couple of weeks before spring break, just after warming up, band director Steven Schmitz paused class to share an announcement. A year had passed since the band lost senior percussionist Evan McManus and his father Damian when they disappeared on a spring break trip in Colorado. The band community decided to plant two trees in Louisiana Oaks Park to commemorate the lives of Evan and Damian. “We need to honor and remember them and do something. So I’ve talked with some different parties that might be involved to make sure that everybody w o u l d agree with and support this way of honoring,” Schmitz said. As the anniversary approached, Schmitz contacted staff and faculty about how to honor their memory. Equity coach Arika Mareck suggested an idea to support the rest of the McManus family with a gift. The band raised funds and presented spa gift cards to Katherine and Lauren McManus. Junior Ryan Casey was one of the band members to present the gift. “They seemed very excited to get the gift from the band,” Casey said. “It’s good that the band decided to do something for them.” Final details for the tree planting ceremony are not finalized. Schmitz plans to plant the trees in the summer.
tudents’ hands shot up when asked what they thought about the school they attend and how they wanted it to change. These thoughts impact the process of selecting the next high school principal. Before summer, students will know the principal’s identity for the upcoming school year. Human resources director Richard Kreyer said it’s important for students to be involved. “Leadership matters. The principal sets the tone for the high school,” Kreyer said. “They select the teachers that
ultimately teach the students.” The administration is using an outside firm, Kyte Consulting, to help narrow the list of candidates after advertising and posting the position opening. Students, staff, parents and other community members provided input at a stakeholder listening session April 9. Freshman Brooklyn Donelson said she participated in the discussion to ensure her voice was heard. “More people should have been engaged,” Donelson said. “The whole system revolves around us getting our education. The principal should treat us like people and not look down on us.” The student listening session involved students posing potential questions they would ask in an interview with candidates.
Charlie Kyte and Ken Dragseth, members of Kyte Consulting, told students these questions may be used in an actual interview with candidates. Kreyer said the administration is aiming to exceed expectations with this session. Senior Shmuel Lyubeznik said he was skeptical of the session, but it was a positive experience. “There wasn’t enough care in the student body,” Lyubeznik said. “I don’t believe those ideas (from the session) could genuinely be interviewed for.” The administration is legally obligated not to release the names of candidates. The administration will announce two to three finalists prior to the second round of interviews April 21-23. The final decision will be publicly announced sometime between May 12-15.
he halls are filled with students whose backpacks are packed with materials, assigned by a curriculum decided on years ago, while students rarely ask why they learn the material they do. According to Kari Ross, director of teaching and learning, the curriculum is supposed to align with state standards. “For the high school, teachers of those courses (under review) meet four times a year to look at curriculum and what they are supposed to be teaching,” Ross said. This past year, year-long freshman civics classes changed to a semester of civics and a semester of economics. Freshman Jacob Stillman said he thinks this change is beneficial because both classes contain important material. “I think I’ll be better prepared for future classes and later in life because both are important material to know,” Stillman said. According to Ross, the order of math classes will change next year although it will not affect any current high school students. “Next fall the freshmen will take geometry instead of algebra and will take algebra the next two years,” Ross said. “The reason we did this was so that students didn’t switch from algebra to geometry to algebra again.” Ross said students in advanced math classes will still have the option to decide what math they take. According to Ross, staff go through the courses to look at the content to align them with academic standards. “They change the courses so that students learn as much as they need to in order to get to the next class,” Ross said. Carley Kregness, head of the social studies department review process, said the curriculum changes in history courses will take place next year. “We’re going to make sure geography is embedded into 10th and 11th grades to meet the state standards,” Kregness said. Kregness said course review is an ongoing process. She said changes will be made to the IB history course next year as the changes that occur every seven years will take place then.
ight accidents occurred near the intersection of Wooddale and 36th the week following the start of construction of Highway 100. This marks the most accidents in this area ever, according to Jeff Jacobs, mayor of Saint Louis Park. St. Louis Park city officials sent a letter to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) addressing these issues, petitioning them to install temporary traffic signals at the Highway 7 and Wooddale Avenue. Jacobs said the only obstacle preventing the installation of temporary traffic lights is MnDOT. “It’s awful that it’s happening so close to the school,” Jacobs said. “We’re making enemies with perfect strangers,” Jacobs said. “I would have liked for them to install the traffic lights yesterday, but MnDOT isn’t cooperating.” One student affected by the construction is senior TJ Rempfer, whose route to the high school involves Highway 100. His current commute along
ecent neighborhood meetings led by the St. Louis Park Police Department unite students and neighbors to discuss issues around their homes and the community. Weekly neighborhood meetings last an hour and discuss issues concerning every one of Park’s 35 neighborhoods. Police Chief John Luse said the police department will voice its plans, such as new emergency procedures and technology, as well as respond to community members questions about issues. “Our goal of these neighborhood meetings is to connect more with the community while there is not a large issue going on,” Luse said. “We want to use this time to address our mission, ideas and new procedures, so we can continue to improve the quality of life in Park.” Sophomore Manny Hill said he sees these meetings as a good way for students to get involved with city safety and the police department.
“I would go to these meetings to find out more about what they are all about, but I think it would be interesting how students could be involved in city safety,” Hill said. According to Luse, neighborhood associations are the most important issue the department is trying to promote. Where residents are in charge of planning events and discussing issues occurring around the neighborhood. “This is a great opportunity also for teenage students to take a role in the community, and serve as a line of defense for their neighborhoods,” Luse said. Officer Erin Nordrum said despite the many benefits of organizing neighborhoods, the main reason for doing so is to increase safety, which she said comes from adults as well as students. “We want neighbors to help others out if they suspect suspicious activity, whether they are parents or they are children,” Nordrum said.
with many of his classmates are pushed to smaller side streets, causing unprecedented levels of traffic. “Highway 7 is the only road I can take now and then when I get onto Wooddale it’s really backed up,” Rempfer said. “It’s really bad leaving school later because of sports. During rush hour it’s way worse.” According to Jacobs, City Council expects the need for traffic lights and plans on installing permanent ones within the next two years. “We’re planning on installing permanent lights in the next year or two,” Jacobs said. “The Wooddale bridge was built with traffic signals in mind.” Junior Grace Williams said she would be in favor of adding another stoplight, since the Highway 7 and bike trail intersection is dangerous, especially for runners, bikers and other trail users. “As a runner it’s hard to cross the trail,” she said. “There are a lot of cars waiting to turn, and it gets very confusing.” Until traffic lights are installed, Jacobs said drivers should be cautious in detours because of increased traffic. “There has been an increase in collisions,” Jacobs said. “Fortunately no one’s been hurt, but it’s important to be careful.”
he Film Society of Minneapolis and St. Paul will host its 34th annual Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival April 9-25, giving local movie enthusiasts the opportunity to explore films outside of mainstream cinema. Eric Wilson, the festival coordinator and director of strategic partnerships, said the festival features 314 films from more than 60 countries, including Germany, Korea, India and Mexico. “Whether you like music documentaries, or late-night horror movies, or dramedies — drama comedies, or romance films, there’s really something for everybody,” Wilson said. Because these films are from around the world, many have very little distribution across the United States. The festival is the first time many of these films will be shown in Minnesota, providing a unique experience for film-goers, Wilson said. The festival separates the films into a number of programs including the newly added Cine Global program featuring films about a variety of the growing international communities across Minnesota. Junior Joe Villano said he likes the films give viewers an inside look at different groups of people that reside in the Twin Cities. “I think it could introduce some interesting perspectives on the different groups that live here,” Villano said. Additional film categories include LGBTQ Currents, Images of Africa and Culinary Cinema. Certain films will also be judged in categories such as emerging filmmaker and documentary,
according to the Film Society of Minneapolis/St. Paul’s website. In addition to movie screenings, the festival hosts a number of other events, including panels discussing topics such as music composition for films, women in the film industry and creating music videos. Junior Charlie Berg, a former IB film student, said he’s interested in attending a number of panels to learn more about making films, a career he is interested in pursuing after high school. “There’s one for cinematography that I want to go to. There’s another one for music in film, another about crowd source funding, which is kind of specific, but for anybody that wants to go into film as a career it’s looking like it’s going to be a new frontier for producing,” Berg said. Additionally, the festival offers many opportunities for movie-goers to interact with directors and actors, Wilson said. “We have lots of parties where people are encouraged to come meet the filmmakers,” Wilson said. These parties have various themes, including cartoons, film trivia and a celebration of Minnesota-made films, according to the Film Society of Minneapolis/St. Paul’s website. Villano said he thinks the international film festival will provide students with an opportunity to experience types of films they’ve never seen before. “They are probably going to be very different from what you regularly see in theaters, so it’d probably be fun to experience something new with friends,” Villano said. Movies will be screened at theaters across the Twin Cities and in Rochester, primarily at St. Anthony Main Theater in Minneapolis. Individual tickets for movie screenings can be purchased online or at movie venues. Discounted tickets for students cost $6. For more information on movie screenings, ticket purchases and other festival events, visit www.mspfilm.org.
I am proud of my unique heritage, despite others wrongly seeing my country of origin as a dangerous, hostile and corrupt society. This assumption could not be more false. My father is from Iran, and day to day that shapes my life in many positive ways. Arguably the most prominent influence is my interest in staying informed about the country. This spring my family packed its bags and traveled across the world to Iran. One of the first aspects I noticed about Iranians is how poorly their society as a whole is represented. In a combination of poor media portrayal and leadership the Iranian masses are misconstrued. Many Iranians, especially in younger generations, are concerned about the skewed perception Americans have of the people and their culture. The most common question I received while in Iran was “what do your friends think about you going to Iran?” They were shocked that many found it cool and interesting. Many Americans are still under the impression that the Middle East is nothing more than a desert with religious extremists harboring a passionate hatred for the West. Iran is a developed, urban society. But it has a corrupt government that leads people to believe that the cultural divide is bigger than it is. Many Iranians voice longstanding frustration toward the government. Common vexations expressed are the prohibition of basic freedoms, the subduing of their people, imposing religious laws and negatively affecting ties with other countries. Rocky relationships and distrust causes unnecessary barriers between the people of those countries. I hope people will take away one thing from my story: as people, we are no different. Nothing makes one group of people superior to another. Not skin color, location, government, stereotypes. Especially not a few people who poorly represent the whole of their counterparts. Iranians are wholesome, loving people who deserve to be viewed with much respect. Despite an unfortunate governmental situation, the people and experience the country of Iran has to offer should not be looked down upon.
Freshman Jamison Christopher plays the flute with the freshman band and composes his own music at home.
I like to create my own music. (It is) exciting and hard when I learn a new piece, but it is fun.
I get help from a para(professional) named Daniel, but I mostly listen to a CD that Mr. Schmitz makes for me. I listen to the notes.
interested in it, it takes me a week to two weeks, at least.
that with listening to other people playing, like the other flute players around me and the CD that Mr. Schmitz makes.
but the flute will always be my main instrument.
Native Chinese and sometimes African music. I came from China, so I mostly write those kinds of songs and mostly play that style of music. The way that they write it and play it is interesting.
I always have liked to play the flute. I started playing the bamboo flute in China, and I like the sound.
(I write music) when I am bored. I write music to the style that I write my poems in, more of a quiet style. I just write it for myself.
It has helped me get over my blindness. It also helped me learn how to speak English by listening to music.
I practice it a lot and I write my own music a lot, so I have to use the flute to make it and write it.
It depends on how much I am into (the piece). If I am really into it, it takes me about two days to memorize it, but if I am not really
I cannot read music, so I replace
I played the guitar for a while and I just picked up the saxophone,
It all depends on what I am going to do after high school.
ith an emphasis on awareness, the St. Louis Park Emergency Program (STEP) hopes to combat hunger in the community at its annual Empty Bowls event, according to event co-chair Jennifer Ortale. Ortale said Empty Bowls is a free event that includes food and entertainment with all proceeds going to STEP. “Our event includes a simple meal of soup and bread, with entertainment throughout the event and the opportunity to take home a locally made commemorative bowl,” Ortale said. The event is a major fundraiser for STEP, Ortale said, allowing the organization to meet the needs of nearly one in 10 St. Louis Park residents. “This event generally raises $20,000 or more each year,” Ortale said. “This helps STEP purchase food from food banks
during the lean summer months when food needs for families can rise as children aren’t in school.” Ortale said Empty Bowls focuses on awareness and helps St. Louis Park residents see STEP as more than a food shelf. “(STEP) is a clothes closet; there is a program that provides rides to medical appointments and there is Emergency Assistance available for other life events,” Ortale said. “STEP helps get many St. Louis Park kids ready for school with a Back to School Program.” Commemorative bowls, given to attendees, serve as a reminder of the hunger in the St. Louis Park community, according to Ortale. Park pottery teacher Casey Wilson said students assist in the making of bowls for the event. “Students are making bowls, and if they choose to donate, they could do that,” Wilson said. Junior Muad Abdi said he believes awareness of hunger in the community is critical. He said he thinks events like Empty Bowls help open people’s eyes to the need around them. “People need to be aware of those who are not as fortunate as others,” Abdi said. The Empty Bowls event will
take place 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for lunch and 4-7 p.m. for dinner April 23 at Westwood Lutheran Church on Cedar Lake Road. Ortale said she encourages students to take part in the event. “We want students to see this and to participate,” Ortale said. “Students are welcome. If you are a student and you attend, you’ll see your neighbors, your teachers, business owners, faith leaders, all coming together with a common goal: to relieve food insecurity in our community.” Ortale said students interested in helping out or becoming involved with the event should visit www.stepslp.org and fill out the online registration form.
It helps me to know where to play, how to play it and the style I need to play it in. He instructs me through a CD so he does not have to stay after school and help me.
I had a private lesson teacher, but I stopped going to lessons after I got really good at playing the flute, and then I learned by listening.
yearly parent meeting about sex health took a new twist this year with the inclusion of Sexual Health Club (SHEC) member senior Dave Herrera. SHEC adviser and health teacher Alison Luskey said the meeting included information about em-
bedded health as well as a presentation from two guest speakers with HIV. “In the shift from the semester health to embedded health, we felt like we wanted to be more clear about what embedded health is,” Luskey said. “One purpose was to explain about embedded health, and two, was to give some information about sexual health.” Luskey said Herrera suggested SHEC talk to parents about sexual health and ‘The Talk’
“It can be an awkward topic, and it’s good to partner with parents in providing messages about sexual health,” Luskey said. Herrera said in order to prepare for his talk, he read a book called “For Goodness Sex” by Al Vernacchio, a sexual educator. “I gave a short presentation based on that book, on the knowledge I have from Ms. Luskey and the knowledge I have from working at the teen clinic. We talked about sexual values and tips and
tricks for talking to your kids about sex,” Herrera said. Herrera said the sex talk is very important especially now that we live in an overly sexualized society. “The sex talk is a really taboo thing and it is something that should be a normal, regular conversation about sex with your parents,” Herrera said. Information about SHEC meetings will be posted around the school when the club organizes the plans for their upcoming meetings.
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group of freshman pledges to the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity surrounded a Yale sorority at night chanting these words, according to the Yale Daily , Oct. 13, 2010. er this incident was reported, controversy came out cong whether or not these freshman boys were actually threatexual violence. DKE national organization ordered the Yale chapter to fraternity activities for less than a month. other charges were filed against the fraternity members. ording to Gavin Grivna, assistant director at University of esota’s Aurora Center, this exemplifies the entitlement that s with rape culture.
he idea of rape culture really is about entitlement and power. It seems to have really a singular narrative: that n are seen as sexual objects and less than those who idenmen and masculine,” Grivna said. “The problem with that it leads to people seeing and not recognizing how trauape is as an experience, but also how prevalent rape is in ety.” mples of rape culture appear in the media, particularly in ic industry where lyrics often get away with normalizing d supporting the idea of objectifying women. rred Lines” by Robin Thicke, the longest running number gle of 2013 according to Billboard.com, demonstrates the ability to glamorize sexual assault and distract listeners e lyrics, which condone sexual assault. “The phrases that are saying ‘I know you want it,’ make the assumption that you have consent,” Grivna said. “It’s really illustrating violence against women and making that OK in a fun, playful way in this video where everyone’s smiling and dancing around.” The media’s glorification of sexual assault paints an unrealistic picture of rape and minimizes
the trauma the victim experiences, Grivna said. According to a 2014 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 19.3 percent of females and nearly 7 percent of males within the United States have been raped during the course of their lifetime. Health teacher Allison Luskey said she witnesses rape culture in the high school and notices a casual tone accompanying it. “What I’ve seen that has changed in the past few years is sort of subtle, but (rape culture) comes out in conversations and has kind of become more of norm talk,” Luskey said. “I still feel like rape is not taken with a serious undertone.” Senior Shoshi Fischman, one of the founders of the Sexual Health Education Club (SHEC), said she agrees and thinks many students may not know the extent to which rape culture affects them or how they might unintentionally contribute to it. “I think that St. Louis Park is very well educated compared to other high schools, but I still think it’s not where it should be,” Fischman said. Junior Idris Hussein said he hears others contributing to rape culture verbally both in person and on social media, whether the connection with rape is consciously there or not. “Usually it’s about sports games or academics,” Hussein said. “My friend will say ‘I pounded that so hard.’ It’s not OK.”
housands of examples of verbal representation of rape culture commonly show up on Twitter with a simple search. Examples include: “The math test today raped me and there’s no coming back from that,” “That other team? I easily raped them.” In addition to social media, rape culture appears in many other forms, such as movies, television shows, advertising and music. Luskey said she remembers listening to “Blurred Lines” and thought the song was catchy, fun and upbeat. “When you really take a look at the lyrics of the song it crosses every line of what I stand for,” Luskey said. “There are some campaigns that are coming out about stopping (rape culture) but at the same time we’re hearing a mixed message from the media. There’s so much confusion there.” Luskey said senior year health class focuses around preparing students for life after high school. She said she leads class discussions about consent, boundaries and safety. “The piece that without question has to be discussed too is safety when somebody is on their own, especially when there’s alcohol or marijuana or drugs,” Luskey said. “We’re really looking at some real strategies on what we would want people to do to keep themselves safe when talking about the party scene.” The SHEC focuses on peer-to-peer education, and although the club does not have meetings focused specifically on rape culture, Fischman said the topic is discussed almost every meeting. “(Rape culture) is going to be more embedded in everything else that we’re doing,” Fischman said. “We try and pick topics teens are already talking about and show them how embedded rape culture is in their lives.” Fischman said she thinks because rape is constantly reinforced in the media, teenagers think it’s normal, which is not the case. “It says to teens that if the media is allowed to victim blame and trivialize assault then so are they,” Fischman said. “Just because you see this as the norm in the media doesn’t mean it’s the way it should be.”
r a large population of the student body, the upcoming months or years will involve transitioning onto a college campus. Based on statistics from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center in 2011, one in five women experiences rape or attempted rape while in college. According to Tracy Deutsch, a professor of gender, women
and sexuality studies at the University of Minnesota, the increased independence and lack of constant supervision that comes with college contributes to the widespread presence of rape culture on college campuses. However, she said she thinks the views of women and violence are not taken seriously enough in high school, which leads students to further perpetuate rape culture in college. “There’s a lot more autonomy in college and places where there’s less supervision where assault can happen later. Having said that, I think the ideas and the beliefs that allow assaults to happen come in high school and then are exacerbated on college campuses,” Deutsch said. For Fischman, the idea of transitioning onto a college campus next year comes with hesitation because of potential assault occurring there. “It’s nerve-wracking because walking down the street is intimidating if you’re a woman in today’s culture. So especially on a college campus where drinking is a thing and people are not very close. It’s just scary,” Fischman said. In addition to the sexual assault itself, another aspect of rape culture in college is the potential fear of reporting it and talking about it with others, which may cause shame and humiliation from peers, according to Deutsch. “You lose your anonymity. You have to deal with people questioning your truthfulness. You might have to confront the assaulter, and there’s an enormous amount of skepticism on your claim of what you were doing to cause the assault,” Deutsch said. Grivna said he thinks students should look into the nature of rape culture and sexual assault prior to moving onto a college campus in order to ensure safety and increase awareness. “I think it is very important to have students and people as they’re transitioning to a new environment to learn more about what that climate is like,” Grivna said. “In particular, what exists at the college for support services, for advocacy and violence prevention.”
n order to raise awareness within the high school, Luskey said she thinks three main concepts need to be addressed: consent and what it entails, establishment of personal boundaries and safety when looking at the party scene. “If anything, what would come out of rape culture is really addressing the issue and the problem. What it is. What healthy sexuality looks like. What “no” looks like. What “yes” looks like and sounds like,” Luskey said. “Really defining that and teaching students to put in their boundaries and respect each others’ boundaries is really important.” Fischman said she thinks it’s important for teens to take active roles in these conversations instead of just adults leading them. This creates a less intimidating atmosphere to discuss the topic. “I think that peer-on-peer education is a lot more intellectual more than teacher-student, because we can have more of a conversation, not just a lecture,” Fischman said. “You tell people your stories and they learn from your experiences instead of just being told not to do something.”
n a weekly basis I get the same perplexing question: “What is synchronized swimming?” I could answer simply by saying we’re those crazy girls who put gelatin in their hair and dance in water, but that doesn’t even come close to describing this sport. I’ve been a synchro swimmer for eight years and let me tell you, synchro is much more than putting five packets of Knox gelatin on your head, wearing sparkly suits and putting on gobs of makeup. For me, synchro is not defined by all the glamour and gracefulness one sees above the water, rather the intensity and determination that takes place below the surface. Synchro is physically and mentally draining. It demands dedication and time. Synchro is getting out of bed at 5:30 a.m. in order to jump into the ice cold pool by 6:30 a.m. Synchro is telling yourself to stay underwater even though your body is screaming for oxygen. Synchro is singing along to every lyric of Beyoncé, which never gets old. When I say synchro is my life, I’m not kidding. The audience tends to see the superficial parts of synchro and not the entire picture. However, taking a look below the surface you’ll see the true complexity of the sport. As synchro swimmers we must complete physically challenging moves all while our heads are underwater. We have to have strength, stamina, flexibility and athleticism, but also a strong sense of rhythm and the capacity to execute the sport’s many positions, and transitions. We have to perform these positions in the same way as our teammates. It’s the epitome of a team sport. People make assumptions that synchro is easy or that “synchro isn’t a sport,” but what they don’t understand is each swimmer’s enormous dedication and effort is what makes the team. Inside and outside of the pool I’ve learned that it’s important to never judge what I don’t understand until I know what it’s like to let breathing become insignificant.
hen junior Justin Less hits the ball off the tee, he focuses more on what goes into the swing rather than the satisfaction of a successful swing. According to Less, golf is more than just a leisure activity. It is a lifelong, individual and self-motivating sport. “Golf is special because it’s
completely self-reliant,” he said. “You can only blame yourself for mistakes, which makes you push yourself to be the best.” Less said golf differs from any other sport because there are many factors that go into hitting the perfect shot, rather than simply aiming and shooting in a basketball hoop, running or catching a football. “Many people think all you do is swing a club, when in reality, there are so many components to a swing that must be executed perfectly in order to hit the ball well,” Less said. Coach Greg Goddard said
part of what makes golf difficult is the effort put into hitting a shot. “Being successful in golf means managing your errors,” Goddard said. “It is an errorprone sport but how you overcome your errors is what makes you successful.” Golf is more a mental than physical sport, according to senior Riley Knudson. He said golf requires mental toughness that is different than most sports. When hitting a poor shot on the course, it follows the player through the rest of the round he said. “You can be a great player
but not play well because of what you’re thinking and what is in your head,” Knudson said. Goddard said the misconception of golf being easy is because of the lack of physical contact. “The physical exertion is perceived as less than other sports, but the mental toughness and execution is what makes golf a difficult sport,” Goddard said. Junior golfer Mikey Segal said patience and precision make golf unique from other sports. “It requires you to think and use your brain where most other sports involve solely the action of playing,” Segal said.
eading into the spring, head track coach Richard Keith said the hardest obstacle to overcome was not filling spots for events, but filling the remaining spots of his coaching staff. This resulted in the return of four of his most successful alumni. Prior to the season, Keith met with former long and high jumper Lekpea Kordah, triple jumper Austin Delaney, distance runner Kelson MacKenzie and hurdler Scott Gilbert, all of whom are Park graduates. “All of these
guys wanted to get into coaching in some way, and they came to me because they were interested in coaching at the school they once ran at,” Keith said. According to Keith, coaches Delaney, Gilbert and Kordah competed at the state level in high school. However, Keith said he notices these coaches are respected, not because of their accomplishments, but by their attitudes at practice. “These guys are great role models, and I catch the sense that the younger guys respect them, not just for what they did in high school, but by how they carry themselves as people,” Keith said. Lekpea Kordah, who attended Augsburg College, competed in both track and soccer in college. He is the current jumps coach and said returning to Park is something he never imagined would happen, but is excited for the rest of the season. “It’s a great and unexpected feeling to be back at Park and help a program that helped me develop,” Kordah said. “I have great expectations for this year’s jumpers and their work ethic in general.” Junior high jumper Ray Whitlock, said he enjoys the commitment and energy these
coaches bring to the team. “I think the coaches are dedicated and really care about us jumpers,” Whitlock said. “It helps that they did track in college and know how fun it is and want us to experience the same joy and fun moments they did.” Keith, who is in his 20th year of coaching, said despite the benefits of younger coaches on his
staff, it also presents added responsibility for him in teaching them how to coach. “It’s rejuvenating to see the grads helping out because they can run with the students and they tend to understand them more,” Keith said. “But I now need to teach not only my runners how to run, but my coaches how to coach.”
I started playing in the third grade. This upcoming year will be my eighth year playing.
he only protection senior captain Maddie Brown has from a ball hitting her head is a pair of goggles. Even without a helmet she said she doesn’t worry about getting a concussion. Helmets are not a concern for Brown, although a new study might change that. Stick blows are the leading cause of concussions in girls’ lacrosse, according to a study by Brown University. The study was conducted to show the relationship between
various forms of headgear and the impact of stick blows. Athletes were called to perform a series of tests, including hitting mannequins with various types of headgear on them. The study concluded the boys’ lacrosse helmet was the most effective, reducing skull fractures and concussions. David Thorson, a family physician with a practice in sports medicine, said he has worked with athletes with head injuries for more than 20 years, and has considered the impact helmets have on lacrosse. “They don’t consider girls’ lacrosse (having) the same impact as boys’ lacrosse, because it’s supposed to be a non-contact sport,” Thorson said. “That’s why they’re getting away with not wearing helmets.”
Although this study may start the enforcement of helmets, the transition will not be easy, according to Brown. “Helmets are safer than what we wear now, which are goggles, but it will still be a hard transition because women’s lacrosse is a finesse sport,” Brown said. “There aren’t many instances where we get hit in the head, because it is a rule that you cannot have your stick in your or someone else’s sphere.” Safety is the main priority in a sport and should be taken seriously, according to Thorson. “Obviously, helmets will increase the cost for sports, but concussions also increase the cost of health. It’s a trade-off,” Thorson said. “But trading off for an athlete’s safety makes a whole lot of sense to me.”
My brother started playing when he was a sophomore in high school, which got me interested in the sport.
I play attack. My job is to produce points and play in the opposite end.
I think that it is a really good change to be in the high school league. It will be a good challenge for the team but will push us to work hard and have fun.
I shoot and pass with friends outside of school, but I also play on the Minnesota Loons Selects. This will be my second year on the team.
Yes, my dream is to play D1 lacrosse at Denver University.
espite being a relatively small club, the newly founded girls’ ultimate team works on building the foundation of its program through its success in the season and state competition, according to coach Seija Stranton. Stranton, one of three coaches, said she sees great potential in the club’s development in the coming years. “We are a very young team, which in the eyes of some might seem bad, but the girls are very driven,” Stranton said. “They have a lot of time to develop, come together as a team and have a lot of success.” Following the administrative approval of establishing the club, sophomore Sophie Kedrowski said she noticed increasing interest in the club from students. “Ultimate has really come a long way, and because of that we have a lot more involvement of more girls in ultimate,” Kedrowski said. “We have also gotten more support from the school and because of that we are now an actual, approved club, which is exciting.” According to Stranton, she sees the team as a possible contender against the best teams in the state because most schools don’t have a girls’ ulti-
I always make sure to get to games early and warm up my stick by passing and shooting. I listen to music and watch the JV game beforehand, and I like to picture the upcoming game ahead of me.
I want to be as good or even better than my brother. He was drafted for the Minnesota Swarm. Seeing his accomplishments is a good motivator for me.
mate team yet. Kedrowski said the team started its development through different activities and events outside of school, such as camps and clinics at different facilities “It has been really cool, super fun and practices have been great getting better as a team. We had a clinic at the U of M that all the girls went and got to bond at, and we will start to practice daily at different locations,” Kedrowski said. The team will practice on the field next to the track after school on Wednesday and Thursday. According to Kedrowski, girls can still join the team, and for more information on how to do so, email slp.girlsultimate@gmail.com.
My favorite part is practice. It’s fun to be with the team and I have always had great coaches that make lacrosse fun for me.
Yes, definitely. Conditioning is huge and playing multiple sports helps a lot to train for lacrosse.
St. Louis Park Senior High School 6425 West 33rd Street St. Louis Park, MN 55426 Peter Johnson Ivy Kaplan Madisen Lynch Natalie Vig Zach Tronson Noa Grossman, Noah Robiner & Erin Wells Jackson Eilers, Hannah Goldenberg, Jonah Kupritz & Emily Tifft Carolyn Guddal Harry Steffenhagen & Cedar Thomas Harrison Barden, Zoe Kedrowski, Heather Westwood & Natalie Sanford Andy Magill, Albie Sher, & Amira Warren Emily Melbye Sara Tifft Maddy Bremner Max Kent & Shoshana Leviton John Kinney Hannah Bernstein Kaylee Chamberlain & Zoë Eilers Neda Salamzadeh Amina Mohamud Mara Bacig, Joe Brandel, Brigid Duffy, Shayan Gilbert Burke, Hannah Goldenberg, Malik Grays, Sari Hattis, Abby Hickstein, David Hope, Jamie Halper, Kate Huber, Brita Hunegs, Celene Koller, Josh Mesick, Julia Nathan, Polina Pekurovsky, Conrad Phelan, Noa Raasch, Olivia Sieff & Daniel Vlodaver Allison Cramer Scott Meyers Quad Graphics Lori Keekley
The Echo is the official student-produced newspaper of St. Louis Park Senior High School. It is published tri-weekly for the school’s students,
he idea sexual assault can be used for a joke, while prevalent in society, is totally unacceptable. A common misconception is rape culture affects only women, which is not the case. A recent study Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded 7 percent of men will suffer from rape in their lives. Additionally 19.3 percent of women in the United States will be victims of rape according to the CDC. Only 10 percent of female rape
victims will report it and 5 percent of male victims will report it according to a Crisis Connection study. While rape is an undeniable fact in our society, the stigma associated with rape cannot be ignored. Demonstrated through the high proportion of rapes that go unreported, media victim shaming and public questions may be at the root of this problem. This may stem from the idea victims are responsible to protect themselves from sexual assault rather than the attacker’s fault.
This concept is reinforced when society questions rape victims, asking what they were wearing or if they were intoxicated, rather than accepting what they say at face value. While the relevant legal authorities have a duty to gain a full understanding of any reported crime, others are in no position to ask these questions. Rape culture does not only deal with the action of rape, but also the normalization of rape through the media and language use as well. Saying phrases and seeing im-
he police forces of American cities are the primary institution for enforcing our nation’s laws. But the nation is quickly realizing there can be confusion when those officers are the ones allegedly breaking laws. During the past year, the United States was shaken by a string of widely publicized acts of alleged police brutality. Accounts of law enforcement officers acting with unrequited violence are rising, from Staten Island to the suburbs of St. Louis. Many times ending with suspect’s death. Many have placed the blame on American gun culture, on underly-
ing racism or on the militarization of our local police forces, among myriad other reasons. But as difficult as it is to prescribe a reason to this concerning trend, that shouldn’t stop us from attempting to find a solution. One of the solutions being proposed is that all police officers wear body cameras and recording devices. In the past proponents of the idea raised the issue, but until recently it failed to receive the discussion it deserves. Mandatory cameras would provide undeniable video evidence in every case when an officer is questioned, benefiting society both when criminals and cops alike are put under legal scrutiny. When an officer is at fault such a system would allow courts to serve justice, and in most cases records such as this would be useful to prosecutors in bringing crimi-
nals to justice. A cop who follows the law would see no downside. The death of a civilian is always a high priority for a police department to investigate. But it is often difficult to know exactly what occurred, and oftentimes investigators have only the officer’s word to go on. Having a first-person record of what transpired would help exonerate innocent officers who were legitimately threatened, or deem guilty those who acted unnecessarily. An honest cop has nothing to lose. In our city, police cars display the motto “protect and serve.” When someone takes an oath to do that, they give up some rights. Law enforcement officers should be held to a higher standard than ordinary citizens. There is a method by which we can ensure this; all policemen should wear cameras.
ages that trivialize rape and its effects are all major factors in rape culture. Many such ideas have devolved into common opinion, some don’t realize the gravity of what this does. This perpetuates the notion that sexual assault is less impactful than it truly is. In order to diminish the impact of rape culture, students can educate themselves and insist on using language that does not perpetuate the existence of rape culture. While it is difficult to eliminate rape, the normalization of it is unacceptable.
staff and community. The Echo will not be reviewed by school administrators prior to distribution, and the adviser will not act as a censor. Content represents views of the student staff and not school officials. The Echo will work to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and content meaningful and interesting to all our readers. We will make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph. Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Echo staff or administration as a whole. The Echo welcomes reader input. Letters to the editor and suggestions may be emailed to slpecho@gmail.com or submitted in room C275. Letters must be signed and should be no longer than 250 words. Emailed letters must be verified prior to publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. Anonymous letters wherein the Echo does not know the identity of the writer will not be printed. Advertisements will be sought from local businesses. We maintain the right to reject any ads we believe to be false, misleading, inappropriate or harmful. The Echo does not necessarily endorse the products or services offered in these advertisements. NSPA All-American and Hall of Fame member; NSPA 2011, Print Pacemaker Finalist, 2013, 2014 National Print Pacemaker Award Recipient; 2014 Online Pacemaker Finalist, JEM All-State; CSPA Gold Medalist; 2012, 2014 CSPA Silver Crown, 2013 CSPA Gold Crown, 2015 CSPA Hybrid Gold Crown.
To construction traffic: I don’t like my first hour anyway.
To sex health club: I really like students taking things into their own hands.
To the foreign film festival: The point of movies is so I don’t have to read. B.H., D.H., D.H.
ape allegations, when publicly pursued, never fail to catch the eye of the media. However, when these allegations are false, reputations are irreparably damaged for victims and those accused. The University of Virginia Phi Kappa Psi chapter announced plans to pursue any and all legal action against Rolling Stone magazine for false accusations of gang rape April 6. The chapter’s actions are justified. After the publication of the article, the fraternity’s house was vandalized and received an infamous reputation across the UVA campus. Regardless of the fraternity’s innocence, the damage to its reputation and character cannot be undone, despite apologies given by Rolling Stone editors. In addition, the fraternity spokesper-
son and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism believe the failure may discourage women from coming forth after sexual assault. Stephen Scipione, president of the UVA fraternity, said their chapter “[fears] this entire episode may prompt some victims to remain in the shadows, fearful to confront their attackers.” Because of public criticisms toward this issue, women with real rape incidents may hesitate from coming forth. It is not only necessary for the fraternity to sue the magazine for this reporting error, but also to bring to light the need for proper journalistic methods. Stories which are falsified or lack credible information, such as this one, tend to do more harm than good. In this case, more controversy started over whether women falsify rape incidents, rather than shedding light on rapes on college campuses. The fraternity is completely justified in its plans to sue Rolling Stone because despite the publication of this story, the journalistic errors took a controversial topic and skewed it against an innocent group.
nly an average of 68 percent of rapes will be reported to the authorities according to the Justice Department in 2012. Few rape survivors are willing to discuss their trauma with media. Sabrina Erdely, the Rolling Stone writer responsible for the disputed article “A Rape on Campus,” is under criticism for failing to fact check her source, who cried alleged rape at a Phi Kappa Psi party. An interview done by Steven Coll in the follow up article to “A Rape on Campus” quoted a UVA student, Alex Pinkleton, who said “It’s going to be more difficult now to engage some people because they have a preconceived notion that women lie about sexual assault.” The fact Phi Kappa Psi decided to very
publicly sue the magazine is useless. Yes, if the fraternity wins the case they will receive money for the vandalism allegedly caused by the article but by throwing a fit over a declining reputation they are shadowing a much bigger and more important problem — rape and sexual assault. The article states an apology to students and faculty from University of Virginia and members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. The original article’s purpose was not to tap the secrets of fraternities, but aimed to uncover the clandestine nature of sexual assault. What is important for the fraternity and the rest of the UVA students to know is only 2 to 8 percent of rape claims are false, according to research done by the Violence Against Women organization. This single event should not demoralize all claims of sexual assault. Phi Kappa Psi should recognize its unrealistic expectations for what good could come with suing the magazine and find a more productive way to solve problems for its fraternity chapter.
eteran teachers may soon find their jobs more at risk, should a new Minnesota teacher evaluation bill be made into law. A bill that passed the Minnesota House March 5 would include several changes with the goal of favoring effective teachers over teachers with seniority when considering layoffs. However, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of a teacher with a single method. Measuring the performance of teachers based on their students’ grades only encourages grade inflation. Measuring teacher performance by standardized test scores is unfair because classes vary within schools and schools vary throughout the state. In addition, standardized test scores are largely a matter of socioeconomic status, setting up teachers working with disadvantaged students to be judged as ineffective. The current “last in, first out” rule is in place to establish fairness and prevent schools from firing senior teachers to save more money during layoffs. Judging teachers by individual performance also disrupts the collaborative environment of a school and pits teachers against each other. A competitive environment such as this encourages teachers to look out for themselves as opposed to for their students. Other provisions in the bill would simplify the process of licensing out-of-state teachers and allow non-licensed “community experts” to fill positions when licensed teachers are unavailable. One third of teachers leave the profession in their first five years, according to Gov. Mark Dayton, therefore the main goal in reforming our public school system should be recruiting and retaining strong teachers as opposed to pushing out seasoned ones and trying to save money. We need to reward our most dedicated teachers by opposing this misguided bill.
hen recalling last year’s Record Store Day, Electric Fetus Record Store employee Janna Klein laughs at the memory of people camping outside of the store, in the freezing snow, waiting 13 hours for the event to begin. “In the morning we opened the door and the floods of people rushed in, full of excitement,” Klein said. Record Store Day is a national event, drawing music fans from across the country to their local record stores, according to Carrie Colliton, director of marketing at the Department of Record Stores and co-founder of Record Store Day. Multiple record stores across Minneapolis are hosting events to celebrate Record Store Day April 18. Treehouse Records, Cheapo Records, Dusty Pixels, Roadrunner Records, Fifth Element, Know Name Records, Extreme Noise Records, Electric Fetus and Hymie’s Vintage Records are all on the list of participating stores, according to Colliton. Junior Maggie Coleman said she enjoys collecting records and visiting record stores, especially when she finds old music. She said she thinks Record Store Day provides a good opportunity to meet like-minded people and share musical experiences. “It gets people interested in records more than on a normal day,” Coleman said. “It’s fun to just
sit around with your friends and listen to records.” Klein said she believes the exclusive releases are what draws record enthusiasts on Record Store Day. “There are special releases, and they are very limited edition runs,” she said. “That’s why they wait outside. There may be five copies of that record in our store and only a couple hundred in the world.” Laura Hoenack, owner of Hymie’s Vintage Records located at 3820 East Lake Street in Minneapolis, said she is excited to celebrate Record Store Day for the sixth year in a row. Her store is hosting 14 live bands, putting a spotlight on local music. The store is also providing food and a bouncy house. They plan to give away free records, while supplies last, and to feature local craft artists. “For us, it’s not just Record Store Day. It’s a celebration of local artists and local music in our community,” Hoenack said. “We do some of the releases, but we would prefer to make it about a local music event and the celebration of Hymie’s.” Hoenack said her store has participated Record Store Day for many years. “It would be silly not to participate,” she said. “All the other records stores do. It’s by far our busiest day of the year. A lot of people come to record stores for the first time that day.” Junior Gavin Peterson said he believes Record Store Day brings people together. “I think music is really the best way to bring people together. It has so much power and emotion and it can really move you and others,” Peterson said. Klein said she is most looking forward to helping create an exciting environment in the store. This includes live performances, food and giveaways. “It’s really like a big party at work. I love when we have live music in the store,” she said. “It’s like a big record store Christmas.”
The Minnesota History Center presents “Modern Spirit: The Art of George Morrison,” an in-depth look into the mind of this important Native American artist. Admission is $6-11.
The Northern Clay Center’s new exhibit, “Sexual Politics: Gender, Sexuality and Queerness in Contemporary Ceramics,” brings together issues of sexual politics using clay. Admission is free.
“International Pop,” an exhibit at the Walker Art Center, aims to present the global history of pop art, focusing on the culture and interpretation of different countries. Admission is free.
Intermedia Arts, an organization designed to uplift the voices of youth, is putting on “Open Stages,” a night for people from all creative backgrounds. Admission is free.