Pepper Box - January 2022 edition

To focus on myself and my mental health. Skylar Powers

ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR

2022 RESOLUTIONS

The two musical groups held a combined concert before winter break on 12/20.

Students share their resolutions for the new year.

SPOTLIGHT Page 6

SPOTLIGHT Pgs 4-5

WINTER SPORTS CAPSULES

SPORTS Page 8

Winter teams are headed towards the end of their seasons.

THE PEPPER BOX RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL

ISSUE 2 VOLUME 99

9100 ST. CHARLES ROCK ROAD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63114

JANUARY 2022

A look inside the anatomy of a hoax How a social media post, community trauma, and psychology led to mass panic Increased social media usage has also contributed to an increase in cyberbullying. Information from bullyingstatistics. org states that “over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyberbullying.

More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyberthreats online. Over 25% of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet.”

Counselor Iliana Vayman says that the effects of cyberbullying can be especially harsh for teenagers.

“Mentally, physically, emotionally in every way Being cyberbullied is almost worse than being bullied in real life, because Photo manipulation by Ron Steinschriber. Images from Wikimedia Commons the bully has no fear behind a computer screen.

Social media usage is prevalent amongst Americans, but it has led to a decrease in teenagers Victims of cyberbullying self-esteem, has created social anxiety, depression, and had negative affects on sleep patterns. manifest psychological and not necessarily true. When hours of use over the course physiological effects such as DANIELLE HAYNES the brain has to process of a day. anxiety, depression, low selfContent Editor-in-Chief messaging on social media, While social media usage esteem, behavioral issues,” events within a community, definitely has its positive Vayman said. “It is a big deal, and news from around the aspects, such as expanding The human brain is a and kids don’t realize how country, it can have some the world and enhancing complicated muscle. hurtful and impactful their serious repercussions. communication, it also comes It can rewire itself to words are.” with some serious side effects. strengthen mankind so that Researchers from the people can evolve as a whole.

Social media and Online Hoaxes University of Melbourne’s The brain will protect itself; it mental health National Centre of Excellence will make people forget about While people are spending in Youth Mental Health traumatizing things. The more time on social media, According to the Pew warned that social media can brain is what makes people they are also trying to learn Research Center, 72% of negatively affect people’s selfhuman, and allowed them to how to navigate what is real Americans use at least one esteem, create social anxiety, create amazing things. The and what is fake. While form of social media in depression, and warped sleep media literacy is increasingly brain can also trick people their daily lives, and some schedules. into thinking things that are being taught in schools, teenagers average up to nine

including in the Media Convergence pathway at Ritenour, people still fall victim to viral hoaxes and jokes.

“We start with Media Literacy skills in the Intro to Media course. We focus on cyber security, cyber bullying and harassment, being held accountable for statements made in emails or social media, and fake news or alternative facts,” Media Convergence teacher Jane Bannester said. “Common Sense Media says that US teens are 50/50 when polled on how they feel about being able to determine if a post is true or false news. I would suggest that RHS would find that to be true for its own students.”

According to a story in wired.com, Whitney Phillips, a professor at Syracuse University who studies misinformation and how it is amplified online, believes that hoaxes continue because of how people process information and come to conclusions about their beliefs.

“When confronted with new information, humans do not always do the logical thing and evaluate it on its own merits,” Phillips said.

“Instead, we often make snap decisions based on how the information adheres with our existing worldviews.”

Social media has also become filled with dark

SEE HOAX - 6

New schedule greets students in second semester An extra support block and extra lunch period have been added to aid in student success ASHTON MILLER Pepper Box Staff Ritenour has decided to implement a new schedule for the second semester. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students will have an even block day. On Wednesdays and Fridays, students will have an odd block day.

Students will still have all of their classes on Mondays, and there will still be early release days on Thursday, but there will be an added support block on Tuesdays for all students and an extra lunch period.

The schedule was designed by a mix of counselors, principals, and teachers,

IN THIS ISSUE

including Science department chair Loretta Greiner.

“The group met several times a week to try and develop a schedule that gave students a support block once a week and one that increased the lunches from three to four,” Greiner said.

The support block was created to increase student support within the schedule by providing academic content support, credit recovery opportunities, and social and emotional support.

The addition of a fourth lunch reduced the average number of students during each lunch period from 570 to 427. By going to four days of block scheduling, it reduces the

amount of transitions.

“The reason for the change was to give students more support. Unfortunately, our student data shows that far too many students are earning Ds and Fs and the old schedule did not leave any room to allow support for those students. We also have a large number of students overwhelmed trying to maintain their grades, with many of them having little time at home to complete homework,” Greiner said.

Some students are upset with some of the changes of the new schedule. Senior Gabriela Rojo believes the school had good intentions, but the new schedule will not

WORD ON THE “R”

SENIOR YEAR HAS NOT BEEN WHAT WAS PROMISED

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2021 REVIEW PAGE 4-5

necessarily help her.

“I think the intentions behind the new schedule come from a caring, genuine place. However, I do not believe it is the right time to implement it. I feel that making this change in the middle of the school year where we still are not used to being back is going to cause more problems. I did not want this schedule implemented because even though it may help those who did not complete what they needed to when they needed, it will hurt those students taking a heavier course load in the long run”, Rojo said.

Not all students are completely opposed to ORCHESTRA PHOTO GALLERY PAGE 6

the new schedule. Senior Bayley Perez thinks it will be beneficial for students to have time to catch up.

“My thoughts are 50/50 because although it is nice to have days dedicated to credit recovery and catching up, we are going to be drained and sitting in a classroom for roughly 90 minutes and not doing anything”, Perez said.

While some students may not enjoy the new schedule, they can still take advantage of the extra time during the day to complete their work.

The schedule was designed to help students catch up in their classes, so it is important for students to use their time wisely.

TOP MUSIC OF 2021 PAGE 7

WINTER SPORTS CAPSULES PAGE 8

Opinion

January 2022

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PEPPER BOX STAFF Visual EIC: Kaitlyn Hurst Content EIC: Kaylyn Riggs Production EIC: Maricela Nunez Online Editor: Chloe Sapp Photography Editor: Michelle Everett Social Media Manager: Chanel Foster Adviser: Ron Steinschriber

Staff Members: Leanna Duncan, Paula De Hipolito Ruiz, Layla Fouche, Caden Gaither, Alexandria Griffin, Caroline Groceman, Danielle Haynes, Jennifer Huerta Lopez, Autumn Jacobsmeyer, Julia Lohnes, Nickolas Martin, Eaja McBroom, Ashton Miller, Kevon Moore, Jacob NasalroadFrancis, Victoria Pratt, Janiya Scott Special Contributors: Salaya Choudhury, Zack Gordon, Lou Hankins Editorial Policy: The Pepper Box is designed and created by members of the newspaper staff of Ritenour High School. The purpose of the newspaper is to provide a forum for the students to focus on issues, give opinions, and share information with the Ritenour High School community. The opinions expressed in this paper do not reflect opinions of our faculty or administration.

Still trying to get back to normal Editorial Normalcy keeps getting pushed back.

Students came back from winter break on January 5 with the expectation that there would be two weeks of school, then finals, then a new semester with updated mask rules. Unfortunately, COVID, specifically the Omicron variant, had other ideas.

In the January 14 Ritenour

COVID-19 data report, it showed 158 students throughout the district with positive cases. In addition there were 47 staff members who tested positive, and 392 students who had to be quarantined. There were a lot of staff and students out of school, and it forced many students to miss their final exams, causing yet another change in protocol.

Before Omicron hit, the Ritenour Return to Learning plan was updated to say

that if the positivity rate in St. Louis County fell below 7%, masking indoors would move from mandatory to recommended for all staff and students.

While the positivity rate in the schools has gone down tremendously since January 14, the positive rate in St. Louis County has not hit that 7% threshold.

It felt like we were back at the beginning of COVID when Omicron swept through. Some of the

Word on the Alivia PeariaFreshman

What did you enjoy most about winter break?

classes felt empty, and many classes had up to half of the students gone. While many people were excited about the idea of masks becoming recommended rather than mandatory, those few weeks after Winter Break felt like we were going backwards.

We are almost coming up on the two year anniversary of COVID affecting Ritenour, and we are all just trying to get back to normal. It felt like that was coming with the change in the mask policy

“What I enjoyed most about break was just getting a bit of time to just relax. I also got to see my friends and family, who I have not seen due to COVID, as well as being busy with a lot of school work. It was a nice little peace break where you could just kind of breathe and get off everything that was on your shoulders.”

¨I enjoyed having a lot of down time because I felt like first semester was super stressful. But I think the downside was that we still had to come back and still be in first semester. I appreciated having break and then coming back and just starting fresh in second semester. It did bring a little bit of added stress because I was concerned Jayden Bock - about finals and everything. I did appreciate Junior having that time to relax and kind of regroup before hitting finals.¨

Nakai SteeleMyers - Senior

and the pandemic seeming to slow down, but the Omicron bump seemed to drag everything backwards.

We wish there was a way to just click our heels and magically find our way back home to normalcy, but we are just going to have to keep moving forward and following guidelines to get to that magical reality.

Billy Hall Sophomore

¨I enjoyed my free time and having fun with my family and friends, and opening presents.¨

¨One thing I enjoyed about winter break was spending time with my family. I went to my auntie’s house a lot, so I got to see my granny too, it was fun to spend time with my people.¨

Comics Space Neighbors Kaitlyn Hurst

BlueZack Comics Zack Gordon

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Opinion

January 2022

Figuring out the new lunch schedule The addition of a fourth lunch period adds more challenges to an already difficult situation I Did it for the Grade

Caden Gaither Soggy “crispy” chicken, stale breadsticks, inconsistent servings. It is safe to say high school cafeterias are not exactly 4-star Michelin restaurants, though when you have got the food in front of you, it is much easier to criticize it. I am sure I am not alone in saying that school food leaves much to be desired in texture, flavor and freshness. Furthermore, the options for students in what they can eat is often very limited— even more so for students with medical, moral or religious dietary restrictions. So, what is the deal with cafeteria food?

I would like to preface

this by saying that in no way schedule of four lunches we empty before some could Overall, there are definitely do I mean to discredit the face a glaring issue: supply get the food they wanted. It many a glaring problem work of the cafeteria workers; and availability, and how it is has also caused a noticeable with the food provided by what they do for this school’s affecting the quality of food decrease in quality of food; the school; whether it be delicate daily schedule is and cafeteria efficiency. With the longer it sits, the more it freshness, inclusivity, or invaluable, albeit under these new four lunches it becomes cold or damp from quality, I believe we could all appreciated. I am not here causes a significant change in condensation. This recurring benefit from a review of the to criticize their efficiency routine for the lunch workers problem has time and time school’s food systems and, or their work effort, only to when it comes to preparing again proven detrimental to hopefully, a change for the criticize the food that has and distributing food, and has the stomachs and tongues of better. been chosen for them to work resulted in some lines being Ritenour’s student body. with. With that in mind, let us continue.

So, the most glaring issue, in my opinion, would have to be the options. Every day, the food choices are different, and yet one constant remains: choices for vegans and vegetarians. Rare is it that I see a choice in one of the lines that does not have meat, and when they are lacking, it is a food item that vegans cannot eat either. Even the salads, which I have tried on several occasions, seem to always have meat, egg or cheese in them. The lack of options for the students who may be unable to eat meat or animal products is surprising, as it may very well make what is considered a service for all more exclusive than meets the Photo by Danielle Haynes eye.

An inside look at the cafeteria line, which has had to deal with changes with the additional lunch Furthermore, with the new period.

Senior year has not been what was promised Senior Maricela Nunez speaks about how her senior year is nothing like she envisioned

Photo by Chloe Sapp The senior Homecoming court rides in a float for the Homecoming parade. This is one of the few senior events that has actually happened with COVID, and it was not a normal event.

Every year is like no other and 2021-2022 is no exception.

It is a new school year and we’re back in person.

In 2020, as COVID-19 threw the U.S. education

system into turmoil, high school administrators in the Ritenour district debated whether it was wise or even possible to teach students in person. Everything was up to debate and this was a new challenge that the education

system had to figure out.

After a year of being online we returned to school with attempts to gain a sense of “normality.”

Senior year is almost over and no matter how I look at it, I feel like my final year here

will pale in comparison to my previous years. Trying to look forward to the diluted events feels more like a task I have to accomplish to experience senior life. I just want to skip to graduation and move on to the next part of my life, but I cannot seem to stop myself from trying to attempt a normal senior year. I continue to have a great deal of support from not only other students but also teachers. Every day is a shifting reality and it is a different puzzle everyday.

Nothing really seems to be set in stone.

And yet positivity shines through, from the people of Ritenour. Negativity can grow so easily when we focus on the imperfect planning of events and lack of information given.

I was told that compared to underclassmen, upperclassmen are generally more quiet and tend to mainly talk about school work and the future, like graduation and further. I do not know if it is the senioritis, or that we lost our spirit.

There is always something

Editorial Cartoon

Illustration by Kaitlyn Hurst

Observe and Report

Maricela Nunez to look forward to: prom, senior merch, a class, or a simple good morning. I may not have been able to fully participate in the fantasized senior year, but I’m thankful for the experiences that I was able to have. I try to have a positive outlook and look forward to the small things that I do like here. And when I look back at not only my senior year but my high school experience I want to remember all of the fun times I had here.

New

Spotlight To focus on myself and my mental health. Skylar Powers

January 2022

100 o t alk To t people new s Miller e Jam

Turning the page on 2021 New Years resolutions top the list of hopes and fears for the coming year CHLOE SAPP Online Editor

Every year, the clock strikes midnight, changing the date from December 31 to January 1. With a year change, a typical response is to also change ourselves.

New Years Resolutions started all the way back in the 17th century. For 4,000 years now, people have craved change. According to a study done by the Statista Research Department, the most common 2021 resolutions included doing more exercise, losing weight, getting better at saving money, and improving their diets.

However, in 2021, 16% of people failed all of their resolutions while 49% failed at least one resolution.

So, why do people set goals for themselves if it’s almost always setting them up for failure?

Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist, says many people fail their resolutions because they make their resolutions vague. When someone sets a resolution such as “doing more exercise”, they will most likely fail because they are not making a set plan for themselves.

In order to make achievable resolutions, it is important to include specific, realistic plans.

For example, if someone wanted to do more exercise, they need to get specific with how often they want to exercise. They also think about factors like how long they want to exercise, how they will you exercise, and where they will exercise.

People have to do the work of making a set plan in order to see results by the end of the year.

Hopes for the new year New Years Resolutions give everyone a chance to restart. For a lot of people, this gives them a lot of hope for the new year. In 2021, the entire world experienced a lot of stress and anxiety surrounding the pandemic and students were inundated with stress and anxiety about returning back to school.

Making resolutions gives everyone a chance to move past these negative experiences and fill the future full of positive goals and outlooks. Setting goals for the future can help people look forward to a new year instead of dwelling on what could go wrong in 2022.

Obviously, not everything can be controlled.

Individuals have little control about the state of the pandemic, but they can control how they react to it. If this pandemic has caused some anxiety, like it has caused many people, one resolution might be to start meditation or journaling in order to reduce this anxiety.

Take this new year as a positive start. Reflect on 2021 and decide what needs to change and what habits worked that should remain.

To read more books. Angie Houghton

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To make 2022 better than 2021Rinya Sanders

Top Things Of 2021 Spider Man No Way Home Olivia Rodrigo - Sour

FNAF - Security Breach

Squid Games Bones Day Apple Air Tags

Resol

To have a ore positive outlm life, and awayooskseone the best ople and the worinldpe around me. Arianna Farris

To keep up with schoolwork better and finish my drawing courses. Breanne Stock

To get money Robbie Chamberlain

To take a social media break and if ce I have nothing ni y to say, I won’t sa anything at all.Jakaylen Pledger

Years

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Spotlight

January 2022

To take of mysebetter care washinglf- start more oft my face better, en, eating s thattu.-ff like Zack Go rdon

To stretch at least once a w eek beca I w t a wide use r range oafnm I feel moorteiosntsince nowadays. - iff An Nguyen

Hopes For The New Year

A New Year's resolution is a tradition most of U.S Americans partake in which a person decides to continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behavior, or accomplish a personal goal.

48%

According to Statista Global Consumer Survey, 39 percent of U.S. citizens will have made New Year's resolutions for 2022.

To Exercise More And Improve Health

Spend More Time With Friends And Family

34%

24% To Live More Economically

21% To Spend Less Time On Social Media

To surround myself

with good people!

Olive Diepenbrock

To always be positive. -

Tiffany Gathoma

What students are looking forward to in 2022

“I’m excited about preparing for college.”

- Junior Kyla Williams

“I’m looking forward to a fresh start.” Freshman Kriss Davis

“I’m excited to become a adult and have both more freedoms and responsibilities.”

- Senior Jamie Sadler

“Finally getting my license.”

- Sophomore Ayden Simino “I’m looking forward to the debate state qualifier.” Junior Kiersten Ford

“I cannot wait for AMC branded popcorn to come to stores this year, finally.” Sophomore “I’m excited Dominick Riggs about the spring musical.”

I’m looking forward to new - Junior Danielle Haynes Marvel movies, the music department DC “Spring, the trip, and Pierce cold and wind the Veil’s next are ruining my album." outfits.” Junior Enrique Sophomore An Castillo Nguyen

utions Resources

https://www.statista.com/chart/26577/us-new-years-resolutions-gcs/

To have

To make more close, good friendsMegan Weisz

a better

mindset-

Arely Flo

res Vazquez

To be better at math. -

Jania Gates

To learn sign language -

Autumn Jacobsmeyer

Spotlight

January 2022

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HOAX- continued from front page humor. Dark humor has been around for a long time but it has gotten much more popular lately because of it being shared on social media. People sometimes use dark humor as a coping skill even though some may not find it funny. It is a human characteristic to try and find the light to a dark situation.

As current students are in their third school year with COVID and live in a world with much more accessible bad news, dark humor can be seen more in student actions.

Trauma affects coming back to school, societal trauma Students around the country have faced trauma coming back to school after being out of it for about a year and a half and at Ritenour high school it was no different, especially after a year.

As a society, people have community trauma, which is an event that impacts a few people but has structural and social consequences. An example of this in a school setting is school shootings.

"Trauma can be associated with students experiencing many different emotions and feelings and they can experience all these feelings/ emotions simultaneously often each day," Clinical Therapist Julie Diaz said. " It can cause students to experience distorted automatic thinking patterns resulting in them being unsure about and/or awfulizing their futures."

Due to social media, students are able to hear about these events much faster than before, and are able to see videos of students running for their lives.

Students have trauma because of this and they might not even realize that anything could trigger them. Being on edge after seeing a threat like that can spark a trauma response that they may not have known that they had.

A viral hoax and mass panic On October 25, students

at RHS woke up to a post that indicated it was from a Ritenour student. The post stated that this person was getting cyberbullied and that no one was helping them so they said they were going to “shoot up the school”.

Some students alerted their teachers and administrators sprang into action to determine if this was a credible threat. Most students who committed deadly school attacks over the past decade were badly bullied, had a history of disciplinary trouble and their behavior concerned others but was never reported, according to a U.S. Secret Service study.

Administrators and police had determined that the threat was not real, and in fact many similar posts were put up that day with the names of other area schools. However, students were still on edge during the day. After hearing about shootings at schools like Parkland, Columbine, Sandy Hook, and as of lately Oxford, the threat still seemed very credible.

At lunch that day, a student popped a milk carton, and with the combination of the perceived social media threat and school shootings being in the minds of students, many students panicked. The loud bang triggered student’s fight, flight, or freeze in that very minute after hearing, seeing, and growing up around school shootings and being told since kindergarten how to react to a school shooter. Their brains were not thinking about school or homework or lunch. Their brains went into survival mode, and all they could think of was survival as many students ran out of the school.

“I was already anxious with the threat going around.

I did not actually hear the milk pop. I just saw a bunch of kids running towards me.

My first thought was to go into the big gym but it was closed and so I ran into the bathroom with my friend. We locked the bathroom door and there were a bunch of other girls freaking out. I was trying to stay calm and then I got a call from my friend who told me it was okay, she told me to come out to the pool hallway. My friend and I went

that way and we went outside and found her mom’s car and then I went to (Athletic Director Drew) Lohnes’ office to calm down,” sophomore Julia Lohnes said.

Junior Charlie Holmes was another student who reacted to the students, rather than the actual milk carton, and started running.

“Well, I actually didn’t hear the milk carton. I just saw my peers running and heard a few screams. What was running through my mind was just to run with them. I didn’t want to take any chances and stay in case somebody was actually shooting,” junior Charlie Holmes said.

Psychological explanations for the event What happened that day is what psychologists call Groupthink. Psychology Today calls it “a phenomenon that occurs when a group of well-intentioned people makes irrational or nonoptimal decisions spurred by the urge to conform or the belief that dissent is impossible.”

Because of the students running out, the school was put on lock down, and soon after they allowed students to go home early.

As evidenced by Lohnes’ and Holmes’ responses, they did not actually hear the trigger that alerted students that something might be happening, but saw the mass panic and tried to take care of themselves in that situation.

The dark humor involved in a student making a decision to make a loud noise on a day that started with anxiety through a social media post caused a mass panic. While there was never any actual danger that day, the combination of social media usage, community trauma, and instinctual responses led to unnecessary panic.

“I think I reacted that way because of my mindset where if something bad happens I need to hide. I go into hiding mode and try to escape that bad moment,” Lohnes said.

Photos by Ron Steinschriber Above: French teacher and World Language Club cosponsor Beth Landers leads a discussion at the December club meeting surrounding winter holidays around the world.

Below: An assortment of candies and food from different cultures were available for students to sample at the year end meeting.

The club is open to new members during second semester.

Club of the month - World Language A club that focuses on cultural activities from around the world meets after school in the language hallway JENNIFER HUERTA LOPEZ Staff Reporter Spanish teacher John Becker and French teacher Beth Landers are co-sponsors of the World Language Club.

This fall they have mainly focused on cultural activities from parts of the world that speak German, French or Spanish - the three languages that are taught at RItenour.

In September they ate tacos in honor of Hispanic Heritage month and they talked about Oktoberfest in Germany at the end of the month. On Columbus Day they talked about colonialism and made hot chocolate with spices from the “New World,” since chocolate and spices like cayenne and cinnamon all come from former European colonies.

At the end of October they

celebrated the Day of the Dead, and during National French week in November they had a French cheese tasting and voted on their favorites.

“At the end of November we were lucky to have our exchange student from Armenia, Alexandr Khalatyan, give a presentation on the history and culture of his country and share Armenian pastries and candies. Finally, in December we celebrated Christmas in French, German and Spanish,” Landers said.

In general, each meeting combines a cultural theme, related language terms and some food. The meetings are open to everyone and they alternate between rooms 226 and 228, which are right next to each other on the second floor.

Orchestra and choir performance photo gallery The two groups held a joint performance on December 20 before Winter Break

TOP (from L to R): Dr. Richard Bell leads the choir during their performance on December 20. Junior Franchesca Chevalier and senior Caleb Deckard sing during the event, the mixed chorus performs as a group.

BOTTOM: Sophomore Amareona Muhammed and freshman Bryan Cuatianquiz-Rodriguez play the violin. The orchestra is led by Blake Hernton, and junior Elizabeth Dobbs plays the violin in the last photo.

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A&E

January 2022

Best songs of 2021 ranking - Editor edition The Pepper Box editors ranked these Billboard top 100 songs based on lyrics, beat, and playlist-ability KAYLYN RIGGS Content Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Photo courtesy Fabebk via Wikimedia Commons

#1 Montero Lil Nas X This song just itches that scratch in your brain folds. While the lyrics definitely are not the artists’ strong suit, the beat and playlistablilty (my willingness to add to my playlist), sky rocket my rating! This song is why the saying “music to my ears”

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

#3 Leave the Door Open Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak)

#5 All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (From the Vault) (Taylor’s Version) Taylor Swift

Let me ask you a question? is Bruno Mars a good songwriter? Because apparently the answer is yes! His lyrics just hit.

I guess we should have known, that line about the grenade is still stuck in my head, but the beat was pretty good too, of course.

I am going to have to hold back my relentless adoration for this song while I give you my ranking. The song is too good for the other songs on this list. The simplistic beat adds to the poetic nature of the storytelling lyrics; the gorgeous storytelling lyrics. However, who in the world (besides me) is going to add a 10 minute song to their playlist?

exists.

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

#7 Kiss Me More Doja Cat This song is better than tolerable- this song is bearable! Why this song over all of her others got a spot on the Billboard Top 100, I cannot say. What I can say is it is tied with Dua Lipa’s greasy banana peel of a song. If you’re going to listen to Doja, spare yourself (and your ears) the trip that is this song.

Photo courtesy Carolin von Petzholdt via Wikimedia Commons Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Photo courtesy Instagram

#2 Good 4 U Olivia Rodrigo This girl is the next Taylor Swift, and this song proves it. Her lyrics are just simply great, and really relay her point well. The beat is endurable, and the song may or may not already be on my playlist- so playlistablity is high as well.

#4 Heat Waves Glass Animals OK- maybe this artist blew up for not so traditional reasons…But it does not take away from their songs.

This song is the feeling of summer. It is not perfect, maybe it is not a song you would add to your playlist with its repetitive nature, but it definitely earned its spot on our list.

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

#6 Levitating Dua Lipa If I had to choose one word to describe this song it would be “bad” The lyrics earned a one star across the board- probably a zero if that was allowed. The catchy beat just does not save the obvious cash grab of a song the artist created.

#8 Butter BTS Now this song…It’s definitely a song! It has... lyrics…and a beat, for sure! Would I listen to it again? Oh no, no, no, you could not pay me. The lyrics are repetitive, the beat is obnoxious and it is just not the same as their other songs. Why did the Billboard Top 100 treat Doja and BTS like this?

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

#9 Stay Justin Bieber Do you like listening to someone scratch their nails on a chalkboard? Well, you are in for a treat! This song is repetitive, bad, sad; all of the above. It is radiobait and just has absolutely no substance. Spare your playlists, people.

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

#10 Blinding Lights The Weeknd The Weeknd, babes, what happened here? This is another case of a catchy, radio-bait song. It does not have much substanceand though the beat and overall vibe could make for a good background song for a 15 second Tik Tok… being forced to sit through the rest of it is just another method of torture.

Britney Spears released from conservatorship The pop star's legal issues became public over the course of the year and fans cheered her freedom KAYLYN RIGGS Content Editor-in-Chief From 2007 to 2020, fans of beloved international pop star, Britney Spears, rallied around her when suspicions of her freedom came into the limelight.

Spears was under a conservatorship agreement (a legal guardianship granted by a court for individuals who are unable to make their own decisions) with her own father, Jamie Spears. Jamie was granted conservatorship back in 2007 following Britney’s divorce from Kevin Federline. This was when she, notably, shaved her head and hit a photographer’s car with an umbrella. The court ruled in favor of her father because these actions raised concerns about her mental state.

Under the conservatorship, Britney was not permitted to drive, own an iPhone, consume or purchase alcohol, use an ATM or control her own wealth, get married or even have children.

Furthermore, Britney was forced to do things against her will, such as perform a concert with a 102 fever, go on an entire tour in 2018, take lithium (a psychiatric medication primarily used to treat bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder) and take birth control.

“I just want my life back.

It’s been 13 years and it’s enough. I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive.”

Britney said at one of her court hearings.

Later, she spoke of her fear of her father stating that she was “extremely scared” of

him. She claimed she wanted to charge him with abuse.

Britney says she believes that her father enjoys holding power over her and keeping her from her children.

The abuse reached a new height when Jamie and Britney’s eldest son, 13 year old Sean Preston Federline, got into a heated argument.

Sean fled to a room, locking the door behind him after being scared by his grandfather; then, in the throes of anger, Jamie tore the door down and violently shook Sean. Britney jumped into action and called the boys’ father to come get them, who later filed a restraining order on behalf of his son, against Jamie.

This meant, because of the conservatorship, Britney was also denied from seeing her

son.

Enough was enough.

Britney Spears fought long and hard over a decade trying to regain power of her wealth, health, career and overall, her life. To her pleasure, in 2020, the “Free Britney” movement exploded in popularity; showing the beloved pop star just how much love and support the world really had for her. In reality, the boom of knowledge and support for Britney’s situation came from TikTok, where people pointed out how “stuck” and “scared” Britney seemed in the videos she uploaded onto the platform.

“I feel, if you’re an adult, you should be able to live your life and not be controlled” a fan complained on the social media platform.

Finally, after over a decade of

fighting her long legal battle against her father, Britney was freed.

“The court finds the conservatorship of Britney Jean Spears is no longer required,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny ruled.

Britney and fans were overjoyed by the news; she would be able to control her finances, her medical care, see her children again, get married, have more children, quit music, and in totalitytake the reins back of her own life.

“Good God I love my fans so much it’s crazy.” Britney Spears tweeted, along with a video from the celebration outside the courthouse.

Sports

January 2022

Page 8

Winter Season Sports Capsules Girls Basketball

LAYLA FOUCHE Pepper Box Staff

Boys Basketball

Coach: Darren Wade • Current Record: 5-7 • Outstanding Players: Jasmine Johnson, Tyler Frost, Kelcey Jones • Newcomers: Tyler Frost, Karalynn Payne, Eaja McBroom • Thoughts/Goals: We’re looking to get better with each practice and with each game that we play. Many of our players are behind in their skills so we are working to improve our skills.

This is a building year for us so our motto for this year is “Brick by Brick,” assistant coach Michael Floyd said.

Wrestling

Photo courtesy: Jimmy Pham Jaylen Patterson drives against his defender at a home game this season. Patterson is averaging 10 points per game for the basketball team.

Coach: George Lee • Current Record: 3-10 • Outstanding Players: So far, our leading scorers are Grayson Rogers (13ppg), Jaylen Patterson (10ppg), & Dorien Mack (9ppg). We have a solid group overall and they are a pleasure to coach. Everyone is uniquely talented and I expect greatness from them all.

• Newcomers: We have several newcomers, Saraun Thomas/soph, and five freshmen who all play up, Tai-Shaun Ewing, Stephen Lippey, Alex Robinson, Miles Weicht, and Shayn Bishop who has started a Varsity game.

• Thoughts/Goals: My goal for the remainder of the season is to continue to improve daily, all programs finish with a .500 record or better, and have the best GPA of all the sports teams this year and beyond.

Girls Swimming

Photo by Layla Fouche Junior Paula de Hipolito Ruiz swims during the conference finals event. Ruiz is one of the top newcomers to the team this season.

Photo by Layla Fouche Sophomore Jeffery Johnson wrestles against an opponent from Pattonville.

Coach: John Howard • Outstanding Players: Yuoshua Magwood, Billy Hall, Elijah Fry, Cali Hodges • Newcomers: All of them are new but two • Thoughts/Goals: To finish strong and try to get wrestlers to state,

Coach: Andrea Rivera • Current Record: 3-5 • Outstanding Players: We have a number of veteran swimmers returning this year. Seniors: Addy Watts and Mary Jo Ruiz, Juniors: Addi Field, Teresa Thomas, and Sophomores: Peyton House, Julia Lohnes, Samantha Lohnes • Newcomers: Lots of new swimmers this year too: Maggie Bannester, Audrey Buttry, Karlee Beaird, Paula de Hipolito, Elizabeth Dobbs, and Jasmine Kpomblekou • Thoughts/Goals: We graduated some very strong swimmers last year who helped lead us to two conference championships. This year we have almost the same amount of new swimmers as we veterans, so it is a bit of a rebuilding year, but I am excited by how hard the swimmers are working and how much growth they have already had in our first few meets. I am excited to see what will emerge as each swimmers’ best race and their best time for this season.

Inside the Huddle - Prepping for winter Question: What are your most memorable moments from the current season?

Eaja McBroom Girls Basketball

Jaylen Patterson Boys Basketball

"The best memory I have was our first away game. We did not have the best chemistry yet, but it helped us come together as a team and was really fun."

¨Our first win. Our first win was an away game against Francis Howell High. It was a big deal because I haven’t played with the school team in a while, since last year, and our season was really short.”

Isaac Smith Wrestling

Samantha Lohnes Girls Swimming

The most memorable part of ¨Probably just cheering with this season was meeting all our team, it’s fun cheering of the first year wrestlers and on everybody as a group, being able to witness the new and being supportive of each future of Ritenour wrestling. other.

Girls basketball resurrects its program After COVID decimated its numbers, the girls basketball team has begun again under a new coach KEVON MOORE Pepper Box Staff While COVID played a major role in schools and athletics over the past three school years, it decimated the girls basketball team as well.

Last year, there were not enough players to have a girls varsity basketball team, but with a new head coach and some dedicated players, the team has started to rebuild. .

Coach Darren Wade took over the team after a successful run as head coach of Cardinal Ritter and Trinity.

Coach Wade has recruited enough players to have a season and the team is off to a good start.

With having to rebuild the entire program from scratch, many of the new recruits are freshmen, so they all are adjusting to the new organization. The team has started off this year with a

record of 5-7.

“It feels good to play with new players and we are adjusting to a lot of them as freshmen. They are doing a great job and I am happy to see where we go this year with new players and a fresh season,” sophomore Kelcey Jones said.

The only senior on the team, Jazmine Johnson, leads with the teams with most points per game and leads in assists. Even though the roster is mostly full of younger players, they are working together and working hard to win games.

“Having new players on the team affects the way we play because you have to know everyone’s personnel and their skills and what they can and cannot do, so we just are going to have to learn it all over again,” Johnson said. .

One of the issues that the team has had to deal with

is the fact that the numbers are low, which means less substitutes. The team has eight players who have played at least a game this year, but usually has a six to seven player rotation.

“We have to adjust to not having subs and stuff like that but I feel like we are doing good this year vs year before last year,” Johnson said.

“Knowing there was not a team last year feels new. We have to do stuff we were not doing last year, like we have to condition more because we are a little out of shape and we have to pick up on stuff that we should have known but we just forgot.”

The biggest measure of success for the girls team will be how they grow over the course of the year. Since they are restarting an entire program, the work they are doing now will be vital for the success of the team over the

Photo by RHS Athletics The girls basketball team huddles up during a timeout against Maplewood-Richmond heights. The team returned this year after a one-year hiatus due to COVID. next few years.

“We as a team adjust to people with different skill levels and we practice six times a week. As we practice

our skill level goes up. We are developing and playing together as a team,” Jones said.