TALENT SHOW
PARKLAND
Students showed off their skills at the annual talent show
NEWS, Page 3
Photo courtesy: Formulanone via Wikimedia Commons
Reactions to the school shooting in Florida have influenced Ritenour students
SPOTLIGHT P. 4-5
SCHOLARS ACADEMY
Students were chosen for a college focused program.
SPOTLIGHT, Page 6
THE PEPPER BOX RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL
ISSUE 6, VOLUME 44
9100 ST. CHARLES ROCK ROAD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63114
MARCH 2018
Ritenour opens new cafe in library The Ritenour High Cafe opened on Feb. 12 and is staffed by Ritenour students and teachers By ALLISON BOTH The Pepper Box Staff Ritenour has opened a new coffee shop to students on Feb. 12 and it has been successfully up and running since then. The cafe has multiple food and drink offerings to choose from, ranging from muffins and cookies, to coffee and hot chocolate. They have a Ritenour High Cafe (RHC) special that changes either weekly or monthly depending on the seasons and holidays. For the opening week, their special was red velvet muffins in honor of Valentines day. The treats are mostly made locally from Ritenour’s Culinary Capstones students, as well as the Baking and Pastries students. It is currently open before school, after school, and during 1st and 7th hours, when students are enrolled in hybrid classes. FACS teacher Denise Schindler said that the Ritenour High Cafe was started partially because of an idea from the Ritenour Board of Education. “It was an idea from the district for work based learning. They thought it would be a good idea to meet the needs of the
students and stop tardiness,” “I am the Chef Manager, health safety, problem and “Hopefully it will bring kids Schindler said. “It also gave but I still help make the food resolutions to school since we have the students a more college occasionally,” Loy said. Loy was interested in problems with attendance based environment, and Loy and the other students cooking, but said that there and we’ll be able to attract allows students to use it must be “Serve Safe Certified” was a bigger reason that he kids with breakfast options during study time, while also and make sure that they chose to enroll in Culinary and a quiet place. “ encouraging students to come can take care of any of the Capstones and Baking and The Ritenour High Cafe early if they don’t have wifi, or problems that arise. Serve Pastries. is a new step for this high simply help get the students Safe Certified is a state ”I just want to give back school with high ambitions of into the real world.” issued test to make sure to the school, I care about being able to help give back The students have taken that people are qualified to the school a lot and I want to to their community, even if it ownership of the cafe, as they work in the establishment as contribute to the betterment is just with a cup of coffee and helped paint and decorate manager, including food and of the school,” Loy said. a muffin. the cafe before it opened, and they even helped in researching the machinery that needed to be purchased. The RHC is still in its early stages, but Schindler and the students have started to talk about how they can expand from the current operation. “The goal is to have water in the area, have a working environment, food, all hours, and charging stations. Plans are to have this in the next year and expand, since we are self sufficient. We would also like to expand the machinery and options as time goes by and the options open up for us,” Schindler said. Students had their own reasons and responsibilities when concerning our Ritenour High Cafe and Photo By: Ron Steinschriber senior Josh Loy said that he is gaining skills that could help FACS teacher Nina Ballman and senior Jonah Gleckler help customers in the Ritenour High Cafe on the morning of March 12. him in a culinary career.
Senior Huskies Receive Full Rides
By CAROLINE RAMOS-HERRERA The Pepper Box Staff
Several students from Ritenour’s class of 2018 have received full ride academic scholarships to attend competitive universities this fall due to their outstanding accomplishments. A few of the recipients from Ritenour were Kyah Donald, a recipient of a full ride scholarship to Missouri University Science and Technology, and, Trenton Kwasa, a recipient of a full ride scholarship to Washington University. Recently, Dariana Rodriguez and Emma Norman both received full academic scholarships to the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Scholarships do not fall into someone’s lap easily. Students have to go through long processes to apply. To receive the scholarship, the process includes building relationships, going on tours, filling out applications, and waiting and wondering whether they got it or not. “One day I talked to Ms. Noonan, I went in her office to talk to her about some other scholarship I was looking at and she referred me to the Clay Co.
Scholarship, and she was like, I want you to go to this informational meeting, and we went to the meeting later that day,” Donald said. Donald explained that in Clay Co., there was a presentation and they had the opportunity to tour the Clay Co. building. The students were given the applications for the scholarship. For Trenton Kwasa, the process was very similar. In addition, there was an essay, referrals given to him from two other people, and an interview process. Students, Emma Norman and Dariana RodriguezBolanos recently received full ride scholarships to UMSL and the process for them was different than the one the other recipients received. First, Norman explained, there’s an application for a scholarship online, and then students have to write an essay, answer a couple of short answer questions and find two administrators to write letters of recommendation. Rodriguez’s process was filling out the application for the Opportunity Scholars Program, which required two teacher recommendations and short essay questions. Then later she received a letter in the mail stating that
she was a finalist for the scholarship and then had an interview. “I sent in the application over winter break and received a letter in the mail toward the end a January indicating I was a finalist. They narrowed down the applications to 20 finalists and had us all come in for interviews, then chose 3-5 students to give full rides to!,” Norman said. College and Career Counselor Julie Kampschroeder helps with students seeking scholarships and knows the process on how to get a full ride. According to Kampschroeder, there are merit scholarships and that means the colleges require students to have a certain ACT score, a certain GPA, and if they have those, then they earn that scholarship. Many public schools have that very narrow aspect on what is needed. There are other colleges, like private schools, where students might fit in the category to compete for a scholarship. “We had a lady go to a campus to compete for a full tuition scholarship that doesn’t include room and board, but it’s a $30,000 a year scholarship,” Kampschroeder
said. There are a variety of scholarships that students can receive and just because it’s not a full ride, with everything covered, does not mean there aren’t other opportunities for students to save huge amounts of money. Some wonder what it takes to get full ride scholarships
INDEX
and what colleges look for in students. What colleges look for can range from what sport students play to their GPA. There are endless amounts of factors that can determine whether students are in the competition for the scholarship. “They do it on their own and I think the college center
SEE FULL RIDES - 3
NEWS...............Front Page OPINION................Page 2 NEWS.....................Page 3 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 4 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 5 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 6 SPORTS..................Page 7 SPORTS..................Page 8
Check out information from this issue, as well as additional content from the Pepper Box and KRHS on ritenourlive.org
Opinion
Page 2 March 2018 Opinion Editor: Jordyn Barber: Barberj801@ritenourschools.org
PEPPER BOX STAFF Adviser: Ron Steinschriber Content Editor In Chief: Jenna Hutson Production Editor In Chief: Bailey Stock News Editor: Martin Trujillo Opinion Editor: Jordyn Barber Online Editor: Shelby Langhorst Sports Editor: Coralis Bobe Spotlight Editor: Victoria Taylor Staff Members: Trystan Bell, Allison Both, Faith Boyd, Pierre Brown, Makari Burress, Hannah Cornish, Jersie Cox, Faith Curd, Marquis Gladden, Grace Humphres, Lila Irby, Catalina Mundin, Tabitha Peebles, Caroline RamosHerrera, Andrea Sanchez, Dori Sloan, Madison Waldrup 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.
Staff Editorial Roses are red, Violets are blue, Heartbreak is real, But love is, too. February was a month of mixed emotions for many people. We are surrounded by differentiating opinions regarding to the topic of love. Numerous people do not believe in the premise of true love. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, about 69% of people in America do not believe in the type of love that is spoken of in saccharine songs and poems. However, in the same article it is stated that 93% of
Americans also believe that love is the most important reason to marry someone. So what do we make of these hyperbolic statistics? Do we despise love and all the comforts it brings us? Or do we succumb to our most basic human desire? The answer is a constant fluctuation between the two. When experiencing love, the outcome of each relationship is uncertain. The beginning of most relationships is intense and full of raw passion, but as the dust begins to settle, people begin to find themselves being unhappy. The
honeymoon phase does not last forever, but that does not mean all is lost. In actuality, it might even make the relationship stronger. The calm contentedness of simply being around one another can be just as fulfilling as being exaggeratedly lovey-dovey. Whatever stage in your relationship you might be in, the fact of the matter is that we should not let other people’s ideas for relationships define our own. We should not spend our time worrying about how we show our love for somebody and instead live and be young and in love.
Letters to the editor are welcome and accepted, but they may not contain profanity, obscenity, or anything inappropriate to school. They may be e-mailed to Ron Steinschriber at steinschriberr@ritenourschools.org, or dropped off in room 240. The staff reserves the right to
Black history requires than a month The word on The more Barber Shop the edit these letters.
How have any of your relationships affected your high school experience
~ Senior Elizabeth Young
“It is important to be with someone who pushes you to do better and be better. So if anything, a relationship should be a driving factor to do well in school, at work, in sports, or in any other endeavors
“Some people are more focused on their relationship than actual school work.”
~ Freshman Tamya Hayes
~ Junior Andrew Nguyen
~ Sophomore Emanuel Salgado
“I choose not to date while being in school because I feel like that would be considered a distraction when it comes to my grades. I would enjoy dating, but I do not have a lot of spare time and school is very important. I will date after high school.”
“Relationships can definitely affect people at school. People just change when they are with other people, and sometimes they don’t like talking to you.”
By JORDYN BARBER I have a confession of sorts. I am black, and last month has never mattered to me. Perhaps it’s the lack of acknowledgment from others or the belittlement of my people no matter the month. You see, nothing changed just because February began. The commentary on the darkness of my skin compared to the lightness of another’s hasn’t suddenly gone away. People haven’t omitted their blatant disrespect for the Black Lives Matter movement either. While this is hard to admit to myself and others, I am beyond the basic first day celebration and the forgetting the rest of the month. I am beyond posting a fact about
the past and never planning for the future. Why is it that we are only given a month out of twelve instead of appreciating our culture yearround? Does our 28 days, 29 in a leap year, represent our entire existence as a people? You may think that it is hypocritical for me to expect recognition for my people without participating in this month. Well, my support for the black community is not limited to my involvement for a short amount of days. However, it is shown daily when I share my experiences, stand up against mistreatment, educate others, and love my fellow black people for who they are. We claim to celebrate the history throughout this month, but it seems to only be two ends of the spectrum: slavery and the civil rights movement. While these were crucial parts within our history, we are more than oppression and sadness. We are creators of beauty, whether it be art or children, as they are one in the same.
We are happiness and fathers in the home, just as much as single mothers filling hearts with love. We are bold and unashamed, standing up for what we know we deserve. No, this column wasn’t written to show just how bad I think Black History Month is. No, I am not saying we should rid ourselves of love for our culture. Yes, I am saying that we need to update our idea of the month. The highlight of our month should not be Valentine’s Day. It should, however, be greeting one another with the same amount of joy as everyone had at the premiere of Black Panther. This is a great time to show our appreciation for one another as well as talk about the tough issues that are hard to address. By being more aware of our situations as black people, we can carry this mindset throughout the year for when situations present themselves. We will be able to talk about them without hesitation.
Scamming in online communities is troubling By DOROTHY SLOAN The Pepper Box Staff A recent occurrence in online communities is that content creators, whether they are video editors, digital artists, traditional artists, or musical artists, they are there, and they’re getting scammed. People in these online communities request commissions of them, and refuse to pay them after the commissions are done. A commission is anything that an artist makes in return for money. They can be music tracks, digital or traditional art, graphic designs, or video editing. A recent example of this was when an online video editor by the name of Stan (@stannyrox) accused a well known Twitch partnered streamer, GrossGore (@ GrossieGore) of nonpayment. Stan claimed that GrossGore had not paid him for a video he created for him,
despite saying he would pay him multiple times. After Stan came out with his allegations, many others shared similar experiences with this man. This is not an uncommon experience between content creators. Sadly, this won’t be the last time either. Many people with freelance jobs get scammed. There is no way to guarantee that the creator will get their payment unless they created a formal contract and it was signed. Verbal contracts only go so far, and sadly they don’t hold up in court systems. The root of this problem lies in disrespect. People undervalue the time it takes to create something, the amount of effort put into it, and the quality of it. Some people believe that if they do not like the outcome, they should not have to pay. Others feel entitled to a content creator creating something for nothing in return. Most artists get requests to draw something
and in exchange the person requesting it would post it online and give the artist credit. We call this exposure. Well, exposure doesn’t pay anyone’s bills. Content creators live off of their commissions, much like any other freelance job. These commissions pay their bills, their rent, their groceries. Getting scammed like that sets artists that much farther away from paying their bills, meeting their rent and putting food on the table. This sense of false entitlement is sheer disrespect to any content creators. They deserve to get paid for their time, effort, quality and the outcome. Creating music, art, videos, and more is a job, not just a hobby, and it should be treated as such. There is no reason to expect someone’s time, resources and expertise to be free. Almost no one does anything for free nowadays, and creating content is no different.
Page 3 March 2018 News Editor: Martin Trujillo: trujillocarrazco164@ritenourschools.org
FULL RIDES - Cont’d from Front Page
and staff help direct students to apply to schools that will be a good fit for them,” Kampschroeder said. What really has to do with getting the scholarship is the students being involved in leadership activities on campus. It’s also taking more competitive, academic classes and doing well in those classes as well. Doing well on the ACT also has an impact on whether students end up getting accepted.. The students who received the scholarships have their certain skills to make themselves stand out in the eyes of colleges. Donald says that in order to be the one next up, students can involve
themselves in more activities based on their interests. Students should even try to challenge themselves and take that AP class. She believes they should step out of their comfort zone because they will be one step closer to grasping that scholarship opportunity. “I would advise them to get in contact with their counselor and to build relationships with them because once their counselors know who they are and what they want to do in life and the things that they go through on a regular basis, they’ll be able to relate to them and give them opportunities in order to help them reach their goal,”
News
Donald said. you,” Trenton Kwasa said. applications because taking Another key concept Norman also said to not thirty minutes to an hour to for students to recognize take anything for granted. fill out an application may is that they should not talk “My biggest tip would be just change your life,” Emma themselves out of anything. to not be overwhelmed by Norman. “Don’t get discouraged by tribulations or a few subpar grades. Just pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes.,” Dariana Rodriguez-Bolanos said. What is also noticed in students who win the scholarships are their social skills and connections they make with others. “Go for it and be involved in school. Everything’s not book work, a lot of it has to do with your relationships Photo Courtesy Shane Hopper: with other people and how you handle what life gives Seniors Kyah Donald and Trenton Kwasa hold up honors of their full scholarships to Washington University and Missouri S &T.
Musicians participate in Des Lee Students from the music department performed in the prestigious event at UMSL
By TABITHA PEEBLES The Pepper Box Staff Des Lee, an event hosted annually at the University of Missouri-St.Louis, recently welcomed members of Ritenour’s musical department once again this year. E Desmond Lee Arts Collaborative, better known as Des Lee, allows students who participate in Choir, Band, or Orchestra to come together for one day in preparation for a show that would take place in front of an audience at the end of that day. All students from different cultural backgrounds are able to come together to do something that they all share the same passion for; making music. Students are given time to practice for the event once they’re notified by their instructors that they’ve been chosen to participate in Des Lee. These students who are chosen to participate must possess certain qualities of a musical student. Des Lee is also for those students who share a great passion for music in general. “A musical student who wants to participate in Des
Lee should embody a great infatuation of music to where they’d be interested in continuing in music beyond high school, whether that be in Choir, Band or Orchestra,” junior Nicholas Risko said. Some students believe any musical student should be allowed the opportunity to participate in the event because they believe that Des Lee holds the gateway for improvement for those students who wish to enhance their musical abilities. “I believe that a musical student who shares a great passion for whatever their talent is; singing or instrumental, would be a great candidate for Des Lee. As long as they keep an enthusiastic attitude to create music with others,” senior Dariana Rodriguez said. Considering that Des Lee more than likely means something different to all those who participate, there are many things to get out of an event like this. Senior Isaiah Murrell Thomas explains how the event basically gives whatever students choose to take from it. “Considering that Des Lee is an opportunity to be in an atmosphere with serious
musicians, it is in your best interest to dedicate your time there to getting better through learning. The all day experience would be spent practicing your instrument or vocals, as well as learning some of the philosophy behind music, which helps you learn even better”, Murrell Thomas said. On the day of the event, participants of Des Lee come together to showcase all that they’ve learned throughout the day. This is the time for all musical students to show off their hard work in front of those who appreciate good music as much as them. Senior Jennifer Pham recalls the hard work of her fellow classmates as well as all others who prepared for the event along with them. “Through countless hours of rehearsal, at school and during our time at Des Lee, I can vouch for our musical department in saying that the concert definitely displayed our hard work. Singing with other choirs at Des Lee was magical and I believe this Photo Courtesy Hadley Haux was because there were great : performers from other great musical departments coming Junior Caroline West plays in the Des Lee performance. together to learn and grow” Students from choir, band, and orchestra were represented Pham said. at the event at University of Missouri - St. Louis
Ritenour puts its talent on display By GRACE HUMPHRES The Pepper Box Staff On February 16, 2018 Ritenour High School hosted the annual KRHS Media talent show. Hosted by Tristan Talton and Montrice Bolden the show consisted of 14 acts, and the winner of the night was senior Deziree Graham. Talton and Bolden started off the event with a skit that didn’t quite go as planned. “Even though the show had a rough start, after we got it back on track it was an amazing night and everyone had lots of fun,” Talton said. “The main goal to me and Montrice doing the skit at the beginning of the show was to get everyone ready for the awesome talent show we had ahead of us and to get everyone excited”. During the show the audience was going crazy for all of the acts, but the audience wasn’t the only ones that were going crazy. The judges, Officer Elliott Miller, science teacher Rachael Tripp, math teacher Danielle Swallow, math teacher Jennifer Montgomery, and English teacher LeeAnne Vest all say that judging the talent
show was very hard. What all the judges agreed on was that they were all looking for originality in the acts. They were looking for the act to be unique and creative. Although the judges said that it was hard to pick only one talent that they liked the best Officer Miller said that it was a difficult choice. “Everyone in the talent show I feel was very talented and they all performed excellent. I really appreciated what they did,” Miller said. “The talents of our students here at Ritenour are very compelling and it made me feel very proud to work at Ritenour.” Although the talent show was a competition, most people performed just to share their talents with others. Senior Jordyn Barber was a contestant in the Talent Show that saw some personal gains from her performance, even if she didn’t win. “When I lost I was not really upset because although I did not win, the people who did win had lots of talent,” Barber said. Unlike some contestants, Jordan Barber did not even practice her performance before the actual show.
“I was so comfortable with the song that I sang, I did not even need to prepare at all. The only thing I really did was listen to it when I had my headphones in, I didn’t even sing it the day of the show, I just went on stage and sang,” Barber said. Even though the judges were spending time critiquing the acts during the performance, Vest noticed something in the crowd that made her excited to experience the event with the students. “In the end, I really liked how the talent show turned out. Every time I looked into the crowd I saw all of the kids so excited for the next act,” Vest said.
Photos Courtesy Jeremy Housewrigh: Above: Senior Deziree Graham performs at the Ritenour Talent Show. Graham won first place at the event. Below: Seniors Tristan Talton and Montrice Bolden hosted the event, and led the show off with a skit.
Spotlight
Page 4 March 2018 Spotlight Editor: Victoria Taylor: Taylorv512@ritenourschools.org
Students at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, Calif. held a vigil for students who passed away in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The event has led to national debates on school safety. Photos Courtesy Fabrice Florin via Flickr
A school shooting in Florida leaves 17 dead A gunman opened fire in Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 By JORDYN BARBER Opinion Editor On Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, an armed intruder stormed the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and his actions resulted in 17 casualties and 14 wounded students and faculty
members. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, took an Uber to the school, and entered Building 12, occupied by about 900 students and 30 teachers. He was armed with an AR-15 style automatic rifle and multiple small capacity magazines. The school had experienced a scheduled fire drill earlier in the day so
when Cruz pulled the fire alarm, this caused confusion. Cruz took this opportunity to begin firing at those making their way out of the building. The shooting lasted a total of six minutes. Cruz left his weapon on the third floor and fled by blending info a crowd of student. Cruz was a former student who had several disciplinary issues in
his past and was recognized during the attack through surveillance footage by staff. During the shooting, a school resource officer of the Broward’s County Sheriff ’s Office was notified after a code red lockdown was activated.The officer took position between the buildings next to Building 12, never entering. He explained
this by saying he thought the shooting was outdoors. After Cruz left the building, he was off the premises for about an hour before he was caught by a police officer in Coral Springs, FL. Cruz is being charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
There have been 27 school shootings in 2018 on K-12 and college campuses
School safety concerns in national debate By JENNA HUTSON Content Editor-in-Chief After the Parkland shooting, students began expressing their concern about safety in school. Ritenour students are among these students. Junior Kierra Slack believes that Ritenour has it’s strong points when it comes to safety. “We have very involved Student Resource Officers, and since they have been around the number of students coming in and out of the building has decreased,” Slack said. While some students see the SRO’s making a more secure environment for Ritenour, other students still see room for improvement. Senior Ellie Gaither points out some of Ritenour’s safety low points. “While we do have a lot of police officers, the fact of the matter is that people are still getting in. Half of the alarms on our doors do not work and kids let people in all the time,” Gaither said.
When it comes to ways to improve the school’s safety, Ritenour students have a few ideas. “While the communication of the safety team at Ritenour is good, it could be improved. We need to have better communication between the school and the families,” said Slack. “We could also get one or two more SRO’s.” While some students feel we are in a good place that could use a little tweaking, other students are looking for radical improvements. “We need to have working alarms on every door. I also think it would be very helpful if we got metal detectors,” Gaither said. Ritenour students explain why the need for safety is so urgent after Parkland events. “It is easy for us to put ourselves into their shoes because we are high school students just like them, and the idea of someone walking into our school with a weapon is not a foreign concept,” said Slack.
After the shooting in Florida, schools across the country looked into school safety
Photo By: Dorothy Sloane The Welcome Desk is the first step in school safety at the high school. Visitors must enter through the main doors and check in at the Welcome Desk. If they are given permission to walk the hallways, they will be escorted by a staff member. This method was put into place to make sure all traffic goes through one door and everyone who enters the building can be accounted for.
Spotlight
Page 5 March 2018 Spotlight Editor: Victoria Taylor: Taylorv512@ritenourschools.org
President asks whether teachers should be armed A tweet from President Trump set off discussion about whether it would be a good idea to allow teachers to carry firearms in the school setting. By CORALIS BOBE Sports Editor Following the shooting in Parkland, politicians began to brainstorm possible solutions to the issue. A week after the incident, President Trump proposed the idea of arming teachers. He suggested giving bonuses to teachers that agreed to carry firearms. The proposal’s goal is to heighten school security and prevent future
school shootings. “They need to take more time and thought on it and not just rush into anything,” Social studies teacher Michael Murray said. While the idea is only a proposal, Florida legislators have recently approved two bills that would set aside money to train teachers to carry firearms. There are concerns about the qualifications teachers should have to be in control of a
gun and the dangers that could arise if the guns are not contained properly. “I don’t think that teachers should be armed, because what if a kindergartener gets their hands on it or it’s left lying around,” senior Brenda Reed said. Teachers also face the problem of their personal beliefs and comfortability being compromised. “I went into teaching to serve young people and build
meaningful relationships with them. I’m probably as far as you can get from a person who could shoot another human being,” English teacher Christina Melly said. PLTW teacher Jack Heeter suggested different methods to increase school safety, including some methods that are already used at Ritenour “A better alternative for schools would be to enforce IDs, have one entrance, metal detectors, and bags checked.
America votes: Should we arm teachers?
Graphic designed by Jenna Hutson and Hannah Cornish
According to a March 8 survey by NBC News in conjunction with Survey Monkey, a majority of Americans disagree with the idea of arming teachers. 58% of those adults surveyed overall say that they either somewhat or strongly disagree with arming teachers. When the polls were broken down by political party, it showed that Republicans were heavily in favor of the idea of arming teachers, while Democrats are strongly against arming teachers, with 89% of respondents saying that it would be a bad idea.
I think that is a better than arming teachers,” Heeter said. Although suggestions and proposals have been given, there is no final law yet. The gun control debate continues to be a popular discussion across the country. “After any disaster or something terrible, people want to rush into something new. I think this is one of those topics we need to tread very lightly on,” Murray said.
Florida Reacts After the events at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a new gun policy into law. • Raised minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21. • 3 day waiting period • Ban on bump stocks • Guns on campus for non-classroom personnel • $400 million for mental health and campus security
Students around the US walk out in support Students have participated in walk outs and Ritenour is holding some as well By DOROTHY SLOAN Pepper Box Staff In response to the Parkland shooting and issue of gun control, students nationwide and schoolwide are organizing protests. Among these are March For Our Lives and the National School Walkout. The National School Walkout is among the most popular. It is being organized by victims of the Parkland shooting, and advocates for stricter gun control laws. Another aforementioned protest was March For Our Lives. It’s also being organized by survivors, and has been backed by popular icons like George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey. The students are the future of the world, and they have realized that. Some organizations at Ritenour are planning to get involved in the walkouts. “The Riot Grrl club is planning to participate in the national walkout on the 20th,” junior Abigail Dismuke said. The Game Changers are
also working on creating a school wide walkout opportunity. “Game Changers is planning to walk out of the building at 10:00 AM on April 20th and walking the track for 17 minutes in honor of each student who passed away during the Parkland shooting. We choose the 20th of April as a way to pay tribute to those lost in the Columbine shooting,” junior Kierra Slack, president of Game Changers, said. The details of these protests are still being completed and more information about them should be sought out from their respective leaders. Freshman Devin Busch believes that this is a positive step in the right direction to change the culture. “I believe we should have walkouts, I think it’s a wonderful thing. Gun control is getting out of control,” Busch said.
Photos Courtesy Lorie Shaull via Flickr The demonstration was organized by Teens For Gun Reform, an organization created by students in the Washington DC area, in the wake of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Spotlight
Page 6 March 2018 Spotlight Editor: Victoria Taylor: Taylorv512@ritenourschools.org
The Kim Kardashian effect in society Celebrity culture can have an effect on teenagers, and that effect can be positive or negative By LILA IRBY The Pepper Box Staff With millions subscribed to their content, from Instagram to Twitter, reading articles about them, and discovering which they most closely relate via quiz (Buzzfeed, anyone?), celebrities dominate more of our lives than we realize. A large fan base denotes influence, also entailing self entitled “social media influencers.” On a daily basis, those who scroll through social media are bombarded with pictures of celebrities (dying their hair, at an elite party, at Sunday brunch, a movie premiere), tweets pertaining to a vast variety of subjects, posts from their friends, and Snapchat stories. According to NPR,
“teenage brains are malleable and vulnerable.” Parallel to this, 71% of teenagers are on more than one social media platform. Impressionability and exposure to a wide variety of celebrity influence can lead to an inevitable conclusion. The common consensus among the students of Ritenour was that children and young adults are indeed impacted by those they see on their screens and hear on the radio. 90% of students surveyed at Ritenour believed that youth is affected by celebrities and those with a lofty status on social media. Only 3% had varying dissimilar views on the subject. According to 68% of students who took the survey, the age most affected by
the actions of celebrities is 10 to 13, with an equally distributed 68% with the belief that teenagers ranging from 14 to 18 are more susceptible to such. This, however, opposes studies that have deemed teenage brains more vulnerable to influence, as the age range of 10 to 13 fails to recognize a teenage majority. Though the list of famous people that students looked up to, or had been positively impacted by was vast and varying, Donald Trump took the lead for most negatively impacting person in the limelight, with Kylie Jenner and the Kardashians sharing the title of runner-up. Junior Abigail Dismuke shared some insight upon the issue. “[Celebrities] are
influential people who have a lot of power to influence the thoughts and ideals of young people who look up to them,” she said. “Kathleen Hanna’s activism inspired me to become more active with charity work.” Sophomore Jada Freeman said that the celebrity who had altered her life for the better was Tracee Ellis Ross. As many agreed, Freeman thought that often, children and teens are likely to imitate actors, artists, and those who post. “People look up to celebrities and what they do; especially young children. If you see someone you like or idolize do something, you might want to do it too,” Freeman said. Junior Clarissa GaonaRomero believes that
whether the result is positive or negative, the teenage population will always trend towards popular celebrities. “I believe celebrities’ actions have impact upon children and young adults because especially at that age, children and young adults may be looking for guidance and a model figure, someone to follow or look up to, or just a role model for how they should act or dress. Because of that, if celebrities act a certain way or dress a certain way, people of that age group are more likely to be impacted by that because of how they perceive them and because they are more concerned with “fitting in.” It may be positive or negative, depending on the celebrity and the person’s perception,” Gaona-Romero said.
The Honeymoon stage By TRYSTAN BELL The Pepper Box Staff As Valentines Day swept through Ritenour last month, it saw relationships at all stages. Some couples were celebrating multiple Valentine’s Days together, while some relationships were new, and the people involved were still caught up in the Honeymoon phase. The Honeymoon phase is when everything can be summed up with nicknames like “honey, sweetie, and baby” all of the time. It is a time when no fights occur, when people look into each other’s eyes and see no fault. It is generally said to last as long as two years, and as short as just a few weeks depending on how much the relationship is desired. This stage is often referred to as the “make or break” state of relationships, and once the phase ends, the relationship ends. No matter if it is a new or old relationship, there was once a honeymoon phase that the couple has felt. Tiffany Dinh believes that if you’re with the right person, the honeymoon phase
is just the beginning. “It’s great, being with your best friend is like getting two packages when you just ordered one from Amazon. Definitely! He’s already seen how crazy I am. The honeymoon phase is definitely real. It’s a great feeling though because everything is just so happy and you never really argue about anything,” Dinh said. Loyalty, trust, and commitment are all valued characteristics in relationships, and many students while trying to figure themselves and how they love out forget to do some of these things. Long lasting high school relationships are a rarer sight, but couples like Deaven Yokley and Emily Ledbetter have lasted as long as three years. “The Honeymoon phase doesn’t exactly stop, we do have our ups and downs but we still end up re-loving each other as if nothing really happened or forgetting about the problem. A lot of people believe our relationship is bad because she looks different from me, but they don’t know our history and how far we’ve
come,” Yokley said. Junior Francesca Goude thinks that there is more than just the Honeymoon phase. “It’s pretty great to have someone to talk to all the time, and spending a lot of time with him makes my life so much better. I am very happy with the relationship I am in right now and would totally want it to continue. I think the Honeymoon phase is different for everyone that goes through it. I think that if you are with the one person you truly love there is so much more to look forward to,” Goude said. The new stage of love can be difficult and confusing, but whether the relationship is only a few weeks old or twenty years old, the rush of endorphins will relax. Fights will occur, but with love, the relationship will stabilize and calm down to a comforting atmosphere. The Honeymoon phase may not last forever, but senior Eliseo Rico has hope for the future that his new relationship will last. “There’s absolutely no question about it that our relationship will last.
Photo By Jenna Hutson Alyssa Lane and Elias Meyers pose together in school. They still consider themselves as being in the Honeymoon phase in their relationship, having been dating for 5 months. The Honeymoon phase is great; it’s fun and exciting. With the right person it
can last through the entire relationship,” Rico said.
Scholars Academy offers college assistance College Counselor Julie Kampschroeder created the new program to allow students to have more access to college courses and to help them questions about college before they graduate By PIERRE BROWN The Pepper Box Staff A few weeks ago a handful of students received slips dismissing them to the auditorium for a program named “Scholars Academy.” College and Career Counselor Julie Kampschroeder describes it as a way to get students of all grade levels to be able to ask questions more often about what it takes to get into college so that they can reach their goals. ”I believe it benefits students by planning ahead, as students realize it’s a lot easier to maintain a GPA than to try and raise a GPA. Every student learns that the hard way. The earlier you know information, the easier it is for the students” Kampschroeder said. A student in the academy,
sophomore David Redfield, says it benefits students because they tell students how they can get into college easier and how they can get scholarships. The academy has afterschool events once a month for different grade levels. Students do not have to be in the Scholars Academy to go to the events, but the students are required to wear the events t-shirt to show involvement. The qualifications of the academy are having a 3.0 cumulative GPA unweighted, which has to be from classes that can be considered for college entrance, 95% attendance or above, no In School or Out of School Suspensions, and they have to be involved in at least one extracurricular, organization, or club. Kampschroeder spearheaded this initiative, and she has been planning it
ever since she started working at Ritenour again. “It’s something I wanted to start two and a half years ago when I came back to Ritenour. I think it’s a good idea to start students as young as possible, figuring out what you’re going to need to get into college, why extracurriculars are important, what classes to take throughout your high school career depending on what your major is going to be,” Kampschroeder said. The program is to help students plan ahead so they aren’t lost in the future and even though students don’t have to be in scholars academy to attend the events they will miss out on some perks. Being in the academy, students have a chance to go to Ritenour for half a day and to a nearby college for the other half. Ritenour will pay for the tuition and
transportation. Students have a chance to graduate high school with not only a diploma, but a 2 year associates degree as well.
Photo Courtesy: Shane Hopper Sophomores Jada Freeman and Jacqueline Llamas model their Scholars Academy polos.
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Page 7 March 2018 Sports Editor: Coralis Bobe bobec863@ritenourschools.org
Freshman swimmer sets high standards By FAITH BOYD The Pepper Box Staff Freshman Amiya Clark joined the girls swim team with one goal; to compete and meet her personal—as well as official—standards. She aimed to improve and
strive closer to her goal. At the Fort Zumwalt East swim meet back in January, Clark tried to give it her all, as she usually does. Only this time, her ‘all’ was enough to make a time worthy of state consideration. Everyone, from Clark to
her teammates and coaches, are pleased with this progress and hope for continued success in the future. “Amiya is an amazing athlete. Swimming comes naturally to her,” senior teammate Samantha Pullen said.
Photo Courtesy: RHS Athletics Freshman Amiya Clark swims in a meet against Kirkwood this season. Clark was close to qualifying for the State tournament as a freshman.
Clark’s time for her 50 Free event at the swim meet was 27.98 seconds, which is just 2.2 seconds short of the state-qualifying time of 25.79 seconds. The results were close, and that’s something Clark never would have thought possible when starting out. “Things that helped me would have to be practicing a lot every day, hard work, and dedication. My coaches trained me well and my teammates were very encouraging,” Clark said. Clark attended countless amounts of practices and has been said to exhibit a great deal of perseverance. Her teammates remain motivated by her positivity and admire her contributions to the swim team as a whole. Her coaches, who have worked alongside her throughout her training, hope and expect to see many great things from her in the future.
“Amiya has always demonstrated a strong work ethic and I’m not surprised that she had a successful season,” Coach Andrea Rivera said. “She’s always open to advice and critiques that Coach Wakefield and I both have.” Clark’s coaches and teammates held her in high regard and their support was very important to her. It was a great motivator that allowed her to remain focused and driven. She plans to continue improving and making State next year. Clark’s swimming career is just starting out, and this newfound progress is a sign of continued future improvement. “I plan to keep focusing on what I’ve been working on for the past few months now and go into training with a positive mindset,” Clark said.
Seniors lead the way for girls basketball By MARQUIS GLADDEN The Pepper Box Staff This year’s girls basketball team is senior affiliated. Six seniors were recognized on senior night this year out of the nine players on the team. Five of the six seniors have played with Ritenour since their freshman year, with A’myia Hayden transferring in her sophomore year. Senior Makayla Williams explains what it means to her to be one of the upperclassmen on the team. “It feels really good to be a senior on the team because I have been waiting for it so long and I want to set good examples for the underclassmen,” Williams said. The girls last home game was Feb.20. Although the team lost against Marquette, the senior night recognition stood out to the group. Senior E’mysha McGruder believes that sharing the night
with her loved ones made senior night special for her . “Seeing my family and friends sitting in the bleachers rooting me on with pictures and posters was the highlight of my night,” McGruder said. There were a total of three underclassmen on the team all season, two juniors and one freshman. They support the team just as much as the seniors and they have been hanging in there through it all. Junior Nature Frost was happy to contribute to this senior laden team in any way that she could. “Getting a double double a few times and more rebounds than any 6 footer and me being only 5’6, I’d say that I would take that experience with me forever,” Frost said. This year was important for the seniors, since this is their last time playing basketball in high school ever. Some of the players feel more accomplished now, while
others are rather neutral about it. “It feels the same as any of the other players, I’m just graduating now,” said Hayden. Williams believed that this experience over the last four years was about more than just the sport of basketball. “Playing basketball gave me confidence in the things I do and taught me to believe in myself,” Williams added. A majority of the senior players plan on going to college after high school. Not all of them have made the choice on whether they join the basketball team. Hayden knows that she will be going to college and knows for sure that she will be playing basketball. She just is not sure where she will be going. After the seniors graduate, girls basketball will be losing more than half of their team and hopefully being seeing a lot of new faces a tryouts next year. Frost gives her take on
how she plans to carry on the legacy. “I would like to be the leader that the team needs. I would be the one person that’ll pick everyone up and encourage them to not put their heads down,” Frost said.
long way, from the ups and downs to the wins and losses. “Even though we have rough patches, we are still a team and a family and I love my team,” Hayden said.
Photo Courtesy: RHS Athletics Senior Makayla Williams The seniors have came awas one of six seniors who helped lead the girls basketball team this season.
Wrestlers finish year with a trip to state By MADISON WALDRUP The Pepper Box Staff In the winter time, teenage boys head down to the wrestling room, roll out mats, and stretch their limbs for practice. “Wrestling kind of schedules your life. It takes over everything you do. You have to watch what you eat, you have to work out so many times a day, and keep your grades up. Wrestling takes hard work and wanting to actually get better. You have to want to get better and put in that hard work to get there,” senior Austin Cornell, said. Not only do wrestlers have to be physically ready, they have to be able to think logically through the match to counter their opponents attacks. Wrestlers also need practice experience before participating in a match. “We’ve been dedicated to practicing for the last four months. We practice five days a week for two and a
half hours a day. Personally, I have shown students how to do moves, drilled moves with students, and wrestled live with almost every student on the team. We also provide feedback to each student after every match. This helps kids to understand their mistakes and give strategies and moves to help them defeat their next opponent,” Coach Alexander Terrance said. Districts for the Ritenour wrestling team were held on Saturday, Feb. 10. Of all the boys who competed in districts, two Ritenour students have the honor of saying they could move to the next level. Seniors Austin Cornell and Ryan Howerton earned the privilege of competing state level in Columbia, Missouri. To qualify for state, the competitors had to make the top four spots out of their district. Preparing for districts can be a lot more stressful than preparing for just an everyday, after school practice
or meet. “I prepared for districts by working out a lot. I ran every morning, practiced everyday, and worked out after practice some days. It was different than last year, because I felt I should be there, that I should qualify. I placed a little higher this time at districts
than in the past, so it was an accomplishment,” Cornell said. Ritenour had other wrestlers very close to qualifying for state. Brandon Lock and Mamadou Diouf were some of the few who had close matches. “Districts was exciting
to coach. We represented the school well and had two wrestlers qualify for state, and a couple more that were very close to qualifying. Brandon’s final match had me jumping and screaming. It was very entertaining to watch,” Terrance said.
Photo Courtesy: RHS Athletics Senior Austin Cornell wrestles in the Ray Doney meet at Ritenour High School. Cornell returned to State competition this year along with senior Ryan Howerton.
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Page 8 March 2018 Spotts Editor: Coralis Bobe bobec863@ritenourschools.org
Team USA Gymnastics doctor sentenced for crimes Many former gymnasts spoke out about the team doctor who abused them during their time with Team USA, and it shined a light on people taking advantage of young athletes By JERSIE COX The Pepper Box Staff Sports are activities where friendships and trust are built; trust makes everyone comfortable with another. But one man took advantage of that trust and it has sent shockwaves not only through the world of gymnastics, but the world in general. Larry Nassar, a doctor for USA Gymnastics, and a team doctor for Michigan State University, is facing over 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing young gymnasts from the ages of five all the way to legal age. The reports of what happened have caused many people to get upset, including Ritenour volleyball player Jordan Fritzsche. “The perpetrator deserves jail time and the victims deserve justice,” Fritzsche said. Nassar built a level of trust with his employers and the athletes. Coaches understand the type of relationship that needs to exist between players, coaches and trainers, and Social Studies teacher and former girls basketball coach Joe Scheidler is appalled by what happened. “I am disgusted that it happened once, let alone over one hundred times,” Scheidler said. Gymnasts trusted their doctor, they thought that they could believe that whatever he told them to do was for a good cause.
Sophomore Ava Biesterfeld is a former gymnast. She was not involved in anything like what happened, but she believes that for cases like this to end it takes education on the part of athletes, parents, and the trainers themselves. “We live in a sick world. As bad as it sounds, things like this happen. The best we can do is maybe reevaluate those who are trainers and just make sure our kids know things like this are wrong and should be reported. If some of these cases report all the way back into the 1990’s then that shows many of these girls were so terrified to stand up and tell them what happened,” Biesterfeld said. Along with every other school, Ritenour High school goes through a screening process for teachers and coaches. The process securely checks teachers (coaches,staff etc) to make sure they are able to be around children so that no incidents will be going on. This process ensures that the adults that work with these students are trustworthy, and only have the best interests of the students in mind. This puts Fritzsche at ease as an athlete at Ritenour. “You do sports because it’s something you love to do, you shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable doing something you love,” Fritzsche said.
Larry Nassar Sentencing • Former Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing women and girls for decades during his time at Michigan State University and as a team USA Gymnastics doctor • More than 150 women and girls have accused Nassar of assault, including gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas. Gymnast Aly Raisman was vocal in her views about Larry Nassar. She said she was abused by Nassar while she was a member of Team USA Gymnastics. Her testimony at his trial was widely publicized, and as a result of all that the judge heard that day, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for his crimes. Photo Courtesy: Agência Brasil Fotografias via Wikimedia Commons
Relationships while playing sports Q: How does your sport affect your relationship?
NAME: Carlyse Piggs GRADE: Senior
A: It affects it because we don’t really get to talk because of games and practice and stuff, so it affects it in a slightly negative way.
SPORT: Cheerleading
Q: How long have you been with your significant other? A: Almost 3 years Q: Has there ever been any conflicts between the two of you because of your dedicated time into your sport? A: Yes, going to cheer camp is very hard because we don’t talk for a week straight, which is kind of hard because you know, you’re wondering what they’re doing.
Q: How do you balance both your relationship and your sport? Does it get stressful? A: No not really. It’s not very stressful. You just kind of work it and talk here and there. Q: Is your significant other a motivator for you to do better with sports? Why or why not? A: Yes, when it comes to really scary things that we do during cheerleading, I always go to him for it. Then he’ll tell me “you got this, don’t worry about it” about that really big game. My very first time doing a lib at a football game was really scary, but he was there at the game and watching me and I felt a little bit better about doing it my first time.
How do sports affect relationships?
Da’mon Sanders Boys Basketball
Jasmine Destiny Swimming
E’mysha McGruder Girls Basketball
It’s best to make time for both because you have to dedicate time for your sport and finding time for your significant other
It gives us less time together and unfortunately, since we have to balance school and sports, that just makes less time for us, so we have to hang out on weekends only.
It works perfectly fine since he plays basketball as well.