When RHS Speaks, We
ECHO
Rolla High School - 900 Bulldog Run - Rolla, Missouri 65401- Volume 71 - Issue 4 February 7, 2020 - www.rhsecho.com @rhsechonews
Pearl Daugaard sworn in as next student representative to Rolla Board of Education b y
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On January 14th, sophomore Pearl Daugaard was sworn into the Rolla Board of Education as the 2020 student representative. Her interest to apply for the position arose when she viewed the 2019 candidate video in her advisory. As a student involved in various clubs and leadership positions ranging from sophomore class president to the Future Business Leaders of America’s district and chapter officer, Daugaard is a student who aims to expand her capabili-
Photos courtesy of Rolla Public Schools ties and grow from her experiences. She found running for the student representative position a perfect way to develop as a person and leader in her daily life. “I’m not necessarily a social person or even a
very good public speaker, but recently I have been trying to put myself out there and grow in my ability to talk to other people and be part of a team. I am excited to see what the next year will teach me,” Daugaard said. As Daugaard adjusts to her new position, the help of former student representative Lauren Ulrich and current board members make adapting to her position a smooth transition. “My first meeting was pretty scary but the people there were really nice. Lauren Ulrich’s speech was amazing and she was really encouraging and helpful to me when I was really nervous about it,” Daugaard said. Being a student member of the Board, Daugaard hopes to be an outlet to which the student body can feel comfortable expressing opinions and concerns. She considers her compassion and willingness to listen to her peers a great asset for making an impact this year. “I am a pretty persistent person and I try my best to be genuine, honest, and compassionate. I think of what others might want from this instead of myself. So even if I personally disagree with something that the student body as a whole is passionate about, I believe in my ability to do the right thing and will communicate the student body’s ideas to the Board,” Daugaard said. Through reaching out to her student body, Daugaard has compiled opinions and changes her peers would like to see take effect at Rolla High School. “I have met many students who want some form of change from our technology to our schedules, and I aspire to be someone that continues to take a variety of these opinions and express them accurately and inspire change for our Board,” Daugaard said. Much like the board members, Daugaard is
Board Secretary Myra Ragan swears in Pearl Daugaard at the Januaray 9 Board meeting. person who cares greatly about and is invested in her community and her peers that she stands for. At the end of the day, she hopes to give back to those who gave to her. “I wanted the opportunity to represent the
student body that helped me develop into the person I am today and to be an outlet for our voice as students to be heard in a way that causes meaningful change in our school environment,” Duagaard said.
Dating apps Missouri House introduces bill to censor sexual content in public libraries pose risk to teens
By Lauren Ulri
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Editor In Chief A bill has recently been introduced into the Missouri House of Representatives which, if passed, would effectively ban reading material viewed as inappropriate in public libraries. The bill, dubbed the “Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act,” calls for the establishment of
Photo by Lauren Ulrich parental review boards in public libraries in Missouri. Under the bill’s language, the board could determine library books to consist of “age-inappropriate sexual material,” and ban them from public access to minors. The bill, introduced in January by Rep. Ben Baker as House Bill 2044, has since sparked
backlash amongst librarians and freespeech groups. Rebecca Buckley, Director of the Rolla Public Library, explained resistance to the bill saying, “I think most librarians would see it as a way to try and get more governmental control in the libraries.” Buckley added that the bill would interfere with procedures already in place in public libraries, including Rolla’s. “In a way, I feel like it’s redundant because the checks and balances are already there,” Buckley said. “I think that it’s just adding a layer of government in there that we don’t need. Public libraries already have a Board and they’re chosen by an elected official, the Mayor.” The parental review boards under the House bill would consist of five members elected by the community. However, as Buckley points out, the Rolla Library Board already has protocols in place for dealing with such material, and as Library Director, she has been trained in determining suitable content for young readers. Buckley’s concern is in the subjectivity of the review board, saying that “material sexual in nature… could mean a wide variety because somebody could see a kiss in a book in an offensive way.” In addition to banning books deemed inappropriate, librarians could be fined or imprisoned for up to one year if they “willfully neglect” to carry out the decisions of the board. This aspect of the bill, in particular, has been met with outcry from media and the public. The National Coalition against Censorship
Nearly 80 percent of rape cases are “date rape” situations, according to Federal Bural Investigtion - criminal prevention. Date rape is a form of sexual assault in which the victim knows the person committing the act, also known as acquaintance rape. Often cases like this happen through online dating. This includes apps such as Tinder, Bumble, plenty of fish, etc. The perpetrator typically goes on a few dates with the person before committing the act, they try and build as much trust as they can so it seems less suspicious. In many cases, the victim is drugged or “roofied” and carried out into the perpetrator’s car. Other incidents include the perpetrators using weapons, this assures dominance over the victim and they are forced to do what the perpetrator wants. Although minors are discouraged from using dating sites, there are countless articles giving advice on how to be safe and what precautions to take before going out with mystery people. The top tip on most crime prevention sites is to create a new email just for dating and not to give out personal information, but the problem with most dating sites is it seems to give out your information anyways. ECHO had the chance to interview a student in the school who is involved with online dating. “Dating apps are not safe. It gives your location from miles away, and I tested this with a Read more about the risks of dating apps on page 8.
Letter from the Editor Dear Students of RHS, With Courtwarming tomorrow and Valentine’s Day next week, I’m reminded of both my love for clearance rack chocolate and the fact that my love life resembles those sad, wilted roses at WalMart. As I write this letter, my most promising prospect for a Valentine’s date is my diabetic cat with an uncanny resemblance to an overweight seal. Even as I flounder through aerobics class like a wounded albatross, I can’t help but wonder why I am so very single. Sure, my hobbies include crocheting, I read newspapers for fun, and the most exciting part of my week is watching the Great British Baking show on Friday night, but hey, I’ll edit your English papers. (another witty sentence, maybe rom com reference) In all actuality, I am not too bothered by being single on Valentine’s Day. However, I do find something in my life lacking this time of year. As my senior year comes to a close, I am struck by how little my high school experience has resembled my prior expectations. Rather than an exciting roller coaster characterized by fun, drama, memories, and relationships, high school has been more like a bored, slightly stressed slug. Am I the only one who writes more essays than goes to parties? Surely there must be others who have not yet discovered the fun high school experience we were promised in Zoey 101 and Victorious. Even if not everyone can reach my level of grandma-like-boringness, I’m convinced that some students must also struggle
to simply have fun. With the tediousness of homework and busy schedules, it can be hard to find the time, let alone energy, to go out and do something exciting-- even for those not socially awkward like yours truly. It feels blasphemous to say as a goody-twoshoes who used to read Harry Potter during recess, but everyone, please, for all of our sakes, stop caring so much about homework. Yes, I said it. Looking back 20 years from now, having a 4.0 will not matter so much as the friendships and memories made in high school. Of course, I say this knowing full well the increasingly competitive college admissions process that demands exceptional grades and extracurricular involvement. However, even as I await college acceptance letters and scholarship offers, their contents seem much less important than I had thought. My one regret in high school is not failing that chem test or quitting that club. It’s wishing I had more memories in my camera roll than items on my resume. On that mildly depressing note, I hope that confessing my lameness to the entire school isn’t for nothing, and that maybe those who relate to this struggle can feel empowered in knowing that they are not alone. So this Valentine’s Day, don’t be ashamed to only cuddle with your cat. But every now and then, get off the couch, put down the math book, and live life like a fabulous, soaring seagull. Love, Lauren Ulrich
ECHO Staff
Editor In Chief: Lauren Ulrich Managing 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, Helen Weiss Adviser: Dr. Mary Gillis
Follow @rhsechonews on Twitter and Instagram. For more news and sports go to www.rhsecho.com
2 Opinion
How to research 2020 Presidential candidates
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S t a ff W r i t e r It is well known that many American citizens are not politically active. It is very disappointing to see that the future of America is not completely decided by the entire American public, but is instead decided by the few citizens who are politically engaged. However, I can understand how some people choose to be disengaged from politics. I used to be very inactive in politics because I did not fully understand the viewpoints
of every side, and I also did not care enough to research them. There is a website called ISideWith.com that allows you to take a quiz and see which political figure you agree the most with, which sounds helpful for the many politically inactive citizens. When I took the ISideWith quiz a year ago, it told me that I strongly support Michelle Obama. I retook the quiz again a couple days ago, and it told me that I now support Donald Trump. Those two political figures are strikingly different, but I felt that my ideals stayed the same between the two tests. Interestingly, I don’t hold a strong enthusiasm for either Trump or Obama. I did not pay much attention to politics, but I always assumed that they both did their job relatively well. However, I recently found a presidential candidate that really appealed to me. During a long car ride, I was listening to a podcast featuring the Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. At first he did not seem like a very promising candidate, but after listening throughout the hour-long podcast, I became very interested in him. Later, I watched a Democratic debate to look into Yang and how he compares with other candidates.
Despite having the lowest speaking time on the debate stage, Yang was the only candidate to win my full support. When I took the ISideWith quiz as a Yang supporter, I was surprised to see that the quiz did not show Yang as my first choice candidate. Yang was ranked fifth on my list of candidates who I support, with Trump, Michael Bloomberg, John Delaney, and Tulsi Gabbard ranking in the top four. Most of those candidates were either unappealing or unheard of. Why does the quiz say that I support Trump more than Yang? Do I really support Trump’s ideas more than Yang’s? The results put me at 61 percent for Trump and 44 percent for Yang, but I feel like those scores should be swapped to be more accurate. The explanation for this difference can be attributed to the way the quiz is built. A lot of the questions on the quiz were irrelevant to me, and I did not know how to answer some of them. I had strong reasons to support Yang, such as his vision for the future of technology and his policy for Universal Basic Income, but the quiz had no questions about these policies because the policies were still relatively new and unique.
The ISideWith quiz is very general in its questions, which does not pinpoint specific vital details of why you may support one candidate over another. A lot of the questions were also poorly written with insufficient background information. For example, there was a question that said, “Should the federal government increase funding of health care for low income individuals (Medicaid)? Yes or no?” Thinking about it bluntly, more funding is always a good thing. However, I wanted to see the pros and cons of Medicaid. I want to see both viewpoints of both sides, and the quiz did not clearly provide that information to me. In addition, choosing either yes or no is too simple of an answer. Even though the quiz provides additional answers other than yes or no, there are not many choices that accurately depicts my viewpoints. If you know who you support and you know why you support them, I believe that this quiz will not help you that much. The best way to find out who you support is to watch debates and read about the candidates.
who have found themselves a member of the vegan “community” for a variety of reasons. I will share my experience and the conclusion I have come to--not only about diet and conscientious consumption but about mindfulness and maintaining realistic expectations. The following is solely a chronicle of my own feelings. At the beginning of 2020, my family made the decision to “go vegan”—a term which I have grown to fundamentally oppose (which I will address later). Admittedly, it was not a drastic change for my family. Prior to this year, we had eaten primarily vegetarian (my brother has been a strict vegetarian since he was eight), and I had rarely eaten dairy in recent years. With the exception of eggs for breakfast and the occasional chicken breast for dinner, my family opted for largely plant-based alternatives as it was. Yet, within the first week of my new diet, I found myself with overwhelming cravings for food I had never experienced before. I was left wondering why the shift felt so much heavier psychologically than the actual diet adjustment was. The decision was made as more of a metaphor for living a healthier and more environmentally-sustainable lifestyle, so the only pressure I felt came as a result of my own false expectations. Roughly four weeks later, I am now an on-andoff partial “vegan,” but I have decided to drop
the label. Over the course of this time, I have experimented with being both strictly vegan and an “intuitive” eater, and I am beginning to settle somewhere in the middle. I have struggled, both nutritionally and psychologically, to obtain a balance and a healthy mindset. I have dropped the language that caused me to approach veganism as black and white: “breaking,” “diet,” “cheating,”—even the word “vegan” itself. While I agree there is a distinct line between being a vegan and not being a vegan, there is a gray space between them that is unfairly criticized. Ironically enough, much of the criticism stems from the vegan “community” itself. Something more difficult than maintaining the diet itself is the toxic stigma that surrounds veganism. Rather than looking at it as the mere dietary preference that it is, it is viewed as a lifestyle and a character trait. This caused, in my experience, a strong sense of negativity—particularly guilt—that surrounded “breaking” the diet. The theory of veganism, in my opinion, represents many of the right ideas: conscientious consumerism, eco and animal-friendly choices, and an overall sense of mindfulness about the impact of the foods we consume on both our bodies and the world. These are values I stand by, but I feel I am better able to stand by them now that I have dropped the title of being vegan. Calling myself a vegan felt like a title I had to earn, regardless of the
negative impact on my own health and relationship with food and my body. It seemed to be a sort of toxic identification device, suggesting that veganism could somehow be more than a dietary pattern. Looking at it as such made for nothing more than an even greater extremist mindset than I had already had. The most toxic aspect of veganism is the way it is worn as an accessory—a personality trait—as if your eating habits dictate anything more than simply what you choose to eat. Ultimately, I realized that veganism does not have to be an incentivized program. At the end of the day, no one gives you a gold star for avoiding a stray egg white that day. The journey, growth and development is the reward. Attaching myself to a title did little more than fueling an unhealthy and ultimately unsustainable mindset. And not everyone is a good candidate either. I would not suggest “veganism” to someone who already struggles with restrictive eating. Truthfully, I would not recommend it as anything more than an experiment. Adopting an off-and-on vegan-ish lifestyle has trained me to have the ability to look over a plate of gooey butter cookies and reach for a banana. But perhaps more importantly, I have come to terms with a more valuable lesson—sometimes, it is okay to reach for the cookie instead.
What vegans don’t tell you about veganism
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Managing Editor The trend of veganism is on the rise among animal rights and environmental activists, health nuts, and L.A. wannabes alike. When you envision the stereotype of a vegan, with who or what do you associate? Perhaps it is a slim blonde woman wandering the aisles of Whole Foods, perusing the ingredient labels of different organic hummus brands. Or maybe it is a pudgier millennial, sporting a t-shirt that reads something like “Vegan Vibes” and who spends just as much time talking about being a vegan than she does actually saving the earth. Veganism encapsulates a wide scope of people,
Students should think District needs improved twice before choosing snow day procedure homeschool
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S t a ff W r i t e r To any student who has begged their parents to be homeschooled to get away from the traditional 8 to 3:10 schedule, take it from a person who has tried both routes there are many factors to consider. Throughout the process, the student has to be able to accurately analyze the amount of independence that they are able to handle. Being homeschooled means being responsible for making a personal schedule, prioritizing time to complete tests and assignments, and incorporating time for seasonal breaks. The purpose of this article is not to persuade students to choose a traditional high school experience or homeschooling, but to inform about the pros and cons of both options. While high school may seem too consistent, there are many social opportunities that should be appreciated. In high school, there are many
activities such as dances, clubs, a multitude of new people to meet, and sports to participate in. These activities are not only fun to engage in, but they assist in the overall social development of a young adult. However, homeschooling allows the liberty to learn at a pace that a student is comfortable with, as well as provides a wide variety of course material. The option of educational independence can be perfect for the restless student. Complete independence may seem like the perfect option, until a weekend break turns into a week break. In homeschool, there are no teachers nagging to turn in assignments on time or reminding a class to study for a test. At some points, it is nice to be in an environment where there is a reliable feeling of consistency. At the same time, high school may feel as if it is full of busy work as well as hundreds of other students. The daily exposure to this environment may become overwhelming. When considering what a student wants for their future, the type of schooling chosen must be decided carefully. Both options can be equally helpful when making the transition into a university. Homeschooling helps to prepare for the amount of independence that is incorporated into college classes, while highschool prepares a student for the amount of socializing and networking that goes into being a college student. When taking each factor into consideration, it is most important to consider which option is best for the educational and personal well-being of a well-rounded student.
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S t a ff W r i t e r In the 2019-2020 school year, Rolla High School has already cancelled four days of school due to inclement weather conditions. As a result, the days that are initially given to students as a break are taken away for “makeup days” to recover some of the time lost from snow days, such as students being required to attend school on Martin Luther King Day. When students left school on Martin Luther King Day, the road conditions had worsened, resulting in unsafe driving conditions. If the holiday had remained called off as originally planned, students would not have risked ending up in accidents due to unplanned snowfall. With the current technology available to students, such as Google Classroom, missed class hours could be made up with assignments online. Students would be able to complete tasks on their own time, which would be less stressful
and possibly more effective. Instead of risking student drivers taking a snow covered route home, school could be released early if nasty weather is right around the corner. On December 16 and 17, Rolla High School announced that school would not be in session due to the forecast of severe weather. Students lost two days from their finals week, which resulted in a single day to cram study class information, leaving the final two days of the week to shove all of the final exams. This incredibly stressful situation could have possibly been avoided if school was in session, or if teachers had encouraged more active use of online resources. Less time to prepare results in lower test scores. On January 17, Rolla High School yet again cancelled school due to prediction of foul weather. Despite heavy rain, little to no ice resulted from the temperatures, and the school lost another eight hours of teaching. For the 2020-2021 school year, the regular school calendar is going through changes that would result in RHS having only four snow makeup days instead of the regular seven makeup days. Without these extra days, it is entirely possible that the school year would possibly have to extend further into summer. Although the purpose of snow days is to keep students and bus drivers protected from possible driving related injuries, Rolla High School has to find a more efficient way to promote a solution to keeping students on track with their classes, while still honoring their promise to keep students safe.
3 Opinion
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Australia fires spark ecological crisis
Australia’s fires are not a new occurrence. First starting in June of last year and still ongoing, Australia’s fires were made much more dramatic from results of climate change fueling environmental dangers much more and destroying 72,000 square miles of land, thousands of buildings and homes are destroyed, and thirty individuals have been killed with vast amounts of animals killed as well. With how fragile Australia’s ecosystem was before, this will certainly hurt it even more. Islands are unique in that they act like time capsules or an entirely different ecology from that of the mainland. The animals that can get there usually have no competition or are wholly unique to that part of the world, but this also means they are usually very vulnerable to dramatic change and habitat destruction. Although most birds live on continents, 92 percent of birds that went extinct in the last 500 years lived on islands. Australia is indeed a continent but has these island rules due to it being closed off from the mainland, and Australia is the num-
ber one country in the world with the highest rate of animals going extinct. Since colonization, Australia has lost twenty nine animal species while the US has only lost one. Not so recently, Australia has been on fire since last year in June, with it today being a massive destructive force, much bigger than the California and Amazon fires combined. Australia is quite different from our seasons, as summer begins in December for them and Australia has a dry season that typically starts in April and lasts until October, which is accompanied by fires in some degree. Australia’s own flora and fauna have adapted or even depend on the fires. Some trees have fire resistant bark and many plants have deep roots so they are not destroyed, a burnt forest has zero competition for light and many plants are quick to sprout with the lack of competition. Eucalyptus trees have flammable sap so they fuel the fire more and will burn down competition for the next eucalyptus trees to grow. However, the fires were never like this one which are lasting far longer than the norm
and few have been this incredibly intense. The fire’s cause is unknown and could come from a wide array of causes like lightning or some form of human activity. Climate change made the fires far more severe which was accompanied by Australia’s longest dry season and the hottest and driest drought the continent has experienced, which made the fires far worse due to a lack of hydration and lots of dry plant matter. Weather also had a hand in the fires by accompanying them with brisk winds that sped up the fires. Australia is also heavily deforested which c The fire’s damage will also most likely still impact animals, with potential threats of starvation or predation to already damaged and very vulnerable populations. The situation is dire but not hopeless as Singapore, New Zealand, United States, and Canada have pledged to send in help to Australia and public donations have raised more than 500 million US dollars as of January. Convoys of food, clothes, and feed for animals have gone into impacted areas.
Valentine’s Day should be about love, not consumerism
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With Valentine’s Day coming up, advertisements and products commemorating the holiday are almost everywhere. Those in relationships can begin to feel stressed and even insecure, not being sure how to show their appreciation for their partner. The real question is, why do we need to buy things to show our love for others? Let’s start with the history of Valentine’s Day. The holiday is named after a priest named Saint Valentine who would help arrange secret marriage during a period of time when it was outlawed. Since then, it has slowly drifted more and more into the holiday we know today. Charles, Duke of Orleans, is known to be the first person to send a ‘Valentine’s Day poem’. In 1415, while he was imprisoned, he sent a poem titled to his 16-year-old wife Bonne of Armagnac. This
continued well into the 17th and 18th centuries, with card and gift giving becoming more popular. Once it was emerged into the American life, consumer culture took hold of the holiday and began commercializing and sensationalizing it into not just cards, but chocolate, flowers, and all of the brightly colored merchandise we see today. All together, the holiday generates around $19 billion, placing more and more pressure on the romance aspect. Relationships are not meant to be perfect all the time. Practical things such as jobs, responsibilities, and commitments can complicate things way more than we would like them to. They can cause disagreements and conflict, and that is simply a part of life. If everything was wonderful all the time, perhaps that would be just too good to be true. Everyone has their own
opinions and beliefs, and we are fortunate to live in a time and place where such things are accepted. When the holiday pressures are applied, it can be easy to lose focus and forget about the challenges that lie ahead in the real world, like maybe saving the money that would be used to go out and spending it on something that would help the relationship in a practical way. With all of this said, Valentine’s Day is still a good way to show your partner that you appreciate and care for them, but there are many little things and ways you can show that even on a daily basis. This year instead of spending a lot of money on something, maybe make a home-made gift that shows just how much you love them.
Seniors give juniors advice for upcoming ACT b y
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The ACT is a very important test that most colleges look at for admissions along with a student’s GPA. Depending on the score a student gets, the student can get certain benefits and scholarships. Most Missouri colleges have a required ACT entrance score anywhere from 18 to 24. The score ranges from 0 to 36 and the average is 21. The upcoming ACT exam is tomorrow, February 8, and the next sign up is February 28th for the April 4th exam. The February exam is free for all Rolla High School juniors this year. ECHO asked senior students for their best ACT advice for juniors who may be taking it for the first time tomorrow.
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Ethan Wang @24313@student.rolla31.org
“Don’t panic. It’s a high stakes test, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t do so well.”
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“Don’t study just the day before. Study at least a week before.”
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“Eat breakfast. I didn’t do that and it was a really big mistake.”
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Hannah Leigh @78843@student.rolla31.org
“For the reading part of the exam, they usually look for the shortest correct sentence. So when you’re taking the ACT, look for short correct sentences.”
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“Prioritize what you’re worst at and study
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Hannah Leigh @ 78843@student.rolla31.
“There are tools and online websites you can use. That’s what I did. It was really helpful.”
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Lexi Falkenrath @24112@student.rolla31.org
“Sleep. I was so tired and fell asleep halfway through the ACT.”
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Zach Carnelison @75744@student.rolla31.org
“Talk to somebody who has taken it before, and get some personal advice from them.”
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Abdu Ibrahim @24485@student.rolla31.org
“Take it as early as you can.”
House Bill 2044 proposes parental oversight in public libraries continued from page 1. issued a statement--co-signed by the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom-- stating that the bill “poses serious constitutional dangers by threatening to punish librarians for allowing minors to read constitutionally protected material that offends the personal morals of some individuals in the community.” Cynthia Dudenhoffer, President of the Missouri Library Association, issued in a statement that “The Missouri Library Association will always stand against censorship and for the freedom to read, and therefore opposes Missouri House Bill 2044.” Rep. Baker, who attracted scrutiny last year for sponsoring a bill encouraging courses on the Bible to be taught in public schools, cited opposition to Drag Queen Story Hour events in some Missouri libraries as his reasoning behind the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act.
4 Feature
In response to criticism of the bill, Rep. Baker shared in a statement to the Springfield NewsLeader that he “wanted to send a strong message that we need to protect our kids and we need to do something about this.” In Buckley’s opinion, Rep. Bakers’ comment on Drag Queen Story Hour strays from the content of the bill. “I think that that is detracting from what the bill is actually saying. It’s trying to get people’s emotions stirred about something that the bill really isn’t saying,” Buckley said. Under the bill’s current language, it would be library books, not events like Drag Queen Story Hour, under question. However, Buckley does worry that LGBTQ+ reading material could be at risk under the bill. “Anything having to do with the LGBTQ+ community is what the bill is going to target. By taking [books] out so that people can’t see a representation of themselves, you risk them feeling further marginalized in their communities,” Buckley said.
While news headlines citing the bill would “jail librarians” and “ban Drag Queen Story Hour” have gained popular attention, Buckley shares more concern for the bill’s potential effect on diverse reading material. “[Librarians] are wanting to talk about what the bill actually says,” Buckley said. “We’re not wanting to talk too much about all of the distractions because when it comes down to it, what’s written in the bill is what’s going to get enforced.” In regards to books that could be viewed as offensive or inappropriate for minors, the Rolla Public Library already has a procedure in place where patrons can challenge a book and voice concerns to the Library Board. In addition to this procedure, parents can exercise their rights under existing law by choosing what reading material they deem appropriate for their children. “Just because they’re on the shelf doesn’t mean that their kid has to read them. That just
means that you need to be involved in your child’s book selection and education,” Buckley explained. “I fully respect having their rights with their children, but by you assuming that you can do that for someone else’s child is where we get into the dangerous area of censorship. Buckley, who has approximately 20 years of experience as a public school librarian in St. Louis County, has served as Rolla Public Library Director for the past six months and as Assistant Director the 11 months prior. She shares that she is still learning the community’s needs, but encourages open dialogue on topics to the concern of patrons. Specifally, she welcomes teen input on what library programming and materials would better suit their needs. “I do not feel that I am 100 percent expert on everything, so if anybody would want to engage in conversation or has concerns, I’m very open to talking to people that agree with me or don’t agree with me,” Buckley said.
Artist of the Month: Akira Durbin
Sophomore Akira Durbin. Photo by Quinn Guffey. b y
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Sports Editor Akira Durbin, a Sophomore at Rolla High School has been experimenting with art since about third grade. When she was just around seven, she and her family moved to Rolla. Around the same time, Durbin enrolled in the Rolla Public School system. To cope with the adjustment of a new school, she turned to creat-
ing in order to occupy her time. “Most of the time I paint. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of water color. I do oils and acrylics as well. Also, I enjoy doing gouache,” Durbin said. For a while, Durbin went through hardships with her art. Her surgery hindered her from what she really loved doing. She takes her art to the deepest sincerity. Creating is one of Durbin’s values. “When I had my surgery done, I couldn’t really do anything. I couldn’t sit fully up in bed. I couldn’t lay anything in my lap. It was really demoralizing for me,” Durbin said. Durbin also creates for other people--selling and taking commissions for others to purchase something she created that is made personally for them. She has an Instagram page for her art and advertises her skills there. “Most of the time people come to me directly first. I don’t really like to make something and sell that piece. I like to create something for that person. They’re spending money on the piece, and I think they should get something they really feel connected to. A couple of times someone has come to me and just asked for something I made. Although, I don’t feel comfortable with that as much. I like to cater more towards a person’s wants and personality,” Durbin said.
Check out the new exhibits in the high school art gallery
Above: Sophomore Evan Inskip “Looking at the Star” Left: Senior Sarah Gilliam “Out of Her Mind”
Photo courtesy of Akira Durbin.
Athlete of the Month: Mya Burken b y
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S t a ff W r i t e r As a senior, it is Mya Burken’s first time being part of the wrestling team. Burken originally started wrestling by going to open mats at the end of the 2018-19 school year and throughout the summer because she wanted to try a different sport and she had heard good things about the RHS wrestling program. “I never saw myself as one to win by physical strength, so I didn’t even consider wrestling previously. My family does support my wrestling, but at first they were hesitant because I went from playing non-contact sports to the sport with the most contact possible,” Burken said. For the first three weeks of wrestling season, practice was at 6:00a.m. - 7:30p.m. in the morning and 3:25p.m. - 5:30p.m. in the afternoon. Currently practice is only after school and consists of warm ups and then wrestling drills. “Practice can be grueling, a test of strength, endurance, and will. Some practices are especially brutal and it truly shows the hard work that the whole team puts in. When I practice at home, I work on my stance and motion or do a simple workout to stay active,“ Burken said. The next wrestling tournament is Feb. 1 at the Women’s Ozark Conference and on Feb. 3, there is a meet for the girls’ team vs. Camdenton at Rolla High School from 5:30p.m. - 8:00p.m.. “If you aren’t committed with your time and mentality, wrestling only becomes more difficult.
Wrestling is a sport where you get out what you put in, so it can also be very rewarding. I wish people knew how much work my fellow athletes put into the sport. I’m humbled and proud to be part of such an amazing team and they deserve to have the recognition for all their countless hours and efforts they’ve given,” Burken said. To Burken, wrestling is a test of how much and how far she can push herself. It was difficult for her to start with no prior experience because she had to quickly learn the nuances of wrestling while keeping up with the physical strain of the sport. “During the first part of the season, the team bonded through the countless hours practicing. Now the team bonds more during the meets where we cheer for each other and get to spend some time simply being teammates. [Wrestling meets] can be very stressful and nerve wracking, but thankfully I’ve had support from my teammates and coaches during those times to help me through,” Burken said. Burken’s favorite part of wrestling is the positive team atmosphere built by the wrestlers and coaches. Just being with the team during practice, tournaments, and downtime is what stands out to her from her year of being on the team. “I would say that [people who want to start wrestling] should just try it and go into the sport with an open mind. Also, they should be prepared to work hard, but know that even though there is hard work, it is a fun time,” Burken said.
Left: Senior Mya Burken and Coach Marty Hauck after Mya took the Conference Championship title at the match on Saturday, February 1. Burken, in her inagural year as a wrestler, has had a good season with the team. Below: Burken working for a cradle in a match against Hillcrest earlier in the season.
Process of making menu for school lunch not a simple one b y
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S t a ff W r i t e r It is well known that there are some students who do not enjoy the lunches that the school provides. Many students choose to bring their own lunch and some do not eat lunch at all. Beth Jett, the food/service director for the Rolla Public School System, explains how the menu for school lunches are made. “Up until about seven or eight years ago, the previous food director would write the menu themselves. During the Obama administration, there were a lot of decisions made about what was considered healthy for kids. Everything changed: it wasn’t a matter of sitting down and writing what the kids were going to eat. They had regulations and we had to meet certain guidelines,” Jett said. Now, Rolla Public Schools does not write their own menu. Instead, an employee from a different food company helps write the menu. “Within a couple of years of that having started, we started to have one of the employees from one of the vendors that we purchase food from write our menus. He writes them based off of a program that he has, which has all of the recommendations already in it. We can run a menu for a week, it submits the information, we’ll tell him if we are short on protein, short on red vegetables, or short on green vegetables. It’s very involved,” Jett said.
The guidelines on what food can be served are quite detailed. There are limits to what kind of foods can be served and how many times they can be served. “We’re calorie restricted and carbohydrate restricted, and then we have those recommendations that we have to meet. I am restricted on how many times I can offer corn and potatoes, which everybody loves, because they are a carbohydrate and a starch product, and they tend to run higher in calories. Until it is changed on a federal level, there is not a whole lot I can do,” Jett said. Despite having to follow certain guidelines on what to serve, there is some freedom in deciding the menu. During the holidays, students will notice that the lunches may have changed in accordance to the holiday. For example, on the week of Thanksgiving there is turkey available. “When we get into holiday time, what I normally do is print off the menu, and I will make changes. Whether it’s a Thanksgiving meal or Christmas meal, I will adjust that accordingly. I do have some leeway that way, but I don’t have a lot of leeway when it comes to other areas,” Jett said. Jett has also been able to work around some restrictions in food choice to create a more satisfactory school lunch. For instance, some students may have noticed that there will be whole-grain bread, but white-grain pasta. “We’ve been using whole-grain products for quite a while now. It used to be all whole-grain,
but now it’s fifty-percent. So you probably have noticed that while you still have whole-grain hamburger buns, you now have white pasta, which is nice. Kids didn’t care much for whole grain pasta. I kind of adjusted that so that we still remain at fifty-percent whole-grain, but it allows me some leeway to offer some white-grain products as well,” Jett said. There are a lot of guidelines that must be followed when serving the school lunches. Given the restrictions, the food program at Rolla Public
Photo by Sudatta Hor
Schools always does their best to serve the best food possible. “There’s a lot that goes behind why we serve what we serve. We would love to serve everything that the kids love. We have a very successful food program here, but it would be even more successful if we serve what the children love,” Jett said.
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Key Club to host Courtwarming Dance tomorrow b y
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S t a ff W r i t e r It is that time of year again. Tomorrow, February 8, Key Club is hosting a vintage boardwalk theme for the annual Courtwarming Dance. They have been working many hours to build decorations to immerse students into the setting. “We have been preparing by having decoration days for three to four hours on Saturdays. We are going to start doing them after school as well, but for the most part it’s been trying to figure out the best sales for supplies, gossamer, lights, carpet rolls, and even cardboard from anywhere we can find it,” Key Club President Kendall Mara said.
Today, February 7, is the last day to buy during all lunch shifts at $15 each. Candidates for each grade’s Courtwarming King and Queen have been chosen by students in Key Club. “We get a list of every student in the school and everyone in Key Club collectively votes. We nominate people and whoever gets the most amount of votes becomes a candidate,” junior Elias Mertens explained. “Courtwarming is a very underrated dance and most people like to skip it because it is not as big as homecoming, and definitely not as big as prom, but I think it’s closer and way more intimate because it’s just in the cafeteria of the high school, not like the gym or renting out a place with prom. I like it because it is less crowded. I would definitely like to see more crowds and more people there this year for sure,” Mara said.
How to vote in upcoming elections to register to vote for the General Municipal election is March 11. The elections take place S t a ff W r i t e r March 10 and April 7 respectively. In the PresiAmidst the 2020 Democratic primary debates dential Primary, voters nominate candidates to and right before the start of the primaries and the ballot for the General Election. Municipal caucuses, the deadlines to register to vote for the elections occur to elect local others to positions Presidential Preference Primary and the General within a city. Municipal elections are To be qualified to nearing. vote in Missouri, one “During the 2019 Municipal election, During the 2019 there were almost 30,000 registered voters must be a U.S. citizen Municipal election, and a resident of Misin Phelps County, yet the total voter turnout souri, as well as be 18 there were almost 30,000 registered vot- was just over 10 percent.” years old by the day ers in Phelps County, of the election. Before yet the total voter voting, present a valid turnout was just over 10 percent. Although photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport it may seem that the primary is the only time or another form of acceptable identification. If worth voting for, your local government’s deciyou are unsure of your polling place, you can sions can affect most of your direct life. And check your Voter Identification Card or go to with smaller populations and less turnout, a phelpscounty.org. If you are unable to vote on single vote will have much more impact. election day, you can apply for an absentee ballot The last day to register to vote for the Presiin person, by mail, or by fax. dential Primary is February 12 and the last day b y
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Key Club members Isabelle Crowell and Madison Rodgers prepare decorations for tomorrow’s Courtwarming dance. Photo by Camryn Falkenhain.
2020 Courtwarming Candidates Freshman Boys: Ben Ballard, Zach Colench, Alex Haberman, Kendall Johnson Freshman Girls: Emma Cook, Eyram Dumor, Tiras Facen, Taylor Heimbaugh Sophomore Boys: Yanya Elgawady, Hayden Fane, Jakobe Smith, Bryce Wrightsman Sophomore Girls: Zoey Barr, Taniya Corley, Ariela Lara, Carli Libhart Junior Boys: Matthew Ballard, Dan Foster, Lane Mabe, Chase Stacey Junior Girls: Mikah Allison, Camryn Falkenhain, Hannah O’Connor, Bailey Pierce Senior Boys: Jackson Hounsom, Dan King, Dawit Pritchett, Joel Schott Senior Girls: Kathryn Brand, Mya Burken, Rebecca Janke, Lauren Ulrich
Board passes school bond issue for April ballot b y
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S t a ff W r i t e r The upcoming April ballot is introducing a lot to Rolla Public Schools. On election day Rolla’s citizens will vote on a bond issue titled “Proposition R31 2020,” which if passed would raise $25 million from the taxpayers to go towards facilities improvements across the district. There are five items on the ballot. The biggest proposition on the ballot is to build a new gymnasium and auditorium. However, there is more to the ballot than just the gymnasium. It also introduces new safety features to schools in the district, such as making the new gymnasium with storm shelter capabilities, and a new and safer front entrance at Truman elementary. If the ballot issue were to pass, the new gym would seat 2000 people while the current gym would be converted to an auditorium which would seat over 800 people. “The gymnasium that we currently have was built in the 50s. At that time the population of the Rolla Highschool was around 500 students and now there’s 1300,” Superintendent Dr. Aaron Zalis said. The new gym would also work as a storm shelter, which would be safer for students and faculty at RHS. “The second project is district safety… items
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that are too big for us to do in our normal budget and too much for our maintenance department,”Dr. Zalis said. This includes a new entrance for Truman that would be similar to Mark Twain’s entrance. Another project on the ballot is the addition of the vocal and instrumental music wing to provide more space for the growing number of students that have recently arrived there in the past couple of years. “The last one is at the RTI. The restrooms there are not ADA compliant,” Dr. Zalis said. ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities act, so the new restrooms at the RTI would be accommodating to all of the students. All of these issues were important to people in the community. “We had a committee that thought of a long range facility plan for our school district,” Dr. Zalis explained. The committee was made up of people directly from the community. “From there the school board had to select from that some of the things that they want to get accomplished first,” Dr. Zalis said. Dr. Zalis urges everyone in the school and community to vote in the election on April 7. “I hope people that aren’t registered to vote, do. That includes students because this is your school,” Dr. Zalis said.
February 12 March 10 March 11 April 7
To register to vote, visit sos.mo.gov. For more information on local elections, visit phelpscounty.org.
Local colleges offer additional course options for students b y
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Students have recently turned in their course selections and now await their schedules for next year. However, many are not aware of the variety of other options offered to high school students outside of the district. The local colleges and universities currently offer a variety of dual credit and dual enrollment courses that give high school students experience at a university level of education at a reduced cost. Students also have the option to take dual enrollment classes outside of school hours to gain credit and experience in university coursework. Many students around the Rolla area also take classes at MS&T, either for a certain topic or to gain college credit while in high school. Interested students should go to the Missouri S&T admissions office, where they will be given further instructions on what to do (usually contacting the head of the department they wish to take classes in). Other colleges that offer dual enrollment include ECC and Drury University, at a reduced cost per credit. “I have quite a few students that are taking my Drury classes after school, but since they’re still in high school, they pay the dual credit fee. So they would pay the same fee for that college class as if they were paying for the dual credit class,” Dr. Keith Peterson said. However, students signing up for these courses should be prepared to face challenges unique to the college learning environment. Those who plan on taking a dual enrollment course are expected to be more independent and responsible than others. “One very different thing was that nobody’s really going to remind you about the homework. It’s just like “I hope you remember that, because it’s due now.” Whereas high school teachers are like ‘Remember the homework that’s due in two days.’ There’s also a lot less review. Some of them just have one day before the test, but there’s not any dedicated review time besides that,” junior Deuce Ditton, who has taken
classes at Missouri S&T, said. Students can also gain a similar experience to the typical university class by taking AP and dual enrollment classes, which cover a university-level material classroom environment. “I have found that AP biology, for instance, that’s two semesters worth of material, so it’s difficult to cover all that material. Even college biology courses don’t cover all the material in I and II that’s on the AP exam,” Dr. Peterson said. Furthermore, for students seeking experience within a college classroom, ECC currently offers summer dual enrollment program. The program offers current sophomores and juniors an opportunity to attend college level classes at a reduced cost, starting June 1, 2020. Those who are interested should take steps to apply at https:// www.eastcentral.edu/earlycollege/enroll-now/ or contact ECC at earlycollege@eastcentral.edu or 636-584-6723. “With the Summer Three for Free program, students can take one course tuition free, but they are still responsible for fees and books. For example, a student who wants to take a three credit English Composition I course, the regular dual enrollment cost of that course is $153.00 (tuition) plus $81.00 (general fees) at $234.00, plus books. A student in the Three for Free Program would only pay $81.00 plus books,” Megen Strubberg, Director of Early College Programs at ECC said. Overall, despite the variety of classes offered at the high school, RTI, and RTC, students wanting to gain college credit or experience and who are willing to put in the work have access to the plethora of classes offered outside of Rolla High School. “For a student who’s motivated, who wants to go to college and get cheaper college credits at the high school, dual credit is awesome. AP courses are awesome. As long as they don’t overwhelm themselves, I think it’s great to take on as many as you can reasonably handle,” Dr. Peterson said.
Coach Howard announces retirement after 29 years, 31 district championships Coach Mike Howard, who has been coaching soccer at Rolla High School for 29 years, has recently announced his retirement effective at the end of this spring’s season. Howard is also a P.E. coach at Mark Twain Elementary School. In this time, he has impacted countless athletes and students. He and his teams have won 31 district championships, 19 conference championships, 11 state quarterfinal appearances, and one Final Four. Howard has coached 73 All-State players, three All-Midwest players (Anne Felts, Nicole Howard, Aaron Froehlich), two Offensive Players of the Year (Felts, Froehlich), one Defensive Player of the Year (Nick Janke), one State Player of the Year (Felts), and one All-American (Felts). “I think that if you work for something and you truly want to achieve it, it’s very possible to do, no matter what it is,” Howard said. Gabriel Stanislawski is a senior that plays soccer for Coach Howard. “He positively impacted me. He was always there to push us. Whether it was on the field or off the field, he always wanted to make sure our grades were good. He was just there; he was like a friend to a lot of players,” Stanislawski said. Camryn Falkenhain is a junior who has played soccer for five years. “Me and my brother both played for him and I used to not play soccer, but my brother’s senior year, Coach Howard came up to me and said, ‘You should play. We would have fun with you on the team.’ It was a really sweet moment with him,” Falkenhain said. Falkenhain played soccer when she was younger, but then she stopped playing. Coach Howard asked her to play again in seventh grade, and that is when she got back into the sport. “Coach Howard is really inspirational and he knows when to be hard, but he also knows that we are human. He knows that we have bad days and he helps us out no matter what we’re going through. It’s really important as a coach to be there in that way because a lot of coaches are just mean and you don’t feel connected
Coach Howard poses with the awards he and his teams have accumulated over his 29 years coaching soccer at RHS.
Photos courtesy of Nicole Howard with your coaches and you don’t feel connected to your coach, so being connected to your coach is a big deal when it comes to sports,” Falkenhain said. Falkenhain and Stanislawski are both players for Howard and speak very highly of him. He is a very hard coaching coach, but he cares about the athletes. “I think one of the things I always say to them is very true: I’ll attack them as a player, but I’ll love them as a person. I coach very hard and anybody who has ever played for me knows that, but they also know I’d do anything in the world for them. I think at the end of the day they’d say it was worth it,” Howard said. Stanislawski mentioned the soccer locker room door with a sign that Howard put up. “Coach Howard has a sign on the door and it says,“If you are not prepared to put the team first,
turn around,” and it’s like you shouldn’t be going into this room, our locker room, if you’re not willing to put us first,” Stanislawski said. ECHO asked Howard where he got the inspiration for the sign from. “My daughter plays for Louisiana State and it’s on their locker room door and I think that it’s very appropriate. I think that it’s true with anything in life, no matter whether it’s a job or you’re playing for an athletic team or band or whatever, you gotta be just a part of the group. Do everything you can to help for the better of the cause,” Howard said. Coach Howard taught the players many valuable lessons. Falkenhain would like this one to stay with the team. “It would be to never stop playing. No matter who you’re playing or what the situation is, you never let down in a game or give up and I think that kind of goes with life too. I think he was trying to make it more that just about soccer. Just to never give up, and that was really important to learn,” Falkenhain said. Howard talked about what he would miss most. “The relationships with players and the other coaches, my assistant coaches,” Howard said. Soccer is a sport where the team has to work together in order to win, the coaches and players both. If the team is tightly knitted enough, they develop strong relationships. “I scored a free-kick against Glendale on my senior night and then I ran to Coach Howard and I gave him a big hug,” Stanislawski said. Although Howard is retiring from his position as head coach, he might not be done coaching overall. “I don’t know if I’m done coaching or not. We’ll see how all of that plays out, but I knew I was done teaching, so this was the path I had to take. It is what it is. I can see myself coaching again in the future. We’ll see how it works out. It depends what the new coach wants if I come back to help out or not,” Howard said. Howard has won awards including the 2005 Missouri State Coach of the Year, 2005 All-Midwest Region Coach of the Year, and in 2015, Howard was inducted into the Missouri State High School Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame. “It was a lot of fun. I loved every second of it. Hopefully, Rolla High School is proud of what we did for the past 29 years,” Howard said. Howard has been coaching for a long time and has produced amazing athletes from his soccer teams. “He’s been a great coach,” Falkenhain said.
Winter cheer season brings school spirit b y
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S t a ff W r i t e r As winter cheer is in full swing, Sloane Medows, a senior leader on the RHS cheer team, is excited about the new season and is looking forward to the rest of the season. “We’re tired from the fall season, but we’re having a really good season so far,” Medows said. The difference between the fall season and the winter season is the energy between the student body. Being closer to the pep club allows students and cheerleaders feed off of each other’s energy, whereas in football, the cheerleaders are a much greater distance away, so communication is not as good as it is during a basketball game. “In basketball we’re closer to the pep club, which makes them more involved and have more energy,” Medows explained. While cheerleading is a female dominated sport, male cheerleaders are always welcome to
tryout for the team. “Our male cheerleaders do get hate for being on the team because people think it’s ‘girly,’ but I think they do a good job on the team,” Medows said. Most people think that cheer is only a female sport because it is predominantly female. However, male cheerleaders do help out the team and are wanted on all cheer teams. Medows encourages guys at RHS not to listen to the stigma and tryout if they feel up to it. If attending any basketball games, make sure to show support for the cheer team. A good attribute to have when considering joining any school activity is to go into it with a good attitude. It is important to give all of your effort and be respectful to the coach and players. When asked what qualities might benefit future cheerleaders Medows said, “It’s good to smile, do what’s best for your team, and most importantly be kind.” The 2019-2020 winter cheer squad. Photo by ***.
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Online dating lacks safety measures b y
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S t a ff W r i t e r continued from page 1. close friend just the other day. We thought someone was this guy I met before, so we got in our car, and drove to his house, and it was him. We found him by his location and his description. You can easily find anyone or anything,” the student said Tinder has an official website about how to be safe. Tinder also has an official report system, but the only two options say “Something happened to me off the app” or even “Something happened to me on the app.” This does not give many options, and the other options are
“You don’t really know the reputation of someone through a phone screen.” just about impersonation, user safety, or a help/ customer service line. When clicking on either of these “help options” it brings the user to a relatively blank page and says to contact local law enforcement. It does give the user the option to contact the company personally, but they recommend keeping it local for your safety. On apps like these people can take advantage of minors to get explicit videos or images from them. “I’m underage, and I tell them after I talk to them for a little bit,” the student said. Whether or not the student should even be on the app in the first place, it is clear that people do not show respect to other people. “One time I was talking to this guy about [movies] and we were really deep into the conversation. He was calling me horrible names, including calling me ignorant and rude, and I’m a bad conversationalist,” the student said. Many articles and stories online talk about a “dating app horror story.” These go into details on how dates went the wrong way, and ways to avoid certain situations or uncomfortable messages. Tinder’s official website, in the dating
tips tab, talks about not rushing into meeting in person, and it recommends talking to the person for at least a month before even making plans. “I have definitely gone out with a guy, not knowing really who he was, and I talked to my friends about it-- it turns out he was an awful guy. He was cheating and lying to a lot of people and other girls. You don’t really know the reputation of someone through a phone screen,” the student said. People on dating apps may choose to keep it completely secret, whether that it is to their significant other or friends. They may be embarrassed by the fact they are on the app. In other cases, people request uncomfortable scenarios with loved one. “I’ve seen stuff where a guy will say ‘oh I have a girlfriend, she can’t know about this. you keep it secret?’ and which I normally find his other social media so I can find her and message her,” the student said. Going on a date with someone you barely know anything about can be dangerous. It is important to maintain safety. “If you do end up alone and in a situation where they are coming on to you and you don’t want it, the most you can do is leave,” the student said. “I do recommend it if you are the legal age to have the app and you want to meet more people. Don’t lie about your age. Meet in public places, always, and don’t send any explicit photos or videos because you don’t know these people
“If you ever decided to go on dating apps, be cautious and watch over yourself.” and they can embarrass or turn it against you and blackmail you. If you get them on any other social media apps block your location and your post or story if you don’t want them to see anything. People put a lot out there. If you ever decided to go on dating apps, be cautious and watch over yourself,” the student said.
Photo by Lauren Ulrich
Students raise mental health awareness HOSA hosts first-ever Mental Health Spirit Week b y
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S t a ff W r i t e r From January 20 to 24, HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) hosted a spirit week to bring awareness to the issues surrounding mental health, and how students can create an impact on not only others but themselves. The message of the spirit week was “New Year, New Mindset.” “We are trying to bring awareness, while also providing help to those who are suffering. Our idea is ‘New Year, New Mindset.’ This is a year to restart and focus more on your mental health, and not just ‘focus on yourself, and yourself only.’ It is important to be aware of your mental health aspects when you’re also in social situations, such as school,” Jaydan Barr said. Barr and Jazmine Perkins are two juniors who are in charge of the Mental Health Spirit Week. These students are incorporating their spirit week into a HOSA competition while tying it to other assemblies and presentations surrounding mental health that they have already displayed at Rolla Middle School. The Mental Health Spirit Week is meant to extend the awareness already present in Rolla High School. “People are aware of mental health. Now what I really want to do is help. Everybody knows what mental health is and what’s going
Monday Mental Health Awareness Day
on, but now what are we going to do to prevent bad mental health and to learn how to cope?” Barr said. “You might know everything you’re struggling with. You might know you have depression and anxiety. We are trying to show people how to move forward from that step,” Perkins stated. It is important to note that approximately one in every five high school students suffers from a mental health disorder, according to the pair of students. With such a large part of the student population struggling with negative mindsets, proper coping skills are imperative. “Finding ways to cope is almost more important than knowing what you are diagnosed with. You have to go from “I’m feeling down” and learn how to react to that while fitting into the bigger picture,” Perkins said. The Mental Health Spirit Week days included the following: Monday (Mental Health Awareness Day), Tuesday (Talk It UP), Wednesday (Exercise for Mental Health), Thursday (Remove Yourself From Stress), and Friday (Happiness Day). Each day focused on a specific aspect of mental health, while also tying in facts and skills to be used when faced with emotional difficulties. “Doing the Spirit Week is just a small step into the bigger picture. It’s kind of a preview of what’s going to start entering the high school,” Barr said.
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Talk It Up Day
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Students spread positivity through social media b y
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S t a ff W r i t e r Jaydan Barr, Jazmine Perkins, Sarah Higgins, and Alexis Murphy are juniors at Rolla High School. The girls run an Instagram account that is specifically dedicated to normalizing and discussing mental health. While running a page in their free time, the girls are also involved in other activities. All four of the girls are active members of HOSA, as well as mental health advocates for young adults. Jaydan and Jazmine Perkins decided to make an Instagram ( @ showme.you.mentalhealth ) dedicated to “raising mental health awareness through social media.” While the page is fairly new, it has no shortage of inspirational quotes, coping mechanisms, and skills regarding mental health. “We post motivational quotes, step by step coping skills, personal stories, give personal advice and opinions, and give self-care and selflove tips,” Barr said. The account states that their “Dm’s are open, ALWAYS.” The significance of an open line of communication can be used for their followers to interact with the account easily. Followers can message the account to discuss a problem they need advice or to vent. The account hopes to have an impact on their followers. “All four of us are in HOSA. We’re competing in March for HOSA state and our competition is bringing a type of awareness. We chose mental health. So making this account also tied into that aspect as well,” Barr said.
The main purpose of the Instagram account is to spread a message to end the stigma around mental health disorders. “The message we are really trying to bring across is that mental health is here. It exists. It isn’t the type of thing that can be protested and go away, it’s something to be aware of. We hope that we can get our followers and people who view our account to be more sympathetic to everyone, not just those who are struggling,” Barr said. The end purpose of the account is to primarily help those who are struggling or simply having a difficult time. Anyone can message the account and share a story, ask for advice, or have someone to talk to. “The purpose is to spread awareness about mental health while helping those suffering with mental health issues,” Barr said. The account is a positive and safe place with complete confidentiality. A positive impact can be created with this account, as there are many negative aspects of social media. The students who created this Instagram page are not only impacting Rolla High School, but the community as well. “Since the day we started the account, at least one person DMs me once a week to thank us for the account, or tell us that one of the coping skills worked and helped them through a struggle. I believe it’s made an impact more on people struggling than on bringing awareness to those who don’t know much about mental health, which is something we can hopefully fix in the future,” Barr said.
Happiness Day
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