February 14 2020

The Student Newspaper of Seattle Preparatory School 2400 11th Ave. E. Seattle, WA 98102

The Seattle Prep Panther February 14, 2020

www.seapreppanther.org

Volume 75 No. 4

Twitter: @seapreppanther Instagram: @seapreppanthers

“There must be a change” - Monica Kramer ‘21

EDITORIALS

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EDITORS: ABBY ALLEN '21, KELLY MCGARRY '21, & RAQUEL WONG '23

THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

THE PANTHER Editors-in-Chief Maddie Deasy '20 Sophie Jurion '20 Managing Editor Tessa Zink '21 Visuals Editor Grace Weiand '20 Digital Editors Lauren Day '20 Danica Dytioco '20 Staff Cyrus Berger '20 Walid Cruz-Vanegas ‘20 Karl Kammereck '20 Milo Pepper ‘20 Sofia Simon '20 Jackie Williams '20 Abby Allen '21 Cece Brown '21 Caroline Casey '21 Tia Flores ‘21 Clara Malone ‘21 Olivia Manning '21 Kelly McGarry '21 Natalie Nowak '21 Addie Roza '21 Maya Shields '21 Paige Stanley '21 Will Thompson '21 Cara Weigand '21 Piper Wood '21 Hobbs Hegedus '22 Beni Jurion '22 Gael Loor '22 Kate Ridgeway '22 Gabby Stuart '22 Jack Coleman '23 Jeffrey Go '23 Margot Gwynn '23 Kaitlyn King '23 Annie Roske '23 Raquel Wong '23 Freelance Staff Annabelle Deasy '22 Nick Pickel '23 Adviser Micah Richardson

EDITORIAL POLICY The Seattle Prep Panther is a forum for student work and the editorial board makes final decisions regarding publication. The editorial board’s responsibility is not only to present one viewpoint, but to reveal multiple perspectives. The views represented in the Panther or in online publications do not necessarily represent the views of the entire staff, the school, or the administration as a whole.

To contact The Panther: C/O The Panther Newspaper 2400 11th Ave E. Seattle, WA 98102 Email: seapreppanther@seaprep.org Instagram: @seapreppanthers Twitter: @seapreppanther Letters to the Editor: The Panther staff welcomes letters as they give a constructive way for more people to express their opinions, criticisms, and reactions to school issues.

Letters may be sent to the email address or physical address above. All letters must be signed, names will be published.

Veganism: Why We Should Be More Aware of Our Meat Consumption

SOPHIE JURION '20 Editor-in-Chief

V

eganism is a type of vegetarian diet that excludes meats, eggs, dairy, products, and all other animal-derived ingredients. Most vegans extend the definition of veganism to go beyond just food. Vegans will also likely avoid the use of all products tested on animals and avoid purchasing animal derived non-food products such as leather, fur, and wool.

According to researchers at Oxford University, they found that “cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73 percent.” Not only would this result in a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions, it would also free up wild land lost to agriculture, one of the primary causes for mass wildlife extinction.

A vegan diet can benefit both health and the environment. According to

Harvard's Chan School of Public Health nutrition expert Walter Willett “it’s not necessary to be 100% vegan in order to reap the benefits of a plant-based diet. Diets with modest amounts of dairy and fish, and even some poultry and meat, can also be healthy, as long as people steer clear of refined starches and sugar and focus on vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.”

Meat is at the core of many diets around the world. As someone who has eaten meat all their life, meat is abundant, relatively cheap, and delicious. But during the year of 2020, it is my goal to reduce my carbon footprint. Therefore, I decided it would not hurt to try being a vegan for a few days.

I started off ‘day one’ feeling very motivated; for example, I ate a delicious kale salad with quinoa from Evergreens Salad for lunch and I made pasta with tomato sauce for dinner. The next day, I made fried rice with tofu for dinner as a main source of protein. However, on the third day, I fell

to my craving for chicken tacos – which is okay because becoming aware of our food consumption is a process and we are human, so we make mistakes. This experiment has made me realize that we don’t necessarily need to debate the extremes in lifestyle decisions. At the end of the day, each of us can make improvements on the margin, whether it be being kinder and more aware of the impacts of our choices.

There are also other options that will be easier to adjust to. For example, a reduced meat diet (staying an omnivore but reducing your intake of animal products), vegetarian diet, and pescatarian diet are just as important steps to being kinder to our planet. Whether you decide to reduce meat consumption or go entirely vegan, keep your goals in mind and remember why you are choosing to adopt a vegan diet. Just remember the Earth is the only home we have and it’s time for us to appreciate, love, and respect it.

Illustration: Sofia Simon '20

Ways to Help our Environment TESSA ZINK '21 Managing Editor

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lobal temperature rise, warming ocean, melting glaciers, and extreme weather events are all factors of the continuing global catastrophe of climate change. The global populations careless actions to change has created a situation where if we don’t act now, the fate of our future is at risk. Specifically, with plastic use.

According to the United Nations "more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced since the early 1950s. About 60% of that plastic has ended up in either a landfill or the natural environment.” Each year humans produce 300 million tons of plastic every single year, and two million plastic bags every minute. Despite single use plastic being used for an average of 12 minutes, it takes almost 500 years or more to degrade in a landfill. Additionally, only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled. The rest goes to landfills or the ocean. If we continue at this rate the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

Global corporations such as CocaCola produce 200,000 plastic bottles a min-

Humans produce 300 million tons of plastic every single year and two million plastic bags every minute

ute. Despite their constant addition to the plastic problem, the company claims they use “sustainable packaging” and say that “its only single use if used once.” However only 24% of their bottles are made from recycled plastic. Considering the overwhelming amount of plastic in our everyday lives and all of the products we purchase its difficult to avoid it.

However, as the consumers we are given the power to convince the company to make a change. If enough people refuse to purchase their products because of their plastic pollution, they will change. Their excuse that the consumer doesn’t want a change isn’t a good one. Yes, a plastic bottle might be more convenient for the 12 minutes while you drink your beverage. Protecting the environment and the earth form destruction is much more valuable.

In order to reduce climate change and attempt to save our environment, we need to take serious action before it’s too late. There are several more sustainable options that we can adopt. First, reducing the amount of plastic pollution. Use reusable water bottles and cups when drinking and purchasing beverages. Be conscious of what you are purchasing and when you do pur-

Plastic Fast Facts

Only 9 % of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled

chase plastic make it a priority to recycle it.

Additionally, at Prep we are lucky to be in a school and community that promotes correct waste disposal. There are compost and recycle bins located in every building an on every floor. The plates, cutlery, and food waste in the school are all compostable.

Therefore, next time you are throwing away for your lunch do not reach for the garbage but for the compost bin. And if you are confused look at the diagram explaining what goes where.

Small efforts like this will help the greater good and reaching a couple inches to a different bin takes no effort. Another way you can actively reduce plastic pollution is skipping the bag. Skip the plastic bag and replace it with a reusable one. Or when purchasing from a grocery store purchase items such as vegetable without plastic packaging.

Through these minimal efforts we can reduce plastic pollution and help the environment, health and our future. It is difficult to change our habits and rituals but these small changes are valuable and will ensure a healthier, better future.

Coca-Cola produces 200,000 plastic bottles a minute

PREP LIFE EDITORS: ADDIE ROZA ‘21, CLARA MALONE ‘21 & WILL THOMPSON ‘21

3 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

Seattle Prep: 129 Years and Counting ABBY ALLEN ‘21 Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of: Mrs. Lovejoy A historical photo of Seattle Prep from the Museum of History and Industry.

S

eattle Prep is 129 years old. Despite Prep’s ripe old age, the school remains a home for intellectual and spiritual growth, as it was intended when the school was founded. Since then, Prep has developed into a spirited, open, and supportive community that raises successful students.

Alumni Service Core Member Ms. James identified that “Prep has always been welcoming”, both when she started high school and started working at the school.

Seattle Prep’s history began in 1891 in downtown Seattle, consisting of a class of both boys and girls. Seattle Prep represented a religious mission like schools in New Orleans, San Francisco and New York. Then, students began every day with mass.

Three years later, the school became all-boys and that same year, the school moved to a new building on the now Seattle University campus. The name changed to “Seattle College”. Believe it or not, tuition was only fifteen dollars.

Integral parts of school spirit,

Blue and White became the school colors in 1902.

In 1918, Ella and T.C. McHugh purchased Adelphia College, and donated that land to Seattle College. One year later, nearly one hundred and fifty students began to take classes at the current Prep campus.

Ten years later, Seattle College and Seattle College High School (Seattle Prep) parted. Seattle College High School became Seattle Preparatory School.

Fast forwarding to the 1970s, Seattle Prep faced closure. At this time, Father Thomas Healy spearheaded the inclusion of women at the school. Because of the historical connection between Seattle U and Seattle Prep, the Matteo Ricci College was launched, lasting for forty years. Through this program, students studied three years at Prep and then went to Seattle U for another three years of studying. Mr. Peterhans described this program as “doing less but going deeper” and “learning how to learn”.

Since then, Prep has seen construction of the McHugh Gymnasium, Ignatius Hall, the Lee Family Arts Center, the PACCAR Commons, and The Fr. Thomas Healy, SJ Theater and Chapel, SJ Community Min-

istry Center, Adelphia Memorial Hall, Peyton Plaza, Our Lady of Montserrat Chapel, Rudolph Athletic Field, Regina Melonson LRC, the Lico Atheltic Center and much more.

Mr. Hendricks noted that one of the biggest changes as he has taught at Prep are the buildings. Since he started in 1987, three buildings have been replaced.

He also shared that “the way we structure our time has also drastically changed”. Prep used to have trimesters and a modified block schedule before moving to a straight block schedule.

Twice a week a Seattle Prep student would have Collegio for two hours and fifteen minutes. Hendricks identifies that time as “the glory days”. Collegio also used to consist of three teachers and sixty students.

Mr. Stearns, who has worked at Prep for seven years, recognizes technology as one of the biggest changes in Prep life. When he first started, Seattle Prep was experimenting with iPads. Since then, Prep has switched over to Microsoft Surfaces.

Mr. Peterhans said that “our Community Ministry does an amazing job with student spiritual formation”. When he started in the 1980s, there was no Community

phenomenon is where the knowledge stops.

Responses were along the lines of, “Yeah this year is a leap year!” or “No, I don’t actually know why it happens” or “I know it’s on February 29!”

The term leap year comes from the fact that days fall consecutively one day after the day in fell the year before. For example, Valentine’s Day was on a Wednesday in 2018, and then a Thursday in 2019.

However, when there is an extra day, the days are no longer consecutive and it skips over a day, or leaps. Therefore, the year is considered a Leap Year.

The question now is who decided that a year is the time it takes the earth to go around the sun. That idea for this can

be credited to Julius Caesar in 46 BCE. He tracked the 365-day mark and established that an extra day would occur every 4 years.

However, the Julian Calendar was revised into the Gregorian calendar by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 who declared that leap year do not occur on century year unless they are divisible by 400. This would better account for the added time.

Now, this may seem not that big of a deal to skip a day. Why does it matter? If there was no extra day added, the seasons would start on different days each year and would eventually not be correlated with the weather at the time. Imagine winter starting in the dead of summer.

While there are no students or

Ministry program.

Despite all the changes in Prep life since 1891, some aspects of Prep will never change. Mr. Peterhans said that “some of my colleagues are the finest human beings.

They work hard and are committed to their profession”.

He also says that collaboration is a large part of Prep academics. This can be seen through the Mateo Ricci Program, the combination of literature, history, and theology in Collegio, and the informal collaboration of many of the teachers within their different disciplines.

Most importantly, Prep has remained committed to its Jesuit Mission since 1891. Mr. Stearns said, “the Mission (Grad at Grad) is everywhere”. Similarly, ASC Peyton James said that the Grad at Grad was “emphasized by almost every teacher at least once”. Many students would agree, as they can see it on flags as the walk from one building to another.

Throughout the years, “the kind, accepting, thoughtful culture of Prep is something that has stayed constant” (James).

Undoubtedly, Seattle Prep has touched the lives of many different generations of people in its 129 years.

Extra Special or Cursed? The 2020 Leap Year

PAIGE STANLEY ‘21 Staff Writer

A

year is not 365 days. Well, it is.

Plus five hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds. A year is classified as the amount of time it takes for the earth to go around the sun. Therefore, every four years, the five hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds creates enough time for an extra day to be added to the year, which is February 29.

This year is that year. That’s right, there are 366 days in 2020.

When students at Seattle Prep were asked if they know what a leap year is, most responded saying they knew leap day is on February 29 but had no idea where it came from. The name of this commonly known

WILL THOMPSON ‘21 Staff Writer

A

teachers at Seattle Prep with a birthday on leap year, some celebrities born on February 29 are Ja Rule and Tony Robbins. While, this birthday may seem like an extra special one, in some countries like Scotland, it is considered unlucky to be born on February 29 and in Greece, it is unlucky to marry during a leap year.

Other legends about leap year include an Irish legend that St. Brigid and St. Patrick made a deal on February 29, that women can propose to men during a leap year. Another is that February 29 is St. Oswald’s feast day.

With this knowledge and these legends in mind, the important question now is how to make the most of an extra day this year?

Seattle Prep: A Decade in Review

s a student, staying at a school for only four years at a time, it’s easy to believe that things haven’t changed and the school is the exact same from the first day of freshman year to the last day of senior year. With Prep being a school for over 14 decades, and starting its 15th, the Panther thought it would be appropriate to talk to some members of the faculty to see how much Prep has changed over the past ten years.

The visible changes and improvements in just the last ten years are substantial to say the least, there are many things

that today’s student enjoys that the same student ten years ago couldn’t.

One big difference was the amount of clubs and extra-curriculars that have been introduced recently. Clubs like LatinX, APIC and FIG Mr. Hickey that promote diversity are recent additions that make Prep seem a lot m o r e inclusive. The Business, Video G a m e , Dungeons and Dragons and Environmental clubs, all added recently, allow students to

explore their interests.

Even Prep’s curriculum has greatly changed in the last ten years. Several AP classes like Computer Science, Environmental Science and AP Studio Art, to name a few.

As well as non-AP classes like Satire & Comedy, US Government and Film Making are new additions. Also significant expansion of student supports through the LRC, have made Prep more accessible to all peo-

“We have the best

student body in the world”

ple than it has ever been.

As far as the not-so-tangible changes in Prep’s community, the Panther went to talk to Mr. Hickey about what he has noticed about the difference between now and ten years ago. When asked what’s different about the Prep community nowadays, he said that there is an “ever-increasing desire among us to get more immersed in our unique Ignatian spirituality.”

One thing that he’s proud to say has stayed consistent from the 1920s to the 2020s is that “we have the best student body in the world.”

PREP LIFE

4 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

EDITOR: LAUREN DAY ‘20, GAEL LOOR ‘22, MILO PEPPER ‘20, ANNIE ROSKE ‘23

Social Media Reacts to the Recent U.S.-Iran Conflicts with Memes

KELLY McGARRY ‘21 Staff Writer

T

he year 2020 was not off to a particularly bright start after President Donald Trump authorized a U.S. drone strike, which assassinated Iranian military general Qasem Soleimani on January 3rd. When any major event occurs, the internet is quick to talk about it through hashtags, videos, and most importantly memes.

Social media apps like Twitter and Instagram were especially active in voicing their opinions on this highly debated issue. There was a widespread trend of making World War 3 memes after Soleimani’s assassination. While these memes were popular and well-liked by a large audience, others questioned the morality of making jokes about such serious issues.

Soleimani’s death was globally discussed and stirred lots of controversy.

Many were worried about the already rocky US-Iran relationship, and feared of any repercussions. Others viewed the as-

sassination as the only solution to prevent further conflict between the two nations.

From the US hostage crisis which spanned from 1979-81, to the Iranian passenger plane that was shot down by the US military in 1988, US-Iran relations have always been on the edge. In fact, in 2018, the supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei banned direct conversations with the United States.

From these recent string of events, President Trump claimed that the US government has 52 Iranian sites they would attack if Iran responded to Soleimani’s assassination. Senior Claire Alderman voiced her dissatisfaction with Trump’s decision as “The Dept. of Defense did their job by laying out all the options” and that “he also has no authority to be threatening harm on cultural sites in Iran.”

Media Literacy teacher Mr. Danielson had been following up on the conflict recently and he believed that these conflicts are “so complex that it’s hard to even say a particular opinion.” Yet, he claimed that the situation should not be exacerbated by

violence as he is “definitely biased towards a non-military diplomacy as a primary form of avoiding conflict, especially those we already have an antagonistic relationship with.”

The WW3 memes that were created through this conflict were especially common on social media apps such as Twitter and Instagram. These satirical jokes and images were popular with a large audience, but many did not take it lightheartedly.

On one side of the spectrum, various social media users believed that the US-Iran conflict should not be laughed-off.

A twitter user @Yousefslym on Twitter, angrily responded to a WW3 meme claiming that “people are making a joke out of something that will kill millions here in the Middle East.” These ‘counter-tweets’, while in the minority, were prevalent throughout Twitter, criticizing people who made memes about the situation.

“I understand people trying to use humor to cope with anxiety and fear, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to be making light of this issue” said Alderman.

lation will not be so easily influenced by the propaganda, it only takes a certain amount of influence to sway a nation-wide vote or election. A widespread phenomenon that plagues modern day politics and is aided by social media is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when a reader, viewer, or listener is subject to new data and they either consciously or subconsciously choose to interpret it in a manner which supports a preconceived belief or notion they held. An account on Twitter can post a rumor about a political candidate, and confirmation bias will lead to thousands of retweets, causing it to spread like wildfire.

Social media has also birthed another never before seen occurrence: widespread direct communication with political leaders and candidates. Donald Trump can be largely credited for the social media use seen in modern politics. He demonstrated a frequent use of Twitter during is run in the 2016 presidential campaign, gaining him popularity although his words sometimes brought controversy as well. Prior to social media the primary means of contacting a political leader would either be through email

or letter, for the ordinary citizen. Now, any political leader and candidate is provided with several methods of interacting with the people in a direct and succinct manner.

Despite the corruption, lies, and manipulation that runs amuck in modern politics, this direct communication between political leaders, and the people over which they govern has the potential to create more personal connections in politics than were previously possible.

Politicians’ use of social media should be examined from a distance, observed carefully with a skeptical eye in order to determine what is trustworthy, and what is not.

Greene attended, “I met a lot of girls who were a part of the DECA program and had really excelled in it. I wanted to start a DECA program at Prep, but it involves needing a business teacher and a window class period so after questions it fell through,” she said.

However, “I wanted to still bring the characteristics of DECA to business club,” Greene added.

Thus, for this year’s format, “we’re going to design a product, market it, and sell it to students” for the first semester and part of the second said Pehl.

The club’s first product? Prep slides slippers.

During the first semester, members were split into four different committees during meetings; marketing, finance, production, and management to bring this product to life. The senior executives facilitated and assigned the chairs of the committees tasks to complete within their committees.

The club is running this through Mr. Kelly and plans on partnering with Panther Place to sell the slides.

“It’s going to be cool to see our product on the feet of Prep students and to see it around campus and be like “yeah,

we’re responsible for that. Every member can think that, and that’s cool,” said Pehl.

“There’s a lot that goes into it that you’d be surprised. We have to go through lots of red tape to get the product approved, then order it, contact distributors, and when and how we’re going to sell it and deliver it,” he added.

Sales should begin in February 2020. “We’ve assigned a lot of marketing homework, so people are making posters, we’ll make a video hopefully, and send out some emails,” said Pehl.

“We’re thinking of having the Boys’ Varsity basketball team sponsor us,” joked Tramountanas.

“We’re going to sponsor them,” replied Pehl. “They’re going to have to wear business club patches on their uniforms.”

For the rest of the school year, “we want to continue what we did in C3 and bring in speakers to talk about business,” said Pehl. “We’re looking into having seminars, have people come in and talk about writing a business email on LinkedIn, what a good handshake is like, what to say in a meeting and their business experience. Depending on how many people show interest,

In defense, many will agree that these memes were an example of using humor as a type of coping mechanism.

Through these memes, humor is used to decrease stress and possibly prevent extensive hysteria and panic.

“As a media literacy educator, I was fascinated because (the memes) were so swift and there were so many different memes” said Mr. Danielson. “Social media lets people vent; it makes them express their fears. Some were hilarious and creative, and I thought for the most part they were almost cathartic.”

There continues to be tension between the United States and Iran. Yet this most recent conflict has not blown out of proportion as many have feared. Outside of the missile attacks on the US bases, both the world leaders of Iran and the US seem to have set the problem aside. “If we do in fact go to war with Iran,” said Alderman, “I won’t be surprised. But I’m really hopeful that we can find a peaceful solution.”

Social Media Takes Hold in Politics

WALID CRUZ-VANEGAS ‘20 Staff Writer

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olitics: A game of money, clout, persuasion and finesse. In the modern dynamic realm of modern politics, all of these key components are gained through communication. Communication between leaders and communication between citizens is vital for shifting momentum for candidates and proposals on every level of the political spectrum.

Maintaining a powerful online presence is crucial to success as a political leader. The 2020 elections will bring a higher level of social media campaigning than previously demonstrated.

The game is deeper than just the spreading of promise and hope on the surface. Delving deeper underground exposes the dark realities of how social media can be manipulated.

70% of American adults (18+) utilize Facebook. This means that the majority American can population can be subjected to propaganda. Furthermore, a staggering 72% of teens uses Instagram alone.

Although the entirety of the popu-

Illustration by: Sofia Simon ‘20

Prep Business Club Puts New Format in Gear

TIA FLORES ‘21 Staff Writer

E

very other Friday in room I103, Prep students gather as members of business club led by senior co-presidents Anastasia Greene, Manoli Tramountanas, Henry Pehl, and club moderator Assistant Principal for Student Life Mr. Kelly.

There have been different iterations of business club in past years. Last school year, it was known as the career connections club, also known as CCC, or C3. In CCC, the club was split into two departments, with Tramountanas ’20 the head of the STEM department and Pehl ‘20 the head of the humanities department. These groups oversaw contacting and connecting with professionals who could come to meetings and speak about their respective fields. However, as Pehl and Tramountanas became executive members this school year and Greene was brought on board, they reflected on last year’s club experience and decided to add to the program’s method.

“We decided that what business club was missing was actual experience,” says Tramountanas ’20.

During a leadership summit that

we can move it into the theater, and it’ll be open to anyone.”

“What I love about the club is the amount of ideas that can come together in one meeting, like when we were trying to choose the product and then trying to figure out ways to market it,” said Greene. “When all of the ideas come together and the work that the club and the chairs have done pays off.”

The club itself has over 1/8 of the student body signed up. However, 4050 members come to meetings each time.

“Sometimes people show up, sometimes they don’t. We like 100% participation every time,” said Tramountanas. However, “everyone has their own commitments to lunch. We understand, but it’s nice that people consistently come,” added Pehl.

For students thinking about joining, “Everyone gets to do what they want to do. I thought business only appealed to certain groups of people, but business is for everybody and that’s what our club tries to embody,” said Tramountanas.

“Join!” exclaimed Greene. “Everyone has a unique strength that they can bring to the club.”

PREP LIFE THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

5

EDITORS: MADDIE DEASY ‘20, CAROLINE CASEY ‘21, MARGOT GWYNN ‘23, MAYA SHIELDS ‘21

The

Behind

The

Of Notre Dame

MADDIE DEASY ‘20 Editor-in-Chief

I

t’s that time of year where the theater once again becomes a place filled with music, dancing and fantastic performances by the cast of the winter musical.

This year the school is tackling the Hunchback of Notre Dame. This is a story focuses on Quasimodo, played by Tom Robinson ’20 who is the bell ringer at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Quasimodo then falls for a gypsy named Esmeralda, played by junior Lauren Slavin. Esmeralda is sought after by both Frollo, Quasimodo’s cold and diabolical adoptive father, played

by Cameron Osterman ’21 and womanizing captain Phoebus played by Marc Ribas ’20. The four stars of the show dove into the behind the scenes details of putting on this show.

Slavin shared that the process be-

gins with “about 3 weeks of learning all of the music” which takes until about Christmas break to learn.

Robinson shared that after Christmas break, the cast “will be doing blocking for the next well forever”

This process includes learning all the choreography. Blocking usually begins with director Mr. Othman setting the scene.

The cast often chimes with their own suggestions and interpretations making the process very collaborative. the actors then get to their feet and begin walking through the scene with Othman’s direction. After many runs, the scene starts to take shape through the addition of props, costumes and make up during tech week. Robinson shared that the show “really comes together in that last week or two.”

Robinson added “even though those are the weeks I am the most tired and put in the most work, it’s just the fact that everyone is there, every day for seven hours working on this one project” really makes it the most rewarding.

Osterman quickly jumped in “once you are able to get rid of the script and are able to have everything memorized” the actors can really dive into their characters since they are no longer confined to a script and get more into it.

Ribas added that the props and costumes also add so much to the experience and to their performances.

This show was an unexpected choice and was very different from last year’s upbeat musical Newsies. The stars all enthusiastically expressed their love

and appreciation of the music in this show.

Robinson stated that the “music is probably the most challenging music we’ve done yet, probably the most beautiful.”

The show also is darker than past shows. Slavin said “there is no real happy ending in the show”

Although this show is not all light and fluffy the stars believe this show is an important reminder to everyone here at Prep and our community as a whole treat people with kindness, push each other to be brave and stand up for others being treated poorly and always be true to oneself even when it is hard.

Make sure to see this amazing show starting with opening night on February 21st!

Freshman Firsts Include Dances, Friendship

NATALIE NOWAK ‘21 Staff Writer

“Kind. Fun. Silly” are the three words Ms. Slack offered up when describing the class of 2023. The Freshmen class came to Prep “Walking on Sunshine” ready to experience all that Prep has to offer.

Roughly four months later, the Freshmen have a whole semester of memories made and lessons learned.

Betsy Green ’23 shared how she was coming from a smaller school in which she would not know many people, but “was excited to meet new people and start learning in a new environment.”

JACKIE WILLIAMS ‘20 Staff Writer

H

One of the first Prep traditions a freshman experiences is the Back to School Dance and peer mentor dinner. Students are forced to meet new people and create relationships immediately. It can sound rather daunting, but for many, it is a great experience that helps them get comfortable with their new surroundings. In fact, Green exclaimed, “The back to school dance has been my favorite thing I’ve done all year at Prep.”

Part of the freshmen experience is getting one’s feet wet in several aspects of Prep life. Whether it means trying a new sport, making new friends, applying for a Window or extracurriculars, Freshmen year

is the time to figure it all out. Freshmen Collegio teacher, Slack, shared how her favorite thing about freshmen is that “they are always so curious, and they are willing to do anything. We do a reading, they’re down, we do a song, they’re down, I taught them a dance move before homecoming, and they all got up and did it.”

Throughout the first semester, the class of 2023’s attitude towards new experiences has shown their growth and Panther pride tremendously. Looking back at all the memories of the semester whether it be from dances, sports, or just a Friday night football game with friends, the Freshmen have logged in a semester for the books.

As the second semester has already gotten into full swing, the Class of 2023 has gotten to embark on several new experiences has well. They have kicked the semester off to a good start with the freshmen retreat in which they opened to other classmates, formed new friendships, and gotten to know a couple upperclassmen as well. As the positivity continues, they will join spring sports, experience their first Olympic Week, and so much more. Green is looking forward to her second semester as it will bring new opportunities but is “mostly looking forward to the familiarity” of it all.

According to Hickey, “it’s a huge waste of time.” He exclaims how basing aspects of your life off of a pattern of stars that can fit to anyone’s life “only exacerbates the problems people have and then they don’t do anything about it.” The theologian in Hickey believes the solution to your problems can be found at the “chapel” where you can “pray on it instead.”

While individuals such as Mr. Hickey argue the fiction in horoscopes, there is a large population of students of Seattle Prep who see the fact that lies within this form of astrology.

Helen Simmons ’20, she understands that “horoscopes have to be broad because they are meant to apply to millions and millions of people” but she also believes “that the alignment of the stars and

the moon” can “hold some truth.”

Simmons continues by explaining how people are invested in astrology “the same reason that people are invested in the Catholic Church or any religion.” She exclaims that “astrology is an explanation for the big questions of human existence, and it gives people answers that they are searching for.”

Similar to Simmons, Maggie Waltner ’20, finds the value and fun in checking her horoscope each day. She says that horoscopes are most interesting because it is “the study of the world around us and is somewhat a combination of psychology and religion.” She continued by saying that “anything that people believe in and that helps people understand themselves deserves the hype.”

Waltner says she often finds “a

lot of things to relate to in [her] horoscope” and frequently uses the app ‘Co-Star’ on her phone to receive updates on her daily horoscope. She was first exposed to the app over the summer while she was working at Nordstrom. She says that “almost all of her coworkers used the app and encouraged her to do so.” Waltner thinks that the “simplicity of the layout and the quick delivery of information” is what makes it very popular among the younger population.

The question of whether horoscopes are fact or fiction is up to the discretion of the individual. The topic of astrology has been debated for as long as it has been in use. The argument for its truth or falseness will continue on to the next generation.

In a simplified state, astrology is something for people to believe in.

Horoscopes: Fact or Fiction?

ave you ever been asked what your “sign” is? Have you gotten a response along the lines of, “Oh my gosh, you’re a ______? That’s crazy because I knew you were a ______ as soon as you walked into the room”? Never? That’s crazy.

The Babylonian astrology was introduced to the Greeks early in the 4th century B.C. Through the studies of Plato, Aristotle, and others, astrology came to be highly regarded as a science. However, the question of whether horoscopes are fact or fiction is widely debated between different generations.

To people like Kent Hickey, President of Seattle Prep and occasional theologian, horoscopes are nothing but a hoax.

FEATURE

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7 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

EDITORS: TESSA ZINK ‘21, NATALIE NOWAK ‘21, BENI JURION ‘22, & JACKIE WILLIAMS ‘20

Australia On Fire

CARA WEIGAND ‘21 & MAYA SHIELDS ‘21 Staff Writers

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y now, the whole world has heard about the tragic bushfires taking place in Australia. Not only have these fires endangered and disrupted the lives of millions of people, but also destroyed millions of acres of forests and parks. These forests and parks are home to thousands of species of animals. An estimated one billion animals have been killed either from the fires or from destruction of their habitat due to the fires.

Junior London McBride visited Sydney, Australia this past Christmas break.

While she was there, she was able to enjoy Bondi Beach and admire its “gorgeous white sand beach [which was] amazing for surfing and swimming,” as well as Featherdale Wildlife Park which is a “rescue park, especially for animals rescued from the fires.”

At the same time McBride was experiencing these amazing places, the fires continued to rage on in other parts of the continent. “Almost every single day we were in Australia, the skies were covered in smoke,” McBride states.

The air quality in different parts of Australia has hit extremely dangerous levels.

According to the Air Quality Index, any air that is classified as above 200 on the scale is

considered hazardous. On New Year’s Day, the air quality in Australia’s capital city of Canberra hit 4, 650--more than 23 times the cutoff between very poor and hazardous air.

While it may seem that these conditions are exclusive to Australia, a recent report by NASA shows that the smoke from these wildfires will circle the entire earth and effect the air quality in many other countries, making this a global issue.

Even though the fires are taking place seven thousand miles from Seattle, the local community is more connected to them than many people think. The main causes of these fires in Australia include extreme increase in surface temperature, drier conditions brought on by drought, and ferocious winds, all of which are direct results of climate change. The effects of climate change can be felt across the world—even here in Seattle. Although Seattle has not faced extreme weather on the same level as Australia, it has seen serious changes in weather patterns due to climate change. Most notably, Seattle experienced a snowstorm in early January that can be traced back to changes in the global climate.

As members of the Seattle Prep community, students, faculty, and staff are called upon to seek the Magis; the More. In the case of climate change, what is the more? When

Refills over Landfills?

New Water Bottle Program Focuses on Sustainability

MILO PEPPER ‘20 Staff Writer

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discussing the connection between the fires in Australia, and the Jesuit community here at Seattle Prep, theology teacher Paul Peterhans turned to Pope Francis’ encyclical. “Francis has always had a deep understanding of what it means to be human,” stated Peterhans.

To be human, to be Jesuit, to be a student at Prep, means to seek the more. To seek out what the role one can play in the

Illustration: Sofia Simon world, and act on it. In situations of need like the Australian wildfires, members of the Prep community are called to aid in whatever way they can. Students can raise awareness of the cause by sharing information, and support rehabilitation efforts by donating to organizations like the Red Cross.

Are Cows to Blame For Global Warming?

LAUREN DAY ‘20 Online Editor

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ood, water, shelter. These are the necessities of life. Yet, each of these resources are currently threatened by climate change, which transitively threatens our survival. And to make matters worse, these very things that are needed to survive are the ones that create the most waste to begin with.

Food, especially, requires the most land and water to produce, creating the most negative environmental impact on the world.

Typically, transportation is the first contributor to climate change that people think of, and that makes sense. Cars and other forms of transportation like planes and boats

create CO2 emissions that enter into the atmosphere and trap heat there, causing global warming. Driving and flying are definitely contributors to a person’s personal carbon footprint, or the amount of carbon dioxide a person’s activities produce.

Cows, however, emit methane, a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more impactful on global warming than Co2. In fact, one cow can produce up to 120 kg of methane per year, which is roughly equivalent to using enough gas to drive 7,800 miles a year in a fuel-efficient car. The methane gas produced by the 90 million cattle in the United States pollutes the atmosphere more than the entire transportation industry.

So, consuming meat, especially beef, is a huge contributor to a person’s car-

bon footprint. Mrs. Tordillos, the schools’ resident APES teacher, points out that “If you consume meat, you have a larger environmental impact because you have to grow food for your food.” According to David Pimentel, a professor of ecology at Cornell, the US could feed 800 million people with the grain it grows for cows.

With this large amount of grain necessary to feed the cows, deforestation and crowding of feed lots occurs. The loss of trees depletes the earth’s natural services of removing CO2 and methane from the atmosphere and overcrowding on lots creates a muddy area which can pollute nearby water systems.

On top of that? One quarter pound of beef requires on average 600 gallons of water to produce, between sustaining livestock and

processing the meat.

People often wonder how they can reduce their carbon footprint, and being vegetarian is obviously a very efficient way to drastically do so. But one doesn’t have to completely cut meat or beef out of their diet to contribute to the planet’s health. Reducing the number of red meat days in a household, as well becoming educated about how food effects the environment, can make a just as important of an impact.

Ms. Vickrey said it best: “We often feel like we have do something big to really have an impact, but start somewhere – start small and go from there. Do what you can do, and know that you can inspire others to do the same!

CLARA MALONE ‘21 Staff Writer

kind of things. I am also interested in policy and government, which is completely different, so if I could combine the two somehow.

Be a scientist who advises policy, I think that would be really cool.”

Kramer has gotten a lot of inspiration from many sources throughout her advocacy, and growing up with a love for nature, “I really like being outdoors, I’ve grown up being outdoors and I really like camping, hiking, and things like that. So, the idea of losing that part of my life would be really sad.”

Kramer shares some things she has gained through her activism, “I’ve really learned how to be a much better ally towards people of color and people who are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and how I can use my privilege to support them the best… climate justice and climate change affects low income minority groups way more than it affects people who have as much privilege as I do. I didn’t really realize how much the climate crisis is actually happening now, and it’s not just something that’s going to happen in 50 years. The sense of injustice that the people affected so much right now are the ones who have done the least to cause it. Also makes me want to fight for them.”

“A lot of the solutions that people are proposing are really not good enough, and there must be a change” concluded Kramer.

Monica Kramer: Climate Activist Raises Her Voice

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Photo Courtesy of Monica Kramer Monica Kramer speaking at the Climate March in September. Kramer is one of many young people advocating for education how to battle climate change.

onica Kramer, class of 2021, is a dedicated climate activist. Kramer works with United States Climate Strike to help manage their events. “I work with United States Climate Strike to organize the strikes that happen around the U.S. They usually happen on Fridays, our next one is for Earth day. I’m on the Washington team and I do outreach and politics.”

She explained her specific tasks, “For outreach we reach out to different to organizations and groups either to sponsor and donate or to come to the strikes.”

Kramer also showed how this group can bring more people together with a more understandable motive for the events. “We work on the demands for the strikes so that they have a clearer directive instead of just going out and saying, ‘climate justice.’ Because what does that really mean?”

Through a long journey of activism, “I started social justice work in general in 7th or 8th grade, but I got more centered on climate the beginning of sophomore year,” Kramer has ideas of possibly centering her future career around it. “I haven’t decided a career path or anything like that but one thing I’m thinking about right now is environmental engineering so like designing greener buildings, greener solutions in general, maybe different water solutions, water therapy

fter years of selling one-dollar plastic water bottles to students, the Cafeteria has made the switch to recyclable aluminum.

Aside from the $1.00 price addition and slightly different taste of the water, these new water bottles sport a new aluminum look inspired by the Environmental Alliance group here at Prep.

Sure, plastic takes a mere thousand years to biodegradable and has limited recyclability, but is it a guarantee that metal is any better?

“I have been drinking out of a new aluminum water bottle water bottle for three weeks”, said Rowan Davis ‘21. “It’s kind of ironic that plastic takes longer to biodegrade, yet I’ve used this water bottle longer than any previous plastic one.”

Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastic and reprocess-

BENI JURION ‘22 & HOBBS HEGEDUS ‘22 Staff Writers

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especially carbon dioxide.

Though the materials in plastic are derived from natural, nonrenewable materials such as coal and oil, and such processing facilities produce waste of their own, the materials necessary for mining and creating the materials in metal water bottles can have an equal and even greater impact on the environment.

“As I had hoped, introducing PathWater to the student body ignited a conversation on sustainability”, said McAuslan 20’.

“If our collective effect on the environment is understood, then people will make an effort to change.”

In the end, there is no clear solution; humans simply have a terrible habit of polluting the earth. Whether it’s finding the most environmentally friendly way to drink water, or even looking to create more sustainable modes of transportation, there remains to be a perfectly eco friendly way to do just about anything.

Venice: An Iconic City, Sinking

hen one speaks of Venice, most people think of Marco Polo, pizza, canals and gondolas, but few realize that this can all vanish in the next several decades.

Rising sea levels are detrimental to the many islands that make up the city. Recently over the summer, Venice experienced the worst flooding in fifty years with almost ⅔ of the city flooded.

A specific example of the flooding is the great Church of San Marco which has experienced just six floods since it’s construction 1200 years ago, four of which have been in the past 20 years.

Prep student Cocoro Kudo ‘23 stated “ The torrent of water flowing into monuments like the famous St. Marks cathedral is a

KAITLYN KING ‘23 Staff Writer

ing the material into useful products. Polypro- recycle much better than cheap single-use pylene and polyethylene, the two most widely plastic that would likely be incinerated.”

It has been established that recycling manufactured plastics, are especially difficult to recycle and reuse due to their complex lay- metal is easier and more efficient in regards to environmental protection, however it remains ering of synthetic materials.

While most aluminum is technically questionable if using metal in water bottles recyclable, it’s not as simple to save the en- really is the most environmentally conscious vironment as it may sound. Aluminum, as a move.

“We should caremetal, can be recycled fully consider all sides forever by being melt“PathWater focuses on of a new decision beed down and reformed. fore we make a drastic Recycling aluminumsustainability and sells from plastic to saves around 95% of water in aluminum bottles switch metal”, said Matthew the energy needed to make the metal fromthat are 100% recyclable” Shields ‘20. “In an ideal world, it would be betraw materials.

- Liv McAuslan 20. ter to not sell any water “ P a t h Wa t e r bottles at school and to focuses on sustainability and sells water in aluminum bottles just have everyone bring their own. ” The physical act of mining metal that are 100% recyclable”, said Liv McAuslan 20. “Although the bottles still contribute to from the earth not only degrades the earth waste, the cafeteria and I reached a compro- from which the metal is mined, but also mise on the product because aluminum would pumps the atmosphere full of harmful gases,

sign of the detrimental effects to come.”

These floods are only a small taste of the environmental impact human advancements have had on this beautiful coastal city.

However, most of these problems are unknown to the public. When Prep’s students were polled about the environmental effects on Venice many had a similar response to Liam Bell ‘22 stated “Well, I just know of the recent massive flooding that caused tourism to go down, is Venice sinking?”

Hudson Parent ‘22 also had a similar reaction, “I’ve never even been to Venice, let alone hear about the water rising.”

There are many people similar to Bell and Parent who have little hint of the greater environmental problems that affect

Venice and many other coastal cities.

One of the other problems caused by human society is the eroding structural support that supports Venice. With all the massive cruise ships that pass nearby, the larger waves actually chip away at the stone foundation of the city. This problem would be partially solved after a cruise ship accidentally crashed into a dock in June of 2019. This incident lead to the ban of all large cruise ships in the area, and for the routes to be diverted to nearby Fusinia and Lombardia terminals as the ships eroded the support and caused flooding due to

the waves. But even with this ban, the damage has been done.

The continued effects of global warming and human incidents is making the city sink into chaos. As the flooding and erosion increases, some fear that the Queen of the Adriatic, is finally going down.

Acidification Impacts Coral Reefs

etween the years of 1997 and 1998, one of the most powerful El Niño effects swept across the globe creating droughts.

El Niño is a climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean which effects global weather patterns. Due to this, the surfaces of the oceans in places such as the waters around Australia sky rocket to temperatures as high as 61 degrees Fahrenheit which caused the waters to become acidic, killing of the animals that inhabit the corals of the Great Barrier Reef.

Believe it or not, corals are living animals as well. It’s a symbiotic relationship between thousands of tiny polyps. These creatures are primarily responsible for building up and making the coral. The death of coral has a special name known as coral bleaching.

Coral bleaching only happens when loss within the next 10–20 years. Bleaching the water heats up to undesirable tempera- leaves corals vulnerable to disease and affects tures. “The excess CO2 causes the acidity their reproduction. It also impacts the multito go up and the pH to go down” said Prep ple other species in their ecosystem, driving them away and leaving science teacher Brian Meza. The corals be- “The excess CO2 caus- the land to be devoured by the elements. come stressed and bebest way to gin expelling the algae es the acidity to go up handleTheclimate change, living in their tissues, to feel less paralyzed causing them to lose their vibrant color and and the pH to go down” by it, is to talk about it” said Meza. This could turn white, signifying help us change or even death. prevent the loss of coral

This is chang- Mr. Meza reefs around the world. ing our planet one reef “The Great Barrier Reef is widely at a time, taking large chunks of the heralded as the most wisely managed coral wildlife we will never be able to restore.

Most of the world has effectively lost reef in the world, but it performed exactly as 19 percent of the original area of coral reefs well as we expected it to” said an article from and 15 percent are seriously threatened with The Atlantic.

The article illustrates how people in places such as Karkar Island at Papua New Guinea, are using marine tenure to help manage and save coral reefs from bleaching. This allows them to prevent others from accessing plots of sea, keeping the corals preserved so they can grow and thrive.

Meza sees this as a model that other societies can follow “They live with their coral, fish amongst their coral, and be with their coral. Can we model it after these societies that are living amongst these corals and doing it right?”

PREP LIFE

8 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

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EDITORS: KATE RIDGEWAY ‘22, GABBY STUART ‘22, PIPER WOOD ’21

A Blast from the Past

t’s sometimes hard to connect to faculty members when they’re assigning long Collegio readings, countless Noodletools notecards, or a seemingly unconquerable math assignment every night. It prompts one to ask the question: “Do you realize we have six other classes?!” But, it’s important to remember that they’ve been there too. In hopes of achieving a shared sense of understanding between students and teachers, the high school lives of Mr. Matt Butler, Mr. Brian Meza, and Mrs. Katie Lovejoy are chronicled below. These teachers had to go through the stress of grades, sports, and friends, as well as the joys of independence and community. They share memories and advice that everyone can connect to and will make them seem more relatable than before.

Mr. Meza: The High School Life of a Future Prep Legend GABBY STUART ‘22 Staff Writer

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icture this, Mr. Meza strutting down the McDonnell hallway towards the exit surrounded by his basketball posse. He says “hello” to every single person he walks by. As he makes his way to the courtyard, Meza continues to high five his peers and dive into his high school social life.

Mr. Brian Meza may be thought of as just an Anatomy teacher or just the guy who continues to ignite a positive spirit in the Prep community although Meza was a Prep student once. Throughout his four years at Prep he faced many challenges academically, socially, and sports-wise. These challenges that Prep continued to throw at him only gave him more strength and led to opportunities of a lifetime. Meza’s high school experience was incredibly memorable which ultimately brought him back to the halls of McDonnell, the stairs of Adelphia, and the nerve-racking collegio rooms of Ignatius.

Meza was the high school student who wanted to try everything. He enjoyed immersing himself in his academic life and trying various activities. Although he was a “put it all out there” kind of guy, He still regrets not trying out for baseball. Meza described how, “I loved the sport but was too worried about getting cut.”

Deciding not to play baseball ended up being a good decision because he was able to spend time with basketball. He met some of his close friends while playing basketball at Prep and some of those friends may have even been the reason he met his high school sweetheart. Meza reminisces about seeing his future wife for the first time: “I got out of my car, saw her walking down the stairs of the house, and turned to my friend and said, ‘I need to go talk to her.’” He built up “some kind of courage out of nowhere” which caused him to step out of his comfort zone and began a new relationship that would take him out of high school and beyond.

Lovejoy’s Joyous High School Times

KATE RIDGEWAY ‘22 Staff Writer

you talked to every morning and in between classes.”

While Lovejoy sees many similariibrarian and Seattle Prep alum Mrs. ties in Prep from her time as a student to her Katie Lovejoy’s high school years time as a staff member, some things have were filled with fun times which she changed.

One of the biggest differences she wouldn’t trade for the world. Her journey notices about Prep is the campus. During spanned from athletic championships to the past 20 years, a campus overhaul has funny moments at assemblies. taken place in which Adelphia Hall, which

Lovejoy ‘97 holds many memoonce stood next to McDonnell Hall where ries from her time at Prep near and dear. the back field Her favorite now is, was memory from demolished, high school and Peyton was when her Hall was rentennis team, ovated into coached by Adelphia MeMark Frisby, morial Hall to placed first accommodate in state both for lost classher junior and room space. senior years, Lovejoy comwhich was mented, “I “unexpected don’t rememand an awePhotos courtesy of Seattle Prep Yearbook ber anyone some team Mrs. Katie Lovejoy’s 1997 senior yearbook photo ever calling accomplishvs. her 2019-20 staff photo.

[Adelphia ment!” and McDon Annell] by name—that was just ‘school.’ It other one of her favorite memories was of was so unusual for those buildings to be a game played at assemblies which she dereferred to by name that my husband (also scribed as a “total accident waiting to hapclass of ‘97) remembers a teacher asking as pen” and “not something that Mr. Stearns an extra credit question, ‘What building are would ever bring back.” It was nicknamed jello-wrestling, and involved the smallest you in right now?’”

Lovejoy enjoys the “intentional freshman boy wrestling the two biggest work around building community” done senior boys in a wrestling ring filled with at Prep and said: “To this day, I maintain jello. “The freshman was always victorious, so many good friendships with peers and and it was very messy, crazy, and enjoyadults I got to know while I was a student able,” she exclaimed. at Prep.”

She even met her husband at Prep,

Lovejoy reminisced that durand the two of them were voted “friendliing her time at Prep “students really used their lockers throughout the day...prob- est” by their class for their senior superlaably because we were lugging around a ton tive! She decided to return to Prep because of really heavy textbooks,” which differs she was drawn to work in a place “surroundfrom the virtually non-existent locker use ed by really talented, intellectually curious, in high schools nowadays. She went on to supportive people,” which she loved about say, “Where your locker was dictated who Prep as a student, and according to her, hasn’t changed.

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Some may argue that Meza was the high school poster child: smart, athletic, and driven. But, through digging beneath his own surface, Meza struggled to find balance. Even today in his own classes, He describes that, “everything is hard until it gets easy.” Meza strived to ponder these very words every single day in high Photos courtesy of Seattle Prep Yearbook school in “math class, hoop, and moving in and Mr. Brian Meza’s 1992 senior yearbook photo vs. his 2019-20 staff photo. out of friend groups.”

Meza had struggles just er. As time passes to today, Mr. Meza still like every other student, but instead of fo- recalls all the influential memories, lessons, cusing on the hardships he pushed to reach and moments high school gave him and that his goals and experience as many things and is why he wanted to come back and share lessons as possible. his knowledge, positive outlook, and happy

During his junior year Spring disposition on the prep community. Meza Break, Meza even got to go “to London… still remembers “thought of coming back with five of [his] closest friends.” He was was an easy one” and Seattle Prep is sure able to see a classmate who had moved and glad he did. immerse himself in all the sites of London.

This trip also brought his friend group clos-

Bring it on Butler: Matt Butler’s High School Experience

PIPER WOOD ‘21 Staff Writer

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school.

Mr. Barmore was also his JV basketball coach and Butler loved how he joked with his students, making class and practices fun and exciting, although challenging. He would bring them orange juice and muffins in the morning, which somehow got the boys ready for practice at 6 A.M. He had “good energy and matched it with the teams’, so [they] all really liked him” Butler told.

After finishing high school and graduating from college, getting his master’s degree in teaching, he had his 10-year reunion at SI. His former president asked him to come back and teach, but living in the Bay area was tough to afford, so he moved to Seattle with his friend and eventually got a job at Prep.

Now our esteemed collegio teacher and volleyball coach, Mr. Butler says that some of his closest friendships that “[he] still has, over 25 years later, began in high school.” It shows how people can truly impact your life and proves “how apparent [his] four years at SI shaped the person [he’s] become.”

ollegio teacher and volleyball coach, Matt Butler is an alum from St. Ignatius, class of ’94.

In San Francisco, CA, Mr. Butler attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory School, or SI, for short. He lived 3 blocks from school and there were security guards all around campus to keep students safe, but he and his friends would “sneak off campus and his house was the go-to,” Butler explained.

Despite the freezing cold North California bay, he would get up before school and surf with his friends. He remembers it when it was foggy and cold to the point where the wetsuits didn’t help.

Mr. Butler played tons of basketball, volleyball, and of course, freshman football. His very last game of the freshman year season, the team played against Bellarmine San Jose, and won at an all-time low score of 7-6. The boys made it a huge deal, “carrying [their] coach off the field and dumping water on him,” like it was the Rose Bowl.

Ironically, Mr. Butler had Mr. Barmore as his senior Shakespeare teacher, both of whom work at Prep now as teachers.

One of his favorite memories from high school was when he and his friend were to make the front page of a newspaper, with headlines, articles, and images, much like the Panther, and asked for extra time.

They made their paper and they both Photos courtesy of Matt Butler & Seattle Prep Yearbook drove the project to Mr. Matt Butler’s 1994 senior yearbook photo vs. his Mr. Barmore’s house, 2019-20 staff photo.

15 minutes from the

PREP LIFE EDITORS: CYRUS BERGER ‘20, MADDIE DEASY ‘20, & OLIVIA MANNING ‘21

9 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2019

New Semester Brings Retreats for Underclassmen

ANNABELLE DEASY ‘22 Freelance Writer

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ith the semester ending and a new one beginning, the retreats allow the underclassman to undergo an incredible experience with their peers. Freshmen, young men’s and young women’s retreat has the school buzzing with excitement and anticipation, especially for the students who don’t know what to expect.

For some of the freshmen, it is their first retreat ever and they had no idea what was in store. Freshmen Rose Kennedy had never been on a retreat before and said after, “The retreat exceeded my expectations.

I knew it would help our class bond to some extent but didn’t expect people to open up as much as they did. I definitely didn’t expect that we would have as much fun as we did. The things I didn’t expect to happen was what helped bring our class together the most.”

This first retreat at Seattle Prep is only the beginning for all that follows throughout the high school experience. Although the freshmen only begin to wonder what this retreat holds, the sophomores looked ahead to their next retreat and an entirely new experience. The boys of the sophomore class gain the experience to become men on young men’s retreat. Meanwhile, the girls receive an entirely different and incredible experience at young women’s retreat.

As the men and women of the sophomore class are divided, everyone has expectations of what the retreat has in store. Not only do the students await this experience, but the leaders and staff have their own hopes and goals for the weekend. Junior young women’s retreat leader Jane Broderson said, “The whole goal of Young Women’s Retreat is to further the sophomore girls’ understanding of themselves, their role in society, what

it means to be a woman, and how to have healthy relationships with those around them.”

A major role in the retreats at this school is the mystery behind them, as a student, leader, or teacher steps into a retreat they have no idea what the next few days will bring. The experience of a retreat with one’s peers has a different meaning and connection to every individual, but nonetheless is an important adventure to attempt for growth and the discovery of who you are. Sophomore Tor Rothrock said after the retreat, “I really learned about being vulnerable with people and feeling empathetic towards others. It showed me what it takes to be healthy man that cares for others.”

These moments in high school are memorable to every person in their own unique way, especially for the faculty and

staff overseeing the entire process. This year Ms. Ford, Ms. Borgen, Coach Maul, Dr. Rosellini, Ms. Dotsey, and Mrs. Bernal were busy in preparation for the retreats.

The sophomore retreats headed towards a better future as the young men’s and women’s retreat leaders worked together to make sure all the sophomores received the same experience. Coach Maul said, “As a grown man to be able to see the perspective of a woman, is a powerful thing. To begin allowing young men and young women to spin their wheels on that concept brings us closer to understanding and celebrating each other.”

There is so much effort and devotion to working on a retreat, but each upperclassman and staff member has a personal reason for wanting to spend their time and energy in such a powerful way. “Young

Women’s Retreat means power and learning one’s self because being a women is awesome!” Said senior rector Maria Smith.

Retreats are a powerful experience for all those who embark on the journey, and many students walk out with a greater understanding of themselves and their peers.

Bonding with new classmates, gaining the understanding of what it means to be a man or women, and learning more about someone’s identity, are all outcomes of these inspirational retreats. Senior freshmen retreat leader Grace Brant said, “I see it as a really good opportunity to branch out and form connections. Also, I think it is really important for the underclassman to know that they have someone older than them to turn to for advice at Prep and show them the incredible support system there is here.”

Photo: Brian Mack The leaders of the Freshman Retreat gather for a group photo. The retreat involves hundreds of students and would not have been made possible without the hard-working leaders.

Teachers, Students Embrace Technology as Learning Tool

JACK COLEMAN ‘23 JEFFREY GO ‘23 Staff Writers

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eachers of the past relied heavily on paper books and lengthy lectures to educate students of the world. Now its 2020 and the prevalence of the internet massively influences the lives of many, including teachers and students. Some examples of people that have been using these new methods of teaching include many Seattle Prep teachers.

“I think it’s also interesting to hear other voices explain things,” said Kristen Tordillos. She is a Honors Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher as well as a moderator for the LatinX club at Prep.

At Prep, YouTube has been integrated into many different classes as an additional way of educating students.

Tordillos started using YouTube as a supplement to her talking in 2010. A couple of the reasons is due to YouTube’s user friendliness and it also gave students

CECE BROWN ‘21 Staff Writer

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t was a crisp mid-October day when Mr. Rosato walked into his classroom A603 and instantly felt that something was off. His well-known and cherished gnome was missing. The gnome has never been moved by Mr. Rosato, although it has been periodically moved around the classroom.

It was a Christmas present from his mom a year ago.

When asked why anyone would take it, Rosato responded,“I think that it is

an additional voice of explanation to a topic that is harder to grasp.

“When I first started teaching, there was no one-to-one device… It’s definitely increased the speed at which information can be distributed and I think it’s put more power in the student,” said Tordillos. When Tordillos was attending school, she had to go to the library if she wanted to use the computer. Now, every student has a computer they can use to find answers to their questions and quench our thirst for answers.

Technology has empowered the student’s own learning, so that schools can speed up the learning process and find new topics that students find interesting. The prevalence of technology in our world has greatly increased the amount a student can learn, and technology will only continue to grow with us through our lives.

“If you can show a really good primary source… it is the best way to really get immersed in a subject,” said Collegio Teacher Emmet Hogan. “I think it can really

enhance instruction.” Whether it be a YouTube video or a full 1-hour documentary, watching reenactments and visuals can find its way to a student’s mind far better than words and letters on a whiteboard can. Videos can catch a student’s attention, making it more engaging and stick better to a person’s memory.

“On one hand we have access to everything, on the other hand we’re not as good reading as much as we need to do the research that we need to do,” said Hogan.

There are many pros and cons about having technology integrated into the classroom. For instance, having a search engine in a backpack drastically helps a person have access to all kinds of information.

Many people take this power for granted because they are so used to this day in age where we can search anything we want and get an answer. However, because information is so easily accessible, people start to take the first answer they see, which can be extremely detrimental. The top result in

a Google search might not be the right answer, but because it is the first result, people will use wrong information and believe it is right.

Education has evolved from chalkboards and cassette tapes to what it is today.

In school, we have the entire internet at the press of a button. However, knowing how to use it to your benefit is essential to be a great student. The main ways to use technology responsibly is improving our research by not just selecting the first article that pops up on the browser, utilizing the videos provided by the teachers and actively listening/ watching, and actively using the surface for the sole purpose of learning. Overall, the technology available to us is ever expanding in the world today, and only by utilizing the tools provided to students, they will be able to learn to solve problems creatively, have the ability to think deeply and overall have a more grand school experience.

just really great and someone was really interested in it.”

It is quite a big mystery in Mr. Rosato’s class, Mina Sakay ’21, who was in Rosato’s Algebra I class said: “He was a super supportive teacher and he does not deserve to have his gnome stolen.”

Now the real question is, who is the culprit? Junior Mckenna Dorscht confesses innocence, although she has a few ideas on who it could be. She said, “One day it was there, one day it was gnome more!”

HEIGHT: 7 cm tall Made with: resin Key features: a solar panel

devilish act.

Missing: Mr. Rosato’s Gnome

Possible suspects: Mckenna Dorscht ’21, Ava Ambuske ’21, Jack Matter ‘21 Main Suspect: Mckenna Dorscht Reasoning: Dorscht seemed very fishy as she was way to quick to confirm her innocence and throw everyone else under the bus. Not convinced she is the angel in this

Ava Ambuske: She may be quiet when you first meet her, but when questioned on where the gnome went, she was adamant that it was not her, she has never been more vocal than in this moment Jack Matter: Jack is the kind of person that would be suspected to do an act this dirty.

But “gnomeone” can confirm this accusation so he seems to fall at the bottom of the suspects list.

PREP LIFE

10 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

EDITOR: CECE BROWN ‘21 KAITLYN KING ‘23 HOBBS HEGEDUS ‘22

Joy and Trius: XC National Champions MARGOT GWYNN ‘23 Staff Writer

when he raced in a CYO meet in 2019 and got recruited based off his performance. Joy reshmen Carter Joy and Miles Trius later told Trius about the team, and they both recently won the 2019 USA Track and trained with the Rain City Flyers. The temField National Junior Olympic Cross peratures in Madison were below freezing, Country Championship. On December 13th, and in order to adjust to the temperatures, Trius and Joy took a flight from Sea-Tac air- the boys started running at night in the rain port all the way to Dane County Regional when they were back in Seattle.

Their team ran a tough, hilly, yet Airport in Madison, scenic race, and Wisconsin where they “If you put enough work crossed the finish raced on the Yahara Hills Golf Course the into something you’ll get line at all different times. As individufollowing day. The als, the runners had boys had to miss Seattle no idea where they Prep’s Tolo Dance, and where you want to go” stood on the team Joy admitted, “It was podium. After finslightly inconvenient, Carter Joy ‘23 ishing the race, Tribut after training for a us and Joy’s team race and winning it, it retreated to their was absolutely worth designated tent and waited for the race ofit.”

The two boys have evi- d e n t l y ficials to calculate the scores of each runner been running since kindergarten based off to determine to winning team. “When the their lean builds and dedicated mindsets. results came in that our team had won, the Although they both started at a young age, tent erupted. Everyone was ecstatic that we Joy said “We really took training seriously had won” the boys shared.

As the first National title that the in the seventh grade because we saw how our work was paying off, which motivated team had won, the runners on the Rain City Flyers were elated to have had their incredus to keep working harder.”

In the USATF league, they ran ible amount of work pay off. Joy said “My through a club team called the “Rain City takeaway from this experience is that if you Flyers”. Joy first got involved with this team put enough work into something you’ll get

F

GRACE WEIAND ‘20 Visual Editor

Check it Out! Prep’s Lovely Librarians

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eattle Prep’s library is well known as one of the best hangout spots on campus. Whether it’s to meet with a teacher, get some homework done, or just take a minute to relax, students flock to the fifth floor without fail – every morning, free period, and lunchtime.

The Panther sat down with the two Prep librarians – Mrs. Borgen and Mrs. Lovejoy to hear more about how they’ve cultivated such a beloved space.

For many students, the library is a space where they can be their most productive selves, in a different way than they would be in class or at home. “One thing you learn about in library school is the idea of a “third place”, beyond work/school or your home,” Borgen said. “What you

choose to bring to the third place is up to funny that during free periods especially, seyou.” Lovejoy described the comfort in the niors can be anywhere and so many of them predictability of the choose to be in the library – “It’s a really “We’re so lucky to work library,” said Lovenice place for kids to joy. “We have some with so many kids and connect. We’re lucky really comfortable to have such a com- have so much flexibility furniture, it’s usually fortable space here.” a little warmer in here

Senior Lauthan anywhere else,” in how we can help” ren Boehm, who is which draws seniors known for her love of to the library. the library said: “De- Mrs. Lovejoy

Boehm said, “I spite all the changes spend time there both throughout the years with o u r because I love reading, so being surrounded schedules and activities, the library is by books is really calming, plus the libraralways there.” ians are always so helpful. It’s never bor Seniors have a particularly spe- ing in the library- there’s always something cial relationship to the library due to the happening!” freedom that comes with free periods. “It’s “We’re so lucky to work with so

Fly Me to The Moon

KARLKAMMERECK ‘20 Staff Writer

M

Photo courtesy of Carter Joy Miles Trius ‘23 (second from left) and Carter Joy ‘23 pose on the podium at the Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship. The duo won the team championship with their Club, Rain City Flyers. where you want to go” perienced many downfalls and hardships

Trius agreed and said that this ex- mentally and physically.” perience was an “exciting moment to have won a race together as a group of boys who have worked so hard to get to. We have ex-

any people dream of flying a plane. Nic Alinger, a senior at Seattle Prep has not only dreamt about flying but has put his dream into action. Alinger stated, “I have always wanted to become a pilot, for as long as I can remember, flying has just fascinated me.”

Alinger began his flight journey this past summer by going through a Ground School. “Ground school covers basic knowledge you will need as a pilot, for example how an aircraft works, safety, weather theory, and navigation.”

After going to Ground School, Alinger was qualified and in search of more.

Because of Alinger’s age, he had the ability to take part in in-person training. After performing a slight bit of research, Alinger located Galvin Flying at Boeing field. He has a flight instructor who has been working with him on achieving his private pilot license.

The private pilots license includes two main tests which Alinger will have to

pass. Alinger will need to pass a written exam and a Check Ride with an examiner. In his Check Ride Alinger will be required to take off and land the plane and put it through maneuvers safely. Some of these maneuvers include flying the plane in circles around a ground point, making big swooping S shaped turns over a highway, making steep or tight turns and demonstrating what to do in case a stall of power.

Aside from passing that test, there are additional flight time requirements.

These include 40 flight hours, 3 night cross country flight hours (100 mile flight round trip), 10 night landings, a dual cross country (150 mile flight with flight instructor), 10 solo hours and 5 solo cross country hours.

Alinger also stated that as a precaution he is required three hours of simulated IFR flight (Instrument Flight Rules). This training requires him to put on a plastic hood which blocks his view to simulate being stuck in a cloud. According to Alinger the most difficult part about the training is focus, “In order to fly you need to focus at a high level for an extended period of time.”

Despite this, Alinger is very mo-

many kids and have so much flexibility in how we can help,” said Lovejoy. In discussing the uniqueness of the work they do, Borgen said: “We have no preconceived notions of what kids’ grades are like, which is really special.”

When asked what reading advice they could give to Prep students, both librarians agreed that the act of reading is beneficial no matter what. “Don’t apologize for your taste, but try to push yourself to read new types of books”, said Borgen. Check out the rotating display of student-chosen books to find something new!

“We’re glad that so many students come to the library and like it here,” said Lovejoy. Their final sentiment? “HEADPHONES!” Seriously Panthers, wear headphones.

Photo courtesy of Nic Alinger Nic Alinger ‘20 flying over Seattle, working on developing his piloting skills. tivated and passionate about the topic of Nic has had to sacrifice rowing, but he says, flight. He says, “I really like flying and I’m “After going through my priorities flying is not sure if I want to be a pilot later in life, something that I really want to do.”

Nic is still working on his pilot’s but I do know that I want to study Aerospace license and hopes to be the best pilot he can Engineering in College.”

Considering these intense require- be. ments of receiving the private pilots license,

ARTS EDITORS: JEFFREY GO ‘23, KARL KAMMERECK, ‘20 PAIGE STANLEY ‘21

11 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

Cats: An Unfortunately Unforgettable Abomination CYRUS BERGER ‘20 Staff Writer

“H

aunting.”

“This ruined music, movies, and animals for me.”

“I wish I could score this less than 1 star.”

This is how IMDB users yankees2519, michaelely-10627, and adamkear attempted to convey the terror and desperation they felt while watching Cats, the frightening and deeply confusing musical adaptation unleashed upon theaters on December 20, 2019.

None of these users, however, could adequately explain the two godless hours of Cats. The movie is beyond words; it is, as Idris Elba’s Macavity whispers for no reason halfway through the movie, “ineffable.”

The movie’s most memorably horrifying feature is its bizarre CGI. The cats in the movie have terrifying human faces and strange combinations of human and cat bodies. The close-ups are nightmare-inducing.

Perhaps the strangest detail of these deeply misguided character designs are the cats’ human hands, which sometimes appear with fur and sometimes simply with the actors’ natural skin.

Cats’ story defies explanation almost as much as its visuals. Most of the movie consists of various cats simply intro-

ducing themselves, although the lyrics to their songs are often inaudible. A thin plot surrounds these songs: a tribe of cats called the Jellicles (a word sung about repeatedly but never actually defined) holds a ball each year where one cat is selected to ascend into the sky in a chandelier to somehow have a new life. How this occurs or what this actually means is never explained. However, the villainous Macavity tries to steal victory in the competition by somehow making the other cats disappear with magic powers.

(Macavity is one of two cats with confusing and unexplained magic powers.)

This plot, however, is mostly to frame a series of musical numbers which range from relatively bearable, like Ian McKellen’s solo, to nightmarishly terrible.

Many of these songs contain unintelligibly quiet lyrics, with the few that are understandable often repeating their lyrics what feels like 10 trillion times. The most notable musical number, “The Old Gumbie Cat,” comes early on, when Rebel Wilson’s Jennyanydots forces humanoid mice children to dance while eating the heads of equally humanoid cockroaches, a scene that will stay with viewers forever in the worst way possible.

Still, as confusing as the effects decisions and story are, the most confusing element of Cats might be the cast. Cats managed to bring in world-renowned actors, including two different knighted cast members, to play poorly rendered singing

cats. The movie provides a unique opportunity to see dignified people in a movie with absolutely no dignity.

In fact, Cats, despite its many disturbing qualities, may still have some value for its many unique traits. Despite its deep awfulness, watching the movie is rarely bor-

Graphic Credit: Jeffrey Go ing. The consistently terrible decisions that went into Cats give it an undeniable novelty.

There has truly never been a movie like it, and, if there is a God, there never will be again.

Netflix Loses Viewers with Show Removals

ADDIE ROZA ‘21 Staff Writer

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irst it was the Carrie Diaries that vanished, then Pretty Little Liars, and now Friends! Netflix has slowly been removing some of its most popular TV shows. Avid Netflix watchers wonder: “How could they do this to us?”. It turns out, Netflix does not have a choice on keeping all their TV shows and movies indefinitely.

This sadly means all binge watching eventually must come to an end.

Netflix licenses TV shows and Movies from content providers and studios, however those licenses only last for so long.

Along with expiring licenses, competing streaming services like Disney Plus, Hulu, and Amazon Video seem to be taking back the rights to their movies. Once Disney Plus was launched, Netflix lost 18 popular TV shows and movies and within the next year will continue to lose nine more titles.

As Netflix continues to remove their most popular shows, subscribers get angry. The sitcom Friends was removed December 31, 2019: a great way to start off the new year! Bevin Kelly ’21 was devastated, and said, “despite the horrendous fake laugh, Friends is a good TV show that a lot of people watch, and Netflix is hurting itself by taking it down.”

Another Friends fan, Kennedy Klein ’22, said “It made me so sad when I went on to watch it and it wasn’t there anymore.” Netflix left its viewers going into the new year sad and upset. And it plans on doing the same for year 2021.

The Office, as of 2018, is Netflix’s most watched series. However, at the end of this year, NBC is taking back the rights of the show and will be streaming it on their own platform. Owen Nelson ’21 thinks, “Netflix is losing its money maker. Once it is taken down, I’ll spend a lot less time and money on Netflix.”

Parks and Rec will be following the path of the Office in October 2020. Lau-

ren Boehm ’20 expresses her opinions about Netflix’s changes: “I will be bummed but also Netflix has its own good shows. I do want to get Disney Plus, though, so I can watch all the other shows taken off.”

Along with the previously mentioned TV shows, rumors have spread that Shameless, Criminal Minds, New Girl, and Seattle’s own Greys Anatomy will be taken off Netflix next. Despite losing some shows, Netflix seems to be producing a lot of original titles. The question is: will Netflix originals live up to the removed TV hows?

OLIVIA MANNING ‘21 Staff Writer

of all grade levels can both find a sense of community and bring all kinds of ideas and talents to bear on our work.”

Dublin adds, “my favorite thing about Ignite is definitely the collaboration that goes toward graphic design. Everyone contributes across multiple projects (book, magazines, posters, website), and it’s a great relaxed creative atmosphere.”

Although Ignite has been able to reach more of the Prep community through their brand-new book and magazines, they continue to face the obstacle of shy students who are not confident in sharing their creative writing with the wider community.

Dotsey expressed her desire for students to be “as confident in their literary talents as they deserve to be.”

Despite this obstacle, the Ignitten Kittens continue to thrive and encourage everyone to embrace their talents and share them with the community. They have created an atmosphere that welcomes creativity and rewards hard work. Dotsey stated that, “The Ignitten Kittens never cease to delight me with their creativity, work ethic, and camaraderie. And those three things, I find, nourish and sustain one another!”

Ignite Offers Creative, Relaxed Atmosphere

I

Photo Courtesy of Clara Dublin The staff of Ignite, Seattle Prep’s online journals of creative writing and visual arts. Ignite offers students a creative outlet and relaxed environment.

gnite is Seattle Prep’s online journal of creative writing and visual arts. Led by Clara Dublin ’20, the Editor in Chief, Ignite has flourished this past year by taking their online-only journal and producing both a hardcover book for the Prep library and magazines for the entire Prep community.

Dublin notes, “my main goal was to get Ignite to more Prep students. I knew that the website wasn’t reaching as many people as we could, so I led two new projects: the archival library book and the magazines. I was really proud about getting both of them completed, and proud of my team for being so open to growing.”

Ignite is a second-semester-only Window that is centered around creativity and furthering the mission of Seattle Prep through encouraging the development of the whole person. Ms. Dotsey, adviser of Ignite, remarks that her favorite thing about working with the Ignite staff is “because it’s a small, no-cut group, it has a relaxed, family-like atmosphere in which students

12 THE PANTHER | FEBRUARY 14, 2020

EDITORS: JACK COLEMAN ‘23, CARA WEIGAND ‘21 & TIA FLORES ‘21

The Hobbit Hole HOBBS HEGEDUS ‘22

Senior Danica Dytioco spoke with Pep and Jazz band director Ms. Bost on the ins and outs of the jazz program. She detailed the progression of the program and how it began with a simple idea, suggested by a parent to a full-fledged program hosting multiple concerts a year. Ms. Bost explains the flexibility and independence within the program and catering for individual students to add to the whole.

New Years Resolutions at Seattle Prep ANNIE ROSKE ‘23 Staff Writer

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s not only the year ends, but also the decade, the common practice of creating New Year’s resolutions becomes important again. The idea of “new year, new me” takes over as people set goals for 2020, each with different intentions and motives.

“One of my New Year’s resolutions is to get stronger” said Ms. Young, math teacher at Prep, “My resolutions do usually relate to my long-term goal of being healthier.”

Young is not only a math teacher at Prep, but also is very involved in the Outdoors Club, which spends time hiking and

GAEL LOOR ‘22 Staff Writer

N

ew Year, New You. 2020 is here and we got some predictions on what is going to happen.

With Olympic Week on its way, students and faculty alike are getting competitive. Who will win Olympic Week this year? José Aviles-Baquero ’22 said, “Sophomores, because we are more diverse in our

rock climbing. Being a part of this club and her goal of getting stronger are very closely related, and constantly build off each other.

Creating a resolution that can be accomplished by doing things you have already incorporated into your daily schedule, like what Ms. Young has done, makes a goal much more obtainable and realistic.

As for students, most resolutions relate to personal goals, typically outside of school. Not as much related to sports or social life, but more personal resolutions relating to long term goals.

“My New Year’s resolution is to stop procrastinating and be more optimistic about myself,” says Paolo Almario’23, “I guess it’s focused on myself and how I affect others because I need to develop my-

self as a person to be more optimistic and driven.” Although Paolo has other goals in soccer and school, he saw a goal in his personal life the most important for the New Year.

“My New Year’s resolution is every day to think of at least three things that I am grateful for” Says Olivia Pasco’23. This goal, again, helps to improve her personal image of herself. Just like many other students and teachers, Olivia recognized an aspect of her life that she felt was lacking and set a goal that will work to improve that aspect and build on her overall personality and self-image.

When it comes to why people create New Year’s Resolutions, the overall theme is new year, new me. “I love the idea of a fresh start. As a teacher, I get two new

years- one on January 1, and the other on the first day of school,” Says Ms. Young in response to the question; Why do you make New Year’s Resolutions?

“I make resolutions because I never feel like I’m the best person I can be and I am never able to find the motivation to become that person, but it feels like if it’s a new year I really can be a new me, so I take it one step at a time with my goals.” says Paolo, “It’s not like you can lose anything by making one [a New Year’s resolution] so why not, right?”

Although motives and resolutions vary, it can safely be said that on January first almost everybody has something they are working towards for the New Year; a resolution building toward a better self.

abilities.”

On the other hand, Camden Wyatt ’22 stated that “Seniors will win because that’s how it goes.” Abby Nolan ’22 agreed that the class of 2020 would win because “it’s rigged that way.”

Another event that’s coming up this year is the 2020 election. Aviles-Baquero doesn’t really follow politics but if he had to guess, Trump would win again. Wyatt backed this up saying “I don’t really fol-

low politics, but I’d be lying if I said Trump didn’t have a really good chance.”

Nolan followed, saying that “Trump remains very popular with his supporters.” Speaking of Trump, after the bombing in Iran, the U.S. worried and made jokes about WW3. Aviles-Baquero said that “hopefully it won’t happen, but things aren’t looking too good right now.”

Nolan agreed, saying “Absolutely not, America is too strong. There will al-

ways be flare ups here and there but none of them are significant enough to be World Wars.”

There are many events and activities that are going to happen this year. January just ended, leaving 11 more months to go; and the Prep Panthers are on the second semester, waiting for summer.

school has never used it in the first place.

The bell is too high up to be reached, so it can never be used. There was never any intention for the bell to be used in the first place. The bell was a gift from one of the graduating classes of either 2004 or 2005.

Even though the exact class remains unknown we do it was donated before construction the Healy Chapel and the Commons and installed when the buildings were finished. The school had to store it for a year between the donation and the completion of the project.

There are two theories to why a bell of all things was donated. One rumor is students simply thought it would be cool to

have a bell. The second theory however has deeper meaning that each graduating class would ring it on the final day of their class.

In a salute to the school and all the memories students have made at Prep. Despite, this still remaining mystery of its purpose it is certain that the bell has been used before.

The alarm of brass has echoed the school halls before the first year after installation.

Although it was not easy.

The bell is mostly unreachable because the architect did not have a niche for the bell in the original design, so its installation is a last-minute change. Even with the bell’s rich history most of it has been forgotten. Its overlooked past results from the

people who did remember its origins. The class who donated the bell has left with their memories.

Students will probably never get to hear the tintinnabulation of the early morning bell again, yet it remains a welcome oddity to grace the school’s hall.

2020 Predictions

Commons Bell: Origins and Mysteries Revealed

RAQUEL WONG ‘23 Staff Writer

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till as glass hanging above passing students as dust collects on its metal shell. The Commons Bell or more correctly the PACCAR Bell-, PACCAR the original and real name of the place students now call the Commons, - has never been used and may never be used. But why has it never been used? If Prep doesn’t use it then why does the school even have it?

Confirmed information given by Mr. Hendricks and Mr. Hickey will finally put these questions to rest.

The most surprising fact about the bell is it has never stopped used because the