August 30, 2019 ECHO

When RHS Speaks, We

ECHO

Rolla High School - 900 Bulldog Run - Rolla, Missouri 65401- Volume 71 - Issue 1 August 30, 2019 - www.rhsecho.com @rhsechonews

Lion’s Club stadium will be packed full of Bulldog Pride to kick off season tonight

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Sports Editor On the first home football game every year the Chamber of Commerce sponsors Bulldog Pride Night. A night full of free food and school spirit. The buzz and anticipation for this big event happening tonight is so thick one could almost cut it with a knife.

The whole community gathers in the parking lots and bleachers for a chance to be a part of the town’s biggest ‘tailgate’ party, hosted by the High School. The teachers will get to share in the fun as well, with the event being totally run by the Chamber.The faculty gets to sit back and watch the game as well. At Pride Night, local businesses will set up booths and tables to help get information, freebies, and samples out to

parents, students, teachers, and anyone attending the fun that night.

“The Chamber of Commerce sponsors and works in partnership with Rolla High School to put on Bulldog Pride Night, so the chamber pretty much takes care of all of Pride Night, the only thing we do as a school is hosting the facility, and we have the game,” Head Principal Dr. Jim Pritchett said.

Tonight at 5:30 p.m., the night will kick off with free food and a seat to watch Rolla vs.

Glendale. The attendance for this big event is usually in the several thousands, adding to show support for the football team, band, and cheerleaders.The football team looks forward to improving on last year’s game, having a lot of confidence in their abilities this year.

“Pride Night really helps the football team a lot, it’s always the most crowded game of the year. It brings out a lot of people onto the scene, and it really just showcases us to the community, who some of them usually wouldn’t come to the games,” senior Varsity Football Captain Jack Hounsom said.

Besides football, the band will be performing half of their show, “The Ascent,” which they have been working on since this summer. Along with that, the varsity cheerleaders will also be performing a hard worked dance at half time.

“There’s Just a variety of things there to check out and eat, one of my favorite things was last year, they had fried Oreos,” Pritchett said.

Athlete of the Month

Freshman Izzy Frost competed in the Rock n Roll marathon race in New Orleans in the off season.

Junior Daniel Read’s third year as a top cross country runner is underway. Read the story of this month’s featured athletes on page 6. Photo courtesy of Izzy Frost

The bulldogs have been back on the field for a while now after many team members spent the off season training their bodies for the intensity of the fall Friday night season. The home opener brings fans together under the pride of Bulldog Nation to celebrate the team, the cheer squad, and the introduction to the marching band’s new show. Come early for free food and community fun tonight at 5:30 p.m. Photo by Quinn Gufffey

Artist of the Month

Check out senior Chloe Lortz’s piece on exhbit in the art gallery on the lower floor. Read more about her work in the story on page 6. Photo by Lauren Ulrich

District improvement survey seeks community input on RPS future

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Huber

Managing Editor

One of the most critical responsibilities of the district administrators is to constantly work toward improving district educational facilities, programs, and resources. Over the past few years in particular, a tremendous amount of

work has been done behind the scenes.

Most teachers and parents are aware of the existence of the district’s ten year plan. Recently, a community-wide survey was released; it consisted of seven questions to which the possible responses varied from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Teachers, parents, administrators, and the extended Rolla community were encouraged to provide their own input on the district’s next steps.

Dr. Aaron Zalis, superintendent of the Rolla school district, explains the background behind the district’s 10-year facility plan. The process of the semi-long term plan can be broken into three sections: observation, planning, and, finally, implementation.

“Principals, parents, teachers, and city administrators made up a committee of about 15 who identified the areas we later [proposed to the

community],” Dr, Zalis said.

The committee spent all of the 2017-2018 school year examining the district facilities. Each month, the plan was shared with the Board and was finally adopted in June of 2018.

“Last year, I met with the Board on more than one occasion and we looked at how we could start implementing the recommendations from the plan,” Dr. Zalis said.

The survey was divided into seven major topics: increased safety and security, a performing arts facility and auditorium for the high school, a music and band room expansion for the junior high, science lab renovations at the junior high, an early childhood program expansion, a Truman Elementary library renovation, and RTI building renovations.

“We identified those seven areas so we could ask the staff and community for their thoughts

on how we should proceed,” Zalis said.

For now, Dr. Zalis and his team will continue to analyze the responses and weigh the possibilities.

“As we work through the fall, in October I have a meeting with the board about narrowing down those seven choices to just a couple.

That’s when we include dollar figures attached to them,” Zalis said.

One particular proposition has rolled over from the last ten year plan: a new auditorium for the high school.

“The only thing we didn’t accomplish [last time] was the auditorium at the high school. The data showed that people liked the idea, but they didn’t want to pay for it. The tolerance on the tax rate showed that if we went too high, people wouldn’t vote ‘yes,’ so we took it off,” Dr. Zalis said. continued on page 5

Letter from the Editor Dear students of RHS, Within just a few weeks of the school year, I have already reached a state of perpetual stress.

The so-called bliss and freedom of senior year is nowhere to be found as piles of homework and responsibilities restrain me from the teenage life I was promised in the movies. Where are my late-night adventures, dances under the moonlight, and milkshakes at the drive in? Instead, hanging out means study sessions, the closest thing I have to young love is my passive aggressive cat, and my late-night adventures normally equate to going to bed at 9 p.m. I find myself yearning for the days of youthful oblivion like they were so long ago. In such a short amount of time, I suddenly feel so old. I should be feeling senioritis, but instead I feel like I’m having a midlife crisis.

Although my self-induced problems may seem meaningless, I see them reflected amongst my peers too. Since when did high schoolers try so hard? I care about my GPA as much as the next person, but I know it is not everything. As someone who cares way too much in general, I have to force myself to care a little less about school. If we keep up at this pace, all of us over-eager students will soon be facing burnout before even finishing college. I have seen so many friends struggle to prioritize their own

health and happiness over external factors like school and work. Although everyone’s situations differ, we could all try a little harder to take care of ourselves. For me, that means realizing that I am not perfect, but I am enough for myself. I can only do so much and I do not have to make myself a martyr for others. I encourage all of you to do what you need to realize that you are enough too.

This first letter of the school year may be a little too deep, but I only say it out of love and concern for my peers. To all the new freshmen faces roaming the halls, don’t be discouraged just yet. You will probably not have an existential crisis your senior year like me, but you will have to learn how to balance your life and find what makes you happy. To my upperclassmen friends, please chill out a bit. The world doesn’t need a whole generation peaking at age 18. We still have time to figure our lives out and we honestly just need to relax until then.

Love, Lauren Ulrich P.S. Yes, I will be signing with “love” because y’all need a little extra.

Follow @rhsechonews on Twitter and Instagram. For more news and sports go to www.rhsecho.com

ECHO Staff

Editor In Chief: Lauren Ulrich Managing Editor: Kayla Copeland Copy Editor: Genevieve Huber Webmaster: Erin Pfiefer News: Elena Bai Opinion: Emma Starns Sports: Quinn Guffey Feature: Julia Leventis

Staff Writers: Mable Dougaard, JJ Giesey, Sudatta Hor, Michael “Mandy” James, Hannah Le, Kyle McCutcheon Adviser: Dr. Mary Gillis

ECHO is an open forum for student expression. All letters to the editor must include the writer’s name, signature and class or position. Anonymous letters will not be published. ECHO reserves the right to reject any letters. Letters should be sent to ECHO, Rolla High School, 900 Bulldog Run, Rolla, MO 65401.

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ECHO is a member of Missouri Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association, and Quill & Scroll Honor Society

Aspects of high School mirror a prison system

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Elena Bai Staff Writer

Even though we may not realize it, the social system of high school often mirrors a prison system- specifically, Bentham’s panopticon.

Jeremy Bentham, an 18th century English philosopher, in response to the massive amounts of poverty and crime in London at the time, designed what he thought would be the ultimate prison- one in which inmates were arranged in cells surrounding a central office where the guards were situated. In this way, the prisoners would feel as if they were constantly being watched, even if they were not. For the panopticon to work, the prisoners should not be able to see guards and thus would not know when they are being watched. The fear of getting caught, Bentham thought, would make the prisoners less likely to break the rules.

In very much the same way, the 1,100 other students and teachers in Rolla High affect our behavior each day. We bring our preconceived notions of “normal” to school every day and further engrave them through interactions with others. This is especially true at the high school level because most of us are fully aware of social norms. We also tend to value social order and interpersonal relationships above our own principles, which may not be fully formed yet. This creates a system in which a person wearing pajamas to school, dying their hair into a rainbow, or

acting differently from what people perceive as normal will often get unwanted attention from their peers.

This normalization happens throughout the day, whether it is in classrooms or the halls during passing periods. Behavior that is deemed abnormal is punished- or at least we assume it will be. This fear of punishment leads to people being less likely to take risks in expressing or exploring themselves and their opinions. During passing periods, we are exposed to the rest of the school population, who are free to express judgement through stares and other subtle reactions. Being monitored by teachers in the halls during passing periods also helps to establish and reinforce norms, as a lot of students are aware of the teachers’ presence and will be less likely to break the social norms if they feel like a person of higher authority is watching them.

This also occurs in classrooms, where people are more likely to establish their own roles throughout the year. We reinforce these roles through the way we talk to others as well as the way we act on a normal basis, things like whether we sleep in class or not, or what we talk about build a norm that students are often afraid to break.

These roles also come with a set of expectations for the person to fulfill.

However, the consequences of this are not necessarily bad. Enforcing certain social norms in school can lead to more successful people.

After all, it would not be proper to show up to work in a clown suit or without shoes. Furthermore, social norms help us communicate through our expression. It is a social norm that a suit is professional and that sweatpants are not; without this knowledge, we would not be able to establish our values and what we as individuals want to become through fashion and the conventions that we follow now. There are many social norms that help a lot of people; that is often why they exist. But it is important to be mindful of the social norms that we often unwittingly reinforce.

Weighted GPA’s offer fix our valedictorian problem

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Staff Writer Each year, Rolla High School has so many valedictorians, it is hard to remember who is who, and how many there actually are.

Last year, we had a grand total of 19 valedictorians. How is this possible? Rolla High School has chosen to make the position of valedictorian a challenge for students to maintain a high GPA, rather than a competition. While other schools have a single valedictorian and salutatorian, Rolla High School has too many 4.0 students who are qualified for the position. How could this system be fixed? The answer is simple: weighted grades. Currently, a student who is taking normal or conceptual classes is equal to a student who is enrolled in AP classes, dual credit classes, or honors classes. A student with classes that require less effort could easily be on the giant wall of faces that proudly greets people every morning by the administration office. The

student population is suffering a great disservice by having so many students being recognized at once, purely by the fact that the recognition is too dispersed among such a great number of people. With a weighted grading system, the GPA scale would possess a range of 0.0 to 5.0. This would motivate students to take more rigorous courses, while still allowing students who felt comfortable in normal classes to earn a good GPA. It would be simpler to evaluate individuals for valedictorian and salutatorian, and since there would only be one of each, the title would regain meaning, and therefore promote healthy competition among peers.

Some may argue that colleges may view the weighted GPA range in a negative manner, putting students from Rolla High School at a disadvantage when applying for the school of their dreams. The National Association for College Admission Counseling has clarified in statements that most colleges level out GPAs among applicants, which means that they remove the weighted grade system and convert the student’s GPA to the normal system. This way, applicants have an equal playing field across all high schools, preventing one school giving their students an unfair advantage.

A weighted grade system would reward the efforts of students who pushed themselves to enroll in courses with a higher difficulty, while also granting a decent GPA to those who are successful in normal courses.

What do you think? Take our Twitter poll @rhsechonews.com

Club opportunities at Rolla High School Interested in being part of an extracurricular, trying to pad your college resume, or just wanting to have some fun with your friends? You should try joining one of Rolla High School’s many clubs. The new school year gives plenty of opportunity for students to experience new things, so try checking out one of the school’s clubs, listed below.

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•Flipping Pages Book Club Sponsor: Jessie Kirkbride f e r

Webmaster

•Academic Team Sponsor: Lisa McCarthy •Chess Club Sponsor: Michael Ellis •DECA Sponsor: Jordan Burks •FBLA Sponsor: Jeremy Haberman

•Bulldog Misc. Adventures Sponsor: Jessie Kirkbride •Chapter Of Amnesty International Sponsor: Star Hargis

•Science Olympiad Dr. Keith Peterson & Science Department •Skills USA (@RTI) Sponsors: Angie Yowell & Ralph Sellers & Terry Brookshire •Key Club Sponsor: Christy Green

•Spanish Club Sponsors: Dr. Diane Peterson & Katie Smith •Writing Club Sponsors: Katie Nilges & Bonnie Hall •Student 2 Student Sponsors: Counseling Center

•Debate Club Sponsor: Michael Ellis

•Latin Club Sponsor: Elisabeth Oster

•Math Club Sponsor: Cara Hanlin

•Eco Club Sponsor: Chelsea Millis

•HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) Sponsor: Rebecca Bolen

•Octagon Club Sponsor: Dr. Mary Gillis

•Art Club/NAHS (National Art Society) Sponsor: Connie Shoemaker •International Thespian Society Sponsor: Kelli McNeven •French Club Sponsor: Emily Mullen

•Robotics Sponsor: Leigh Ann Carpenter •Tabletop Gaming Club Sponsors: Michael Hill, JD Smith & Travis Yoakum

•FFA (@RTI) Sponsors: Cord Jenkins & Randy Stockstill

•FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) Sponsors: Jamie Cantrell & Dana Jenkins

•FTA (Future Teachers of America) Sponsor: Amanda Jarrett

•German Club Sponsor: Tammy Lueck

•Improv Club Sponsor: Kelli McNeven

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Nature Center to host native plant sale, pollinator festival

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Staff Writer This September 13th, a local nature center will be hosting an appealing festival. Some people may not have been to the Audubon Trails Nature Center, but the park is a very nice place for nature related activities such as hiking, bird watching, and hosting a nature festival. Louise Wilkinson, the Vice President of the Ozark Rivers Audubon Chapter, has high expectations for the upcoming festival.

“The festival is the Fall Native Plant Sale, Birding and Pollinator festival. This is our third event. We’re going to have four different guided walks: birding, wildflower, nature photography, and nature plants walk. We got 22 information booths. We have organizations like Missouri Prairie Foundation, Meramec Springs Park, Rock Island Trail,” Wilkinson said.

People who attend the festival will be able to see and learn new nature related concepts. In

addition to the walks and information booths, the park itself is a good place to spend time in nature as well.

“The Audubon Trails is a seventy acre property. It has six different habitats on the property, we have a glade, a corridor, savannah, 11 acre remnant prairie, an oak hickory forest, band of century old pines,” Wilkinson said.

In fact, the festival was originally meant to be focused about the nature center rather than sharing general information about nature.

“The festival originally started to introduce people to the nature center, but recently it started to educate people about birds and wildlife conservation and the importance of maintaining native plants and native habitats. Another purpose is to introduce people to the variety of nature and outdoor related organizations that are available in this area,” Wilkinson said.

Some high school students may be unconcerned with maintaining native plants and habitats. However, Wilkinson does believe that high school students should know about the importance of nature preservation.

“High school students should be concerned about birds, pollinators, and wildlife, because lots of the native habitats are disappearing due to land development, pollution, and other land use,” Wilkinson said. “Pollinators are important for growing the foods that we eat. If we lose the bees or other insects that pollinate the flowers, we lose our ability to grow the foods that we use. In terms of maintaining native habitat, if we lose those insects. We can lose the native ozarks ecosystems.”

New teachers of RHS “M

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Staff Writer

Mrs. Stormes Meet Mrs Stormes, a photogenic part time gamer, creative writer and book worm. Stormes teaches English 1 and English 2 here at RHS. Quickly after finishing her student teaching she heard about the open position and applied. Rolla is originally Stormes’s hometown, so she was excited to have the opportunity to come back.

Stormes is a Student Council advisor this year and says she is having a blast with the Student Council Kids so far. She also loves to bake any sorts of desserts, from cookies to brownies. Mrs. Storms would love to meet all of you, and you are welcome to her room whenever.

“Something students don’t know about me is that I grew up on a honey bee farm near Vichy, Missouri,” Stormes said.

Photo by Lauren Ulrich

Mrs. Beers

Rolla Police Department embraces* social media

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McCutcheon Staff Writer

The Rolla Police Department interacts with the public in a variety of ways, including through social media. Chief Fagan of the Rolla Police Department explains the social media policy the department abides by. He provided insight on the ways that social media affects the department’s ability to do their job. The department often gets mixed responses on what they narrate through their social media. At the end of the day, the department is interested in providing the facts to the public and keeping people

updated.

“There’s no way of appeasing everybody, but we try as best as we can,” Fagan said.

Social media has allowed the police to be connected to everybody--even criminals. Fagan used the example of when someone broke into Sinks’ Pharmacy.

“We found a phone outside, laying on the ground, one of the bad guys had dropped it… with that, we were able to get into that phone with a subpoena, and we got all of his social media… not only did we identify him, we identified all of the people who were with him,” Fagan said.

This is one way that local police use social media to do their job. Overall, Fagan believes that social media has a positive effect on the Police Department.

“I’m very close with the Chamber of Commerce. We have a public relations officer.

Between the two of us, we keep the police department in a loop. We put all of our calls on our web page that way we have transparency,” Fagan said.

When walking around the school halls students may have seen a few new names, with well known teachers it is hard to miss a new face. This year the high school has a plethora of new teachers and staff members in the building. ECHO had the opportunity to interview two of these lovely members of RHS and see a little more behind the scenes of what they do.

Photo by Lauren Ulrich

Meet Mrs. Beers, a book loving, outdoorsy adventurer, and a Blues fan for life. Beers teaches at the Junior High in the mornings, and in the high school in the afternoon. Her focal point is world history for the 7th and 10th grade. Beers is originally from Washington, Missouri, but taught in Poplar Bluff, Missouri for a few years. She was looking to come closer to home, and when she heard a position was open in Rolla she jumped at the opportunity.

“A fun fact about me is when I was in college I went to China for a missions trip. It was really neat, a really eye opening experience. It was something really different, and really threw me out of my comfort zone, but I grew so much.

That was really the summer of growth for me,” Beers said.

Photo by Lauren Ulrich

Dr. Amy Herrman focuses on outreach, communication as new Director of the RTI/C

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Editor In Chief Rolla Public Schools welcomes back one of its own as Dr. Amy Hermann returns to the district to oversee the Rolla Technical Institute/Center.

Herman worked in Jefferson City this past year, but she reports that she could not help but come back to the district.

“I wanted to experience another district because I’m getting later in my career. I saw and I was excited to have the opportunity to come back to Rolla,” Herrman said.

Now, Herrman hopes to apply her career’s worth of experience to directing the RTI/C. Among others, Herrman’s experiences in Jefferson City revealed to her the importance of long-standing relationships to administering education.

“I realized that when you’ve been invested for so long in a community, it makes a difference with the difference you

can make in kid’s lives too,” Herrman said.

Herrman says having community contacts is important to finding resources for students.

Herrman worked to rebuild those contacts in her new city, but says she found herself missing previous relationships.

“I remember last year being at a home Jefferson City football game and looking out on the crowd at all the kids and the parents and not knowing a single soul and realizing the huge impact it had on me,” Herrman said.

Familiarity with her community will not be a challenge for Herrman at the RTI/C as she returns to the district that she worked at for the entirety of her career.

Herrman shares her excitement for her new position and the potential that it holds. “This position takes me to the next level where I can really focus on kids’ careers and their next step in life,” Herrman said.

The RTI/C is not a minor undertaking. With a focus on college and career preparation, their programs range from construction trades to radiological technology.

Students at the high school level can boost their technical skills for employment right out of high school, or use their education to jump start the college process. Adult students are encouraged to prepare for immediate entry into the workforce.

As a critical resource for Rolla and surrounding communities, Herrman says her goal for her first year as Director is to increase outreach and communication to the community.

“I feel a responsibility I have here is to make

“I’m glad to be back with family.”

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Photo by Lauren Ulrich

sure that we’re connected to what our community needs are,” Herrman said.

Herrman further stresses the importance of local connection by sharing that students who participate in career technical education often work within a 50 mile radius of where they were educated. For the nine area schools sending students to the RTI/C, this fact is important to strengthening employment in their communities.

“What I’m hoping to focus on is getting the message out there that career tech is not just for the work bound student, it’s for the college bound student,” Herrman said.

To demonstrate this message, the RTI/C will be hosting a Career and Tech Showcase for the community on September 4th from 5-7 p.m.

The event is in place of annual parent teacher conferences and will provide a glipse at all that their programs have to offer.

Despite her new outreach efforts, Herrman’s overall message remains the same.

“I’m glad to be back with family,” Herrman said.

Newly launched RPS website, app sign of improved district communications parents and students with ease. WIth the mobile app, users will be notified of district and school announcements, while having access to the same information that is displayed on the website.

Rolla Public Schools’ app also provides a convenient way to acquire current grades, since it provides a link to Campus Portal.

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Staff Writer Rolla Public School District has introduced a new website for all schools within the Rolla district. The new address, rolla31.org, has all of the original information contained on the old website, with fewer glitches and easier access.

One main challenge with the old format was that mobile use was limited, while the new setup is said to be 100 percent mobile responsive.

Parents were surveyed on the most common features they used on the original website, such as lunch menus, so that staff could create a new design for the main page.

The director of communication, Gina Zervos, stated during the monthly board meeting that, “We really tried to place the most wanted materials front and center [on the website].”

Now, all individual schools have important information on the main page with correlating icons for less confusion. The technology department also developed a new app to help notify

One main feature of this new app is Peach Jar, which is a function that has copies of flyers for athletic events, registration information, and significant school events.

The introduction to Peach Jar states that, “By using this new system, Rolla Public Schools to eliminate the need to print roughly 588,000

sheets per year- nearly 71 trees.”

This new platform provides a better connection between parents, staff, and students, while also being eco-friendly through ensuring less paper waste. For those who have questions about the new information server, both the website and app have a “Contact Us” button to encourage suggestions. Both services are still in progress, so new changes will be occurring throughout the school year to address issues as they arise.

Rolla Public School District has introduced a new website for all schools within the Rolla district. The new address, rolla31.org, has all of the original information contained on the old website, with fewer glitches and easier access. One main challenge with the old format was that mobile use was limited, while the new setup is said to be 100 percent mobile responsive. Parents were surveyed on the most common features they used on the original website, such as lunch menus, so that staff could create a

new design for the main page.

The director of communication, Gina Zervos, stated during the monthly board meeting on this date that, “We really tried to place the most wanted materials front and center [on the website].”

Now, all individual schools have important information on the main page with correlating icons for less confusion. The technology department also developed a new app to help notify parents and students with ease. WIth the mobile app, users will be notified of district and school announcements, while having access to the same information that is displayed on the website. Rolla Public Schools’ app also provides a convenient way to acquire current grades, since it provides a link to Campus Portal.

One main feature of this new app is Peach Jar, which is a function that has copies of flyers for athletic events, registration information, and significant school events.

The introduction to Peach Jar states that, “By using this new system, Rolla Public Schools to eliminate the need to print roughly 588,000 sheets per year- nearly 71 trees.”

This new platform provides a better connection between parents, staff, and students, while also being eco-friendly through ensuring less paper waste. For those who have questions about the new information server, both the website and app have a “Contact Us” button to encourage suggestions. Both services are still in progress, so new changes will be occurring throughout the school year to address issues as they arise.

District improvement survey seeks patron input continued from page 1

However, the largest community concern laid elsewhere: safety. A significant 63% of participants chose “strongly agree” for enhancing safety precautions.

“If you look solely at how many people answered the questions, safety came in first. I don’t know if that means it is more popular, but the overwhelming majority suggests we should be thinking more about safety and security,” Dr. Zalis said.

“Would you be in favor of expanding our current pre-k program?”

Releasing detailed safety plans to the public could potentially forfeit the effectiveness of the system, so ECHO will not publish the specifics.

Because taxpayers are ultimately the ones paying for the improvements, it is crucial for the team to get an accurate count. “[the communications department] calls reg-

63%

“strongly agree” to enhance safety precautions istered voters in the community and asks them if they will support what we plan to do… and at what tax level. They do that until they get a sampling of the district that represents who will

come out to the polls and vote,” Dr. Zalis said.

Unfortunately, not every issue can be resolved at once. Some of the propositions will not be listed on the ballot, likely because taxpayers decided the benefit would not outweigh the outof-pocket cost. Overall, the district is moving forward with planning and further updates are expected as the ten-year plan is solidified. “[The plan] has definitely got some traction.

Again, it doesn’t matter what we want. It’s all about what the voters will approve,” Dr. Zalis said.

“Would you be in favor of creating a new library for Truman elementary?”

3-D rendering of proposed auditorium. Photo courtesy of Rolla Public Schools

Wrestlers keep up the off-season “grind” with tournaments, Olympic training

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Staff Writer Over the summer, students can take a relaxing break from classes and homework. There are some athletes, on the other hand, who stay on the offseason “grind.” The wrestling team in particular had a busy summer off-season.

“The wrestling team had an outstanding summer. We went to St. Louis every week, we got to go out of state. We had one, Nathan Pulliam, placed fourth in the nation. It was a 128 man bracket, so when he stood next to it, it was as tall as he was,” says wrestling coach Marty Hauck.

This accomplishment is no easy feat. There are many levels and qualifications one must go through before even getting to compete at the national level. In addition to Pulliam, another member of the wrestling team, Hayden Fane,

qualified for nationals. out and worked with the Olympic coaches for “In order to qualify to go to the national a week, and that was right before the national tournament you have to be in the top four at tournament so it kind of set it up great for him.” freestyle or greco state. That was last May, and Hauck himself was also involved with Olympic Nate won, he was training over the the champion, and summer.

Hayden took forth, “I personally got so they both qualito go overseas with fied for [Nationals], the U.S. National ” says Hauck. team. I worked with Being able to them and I went to compete at the Budapest, Hungary,” national level is Hauck says. “I also a prestigious acgot to train the complishment and coaches out there placing top four at as well. There were the national level forty-nine coaches is even more so. It that went out there undoubtedly took and I was one of Pulliam quite a the clinicians out bit of hard work, there. The coaches but what also may that I worked with have helped was a this year will be rare opportunity the coaches of the to train with great photo courtesy of Marty Hauck Olympic team next resources. year.”

“At the same time, since he was the state Not every coach is able to do as much as champion, we also got to take Nate to the Olym- Hauck did this summer. It may be interesting pic training center and he got to work out at the to see what qualifications Coach Hauck has in Olympic training center,” says Hauck. “He came order to be heavily involved with the Olympics.

“There’s a lot that goes into it, obviously, a lot of behind the scenes. I’ve written papers, I’ve been published, I’ve done a lot of video work,” Hauck says. “I am a silver level coach right now, and I am two items away from being a gold level coach. That is my goal: by the end of the year to be a gold level coach. There is only thirty-seven or so of those coaches in the country right now.

I will be one of the fastest to get there.”

Hauck’s qualifications and abilities will help the wrestling program significantly. He is now able to take some of the high school’s wrestlers and coaches to the Olympic Training Center and help them improve in wrestling with the top notch resources.

“We get fourteen spots in wrestling. My fourteen varsity wrestlers, in about two years, hopefully will all have been through the Olympics Center. Because then I can start bringing kids out there. Then, my kids will have been trained by the Olympic coaches and the National team coaches, and I can also start bringing some of my coaches with me as well, ” says Hauck.

“Hopefully in the next three years, all our coaches and our varsity wrestlers will have been out there with the nation’s best. We will keep raising the bar of our wrestling program.”

5 Feature

Cody Martin named new Girls Tennis coach

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Opinion Editor After five years of coaching Rolla High School’s girls’ tennis, Coach Joe Schisler is no longer girls’ tennis coach and Coach Cody Martin has taken up the position. He currently teaches PE at BW Robinson, a state-run school for special education, and went to high school in Rolla. Coach Martin first gained an interest in tennis his freshman year of high school.

Martin decided to coach tennis because he liked the environment of the Rolla tennis team when he played.

“Being a part of the tennis program in high school, I really liked the traditions they did, the mentality towards tennis,” Coach Martin said.

He also loves that the nature of the sport allows him to keep playing and enjoying it for the rest of his life. “...[tennis] is a game that can be played when you’re younger and when you’re older and as I age, I’ll still be able to play it with these athletes and I think that’s going to be a big part of coaching,” Coach Martin said.

Coach Martin respects the work that Coach Schisler did in the past five years and is working to continue the tradition of hard work on the team. The tennis team practice is typically 3:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M., but Martin knows the rewards of extra practice and wants to show the team.

“ I really want to focus on players not just being a 3:30 to 5:00 player. They need to be players outside of practice who want to continue and grow,” said Coach Martin.

However, he also has a lot of different plans for the team, including keeping last season’s 1:1 win-loss ratio (.500), and has started working with them to improve their technique. “We want to maintain .500. That’s a big goal for us….

There’s just fundamentals to tennis that you really have to train and develop and repetition after repetition get better at,” said Coach Martin.

Martin also hopes to teach the team values and skills that are important in life. “If they take a loss a really hard way- just really down on themselves- I want them, by the end of the season, to accept that a loss just means you’re learning a lesson and that you’re going to get better from it,” said Coach Martin. He and the parents involved hope to foster a nurturing environment where everyone on the team is included. “I want them to socialize not only in practice but outside… a parent is going to host a party for the team and everyone on the team’s going to be invited,” Coach Martin said. This, he hopes, will help break up cliques and help the team bond.

Beyond this, Coach Martin is also working to improve the future of Rolla tennis by planning a youth tennis league so that kids will be able to practice tennis before they step foot into high school. This youth league will also serve to teach younger kids the importance of hard work and foster other values that will undoubtedly help them throughout life.

Coach Martin has many plans for the future and seems confident that with training and hard work, the team will accomplish great things in the coming years.

“There’s so much potential to turn these players into skill. I am excited to grow this program into just being better than it was the previous year,” Martin said.

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Cutting students from sports teams can cause controversy over whether or not it has an effect on the student athletes, both on and off of the team. The coaches and athletes both have to deal with being cut and the stresses of trying out, whereas on other teams, they keep most of their incoming players.

Coach Jon Franks is the head track and field and football coach. He also teaches weight training. When asked about cuts on the football team, Franks said, “I know that the other programs have tryouts, and then they have a set of criteria to go by because a lot of teams have too many people, but in football we keep as many that want to come out.”

Some of the sports teams keep all of their players, like football, golf, wrestling, and tennis.

On the other hand, there are cuts in softball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, and basketball.

Coach Hohe has been at Rolla for two years.

He is the head baseball coach, assistant softball coach, freshman English teacher and career communications.

“We have an evaluation process where we evaluate athletes based off of the number of skill sets. To simplify it, there are three main skill sets we look at; offensive skills, defensive skills,

and if your pitcher, we look at those skills as well,” Hohe said.

Even though there are sports cuts, there are still ranks that the coaches must decide.

“As far as ranking them, that is a lengthy process. We do a lot of offseason stuff. There’s some natural talent, some intellectual ability, not to mention the other stuff like working out, going to camps, making sure they’re dependable, trustworthy. There’s a lot to it as far as kids making the team, but that’s kind of how we rank them. We can rank them one through so and so, however many players we have, and then move from there because we’re pretty blessed. We have a varsity team, the JV team, and the freshmen team,” Franks shares about the process for the placement of the team.

However, being cut from a team can and usually does hurt the athlete.

“It’s very difficult. Usually what we do is meet with every athlete, we tell them their strengths and their weaknesses. If they made the team, we tell them things that we are going to work on and give them some places they can go and some things they can do to improve [their skillset]. Most of the time, students that we cut, we give them a list of things they need to do to get to where they need to be if they want to make the team. When you work hard at something you want to be a part of when you find out you’re not... it’s not always easy. It’s hard on coaches and it’s harder on the athletes that get cut.,” Hohe said. The football team has many players that come out and most get to stay.

“Nobody will be cut at this time; our district has allowed us to keep our team. I know some places do cut, we don’t. I shouldn’t say we don’t.

We have the ability to eliminate somebody from the program if they don’t meet our MSHSAA standards or code of conduct, but other than that, just because the kid is not capable they’re not going to get cut,” Franks said.

Athletes of the Month

Izzy Frost

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Coaches, athletes deal with beginning of season ‘cuts’

Daniel Read

Freshman Izzy Frost has been in love with running for most of her life. After seeing a flyer at her old school for a 5k, she decided to give it her best shot. After the race, she completely fell in love.

“I love it because it helps me with everyday struggles, stress, and with it I meet new friends and people at races everytime and they become lifelong friends,’’ Frost said.

She has won 5 state records, including three in the two mile road race (ages 12-14), one in the 5k road race, one in the four mile road race, and is a three time Junior Olympian. This cross country and track season she hopes to place at state, get new personal records, and eventually run in college and go for the Olympics.

Junior Daniel Read has been running since

eighth grade after seeing his brother get into cross country, and has since become his favorite hobby. Although he has not been able to run much recently due to numerous hip strains, he is more than ready to get back into the swing of things.

“The best thing about running for me is that when I’m running my problems are gone. The only thing that matters is the road ahead of me.

And after every run, I’m more calm and my worries and sorrows don’t matter as much anymore.

Running not only trains my body, but it helps me become a better and more understanding person,” Read said.

photo courtesy of Daniel Read

Artist of the Month

Senior Chloe Lortz started drawing when she was very young. When she got to high school, she decided to take art and is now taking an AP art class with teacher Mrs. Engelbrecht.

Lortz prefers to draw and paint with watercolor, and enjoys drawing people and flowers in particular. Although she struggles with getting inspiration at times, Lortz gets through it by putting the artwork away and then coming back b y H a n n a h L e to it later with a fresh mind. Often, she S t a f f W r i t e r looks at Pinterest and to people for motivation.

“Art is super calming and I like to see what comes out of what I paint. If I get a project at school that has coloring in it,

I get so excited, and it’s the first thing I do when I get home,” Lortz said.

At home, she surrounds herself with art. There are many paintings and drawings around her room.

“I always detail my photo by Lauren Ulrich work as

much as possible. So whenever all the details are there I know the artwork is finished,” Lortz said.

Lortz says she will keep doing art for the rest of her life, not in just painting or drawing, but in other ways to express her creativity. She indicated that she wants to improve with skin tone for acrylic painting.

“I like getting to the painting part because I like sketching it, but I get too excited to start and finish. I try not to wait to finish something when I start it.

I like to get it done in one or two sittings because I think it turns out best that way,” Lortz said.

Currently, Lortz is working on a spine

made of watercolor as a gift to a teacher.

“I haven’t gotten around to painting it yet, only the sketch,” Lortz said.

Creating art makes Lortz feel relaxed.

Occasionally, she plays music to help her focus, but she likes the environment to be quiet and away from people.

Lortz works hard to get her art to how it is. A work of art she made that she is especially proud of is a pickle she painted from watercolor. She believes her art style has been changing all her life.

“I don’t think it will ever stop developing because I think over time it has always changed,” Lortz said.

Art therapy brings healing, understanding to patients Art therapy is a way to express your emotions without talking. Most people have a hard time showing their true colors. However, different forms of therapy can help. The help patients need may be for different things, such as issues relating b y H e l e n W e i ss to mental trauma, mental health, family, S t a f f W r i t e r and social wellbeing.

21 year art teacher Shannon Engel6 Feature brecht has seen the benefits of art with

her students, although no formal art therapy class has been part of the curriculum.

“I think art therapy can be a way of working with a very small group or individual based session with a trained therapist that will prompt kids or adults to draw images that help them connect to their emotions, their feelings,” Engelbrecht said.

Art therapy started in mental institutions to help with any sickness. Some of the therapists were stationed in hospitals and schools. Art therapy started in 1942 with patients recovering from illnesses and one man noticing how painting and drawing helped. Many psychiatrists tried this method with great results, but there were very little to no classes about art therapy.

“I don’t have any professional knowledge, my assumption is that it allows the person to have a very private way define their emotions through imagery. It may help them release whenever frustrations or experience they’re working through,” Englebrecht said.

Sociology teacher takes on ‘Boot Camp’ to learn about military career options for students

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Staff Writer Every year for a week in June, a group of high school and college teachers are brought by the 12th Marine Corps District to a boot camp in San Diego, California to learn about the culture and how the marines operate. When teacher Samantha Kaysinger read about the program in an email, she applied and later learned in April that she had been accepted.

During the camp, teachers would need to be ready at six a.m. for breakfast and briefing. Some training would be held, and then buses would be taken to either Miramar, an air station, or Pendleton, a base camp, depending on what they were doing for the day. They ate in the packed lunch room along with actual marine recruits while the marine corps rock band played in the background. Activities would finish around four or five p.m., and then the teachers were allowed the rest of the evenings to explore San Diego.

“My whole reason for deciding to even fill out the application was that I’m always telling my students to have some empathy, and in order to do that you need to have perspective. So you have to look at things from somebody else’s point of view, and the best way to do that is to actually get in their shoes,” Kaysinger said.

There were around 30 teachers selected from Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas. Another 30

teachers from bordering states were also selected. From each of those 30, the teachers were divided into smaller teams to do different events, such as shooting M16 rifles, hand to hand combat, the 12 stalls course, a bayonet assault rifle competition, and several others. Throughout the week, each teacher would be put in a leadership position.

“I talked with the recruits, sometimes one of the final things that they have to do is the 12 stalls, and even then, they have to work together.

There is no event that one person can just take charge of and do. They want leadership skills to come out, but they also want everyone to work together,” Kaysinger said.

The workshop also allowed the teachers to go through museums about the history of the marines and watch the military aircraft at Camp Miramar take off.

“It was a week long of just constant activity and doing things. We stepped on the yellow footprints like new recruits do. They made us run, they made us march. They did all of those things, but we got to talk to the recruits. From day one recruits who were just getting there, scared and intimidated, to those who went through graduation. And we got to experience the graduation. It was very emotional, to get to that point and watch those who completed this 13 week course in real life,” Kaysinger said.

For marine recruits, phones were banned. If they showed up with their phones, they would immediately be taken away and only given back after graduation. Any calls made could be earned through certain exercises, but even then the calls would be monitored. The teachers were more fortunate to be able to keep their phones, as they were encouraged to document their time there and take photos.

“A lot of the time for the recruits, it’s their first time away from their family. When they get out there, the only thing they can do is write letters. But it’s that lack of family connection that people struggle with the most. My husband was actually in an accident while I was away. That was really hard, and that gave me an interesting

insight for these recruits too, because they have all those situations happening while they’re gone, and they either don’t know about them or they can’t address them at the time. They can’t go home,” Kaysinger said.

Kaysinger spoke of how the program wishes to dispel some bad perceptions of the marines and see first-hand what it was like.

“It’s not all rainbows and roses.

And understand that the marines and the military are not for everybody.

But there is a definite function and definite need for that institution, and for individuals to join, so there’s a certain mindset there. The recruits that we talked to wanted us to know that a lot of the time, these students weren’t the top students.

They weren’t the ones necessarily who maybe enjoyed school. They wanted teachers to know that it was not that they didn’t care about school, it’s that they wanted something more challenging. They wanted something more hands-on and they didn’t feel like school was providing that,” Kaysinger said.

She stated that although she wouldn’t do it again, she would be interested in going to similar boot camps held by the Navy and Air Force,

and would love to compare them to the Marine program.

“I feel like the level of appreciation or the level of knowledge that I now have was a little unexpected. I thought that I knew a lot about the marines going into it, but then you realize just how much there’s still to know about how things work. I didn’t expect it to be that impactful of a situation. It truly resonated with me in so many ways. I keep telling people how incredible this experience was. I very much enjoyed the opportunity,” Kaysinger said.

Seniors give advice on surviving high school

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When going into high school, it can always be stressful, especially as a freshman. With all the upperclassmen around, sometimes they can feel

pressured or like they do not fit in. Maybe in some cases students feel lost and have no clue who or what to turn to.

ECHO asked the upper-

classmen of RHS what advice freshmen would value most throughout their high school career.

Staff Writer

“Standing in the middle of the hallways is just annoying. If you need to talk for any reason, move to the sides or walk and talk.”

“Don’t be afraid to reach out, ever. Teachers, counselors, and most students are willing to lay out a helping hand when you need it.”

“PDA in the hallways is nasty. I know 45 minutes seems like a long time, but it’s not, I promise. Wait untill after school.”

“Popularity really means nothing. Just be yourself.”

“Have fun! High school is supposed to be one of the best experiences of your life, so don’t let it go to waste worrying about drama.”

“Do not procrastinate! I know you may be dreading that one math assignment, but get it out of the way before you risk your grade.”

7 Sports

s ’ JJ Animal Corner

Sophmore aspires to achieve Eagle Scout rank

ers will also cannibalize on young hellbenders or eggs.

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Staff Writer Hellbenders are one of the world’s largest amphibians and North America’s biggest amphibian, hellbenders are a species of giant salamander endemic to the waterways of the Eastern United States. The two hellbender species are the Eastern Hellbender and the Ozark Hellbender, both compose the genus cryptobranchus. Adults typically reach sizes of 2 feet and weigh 3 to 5 pounds. The hellbender is large, but not as large as its two closest relatives, the Chinese and Japanese giant salamanders.

Diet and niche Although they breathe air and has fully functional lungs, hellbenders spend their entire lives underwater. They have evolved to specialize in water systems that are rocky, fast moving, and flush with oxygen. The hellbender does not do well in slow moving rivers with muddy or sandy bottoms with low oxygen content. This is because the hellbender has a bizarre breathing method of absorbing oxygen through its skin.

Most amphibians can breathe through their skin but only as a secondary form of breathing, hellbenders do 90% of their respiration this way.

Hellbenders primarily eat small fish and crayfish of the waterways they live in, one report specifically says they have seasonal preferences of what they eat (they eat crayfish in the summer and fish in the cold winter months).

Hellbenders are prey to many larger animals, including turtles, fish, or snakes. Adult hellbend-

Life cycle Just like every other amphibian, hellbenders begin life as an egg that hatches into small water larva. Hellbender larvae like many other salamander juveniles have external gills and live underwater, they will then metamorphosis into adults after around a year and a half but hellbenders still retain gill slits from their young juvenile forms.

Mating seasons typically start by late August or early September but can stretch into long periods of time. Males will make pits underneath objects like rocks or logs, and will try to court a female into the shallow pit to lay eggs which he then fertilizes, females lay up to 150 eggs, though due to adult cannibalizing on eggs frequently, the surviving count usually is not as high.

Conservation Unfortunately, the hellbender has been listed as endangered and the Ozark subspecies specifically as critically endangered. Primary threats include habitat destruction from dams and runoff, and the dreadful chytrid fungus (which is responsible for many extinctions of many different amphibians) is present in the entire population of Missouri hellbenders. Water pollution is an ever present threat for all amphibians in the world. Amphibians have a very sensitive skin that is easy to pass through, even for materials that are harmful. This is why water pollution is especially damaging for them. Due to its very specific environment, it was east to find for poachers and collectors. The populations are isolated from each other in habitats that are slowly degrading or disappearing.

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Feature Editor When a person thinks of Scout obligations, they may associate a scout’s responsibilities with adventure and community enrichment. From camping to hosting fundraisers, Scouts complete helpful projects in enjoyable ways. As explained by sophomore Matthew Bench, his inspiration for becoming a scout started at a young age.

“Both of my brothers were scouts and so I knew a little bit about it because I helped out even when I was not a scout,” Bench said.

In addition to not being afraid to start something new at a young age, Bench intends to further his scouting achievements in the near future with an Eagle Scout (the highest rank for scouts).

“I definitely do plan on being an eagle and I am very close. Even after I get my eagle, I still plan on being active in my troop and there is a national honor society in scouting called OA, and I plan on being more active in that. All of it is a cool program,” Bench said.

Although continuing to grow as a scout can be enlightening in a multitude of ways, earning an

Eagle takes a substantial amount of effort and determination.

“Getting your eagle is sort of the same as any other ranks. You work hard to get your rank, but obviously it is the hardest one. So what you do is you have to have a project and it has to get approved by a lot of people which is pretty hard, but you usually make it through your project. And once you have everything done, you have to write an essay about why you should be considered for an eagle. Then you have to have it passed by a board of review which is basically just a meeting of people determining if they think that you are fit to be an eagle scout,” Bench said.

Along with personal growth that can be accomplished in being a dedicated Scout, the program has now allowed female scouts to participate in this achievement.

“Females can get involved in the Scouts program, which I love. Regardless of gender, if you want to be a scout and/or work on your Eagle Scout, go ahead. It is an awesome program. You make new friends, especially in OA, and if you work at a summer camp like I did, you make lifelong bonds. It is an overall great program,” Bench said.

Upon receiving an Eagle Scout the duties that follow are lifelong and summative of a scouts entire growth with the program. Once an Eagle, Scouts have assumed a solemn obligation to do their duty to God, to country, to their fellow scouts, and to mankind.

“There is a big saying, ‘Once an Eagle Scout, you are an Eagle Scout for life.’ You do not lose that rank, in fact you get a card that says you are an Eagle Scout. This achievement is mostly for recognition that you have done this and you live by the scout oath and law and that you are going to continue being a good person,” Bench said.

Currently the ways to help are support conservationists like the U.s. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, who conduct population studies and do their best to prevent runoff into our streams.

Educating the public on hellbenders will also be a big help to them.

Photo Courtesy of Mathew Bench

Scientists, Fishermen wrangle with uncertain future of Maine’s lobster industry Editors note: this article was originally published by iGeneration Youth and distributed by Tribune News Service

By Lauren Ulri

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Editor In Chief As tourists flocking Bar Harbor recover from a night of fireworks, blueberry beer and patriotic parades, the town’s lobstermen get to work.

Steve Burns steers the Julie B, named after his only daughter, across the waters of Maine’s rugged coast as the early morning sunrise reflects across the waves. Headed towards a cluster

of red-orange buoys bobbing beyond the bay, Burns pursues his elusive prey – lobster.

Lobster fishing is a longtime staple of Maine’s culture and economy, but it now faces uncertain consequences of a changing climate. Scientists

have warned that the waters might eventually warm too much for lobsters, yet local fishermen remain skeptical. As the fishery’s future hangs in the balance, lobstermen’s collaboration in research and policy could provide an unexpected solution.

Burns’s own boat displays this collaboration. He is accompanied by Giulia Cardoso, whom he endearingly calls his “little Italian spitfire.” Cardoso works on the Julie B as both a sternman and a researcher studying lobster populations.

Cardoso worries for the environmental and cultural impacts of climate change. “Lobster fishing embodies the sense of nature and community and tradition of Maine,” she said. “The fisheries in Southern New England have collapsed. My concern is that that will happen here, too.”

The temperature of the Gulf of Maine has risen at a rate faster than 99 percent of the world’s oceans, according to the Gulf of Maine

Research Institute. This warming has caused a boom in Maine’s lobster catch over recent years as populations push northwards. By 2050, this could cut lobster populations in the gulf by up to 62 percent, the Institute said.

Burns is less convinced.

“My thing about scientists is that they aren’t

always right, If you take someone like me who’s actually on the water, yes, I’ve seen some changes, but everything I’ve seen has benefitted the fishery,” he said.

Burns is not necessarily wrong. However, the benefits he has experienced are short term and projections do not show them lasting. Scientists may have a clearer picture, but Burns observations still have value. As he and Cardoso pull up their barnacle-encrusted traps, they meticulously examine each lobster and any deemed fertile or undersize are tossed back into the water.

Fishermen’s intimate knowledge of lobster populations is different than what Cardoso calls “scientific data,” but can provide a localized lens for research.

For Burns, the issue lies with researchers and policymakers discounting the experiences of lobstermen. “These guys sit in D.C. and they come up with these laws, and they have no idea

what it’s like to be out here,” he said.

Recent controversy over right whale and herring regulations have heightened distrust among lobster fisherman, making climate change even harder to discuss. The problem lies not with the science itself, Cardoso says, but in that it does not always include perspectives of the fishermen.

“I personally believe there should be a better integration of the two. There’s so much to be gained there: for the fisherman, researchers, policy makers, and the environment itself,” Cardoso said. “The biggest stereotype of fisher-

Photo by Lauren Ulrich men is that they don’t trust science and that they aren’t observant.”

Lobstermen have been enforcing their own sustainable practices for decades, and they are not oblivious to the state of the warming world beneath their boats.

“I would like to think that we do care about the environment because it’s our livelihood,” Burns said with a slightly indignant tone. “Look at this,” he said. His eyes gleam as he takes in the endless blue ocean on the horizon and the pine tree dotted shore. “How could you ask for anything better?”