McHenry MessengerM
Menendez case resurfaces after multiple decades
After over 30 years, the Menendez brothers' case is back in the courtroom after new evidence was discovered in light of the new Netflix documentary released earlier this year
Grace Crockett New Editor
Taking into consideration new evidence, the Menendez Brothers case is currently under review for a possible resentencing that will take place in November
On Aug 20, 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered their parents, José and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home The brothers later confessed to the murders, but said that they were out of self-defense The brothers claimed high levels of sexual abuse directed towards them at the hands of their father and the case suddenly took a turn Controversy sparked in the public's eye
Your paragraph text
as some had sympathy for the brothers and believed they had a justifiable reason for the murders, while others believed the opposite, saying it was out of wanting their multi-million dollar estate inheritance faster as they spent over $700K in a “shopping spree” they had directly following the murders
After the first trial resulted in a hung jury, the retrial in 1996 ultimately led to their conviction of first-degree murder where they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, however this may change Recently, Netflix released "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" and the documentary, The Menendez Brothers that sparked the attention of the media
Diddy do it?
Olivia Smith Staff Writer
Sean Combs, the producer-turnedrapper largely credited for the popularization of Hip-Hop in the early 90s goes by a multitude of names ‘Puff Daddy,’ ‘P-Diddy,’ ‘Diddy,’ ‘Love,’ and ‘Puffy’ are just a few Recently though, he gained a few more rather sinister titles attached to him Sexual predator, trafficker, racketeer and potential murderer are just a few
‘Diddy’ is an R&B artist, rapper and record producer and executive For decades he presented the image of a wealthy music mogul He created his entire brand around the fact that he threw the absolute best parties Combs was at the center of one of the rap world’s most notorious and deadly beefs between Tupac and Notorious B I G
He capitalized on hip-hop’s shift into mainstream culture at the dawn of a new millennium, solidifying his presence in Hollywood for years to come (NBC)
Combs was recently charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution He was arrested Monday Sept 16 and pleaded not guilty to the charges the following day A federal judge denied him bail and he will remain in federal detention
According to CNN, Tarnofsky said, “My concern is this is a crime that happens behind closed doors even when pretrial services are monitoring,”
Particularly, when the indictment accused him of leading a ‘criminal enterprise’ with other
yet again as it depicted the crime as many began to wonder what truly happened that night in Beverly Hills
Along with the Netflix release, a letter from Erik that he wrote to his cousin Andy was later found, that alludes to the abuse he endured from his father This adds to their defense as it shows signs of abuse from José to Erik that they didn’t have during the previous trials
Also, on Oct 16, about two dozen of the Menendez family members gathered in a press conference all universally agreeing that, “something wasn’t quite right,” and hope that with the Nov reexamination of the case, will ultimately give the brothers another chance at freedom and reunite them with their family after 34 years of prison
After all of this came out regarding the case, naturally social media spiraled with people questioning if they really are the villains or, on the contrary, the victims Dean Roehrborn, a government teacher here at MCHS, explains the impact and dangers media coverage can have on public opinions and how education is key for a relevant and logical opinion to be formed
“I think social media can absolutely have the biggest impact,” says Roehrborn “I don't think a lot of people actually do a lot of research when it comes to this kind of stuff ”
“It depends on the perception that Netflix is trying to portray,”
continues Roehrborn “People can tend to follow that like it is 100% accurate and they will take that to social media and spread that around and people will take that as the truth without doing further research ”
Regarding the outcome of the retrial, John Lunkenheimer, Youth and Law teacher at MCHS believes all the media coverage can affect the jury in “today’s world” vs the 90’s as it is “almost impossible to prevent anyone from hearing about the trial and isolating a jury ”
It isn't predictable what the jury will decide in this reexamination but Roehrborn continues stating that a jury would have their “own version” of what actually happened based on what they see in that courtroom that “we won’t know about” and form their verdict on that alone
However, even if the outcome is still up in the air, many are using their prominence to share what they think should happen in the result of this review
Kim Kardashian, for example, has educated herself and taken action writing to NBC News on why the brothers should be freed
“Following years of abuse and a real fear for their lives,” says Kardashian to NBC “Erik and Lyle chose what they thought at the time was their only way out an unimaginable way to escape their living nightmare ”
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was recently arrested and is now facing criminal accusations and horrifying accusations
coworkers and employees It also describes the drug-fueled “freak-offs,” or elaborate sex performances in which he drugged and coerced victims into sexual acts with male sex workers Combs would then move to hosting these meets as after parties
The first charge in the indictment is racketeering conspiracy, a federal crime used to target organized criminal syndicates, known as an “enterprise,” such as the Mafia
“Members and associates of the Combs Enterprise engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other activities,” the indictment states, ”sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice ”
He also would record these acts and use them as blackmail, in order to keep victims and perpetrators silent
“Combs also used the sensitive, embarrassing, and incriminating recordings that he made during Freak Offs as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims,” the indictment states
Unfortunately, this is not the first time in which a scandal like this has taken the headlines by storm Take Watergate, or Epstein for example
“We’ve seen this pattern before someone in a position of power and influence chooses to exploit others for their own gain, using fear, manipulation and violence to maintain control over his victims,” Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, said in a statement
While people love celebrity drama, this scandal has shocked the world beyond comparison This is not just a matter of a civilian who happened to do something inherently evil, but rather, a person who was well respected This personal connection makes this story unlike anything else
In the age of social media, it is easier than ever to hide the parts of life people don’t want seen and flaunt the parts people want visible People might think they know from social media often have a parasocial relationship, but they never really know what someone is like off screen, or off page
Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2019 in Los Angeles He is currently jailed at Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center | Phillip Faraone / Getty Images for REVOLT / TNS
Erik Menendez, left, and is brother Lyle, in front of their Beverly Hills home They are prime suspects in their parents murder | Ronald Soble / Los Angeles Times / TNS
Blast from the past
Some
teachers at
MCHS had interesting jobs before they were teachers. So how did they end up in the classroom?
Aika Villa & Eli Formmes
Page Designer & Digital Editor
Heidie Dunn was looking back at old photos showing her students what she did before she started teaching Some of her students asked why she left and became a teacher, after they asked she just smiled and said, “it’s because you guys are great ”
A large amount of staff at MCHS did something before becoming a teacher Some were journalists, others did something else like aerial shows, or computer engineering
“It was an aerial act It feels like a total other lifetime,” Heidie Dunn, an AP English teacher and the AVID coordinator at MCHS says “Anyways this aerial act was in Las Vegas, and so I did that for 18 months after college ”
There are so many teachers that had ‘cooler’ jobs before teaching, but left that job because it just didn’t fit their current lifestyle, or it was something they didn’t want to do for the rest of their lives
“I was a journalist in the city of Chicago,” John Aubert, a College and Career Writing teacher and the advisor of the Warrior Weekly says, “as well as a freelancer in advertising writing I wrote some cool stories, interviewed some fun bands and wrote some catchy ads that still play on the radio today!”
Not all teachers had a different job, some teachers have always wanted to teach “I was a design engineer, I was primarily responsible for designing the physical design of those microchips,” Eric Jones, a science teacher says “Now this is work that would be done on a computer, because it’s something that fits inside your phone, so that's clearly a different scale I did that for many years, and then I did project management at
the end of that time, where I would help customers see their projects through from start to finish ”
For some, it was more of an unexpected change, but unexpected things could also become something they’d eventually enjoy
“I was a research scientist for 16 years, and that's what I wanted to do,”
Steven Levon, a science teacher says
“I grew up when the HIV infection first started and I was really interested in doing lab work, reading articles, and seeing how people were suffering It was just something that I wanted to be a part of and research ”
Other teachers were influenced by teachers they had growing up and other people around them that made them want to pursue this career path
“When I got to SIU I was able to meet a guy by the name of James Watson who really influenced me into going into research,” Says Levon, “and just an incredible guy My courses were tough I had to take chemistry and physics and in addition to Microbiology and Molecular Biology classes But I loved the challenge ”
As teachers have gone through their careers at MCHS they have found joy in helping students, and helping them achieve their dreams
“It wasn't exactly something that I chose to do,” Levon says, “but when I got into it, it's kind of funny, my daughter's prognosis was she wasn't going to live past four years old, but she wound up living to be 14 So I was here for 14 years, I wound up really loving what I do I mean, I know I'm a goof, but I enjoy what I do It's fun interacting with you guys and I just feel like I make an impact here ”
Teachers have found a new love for teaching students through their craft that they have perfected what they do over many years
“I went here myself and I knew they were looking for a French teacher,” Andy Hiller, a French teacher says “I was in France, and I wanted to stay, but I couldn't I was running out of money, and so I would have had to have waited four months out of paycheck and I couldn't do that I came back and I thought, I almost finished student teaching, so I might as well just take one
class I worked in a Catholic high school at the same time Then I taught middle school for four years, and now I'm here ” At the end of the day Dunn and many other teachers were leaving the school discussing their past careers Even though they loved what they did before becoming a teacher they are just as happy, if not more, in their current positions
TheMcHenryMessengerisMcHenryCommunityHigh School’sstudent-writtenand-editednewspaper Launchedin2019,TheMcHenryMessengeristhe student-runandstudent-editedschoolnewspaperat McHenryHighSchoolinMcHenry,Illinois
Studentjournalistshavetherighttoexercisefreedomof speechandthepressinhighschoolmedia The McHenryMessengerbenefitsfromtheserights Wehope tousethisplatformtoinformandengagethestudents andstaffofMcHenryHighSchoolaswellasitsbroader community
Asastudent-drivenpublication itisimportanttous thatwerepresenteverygroupwithinbothcampusesas wellasthebroaderMcHenrycommunity providinga platformforthemtotelltheirstories Weintendto provideaccesstoobjective,relevantinformationthat theyneedtoknow
Dominic Burnett Puzzlemaster Claire Crockett Contributing Illustrator
Teachers often don't choose the education path as their first option, many of them have an interesting first career | Beth Brackmann