When RHS Speaks, We
ECHO
Rolla High School - 900 Bulldog Run - Rolla, Missouri 65401- Volume 70 - Issue 9 April 26, 2019 - www.rhsecho.com @rhsechonews
National Honor Society names Hargis ‘Teacher of the Year’
Photos by Mary Gillis
The English teacher at the end of the hall can often be heard reading aloud to her students excerpts from Hamlet to Handmaid’s Tale. If not her speaking, it’s her students debating and discussing the themes and meaning behind classics and contemporaries alike. Star Hargis, English teacher at Rolla High, has recently taken over an AP English class as well as College American Literature and College Composition. This year, she was chosen by the seniors in National Honor Society to be awarded the Most Influential Teacher title. “The best part for me is not just to be recognized, but it is to be recognized by this specific group because they are just such amazing human beings. To be recognized by such kind, intelligent, amazing kids is the greatest part,” Hargis said. After some key teachers who taught the AP and dual credit curriculum left a few years ago, English department chair and teacher Mary Gillis went to Hargis first.
Though lacking a few credit hours, Hargis took on the challenge and went back to school for her master’s degree in order to be able to offer those dual credit options for students. “A teacher can come in and they can teach for 30 years and never do anything differently, but that is not what drives her. She is very focused on students and giving them everything that they have worked for,” Gillis said. For no other reason than to help students, she became a student again, along with being a full time teacher and mother. “When she thought that dual credit wasn’t happening, she exhausted all avenues looking for a solution and was able to do it. In her research and diligence, she was even able to get that extended to the AP Language classes. She really has gone above and beyond any expectations,” Gillis said.
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Eco club works to improve District Champion Academic Team advances to sectionals environment locally
Photo taken by Maia Bond Photo courtesy of RHS Yearbook Every year people celebrate Earth Day and dedicate themselves to the health of the planet. Rolla High School’s Eco Club adopts this idea everyday and works to make the world a better place for all of its inhabitants. Their club organises the recycling program as well as a series of other events that happen throughout the school
year. Eco Club president, Tobenna Orizu, talks about the projects coming up. “So this year for Earth Day we are going to do a little movie in the library after school. We hope to have it all planned out so that we can do it on April 22, which is Earth Day and also a Monday which is when the club meets. We are going to do a nature documentary, admission will probably be around five dollars. It would be a nice little event for the holiday,” Orizu said.
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Two weeks ago, Rolla High School’s Academic Team competed in their district tournament for the title of district champions. Academic Team, also known as Scholarbowl, is a trivia competition involving buzzers and teams of four. “It is similar to the game show Jeopardy, but on Jeopardy contestants are answering questions as an individual. In Scholarbowl, we compete as a team. We have four people competing at any given time against another school that also has four people playing,” math teacher and coach
Lisa McCarthy said. Tournaments begin by each school playing every team at the tournament, then depending on how they perform, they progress to the second half where there is more of a bracket style. Each team sits down and has a buzzer system. Toss-up questions require individual answers, but if correct, bonus questions follow that, where teams can confer. While each correct answer contributes to the team’s overall points, there are awards for individual points scored throughout the day.
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Rolla students support Special Olympics in annual track meet
Photos taken by Micah Wells
Every year, Rolla and other surrounding schools gather for a Special Olympics track meet event at Waynesville. Students of all ages participate in events such as the 100 meter walk, long jump, and throwing a softball as far as they can. Each student athlete is paired with another student volunteer who guides them from each event, eats lunch with them, and cheers them on all day. “I guided one student around, and he ran first, then he did the long jump, and
then he threw a softball as far as he could. I got to lead him and cheer him on at each event, but during any free time, we ate together or played in Victory Village, a place where he could win prizes,” Senior Olivia Burken said. This year, they buddied up on the bus ride over to get to know their athlete and better understand their needs and responses. Burken’s athlete was shy at first, but as the day progressed, he opened up more and more.
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Caring for wild turtles this Spring b y
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It is finally spring time, and after a cold, harsh winter, the wildlife and foliage are beginning to come out of hibernation and bring some color back into Missouri resident’s daily lives. One of the most anticipated parts of spring for many has to do with the annual emergence of box turtles. However, when most come across one of these small reptiles, they can end up doing the turtle more harm than good. Missouri Conservation forrester, Michael Fleischhauer of the Rolla Branch, has some tips to ensure the safety of both the turtle and the viewer when enjoying the wildlife. “It’s most common to see turtles on the road, and if you aren’t putting yourself in harm’s way by moving it, by all means you should help it out. Just remember to put it back down facing the same direction, otherwise he may get scared or confused and end up right back on the road,” Fleischhauer said. Missouri is home to 17 turtle species, ranging from snapping, to sliders, to box turtles, which are the most commonly seen. Conservationists encourage the curiosity of citizens when it comes to turtles,
as long as they are aware that the species is harmless. “Snapping turtles are larger than box turtles and have longer necks, but as long as you are careful and smart about it, it’s possible to help a snapping turtle, too. With snapping turtles, just make sure you don’t pick them up, just kind of nudge them from behind so you don’t end up getting bit. With other types of turtles, though, it’s safest to pick them up with two hands, just to make sure you don’t drop them,” Fleischhauer said. Many Missourians are fascinated by the small turtles they come across, and decide to take them home. According to Fleischhauer, this is perfectly fine as long as the creature has some water, and is let go after at most a few hours. “I notice a good amount of people like to mark the turtles that come by their house, and that’s really not a good idea. They are camouflaged for a reason, and whatever you use to mark them is most likely very toxic to them, even though it’s just on their shell. The most important thing is to remember that turtles are still wild and usually very scared of people. Excessive touching or handling might freak the little guy out,” Fleischhauer said.
Being a twin: not exactly like ‘The Parent Trap’ b y
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What is it like to be a twin? From the awesome telepathic powers to twintuition, there are many benefits to being twin. However, there are also struggles that can come with this gift. While being a twin can be a superpower in various ways, common portrayals and media related misconceptions of twins, have inspired an altered perception of what being a twin is really like. As an identical twin, I can firsthand tell you how different my sister and I are, but personally feel like that is where common stereotypes arise. Although my sister and I are individual people and embrace our individuality, there are people who constantly joke about not being able to tell the difference us. It is a common saying to not compare ourselves to others, and yet as a twin I have come across peers and adults who assume it is okay to compare twins; who is “the nice one”, or “the mean one,” etc. While it is understandable when others compare minor things like mine and my sister’s name, it can be difficult to not take offense to hypocritical phrases. Now do not get me wrong, I love being a twin and being able to have a sister who goes through life at the same time as me. For example, in elementary school, my sister and I were able to switch places for a day without being caught because of how
Letter from the Editor For this episode of Maia’s Ridiculous Complaints, I will be talking about the awful task of car shopping. I guess it can be fun if you have money and can afford to get a new car, however literally no one can do that. Since being rear ended and my beautiful child, the Hyundai Elantra, dying, we have been on the hunt for a new car. However, every car that I think is nice actually turns out to be a heaping pile of junk. The headliner is droopy, the door has been replaced, the front bumper sticks out, all apparently precursors to terrible wrecks and breakdowns according to my parents. No car is safe enough, not even a bus. I might as well start investing in a private jet because that is the only option that my
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similar we looked, and in middle school we would take AR tests for each other, depending on whether one of us had a shortage of points. This was definitely scary considering the librarian who put in the password could usually tell us apart, but the fear of her mixing us up had helped us follow through with our “brilliant” plan. While these are great perks about being a twin, there have also been moments where I have felt the need to prove my identity to others who continuously assume we have the same interests and/or are “joined at the hip.” And the weirdest part is, I have received these comments more from adults than peers. Perhaps this is due to how media has portrayed twins in the past, or due to lack of effort, but just like it is not okay to judge a book by its cover, it is not okay to assume that because twins have similar genetic makeup that they are the same person. According to an article written by Psychology Today, twins make up about three percent of the population, and still have so many misconceptions. I understand that these problems are miniscule to bigger and more pressing issues around the world and do believe these stereotypes have settled down as a result of better education and peoples’ exposure with different twins. But just as there has been improvement, it goes to show that education goes a long way in opening people’s minds whether it is informing people of genetic or even cultural differences.
ECHO Staff Senior Maia Bond
mom thinks is safe enough. There are too many questions and I don’t understand any of the answers. A six or four cylinder? I’m sorry I have not been in geometry for two years. How many miles is too many miles? I’m not even sure I know exactly what the miles mean. It does not help that tax season is the prime time for car buying and I am stuck in the middle, forced to buy a car when my Elantra was perfectly good until her bumper smashed in and the tail light nearly fell off. In conclusion, my troubles are incredibly dumb and easily solved by a competent adult, however, the problems arise when we realize that I am neither competent or an adult.
Adviser: Mary Gillis Opinion: Courtney Kelley Editor In Chief: Maia Bond Sports: Brandon Kirchner Managing Editor: Kayla Copeland Feature: Lorren Black Copy Editor: Jace Swearingen Staff Writers: Julia Leventis, Lauren Arts and Entertainment: Nalani Massaro Ulrich, Rosalia Bolyard, Genevieve Huber, Webmaster: Blaize Klossner Emma Starns, Erin Pfeifer, Quinn Guffey, Photography: Bailey Allison Audrey Roberts News: Taylor Miller 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. ECHO is a member of Missouri Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association, and Quill & Scroll Honor Society
How language evolves with generations, its effects b y
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Often when a person observes various cultures’ social etiquette and ways of speaking, they may notice how each country or town can have separate ways of phrasing the same sentence. Whether it is how an individual speaks to people of authority, or their friends, different cultures have different ‘norms’. For example, although most people in the United States speak the same language, if a person were to visit a restaurant in the south, ‘take your top off,’ a phrase many people find offensive, is a common way to ask someone to remove the cap of their bottle. Distance does not have to be lengthy for these differences because even in northern Missouri, simple words like soda is frequently called ‘pop’. Likewise, cultural dis-similarities can cause uncalled for offense by natives with phrases such as: ‘I want to kill myself’ and ‘I’m dying!’ being taken offensively by those struggling with mental illnesses. “Everyday you hear things from our generation like, ‘I just wanna kill myself’ or ‘I wish I could die’. Travel back a hundred years and people would think you need to see a psychiatrist immediately if you said something like that. We take suicide way
too lightly in our day to day lives, when it’s something that those around us might seriously be struggling with. Hearing it joked about might only make them feel worselike they’re just a joke, and they can’t talk to anyone about their issue because they won’t be taken seriously,” junior Kate Mallery said. In addition to the stigma of making light jokes over deep topics, senior Micah Wells, believes social media factors into microaggression. “I think social media can be an awesome tool, but more times than not, it’s desensitizing us to a lot of things. I think we like to be ignorant to things that make us uncomfortable and upset. I don’t think I’m directly hurting people in Bangladesh, but by buying a five dollar T-shirt, I am doing that. But we don’t want to talk about it and we just want to cover it up. And I think with that kind of thing, the internet makes it socially acceptable if everyone’s talking about killing themselves, depression, etc.. Everyone’s just depressed and everyone’s just trying to get by so if you’re in that group you’re doing fine. But that’s a lie, you’re not doing fine if you are in that group. So we like to desensitize it and say you know, everyone else is just doing just as horrible so you gotta push through. And like that’s not life, and if it is life, you need to seek help,” Wells said. In an environment where there are many
beliefs and understandings of the world, miscommunication is inevitable. However, Mallery believes tone and intonation are what can change a harmless sentence into a negative one. “I feel like the most common way that a comment will be taken the wrong was is if you use the wrong tone of voice. It is important to make sure your tone is kind and sincere,” said Mallery. Along with the way a person presents themselves as well as their sentences, Wells believes insecurities and a misled childhood can build both intentional and unintentional hostile behavior in innocent individuals. “All the younger generations are fostering this offense like attitude towards life. That’s why we have to be kind to children because I don’t know who everyone is, I don’t know what they went through. Did their parents say I love you in the morning. Metaphorically, when I was younger my parents said, ‘I love you have a great day,’ but I don’t know what other children’s parents said to them or lack thereof. And that does affect a person so severely. As someone who has worked with child care, some of these kids just want to fit in and want attention so bad and they ask for it in like the worst ways. Like one little girl sat there for an hour and cried because she didn’t want to do her rocket math, and it’s not that she couldn’t do it, she just wanted
attention,” Wells said. Just like self-doubt and misdirection can factor into a person’s behavior, being able to recognize and understand other’s differences can bring about effective communication. “I think offense is not offense unless you pick it up. Someone could say to me, ‘Micah, I don’t like your socks. They look awful,’ and Micah two years ago would be like ‘I’m sad, cause I care about what they think.’ Now, I’m like ‘My socks are great, and it’s April and I’m wearing Christmas socks and I love it.’ But if I pick up the offense, I’m going to be offended. We have the choice to not be offended in a society that is constantly offended. It’s so accepted and widely encouraged to be offended, to comment, to attack, and to be opinionated. There’s a difference between being hateful and standing up for what you believe in when you believe something is wrong. But when your hateful in expressing your opinion, that’s how I know you’re not secure in your beliefs. It’s bad because we’re already fostering from a young age, you need to be opinionated and be offended. But in the real world, your boss is going to say ‘You’re not allowed to wear skinny jeans, you need to wear khakis,’ and you’re going to be like that person offends me because I can wear anything I want and they’re going to be like ‘Bye, you’re fired.’ That’s just not how the world works,” Wells said.
How to be a little better Peeling back the wallpaper. Literally. b y
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Most people have to visit a remote island to be transported to tropical paradise, but all I have to do is walk into my bathroom. When I first moved into my house in 2009, the previous owners had plastered up rainbow striped wallpaper lined with tropical fish. Ten years I had spent enjoying my personal taste of a tropical island, but this spring break I had had enough. In lieu of a pleasant spring getaway, I spent my spring break removing wallpaper. Eight dozen paint chips and two days later, my mother and I embarked upon what would become a lengthy journey: dewallpapering my
bathroom. My mother had done some previous research and learned that there were two types of wallpaper: pre-pasted and non. To put up non-pasted wallpaper, you have to apply a separate heavy-duty glue to the walls and the paper. Pre-tasted is far preferable in terms of removal because it is far less durable than separate wallpaper paste. Forty-five seconds after my mother pulled out an ancient wallpaper steamer the size of a small car, we received our first surprise. Apparently the previous owners had used wallpaper paste AND pre-pasted wallpaper. In my mind, the wallpaper effortlessly came off in one large strip. I soon discovered this would not be the case. Even with the steamer, the wallpaper came
off in strips an inch-and-a-half or two inches wide. To make matters worse, the tropical fish wallpaper had actually been separated from the glue and backing, meaning it would take two full rounds of wallpaper removal. About one-sixteenth of my way through the job, I began wishing I had either a) plastered wallpaper over the fish wallpaper, b) painted over the wallpaper and taken my chances with quality, or c) left it alone. Perhaps most appealing at the time was option C. More surprises were in store for us though. Soon we discovered that the wallpaper steamer was not only wildly inefficient, it
was doing irreversible damage to the wall itself! We were forced to switch to the even less efficient vinegar-soaked sponge method. The bathroom had become increasingly stuffy and now the house smelled like a Lay’s Salt and Vinegar factory. After three thorough scrubbings to get the remnants of the paper backing, the wall was damaged and rough. This week I plan to spackle (fill in the holes) and-hopefully--paint. In this week’s column of “How to be a Little Better,” I would urge you not to mess with your wallpaper. There are plenty of other ways to be a little better.
Avengers: Endgame uniting fans across generations b y
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is seemingly everywhere, from most of kids’ toy aisles, to plastered on graphic tees; and on average, in theaters twice a year. For those who are not super fans, the integration may be slightly irritating, but the popularity has been long building and fans are eagerly anticipating the next movie’s release. Avengers: Endgame is the accumulation of 20 movies made in the past decade, finalizing the plots and stories of several characters presented in its predecessors. It promises to be huge, just over three hours of plot and certain tension, and Rolla’s own theatre was sold out for the movie’s first premiere nearly a month prior to April 26. Endgame has been promising to practically traumatize fans since its first part, Infinity War left the fanbase heartbroken at the loss of half the fictional heroes. Around the world people are anxious to see the resolution, and will be on the edge of their seats hoping for their favorite characters to make it to the end of the film alive. Everyone has their predictions, including sophomore, Gabby Jones, a major
Marvel fan. “They’re going to kill off Steve, Tony, probably Banner, and Thor, and then Captain Marvel is going to beat Thanos. They’re all going to die. Everyone’s going to die. After, I think it’s going to transfer more into the younger people, like Spiderman, Captain Marvel, and T’challa,” Jones said. The studio has made billions in box offices and in other products, with six of their movies making over $1 billion worldwide in the past decade. It all began with the movie Iron Man, released in 2008. It was not expected to become nearly as big as it did, and was mostly targeted towards Marvel’s comic readers. However, it made $585 million worldwide. Much of this success, as well as all the fame following, was due to their new president of production, Kevin Feige. He joined the team just before the first movie’s release, and has guided the MCU ever since. Part of Marvel’s success is due to their unique brand of storytelling. Their movies can not really be described as sequels. Many of their movies feature a entirely different crew of heroes than others, meaning it can be years between some characters interacting, especially when characters like Thor live in an entirely different realms
from other heroes. Yet the subplot of one can affect the plot of another, and this includes Marvel’s lesser known shows. Midway through Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’s third season, Agent Coulson and his team of agents storylines were thrown by all that happened in Captain America: Civil War, and they spend much time portraying the aftermath of the movie. All of Marvel’s works take place in the same alternate world, making the movies interconnected like a web. Not all of the success is due to name recognition. While they do have well-known talents like Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, much of the actors introduced in the earlier movies had not become nearly as famous as they would after their movie’s success. This also goes for the characters themselves. Marvel took characters even the biggest comic fans were not familiar with and made unprecedented achievements with them. Guardians of the Galaxy’s heroes were practically unheard of, but now have become a well loved film, praised for being the first to break away from the studio’s usual grit for a more comedic tone. There has also been a recent shift towards the portrayal of heroes being flawed. Even some of their villains are arguably
morally gray. Marvel’s movies feature flawed protagonists and conflicting moral viewpoints, like in Black Panther. Even though watchers want to root for T’Challa, many people online sympathized with Killmonger’s desire to change Wakanda’s traditionalism, and it was his perspective and sacrifice that caused T’Challa to open the country to the world to better everyone. Clearly, Marvel’s heroes have complicated personalities and controversial agendas that watchers can relate to and sympathise with, instead of just cheering them on. This is not solely a Marvel trait of course, but it makes their movies much more appealing to have relatable struggles for audiences. As a whole, the franchise is everywhere and the impact is immense. Not only do old and new fans have much content to be entertained -and heartbroken- by for years, but the movies also provide a basis for friends and family to bond. “Before Infinity War I wasn’t a fan of superhero movies, but after Infinity War, they’re all I watch. My room is covered in superhero stuff, and it definitely has gotten me closer to my siblings. Before that I was the odd one out because I didn’t like all that nerdy stuff and now I do,” Jones said.
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History teacher embraces Eco club, it’s efforts towards the environment new look, sending new message of identity Er
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The community of Rolla High School is in mourning. A well esteemed member of the school has been lost, and it resonates poignantly through each and every student. This lost school associate? Aaron Loker’s beard. However, the reason why may be enough for the school to understand his decision to shave, and hopefully begin the process of healing from this extreme loss. Mr. Loker, history and social studies teacher, has been growing his beard out since 2014, and many were shocked to see it gone from his face. Loker, however, believed it was time for the reign of the beard to come to an end. “I mean, for one thing, it’s just become such a big trend of having a beard. It’s becoming a popular machismo type of thing, being big and tough with that manly beard, and I don’t care for that culture much at all,” Loker said. Senior Cameron Cummins has been a student of Loker’s since his days at the junior high, and felt uncomfortable seeing the sudden change. “As a fellow beard owner, I understand just how weird it is to suddenly go from having a beard, especially a long one like that, to just having nothing. It’s rubbery and it’s awkward, and stubble is super annoying. Not to mention it’s a completely different look. It was shocking, to say the least,” Cummins said. Not only that, but Cummins thinks that the whole mindset of the student body in regards to the beard requires some amount of change. “I just felt pity for him. Once students see you a certain way, if you change yourself in some way they could gain or lose respect for you. I just know that everyone is going to judge him and it’s a huge deal for some reason. The poor guy probably just wants to go on with his life and teach and do his job, and I really pity that he’s going to struggle with that now,” Cummins said. In fact, Rolla High’s opinion of his beard and association of the beard with him as a person was a big part of why Loker decided to shave it. “I think that the beard had very much
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Photo taken by Bailey Allison become my thing, you know? I was the beard guy. And I didn’t really want to be the beard guy, because I didn’t want to just have that one little thing define what everyone thinks I am. There’s more to me than just the beard and I wanted people to be able to see that,” Loker said. Loker really is not quite sure what to do with his newfound beardless freedom, but he plans to take full advantage of this opportunity to find out. “I don’t really know what else I have, or what else could be my thing, but now that I don’t have the beard I’ve got the chance to find out. I could see myself growing out a beard again someday, but I don’t think I’d do the five years of growing it out again, and I don’t think it’ll happen for a while. I’m fine for now with just seeing where being shaven takes me,” Loker said.
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Eco Club works with many different organizations to keep Rolla’s community active and committed to the prosperity of the environment. All of the money raised by the movie Eco Club is hosting will go towards these local organizations. “The proceeds will go to one of the local community organizations that work with the natural environment such as the Master Gardeners Association. We haven’t made the final decision yet,” Orizu said. Eco Club meets every Monday in order to collect the recycling from the high school building as well as come up with activities for the club to participate in that will help make a positive impact. “Eco Club goes to every classroom around the school to collect recycling. We collect the paper, cardboard, bottles, and cans. We also collect markers, which is something most people don’t know about, the marker recycling boxes are in the teacher workrooms and in one art room. It usually takes us from 3:30 to 4:15,” Orizu said. The recycling project may seem small to some, but Eco Club members are adamant that it helps toward the larger goal, a healthier planet. Raising awareness and getting involved in the community play a large role in working towards this goal as well. “A lot of the stuff we use at school would normally go to waste because the janitors don’t have the time to do all the recycling, so we take some of the work off of them. Then we recycle that ourselves, and with the cans we actually take those to the Didi-
on Orf Recycling Center and that is how we raise money for the club,” Orizu said. The club participates in many outdoors events as well, by doing this they are spreading the word throughout the school and the community. These happen throughout the school year and help keep the club members committed to the club and planet. “Our last event was around the end of September-or the beginning of Octoberwhen it was still warm. We worked with the Rolla Parks and Recreation Department and the Rolla Master Gardeners Association. We worked on cultivating a garden near the front of the Centre. It was a pollinator garden where you can see bees and butterflies roaming around. We did this because one of the issues we have is that a lot of the natural plants that were once there are disappearing, and we wanted to do something little that could help the insects and other wildlife,” Orizu said. Carmen Phenix, a senior and an active member of Eco Club, believes that her time spent in the club has inspired her to be more involved in our planet’s future. “I have always been passionate about keeping our Earth as clean as possible because we all have to live here, we all have to function. So why not pay it back by keeping it nice?” Phenix said. Phenix is getting more excited for the projects Eco Club has coming up now that the weather is nicer and the members can be outdoors more. “Now we are finally starting projects outside of school such as planting trees, cleaning up the garden at the Centre, and hopefully showing a movie in the library soon,” Phenix said.
Missouri S&T making strides in b y
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Two professors under Missouri University of S&T’s department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering are working to lessen the effects of flooding on Missouri communities. Dr. Susie Long and Dr. Steven Corns are collaborators on a newly underway project that aims to assist first responders and transportation agencies in determining evacuation routes in response to severe flooding. Their project is made all the more unique as the professors’ model hinges on the use of artificial intelligence to analyze data and make decisions that will form evacuation routes in a faster, more comprehensive manner. The project is funded by the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Mid-America Transportation Center, with hopes that it will revolutionize response mechanisms to severe flooding. “For this particular project, one of the issues that M.O.D.O.T had shared with us was that they struggled with effective evacuation routing schemas, or plans,”
Long said. In the event of severe flooding, maximizing the efficiency of evacuation routes and road closings is critical. Numerous factors such as the rate of water level rise, traffic patterns, and available routes all have to be taken into account when determining the best possible model. According to Long, timing is crucial to this decision making process. If too many routes are closed too soon, it could disrupt the flow of traffic and result in a stagnant interstate. If not all access points to a flooded area are closed in a timely manner, then it could result in far more severe outcomes. “[MODOT] had talked about incidents in the past where there was loss of life because they didn’t know that they needed to close a route at a particular point in time.” Long said. “We thought artificial intelligence was a way to address that.” Artificial intelligence, while not entirely new, is now being used to serve a variety of new purposes. In regard to flood response, Dr. Corns sees artificial intelligence as a promising new development. “Artificial intelligence is basically making computers appear to have human-like intelligence,” Corns said. “All of it borders on giving the impression of an actual response to decision making capabilities
based on numerical inputs.” Corns and Long’s artificial intelligence model can take in vast amounts of data and analyze it based upon its own algorithms. “The artificial intelligence aspect of this then looks at this data and we try to determine patterns. It estimates the different underlying mathematical relationships, and it can use this to make decisions,” Corns said. Corn and Long intend to utilize their artificial intelligence system in determining the rate of water level rise during flooding. Their model will also be equipped to formulate evacuation routes based off of its own calculations of water level, road accessibility, and traffic patterns. According to Long, these calculations will extend far beyond the work of previous models lacking artificial intelligence. “There has been a lot of modeling that has already been done, in terms of the rivers cresting and flooding. We will use what they have done and then extend it with artificial intelligence,” Long said. Previous modeling is still vital to the success of Long’s project. Long and Corns will make use of data from previous modeling systems by ingesting it into their own model and allowing their system to make
assessments. They will acquire such data from their partners; the National Weather Service, the U.S Geological Survey, and the U.S Army Corp. of Engineers, in addition to MODOT. This collaboration will create a system with the potential of making critical decisions, as Cords explains. “We are trying to mimic how the brain would evaluate these inputs, inside of a computer. This gives us an idea of when the water will crest, when roads will be impacted, and how we can reroute things and try to optimise what the actual best path is so that a) they can get where they are going and b) not endanger themselves,” Corns said. Two of Missouri’s most flood prone regions, the Meramec River Basin in eastern Missouri and the Missouri River Basin in northwestern Missouri, will serve as target areas for the project. Although this project only began in February, Corns and Long’s transformative research will hopefully become a norm in disaster relief in the near future. “One of the realities of being an academic is that you think about things to try to identify where you can make a contribution. In our case this was certainly an issue that had been in the minds of the different agencies, but we were the spark. We were
Teacher Feature: Mrs. Kirkbride for breakfast and to discuss the reading selections. Our grouped focused on the Missouri Gateway Award list so we could all cast a vote in March. Bulldog Miscellaneous Adventures meets once a month and schedules an outdoor activity, mostly hiking so far, but with the weather improving, hopefully we will be able to add in some fishing and canoeing. As the Junior Class Chairman, I plan prom with the junior class officers,” Kirkbride said. As a librarian, Kirkbride has many responsibilities. It is not often that she has down time to relax. “I guess the basics would be the components of the purchasing of resources. I research through award lists, blogs, reviews, and then I actually read or watch the materials. Once I make a purchase, we process our own materials, which means we print our own barcodes and spine labels and apply each with a mylar cover to help the items last longer. We load all of the books into the Destiny database. We also insert AR information into the books that have quizzes available. Finally, my duties include the A.R. daily maintenance of the library which involves checking books in and out, shelving books, cleaning books, and keeping all labels up to date,” Kirkbride said. There are many more responsibilities
that fall under Kirkbride’s job description. “I think the second basic component would be promoting resources. I try to reach everyone in several different ways, including the displays up front that have new books, or award winners. I also do a themed display in the window that you see from the hallway, the bulletin board behind the circulation desk with favorite lines, the monthly installments of Toilet Talk, and RHS Library is also on social media with Instagram and Facebook accounts. I try to keep the library google site up to date with links to all kinds of resources from book lists to databases for research,” Kirkbride said. Kirkbride also helps teachers with research workshops, introducing new databases to students, and co-teaches lessons. “When a teacher brings a class to the library I feel like my job is just to be helpful. Sometimes classes just need space to spread out and work and I don’t need to help at all. Sometimes we co-teach a lesson on research skills and then help students implement what they have learned. Basically, it depends on the teacher and what their needs are for that hour,” Kirkbride said. Kirkbride shares the perks of being librarian. “I see more students being in the library,
not just the same ones every day. I do a lot of reading to make sure I can talk about the books I’m promoting and to be able to make recommendations. I was in the classroom for the first six years of my career in education. I do miss having a better connection with students but I do not miss all the grading. My favorite part about my job is talking about books and seeing a student get excited about reading,” Kirkbride said. Kirkbride shares why she wanted to become a teacher in the first place. “I knew I wanted to have a family and that a job in education would accommodate that lifestyle. Also, I love trying to help everyone find something they love to read. I always loved reading and my English classes. Reading is so important in all things, and I want everyone to develop lifelong reading skills,” Kirkbride said. Kirkbride cares about openness and transparency, and even applies it to the way she runs her office. “I want to be out talking with everyone about books and life, not in my ‘fishbowl’ as I like to call it. I like that everyone knows I have an open door policy—you can come in my office for more than just warming up your lunch in the microwave,” Kirkbride said.
What are the differences between the different types of golf clubs?
What does good technique look like during a golf swing?
What is the scoring system for golf like?
What is the ideal golf attire to wear on the green?
The driver is the longest club in the bag used to hit it the farthest distance. A three wood will hit it farther than a five wood. The lower the number is on the club correlates to hitting the ball a further distance. The lower the number on the club correlates to having a lower loft, and with lower loft, the ball travels farther. Every iron is reduced in length by half for every number. For example, a four iron will be one inch longer than a six iron. Once you get past the nine iron, you get into the wedges. The wedges are the shortest clubs in the bag that are usually used for around 100 yards on in.
It is when each person makes their best athletic motion. Everyone is different and has different biomechanics so you can’t fit everyone into the same swing pattern, but there are similarities. If you look at great hitters in baseball, they have a lot in common with great swingers of the golf club. The most significant difference is a golf club has a face, and a baseball bat does not, which is why fundamentals in golf are so important. 95 percent of the time you can identify a whether or not someone is a good golfer or not before they every swing the club based on their grip and setup.
You have a designated number for par, which is the number you should receive on each hole based on its length. If you can reach it in one shot, it will be a par three, two shots will be a par four, and three shots will be a par five. On most courses, they will have two part three, five par four, and two par five per nine holes. These numbers equate to a par 72 per 18 holes for most courses unless they have more par threes or par fives.
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Photo taken by Bailey Allison Jessie Kirkbride is the librarian at Rolla High School, and she has been teaching for 15 years. Kirkbride is deeply involved in the high school. She is a sponsor to Flippin’ Pages Book Club, Bulldog Miscellaneous Adventures, and she is the Junior Class Chairman. “Flippin’ Pages meets every other week
Beginner’s guide to golfing b y
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Artist of the month
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Art comes in many different forms, and is displayed on, and in, many different platforms. Forms such as drawing, painting, music of all types, and even film. One individual who explores the majority of these art forms is senior Olivia Watt. Watt is involved with many arts programs, both in the school and the community as well. Within the school, Watt is a french horn player in the symphonic band,
and a standing member of the Rolla High School chamber choir. As for communitywide ensembles, Watt is a member of both the mixed and girls jazz choirs. Watt has always had a love for the arts, beginning at the young age of seven. “I like the freedom of expression that comes with being able to both play an instrument and sing. And I just genuinely love music, making music makes me really happy,” Watt said. While loving both band and choir immensely, Watt chose choir as her favorite ensemble, but she has love for both her instrument as well as her voice. “I probably would choose choir, just because I have been singing since I was seven in the community choirs, and I think choir has just been a bigger part of my life,” Watt said. Watt also has some more insight as to why she chose choir. “Also, you can sing anywhere, you can’t just pull out a french horn at the park and just play,” Watt said. Watt as affection for the band as well, putting just as much dedication, time and love into it. “ I love band because of the community. The whole camaraderie of it, especially in marching band, because we are just a big ‘family’ really,” Watt said. But, Watt doesn’t just do band and choir, she also partakes in a couple special art forms. “I have a youtube channel I upload my vlogs on! You guys can check it out, it’s Olivia Watt on Youtube. I also have been really interested lately in audio editing and making songs. I have not published any of them yet, but I have been working on a few, ” Watt said.
Golf attire is amazing. Every day can be like Halloween if you want it to be. Do you want to wear some plaid pants from the 70s? Go for it. Bright orange pants that can blind you? Sure. It’s totally acceptable on the golf course. I don’t pretend to understand it, but I do love it.
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Photo taken by Bailey Allison Bryce O’Connor has been one of the fastest athletes on the Track & Field team the past four years. Throughout his time on the team he has scored many points and consecutively placed in the multiple sprinting events he competes in. However, the start of his track career began after an injury he sustained in wrestling his freshman year. “I started track when I was a freshman because earlier on that year I broke my hand wrestling. I thought it would be a good idea to join the team to keep my conditioning up for wrestling. I just thought sprinting would be fun to do because I saw all of my friends did it,” O’Connor said. It is more than just genetics and running fast to be a good sprinter. That is why Bryce spent a lot of time during the offseason working out to prepare for track. “I lifted a lot during offseason weight
training with the football team. I worked my legs out a lot more than usual. I feel like lifting during the summer is helping this season; my legs feel a lot better than before,” O’Connor said. When someone is on a team for such a long time, many memories are made. Bryce has many good memories on the team, but his favorite was one of his greatest accomplishments so far. “Last year, in 4x2 and 4x4 made it to sectionals. It was just incredibly cool being able to compete that late in the season. I can’t wait to make it again this season and hopefully make it farther than before,” O’Connor said. A common theme with senior athletes is they tend to push themselves harder during the season than ever before. Bryce falls into the same category, heading into practices and meet during his final season. “I like to go all out in practice. Before when I was a lower classmen, I just went with the flow and didn’t really push myself. Since it is my last season, I want to finish on top by pushing myself farther than before,” O’Connor said. Being a leader of a big group of people, it is easy to succumb to the pressure of having to do well and not let the team down. However, Bryce continues to perform quite well and keeps a good track of his mentality heading into each competition. “I feel like if I don’t do good in my events, I’m letting the team down. If a guy passes me in the race I think to myself I’m not pushing myself hard enough and I could be better. I try to focus on the present and what is happening right now and not dwell on the past. I think about where I want to be at the end of the season and wonder if I am keeping on track where I should be,” O’Connor said.
5 Feature
National Honor Society names Hargis ‘Teacher of the Year’
Photos taken by Mrs. Gillis
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Gillis has seen her step up for the department as well as her students, and compares her schedule to that of a busy student. Everything that students do: taking college level courses seven hours a day, working jobs outside school, participating in clubs and activities, except Hargis is also raising her two daughters. “She is juggling a lot and it is a huge time commitment. Her investment is really just because she wants to offer the best possible scenarios for kids and that is an altruistic thing for a teacher to do. She is constantly reading, writing, shuffling her responsibilities, and doing well,” Gillis said. “I didn’t want the lack of opportunity to somehow be my fault. I know that that is kind of a ridiculous notion, but I felt if there was something I could do to ensure the possibility of still getting dual credit and being able to take care of college hours at a cheap price, then I would do what I could,” Hargis said. This passion for her job has not gone unnoticed by those who sit at the desks in her classroom each day. “I had her before the class was dual credit and I saw her working so hard. She never complained about the extra classes
she was taking, she just talked about how much she was looking forward to being able to make these classes dual credit for us,” Senior Olivia Burken said. Many students attribute her class to their progression as a thoughtful person, and love her and her ability to relate on a personal level. “In class, she makes you think about the world, not just do an English assignment. We look at how those skills can be translated. For example, she does a lot of small projects with news articles. She will have us look at a picture in a magazine and ask us what they are doing why they are doing it. That translates really well into society and how crazy our news stories are and teaching us how to think for ourselves,” Senior Kassi Hayes said. Hayes chose Hargis as her personal most influential teacher this year, and although Hayes has never been interested in English, Hargis opened her up to how it can be helpful and fun to learn more about literature. Hayes and Burken laugh together when relating on how she made the class more logical, drawing themes to real life scenarios and lessons. “You can tell how passionate she feels about literature in general. She uses her hands a lot when she talks and you can see in her eyes how excited she is about books like Frankenstein. One thing that she taught me to do is dive into the text. That
is so important because you need to learn how to analyze things because you don’t want to be a complacent, simple minded person,” Senior Micah Wells said. Hargis’ love for literature and English originally led her to pursuing more education and becoming a professor. After some introspection, she realized that some of her worst teachers were professors because they were academics who knew their subject matter extremely well, but could not relate it. “I had to make a decision as to whether I wanted to be a teacher or an academic. I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, that teaching public high school was where I needed to be. I realized that it wasn’t just the subject matter that fascinated me, it was watching people’s interactions with that subject matter and seeing their own opinions form,” Hargis said. Burken admires her ability to lead a fun and interesting class while still providing a stable schedule and lesson each day that increases their knowledge. Intermixed within the class, Hargis is also genuine and real with students, being up front about struggles and relating to kids as more than a teacher. Her students respect her strength and honesty about struggles, and feel connected and safe in her classroom. “Something that I really respect about her is that she has no bias. She never shows favoritism over other students. She
makes you feel loved and acknowledged and heard but at the same time she’s making everyone feel that,” Wells said. One lesson in AP Literature is when Hargis writes a personal belief on the board and students stand on one end of the room that is labeled ‘agree’ or ‘disagree.’ The beliefs include scenarios like ‘cheating on a partner is always wrong,’ and other real life and often controversial topics. “There was absolutely no judgment and it taught me to see other people’s views. It made me understand how people think, and I haven’t met another teacher who made me think about other people like that,” Burken said. Every aspect of her class has changed these students in ways they did not expect. They appreciate her on a level deeper than the basic level; she is a friend, a mentor, and an educator. “My favorite part about teaching is making a genuine connection with a student through something like literature. I love that they see they can gain deep insight from outside sources beyond themselves. I love the idea that people can discover they are not the center of the universe, including myself, and that if you open yourself up to the ideas that are out there, you can be pleasantly surprised with what you learn about yourself,” Hargis said.
Celebrating Easter through giving up luxuries b y
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As with any holiday, the time leading up to Easter is fraught with holiday decor and commercialized symbols of celebration. The Easter Bunny, peep candy, and decorated eggs are all commonplace, but for some the meaning behind Easter goes much deeper. The traditionally Christian holiday has deep roots within different denominations, including Catholicism. For
the members of St Patrick Parish in Rolla, their devotion towards the season began much before the first stuffed bunnies hit the shelves. On March 6th of this year, the traditional Catholic calendar marked Ash Wednesday as the beginning of Lent, which continues up until Easter. Senior Alex Frisbee, a lifelong Catholic and former student of St Patrick’s, explains the importance of Lent to his congregation. “We do Lent as our penance to God. It’s a way to become closer to God by giving
up something that distracts you from him. For me, it’s warm showers because that’s a delicacy that people take for granted,” Frisbee said. In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries in order to replicate the account of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ’s journey into the desert for 40 days. Lent comes to close with Holy Week, the last week before Easter Sunday. “We light candles and go through different stages of prayer leading up to Easter,”
Frisbee said. For Catholics, the spring season goes far beyond Easter egg hunts and the candy lining store shelves. It is at the center of their faith and provides opportunities to grow closer to God. “Easter is the most important thing for me because it celebrates God rising from the dead. I believe in God and I believe in the things he did and I want to be like God to others, in the way of treating others with respect and really being his disciple in the world,” Frisbee said.
Dangers of sun exposure continually surface as summer approaches b y
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With summer approaching, teenagers all over the country are ready to spend their time having fun and getting sun. The issue with this is simple; although spending time with sunlight and getting Vitamin D is important, many people take their desire for sun as an opportunity to neglect proper skin care. Stacy Pearson, manager of Elemental Esthetics, a medical spa in St. Louis, describes some of the biggest issues they see in clients that visit the spa. “We get lots of people who have had a lot of long term sun exposure, and we often see suspicious spots on the face. Some of
6 Arts and Entertainment
these are precancerous, some are cancerous. There are age spots, melasma, and wrinkles,” Pearson said. People are willing to ignore these skin concerns because of their desires to be tan or to be outside, but this is incredibly dangerous. “There is no safe way to tan. If you want some color, try a spray tan or self tanning, but you need to wear sunscreen,” Pearson said. Dr. David Leffell, Professor of Dermatology and Surgery at Yale University, has spent many years researching skin cancer, and says that people’s habits now can affect them for decades to come. “Everyone gets sun damage to some extent, but it can still largely be avoided. The desire for sunlight is natural, but time spent in the sun is ultimately just going to
hurt you if you don’t properly cover up and use sunscreen,” Dr. Leffell said. Although most people rarely consider the idea of spending time in the sun while wearing long sleeves, it is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself from damage. “It’s so easy to just wear a hat or long sleeves, but because of the heat most people don’t want the extra layers. Even still, the danger is very prominent and so being covered up is a necessity. Genetics are a heavy component for cancer, but skin cancer is one of the most common even though it’s also the most easily preventable,” Dr. Leffell said. Many people do not know that they need to be wearing sunscreen all year round, not just when it is summer or when they are going to be outside for a while. “Driving around and even just sitting in
your office gives you nasty brown spots and sun damage, even in the winter. So even though you aren’t getting the same exposure it doesn’t mean that it’s time to take a break from your sunscreen... Protecting yourself from the sun not only decreases your risk of skin cancer but it helps your skin look young and healthy,” Pearson said. To put it all quite simply, taking care of your skin is incredibly important, and requires a lot of effort. “Your skin is your largest organ. It requires attention. What you do or don’t do to your body effects the skin… if you make good choices, exercise, sleep, drink water, find ways to unwind each day, you will positively impact the way your skin looks,” Pearson said.
RHS baseball team proving skeptics wrong with strong start to season b y
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As spring sports are starting to take off, the Rolla Varsity baseball team starts to dust off the home plate.This year’s season started off a little rocky, the team struggled with getting a solid foot on the ground. “We’ve had, I guess it’d be three different coaches through the high school so far. When you keep switching coaches it’s kinda hard to build a program through that when each coach is trying to do something a little different,” says Cole Daniels, a senior on varsity. On Tuesday, March 12th, Rolla Bulldogs held their first varsity baseball game of the season. The following Saturday, on the 16th, the Bulldogs traveled to Rock Bridge
where they scored three to eleven. On the same day, they played Grain Valley, with an outcome of five to fifteen. Rolla travels to St. Clair on the 18th, and comes home with a score of two to three. The following 19th, Rolla bounces back with a home game against Owensville, with an outcome of seven to three. “At the beginning of the year, we were all pretty rusty, we were having trouble hitting, but now things are rolling and we’re starting to win more games,” says Drew Johnson, a junior on varsity. More recently, April 5th, Rolla played St. Louis, picking up the season with a win of five to four. The following 9th, they played Waynesville on a home game, following up Thursday with another win of seven to four. The next day, the Bulldogs also won the away game at West Plains, winning by
three, the score nine to six. “I think this year we’re playing better as a team, although last year there were a lot of really good athletes,” says Johnson. Last year, the team had a phenomenal season, with a 76.6 win rate, along with winning the district championship. The team held about eleven seniors to help mentor the incoming players. Now with a new group of younger players, responsibility falls on just four seniors this season. About twenty-two games in, despite the struggle of the first few games, the players are settling into the new dynamic, and exceeding expectations. “We really weren’t expected to be as good as last year, but we’re doing alright, we’re just trying to live up to last year. I think this year we’re playing better as a team,” says Johnson.
Photo taken by Lorren Black
Young activism sparks conversation of lowering voting age b y
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The 26th Amendment of the United States Constitution, passed in 1971, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Recently, a bill has been proposed to lower federal voting age from 18 to 16. As an originally Democratic bill, many Democratic politicians have spoken out in favor of passing the bill, including Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi. While some states grant 16-year olds the power to vote in state and local elections, Missouri is not among them. At age sixteen, one is able to drive and get a job. Many teens even pay taxes on their wages. A great majority of the laws put into place will affect young people in the future. Those in favor of reforming the law argue that it would increase political interest from a younger age and increase voter turnout. They argue that teenagers should have a stake in the laws that will affect them, such as education policy. In an
age where teengers are more socially and politically aware than ever, many argue it would give them the voice they long to have. However, many people are adamantly unconvinced. Rolla’s County Circuit Clerk, Sue Brown, gave her opinion on the matter. “I was at one time 16, and I’ve had kids, and I just don’t think 16 year olds are thinking about how things will affect the world or the United States,” Brown said. While Brown is not in charge of local
elections, she told me she was sharing her opinion as a citizen. “I think at that point in their lives, they are listening to their parents and their friends.” Those opposed to changing the law argue that 16 year olds aren’t aware or experienced enough to understand politics. “They haven’t been out and had jobs or owned homes. [16 year-olds] don’t understand how some of these things will affect them in the future. I think at 16 they’re simply too young,” Brown said.
Pressure to choose career in High School proving ineffective, stressful b y
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By age six, most kids have been asked “what do you want to be when you grow up” by some family friend of distant relative. By age twelve, those same kids have filled out the all-too-familiar Missouri Connections survey about prospective career clusters. At age seventeen, students are expected to forcefully--and quickly--mold their childhood dream into a realistic, executable plan without losing sight of the hopefulness they had as
a child. Printed in bold black type in the middle of nearly every college application: “Major?” While the response to that question is obviously not set in stone, it can feel as if it is. It is not news that school places an added level of pressure upon already hyper-stressed students: declaring what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Not knowing is made out to be the consequence of poor preparation or dedication. However, it is okay not to know. While a hundred arguments could be made about the effectiveness of the American public school system, it can be confidently said
Underclassmen opting to take AP courses in hopes of scholarship opportunities b y
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Taking AP and upper level courses can have a huge impact on a young student’s high school, college, and working career. It can teach students work ethic, time management skills, and invaluable knowledge to apply as they continue to learn and expand. “I think the classes themselves and the skills they teach are a lot more in depth, and you just have more of a skill set to use,” says Freshman Angela Yang. Whether or not a student takes advanced courses relies on a lot of factors, like the student’s after high school plans. If they decide to attend college, courses with harder material help prepare students for the workload to come. Besides plans for the future, a good teacher can influence a student in their interests. A great teacher can sway a student’s opinion on a field, leading them to pursue it further. Peers may also have an affect on a student choice to enroll in intensive classes. Students who surround themselves with friends that motivate and strive themselves, tend to exert a healthy type of peer pressure, like Yang’s friends who contributed to her decision to take AP biology, and a calculus class at the university.
“My friends are all really smart, so I think they’ve definitely influenced me to take harder classes,” says Yang. Many students working to get the edge on scholarships choose to enroll themselves in more intensive classes. High school grading systems and college admissions have become more and more competitive. The GPA inflation has become prevalent to many young students working to be admitted to their first college of choice. In a 2005 study, the National Assessment of Education Progress concluded that the average high school GPA, on a 4.0 scale, increased from 2.68 to 2.94 between 1990 and 2000, and most recently recorded at 3.0 in 2009. So on average, most students work on a low B level, steadily rising. So turning to advanced courses along with a high GPA is a secure way of ensuring a student’s placement in college. And an underclassman student taking them can get them the double take from colleges that they are looking for. “I think that if I take these classes, (AP biology, honors alg 2/trig, chemistry 2, spanish 3, honors english 2) I’ll give myself a better chance of getting financial support with scholarships for college. I think as a younger student, it’s a little more impressive,” says Freshman Pearl Daugaard.
that it does not give students an adequate chance to explore their interests. Taking an interests quiz or doing research on a job once a year is not enough for high schoolers to explore what interests and excites them. Unsure students need the interaction that college or technical schooling provides. A standardized job quiz is no more the answer to our futures than it is the answer to anything else. The system may be imperfect, but do not be fooled. After high school, kids are sent into the world in the hopes that they will become employed, tax-paying, functioning mem-
bers of society. They morph from child to adult. It is okay to be comfortable with the uncertainty that career cluster tests are designed to shame you for. They are standardized quizzes that cannot possibly make sense of your future through a series of numbers. It is healthy to be at ease with the fact that there are so many fields to experience and explore that you have not even heard of. There will be so many jobs in ten years that do not even exist right now. For now, checking the “undeclared” box on your college application is not going to kill you.
Science, reasoning behind procrastination b y
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Procrastination is a popular topic among today’s students, and is often found extremely relatable. Procrastination is the practice of purposely putting off something that needs to be done simply because it is not desirable or enjoyable. In today’s society, students can often be found with a heavy load of homework and never seem to get a break. But, according to sophomore Faith Toothaker, procrastinating and taking a break are two different things. “Procrastinating is totally normal in our high school. It is almost seen as a cool quirk on social media. Procrastinating and taking a break, are two different things in my mind. If you need a break it implies that you have already been working, instead of just pushing things off. Thirty minutes off is a pretty productive way to relax your mind and help you work in the future, binging a season of The Office on Netflix just pushes yourself to never get it done”, Toothaker said. However, as the workload continues to increase as a student progresses in school, lack of motivation can be a common problem, thus leading to procrastina-
tion. Sophomore Serra Ward explains that procrastination may be a way to cope with excess work. “School brings so much stress to so many people and I think that numerous students think that putting it off will help. I also believe that it is very popular in today’s society. Some because they want to live instead of learn, and others because they don’t understand,” Ward said. Toothaker also gives some input to the topic of motivation. “Motivation is the only way to kill procrastinating. I think setting a specific time goal would be good for bad procrastinators. A timer on your phone could set a good amount of time for a break without putting too much pressure on yourself,” Toothaker said. If the push to procrastinate is caused by school, perhaps there are some things that schools can do to help students with motivation and more interest in their schoolwork. “I think more work time in class would help and I think if the teacher stopped by all the students and just checked in and helped a little, a lot would change and probably lessen procrastination,” Ward said.
7 Sports
Rolla students support Special Olympics in annual track meet
Photos taken by Micah Wells b y
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“We talked about sports, what he likes to do in his free time, what he’s looking forward to do in school, and just how much he was having fun,” Burken said. Though a large part of their day was being there to cheer on their new friend, volunteers had packets containing all of their responsibilities. “It was not a free day for the volunteers that went with us. They had a lot of responsibility making sure that the athletes were where they were supposed to be, at the right event, going to and from lunch, making sure they were hydrated, and making sure they weren’t getting a sunburn. Some of our athletes are severe. For example, I have one young man that has a habit of running off, so I have to put someone with him that can keep up with him,” Teacher’s aid Robert Sharpes said. However successful the day was, it could not have been pulled off without months of preparation and paperwork. The athletes must have travel releases, physicals, and Special Olympics paperwork in order to compete. “The biggest difference is that we are dealing with a population that does not have the cognitive memory skills that some of our other students have. It takes
a little more one-on-one pressure to get the students to get everything together,” Sharpes said. On top of gathering the papers, Sharpes juggled securing enough buses for the entire district, coordinating with the other schools, and also teaching his class. Of course he believes it is all worth it for the students to be able to compete. Most of the kids in his class are unable to compete in any traditional high school sport, but Special Olympics is made just for them. In this event, they are able to compete with other people of their ability. “It’s important that they get to do that. They can’t compete with another sport but they can compete in Special Olympics because it is designed for them. It gives them that sense of belonging. It gives them that sense of competitiveness. That is as important to them as it is to regular students,” Sharpes said. Senior Micah Wells saw this aspect of inclusion in their award ceremonies and events. Athletes were able to compete with walkers and receive medals and ribbons no matter how they placed. Both Wells and Burken found one of the highlights of the day to be seeing every athlete’s face light up with pride when receiving a medal and standing on the podium. Wells was able to see some of the younger athletes as she was taking photos of
the volunteers, and met a young girl who was placed in the 100 meter walk or run. Makayla cannot see below her nose. “I remember they set her up and her teacher came to me and voiced concerns about her ability to compete. How could she run when she couldn’t see below her nose? If she wanted to run she would have to look directly at the ground,” The gun went off, signaling the start of the race. Volunteers and teachers cheered her on, and she began running. Her teacher was in awe as she was rarely able to participate in practice. Wells finds this to be one of the many memorable moments from the day, and a lesson that everyone should show they care about these athletes, as it can be easy to overlook Special Olympics. “My students’ mom texted me and thanked me for giving him such a good day. She said he was super excited to get to know me, and that was the most rewarding thing. Seeing the smiles on their faces and them having a good time doing what they want to do,” Burken said. Sharpes sees his students take great pride in their accomplishments at the events, some wearing their medals to school even two days later, and believes in encouraging everyone to do their best at all they do. “Yes, these kids have limits, but the more
you encourage them to do what they can do, the more they become aware of being able to do more. Then they will try harder and work harder. Our goal is to get them to function as fully as adults as we can. Some of our students will never be fully independent, but the more independent we can make them through these kind of educational processes, the better off they are,” Sharpes said. Wells spoke to her athlete’s father before the day began, and she agreed with him when he said that when people get to be there with the athletes and see what they go through, it puts everything into perspective. People think they had a bad day, but will never experience what the students do while still smiling on their podiums. Sharpes looks forward to working on this project again next year and for years to come, and believes in it’s abilities to bring his students to the rest of the school’s population. He even discusses bringing them together on other levels. “Bring some students who want to teach and have them teach our students about art, or cooking, or music. The more we can involve our main population of students with our special population, the tighter bond our school has,” Sharpes said.
RHS Academic team wins districts, advances to sectionals
Photos taken by Maia Bond b y
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On Saturday, Elena Bai placed first in the tournament for individual points scored, and David Ditton placed sixth. Though a top scorer for the team as an underclassmen, Bai hopes in her next years she can push her team to work together to study more and improve together in hopes of making it to state next year. Kayla Copeland has been a member of Academic Team since her freshman year, and as a senior, she appreciates the opportunity to get to know a wide variety of people through the unique club. “We talk about everything. Sometimes we’ll get questions about Chinese Emperors or the 1700’s. Sometimes it’s the latest hits. There’s always something for everybody,” Copeland said. Rolla is known for their ability to excel at
the math questions, and McCarthy speaks admirably about this year’s group’s speed at answering them. Besides the math, she feels that her students have a wide depth of knowledge and can answer to a variety of subjects. This competitiveness does not come without practice, as they began in the first week of October. “We practice every Tuesday and Wednesday after school for an hour. We practice as if it was going to be in a tournament situation. We get out the buzzer systems and I read questions from old tournaments. We also work on learning how to answer questions quickly and trust their gut instinct,” McCarthy said. After losing several great players in the past year, Copeland has seen them struggle to find their confidence without those key students. “Now we are trying to adapt and get better on our own and be more sure that we have the right answer. We definitely had
to step up and learn how to buzz in and be confident in our answers and not secondguess ourselves, because that is when we lose points,” Copeland said. This year, McCarthy sees a more balanced team. In the past, she believes that they relied too heavily on one player, and when they were absent, they might not win any games. “The teams I have this year, the JV and varsity, spread the point values out. For the most part at the end of the day, every kid has answered some questions during the matches,” McCarthy said. She also sees them working well together and considering and valuing everyone’s input. This year, enough students joined to make a JV and varsity team, with a competitive JV team of underclassmen. “I was surprised at how well my JV team is doing. in the years past I haven’t had enough students at the younger level to
actually have a JV team as well as a varsity team. This year I have been able to go to JV only tournaments and just play my freshman and sophomores. They have done remarkably well, and I am excited about watching those kids stick with this through all of high school,” For her, the best part is in the practices, where she gets to see students interact outside the traditional classroom setting. “It’s fun to see a kid that may not answer that many questions in a tournament but answer some during practice when nobody else knew the answer. It is so rewarding to see those kids contribute to the team,” McCarthy said. For the past three years they have advanced to sectionals, if not state. Last year, they placed fourth in all of Missouri against schools their size. Following tradition, they won their district tournament and will be advancing to the first round of sectionals.
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