the
MESSENGER
n. VII
VOLUME XXVI, ISSUE VII | MO 63017 | MARQUETTEMESSENGER.COM | APRIL 2019
INSIDE
ROLL CALL Editor in Chief Online Editor in Chief Associate Editor Production Editor Copy Editor News Editor Features Editor Arts&Entertainment Editor Sports Editor Opinions Editor Assistant Online Editor Page Designer Social Media Editor Photo Editor Business Manager Illustrator Assistant Sports Editor Staff Reporters
Kavya Jain Jen Bosche Kailin Zhang Jackson Estwanick Marta Mieze Sarah Harris Mansi Mamidi Jessica Li Jeff Swift Will Roach Rene Moore Sabrina Lacy Waha Siddiqui Tanner Rojewski Abigail Nebot Jilian Bunderson Connor Del Carmen Sam Hall Michael Schmitz Kayla Schweitzer Alyssa Shellabarger Austin Richard Addie Watson Shrija Maganti Caroline Cudney Staff Adviser Emily Jorgensen
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junior secretary Varsity baseball starts their season off strong with solid performance at Willard tournament.
Visit our website to view more stories and MHSNews: marquettemessenger.com
MHSNews Episode Six features hidden talents of students around MHS.
Michael Stewart, current defensive coordinator, was named the head coach of football.
lacrosse
4
ONLINE
The AP Art Show featured student work of several different mediums.
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Janet Jacob, junior secretary, announces retirement after 15 years at MHS.
Chris Ellledge, varsity lacrosse coach, fills coaching needs for the freshman team.
Foreign exchange students share about life and culture in France.
On March 25, RSD held a welcome reception for next year’s superintendent Dr. Mark Miles.
new superintendent 12 bookstores
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In honor of National Bookstore Month, the Messenger explored different independent bookstores around the St. Louis area.
baseball
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
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takes responses for any issue. Send these in at mhsmessenger@rsdmo. org. 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.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TOXIC MASCULINITY Being a young man and coming from an area where violence and murder occurs, you often have to stay strong in life-threatening situations. I’m a really emotional person and maybe even a little feminine but that doesn’t make me a homosexual or anything. That’s where people go wrong. No matter who you are, you are a male and you have to be strong. When people ask me “do I cry,” I say yes, because it doesn’t affect me, and it shouldn’t affect the type of person you are. Everyone cries, not just girls. Men typically shy away from crying because they may be looked at as weak, but not letting your pain out is a sign of weakness and that’s not a man.
That’s a coward. So cry, let it out, you’ll have all the girls and people will respect you for who you are. That’s what really makes you a man - when you’re able to show what you’ve been through and use that to motivate others. Being there for the people you love the most and caring for others is what being a man is. You’re not a man just because you’re big and buff. You’re a man when you have the brains to be respectful and do the right thing no matter what. Sincerely, Donyah Stevenson senior
MISGENDERING Many transgender individuals tend to face trials at school, such as being misgendered and referred to by their birth name. In the article (“Breaking away from gender construct,” Issue V), Rhodes mentions that his teachers are often more accepting than the students. I personally disagree because in my experience most students are accepting, while all of my teachers misgender me. In my classes, I don’t participate in some of them because the teacher will call me ma’am or refer to me as she. This leads to me coming in before or after class to ask the questions sometimes. In class, students shouldn’t feel
that they should not participate and be uncomfortable. Transgender students are people too and should be respected in school. Sincerely, Sam Faruq freshman Submit a letter to the editor by emailing us at mhsmessenger@rsdmo.org
NEWS
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issue VII
Thoughts on Future
Students experience first Wellness Day caroline CUDNEY • sarah HARRIS IN YEARS PAST, JUNIORS WERE expected to attend classes after they completed the ACT. However, this year Mustangs for Mental Health worked with the administration to plan a Wellness Day. Wellness Day on April 2 began with presentations for the freshmen and sophomores while the juniors took the ACT and the seniors participated in the senior field trip. For the latter part of the day, freshmen, sophomores and juniors were offered an array of activities ranging from knitting to kickboxing. Senior Zara Abbassi, member of Mustangs for Mental Health, helped plan the different morning and afternoon events. Hoping to replicate Eureka’s Wellness Day, the club reached out at the end of last year to the EHS administra-
tion for ideas and inspiration. During the planning process, the club was able to secure 10-15 outside speakers who specialized in wellness and wellness-centered activities. One of the hardest decisions in planning was deciding when to have the actual Wellness Day. “We ended up choosing this day because we thought for the first time doing this, it would be better to start out with a half day,” Abbassi said. “We knew some teachers wouldn’t like getting full classes taken away and thought it would be nice for juniors and others to be able to destress.” The group said they were extremely proud of the first Wellness Day, but know there is room for improvement. “We would like to emphasize the value and purpose of the day so less people skip,” Abbassi said. “In addition, we would like to advertise more
because I feel some of the more helpful speakers we brought in that were amazing were overlooked when other people saw crafts or walking the track.” Junior Principal Rick Regina was happy with the Wellness Day and said it was a success with a little room for improvement. “The ones who were able to pick and attend the activity they wanted had a great time,” Regina said. “It was also really neat to see the shared interests betweens students and teachers.” Due to the success of the Wellness Day, Regina said the administration hopes to institute another. However, with the next Wellness Day, Regina said he hopes to include more sessions for students to attend along with a greater appeal for juniors to stay. “I think this is a great trial run as the students were all where they needed to be,” Regina said. “Next time we
hope to coordinate with the students to hear what they want to attend. We hope by talking with them, the attendance rate will be higher.” Grace Clutts, junior, attended a knitting session after completing the ACT. As a member of Mustangs for Mental Health, Clutts wanted to stay because she witnessed all the work that went into the day. ¨I loved knitting,¨ Clutts said. ¨It was actually kind of hard but I eventually got it.¨ As the future president of Mustangs for Mental Health, Clutts said she hopes to make some changes to the Wellness Day, ¨I am hoping next years Wellness Day will not be on the ACT day and we will have more time,¨ Clutts said. ¨I also hope that it will be more organized and helpful.¨
Administration implements first Restore Room tanner ROJEWSKI THIS YEAR, ALL ROCKWOOD schools introduced a Restore Room where students can go for academic help or to serve school suspensions while allowing them to keep up with their classes to get their credits. These classroom are low sensory and do not resemble a typical classroom. The room is a part of the Missouri Student Restore Program (SRP), which started in 2009. Elizabeth Basta, student restore assistant, runs the program at MHS. “My first kid [student] was a freshman, so when he passed all of his classes, he was able to move back into the classroom based on academic behavior,” Basta said. Basta said a lot of work goes into running the Restore Room. “I meet with all their teachers, I get all of their work and we hope to get them to move on to the next level so they’re not behind on anything, missing anything,” Basta said. When Dean Clark, freshman, received news that he had gotten longterm suspension, being able to keep up with school work and earn credits went into question. Typically students serve their suspension time outside of the school environment. Clark was one
of the first participants in the program and is thankful for the experience. “If I did not have that I would have failed,” Clark said. “It pushed me to get stuff done. Otherwise I wouldn’t have done it.” Clark was able to serve his suspension and transition back into normal classes a semester early. “I’m doing better now in my classes. Without [Basta & SRP] I would be in a lot more trouble,” Clark said. Clark is thankful for his experience and the connections he made. “Because of this, I have somewhere I can go now,” Clark said. “In the beginning, I hated it, but I love it now. It’s one of my favorite places to go.” After transitioning back to standard classes, these students are still able to come to the Restore Room to decompose, hangout or take tests and quizzes. “The environment is more comfortable for them,” Basta said. “A lot of these kids have the same things going on or the same issues. They can have a conversation with somebody and it helps their situation.” Basta has had two students this year, both of whom have been successful. “That’s the whole point of this is to make sure that no kid falls behind and is able to graduate,” Basta said.
Elizabeth Basta, student restore assistant, oversees the Restore Room, while Miyah Green, junior, works on Google Classroom. Green is not a part of the Missouri Student Restore Program but was using the space to work. Photo by Tanner Rojewski.
Typically students who are not in school or choose not to come to school would go to Rockwood’s Independent Learning Center, but this year students can opt to continue in Restore Rooms. Junior Principal Rick Regina oversees the operations for Individualized
Academic Center and the Restore Room within MHS “We’ve had some positive results this year with students making progress,” Regina said. “Basta is doing a great job with it. It’s here for the foreseeable future.”
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NEWS
april 2019
Q&A College admissions Incoming Superintendent Dr. Mark Miles laughs at a joke told by Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost during a welcome reception held at the RSD Administrative Annex on March 25. Photograph by Jackson Estwanick
RSD welcomes new superintendent marta MIEZE WHILE MOST PEOPLE IN THE DISTRICT had heard the name and seen the face of next year’s Superintendent Dr. Mark Miles, he had yet to get to know the district and its community. On March 25, the district held a welcome reception for Dr. Miles where students, parents and staff could meet and get to know him. He spent his spring break away from his current district, Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, in Cincinnati, Ohio, house hunting, touring schools and getting to know the community. He said his main goal coming into RSD is to ensure all students receive excellent access to the three As: academics, athletics and arts. He said he is looking forward to cheering on various sports teams and supporting each student’s dreams. “As students enter our doors every single day, you bring with you dreams for the future and we, as staff members, support, guide and mentor you in that process,” Dr. Miles said. “An important role that I have is to be a cheerleader, a champion for all of our students.” Dr. Miles has three children, the youngest of whom is graduating high school this year, so he said he can relate to the parents of RSD students. As Missouri natives, Dr. Miles and his wife Rebekah know RSD has always had an outstanding reputation and that stood out and spoke to him. “This opportunity to serve such an extraordinary community is a dream come true,” Dr. Miles said. “We feel like we’re coming home.” Dr. Miles said he finds Twitter an essential form of communication between administration, students and parents, and he plans to continue the established relationship current Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost has established. “It’s very important that the superintendent is visible and accessible,” Dr. Miles said. “I recognize I have big shoes to fill and that he has accomplished so much in his time here so my hope is to continue to perpetuate excellence throughout the district.”
Dr. Knost also attended the forum to pass off the torch. He said Dr. Miles has done a great job already familiarizing himself with the community and becoming the face of the district prior to next year. He assured those who attended that Dr. Miles will be a great superintendent. “I approve,” Dr. Knost said. “You’ve got a good one.” Students from all the RSD high school orchestras provided music during the event. One of those students was Sarah Yoo, junior. She said she thought performances from each school was a great way to welcome Dr. Miles and make him feel a part of the community. “I will miss Dr. Knost’s great dedication to us, but at the same time, I am glad to have Dr. Miles,” Yoo said. “I believe he will continue Dr. Knost’s great work.” She said while Dr. Miles doesn’t have any specific problems that need to be fixed in the district, she still expects for him to have an effect on the district. “I hope he can connect with the students and bring the schools together for a better sense of community,” Yoo said.
Board of Education election results: Loralee Mondl, current President
sarah HARRIS
Timothy Eggleston, regional admissions representative for the University of Missouri, answered common questions regarding the college application process. He recommend students aim to have all of their college applications completed in the fall of their senior year in order to meet all of the scholarship deadlines for their various universities.
Q:
What are important things to include or remember when completing the application process?
I think it’s important to remember that this is your opportunity to present who you are, your passions, ideas, self-awareness and examine the mutual benefit for you and the college in the admissions process. At the end of the day though, relax! You’re still a student with a life outside of the admissions process, so just make sure you are still carving out quality time to enjoy your life.
Q: What are some common mistakes students make while completing their applications?
Each college or university has different admission requirements, so we always recommend doing some research online, speaking with an admissions counselor at a college fair or high school visit and possibly trying to visit campuses in order to decide whether or not they are interested in applying. Doing research and visiting colleges in junior year of high school can remove a lot of stress come senior year.
Q: Do you have any tips or tricks that make the application process easier?
Begin your search earlier and make sure to allocate time and attention to the process. Additionally, and I can’t stress this enough, please don’t hesitate to ever ask for help from a counselor, admissions, representative or others who have gone through the application process before.
Q: Are there common answers that should be avoided when filling out an application?
Thomas R. Dunn, Territory Manager
Ensure that you are actually answering the question. Sometimes colleges receive high school English papers or research papers that don’t actually address the question. It’s important to tell your personal story and allow them to get to know you. Reflect on why you are going to college and what you hope to accomplish while positively impacting your college community.
issue VII
OPINIONS
75
SPEAK OUT With the recent eruption on social media of St. Louis style sliced bagels, The Messenger asked:
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST DEFINING FOOD OF ST. LOUIS AND WHY? “I’d say Imo’s Pizza. It’s an Italian thing that’s really specific to St. Louis, and I love the thin crust.”
COLE KAMPSCHROEDER,
Photo illustration by Jackson Estwanick
freshman
editorialBOARD COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS IS IN the hot seat following a scandal with critics discussing the factors that influence admissions, their value and the way we talk about them, namely legacies and affirmative action. Federal prosecutors revealed a scam March 12, 2019, that uncovered the admittance of many wealthy students to elite universities after families paid a college admissions prep company called The Key to alter SAT and ACT scores, fake learning disabilities and falsify sports recruitments. This scandal presents a candid opportunity to rethink the college admissions process. Many know that wealth and legacies can influence college admissions; however, silence has always surrounded this process. Rarely are legacy students scrutinized on college campuses in the same manner as their black and Latinx counterparts are for “stealing” spots that “belong” to white applicants. Some claim legacies are the wealthy’s version of affirmative action and must therefore be eliminated along with affirmative action itself. This scandal could potentially end the current admissions system as we know it and introduce a system of “pure” meritocracy, solely dependent on academics and achievement. While we agree legacies should be eliminated, to categorize them with affirmative action is problematic. Affirmative action is intended to ensure equal opportunities to qualified individuals who have historically or actually been denied such opportunities. Affirmative action redresses historic discrimination against women and people of color that has not yet been eradicated. It attempts to bring disadvantaged groups of people to the same level as white students, not to provide them an unfair advantage simply because of their parents’ alma mater. In regards to a pure meritocracy, we
must acknowledge that a pure meritocracy is not a level playing field. “Merit” on college applications is often indicated by test scores on achievement tests that wealthier students perform better on due to their access to test prep. In fact, according to a new report released by the nonprofit EdBuild, which studies school funding in the United States, predominantly white school districts receive approximately $23 billion more in funding than districts that serve predominantly students of color. Students in wealthier zip codes have access to better public education because our school funding system is dependent on geography. If a truly level playing field is what we want, then the solution is not to get rid of all systems intended to promote inclusion and equal opportunity. Instead, we should refine them because they are currently lacking. Taking away race-conscious decisions could lead to culturally homogenous classes. Though that may not be very likely, as race is, for many, akin to their identity, so race-blind admissions act as a form of erasure. However, affirmative action has its imperfections, and in order to effectively fulfill its purpose of equal opportunity, “equal” must be revised because genuine diversity encompasses more than only race and ethnicity. According to the New York Times, 38 of the most selective schools have more students from the top 1 percent of the income scale than the bottom 60 percent. Whenever schools do talk about diversity, maintaining the less visible kinds like economic diversity is not as heavily stressed as visible kinds like race. If we truly want to create inclusive college campuses that are fair, we must discuss race and economic status because, for many, these present hurdles that a simple bribe cannot solve.
EVAN ARAGON,
sophomore
“I think toasted ravioli does. I know a lot of people from other states, and they agree that it’s good. But the toasted ravioli here is the best because it defines how we have different kinds of culture here.” “Imo’s Pizza. People probably say that a lot because it’s a very authentic St. Louis thing. It may be expensive, but it is the square beyond compare.”
KALIAH RODGERS,
junior
“I believe fried chicken and mashed potatoes are the best foods you can get in St. Louis because that’s mostly what I sell at Dierbergs.” DILLON SANSONE,
senior
“I would definitely say toasted raviolis. It’s the only thing that, when I travel, people are surprised when I say we fry our ravioli.” ASHLEY HOBBS,
social studies teacher
OPINIONS
6
april 2019
Wellness Day: Students, administration share thoughts
STEPHANIE LEI,
SAM HALL,
SABRINA LACY,
sophomore
junior
I LIKED THE IDEA OF having a free day while the juniors took the ACT because school seems to drag on by this time in the year. I thought the drug prevention presentation was really good. At the end of the second presentation, I think a lot of students felt restless, so it would have been a good idea to only have one speaker. For the activity, I signed up for intermediate chess, and it was actually really fun. I probably belonged in beginner’s chess, but I still had a great time. I hope that next year, we could have more time to study or do another activity because those were really fun.
WELLNESS DAY WAS pleasant. I was expecting it to be a waste of a day, but it wasn’t and that was nice. It was stressful not knowing what activity I had until the day of. Nevertheless, it wasn’t bad. The first presentation, given by Juggling Jeff, taught me a few things. First, you can make a living doing anything. He also reminded me that I determine how valuable I am. He gave the analogy of how a $10 bill would always be worth $10 despite how crumpled it becomes. I think everyone needs a reminder that they are worth something and add value to people’s lives.
FOR THE MENTAL Wellness Day, I chose kickboxing. I loved enjoying the weather after sitting for hours for the ACT. If I would’ve had to go to classes after it, I wouldn’t have been able to learn anything. I liked that students had an opportunity to relax and unwind after the ACT. Kickboxing made me forget about how upset I was after the ACT. And while I probably won’t use any of the skills I learned in kickboxing, the experience will be ingrained in my memory. MHS should do more days like the Mental Wellness Day because it gives students something to look forward to.
freshman
FOR MUSLIMS, FRIDAY IS considered a holy day that symbolizes unity and community as they pray to Allah. That was the case on March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand, until Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, barged into the Al Noor Mosque and then the Linwood Islamic Centre and murdered Muslims during their prayer. A total of 51 Muslims were killed as a consequence of this terrorist attack. Thirty minutes before the attack, Tarrant emailed his 74-page manifesto to 30 people. In it, he displays extreme white nationalist sentiment. Tarrant wrote that President Trump was “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.” Although it isn’t confirmed if the majority of the manifesto was satirical, the fact that it was released 30 minutes before the attack alludes to some underlying connection between the two events and it should be taken seriously. Tarrant contributes to the rise in right-wing extremism across the globe. His actions parallel those of Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik and the orchestrator of the synagogue attack in Pittsburgh, Robert Bowers. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, terrorist attacks by right-wing extremists in the
United States increased from 5 or less between 2007 and 2011 to 31 by 2017. J.M. Berger is an expert of extremist ideologies. In an NPR podcast, he explained the three components of an extremist, stating that an extremist identifies with a group and feeds into a crisis narrative that leads them to seek extremist solutions that get rid of the “enemy identity.” President Trump is a key figure in the rise of this white nationalist movement. Extremists relate to the president’s policies that isolate minorities. For example, the president created a crisis narrative by eliciting a fear of Middle Easterners that could be scattered in the migrant caravans, as cited in a series of tweets last October. Any follow-ups with the administration have failed to provide proof of these “unknowns” and it has spread fear among Americans toward certain minority groups. In a report released by the Anti Defamation League this February, the extremist-related murders in 2018 were overwhelmingly linked to right-wing extremists. Muslims are targeted around the world and it’s a shame that extremists are influenced by American leaders people who should be representing the diversity and culture of America. No one should have to pray in fear.
RICK REGINA,
senior
junior principal
I WENT ON THE SENIOR field trip to the City Museum this year, and I had a great time. We loaded onto buses in the morning and had free reign to do whatever until we left at 2 p.m. I spent my time climbing the structures, going down slides and getting stuck in the cave with friends. I go to the City Museum a few times a year, so it wasn’t anything new (nor do I think it was a novel experience for most of the Senior Class). I enjoyed having a day dedicated to us, allowing the Senior Class to do something fun together for one of the last times in our high school careers.
WELLNESS DAY WAS A success for both the students and staff. One of the highlights was seeing staff and students participating in activities. Both students and staff got to see each other in a different light, and they realized they have shared interests. There was something offered for everyone. We had students knitting, playing chess, coloring, discussing empathy, managing stress and seemingly any wellness-related topic. I really want to thank the Mental Health club and their sponsor, Ms. Bauman. This was truly their vision, and it is one we hope to build on for years to come.
Art should not be separated from the artist
Right-wing extremism presents danger waha SIDDIQUI
MADISON LAKAMP,
will ROACH THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD, it’s hard to understand what sexual abuse is. As a kid, I vaguely remember news reports of allegations regarding sexual abuse pointed at Michael Jackson in 2005. But because I was only about 4 years old and didn’t understand what sexual abuse was, I soon forgot it and moved on with my life. In the 14 years since, I was never necessarily interested in Jackson’s life, but I have listened to and enjoyed his music extensively. During that time, I also remained ignorant of what Jackson would allegedly not have minded doing to someone my age. HBO’s two-part, four-hour long documentary “Leaving Neverland,” which released on Jan. 25, describes Jackson’s alleged sexual abuse of Wade Robson and James Safechuck when they were ages 7 until 14 and 10 until 14, respectively. An artist’s character and the media they create or have created should be held at the same value, and a cultural icon like Jackson is no exception. When someone buys a product, they are supporting the ideals and behavior of whoever created said product, whether intentionally or not, because that contribution allows the creator to keep creating. In the case of someone like Jackson, when they keep creating,
they become more famous and wealthy and that puts them in a better position to become corrupt. Even though Jackson passed away in 2009, supporting him still supports what he stood for. While shunning him won’t impact him directly, it will deter others protected by wealth and fame from committing the same or worse actions. One currently living example of this is R. Kelly. Kelly has allegedly sexually abused minors since 1991. In 2002, his “Trapped in the Closet” album was controversially nominated by the NAACP for the Image Award, and according to Wealthy Gorilla, he had a $150 million net worth in 2018. On Jan. 3 of this year, the six episode podcast “Surviving R. Kelly” was released by Lifetime. Like “Leaving Neverland,” “Surviving R. Kelly” interviews survivors of his sexual abuse, their families and people Kelly worked with on tours. Two weeks later, Kelly was charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Since then, Wealthy Gorilla has evaluated his net worth to be about $1 million due to several lawsuits and boycotting of his music. Michael Jackson’s and R. Kelly’s music may be some of the best in recent memory, but if boycotting it is what it takes to prevent famous artists from sexually abusing children, then I think it’s a small price to pay.
issue VII
FEATURES
77
Illustration by Jilian Bunderson
Thoughts and Prayers: Sympathy in social media to bring people together or reinforce social cleavages. He said that often, people not affected will make a symbolic message that seems AMANA YOSSEF, JUNIOR, HAS ALWAYS BEEN TAUGHT TO done out of obligation or aren’t very meaningful. follow the news closely. This especially held true for her when the “When people express sympathy and ‘thoughts and prayers,’ it Israeli-Palestinian conflict began to reach social media. can connect people in tragedy,” Shah said. “But I wouldn’t consider “My family has always told me that I should know what’s going it activism. Not to say it’s slacktivism, since awareness and acknowlon in the world,” Yossef said. “So it’s important to me that I follow edgement is important. But it doesn’t call for tangible change.” this closely to know what’s happening to my people everyday.” Shah said that with the constant news cycle and how much As Yossef learns more about the conflict, she often posts about of news is, in his opinion, disturbing, even saying ‘thoughts and the Palestinian side of the conflict on her Instagram story. prayers’ shows a sort of sympathetic response that proves that the “I think that my followers can see what’s going on,” Yossef said. information broke through to our minds amidst everything else. “Not that they don’t already know about it, Even so, Shah said it’s important to but I want them to see my side of it and be remember that, because of how much in“While our sympathetic sympathetic towards that.” formation is constantly being thrown to us, responses aren’t gone, they’re it’s hard to know how to react when tragic Yossef said social media has a huge impact on how people view tragedies like being taxed more now than events are always happening and being school shootings, terrorist attacks and reported on. international conflict. Because of how social they were when news came “With news of kids dying at the boron at six o’clock every night der, terrorist attacks, school shootings, media algorithms work, once a person clicks on something, that person’s feed is and every horrible thing got earthquakes, tsunamis, how do you choose comprised of related posts. which one to feel the worst about?” Shah bunched into one segment.” said. “It’s difficult, but posting or putting “I’m obviously biased because my feed is a lot of pro Palestinian posts and infora donation page on Facebook takes somemation,” Yossef said. “But it’s important to thing. Our sympathetic responses aren’t DHAVAN SHAH note, because everyone’s feed is centered gone, they’re being taxed more than they DIRECTOR OF THE MASS towards what they already think, they were when news came on at six o’clock become unsympathetic to the other side COMMUNICATION CENTER AT every night and every horrible thing got because what they’re constantly shown is so bunched into one segment.” THE UNIVERSITY OF skewed to one side.” Joshua Hyde, sociology teacher, said WISCONSIN-MADISON As a result, Yossef said apathy is a comthat while apathy to tragedy isn’t new, it’s mon response to issues that don’t pertain to certainly more prevalent now than before. people, especially in more recent generations. “You’ve had terrorist activities happening forever,” Hyde said. “It’s not that we’ve become more selfish, but our news and “It’s just that now, there’s a lot more access to news of those things social media intake is so geared towards us that we don’t see things occurring by adolescents and children, as well as adults.” that we don’t like or aren’t relevant to us,” Yossef said. “It’s always Hyde said it’s important to be informed of the algorithm within been there, that apathy for things that don’t have to do with us, but social media that creates a constant stream of similar beliefs and it’s more prevalent today because social media and news algorithms ideologies based on previous activity. work based off what we already consume. So I post to try and help “You’ll get 50 links that all pertain to the same side,” Hyde said. create awareness and empathy for the other side as well.” “And you become inundated with the side that’s constantly being Dhavan Shah, director of the Mass Communication Center at presented to you, consciously or not, and that creates an issue for University of Wisconsin Madison, said social media is a two-way how you then view the other side.” street when it comes to empathy. Ultimately, Hyde said it’s important for students to become “If someone has a terminal illness, social media is a great tool to cognizant of what social media is telling them and how everything garner support,” Shah said. “When we get news of tragedy, there’s on their feed pertains to them. still an emotional response, but it’s a lot more ephemeral. People “It all boils down to how important exposure is,” Hyde said. express something, then they go on living their lives.” “That can really help create those necessary emotional responses to Shah said social media inherently has duality, with the ability things that are normalized that shouldn’t be in today’s society.”
mansi MAMIDI
IN-DEPTH
8
april 2019
New curriculum allows for inclusion
As seen on pg. 1 kavya JAIN
“OF MICE AND MEN,” “1984,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Lord of the Flies” are all books in standard high school curriculum and they are all written by white men. Neha Checka, senior, said the first time she read a novel written by and about a first-generation American in an academic setting was in her Multicultural Literature class this semester when she read “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri featuring a young Indian boy named Gogol. As a child of Indian immigrants, Checka said she identified with Gogol, his struggle balancing his Indian and American lifestyle and the generational differences between him and his immigrant parents. Checka said she usually doesn’t connect with books, so relating to “The Namesake” was an empowering experience. “I realized there is literature that talks about my story out there,” Checka said. Checka said Multicultural Literature allows for the self-reflection and cultural exploration lacking in other language arts classes that are often Eurocentric. “In normal language arts, we mostly focus on European literature and history, and in Multicultural Literature, we just read about the Japanese internment, which is interesting because we rarely talk about that in class,” Checka said. “Nobody knows much about it like they do about the Holocaust.”
2.83% AMERICAN INDIAN, PACIFIC ISLANDER, AND MIXED
Checka said the lack of inclusion can be dangerous when minority students form the misconception that their voices and narratives don’t exist or matter when in reality they simply aren’t incorporated in the curricula. Dr. Shelley Willott, RSD executive director of learning and support services, said it is critical for all students to see themselves in class curriculum. Since gaining student feedback, the curriculum department has started conversations regarding whether the current coursework represents a global perspective. “I recently spoke with students who explained how they feel they don’t see themselves in the curriculum,” Dr. Willott said. “When I heard their stories, I knew we needed to act immediately.” Dr. Willott said the department has identified some coursework they would like to pursue and that they want to ensure they have a wide variety of literature available for students to read in their ELA classes that is reflective of all genders, races, religions and families. Part of this change also will include a curriculum writing team dedicated to reviewing resources for cultural bias to ensure material fairly represents all perspectives. “We have to make sure the content students are learning is presented in an authentic and accurate manner,” Dr. Willott said. Emily Stockwell, language arts teacher, said such curriculum changes are being made within the eleventh
3.58% HISPANIC 13.82% ASIAN 9.77% AFRICAN AMERICAN 70% WHITE
MHS STUDENT DIVERSITY 2018-2019
Source: Registrar office Infographic by Marta Mieze
grade curriculum where they are lowering the amount of required material so teachers have the ability to incorporate more texts of their choice. While this curriculum change will make it easier to include other texts, Stockwell said the language arts teachers always have been mindful of the need for inclusion in curriculum. However, she said, there is always
gender, race, socioeconomic status,” Li said. “I don’t think anyone should be judged based on those categories because they deserve to be in the world just like other people.” Li said for students who are consistently reading stories that don’t reflect their identity, whether that’s race or gender, it can get really boring. That being said, Li explained that if a
“It’s really important that these Caucasian individuals recognize the reality of the world. The world is not just Caucasian people. There are real live black, Latinx, Asian, Native American people beyond the one paragraph written in their textbook. If you don’t learn about diverse people you are not going to be able to interact with them in the real world when you have to engage with them in the future.” SHIRLEY LI HARVARD UNIVERSITY room for improvement. “A lot of teachers in the language arts department make it a priority to include authors that are not just white men,” Stockwell said. Stockwell also teaches Multicultural Literature, a class she said is important for two main reasons. “One is being able to see people that look like you, that talk like you, that are you in your literature,” Stockwell said. “And two, it is a great opportunity to gain more understanding about people that are different than you.” Stockwell said she is excited RSD offers the course because it shifts the focus to as many different faces possible and has a positive impact on all students. She said she’s seen students’ interest level and engagement go up when they identify with an author or character. Brittany Hogan, RSD coordinator of educational equity and diversity, said students need to see reflections of themselves in their educational space, whether that’s curriculum or teaching staff. She said for RSD this visibility is a definite area of growth. “You can’t be what you can’t see, and part of our jobs as educators is giving our students a chance to see themselves as anything they want,” Hogan said. “This requires us to continue to bring diversity to the table when we plan and create curriculum.” Shirley Li, former teacher currently pursuing licensure in school counseling at Harvard Graduate school of Education, said inclusion in k-12 education is important because the majority of students spend most of their time in school, and educators can provide support in an environment that can be isolating. “I focus on the identity piece because a lot of times it’s nothing they can control, for example sexuality,
random narrative about a person of color is chosen, not everyone from that minority will be able to relate to it. It’s also possible that the way those identities are portrayed isn’t an accurate reflection of those individuals. “I think it’s really important we explore the diversity and complexity of narratives and culture because I am sure a lot of Caucasian students don’t even connect with the many people featured in their books and their narratives,” Li said. Li said something a lot of ethnic studies courses do that schools can emulate is covering not only experiences in the work but capturing the culture of a piece and getting the students invested in learning more about the people than only the figures. Li said this experience will help people move past stereotypes they have of people of color. Li said a lot of the time what people learn about people of color or Caucasian individuals is that they act and behave in a certain way and are stereotypically likely to be a certain way. “If we are able to have inclusive curriculum, then these students are able to engage in dialogue and not only see themselves but share a part of themselves,” Li said. Li said this dialogue opens up all students to the reality of the world and prepares them for the future. “It’s really important that these Caucasian individuals recognize the reality of the world,” Li said. “The world is not just Caucasian people. There are real live black, Latinx, Asian, Native American people beyond the one paragraph written in their textbook. If you don’t learn about diverse people you are not going to be able to interact with them in the real world when you have to engage with them in the future.”
issue VII
IN-DEPTH AUTHORS INCLUDED IN STANDARD NINTH, TENTH, ELEVENTH AND TWELVTH GRADE MHS ELA CURRICULA BY RACE
89% WHITE
10% BLACK
1% ASIAN Source: MHS Language Arts Department Book Inventory Infographic by Kavya Jain and Jackson Estwanick
RSD discusses Black Voices Course sabrina LACY EARLIER IN THE SCHOOL YEAR, Natalie Fallert, coordinator of literacy and speech, reached out to language arts teachers asking them to submit proposals for new courses that would be offered in the 11th and 12th grade curriculum. She ended up with 13 proposals, one of which was for a course named Black Voices, which would focus on black authors and characters. When the language arts teachers first met to discuss the idea of a Black Voices course, there was debate about whether more books written by people of color could be added to Multicultural Lit. ¨This particular course was more about looking at that black culture and the family and identity and different aspects of that throughout time and what that looks like right now,” Fallert said. “It wasn’t as simple as just let’s throw more authors of color or main characters of color into the mix. We felt that it needs a bigger study than that.¨ Fallert said at the last meeting for planning the curriculum for Black Voices, teachers who teach Multicultural Lit and Seniors Readers and Writers met with Brittany Hogan, coordinator of equity and diversity, and Dawn Indelicato-Faw, who came up with the original proposal. They also looked at resources and materials that could be implemented into the course. During her Multicultural Literature class, Angelica Santiago, senior, was introduced to the idea of the Black Voices course. “As much as we talk about it or represent this group as it is, there’s so much left out that we could learn from,” Santiago said. “We talk and learn the basics, but having a class as such would take the discussions to whole another level.¨ Santiago said having in-depth con-
servations is the only way for change to happen. ¨Change comes with acknowledging what we have done wrong, and if not spoken up, how do we expect people to know more about it,¨ Santiago said. ¨Few will actually go after the information unless it comes to them. Having either a whole class representing a group or adding such content to an already existing class would, I believe and hope, impact the point of view and beliefs of many.¨ Santiago said one of the only problems about having Black Voices is that it leaves room for complaints from others about the specificity of the class. ¨If you were to add a Black Voices class, what’s stopping you from adding Asian or Latino as well,¨ Santiago said. ¨It sounds cool because it represents a minority group, but it also seems very specific to that group only. Adding an extra class for a specific one leaves room for complaints about the others being left out.¨ Jakyla Powell, senior, who also found out about Black Voices in Multicultural Lit, said African American students should be involved in the making of Black Voices because they´ll know what books should be in the curriculum and what the curriculum should look like. Powell said the course could make African American students more comfortable at MHS and bring African American students closer with their teachers because there are no African American teachers at MHS. Powell said this class is important because people can learn about African American culture in a longer time period than what is usually taught. ¨You´re not going to learn about African Americans in a week,” Powell said. “It takes longer than that, not saying that a semester is enough, but
you’ll at least have a semester of knowledge on African American history. I think it’s important because us African Americans, it’s like people assume a lot of stuff about us and everything. I feel it’s important that people can see what our ancestors actually went through and what we go through.¨ Shelly Justin, language arts teacher, is interested in teaching the course if the course is one day offered. Justin said Black Voices is needed because to understand people you need to understand their history. “It would open up everyone’s eyes and give us a better perspective on how our kids learn, how they look at the world and also with our African American students they are only exposed to the same literature they sometimes don’t even know the black voice,” Justin said. “I think they need to be exposed to that more too. The world is created by all of us, not this one group that’s represented so highly.” Justin said this course is needed because the majority of black history is not learned through a black voice and because some aspects of black history are not taught. ¨There is still a lot of learning in education that even white teachers need to learn and the best way to learn is by teaching something,¨ Justin said. For a proposal to become a course first, Fallert said it has to come to the Rockwood Learning Council where it will be presented to a 125 educators. And for one month, those educators will have access to that proposal, and at the end of that month, they vote to see if the proposal will go to the Board for approval. If approved, the following year the class will be offered to students. Fallert said that if all goes well Black Voices will be implemented in the fall of 2020.
9 IN CONVERSATION WITH NATALIE FALLERT RSD COORDINATOR LITERACY AND SPEECH 6-12
HOW OFTEN DOES CURRICULUM WRITING HAPPEN? Traditionally every six years to respect teachers’ time and the district’s finances. However, with the strong new curriculum, there shouldn’t be a need to do in-depth curriculum rewriting in the near future. At this point, it is more updating materials and changing with technology.
WHAT WAS THE GOAL OF REWRITING THE CURRICULUM? To give teachers the freedom to step out of a locked curriculum and allow for more inclusion in texts.
WHAT CHANGES DID THE CURRICULUM GO THROUGH? Teachers no longer have required texts. The curriculum is now driven by standards, skills and unit-based essential questions focusing on topics such as identity with an example question being “what does it means to be American?” “It’s no longer about the texts you teach but the skills and concepts,” Fallert said.
HOW WILL THIS IMPACT DIVERSITY? With these new essential questions, especially identity-related ones that can vary, the texts will most likely change. While teachers may still incorporate classics, the essential questions open up the capability of exploring more diverse texts.
WHEN WILL THE NEW CURRICULUM BE IMPLEMENTED? 9th and 10th grade curriculum will roll out next year and 11th and 12th is expected for the year after.
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FEATURES
april 2019
Junior secretary retires after 15 years marta MIEZE AS MARY OLUBOGUN, JUNIOR, enters the Junior Office, she sees Janet Jacob, junior secretary. “She’s been a very steady person to go to, super caring and never prying or pushy,” Olubogun said. However, after 15 years at MHS, Jacob has decided to retire. Jacob said she decided to retire to spend time on a piece of farmland near Troy, Mo. with her husband. Olubogun said she wants Jacob to know the impact she’s had on her. “She’s made my high school experience so much more memorable,” Olubogun said. A part of that impact is in the lessons Olubogun learned from Jacob’s interactions with others. “She has been able to spark forgiveness and reconciliation in my own heart,” Olubogun said. Jacob said, following her mother-inlaw’s passing and her husband’s cancer diagnosis, it seemed like the right time to spend time in the calm country. While choking back tears, Jacob said she was never planning on leaving so soon, but the time just seemed right as things fell into place. “When next year comes, in May, I’m going to be thinking of [each current junior] graduating and I’m going to be saying my prayers, ‘I hope they all made it through and made good decisions’,” Jacob said.
Janet Jacob, junior secretary, helps a student sign out in her office. Jacob has worked at MHS for 15 years as class secretary and is retiring this year. Photograph by Marta Mieze
She said the best part about her time at MHS has been the community. “The parents are fantastic. The kids are fantastic,” Jacob said. “I have mixed emotions about leaving you guys, but I know it’s what I need to do for me.” Along with the families, Jacob said the staff itself feels like a second family, which is hard to come by at schools with such a large population. The bonds Jacob has made with some of the graduates is something she said she couldn’t have ever dreamed of.
Jacob said some of the 2017 graduates used to call her “mom,” and she said she has always felt like the students’ school mom. As she has helped students learn, she said she’s learned from them as well. “I have learned that situations and people are not all what you think they are. It’s not what you see,” Jacob said. “Don’t judge people before you know the situation behind it.” Junior Principal Rick Regina has
known Jacob for all of the 15 years that she has worked at MHS. He said she is the only secretary he’s ever had for his time as assistant principal, so her knowledge and experience has always been helpful. Regina said there are times when Jacob takes the reins of certain situations while letting him handle others, which allows them to work together even better. When he learned of Jacob’s retirement, he said he had mixed emotions. “I’m happy for her today and I know that I’m going to miss her in May when she does retire,” Regina said. “But I know I’m going to miss her even more come September or October when something goes awry in the office and the reason it went awry was because Ms. Jacob wasn’t there to fix it before it happened.” However, Regina said he won’t be the only one missing Jacob. “I’ll be sitting in my office typing away and I’ll hear her talking to a parent and I’m like ‘I didn’t know that’,” Regina said. “She knows things about our students and our families often times even I don’t know.” Regina said finding a new secretary will be challenging, but it will be an opportunity to welcome someone into the MHS community and give students another person who can make a lasting impact on their life. Photo by Filip Maljković
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FEATURES
issue VII
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APRIL IS... NATIONAL AUTISM MONTH
Photo illustration by Mansi Mamidi
Cheating on homework raises ethics questions connor DEL CARMEN
group-chats where students share answers to homework. He said this method of cheating is easy and rarely results in a negative outcome. “I’m not cheating on every assignment, but when I do, it helps my completion grade for homework and doesn’t hurt my performance on tests,” Doe said. Amy Doyle, social studies teacher, said she attempts to stop cheating as much as possible because it only hurts the student. She said that having someone else complete their homework, students set up for failure for the next assessment.
learn the hard way in college. Associate Principal Dr. Steve MOURIK CHAGANTI, SOPHOMORE, Hankins said it’s difficult to write and constantly has to budget his time to enforce an effective cheating policy get homework done. In addition to his when students exhaustively try to find academic responsibilities, Chaganti is a a way around the rules. Boy Scout and a member of the tennis Dr. Hankins said he doesn’t have team. These commitments can leave to address cheating on homework as little time to complete homework. much as other issues, but he knows Chaganti said cheating on homethat doesn’t mean students never cheat. work can often be an ethical dilemma “Our policy tries to list specific for students: cheat or stay up late into examples but still keep it broad enough the night to complete assignments. to cover new ways of cheating,” Dr. “Cheating on homework is bad, but Hankins said. “But people are always it’s a part of life,” Chaganti said. “Stuahead of the curve. Students may try dents participate in outside activities. for hours to get out of doing a 30-minThey’re busy and can’t be spending too ute assignment.” much time on homework which Hankins said teachers limit can lead to getting no sleep.” “Grades are supposed to be a the Dr. weight of homework on the Chaganti said he has cheated in the past but realized there can be measure of what the student overall class grade to make the of being caught cheating negatives to it. can do, not what someone else penalty outweigh the benefit of receiving a “I have cheated on homework marginal increase in their grade. because I didn’t understand it or can do.” In addition to traditional cheatI forgot about it,” Chaganti said. ing methods, Dr. Hankins said the “However, homework is a good presence of technology in modern way to review the elements in the AMY DOYLE education brings a whole new diunit, and cheating will just create a SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER mension to cheating. higher failure percentage.” “It really comes down to someJohn Doe, junior, whose name “We talk about how the purpose of one bringing it to our attention,” Dr. has been changed to protect his idenhomework is to practice for the test,” Hankins said. “We try to create an tity, takes multiple AP courses which Doyle said. “So, if you cheat, you’ll be exhaustive list, but there’s still more have more homework than standard unable to perform well on the test.” out there. There’s sharing documents, courses. Doyle said another reason she’s so using others passwords to access Doe said he is not sure all of the strict on cheating is due to her morals. documents, and sometimes the other homework assigned in AP courses is “It’s unethical to cheat,” Doyle said. person may not even know.” needed to succeed. “Grades are supposed to be a measure Dr. Hankins said there are a lot of “There’s homework that’s unnecesof what the student can do, not what technologically gifted students, but if sary busy work,” Doe said. “Students they use those skills for bad and not shouldn’t be forced to commit to all the someone else can do.” Doyle said it’s critical students have good, it can be increasingly difficult to work if they don’t need the practice.” a strong cheating policy so they don’t catch them. Doe occasionally utilizes AP class
puzzle pieces are a symbol of the autistic community
MYTH: Individuals with autism are emotionless. TRUTH: “They have a harder time processing and recognizing their own emotions and recognizing the emotions of others,” Jessica Donaldson, autism specialist at the University of New Mexico, said. “But just because they have trouble labeling emotions doesn’t mean they don’t have them.”
NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
Photograph by MK Stallings
Sarah Abbas, sophomore; Ella Woods, sophomore; and Megha Sanjay, senior, won the Verbquake 2019 Poetry Slam finals in March. Abbas was also the first person to win championships as an individual and part of a team. Abbas will perform at Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam Festival in summer.
Check out the full stories, along with MHSNews coverage, online.
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april 2019
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
12
Top New Books to Read In honor of National Library Week, Lee Mitchell, head librarian, recommends
BOOK NOOKS In honor of National Small Bookstore Month, the Messenger reviewed a few small bookstores in the surrounding area. mansi MAMIDI
3. Book Rack
1. Left Bank Books
ADDRESS: 14560 Manchester
ADDRESS: 399 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108 HOURS: Mon.: Sat. 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Sun.: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. COMFORT: 8/10 BOOK SELECTION: 4/10 ORGANIZATION: 6/10 AIR CONDITIONING: 10/10
Rd #4, Ballwin, MO 63011 “This is the fiftieth year of this bookstore, and it was started by a bunch of WashU students that were a communist collective. They wanted to read more leftist material that they couldn’t get on campus. This store is incredibly queer and inclusive, and we’ve built our name on that sort of ideology.” - Cliff Helm, employee
HOURS:
Mon.-Sat.: 11 a.m. -4 p.m.; Sun.: Closed COMFORT: 8/10 BOOK SELECTION: 4/10 ORGANIZATION: 6/10 AIR CONDITIONING: 10/10 “It’s fun to see a lot of the same people come in because bookstores are kind of hard to keep open. They’re kind of a lost art.” - Ethan Berry, employee
1 “Never Quit” Jimmy Settle, Don Rearden
2
3
“Little White Lies” Jennifer Lynn Barnes
2. Subterranean Books ADDRESS: 6275 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63130
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Mon.-Thurs.: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat.: 11 a.m.- 10 p.m.; Sun.: 12 p.m. - 7 p.m.
“Scythe” Neal Shusterman
COMFORT: 3/10 BOOK SELECTION: 10/10 ORGANIZATION: 9/10 AIR CONDITIONING: 8/10
“This store has been here for 17 years, and every once in a while, we’ll have people who come in and remember the store from childhood, saying they used to shop here growing up, which is always very cool.” - Sarah Tisdale, employee
issue VII
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
That’s a wrap:
13 7
Marquette Theater Company concludes performances of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
alyssa SHELLABARGER
DAVID PISONI, JUNIOR played Nick Bottom “I think it went really well. Especially tonight, I think tonight was a great night. I thought we were on point, and the audience was responding well, which I think is a huge part in how the actors act because we hear the audience enjoying and reciprocating back to us, and the feedback system was just awesome tonight.”
REBECCA BLINDAUER, theater teacher Students perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare with a steampunk twist on April 4-7. The play follows the story of four lovers as they fight for each others affection. Photographs by Alyssa Shellabarger
Check out MHSNews coverage online at www.marquettemessenger.com
“The show went amazingly well. The kids are really coming into their own, and they’re doing things they’ve never done before which tells me they’re really comfortable with it and they’re enjoying themselves and trying new things. It went awesome.”
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SPORTS
april 2019 7
OPINION Rene’s Reactions New grass fields reflect treatment of women in FIFA rene MOORE AFTER YEARS OF FIGHTING, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has finally announced that the 2023 Women’s World Cup will be played only on natural grass fields. The men’s games have always been played on natural grass fields, which are a better playing environment than artificial turf because artificial turf can lead to more injuries, thus leading to the players being more cautious of how they’re playing. Artificial fields are nice because games can still be held whether or not it has rained, but that’s the only reason playing on a turf field might be better than playing on a grass field. The ball reacts differently to an artificial field than a natural grass field. The ball, for example, bounces higher on turf than on grass, which can make it harder to bring down to the ground. The ball also rolls a lot faster on the turf, making it tougher to get the ball to the correct spot, especially if a team has been practicing on grass before playing on turf. FIFA moving the Women’s World Cup games According to natural grass fields is to PBS, the overdue. The Men’s women only World Cup has made $2 never been on million for artificial turf, winning, and and, odds are, would the men made they never stand $8 million in for it. Men the 2014 World have always been paid Cup, where more than they lost in women and Round 16. haven’t had to struggle like women have. The women’s teams all around the world have been struggling to have equal play and pay conditions since women’s soccer leagues began in 2001. In the U.S., specifically the women are being treated very unfairly. In the last Women’s World Cup the U.S. won, and in the last Men’s World Cup the U.S. didn’t even qualify for the 2018 World Cup. According to PBS, the women only made $2 million for winning, and the men made $8 million in the 2014 World Cup, where they lost in Round 16. In this era of progression for women, sports is an important area to improve because they’re well followed. Making this change shows younger generations of athletes that men and women should be treated fairly in sports.
Senior Tyler Potthoff, pitcher, warms up before varsity’s game against Lindbergh. Potthoff pitched four innings and allowed one run in the team’s victory over Lindbergh 4-1. Photograph by Jeff Swift
Baseball goes 4-1 in the Willard lead-off tournament connor DEL CARMEN THE VARSITY BASEBALL TEAM opened their season at the Willard Lead-Off Tournament over Spring Break, finishing 4-1. Junior Hunter Miller, third baseman, was named MVP of the tournament, one of the most competitive in Missouri. Miller contributed to the win over one of the best teams in the state, Lee’s Summit West, by hitting a grand slam allowing the Mustangs to pull away. Miller said he is proud of how each person on the team has played a role in their recent wins. “We are such a well-rounded team strategy.” that we never need just one person to Because some of the best teams in win a ball game,” Miller said. the state play at Willard, Meyer said Miller also said the team is trying it’s a great opportunity to face good to take on a championship-winning competition. The team is in the highly mindset. competitive yellow division of the Sub“One of our mantras this year is urban Conference, so they try to to play for championships,” play strong teams whenever Miller said. “Whether that they can. be Conference, Districts Although the team “The hard work or any other games has performed well past that. This team is leading up to the early, Meyer said special and I believe team is always season was helpful the that we have a shot focused on the curto set some records.” in winning games at rent game. John Meyer, “You never want Willard.” varsity baseball to overreact one coach, said pitching way or the other,” and defense were key Meyer said. “I know Connor Throneberry there’s going to be factors in winning at first baseman Willard. hype from having a pos“We threw 14 consecuitive start, but in baseball tive shutout innings, which is you need to have a 24-hour pretty rare, and we continued to have rule. Whether the game was good or consistent defense,” Meyer said. bad, you get over it in a day because Meyer also said it took a little for you play so many games it’s a constant their offense to come alive, but when it roller coaster.” did, it came in waves. Sophomore Connor Throneberry, “The game versus Lee’s Summit first baseman, said their early success West was where you saw our offense was a result of practice in the offseaopen up,” Meyer said. “Guys were more son. confident swinging the bat and running “The hard work leading up to the the bases, which is a big part of our season was helpful in winning games at
Kyle Potthoff, senior, and John Meyer, head coach, lead the team in preparation for their game against Lindbergh. The team earned their sixth win of the season. Photograph by Jeff Swift
Willard,” Throneberry said. During the offseason, the team spent a lot of time practicing batting and fielding in addition to regular weight room sessions. Throneberry’s performance at Willard was highlighted by his performance at the plate where he had multiple runs batted in (RBI’s) and a home run. Like Miller, Throneberry said he thinks the team’s early wins have indicated their ability to win championships and set records. Although Throneberry is confident in his team, he knows they need to stay determined to keep winning. “We battled throughout the tournament and never took our foot off the gas,” Throneberry said. “If we keep that mindset up, we’ll be a tough team to beat.”
The team is 9-4 as of April 9 and will take on De Smet Jesuit High School tonight at 4:30 p.m.
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SPORTS
issue VII
Golf starts season with Yellow Division meet win The team will play next at the Webster Cup Varsity Boys Golf Tournament at Crescent Farms on April 15 at 8 a.m. jeff SWIFT BOYS GOLF HAS A STRONG TEAM coming back from last year’s State run, featuring five returning State athletes and many more hopefuls as they start this season. Eric Schwein, varsity coach, said the team is expecting similar success as last year. “We have a really solid group coming in this year from State,” Schwein said. “It’s always good to have returning players that can help build your team up for next year.” Schwein said the team has a lot of strengths that will help them this season. Schwein said their high work ethic comes from a passion for the game, and that it amplifies their strength. “With all of them, I do sense a strong passion for the game,” Schwein said. Tyler Linenbroker, sophomore, scored 38 at the Yellow Division Conference matchup at Oakville on April 3, the second highest on the team in the meet they won. Linenbroker said the team has a competitive passion and that’s what contributed to the success the team had last season. “My freshman year, we were able to compete with at a high level and that helped us carry on deep into State,” Linenbroker said.
2018 State placements:
Blake Mazzola, sophomore, lines up his put at the Oakville Conference Meet April 3. Mazzola was one of four freshmen to make State last year. Photograph used with permission by Eric Schwein
Linenbroker is one of the five returning State golfers from last year’s District-winning team. He finished All-state last season and wants to see success like that for more golfers. Linenbroker said the success of the team comes from their younger players who keep coming in. “Every year it seems like we get a
nice set of golfers that keep us at our best,” Linenbroker said. “They make us deeper and help us have solid golfers from top to bottom.” Linenbroker said he hopes the development of the young golfers will keep the team competitive for the coming years. Jack Cronin, junior, is the oldest of
Tyler Linenbroker
14th
Chris Kreh
40th
Blake Mazzola
40th
Jaden Nilsen
49th
Jack Cronin
77th
the returning golfers, and due to that, he holds a leadership position at the top of his team. Cronin helped boost the team to a 623 overall score by scoring 81 in his second round, securing the fifth place spot for the team. “It’s really important that we develop relationships on the team that build the team,” Cronin said. “I’ve made a goal of getting to know and befriend as many golfers as possible.” Cronin said he has one goal for the team’s success this season. “It will be important for us to get the team as deep into State as possible,” Cronin said. “That is our number one goal.”
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SPORTS
16
AT A GLANCE
1
2 Jason Montgomery, senior, was named Class 5 All State and MBCA Most Valuable Player. He will be playing basketball for Drury University in the fall.
Boys volleyball takes on Oakville tonight at Parkway Central at 4:30 p.m.
Water polo finished fourth at the Founders Cup after falling to MICDS. They are 9-3-1 as of April 9.
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1. Chris Elledge, gives a half-time speech to keep his team going against Memphis St. Mary’s April 6. 2. Elledge finishes off a freshman game with a chant. 3. Elledge watches his varsity team play. 4. Carmen Cancila, senior, plays against St. Mary’s. Photographs by Jeff Swift
Elledge finds solution to coaching gap jeff SWIFT
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april 2019
WITH 47 WINS AND 16 LOSSES, A 74 percent win percentage and a Final Four finish since the beginning of the 2015 season, the current era of the girls lacrosse team has had no shortage of success. This success has continued as the team is now 5-2. This being said, the team has dealt with one shortage: coaches. Chris Elledge, varsity head coach, took over the position of freshman coach for this season. “Due to a bunch of coaches having family issues and our freshman coach finding a different job, we had to move a lot of things around,” Elledge said. “So I had to fill in where the old coach used to be.” Elledge has to do a lot more in order to prepare for games. “I have to do more work, but it does open up opportunities for me to help develop the freshman players,” Elledge said. For Elledge, the most important thing for developing freshman players
is teaching them to have fun. “When It comes to development, you need to know let them know that you can have fun playing the game and that can motivate them to play the game more, and try to improve,” he said. Activities Director Shane Matzen said that when the old coach left, Elledge decided to fill that spot himself. “We’ve had the job posted, but we have no applicants.” Matzen said. Anna Christ, freshman, said that having the varsity coach as their coach has helped them out a lot. “I feel like it’s great for us, as we know more about what the varsity girls are doing and what we may have to do later on, as far as how we play,” Christ said. Christ said Elledge helps them recognize the importance of enjoying the game and how that will help them grow. “He does a really great job of making sure that we have a lot of fun,” Christ said. “It’s really important that we enjoy the game and that we learn
to love it, and it makes us want to drive and do more.” Senior Sophia Lombardi said the development of the freshmen will help continue the success of the team. “This will really help teams in the next two-three years continue on with our success and try to maintain our goal of reaching State,” Lombardi said. Lombardi said the change in coaching does create a bit of a problem for the team logistically. “Because most of the freshmen can’t drive, we had to start pushing our practices back, returning to school at like 5 p.m. or 6 p.m.,” Lombardi said. “But we already have later practices, and we’re still playing as well as we want to.” Lombardi said she wants to keep this success going with a possible run for State, and is confident Elledge will help them get there. “I’m confident that he will be able to take us there,” Lombardi said. “If anyone could run two teams at once, it’s him.”