The Little Hawk

the little hawk Iowa City, IA

Vol. 81

December 18, 2020

Issue 2

thelittlehawk.com

Quick NEWS The newspaper that leads

back online Due to COVID-19 rates rising above 10% in Iowa City, the ICCSD temporarily moved all classes back online which started November 16, suspending the hybrid model until rates go back down.

ABOVE: The ballot drop box outside of the Johnson County Auditor’s Office. PHOTO BY REBECCA MICHAELLI

The closest race in the nation

By Rebecca Michaelli

T

he 2020 November election was historic for a number of reasons, and the race to represent Iowa’s second Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives was no different. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) and Rita Hart (D) entered the race to replace Congressman Dave Loebsack (D), who is retiring after serving since 2007. After multiple recount requests from both campaigns, the Iowa State Election Board certified Miller-Meeks as the Congresswoman-elect. The congressional race was the closest national race in 2020 and one of the closest congressional races in modern history; it was decided by only six votes.

“2020 has been such an unusual year, and I guess this must just be in keeping with how unusual 2020 is. We expected that this was going to be a very close race, but I don’t believe anybody on either side expected it to be this close,” Eric Woolson, communications consultant and spokesman for the Miller-Meeks campaign said.

November 4, the morning after the election, Miller-Meeks had a total of 196,773 votes, with Hart’s total being 196,487. Jasper and Lucas counties then reported an error of vote counts for the Congressional race. Because of the miscounts that occured, and how close the results appeared, all 24 counties in Iowa’s second Congressional District began the recount process.

If the results of a race are within one percent, candidates may request a recount to take place without needing to put up a bond to cover the cost.

“We’re in a weird situation with this recount. This is only the second time it’s happened since I’ve been here for eight years. The first time was just a small University Heights recount, but in this case @instalittlehawk

we’re recounting 84,000 ballots, “They’re looking for under and every single one. It’s kind of over- over votes. An under vote means whelming,” Travis Weipert, John- somebody may have written in a son County auditor said. name in the write-in line but didn’t After the initial results of fill in the oval, so the machine the Congressional race were an- would not have caught that. An nounced, many organizers im- over vote would be that somebody mediately began curing ballots, filled in the oval on the write-in reaching out to people who voted line, and also wrote [the candiprovisionally, where there were date’s name]. The machine would questions about a ballot or voter’s say, ‘this doesn’t count, they voted eligibility. This is legal in Iowa if twice,’” Weipert said. the ballot was cast before polls It is up to each county to declose. Nick O’Connell worked as a cide if they will conduct a recount political field organizer for the Bat- through a machine or by hand. tleground Iowa campaign in Jasper Most counties opted for a machine County, working to elect Demo- recount, while some combined cratic candidates up and down the machine and hand recounts, Scott ticket.

County using the term “hybrid ap“It felt like there was no break proach.” after November 3, we right away “We ran all these ballots got a sense that it was going to be through our high speed tabulator a very close on Election race. When Day. When “We expected that this was I realized they’re done that all this run going to be a very close race, being was happenthrough, ing in Jasper but I don’t believe anybody on they go into [County], I boxes, sealed felt like I had either side expected it to be this that can’t to keep dobe opened close.” ing this until unless someERIC WOOLSON the end. It thing like SPOKESMAN FOR THE MILLER-MEEKS CAMPAIGN felt like I had this happens not finished or a judge my job yet for the candidates that I orders us to do so,” Weipert exwas working for,” O’Connell said. plained. “In this case, we’re re“Being an organizer, then on this opening every single one. We have other side of the race was definite- to run every single ballot through ly different. It felt much more like again and then we hand those balwhat a Voter Protection team was lots over to the three board memdoing.” bers, and they go through it by To ensure both parties agree on, hand.” and are satisfied with the recount According to CNBC, the proprocess, each political candidate jected total votes in the United is allowed to pick a representative States reached record high numfrom their campaign in each coun- bers of ballots cast since the year ty to serve on a recount board. 1900, with at least 159.8 million Once both have chosen their rep- Americans voting. Just over 136.6 resentative, a third person is mutu- million votes were cast in the 2016 ally agreed upon. In all 24 counties Presidential election. The state of where recounts occurred, both par- Iowa also reached its highest votties agreed on an unaffiliated third er turnout record, with almost 1.7 party. million Iowans casting ballots. @thelittlehawk

Facebook.com/thelittlehawk

“We hit 84,000 votes [in Johnson County]. The old record was around 77-78,000 votes. We also set a record here in Johnson County for the most registered voters, we crossed the 100,000 registered voter line for the first time ever in the county,” Weipert said.

Miller-Meeks’ final vote count is 196,964, with Hart’s being 196,958. As the race was won by just six votes, many are using the Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Rita Hart race as an illustration of why every vote cast impacts the outcome of an election.

“This is a fantastic example of how every single vote matters and how important it is that we keep organizing and phone banking,” O’Connell said.

According to Circle Research, the overall youth voter turnout was much higher this year than it was in 2016. Although a majority of students at City High are not yet eligible to vote, many closely monitored this year’s unprecedented election.

“Even though I’m not eligible to vote, I’m aware of how important this election was, and this just proves how crucial it is for every citizen to exercise their constitutional right to vote,” Frances Bottorff ‘22 said.

While the State Election Board has certified that Miller-Meeks is the winner and Congresswoman elect. Rita Hart announced on December 2, that she plans to appeal to the House to take into account votes that were not considered in the recount. Hart decided not to contest the election in court.

“Think about the candidates themselves, and what a challenge this has been for both of them.

Having a resolution is going to be very important. Congresswoman-elect Miller-Meeks appreciates everyone who took the time to go out and make sure their voice was heard,” Woolson said. @thelittlehawk

extracurricular activities suspended With the hybrid model suspended and no students allowed in school, all in-person extracurriculars activities, including sports, were suspended.

homecoming Joe Bacon ‘21 and Elliot Murray ‘21 were voted as Homecoming Kings by the senior class early November.

Wrestling Ben Keuter ‘23 ranked 9th for Sophomore pound for pound in the nation for wrestling.

model united nations MUN had their first meeting and made plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa’s online conference this spring.

mock trial The Senior and Junior Mock Trial teams held a virtual scrimmage against each other in preparation for regionals this spring.

swimming Mandi Kowal was named the new coach for the City High boys swim team.

A2 NEWS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM December 18, 2020

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Dear Reader, At last, we have made it through the first trimester and to winter break! This issue was fun to put together and we hope you enjoy it.

Covid has created a lot of difficulties that we are covering in this issue such as record numbers of students failing classes, the suspension of fall sports, and the switch between hybrid and online, which can happen with as little as a week’s notice.

There are also the people making the most of the situation. Culinary Club is making a cookbook to sell as a fundraiser, the Little Women play is being recorded so people can watch it from the safety of their own homes, and students are taking independent studies to continue improving their

music.

However Covid may be affecting your life right now, remember that there are resources out there to provide help and support. City High now has an online mental health website that you go to anytime.

Now, a quick word of advice before we end this letter.

Stay safe over break. Wear a mask and help protect the people you love, as well as everyone else in our community.

Happy Holidays!

Julianne Berry-Stoelzle and

Jesse Hausnecht-Brown

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM December 18, 2020

A3 NEWS

Culinary club makes a cookbook The City High culinary club has started fundraising for their club by making a recipe book

By Haileigh Steffen

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ulinary Club reports that they are halfway done with their City High Recipe Book, a new fundraiser the club is kicking off this winter. According to the club presidents, their plans for their last springtime annual fundraising were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To combat low funds, club president Ana Laura Leyser ‘22 suggested compiling faculty and student recipes onto either a digital or paper recipe book as a way to find the money to run the club.

“Our fundraising was cut last year because we planned to start after spring break,” said club sponsor Ms. Wehr during an early November meeting.

The club sent out a Google survey to both students and faculty to gauge interest in the fundraiser. Afterward, interested individuals received a google form to submit their favorite recipes.

The recipe book will then be sold to raise club funding.

Leyser’s sticker campaign from last year will be reused as well.

The club has lost its usual cooking space from City High’s third-floor construction. It is unclear whether the club will be cooking together in the future. Ac-

ABOVE: Club members Sonja Liebig ‘21, Lucy Corbin ‘22, and Annika Rutt ‘22 pose for a photo. PHOTO COURTESY OF CULINARY CLUB

cording to Leyser, there is a slight possibility that students can cook together but must not consume the club’s goods until safely distanced at home. For now, the recipe book seems to be their main

focus. Leyser reports that they’re in the middle of collecting recipes.

As for future club meetings, students will have the option to meet in person or to tune in through Zoom

every Tuesday at 4:15 if the ICCSD is following a Hybrid school learning model, akin to how the club has been meeting since the start of the school year. Currently, the club only meets through

Zoom.

To organize club materials and announcements, Culinary Club plans on opening up a Canvas classroom in addition to their current communication via Insta-

gram.

“Even though we can’t cook together right now,” Leyser said, “We’re still making it work. We’re figuring out ways to make the club fun.”

4A NEWS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

A different election For the first time in City High history, the senior class elected two homecoming kings: Joe Bacon and Elliot Murray

ABOVE: City High Homecoming King Elliot Murray PHOTO BY STELLA FOSTER

By Shoshie Hemley

13 males and only one female, Whaylen. However this year, the ovember 2020 has pre- court had a fairly even distribution sented a time for his- between males and females, and toric elections, and not the senior class voted for two males just nationally. On No- to be royalty, Murray and Bacon. vember 6, City High elected two Bacon was surprised to win Homecoming Kings for Home- Homecoming King. coming royalty for the first time: “I wasn’t really expecting [to Joe Bacon ‘21 and Elliot Murray win], so that was kind of cool. I ‘21. thought it was funny when I got “It’s like trivia. Who were the voted for the [preliminary] 28 and first two kings? I thought it was then I was like, ‘oh shoot I got votfunny, it’s neat that I’m the first ed 14’ and then I was like, ‘oh dang year of that,” Bacon said. that, too’,” Bacon said. “I wasn’t exCity High’s Student Senate pecting it and it was pretty funny made the decision to make the to see my dad and Jerry during the Homecoming court gender neutral. Friday show [and announce it].”

Rather B e than inicause his tially votfather is ing for 14 “It feels excellent to be nominated P r i n c i boys and pal John Homecoming King, I did not know I B a c o n , 14 girls, narrowing his father was royalty.” it down to found out a court of the results ELLIOT MURRAY CITY HIGH SENIOR seven boys before he and sevdid. en girls, “ I and finalguess he ly voting told me for one that he Homecoming King and one actually knew earlier in the week Homecoming queen, the Senate but he didn’t tell me because he changed it to a preliminary 28 peo- wanted me to tune into [the Friday ple in general.

Show],” Bacon said.

“It’s a funny joke with my Murray was also surprised to friends, [that] I think the reason I win Homecoming King. probably kept [getting voted for] “It feels excellent to be nomwas my name is at the start of the inated Homecoming King, I did list,” Bacon said. not know I was royalty,” Murray Although the change was made said. last year, the royalty still resulted in Along with being Homecoma King and Queen, Robert Thar- ing King, Bacon was also Football rington ‘20 and Yardley Whaylen Captain this year.

‘20. However, last year’s court had “Football I guess is a big part of

N

ABOVE: City High Homecoming King Joe Bacon PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE BACON

me and what I like to do and especially senior year, I took a lot of pride in being voted captain and that was cool,” Bacon said.

His dad, Mr. Bacon is proud of his leadership as Football Captain.

“He really demonstrated leadership. I’ve watched Joe be able to go up to a kid that maybe wasn’t wearing a mask and say ‘yeah, put your mask on,’” Mr. Bacon said. “I think Joe got some pretty amazing experiences being a leader on that team going through such an unusual time, so I was really proud of him for that.”

In his free time, Bacon likes to play music, specifically guitar and piano, as well as draw.

“I really love old music. I love Bob Dylan, he is my favorite. I guess I like all that kind of 60s-70s type of vibe. I like the Grateful Dead and all that,” Bacon said.

Murray enjoys being outdoors in his free time.

“For fun I like to take walks by the river, and explore downtown.

When the school opens back up I might do some events if there is time,” Murray said. “I am very artistic and very funny. My whole personality trait would be described as fun.”

His mother Valerie also describes Elliot as someone who cares for the environment.

“Elliott cares very deeply about the environment and in particular protecting the habitat of animals, he’s always had a really strong interest in that,” Valerie said. “I think that’s something that will carry him forward in his life and he will be part of what he chooses to do as a career. And I think he’ll certainly be a great advocate for the environ-

ment, no matter what it is that he in Cadillacs during the annual chooses to do in his life.”

Homecoming Parade, donning After graduating, Bacon plans sashes. Then, the Homecoming on attending college at the Univer- Royalty would be announced on sity of Iowa.

Friday at the annual Homecoming “I think I’m gonna attend the Football game. However, because University of Iowa, and hopefully of COVID-19, the typical activities go try and study something, [may- and events were cancelled. Instead, be] get a teacher’s license,” Bacon, the student senate gave the court a who’s mother is an English teacher, bag of goods, including their sashsaid. es, and yard signs saying they are Murray also hopes to attend on the Homecoming Court. college after high school.

“Ms. Gibbens, she did an awe“After high school I may go to some job so shout out to her. If Kirkwood college, and then take a you’re on the Court, we each got trip to Australia,” Murray said. this little basket and it came with a Valerie was both surprised and sash and a gift bag of buttons and delighted to find out her son was little bead necklaces. It is a really voted nice gesHometure,” Bac o m i n g “[City High is] an old place and a lot con said.

King.

“I woke up of people went through [here]. It’s and [the “ I think it sign] really important to a lot of people yard says a lot was in my about and it’s made an impact in a lot of front yard C i t y so that was people’s lives.”

H i g h pretty cool. and the I think that JOE BACON CITY HIGH SENIOR students definitethat they ly helped would make it a identify little more someone like Elliot who’s a pretty special.” quiet person as someone that they Bacon is proud to be a City really like and that they would High Homecoming King and repwant to represent them in that resent the school. way,” Valerie said. “I think he is “[City High is] an old place and charming without really trying to a lot of people went through [here]. be charming. He is really his own It’s really important to a lot of peoperson. I think he has an innocent ple and it’s made an impact in a lot quality that I think a lot of people of people’s lives,” Bacon said. “Just find very appealing. He’s a happy to treat it with some respect. It’s person, and I think that can be in- high school, high school is a fun fectious.” time and you’ll only go through it In a typical year, the Home- once, so just make the most of it.” coming Court would ride in pairs

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

A5 NEWS

ICCSD goes back online Due to rising COVID-19 cases in Johnson County, the hybrid model suspends as the district goes fully online

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ART BY SOPHIA WAGNER

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By Julius Perez

n Tuesday, November 10 the Iowa City School District announced that school will return to a 100% online model. This was based on a decision from the Iowa City School District Board and came into effect on Monday, November 16.

“I’m not looking forward to online school, I feel like there are no social interactions with online school, combined with staring at a screen for at least four hours a day, makes learning more difficult,” Thomas Ksobiech ‘23 said.

Originally, the district applied to the Iowa

I

Department of Education to make the tran- believes it’s the responsible thing to do based sition for a period of two weeks. However on these numbers. the transition has “The safety of been extended “We were just getting into the swing of students and teachuntil December should be of top things, and it was a big change (going ers 11. This change priority right now. can be attributed back to online school), It’s taking some While it’s certainly to the rapid rise not an ideal situgetting used to.” in COVID-19 ation, I know my cases in Johnson fellow staff memSAM MEIS CITY HIGH SOPHOMORE County, which bers will continue was at a 9.9% to work to provide a positive test rate as of November 11, and great experience for students even though we is 14.1% positive test rate as of December are moving online,” Lala said.

1st. City High Science Teacher Philip Lala Sam Meis ‘23, a hybrid student who is agrees with the School Board’s decision and back doing online school, says he isn’t par-

ticularly thrilled about the change. However he understands why the school board made the decision.

“We were just getting into the swing of things, and it was a big change (going back to online school), It’s taking some getting used to,” Meis said.

The district wants families and students of ICCSD to understand that this will not affect its “ability to deliver high-quality instruction to our students.” They also noted that their current priority is the safety of staff and students. The “Grab and Go” meal program will be offered during this period, served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Students in the Sunrise Movement

By Jennie Gidal

n 2019, climate strikes led by City High students grabbed the attention of news outlets, local organizations, and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. A year later, City students continue to ride the tide of change.

Maya Bennett ‘23 first heard about Sunrise, a national organization dedicated to making climate change a priority in America in October, whereupon she decided to join the organization to learn more about what she could do to slow climate change. Now, she’s planning on starting a Sunrise club at City High with a couple of her peers to get more students involved in Climate Change.

Eva Sileo is the Iowa City Sunrise hub coordinator and a senior at the University of Iowa, with a major in Biology for her undergraduate degree and a secondary science education for her graduate degree. She joined the organization during the COVID-19 pandemic and took a leadership position in July of this year. “[Climate change is] something that is going to have pretty devastating impacts on

communities and is already having a devas- these people and they’re really nice, it’s a retating impact,” Sileo said. “We’re going to ally good community. We’re making an imhave to contemplate how we can change our pact, nationally we’re doing a lot, so it’s really transportation infrastructure, how we can fun.” change our energy infrastructure, our food Bennett recalls having done phone bankinfrastructure, our responsive infrastructure ing for the Sunrise Climate Summit meetwe have around responding to natural disas- ing, a coalition meeting hosted by the Iowa ters. All of these things that are going to be City hub with the active climate organizaimpacted are very tions in Southeastcrucial to human “I’ve learned about the Green New Deal, ern Iowa. The goal society and the was to come up functioning of hu- and about community organizations with sturdy plans man society.” and activists, and Iowa’s goals for for change that all The Sunrise the organizations climate.”

Movement was could agree on and founded in 2017. advertise all the MAYA BENNET Currently, the different climate CITY HIGH SOPHOMORE organization has justice groups. more than 400 hubs around the country.

“I’ve learned about the Green New Deal, During the beginning of the COVID-19 and about community organizations and acpandemic, the Iowa City hub stopped meet- tivists, and Iowa’s goals for climate,” Bennett ing due to safety concerns. Sileo reports that said. “We’re working to get Iowa to net-zero her hub began meeting weekly again through by 2030 which is zero carbon emission. It Zoom soon after. goes along with the Green New Deal but it’s “I was frustrated with politics, and I at a local level in Iowa.” wanted a place to go with that I could make Bennett plans on starting a Sunrise hub a difference,” Bennett said. “I like meeting at City High with some fellow classmates.

The club would have opportunities for high school students to volunteer, hear from professionals, and take action on climate change.

“Hopefully Sunrise club at City will be a space for students to get involved and find their place in the community with activism,” Bennett said. “This is our future and it’s up to us to change it, this is a national organization that’s making a difference so if you want to join anything, Sunrise is the place to go.”

Along with climate justice, Sunrise works to help local issues in Iowa City. For instance, the organization has worked to get the University of Iowa to provide hazard pay to employees being asked to work in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, they want to work on criminal justice on their campus in the future.

“I’ve always felt that like the younger the people we can get involved, the better the organization is because young people are the ones that are most directly impacted by climate change,” Sileo said. “It gives me a grander sort of hope to see people younger than myself taking an initiative or getting really critically involved in these kinds of fights because we need you.”

6A NEWS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

Ambassadors film informative videos

By Jesse Hausknecht-Brown

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ART BY SOPHIA WAGNER

Rise in failing grades in the ICCSD High school students in the district are earning a higher percentage of D’s and F’s in the first trimester than seen in previous years

By Shoshie Hemley

T

he Iowa City Community School District has seen a variety of changes during the 2020-2021 school year. The ICCSD has provided an online academy as well as a hybrid model. While students and teachers are adjusting to meeting over screens, the school district has seen a trend in lower grades in comparison to the averages from previous years. This year, due to a number of factors, more students have F’s than they typically do.

“The good news is we think this situation is drastically improving.

We’ve worked really, really hard on it,” City High Principal John Bacon said.

Typically, 22% of ICCSD high school students have at least one or more F at midterm in the typical trimester and the number decreases to around 10-13% by the end of the trimester. However, this fall trimester, the number almost doubled at midterm with 39% of students with at least one F. As of the week of November 16, the number dropped to 22% from midterm.

“That news is good because of the decline, but really [22%] should have been our number in a “normal” year at midterm, and so to get to the end of the trimester at that 10% level, we still have work to do,” Scott Kibby, the ICCSD Curriculum Director, said.

Both the ICCSD and City High are finding various ways to support students and fight the decline in grades.

“Teachers and administrators are working on redefining what each course’s highest priority standards are. They are making sure that students are evaluated against those standards as a minimum,” Kibby said. “This doesn’t mean other standards or material don’t count – they do. To get grades like A’s and B’s students are measured against all standards. We are determining what it takes to get passing grades with these priority standards. Hence, that’s one way we are working on addressing failing grades.”

The district is also utilizing Stu- it.” dent Family Advocates who are The slips include questions reaching out to students, and the about whether or not the teacher technology department is helping has reached a parent or guardian, if families with internet access. Addi- they’ve created a plan with the stutionally, administrators and coun- dent, and if the student is showing selors are monitoring attendance to up for classes, among other queskeep an eye on students. tions.

“It was a difficult transition to “We agreed as a faculty we want that mode of learning for a lot of to formalize and list these steps at students. So early in the first half of City High before any student gets the first trimester, D’s and F’s were a final grade at the end of a trimesup. We’ve really hit it hard. We’ve ter,” Bacon said. tried to be very creative and very Jared Moninger ‘23 is a student resourceful, and we put a number who has been online for the first of different steps in place,” Bacon trimester. He created a petition for said. the ICCSD to lower the assignThe district is also allowing for ment load this year. students to withdraw from classes “The reason I wanted to make later than they usually could. Typi- [the petition] was because I was cally, a student can withdraw from having a really hard time doing all a class before midterms with a W the work and I know a lot of my in the class rather than a grade. It friends were too. [I thought] somedoesn’t affect their GPA, nor do one will do something about it, and they receive credit. Because of the then nobody did anything about it,” current Monsituainger tion, said. “I “Teachers and administrators are students figured working on redefining what each c a n one day withI course’s highest priority standards that d r a w should are.” from a d o class all someSCOTT KIBBY the way thing ICCSD CURRICULUM DIRECTOR to the about end of it, so I the trimester. made that petition. I wasn’t expect“If a student got off to a terri- ing to get a whole lot of signatures, ble start, we didn’t want them to be maybe like 10 or something. Then, killed and there was nothing they today I’ve got 200, which really could do to recover,” Bacon said. came as a surprise to me.”

City High has also implemented As of December 8, Moninger F-Slips, a new system Bacon hopes had over 200 signatures on the peto help deter failing grades. F-Slips tition. are pieces of paper with questions “I think that teachers are treatthat teachers fill out for every stu- ing it as if it’s like a normal year, dent they have failing their class. and that we’d be in the right mindThis is a system that has been used set to do school, but really we’re before at Tate High School. not. And it’s hard to do school,” “The idea was just to let us make Moninger said. “When you’re by sure no one was slipping through yourself and in your own home, the cracks and to know that a plan because you’re not in that school was being made and communi- environment where everyone is becation was happening with every ing productive and helpful. I know single student who was failing the that’s true for me at least.” course,” Bacon said. “That was reA concern with the increase of ally good, that allowed us to kind failing grades is that it is potentialof make sure we had a hand around ly disproportionately affecting lowthe situation and get a handle on er-income students.

“Iowa City schools face the same challenges that occur across the country in what is typically called the ‘Achievement Gap’. Students of color, students from poverty, students with disabilities and/ or students where English is not their first language do not achieve as a whole at the same rate as the general population of students,” Kibby said. “COVID-19 has made this achievement gap worse. So, in addition to the outreach and the focus on priority standards the district staff is being trained in culturally responsive teaching practices.”

An issue with the increase of students with failing grades is that some students may not have equitable access to resources such as wifi, technology, and other items necessary for online learning. Some students may be essential workers during this time, or don’t have a proper learning environment at home.

“Working on the achievement gap is a district goal and at the forefront of every department and a part of nearly all conversations we have about improving as a system,” Kibby said. “We know we have a lot of work to do, but I have seen a commitment to this work.”

Kibby believes students and parents can help the situation by reaching out to teachers. Bacon, who has a senior at City High, believes that parents should monitor PowerSchool and have frequent conversations with their children.

“Have regular frequent conversations with kids, and that’s easier said than done. I definitely recognize the challenge that is, but I think having a regular open line of communication and dialogue that’s non judgmental [is important],” Bacon said.

As the district transitions into the second trimester, teachers and administrators alike are continuing to keep grades up while going to school during a global pandemic.

“I think you’ll continue to see teams of teachers working together to determine the high priority standards within their curriculum and make sure students meet those basic minimums,” Kibby said.

ith school disrupted by COVID-19, all clubs and extracurriculars have had to find new ways to conduct their activities. This includes the City High Ambassadors who have been working on making informative videos for the student body.

“I personally think that [these videos] could be really helpful, especially for new students,” Julia Weiner ‘21, a City High ambassador, said. “The videos are basically substitutes for the events that we normally would have had in person.”

The videos include content about stress management, time management, technology help, and how to get involved at school.

The ambassadors have also made a virtual building tour video.

“Sometimes, information coming from a peer is better received, and coming from someone who has recently gone through the same thing, or is currently, is even better yet. It’s more relatable,” Renee Tonning, the sponsor of the ambassadors club, said. “We hope students will watch the videos, get good, reliable information, and reach out if they need to.”

These videos replace the work that the ambassador club would do in person. In past years, ambassadors have led assemblies to engage with students and meet one-on-one with rising freshmen to help them transition to high school.

“I feel that the videos are important for both the ambassadors and the other students. The videos allow [the ambassadors] to still work on something and make a contribution,” Weiner said. “For the other students, they also provide very helpful information about the building, Chromebooks, and other topics to help get through this strange year.”

Looking into the future, the ambassadors will continue to come up with innovative ways to keep working.

“We will continue to search for ways to be of service to our school community and would always welcome suggestions,” Tonning said.

The club has had to do a lot of things differently this year because one of their main jobs is to welcome visitors to City High, but because of COVID-19 there haven’t been large events. “ [Ambassadors] are often the first people to greet parents as they come to Orientation and conferences, freshmen during registration and the entire Little Hawk community as they attend concerts and events in Opstad,” Tonning said. “Because of the pandemic and social distancing, none of those things have been happening, leaving the Ambassadors a little adrift.”

Although the year has been different for the ambassadors, both Tonning and Weiner are optimistic about the future.

“Ambassadors are natural leaders who are proud of City High and have worked hard to qualify for their membership and the honor of wearing the Red Coat,” Tonning said. “We’ve had to think a bit outside the box for ways to share knowledge with others.”

A7 NEWS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM December 18, 2020

Library book drop off City’s librarians experiment with new methods of library checkout

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By Haileigh Steffen

ity High Library has implemented a system of contactless delivery for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Students are instructed to log in to “Destiny Discover” through the library web page to access the library’s catalog. Once on, students can place holds on a book that interests them. If the student is in online enrollment, the book is placed in the main office for pick up. If in standard enrollment while at school, the book is delivered to their English classroom. Alternatively, English teachers can send the library a whole class list through a Google form or Google doc. The library then delivers the cart to that classroom, a system that the library department has found success in.

“When we started this [system], we weren’t sure how well it would work and how easy it would be to get books into kid’s hands with a touchless delivery,” Daphne Foreman, a teacher-librarian at City High School, said.

“It’s been no problem. We can easily and quickly get whole classes taken care of in a day.”

While standard enrollment students are having little-reported issues checking out books, Foreman reports online enrollment students are having trouble picking up books.

“So, we’ll be working on expanding some time for that or and communication so the kids know to come to pick those up. It’s not that we’re mad at anybody for not picking up a book, but it means that they don’t have the benefit of [that book], nor does anybody else if it’s just sitting there in the office,” Foreman said.

Inversely, books have not been returned

ABOVE: Books in City High’s library PHOTO BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN

by online enrollment students according to Foreman. She hopes that students will soon get into the habit of this new process. In the meantime, the library will be sending out emails and paper notices for last year’s missing books. However, unreturned books will not have fines attached. As Foreman says, “it’s not about punishment, but about replacement.”

“It’s the thinking in all library services, from public libraries to school libraries, that we don’t want people to penalize people or discourage them for coming and getting

more books,” Foreman said. “We just want them to have access.”

To increase book returns, bins have been placed outside the band area and in the main office. Students may use these bins at any time and during the school day, respectively.

In addition to being contactless, the new system has helped students learn to navigate online library resources. Foreman stated that ebook and audiobook traffic is low, however.

A library report earlier this week showed that four out of hundreds of online books were checked out.

“We have hundreds of ebooks and audiobooks, so hopefully, students will start using them,” Foreman said. “We are going to work more on our Twitter and Insta presence in addition to using Canvas to get that access info to people.”

“I think maybe online [students] aren’t getting quite as many [books], but on the other hand, we have kids who are requesting five books at a time so that they always have something to read at home,” Foreman said.

“So, it seems to me, people who are regular readers are still reading a lot.”

Managing mental health as an online student How City High students are managing their time and keeping their mental health in check, while doing online schooling

A

By Jennie Gidal

s the winter months draw near, students are more likely to stay indoors away from others to prevent the spread of COVID-19 cases. 45% of the Iowa City Community School District student body is enrolled in the online program as they push to keep all students online due to the rising positivity rates in Johnson County. However, with a fully online learning model there comes a challenge of student health aid.

“[The workload] seems like a lot more than usual years to me, like a lot more homework. But also all of it is homework so it’s hard to really gauge,” Maria Volkman ‘22 said. “I take breaks for lunch and dinner for like an hour. Then you suddenly have to stay up till like 10 doing school work. So there’s not that much free time, but sometimes I just procrastinate and allow myself some free time.”

To help students get the help they need, the City High NESTT team put together a website with resources to hotlines, private meetings with City High guidance counselors, and a virtual calming room with guided meditation.

In addition to the City High NESTT website, teachers have had to change their way of teaching to fit this online program

and aid the students as much as they can.

“I like English because the teacher engages us in conversations during class, so I pay more attention that way,” Vivian Tomek ‘23 said. “When they let us out earlier or give us breaks from work sometimes it’s really nice.”

Students now have teachers from across the school district teaching them, which switches some student’s their schedule. Volkman enjoys orchestra class because of the relaxed atmosphere and the atypical learning.

“It’s actually something fun and we don’t do typical learning, which gets really tiring after a whole day of doing it,” Volkman said.

“The teachers never act annoyed when you are confused which is nice because sometimes when you’re in school, your teachers can get upset at you when you’re not paying attention, but online they’re nice about it.”

Students try to have outlets to turn to when online school gets challenging. Typically, students report spending half the day on Zoom meetings for class and the other half doing homework.

In addition, they might also have clubs, a job, or sports to occupy their time. Getting outside and away from their screen is one of the only breaks students recall they have from constantly being in their home. For instance, Tomek does City High show choir, albeit through Zoom due to the ICCSD’s switch to 100% online learning.

ABOVE: Ava Cross ‘23 joins her Spanish class on Zoom, while doing schoolwork outside. PHOTO BY JENNIE GIDAL

“[Show Choir] kind of helps because I get to see people,” Tomek said. “I like keeping track of my assignments and managing my time well, I make to-do lists and check Canvas a lot to make sure I’m always caught up with my work.”

Volkman tries to see her friends at least once a week to study, have fun, and talk on

the phone when she feels stressed. Volkman also is a part of Culinary Club, which meets through Zoom every Tuesday for the time being.

“It’s not as not as fun because we just meet online. So we can’t really do that much, but it helps seeing people that you know,” Volkman said.

A8 NEWS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM Devember 18, 2020

New systems for students failing classes In response to record numbers of D's and F's at City and the district, students failing classses will be able to turn an "F-Slip"

T

By Kate Kueter

his year City High has seen some of its highest rates of D’s and F’s, and it’s not just City High, it’s the whole School District. To counteract this City High administrators have made a plan to help students that are failing classes.

“The purpose in the slip is just a very simple form, quick and easy to fill out where teachers indicate a student that is failing,” Principal Bacon explained.

The “F-Slips” are individual evaluations of students that are filled out each week by teachers if that student is failing the class. According to Principal Bacon, City High has used this “F-Slip” system before when students were failing classes. The idea of the slip system started with former Assistant Principal and current Principal of Elizabeth Tate High School, Ann Browning.

Tate High School uses this system all year round to get a sense of who is struggling and to make a plan to improve.

“We're gonna make sure that no one is slipping through the cracks,” Bacon said.

The first round of slips was turned into administrators Friday, October 30. Once collected the forms were divided among members of City High’s administrative team and the student support team to examine and provide the necessary support for each student. To complete the form a teacher will write a brief description of a plan for that student and try to contact a parent or guardian.

ABOVE: Mr. Rogers fills out an F-Slip PHOTO BY Kate Keuter

Teachers, like Scott Black, have observed students, both hybrid and online, struggling with at-home learning.

“I think there are issues in the asynchronous time with time management and technology, but also things with focus and just how real the actual world is,” Black said.

Other teachers have noticed that the majority of their failing students are the ones fully on-

line. In the first week of the “F-Slip” system teachers have filled out anywhere from five to a dozen forms.

“Despite our best efforts on the asynchronous days, we know that you know it's still no substitute for being in class five days a week,” Bacon said.

“I don't think it's surprising that kids are struggling.”

At the end of the first trimester, before a student receives a failing grade the teacher will fill out the “End of Trimester Failing Grade Interventions.” Bacon explained the form is a checklist of items and steps a teacher must take before the final grade to ensure that they have done “everything in their power to help the students succeed.” The form was created by the Instructional Leadership Team, a group of City High teachers, that outlines what they believe a teacher should do before assigning a failing grade.

“I think that this is not the final version of it that we will see,” Haley Johannesen, an English teacher at City High said. “I think it'll be revised and adapted until it works for everybody.”

The “F-Slip” system will continue through the rest of the trimester and then be re-evaluated for the second and third trimesters. Teachers’ advice to students for this year is to keep in contact with teachers and create a system for time management during asynchronous days.

“Reach out to your teachers,” Johannesen advises.

“Email your teachers, keep a planner, have some sort of system where you are checking your email each day, checking canvas and reaching out when you need that help and not waiting until you're in person day ask.”

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM December 18, 2020

A9 NEWS

ABOVE: Finn Greteman 23' doing schoolwork in his bedroom. PHOTO COURTESY OF FINN GRETEMAN

Students' thoughts on online classes The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced all ICCSD students into online learning environments, effecting students in various ways

S

By Rachel Marsh

ince the beginning of the year, students have had the choice to go fully online or the hybrid option, splitting the student body in two. With new experiences happening in both situations, communication between the two is silent. For those who have been online for the entire year so far, the shift to fully online did not bring change, however for those who have been hybrid, it does. Some are looking to online students to know how online school has been so far, and what to expect.

“I can’t speak so much for those in the hybrid model, but it definitely feels weird not being able to actually connect with the other students in my online classes. Most of the time we sit and listen to people lecture or type out our thoughts in the chat, so we never really get to bond, (unless we are put into breakout rooms - as I have noticed... not a lot of kids are fans of breakout rooms...)”

Thomazin Jury ‘21, who has been online since the school year started, said.

As the months of the pandemic have gone on, routine started settling into place. Now, at the end of the first trimester, new norms have set in for some students. According to Lulu Roarick ‘24, she has settled into a less stressful routine. For others, that is not the case.

“I feel like my routine has been fairly the same, but I do kind of miss the sense of routine school provided. Some days I feel so incredibly bored and not motivated to do anything - then that all seems to pile up which affects my mental health even more.

It definitely feels like a vicious cycle sometimes,” Jury said.

Though everything is in comparison to ‘a normal year’, students are trying to tell if the workload is any different or if that grade just has a higher resting workload. Normally, as one goes through their high school years, the degree of difficulty increases, with that an impending amount of homework. Being

at the starting end of it, Roarick is enjoying my worst mental health months, and I am her lightest year. climbing out of that hole I dug everyday,” “My workload is not bad at all, compara- Roarick said. bly almost better. I credit learning time manAnother big factor affecting mental health agement skills and organization to my lack is the decision between hybrid or online. of stress,” Roarick said. “I never had those Granted, City is at the end of a two week skills pre COVID, and now I am grateful for waiver, and entering another one. Howevthem.” er, the hybrid model did give students some On the other hand, as a senior, Jury feels interaction. Choosing between the two opshe has a high workload. What classes and tions involved families, jobs, and other facteachers a student has are also deciding fac- tors making it not much of a choice for some tors. students.

“I don’t know if it is just me, but I feel like “My mom is in the healthcare field, and the workload has been significantly more is specifically working with the COVID-19 than last year,” Jury said. unit at the hospital. As a family of essential Affected by many things, including work- workers online was the only plausible opload, is mental health. The general consen- tion. I hope to be back as soon as my family sus on the internet is that over this period and I see safe,” Roarick said. away from seemingly An issue facing se"I never thought I would be as niors, just like every everything, most people’s mental health mentally affected by online school senior class, is colhas taken a decline. lege applications, yet Mental health was as it has been. Lack of motivation, another thing to add a prominent issue procrastination, and anxiety has into the mix. When in pre-COVID life families were decidas well, especially in definitely been something I’ve had ing between hybrid teenagers. to work on since being online.” or online, extracur“At first, I really ricular activities and THOMAZIN JURY enjoyed being online! time spent away from CITY HIGH SENIOR I felt like I could work school were also inon my own time, and cluded in the decision I enjoyed having the according to Jury. luxury of eating with my family. As it went “In my situation at least, since I am apon, however, I really do feel like my mental plying/auditioning to almost 25ish schools, health has been going downhill,” Jury said. maintaining my health, my family’s health, “I never thought I would be as mentally af- and having the time to work on all those fected by online school as it has been. Lack applications and video submissions was imof motivation, procrastination, and anxiety portant to me, so my family and I all agreed has definitely been something I’ve had to that it was best to go with the online model work on since being online.” for the first two trimesters,” Jury said.

Everyone is different and goes through As the year goes on, the list of canceled things at different times. Roarick experi- items keeps getting longer and longer. Addenced her burnout back at the beginning. ed to that list, Homecoming, football games, “My mental health has taken a toll on basketball games, choir, band and orchestra me, but I am doing all that I can to stay in concerts, all traditional highschool activities. a healthy mindset. I started volunteering “I think the biggest change for me was and focusing on projects that I care about to definitely the sense of community and traget out of my hole. April through June were dition. I love that our school is still trying

to make efforts to uphold certain events, but going in as a senior, I was definitely disappointed knowing that things just weren’t going to be the same,” Jury said.

Seniors to freshman, the traditions have changed and in some cases just not happened.

“High School is something you look forward to. As a ninth grader I am consistently in a stage of grief for losing some of it. I did plan a COVID safe homecoming for some of my close friends, so finding solutions to these problems is my goal,” Roarick said.

Throughout it all, the administration has tried to keep some normalcy and community building according to Mr. Bacon, Principal of City High, with Friday Advisory broadcasts, Dance Marathon Trivia Nights, and more.

“I would want to tell our online students to keep buying into our mantra of every class, every day, on time. Take care of business and never take a zero. And be kind and supportive of everyone. I think if you do those things, you will be successful,” Bacon said.

Though teaching is different, some teachers and students are getting used to the ups and the downs. Teachers and students have gone through events that were not predicted.

No one had experience with what this year has brought and both parties are trying their best despite the challenges.

“I think the teachers and staff are handling everything really well. I would think it would be just as stressful on their end as well, so I do give them credit for that,” Jury said. “Teachers, I’m sorry about the late assignments. Us students have gone through a lot this year, so have you and your families. I really do appreciate that most of you take into consideration that mental health should be a priority, but also know - while many students do have the time to work on asynchronous days, many have to provide for their families, siblings, work, have on college apps, take care of their health etc.”

10A NEWS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

ART BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN

One year of COVID-19: where we are now I

By Emme Perencevich

n Iowa, there were 15,351 reported COVID cases during just the first week of December according to the New York Times. In November, the number of daily cases reached an all-time high. Since the outbreak began almost a year ago, there have been a total of 247 thousand cases and over 2,700 deaths in the state. With winter break just around the corner, transmission rates are expected to increase.

“We know that as cases rise, hospitalizations rise a couple of weeks later,” Dr. Eli Perencevich, an infectious disease epidemiologist and professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa, said. “Hospitals are being overwhelmed. Many hospitals in Iowa now have to cancel 50% of the elective procedures they’re doing by order of the governor to open up beds for patients with COVID infections.”

The number of cases is expected to spike during this holiday season. This increase in transmission could have dire effects on the community and on hospitals. Both the

number

of beds

and the well being of healthcare workers could be strained. Dana Jones is a surgical nurse practitioner at the University of Iowa.

Her position, like that of many healthcare workers across the world, was adapted due to the conditions brought about by the global pandemic.

“Over the last few weeks, and throughout the pandemic, my role as a nurse practitioner has become more and more complex,” Jones said. “During times of COVID surge, we are all asked to take on new roles and responsibilities. Those new responsibilities can be anything from calling and canceling elective procedures and offering support and encouragement to the patients who are affected by this, to converting patient appointments to telemedicine with very short notice, staffing the Influenza-like illness clinics [that] are overflowing with telemedicine patients currently, or even being asked to cross cover on patient units like ICUs and other inpatient units when we normally would not do these things.”

Along with being asked to take on extra duties within hospitals and clinics, this year an unprecedented change was made to Iowa’s nursing licensure.

“Recently the Director of Advanced Practice Providers sent out an email pleading with any nurse practitioner who [had] previously worked as nurses in the ICU to volunteer to return to the ICU as a nurse,” Jones said. “They even checked the laws in Iowa to ensure it is legal for a nurse practitioner to still practice as a nurse under their current licensure. This is completely unprecedented. Never has this happened before. Even in

times of war, natural disasters, never.”

The addition of so many new responsibilities to the plates of healthcare workers can cause undue amounts of stress to build up.

“It’s very stressful. Over time, we have adapted and found new ways to manage working as a team in those conditions, but communication suffers and it has led to more strain and frustration,” Jones said.

“Most of us have nowhere to aim that frustration, so it tends to go to each other. As the pandemic rages on and coworkers’ opinions differ about how we should proceed and what precautions should and shouldn’t be taken, more resentment and frustration bubbles under the surface.”

Jones noticed a shift in the mindset of many healthcare workers shifting after the first months of the pandemic.

“The catchphrase ‘All in This Together’ seems to have lost some luster after nine months. It rolled so easily off our lips in March and April. In November and December, we say it through gritted teeth.”

One approach Perencevich suggests to alleviate some of this burden on healthcare workers is to wear masks and avoid places where masks can’t be worn effectively.

“There’s plenty of data now that wearing a simple mask, either a three-layer cloth mask or a medical mask, can prevent the spread of the virus by containing the virus. However, [they have] to be worn by all folks who are infected and that means everyone in the state needs to wear a mask since one in 40 people are now infected in the state,” Perencevich said. “We need everyone to wear a mask. And then the other thing we need to do is close

areas where the virus is spreading quickly and those are areas where people can’t wear masks. And that’s indoor restaurants or bars where people are eating and drinking, those need to be closed.”

While Perencevich considers getting tested for the virus is important he maintains that it can’t replace other preventive measures.

“Let’s say you have to go somewhere to visit somebody because someone’s sick or something, the fact that you can rapidly get a test and kind of know you’re safe could allow critical things to happen,” said Perencevich.

“But testing doesn’t replace wearing masks and avoiding large groups. We need to limit the chances for super spreader events, and that’s where one person infects a lot of people at once. So, we need to ban temporarily all large group meetings over five people outside of your own families. If we implement those three things: masks, closing bars and restaurants, and eliminating meetings in large groups, we could prevent a lot of the spread.”

Perencevich believes that schools should be closed to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the next few months.

“The virus is [currently] spreading in the community at three times the level recommended by the CDC for closing schools,” said Perencevich. “It is the right thing to close schools and I think the major reason is to protect teachers. I don’t want any teachers to die of coronavirus. There are already over 10 teachers or staff that have died in Iowa, and that’s 10 too many. For now, for a short period of time until January, I think schools

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

15,351

should remain online.”

Looking forward to January, doses of the vaccine are to be supplied by the new year.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine has recently been approved by the FDA. The United States Government has already stated their intention to pay the companies $1.95 billion for 100 million doses of the vaccine, which will be cases of COVID-19 in the first week of enough to cover 50 million people.

“The University of Iowa was part of [the December in Iowa Pfizer vaccine] trial and they enrolled over 40,000 patients. In their analysis of the data, after two months, they found it prevented 95% of the infections and it also prevented severe infections. It’s a very effective vaccine, better than we could have hoped,” Perencevich went on to explain some of the drawbacks of the vaccine. “The issue is that it takes two shots, three weeks apart so it’s a little complex, it’s not as simple as lining up and getting one shot. And then we know it needs to be stored at cold temperatures so many places won’t have a minus 80 degrees Celsius freezer. And so there are kind of a lot of issues with that.”

Along with Pfizer, Moderna, a biotechnology company, has also developed an effective thousand cases of COVID-19 in Iowa and tested vaccine. This vaccine is expected to be approved by the FDA in the coming weeks. since the pandemic began “Moderna’s vaccine, developed with the NIH, is a very similar vaccine. It appears to be, also, almost 95% efficacious in preventing COVID infections. Both of those should start rolling out into larger populations by the end of the year,” Perencevich said.

Both Pfizer and Moderna declined the White House’s invitation to the Trump administration’s “vaccine summit.” Pending the approval of Moderna’s vaccine, both vaccines will start being administered to healthcare workers first, with people over the age of 65 also being prioritized due to their increased susceptibility.

“There are 18 million health care workers in the United States,” Perencevich said. “Most of the first doses will go to health care workers. They’ve borne a lot of the brunt of this.

COVID-19 deaths in Iowa since the Our frontline health care workers including EMT folks, the emergency medical folks, and pandemic began nursing home staff all need to be vaccinated.

Then they will vaccinate folks older than 65, particularly those with comorbid or chronic conditions and those in nursing homes.”

Data is from the New York Times While there are vaccines on the horizon,

247

2,700

public perception of the virus is not necessarily tied to the research and advancements being made.

“I think the [perception of the virus] goes in waves. I think some people are getting tired of COVID, they’re saying they have ‘COVID fatigue.’ However, I think [the virus] is spreading, not because people are tired of it, but because they’ve been kind of convinced it’s not real,” Perencevich said. “They’re not doing what’s right, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to wear a mask. It’s not like we’re rationing food.

It’s not like all the sacrifices folks needed to do during World War Two. We’re just saying, you know, wear a mask if you have to go out and, you know, stay home and binge watch Netflix.

These aren’t huge sacrifices, but they’re not being told to do the right thing. Politicians have let us all down in that regard.”

Jones shares Perencevich’s perception of how politicians, specifically state officials, have handled the pandemic and the consequences of their actions.

“I’m thankful to live here in Iowa City where we have a local mask mandate,” Jones said. “I am wary and angry with our state officials, and I find them to be directly responsible for the failed response to the pandemic and for the tragedy that is the death and disruption to life that has ensued as a result. They had a responsibility to do the right thing for Iowans, and they didn’t. They had the power to enforce mask mandates. They had expert advice to follow. They chose to ignore it, cover it up, and pretend that they had it under control. Their missteps are unconscionable, and there is no way to bring back the Iowan’s we have lost as a result. I am beyond disappointed.”

Perencevich agrees that the Iowa government was too relaxed in their response to the pandemic and the rising number of cases in the state.

“From the very beginning, the government was taking a very hands-off approach,” Perencevich said. “We were one of the only states to never shut down. And so, throughout this, we haven’t handled it very well. We have really high death rates and really high case rates.

There are over 100 nursing homes with active outbreaks.”

Recently, Jones has noticed more people advocating for higher quality safety measures.

“I have noticed over the past few weeks that

A11 NEWS

other friends who have been mostly silent or seemingly neutral about the pandemic and the need for precautions have now echoed the concerns and cries for better mitigation,” Jones said. “I see it as a sign of hope. Every voice that speaks up and speaks out to ensure we take the proper measures makes an impact. Each and every voice matters. We may never be Australia, but we could do better, and it truly will take all of us.”

With the advancement of the COVID-19 vaccine, Perencevich is becoming more hopeful that the number of cases will begin to decrease. “[I’m] very optimistic, I think if we can buckle down for two months, and wear masks and keep distancing and not meet in large groups we could cut down on deaths now,” Perencevich said. “Then we’ll start vaccinating at the beginning of the year and by spring things should start returning more to normal. But we can’t just let it run through our community.

Because then it’ll be much harder to control in the spring.”

Perencevich wants City students to know that the pandemic will not be eternal and that they can do their part in ensuring a safe return to normalcy.

“I think City High students should realize there’s light at the end of the tunnel they just have to be really safe for the next trimester,” Perencevich said. “And that’s mostly to protect their parents and grandparents. Just stay home, you know, get exercise at home. Just chill out for the next couple of months and then, once spring rolls around, we’ll be able to get outside again and the vaccine will start coming and things will start returning to normal. I just don’t want any parents to die, or any grandparents to die.”

In the end, Jones wants people to know that their own actions can change how the pandemic progresses.

“It’s important to know that we are not powerless,” Jones said. “What we do, what we say, and how we think matters tremendously.

Our one and only job here on this earth is to love each other. That’s it. It’s that simple. To do all things with love. Right now, that means wearing a mask, practicing safe social distancing, doing things that are so hard and feel so lonely that it hurts, and keeping each other safe.”

A12 OPINION

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

What Democrats Can Learn From the Republican Party The way the Democratic party plays the political game is costing them elections

By Noah Pavelich

A

fter reading that headline you might be asking yourself: What would the Democrats even need to learn from the Republican party? Joe Biden was just elected president, the house remained in control, and the Senate is within striking distance.

While all that is true, this election was a lot closer for a lot longer than what most people wanted. The fact that it was that close for that long is why the Democrats need to change their political strategy.

The phrase “when they go low, we go high” was said by former first lady Michelle Obama at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

That phrase was meant to show that no matter how low Trump went, Hillary would never stray from the high road. That phrase was and still is quoted as a baseline for how Democrats can win elections. But in reality, it will cost the Democrats elections.

That saying is fundamentally flawed for multiple reasons, the main reason being that it implies the opponent hits below the belt first. that the other person will go low first. The main reason why it is flawed is that that exact phrase was, in a sense, the root of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Clinton never really left the high road to hit back at Trump. While I understand the reasoning behind her strategy there is an unsettling amount of the American population who

are inherently misogynistic and therefore if she went after Trump she would only hurt her own campaign.

I believe that if Hilary were to have left her high road and properly gone after Trump on his ego and his hate speech she could have made the case to not vote for Trump. But she stuck to the safe high road and only went after Trump where it was the safest. At the end of the day, Clinton focused on shaping her own political identity, not on reshaping that of Trump’s.

The 2016 election is a

perfect example of why the phrase “when they go low, we go high” is irrelevant in the era of Trump. Like I said before, the notion that a candidate must always stick to the high road no matter the opposition will lead to the Republican party nominating more Trumpian figures to be their candidate.

Why? If you want to win an election, you don’t have to say why you should be president. All you have to say is why the other person shouldn’t.

That leads me to why Joe Biden was one of the best

picks the DNC had to go up against Trump. Ultimately, whether you like Joe Biden or not, he was one of the top three picks for the presidential race. He never backed down from a fight with Trump. He was quick on his feet and he could overshadow Trump in a debate.

Joe Biden’s campaign either knowingly or unknowingly beat Trump at his own game, winning more states than Trump did in the 2016 presidential race.

Overall, there are many reasons why I don’t like the phrase, “when they go low,

we go high.” However, the main reason why is that it makes the candidate think that they always need to stick to the high road. While this can work well in some races, the decision of how to run a campaign comes down to three things. 1) Who is the candidate? Have they held office before? What are their views on key issues? 2) Who are they running against?

And last but not least, 3) How is the other candidate running their campaign?

If you’re Obama, running against Mitt Romney in 2012, it would be suicid-

al to attack your opponent’s character or go after them on their lifestyle. However, if you’re Hillary Clinton in 2016, it would equally as dumb to not go after Trump on his character and treatment of other people. Each race is different and if your opponent is sticking to the high road you should too.

But if they’re going to burn the whole thing down then the only way to win is to fight fire with fire.

The Past Election: My Notes

Opinion editor Isaac Bullwinkle recorded his thoughts before, during, and after the past presidential election

By Isaac Bullwinkle

W

hat an insane election.

Joe Biden is going to be the next President of the United States.

It doesn’t matter how many faulty lawsuits President Trump files; He has lost 97% (28/29) of the lawsuits concerning voter fraud he has filed, and the one that he

did win was inconsequential at best.

Election night didn’t look too good for Biden; Early in the night, I felt extremely anxious as Biden wasn’t winning as much as I wanted. Additionally, the areas Biden was winning were by margins that I wasn’t (and still am not) happy about.

But later in the night, it only got better for Biden. As more mail-in votes came in

from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, I felt more optimistic about Biden’s chances.

After five hours of mediocre sleep, I got up the next day. I checked the New York Times and did some calculations. Biden had 227 electoral votes. He was ahead in Nevada (6 Electoral College votes), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10), and Michigan (16). If Biden won all

these states, he would have exactly 270 electoral votes.

Additionally, Georgia and Pennsylvania were looking increasingly promising every time new votes were reported.

At this point, I was very optimistic that Biden would win the election. One of the concerns I had with the results was how close the election was. This scared me, as much of several demo-

graphics that were won by Democrats in the past were won by Trump. The fact that Trump added 12 million voters to his base is terrifying. I thought the American people would notice in larger numbers the horrible things Trump has done as President.

I don’t believe Joe Biden is the best person for the job of the Presidency. Far from it. He represents consistent

incrementalism, which is not what America needs. Biden isn’t who I wanted, but he is who I’m getting, and he is infinitely better than Trump.

I’m happy that he is going to be the President - but not because of what he’ll do but because of what Trump will not do.

And you never know.

Maybe some progressive policies will come from Biden’s administration.

A13 OPINION

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

Election Reaction The 2020 presidential election has taught America various lessons about politics and brought up interesting questions for the future

By Isaac Bullwinkle

W

e did it. Donald Trump and Mike Pence are officially out of office and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are officially in office. The most important election of my lifetime has gone to the good people.

You’d think I’d be elated, but I’m not. Unfortunately, the results of this election demonstrate a striking and horrifying reality: Democratic campaigning strategy was largely unsuccessful and harmful for the future of progressive candidates and the legislation they support.

Democrats placed too high a priority on moderate Republi-

cans, a demographic they wish was more prevalent but in reality, is not. While this demographic may have been prevalent in the past, the increasing polarization of America has eliminated the majority of these voters. In 2016, 90% of Trump voters identified as Republican, and 89% of Clinton voters identified as Democrat. In 2020, 93% of Trump voters identified as Republican, and 94% of Biden voters identified as Democrat.

These statistics point to a large decrease in the number of voters who cross party lines to vote for the candidate of their opposite party affiliation even in just the last four years.

The Democratic National Convention featured John Kasich, a

self-proclaimed ‘moderate’ republican and former Governor of Ohio.

Kasich does not represent the future of the Democratic party or anything close to the agenda necessary to confront our country and the world’s problems. Kasich represents taking a step back, towards incrementalist policies that will not be enough. Kasich spoke for four minutes, condemning the polarization Donald Trump has created and complimenting the character of Joe Biden.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents everything the future of the Democratic party should and needs to be, was given a single minute to speak and was even falsely criticized by left-leaning media for nominating Bernie Sanders (doing

Apple Releases

Revolutionary New iPhone Reporter Araminta Siegling dives into Apple’s recently unveiled iPhone’s new features, updated software, and overall quality

By Araminta Siegling

O

n October 13, Apple unveiled the new iPhone for this year. Normally, the event would happen in September, but it was delayed because of COVID-19. In the new lineup of Apple products, there is the iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, and the 12 Mini, all with 5G and a variety of new colors. My favorite color is the light green color available on the 12 and 12 Mini. Other items released in the Apple Event included the Homepod Mini, similar to an Amazon Echo or a Google Nest.

Last month they released the 8th generation iPad and a new iPad Air which is an alternative to the smaller iPad Pro. During the event, Apple also announced its plan to be carbon neutral by 2030. Steps to this include recycling materials for phones and sourcing materials in more sustainable ways. Apple will also no longer include chargers with purchases of their new iPhone. This decision upset some consumers, but I think it will be a good example for other companies.

Most people already have a phone charger, and getting one with your new phone is just a waste of plastic.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Mini have two cameras, while all other models released during the Apple Event have three. The improved cameras now have a LiDAR scanner (Light Detection and Ranging) and perform better in low lighting by 87%. In the event, they showed

beautiful photos taken on the new phones which were of professional quality.

Updates on the screens include a smaller bezel, two million to one contrast ratio, better HDR (high dynamic range), true black, and screens are now more durable with “Ceramic Shield” technology. The company said that the phones are more resistant to being dropped by a factor of four. The glass-ceramic used for the screen is one of the first to be completely colorless and clear. The small bezels and the removal of the curved sides gives the new phones a much sleeker design.

Some of the features exclusive to the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max are being able to record videos in HDR. This is the first time this will be available on a phone, and this will affect all iPhones in the future.

High quality video has never been this accessible. Editing videos will be even easier, users will now have the ability to edit videos directly in the Photos app, using Dolby Vision HDR, a professional format for high definition video. This provides better colors and contrast, and has been mainly for professional use up until now. The 12 Pro and Pro Max will be 20% faster than last year’s iPhone 11. There will also be a new feature available for the Pro and Pro Max in late 2020, called “Apple ProRaw,” which gives new photo editing capabilities. The new advancements in editing will make it much easier and less time consuming, which is always good.

Apple also released a new fea-

ture to accessories, called MagSafe.

This now allows things to be magnetically attached to the back of the phone, which I think will be very handy. Items released include four types of cases, silicone, clear, and two different OtterBox collaborations, with lots of colors to choose from. There is a new MagSafe wireless charger and a leather wallet that attaches to phones with magnets, which can hold a credit card or a driver’s license.

The iPhone 12 will probably be the most popular out of the lineup, with it being in the middle of the price range at $799. It has a good amount of new features, and the average consumer will be fine without having the benefits of the Pro and Pro Max phones. The “budget” phone for this year is the 12 Mini, with it having a much smaller screen size and selling from $699.

The fancier phones are the iPhone 12 Pro, and 12 Max. Both phones have three cameras and much larger screens, along with faster speeds and better video quality. If you are passionate about photography or videography, these two phones are for you. The iPhone 12 Pro is priced at $999, and the Pro Max starts at $1099. My personal favorite is the iPhone 12, I like how it has a good balance of new features while still being more affordable.

The 6.1-inch screen is a perfect size and isn’t too big. The Apple Event, showcasing the phones, can be found on YouTube or directly from Apple’s website.

what she was supposed to do).

The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump organization formed by never-Trump Republicans made more than $50 million from donations, largely from Democrats who were convinced that the demographic of moderate republicans were prevalent. It took too much of that money for itself, having little effect on the election given the.

In the last eight years, the Democratic Party has focused too much on being the “moral” party. “When they go low, we go high” has been a staple of the Democratic party and its strategy since former President Obama was elected President. Unfortunately, the moral high ground has little to no meaning anymore.

The Republican Party has played

dirty for the last eight years, gaining every incremental advantage one could gain with absolutely no regard for how it looked to moderates. This is why moderates largely don’t exist anymore: political strategy has polarized those who previously thought of themselves as moderate to one side or the other.

The Democratic Party needs to wake up to reality. Its political strategy is simply outdated. In order to win important elections, it needs to stop pretending that being the ‘better person’ is what wins elections. And when it wins those elections, it needs to run away from incrementalism and towards the policies that bring angry tears to Republican eyes.

New M1 Chip in Macbooks Stays Cool and Runs Forever

By Araminta Siegling

T

he new Apple M1 chip’s battery life and performance break records. On November 10, Apple announced new Macbooks and a groundbreaking new chip called the M1. The new chip is replacing what Apple had previously used, which was called an Intel chip.

This new chip signals a new transformation for the Macbook.

Over the years, Apple’s laptops have been becoming more similar to the iPhone and iPad. I predict that within the next year or two, Apple will add a touch screen to their Macbooks, to keep up with competitors. I believe the reason why Apple has not done this yet is that adding a touchscreen to an operating system that was never meant for a touch screen is awkward to use.

The M1 chip combines graphics, memory, and multiple processors. This gives it better performance and battery life. It is manufactured using a 5nm process which makes it possible to have 15 billion individual transistors. Transistors are a binary switch and most modern computers have millions or billions of them.

The new Macbook Air is the least expensive in the lineup at $999 ($899 for students) and is available only with an M1 chip.

This new computer is 3.5 times faster than last year’s Macbook Air. The Macbook Air has a 50% longer battery life, which is the icing on the cake.

While the speed increase caused by the new chip can improve the user’s gaming experi-

ence, a drawback is that the new Macs cannot run games made for Windows only. However, popular apps used by students like Microsoft Office, Zoom, and Discord are all available.

The 2020 Macbook Pro with an M1 chip has a longer battery life by 10 hours compared to the 2020 Macbook with four ports and an Intel chip. The old Intel processor has only 4-core, while the M1 allows the Macbook Pro to have 8-core. Both computers are the same size, with a 13.3inch Retina display. The Macbook Pro with an M1 chip also is less expensive, starting at $1299 while the Macbook Pro without the M1 chip starts at $1799. The disadvantage of the Macbook Pro with an M1 chip is that it has less storage and memory than the Macbook Pro with an Intel chip.

The new Mac mini also comes with an M1 chip and is $400 cheaper than the Mac mini from 2018. The 2020 Mac mini has 8-core, which dwarfs the 2018 Mac mini’s 6-core. The 2018 Mac mini uses an Intel i7 processor. Both computers have the same amount of storage with 2TB. A disadvantage of the Mac mini with an M1 chip is that it has less memory than the 2018 model.

The M1 chip is revolutionary, and will set a new standard for other laptops in the future. This year’s Macbooks give us a glimpse into what Apple will be doing in the next few years. I personally would go for the Macbook Air 2020, because it has the new chip and is the most affordable while being a nice size and not too heavy.

A14 OPINION

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

The Virus of Senioritis The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the idea of senioritis in the class of ‘21

By Shoshanna Hemley

T

eachers of senior classes are no stranger to students who once had good grades slowly losing focus and motivation. They see high schoolers in their last year often fall victim to the plague of senioritis. This year however is different. There are two viruses seniors are now worried about. Senioritis and COVID-19. By their fourth year, many seniors become burnt out and are eager to graduate. But nothing compares to the spreading of senioritis for the class of 2021, a cohort of students who started, and probably will end, their senior years in a global pandemic.

Motivation is at an all-time low.

Many students are stuck at home, isolated and online, staring at their screens for hours a day. With the mix of asynchronous time, lone-

liness, and unhealthy amounts of screen time, it’s no wonder so many seniors are finding it hard to keep up with their classes, much less attend their classes from somewhere besides their bed. Their focus is drained, and it’s far from their fault. Senioritis is as infectious as the common cold. How can one expect to have immunity when they listen to lectures through a screen? After four hours of zoom, there are another four hours of homework online. Days blur into each other as students go days without seeing each other. Once well-established routines fall apart, and many connections that kept each other motivated in school are now either lost or are briefly re-sparked during moments in zoom breakout rooms.

Online school is more than simply a motivation killer. It’s no

secret that online school is a new and difficult endeavor for many.

Some are balancing a rigorous, AP filled senior course load completely online. Teachers are continuing with lessons as if they were still in person. Many fail to see that online classes need to be taught differently than in-person classes and that to ignore that creates an inequitable gap between online and hybrid students. Many seniors fall victim to this. Some who were once 4.0 students find themselves struggling to keep up.

Much of senior year fun comes from traditions: homecoming court, the senior paint fight, prom, senior skip day, and other activities are highlights of one’s senior year.

While students are finding ways to navigate these obstacles and try to continue these traditions, they’re nowhere near the same. During

spirit week, there was a PJ day.

However, for many seniors doing online school, this is what they wear to school anyway. These traditions are what seniors look forward to and what keeps them motivated for their last year. Now, the only thing to look forward to is for the global pandemic to end.

Whether seniors are online or hybrid, anyone in the class of 2021 can agree that this year is not a good one. There are countless aspects of senior year that have been canceled for this year’s seniors such as traditions, extracurricular activities, college visits, and even standardized tests. If students’ mental health is at an all-time low, how can seniors be expected to succeed when they’re living through what feels like the end of the world? Unfortunately, there is no vaccine against senioritis and there never will be. It’ll con-

tinue to infect seniors for generations to come. But at least for the 2020-2021 school year, teachers can help seniors who feel crushed by the weight of school, college applications, and also a never-ending pandemic. We can’t continue to go on as if everything is normal. So to treat school like it is normal greatly hurts students of any grade. Teachers are trying, we all know they are.

And we’re all thankful for the effort they’re putting in to serve their students. But 8+ hours a day on a screen is not sustainable for anyone. To expect that from students is unrealistic. So with rising cases of both COVID-19 and senioritis, teachers and administrators alike need to find ways to support their students in a healthy way while understanding the difficulties of being a senior in this time.

ART BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

A15 CULTURE

La Regia Taqueria

Former City High student Irvin Mendez’s local authentic Mexican restaurant “La Regia Taqueria” wins awards for the 8th consecutive year

By Maya Morales Local eatery La Regia Taqueria has won “Best Mexican Restaurant in Iowa Award” for the 8th year in a row. The restaurant opened in 2013 serving authentic Mexican dishes created from fresh ingredients, as reported by the community.

La Regia’s co-owner Irvin Mendez is a former City High student.

“We focus on making sure our

service is good, our customers are happy, and safety,” Alumni Mendez said.

People reportedly come from all around to eat at La Regia Taqueria.

La Regia serves authentic Mexican food such as tacos, sopes, burritos, rice, beans, and tortas. Plus, the restaurant hosts seafood and vegetarian sections.

“I drove 150 miles to come to eat here,” one customer said. “My son

BELOW: Fresh La Regia Taqueria carnitas tacos. PHOTO BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN

comes here all the time and tells me how good it is. I had to try it. Best Mexican food I ever had.”

The COVID-19 pandemic reportedly did not stop business for La Regia. According to the restaurant owners, they thought of ways customers can get food safely.

“We usually clean everything, so cleaning wasn’t that big of a change.

Employees wear masks at all times,” Irvin Mendez said.

Not a single worker is just standing. Someone is answering the phone, getting online orders ready, cleaning, or going back to the kitchen to help. In addition to being a busy shop, La Regia Taqueria caters locally while expanding through social media outlets. In the future, La Regia Taqueria is going for the “Best Mexican Restaurant Award” for the 9th year in a row.

A16 CULTURE

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

Día de los Muertos City High students and staff discuss why Day of the Dead is an important celebration for them and their community

By Emily Martinez

A

s many began to prepare for the holiday seasons with celebrations such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, many Hispanic, Mexican, and Latinx people from the U.S. and Mexico, were eager to celebrate Día de Los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead, on November 1 through 2.

“Día de Los Muertos is celebrated because it is a day to remember your family members and friends that have passed away,” Eva ‘22 said. “It’s [a time to] celebrate their life and all they’ve done.”

For many City High students and staff, Día de Los Muertos is an important holiday full of remembrance and honor for their late loved ones. In the classroom, however, City High students and staff believe that cultural diversity when it comes to traditions being taught in classes is lacking at City High.

“I think that we should have more representation of our diversity,” Dolores Silva, a Spanish teacher at City High, said. “I think that celebrating a holiday is a very superficial fundamental thing that is exposed. We really want to make sure that we are really embracing each other and not just the things that we’re comfortable with, or that we like to see.”

Students are primarily taught cultural holidays and traditions in world language classes such as Spanish I-IV, but many students believe there are possible ways to expand the education of celebrations such as Día de Los Muertos in the classroom.

“The only real representation we get is in Spanish class because they teach us about it, but other than that not really,” Alondra Escoria ‘22 said. “I’m not mad about it, because their whole reason is to [remain] unbiased, but I think it would be cool to talk about it more at school.”

The holiday is also used as a way to inform others about Mexican culture and traditions. Día de Los Muertos has a great amount of history that many are unaware of, proving to be of importance when educating others about the roots of

the holiday. “[Día de Los Muertos] is really about keeping some of the cultures alive, and especially those of us that are more connected with our indigenous roots, or that part of our culture when remembering the people that have passed away,” Silva said. “It was originally an indigenous/native celebration that began during harvest time. They would gather the best of their crops to offer to their gods in gratitude for a good harvest season and then they took time to remember their loved ones who had passed and share gratitude with them. After the conquest and Catholicism, they were only allowed to celebrate it in three days, the 31st of October and the first and second of November because it coincides with Hallows Eve and All Souls Day. “ The traditions shared during this holiday consist of cooking and preparing traditional foods and drinks such as Pan de Muerto, Sugar Skulls, Mole, and any other food their loved ones enjoyed.

“We like to just have a day together as a family and remember [our loved ones],” Eva said. “I know a lot of [my] family in Mexico do their ofrenda in the house, graveyard, or wherever their family member is. A tradition that we [like] to do is to talk about the funny moments that we had with our family members that [have now] passed.”

A main component to the holiday includes the ofrenda table, consisting of photos of the deceased, candles, foods, drinks, objects their loved ones enjoyed, marigold flowers, papel picado, and often copal incense. It is believed preparing an ofrenda helps to keep their loved one’s memories and spirits alive in the afterlife.

“This year my daughter, took it upon herself to do the altar here at the house and she went all out and she decorated the living room with an altar for my mom and my aunts, and one of my nephews, and some of her other relatives on her dad’s side like her grandpa and her other uncle,” Silva said. “I think that was super special for me to see her carry on the sharing of our memories.

Being able to share the food that

they loved and carrying on their stories down to our children and grandchildren is pretty beautiful.”

Due to the different cultural aspects, regions, and status in certain areas of the United States and Mexico, there are many significant differences in the way the holiday is celebrated.

“We didn’t really celebrate it when we first moved to America, I think it was my mom trying to assimilate. In the past couple of years is when we started putting up the ofrenda and stuff,” Escoria said.

“My mom has told me that there are parades and fairs [in Mexico] and everybody does something as a community. [In] America we aren’t really a big community or a big neighborhood that gets together and celebrates.”

There are many misconceptions and associations with Día de Los Muertos resulting in negative perceptions about the entirety of the holiday and what it represents.

“I feel like Americans don’t really know about the holiday and think we’re celebrating death.

My sister talked about how people thought we were celebrating Satan,” Escoria said. “It’s easy to make assumptions of it [based] off the name and [how] death is seen as a bad thing, [but] it’s two different stories. Dia de Los Muertos is a time to remember our relatives’ lives and everything they’ve done.

It’s not really appropriate to combine the two things.”

Due to the traditional decorations such as skulls, skeletons, and the how holiday begins the day after Halloween, many tend to associate it with worshiping the dead rather than a celebration of one’s life.

“In indigenous culture, there is no death and there is no end. It’s a continuation of our evolving self,” Silva said. “We evolve to a spirit or another part of Earth. It’s not necessarily reincarnation, but some people do believe in that. When we give you a skeleton, a sugar skull, or anything like that it’s not to wish you death, it’s actually to wish you a well and long life/journey because our life is one journey. And when we leave this body and Earth, we have another journey. It’s not a

“[Día de Los Muertos] is really about keeping some of the cultures alive, and especially those of us that are more connected with our indigenous roots, or that part of our culture when remembering the people that have passed away,” DOLORES SILVA CITY HIGH SPANISH TEACHER

“I feel like Americans don’t really know about the holiday and think we’re celebrating death. It’s easy to make assumptions of it [based] off the name and [how] death is seen as a bad thing, [but] it’s two different stories. Dia de Los Muertos is a time to remember our relatives’ lives and everything they’ve done.

It’s not really appropriate to combine the two things.”

ALONDRA ESCORIA CITY HIGH JUNIOR

ART BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN

negative thing, it’s a celebration of life, memories, and of culture.”

In recent events, Donald Trump proclaimed a national day of remembrance for Americans killed by illegal immigrants on November 1, 2020, beginning on the same day as Día de Los Muertos.

“I think it’s more than disrespectful, it’s pretty hurtful,” Silva said. “Immigration is a consequence of many things that our corporations of the United States have done and committed in many of these countries. It’s a bit ridiculous if you know the history of what has created immigrants and what immigrants have contributed to the United States.”

Numerous people from the Spanish speaking community shared their criticism of Trump’s proclamation being placed on the same day as Dia de Los Muertos as they found it highly disrespectful and continuing to create a negative narrative of the Spanish speaking community itself.

“When I [first] read about it I was really mad. It was like: ‘Oh we’re gonna use this day to celebrate all the white people that have been killed by Mexicans’,” Escoria said. “White people aren’t oppressed, they are not being targeted or anything. For him to choose that day that the brown community gets together to remember their past relatives and is really important to a lot of people was really disrespectful. It’s not the first time he’s done something like that, like with June 19 he did the same thing to the black community.”

With the results of the election, the Spanish speaking community anxiously awaits to see how the future administration will affect their community as a whole.

“Everything is work in progress there is never an absolute. I hope that people can start to see the complex issues between our cultures in the US, our ethnicities and [our] heritage and that we’re not one size fits all,” Silva said. “Hopefully people will see that we have to really work for humankind and humanity and not let differences divide but unite.”

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM December 18, 2020

A17 A&E

LH Book Reviews Little Hawk video editor Kate Keuter ‘21 reviews Madeline Miller’s book, Circe

By Kate Kueter

a journey past the Odyssey story. It’s truly a page turner that makes you feel like you are itches are not so delicate,” on the island with Circe watching centuries Madeline Miller wrote. go by.

Circe, the witch of Aiaia and We see a young, naïve nymph Circe suffer the daughter of the Titan He- through a childhood full of bullying and lios, is a special kind of complex. She exudes neglect transform into a powerful witch, beauty and grace, yet still instills fear and re- who uses her powers to inflect her version of spect from her visitors. If you have read The justice upon men that she deems guilty. On Odyssey you have briefly met the character Aiaia, Circe is judge, jury, and executioner. of Circe as the cunning seductive witch who The book expands the voice given to womturns men into pigs. In Circe, the reader en in Greek mythology. In typical Greek experiences Circe’s story outside of The Od- mythology women are sexualized and fall yssey and her path from a powerless nymph under two categories: submissive and small to a feared witch. She or seductive and evil. crosses paths with “This book was the perfect blend In the original myths, creatures like the MiCirce is painted as notaur, Daedalus and of the myth and its own story. It a tricky, conniving, his son Icarus, and the witch that kept me on my toes and never seductive witch Medea. Madehas no stated reason line Miller weaves to- stopped its level of excitement. for turning men to gether multiple popupigs beside her own lar Greek myths into I could have easily read through enjoyment. But in a fun and fast-paced Circe, you get to see this book on a weekend.” story that shows the her thought process KATE KUETER strength of personal and decision making.

CITY HIGH SENIOR will and the imporThe story led me to tance of self-discovery. consider her actions Watching Circe turn friends into monsters against the voyagers as justified. I found myand men into the pigs they act like should self rooting for Circe to punish the men for have made her seem like a villain. Instead, their crimes against her. Even though Circe’s all her actions make her even more relatable story is unlike anything I could experience and personable. Not once did I see her as a myself, like the magic she wields and the villain or her deeds evil. Circe always seemed punishment of banishment to an island, I justified and in the right. The story made me found the range of her emotions accessible think about how society sees things in black in my experience. and white. From one perspective Circe’s ac- Circe not only grows in her powers, but she tions are horrible and unjustified, but from also changes her sense of what is right and this book’s angle I saw Circe as reasonable in her relationship with others. One of the her choices. Miller was able to take a char- most powerful relationships in the book was acter that had been established in Homer’s with her son Telegonus. Circe’s determinaOdyssey and create a background story and tion to keep her son safe from Athena was

W

ABOVE: City High senior Kate Kueter ‘21 poses with Madeline Miller’s book Circe. PHOTO BY NATHALIE

one of the most interesting parts of the book.

We saw a side of Circe, of grit and vulnerability, that she did not have before. Her bond of friendship with Penelope had some of my favorite interactions. The relationship starts very stiff and threatening and gradually shifts to a tag team of motherly love and respect for the other’s past. Both understand that their choices must be made carefully and without regret.

This book was a perfect blend of the myth

Letter from the Editors

T

his was a weird issue for us. Everything started sometime back in some month that we have forgotten by this point. That’s okay though, time doesn’t exist anymore. Instead, we just track the passing of the days based on how many acorns were on Ruth’s windowsill. We digress. Everything started very late at night. To say it was dark and stormy wouldn’t be a lie, but it also wouldn’t be the truth. In all honesty, we, like many of you, had not left the house that day, and so we didn’t actually know what was going on outside. As Arts and Entertainment editors, we figured we should probably find some things to write about that involved the Arts, or, in the very least, Entertainment of some sort.

We spent most of our time writing Haikus, specifically one about frogs. The best we could come up with went as follows:

Lovely frog tadpole innocent it did not see BAM A BIRD ATE IT After that, we did actually get work done.

We had a great issue planned! So much was going on! Oh, wait, that last part turned out to be false. You see, dear reader, most of what we had decided to write about that night got canceled due to, you guessed it, an invasion of poisonous frogs at City High. Just kidding,

stuff got canceled because of COVID-19. In the end, we worked with what we have, and hey, we think we did a pretty good job. Anyone who disagrees can send hate mail to the address of their choice.

Happy Reading!

and its own story. It kept me on my toes and never stopped its level of excitement. I could have easily read through this book on a weekend. If you enjoyed books like The Percy Jackson series by Rick Rordian, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, or the many myths of the Greeks, Circe will be right up your alley.

City High Bands Release Recordings Right before the switch to fully online, hybrid band students were able to put together a virtual performance

T

By Ruth Meehan

he City High Band Department released a recorded performance of new music on November 30th right after the switch to fully online school. Both Hybrid sections had the opprotunity to record music. Evan McElroy ‘20 said that the whole process was a little strange.

“I have recorded songs before in person so this was not new. Still, it was a bit odd to ‘perform’ into a microphone instead of an audience in an auditorium,” said McElroy McElroy says he is missing playing in person and is hopeful that a live performance will be possible in the new year.

“I had looked forward to being able to be a section leader,” McElroy said. “To be some of the oldest and best players in band and getting to help teach the younger students.

Unfortunately we can’t really do any of that online. I just have hope that things might get better before the year is over so I can have that chance.”

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM December 18, 2020

A18 A&E

Student Profile: Eva Stadlander

Eva Stadtlander ‘22 spends most of her time at City High in the music department, sprinting up and down the stairs from the band wing to the choir wing.

Even now, when Stadtlander is back online, her love for music continues

Q

By Sophia Wagner

: What sparked your musical interest?

A: “My parents were both involved in music, a long time before I ever existed. They were both in band, they were both drum majors, and they both sang in choirs, through high school through college even. And even now, they still are active singers and my dad is still playing in a brass band. And I think I just grew up with so much music around me, and I found the same passion and love the music that they have. I’ve been singing in choirs, like, third grade, and I’ve been in band. I’ve played instruments since fourth grade, but I started band as an alto sax from sixth grade, and I continue through that, and I think I honestly don’t know where I’d be without music because of all the people I’ve met and also all the experiences that I’ve made.”

Q: Which music classes do you take at City?

A: “I am in the Concert Choir and I am in the Symphony band.”

Q: What extracurricular music activities do you participate in?

A: “Over the course of high school I have been involved in select women’s ensemble, show choir (Charisma and Fourth Ave.),

ABOVE: Eva Stadlander '22 plays tenor saxaphone in the pep band during a home football game.PHOTO BY RUTH MEEHAN

jazz band, and marching band where I am a Q: If you had to choose: band or choir? drum major.”

A: “Oh gosh, that is so difficult! Obviously Q: What instruments do you play, even if I’m going into vocal performance as a major you play them badly? or minor, so I guess I kind of chose choir, but A: “Alto saxophone and tenor saxophone, band also has such a special place in my heart ukulele, piano, guitar, harmonica, and vio- because of all the people I’ve met through lin.” band, and my life and my world and everyQ: What is the role of a drum major? thing that I know would be fundamentally A: “So, bachanged if I sically, a didn’t have drum major “I would tell my freshman self, go for it, and take band or is the per- chances. Coming into City High, I was a lot more choir in my son who is life.” shy than I am now. These past few years I’ve Q: If you kind of the puzzle piece been able to embrace more and become more could give connecting your freshall the band confident in myself. I’ve been able to allow my- man self one members to piece of adself to go after things that I want to do.” the direcvice regardtors, during ing music, EVA STADLNANDER CITY HIGH JUNIOR marching what would band season it be? especially, and we also are in charge of lead- A: “I would tell my freshman self, go for ing the band and conducting our halftime it, and take chances. Because coming into shows during football season, and also pep City High I was a lot shyer than I am now. band. And that’s usually what people see us These past few years I’ve been able to emdoing. But I think the most important or brace more and become more confident in major major is leading and serving the band, myself. I’ve been able to allow myself to go as a whole, and helping City High bands to after things that I want to do such as being be the best that they can be.” a drum major Concert Choir, and audition-

ing for solos and stuff like that within choir.

And I think as a freshman, I just didn’t fully embrace the possibilities that you could have through music.”

Q: What’s one lesson that you have learned from your directors?

A: “Most of my directors that I’ve had have taught me this similar lesson of being confident in myself. For example, Mr. Ottmar is my band director, and I play tenor saxophone there. I’m one of the minority, and some important parts need to be played louder so everyone could hear it. So that’s one time when he was like, you can be confident yourself; you can play it up. And also, Dr Grove, when I was auditioning for AllState, my sophomore year for choir, which I didn’t get in. But one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from them was to be confident in my voice, and to just go for it, and see what happens. You can’t be scared to try new things.”

Q: What is one instrument -that you don’t already play- that you would want to be a master of?

A: “You know, I think I’m going to go with a harp. It’s just a really cool instrument.”

City High Orchestra collaborates with local schools for virual Performance Students from City High, West High, Liberty High and the Preucil School of Music come together to perform Corelli's Concerto VIII

By Ruth Meehan

T

he COVID-19 shutdown has forced artists to become creative in how they share their skills and their craft. Here at City High, most ensembles haven’t had live performances since February or March of 2020. This includes the City High Orchestra pro-

gram, which had their last live performance on March 4 at their annual Dessert Concert. This large obstacle hasn’t stopped the City High School Symphony Orchestra from getting to share their music with others. City High School teamed up with Liberty High School, West High School, and the Preucil School of Music to virtually perform Corelli’s Concerto

VIII. City High Orchestra director Megan Stucky-Swanson said the collaboration with the other schools was a fun experience.

“The collaboration with West, Liberty, and Preucil has been fun! We have been able to share ideas, come up with a plan of action, and help each other troubleshoot,” Stucky-Swanson

said.

Doing an entirely virtual performance was new territory for students and teachers alike. Adam Zeithamel ‘23 plays cello in the Symphony Orchestra and had experience recording music before the collaboration with the other schools.

“I have had to record playing assignments for orchestra, my All-State audition, and some other auditions over the summer,” Zeithamel said. “The recording process is never fun. I think I spend more time fighting with technology then I do actually playing what I am recording.”

Like most things, recording has it’s positives and negatives. Zeithamel says that the positives definitely do not outweigh the negatives.

“It is nice to have multiple takes when recording but at the same time, you start to expect perfection from yourself,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like an audition or performance where you have a little bit of fall back like ‘Oh

I missed a note’ because that will happen. When I am recording I feel like I have to be perfect. Even though a recording might come out better than a live performance or audition would I feel worse about my recording then I would after something that is live.”

Students who were in hybrid had a chance to rehearse this piece in person before they moved to fully online instruction. Stucky-Swanson said this was her favorite part about working on this project.

“Working on the music in person before we went 100% online has been my favorite part of this project;” she said. “Making music together is so powerful. But also learning the technology has been very valuable and I look forward to implementing more of it in my lessons in the future.”

Even Zeithamel who has experience recording music had issues with technology during the process.

“I understand that a lot of

people are trying very hard to make this work and make it as easy as possible but it doesn't work smoothly.

The guide tracks are hard to follow, band lab where we record our track is hard to navigate and sound issues can occur when using technology. It was problem after problem,” said Zeithamel.

Even though the recording process can be tricky, Stucky-Swanson says this experience is beneficial for students, especially during this unprecedented time.

“As musicians, we have a gift and a duty to share those gifts with the community,” Stucky-Swanson said. “Music brings people together and being able to make music ‘together’ from across town from the comfort of your own home to create a tangible piece of music to share is an incredible opportunity” ART BY SOPHIA WAGNER

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM December 18, 2020

A19 A&E

Going Solo Due to schedule mishaps, many students at City High have turned to the independent study of music

By Sophia Wagner

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harles Faden ‘22 shuts the door to his car. Recently, instead of turning on the radio and singing along to whatever pops up, Faden begins with the opening notes of “Requiem,” the latest piece he’s been assigned in the City High Concert Choir.

This year has presented many challenges to the music departments at City High. Many students have opted to go online, logging into Zoom, and learning music from their bedrooms.

For many students, the problems don’t stop with a glitchy Zoom connection, as due to schedule mishaps, double-booked class periods have led them to take their music course as an independent study.

“I’m supposed to go to [French IV],” Faden explained. “I don’t want to say it’s more valued by the school, but, you know, it’s one of those things where you can’t really do it on your

own. So if I’m going to do either [Choir or French], I’m doing French.”

Many students in band at City are experiencing similar problems. Keith Friestad ‘21 is scheduled to take AP Physics and Wind Ensemble at the same time.

“I’m basically not doing band this year,” Friestad said. “I check Canvas every

on Canvas and see the assignments and do them when they’re given,” Jenny Huynh ‘22 said. “There’s been a couple of times, though, when I think they’ve mentioned an assignment in class but haven’t put it on Canvas. So I get a zero in PowerSchool and then I go back and do the assignment. That’s probably the most difficult part

over Zoom, students have noticed that the motivation to practice and work on their craft has drastically changed.

“The most difficult part of doing band independently is not being able to play with other people,” Friestad said. “That aspect is such a big part of band, and since I haven’t been able to go to any meetings, and I haven’t

so often, and if there’s an assignment I do it. But I don’t go to the Zoom meetings.”

Despite not being able to attend class, students continue to study their practice. Each week, students face many obstacles that come with the challenge of independently studying music.

“Usually [for band], I just go

of online [classes]. Other than that, there are some online programs that they go over in class but when you’re independent you don’t get that [explanation]. It’s a lot of guessing.”

Independent study can have issues outside of Canvas.

Despite often having oneon-one lessons with teachers

been able to go in person, it’s like I’m basically not even in band. It’s also hard to get [the] motivation to practice, just because I don’t really have a set time. I’m missing out on a year of fun.”

Faden, who tries to practice whenever he can, has seen benefits in learning independently. On top of tak-

ing choir at City, Faden has been seeing a vocal teacher for about a year and views independent study as a way to increase one’s personal musical skills.

“I think studying independently is very good for specialization, because if you’re studying independently with a teacher, they’re looking at what you

she applies the tools she has learned from her piano lessons into her study of flute, making sure that she has a steady routine of practicing throughout the week.

Huynh has also noticed that she has much more freedom in determining what she wants to play, which led her to learning the flute adaptation of the SpongeBob theme song.

Despite the benefits that can come with independently studying music, students miss the community that comes with working in a musical environment.

“Every year up to this point, we’ve played as a group,” Huynh said. “I think band sounds better as a group, ART BY SOPHIA WAGNER because that’s how it’s meant do, and they are devoting, at to be heard. When I’m alone least for the time that you’re it’s just the sound of the with them, their entire atten- flute, but it’s really beautiful tion to making you as good when you put all the instruas you can be,” Faden said. ments together and they can “When you’re with a group, harmonize together. I miss the goal is to make the group being able to play with a as good as the group can be.” group of people.”

Similar to Faden, Huynh has taken private music lessons outside of school. Now,

What to watch over Winter Break Staying home over the break? Bored of watching the same old show over and over again? Give these movies and shows recommended by Little Hawks a try!

White Christmas “My family watches White Christmas every year and we love it! It’s a fun movie with some nice singing and dancing!”

-Aaron Rutherford ‘22

The Queens Gambit “I thought this show was really good. It is very dramatic and cool to watch.”

-Julia Weiner ‘21

Home Alone “Home Alone was a childhood favorite of mine! It is very funny and makes everyone laugh. I love to watch it every year around the holidays!

-Jake Roth ‘22

Meet Me in St. Louis “It’s a musical that gives off good vibes and has an old-timey feel.

I love its aesthetic, it’s so fun to quote and it has Judy Garland!”

-Lucy Corbin ‘22 ART BY SOPHIA WAGNER

A20 A&E

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM December 18, 2020

Under the Circumstances City High’s Production of Little Women as of late: Everything you need to know

By Sophia Wagner

O

pstad Auditorium was foggy with a sense of disappointment. Actors were placed across the stage. A few sat in plastic chairs, their arms draped casually in their laps. Others stood further back, hands in their pockets. The Iowa City Community School District would be going online the next week, which meant theatre would be going back online as well. For many involved in Little Women, this could be their last chance to perform at City High. With unsure goodbyes and glances to the balcony, students left through the side doors, not knowing when or if they would return.

Many pieces went into the puzzle of the 2020 showing of Little Women.

In order to keep production size down, the play is student-run and has a cast consisting of thirteen actors.

Tobey Epstein ‘21 is joined by Shoshanna Hemley ‘21 to form the directing team. Epstein and Hemley are cast within the show, taking roles as Jo March and John Brooke respectively.

Lily VanderLinden ‘21 is tasked with the job of stage manager.

“I think having student directors is a great thing!” Thomazin Jury ‘21, who is cast as the youngest of the March sisters, commented. “The directors tend to have more insight on what their peers enjoy or what does and does work, they are naturally able to connect with their actors and tech on a more personal level, rehearsals are collaborative and fun, and having student input can provide fresh creative ideas with little monitoring.”

One of the leading factors in the collaborative aspect for the show is the small cast. Originally one of the selling points, COVID-19 made Little Women more appealing due to the story’s short list of characters.

“I’ve definitely found it easier to bond with your castmates when you are in a smaller cast,” Jury said. “Unfortunately, when you are in a cast of around 60 people, it is difficult to find time to get to know each and every single person, especially if they are in different scenes than you. Another thing I’ve enjoyed working with a small cast is that overall, rehearsals seem to be more manageable when you don’t have to worry about so many people in a room with varying schedules. One of the downsides, however, to a smaller cast is definitely that since there are only so many roles offered, there may be a lot of people that don’t make the cast list.”

Epstein pointed out that upperclassmen generally got the upper hand in auditions.

He explained that even though there were many deserving students, the team in charge of casting wanted to ensure that seniors and juniors got a chance to perform ,or perform again, before graduation.

Meg March played by Francessca Brown ‘21

“We want everyone who wants to do theater to do theater,” Epstein said. “Sadly that just couldn’t happen this year. There were so many really good auditions that we had to turn down. The truth is, sometimes those auditions might have even overperformed some of the upperclassmen. Given the situation, we have to give upperclassmen their final chances at theater. The lower classes have their entire future in front of them at

cess to the costume shop, or the stage in Opstad. We were originally going to have a set built on the stage of Opstad, where we would do a large portion of our filming. But now it seems as if we might be online past these couple weeks of school. Obviously, we don’t know for sure, but that’s what we’re predicting,” Francesca Brown ‘21 explained.

“Because of that, we have decided to modernize Little Women, and make it so that it

ABOVE: Francessca Brown ‘21 highlights her lines in her script. Brown was cast as Meg in Little Women. PHOTO BY FRANCESSCA BROWN

City High.” takes place in the present day or close to [it].

Despite the countless challenges that We’ll have modern costumes and we’ll have this year’s production has proposed, the more modern backgrounds for our scenes, student-run team which will make it directing Little “I think people might be surprised a bit easier for us Women continues to find places to to see when they see how well the film. We can pretto find ways to rehearse. The way much film it in show translates over to the modern ty in which practice any regular bedis held changes era and how some of these character room and any regon a weekly baular living room sis. Students have archetypes fit into certain archetypes for those interior rehearsed both today. We’re not just modernizing it to scenes.” on Zoom and on Another aspect stage, even sus- fix problems. These characters can be of modernizing pended completeLittle Women is translated across history.” ly for the length the benefit it proTOBEY EPSTEIN of the ICCSD vides towards marCITY HIGH SENIOR waiver. Because of keting the classic the lack of a stable show towards a set, Little Women has seen many changes, younger audience. Epstein was thrilled to the biggest of which being the adaption of think that a new generation could continue the original timeframe of the 1860s to mod- to enjoy the story. ern retelling meant to create easier options “The truth is, when we finally kind of for set and costuming. On top of the time looked at it, modernizing the show solved difference, the production will be filmed in- more problems than it created, and it just stead of the usual live show. really made sense. We thought that it might “Because of [school going back online], provide a little bit more incentive for our we do not have access to the interior of the peers to want to see the show. People have building, which means we do not have ac- seen the Little Women set in 1860. And the

Jo March played by Shoshie Hemely ‘21

Beth March played by Sophia Wagner ‘22

truth is, how motivated are people going to be to see it again, especially with some high school theater troupe doing it?” Epstein questioned. “But modernizing [the show], I think people are going to be interested in it. If we’re making lots of jokes and references to modern culture; people are going to enjoy that and I think people are going to be excited to go see it. At least, that’s what we hope. The fact that it’s new, not normal Little Women might provide, you know, some excitement to see the show again.”

Due to restrictions concerning the rights of Little Women, the script will remain. Despite this, Brown has hope that students will see how the original script can address more current issues when set in a modern era.

“Reading through the script, there are a lot of things that have to do with the historical period Little Women is normally set in, which is the 1860s, Civil War era,” Brown said. “But it is incredible, how much of that actually relates to what we’re going through now. In the show the, the Marches, they support ending slavery, and so our Marches would support racial equality now. Another thing we’re doing with the show is speaking more openly about the gender identity of Jo March, because when you read the script, we see a lot of very bold statements from Jo about how she wants to be a man. Now we can actually take that and run with it and include some gender diversity in our play. And I think that’s something really, really great.”

Brown pointed out that the script may cause confusion considering the modern twist the team has taken, but encourages viewers to keep an open mind regarding the differences between the dialogue and its surroundings.

“It will be different being set in the modern era,” Brown explained. “It might be weird to watch, because we have to keep the script the same. When you watch it, you’ll be hearing this language that would be used in the 1860s. But challenge yourself to think about how that can be applied now, and hopefully, we will do a good job of representing how that language is still applicable nowadays.”

Despite the jump to the future, Epstein believes that there are still many messages that can be taken into consideration from the original story, and is excited to see how students view the production.

“I think the friendships and relationships between the characters are going to transfer over really well from 1860 to 2020,” Epstein said. “I think people might be surprised to see when they see how well the show translates over to the modern era and how some of these character archetypes fit into certain archetypes today. We’re not just modernizing it to fix problems. These characters can be translated across history.”

Amy March played by Thomazin Jury ‘21 ART BY SOPHIA WAGNER

SPORTS THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

Athlete Spotlight:

Kelsey Joens

As a freshmen, Kelsey Joens ‘23 was on of the top scorers on the City High girls varsity basketball team. Now, as a sophmore, she hopes to continue to improve

ABOVE: Kelsey Joens ‘23 playing basketball at various games throughout the 2019-20 basketball season. PHOTOS BY NATALIE GREEN

By Max Berry-Stoelzle

F

ollowing in the footsteps of her parents and older siblings, Kelsey Joens ‘23 has taken up the family legacy of basketball.

“Every day, my family and I go to the gym and we shoot and do drills. If the gyms are closed we work on things at home like ball handling and we’ll look up new things to work on. Every day I’m

trying to improve something in my game to get better and increase my basketball IQ,” Jones said.

Joens ability and focus on the game has made her one of the best players on the City High varsity girls basketball team.

“We are going to rely heavily on her this year,” Head Coach Bill McTaggart said. “[She] constantly works on her game, [which makes her] a tremendous basketball player.”

Joens credits some of this success to her sisters, who continuously help her get better.

“All my sisters play, they set good examples and they’re my role models. I just want to be like them or better than they are,” Joens said.

She believes that their style of teaching each other has helped her vastly improve.

“We learn different things so then we just [teach] each other, and it’s great, because you get to expand

your game even more,” Joens said.

McTaggart believes that Joens has great potential for improvement because of her focus on the game and ability to work with her teammates. Last year Joens was the fourth top scorer on the City High varsity basketball team, below her older sister Aubrey, Rose Nkumu ‘20, and Paige Rocca ‘20, who all went on to play Division One basketball in college. “[She] is well-liked by her team-

mates, and I like coaching [her] because she listens so well and is always trying to improve,” McTaggart said.

Joens plans to continue playing basketball throughout college, and aims to eventually be able to play in the WNBA. Her biggest takeaway from basketball is the value of hard work.

“Work hard, you never know who’s watching, [and] play every game like it’s your last,” Joens said.

B2 SPORTS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

Expectations for winter sports City High boy’s bowling and wrestling coaches discuss their expectations for the rest of the winter sports season

ABOVE: Seth Hiatt ‘21 driving a ball down lane one during meet against Western Dubuque in December 2019. PHOTO BY SOPHIA LUSALA

C

By Emily Martinez

OVID-19 has become one of the most notorious subjects affecting everyone’s lives. This winter sports season, City High bowling and wrestling coaches have found it difficult to transition their athletes to the new season due to the pandemic.

“We were not able to do the training we normally do in the spring and summer,” Cory Connell, City High’s Boys Wrestling coach said. “Local, regional, and national tournaments that some of our wrestlers would have competed at [were canceled]. Some kids are

concerned about [COVID-19] and haven’t wrestled, lifted, gone out for other sports, or worked out as much as they usually do.

We have had a couple of guys that have chosen not to go out for wrestling [because of COVID-19].”

The uncertainty of whether or not sports practices will continue or remain canceled forces coaches to adjust their coaching strategies overall.

“My favorite part of wrestling is getting in the wrestling room, building relationships, and developing the team to be better!” Connell said. “Without being able to go into a wrestling room with them and see them in

person it has been really tough.”

The delay of practices has caused many difficulties for coaches and athletes as well.

“We were only able to complete one week of regular practice,” Mike Degner, City High’s boys bowling coach, said. “I think it will be hard for our bowlers to overcome a layoff, but I do think our bowlers have prepared previously by participating in the youth league.”

It has become a challenge for coaches to keep track of their athletes’ progress and concerns while also preparing for the possible continuation of the winter sports season. “[It has become very important] to be in

constant contact with our athletes and our host bowling center,” Degner said. “[Since] we are not able to be on the lanes we [mainly] communicate through social media and the coaching staff emails training skill videos to the athletes to view and practice on their own.”

Keeping in contact with athletes using platforms such as Zoom and through emails has made the process easier for coaches and athletes to effectively communicate as well.

“I have communicated with the wrestlers as much as I can through text messages, Zoom, emails, etc,” Connell said. “I have stressed to them that they have to take responsibility for their own greatness!”

Safety precautions been a concern for many of the athletes and coaches.

“I believe it is safe for the athletes to practice on their own at this time and we will resume regular practices according to school district policy,” Degner said. “Masks will be worn 100% of the time, social distancing when possible [if practices continue].”

In order to effectively continue the winter sports season, COVID-19 rates would have to drop down to 15% and proper cleaning precautions would have to be enforced by coaches during practices.

“I think if coaches, wrestlers, and AD’s are smart about how we move forward we could safely [return to practices]. It was done well in the summer and fall,” Connell said.

Having to adjust to the uncertainty this winter sports season has become essential to adapting to the continuous changes COVID-19 has brought to both coaches and athletes this year.

“Keeping [athletes] focused on the things that they can control [has helped],” Connell said. “We have a young team and I just want to get in the wrestling room and help them develop as much as I can!”

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Hello and welcome!

Yes, we know, many of you are probably wondering why there even is a sports section in this issue when sports have just been suspended from almost a month. However, there was still plenty for us to cover, don’t you worry.

As you look through the pages of this section, you will see profiles of individual athletes, including our cover of Kelsey Joens, who as a sophomore is already a big part of our varsity girls basketball team and has big goals of making it to the WMBA. Further on, you will come across the Freshmen to Watch. This is always a special article every year, highlighting younger athletes that you should keep an eye on and, well, watch throughout the coming years.

Other stories included athletes dealing with college recruitment during a global pandemic, what it’s like for athletes that go to other schools to participate in athletics at City, and, of course, how athletes and coaches are dealing with the suspension of winter sports. Additionally, we have stories about both the new head coach for boys swimming, Mandi Kowal, and the new lifting coach, Hannah Zalenski.

We hope you enjoy the content of these pages, and recycle this paper once you are done reading it (or save it forever, we won’t mind). Just please, don’t throw it in the trash.

Happy Holidays and stay safe,

Julianne & Jae

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

B3 SPORTS

Hannah Zalenski begins in the lifting room

ABOVE: Assistant coach Ike Casey (left) and head coach Mandi Kowal (right) watch the technique of their swimmers at a practice during the first week of the season. PHOTO BY JULIANNE BERRY-STOELZLE

After the previous lifting coach moved away, Zalenski has stepped in, doing her best to make athletes feel confident in their lifting abilities

Boys swim welcomes new head N coach: Mandi Kowal

By Max Berry-Stoelzle

By Jae Dancer

A

bout three weeks before the beginning of the high school boys swim season, the City High team was left without a coach. Previous head coach, Zane Hugo, had accepted a job at the University of Wisconsin and could no longer coach them. This left a limited amount of time to find another coach and after several parents reached out, Mandi Kowal decided to apply and later take on the job as a new City High boys swim head coach.

When asked why she decided to take on the job Kowal said, “They needed somebody to step in. I thought they’re gonna want somebody with a lot of background [and] I have the experience of having to organize things which a lot of this job is. What I loved about this opportunity is that I get 14 weeks with the guys.”

Mandi Kowal began her coaching career in 1985 coaching division one rowing in Wisconsin. She then went on to build the University of Iowa’s $7.2 million dollar rowing program from scratch.

Now after 18 years of coaching rowing, Kowal decided to switch gears, accepting a coaching job as a new City High boys swimming head coach.

However, due to rising COVID-19 cases and a return to 100% online school, all winter sports are not allowed to practice in person until further notice from the district. This means the City High boys swim team will most likely miss a large chunk of time from their season. This regulation was put in place after only one week of practice.

“We had a really fun week, it was just kind of a bummer when it got postponed,” Kowal said.

“The guys are super energetic,

funny, and motivated. [They] love to compete and have a great time with it.”

Mercer also recently shut its doors to athletes while pools such as the Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center as well as the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center remain open for individuals wanting to swim. Kowal recommends the boys to take advantage of this safely.

“I’ve been to [the pool] all by myself, so I’m just trying to get that message out that it’s actually safer than you might think. You got to commit Monday through Friday because that’s what you’re committing to,” Kowal said.

Even with the inability to practice in person, Kowal encourages the boys to follow COVID-19 guidelines as to decrease the spread of the disease and get the season back on track.

“I just really hope we can get

out of this,” Kowal said. “I told the guys let’s be part of the solution and do the right things. Get together but do your part. Be six feet apart. Be outside. Put a mask on.”

Kowal would describe herself as a hands on coach and has already laid out a training plan for the whole season, planning to take it one week at a time and tweak it as the season progresses.

“From the top guy to the bottom guy I want us to get better as individuals [because] if everyone’s getting better, the team is getting better.” Kowal said. “I’m just doing what I can to help them get through this really hard time.”

When asked what swimming means to her, Kowal said, “Swimming is a beautiful gift that I want to give to others and have them realize you could do anything if you set your mind to it. You can learn so many great things from being involved in [swimming].”

ew City High lifting coach Hannah Zalenski started her position during a year of uncertainty, but did not let that stop her. “[My] biggest goal is just to get kids back on track. A lot of them haven’t been lifting all summer. So, the goal is to get them back [spending] a lot of time on general physical preparation. There might be a little bit less sports specificity, just because we have to gain that lost ground. But long term, we want to get the kids ready for their sports [and] be ready to lead healthy lives,” Zalenski said.

Zalenski previously worked as a personal trainer and a strength and conditioning supervisor at a YMCA in New York. She is currently working on her masters in kinesiology online at Still University.

“I originally wanted to get into athletic training on the rehab side [but, then] I was introduced to the weight room and actually changed my mind. I decided [that I wanted] to be on the training end [to try] to bridge the gap between rehab and performance,” Zalenski said.

Avery Goodrich ‘22 goes to morning lifting, and thinks Zalenski is doing a good job as a new coach.

“First of all, [I’m] very appreciative of her and her organization.

She is very knowledgeable about lifting and training in general.

She is very approachable, which encourages the new kids who just started lifting to ask questions about technique,” Goodrich said.

Zalenski has made it her mission to help people improve.

“It’s all about making sure that kids leave the weight room with confidence in their movement, [and] confidence in their ability. I want them to feel very comfortable walking into a weight room or any kind of activity that they want to participate in and feel very confident in what they can [do],” Zalenski said.

B4 SPORTS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

FRESHMEN

Read about the freshmen that are already ma

By Julianne Berry-Stoelzle

F

Kalea Seaton

rom tennis to basketball to soccer, This past swim season, Seaton was one track, and even cross country, Kalea of six state qualifiers on the City High girls Seaton ‘24 tried a lot of sports until swimming and diving team. She qualified as she finally settled on swimming. a member of the 400 yard freestyle relay.

“All my life I’ve done “She’s really intrinsisports and just quit them,” cally motivated,” head “She’s really intrinsically coach Zane Hugo said.

Seaton said. “I would almotivated. Not only does “Not only does she do ways be trying new sports and, I guess, swimming just she do the extra work, the extra work, but she stuck.” is happy to do it and bebut she is happy to do it Seaton started swimcause of that we’re able ming competitively in fifth and because of that we’re to talk honestly about grade and is now in the able to talk honestly about what she needs to do to Junior Elite training group improve.” what she needs to do to as part of the Iowa Flyers The 400 yard freeSwim Club. style relay of Heidi improve.”

“I like that [swimming] Stalkfleet ‘22, Averi LoZANE HUGO HEAD SWIM COACH is a team sport but it can ria ‘22, Seaton, and Rika also be more of an individYahashiri ‘21 placed ual sport, so you focus on improving your- 15th at the IGHSAU state meet with a total self,” Seaton said. time of 3:43.53, making it the highest placHer current goals include improving her ing relay from City at the meet. Seaton’s 100 starts and working on her mentality going yard freestyle split broke one minute for the into her races. Eventually, she wants to swim first time that season, with a time of 59.84. in college.

“I’ve been really glad to have the opportu“I really don’t think in the long term that nity to coach her this year,” Hugo said. “She’s much,” Seaton said. “I mostly think about been a key part in our success here at the end smaller goals. And when I reach those goals I of the season so I think we’re really lucky to just think of another goal.” have her, for now and for the future.”

F

Arthur Hall

or Athur Hall ‘24, golf has always said. “I believe there’s a huge opportunity for been a way for him to spend time him to grow and become a very very good with his grandfather. He is in north- high school golfer. He has the drive to be ern Minnesota many summers, liv- good and the temperament.” ing with his grandparents and playing golf.

Brighton also believes that Hall has the “My grandpa taught me how to play golf ability to qualify for state individually in the when I was around six or seven. It was just coming years as well secure a scholarship to a really common game,” Hall said. “I like to play golf in college. spend time with my grandpa, “I’m gonna try to practice and play golf with him. It’s “He’s a student of the golf every day and do everyjust competitive and fun.” thing that I can do to help This year Hall played on game. I believe there’s myself get better,” Hall said. varsity for the City High a huge opportunity “Long term, I just want to boys golf team, playing as for him to grow and keep working to get stronger City High’s number three and hit farther and I want to for the majority of the meets become a very very play in college.” throughout the season.

Hall has found that golf good high school “Nobody really knew who helps him deal with stress and golfer. ” he was, but about the third has taught him how to calm DAVID BRIGHTON day of practice, the other golfhimself to concentrate on HEAD BOYS GOLF COACH ers watching him play knew matters at hand. he was very good and one of our top golfers “I try to focus on my shot and not think right off the bat as a freshman,” David Brigh- about what happened before, like if I hit a ton, head coach of the City High boys golf bad shot before,” Hall said. “I just try and team, said. move on from each shot after I take it and At the 4A districts meet at Elmcrest Golf not let it affect my game.”

Course, Hall completed 18 holes with a His favorite part of playing golf is talking score of 92 points, placing him 54th overall, to the people he plays with and the game itthe second highest placing athlete from City self.

High.

“My grandpa still does play with me,” “He’s a student of the game,” Brighton Hall added.

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

B3 SPORTS

N TO WATCH

aking a big impact of City High’s sport teams

E

Joe Polyak

arly morning practice, jumping into the cold water before he is fully awake and swimming laps, only to get out and go to school afterwards, is a common occurrence for Joe Polyak ‘24. “[I like that] it’s only you, that matters [in swimming],” Polyak said. “There’s no one else that can affect your outcome.”

Polyak started swimming competitively at the Gators Swim Club in Florida at the age of seven before moving to Iowa and becoming a member of the Iowa Flyers Swim Club. He goes to Regina but swims for City High because Regina does not have a boys swim team.

“I like coming here and meeting new people. Swimming with different people, that’s the fun part,” Polyak said. “Right now, I’m starting to get used to what the atmosphere is like here. It’s all new and different.”

His goals for the future include having the team go to state every year, placing top three at state, getting a full ride to a Division One college for swimming, and placing top

ten at the Olympic Trials. He plans to get there by working hard every single day.

“I just say, I’m gonna give it my best and if it’s not enough, so what?” Polyak said. “[I look forward to] getting some records and beating some people.”

Polyak is ranked 209th nationally in the 200 yard freestyle for the 13-14 age group, according to swimrank.com.

“You tell him something and he’ll do it,” IFLY coach Chris Freeman said. “He’s really good at learning from what we’ve done or taking away from other things as well. He’s probably like the easiest kid to coach and super nice as well.”

Polyak feels he has learned a lot of life lessons from swimming including time management and how to have a good work ethic.

“He’s just one of those kids [that] just puts his head down, gets to work and doesn’t really complain. He’s a hard worker and always has a good attitude about it,” Freeman said. “I’m just excited to see where he ends up.”

W

ABOVE: The four freshmen posing for a picture on the front steps of City High school. PHOTOS BY NATALIE GREEN

Claire Ernst

hen people store things away, they often put them out of sight, where they remain forgotten until they or someone else finds them again. Erika Ernst, who had played volleyball in high school, had a volleyball in her closet, where her daughter stumbled across it around the age of six.

“I just found a volleyball in [my mom’s] closet one day and I was like, ‘Can we pepper?’” Claire Ernst ‘24 said. “That’s basically how it started.”

Claire proceeded to play recreational volleyball for a few years before successfully trying out for her first club team: Imagine Volleyball. Eventually she switched to the Iowa Rockets, which she is still a member of today.

“I love playing with my team. I love this feeling like when you’re scoring a point [and] the adrenaline that you get. When I’m playing the whole match, I just feel really happy and I forget about everything else. I’m just doing what I love,” Claire said.

This past season, Claire joined the City High girls varsity volleyball team, where she was the only freshman as well as a starter and played six rotations, staying in the game in both the front and back rows.

“In the back row I think she may have even surprised herself a little bit with how solid she was back there as a freshman,” City High volleyball head coach Tricia Carty said. “You don’t often find a freshmen that will play six rotations on any team [in our league], but she did.”

Claire ended the season with a total of 136 kills, second on the team only to the 157

kills made by Alia Vanderhoef ‘21.

“I wasn’t expecting to play on varsity and to be given so much playing time. [High school volleyball] exceeded my expectations and it was a lot of a lot better and a lot more fun than I imagined,” Claire said.

Despite being the only freshmen on the team, Claire didn’t feel like she was treated differently by the rest of her teammates.

“I feel like people generally don’t look at me, as a freshman. They expect the same out of me as from everyone else,” Claire said.

“They hold me accountable. I felt like I never wanted to let the team down and I never really felt like I was different from any of them just because I was younger.”

Carty noticed Claire helping her teammates keep a positive attitude and lifting their spirits.

“She filled a role this year that we needed filled with our team dynamic,” Carty said.

“She is always saying really funny things that made everyone smile and laugh, and we needed a lot of that this year just because COVID threw so many other challenges at us.”

Claire’s ultimate dream is to play Division One volleyball in college and she wants to continue improving to get there.

“I just really appreciate and love her competitiveness. She wants to go out and do the best she can each match because she wants to win. It’s just really cool to see players take that and then over time develop the confidence in themselves. Seeing her develop [confidence] this year was really great and I’m excited to see that continue over the next three additional years,” Carty said.

B4 SPORTS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

FRESHMEN

Read about the freshmen that are already ma

By Julianne Berry-Stoelzle

F

Kalea Seaton

rom tennis to basketball to soccer, This past swim season, Seaton was one track, and even cross country, Kalea of six state qualifiers on the City High girls Seaton ‘24 tried a lot of sports until swimming and diving team. She qualified as she finally settled on swimming. a member of the 400 yard freestyle relay.

“All my life I’ve done “She’s really intrinsisports and just quit them,” cally motivated,” head “She’s really intrinsically coach Zane Hugo said.

Seaton said. “I would almotivated. Not only does “Not only does she do ways be trying new sports and, I guess, swimming just she do the extra work, the extra work, but she stuck.” is happy to do it and bebut she is happy to do it Seaton started swimcause of that we’re able ming competitively in fifth and because of that we’re to talk honestly about grade and is now in the able to talk honestly about what she needs to do to Junior Elite training group improve.” what she needs to do to as part of the Iowa Flyers The 400 yard freeSwim Club. style relay of Heidi improve.”

“I like that [swimming] Stalkfleet ‘22, Averi LoZANE HUGO HEAD SWIM COACH is a team sport but it can ria ‘22, Seaton, and Rika also be more of an individYahashiri ‘21 placed ual sport, so you focus on improving your- 15th at the IGHSAU state meet with a total self,” Seaton said. time of 3:43.53, making it the highest placHer current goals include improving her ing relay from City at the meet. Seaton’s 100 starts and working on her mentality going yard freestyle split broke one minute for the into her races. Eventually, she wants to swim first time that season, with a time of 59.84. in college.

“I’ve been really glad to have the opportu“I really don’t think in the long term that nity to coach her this year,” Hugo said. “She’s much,” Seaton said. “I mostly think about been a key part in our success here at the end smaller goals. And when I reach those goals I of the season so I think we’re really lucky to just think of another goal.” have her, for now and for the future.”

F

Arthur Hall

or Athur Hall ‘24, golf has always said. “I believe there’s a huge opportunity for been a way for him to spend time him to grow and become a very very good with his grandfather. He is in north- high school golfer. He has the drive to be ern Minnesota many summers, liv- good and the temperament.” ing with his grandparents and playing golf.

Brighton also believes that Hall has the “My grandpa taught me how to play golf ability to qualify for state individually in the when I was around six or seven. It was just coming years as well secure a scholarship to a really common game,” Hall said. “I like to play golf in college. spend time with my grandpa, “I’m gonna try to practice and play golf with him. It’s “He’s a student of the golf every day and do everyjust competitive and fun.” thing that I can do to help This year Hall played on game. I believe there’s myself get better,” Hall said. varsity for the City High a huge opportunity “Long term, I just want to boys golf team, playing as for him to grow and keep working to get stronger City High’s number three and hit farther and I want to for the majority of the meets become a very very play in college.” throughout the season.

Hall has found that golf good high school “Nobody really knew who helps him deal with stress and golfer. ” he was, but about the third has taught him how to calm DAVID BRIGHTON day of practice, the other golfhimself to concentrate on HEAD BOYS GOLF COACH ers watching him play knew matters at hand. he was very good and one of our top golfers “I try to focus on my shot and not think right off the bat as a freshman,” David Brigh- about what happened before, like if I hit a ton, head coach of the City High boys golf bad shot before,” Hall said. “I just try and team, said. move on from each shot after I take it and At the 4A districts meet at Elmcrest Golf not let it affect my game.”

Course, Hall completed 18 holes with a His favorite part of playing golf is talking score of 92 points, placing him 54th overall, to the people he plays with and the game itthe second highest placing athlete from City self.

High.

“My grandpa still does play with me,” “He’s a student of the game,” Brighton Hall added.

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

B3 SPORTS

N TO WATCH

aking a big impact of City High’s sport teams

E

Joe Polyak

arly morning practice, jumping into the cold water before he is fully awake and swimming laps, only to get out and go to school afterwards, is a common occurrence for Joe Polyak ‘24. “[I like that] it’s only you, that matters [in swimming],” Polyak said. “There’s no one else that can affect your outcome.”

Polyak started swimming competitively at the Gators Swim Club in Florida at the age of seven before moving to Iowa and becoming a member of the Iowa Flyers Swim Club. He goes to Regina but swims for City High because Regina does not have a boys swim team.

“I like coming here and meeting new people. Swimming with different people, that’s the fun part,” Polyak said. “Right now, I’m starting to get used to what the atmosphere is like here. It’s all new and different.”

His goals for the future include having the team go to state every year, placing top three at state, getting a full ride to a Division One college for swimming, and placing top

ten at the Olympic Trials. He plans to get there by working hard every single day.

“I just say, I’m gonna give it my best and if it’s not enough, so what?” Polyak said. “[I look forward to] getting some records and beating some people.”

Polyak is ranked 209th nationally in the 200 yard freestyle for the 13-14 age group, according to swimrank.com.

“You tell him something and he’ll do it,” IFLY coach Chris Freeman said. “He’s really good at learning from what we’ve done or taking away from other things as well. He’s probably like the easiest kid to coach and super nice as well.”

Polyak feels he has learned a lot of life lessons from swimming including time management and how to have a good work ethic.

“He’s just one of those kids [that] just puts his head down, gets to work and doesn’t really complain. He’s a hard worker and always has a good attitude about it,” Freeman said. “I’m just excited to see where he ends up.”

W

ABOVE: The four freshmen posing for a picture on the front steps of City High school. PHOTOS BY NATALIE GREEN

Claire Ernst

hen people store things away, they often put them out of sight, where they remain forgotten until they or someone else finds them again. Erika Ernst, who had played volleyball in high school, had a volleyball in her closet, where her daughter stumbled across it around the age of six.

“I just found a volleyball in [my mom’s] closet one day and I was like, ‘Can we pepper?’” Claire Ernst ‘24 said. “That’s basically how it started.”

Claire proceeded to play recreational volleyball for a few years before successfully trying out for her first club team: Imagine Volleyball. Eventually she switched to the Iowa Rockets, which she is still a member of today.

“I love playing with my team. I love this feeling like when you’re scoring a point [and] the adrenaline that you get. When I’m playing the whole match, I just feel really happy and I forget about everything else. I’m just doing what I love,” Claire said.

This past season, Claire joined the City High girls varsity volleyball team, where she was the only freshman as well as a starter and played six rotations, staying in the game in both the front and back rows.

“In the back row I think she may have even surprised herself a little bit with how solid she was back there as a freshman,” City High volleyball head coach Tricia Carty said. “You don’t often find a freshmen that will play six rotations on any team [in our league], but she did.”

Claire ended the season with a total of 136 kills, second on the team only to the 157

kills made by Alia Vanderhoef ‘21.

“I wasn’t expecting to play on varsity and to be given so much playing time. [High school volleyball] exceeded my expectations and it was a lot of a lot better and a lot more fun than I imagined,” Claire said.

Despite being the only freshmen on the team, Claire didn’t feel like she was treated differently by the rest of her teammates.

“I feel like people generally don’t look at me, as a freshman. They expect the same out of me as from everyone else,” Claire said.

“They hold me accountable. I felt like I never wanted to let the team down and I never really felt like I was different from any of them just because I was younger.”

Carty noticed Claire helping her teammates keep a positive attitude and lifting their spirits.

“She filled a role this year that we needed filled with our team dynamic,” Carty said.

“She is always saying really funny things that made everyone smile and laugh, and we needed a lot of that this year just because COVID threw so many other challenges at us.”

Claire’s ultimate dream is to play Division One volleyball in college and she wants to continue improving to get there.

“I just really appreciate and love her competitiveness. She wants to go out and do the best she can each match because she wants to win. It’s just really cool to see players take that and then over time develop the confidence in themselves. Seeing her develop [confidence] this year was really great and I’m excited to see that continue over the next three additional years,” Carty said.

B6 SPORTS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

RECRUITMENT

Getting recruited for college sports can be stressful for some athletes and the addition of a global pandemic makes it even harder

g n i r u d t n e m

i u r c e re

g e l l o C

By Jae Dancer

Mia Deprenger

W

hile COVID-19 has made the college recruitment process more difficult for some athletes, Mia Deprenger ‘21 is not one of them. Deprenger has been committed to Minnesota State University to play NCAA division II soccer since her freshman year of high school.

“My sister actually goes there to play soccer so I was introduced to the team really early on, and I saw the field, the campus, met coaching staff and it just felt like the right place for me to go to,” Deprenger said.

Recently due to COVID-19, the NCAA division one council voted to move the college recruitment dead period to April of 2021. This can put stressors on student-athletes looking to get recruited as the dead period is when college coaches are not permitted to have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes and they may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools.

“It’s stressful for other people so like I’m glad that I got it out of the way,” Depreger said. “They can’t really go and see the campus talk the team so it’s kind of hard to make a decision without really knowing exactly what you’re getting into.”

When asked what she was most excited for Deprenger said, “I love the team atmosphere there and it’s really fun to be around them because there’s like 30 games per season and everyone likes everyone no matter like what age or grade they’re in.”

Evion Richardson

E

vion Richardson ‘22 was offered to play at the University of Nebraska Omaha during COVID-19 by a college recruitment scout who watched several virtual games from past years. He then reached out to one of her AAU coaches for her information.

“It’s really hard for a coach to sit there and watch on the screen without actually being there because the environment is totally different, just sitting there watching like 10 games online.”

When asked why she wants to play there Richarson said, “I just like the environment because everybody gets treated like a family,” Richardson said. “Before I even committed they already treated me like I was a family so I just like that type of bond and know that it’s a good place.”

Richardson has played varsity basketball for City High since her freshman year and has never been one to question if she wants it or not.

“I’ve always known since I was little that

9 1 D I V O C

ABOVE LEFT: Mia Deprenger ‘22 posing for a photo with a Minnesota State University soccer coach. ABOVE MIDDLE: Ella Cook ‘21, Carey Koenig ‘21, and Ayana Lindsey ‘21 smiling after signing letters of intent to their respective colleges. ABOVE RIGHT: Raphe Hamilton ‘21 preparing to throw a football in a game against Linn-Mar. PHOTOS BY LESLIE DEPRENGER, KARLA KOENIG, AND NATALIE GREEN

I love this sport and have always wanted to play and now I love the sport so much that I don’t want to stop playing it,” Richardson said.

Growing up Richardson felt inspired by many different people including WNBA players Skylar Diggins and Tia Cooper as well as many of her high school teammates and competition. She hopes to someday play at the elite level. “[My family] is very happy, all they’ve done for me has paid off,” Richardson said.

Richardson plans to reach her next goals by putting in lots of hours in the gym, eating right, and working hard in the classroom to get good grades.

“I love basketball so much and I just want to succeed in it. So I really hope all my hard work can go towards me getting drafted.”

Raphe Hamilton

H

amilton first reached out to Mary University in Bismarck, North Dakota to play NCAA Division II Football his sophomore year. He sent his film his junior year where he then began contact with the coaches. “It felt like a really good fit and the coaching staff really felt like they really cared about me,” Hamilton said.

He committed to Mary University in August of 2020 but just recently took his

official visit to Mary University in mid-November to get a more in depth look of the University’s program and speak with academic advisors.

“It really reassured me and I feel like I have a really good relationship with the coaches there and that’s kind of a big thing. I feel like the coaches there really care about me not just for my playing abilities but as a person.”

This year has been a bit different for boys football. They missed around three weeks of their season limiting the amount of film available to college recruiters. Because Hamilton committed early he was able to avoid any COVID recruitment struggles however this can be a conflict for some athletes still trying to get recruited.

“I mean like in football it’s especially important to have film out there there for coaches to evaluate. Hamilton aid. “For guys at City High we were able to get at least some film out, probably not as many games as we would have wanted but I still think it’s helpful.”

Overall, Hamilton looks forward to exploring a new community, developing new friendships, being a role model for aspiring college athletes, and the community service work The University Of Mary offers.

“There’s a lot of different opportunities that come with playing football in college. I want to be a leader amongst my teammates and look forward to developing friendships that will last a lifetime.” Hamilton said.

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

B7 SPORTS

Winter athletes struggling with uncertainty surrounding season

With the ICCSD district switching to 100% online education, all in-person sports and extracurricular activities were suspended once again. With that, a different batch of sports teams are figuring out how to keep their players fit enough to achieve their goals this season while not being able to meet with them

By Rachel Marsh

O

ne email can take away two weeks of the sports season for City High athletes.

Multiple emails can take away the entire season. All saying the same thing, canceled, postponed, all due to COVID. Parts of the season were already lost during the summer and fall sports, and now it’s happening again, this time for the winter sports.

“Obviously I’m not excited that we have two weeks online because that means we are missing out on valuable practice time but, I get that cases are rising and a lot of schools are going online as well,” said Kolby Kucera ‘21.

The impending winter season makes finding ways to stay in shape over the online period more difficult than in the past seasons since it is harder for athletes to practice outside.

Winter sports consist of basketball, wrestling, boys swimming, and bowling. So far, the bowling team has announced that over the suspension period, they want their players to practice on their own.

Their meets and practices have been postponed until the district returns to the hybrid model.

“Our coach wants us to practice on our own time even though that might be difficult now because the bowling alley is getting closer and closer to closing due to COVID,” Nile Franz ‘22 said.

The boys and girls basketball teams were holding open gym sessions at City High prior to going online. Getting the playing time up and getting back in shape is a high priority if they want to have the season that meets their goal of state, according to girls Head Coach Bill McTaggart.

“The suspended season is very frustrating because we have a lot of work to do. We are at a disadvantage because some teams in our state can still practice,” McTaggart said.

The boys team, which is in the exact same boat, has not shifted their goal either. All eyes are on state, the one game in Wells Fargo Arena that is the cherry on top of a good season. The boys varsity team has multisport athletes Kucera, Andre Miller ‘21 and Raphael Hamilton ‘21 as well as Keyoun Agee ‘21 and Luke Young ‘21.

“My goal for this team is for us to do our very best no matter how much COVID-19 takes away from

ABOVE: More and more public basketball courts are found empty with temperatures dropping and COVID-19 cases rising. More home courts and nets, like this one, are being used. PHOTO BY RACHEL MARSH

us. However many practices and Kucera said. “I already saw the games we get to play, I want our challenges during football of not team to do the best with what we being able to practice together and get,” Kucera said.

I didn’t want to go through that The boys team does zoom again. However, I also thought workouts, and the players are told about how it’s probably the right to condition on their own. Girls thing to do right now and our team basketball is doing zoom work- is just going to have to deal with outs as well, led it.”

by Coach Casey, “My goal for this team With the suswith strength and is for us to do our very pension comes a conditioning. Aflot of emotion for best no matter how ter losing at the those looking formuch COVID-19 takes ward to their last state game last year, the girls are away from us. However season, their first hungrier than ever season, getting many practices and for that state title. scouted or just beTheir team is full of games we get to play, I ing on a team. As players like Kelsey want our team to do the the events of 2020 Joens ‘23, followcontinue piling on best with what we get.” ing in her sisters top of each other, KOLBY KUCERA footsteps, multissome see sports CITY HIGH SENIOR port athlete Georas an escape from gia Kimm ‘22 and reality. high scorer Eviyon Richardson ‘22.

“I came out this year because I “When I first heard we were wouldn’t want to spend this wingoing online I was disappointed ter doing anything else. I love the because I knew how hard our team sport and my team. The biggest had been working for this season,” difference this year is the constant

uncertainty of whether we will groups with a point system to keep even play or not,” Miller said. them motivated to do the workWrestling, on the other hand, outs. Those in swim clubs, swim at was supposed to club practices, and have their first prac- “I would tell people others schedule time tice on November that there is light at to swim whenever 16, which ended up they can. being the first day of the end of the tunnel.

“I miss the team, the return to online We just need to hang it’s really fun to see school. Back in Febin there and keep on everyone and swim ruary, Ben Keuter with them, but I [going].”

‘22 earned a state tithink if we all just tle in his 160 weight do our best to conJOHN BACON CITY HIGH PRINCIPAL class. Keuter is also tinue to practice joined by multisport apart from each athlete Gable Mitchell ‘22, grand- other, we could really improve as a son of national champion wrestler team,” John Weigel ‘23 said.

Dan Gable. The team hopes to Throughout it all, sports remain have a competitive season despite a very important part of a number the challenges. of people’s lives. With decisions Boys swimming had their first and case numbers changing on the practice on November 9, complet- daily, the rest of the winter sports ing one week of practice before season remains uncertain. school switched to 100% online “I would tell people that there learning. With weekly meets, the is light at the end of the tunnel due online period is taking away from to good news about the vaccine. their competition season. Over We just need to hang in there and the online period, the coaches keep on [going],” principal John have given the swimmers workout Bacon said.

B8 SPORTS

1

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 18, 2020

United as Some schools do not offer all sports, so their athletes participate in sports at other schools, such as City High

S

By Julianne Berry-Stoelzle

wimming, running, training, and competing side by side is a part of being teammates as well as working together for a common goal and representing your school in athletics. City High has a wide variety of sports teams, however, not all the athletes on them attend City High.

A few athletes come from schools such as West Branch, Lone Tree, Regina, and Solon, which do not offer certain sports due to

ABOVE AND RIGHT: A collection of pictures including athletes that participate in City High athletics whithout going to school there. PHOTOS BY JULIANNE BERRYSTOELZLE, RACHEL MARSH, AND NATALIE GREEN

their smaller size. Cooperative sharing agree- four athletes on both girls and boys cross ments enable these athletes to participate in country teams, as well as the girls swim team, City High athletics and represent The Little who are enrolled in other schools.

Hawks in competition.

“High school athletics is all about learn“Having the experience to run at City ing life lessons through the sport you particHigh is amazing and I love to do it every ipate and compete in. I am extremely glad year,” Avery Schultes ‘23 said. we are able to provide Schultes goes to these opportunities to West Branch and start- “It’s weird for me to go to City students at our neighed cross country at High and just run cross coun- boring schools when South East in seventh try and leave because I don’t they do not have the grade. She has run cross opportunity to compete country as part of the actually go to school [there]. at their sport in their City High girls team for Other people will see me at the home school,” City the last two years. While school and see me running and High athletic director, she would like for West Philip Hansen, said.

Branch to have its own be like ‘I don’t recognize you.

Having to go to a cross country team, she You don’t go to City High.’” different school for athrealizes the small size of letics can make starting AVERY SCHULTES the school would make WEST BRANCH SOPHMORE a new team seem dauntit difficult. ing. Shaylin Brown ‘22, “I would always like to try and have one who also goes to West Branch, worried about at West Branch, but that may not be possi- not knowing anyone on the City High girls ble,” Schultes said. “City High has a chance swim team the first day she showed up to so I’m just gonna take a look and see what practice. happens.”

“I was very nervous because some of these In the fall, City High has around two to people go to schools with each other, so they

know each other. The first day I definitely felt like a little bit of an outsider because I was from a different school,” Brown said.

Schultes felt similarly nervous about her first practice with the cross country team and she continues to feel out of place in certain situations.

“It’s weird for me to go to City High and just run cross country and leave because I don’t actually go to school [there],” Schultes said. “Other people will see me at the school and see me running and be like ‘I don’t recognize you. You don’t go to City High.’”

Brown feels like she has to act more conscientiously than athletes that go to City High.

“I don’t feel treated differently [because I go to a different school], but I feel like I have to have more respect because I’m coming from a different school. I want to make sure that our school looks good. I’m representing my school,” Brown said.

However, despite their concerns, both girls feel like they have found a spot for themselves on their respective teams.

“It is a cool experience to have, especially if you don’t have a cross country team [at your school],” Schultes said. “Seeing your friends [from City] is just amazing because you really only see them once a year.”

Additionally, Brown has found some advantages to participating in sports at a larger school.

“I’m also kind of glad we don’t have a swim team because then I get to go to City High and make new friends and be a part of that team,” Brown said. “I think it’s a great opportunity because you’re swimming for a bigger school so you get to go against bigger schools.”

Looking back, Brown is happy with her decision to go to City High for athletics.

“It is so much fun now. I’m glad my little nervous freshman self went to that [first] practice because I am so glad I am a part of the City High team. It is like my little family, my swimming family,” Brown said.