May 2018 - Pepper Box

MUSICAL RHS performs Little Shop of Horrors.

OPINION, Page 2

PROM

FCCLA STAR Sophomore Jackie Martinez makes her mark on FCCLA.

Ritenour celebrates the 2018 Prom, “A Night in Paris”

SPOTLIGHT, Page 6

SPOTLIGHT Page 4

THE PEPPER BOX RITENOUR HIGH SCHOOL

ISSUE 8, VOLUME 44

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

MAY 2018

Teachers walk out across the US

Walkouts in states like Oklahoma highlight the working conditions of teachers and the economic state of public education across the nation

By TABITHA PEEBLES The Pepper Box Staff

At the beginning of April, teachers in Oklahoma proceeded to shut down their classes and begin to walk to the state’s capital.

Teachers walked out of their classrooms in Oklahoma in order to protest their needs for school-related funds, and it has caused conversation all around the country about dealing with our learning system and how educators should go about taking matters into their own hands.

The walkouts caused over 50 school closings over the state, preventing hundreds of thousands of students from attending school. At the state capitol, teachers requested lawmakers to pass new legislation.

After days of protests, the Senate eventually approved a series of tax increases to help fund the states education system in order to put an end to the strike. This tax increase would raise teachers salaries by an average of $6,000.

This amount didn’t quite satisfy the teachers, though.

The strike continued, with teacher’s calling for $10,000 pay increase over three years.

Some Ritenour teachers believe the measures taken were justified. Science teacher Angela Lane believes that Oklahoma teachers’ should have gone to the lengths that they did.

“I think they should have walked out because their reason for doing so was valid. Teachers are creating a workforce for everyone so

if you’re underfunded and overcrowded, teachers should take the measures needed to support their students. We need to keep our schooling system up to date,” Lane said.

Sympathy rallies continued in front of the Senate over the course of nine days. During this time students and parents showed their support towards the issue as well.

Striking ceased once Senate Republicans made it clear that they weren’t going to supply any more revenue for public education. The walkout ended with a little more in the education budget than before the nine-day tactic. About $479 million was added for teacher and support staffs, and school needs for the upcoming fiscal year. This raises public school spending to $2.9 billion next school year, up from $2.4 billion this year.

Even though this occurrence worked to highlight the educators, this movement was mainly a statement for students. Senior J’von Halbert is planning to go into education in college, and has been following the walkout.

“I think that the walkout in the end was beneficial for the teachers in Oklahoma, they wanted to be compensated more for all the work they do in and out of school and their goal was accomplished. They deserved it,” Halbert said.

Ritenour teachers have their own contract negotiation process. Even though teachers’ in Missouri cannot walkout by law, the interest-based bargaining

process remains successful.

Hoech Middle School English teacher Laura Conley is the negotiations chair for the teachers’ association, the Ritenour National Education Association (RNEA). Conley led the teacher team to negotiate a contract that was ratified by RNEA members.

“Our collaborative interest-based agreement was created by the Ritenour school board and teacher association. We discussed issues and put them into contract form. While doing this, we also considered our number one priority, which is doing what’s best for our students,” Conley said.

Considering that financial needs differ for each school and state, Conley believes the new contracts will have a positive effect on the needs of Ritenour students.

“Ritenour and Missouri are in a better financial position than the states and districts who are walking out,” Conley said.

Lane enjoys the fact that there is a dialogue between the district and the teachers when negotiating for contracts every period.

“Even though we have sustainable funds here at Ritenour, I think contract negotiations allow educators to come together to make sure we have a stable system that works,” Lane said.

Halbert doesn’t see the walkout as something that could influence his career choice as a teacher, but as something that drives him to want to educate.

“It doesn’t influence my career choice all that much,

Photo Courtesy : Charles Edward Miller via Flickr After the Oklahoma walkout, teachers from different states started protesting for their jobs. This photo shows a rally held in Milwaukee against teacher and school cuts.

I’ve always wanted to be a teacher and the fact that I get to teach students is most important. It isn’t about the money, that’s just an added bonus, but it’s about educating kids,” Halbert said.

After the events in Oklahoma, Conley gave her own opinion on the approach toward the issue that was at hand, and what people could ultimately take away from

this movement.

“I think the walkout was long overdue. State government should realize the importance of education.

I believe public educators are important and undervalued.

Districts should also realize that most of the time, much of what goes into the classroom comes out of the teachers’ pockets,” Conley said.

Documentary highlights Westlake Landfill INDEX

NEWS..............Front Page OPINION................Page 2 NEWS.....................Page 3 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 4 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 5 SPOTLIGHT...........Page 6 SPORTS..................Page 7 SENIOR PAGE........Page 8

By LILA IRBY The Pepper Box Staff The Westlake Landfill has been subject to controversy, especially in the aftermath of “Atomic Homefront,” an HBO documentary that enlightened viewers to the toxicity of the giant waste site.

Check out The US Environmental information Protection Agency (EPA) from this describes the ordeal of issue, as well radiation as “around 8,700 as additional tons of leached barium from content from the Manhattan project… the Pepper Box mixed with approximately and KRHS on 38,000 tons of soil.”

While the very existence ritenourlive.org of the landfill is baffling to many, another paradox is the site’s location. It is located just north and west of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport near the Highway 70/270 interchange. Oddly enough, there is a sizable population of people that surround the volatile area. Leasing agents

are not required to disclose the fact that the houses being sold saddle up to a radioactive waste site.

Junior Charlie Row is concerned for the future of the site.

“I don’t like knowing it exists,” Row said. “Suffice it to say that it does more harm than good.”

Unfortunately for those who live in close proximity to the site, exposure to radiation can often lead to solemn circumstances. The EPA attributes prolonged radiation exposure as a culprit for serious illnesses, ranging from ¨acute” effects such as radiation sickness, cancer, cataracts, or genetic alterations. The consequence of exposure to radiation varies with age, sex, and health, so there is a wide range of fluctuating outcomes.

Due to the nature of this issue, many are off-put by the proximity of the landfill, as well as the possibly upcoming relocation of the radioactive waste. The EPA has recently made strides to move the contents of the site, left over from World War II era nuclear bomb development, to Idaho, after ordering a cleanup.

Resident West Lake Landfill expert and RHS astronomy teacher, Richard Rogers, said that the site exists because of work being done with atomic warheads in World War II. “We’ve seen contamination in this state all the way back to WWII. We had a company called Mellencamp Chemical that’s located down along the riverfront, and they

SEE WESTLAKE - 3

Opinion

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.

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 edit these letters.

The word on the

What advice do you have for next year’s classes?

“Use your senior year to work the hardest to your goal and plan your future beyond high school.”

Josh Loy ~ Senior

“My advice for the upcoming freshman would be to make sure you come into school everyday on time and do whatever the teacher assigns you. Do not get into drama, and do your Tamya Hayes work.” ~ Freshman

“Do not over exert yourself. If you are worried that you are not going to be able to handle all your classes then do not be ashamed of dropping one if you think you can not handle it.”

Abigail Dismuke ~ Junior

“There is good stress and bad stress and you want to focus more on the good stress, which is uplifting yourself, reminding yourself of your assignments and understanding what you need to do in order to succeed.

Quynh Trinh As long as you keep ~ Sophomore working, you stay on your grind, you’ll always have a good outcome.

Page 2 May 2018 Opinion Editor: Jordyn Barber: Barberj801@ritenourschools.org

Staff Editorial

Funds for education in Oklahoma school districts are plummeting. Many teachers and students alike are outraged with the conditions they must endure.

Teachers are crucial individuals in our society, and they do not get paid enough to teach in such unacceptable environments. Not only are they not paid enough to work in these conditions, but it is near impossible for them to actually teach in them.

Having ceilings collapse and bathrooms overflow in the middle of class is not an ideal setting for education.

Not to mention the textbooks that fall apart at just one touch.

Teachers end up having to use their own personal wages to buy supplies for their students just to get by.

With caved in ceilings, broken desks, and ruined books it is a difficult environment to teach in and even more so for students to learn in.

This does not just apply to

schools in Oklahoma. Many other schools across the country are experiencing low funding and poor conditions such as broken furniture and appliances, outdated books and disgusting bathrooms and cafeterias.

In fact our school is not perfect either, Ritenour has many things that we could tend to. We could focus on balancing our funding between sports, arts and academics. In recent years, a lot has been cut from our school’s budget. Sports have relatively low budgets, and the rest of their needs they have to raise their own money via fundraiser, like the one that the baseball team is currently doing to fund a pitching machine.

This does not sound too bad, until the fact that no one has the desire to help fund us in this area surfaces. A little more closer to home is that the newspaper budget was cut in half. We had to search for alternate printing companies

and options, and anything that we need, we have to supply and buy for ourselves.

These budget cuts reach many activities within our district and should be an area for concern. We do not want our district to end up like the numerous ones in Oklahoma, so we must stand with them in protest.

We could create petitions, post signs across the community and write more articles like this in local newspaper to try and convince the community that we are worth their funding.

Raise the budgets supplied to public schools and raise the standards for the environment that students should learn in and teachers should teach in.

A clean, safe environment with good condition materials and up-to-date textbooks should be the bare minimum of what a school is required to provide.

Closing up shop The Barber Shop

By Jordyn Barber Get in losers, we’re going to graduation!

Seriously though guys, this is the end. While I can pretend that I’m excited to move on and won’t miss my high school experience, I am beginning to realize just how much of a lie this is. It has been nothing but my pleasure to share with you many opinions of which you take no interest in, but I sincerely thank you all for your support.

The random comments

of how much you enjoy my column have made all of the mental roadblocks worth it.

I have beaten myself up over this last article for more time than the deadline (and Stein) would’ve liked, but here it is.

My final opinion article is about you. Yes… you. I beg of you to please continue reading the Pepper Box and getting the inside scoop of the minds of our opinion writers.

I am deeply sorry for all the topics I didn’t get to address such as shaming people for their size, poverty in our community, and the fact that slavery is not a choice.

However, before I go off on a rant about these issues, I’ll ask that you remember my passion for the things that I’ve written about all year. Let your voice be heard just as you have heard mine.

Admire and support those that come after me and read the columns while letting the words not only inform you but fuel action within you.

I cannot express my sadness for the closing of The Barber Shop. The grand opening was rough, but with the support throughout the year, I have grown to love my little slice of the newspaper; a piece that I can actually call mine. I have been struggling more than ever to write this because I don’t want to cause my eyes to overflow with one wrong word.

I know it is ridiculous, but these relationships I’ve formed within creating each issue is unbelievable. I’m closing up shop, locking the door, and passing on the key.

While the Barber Shop is permanently closing, there will be many doors opening in my future as I move on to different things and new adventures.

Thank you for allowing me to service you. It is now time to wipe down all the counters, dust off the chairs, and sweep up all the hair. Love you all!

and awkward set changes.

Additionally, the props used in the show, specifically the different sizes of Audrey II, seamlessly worked alongside the actors’ performances.

The orchestra pit, directed by Hadley Haux, did a phenomenal job. Their performance lived up to standards that musical fans would expect of a Broadway cast. Alan Menken’s music worked in harmony with some of the amazing voices in the cast; songs like “Mushnik & Son,” “Feed Me (Git It),” “Suddenly Seymour,” and “Suppertime” were done exceptionally well.

As usual, Brewer’s performance blew the audience away. This performance gave her a unique challenge: she had to convey all of her emotion

solely through her voice, rather than actions. She perfectly portrayed the malicious plant. Most of the supporting cast helped elevate the main actors; however, the more quiet actors were outshined by the loud music.

The entire cast was able to bring their character’s voice into the songs they sang. An actor that really stood out was Logan Causey, the sadistic dentist. Causey’s acting and singing was extremely professional and enjoyable.

His song, “Dentist!”, received a positive reaction from the audience. Scherretz, Halbert, and Pham were able to bring their characters into song and develop them through their singing perfectly.

Like Audrey II, this performance left the audience hungry for more. Feed me!

“Horrors” gets high marks

By MARTIN TRUJILLO News Editor This year I had the pleasure of watching the school’s rendition of Little Shop of Horrors. Unlike the past few years, this year’s musical had two sets of casts--I was able to see the Thursday/Saturday casts perform.

The musical follows Seymour (senior J’von Halbert), a meek flower shop assistant, as he takes care of an unidentifiable, blood thirsty plant, Audrey II (played by Janessa Brewer).

The growth of Audrey II brings success for the manipulative owner of the flower shop, Mushnik (senior Jennifer Pham), and for Seymour as he attempts to woo his co-worker, Audrey (freshman Evynn Scherretz).

The musical attempts to make light of the domestic abuse suffered from both Seymour and Audrey with comedy and music. Ironically, they both break free from these harmful relationships when Audrey II eats their bullies.

The set design set the ominous tone for the entire musical. The incorporation of a completely stationary set eliminated the need for long

Senior Andrew Pratt feeds Audrey II during the Teacher Feature performance of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Photo: Ron Steinschriber

News

Page 3 May 2018 News Editor: Martin Trujillo: trujillocarrazco164@ritenourschools.org

WESTLAKE - Cont’d from Frront Page were basically packing our nuclear warheads--our atomic warheads at the time. The refutes, the material that they didn’t use, they had to get rid of, so, they started scattering.

The place over here where the airport used to be was their dump site, and of course that’s next to Coldwater Creek, which is, of course, a big controversy right now,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers believes that the landfill is more of a potential danger today because of environmental factors that are affecting the site.

“With that, the natural flow of things--rain, that kind of stuff-the radioactivity contaminated the creek, and the stream, of course, takes materials downstream.”

Rogers said.

Recently, Ritenour held a forum for an activist group at the forefront of the West Lake discussion, Just Moms STL, orchestrated by Rodgers. “[Just Moms STL] are part of a documentary called ‘Atomic Homefront.’ ‘Atomic Homefront’ draws attention

to the problem. I happened to see it, and I thought, well, wouldn’t that be interesting to get the moms out here to speak at school,” Rodgers said. “They agreed to come out and the school was kind enough to set up some space for us in the art gallery.”

According to Rodgers, another sensitive issue that arises in the context of the toxic fires that burn on a subsurface level in the landfill is the fact that Missouri sits on the New Madrid fault line. Though earthquakes in Missouri are rare, if one were to occur, this might spur some problems regarding the structural integrity of the landfill.

This issue is one that is nearer to some than others.

Tracy Weber, chemistry teacher at RHS lives close to the landfill.

“I live near the landfill, so it does concern me that there could be, over time, exposure problems with that due to the radiation exposure,” Weber said.

Weber is well acquainted

Photo Courtesy : Kqueirolomce via Wikipedia The Westlake Landfill is right near the Ritenour campus, and has affected many in the school and the community. A documentary group came to speak to the students about it in April. with the landfill, and not just from her experience at home.

“My mom used to play in that area of Coldwater Creek before, and she has passed away due to cancer, but it can’t necessarily be traced back to that,” Weber said.

Coldwater Creek is the body of water that passes

through the area adjacent to the landfill. Filled with contaminants from the landfill, the creek is a dangerous zone.

Teachers, however, are not the only speculative audience concerning the landfill.

The EPA’s cleanup plan is the next antidote in line

to attempt to relieve the problem. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, it will take about five years for the uranium to be relocated.

With hundreds of millions of dollars contributing to said cleanup, it is no easy fix.

Hamilton hits home for various Ritenour students A history class and a group of drama students each get to experience the hit musical Hamilton

By DOROTHY SLOAN The Pepper Box Staff What’s your name man?

Alexander Hamilton: An American Musical has come to the Fabulous Fox Theatre, and Ritenour staff and students have gotten to experience the phenomenon.

Ritenour teacher Lisa Hampton went on a field trip with her students to attend a Hamilton Traveling Exhibit sponsored by Gilder-Lehrman Foundation. While on the trip, they were chosen to participate in the “Hamilton Educational Experience”. The students had to create either a poem, play, song or rap.

While they were not chosen to perform the project that was worked on, they still got to do a Q&A with the cast and see the musical afterwards.

“It was an incredible musical. My students were impressed and enjoyed the rap musical, and even gained some government knowledge,” Hampton said.

Hampton decided to pursue this opportunity because she felt as if it was

a good teaching strategy.

Instead of teaching history from the point of view of white males, she decided to engage her students and teach it from the point of view of a poor immigrant, founding father.

“I have been teaching Government and American History for years from a European perspective and I told my students we were going to create our own story regarding history because we sure do not call it “herstory” either. We began looking at the Founding Era through the lens of the immigrants, slaves and Native Americans,” Hampton said.

The very next day, on a separate field trip sponsored by drama teacher Gregory Jones, 35 Ritenour High School students got to go to a lunch and learn at the University of Missouri Saint Louis (UMSL). The university reached out to Jones regarding this once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Most of the kids involved in the arts know about Hamilton and have listened

to this musical, and while I couldn’t get them tickets, this was the next best thing, to talk to the actors regarding their experiences with production and rehearsal,” Jones said.

While at UMSL they had lunch and then listened to a discussion about L.I.F.E. (Leadership, Innovation, Faith, Excellence) with the cast of Hamilton. The Hamilton cast at the Fox is the Angelica cast, featuring performers Austin Scott, Chris Lee, and Nicholas Christopher.

Following the LIFE discussion, the students had a Q&A section where they asked questions to the cast.

Most of the students were extremely happy to be there.

“I liked how insightful it was. We were not just there to meet the cast, we were here to talk about how the arts affect our identity as Saint Louisans, as students, and as people of color. The stuff they were talking about was very relevant concerning today’s society,” senior Jennifer Pham said.

Photo Courtesy: Lisa Hampton

Photo Courtesy: Greg Jones Top - The students from Lisa Hampton’s history class pose in front of the Fox Theater before they got to experience the musical, “Hamilton.”

Bottom - A group of 35 students connected with the drama department got to meet the cast members of “Hamilton.”

Ritenour students collaborate with science company Led by Julia Burnside, students are working on a mutant millet project with a research center

By ALLY BOTH The Pepper Box Staff Starting this year, Ritenour has collaborated with the scientists from Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (DDPSC) to research the effects of different mutations on millet plants.

Biology and botany teacher Julia Burnside is heading this project for the

school. The mutant millet project is where DDPSC gives the science classes a set of seeds, and the students are expected to plant them and gather the data on the mutant and constant (normal) plants.

Each plant is a student’s responsibility (if it survives), and therefore gives the students more to expect than the past years.

Photo by Hannah Cornish Sophomore Joseph Hunn checks on the mutant millets in Julia Burnside’s class. The students are doing the project in conjunction with the Danforth Center and are helping with the research.

“The Center is doing a project on millets to try and figure out what kind of characteristics there are, what you can influence in terms of the genes so they intentionally cause a mutation in the genes of the seeds, they then try to figure out what that affects, where is it in the genetic makeup in the plant. They then send it to the schools to have them test it,” Burnside said.

This a lot of responsibility for the students. Junior Maximus Mcvay said that they have some specific day to day responsibilities.

“We come in and measure the plants. If they’ve grown, we water them, measure the light intensity, temperature, humidity. Basically [we check] the environment of the plant, we see if its affecting the type of growth and the outcome,” McVay said.

Everything that McVay said they were doing was something that has to be done every day to effectively conduct their experiments on the Millets.

Burnside isn’t the only one doing the project, though.

Other biology teachers are also doing them and they are helping find the multiple mutations that are expected to be seen during the course of this new project.

The students said something similar to this but they also mentioned the different mutations that they have encountered so far, including and not limited to, dwarf millets, stripped millets, giant millets and more.

Many of the students said that they were not initially interested in the project when Burnside first explained it, but they have changed their attitude with the work that

they have done this year.

“At first I wasn’t very excited about the project since I wasn’t listening and thought that it would be like growing a plant at home, but it’s actually interesting now,” senior Maronda Williams said.

Senior Valisity Marlow echoed Williams’ sentiments about a change of heart with the project.

“At first I didn’t think it was that exciting, but now I find it interesting. It’s taught me a lot about plants and how they are, and how they can adapt to the environment.

This makes me want to learn more about plants and now I know how to take care of them better,” Marlow said.

This is the first year of the project but it will probably be seen for many more years to come in this high school.

Spotlight

Page 4 May 2018 Spotlight Editor: Victoria Taylor: Taylorv512@ritenourschools.org

All photos by Dorothy Sloan Top row of photos. Left: Homecoming King and Queen Jon Bishop and Bria Dunn take their first dance. Center: Members of prom court watch as king and queen are announced. Right: Members of prom court are ushered to the stage at the event.

Prom 2018

By MARQUIS GLADDEN The Pepper Box Staff

Photos above: Top - Senior Jason Jackson dances in the crowd.

Middle - Junior Abigail Dismuke and Senior Jennifer Pham smile and dance at the event.

Bottom is Senior J’von Halbert dances as junior Carmen Francis watches on.

The Junior Class of Ritenour High School cordially invited everyone to “A Night in Paris” on April 28, 2018.

The dance began at 7 pm and ended at 11 pm.

Junior RJ Sagum explained the difficult situations he experienced before prom.

“I definitely went shopping a lot, that took quite a while because I had to match my date which is always stressful because your date has to get her dress first and you have to match the dress, and that’s just too much shopping,” Sagum said.

Senior Jonathan Bishop also came in contact with an issue while preparing for prom.

“My original outfit was going to take too long to get here, so I just had to put something together. If I had the outfit that I really wanted, It would’ve been game over,” Bishop said.

While there were some complications, some other students were just simply counting down the days.

Senior Emily Stone mentioned what the hours before the event were like for her.

“I took a shower, and then my mom and my grandmother helped me do my makeup and my hair and then we took pictures outside the house before I went,” Stone said.

During Prom, the students were provided music, food, disco lights,

and a photo booth. The room was designed to replicate a Parisian paradise.

Senior Elizabeth Young thought the night was perfect.

“It was basically the best night of my high school career, to say the least,” Young said.

“And me and my man looked pretty fire.”

Bishop had a great time at the event, even with a small setback.

“I wish I could go back and not lose my keys dancing,” Bishop said.

Stone was impressed with the theme of the event, but wished there were more opportunities to capture cherished memories.

“I really liked the theme, I thought it was really cute and everything. I do wish that there was a professional photography there to make it look like we were taking pictures with the Eiffel tower,” Stone said.

However, Bishop thought the theme could have been carried out better.

“I honestly was not a fan of the ‘A Night in Paris’ theme. It kind of seemed basic, but it was cool and all. They had the nice little stuff to make it look like Paris,” Bishop said.

After Prom ended, some students arranged plans for to get together with friends to extend the night.

“After Prom we went out to eat,” Sagum said.

Captions: Left - Senior Tamia Harris dances at Prom.

Top - Seniors Janessa Brewer and Damaris Castro eat during the event.

Right - Junior Max McVay hugs junior Shaylin Maechler on the dance floor.

Photos above.

Top - Junior Austin Stratman poses for a picture taken by junior Serinity Roberts on the dance floor.

Middle - Senior Zach Bohmer smiles in the crowd on the dance floor.

Bottom - Sophomore Emma Bange speaks to senior Phoenix Gaston near the stairs in the lower lobby.

Spotlight

Page 5 May 2018 Spotlight Editor: Victoria Taylor: Taylorv512@ritenourschools.org

Student activism leads to campus protests The Game Changers and Riot Grrrls are student-led activist groups who helped lead protests

By FAITH BOYD & MADISON WALDRUP The Pepper Box Staff People talk a lot about activism in a general sense; crowds of people taking to the streets, holding up picket signs to support a cause they are passionate about.

Student activism is very much like this, only it’s specific to students, especially those here at Ritenour.

Student activism refers to anybody enrolled in school who campaigns for change.

It’s something that is more common for older students to take part in, but anyone can be a student activist.

Although we cannot necessarily pinpoint the first case of student activism, there have been many movements throughout history, from strikes to protests to marches.

And even now, in our modern age, there are many recorded cases of student activists standing up for what they believe in.

Here at Ritenour, there are clubs dedicated to social and political causes: the Riot Grrrls and Game Changers.

Riot Grrrls is Ritenour High School’s feminist club.

It’s named after a feminist punk movement from the 1990’s which incorporated feminism and punk style into music. It is very inclusive of all genders; after all, that is what feminism is about.

The club holds discussions about different gender issues and aims to educate people on topics they may not fully understand. They also do some charity work as well, picking one charity each year to donate money.

Additionally, Riot Grrrls does larger projects whenever they

can.

“The first year that we did Riot Grrrls we held a drive to donate old, used bras to charity, since bras are expensive and it’s hard for victims of natural disasters to afford that kind of thing,” president Abigail Dismuke said.

Feminism and activism is very important to some individuals at school.

“It lets people who can make change on a legal level know how young people feel, and what matters to us as students and future leaders.

It gives them an idea of what issues affect us,” Dismuke said.

Similar to the type of activism the feminist club performs, Ritenour High School’s social justice club, Game Changers, is also a student-driven club that allows students to share their

Students walk out to protest gun violence

By BAILEY STOCK Production EIC

On April 20, approximately 350-400 Ritenour High School students participated in the National Walkout against gun violence on the anniversary of the Columbine school shooting in 1999.

During this walkout, Game Changers, a Ritenour organization created to educate and promote social issues, put together an agenda solely based on school shootings, specifically the shooting that occured in Parkland, Fl on Feb. 14.

As students walked out of school and approached the football field at 10 am, they first saw the Game Changers standing in a straight line with posters representing each victim from the Parkland shooting.

When the students continued to walk toward the field, they were instructed to take a seat on the bleachers and face the track where the Game Changers were holding their rally against gun violence.

First, senior Cheyenne Nichols gave a speech introducing the purpose of the protest.

In her speech, she mentioned not wanting to necessarily take away guns from citizens, but making laws that completely took away any possibility of a future school shooting.

Next, freshman Kayla Baker read a poem that voiced her opinion on the gun control issue. During the poem, she spoke about the struggles of being a teenager and the additional stress that active shooter drills have on the lives of teens.

After the poem, junior Lena Thai, a member of the Game Changers, began a moment of silence.

As the student body in the bleachers remained silent, Thai read off the names of every victim from the Parkland shooting. As she said each name, a balloon was let go to memorialize them.

“Reading off the names of the Parkland victims was an unexpectedly emotional

feeling for me because I had to watch videos of news stories after the event to learn how to pronounce their names and learn about who they were. As students listened to me read off the names, I think it was a reminder for them that school shootings are real,” Thai said.

When the moment of silence concluded, senior Reese Sherman led the student body in chants she had learned from the March for Our Lives protest in March.

“I think the protest today signifies the unity of our school and how unbelievably important this conversation is to have. Guns are real, school shootings are real. And the fact that a group of students, with the support of staff and administrators, were able to organize a protest to speak out towards gun control only speaks to the strength of our Ritenour Community. We hope that community leaders and our government sees our community effort and makes a change as well,” Thai said.

not just sit there and let it happen--you must go after that and turn your passion, anger, or frustration into change,” Game Changers vice president Hope Houston said.

The Game Changers held a school-wide walk out April 20. The goal of the walk out was to inform and motivate people to make change in society. The walk out was a chance for students to respectfully enforce change in protest of gun control policies and respect the lives that were lost during the Parkland school shooting.

“The walkout is something that will leave a long-lasting impact on students that chose to participate. It will allow them to reflect upon their actions, their peers’ actions, and our society. Hopefully, we can motivate and influence others to use their voices to create change,” Houston said.

Students gather in the crowd during the April 20 walkout against school violence.

Students were ushered into the bleachers as they participated in the event organized by the Game Changers, the Ritenour social justice club.

Photo by Martin Trujillo Senior Caelin Blevans led a counter protest at the National Walkout against gun violence on April 20. Blevans marched with his sign that read “Protect the 2nd Amendment” at the event.

Photo by Martin Trujillo

Photo by Catalina Mundin

Junior Sarah Solomon protested at both walkouts, holding up her sign with reads “enough is enough.” Solomon stated that she does not necessarily care about gun laws, but just wants to ensure the safety of students across the nation.

Students counter protest for second amendment

By CATALINA MUNDIN as long as they stayed Pepper Box Staff within the timeline of the 16 minutes outside.

Students at Ritenour Students of all High School had the mindsets and feelings opportunity to voice towards this topic sat their opinions on down in the bleachers the protection of the where the issue was second amendment by discussed amongst each participating in a walk other. out on Wednesday, May Freshman Connor 2.

Berry was an advocate At 10 a.m. about 50 for the protection of Ritenour High School the second amendment students participated and walked out with his in a 16-minute walkout classmates in order for to the bleachers in the his voice to be heard. school’s football stadium “The reason is as part of a national because if we ever have walkout in support of a tyrannical government the Second Amendment. that tries to take over, Students had the as we did about 250 choice in leaving their years ago, then we’ll classes for promptly 16 have the right to protect minutes to partake in ourselves. Say somebody this event. Similar to tries to burglarize my the walkout against gun home or anything, then violence on April 20, we’ll have the right to students were marked protect ourselves, we Photo by Martin Trujillo with excused absences shouldn’t be sitting

Senior Chantal Zossoungbo participate in the chanting portion of the National Walkout against gun violence.

The chanting was led

by Game Changer Reese Sherman, and the chants were some that she learned from the March for Our Lives Photo by Martin Trujillo protest in March.

Students and staff portrayed the victims of the shooting in Parkland Fl., on Feb. 14. They stood with sandwich boards consisting of the victims names and information, and released a balloon after hearing their names read after a moment of silence.

opinions about social justice and equality issues. The club’s goal is to improve the school, community, and region.

“I think it is extremely important for students to have their voices heard in all matters of this world and to feel like they can exercise their rights as well,” Game Changers advisor Tavonda Palmer said.

The students want to further educate themselves about the injustices in society from each other.

“This is important to high school students because students’ voices can be overlooked by the people in power (government). It allows them to acknowledge the power of their voice and what they can do with it. I feel like it is important because if you are passionate about something and want to create change, you can

ducks,” Berry said.

Junior Sarah Solomon just wants to see change that will help make things safer for students. She didn’t go outside in favor of the second amendment as much as being in favor of protecting kids from violence.

“I walked out because I think that no matter how much we talk and talk and talk, if we don’t talk loud enough, no one’s going to do anything about what’s going on. If we’re not protecting the kids, it doesn’t matter what you do with guns,” Solomon said. “Guns are always going to be there, people are always going to be violent, you have to protect the kids first before anything else.

Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”

Spotlight

Page 6 May 2018 Spotlight Editor: Victoria Taylor: Taylorv512@ritenourschools.org

Jeffrey Marker returns to RHS as principal A teacher during the 2016-2017 school year, Marker will take over as principal next year after spending a year as an administrator in the Northwest School District

By TRYSTAN BELL The Pepper Box Staff Jeffrey Marker will be taking over as Ritenour High School’s new head principal starting in July, and staff and students are awaiting this change that holds something both new yet familiar.

Marker had been an administrator in Maryland, but after a move in 2016, he ended up as a science teacher at Ritenour. He forged many positive relationships with the staff and students, and even though he has been gone for a year, many of the staff and students already know

Principal Jeffrey Marker

the type of person they are getting as their principal.

Dr. Heather Bonner, a chemistry and independent studies teacher, believes any changes he makes will be for the better “He was a colleague, and a friend. I think he’s going to be a fabulous principal,” Bonner said.

Marker left for the Northwest R-I School district in the St. Louis area at the end of last school year to work as Director of Administrative Services. He is returning to Ritenour High School on July 1, 2018 to start the students into the new school year.

“He’s organized with a big picture view, and always thinking about everyone.

We have some great working systems in this school, he will probably keep them and build on them. I’m excited that Mr. Marker is coming back. I think he will be a good addition to our staff here,” Bonner said.

Sophomore Keri Bogan had Marker as a teacher as a freshman, and to her has was both a friend and teacher “He was understanding

and able to get things through to me. Since he’s so caring, I feel like bullying/ excluding would get cracked down on harder,” Bogan said “The school would be a well maintained and safe place based on how he ran the classroom. He’s very professional and knows how to handle not only himself but his students as well.”

Marker believes that Ritenour is already doing well, but also foresees changes to current programs.

“I think that the Game Changers and things the students are doing there are good,” Marker said. “I would like to change that more underclassmen participate in the staff and student led activities. I want kids to come to school and value their education. I would like to develop student court along with the student council that Ritenour is creating. I want students to take their disciplinary issues to student court instead of administration right away.”

Marker is excited to come back to Ritenour and believes that the school has something

to offer that most other schools in the area can not.

“I love how diverse Ritenour is, that’s certainly different than any high school in the state, much more so the nation. I think it’s so cool how most kids get along. The fact that we function as one large group, like a family, is really cool,” Marker said.

Marker lives 45 minutes away from Ritenour, but instead of focusing on the negatives of a long drive time, he is seeing the positive aspects of his time to think about building a better school.

“That can be an issue having to drive that far, but it’s a great way to help prepare and reflect on my day. Gives me a chance to get fired up on the way there, and decompressed on the way home,” Marker said.

Marker was announced to the staff at a special after school meeting on February 9. The staff broke out in applause when he was announced as the new principal by Dr. Chris Kilbride.

Julia Burnside, who

worked closely with Marker when he was a science teacher here, believes he was a respected member of the science department. The two would often eat lunch together, and Burnside spoke of conversations that they had about the state of the high school.

“I have never seen quite the welcome for a new principal as he was given when the announcement was made. I believe many staff members have high hopes that he will be improving our building over the next few years to make it a place where students and teachers will want to come,” Burnside said.

Marker has plans to help bring the staff and students together, as well as other members of the community at large.

“I’m just really looking forward to creating a sense of community within the school. Not only for students, but for staff, parents, business leaders, and others, to be a part of Ritenour High school as well,” Marker said.

FCCLA student chosen to Raney retires serve on executive council after 20 years Sophomore Jacqueline Martinez-Torres has risen through the ranks of the FCCLA organization this year

By VICTORIA TAYLOR The Pepper Box Staff The Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America club at Ritenour High School (FCCLA) has worked together to become leaders in the community, and their goal is to help make a difference in the lives around them through many activities they’ve organized.

One example of a wellknown project they’ve put together is the Blessing Box. “Right now, this year we have been working on our blessing box which is basically a community replenishing box for people who don’t have things that food stamps cover like feminine products, baby products, and other things like that. We have been working on that for a long time so it’s been blossoming,” junior Maximus McVay, a member of FCCLA, said.

The club has also won numerous awards through their motivation and dedication to their work.

Sophomore Jacqueline Martinez-Torres, McVay, and sophomore Trinity Merritt won a Star Event award for the Blessing Box, winning gold at the regional level and silver at state level.

“My partners and I earned our award with a lot of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. We struggled at times and tensions got pretty high at State, but we were able to work through it and I am very happy with everything that we accomplished,” Martinez-Torres said.

As a hardworking member of the club, Martinez-Torres also earned a spot on the Missouri FCCLA State Executive Council.

“I got the spot on the

Photo courtesy: Janet Knese Sophomore Jacqueline Martinez-Torres stands in front of the Blessing Box, a project that led to success at state and national FCCLA competitions.

State Executive Council by slowly working my way up the ranks. I started out as just as a member of FCCLA, then when we went to regionals I ran for State Representative and won, and then after that, I ran for a spot on the council and won. It took me about three very long and hard months to secure my spot on the council,” Martinez-Torres said.

This process then allowed her to work as a team on the State Executive Council and to help get as many people to be involved in FCCLA as possible.

This opportunity led her to work on National Programs and to travel to Osage Beach and Sullivan, Mo. “I personally did not have a chance to go and explore, because all of my time is constantly spent in meetings and/or training. FCCLA means a lot to me. It has taught me to open up more and speak up when things

aren’t right, it has taught me many lifelong skills that have turned me into the best me I can possibly be,” MartinezTorres said.

Martinez-Torres has not only made a difference in her community, but has also inspired the members she works with.

“While we were in TanTar-A on a competition trip, Jackie and I were talking, and I was really nervous about the competition and nervous about how we were going to do and she told me that it was going to be fine because ‘you and I are a team.’ We understand that what we’re doing is going to change the way people’s minds are in our community. So it doesn’t matter if we get gold, silver, or bronze as long as we know what we’re doing is great. That motivated me to push forward and harder to ensure that we do good,” McVay said.

Office professional Sally Raney is saying goodbye to the district

By CATALINA MUNDIN The Pepper Box Staff

As the 2018 school year comes to a close, Ritenour staff and students will say farewell to a staff member who has tried to help all of their lives on a day to day basis.

Class of 2020 office professional, Sally Raney, will be retiring after twenty years of working in the Ritenour School District.

Raney continues to put in just as much effort and time as the day she first started in 1998, and her work ethic has remained unchanged.

Class of 2020 principal, Bilal Ewing, has grown a tight knit bond with Raney and will miss her very much.

“She’s like the class of 2020 grandma and I don’t know what we’re going to do without her,” Ewing said.

Raney said that seeing all of the students grow and saying goodbye to all past and current seniors that have graduated is a heartfelt experience for her.

“My best memories are the ones I have once a year, and that’s been graduation.

To watch the senior class go across the stage; it’s just fun, exciting, and I always end up in tears because I’m just so excited for the kids and their futures,” Raney said.

One aspect that has helped Raney make it to twenty years on the job is that she keeps her composure, no matter the situation. She is reliable and can always be counted as a

positive team member.

“There’s three things I always say that anyone who works at Ritenour High School has to be able to do; love our kids, do your job, and keep your cool, and Mrs. Raney one hundred percent of the time gets an A plus in those categories,” Ewing said.

“She is absolutely the most calm person no matter what is going on, she’s able to just stay steady, which in turn keeps us steady.”

While establishing relationships and bonds with the seniors that she has bid farewell, Raney doesn’t forget to be there for other students and make sure that they are always doing fine.

“Her kind, loving personality and her smile make her stand out. She’s always going around helping students and actually caring about them. She’s been around the school for a while, so she knows how to cooperate and work with us,” sophomore Yousef Shalabi said.

Shalabi has known Raney since his freshman year and continues to build his bond with her. Raney guides the students she comes across in the right direction and makes sure to help them out when she can.

“Sometimes when I get in trouble, she tells me why I should stay out of it and steers me in the right direction.

She’s really a kind hearted person and she likes to build relationships with students,” Shalabi said.

Office professional Sally Raney will be finishing her 20 year career at Ritenour at the end of the school year.

Photo by Andrea Sanchez

Sports

Page 7 May 2018 Sports Editor: Coralis Bobe bobec863@ritenourschools.org

2017- 2018 All-Ritenour Team The Pepper Box would like to celebrate all varsity athletics during the 2017-2018 school year. A team of staff members was put together to help choose the MVP and top newcomer in each sport this year. The All-Ritenour Team staff looked at statistics for those sports which entered them into STLToday, and spoke with coaches to choose the winners. The staff also verified with coaches for any sports that they played themselves to ensure fairness.

The following are the results.

MVP List:

Baseball - Eric Cook Boys Basketball - Kobe Smith Girls Basketball - Alexis Ramey Cross Country - Mike Schutzius Football - Defensive MVP - Devon Hutson Football - Offensive MVP - Mann McGruder Boys Golf - Zach Bohmer Girls Golf - Kili Garcia Boys Soccer - Daniel Villela Girls Soccer - Alexis Ramey Softball - Amber Brinker Boys Swimming - Jacob Volkert Girls Swimming - Amyia Clark Boys Tennis - Alejandro Trenor Girls Tennis - Benita Zossoungbo Boys Track - Joseph Kipper Girls Track - Diamond Riley Boys Volleyball - Defensive MVP - Dakota Wagster Boys Volleyball - Offensive MVP - Keylann Davidson Girls Volleyball - Defensive MVP - Brenda Reed Girls Volleyball - Offensive MVP - Coralis Bobe Wrestling - Austin Cornell

Top Newcomer List:

Baseball - Cam McCoy Boys Basketball - Barrion Clemons Girls Basketball - Ashlee Frazier Cross Country - Jazmine Brevik Football - Meechie Jackson Boys Golf - Alberto Linares Girls Golf - Adreona McCraw Boys Soccer - Kevin Dominguez Girls Soccer - Crystal Berri Softball - Mallory Waller Boys Swimming - Gavin Shaw Girls Swimming - Amyia Clark Boys Tennis - Alejandro Trenor Girls Tennis - Raven Ginger Boys Track - Barrion Clemons Girls Track - Christa’nae Wright Boys Volleyball - Tristan Talton Girls Volleyball - Faith Curd Wrestling - Brandon Lock

2017 - 2018 Spring Sports Capsules Girls Soccer • Coach Jim Coletta: • Our record from last year was 12-8-2 • Currently, our record is 2-12-1 • MVP so far: Alexis Ramey and Jessica Schantz are our co-MVPs • Newcomer of the year so far: All 8 of my Freshman that are playing varsity and learning on the fly (Mallory Waller, Crystal Berri, Kim Teoli, Kaitlyn Lacavich, Yahiness Knight, Londyn Jones, Maddie Alford, and Jayden Frost).

• This season we expect that all of our underclassmen will gain valuable experience and become better players at the end than when they began. We expect our seniors to lead the way for the team and leave knowing that they gave their best effort to help the soccer program sustain success.

•

Photo courtesy: Madeline Thomas

Senior Jessica Schantz dribbles the ball up the field in a game this season.

Baseball • Coach Zach Buxman: • Last year’s record: 8-13 • Current record 0-11 • MVP so far : Eric Cook • Newcomer of the year so far: Cam McCoy • Expectations are to compete and get better every day.

Boys Track • Coach Mike Nelke: • Key returners: Corey Brooks, Justin Johnson, Mann McGruder • Newcomers- Travion Austin, Brandon Lock, Joseph Kipper • Expectations: Hoping that the weather warms up and stops raining so we can practice outside.

We want to have a better record than last year always. We want to make it to districts and sectionals.

• This year compared to last year is very different because we have a lot of new runners on the teams Photo courtesy: Kiara Ware this year.

The boys volleyball team shakes hands with its opponents from Boys Tennis Webster Groves after a match.

• Coach Jake Kim: • MVP and Newcomer of the year Boys Volleyball so far - Alejandro Trenor • Coach Andrea Rivera: • Last years record: 2 - 21 Photo courtesy: Heather Brown • Current record: 0 - 20 Senior Joseph Carroway pitches • MVP so far: Dakota Wagster against Webster Groves in a game • Newcomer of the Year so far: this season.

Tristan Talton • Team expectations: We are Boys Golf continuing to develop skills and • Coach Jack Heeter: learn the game of volleyball.

• Last year’s record: 0-7 Part of having a solid program • Current record: 0-6 is having athletes start early and • MVP so far: Zach Bohmer stay in the sport to learn all the • Newcomer of the year so far: fundamentals. We had several Alberto Linares returners to varsity and even though we have played well in Girls Track several games and pushed teams Photo courtesy: Heather Brown • Coach Reggie McNeil: into three sets, we have been • MVP so far: Diamond Riley unable to close a match for a win.

Junior Alejandro Trenor was new to the • Newcomer of the year so far: I am hoping that we are able to country and the tennis team this year.

Christa’nae Wright snag a win or two in our last five He was named MVP and newcomer of matches over the next two weeks. the year by Coach Jake Kim.

Seniors

Page 8 May 2018 Spotts Editor: Coralis Bobe bobec863@ritenourschools.org

The many paths of post-graduates Seniors have participated in new programs that are not just designed for students going to college

By ANDREA SANCHEZ The Pepper Box Staff Staff and administrators know that there are many Ritenour seniors who will choose not to go to college and decide to pursue other career choices, and there is a push to try to incorporate many more alternative paths to post-secondary life for these students.

Ritenour encourages the ideas of the 3 E’s, which is to enroll, enlist, or get employed.

With help from teachers and staff, Ritenour students are able to have the guidance to decide what their next steps are once they graduate.

Through the College & Career Center, Ritenour students have someone they are able to turn to in order look at their options. One of the College & Career Center

counselors at Ritenour High School, Julie Kampschroeder helps guide Ritenour students on choosing their college or career choices.

“There are community colleges where they offer 3 month programs to get a certificate necessary to do a certain job skill. There you can make around $20,000, as opposed to a minimum wage job which would be around $12,000 per year,” Kampschroeder said. “There are also utility companies like Metropolitan Sewer District, Missouri American Water, and Spire. If you are able to get on with these places you are going to make a lot of money. You can make six figures working overtime and you’ll get healthcare, vacation pay, and you are able to retire from those companies.”

Some students were given

Alabama: • Alabama A&M

Louisiana: • Louisiana State U.

Florida: • University of Miami

Mississippi: • Mississippi State U.

Illinois: • Greenville College • Northern Illinois U. • Shawnee CC

Missouri: • University of Central Missouri • Fontbonne University • Harris Stowe University • Lindenwood University • Missouri Baptist • University of Missouri • University of Missouri – Kansas City • University of Missouri – St. Louis • Missouri S & T • Missouri Southern University • Missouri State University • Missouri State University – West Plains • Ranken Technical Institute

the chance to take their current work opportunities and help them graduate.

With the new work based learning classes at school, students could work more hours at their part-time jobs and get class credit for it.

Kampschroeder said that she sees a lot of the working students think that they should just turn their current part time job into a full time job, but tries to offer alternative options.

“Students who are just staying with their current part-time jobs will probably never get 40 hours a week, so they will never get benefits like health care, vacation, and sick-leave. They really need to be looking for places where they can get 40 hours a week,” Kampschroeder said.

Kampschroeder said that there has been a hesitancy to

join the types of programs she is promoting.

“We have not had any students going into programs yet. They [students] want a lot of money, but they don’t want to work physically hard. With whatever you choose to do, your income will equal your work ethic,” Kampschroeder said.

Senior Maurice Berry is a senior currently involved in work-based learning, a program that Ritenour offered this year for students who wanted to get a head start on their employment.

“I joined work-based learning because I have a job.

I didn’t have any other class options so I decided to take a half-day. That way I could take classes I needed and actually enjoyed being in.

The best benefit about workbased learning is that you get

• Saint Louis Community College • Saint Louis University • Southeast Missouri State • Southwest Baptist University • Truman State University • Washington University

• Webster University

to sleep in. Wednesdays and Thursdays are our block days, and we come in at different times for class,” Berry said.

Enlistment is another option for students who want benefits like health care. Ritenour students can take the ASVAB test in order to apply for this role and can enlist once they have graduated.

Senior Eliseo Rico plans to join the military after high school.

“Initially, I just took the ASVAB to see how I would score, and I scored pretty high. They recruited me and the benefits were pretty convincing for me to join,” Rico said. “As far as staying in the military, I’m not sure. My contract is for six years and I’m going to see how much I like it.”

The college route: Where are Huskies going?

Indiana: • U. of Notre Dame Iowa: • Cornell College • Graceland University • Iowa Central CC • Iowa Wesleyan U. Kansas: • Coffeyville CC • Kansas University Kentucky: • University of Kentucky

University

Pennsylvania: • Bryn Mawr College • Franklin and Marshall College • Lafayette College

Texas: • University of Texas Arlington • University of Texas Austin

Tennessee: • Tennessee State

Washington D.C.: • Howard University

Congratulations to the 2018 Pepper Box Senior Class!

Jordyn Barber Opinion Editor, 4 semesters Hannah Cornish 2 semesters Marquis Gladden 2 semesters Jenna Hutson Content Editor-in-Chief, 5 semesters Shelby Langhorst Online Editor, 4 semesters Tabitha Peebles 4 semesters Bailey Stock Production Editor-in-Chief, 4 semesters