—cotton planter in Tenn.

by Lars Lonnroth @larslonnroth Up until the mid-1950s, the majority of people living in LaGrange could not consume alcohol in the confines of their own home—they risked having their house confiscated if they did. Franklin Cossitt, the founder of LaGrange, had seen too many towns emerge around the pub and the bottle.

This did not fit his vision for LaGrange.

Cossitt’s ambitions for his new town speak to the fact that he was a man who overcame in the face of adversity, relatives say.

“He lived through some horrible times and yet he kept going—he pulled himself up and kept moving,” Nancy Kenney, a relative of Cossitt’s and a local historian, said. “He lost his home and his business in the Civil War, two of his wives died during childbirth but he just kept going.”

Kenney is an expert in LaGrange history and Cossitt in particular, noting the many actions he made that have had direct impacts on the LaGrange of today.

“I think he was a visionary,” Kenney said. “He had this dream of developing land. He could see what was happening.

The Burlington [Railroad] had a line out here so he purchased this land and came to devoted himself to this full time.”

When building the town, Cossitt put emphasis on making LaGrange a place where people would want to live. He allocated land for churches and schools, planted a plethora of trees and even offered to help early residents build their new homes.

Cossitt envisioned a town of culture and class, a town where the neighbors were nice, the houses were pretty and family and religion were a part of everyday life. He wanted a quality community, and he modeled it—in part—after a LaGrange he knew well: LaGrange, Tenn.

The southern LaGrange was home to two colleges, four churches, multiple newspapers, a hotel, a painter and numerous other businesses. The town also had cotton plantations and cotton farmers—which was Cossitt’s field of work.

The LION has confirmed through census records from 1860 that Cossitt owned at least 98 slaves in the county where LaGrange, Tenn., is located. In federal documents, he was said to have owned around 130 slaves across his four plantations.

Cossitt’s situation highlights a difficult and precarious conversation about how to reconcile the role many historical figures played in shaping the way our nation, our states and our communities emerged with the fact that many of these figures enslaved other people.

Community reaction

Kenney, the Cossitt relative, speaks with immense pride regarding Cossitt’s accomplishments. She sees him as the embodiment of the American Dream.

When talking about Cossitt owning slaves, however, Kenney became visibly shaken, both for how it may change how people see his good work and the fact that he played a role—however minor or significant—in this negative period of American history.

“I hope that people will not think too harshly of him,” Kenney said. “He engaged in an evil, but if the times were different, I think he wouldn’t have engaged in slavery.”

Other than the sheer act of owning slaves, Kenney said that—to her knowledge—there is no evidence to suggest that Cossitt mistreated his slaves, but there is also no documentation to show that he treated them well either.

Making the topic more difficult, the local elementary school in LaGrange includes Cossitt’s name. The school is not named after Cossitt but rather the street on which it resides.

The official name is the Cossitt Avenue Elementary School.

While no one has suggested changing the street’s name, if the street’s name does change, the school board would likely have to consider whether or not to change the school’s name with it, said Kyle Schumacher, the superintendent of District 102, which oversees the school.

“I think it is an important distinction,” Schumacher said.

1827

1863

1873

Franklin Cossitt born in Connecticut

Moves to Illinois

Begins planning LaGrange

1879 LaGrange incorporated, Cossitt its first president

1900 Cossitt dies at the age of 78

Sources: LaGrange Historical Society; Portrait and Biographical Record of Cook and Dupage Counties, Illinois; Cossitt Family Association; Geni.com

Far left: portrait of Franklin Cossitt. (LaGrange Historical Society); Upper middle: Cossitt Ave Elementary School. (Lonnroth/ LION); Far right: excerpt of census records detailing the age and gener of a portion of Cossitt’s nearly 130 slaves. (1860 Census)

“Our schools are all named after streets, and so there is a disconnect from the namesake.”

Schumacher said that having a school named after a person is intending to honor an individual. When a school is named after a street, that is not the case.

“If our schools were named after people, [changing the name] would make sense,” Schumacher said. “Our school’s names are not honoring anyone.”

While very few schools have changed their names because of their namesake’s ownership of slaves, there is precedent. In the 1990s, facing pressure from civil rights organizations, the school board in New Orleans changed the name of all of its schools named after slave owners, including an elementary school named after President George Washington.

While not explicitly calling for a change in Cossitt Elementary’s name, President of LT’s Black and Multicultural Club Nina Shearrill ‘20 argues that one must look at how a person’s slaves helped them get to their position of power.

“I feel that these people are being praised for things they did through terrible means,” Shearrill said. “The way that they got their power, the way that they got things done is off the backs of other people. Without the people that they enslaved, they wouldn’t have the legacy that they did.”

The sponsor of Black and Multicultural club, Elizabeth Watkins, declined to speak to Cossitt’s situation until she did her own comprehensive research on the subject.

But Paul Houston, Global Studies Division Chair at LT, said that—if it was his choice—he would use this as an opportunity to discuss the role slaves played in the lives of many of America’s historical figures.

“I think having a school named after a slave owner like Cossitt could be an educational opportunity,” Houston said.

He added: “If we were to include a brief instructional program in a U.S. history class about Cossitt, I would endorse examining the complicated biography of a man who did all these great things and could be revered but owned slaves,” Houston said. “That would help some people think about how the world is complex, and [how] people are complex.”

Unlike the controversy surrounding the removing of statues depicting Confederate individuals, Kenney said that Cossitt was a Union sympathizer.

Cossitt in the South

According to local history books, Cossitt was born in 1821 in Granby, Conn. When he was around 15 years old, he moved to Tennessee where he worked for his uncle. Later on, Cossitt went off on his own and began cultivating cotton.

LaGrange, Tenn.—located on a beautiful bluff overlooking an offshoot of the Mississippi River—proved to be quite an advantageous position during the Civil War because of its view into its southern neighbor: Mississippi. As a result, the Union occupied the town during the Civil War. While he was not very outspoken on his beliefs, Cossitt was a Northern sympathizer, documents show.

Cossitt’s estate, The Taira, was used by the Union as a hospital and a biography written about Cossitt even claimed that he entertained Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his wife

when they were in LaGrange, Tenn., for the war.

When the Union was encamped in the area, the town saw much of its business and culture vanish, the current owners of Cossitt’s LaGrange, Tenn., estate, the Taira, said.

As a result of the Union’s impact on Southern property, between 1871 and 1873, the United States offered Northern sympathizers the opportunity to receive compensation for property that was taken or destroyed by the Union during the war. Cossitt was one of them.

“Cossitt has rendered good services at different times [to the Union] and deserves compensation for [the] articles taken from him,” Union Gen. James McPherson said in the court report.

Before the Union army took LaGrange, Cossitt came to McPherson’s and Grant’s encampment in 1862 and informed them that the Confederate troops in LaGrange, Tenn., “did not amount to much and [they] would have no difficulty in” taking the town, the report said. McPherson’s troops came in the next day and took LaGrange from the Confederates.

Another Union general quoted in the report—obtained by the LION through the LaGrange Historical Society— called Cossitt “a reliable Union man” and added that “I have reason to believe that he has always been loyal to the government and [I] have received from him valuable information.”

Some community members, including Kenney, think that his involvement with the Union shows that Cossitt—even being a slave owner—may have had a conscience.

“The very fact that he risked his life [to help the Union], the fact that he freed his slaves are things I hope that people will [take into account and] understand,” Kenney said.

The LION could not independently verify whether or not Cossitt freed his slaves. In court documents, a Union general was quoted as saying that Cossitt’s “life would not have been worth a straw outside of the range covered by the U.S. Troops.”

Other LaGrange, Ill., residents agree that there is evidence that—while not exonerating him—helps protect his legacy.

“There were no good slave owners, but there is a level of relativity,” LaGrange, Ill., resident Matthew Scotty said. “If he recognized the errors of his ways and changed his behavior, that is a positive mark on his character. It doesn’t excuse former bad behavior, but it is better than staying in the South and fighting for the Confederacy.”

Other locals say that, because there does not appear to be a direct link between LaGrange and Cossitt’s slaves, it is less important to LaGrange history.

While some of Cossitt’s actions reflect well on his character, others believe that those actions don’t make up for his ownership of slaves. Shearrill, the president of LT’s Black and Multicultural club, argues that Cossitt’s slaves certainly influenced his ability to build LaGrange.

“There is always a connection [to a slave owner’s success and their slaves] because [that’s] how they made money and how they gained power: through what they owned,” Shearrill said. “If they hadn’t owned slaves, if they didn’t have the biggest plantations, they wouldn’t have been as prominent figures.”

Mathletes to host triva fundraiser for Dare2Tri Trivia fundraiser to support disabled, better health

by Taylor Schmitt

The LT Math Team plans to host a trivia night fundraiser on April 14 in the NC cafeteria to support the organization Dare2Tri. The event, which is set to begin around 6:30 p.m., will feature five rounds of trivia questions over a variety of topics, a split-the-pot raffle and prizes from local businesses. The night will be organized Ravinia-style, where participants bring their own food and drink.

“I heard about [Dare2Tri] through other people, and I just thought that it is a really cool organization,” Math Team member Greg Smith ‘19 said. “I volunteered for them, but it was tough to get out to their practices on Tuesday nights. But, I still wanted to do something for them, and I decided I should try to start something like this.”

Dare2Tri is a Chicago-based organization that helps disabled and injured people get involved in sports and foster healthy lifestyles, Smith said. They work with athletes of all

Dare2Try, the organization the Math Team is supporting, helped students with special needs participate in the sophomore triathlon at LT last school year. (Antlept/LTHS)

ability levels to help them engage in more active lifestyles despite their disabilities. Their programs include everything from paratriathlon training to wounded veteran rehabil-

itation to uniting visually impaired runners with guides, according to Dare2Tri’s website. “[The fundraiser] really started because I volunteered for them and then realized that

I couldn’t dedicate regular weekly time but still wanted to help out,” Smith said.

The Math Team is not the only LT organization that works with Dare2Tri. Last year, the special education department worked with them to help special education students participate in the sophomore triathlon, Joe Barker, Math Team sponsor, said.

While there is no dollar-specific goal for the night, Math Team hopes to get at least 20 tables of eight students each, Smith said.

The fee for registration is $5 for students and $10 for adults. There will be tickets available at the door, as well as some tables. In addition to the price of admission, the Math Team will be accepting additional donations online.

With a competitive event like trivia, Math Team has been reaching out to other academic teams like the Science Olympiad and Model United Nations to try to get a friendly academic rivalry to encourage competition and raise more money, Barker said.

“We thought that it would be fun to get different teams of students competing,” Barker said. “It might be really interesting.”

Page 4

NEWS

Friday, April 13, 2018

Student-driven March for Our Lives draws crowds nationwide Thousands in Chicago march for gun reform, student safety

by Grace DeKoker @grace_dekoker

Just over one month after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., killed 17 students and faculty, a wave of student activism was ignited across the nation. The cause rallied on March 24, when 700 cities in the U.S. and 30 countries held protests for gun reform at March For Our Lives.

In Chicago, the rally in Union Park and following march drew a diverse crowd of over 85,000, including dozens of LT students.

“I first heard about it through my mom, she is a firm believer in keeping our schools safe,” Katherine Aubert ‘19 said. “I don’t think any student should have to go to school afraid.”

School walkouts, student speeches and other forms of protest have cropped up with increasing prevalence in the two months since the Parkland shooting (coverage of LT’s protests can be found on page one). Students across the country—fueled by the words and action taken by survivors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School—are credited with organizing the march alongside Everytown, a pro-gun reform organization, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“It’s really important for kids and teenagers to also have a voice, and to be politically engaged,” Grace Johnston ‘19 said.

While there were hundreds of marches worldwide uniting for the same cause of gun reform, Chicago’s rally had a unique focus on gun violence as a whole, and did not limit itself solely to the issue of school shootings.

“I appreciated that they focused on the effect guns have on kids’ lives everyday, where growing up in neighborhoods where gun violence is an issue,” Johnston said. “They talked about the importance of viewing it as a larger issue.”

The speakers ranged broadly, from inner city youth organizations to cultural groups, but a common theme was their young age, evidenced by the college students who organized the event. Their personal anecdotes moved the crowd, Aubert said, as none of them were any older than a college student.

Spoken word pieces, dance performances, music, speeches and poetry were all methods people used to drive their messages home and communicate their personal stories.

“I was almost in tears, the way that [one student] talked about racial issues, gun laws and violence in general,” Aubert said. “It was so powerful. Every speaker was so inspiring, and it was really moving to hear people my own age taking such a stand.”

One such student group was Hinsdale Central’s poetry team, who performed its original poem “Trigger Warning” at the event. Poetry club president and Hinsdale Central student Kai Foster ‘18 was shocked and felt helpless when she saw the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, she said.

“I really wanted to do something,” Foster said. “I’m 18, so I can vote, but I really wanted to do something more, something now.”

She wrote her poem in just a few hours, she said, and soon shared it with her teammates Ellie Pena ‘21, Amani Mryan ‘19 and Ayana Otikiti ‘19. Originally performed at the Louder Than a Bomb poetry competition, the piece drew attention on social media, and the girls reached out to March For Our Lives via Twitter to request to perform at the march.

“We never had a way to share our work, just our competitions and Louder Than a Bomb,” Foster said. “At the march, we finally had our platform.”

Other groups that took advantage of that platform included students from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Lane Technical High School and city groups such as Mad City Good Kids. Inviting youth to the stage allowed for those who do not usually have a voice in politics to take a stand, Pena said, and supported the diversity of students and supporters alike.

“Topics like [gun violence] aren’t about if you are Republican or if you’re Democrat,” Mryan said. “It was the March For Our Lives, it was for all of us, [and that is] one of the things that is so beautiful; it is not divisive.

We all have lives, we all want to live, and that simple fact unites us. That is what will take us forward. We can all come together and agree, and we need to stop this violence for ourselves.”

Top: a woman displaying her sign in front of the rally’s stage and banners. Bottom left: a wall of signs left by protestors. Bottom middle: two women beginning their march. Bottom right: protestors waving signs, flags and banners. (Breen/DeKoker/Valdes/LION)

Friday, April 13, 2018

CommunitY

Page 5

Oh, the places we’ll go Over the course of the last month, many Lyons Township students have immersed themselves in cultural experiences all across the globe. Read the stories below and check out lionnewspaper.com to learn about some of LT’s spring adventures.

LT Robotics team competes against world LT students look to compete in the global competition

by Hayden Claesson @wizard_of_soz LT’s robotics team punched its ticket to go to Louisville, Ky., to compete on the world stage at the world championships during the last week in April after a third place finish at state.

“We were a little nervous, especially in the later rounds of the state qualifying tournament,” programmer Tim Houston ‘18 said. “It’s just two minutes of competition, if we lost we went home, and if we won we would go to state.”

The team made up of Houston, Jack Brown ‘18, Jonathan Duelm ‘18, Nick Hughes ‘18 and Margaret the Robot placed fourth in the skills competition at state. The team was eliminated in the semifinal round at state and ended up placing third, club sponsor Josh Nabasny said. The team had been working to improve Margaret twice a week after school in order to prepare for worlds.

“Margaret’s reliability is one of our strengths,” Houston

robotics club started in an engineering class where students worked with robots. There was student interest in wanting to compete in competitions, that interest eventually led to the robotics club at LT. Last year, there were only four club members to form one team, but this year 20-24 members were a part of the club, Nabasny said.

“At the beginning, we were watching YouTube videos to see how other team’s robots worked,” Houston said. “Those robots were just ridiculous, and we never thought we would be able to compete against them. It’s really exciting that now we might get paired up against them.”

Robotics teams all get their parts for their robots from a company called Vex Robotics, whose mission is to get kids around the globe interested in STEM. The company hosts Jack Brown ‘18, Tim Houston ‘18, Nick Hughes ‘18 and Jonacompetitions for over 16,000 teams across the globe in over than Duelm ‘18 hold Margaret the Robot after their success at 40 countries. The team will go to the world championships the state championship. (Nabasny) in Kentucky to compete against 900 teams from all over the said. “Some teams make robots that are big and cumbersome, world, and are hoping to make a run for the top. but Margaret is really stable.”

“Based on how we competed at the state competition, I The robotics team is a relatively new club, with this year believe we have a chance to be one of the best teams at the being the first full season of competition. The interest for a world [championships],” Nabasny said.

Italian students enjoy Exchange program 15th year abroad explores France Students, teachers travel to Italy for movie moment

by Christina Rossetti @c_rossetti6 Italy: the country famous for the Leaning Tower, pizza, the Colosseum and so much more. But for Jess Pelletiere ‘18, there was something else that made going to Italy on LT’s Italian exchange trip stand out.

“My favorite part was the Trevi fountain in Rome because it was such a Lizzie McGuire movie moment,” Pelletiere said. “I got to throw a coin into the fountain like everyone does when they visit, and it was truly unforgettable.”

Pelletiere, as well as 25 other students, travelled to Italy on March 17 with Italian teachers Elisa Ciaglia and Lynn Meister, where they stayed with the same exchange students that were in the United States earlier this year, Ciaglia said.

“Our students get to immerse themselves in a new culture while living with a family in an Italian small town setting and interacting with people using their Italian language skills,” Ciaglia said.

The students returned on March 31, after spending 14 days in the city of Follonica, going to school with their host siblings.

“Italian school is one hundred percent different than ours,” Pelletiere said.

The students in Italy spend roughly four hours each day in their school, going to school Monday through Saturday, with around 15 people in their classes, she said. Contrary to American high school, the teachers move in and out of classes each day, and the students are allowed to select specifically what they would like to study; they can choose to go to a scientific high school or a language-based high school, Pelletiere said.

“More students should go on trips like this because it’s a once and a lifetime chance,” Pelletiere said. “When you are living in another person’s household you have to adapt; you are truly living in the lifestyle of that country and it makes the trip a truly different experience.”

As well as school, the students went on immersive day trips with their exchange students, going to Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Massa Marittima, and Piombino, Pelletiere said.

“While studying abroad, LT students get to experience not just the language they have practiced in school, but also get to experience the culture,” Ciaglia said. “It really opens up our minds about different ways of living, thinking, and that helps to make us better citizens.”

LT’s Italian exchange plans to return again next year to Follonica and bring another set of students with them to the beautiful seaside town, Ciaglia said.

“Each day was a new learning experience,” Pelletiere said. “It was hard to adjust to their eating schedule and the large amount of foods at meals; it was a whole change of pace in life but it was totally doable and in the end I actually enjoyed their day-to-day living more than our own.”

To see some of the shots taken by students and teachers while in Italy, check out the LT Italian exchange Twitter account (@LT_italian). photo credit: Erin Pouba ‘18

LT students experience Marseilles, Paris, on global excursion

by Mary Devine @marydwannab Twenty LT French students departed to Marseilles, France on March 24 for two weeks of full culture immersion. After hosting the French students back in February, it was the LT students’ turn to experience France. During spring break, the students explored Marseilles, the second largest city in France, and then spent the last four days of their trip in Paris.

“I decided to join the exchange because Elizabeth Martinez and Emily Fellmann encouraged it so much,” French student Brie Voetberg ‘19 said. “My French might not be the best, but the trip is an amazing learning experience.”

Martinez oversaw and organized both trips, as she has for LT’s previous two French exchange programs.

“I have chosen to do it because it is an amazing experience for the students and a special program that most high schools do not offer,” Martinez said. “It’s amazing to see the relationships the students build and how comfortable they become with French.”

In Marseilles, the students were able to shadow their host students at their partner school one day to see the differences in the education systems.

“They always have a big test on Saturday in the morning,” Voetberg said. “In America, we put a lot more stress on school which can be seen as good or bad. We may learn more in a day but it makes me question which system makes more of an impact on students’ learning.”

It has also impacted the French school students, as well, as they were able to experience America back in February. French student Pierre Michallet visited LT and was hosted by Tara Flaherty ‘18. [“I think that coming to Marseilles is a great thing,”] as opposed to testing sporadically throughout the week, Michallet said. “Often when you think about France, you think ‘Oh, Paris.’ Paris is an amazing city, but they can discover another part of the country.”

On the trip [in Marseilles], the students also participated in several activities throughout France including visiting the Baux castle, the arenas of Arles, a karaoke party and of course visiting landmarks throughout France.

All of these activities take a lot of time and planning, Martinez said.

“I work with a travel agency to plan the trip, and with the American parents to plan all the events for when the French are here,” Martinez said. “It involves a lot of paperwork, phone calls and planning.”

Yet after everything is planned, the French students are overwhelmingly grateful for their time being immersed in the culture they have been studying these past years, and all the experiences that followed.

“What are you going to remember in 20 years?” Voetberg said. “Your physics test that you bombed or the amazing time you spent with a French kid?” photo credit: Taylor Schmitt ‘19

GEMS travels to Boston for hacking contest LT STEM club competes on MIT campus

By Greta Markey @gretamarkey Hacking is usually considered a bad thing, but on March 24, six members of LT’s Girls in Engineering Math and Science (GEMS) club competed in a 12-hour Hackathon from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., competing against other high school girls considering studying Computer Science and other science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) related fields.

The competition, taking place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, was coordinated by numerous Computer Science majors from the east coast.

Sisters and captains of GEMS Kelly and Nora Dunleavy ‘18 were named “Hackers” at the competition because of their experience developing websites and applications. The other six girls, Grace Newman ‘21, Mimi Goodrich ‘20, Evie Anagnos ‘20, Catherine Newman ‘20, Colleen Sullivan ‘20 and Katerina Zero ‘19, named “Beginners,” were simply exploring different programming languages and making smaller projects of their own.

“Ultimately, we didn’t place due to the deadline of submission,” Nora said. “On the handout they gave us, it indi-

cated that we needed to submit by 5:30 p.m. for judging, but the directors closed the submissions at 5 p.m. which obviously was incredibly frustrating. Kelly and I developed a great iOS application called ‘STEMentor,’ which leads girls aged 11 to 18 through a quiz about their interests. At the end, they are paired with a STEM discipline and given the contact information of a woman in the workforce that is interested in mentorship.”

Although they didn’t place in the hackathon, GEMS Advisor Loyola Pasiewicz believes that the hackathon was an overall success, at it gave the girls who participated valuable experience.

Nora echoes the same sentiment.

“My favorite part [about the competition] was talking to the GEMS underclassmen following the event and hearing them speak of their excitement for computing,” she said.

“That really is the ultimate goal of GEMS—to enlighten passionate female students. I was genuinely ecstatic with the result of the competition.”

Nora works with her sister and the other captains of GEMS to create a community outside of STEM classes at LT for girls.

“The biggest reason why I love GEMS is because of the mentorship we provide for underclassmen as they begin to

GEMS members gather around poster after competing in a hacking contest for 12 hours in Boston at the Massachusetts Institutiue of Technology. (Dunleavy)

encounter hardship in the classroom,” she said. “We want girls to know that it’s normal to feel outnumbered, and that there is a place to communicate these concerns — that place is GEMS.”

NEWS

Page 6

Friday, April 13, 2018

MR. LT

Mr. LT started in 2014 to raise money for charity.

This year on April 7 in the NC Reber Center, 15 boys competed in the pageant and the proceeds went to Healing Hearts for Ashley. All photos below taken by Camilla Breen and Christina Rossetti.

Roland Rondez ‘18 Reno Sarussi ‘18 and sings ‘Sunday Candy.’ Pilar Valdes ‘19

Will Moran ‘18 wins the title.

Contestants performing. Top left: Grant Campbell ‘18, Louis Banda ‘18 chest bump. Right: Pierce Weber ‘18. Middle right: Ryan Dow ‘18 and Audrys Kelecius ‘18. Bottom: Maggie King ‘19 escortsBrandt Siegfried ‘18 and Campbell.

Louis Banda ‘18 finishes as runner-up.

Chris Hemauer ‘19 places third.

Eric Otrusina ‘19 places fourth.

Every year on the day before spring break, NC students enjoy a day-long concert put on by peers. Started in 2000, Brownstock has quickly become an LT tradition. Here are our photos of the 18th anniversary on March 23:

If you say Jesus backwards it sounds like sausage

Artists performing during the day. From left to right (top): Tate Newlin ‘20, Justin Smith ‘19, Brandon Jackson ‘18, Dana Elqaq ‘19, Tony Klaczynski ‘19 and Zach Lisowski ‘20 and Sidney Bugaieski ‘18 Bottom: Will Lipchik ‘19, Tommy Klein ‘19, Luke Pallisard ‘19, Michael Henehan ‘18, Jan Matthews, Charlie Clarke ‘18, and Alex Cefali ‘18

Want one of your tweets featured in the next issue? Follow us on twitter @LTLionNewspaper. To be eligible to have your tweets in our paper you have to follow us. So if you think you are funny, clever or witty enough to have your tweets in here, follow us and keep the tweets coming!

40

Adam McGahay ‘18 @adam_mcgahay

1

what’s your pet peeve Adam? well it has to be when i’m messing around on my TI 84 graphing fun stuff when i forget my windows is -1000 to 1000 on the x axis so now i’m waiting 5 min for my graph to finish off while i’m stuck looking like a fool!

Tommy Pigatto ‘18 @tommy_pigatto

9

2

ur mcm says “present” instead of “here” when the teachers calls attendance

26

Ellie Henderson ‘18 @elhen310

0

Allison Keeley ‘20 @AlliKeeley Just hit the “razor scooter” part of my ankle. You all know what I mean

10

5 0

Kate Madigan ‘19 @katemad12 49

204 Ain’t it the truth?

Late start days are meant for freshman going out to breakfast and everyone else sleeping in an extra hour

6

Mari Vulich ‘19 @MariVulich 4

0

Is it just me or does Quizlet seem a little passive agressive...

Friday, April 13, 2018

opiniOns PageSevenPhotoGrid

Page 7

GuestColumn Free Exercise

Welcome to the Page Seven Grid, which some of you know as the only page in the paper. This is where we can watch people (try to) be funny. Your classmates are asked a series of questions, to which they (try to) respond with humorous answers. The prize for the LION’s ESPN Bracket Challenge was a spot in the grid, and our very own Brandt Siegfried ‘18, Managing Editor of Online and Social Media Content, won. Here you go.

If you could make one object disappear from existence, what would it be?

AOL just revamped instant messager and it’s super big.

What’s your (2000s era) screen name?

We came, we saw, we _________.

What celebrity should have judged Mr. LT?

The fantasy of socialism

@Flexilexi13

reconquered the Holy Land

Otto von Bismarck

The new Snapchat update

@soccerstar234

turned around and went home

Guy Fieri

Infinite Campus

@GOAT

took the Victory Royale

Steve Carell

The wall between our rooms

@Gustavorock and @ Freightrain

hit the quan

Stevie Wonder

Guns

@TheBoys

were

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson”

Brandt Siegfried ‘18

Charlie & Lizzie Hall ‘18

Hope & Hudson Feichtinger ‘19

Evelyn & Erin Purcell ‘20

Charlie, Will & Wes Killian ‘21

LetterToTheEditor

compiled by Sydney Kaehler and Greg Smith

Editor’sResponse

National Hispanis Institute sponsor Yadira Cisneros sent this letter to the editors of the LION Newspaper on behalf of NHI’s members in response to the coverage of DACA and immigration issues in the “Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” feature of LION’s March 2 issue.

Assistant Opinions Editor Greg Smith responds to criticism of the LION Newspaper’s coverage of DACA and immigration issues in the “Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” feature of LION’s March 2 issue.

Since our club is tasked with representing a part of the Latino population at Lyons Township, we feel it is our responsibility to be a voice for the voiceless. After LION’s Issue 5, we feel respect part of the LT community had a target nailed to their back. Undocumented students attend our school and undocumented parents live in our community.

We implore you to imagine how they feel when they interpret the given graphic that 70% of our school believes that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients should be deported: unwelcomed and silenced. Undocumented people are essentially dehumanized as the value of their livelihood is reduced to a number. People are more than statistics. They have voices and stories that would make excellent lens to educate about the real nature of immigrant life and immigrant issues.

We would appreciate an article in which an actual DACA recipient commented on the issue, seeing as they are directly involved. One must not assume that gaining citizenship is a speedy, inexpensive, smooth process. In order to uphold the principle of respect, all sides of the argument must be empathetic to all perspectives.

We understand that the article is an opinion, but you also must understand that this is the image both the LION and the entire school is projecting to the community and to the world. We must ask ourselves if fair representation, and more importantly, support of all constituents of the LT community is a priority; we must ask ourselves if the connotation of the words and phrases we say influence others; we must ask ourselves if calling ourselves a community means including everyone.

Do not forget who you are, or where you came from. We are a nation of immigrants, and should acknowledge the desires of modern immigrants to pursue a future in this great country. Some of us have the privilege of high incomes, or of fair skin tones, or of citizenship, but all of us have the privilege of attending a fine institution of secondary education. Let’s use that privilege to inform one another fairly and objectively, to show solidarity with community members, and to be aware of the power we wield. With love, The members of the National Hispanic Institute

Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate that the LION readers respond to our work.

We should start by recognizing that immigration is a difficult and complex topic. Opinions on this topic are bound to be informed to varying degrees and by varying experiences, all of which should be understood and appreciated.

Although it is never our intention to offend our readers, the mere expression of opinions, on this topic or any other, in a respectful manner never makes anyone less safe. The expression of opposing ideas is properly understood as a debate, which is the way that we share, inform, and change our ideas. The philosopher John Stuart Mill argued a similar point in “On Liberty.” Those holding opinions that are not meant to incite physical harm should be free to express their opinions, even though they may be controversial. In fact, it is the effort to limit the expression of opposing opinions that should make us feel unsafe.

The opinions expressed in the columns that were featured with the survey in issue 5, which included an opinion to renew DACA, expressed legitimate viewpoints, and no one side holds a monopoly on safety concerns. Indeed, one column pointed out that the question of regulating immigration is closely tied to issues concerning national security.

Regardless of what position any individual might hold, the expression of these varying opinions only enriches the debate. Moreover, an unwarranted assumption that some participant in the discussion has benefitted from some ill-defined “privilege” makes that participant’s argument no less valid.

The Lion serves as an open forum for the expression of a wide range of opinions and seeks to present those opinions in a balanced manner.

We respect all of our readers and community members. To the extent that some students may misinterpret the expression of differing opinions as something which makes them less safe, it is the responsibility of the adults and teachers of our community (and the school newspaper) to remind those students that such expression does not make anyone unsafe.

Rather, it is part of a free and open debate in a democratic society.

Write us a Letter! - Have an opinion or passion? Anything in the news or the world? Anything you want to tell us? Bring a signed letter to NC Room 220, put it in Mr. Scales’s mailbox, or email it to Sydney Kaehler at kae503519@student.lths.net and you may see it in the next issue! Unfortunately, not all letters can be published. LION reserves the right to edit all letters.

Clarification: In the March 2, 2018 issue, LION published a survey in its “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” feature. The topic of the survey was DACA and immigration. The first question was “Should DACA be eliminated?” Only 8% of those who took the survey believed that DACA should be eliminated.

The next survey question asked only those who answered “yes” (the 8%) to the previous question: “If DACA should be eliminated, should its recipients be deported?” 70% of the respondents to that question were “yes.” In other words, very few survey takers believed that DACA recipients should be deported. LION does not claim that this or any survey accurately reflects public opinion, but the LION conducted this survey honestly, as it does with all of its surveys, and accurately reported the survey’s results. We apologize for any ambiguity.

Separation of church and state: while most high school students Brandt Siegfried cite this phrase when they think of the Constitution, it’s actually one of the most misunderstood principles of American government.

For starters, the Constitution never actually says the words “separation of church and state.” Thomas Jefferson was the first to coin this phrase in a letter to describe the role of organized religion in the new American republic. In fact, Jefferson was assuring a Baptist congregation that the state would refrain from interfering in religious affairs, not the other way around.

The First Amendment actually says the following about religion: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Congress, which has been incorporated to include all units of government, cannot create a state church or favor religious sects over one another. Additionally, the government cannot prohibit citizens from practicing their chosen faith. That’s the law.

The intention of these provisions (known as the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause) is not to erase religion from the public sphere, but rather to allow a neutral environment in which to express it. Those who tout the separation of church and state use it especially to bully faith out of public schools; unfortunately, that perspective clearly misconstrues the intention of an amendment written to protect such speech in the first place.

At LT today, faith in school is a precarious matter.

While I do not believe the atmosphere is hostile towards students who decide to practice their religion in school, I feel as though LT is not particularly supportive of these students either. I think most students feel awkward praying in front of peers, and this must change. Everyone has a right to express his or her faith in school; it’s protected by the Constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.

Practice your religious customs in school without shame. If you pray before your meals, feel free to do so at school; I promise it’s not illegal. If you wear a yarmulke, turban or hijab, wear it proudly. During the daily moment of silence, you should feel welcome to say a prayer if you choose. Every morning when I’m on the other end of the PA, I silently pray the Lord’s Prayer, so you’ll have enough time to say any prayer you want.

On Ash Wednesday, I saw a decent number of students proudly sporting ashes on their foreheads; that proves to me that we haven’t completely lost the rights enumerated in our Constitution.

Just remember: the rights we fail to exercise are the ones that we lose first. Religious freedom must never fall by the wayside.

Write in and make your voice heard.  100 S. Brainard Ave., La Grange, Ill. 60525  LION reserves the right to edit all letters.

Page 8

Opinions

Friday, April 13, 2018

SydneySays R-E-S-P-E-C-T

PawsUp

n To the senior home stretch- we are so, so close n To LT fundraising nights at restaurants- dodging Mom’s cooking for a good cause n To Twitter- for being the only app to not update every two days.

Never change. n To Cardi B’s baby reveal on SNL- the most iconic moment of 2018 so far, Okurrr! n To SAT memes- the shining light after five hours of testing n To the random warm days- the sunshine you offer is both literal and metaphorical n To Assassin- the only time of year that the kids who sprint to class don’t look so weird n To Instagram pollssomehow random opinions are helping me make all of my critical life decisions n To Walmart yodel boythe only acceptable form of country music now n To gym tennis- on all levels except physical, I am Serena Williams n To old Internet challenges- I miss the days when planking and inhaling cinnamon were my only concerns n To senior spring breaka preview to the senioritis that lies ahead

PawsDown

n To Apple- it’s so interesting that my phone’s battery life decreases right when a new phone comes out... n To the culinary hallways (sometimes)- smelling fish at 9 A.M. is not ideal n To the saying “April showers bring May flowers”- this statement does NOT apply to Chicago n To March Madnessupset city has made me far too upset this month n To the bottom of my backpack- the amount of unidentifiable crumbs, broken pencils and dust is problematic n To Snapchats that say “streaks”- whatever streak we had is now nonexistent n To Channing Tatum’s divorce- is love even real? Should this be a Paw’s Up?? n To the voters at Mr. LT- clearly they are not aware of seniority. n To the College Boarddo we really need the ACT and SAT four days apart? n To #nationalsiblingsday- somehow I see these posts every month, despite it only being once a year

If you weren’t aware, this is the Opinions LION polled 222 students about their opinions about the problem of school shootSydney Kaehler section.

I am the ings, gun control, school security and more.

Opinions Editor, and this is my personal column, Gun availability and therefore my personal What should What has the School opinion. I mean, this is be the biggest biggest influParental security called “Sydney Says.” What focus to prevent ence on school negligence I’m trying to say—without another school shootings?

Stricter Mental being extremely passive-agshooting? gun reguViolence in health gressive—is that this is my lations entertainment solutions Peer pressure column and I’m going to say and bullying how I feel. I never ask for any feedback, and neither does anyone else who writes for this section, but we’ve gotten a lot recently. EspeOther cially since this section has d Is mental health If some school te gotten more political than it c talked about/ faculty or staff te Yes used to be. ro addressed suffiwere to carry P Scared That being said, it should ciently at LT? guns, how be clear by now that I’m a would you feel?

Democrat. I don’t care if you No think what I write is “libUncomfortable eral cheese,” because it’s my opinion (as I said above) and it’s not that hard to respect.

Why are we so hostile towards one another? There Since the recent mass school shooting at effectively enforce a general gun ban necessarily means that is a stereotype that RepubliMarjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the government cannot effectively enforce a general “assault cans are closed-minded and unaccepting, and that DemParkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, these awful inciweapons” ban. How can the government be better at conocrats are too accepting and dents have specifically been given as reasons trolling Glocks than opioids, and even better at controlling spineless, but that really has that the legal age to buy a rifle should be AR-15s than Glocks? No, gun control is not the answer, raised to 21 or that stricter gun control measince, in the words of the age-old adage “if you outlaw guns, just stemmed from no one Greg Smith listening to each other anysures must pass. The logic upon which these then only outlaws will own guns.” more. Politics have gotten to arguments are based is flawed.

Metal detectors, identity checks, automatic emergency the point where Democrats The proposals for gun confiscation or stricter control lockdown systems and, armed guards can prevent or lessen and Republicans refuse to first assume that the government will be perfectly able to the slaughter in attempted school shootings; the only listen to one another, and control the presence and exchange of firearms should they proven way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy then go ahead and try to be made illegal or placed under restrictions. This would not with a gun. The hope in putting these measures would be change the other party’s be the case. Much is illegal in this country but still highly for them to serve as a deterrent. If a school shooter knows opinion! I’m not going to just prevalent at problematic levels (e.g. drugs), which the govhe is highly likely to be killed in his attempt before taking start hating Planned Parenternment cannot hope to ever fully control. What’s more is anyone’s life, an attempt is less likely to take place. And if, that those who own, trade, and use drugs are not average God forbid, someone tries to enter a school intending to do hood because someone tells me to. It works the other law-abiding citizens, they are criminals who, of course, do harm, these measures would save scores of lives. not care about breaking the law. Banning all guns would While mental health certainly is a large part of the issue, way around, too—except that doesn’t happen nearly take the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens and school security is more important. If education and this as often. I’m going off of perleave them with criminals. country’s youth are our most valuable resources, why are sonal experience when I say Many gun-control proposals are not generalized gun bans those not protected more than the measures taken to prothat it’s usually the extreme though. But acknowledging that the government cannot tect our cash? conservatives forcing their political opinion onto other people. I immediately think CNN reported that there has been an mother’s legally obtained gun. A responsible person bought of them because of how average of one school shooting per week in a gun legally and it still ended up in the hands of Lanza. intense and vocal the Trump 2018. No matter where you fall on the polit- Someone like Cruz was able to pass a background check and campaign was, or because ical spectrum, this statistic is universally not walk away with a gun. According to the New York Times, a of groups like Westboro okay. We ask, “why does this keep hapvast majority of guns used in 19 recent mass shootings were Baptist Church that are so bought legally and with a federal background check. All I’m prevalent in the media. And Sydney Kaehler pening?” It’s not because our schools aren’t protected enough. It’s not strictly because arguing is that we need to make guns less accessible. How some people might say that the shooter was mentally unstable, either. Personally, I has this not happened yet? Children need to be protected, the Women’s March or the don’t believe there is a primary issue as to why shootings not the National Rifle Association.

March for Our Lives are continue to occur. But, if school safety truly is our #1 priorI’m aware that banning guns entirely is an extreme considered forcing political ity, providing stricter gun laws must be America’s first step request. I’m aware that drugs are illegal and people still get opinion since it’s too vocal of a preventative action plan. ahold of them, if you would like to go that route. Drugs do and intense. No one wants to I wish it didn’t have to come to this. I want responsifall into the wrong hands, yes. But look at the 2.2 million hear an opinion they don’t ble people to be able to exercise their rights, protect their Americans who are currently incarcerated for drug crimes. agree with. It’s just the truth! homes or hunt, since those are the commonly used reasons.

The same effect would happen if we mandated guns, and I’m unsure if we will ever The truth is, they just don’t, because school shootings are maybe even prevent a future school shooting. Guns aren’t change, because we can’t still happening. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Colgoing to disappear, that’s clear by now. Whether guns even have courteous discusumbine shooters, got their guns from a friend, who got it were bought, stolen or sold illegally, they still ended up in sions at this point. Everyone from unlicensed sellers, according to the Violence Policy the wrong hands. And because of this, I just don’t see how thinks that the people who Center. Nikolas Cruz legally bought his AR-15-style rifle they can continue to function in our society. After so many don’t agree with them are at Sunrise Tactical Supply in Florida before killing 17 people school shootings there is only one answer. History continignorant. Even I’m guilty of at his school. Adam Lanza killed 26 people, mostly chilues to repeat itself, and because of this, regulations must be this. When did this closedren, at Sandy Hook Elementary School after stealing his put in place before yet another shooting happens again. minded, automatic shut-off mentality become more important than the right to free speech? I was given a personal column. I’m sharing All across the country, whether in first According to the LA Times, the two teenagers who commy opinion, not forcing it. grade or college, students now share a unimitted the heinous shooting at Columbine in 1999 were What our society is lackversal fear. A fear that affects a person’s sense reported to suffer from mental illnesses, one with severe ing in general is respect. I of safety, focus and emotional well-being in depression and the other with psychopathy. Flash forward will respect you even if I an environment that should be kept harmless to 2011, Yale medical experts released data that showed disagree with you. However, and comfortable.

A fear that no one, let alone their drastic measures to help Sandy Hooke shooter Adam Spiro Kass I will not respect you if you a student, should ever have to face. A fear of Lanza’s anxiety disorder went largely unheeded by his force your opinion onto being shot to death in school. mother a year before the incident happened. And most me, try to change my mind Since the turn of the century, our society has been recently, it was reported that the mother of Parkland or criticize what I think is plagued by the ongoing, increasing severity of mass shootshooter Nikolas Cruz did not listen to the school counselcorrect. ings across the country. Most notably, these shootings are or’s suggestion to detain Cruz for his severe depression and Because liberals won’t occurring in schools more than ever before. As the problem ADHD. hear a conservative opinion, persists, politicians, representatives and media networks Three of the major school shootings in our country’s and Republicans won’t give alike approach the issue from all around the table, disagreehistory were committed by people who had known mental the liberal point of view ing on an issue that should be kept nonpartisan for the sake health issues that were not handled properly. Of course, the time of day, our society of the youth’s future. So, instead of arguing about protocol, very few cases of mental illness result in gun violence; the is becoming much more new safety procedures or even stricter gun control, it’s majority of people with mental health issues learn to cope divided. If everyone takes time that we stop reacting and become proactive. It’s time and live a completely normal life. But that doesn’t mean a step back and hears one that we stop the problem at its root. The answer is to raise it’s okay to ignore the problem. There needs to be more another before we all go off, awareness and focus on mental health, and here’s why. emphasis on school counseling, raising student awareness, As a matter of fact, some of the most famous shootings informing parents, helping students at every turn. Let’s stop society may have a chance to were committed by mentally unstable culprits, including the problem at its roots; we’re sick of grieving after the fact. prosper.

Parkland, Columbine, and Sandy Hook to name a few.

Time for change. Time for proactivism.

The debate over school security and gun control

Opinions

Friday, April 13 , 2018

Page 9

StaffEditorials

AnotherView

Politics paid by taxes?

Mass shooting crimes, especially in schools, seem ical agenda. The government has let Planned to be a growing problem in the United States. Since Parenthood’s political speech to be subsidized the recent one in Parkland, Fla., the National Rifle by giving it money and allowing that money to Association’s “blood money” has taken the bulk of be donated to political campaigns. It is wrong the blame from media coverage and survivors of the for money collected by the government in taxes crime. to be used to advance one political agenda over In recent months, the media have given an out- another. rageous amount of coverage to the NRA’s supposed There is an important debate to be had surgrip on politicians, especially members of congress, rounding these issues that begins with the role with its money. This assertion is really nothing of government. Does “promoting the general more than a media dog whistle. The NRA, first of welfare” mean administering justice, enforcing all, contributes very little to private property rights, and political campaigns compared Our position: In the interest defending from aggression, to other organizations. In the as Adam Smith believed? Or of preventing the govern2016 election cycle, the NRA ment from subsidizing certan does it also include providing donated about $1 million to services such as healthcare to speech, organizations that PACs and campaigns for fedreceive public funding should citizens? And what services does eral candidates. “healthcare” include? Is abornot be allowed to donate to More importantly, orgation murder? These are crucial political campaigns. nizations like the NRA that questions that society should do not receive public funding should be free to do debate, but when the government gives money whatever they see fit with their money, because to an organization such as Planned Parenthood donations to political campaigns are expressions and allows that money to be used politically, it of opinions. It’s not a problem that the NRA uses obscures the debate by giving one side an advanmillions more in outside spending and lobbying, tage. This practice is dishonest and unjust. because the taxpayer is not forced to pay for that Donations to political campaigns are a form spending or to endorse the NRA’s political goals. of speech. Speech in this country is free, so the Planned Parenthood donated about four times Koch brothers and George Soros are free to do as much as the NRA in the same cycle, according to whatever they want with their money, besides the Center for Responsive Politics. Planned Parent- bribery. But the government should not be able hood has received public funding since the 1970s. to sponsor certain political speech organizations Whether or not abortion is healthcare, Planned with taxpayer money because it corrupts the Parenthood is a powerful organization with a polit- democratic process.

Illustration by Sydney Kaehler

ComicStrips

Staff vote: 18-6

Internet access is important

Imagine going about your business in the library, part of education. Inherently, one aspect of this working on an assignment. While looking up new education should be teaching students how to be information, you click on a link and receive nothing smart when using the internet, and more imporbut a screen saying that the site you are trying to tantly: be safe. Researching something online reach is blocked because of questionable content. is just as much a skill as completing the square, At LT, this is happens too often. The school and is—arguably—more useful in the future. No puts up restrictions to block students’ access to matter what students are looking for, they need certain sites. Lately, these restrictions seem to have to have the right skills to find the right informaincreased, making internet searches in school more tion. difficult. Although blocking obviously inappropriate The truth is the real internet isn’t filtered. sites is understandable, the administration has gone When students move on to college and leave the too far. LT must lower the internet restrictions in halls of LT, they need to have the basic skills of order to fully prepare students for the future. being smart digital consumers. Students need to It’s predictable that certain be able to distinguish credible Our position: LT should have from not credible, and know websites are blocked on the lower internet restrictions on the signs of a website that LT computers. It makes sense its school computers in order might install viruses in their that pornographic and other to produce smarter and more computers. By blocking webinappropriate websites have mature digital consumers. restrictions on them. No one sites like these, LT is blocking wants to see that in class, and students’ learning. Students it’s downright illegal. And sure, it makes sense are now led in the right direction of credible, safe that social media sites are blocked so that we don’t websites, essentially holding their hands as they get distracted when we’re supposed to be doing search the internet. This poses a greater threat our school work. The issue isn’t those sites. The in the long run, and could pose consequences in issue arises when sites are blocked that, although their future academics or careers. not fully credible or perhaps biased, are useful to At the end of the day, students and teenagers students’ education in the long run. For example, are technologically savvy. But, the firewalls and although it has been drilled into our brains for as restrictions LT places on the school’s computers long as we can remember; it is important to know are overbearing. These restrictions must be lowthat Wikipedia is not always credible, but there can ered to allow students to fully understand the be credible sources listed in the footnotes. digital era we live in. Until the restrictions are Now more than ever, the internet is an integral lessened, we can all stick to playing JavaScript

Staff vote: 17-7

Cast your vote We are lucky enough to live in a country that more than the names you see in the news. allows its citizens to elect its leaders. Voting is a Additionally, your vote serves to more accuright that Americans have advocated and fought for rately represent the American population. A lot through the American Revolution, the Women’s of time, high supported progressive congressioSuffrage Movement and the Civil Rights Movenal action is not represented in election results ment; however, many people today abstain from because its supporters do not show up when it voting for reasons that include a busy schedule, matters most: to vote. forgetting to register and believing that their vote If an increasing number of high-schoolwill not affect the outcome of the ers, low income citizens and Our position: Those who election. minorities use their voice via are eligible to vote should the polls in upcoming elecAs high-schoolers, voting is do so and should do so as tions, the government will an integral part of enacting the informed voters. change we want to see in our have no choice but to listen country. If you turn 18 by the and to act. next general election, you are eligible to register to The theme of the 2018 Women’s March was vote, and should exercise your voice in the upcom- “March to the Polls” for a reason. Your voice ing local and national elections. does have an impact on the outcomes of national One thing that’s important to note is that when and, even more importantly, local elections. you vote, you’re not just voting for the “big” posiBecoming involved in the voting process now is tions-- president, governor, senator-- you are also important because it sets the trajectory for your voting for “everything down to [the] dog catcher,” voting practices in the future, as well as impacts as Director of the University of Virginia’s Center who will be running our country. Don’t forget for Politics Larry Sabato puts it. Important referto register, and don’t forget to research the canenda, such as legalizing recreational marijuana, can didates. also appear on your ballot. Your vote impacts much Don’t forget to vote.

Staff vote: 20-4 C ontact

via :708-579-6403



Illustration by an anonymous artist

Lion The Voice of Lyons Township Students Since 1910

Open Forum The opinion section of Lion is a public forum. Opinions expressed in columns and letters to the editor are the opinions of individuals. Letters to the editor must be signed and represent only the views of the signed writer.

Editorials Editorials represent the collective opinion of the entire Lion staff. The idea for the staff editorial will come from the Opinions Editor or suggestions of the other editors and staff members. One writer will compose each editorial.

Advertising Display advertising rates begin at $30 with optional discounts available. Call (708) 5796403 between 2:10 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. for further information.

Subscriptions Yearly subscriptions can be purchased for $10.

Lion 2017-18 Staff Spiro Kass, Editor-in-Chief Greta Markey, Managing Editor of Print Content Brandt Siegfried Managing Editor of Online/Social Media Content Maddy Cohen, Art Director/Design Chief Grant Campbell, News Editor Lars Lonnroth, Assistant News Editor Sydney Kaehler, Opinions Editor/Editorial Cartoonist Greg Smith, Assistant Opinions Editor Mikaela Larson, Luke Lusson, Sports Editors Sarah Grier, Lindsey Hauch Pulse Editors Pilar Valdes, Assistant Pulse Editor Mary Okkema, Assistant Editor of Online/Social Media Content Georgia Dougherty, Business Manager Christina Rossetti, Photo Editor Camilla Breen, Assistant Photo Editor Spencer Levinson, Grace Dekoker, Copy Editors Mary Devine, Harper Hill, Taylor Schmitt, Isabel Tuisl, Hayden Claesson, Reporters Danny Kilrea, Online Editor and Freelance Reporter Travis Morales, Freelance Reporter Jason Scales, Advisor Ryan Darrah, Assistant Advisor

100 S. Brainard , LaG range , Ill. 60525



www . lionnewspaper . com

sports

Page 10

Baseball aims for deep run Promising pitching staff, strong returning hitters set foundation for team success

by Harper Hill @harpss42 Last season, in a game against its biggest competitor Oak Park performance, Leader said.

“I know for certain that our pitching is going to be excellent River Forest High School, the boys varsity baseball team was deep into the seventh and final inning of the game. The pressure was this year,” Leader said. “We have a lot of guys who can hit their on pitcher Grant Leader ‘19, who had to be pulled out because spots with their off-speed [and] their fast balls. But also our offense of new IHSA pitching count rules. Before being taken out, Leader has a good potential to help us make a deep run in the playoffs.”

Piento and Leader are returning pitchers from last season, both rose to the occasion, pitching a no hitter into the seventh inning.

Pitcher and center-fielder Matt Piento ‘18 then stepped up to the of whom performed well during conference. The biggest strength of the pitching staff is the fact that Piento is a left-handed pitcher mound and closed out two batters, securing the win for LT. The team had a stellar record of 24-5 last year and made it and Leader is a right-handed pitcher, both with stellar command over the ball which consistently hits their to regional championships, losing to spots, Leader said. This allows for weaker St. Rita. Although the team lost two contact from the batters, allowing the all-conference players, Connor Pasko outfield to make easy outs.

‘17 and Brendan Pugliese ‘17, it has “[By] meshing all the ideas we have several returning all-conference players developed as a coaching staff, and learnand another strong pitching lineup. ing the game from a player’s persepective, “Every year, we always expect to we have combined those two compocompete at a high level,” varsity head nents and deliver that information to the coach Kevin Diete said. “Wherever the players as best as possible in attempt to record takes us will be based on that. achieve success this year,” Diete said.

Hopefully we can make a deep run in In the team’s early season practices, the playoffs. That’s our goal.” they have been focusing on fundamentals Tryouts were held Feb. 26 to March 1. A total of 32 kids tried out for the var- Nic Hughes ‘18 steps up to the plate in a 2017 game and communication on the field, as well as strengthening their defense. sity team and 25 were offered spots, 12 against Proviso East. (Larson/LION) Coaches plan to improve upon their communication skills from of whom were returning athletes from last season.

“At each level, we stress fundamentals and skill ability. Further- last year, Diete said. By effectively presenting the athletes with more, at the varsity level we account for each player’s knowledge what needs improving upon in a strict manner, as well as encourof the game, and how well they apply their funamdnetal skills into aging the boys when a task is completed well, the team will make great progress throughout the season. the game,” Diete said.

“I think we’ll be even better than last year,” Piento said. “The The team benefits from a group of well-rounded seniors this season, with many returning starters including Jack Ferraro ‘18, only thing we need to do better is hit. Other than that, our pitching will be there and our defense will be there, so I think we’ll be Piento, Bryce Moskiewicz ‘18 and Nic Hughes ‘18.

“I think we have strong leadership in our senior class at the poised for a state run.”

The team is a part of the Stevie’s Way Tournament which moment,” Diete said. “We’re also looking for the junior class to includes some of the top teams in the state, Diete said. The team is step up and add some talent to our depth as well.”

Only nine players can play on the field at once, so not every- now preparing for its game against Brother Rice on May 17, which one is aware of their role on the team yet. By the middle or the will be a tough match-up.

The varsity team’s next game is today, April 13, at SC against end of the season, however, all athletes will have found a way to contribute their talent to the team allowing for a more cohesive Hinsdale Central at 4:30 p.m.

Water polo works toward state

Team regains momentum with new players

by Mary Okkema @maryokkema

LT boys waterpolo players exited the bus at Fenwick on March 17 for their 10:15 a.m. game, mentally preparing themselves for the intense game ahead. Little did they know, the game would end in a 5-2 victory for LT. This would be the first time LT beat Fenwick at Fenwick even though the LT-Fenwick rivalry has been around for a decade.

“We played very well, “ captain Frank McCarter ‘18 said. “We placed second in the tournament and I think that’s a good sign this early in the season.”

Last year, the team won in conference and sectionals, only to lose against New Trier in the first round of state. This year they hope to place higher, Victor Perez ‘19 said. They are currently ranked third in state behind Stevenson and Naperville Central.

“We had a good team,” McCarter said. “We didn’t get very lucky with the draw for state. We played well, but we weren’t able to place.”

The team placed second at the Fenwick Tournament on March 17 where they played the top teams in the state: Fenwick and Naperville Central.

“We need to find the different roles for the players,” varsity head coach Doug Eichstaedt said. “I think we have talented players and my job is to try to get them to play as a team and understand how we should play in order for us to be as successful as we can. They are a really good group of kids. They work hard. They want to get better, so it should be exciting to see how we improve throughout the season.”

This season, five underclassmen were moved up to play at the varsity level, which is very unusual, he said. The underclassmen are Sebastian Perez ‘21, Martin Brown ‘20, Ethan Wright ‘20, Eric Markey ‘20 and Bobby Bolan ‘20.

The team hopes to have the same team chemistry and aggressiveness it had last season, despite losing some talented seniors including Armin Korsos ‘17 and Jacob Schoneman ‘17, Eichstaedt said. For example, communication in the water proves to be a difficult aspect because many of the boys have not played together for a year.

“We need to work on getting back into the groove of things because a lot of us haven’t played in a year,” varsity goalie Ray Berg ‘19 said.

So far this season, the team has a record of nine wins and two losses. The boys next play against OPRF at home on April 17 at 5 p.m.

Victor Perez ‘19 passes the ball to a teammate against St. Ignatius.

(DeKoker/LION)

Ellie Henderson ‘18 improves on her passing skills in practice. (DeKoker/LION)

Ambitious team sets up season for success

by Grace DeKoker @grace_dekoker

On March 13, LT girls’ varsity water polo was trailing New Trier for the majority of this early season game. The girls got off to a slow start, center defender Olivia Ohm ‘19 said. It took about one quarter before they got control of the game by pressing hard on defense, but once they did, they were unstoppable.

Key goals by Hannah Good ‘19 and saves by goaltendeder Grace Wantuck ‘20 brought them back, and they left victorius.

Since then, the team has grown in confidence, Ohm said.

“I hope we hold onto our momentum, build from what we have now,” head coach Lauren Burel said. “We’re going to be seeing more of the top teams in the state. It’s only going to get harder.”

The team is primarily driven by their goals, Burel said. Last year they narrowly lost the sectional tournament, which meant they were unable to advance to state. This season, however, they are training harder than ever for success in sectionals, she said, and are shooting for a spot in the final four in the state tournament.

“We all really want to go [to state],” varsity captain Kaysie Stuba ‘18 said. “We’ve changed our training around, and conditioning has been a big focus for us.”

Water polo conditioning is especially difficult because there are so many facets to it, Stuba said. The team must be fast in the water, but physically strong and able to ward off players. They have been working more with straight swimming sets to improve speed, and have been weight training and doing more out-ofwater exercises, called “dryland,” to increase muscular strength Another strength of the team lies in their bond, Burel said.

Many of the girls have played together previously, and varsity and JV players improved their technique during club season, she said.

“I haven’t seen a team this close in so long,” Stuba said. “We’ve known each other more through club this year, and we’ve known a lot of the girls through swimming too. Everyone has a very team oriented mindset, which is definitely what we want.”

The team is mostly upperclassmen, with only three underclassmen playing for varsity. Wantuck in particular has stood out as the team’s goalie, and is one of the top goalies in the state, Stuba said. She played varsity as a freshman, and is returning to the team for another strong season, Burel said.

While every player has three or more years of experience, the older players are definite leaders of the team, Ohm said.

It’s really cool, because [juniors] can look up to the seniors, and we hope the younger students look up to us too,” Ohm said.

“There are more role models.”

They next compete at OPRF on April 17.

Friday, April 13, 2018

New-look NBA

Back in Issue 1, I wrote a column on the Jimmy Butler trade made by the Chicago Bulls this past summer, stating that it was a necessary move for the team. Much of my reaLuke Lusson soning stemmed from the NBA transforming into a super-team dominant league, meaning that Butler at the helm would not be enough for the Bulls to make a title run.

I still stand behind my claim, and there’s no question that the league is dominated by a few powerhouse teams. There have been some superteams throughout the league’s history, but as of late, top players joining forces has become way more common. In fact, it’s practically become the norm.

Think about any recent big name free agent— Kevin Durant, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony or Chris Paul, to name a few. Nearly all of these free agents are ending up joining teams that already have proven superstars. Why? Because that’s what it takes to win nowadays. One superstar talent is not enough to beat teams like the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets.

And, now that more players are doing it, that leaves any future free agents to feel comfortable when joining super teams. No one will ever get ridiculed like LeBron James did in 2010 when he went to Miami, so players aren’t afraid of any backlash they may receive anymore. Their decisions to form unfair rosters is not only becoming more and more accepted by players and fans, but also expected.

So are these super-teams an issue? People seem to disagree on the topic. Some argue that the playoffs become way more exciting as a result of these teams —we get to see more superstars on the same court at the same time. Others say that they are ruining the league by making well over half of the teams insignificant. Both are fair points.

Whether or not you like super-teams, there’s no denying that they bring along consequences, and one of the biggest consequences is tanking.

Tanking, a verb used to describe a team that is practically losing on purpose in order to obtain high draft picks, is becoming much more frequent, much like super-teams. The simultaneous increase of these two things is no coincidence.

With super-teams forming at an unprecedented level, bottom-tier teams are realizing they stand no chance against these teams come April. They feel no need to try to compete and would rather go after the number one pick, and I don’t blame them whatsoever. The only way to get back into the mix with the super-teams is to either sign free agents or draft potential stars, and drafting is the easier of the two because the power is in the team’s hands rather than in the hands of a free agent who can go where he pleases.

Like super teams, tanking isn’t completely new. It’s been done in the past, but again, not at the level we are seeing now. There’s no official number, but it’s fair to estimate that eight or nine NBA teams are currently tanking to increase their chances at grabbing the player they want in this upcoming draft class. That’s nearly one third of the league that isn’t even trying to win games.

Is this what we want in professional sports leagues? Sure, the playoffs make for some serious drama and spectacular basketball between teams that have loads of talent, but that disregards the other six plus months of the season.

It’s unhealthy for the NBA to have a season where there are more teams tanking than there are in contention for a title. Finding potential solutions to this problem is no easy task, yet numerous strategies have been pitched by people.

Some promote the playing of a draft lottery tournament, where teams that miss the playoffs play games to determine the drafting order rather than conducting a lottery where worse teams have better odds at the number one pick. The thought behind this method is that non-playoff teams won’t tank because they want to be good enough to win the draft tournament, which makes sense.

However, there are some downsides to this idea. First off, terrible teams could be stuck in a never-ending string of failure by losing this draft tournament and getting average draft positions.

Also, the NBA would have to decide what to do with playoff teams that hold rights to the lottery picks of non-playoff teams, which would only cause more controversy.

The fact of the matter is that every method pitched has its benefits and drawbacks, and there’s a chance that there is no favorable alternative to the way the league is now. Ultimately, the matter at hand is that the league is evolving. The game is being played and teams are being formed in ways we have never seen before, yet this very well could just be a phase that the league is going through. But going forward, super-teams and tanking need to be closely monitored and acted upon if the current trends continue. And I believe if you are going to fix the issue, you have to go after the initial cause, which is super-teams.

Friday, April 13, 2018

sports

Page 11

Girls soccer kicks off conference Strong underclassmen, experienced seniors look to provide depth, assist in runs at conference title, state tournament

by Luke Lusson @LukeLusson

After winning the West Suburban Silver Conference title a year ago, the LT girls varsity soccer team is looking to build on its conference success and translate it to a deep playoff run.

“We hope to repeat as conference champions this year,” midfielder Elizabeth Hall ‘18 said. “More importantly, we want to have a long run in the playoffs and ultimately win state.”

Last year, Downers Grove North, another West Suburban Silver Conference team, made a run to the IHSA State Semifinals and that run sparked more postseason belief into LT to do the same this year, Hall said.

This year’s team returns 10 players from last year, along with five underclassmen that are getting their first dose of varsity soccer this season. Lindsey Hahn ‘21, Lily Mattern ‘21, Ava Dalivo ‘21, Olivia Wirtz ‘20 and Bella Dziak ‘20 were the underclassmen added to the team this year to combine with a strong senior presence.

“We have a good amount of strong, returning players and we also have a lot of new players,” Hall said. “I think our focus so far has been to merge these groups together. We have potential but it’s all going to come down to how hard we work at creating a successful unit on the field that can withstand dangerous teams.”

The girls opened up the season with a 4-0 blowout victory over Oswego East on March 16 at Bennett Field. Head coach Bill Lanspeary believes the team showed promise

Maggie Gilchrist ‘18 chases down the ball against Oswego East on March 16. (Devine/LION) but will be tested more as the season contin- er, Naperville North and Barrington. These ues and the competition heats up. games can be used as a wake-up call for any “I thought we played well [against Oswe- new varsity members, defender Catherine go East],” Lanspeary said. “There were times Johnson ‘18 said. where we moved the ball really well. Defen“The biggest thing is getting the new girls sively, we looked good but we’ll definitely be acclimated to the speed and physicality of challenged much more throughout the sea- play,” Johnson said. “It’s very hard to mimic son.” that in practices so I think that it is a good LT currently stands at 3-2 overall and is thing that we are in the New Trier tournacurrently in the midst of the North Shore ment.”

Invitational, a tournament that features nuNumerous games have been cancelled due merous high-level teams including New Tri- to weather early on in the season, including

the highly-anticipated matchup against Hinsdale Central. The rivalry game versus the Red Devils was set to be played back on April 3, but has since been canceled twice. The two teams have agreed on April 30 as the makeup date for the match, with the venue being the NC West Field. Despite having to wait to play its arch-rival, LT remains ready for what many call the biggest game of the year for each team.

“I am so excited for the game because it’s always an intense environment,” Hall said. “This year especially because Hinsdale Central gained back many players that only played club soccer last year.”

Conference play is scheduled to begin for the Lions on Tuesday, April 17 against Oak Park River Forest, where LT hopes to start its title defense on the right note. In the past, it has been Hinsdale Central that has given the Lions trouble when it comes to securing the conference. In 2015 and 2016, LT won all its conference games except for those against Hinsdale, thus denying its chance at finishing atop the West Suburban Silver Conference in those seasons.

Gaining revenge on the Red Devils is certainly a goal for this year’s team, but it isn’t the only one.

“We of course want to win state,” Johnson said. “We would also love to beat Downers Grove North, who we lost to last year in the IHSA Sectional Finals. If all else fails, we just want to have fun and enjoy our season together.”

Lacrosse teams hold high expectations Boys team features many stars; hopes for best season to date

by Hayden Claesson @wizard_of_soz In the past decade in the state of Illinois, high school boys lacrosse has been dominated by the North Shore, with either New Trier or Loyola Academy winning it all every single year since 2008. However, LT head coach Seth Molek is looking to change that this year with a run at a state championship trophy in the inaugural year of lacrosse being an official IHSA sport.

“The end goal is a state title,” Molek said.

“We want to go undefeated, we want to be undefeated in conference and we want a good position going into the postseason to get into the state championship game.”

The lacrosse program at LT has always been competitive, however the top teams have always been so good that a chance at a state title has been out of the question.

But this year’s team is special. With players who came into LT as promising freshman now emerging as strong upperclassmen, the chances to dethrone New Trier and Loyola are looking better and better.

“I’ve been coaching for nine to 10 years, and this is hands down the best team I have ever been able to coach,” Molek said. “We are deep at every position, we have guys coming off of our bench who would be able to start on any other team in the state.”

The team this year is led by strong junior and senior classes, highlighted by attackman and High Point University commit Jack Meagher ‘19 who is also a team captain and a varsity player since his freshman year. Defender Charlie Heinz ‘19 is another varsity player since freshman year.

“We have great players at every position but some of our best are attackmen Seamus Hughes ‘18 and Meagher, who have an exceptional understanding of the game,”

captain Mike Smith ‘18 said. “On defense, Heinz stands out as an aggressive and physical player who constantly causes problems for the other offenses.”

The team is looking to build on the success and roster of last season. Last year, seven of the 11 starters on varsity were sophomores, now current juniors. The program also had an undefeated freshman team which resulted in many sophomores to play to varsity this season.

“We were really young last year, and now this year we are battle tested and ready to go,” Molek said.

This year marks the first year where lacrosse is an IHSA sport. In previous years the sport was handled by the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association. In the past, the entire postseason and state tournament was just one large bracket, with teams listed as one through 32 and playing in one tournament until a winner is crowned. This year, teams must compete in sectionals and super sectionals in order to at least advance to the state tournament, Meagher said.

Last season the team finished with a record of 16-5 and placed seventh at the state tournament, Smith said. Despite this year’s team having strong leadership among the juniors and seniors, the team still faces the struggles of losing valuable seniors. Last year’s class was highlighted by 2017 Lion Athlete of The Year Jack Walton ‘17, who now plays both lacrosse and football at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

“We basically have our whole team back from last year,” Molek said. “We lost Walton, who was an aggressive defender and was one of the best players to ever come through LT.”

Sam McGahay ‘20 and Ben Kidder ‘19 scramble for the ball in a home game against Benet on March 22. The Lions went on to defeat the Redwings by the score of 11-7. (Devine/LION)

Asia Janeczek ‘19 cradles the ball while outrunning a defender at Bennett Field. (Devine/LION)

Girls team adapts to new coaches; prepares for rivalry game

by Georgia Dougherty @georgiadoc6 With a new coaching staff and in its first year as an IHSA sport, the LT girls lacrosse season got off to a rocky start. After varsity head coach Jim Moy left after an alleged verbal disagreement with a parent a few days into tryouts, he was replaced with coach Missy Mitidiero and assistant coach Bob Regan, Regan said.

“I think this [situation] has caused a rough start for the beginning of the season but the team will bounce back from it because we have a lot of really good players and the players are what carry the team,” varsity goalie Riley Egan ‘19 said. “Moy wasn’t always the best at dealing with the girls on the team, but he was still a good coach, put forth a lot of effort and really cared about us winning. [Regan] knows how to deal with teenage girls a lot better than Moy did.”

Many of the players wanted JV head coach Matt Bultas to take over for varsity, varsity midfielder Emily Campanelli ‘18 said. Campanelli created a petition and sent it to Athletic Director John Grundke to add Bultas to the varsity coaching staff, which was signed by 23 out of the 25 team members.

“My biggest motivator for the petition is that with Bultas, there’s no favoritism and we haven’t really seen that in LT lacrosse; certain people would have to work harder and go above and beyond to be a starter,” Campanelli said. “With Bultas there’s no fight or politics— it’s straight coaching and he’s very neutral and level-headed. He treats everyone the same which was a huge thing that we wanted to see.”

More turmoil ensued when 96 girls tried out for varsity and JV, which led to a massive

amount of cutting. This is the first year that girls lacrosse has been a cut sport, Regan said.

“It’s very tough,” Regan said. “I’ve never had to cut anybody, and this is my 14th season. I always grow programs. We had to cut 46 girls and it wasn’t easy for me, a lot of parents called. I don’t want to cut kids, I’d rather add another team and try to coach and teach 50 plus girls. I don’t know how fair that would be to the other girls on the team, so it’s a difficult situation.”

Despite all this, the team is staying positive and having a good time together, Campanelli said. They have high expectations for the season especially with nine seniors, most of whom have been on varsity since freshman or sophomore year.

“Our team’s strength is that we have a really good defense,” Egan said. “Our defense is a well-oiled machine and works very well to our advantage. When we get out on the field we work really well together.”

The team is most excited for the game against Hinsdale Central on May 8, Campanelli said. Over the past couple of years, LT has gotten closer to beating Hinsdale, so they are hoping that this will be the year.

“We have very skilled players, amazing stick skills, nine powerhouse seniors and we have [Mitidiero], who is not holding back on conditioning, which is going to have a huge effect on our playing,” Campanelli said. “This season is the season for LT girls lacrosse. As difficult as it was in the beginning, we know we can go far and I think we will have a great chance against Hinsdale this year.”

As of April 9, the team’s record stands at 3-4, Egan said.

SPORTS

Page 12

Friday, April 13, 2018

Students commit to DI athletics Following the Fall and Winter Signing Days, 13 students had committed to NCAA Division I (DI) athletics at 13 different schools across the country. The map highlights the universities the DI athletes will be attending, in the general location of the campus. We talked to five of the soon-to-be college athletes about their futures. Read about what they plan to study, what they’re most excited for and what being a DI athlete means to them. Spring Signing Day occured April 11, the day after the LION print deadline, where more student athletes committed to play a college sport. A comprehensive list of all college athletes, regardless of division, will be posted at lionnewspaper.com by the end of the school year.

Bella Lestina

Nate Rusk

Football Butler University Major: Biology or Kinesiology “I’m most looking forward to competing at a high level and the challenges that are brought along with it.”

Nikki Jones

S

Compiled by Mikaela Larson

Emily Campanelli

Volleyball Duquesne University Major: Undecided “It makes me feel very fortunate and accomplished that all my hard work over the years paid off; it means that I have overcome a lot of milestones but college will continue to push me to my best abilities and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

by Grant Campbell @grantc_3100 ince fifth grade, Sean Ryan ’18 has dreamt of competing in a Division 1 collegiate sport. At the time, he was tearing up the field for St. Cletus Middle School’s football program. He considered that to be his sport. One year later, Ryan was introduced to the sport of volleyball.

“In sixth grade, one of the players for Lions Juniors had a conflict for a volleyball tournament,” he said. “There was a spot for the team, and I was asked to do it. At the time, I was in the middle of football season, so I wasn’t sure about it. But once I started playing, I fell in love with it.”

From that moment, Ryan broadened his athletic resume while also achieving his goal. He will be attending Ohio State University in the fall and will compete for one of the top teams in the nation.

“I never thought volleyball would be that sport [in college],” Ryan said. “I’m glad I’m able to fulfill my dream, and I couldn’t be happier with the decision me and my family made. Wins or losses, I know I’ll have a great time.”

Ryan is gifted physically as an athlete, standing 6-feet 5-inches with a large wingspan. Last season, he reached a jump touch of 11-feet 7.5-inches. While his size gives him an incredible advantage, boys volleyball head coach Joann Pyritz praises Ryan’s

Soccer Loyola University Chicago Major: Journalism “I’m most excited to be in the city, go to Loyola basketball games, meet Sister Jean and have the freedom of college.”

Lacrosse Delaware State University Major: Political Science “I’m really looking forward to going on the East Coast and getting to play against other really amazing DI teams and also building a great relationship with my team.”

work ethic and integrity as an athlete.

“He works hard at what he does,” Pyritz said. “The thing that’s special about [Sean] is he’s a nice person. He cares about people, he likes doing the right thing and he’s modest

given his ability. He cares about his teammates and displays respect with the adults he works with. You don’t always see these traits in a high level player. Sometimes they feel like they’re owed something. That’s not how [Sean] is. He realizes that he can always learn something and he can always teach something.”

Despite these incredible abilities, Ryan suffers from Type 1 diabetes. This condition affected him so much that he had to give up some sports that he loved at a young age, including basketball in middle school.

“I have to take precautions,” he said.

“Everyone stretches out and does their routine. I have my own unique one before every game. I avoid eating carbohydrates before I play, so I eat a salad with chicken. I

Danny Kilrea

Cross Country University of Notre Dame Major: Business “I am most looking forward to joining a great team of guys.

Being a DI athlete allows me to continue my passion. ”

don’t want insulin acting up in me while I play.”

Before each game, he checks his blood sugar levels twice. During the game, he checks it again while keeping a Gatorade and sugar tablets near him at all times. Once the competition is over, he checks

his blood sugar levels again.

Despite this condition, Ryan thrives in his athletic endeavors.

One of his coaches sophomore year recognized the potential he had, and recommended that he try out for the USA youth national team. The summer going into his junior year, he was off to compete globally in Cuba, representing Team USA. “I was invited to tryout with a team of 24 players,” Ryan said. “We practiced and tried out for 12 spots in California.

After a week and a half, they began to cut players. I was fortunate enough to make the 12-man roster. One week later, we were competing in Cuba.”

Ryan has participated for LT through club teams, but also as a four-year varsity starter. In seventh grade, he was competing

with the freshman club team.

“This was when I started gaining more confidence in myself,” he said. “I thought to myself, if I can hang with these guys, then I could use them to get better.”

He carried this mentality with him to his first varsity season as a freshman. He felt a welcoming presence from everyone on the team, and it allowed him to become a leader now as a senior, Ryan said. His teammates have affirmed his leadership, including Mac Most ’18.

“When [Ryan’s] on the court, he’s not only leading the five players with him,” Most said. “But he’s also leading the players on the bench in a way I’ve never seen before.

He’s a great team player. He knows his role on the court is vital and crucial to our team.

He leads by example and is always there to give you advice or lift you up.”

Now, Ryan has realized that it’s time to step it up. He and the team have high expectations for the end of this season, and he hopes to play a crucial role in this, Ryan said.

“Just like every other season, I think we have a chance to make it to state,” he said. “It’s a tough sectional this year, but like everyone else, it’s not an easy path to get there [state]. Given that I’m a senior and I’ve known some of these guys for four years, it’s going to be a fun ride.”

Page 14

Friday, April 13, 2018

Friday, April 13, 2018

PRofiles

LT alumna writes, releases first single Josie Dunne ‘15 experiences success in music, songwriting

ly nice life growing up. I have an awesome family, support system and group of friends that fill me with such positivity and an optimistic outlook, I think that that translates

by Georgia Dougherty in my music.” @georgiadoc6 Dunne credits LT and music teachers Right when LT alumna Josie Dunne John Musick and Steve Joyner, who has ‘15 woke up the morning of March 10 and since left LT, with motivating her and prochecked her phone, she started screaming. viding her with chances to perform around “Kelly Clarkson tweeted out, ‘loving the school. @josiedunnemusic right now!’” Dunne said. “[Dunne] is one of the most free and tal“It was the first thing I woke up to and I ented creative thinkers I’ve ever taught,” screamed for 10 minutes straight. People Musick said. “Her mind is constantly open that I’ve always looked up to will reach out and searching for the beautiful and cool to me now, and that’s so crazy.” things about life and music. She was always Dunne’s last two years before gradua natural on stage, but she grew as a ating from LT in 2015 were spent guitar and keyboard player as traveling back and forth to her well as a singer in her years current home city, Nashhere.” ville, Tenn., where writDunne’s new single ing and performing has “Old School” reflects become second nature on her parent’s “clasfor the young artist. sic LaGrange love “A lot of my success story,” she said.

I owe to my parents “It’s an amazing and to my siblings,” story that I didn’t Dunne said. “I grew up realize was super in such a creative home rare until I left Laand with such supportive Grange,” Dunne said. parents, it was almost like “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh I could do no wrong. I did this is such a cool thing; outrageous things and pushed my parents are so awesome myself in music because they and my community’s so made me feel like I could do Josie Dunne’s ‘15 cover art great.’ I wanted to retell that anything, I owe a lot to them.” for her single, “Old School.” in the music video.”

Dunne, who estimates she After pressing pause on has written more than 200 songs since her her college career at Belmont Universigraduation, has experienced success recent- ty, Dunne has been living in Nashville for ly in selling out her first show at Schubas in about two and a half years, and is enjoying Chicago on Feb. 8, co-writing Jacob Sarto- planning out music videos, photoshoots and rius’ recent single “Chapstick,” and releas- playing shows after months of writing. ing her first original single, “Old School,” “I am putting out another song realwhich is being played on Radio Disney, Von ly soon, so I hope that does just as well or Maurs across the country and in LT’s halls better than ‘Old School,’ Dunne said. “I just on WLTL. Much of her success she attri- hope that people will continue listening butes to LT, Dunne said. and liking what they hear.”

“In a lot of ways, LT and LaGrange in Dunne’s next performances are at Misgeneral have shaped me into the person that souri State University, where she is opening I am, and because of that shaped the music for KYLE on April 18 and at Hotel Cafe in that I make,” Dunne said. “I’ve had a real- Los Angeles May 1.

Page 15

Violinist composes original concerto

Jackson attended a five-week music program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass., where he was able to improve his skills as a composer and overcome the roadblocks imBy Lars Lonnroth peding his long-form compositions, he said. @larslonnroth “What really changed was my view of music theory, which is basically English class Brandon Jackson ‘18 exudes a sense of for musicians,” Jackson said. “It’s knowing all passion in almost everything he does—he the little details of music. It’s being able to was a constant fountain of energy on the say, this sounds cool but why is that?”

Brownstock stage March 23 (see page 6)— Once he got back from the program at and that passion and exuberance is particuBerklee, Jackson engaged in what he says is larly noticeable in the activity Jackson behis most ambitious project to date: composlieves he was put on this planet to do: the ing an entirely original concerto, a compoplaying and creation of music . sition highlighting a certain instrument— “I was created to do this,” Jackson said of which for Jackson’s piece was the violin—in his musical calling. “This is how I was built.” addition to other musical accompaniment.

Ever since learning his first instrument Jackson performed his composition at around the age of 2, Jackson has learned the Jan. 15 LT Concerto Competition, how to play 30 different instruments, held annually by the LT music program. he estimates. But he does not label “That was really something he had himself solely as a musician, instead to come up with on his own, ” said Jan opting to focus on a different form of Matthews, Jackson’s LT orchestra musical expression. director for the past three years.

“I do obviously play “The fact that he composed music and I am a musithe violin line was phenomcian, but first and foreenal, but he also orchesmost I am a composer,” trated the whole Jackson said. “That’s piece so it could what’s on my business be performed with card: ‘composer, film the full orchestra.” scorer, musician.’”

Brandon Jackson ‘18 gleefully practicWhile he didn’t win Throughout his coming his concerto. (Lonnroth/LION) the competition, he was position career, Jackson a runner up to John Quinlan ‘19, who is has composed an array of different projects. poised to perform his concerto with a full Prior to its cancellation, Jackson comorchestra on April 26 at the NC Reber Cenposed music that was poised to be included in ter. As a runner up, Jackson was granted the the annual All-school Assembly. Additionalopportunity to publicly premiere his comly, he composed music for the mini-docuposition before the crowd at the LT honors mentary “The LT Walkout,” a film by Carl orchestra concert Feb. 27, Matthews said.

Volz ‘18 that premiered April 4.

Despite not winning the contest, JackWhile he has been creating original piecson said that there is still much he will be es for other people for around six years, he able to do with the piece when he begins has struggled to tie everything together for a attending the Berklee College of Music in long-form musical piece of his own, he said.

Boston as a student in the fall of next year.

“I was not really ready for it,” he said.

“There is going to be more I can do with “I was not ready to take up the challenge this concerto,” Jackson said. “When I get to of writing an extended piece for an instruBerklee, there are going to people who I can ment... I would get a good amount done, but get together and record this in a professional I couldn’t connect the dots.” setting, maybe even with a full orchestra.”

That changed over the summer when

Brandon Jackson ‘18 premieres composition

LT student aims to help others with blog Junior advocates self-love through blog posts via experiences with mental illnesses

by Isabel Tuisl @isabeltuisl

Being a teenager in high school is difficult. The addition of mental illness can further complicate schoolwork and social situations for those students. Skyla Stillo ‘19 understands this more than anyone, because she has been in that position before. In fact, she is in it right now, and wants you to know that you are not alone. She decided to embrace the labels that have been put on her through her blog, “Unlabeled,” which is directed towards helping others through their struggles.

“When I was hospitalized, we were talking about labels one day,” Stillo said. “We don’t realize it, but a lot of times we wake up in the morning and label ourselves, instead of just letting yourself be you.”

Skyla Stillo ‘19 edits her mental health blog, writing a new post She made her blog because of her expirience with depres- centered around stereotypes, labels and stigmas. (Tuisl/LION) sion and chronic anxiety for the past two years, she said.

“People take being hospitalized as a negative thing, but I ing her story, but her classmates as well.

“At the beginning of the period during our weekend highwant it to be positive by finding the light in the darkness,” light reel that we do on Mondays, Skyla mentioned that she Stillo said.

Stillo is not only inspiring the readers of her blog by shar- set up a blog that encouraged people to share their stories and

who they truly are, not just the labels that have been put on them,” Skyla’s English teacher, Nicole Gallicchio, said. “A number of [students] grabbed a sign-up sheet for her project.”

The project refers to a compilation of videos that Stillo is acquiring from her readers, Stillo said. She will record videos of them for her blog, who can talk about anything from their struggles to what they love about themselves.

“In the beginning of their videos, I’m going to ask them what labels they think people put on them and the labels they put on themselves,” Stillo said. “I painted the wall with chalkboard paint, so they’re going to write the labels on the wall, talk about their story, and at the end, we’re going to erase all of the labels.”

Stillo wants to end the negative stigma attached to mental health, and help people with their self-confidence and loving themselves more than they ever could, she said.

“I hope that [Skyla’s blog] becomes very popular and that she gets a lot of following through it,” Skyla’s friend Sara Pucci ‘19 said. “I’m really excited for her because I know how much she wants to help everyone and make sure that everyone knows they’re important to her.”

Visit Stillo’s blog at www.unlabeled.blog.

Page 16

Friday, April 13, 2018

Environment

Volume 108, Issue 6

HOLY COW!

Page 17

Now playing...

Still unsure about the food industry and its impact on your health and the environment? Here is a list of Netflix Documentaries sure to sway your opinions. Beware while watching—the truth hurts.

Compiled by Lindsey Hauch

Eat less, care more

Cowspiracy (2014)

America’s animal agricultural system, ticking methane time bomb

by Maddy Cohen @maddyc700

As April 22, Earth Day, approaches, many of us become inspired to do our part to diminish our carbon footprint.

Riding bikes more often, turning off the lights and taking shorter showers. All these sacrifices are important, but there is something we can all do that would lower our carbon footprint exponentially: eat less meat.

Before you stop reading, let me make something clear: this is not an article preaching at you to become vegan/vegetarian, but instead asking you simply to lower your meat intake to protect the health of animals, humans and most importantly, the environment.

According to the Worldwatch Institute, the primary culprit of climate change is animal agriculture, with a towering 51 percent of total greenhouse-gas emissions emanating from it. A single cow can release up to 264 pounds of methane in a single year, a gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Furthermore, factory farm animals produce 100 times more waste than all people in the U.S. The waste has to go somewhere so… where does it go? Manure lagoons. Essentially a large, watery pit of animal feces. These pits not only release harmful greenhouse gases (methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia) but easily overflow as well. A slight increase in rain or snow is enough to cause the cesspool to leak, flowing animal excrement into our streams, rivers and lakes. This not only contaminates our drinking water, but also causes algal blooms, subsequently diminishing entire aquatic ecosystems.

Beyond the contamination of our water, the animal agriculture system wastes immense amounts of water as well. According to the Pacific Institute, producing a quarter

pound of beef requires 425 pounds of water, enough to fill 10 bathtubs. We use 40 percent of our water on agriculture, and only 13 percent on domestic use. As our freshwater resources become increasingly depleted, it will be necessary to lower our dependence on animals as food.

The average American eats 270.7 pounds of meat per year, almost two-and-a-half times larger than the average global consumption. Animal products are a vital part of American diet and culture, but sacrifices must be made to ensure the longevity of our nation and planet as a whole.

This problem is overwhelming and complex, but the solution is not. If we all make small changes to our eating habits, the effect will be gigantic. Meatless Monday, a campaigned started by Johns Hopkins University in 2003, is one example of how we can still make a difference without sacrificing our meat consumption entirely. The campaign, as the name suggests, encourages families to refrain from eating meat products on Monday. This small, easy lifestyle change has a large impact.

According to Earth Day Network, if everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese for just one day a week, it would be equivalent to taking 7.1 million cars off the road. If a family of four skipped having steak once a week, it would be equivalent to taking your car off the road for three weeks.

We need to take serious measures to prevent the irreversible damage being done to the Earth. This will not affect our grandchildren, but us instead. As the largest contributor to climate change, consumption and demand of livestock must decrease. Luckily, small changes go a long way, and if we all contribute, we can create immeasurable change. Impact your diet, impact your health and impact the environment.

Chow, without the cow Although animal-based meat is what first comes to mind when thinking about getting enough protein, advancement in technology has made healthy meatless substitues taste the same, if not better, than what’s between the burger bun. Protein amount listed is grams per serving.

Compiled by Sarah Grier

Gardein- Classic meatless meatballs

15 grams

Simply Balanced- Korean barbeque meatless chicken

15 grams

Addressing more broadly the topic of animal agriculture, “Cowspiracy” exposes the environmental risks involved with the industry and the threats posed to the planet.

The film also investigates the response—or lack thereof—from environmental agencies tasked with preventing such threats.

Food Inc. (2009)

Arguably one of the most gruesome of the listed documentaries, “Food Inc.” examines how large corporations have significant control over all aspects of the food chain in the country. This film includes alarming footage inside animal processing plants and the perspective of everyday consumers and industry employees.

What the Health (2017)

“What the Health” examines the negative effects of meat and dairy consumption, correlating our diet decisions with common diseases, all in an attempt to influence a more plant-based lifestyle. It also capitalizes on uncovering the corruption of leading health and pharmaceutical companies within the meat and dairy industries.

Forks Over Knives (2011)

“Forks Over Knives” is an investigative documentary, exploring the idea that animal-based and processed foods have a significant impact on one’s health. The film claims diseases can be controlled by our everyday consumption and follows the lives of ordinary people to prove it.

Vegucated (2011)

Being one of the most relatable films, “Vegucated” addresses the challenges of converting to a vegetarian and/or vegan diet. The comedic social experiment follows three self-proclaimed meat and cheese loving people in their journey towards a healthier lifestyle.

Cash cow

How meat industry makes millions by capitalizing on government, organizations, consumers

Trader Joe’s- Hi-protein veggie burger

26 grams

Trader Joe’s- chickenless chicken tenders

12 grams

by Lindsey Hauch @lhauch20 Now-a-days it seems we are surrounded by vegetarians and vegans constantly pushing their plantbased lifestyles onto others. Most people attempt to ignore their diet suggestions, trying to enjoy their cheeseburger in peace. But one does not have to be a vegan, be vegetarian or be on any special diet for that matter to be angry with what is happening in the meat industry. Whether we choose to believe it or not, meat consumption has proven negative health effects. Even more dangerous, though, are the secrets protected within the multi-billion-dollar industry.

According to the 2017 documentary “What the Health,” eating 1.8 ounces of processed meat daily increases one’s risk of cancer by 20 percent. The American Cancer Society, however, lists healthy meals and a grocery shopping list on its website—both containing meat and poultry suggestions. The very organization the public tasks with cancer prevention advertises foods proven to increase risk of the disease.

The link between this miscommunication is the list of the organization’s partners. Its website reports that it receives millions of dollars in donations annually from pharmaceutical companies, such as CVS, Walgreens, and Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance. Eating meat will keep people sick, which maintains the money supply of buying prescription pills and donating money to support the foundation and its sponsors.

While organizations exploit the meat industry,

the industry itself takes advantage of the vulnerability of lower class Americans. Do you ever wonder why a burger, for example a Big Mac from McDonalds, is less expensive than a salad? For the past 10 years, meat and dairy received 73.8 percent of federal subsidies for food production, while fruits and vegetables received just 0.37 percent. Meat and fast food in general are so intrinsically embedded in the American culture that the government allows meat industries to have extreme power over the supply of its products. With a larger subsidy and therefore increased supply, the industry can lower the cost of a Big Mac to just $3.99. Compared to a $4.79 McDonald’s salad, people on a tight budget will opt for processed meat.

The corruption does not end with impoverished Americans. In 2015, the food industry spent $101 million in lobbying efforts to the government to persuade against the requirement of Genetically Modified Food (GMO) labeling. When it comes down to knowledge and money, money almost always wins. Without basic information, the food industry can deceitfully capture consumers into purchasing their products regardless of their authenticity.

Ultimately, consumers are the victims of an industry that is falsely marketed. Beyond health and environmental concerns, the dishonesty involved with the industry’s control over the government, particular organizations and consumers threatens society in a way many are not aware of. Cash is king, and the meat industry is slowly being crowned.

Positivity

Page 18

Friday, April 13, 2018

In 2012, Neuroscientist and Psychologist Shirzard Chamine released his book titled “Positive Intelligence,” centered around the idea that positive thinking can impact how likely people are to reach their full potential. In this book, Chamine hypothesizes that the higher your Positive Intelligence Quotient (PQ), which is the percentage of time your brain is working with you as opposed to against you, the more likely you are to be successful. According to Chamine, you should strive to attain a PQ score of 75 or higher.

Chamine also stresses that, to improve your PQ, you must be conscious of the ways your mind works against you, or your Saboteurs. Once you are aware of your main Saboteurs, you can begin to weaken them. It is important to note that your Saboteurs do not define you wholly; rather, they are small, conquerable traits that make up who you are.

Saboteur search: Controller

Avoider

Takes perfectionism and a need for order too far. Causes ongoing anxiety and frustration.

Hyper-Achiever

Focuses on continued success and achievement as the only way to gain self-respect and validation.

Avoids, to any extent, unpleasant tasks or conflict.

Statements: If I work hard, I should be able to control any situation.

Chamine recognizes nine Sabetouers that can affect any person, and some will have a larger impact than others. Rate yourself on a scale of zero to five on how much the following statements apply to you, five being the most applicable. If you score above an 11 for any Saboteur, this may be one you can acknowledge and start to weaken.

Statements:

__/5

I’d rather let someone else have their way than cause a scene.

__/5

Statements: I must be the best at whatever I do.

__/5

Others want and need me to take control.

__/5

Maybe if I ignore it, then it will take care of itself.

__/5

When I’m successful, my self-worth is the highest.

__/5

I try to get the job done for everyone’s sake.

__/5

No good comes out of conflict, someone needs to be the peacemaker.

__/5

Emotions only distract me from reaching my goals.

__/5

TOTAL: __/15

TOTAL: __/15

TOTAL: __/15

Hyper-Rational

Hyper-Vigilant

Pleaser

Focuses on the rational processing of everything.

Perceived as cold, distant and often arrogant.

Ongoing anxiety regarding what could go wrong in any situation and the consequences of messing up.

Has a strong need to be accepted by everyone, often losing sight of one’s own personal needs.

Statements:

Statements:

Statements:

What I value most is knowledge, insight and intelligence.

__/5

If I make a mistake, everyone is going to jump down my throat.

__/5

I put the needs of others ahead of my own.

__/5

Other people are very irrational and emotional in their thinking.

__/5

Life is full of dangers, if I don’t look out for them, who will?

__/5

It bothers me when people don’t notice what I’ve done for them.

__/5

The rational mind should be protected from messy emotions.

__/5

I need to know what the rules are so that I can follow them.

__/5

I can make people like me by flattering and pleasing them.

__/5

TOTAL: __/15

Victim

Stickler

Acts over-reactive and emotional to elicit attention and affection.

Statements: Terrible things always seem to happen to me.

TOTAL: __/15

Takes perfectionism and a need for order too far.

Causes ongoing anxiety and frustration.

__/5

TOTAL: __/15

Restless

Always in search of a more exciting activity, constant busyness, never content

Statements:

Statements

If you can’t do it perfectly, don’t do it at all.

If I’m bored, the next thing will always be more exciting.

__/5

__/5

I wish someone would rescue me from my misfortune.

__/5

It is up to me to fix whatever mess I encounter.

__/5

Life must be lived fully, I don’t want to miss out.

__/5

No one understands me.

__/5

I need to be more organized than others to get things done.

__/5

Why can’t anyone keep up with me?

__/5

TOTAL: __/15

Ask Anderson:

TOTAL: __/15

TOTAL: __/15

Bradley Anderson, advisor of LT’s Athletes Committed to Excellence (ACE) club, introduced Chamine’s PQ philosophy to ACE in the 2016-17 school year. LION asked him some questions about how to increase your PQ score and how to use the knowledge of your saboteurs to help you succeed.

Why is it imporant to be knowledgeable of your Saboteurs?

The problem is that many students for years that Saboteurs are their friends when they’ve really been hurting them. They think that their Saboteurs are what make them successful in life, while in reality, they do much more harm than good.

At some point, you may have so much negativity in your mind that although you may be achieving, you are actually hurting yourself because of the stressful damage that is happening to your body and mind.

The easiest way to start increasing your positive intelligence and to find a balance of achieving, being positive and staying healthy is to become aware when you believe things that the Saboteurs are telling you.

So, how can I get my brain to work with me?

Rule number one is to acknowledge your Saboteurs—know who they are and know how to name them. that way, you can distance yourself from their lies.

Second, increase mindfulness of your surroundings and your body. By doing this, you calm your brain down and allow it to form new neural pathways, which are basically new muscles to strengthen your brain.

Eventually, what will happen is that the less you listen to your Saboteurs, the more of a positive outlook you are going to have on different events, creating a general upward trend of positivity. Instead of wallowing in negativity, try to find three positive things from every negative. You begin to see every setback as an opportunity to grow. When your mind starts thinking like that, you spend less time in a downward spiral and more time moving on and moving up.

How do you think Positive Intelligence has affected members on ACE?

They were already great leaders when they got here, but I think they’re even better now because they’ve got these tools. If I can help more leaders like these understand how Positive Intelligence will help them achieve their full potential, then they too can spread the message through LT, because I do want all students to achieve their potential.

After integrating Chamine’s Positive Intelligence into ACE’s focus, 15 members of the 2016-17 club saw an average of a 25.07 point increase in their PQ score. To find out your PQ score, take the quiz at

www.positiveintelligence.com/pq-score/

GAMING

Friday, April 13, 2018

Why play?

by Sarah Grier @smgrier0 If you somehow do not know what Fortnite is, the simplest thing I could compare it to is “The Hunger Games.” In Fortnite Battle Royale, 100 individual players are dropped into the map and fight to the death.

The map consistently shrinks from a storm into smaller and smaller zones to force the players to kill each other. A big part of the game is to collect gear through finding chests and looting opponents after eliminating them. There are various strategies to the game, debates on the best spot on the map to land and the coolest skins (which are purchased by completing challenges) but above all, Fortnite has remained a top video game of 2018.

“Fortnite is the first free game I have ever seen with such a large amount of players,” Michael Cooley ‘18 said. “It is hard to walk through the halls or eat lunch without hearing about it.”

According to the developer, Fortnite has drawn in more than 3.4 million concurrent players. This makes it the largest game of 2018. Even Drake plays it! (Drake literally broke YouTube’s viewership record for a livestream as 628,000 people watched him play Fortnite for several hours). The fact that it’s a free downloadable game on any PS4, PC or Xbox One is arguably the largest reason for this.

Fittingly, this year is the first year that the World Health Organization is recognizing video game addiction as a diagnosable disease. Studies done by the journal Psychological Science have estimated that 8.5 percent of U.S. youth between 8 to 18 who play video games show signs of addiction.

So, are you addicted?

The WHO characterizes it as a true addiction if an individual loses control of gaming habits, prioritizes gaming to other life interests and continues to play video games despite negative effects. This will often lead to impairment in personal, familial, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of daily functioning. If this behavior continues over a year, you are officially addicted.

Like tobacco, the video game companies will continue to profit on their addicted consumers. The developer company of Fortnite, Epic Games, is working on expanding the already large player base by adding more global nations and the release of its iOS app. Epic Games released its “Fortnite mobile” app on March 16 . Within the first day of the release they profited $1 million from in-app purchases of a $10 battle pass. As part of the Fortnite expansion developers hope to add Android and Nintendo to their platforms.

Fortnite is a video game that will truly change the way future games are accessible and will open the door to more free games as other companies try to tap this market. It will be exciting to watch the fostering of a new wave of gaming.

Page 19

Over the past couple of months, Fortnite, created by Epic Games, has been gaining popularity. LION took an in-depth look at what the hype is at LT.

“I like Fortnite because at the end of the day you just gotta squad up with the boys and head to Tilted Towers.”

“I land at Tilted Towers to loot up and get as many shields as possible and then move on to smaller places to get eliminations.”

Linnea Nelson-Sandall ‘19 Ryan Boyd ‘18

“Fortnite is better than other games because you can play with so many people around the world, and there can only be one winner so winning makes you feel accomplished and valued.”

quote collection

“I always drop down at Titled Towers, find a good gun and then hide in the bushes until I win.”

NEED PICTURE

Michael Dahill ‘21 Andy Stevens ‘20

“I like to have the same mentality as Wayne Gretzky, thinking that ‘you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.’ That’s how you can become a God at the game, just keep shooting.”

Adam Rohrscheib ‘19

compiled by Pilar Valdes

Careers in gaming

by Camilla Breen @c_breen125

Video games have been a staple of modern media for many years, and show no signs of becoming less popular. It may seem simple to create a video game, but there is much more that goes into it. Here are just three examples of careers available in the video game industry.

Audio Engineer

Game Designer

Game Tester

Audio engineers deal with all sounds in the game—the soundtrack, voice acting and sound effects of a game are what make certain games more appealing than others. To become an audio engineer, most people earn sound engineering degrees and learn how to compose music. The umbrella of jobs that include audio engineering is wide, and can also include performing the soundtrack as well.

Game designers essentially plan all the elements of a game: the setting, rules, story, characters, interface design, modes of play, and any objects, props and devices available to characters. In order to be a game designer, you need to have an understanding of all of the aforementioned careers and skills, and be able to communicate a vision to the various people on a team.

The job of game testers is pretty obvious: to test the game for glitches, mistakes or bugs. Not a lot of prerequisite knowledge or education is needed because game testers act as the average player when doing the tests. That being said, it is not as simple as it may seen, despite not needing a lot of qualifications; game testers usually spend most of the day meticulously re-testing just one scene of a game for glitches.

Average salary = $30,000-$70,000

Average salary = $45,000-$120,000

Average salary = $20,000

GET OUT

Page 20

Friday, September 23, 2016  Page 20

Friday, April 13, 2018

Salty Fig offers quick option for Western Springs residents, commuters

by Maddy Cohen @maddyc700 When Snackers, a Western Springs favorite, shut its doors for good two years ago, many local residents were disappointed, nostalgic and asking the same question: what will come next?

Salty Fig (909 Burlington Ave., Western Springs) opened its doors earlier this year with a focus on a two main services: satisfying meals on-the-go and soulful sitdown meals.

The restaurant is seemingly split in half; one side has a to-go counter with coffee, pastries, pre-packaged sandwiches and other drinks, and the other side has tables and the ambiance of a sit-down restaurant. Customers can also buy packaged items at the Salty Fig pantry. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

One look at the menu and it is easy to tell that the head chef is largely influenced by her Southern and Spaniard roots. Two notable examples are the Pimento Cheese ($6) and Tortilla Española ($7) small plates. The cheese dip was served with homemade breadsticks and bread-and-butter pickles. The dip had a slight kick to it and had a beautiful presentation. The Tortilla Española did not have a lot of flavor by itself, but the addition of a Romesco sauce on the

side made the dish complete.

For the main dishes, I got the Hummus Naan ($11) and the Roast Chicken Bowl ($10). The Naan bread, also homemade, was amazing, but the dish itself appeared more as an appetizer as opposed to a main course. The plate was extremely vibrant and colorful; it was filled with roasted vegetables, hummus and burrata cheese. One particular thing I did not like about this dish was that everything was cold. Instead of biting into steamy, roasted vegetables, I got a mouthful of a cold carrot. The Roast Chicken Bowl had a lot of flavor and definitely fulfilled the “soulful” meals they are aiming for.

To finish off, I had the Kentucky Flat Pie ($7). This filling is light, the crust is flaky, and the whipped cream is the perfect topping to make this treat complete. The filling is comprised of mostly seasoned apples, making this treat light and guilt free.

The restaurant is very modern and trendy, but it does not seem like their target audience is high-schoolers. The hours make it difficult to grab dinner after practice or activities, and the restaurant is closed on the weekend.

If you work in the city, though, the Salty Fig is a restau-

One serving of the Kentucky Flat Pie. (Cohen/LION) rant accustomed to your busy schedule. The grab-and-go philosophy makes it easy to grab a quick bite and hop on the train; the morning menu even includes special commuter menu. Grab-and-go dinners are also in the process of being available at the restaurant, making it easy to grab a healthy dinner after getting off the train.

Salty Fig brings a unique taste to Western Springs and aims to provide both on-the-go meals and sit-down breakfasts and lunches. It is not the most convenient restaurant for students, but is perfect for the working parent.

3/5

Extreme prom dress shopping +

= 2

+

= 8

x

= 35 = 91

x ÷ Check for the answer at the bottom of the page.

= 6 = ?

compiled by Pilar Valdes

by Sarah Grier @smgrier0 When my mom told me she wanted to “experience experience: just like quickly moving through the skulls and Peaches” because my older sisters refused to shop there, I neon mesh to find something nice, Peaches has its hidden couldn’t stop laughing; but I tried it out. Honestly, while gems. According to the website the layout is designed to be it has its downsides, it actually was not a bad experience. covered in 90 percent dresses; however, the saving factor LT’s prom is on May 31, and if you have not started the to this nightmare is the link to their website. I decided to search for a dress, not to panic anyone, it is a good time to favorite some dresses online and when I got there they get started. Alterations can take printed out my list and pulled them anywhere from two to five weeks for me to try on. at some places. I would recommend My attendant helped me find an Peaches to anyone in the market for original dress. This is arguably the a prom dress. greatest benefit to buying a dress Located near Midway Airport, here: they keep track of the dresses 5915 S. Archer Ave., Chicago, bought for each school’s prom, guarPeaches is a boutique that specializes anteeing no one will have the same in formal dresses, making it a popular dress. location for prom dress shopping.

When she started pulling my This store is packed with 20,000 favorites, I quickly realized how dresses, sizes 0-30 and has any style different things can appear online A sampling of the dresses on Peaches’ floor you could think of; this is ideal if compared to real life. I felt like I was (peachesboutique.com). you aren’t positive on what type of being catfished by the pictures of the dress you want. dresses I favorited. As I lost hope and decided I would have I strategically chose a Thursday night to go, making it to settle on something just to get out of there, she quickly almost empty; however, I cannot fairly review this store if I switched gears. She started pulling dresses she thought I don’t reference the sea of humanity that usually crowds the would like and I was thriving on this personal stylist relaplace during the weekends. I could tell by the system that tionship. After trying on around 15 dresses, I finally found a this store is made to move the masses, but I was grateful to dress that I am excited to wear and fits my style. be there when I didn’t have to wait for a fitting room.

When I checked out they gave me a free blue T-shirt to When I arrived at Peaches they gave me a number and commemorate my time spent there and made me pick out a told me to choose three dresses on the floor (they let you complimentary garter (a lace strand worn around the thigh) add to this number later). It is vital to look at prices, as I from the multiple baskets featuring various ribbon colors. I learned when I found myself holding a $1,000 dress, but did not see the point of either of these items, but even the they also have several inexpensive options and it is easy to checkout encapsulates this over-the-top store. In the end, I stay on budget. While I was sifting through the rhinestones am glad to have had the “Peaches experience” to cap off my and bedazzled dresses, rolling my eyes, I would find a simple high school career. dress that I thought was cute.

Overall, the floor at Peaches is comparable to a Forever 21

3.5/5

Type of Pet: Boxer Age: 10 years old (but still fierce!)

Weight: 60 Pounds Owner: Maddie Dixon ‘18 Hobbies: Eating, wagging her tail, laps around the yard, eating

Fun Fact: She goes by and responds to many different Editor’s Rate: 12/10. 70 (in dog years) never looked so good!

North Campus



100 S. Brainard Ave. LaGrange, Ill. 60525



South Campus



Compiled by Sydney Kaehler and Maddy Cohen

Rose = 78

names such as Nini, Bean, Peanut, etc.

4900 Willow Springs Rd. Western Springs, Ill. 60558