Issue 5 17-18

the

MESSENGER

Volume xxv, issue v | MO 63017 | MARQUETTEMESSENGER.COM | February 2018

UNDER PRESSURE: mahika MUSHUNI • greg SVIRNOVSKIY WHEN JOHN SMITH, SENIOR, WHOSE NAME HAS BEEN changed to protect his identity, first started taking Adderall in preparation for his first semester finals junior year, he only meant to use it to aid in his study habits.

“It was pretty great,” Smith said. “My hair felt like it was standing on end. I had goosebumps. I felt incredible. It was the best feeling in the entire world.”

For two hours, Smith felt on top of the world, faster, smarter than anybody. But only for two hours.

“Then I crashed,” Smith said. “I felt like the world was coming down around me. So I didn’t try it for a while.”

That was supposed to be it. Smith had been around drugs long enough to know the dangers of a bad experience. He now knows he should have stopped forever.

But he didn’t. He started using it in parties and during AP exams, one or twice a month. But he didn’t call himself an addict until the beginning of that summer “I tried snorting it for the first time,” Smith said.

“That’s like nothing else. It’s all going straight to the brain. I was probably doing 90 milligrams a day and I couldn’t wake up without it. Your blood vessels constrict, your fingers get cold, you can’t perform sexually.”

Smith said he hasn’t touched Adderall in two months, having quit cold-turkey immediately after Thanksgiving Break.

“I don’t need anything or anyone to be there to help my performance,” Smith said. “It took me a long time to come to grips with that. I hope for the day that I don’t wake up and crave something to snort.”

Smith said the abuse of the drug is in large part due to the cutthroat environment amongst high-achieving students at MHS. “But there’s a reason that this affects some of the smartest people,” Smith said.

“When you have a rat race that is as violent and competitive as ours is, you get people that will win at all cost, no matter the price to their body or mental stability.”

While it took Smith time to realize the impact Adderall was having on his life, those around him noticed sooner.

Adrianna Arnold, senior, said she knew Smith was on Adderall, and she tried to get him to quit numerous times before succeeding in November.

“I was the one who told him, ‘You can’t use it anymore. You’re going to hurt yourself. You’re going to hurt your heart. I don’t want you dying,” Arnold said. “I really didn’t like him using it.”

Arnold said she saw a decrease in her friend’s confidence immediately after he quit, but it’s since rebounded significantly.

As teenagers continue to struggle with the effects of “the study drug,” professionals grapple with its implications.

8.6% of students

in St. Louis County have used prescription drugs not prescribed to them

Source: Missouri Department of Mental Health

pg. 7

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THE PEOPLE Editor in Chief Online Editor in Chief Associate Editor Production Editor Copy Editor News Editors Opinions Editor Features Editor Arts&Leisure Editor Sports Editor Online Sports Editor Assistant Online Editor Advertising Manager Business Manager Staff Reporters

Staff Adviser

Greg Svirnovskiy Neelansh Bute Austin Woods Abhijit Srirangam Mahika Mushuni Marta Mieze Kailin Zhang Alex McAteer Kavya Jain Kenzie Winstead Delaney Neely Jeff Swift Jen Bosche Sabrina Lacy Grihith Varaday Jackson Estwanick Mansi Mamidi Sarah Harris Jessica Li Will Roach Emily Jorgensen

weather

12

ACT

10 5 rock climbing 14 13

CONSTRUCTION

review

14

Clay Huang, sophomore, said he carries a yellow umbrella around with him in the case of inclement weather.

The nine students who scored a 36 on the ACT are recognized at the Library on Friday, Jan 9.

Austin Woods reviews “Culture II” by Migos, which is also featured on “Austin’s Music Talk,” a reoccurring blog at marquettemessenger.com.

Jason Schibler, junior, ascends the wall at a rock climbing tournament at Upper Limits Sunday, Jan. 21.

OUR POLICY The Messenger is published eight times a year by students enrolled in the Newspaper Production class at Marquette High School, Chesterfield, MO, 63017. The publication office is located in Room 226, (636) 891-6000 ext. 26228

Opinions of Messenger columnists or the Editorial Board are not representative of the opinions of the entire Messenger staff, the newspaper or the administration. The

Messenger takes responses for any issue. Send these in at www.marquettemessenger.com.

The Messenger reserves the right to edit submitted material and to refuse to print material because of space limitations, repetitive subject matter, libelous content or any other reason the Editor in Chief and adviser deems appropriate, including advertisements and letters to the editor.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Finals in P.E. EACH SEMESTER, PRETTY MUCH every student is stressed about finals week, the one week that could either make or break your GPA. These heavily weighted finals put way too much pressure and stress on students, but this stress can be alleviated by getting rid of unnecessary finals. For example, I was required to take a 50 question final in my PE class. That was absolutely ridiculous because it didn’t have anything to do with the purpose of the class. PE should inspire students to stay fit and healthy, not make them memorize random health facts and rules to modified sports. But most people spent time studying because if they didn’t, it could drastically change their grade.

We could change this by not requiring classes to give finals, only if they had

enough content that was related to the actual purpose of the class. A final in a class like PE should be either non-existent or have a weight lower than 20%.

Although it seems like a small change, a change like this could free students from the burden of more finals and give them enough time to study for their more important classes.

Sincerely, Kate Krogen freshman

Study Packets I FEEL QUITE STRONGLY THAT IT IS imperative that students get their final study packets at the beginning of the semester. To try and get all cumulative assignments completed within the last week of school, while trying to meet deadlines for finals packets up to 20 pages long, is too strenuous for many students including myself. If we were given these study packets at the beginning of the semester, we could be filling them out unit by unit, and use them to study at the end instead of scrambling to finish them. I feel this would make them a more effective study tool and alleviate some stress come finals.

Sincerely, Nadia Messmer freshman

WANT TO SEE YOUR LETTERS ON THE MESSENGER? Send your letters to amcateer345@rsdmo.org for a chance to have them published on page 2 in March or online now.

OPINIONS

3

MUSTANGS SPEAK Should Oprah run for president?

Grace Bailey, junior

“I don’t see why not. I think she would offer a different perspective on things. I think we have proven now that you don’t have to be a 100 percent in the line of politics and have that historical background.”

Cartoon by Delaney Neely

editorialBOARD

Tearing Families Apart EARLY LAST MONTH IN AN OVAL OFFICE MEETing, President Trump rejected a bipartisan immigration deal. The proposal involved protecting immigrants from temporary protected status (TPS) nations, such as Haiti and various African countries.

Trump then allegedly proceeded to label these countries with a racially charged degrading expletive, and said the U.S. heads need to bring in more people from countries such as Norway.

It’s interesting to note that applicants to the diversity visa program, which attracts a lot of African immigrants, are required to have the equivalent of a U.S. high school education or two or more years of experience in an occupation. Therefore, African immigrants tend to be immensely skilled and well-educated.

In fact, 41 percent of these African immigrants above age 25 possess bachelor’s degrees. And one in every three of these degrees are in a STEM-related field, which, as we all know, are wildly lucrative and essential for growth and innovation in our country.

Aside from the blatant racially charged nature of Trump’s rhetoric, this exemplifies the heated climate in Washington as Congress struggles to come to a deal on replacements for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections (those protected under DACA are known as Dreamers).

If immigrants are unable to live and flourish with their loved ones, they would have considerably less incentive to live here and contribute to our economy.

Instead, we would lose them to countries with more lenient family immigration policies.

The rationale for wanting to crack down on the family-based immigration system is that such a system results in chain migration, creating a glut of immigrants that our country cannot sustain.

The problem with this notion is it’s not possible. It is, simply put, a myth.

In reality, the concept of chain migration cannot occur because waiting lists for family visas are too long for a chain to realistically take shape. In fact, the system is extremely backlogged.

Juvenal Escobar, senior, can attest to this. He has immigrant parents and knows a lot of families that are also immigrants.

“Unless the situation for an individual would be so bad, like in Venezuela, I wouldn’t see any other way

where they could bring in so many people because the process takes so long. It takes decades. That theory doesn’t make any sense,” Escobar said.

Aside from simply being false, this demonizing of the family-based immigration system is detrimental to our nation’s economy.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated that unauthorized immigrants contributed more than $11.6 billion in state and local taxes each year. If these immigrants were put on the path to citizenship, just imagine how much these contributions could grow.

In addition to that, immigrants often come to our country during their best working years and tend to make contributions in the form of endeavors such as entrepreneurship.

In fact, according to the Small Business Administration, immigrants are 10 percent more likely than non-immigrants to own and operate a business. The same study also found that immigrants start businesses at double the rate of non-immigrants.

Escobar’s father owns a landscaping business. He crossed the border illegally with a group of people at age 15 and started working in various manual labor positions in Dallas. By the 1980s, he was working on a farm in Illinois.

The man who owned the farm sponsored him to get his permanent resident status. He was forgiven for crossing illegally and was granted amnesty courtesy of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. He needed to present himself to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement periodically to gain his permanent resident status.

“They saw he was committed to being here and didn’t do anything bad and was here to work,” Escobar said. His father was initially granted 10 years and continues to renew his green card when needed.

Escobar considers his father’s background a vital part of his family identity. With this being so important, he understands the plight of the Dreamers.

“I won’t have the same difficulties or hardships as Dreamers, but I understand,” he said. “My friends from Mexico that have lived here their entire lives, this is all they know. To be deported, it would be like getting dropped off on a martian planet. It doesn’t make sense. They want to tear families apart.”

“I feel like she has been involved in [politics] for a while, and I feel like she definitely wants to do the greater good. In other words, she’s going to improve the United States in my opinion if she does run for president. And it would also be cool having [the] first lady president.”

John Meyer, business teacher

Leeza Kabbendjian, senior

Mikayla McDowell, junior

Imani HewlettMcClanahan, freshman

“I think every person should have the opportunity to. I personally think that she has been really successful and she has done a lot of humanitarian work, but I don’t think I would vote for her. But I think that everybody has the right to [run].”

“Absolutely not. I’m not a huge fan of Trump because he is a businessman. I feel like Oprah also is a businesswoman, and although she would try to advocate for African Americans, I feel like she is also a businesswoman so she is going to do what she feels is best for business and I feel that somebody that has been in politics is probably going to be a lot better and more fit.”

“I think Oprah should run for president due to the fact that we have yet to have a female president inside the office. So having a female president in office might give us benefits of someone who can have better opinions instead of all males.”

OPINIONS

4

Point:

Counterpoint:

Suspensions

Suspensions have utility

Suspensions are damaging jackson ESTWANICK

jeff SWIFT THROUGHOUT ELEMENTARY SCHool, I struggled with violence. I threatened and charged at kids who I had even a slight problem with.

This, matched with the rejection I received from my classmates for obvious reasons, escalated and resulted in an incident that left a scar on me for the rest of my life.

Following a fun PE class, I was teased for trying too hard and my temper flared too. With tears streaming, I violently charged at a group of classmates and screamed “I’m going to kill you!”

Needless to say, I was dealt with immediately by the PE teachers and given a punishment for my crimes: three days of ISS, essentially a slap on the wrist for an action that counts as a felony.

I was trapped in a glorified study hall for three days, whoop dee doo.

Looking back at this, I wonder how I could have ever moved past my horrible fits of violence.

But saying that the district never did anything for me is completely unfair. Truth be told, the greatest value of the current system is not what the school counselors did for me, but rather what they got someone else to do.

If it weren’t for Rockwood, a lot of my problems wouldn’t have ever been fixed. They recommended professionals to look into my mental health and they offered so many different ways to help knock out my behavioral issues.

The Individualized Education Program helped me get passed the

struggles and stress of school and life in general. I relaxed and coped with the stress that had caused a lot of my issues.

In fact, if you talk to anyone I know now, they would be shocked to hear I, of all people, could ever do something like make a death threat.

My results are what the suspension and counseling programs should be, and are, trying to achieve.

They continue to change the rules to better help students, and to show what is and simply isn’t okay.

For starters, the punishment for assault these days isn’t three days ISS. It is a notice to local law enforcement, up to 10 days of OSS or immediate expulsion and a mark on your record. This applies to all levels of schooling.

They also have changed their drug policy, making it easier for students who have been caught with drugs to get admitted back into school faster.

Instead of the 90-180 day OSS, students caught with drugs can get back in school as soon as 10 days later if they pass reassessment and a drug test.

Also, ISS now has PE, math and many other types of teachers coming in to help catch students up on what they missed.

So, while Rockwood’s ability to effectively rehabilitate students who have been lead astray is not without weakness, it is only getting better because in the end, this district’s goal is to make sure students can successfully live their lives.

Revising Turnabout kavya JAIN SADIE HAWKINS. GIRLS’ REVERSE. SANTA SWITch. Turnabout.

In the 1930s these “girls-ask-boys” dances empowered young women by encouraging them to defy social norms and go after what they wanted, but in this day and age, it’s doing the opposite of its intent.

It’s time to move forward and leave this antiquated tradition behind.

Establishing a specific event centered around the idea that a girl gets the opportunity to ask a boy out contributes to the mentality that doing so is normally taboo. Turnabout promotes the idea that it’s atypical to ask a boy to a dance, in turn enforcing the gender roles the dance intended to challenge.

While I realize eliminating Turnabout won’t suddenly make girls asking guys to Prom or Homecoming common practice, it supports the mentality

IN SEVENTH GRADE I RECEIVED three days ISS for stealing a boy’s iPod Touch and changing the lock screen to an inappropriate picture before returning it. Rightfully, he turned me into the office.

As I filled out the incident form and handed it to the principal, I sobbed.

“How did I get here?” I thought. I was a straight A gifted student who had never been in serious disciplinary trouble. Even the principal seemed shocked to see me in this position.

When my teachers came to ISS to give me my work, they spoke to me with concerned tones. My parents were ashamed and told me to never speak of this again.

But no one ever asked me why I did it. “I messed up and I regret my actions” seemed to be enough as long as I wrote it on a form and signed my name.

I know why I did it.

Issues at home and with my friends were only a few of the things that were negatively affecting me. I felt as if I was unliked, unloved, unwanted and that I had no control over my life.

And while I have always been an incredibly emotionally-aware person, I didn’t know how to channel this frustration, and so stealing the iPod seemed like the perfect opportunity to impress my friends.

No one tried to help me, and while I feel I deserved some punishment, I am strongly against the implementation of ISS and OSS in public schools. There is no rehabilitation, only punishment.

Suspensions are not proactive in

that it should be. Everyone should be able to ask whomever they please to whatever dance they please.

Introducing a Sadie Hawkins-style dance may have been an appropriate step toward equality in the 20th century, but now it’s holding us back from making more strides. The event is very cisgender (relating to a person whose gender identity corresponds with their sex at birth) and heteronormative. It ignores the LGBTQ community.

Part of Turnabout’s appeal is it’s based around the idea of going in a pair. While we can maintain that, we should open it up to groups of friends as well, making the event appealing to an even wider population.

Turnout for Turnabout is always low in comparison to Homecoming, which is more inclusive.

By replacing it with a winter formal we would include the diverse community at MHS and ultimately increase ticket sales. This makes more sense financially as well.

Turnabout is the empty milk carton in the fridge.

preventing future offenses; they are purely reactive. Personally, the act of being suspended made me feel like the problems in my life outside of school were my fault.

Many students go through similar issues as I had. They may have poor households and alcoholic or drug addicted divorced parents who allow them to run around town and break laws with no repercussions.

If students are actually assisted with the issues that are plaguing their lives on a daily basis, I believe their paths can change for the better.

Administrators need to change their attitudes toward students who have committed an offense that could land them in ISS/OSS, especially repeat offenders.

Yes, correction is necessary to show an individual that their actions are wrong. But if that correction isn’t followed up with a conversation about why they acted out, they will continue to dig themselves into a hole.

Without a change in the way we discipline students, kids making poor choices as a reaction to issues with their home and school lives are at risk of being stuck in the same rut that they’ve been in for years. At risk to be put in OSS for months at a time or being sent to reformatory schools. At risk to become drug dealers and violent criminals. At risk to become statistics: institutionalized and career offenders.

Without assistance from figures of authority, I doubt that these “problem kids” will be able to get off the path they tread on now.

Illustration by Delaney Neely Everyone knows it’s there and it’s a problem, but no one wants to deal with it. It’s simply a reminder of what needs to be replaced.

NEWS

5

Flu season hits a new high marta MIEZE • kailin ZHANG

Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost snaps a selfie with the nine students who scored a 36 on the ACT: Jacob Besch, William An, Michelle Li, Rachel Pang, Sriya Kosaraju, Michael Wu, Brooke Davis and Sydney Ring. Photograph by Marta Mieze

Nine students score 36 on ACT neelansh BUTE • greg SVIRNOVSKIY BROOKE DAVIS, JUNIOR, KNEW HER ACT SCORE had come in that morning, Dec. 19. She knew it was ready to be checked and how much it mattered. But she also knew the first order of business: her AP Government final. So for the first chunk of the day, she let it be, her anxieties elsewhere.

But when Davis finally turned on her phone to access the testing website, and saw the 36 staring back at her, she couldn’t hide her shock.

“I was really excited. I was really thankful to my teachers and those who helped me,” Davis said.

Davis said she felt an overwhelming sense of relief for one primary reason.

“I was just really grateful that I wouldn’t have to take it again,” Davis said. “I know that it’s gonna help me for my future as well so that’s very exciting, but short term, I don’t want to take the test again.”

Davis said she prepared for the ACT by studying for other standardized tests.

“I did a lot of studying on the PSAT because you can only take that once, so I was really concerned about what my grade was gonna be on that and how I can get a high score on that,” Davis said. “I feel like preparing for that helped me with the ACT because it’s different but they’re all standardized tests.”

According to ACT, 0.136 percent of students in the country achieve a 36 on the ACT. However, nine active students at MHS have perfect ACT scores, a statistic Principal Dr. Greg Mathison attributes to the excellent resources available around RSD. “We know we have great kids and a fantastic staff,” Dr. Mathison said. “It’s not just our current staff at MHS. It takes K-12 to prepare a student to be able to take these high stakes exams.”

The current perfect scores also include seniors William An, Michelle Li, Michael Wu, and Eric Chien; juniors Jacob Besch and Rachel Pang; and sophomore Sriya Kosaraju.

Dr. Mathison said the sheer number of perfect scores makes this year a special one.

“Typically, in a given year, we may have one or two, maybe three students,” Dr. Mathison said. “But to have nine is just phenomenal. I smile every time I say it, not because of the reflection of our school, but because it’s a reflection of the possibilities those students are going to have.”

Sydney Ring, senior, earned a perfect score in April of her junior year. She said the achievement represents years of schooling and preparation.

“I didn’t do too much to prepare because I’m naturally good at standardized tests,” Ring said.

Though she is proud of the score, Ring said she doubts it will open doors past college.

“This score will help me for scholarships and college but I don’t see it helping me career-wise since I want to be a forensic pathologist,” Ring said.

HIGH FEVER. TISSUES. DAYS SPENT IN BED. FLU PREVENTION This has been the beginning of the day for many students with the flu including Tanner Rojewski, During the week of Jan. 14, the Missouri Desophomore, who had the flu for four days but only partment of Health and Senior Services remissed two school days. ported 49 flu associated deaths and five “I couldn’t stop coughing and I took a lot of medschool closures in Missouri. Just in that week, icine,” Rojewski said. there were 8,260 confirmed influenza cases.

He still hasn’t caught up to school but said he Amy Wehr, Rockwood Lead Nurse, recommends: isn’t too worried about it because he is not the only student missing class.

Don’t touch the T-zone Rojewski said the last time he had the flu was Remember it is the only when he was a little kid.

To sanitize their house, Rojewski said his family portal of entry into the has been using hand sanitizer, wiping everything human body for all respiradown with Clorox wipes and taking medicine to tory and G.I. infections. prevent any potential symptoms.

“I wouldn’t wish that upon anybody,” Rojewski Hand-wash Regularly said. “I didn’t eat anything for four days.”

If you must touch the Amy Wehr, Rockwood Lead Nurse, said the flu T-zone, make sure to season peaked earlier than usual this year and has sanitize your hands before infected more people in Missouri than the previous and after. four years.

“Of course, this is only representative of diagnosed cases, so people who sought medical care,” Wehr said. “Those who are able to tough it out at Vaccinate home with only over the counter medicines and Even if you catch the flu, remedies would not be included.” the symptoms will be less Wehr said the number one action individuals can severe with a vaccination. take to prevent the spread of the flu is to get annual vaccinations. Beyond that, Wehr recommends frequent and thorough hand washing, coughing The St. Louis Co. weekly flu surveillance report and sneezing into the elbow, avoiding touching the found a high rate of cases compared to the T-zone, and staying away from those who are curpast four years. Missouri is currently one of rently ill. the sickest states in the nation with the flu.

“It’s always challenging to know for sure if one is just feeling a little under the weather or if one is Infographic by Marta Mieze and Kailin Zhang truly ill,” Wehr said. “Influenza usually comes on very suddenly and includes a fever and cough. If you have these symptoms, be sure to call your healthcare Gibbs-Kramper said that this year the flu has been provider.” so widespread because of the ineffective flu vaccine, Wehr said the school district does not have a which was developed based on Australia’s flu activity. separate attendance policy for the flu, but when “It’s only 10 percent effective this year,” students have an elevated temperature of more than Gibbs-Kramper said. “10 to 30 percent depending on 100 degrees, they need to be at home to rest, drink who you ask.” a lot of fluids and seek medical treatment. Students She said that some of the main reasons that peoshould be GI stable before returning, meaning that ple don’t get diagnosed are that people either don’t they are eating and free of vomiting or diarrhea for believe in medicine, choose to remedy themselves or at least 24 hours. are uninsured.

Wehr said she also requests to be notified when When it comes to the flu, a lot of people blame 10 percent or more of students in a given building the vaccine when they get sick, Gibbs-Kramper said. are absent with influenza or any other communicaHowever, this is not true. ble illness.

“The virus that we give is a dead virus so you “At that point, it would be a discussion can’t get sick from it,” Gibbs-Kramper said. among our administration and we’d likeGibbs-Kramper said Tamiflu is the “You can spread ly consult with the St. Louis County first medicine used to treat influenza.

Department of Health,” Wehr said. the virus before you even A lot of people choose not to take the “In my experience, we’ve fortunate- come down with symptoms medicine because it comes with a lot ly not had that happen.” of side effects, such as nausea, vomand after you get better.” iting, headache, bronchitis, insomPrincipal Carl Hudson said that in order to help prevent the flu nia and vertigo, and it only mildly from spreading, the custodial staff lessens the intensity and shortens Teri Gibbs-Kramper, wiped down all tables and chairs and the duration of the flu by only a couSSM Health provided disinfectant wipes for the ple of days. classrooms and offices.

“A lot of people think that the side nurse practitioner Hudson said that the flu can spread effects are worse than the actual flu iteasily through MHS because there are more self,” Gibbs-Kramper said. than 2,500 students and staff and exposure to so To avoid spreading the flu, many people bemany people presents all types of germs and bactelieve it is safe to go back to school after 24 hours of ria. being fever free without any fever-reducing medica“We are a very friendly school,” Hudson said. tions, but Gibbs-Kramper said this is not an accurate “We shake hands, we hug. It’s easy for that to spread claim. here.”

“The more studies have been done, the more they Teri Gibbs-Kramper, SSM Health nurse pracare realizing that people are still passing the flu even titioner, said everyone is at risk of getting the flu; after that window of 24 hours,” Gibbs-Kramper said. however, people with underlying medical conditions “It’s beginning to show that you can spread the virus are more likely to develop further complications and before you even come down with symptoms and after die from it. you get better.”

NEWS

6

NEWS IN BRIEF More students to receive Chromebooks greg SVIRNOVSKIY • abhijit SRIRANGAM

Jerry Zhang, senior, has been named a top 300 Scholar in the 77th Regeneron Science Talent Search.

This year’s Spring Break service trip is to Houston.

Honor cord applications are now available from Department Chairs.

AT THE ONSET OF THE upcoming 2018-2019 school year, RSD will dole out Chromebooks to all incoming freshmen for the second consecutive year, and look into ways to supplement Chromebooks for some juniors and seniors, as part of the district’s 1:1 Chromebook policy.

Lee Mitchell, librarian, is in charge of distributing and managing the Chromebooks. Mitchell said while all freshmen and sophomores will have their own Chromebooks by August 2018, the feasibility of distributing Chromebooks, which cost $250 each, to upperclassmen remains in question.

“I know the district is looking at how many Chromebook carts we have and how many Chromebooks that is and possibly distributing those so that juniors and some seniors if not all students would have Chromebooks,” Mitchell said. “But that’s just in the works right now. All we know for sure is next year’s freshmen will get Chromebooks.”

Michael Schmitz, sophomore, has had his own Chromebook for the last two years, first getting access as part of the ALAR/P I class in 2015. Schmitz said he doesn’t believe the Chromebooks have much utility for most of their freshmen users.

“We only use it in ALAR/P,” Schmitz said. “I think there’s a very limited demographic that would be able

Vishnu Kumar, freshman, uses his Chromebook to open Google Classroom during his first hour ALAR/P class. Photograph by Abhijit Srirangam

to use it. There’s a level of convenience but not very much. We all have computers at our own homes.“ Schmitz said the two-year-old Chromebooks of reading strategies and ALAR/P students are beginning to show signs of wear and tear. Many of his friends’ Chromebooks have broken already.

“Mine’s kind of holding on right now but it’s not really in the best condition,” Schmitz said. “There’s a lot of questioning about the necessity of Chromebooks.”

Sam Hyken, freshman, doesn’t take his Chromebook to school.

“Everything I use my Chromebook for, I can do on my phone,” Hyken said.

“It’s just extra work.”

Hyken uses his MacBook at home because he feels it better suits to his needs. But he understands why other students find the school provided technology useful.

“I feel like they’re useful for some kids,” Hyken said. “Some kids are on there 24/7, taking notes. But there’s no reason for me to.”

Science NHS starts first MHS chapter grihith VARADAY

Next year the parking lot will be repaved and repainted.

Countdowns

34 days until Spring Break

113 days

until Summer Break

WHEN VISHAL SHAH GRADUATED last spring, he didn’t just leave with a high school diploma.

Shah participated in Washington University’s Young Scientists Program (YSP), which allows high school students to collaborate with professors on a research project as a paid internship at the medical center.

Science National Honor Society (SNHS), a national chapter beginning at MHS this year, looks into encouraging and recognizing students in the sciences through research.

“It was truly an eye-opening experience, but I wish I had an outlet through school like SNHS that would have allowed me to build up my interest earlier and share my research” Shah said.

Club sponsor Dr. Cathy Farrar, science teacher, said the program’s goal is to get students interested in science more engaged outside of school.

“The honor society was created in attempt to increase the number of students interested in science to pursue a STEM career,” Dr. Farrar said. “There are not enough avenues for recognition for academics, and this is one way that we can recognize the students who are going above and beyond in science.”

Students are required to participate in a certain number of clock hours of outside science education through lec-

Sophomores Rindha Kola and Shalini Yagnik hold up their SNHS induction certificates.

Photograph by Pranjli Yagnik

ture series at the Science Center, Teen Cafe, the Zoo, Botanical Gardens, etc.

Members must also conduct research on a chosen topic, whether being done currently, or through a summer program like Students and Teachers As Research Students program or YSP. Sophomore Rindha Kola, SNHS inductee, said she had been looking for an opportunity to be recognized for scientific excellence since her freshman

year. A member of Health Occupations Students of America, Kola said she has now solidified her interest in medicine, but wants to increase her understanding of the field through research.

“ASR has allowed me to network with local scientists, mentors and have in-depth discussions about STEM, but I don’t think this exposure is possible for everyone to get,” Kola said. “I think [SNHS] is definitely a way to provide many opportunities.”

This March, SNHS will host a district-wide research symposium encouraging students to present their findings.

The event will be open to aspiring researchers and the public.

“The symposium is a good way to recognize students knocking it out of the park,” Dr. Farrar said. “The best students at the showcase also have scholarships up for grabs.”

Now attending the Georgia Institute of Technology, Shah, majoring in biomedical engineering, is looking to reach out to the MHS SNHS chapter in order to help students through the research process.

“There were many things I gained from [YSP] including research methods, data analysis, how to write a scientific paper and present my findings to an audience,” Shah said. “I want to give back to my high school and help the rising classes access such opportunities.”

7

FEATURES

Under Pressure: As teenagers continue to struggle with the effects of “the study drug,” professionals grapple with its implications.

%

of STL County teens think using drugs not prescribed has little to no risk involved.

%

4 13.

28

.4%

of STL County teens said it’s easy to obtain these drugs.

%of STL County 8 .

3 9

%

teens report it’s wrong to use drugs that are not prescribed.

26

“I think he’s getting back to normal,” Arnold said.

“He felt down. He didn’t think he could accomplish as much. But he’s a lot better than he was in the beginning.”

Matt Stuart, whose name also has been changed to protect his identity, was introduced to Adderall at about the same time as Smith. Stuart, whose brother is prescribed Adderall for ADHD, said part of the reason Adderall is so easy to access is because of its reputation.

“I wouldn’t say I was like an addict, but no one says that they’re an addict,” Stuart said. “It’s being prescribed to anyone. Kids who don’t need it anymore just sell it.”

Alluding to its reputation as a study drug, Stuart said he first started using Adderall to focus.

“I can’t stay on one train of thought very long,” Stuart said. “But with Adderall I just stuck to it, and I would for hours on end.”

But it quickly started to unravel as Stuart noticed the negative side effects outweighed his newfound focus.

“I lost a lot of sleep. I lost a lot of weight,” Stuart said. “It just makes you feel like crap. You just want to keep working. I don’t want to have to depend on a drug to be able to pass a class.”

Susie Saxon, junior, was prescribed Adderall just after being diagnosed with ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Type (ADHD-PI/ADHD-I), the fall of her sophomore year.

“Leading up to high school, I’d always been a high achiever, but freshman year turned school upside-down for me,” Saxon said. “I couldn’t study, couldn’t stay organized, couldn’t keep track of things no matter how hard I tried to commit them to memory.”

Saxon wasn’t written a prescription until she underwent a series of tests confirming she had ADHD, and not other underlying causes or a disorder causing the symptoms she was experiencing. These tests included IQ testing, an evaluation based on the DSM-V, ADHD Rating Scales, and Continuous Performance Tests (CPT).

For Saxon, the impacts Adderall had on her weren’t clear from the start, much of her early experience with the drug being trial and error to see what medication types and dosages suited her best. Saxon said a lot of people with ADHD experience fairly instantaneous results, comparing it to a fog being lifted.

But she experienced a much more gradual transition into feeling the full effects of Adderall.

“It helps me to sustain my attention for longer periods of time, stay focused on one task at a time, and improves executive functioning,” Saxon said.

Saxon, unlike the aforementioned students, takes Adderall to combat and help manage her ADHD, and said for individuals abusing the drug, the effects of Adderall wouldn’t work.

“The way that ADHD medication works is that it stimulates the neurotransmitters of the brain to create dopamine, a substance that people with ADHD naturally have much lower amounts of,” Saxon said.

“For a person without ADHD, neurotransmitters already produce sufficient dopamine and taking a stimulant medication causes these neurotransmitters to become overactive, making you less able to focus, study and get work done.”

Saxon said it’s counterproductive to buy Adderall with the intent of using it to help you pull an effective all-nighter or to study for a test.

“You’d be better off drinking a few cups of coffee.

Caffeine has similar energy effects, isn’t illegal and doesn’t have the high potential of addiction that Adderall does,” Saxon said.

The rise of Adderall abuse has directly corresponded to its growing reputation as a study drug. But this association has impacted those who take the drug out of necessity, in other words, by prescription.

“Adderall’s reputation as a “study drug” is incredibly frustrating as it creates a stigma surrounding those who actually need the medication,” Saxon said.

“ADHD has gained a reputation for being a quoteon-quote mild disability and the abuse of Adderall by non-diagnosed individuals has contributed significantly to this.”

While Saxon is frustrated by individuals abusing the drug, she understands why people — especially her peers — turn to Adderall. Much of the prevalence of Adderall abuse she attributes to the multiple hours of studying on top of busy-work assignments students are weighted down with, amassing to more than five hours worth of homework some nights. “[Adderall abuse] is illustrative of the stress and demands placed upon students by today’s school system,” Saxon said.

As far as lessening Adderall abuse, Saxon said it is vital to understand the factors leading people to buy illegal substances and investigate what can be done to ease those circumstances.

Rockwood has been taking measures to help combat prescription drug abuse.

Anna Greenwood, director of the Rockwood Drug-Free Coalition (RDFC), said the RDFC has been working to educate the community on prescription drug abuse through educational campaigns and by hosting medication take backs throughout the school year. RDFC also partnered with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse to educate students on the dangers of Adderall through a social media program targeting high school and middle school students. These ads were distributed through Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Pandora and Facebook.

“The goal of the campaign was to increase the perception of harm of misusing ‘study drugs,’ promote alternatives to misusing ‘study drugs’ and increase the intent to avoid misusing ‘study drugs’,” Greenwood said.

SADD sponsor Vicki Kemp, gifted resource teacher, said Adderall’s reputation only goes as far as its perceived necessity. She said to reduce its use, there needs to be a refocusing on the way school works.

“It’s going to need a systemic change,” Kemp said. “As test scores and grades have become more important, the pressure is starting in kindergarten.

We’re putting all our eggs in the basket of test scores and GPAs and we’re totally missing the boat on these more important things.”

Kemp cautioned the easy way out, a simple confiscation and suspension won’t adequately solve the issue, especially when dealing with a section of the student body that is often so competitive and successful.

“It’s going to need to come from much deeper than confiscating the kids’ Adderall in the high schools,” Kemp said.

5.5

continued from front...

of seniors nationally reported past year misuse of Adderall in 2017.

of all US teens believe ADHD drugs can improve grades and test performance.

Stats from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Missouri Department of Mental Health, the Partnership at Drugfree.org/MetLife Foundation study Infographic by Mahika Mushuni and Delaney Neely

8

IN-DEPTH

sarah HARRIS • jessica LI

tional institutions is that youth are highly scheduled and greatly challenged, with almost no free time,” Dr. IT’S 3:48 IN THE MORNING AND GRACE CLUTTS, Leonard said. “These are young people, but in many sophomore, just finished her third cup of coffee. As cases they work longer hours and have she looks at the time, she realizes she only more stresses and strains than adults.” has a few more hours to finish her AP She also said the attitude European History outline, study for her toward college needs to change “It’s important that Honors Chemistry test and practice in order to improve students’ for her French II speaking assignmental health. students, ment.

“It’s important that families and schools try not Putting her head down on parents and kids have her desk to rest her eyes, she conversations about what to think about high school as can’t imagine doing this again they want,” Dr. Leonard a means to the end - the ‘end’ and again and again for the next said. “It’s important that three years. students, families and being admission into a top Clutts, like many other high schools try not to think college.” schools students, is involved in about high school as a higher level classes and particimeans to the end - the ‘end’ pates in many after school activigetting admission to a top ties. Outside of her school day, Clutts college.”

DR. NOELLE LEONARD participates in competitive ballroom Emily Diaz, college counselNYU PSYCHOLOGIST dance and marching band. or, said students have grown up “My stress levels are too high, especially with a mindset where they must take when it’s late and I know I should be asleep but every AP course offered, earn a perfect I’m doing homework,” Clutts said.

GPA, receive perfect test scores, and participate in many different clubs.

However, Diaz said it’s beneficial to students to take classes and enroll in clubs that interest them.

The trend many colleges follow is seeking students who not only take challenging curriculum, but who also pursue their passion.

Clutts is one of many students who experiences She said it’s important for students to take classes high stress levels under academic pressure, which has that interest them because when they are over schedraised concerns regarding students’ mental health uled with classes and clubs that they don’t enjoy, and emotional intelligence. they began to become too stressed.

Brenda Casey, MHS social worker, identified the Devin Haas, senior, recently finished his college pressure coming from three main areas: students’ par- application process and plans to attend Chicago Unients, students themselves and the staff. versity this upcoming fall.

Parents often want kids in the highest level Haas said the college application process has classes without understanding that they’re meant for reached a toxic level of competitiveness. Students students who excel in the subject, Casey said. The associate their intelligence with college acceptances, high-level classes are meant to target specific career however many colleges reject or defer students with goals for students rather than only the goal of taking near perfect applications every year. weighted grade classes.

Haas found himself constantly worrying about Students also are partially responsible for mental the college application process. health issues by comparing themselves to their peers “I ultimately went with my gut and applied to the and pushing their limits. school I thought would be the best for me, and I am “Students intrinsically can get real competitive elated that that worked out,” Haas said. and start to feel embarrassed if all their friends are in Junior year, Haas was overwhelmed by five AP high-level classes and they aren’t,” Casey said. courses, symphonic orchestra and multiple activities Additionally, if a student excels in a specific subin which he was heavily active in. ject, they are oftentimes recommended to take a more “There was some silver lining, though; being overchallenging course. However, the challenges start to loaded with all these things forced me to improve my build up and become one big problem for students. time management skills,” Haas said.

Casey said that although a little stress can be beneficial to students, too much leads to anxiety.

The majority of students who have anxiety are smart and high achieving, Casey said. The culture of not just a high achieving school, but also a high achieving community that teaches students to go to college and get a job that requires further education.

As a response to increased stress, emotional avail“If you care about your grades, your standing and ability of students is being more widely discussed where you’re going to go to university, Marquette is a within school districts. Emotional intelligence, by very competitive school,” she said. definition, allows for those educators to be able to Dr. Noelle Leonard, NYU psychologist, recentacknowledge, understand and act accordingly to stuly conducted a study regarding stress levels in high dents’ emotions. school students attending prestigious schools on the In Rockwood, this concept manifests itself in the East Coast. district-wide approach of social emotional learning.

Despite the fact that academic, social, athletic and Dr. Terry Harris, executive director of Student personal challenges can be identified as good stress, Services, conducts seminars, based on the newfound the pressure to achieve success at the highest level Thrive program, which allows for RSD employees to can induce an unhealthy level of stress on teenagers. learn the necessity of social emotional learning in the “The upshot of this evolution in selective educaclassroom as well as techniques to help establish the

IN-DEPTH

teacher-student relationship.

“The program deals with social emotional learning, restorative practices, trauma-informed care and self-care for educators,” Dr. Harris said. “That last one is a huge component. Teaching is not just teaching a kid how to do pre-calc and another kid how to do stats. It’s also helping a kid when they’re crying, upset and super stressed out.”

A lot of teachers, Dr. Harris said, felt that last area was missing. In order to remedy that, Dr. Harris created Thrive this past year to ensure that teachers could adequately perform all parts of their job.

“What do we do in education?” Dr. Harris said.

“We create a space for learning to take place. That’s why these seminars were created.”

Dr. Harris said that role-playing activities are also a part of the program to help teachers practice situations that might arise in the classroom.

“Emotional intelligence and social emotional learning aren’t some new programs we’re implementing,” Dr. Harris said. “They’re concepts that should’ve been used in the first place, but now we’re helping teachers refine and tweak their techniques to make sure that students get the help they need on all fronts—not just academically.”

Teachers all around the district participate in these seminars, learning new ways to approach students emotionally rather than academically.

Vicki Kemp, gifted resource teacher, attended one of the seminars. Although a lot of the information was a repeat of what Kemp already knew, she said she was able to learn a few new things.

“The overarching message is that we need to take care of ourselves and the times we’re most stressed and feel like we don’t have time to sit down and meditate for a minute or take a deep breath are the times that’s probably most important to do it,” Kemp said.

Kemp said it would be beneficial for more teachers to attend these meetings because they promote mindfulness and stress relief techniques. She found many different apps, one of which provided alerts to remind people to breathe.

“How sad is it that we need to remind ourselves to breathe,” Kemp said.

The gifted resource teachers provide a weekly lunch gathering, called Serenity, which is open to all students from the gifted program. Students can come during their lunch hour and talk issues out with the counselors or simply discuss stress and helpful solutions with fellow classmates.

Adrienne Dulle, junior, said Serenity is a true help in the midst of periods of academic stress.

“Kids from all grades just sit together at lunch and we give each other tips on how to relieve stress,” Dulle said. “It’s just very relaxing.”

Dulle also said the gifted resource teachers often keep the topic of conversation away from school-related areas and instead ask about kids’ days and their personal lives.

“Really, they just care. Not only about us, but our well-being,” Dulle said.

Associate Principal Dr. Steve Hankins said that students who over schedule themselves with multiple AP and honors classes as well as extracurricular activities increase their stress levels.

“There’s only so many hours in a day and it’s not that they can’t do all those classes it’s just sometimes there’s not enough time,” Dr. Hankins said.

Dr. Hankins feels social media is also partially to blame for the increase in stress levels for students.

Though it’s a tool for connecting with people, it helps contribute to mental health problems.

“You feel very isolated because you can also see

what other people are doing that you’re not involved in or what you should be doing,” Dr. Hankins said.

Sirkwoo Jin, professor at Merrimack College, said emotional intelligence is an absolute necessity in an environment such as high school.

Jin notes that education is greatly enhanced with emotional intelligence being utilized by all people in the school environment, students and teachers alike, and allows for students to use the skills they learn about it in order to be more successful in the work environment after schooling.

“Education is about relationships,” Jin said. “We need to look for ways to strengthen those relationships. Social emotional learning, or emotional intelligence, helps us accomplish that.”

Principal Dr. Greg Mathison said social emotional learning aims to create a better emotional environment in schools, the same way that emotional intelligence does. And in essence, they really are the same.

“Social emotional learning, in actuality, helps create empathy and helps students be able to see other perspectives,” Dr. Mathison said. “The old method of dealing with violence was suspension and hoping the kids learned their lesson. But now we try to talk it out, make sure that everyone’s side is being shown, and asking the right questions can help students understand their behaviors and how they affect others with those behaviors.”

Dr. Mathison said this form of emotional intelligence is brought up often in meetings to help teachers better learn how to deal with students and help with problematic behaviors. Ultimately, he said, this leads to a much better student-teacher relationship, as well as a much better student-student environment.

Without early treatment for mental health issues, students are left with long-standing problems that continue to be unresolved. Corinne Hart, associate professor at Ryerson University, explained how she sees students struggle with academic pressure.

“I see a lot of students either withdraw, quit, or get crappy marks because they’re so stressed they didn’t take care of themselves,” Hart said.

She said it’s important the school takes action to help relieve academic pressure and stress in students.

Not only does a free period in schedules and counseling help, but the message a school spreads among the students can affect their mindset toward the future.

“The explicit message schools give to students is that if you fail you’re a horrible person,” Hart said. ”How we talk about the learning process will help students relieve academic pressure.”

Michelle Li, senior, is no stranger to academic pressure. Li received the Outstanding Youth Prevention Award for her work with Students Against Destructive Decisions, a perfect score on the ACT, and is an avid student with multiple AP and honors classes.

Li regrets taking harder classes during her sophomore year, as she felt unprepared going into such challenging courses with little experience. However, reflecting back on her experience has made her aware of how important it is to stay healthy mentally.

“It’s more important to stay healthy mental health wise than pushing yourself to take things you can’t handle and in the long run it doesn’t matter as much as you think it would,” Li said.

9

10

CELLO THERE!

FEATURES

Senior performs at weddings mahika MUSHUNI

Students experience unfamiliar winter weather

PACHELBEL’S CANON IN D, RONDEAU and Water Music are only a few of the classical songs Blake Smith, senior, has played on his cello as brides and grooms have walked down an aisle to face each other at the altar.

Smith first became acquainted with a cello in fifth grade, and over the past six years, Smith has played at an upwards of 30 weddings, his first in seventh grade.

“It was my cousin who was actually getting married, so I was in the position where they knew I was good,” Smith said.

The song selection Smith generally plays changes wedding to wedding.

“It entirely depends. Canon is very popular, it’s a typical wedding song. And everything else just depends on the mood of the wedding they go for,” Smith said. “Some have requested Phantom of the Opera.

Others have requested religious songs. It just depends.”

But Smith doesn’t credit his ability to play at weddings to talent or skill.

“You don’t have to typically be very good to play at weddings, the wedding music is typically a lot easier,” Smith said.

Smith partnered with Seth Frangrotes to advertise his cello playing services shortly after meeting him four years ago.

“We were just throwing around ideas and somehow his business came up in the conversation and I just offered some help and he accepted,” Frangrotes said.

At first, the advertisement was distributed by email to family and friends. The emails covered their services and the cost to hire them, about $200 per wedding. Frangrotes said their advertising is only word of mouth now.

As recently as the summer of 2016, Smith also began performing at weddings with his long-time friend, Katie Finnegan, EHS junior.

“Our mutual friend wanted to have a violin playing with him as well [at her wedding] and that’s when I was first brought into the mix,” Finnegan said.

For Finnegan, the best part of playing at weddings is the mood the music creates.

“I like being able to see the happiness it brings,” Finnegan said. “[I like] being able to help that positive energy throughout the experience and push it forward.”

Clay Huang, sophomore, said he carries a yellow umbrella around with him in case it rains or snows. Photo by Jen Bosche

will ROACH • kavya JAIN IMAGINE THE SECOND HOTTEST day of the summer in St. Louis. Now add rain, humidity and mosquitoes.

This is how Clay Huang, sophomore, describes the weather in Taiwan.

Huang, who moved to Taiwan at age six, returned to St. Louis for his education before beginning his sophomore year. This winter was the first time Huang has seen snow in nine years.

“I thought [the snow] was really pretty,” Huang said. “And to be honest, I still think winter is prettier here.”

However, Huang said his infatuation with snow was short lived due to its reality of inconvenience.

“Now my mom tells [my sister and I] to go outside and clean the car, which is covered in snow that turns into ice and is really hard to get rid of,” Huang said.

For Jaya Chitrakavi, sophomore, it is her first experience with winter in the United States.

Chitrakavi moved to St. Louis from Hyderabad, India, last May where the average temperature in January is

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around 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chitrakavi said she’s usually an outdoor person, but the past few months of cold have made her feel very restricted to her home.

The cold isn’t as unfamiliar for senior Lou Baudy, an exchange student from France.

Baudy said the winter in France varies depending on the region. In southern France, winter is milder and although it snows occasionally, it usually melts in the morning. However Baudy said she skis every winter in other parts of France where snow accumulates more.

“France is very small compared to the U.S. but you still have very different weathers depending on where you go,” Baudy said.

Besides weather in the winter months, Baudy said holidays in America are more intense than in France.

“Christmas here is a big deal,” Baudy said. “It’s a big deal in France too, but you don’t have Christmas songs playing 24/7. We’re more laid back, but here it’s super serious. Everything is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas.”

FEATURES

11

| NIKHIL BODDHU, SOPHOMORE |

YouTube raises First Amendment concerns jessica LI WITH MORE THAN 15 MILLION FOLLOWERS, LOGAN Paul is one of the most popular social media influencers.

The view counts on his videos, his brand deals and his acting jobs further demonstrate his fame. However, Paul lost followers after posting a video a month ago where he stumbled upon a dead body while visiting Aokigahara, also known as the “suicide forest,” in Japan.

Since then, YouTube has been receiving criticism from users for their lack of content moderation in response to the graphic content in Paul’s video, which has raised concerns over the influence of social media and prompted Paul to make an apology video in response to the backlash.

Madison Lakamp, junior, never enjoyed Paul’s content and finds herself even more disgusted by his behavior.

“No one goes into a forest and, first of all, is completely dismissive of the culture and goes in with a camera making light of the suicides, mental illnesses and deep trauma associated with that area,” Lakamp said.

She finds Paul’s willingness to use a dead human body for clickbait and his keeping the video up for such a long time as reprehensible. Though Paul did make an apology video in response to the backlash, Lakamp still found it underwhelming. She said in the video he talked about himself multiple times without ever saying sorry for his actions.

Lakamp isn’t the only one frustrated with Paul’s apology video, as thousands of people have criticized him for his inability to acknowledge the actual problem. For her though, that isn’t a big enough number of people who should be more concerned with the usage of dead bodies as a source of humor “I think it says something very bad about society and what we view as worthwhile,” Lakamp said.

She said it’s important that YouTube changes their restriction policy, because before the controversy, gay content, including coming out videos, were placed under restricted content for a few months.

“They can have human bodies on film and not have any response until public outcry becomes so outrageous that they had to do it or else their company was going to be hurt,” Lakamp said.

Alex Obermeyer, sophomore, said people are making a bigger deal out of the controversy than what is necessary.

“A lot of people are talking about it, but not a lot of them have actually seen the video,” Obermeyer said.

However, he said popular social media outlets, such as YouTube, are encouraging dangerous trends and attitudes in society, such as the recent Tide Pod challenge.

Dr. Amy Franzini, associate professor of digital media studies at Widener University, said social media has the potential to connect and bring people together, but isolate and pull people apart as well.

“Social media does offer more opportunities for these positive or negative experiences,” Dr. Franzini said.

Because social media has benefits and consequences, there always will be differing opinions on what is best with the increasing use of social media platforms. She said placing restrictions on YouTube won’t satisfy those who are for and against restrictions.

“No matter the amount or types of restrictions, there will always be critics who call for more and critics who will say it is censorship,” Dr. Franzini said.

Dr. Franzini also said parents should be partners when it comes to their children’s media use.

“You can’t be authoritarian, you need to promote dialogue,” she said.

Teens don’t want to be preached to, so it’s important parents discuss their media use in a

“No matter the amount or types of restrictions, there will always be critics who call for more and critics who say it is censorship.”

non-threatening way, she said.

DR. AMY FRANZINI Dr. Bu WIDENER Zhong, associate UNIVERSITY professor of Pennsylvania State University, said there isn’t anyone to blame for the access that teens have to different content on YouTube.

“Sometimes it’s out of parents’ hands, especially in schools,” Dr. Zhong said.

Incidents similar to the Logan Paul controversy are partially to not developing the capability of information processing he said. Humans need to be able to tell what’s appropriate and true and what isn’t.

Dr. Zhong also said people who consume graphic content end up having a more negative opinion about the world. For example, many teens who play violent video games believe they are able to express the violence deep in their mind through game itself.

He also mentions how social media platforms have an immense amount of power, which can be easily abused to manipulate users. Society has seen this often recently due to fake news being provided to the public.

Though many have been arguing for stricter restrictions on YouTube content, Dr. Zhong said it goes against the free marketplace idea proposed almost 400 years ago.

“The whole idea of restricting social media content is against the First Amendment, which is what our country believes in, specifically the right of free speech,” Dr. Zhong said.

MEET NIKHIL grihith VARADAY

CURRENT PROJECTS “I love to pursue STEM opportunities. Currently, I’m working on a project at Washington University in two different labs, the Marcus Lab, where I am conducting research and analysis of brain scans on a database using neuroimaging, as well as research in the Van Essen lab, where I’m working on a NIH-funded Human Connectome Project. Certain parts of the human brain form and function in different ways. Me and my colleagues will be identifying where these specific areas are and how malformations can occur.”

FUTURE CAREER PLANS “I definitely want to pursue my college studies at a top-tier institute for medicine, as well as business at a top-tier school. I think it would be really cool to explore the administrative and entrepreneurial side of medicine.”

SPORTS “I’ve been doing taekwondo since I was eight years old. Currently I’m a third degree black belt and will become an official master by next year. Taekwondo has been a great outlet for me to teach kids and become a true mentor. I would like to do taekwondo at a more competitive level, so I’ll be travelling to Illinois, Kansas and Wisconsin this spring for the national qualifying tournaments.”

LANGUAGE “I am fluent in three languages, which I’ve grown up speaking with my parents at home: English, Kannada and Telugu. I am getting more comfortable with Spanish, and I’ll be taking AP next year as a junior.”

ARTS & LEISURE

12

Performers excel at state conference From Jan. 11-13, students from all over the state gathered at the Missouri Thespian Conference at the Renaissance Grand in Clayton. The conference provided students with the opportunity to both improve and showcase their theatrical skills. kenzie WINSTEAD

Rebecca Jaegers, solo musical performance REBECCA JAEGERS, senior, ranked a 4, the highest possible score, with her performance of “Maybe This Time” from the musical Cabaret.

“It’s fun to be a character for just one song and just put yourself into the performance,” Jaegers said.

Jaegers religiously listened to the song and practiced at home. The night before the performance she met with her advisors and worked on the visual aspects of her act.

“I was fortunate enough to have friends watch me perform,” she said.

Shae Schiff-Clark and Riley Walsh, duet musical performance SENIORS RILEY WALSH AND SHAE Schiff-Clark performed in the duet category of the conference.

“Each troop can only bring one act for each category,” Walsh said.

Walsh was elected vice president of the MHS troop. This is both Walsh and SchiffClark’s second year attending the conference.

While the conference occasionally switches locations, the duo has only attend conferences in Saint Louis.

“We never got to go to Kansas City because it changes every two years,” Schiff-Clark said.

The duo received three level 3 rankings and one judge awarded them a 4.

Amy Mayer, solo acting performance AMY MAYER, JUNIOR, REPREsented the theater program in the solo acting performance category.

Mayer was required to present two monologues during the duration of her performance.

“They had to be contrasting monologues,” Mayer said. “One spoke directly to another person while to the other was to myself and the audience.”

She chose one of her monologues from “Proof” by the play write David Aubrun, while the other was derived from “An Ideal Husband” which originated in 1895.

Mayer enjoyed her experience at the Missouri Thespian Conference and plans on returning next year as the solo act.

“There are a lot of amazing singers around here and I can sing but I feel that my strength is acting,” Mayer said.

The performer received a 4 rating but was disqualified for exceeding her allotted time.

ARTS & LEISURE

13

Meet me in Saint Louis

austin’s music talk Album: Culture II Artist: Migos

2 3

1

4

Still trying to choose your Valentine’s Day date spot?

Here are four romantic options in the STL area.

Infographic by Kenzie Winstead

1

Strange Donuts With locations in both Maplewood and Kirkwood, this donut shop is sure to have a special Valentine’s treat.

2

City Coffee House and Creperie Located in Clayton, this restaurant’s atrium offers a mega romantic atmosphere.

3

Forest Park This park contains the World’s Fair Pavilion, a nice place for a picnic. Make sure to bring blankets to stay warm.

4

City

Museum

Find your inner kid with your date at the City Museum for $14 a person.

And the Oscar goes to...

Students vote on recently released Oscar nominations:

13 nominations 8 nominations 7 nominations MHS predicted Richard Jenkins for Best Supporting Actor and Octavia Spencer for Best Supporting Actress for their parts in “The Shape of Water.”

Students think “Dunkirk” will win Best Picture and Christopher Nolan will win Best Director.

Woody Harrelson was predicted for the runner-up as Best Supporting Actor for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Infographic by Delaney Neely

austin WOODS SAY WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT SOUTHERN hip-hop, but one thing is undeniable: it rules the game right now, and it shows no signs of falling off.

At the moment, nobody represents this climate better than Migos. Since their breakout “Versace” single in 2013, they’ve quickly become the zeitgeist of modern rap. Everyone is biting their triplet-laced flows and spastic ad-libs, and their bouncy, trunk-rattling southern sound is littered all over radio.

Last year’s “Culture” was, in my opinion, one of the best releases of 2017. Every song was solid, with an instantly memorable hook, sneakily well-crafted lyricism and infectious flows.

So as soon as “Culture II” was released last week, I eagerly jumped to Apple Music to burn through it.

But as I scrolled through the track list, I quickly realized one of the album’s fatal flaws: it’s way too long.

Nearly two hours long, in fact.

Albums like this are best experienced at a runtime that is short, sweet and punchy. This album instead feels grating. All the songs quickly begin to sound the same and you soon feel less like dabbing and more like falling asleep.

Too many of the hooks on this project are hardly even hooks in the first place. Take, for instance, the hook on “Walk It Talk It,” which is just the phrase “Walk it like I talk it” repeated ad nauseum. The meticulous construction of hooks like the one on “Bad and Boujee” is gone. Repeating lame phrases does not constitute a hook. And for an album that is supposed to be composed solely of bangers, hooks are essential.

The verses are just as bad. Granted, nobody expects particularly compelling lyricism from Migos, but there’s usually some character to the language they fling around. Whether it’s with their vivid Atlanta slang or left-field turns of phrase and wordplay, their lyrics are usually fun, and have a way of permanently worming their way into your brain.

However, on “Culture II” this is replaced with hollow, blase pieces of trap swill. “I put my wrist inside the freezer, came out froze,” Takeoff lamely raps on “Superstars.” Gone are the wonderfully weird references to Takis and Andy Milonakis.

Even the features leave a lot to be desired. 21 Savage sounds as brain dead as ever on “BBO,” and Drake is his usual bland self on “Walk It Talk It.” The best features come from Cardi B and Nicki Minaj on “Motorsport.” I normally find Cardi B to be pretty boring, but her attitude on this track is infectious and her hyper-sexual bars are hard to resist.

The vocal inflection Nicki employs is animated and fun.

Along with “Motorsport,” the only truly good track on this album is “Stir Fry.” The production handled by Pharrell Williams is funky, minimal, and strangely addicting to listen to. Leave it to a genius like Pharrell to momentarily save this project.

Altogether, this record is tedious, dull, and easily Migos’ worst project to date. Everything that made them so enjoyable on past projects is gone. This feels more like a giant, lazy middle finger to their fan base than a sequel to one of the best albums of 2017. My disappointment is immeasurable.

14

SPORTS

superbowL LII

Sun. Feb. 4 5:30 p.m.

MHS Predictions:

Jacob Chang, senior, free climbs at practice on Jan. 21.

“I like it because you can see your improvement,” Chang said. “You can see it from your grip strength to your overall strength to get higher and climb harder routes.”

Photograph by Ethan Hill

38.8% for the Eagles

61.2%

Club climbs in popularity Rock climbing club finds success in competitions ethan HILL “EVERY MONTH WE HAVE A COMPETITION,” Jason Schibler, junior, said. “We compete to see who has the overall better climbers.”

On Jan. 19, the rock climbing club won their competition and Schibler recently won in the advanced category for the men. MHS has competed in three competitions and has scored in the top three each time, winning two of them, Schibler said.

“It’s really open to anybody because there are three different divisions,” Schibler said. “Anybody can come climb, and still win and contribute to the team.”

Schibler is considered to be one of the better climbers by his teammates and was one of the founding members of the team.

Jacob Chang, senior, was another founding member whose interest in climbing made him want to help found a rock climbing team. Chang, like Schibler, had been climbing for a while before founding the club.

“I had rock climbed before at Lifetime,” Chang said. “Me and Jason discussed the club and thought about making it. We started going three weeks before we actually started the club.”

Competitions are separated into three categories: beginner, intermediate and advanced, divided between male and female for each. At the competitions, there are several routes ranked on difficulty, and the top five most difficult routes completed are scored for each competitor, said Schibler. Top competitors of MHS are Gateway Science Academy, Chaminade, Ladue, and Parkway Central. The next competition will be on an undetermined date in March.

Ryan Bixby, science teacher, is the sponsor of the club. He too is very interested in rock climbing and happy to support the club.

“I’ve always been interested in rock climbing,” Bixby said. “It’s awesome, it’s great exercise and it’s a lot of fun.”

Schibler said anyone interested in joining the team can show up to practice at Upper Limits in the Valley and try it out for free their first time, or talk to Bixby. Practices are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays right after school, with Sunday practices starting about 1 p.m.

for the Patriots Based on a poll of 366 students as of Jan. 30

Infographic by Delaney Neely

SUPERBOWL LII PREVIEW ethan HILL

ON FEB. 4, ALL EYES WILL BE ON MINNEAPOLIS to witness the biggest sports event of the year: Super Bowl LII. More than 100 million people are projected to watch Super Bowl LII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. The spotlight is all on them.

Two teams. One game. So which team will come out victorious?

First off, there’s the Eagles.

The underdogs. The team that hasn’t been to a Super Bowl since 2004 and hasn’t won one in its long history. Quarterback Carson Wentz lead the team to an impressive 11-2 record before going down with a torn ACL late in his Week 13 victory over the Rams.

Wentz was looking to be MVP. He had otherworldly stats and ran an unstoppable offense. The Eagles were nearly unbeatable as long as Wentz was at the helm. That is until Nick Foles, the backup, came in.

Foles went 2-1 in his final regular season games with decent numbers, save for his embarrassing 6-0 loss at home. Foles did have an elite season in 2013 as a backup quarterback when he threw 27 touchdowns, only 2 interceptions, and led the league with a 119.2 passer rating, according to the Ringer. He then went to the St. Louis Rams and was forgotten about until now. His stats as a Ram were very average, if not

below average.

There are two Foles: dominant Foles and underwhelming backup Foles. He’s 2-0 this postseason and helped put up 31 of 38 points scored by the Eagles in the NFC Championship game win over the Vikings, so we could very well see dominant Foles.

Elite Foles has to come to play if the Eagles even want a shot. Philly’s defense demonstrated its aptitude by shutting down the powerhouse Vikings offense to only seven points. The game lies within the offense. It all lies within Foles.

And then there’s the big boys: The Patriots. The Pats are returning to the Super Bowl for the eighth time since 2001. Quarterback Tom Brady has won five of the seven he’s already been to, which makes him the widely-considered greatest quarterback of all time. His experience in the playoffs is exceptional, as he has played in over 30 playoffs games.

Brady knows the atmosphere and how to win high pressure games when it counts. He almost never loses. Almost.

He has lost to the Giants twice. He almost lost to the Falcons last year.

The Eagles have a chance if they fire on all cylinders, but giving any hope to Brady takes away almost all hope for Philadelphia.

The Pats Defense is weaker than past seasons, especially against the passing game. If the Eagles capitalize on this, they might be able to win. Above all, however, it’s capping Brady to as little time on offense as possible. It’s making sure the Greatest of All Time doesn’t get a chance.

It’s an inexperienced team full of first-time Super bowlers versus the experienced team of Super Bowl veterans. The Eagles are the underdogs; they have been all postseason.

Super Bowl LII will be the ultimate test.

regular season Records: Eagles 13-3 Patriots 13-3

SPORTS

15

Montgomery Madness: Small forward piles on the points abhijit SRIRANGAM SMALL FORWARD JASON MONTGomery, junior, dominates the basketball court with his offensive game as he currently has a total of 383 points this season over 19 games.

In the Mustangs’ most recent game against Kirkwood on Jan. 30, Montgomery scored 29 points, and the team won 58-57.

In the team’s first game this season, Montgomery scored 37 points against Troy Buchanan High School, only five points away from the current school record of 42 points in a game. ¨My dad played basketball and being around it all the time, made me want to play,” Montgomery said. “I obviously wanted to be like my dad.¨ Montgomery started off on the JV team his freshman year and came back to play on the varsity team the next year.

“I worked a lot that summer,” Montgomery said. “I didn’t start the first game and then I started the majority of the games after that.”

Eric Schweain, varsity basketball coach, has been Montgomery’s coach since his freshman year.

Schweain is enthusiastic about Montgomery’s current ability as a maJason Montgomery, junior, prepares to take his free throw against Kirkwood Jan. 30. Photograph by Abhijit Srirangam

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ture player.

“He continues to evolve. He continues to develop. He’s a kid that loves the game. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who works harder at their game than Jason does,” Schweain said.

“The race is still on to see how far he can still advance himself.”

Montgomery has faced many problems head on with the help of his coaches, both mentally and physically.

“Not playing well and losing games makes things hard, but pushing through it is really important is what I’ve learned,” Montgomery said. “Staying down, moping about it won’t help anything. That’s a really big lesson I’ve learned.”

Guard Blake Washam, senior, has seen Montgomery improve over the years.

“If we can’t get anything offensive, he’s basically the go-to,” Washam said.

“He fits in with our offense because we move the ball, he knocks down open shots, he can get into the lane whenever he wants, and then he kicks out to me for threes, which really helps.”

Washam especially saw these abilities heighten over the summer.

“I think he’s gotten a lot better at defense and rebounding,” Washam said. “He’s definitely turned into more

of a scoring threat because even when he’s off his shot, he can still get to the lane and finish at the basket.”

Montgomery said he wants to keep improving his skills so he can always play at his highest level.

“My work ethic has changed a lot over the years,” Montgomery said. “I just work harder, I love the game even more.”

21.3

Average points per game

Free throw 68.2% Percentage

82

Rebounds this season 2-point Percentage 60.4% Infographic by Delaney Neely

SPORTS

16

Following their footsteps:

Siblingssharesports

greg SVIRNOVSKIY WHEN HALEY DOWNS, SENIOR, STEPPED OUT onto the field for her first field hockey practice of the season, something felt different. Haley’s sister, Maddie, a freshman, was on the field with her, her first ever MHS practice.

“It’s really cool because we’re kind of inseparable,” Haley said. “We have a really close bond in general so it’s super cool to see her there.”

Haley said working with the natural chemistry she and her sister share has made playing field hockey easier.

“Playing on the field together, we have good chemistry,” Haley said. “It’s easier to communicate on the field and pass and receive and do all the different things we do.”

Maddie had a much different account of that first practice.

“I kind of just followed her around,” Maddie said.

“She kind of told me what to do more than the coach did.”

Maddie said Haley’s presence on the team as a leader has helped her grow as an athlete and teammate.

“It makes it more comfortable for me to play and be part of the team,” Maddie said. “I always have someone to talk to and she’s not afraid to give me good advice sometimes.”

Every year at MHS, freshmen enter their desired sports and activities. For some with older siblings, the process towards success and friendship is expedited.

Jake Rapp, senior, said his mood and that of the hockey team has been shaped by having his brother, Justin, on the team.

“If we get on the same line together, a lot of times we have better chemistry because we’ve grown up together,” Jake said. “So it’s easier for me to find him on the ice and know where he’s gonna be than anyone else on the team.”

The two have been playing hockey together since Jake can remember. At Marquette, that’s helped their on ice product.

2017

2008

Left: Maddie, sophomore, and Haley Downs, senior, go to Mystique summer camp together in 2008. Right: Maddie and Haley after a Gateway field hockey game in 2017. Photographs used with permission from Haley Downs

“We spent a lot of time together growing up,” Jake said. “And at practices, we’re always screwing around.”

Jake said his presence on the team can only serve to motivate his younger brother.

“I’m a senior and a captain so I have to push all my teammates,” Jake said. “I push him a lot more, especially at home so he can get more time on the ice.

When he sees me playing and scoring goals, he wants to live up to me and try and do better than I can.”

Justin echoed his brother’s sentiments. He said

playing on the Marquette team has given him a rare opportunity to take the ice with his brother competitively.

“It’s really cool because he’s so much older than me,” Justin said. “We don’t usually get to play together. It motivates me a lot because I want to be able to keep up with him and play with him.”

Justin said Jake has acquainted him with his teammates and supported his play.

“He helps me to know everyone and know how high school hockey works,” Justin said.

SECTION LEADERS: Pep band rallies varsity basketball team sarah HARRIS AS THE TIME TICKS DOWN IN THE fourth quarter, tension builds. Five: the Mustangs dribble the ball down the court. Four: they drive to the basket.

Three: they pass to the open person on the three point line. Two: he shoots.

One: he scores!

As the crowd cheers, the faint sounds of “Firework” by Katy Perry, plays in the stands.

Pep band is made up of 30-35 students who play pep tunes at home varsity basketball games starting in February.

Madison Fischer, sophomore, plays the trumpet in pep band. Her favorite song to play is “Hey Baby” by Bruce Channel.

Although she personally prefers the atmosphere of football games over basketball games, she still enjoys pep band. It provides a different setting for the band to play their instruments in.

“My favorite thing about pep band

Pep band students practice the song “The Hey Song” by Gary Glitter and Mike Leander on Jan 21. Their first performance is during the boys home basketball game against Seckman on Feb. 9. Photograph by Sarah Harris

is you can play as loud as you want and no one cares,” Fischer said.

Kenneth Winschel, pep band director, said it plays an important role in the basketball game as it promotes spirit.

“It’s a band that plays a lot of pop

tunes,” Winschel said. “It’s supposed to be spunky and get the students playing excited and it gets the crowd excited.”

Although it’s a different setting than the football games, Winschel said pep band still provides an important purpose to the games.

“It gets kids more excited,” Winschel said. “It’s always more exciting when music is around.”

Nathan Toepke, junior, plays the trumpet. Toepke’s favorite song to play is “Birdland” by Joe Zawinul because it has a nice trumpet part.

Toepke enjoys the extra practice pep band provides and the different playing atmosphere.

“We get to play our instruments and pep tunes that we normally wouldn’t be able to play at football games,” Toepke said.

Toepke said he is grateful that he signed up for pep band because he enjoys the experience and looks forward to season.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Toepke said. “It lets us show off how good we are in a different perspective other than concert setting. It really helps us express ourselves.”

Their first performance is Friday, Feb. 9.