June 2022 by The Eyrie

EPHS EAGLE NEWS NETWORK MAGAZINE

JUNE 2O22 | VOL. 6O | NO. O4

PASSPORT TO POP CULTURE | 05 RECOGNIZING EID | 08 REPRESENTATION IN BRIDGERTON | 13

TABLE OF CONTENTS ENN:THE EYRIE | MAY 2O22 NEWS

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FEATURE

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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OPINION

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Writers

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Finnley Abbott Richa Advani Elizabeth Alexander Al Amundson Mariam Jabri Katherine Kregness Maneeya Leung Katelyn Liu Luc Merks Reagan Sissel Varenya Vegesna Sophia Yoerks

Mariam Jabri Katelyn Liu Maneeya Leung Varenya Vegesna Sophia Yoerks

Advisor Alex Bauer

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OF CONTENTS

Page designers Finnley Abbott Richa Advani Elizabeth Alexander Mariam Jabri Katherine Kregness Maneeya Leung Varenya Vegesna Sophia Yoerks

The Eyrie strives to be an accurate, informative, and entertaining publication to the students and faculty of Eden Prairie High School, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

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Eagle News Network encourages all students and faculty to send a letter to enneagles@gmail.com sharing their views. All letters must be signed; however, names can be withheld in certain situations. Once recieved, Eagle News Network has the right to edit for length and content.

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

JUNE 2O22|

AVID prepares students for success BY MARIAM JABRI

Photos by Mariam Jabri

AVID is a nationwide program that “started because they saw a need for certain groups of students who could use support. They had the potential to be successful and get to college, but maybe didn’t have the resources or the right journey in life to get there,” says Molly Zumwalde, AVID coordinator and 11/12 grade elective teacher. Zumwalde plays an integral part in the AVID program by helping juniors and seniors navigate through the college process. Last semester, Zumwalde helped this year’s seniors do just that. Now, AVID seniors are ending the year with enough preparation to know they’ll at least of the school year. It’s also a cohort program, meaning years in AVID focus on how to be a successful student, including learning new study skills, reading & writing skills and organizational skills. Junior and senior year is spent preparing for college and life outside of high school, plus Seniors are now taking advantage of what they learned and opportunities they heard of through AVID. Many seniors from the program are doing PSEO, and others are part of an internship program called Genesis cision, wrapping up, and getting ready for graduation,” says Zumwalde. And although AVID is over for seniors, they are still welcomed to come to her for help. “The door is always open. They’re always visiting, asking questions can we talk about it?’ or ‘I’m making this big decision’ or ‘I’m feeling uncomfortable leaving the state, my parents don’t want me to move out of state for college,’” Zumwalde recalls. Students are also welcomed to go see Ms. McNamara at the College Resource Center for any additional help that they need. That goes for all students, not just those in AVID. There is a common misconception that AVID is only for students that need the extra help, but in reality, AVID is for any student striving for success in high school. Take sSophomore Triana Whangpo-Mendoza, whose sister encouraged her to join the program. Mendoza noted how supportive AVID has been with pursuing her goals, aiding in the college process, and taking the right steps in high school. Right now, AVID is helping sophomores look an immigration lawyer, so I’m getting in contact with immigration lawyers,” says Mendoza. Whatever their goals That is only possible because the students in the proincredibly hard workers, and often these students are the ones who are working part-time helping support Zumwalde. The AVID seniors set to graduate this year are a prime example of the hard working students Zumwalde describes.

NEWS

TA program helps EPHSʼ teachers BY KATELYN LIU

TAs Josephine Koering (center), Profae Gasner (right)

Passport to Pop Culture BY KATELYN LIU

Photos by Katelyn Liu

JUNE 2O22 |

School districts across Minnesota have started to included the Muslim holiday Eid in their calendars. Students in Eden Prairie are asking why their district isn’t one of them. BY MANEEYA LEUNG id, said junior Asma Ali, “is that one time a year where I gather around with all my Muslim brothers and sisters and we get to celebrate our holiday.” For Muslim students, Eid-Al-Fitr is a once-a-year celebration marking the end of fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It is a day for rejoicing with family, connecting spiritually, and praying.

who has fasted during Ramadan and celebrated Eid for as long as she can remember. Ramadan follows the lunar calendar, thus considers herself lucky her parents always made it a priority to

Josh Swanson, during the school board meeting in which school board directors discussed the calendar, cited the inability of school districts to recognize religion as the reason the calendar can’t be changed for Eid. (That didn’t stop the school board from chang-

and students.) the holiday. At the beginning of 2022, district leaders formed the calendar review team consisting of parents, faith-based community Their meeting resulted in the multi-faith calendar being created on the recommendation of the team. The multi-faith calendar is a

In several school districts across the state, Eid will no longer bring Muslim students that dilemna of choosing between what up on school. Mankato passed a calendar change with the holiday recognizing Eid, and Moorhead already had a calendar in place 2022. Minneapolis Public Schools and Moorhead Schools passed Eid-al-adha.

the Chinese Lunar New Year and Eid. The calendar includes recommendations on how to accommodate students celebrating the holiday. Under Eid, it reads, “Avoid scheduling important academic deadlines, events, or activities on this date.” will be shared with teachers, but no teachers are required to follow the request. board members learned of this development. In that meeting, Board director CJ Strehl called the multi-faith religious calendar a “major step.” Strehl said, “I hope that for all of our families that are frustrated that we’re having a major event on some of their major religious holidays within their religion, they know we’re doing our best to try and do some accommodation.” Students don’t share that point of view. “The calendar does does something.” “It doesn’t matter if you give them a calendar,” junior Sumaya doesn’t guarantee teachers will care or do anything about it. She shared the feeling that despite all the talk of diversity in the school, nothing is done to show that people who have the ability to make change for POC students care. “If they did actually change said. Ali shares that frustration: “The school preaches about equity thing, they don’t do it.” celebration, one on Monday for Eid-Al-Fitr and another on Tuesday to continue celebrating. (Eid is traditionally celebrated for three days.) Fortunately, this year, her teachers were accommodatmuch work was given in the other classes. Although Ali’s teachers helped reschedule assessments, after missing Monday and Tuesday, “I had so many missing assign-

People eat out to celebrate Eid-Al-Fithr. Photo by Mariam Jabri.

06 FEATURE

Pagan-Umar celebrates Eid-Al-Fitr by organizing an afternoon celebration in South Commons. Photo submitted by Pagan-Umar.

ments because all my classes had worksheets,” she said. She also had a presentation scheduled on Tuesday that still had yet to be presented a week afterward. “The argument is that we’re a public school district and if we were

school districts that have done this have the same legal counsel.”

on students’ education after repeatedly having to miss school every year to celebrate their religion. Pagan-Umar (right) at a photobooth. Photo submitted by Pagan-Umar.

making their children feel more and more compelled to not really be who they are and to change who they are–to give up cultural norms and to give up religious values so that they can be more accepted by some thing than just missing instruction.” “Imagine what it would be like if the biggest celebration in your entire religion was something completely disregarded by the major ity of people around you and essentially every person on a higher level who can make change,” Hassan said, before adding on that any “Why would you want to be on the side of history that does not

Hassan (left) visits friends during the week of Ramadan. Photo submitted by Hassan.

“Imagine what it would be like if the biggest celebration in your entire religion was something completely disregarded by the majority of people around you and essentially every person on a higher level who can make change.” JUNE 2O22|

Retiring Teachers BY VARENYA VEGESNA

As the school year comes to an end, senior students aren’t the only ones leaving the school. Retiring teachers are also moving onto the next stage of their life, and four of them share what it was like to be a teacher and their future plans.

Dr. Liz Jackson

What’s your plan for after retirement? “Teaching. I’m going to continue teaching. I’ve been a part of a dent or a teacher, and so it is literally impossible for me to imagine not being a part of education. I’ll be a part of education in one way or another, and I’m interested in all levels of music education from the very beginner to the very top university level musicians, so I hope to continue interacting in a professional manner like that.” What do you teach and how long have you been teaching for? “I teach band or instrumental music. I’ve been teaching for 39 northern Minnesota, and I’ve either gone to grad school or taught in a public school since then. I also taught three years at University of Minnesota.” Favorite memories “Students. It’s always the students. I can remember the students are just amazing people, and that’s what’s kept me in this profession.” Advice for students? “Hang in there. COVID has done a lot to us and it’s made us in together again.” Why did you start teaching? “I loved music, and I loved being around music people. Music people are fun. They’re a little crazy sometimes, and that keeps life interesting.”

Anne Almli What’s your plan for after retirement? “I’m going to sew and make some quilts. I’m going to spend time with my grandchildren–I have six of them–and just going to relax a little bit.” What do you teach and how long have you been teaching for? “I’ve been teaching for 21 years. This is my 20th year at Eden Prairie. This year I taught foods, life issues, child psychology and parenting, and Sewing I and II.” Favorite memories “I think it’s when kids kind of get it and kind of have that aha moment of ‘Oh, I get this now. This is fun. This is interesting. This is something I might be interested in doing for a career.’” Advice for students? things. Sometimes people don’t know what they’re interested in and taking a variety of classes exposes them to more and they can make decisions that work best for them. If you get on a career track too early, you might miss something that you would really like as either a career or a hobby.” Why did you start teaching? “I started teaching because I wanted to share with young people what I had learned. I went back to school when I was in my 30s and I started teaching when I was 42. So I’d done some other things and I’d always thought being a teacher would be a fun job.”

08 !!FEATURE

Doug Boonstra

Why did you start teaching?

What’s your plan for after retirement? “Immediately after retirement, I’m going

and growing up, and I was originally planning on following in his footsteps and becoming a youth minister, youth pastor. But then he said something to me. He said sometimes he thinks he would have more of a lasting impact on young people through education through being a teacher, because I think just about all the teachers here get into the profession to have an impact or to help shape the next generation of students. As a teacher to have that role and have that impact on somebody, it may be more meaningful and more lasting. So that made me start thinking of becoming a teacher and it’s worked out well.”

own a business together that she works full time and I just do in the summer. I’ll be working probably four days a week.” What do you teach and how long have you been teaching for? “I teach primarily physics with a little bit of chemistry here and there. This is my 35th year teaching.” Favorite memories I think the relationships that I’ve built with some of the students and student athletes, and then the friendships that I have among my teaching colleagues. Those are not necessarily memories, but just things that I’ll take away from relationships.” Advice for students? “There’s a lot you could say, but I think it kind of boils down to keeping the main thing the main thing. I think there’s so many distractions that students can partake in or entertain in, It’s really hard for them to focus because there’s so many things that they could be doing. But I think if they could just keep the main thing the main thing, if they’re listening to a lecture, if they’re doing a lab or if they’re doing whatever that should be their primary foship with their parents or whatever,be all in with what they’re doing at the time to make the main thing the main thing.

Boonstra teaching physics. Photo by Maneeya Leung.

Dan Murray What’s your plan for after retirement? “I have to do something but I don’t know what it’s gonna be yet.” What do you teach and how long have you been teaching for? I teach German, CMS and high school. And I’ve been doing it in Eden Prairie for 25 years I also teach history and I’ve taught world and American history.” Favorite memories? “The trips we take to Germany.” Advice for students? “Realize that the teachers have a lot more wisdom than you give them credit for. And they’ve been there. Learn from their mistakes, because life’s gonna be easier.” Why did you start teaching? “I was in the Peace Corps and I was teaching English and it was just a a very small island.” Murray in his German class. Photo by Maneeya Leung.

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Musicians Spotlight Pat Diaz

Diaz pracicing the guitar.

Alekhya Gottemukkula BY VARENYA VEGNESNA For Alekhya Gottemukkula, the key to playing the violin is a lot of practice and hard work. Gottemukkula started taking violin lessons in third grade. She started playing because family members and friends thought it would make her well-rounded and successful. As well as taking private lessons, she also learned music theory, which helped Gottemukkula learn to sight-read.

She said that a lot of practice helps get through the initial music plateau, as well as lots of help from instructors. Gottemukkula says the largest setback when learning the violin is that you might get discouraged if you’re not improving quickly, but you’ll improve eventually if you keep working hard. One of Gottemukkula’s biggest inspirations is the famous violinist, Lindsey Stirling. As a third-grader, Gottemukkula was obsessed with watching videos of her. She says Stirling shows, “the result of hard work and dedication.” Gottemukkula also loves listening to music by Harry Styles. In the future, Gottemukkula plans to keep playing the violin. “I may not be in the orchestra but I’ll continue to play the instrument.”

BY SOPHIA YOERKS Finding what you’re truly passionate about is a tedious process. But when you do, you will know because stopping will be even harder. Junior Pat Diaz shared his story about coming across his passion for music. When Diaz was eight and living in Mexico, he went to an after school music class to learn the guitar and piano. However, as much as he tried to enjoy it, the lessons he received and instruments he practiced didn’t click for many years. Diaz found it challenging to get something out of this experience. “Lessons just kind of sucked,” he said. “The teacher just kind of told us what to do, but then didn’t show us how. And, so, I gave up.” “The guitar just sat there for a couple of years until middle school,” Diaz said. At this time he drifted more into the pop and alternative genre of music. Mainly consisting of vocals and electronic beats, this type of music didn’t particularly strike his now ever-evolving musical passion. When he started listening more to guitar-centered music, such as the Beatles, inspiration struck. “That’s when I was like, ‘I kind of want to play that.’ So I picked it back up and I looked for a teacher.” After searching, Diaz found a teacher, and thanks to him, Diaz is still playing and singing today. “He only taught me for like two years, but it’s thanks to him I know himself with the help of his friends, who make up a band with three guitars, a bassist, and a drummer. When describing what a musician is, Diaz put it into words perfectly: “I guess people think it’s simply knowledge and talent. But the way I see it, it sounds pretentious, but it’s really about feeling– Where you play the best, or where it sounds right. It all comes out when you’re emotional.” Helping inspire fellow musicians is important for him because “when you keep just not stopping.”

10 ARTS

& ENTERTAINMENT

Gottemukkula playing violin at a concert.

BY LUC MERKS political climate in Europe at the time.

“Look Who’s Back” is a German po-

“Look Who’s Back” explores the increasing

see people’s reaction to it. Once he starts

2016. -

Look Who’s Back: Eerily relevant political commentary Look Who’s Back movie poster.

JUNE 2O22|

Anime Reviews Cells At Work BY AL AMUNDSON

Fruits Basket

BY MARIAM JABRI

I want to permeate his body… get into his cells… into his bones, invade and infuse them…saturate his entire being with my own–

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Haikyuu

BY ELIZABETH ALEXANDER The Venn diagram of sports and anime fans consists of two entire

Brigerton’s Remarkable Depiction of the South Asian Community

BY RICHA ADVANI Dearest gentle reader… Thousands of Gen Zers, including myself, grew up watching shows like “Jessie” and “Phineas and Ferb” on television. There was a character for everyone to identify with. There was Luke, Phineas, and Ferb for little boys and Zuri, Candice, Emma, and Isabella for little girls…and then there’s Ravi and Baljeet. The characters Ravi and Baljeet were complete stereotypes of Indian people. Ravi and Baljeet were the only characters in these shows with thick accents and they were often seen in the show as stereotypical nerds who studied math. Being an Indian person and watching these shows back, it feels like my culture was mocked and tokenized for the entertainment of others because Ravi and Baljeet didn’t really have a plot outside of their otherness. Representation of the South Asian community has always been an issue. When the show “Never Have I Ever” came out, I was so excited to see a show with a lead that looks like me…but after watching, I was disappointed yet again. The main character, Devi, still felt like a way to mock and tokenize Indian people. Devi seemed incredibly westernized, the plot wasn’t great, and there were glaring stereotypes, that should not have a place on television, masquerading as “okay” to air because the main character is Indian. When the show “Bridgerton” rolled around, I wasn’t

of “Bridgerton” appropriately and authentically incorporate parts of Indian culture without making it the characters whole personalities. Season 2 follows the Sharma family, a mom and seen my culture so subtly and gracefully intertwined into a show. There wasn’t a spotlight on the fact that the Sharma sisters were the Indian girls in the show. Race wasn’t a factor in the plot, but they kept the culture.

The Sharma family performing a Haldi ceremony.

Kate Sharma massaging oil into Edvina Sharma’s hair.

It felt so good to see traditions I grew up with not only put on display, but normalized because, to me, this is normal. For example, the younger sister, Edwina, called her older sister “Didi” just like I call my older sister “Didi.” There was also a scene where Edwina was getting oil massaged into her hair. I remember when I was little and my mom used to do that for me. Not to mention the primarily gold jewelry (jhumkas, bangles, etc.) which are very popular in Indian culture. Additionally, there was a marriage ceremony called Haldi in which you exfoliate your skin with a mix of water, sandalwood, and turmeric. I think the cherry on top for “Bridgerton” was the physical portrayal of the Sharma sisters. This is the only time I’ve ever seen a show in which a Desi character’s desirability wasn’t seen as surprising. It wasn’t because of their brownness (fetishization) or despite their brownness (blatant racism). The Sharma sisters, who clearly have darker skin, were seen as objectively attractive without trivializing or minimizing their culture. “Bridgerton” season 2 is the perfect example of how to incorporate the culture of people of color the right way. It’s not “Phineas and Ferb,” “Jessie,” or “Never Have I Ever.” It’s refreshing. JUNE 2O22|

EDEN PRAIRIE’S WORK TOW IN THE SCHOOLS: INCLUSIV GAY, AND STUDENT UNCER BY KATHERINE KREGNESS he discussion of LGBTQ+ history, identity, and inclusion is the most recent addition to current hot topic issues in education, joining “critical race theory” and “indoctrination” among the ranks of terms more often seen in public policy and twitter headlines than not. As proposed legislation across the

ty from classrooms, LGBTQ+ students are trepidacious about what the policing of their identities looks like at Eden Prairie. ensuring student belonging at all levels, the Eden Prairie School District does not condone any form of descrimination or harassment, including that motivated by homophobia or transphobia. The Eden Prairie Schools that “Eden Prairie Schools believes each student, regardless of age, race, gender, ability level, religious beliefs, (actual or perceived), or physical attributes, deserves the right to be educated in an environment that does not interfere with their educational opportunities or ability to participate in school functions or activities or receive and asserts that action will be taken in the case of any such descrimination. However, the inclusion of LGBTQ+

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identities goes beyond the protocol for harassment. Emma Giancristoforo, a junior Gender at the high school, says that school policies are not enough to disuade harassment unless they are followed through on. “I don’t think [the district] does a good job of keeping our students emotionally and mentally safe,” they say. Still, inclusive pracices in some spaces have gone a long way to help Giancristoforo feel that they belong. “[Health class] did a pretty good job of talking about

deeper into some historical perspectives to get a really fantastic presentation from a student lens as to what that looks like. And then to kind of wrap it all up as to why and try to create some things that adults could decide that we’re that really allow

healthy for me.” Giancristoforo would like

like how do I do

both for students of color and for LGBTQ+ students. They say that feeling a connection

have the resources to learn and the

go a long way to making them feel included and cared for in the school.

FOREST HILLS’ EFFORTS FOR LGBTQ+ EQUITY AT A PRIMARY LEVEL

he district’s approach to inclusive teaching in the classroom is variable from school to school and level to level. At For-

members that are equipped to provide a space for students of all Social Dynamics of Sex and Gender class discusses E identities. Kevin McGee, the district AVID coordinator and a reading teacher at Oak Point agrees, saying that “the reality of who people are and how they identify it’s really important to

working towards adopting more inclusive to heteronormativity and cisnormativity. lence coordinator with the personalized learning department who is aligned with ensuring inclusive teaching is ensiring that

a system in place throughout the district to all levels. This framework also serves to view all facets of the district through a culturally -

WARDS LGBTQ+INCLUSION VE LANGUAGE, DON’T SAY RTAINTY are placing special emphasis on this framework and how it can be applied to all school settings. Monson sees this showing up for students most meeting, teachers practiced introducing themsleves with pronouns and putting pronouns on nametags and badges. Safe space signs show up in classroom windows

walls, and email signatures include pronouns more and more frequently. Monson says that he has noticed “that awareness EPHS harassmnent reporting policies. Photos by Katherine Kregness of language and how when addressing a classroom or when thinking of how to separate students, that a gender binary isn’t the appropriate way to do that.” Still, much of this work remains unseen for students. Monson hopes to see all gender bathrooms included in a vision of future sites, and McGee has compiled a list of inclusive books that he would like to see made available to students. For the moment, the work to build visibility and equity for LGBTQ+ professional development.

RESTRICTIVE LEGISLATION AND STUDENT APREHENSION

ith the passing of the socalled “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida and a slew of legislation restrictive to transgender students in Texas and around the country, many LGBTQ+ students fear for the future of their acceptance and privacy in education. Giancristoforo fears for the future of their ability to participate in sports. “As a trans individual and as a queer individual, I don’t know if I will be allowed to play on those channels. I don’t know if I am supported or recognized by the administration here.” Living in a largley conservative and wealthy community like Eden Prairie, Giancristoforo worries about the future of legislation restricting the ability of people like them to exist as their authentic selves in the education system. Monosn doesn’t see any imminent threat of such legilation in Eden Prairie at this time, but says that “as a gay educator, I know that is real. You know, that’s a scary thing for me as well.” He wants to see Eden Prairie Schools keep such issues at the forefront of discussion and work towards a stronger foundation of inclusivity.

JUNE 2O22| 15

Exploring Identity Rejecting bi by the numbers BY MANEEYA LEUNG Even though I had my suspicions I wasn’t straight for quite some while, it took me until last year to use the term bi, a label for the attraction to multiple genders, for myself. And yes, I largely blame straight culture and miseducation, but I’m here today to accuse another culprit: seeing sexuality as a number. There’s this urge to quantify things we don’t understand by measurements or numbers, and that’s especially true for sexuality. Take the “research-based” Kinsey scale, rating an individuals homosexuality or heterosexuality on a scale from one to six. Or any infamous “Am I gay?” quiz, which often gives results in terms of percentages.

Bi-Curious George

While it’s always great to acknowledge that sexuality exsists in its many shades between and outside of “straight” and “gay,” this sort of language presents it as a scale, not a spectrum. Seeing sexuality as a score gave me a roadblock–I felt pressure to place myself somewhere on this chart, and on top of that, pass a certain threshhold to “be bi enough” to use the term to describe myself. ways, moving past overthinking and not invalidating my feelings to reject bi by the numbers. Bi to me means po-

any more than that?

Graphic by Elizabeth Alexander

BY ELIZABETH ALEXANDER Sexuality is so confusing for no reason. I thought I had it down: I’ve primarily liked men, I’ve envisioned myself in heterosexual relationships, and I’ve fantasized about how pretty certain men are. I’m straight, right? …I think so? Maybe? Here’s the thing: there have been a small handful of than just admiration. They were super pretty or super cool and I just thought to myself: Dang, what would it be like to be with her? But, extra confusingly, there has only been one girl Sure, there have been a few others where I’ve been interested, but it’s nowhere near the same amount of times as with guys. What’s more, I only see myself having longterm relationships with men, but I’m still intrigued in having short-term ones with women. I’m not sure what to do with that information.

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Bicuriosity is a term for those who don’t yet identify as bisexual, but are down to experiment with someone me best. Due to society’s preconceived “expectations” for bisexuality (in that attraction is a 50-50 split between both genders), and because I could easily pass for being straight, I don’t want to come right out and say I’m bi. I don’t want to seem like I’m pretending to be bi for attention. I genuinely just want to learn more about myself before (and if) I come out. You shouldn’t feel ashamed to be bisexual. But simply not knowing where you stand is okay too. We should encourage self-discovery before an eventual conclusion choosing whatever feels the most comfortable is crucial in your path to discovering who you are.

The term queer is

The word “queer” is not for cishet people to use BY KATHERINE KREGNESS

What it means to be a lesbian BY SOPHIA YOERKS

I was of importance.

anyone else tell you otherwise. JUNE 2O22 |

Twin Cities Prideʼs 50th anniversary: looking back and moving forward BY MANEEYA LEUNG The Twin Cities Pride Board celebrates the 50th year of Twin Cities pride. Felix Foster, Twin Cities Pride Board Director, gives insight on what to expect from attending events and what’s to come for the organization.

While the board will look “completely new,” what the Twin Cities Pride events will be making a return to is the demon-

The annual Twin Cities Pride 50th anniversary is special not only because of a big number: this year, the executive director is resigning from Twin Cities

students rallied for gay rights in response to the Stonewall riots of 1969. While the rallying component of pride is nowadays typically called a parade, one of Foster’s focus is “respecting the fact that pride used to be a protest and started as a protest.”

of planning or providing a platform for pride-related events throughout the year,

community. cool things to make it stand out,” said Felix Foster, Twin CIties Pride Board Chairmen, about this year’s celebrations such as the Minneapolis pride festival and march. “It’s also our executive director’s last year, so we’re trying to honor her looking back at how things started but then also looking forward at all the huge changes that will be coming. ”Part of those changes include recruiting at least four new board members and, of course, a new executive director. He said, “We’re really trying to diversify the board more. We want to represent the community a bit better than we have in the past.” Representation comes from a racial, gender and youth standpoint, Foster added, and this includes volunteers, vendors and partners, not only the board.

Pride event took place in 1972 at Loring

the term “protest” and “march” instead of “parade” since there’s still further equality for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community to achieved, Foster and the board have decided to do the same. “You want it to be a celebration and just a fun time,” Foster said, “but until we get there for everybody, we want to make sure we’re still actually protesting.” This year’s pride festival will also include a focus on the origins of Pride with the march at Loring Park, old costumes from drag queens throughout the year and older designs on handouts such as pins. Foster says the team is working on making it special. “This year will be kind of like saying goodbye,” he said. “Celebrating where we’ve been and working on moving forward.”

Want to join in on the celebrations? Event information is listed below: June 18 @ 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm - MNSOC Youth Pride Como Park East Pavilion 1151 Como Ave, St. Paul, MN Minnesota School Outreach Coalition’s Youth Pride is an annual event for LGBTQ2IA+ school-aged people! June 19 @ 11:00 am - 2:30 pm - Pride Family Fun Day Como Park East Pavilion 1151 Como Ave, St. Paul, MN A free family fun day with hot dogs, chips, beverages, and more. June 25 to June 26 - Twin Cities Pride Festival Loring Park 1382 Willow St., Minneapolis, MN The 50th annual Twin Cities Pride Festival will be held at Loring Park on June 25 - 26, 2022 and will feature local BIPOC and LGBTQ+ vendors, food courts, a beer garden, and music stages. Twin Cities LGBTQ+ Pride March celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Twin Cities Pride will be taking place on Sunday, June 26, 2022 June 26 @ 11:00 am - 2:00 pm Twin Cities LGBTQ+ Pride March Honoring Ashley Rukes 7th & Hennepin The march/parade starts at 7th & Hennepin and proceeds down Hennepin to Spruce then into Loring Park.

Pictures by Maneeya Leung

18 COVER

Pictures by Maneeya Leung

JUNE 2O22|

“Canʼt I just go to the bathroom in peace?”

Students ask for more all gender bathrooms BY FINNLEY ABBOTT & AL AMUNDSON

Photo by Finnley Abbott

All gender bathrooms are bathrooms -

As for some all gender bathrooms being -

COVER

GAY MOVIE RECS

What it’s about:

A Jewish Bisexual attends a

(That aren’t “Love, Simon”)

BY REAGAN SISSEL

What it’s about:

sugar daddy—who brought his

Old Dolio, a twen-

wanting to be a Kajillion-

Why it’s good:

artist parents instilled

resentation that we desperately

stranger, Melanie, and

What it’s about:

Why it’s good:

sity, guided by Juan and Theresa as he navigates his

Why it’s good:

OPINION: Omg Andrew Garﬁeld! my BY KATHERINE KREGNESS

fav queer icon

JUNE 2O22|

DRESS CODED BY FINNLEY ABBOTT

The handbook states that “Students are responsible for dressing in such a manner that is not disruptive or likely to disrupt the learning environment”. What seems more important, a young woman’s education, or her shoulders not being fully covered? For many women and feminine-presenting people, our bodies are often the cause for a debate on whether or not we are sexualizing ourselves or simply dressing for the weather. The school handbook’s rules are very vague as to what violates the dress restrictions. They are worded very

Starting from a young age, many young, feminine-presenting people have had their

the jurisdiction to decide whether the

While dress codes in theory make sense, they sexualize young students and often build shame around their bodies from a young age. Schools should not continue supporting the sexualization of young students. Until we address the bias in the wording, dress codes will continue to promote the sexualization of students. 7-year-olds should not have to worry if their

The handbook also places blame on the

member sexualizing their body. Grown adults should not negatively point out bare or exposed parts of students’ bodies. All this leads to is insecurities for your body from a young age.

time I remember being dress coded was on my second grade picture day. I was wearing a black and blue Victorious shirt with all the cast members displayed on it accompanied with a silver, sequined, sparkly skirt. I was very excited immediately as I walked into my classroom my teacher pulled me out of class to check the length

to change into more “appropriate” clothing. On picture day, I had to wear a pair of old donated

SAYING GAY Staff Editorial In six states, this magazine issue would be illegal–explicitly breaking the would be sued, students’ experiences would be censored and that is the reality of millions of students living under Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. July 1st, bans classroom discussion about LGBTQIA+ topics from grades K-3 (it was introduced to the Florida Senate with the intention of stopping LGBTQIA+ kids from coming out.). From there on out, any discussion must be “age-appropriate,” vague language that enables homophobes

22 OPINION

to call anything remotely gay not appropriate. In turn, teachers can be persecuted for speaking out or supporting these discussions and their students. Students are sent the message that school is not a safe place to be themselves. The bill goes so far as to censor educators’ ability to speak about their own identities. If a woman mentions her wife with any gender idenalready happened to several teachers in Florida.

The bill instills a sense of “don’t ask don’t tell” in a civilian context, referring to a troubling Clinton-era military policy that forced LGBTQIA+ soldiers further into the closet. The entire point of the bill is to paint adults as stereotypical queer predators and scare kids away from self-exploration. It doesn’t prevent “indoctrination” of queerness, it just instills internalized homophobia and transphobia. It’s easy to think of MN as far removed from bills introduced in Florida and Arkansas, but for queer students, bills like these pose a genuine threat to our identities. Don’t fall for permitting policies that perpetuate homophobia disguised as concern. The Don’t Say Gay bill is an attack on queer students’ rights. If we lose this, what’s next?

Conversion “Therapy” BY SOPHIA YOERKS still allow

prevent the banning partially bans -

PHOTO BY SOPHIA YOERKS

It’s statistically proven that 8.4x more teens are likely to report having attempted suicide after being in or in the precedements of a conversion therapy.

Feminism is Corrupted.

BY KATELYN LIU

JUNE 2022

Separate the Art from the Artist? BY RICHA ADVANI Separating the art from the artist has quickly become a controversial topic. Who do we separate from their art? What constitutes the need to separate the factors to consider such as morality, what the artist

art from the artist, junior Kody Balon answered, “You don’t have to like them as a person, but I still think that a great work of art can be enjoyed for what it is.” ion, “They may make good music, but I feel like me buying their music, in a way, is also supporting their actions even if they’re not music related.” While we tend to focus on the creativity aspect beliefs, actions, and even subconscious thoughts. If someone has views that the law or basic morality famous painter who has gone down in art history as colonizer, immigrating to Tahiti and sleeping with underage girls. You can see the nature of these interacTales. Aside from the racist title of the painting, the “Barbarian Tales” by Paul Gauguin

the two nude girls are unaware that they are being watched. was, no doubt, a great painter, but if he was alive, would it still be okay to support him because of his work for symbolist art, or are the contents of his paintings just too overwhelmingly immoral? Brown’s music is great, but hitting women? That’s not good,” says Balon. In this case, people might appreciate Chris Brown’s music, but not approve of his acand emotionally abused Rihanna and other women. The issue is, listening to his music and going to his concerts is supporting him because those things fund his life. separating the art from the artist, the consensus seems to be: no matter the gravity of what the artist in question did, they need to be held accountable for their actions.

24 OPINION

Chris Brown in court for abusing Rihanna.

Muslim representation? Nope, don’t BY MARIAM JABRI “Was there any alcohol or…or kissing boys?” asks Devi’s mom. “Absolutely not. I don’t do either of those things. This was just a Halal moment of rebellion,” says Aneesa. “Yeah, it was halal as hell!” adds Eleanor. “Well, I’m glad that Anee–” I slam my computer shut and try to process what I just watched. Did they really just say that?? First of all, that entire scene is cringe. I was shocked, then confused, and eventually over it, but looking back all I feel is annoyed. For those of you who don’t know, Halal is a term in Islamic law meaning “permissible.” The term describes meats that are permissible to eat, so you can understand my frustration with its use in the show. Also, halal is used opposite term halal to describe her behavior when she commits acts that Never Have I Ever writer’s room put into her as a character. I’m not surprised, though, considering how Aneesa’s Musabove) and adds no nuance to her character. In fact, if they never mention her religion it changes nothing about Aneesa or the show in any way. The writers of the show simply use her Muslim identity to earn a few diversity points, and I realize now that this happens way too often in the media. My religion is not some token writers can use to add a false sense of diversity. In fact, why should religion be mentioned at all? Take Elite leged students in Spain who get scholarships to attend an elite high school. The religion of almost every character is hardly Nadia’s. Nadia is a hardworking student on a scholarship to an elite school and has a hard time balancing both her home and school life. Like many teens, she is going through an identity crisis. Did they have to make her Muslim in order for viewers to understand that, though? Nadia’s journey of self-discovery portrays Islam as this

so highly that we are even required to go through a washing only the Muslim community to get this type of portrayal, but to Yet my friends, like I said before, it only gets worse. AnothWhy Are You Like This gasted, to say the least. The Muslim character breaks their fast, during the holy month of Ramadan, with a shot. And said simple google search will tell you that alcohol is prohibited in Islam, yet they made the only Muslim character break their fast the heck is this? I am so sorry for ever asking for Muslim representation in the media, alright? I don’t want it anymore. But I understand I do not speak on behalf of the Muslim community, nor do I claim to. This is just my opinion as a Muslim girl in America. Also, an FYI to the people who say “just because the representation is bad doesn’t mean it’s still not representative. So just be happy that you’re getting recognized in the media at all.” Learn to shut up. First of all, you can’t tell me or any other marginalized group to accept the representation we are getting because “at least we have some.” Nope. If you are Muslim, tation in the media has a tendency to make false assumptions about Islam and inaccurately portrays the religious lifestyle, therefore spreading false ideas about Islam. Bad representation is worse than no representation at all. No one is forcing you to include Muslim representation, so just stop if you’re not going to get it right. In the meantime, here is some actual Muslim representation that is neither Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali and Midnight Mass stays that way.

removing the hijab is the only time Nadia is ever liberated. to guide her out of Islam’s tight shackles. Yep, every Muslim girl’s fantasy! But seriously, has it occurred to the writers that she can feel liberated while also wearing the hijab? Or do they think that all Muslim women are oppressed because they choose to cover up? It only gets worse from here. Tiny Pretty Things made me laugh on the spot because I could not believe what I was watching. Not the good laughter, the “I am going insane, this cannot be real, what is going on” kind of laughter that will lead some to question my sanity. Meanwhile, I question how by his girlfriend, mid-prayer, to start dancing and making out is in any way okay. MID PRAYER, people. For those confused, in Islam, it is important that prayer is never interrupted be-

Image found on google of Nadia Shanaa and her mediocre white boy

JUNE 2O22|

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26 EXTRA BY MANEEYA LEUNG

JUNE 2O22|