The Little Hawk

the little hawk Iowa City, IA

Vol. 82

February 11, 2022

Issue 3

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Teachers Overworked As teacher absences increase while sub-options are exhausted, the Iowa City Community School District makes strides to compensate teachers for covering during personal prep periods

By Haileigh Steffen & Lulu Roarick

CUTEST COUPLE CONTEST: Voting ends Friday the 11th at noon. The most liked @instalittlehawk on Instagram wins $50 to Basta, Iowa City.

Top left: Gina Flores-Santos ‘22 + Jacob Calix ‘22. Bottom left: Abi Lockhart ‘23 + Owen VanderLinden ‘23. Middle: Nabi Emmanuel ‘23 + Valencia Rukakiza ‘23. Top right: Cory Frauenkron ‘24 + Brianna Bourget. Bottom right: Tom Braverman + Anna Braverman.

Students Host Voter Registration Student volunteers register 32 new voters at the City High vs Liberty High basketball game

By Rebecca Michaeli On January 28, 2022 students held a voter registration at the City High basketball doubleheader against Liberty High. Adam Zabner and Andrew Dunn attended to help register students and community members to vote. Zabner and Dunn are both running for the Iowa House of Representatives seat in District 90, City High’s district.

In total, 32 new voters were registered.

ABOVE: New voter Kimberly Marquez ‘22 receives ABOVE: Ella Sherlock ‘23 and Matisse Arnone ‘23 register new voters at the City vs Liberty basketball game. assistance in the voter registration process from peers.

PHOTO BY REBECCA MICHAELI PHOTO BY REBECCA MICHAELI

Coming back from winter break, teachers faced the Omicron COVID-19 surge. Between juggling student absences, managing personal health, and covering for colleagues, there is a notable shortage of available teachers in City High’s classrooms. To respond to increasingly overworked staff, Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) will now compensate teachers who use their prep periods for substitute teaching.

“The hardest thing from my standpoint has been the staffing of the building. I mean that is not easy. I give our teachers a great deal of credit for doing everything they can to be here each day for kids, our secretaries, and Carla and Shelley in the main office are heroes as far as I’m concerned. Our building could not be functioning without them,” Principal John Bacon said.

“Every morning, they piece together a jigsaw puzzle of sub-sub coverage that is just remarkable to watch, if they are working with a limited number of substitute teachers.” continued on A7

Composting Program Takes Root at Lunch Environmental and Gardening Club starts daily composting program in all three lunches

By Matisse Arnone After months of planning and anticipation, the City High Environmental and Gardening Club has officially launched a lunchroom composting program. The program began at the end of January as a pilot project, however it continues to expand as the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) is sending a truck bi@instalittlehawk

weekly to pick up the new compost bins.

Nora Gibson ‘23 is a co-president of the Environmental and Gardening Club and has been one of the main contributors to planning the new composting program. She says that it has taken immense work and planning to achieve approval, but she is happy to see how far they have come. continued on A5 @thelittlehawk

ABOVE: Nora Gibson ‘23 transfers lunchroom waste into compost bin for Iowa City compost collection. PHOTO BY MATISSE ARNONE Facebook.com/thelittlehawk

The Little Hawk

ABOVE: Members of Environmental and Gardening Club prepare school vegetable garden.

PHOTO BY MATISSE ARNONE The Little Hawk - Pinterest

A2 NEWS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Dear Readers, Happy February! As we celebrate Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and the ending of our beloved second trimester, we encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zones and try something new. If you happen to follow our Instagram, @instalittlehawk your feed is probably immersed in pictures of all the cutest couples photos you could ever hope to see. As we approach Valentines Day, the winners will be announced on thelittlehawk.com.

While it appears that we have still not yet moved out of uncertain times, a majority of the stories included in the issue are aimed to highlight the different resources available to you in our community. Please remember to take care of yourself and check on loved ones.

As always, this issue was put together in 2109 by our incredible staff. If you are interested in joining us, stop by! We welcome you with wide arms, and thank you, for picking up this copy of the newspaper!

Sincerly, Aala, Sophie, Rebecca, & Haileigh

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11th, 2022

SPORTS A3

NEWS A4

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

COVID-19: Three Years In City High nurses and students share their experiences with COVID-19 during the rising and falling numbers of the Omicron variant

By Diego Loria-Eivins Two years ago students dropped into the health office to grab a band aid or some ibuprofen, and now with the ICCSD mask mandate the health office has become a constant flow of people coming in and out grabbing masks or following up with the school nurses about COVID-19 symptoms. In November of 2020, the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) went online at a 17% COVID-19 positivity rate in Johnson County. In January of 2022, Johnson County is at 25% COVID-19 positivity rate and classes fully in-person are still offered. Students at City High have noticed friends and teachers absent from the building throughout the school year.

“A usual day before the pandemic was looking through lots of records and documentations, making sure everyones immunized against all other things besides COVID-19,” said Suzie Wilkes, who has been working as a school nurse at City High for the past 2 years.

If a student tests positive for COVID-19 the health department uses contact tracing to see who was sitting close or interacting with the student that tested positive. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the health department at City High has been busy working on tracing positive COVID-19 cases and

ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES RUBIO sending emails out to students and families giving them the option to quarantine.

“I’m anxious about COVID-19 at City High,” Avery Provorse ‘24 said.

Provorse attended school online during the 2020-2021 school year and returned back to in-person classes this fall.

“At first, [online school] was harder, but then it became much easier. I really liked online school but I felt it was safe to return back to in person classes,” Provorse said.

Provorse is feeling better about how City High is handling COVID-19. The mask mandate is helpful for students that are

anxious about COVID-19 and returning to classes in-person.

“I’m a little frustrated that some programs at City High are less strict about the mask policy, in general I think our school is doing really good with keeping COVID-19 cases to a minimum,” Provorse said.

Celebrating Black History An Afro-Cuban dance kicks off the first of many events to celebrate Black History Month

By Aala Basheir

ing one week, the celebration of Black History expanded in 1976 to the entire month Erupting in a series of fluid motions, of February, aligning with the birthdays of Modei Akyea leads a room full of families as Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. they dance together, marking the first of the History.com includes both information and events that will take place at the Iowa City resources to further educate individuals on Public Library to celebrate Black History Black History.

Month. Previously attending classes led by “[Afro-Cuban Dance Workshop] is very Akyea, Raquel Mackay organized the Af- exciting and something we’ve not done here ro-Cuban Dance Workshop that took place before,” Angela Pilkington, Children SerFebruary 2, 2022 at the Iowa City Public vices Coordinator at the Iowa City Public LiLibrary. brary said. “We’re really good at not repeat“Originally, my parents and I are from ing [events]. I think just being in the Iowa Ghana. I grew up all over the place. Recalling City area allows us to have something new my childhood, my father used to come home going on.” with records from Future events "...my faher used to come home with include Cuba, so I grew up B.Y.O. listening to that type Book-Jason Mott’s records from Cuba, so I grew up of music,” Akyea listening to that type of music. There “Hell of a Book” explained. “There is taking place Febis a deep African connection within ruary 15, The Afa deep African connection within that American that music, the history of Africans rican music, the history Museum of Iowa: in Cuba, and how that culture of Africans in Cuba, Superheroes of Scideveloped." and how that culture ence (Pre-K-2nd developed.”

Grade) taking place Last Tuesday February 16, and marked the begindance instructor Preschool Stories & ning of Black HisMore: Black History Month in the tory Month StoryUnited States, where many Americans honor time and Short Film Fest held the following the influential historical figures and their ef- morning. A complete list of events can be forts to fight for equality. Initially only last- found at ICPL.org.

Modei Akyea

ABOVE: A sign hangs at the Iowa City Public Library. PHOTO BY AALA BASHEIR

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

A5 NEWS

New Composting Program Takes Root City High Environmental and Gardening Club officially launches a lunchroom composting program

ABOVE: Adam Zabner helping register people to vote.

PHOTO BY REBECCA MICHAELI

City High Alumni Runs for State House From City High student to candidate for the Iowa House, Adam Zabner ‘17 shares his story

By Rebecca Michaeli

ABOVE: Nora Gibson ‘23 composting her lunch.

PHOTO BY MATISSE ARNONE

By Matisse Arnone After months of planning and anticipation, the City High Environmental and Gardening Club has officially launched a lunchroom composting program. The program began at the end of January as a pilot project, however it continues to expand as the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) is starting to send a truck biweekly to pick up the new compost bins.

Nora Gibson ‘23 is a co-president of the Environmental and Gardening Club and has been one of the main contributors to planning the new composting program. She says that it has taken immense work and planning to achieve approval, but she is happy to see how far they have come.

“I was so excited that our proposal was finally accepted. We wrote our proposal in the fall of 2021, and we’ve been waiting for a very long time,” Gibson said. “There’s been lots of emails but I’m so excited that we finally have the go ahead to start our program.”

Mary Lestina is a science teacher at City High teaching Physics and AP Environmental Science. Lestina is also the teacher sponsor for the Environmental and Gardening club. Composting is something that she has

thought City High could achieve for a long time and is glad that it has finally begun.

“This is something that I envisioned the school could be successful at for a long, long time,” Lestina said. “I was excited when our group came together and decided that that was going to be a mission this year.”

Both Lestina and Gibson believe that this new composting program is extremely important in helping City High be greener by sending less waste to landfills. Before composting, all of the waste from the City High lunchroom trash bins would go right to the landfill.

“It’s important for City High to have composting so that we do not contribute as much to greenhouse gas emissions and overall global warming,” Gibson said.

Gibson hopes that this attempt at composting will end up more successful then past attempts have. This compost program has support from the district and administration which Gibson thinks will help to make it more sustainable.

“I think that the attempts at composting in the past have been accepted well, but the only issue with those is they haven’t been able to be sustained, with not enough support and money and volunteers,” Gibson said.

The Environmental and Gardening club has made posters about the composting program and is also planning on making an informative video for students to watch about what things from the lunchroom can and can not be composted. Lestina hopes that they can continue to find more ways to spread the word around school to keep growing interest in composting.

“I think the more that we publicize it and make sure that students know about it, the more successful that we will be,” Lestina said. “Having a clearer picture of what can and cannot be composted is key for this to be successful because if students don’t know, they’re just gonna throw it away” So far, the composting bins have been filling up about halfway after all three lunch periods according to Lestina and Gibson.

However, Lestina thinks that composting is important for the school community regardless of how much they collect everyday.

“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for our high school students to make a difference,” Lestina said. “Knowing that not everything needs to go to the landfill is an important lesson and I think [students] can take that into their everyday lives as well.”

Adam Zabner was born and raised in Iowa City after his parents immigrated to the United States from Venezuela. He went to college at the University of Chicago and took time off of school to work as a political organizer for the Pete Buttigieg presidential campaign. Zabner proceeded to work as a regional organizer director for the Iowa Democratic Party throughout the general elections in 2020.

“I graduated from City High five years ago and what inspired me to run is that I have two older brothers who aren’t in town anymore. In the five years since I graduated, so many of my friends have already left [Iowa],” Zabner said. “They joined the 50% of Iowa and Iowa State grads that leave after graduating.”

According to 2018 statistics from United Van Lines, Iowa is ranked eighth out of the fifty states for having the most people move away. Those looking for jobs and looking to retire have the highest number of individuals moving out.

“Iowa has the opportunity to lead on issues like climate change, the pandemic, healthcare, the economy of the future. But we cannot do it without our young people.

We need them here to be working on those issues,” Zabner said. “I think our state is going in the wrong direction if we want to do that.”

Iowa has four congressional districts, three of which are held by Republicans, after the party gained two seats in the 2020 election. There are currently 60 Republicans in the Iowa House of Representatives and 40 Democrats.

“Every year, tuition at the University gets higher. We have a state that’s openly hostile to young people and their values. Every year, there’s less funding for public schools and this year, there’s an all out attack on them.

I want to get involved because I think Iowa needs to invest in and retain our young people,” Zabner said.

Zabner is grateful for his experience at City High, and got involved in politics to work towards investing in and retaining young Iowans.

“It’s all about the conversation at the lunch table. I remember sitting down at the lunch table in 2016 and talking about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders. Those were conversations where we really got into the depth of what our country should look like. I still think about those [conversations] today, they were really formative for me,” Zabner explained.

The Iowa House of Representatives election will take place on November 8, 2022.

Students may register to vote if they are 17, and a person may vote if they will be 18 years old on or before election day. You may register to vote online at vote.org.

“I would love to have conversations with people about how they can get involved, whether it’s with my campaign, something they’re interested in, or an idea they’ve been thinking about. Get involved, telling people what you think is incredibly powerful. You have power as a student,” Zabner said.

A6 NEWS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

City High Establishes Multi-Ethnic Student Union With students increasingly asking for student voice, administration collaborates to create a safe space for students to make change accessible

By Lulu Roarick & Marina Escandell The Multi-Ethnic Student Union is a new organization making a collaborative effort between students and faculty to support the diverse array of students that attend City High. The union aims to build a bridge between faculty and students, providing a safe space to advocate for, learn, and better their educational opportunities and experiences at City High.

Maureen Beran, the co-creator of Multi-Ethnic Student Union and a guidance counselor at City, emphasizes the importance of constant communication between students of different cultures, as well as staff. She wants the club to be inclusive and a chance for students to learn from one another.

“We have a lot of goals [for MEST],” Beran said. “One of our goals is to help in creating a better culture when it comes to diversity and inclusion and also having a safe place where students from any culture can come in, have discussions, and learn from each other. I would say number one is just a safe place for students to come and talk about their experiences. The larger goal is just building a better relationship when it comes to culture amongst all students and staff.”

Recent events within the Iowa City School District point to the need for the group of students willing to speak out about their experiences, according to Beran.

“With the recent situation that happened at West High, super unfortunate what happened, students felt unsafe. A lot of them attended board meetings to express how that made them feel, and then just general experiences that they have here in the district,” Beran said. “That was super important. We know students do not feel safe.

Just like I said, provide them an opportunity. A place where they feel safe. They can talk more about their experiences and we can learn from each other. This will hopefully develop initiatives to move forward.”

Gerry Coleman, the Dean of Students at City High and initial Co-Founder behind the Multi Ethnic Student Union, reached out to Beran when he was working to form the group. As of now, the club has officially met twice. They are making efforts to grow and advertise the club, and also reaching out to students who are interested.

“We want it to be more student driven, so once we get things rolling it will be run by students. Now we’re just putting the pieces together,” Coleman said.

Coleman’s ultimate goals for the group go beyond just having conversations. He wants the space to advocate for and assist

ABOVE: Deon Brown ’24, Jameer James ’24, and teacher Shamari Scott discuss plans for the Multi-Ethnic Student Union in the old commons. PHOTO BY LULU ROARICK students in their future educational endeavors, while also being a part of the community.

“We want it to be a space for students to talk about different things but we also want it to be something where we could do some

community service or help kids get into college,” Coleman said. “Look at ways to continue their education after leaving high school. We have a lot of running ideas that will come to fruition once we put things together.”

IJAG Leaders Host Food Drive in Collaboration with Emma’s Pantry

By Lulu Roarick & Kaitlyn Brown 9th and 10th grade students in the IJAG program at City High worked with the school’s food pantry, Emma’s Pantry, to fill the donation box with boxes of goods from food drives. The most recent food drive was hosted in the pantry on December 8-13.The pantry was created by Maggie Ballard, a City High alumni, to commemorate the memory of former City High student Emma Nugent.

“We mainly asked for boxed and canned items. We didn’t get too specific. It’s a pretty new pantry that’s started up so we are seeing what people are looking for. But the other items that my students really wanted were hygiene products. They felt there was a high need to have those,” said Sheri Lynch, the 9th and 10th grade IJAG Coordinator.

Lynch helped her students work with the pantry in creating the food drive and keeping the pantry stocked.

While creating this project, IJAG students tried to find the best way for people to utilize the pantry. Coming up with other resources to ask for, such as hygiene products to go along with the canned and boxed goods, was one of their ideas to make the pantry’s environment more relaxing for the community.

“I like the food drive because it takes away

the embarrassment, you don’t have to talk to anyone, you can just grab the food and go,” said Shae Deatsch ‘24, an IJAG student who worked on the food drive project.

Students a part of the IJAG program work on community service projects throughout the course and have helped out fellow students in many ways. The students’ work with the food drive this past December affected many, including themselves and fellow community members.

“I’ve had emails from community members wanting to bring food in or having connection to the story of Emma’s pantry or knowing Emma and her memory. I actually had a couple emails I shared with them about what a big impact they’re making by just a simple little action that they did. This has been huge for them as well as an opportunity for them to be leaders in our school,” Lynch said.

Iowa Jobs for American Graduates, otherwise known as IJAG, is an elective course that teaches leadership skills.

Kyra Tealer ‘24, spoke on the current project IJAG students are working on. “We’re designing stickers for the schools, we have two right now that we’re going to sell for a fundraiser. We’re trying to raise $300. The money would go to the IJAG program because it’s a separate program from the school. For field trips and other stuff,” said Tealer.

ABOVE: Kyra Tealer ’24, Shae Deatsch ‘24, Adriana Brito-Hernandez ‘24, and Helena Echa ‘24 pose for a photo as IJAG leaders at City High. PHOTO BY LULU ROARICK Emma’s Pantry is located in the teacher parking lot outside of the band room doors.

“With the pantry, I don’t think a lot of people know, even: it’s outside the band doors off the faculty parking lot,” said Lynch.

“We really want people to know where it is and that it’s available. People can come and check it out.”

With all their upcoming and previous

community projects, IJAG has brought new leaders to the school, as well as new opportunities for the students involved. “[City High] is so big. I feel like there’s people out there that need some of those resources, there is no food at home and the pantry is something to try. It’s great, it’s for everybody,” shares Tealer ‘24.

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

NEWS A7

Teachers Overworked with Added Risks As teacher absences increase while sub-options are exhausted, the Iowa City Community School District makes strides to compensate teachers for covering during personal prep periods

ABOVE: Secretary Ann Hanrahan created a form to better manage the influx of absent faculty. PHOTO BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN

By Lulu Roarick & Haileigh Steffen Coming back from winter break, teachers faced the Omicron COVID-19 surge. Between juggling student absences, managing personal health, and covering for colleagues, there is a notable shortage of available teachers in City High’s classrooms. To respond to increasingly overworked staff, Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) will now compensate teachers who use their prep periods for substitute teaching.

“The hardest thing from my standpoint has been the staffing of the building. I mean that is not easy. I give our teachers a great deal of credit for doing everything they can to be here each day for kids, our secretaries, and Carla and Shelley in the main office are heroes as far as I’m concerned. Our building could not be functioning without them,” Principal John Bacon said. “Every morning, they piece together a jigsaw puzzle of sub-sub coverage that is just remarkable to watch, if they are working with a limited number of substitute teachers. God bless those subs that come in here every day. I am so grateful to the substitute teachers that are willing to come, it’d be easier for them to just stay home and not expose themselves to classrooms full of kids with potential COVID-19 cases and things like that.”

Secretary Ann Hanrahan has observed that most absences are illness-related, pointing to a continuation of the staffing challenges during the pandemic. There is a multitude of reasons for keeping teachers from the classroom. Hanrahan further elaborates that staff either have COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, are waiting for test results, have a family member waiting for test results, or need to stay home to watch

kids. Hanrahan says that the abundance of staff absences has affected her daily schedule in visible but manageable ways.

“Almost every morning when I arrive, there are several absences that are unfilled,” Hanrahan said. “I have to immediately start putting the puzzle together for daily coverage. I have made a form to help put this all together because it can be crazy some mornings. I start with our building subs, see what their day looks like and how I can best utilize them. We are fortunate to have three amazing building subs. They are always up for whatever I throw at them. Once I have filled spots with them, I move on to filling in unfilled hours with other subs in our building.

You have to see what hours they have a ‘prep’ time and see if they can fill any of these open hours. The next step is to use any non-classroom building-based staff to fill the open spots. This would be our Academic Support, IDS, Fellows, counselors, and librarians.”

Principal Bacon agrees that the number of staff absences far exceeds the number of subs available. Teachers have to create patchwork schedules together, typically choosing to use their prep periods to cover for a colleague’s absence, according to Bacon.

Recently hired English teacher Elizabeth Staak describes finding it difficult to understand her new job with new COVID-19 related layers built-in, such as managing student absences during a busy academic year.

“There hasn’t been a day this year where I haven’t had at least like five to ten kids missing. That makes it so hard to keep moving on,” Staak said. “It’s such an important part of the school to develop routines. The constant disruptions have been the biggest challenge.”

English teachers Borger-Germann and Staak have been asked to teach a class during

ABOVE: Adam Angstead, a building substitute teacher, covers for an absent teacher, Dan Sabers. PHOTO BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN

prep periods on more occasions this academic year. To cope with the increasing pressures of their day-to-day job, both teachers report they have created a clearer divide between work and school. For Borger-Germann, it’s been more difficult to maintain a stable schedule, partly due to having to travel between buildings two days of the week.

“I don’t think that we’re short-staffed.

That is a rumor that has to get put to rest.

We have a more robust staff than we have had in many years because COVID-19 money has allowed us to hire additional people in almost every department,” said Borger-Germann. “But we’re in the middle of a global pandemic. So we had 41 people absent from the building yesterday. That’s an insane amount of absences and our sub-pool is primarily older retired people who do not want to put themselves in the way of the virus.

And so we have this sort of massive clash on substitute staffing.”

Adam Angstead, a building substitute

teacher, typically covers for two to three absent teachers, sometimes up to ten on busy days. While it might make for a hectic school day, Angstead says he has no trouble keeping up.

“Everybody’s buried so deep in the COVID-19 mentality at this point,” Angstead said. “My job is not to teach so much as to try to provide continuity for the teachers so that when they get back they’re sort of still in vaguely the same place they were when they left. The more teachers that are gone all the time, the harder it is to do that.”

Despite the challenges his job has brought in the last couple of years, Angstead enjoys his job.

“It’s my favorite job I’ve ever had, even [with additional risks] I’ve been doing this for years. Even now. I can’t believe that. They just pay me to hang out with you guys,” Angstead said. “The school is awesome. Pretty much every kid in this entire school is super cool. So it’s a really fun job.”

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

NEWS A8

Meet the Robotics Team Robotics Club, founded by Vicki Peterson in 2014, focuses on engineering and computer science. The club meets from 4:10-5:30 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Today, the club has 19 members who are getting ready for the Super Qualifiers

ZAKAI KRIENER

By Rosangel Flores Rubio & Wisdom Konu

Q: What do you enjoy most about robotics? A: The fact that I can just mess around with parts and not get in trouble for it [as well as] coding and coming up with ideas for the next mechanism. I like coding because I get to decide how the robot moves, and I also get

to make sure no one just uses nonskid steer and techniques because we had that one year. [It’s] a place where I can do work without being paid, but gain experience instead.

Q: How did you get into robotics? A: I got into coding when I was in seventh grade. The robotics club [at South East] had been basically wiped out, the rest of the people

By Rosangel Flores Rubio & Wisdom Konu Q: What do you enjoy most about robotics? A: I enjoy the competitions mostly, [they’re] a really fun time and we actually get to see what our code and what our robot does in action. I’ve become much more proficient at coding [ever since] joining this club, it has been a great skill to learn. I like learning more about robotics and engineering in general, and I’ve

[had] just left the club. I ended up having to be a coder because we only had one [other] coder at the time.

Q: What are your greatest strengths in robotics or what strengths does robotics amplify?

A: It amplifies my ability to remember things, my ability to come up with new ideas, and [learning]

how to take advantage of rules.

Q: Are you hoping to go into an engineering field in the future? A: Yes, specifically Aerospace. When I was around 12, there was a program in the airport and I got to be in a plane. [It was the] best thing ever I figured why not build [one]?

MARA MAAS

made a few friends too. I would definitely say the biggest takeaway for me has been the increased knowledge.

Q: What drew you to robotics?

A: The main reason I joined it was because of my internship last summer, where I worked with Python. We work with Java here, but [working with Python] made me realize how much learning coding would benefit me. I figured joining robotics would be a good way to do that.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in robotics? Are you hoping to go into the engineering field in the future? A: I am going into the STEM field, specifically mathematics. I am thinking about getting a computer science minor, so I want more experience [with] coding in general. I like robotics because it’s a cool activity that I’ve done. I did FIRST LEGO League [when] I was in the sixth grade.

That kind of opened my eyes to the world of robotics a little bit

ALYSSA WASMUND

By Rosangel Flores Rubio & Wisdom Konu

Q: What do you enjoy most about robotics? A: My favorite thing is all these people that I get to work with and have fun with. We have a wonderful community that we’ve created for ourselves, and these are people that not only I get to do robotics with and make an amazing robot with, but I also get to hang out and talk with [them] outside of robotics and be friends with [them]. My favorite part is having friends again and joining a club after COVID-19.

Q: Would you say that’s the reason you stay in robotics? A: It’s part of it. [The other] part of it is I’ve been a STEM person since I was a little kid [who] thought chemistry was the coolest thing ever. But getting to join robotics has opened up that hobby for me again where I can actually do really fun STEM things and learn how to do things like coding and building without the pressure of grades. At first I joined because I thought it would be really fun, but now it feels like a sport.

I’m in it because I’m competitive and I want to win. It’s been so much fun to do competitions. I’m not much of a stem person anymore, but I’m seeing

sides of myself that I haven’t seen in years and I’m feeling like a little kid messing with a robot again.

Q: How has robotics helped you in your personal life? A: Because of COVID-19 I had lost a lot of personal friends and relationships, [but] joining Robotics has given me friends again. They’re not just people that I see at school, or I work with. It’s people that I can actually talk to, we talk about things that aren’t work related or school related, we go out as friends to the mall or something. I feel like this the biggest thing Robotics has done for me is it has given me a communi-

and I liked that, it’s been kind of nice to get back into it. It’s an activity that I enjoy that will eventually help me in my future.

Q: How does it feel knowing that you’re going to be a senior on the team next year? A: It’s really scary.

I’m not at all in the state of mind for that yet. I do think I’m somewhat prepared for it and I’m excited to take that next step and go to college, but I’m really liking where I’m at right now.

ty, a team, and a support system. I feel like I have something to do again, COVID-19 decimated most of us, so getting to do robotics has given me a purpose again.

Mock Trial Begins New Case As the new season begins, students in mock trial begin work on a new trial

By Greta Stanier Students in Mock Trial anticipated the release of this year’s case, excited to get working after last year’s success. While the case came out in late December, the mock trial teams met on Fridays during the first half of the year to build their experience.

“We like to get students together and basically work on mock trial skills like understanding the rules of evidence, how to maybe build and de-

velop a character if you’re going to be a witness,” Jason Schumman, one of the mock trial coaches said.

This year, the mock trial program consists of 5 teams, and the program gained many new students, as well as added two coaches. “[5 teams is] the most we’ve ever had, and we have around 35 students completely new to the program,” Schumann said. “It’s been exciting to continue to see growth in our program.”

Last year, the teams practiced and competed on Zoom. This year, teams are practicing in person, and will most likely be competing in person as well.

“When you’re in person, there are certain things that you have to do in terms of your movement that can’t really be captured on Zoom,” Schumann said. “We’ve worked a little bit more intentionally on body language and posture, aspects of [mock] trial that

are very important when competing in person.”

As the teams prepare for competition in March, Schumman is looking forward to seeing creativity and growth within the teams.

“Every team breaks apart and comes up with their own unique take on the case,” Schumann said.

“We get to see the various ways in which the teams have thought through the problem and how they want to present the narrative.”

ABOVE: Alice Boerner ’22, Maria Volkman ’22, and Izzy Jurgens ’22 attend a mock trial practice. PHOTO BY SOPHIA WAGNER

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

A9 NEWS

From Thought to Plastic: 3D Printing At City High City High students have been transforming ideas into plastic with the Library’s 3D printer

ABOVE: Ferguson Ward ‘22 prepares to start the printer. PHOTO BY FORREST ESTES

By Forrest Estes 3D printing is the process of making items out of plastic by first making them in a 3D modeling software before slowly printing them out of plastic filament one layer at a time. The printer has sat dormant until recently, as students have begun to make

things for their personal and school projects.

“I think it’s really good because 3D printing is a skill that you can use for not just a hobby, but as a career or for your classes. I think it’s cool that people are using it” said Ferguson Ward ‘22.

Ward is a member of Raw Bacon, the robotics team. Near the start of the year, the

robotics team rediscovered the printer when they needed more printed parts for their robots. This rediscovery led to widespread use.

“I don’t think anyone knows where to start, it’s a learning curve that never really stops. Don’t think that you don’t know enough because it’s really easy to learn,” Ward said. Ellen Land who runs the tech

office has been helping students use the 3D printer and encourages anyone interested in using the printer to stop into the library.

“I think students using it is awesome because that’s what it’s there for, it’s meant to be used,” Ellen Land said.

New Club Provides Collaborative Space for Developing Coding Confidence Seniors establish Computer Science Club to provide support for personal coding projects

By Haileigh Steffen Students are encouraged to drop by room 1210 on Thursdays from 3:00-5:00 pm for the Computer Science Club, new to City High. Club founders Raven Levitt ‘22 and Sullivan Hall ‘22 report that their club intends to provide a supportive structured time to progress the personal coding projects of students. Levitt and Hall are considering incorporating lessons on a variety of coding topics in future meetings. “[In Computer Science Club], members can expect the chance to participate in optional opportunities such as game jams and hacking competitions,” Hall said. “We hope to cover topics such as writing efficient code, career resources, and computer science scholarships.”

Hall stresses the importance of gaining a basic computer science background to succeed in many industries in the future. According to club sponsor Danelle Knoche,

computer science is becoming more prevalent in secondary schools. Iowa public K-12 schools must offer a computer science elective next academic year, according to a new statewide mandate House File 2629.

The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) will implement introductory computer science courses at the junior high and high school levels.

“Most professions [in the future] will be looking for some foundation in computer science,” Knoche said. “It’s even starting to be required in fields beyond the typical [fields].”

The Computer Science Club had its first meeting Thursday, January 13th. Students have so far responded positively to the club’s general atmosphere.

“Honestly, [the club] is pretty chill,” David Dix ‘22 said. “I plan to use the Computer Science Club to get together with like-minded people to create things that interest me, like video games.”

ABOVE: Ben Brown ‘22 collaborates on Javascript code with other students during the first official meeting. PHOTO BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN

A10 OPINION

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Little Hawk Journalism Staff Executive Editors Aala Basheir Haileigh Steffen

Digital Execs

Rebecca Michaeli & Sophia Wagner

News Editors

Rebecca Michaeli, Alice Boerner & Callista Robertson

Feature Editor Greta Stanier

Sports Editors Max Berry-Stoelzle & Lauren Koch

Opinion Editors Isaac Bullwinkle & Julius Perez

A&E Editor Sophia Wagner Anastacia Laux

Culture Editor Araminta Siegling

Efforts at Educational Censorship Attempt to Maintain Status Quo LH STAFF EDITORIAL

Photo Editors Anna Gayley & Rachel Marsh

Art Editor

Rosangel Flores Rubio

Copy Editors

Araminta Siegling, Alice Boerner, Callista Robertson, & Isaac Bullwinkle

STAFF

Matisse Arnone, Oliver Booth, Frances Bottorff, Ava Brewer, Sophia Brenton, Kaitlyn Brown, Isaac Crawford, Jack Degner, Marina Escandell, Forrest Estes, Benjamin Horwitz, Ash Jimenez, Rachel Johnson, Tristan Johnson, Kaelyn Langdon, Wisdom Konu, Diego Loria-Eivins, Anastacia Laux, Sophia Lusala, Parker Max, Oliver Palmer, Lulu Roarick, Sebastian Robertson, Noah Seebeck, Coleman Shumaker, Tommy Simmons, Eviann Smith, Aaron Stalkfleet, Lucy Thompson, Jacob Williamson

Mission Statement The Little Hawk, student journalism newspaper and website of City High School, aims to inform, educate and entertain readers. LH journalists follow the code of the journalist by seeking truth, doing no harm, being independent, and working toward balance in all news stories. All student voices are enouraged to be part of an LH journalism class. To join the class talk to your guidance counselor today.

Letters to the editor may be submitted to: LittleHawkPage@gmail.com ICCSD Equity Statement It is the policy of the ICCSD not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity,veteran status, disability, or socioeconomic status in itseducational programs, activities, or employment practices.

If you believe you have(or your child has) been discriminated against or treated unjustly at school, please contact the Equity Director at: 509 S. Dubuque Street (319) 688-1000

Lead Writers Isaac Bullwinkle and Frances Bottorff Education censorship is a symptom of a greater problem of always maintaining the status quo YES: 14 NO: 0

P

romised in the ideals of American principles is freedom. This includes freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom of information.

We love boasting about our abundance of freedoms, available in America and nowhere else. These freedoms are currently under attack, a symptom of our country’s issue of always maintaining the status quo.

Now, in the contentious battle over education seen in Iowa and several other states, freedom is being attacked and struck down by conservatives touting themselves as the heroes saving American children from the obscene teachings of Critical Race Theory and teaching white children to hate their skin color, two things that are absolutely not taught in any schools in this country. Additionally, efforts to remove books about gender and sexuality from school libraries are being made right now, in Iowa and across the country.

School districts in the central region of Iowa have started taking steps to review books and potentially remove them from libraries.

West Des Moines, Indianola, Johnston, Waukee, Urbandale, Ankeny. These are places that are stripping students of their inherent right to educate themselves. Books like “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teen Speaks Out” have been reviewed by committees and are under evaluation to see if they should be taken off the shelves.

Parents allege to be concerned that their children are being exposed to inappropriate topics, but this is just their excuse for going after novels with LGBTQIA+ themes. Their reasoning is rooted in homophobia. If the relationships depicted were heterosexual (as they are in several books that have never been questioned in school libraries), no one would be saying anything.

Senate Study Bill 3080 is not what Re-

publicans claim it to be. Not only does it require the titles to all books being shared with students, but also all media items such as articles and videos with online links provided.

What is most important to note is the flowchart the bill hopes to implement. Governor Kim Reynolds is calling for a flowchart to be made that shows the order in which parents can request books to be removed from the school library. The “transparency” they want so badly is an effort to extract diversity from schools and keep their children in a bubble where everyone is white, straight, Christian, and cisgendered.

However, this particular situation is simply a specific issue caused by a greater problem: By intentionally leaving out America’s countless evils, education in this country is and has always been designed to leave students as patriots and lovers of our country.

Considering the amount of domestic and international injustices conveniently left out of school curriculums, why wouldn’t they?

Why are heinous acts committed by the United States so subtly avoided in our history classes? Why didn’t we learn about CIA-supported military coups in South America?

Why didn’t we learn about Japanese internment camps during World War II? Why didn’t we learn about America’s imperialist motives for entering Vietnam and Iraq? Why are conservative lawmakers creating legislation that will prevent us from learning about

America’s egregious problems of systemic racism?

The education system hyper-fixates on pieces of America’s history that paint us as the “good guys.” We make sure to spend ample time on topics in which we supposedly did the right thing, and little time on controversial issues where the US stance is more contentiously disputed. Our education is always coming from a Western perspective, leading to a one-sided and often heavily biased view of historical and current events, often in favor of whatever actions were taken by the United States. Conservative legislators want to maintain this dynamic.

Censorship legislation being pushed today is simply how our country is responding to the demand to implement issues of race and sexuality into education. It’s always the same sentiment: education in this country is biased towards whiteness, heterosexuality, and patriotism.

We cannot afford to stand by and allow education in this country to continuously bias towards the status quo. Our teachers must include diverse topics into their curriculum however they can. Our administrators must resist censorship and encourage implementation of ideas that weren’t previously taught. As students, we must do everything we can to educate ourselves on the issues that those in power want to prevent us from being exposed to.

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

OPINION A11

The Gender Neutral Restroom is in Danger of Being Closed Students misusing the gender neutral restroom have compromised one of the only safe spaces for every student

By Ash Jiménez City High’s gender neutral restroom has a problem. Initially pushed for by Bihotza James-Lejarcegui, who graduated in 2018, the restroom is intended to be safe for anyone to use, particularly those who don’t feel comfortable using other restrooms. Genderqueer students often don’t feel comfortable using a men’s or women’s room, so this one is intended to provide a place for those students. However, this place is often compromised by students who misuse it.

Some students find this restroom a convenient place to vape or smoke, without considering the smell they leave behind in the restroom. Of course, this problem isn’t necessarily confined to the gender neutral restroom, but it puts this restroom at risk.

Collectively, the school does not care about the gender neutral restroom. Instead of addressing the true problem of students smoking, it’s common for the gender neutral restroom to be locked without any explanation or notice. After over a year of advocacy, GLOW club ensured that this is no longer the default solution to students smoking, but after all this uncertainty, it has started to happen again.

Along with getting locked, the gender neutral restroom seems neglected in

ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES RUBIO

terms of maintenance. Half of the stalls do not have fully working locks. Additionally, this restroom is formerly a men’s room, meaning there are only 4 stalls.

The restroom is misused by students and neglected by staff. But the solution can’t be that we don’t have gender neutral restrooms. Having gender neutral restrooms is important. According to GLSENs most recent school climate report, 45.2% of responding students avoid using restrooms at school because they are uncomfortable with the gendered spaces, and even then 28.4% of

responding students report being prevented from using the restroom aligned with their gender identity.

We need gender neutral restrooms.

However, they must be treated just the same as other restrooms. Letting people think that gender neutral restrooms come second to the gendered restrooms is letting people make them unsafe. If someone is caught smoking in the gender neutral restroom, the student must face the exact same consequences as they would for smoking in any other restroom. If students report issues with

the gender neutral restroom, it should be treated with the same urgency as an issue in any other restroom. We cannot treat the gender neutral restroom differently.

Students of any identity have the right to feel safe in their school, and this includes the restrooms. Nobody has the right to make them feel unsafe using the restrooms. We must demand that these restrooms are protected and maintained the same way that gendered restrooms are. If they are not, then we can never hope to claim that City High is a safe place for all students.

Hickory Hill Isn’t Going to be Ruined A rezoning proposal has been approved for a plot of land in Hickory Hill south of N. Scott Blvd.

The plan is to construct a senior living facility on the land

By Julius Perez I had been on a wintery walk through the snow littered trails in the woods of the park when I saw the wire fence and sinister “PRIVATE PROPERTY, NO TRESPASSING” signs. I stared in disbelief at the perimeter of a beloved Hickory Hill field, and my heart dropped. I had just been cross country skiing through the rolling pasture last weekend, how could this be happening?

Hearing the news of an approved rezoning for a development on that land I went into a frenzy, scouring for others in the community who shared my disdain for what was to come of such a lovely part of the park.

Actual further research changed everything, I started to become skeptical of my own views when I could find no public outcry from Friends of Hickory Hill, an organization of volunteers dedicated to preserving Hickory Hill. Upon getting into contact with a member of the organization and Anne Russetts, a senior urban planner in Iowa City, who

provided me with the report for the rezoning, all preconceived notions I had about this development were dissolved.

Instead of contributing to the ruin of Hickory Hill this development would provide and secure the future of one of Iowa City’s only wilderness ‘oases’.

The land being discussed is a 49 acre field west of N. 1st Ave and south of N. Scott Blvd. Some enjoyers of the park, including myself, were under the impression that this land was legally part of Hickory Hill and city land, however that is not the case. Axiom Consultants and Nelson Development, the parties involved with the project, plan to construct a 120-bed senior living facility on the land. Friends of Hickory Hill, despite protest against previous iterations of the rezoning proposal, fully support this project, a statement they released on facebook says, “We, the Board of Friends of Hickory Hill Park, support the development plan as proposed by Nelson Construction and Development.”

This may sound surprising until you

get the full picture.

“Our support is strong but contingent on the dedication of the proposed land donation to the City and its incorporation into Hickory Hill Park. We commend Nelson C&D for its community- and environmental-mindedness in creating this revised plan and offering land to the City for permanent open space.”

While the facility does swallow up nearly 10 acres of the plot, the proposal triumphantly includes donating 38.54 acres of the land to the city to be dedicated for public open space and an expansion of Hickory Hill, a small sacrafice to be made to increase the longevity of the park. The city found this to be a 21% expansion of the park. Proactively protecting the land and Hickory Hill, as now the land is in city hands, and the likeness of more development on it in the future is far less likely.

Iowa City has an affordable housing problem, housing wages in Iowa have risen over 25% since 2009 while the average renter is making 16% more

than they were more than a decade ago.

Senior living facilities with reasonable rates for living would be of huge benefit to the community. However, the construction of another Oaknoll East type senior independent living would not be part of the solution (Oaknoll East is the senior living facility directly across the street from the plot). According to the Johnson County Senior Housing Guide, the rates for one person monthly fees at an Oaknoll Retirement Community apartment are $2,127- $3505.

An affordable dwelling, as defined by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, is one that the occupants can afford for 30% less of their income. So, for this to be affordable housing, a single senior resident would have to be raking in more than $7,000 a month, and this is just pertaining to the minimum price for a single person.

So as this project has a lot of benefits, including building more much needed senior housing, it does not address the affordable housing crisis Iowa City is experiencing.

A&E A12

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Show Choir and Jazz Combo Return to Live Performances

Whit Jury ‘23, Ava Cross ‘23, and Mia Deprenger ‘22 in “A Wonderful Day Like Today.”

PHOTO BY OLIVER PALMER

By Sophia Wagner, Matisse Arnone, & Mary Cate Pugh

A

fter twenty-one months of restrictions due to COVID-19, the music department returned to live performances in December 2021. In January, show choirs will participate in their first competition since early 2020 at Linn-Mar High School. Both the show choirs and jazz bands have competitions through the winter months.

“I am super excited to be back competing after two years away,” Nora Gibson ‘23, who is in Jazz Ensemble, said.

The Winter Show on December 11th was the first live performance since the pandemic started. Put on annually, the show features both of the show choirs and two jazz bands as well as various special acts.

“It’s refreshing to come back in, be with people, and do something that you love again,” Jake Roth ‘22, a member of the 4th Ave show choir, said.

The music department has faced many challenges during the past two years due to the pandemic. Performers have been met with online and socially distanced rehearsals, no public performances, masked singing and playing, and a skewed sense of community.

“Last year, we couldn’t do show choir [shows] at all,” Roth said. “We couldn’t perform. We couldn’t sing at all when we were dancing.”

Choir director Tyler Hagy believes the challenges have run deeper than just masking logistics. The pandemic has caused the entire music community to be more disjointed, something they are still recovering from.

“I think probably the biggest thing that we’ve seen that carried through has been challenges with enrollment,” Hagy said.

“Getting people interested again and remembering about it again has been a challenge for us.”

Despite the setbacks, music students are

TOP LEFT: 4th Avenue’s first song, “A Wonderful Day Like Today” BOTTOM LEFT: 4th Ave in “Crazy Train” TOP RIGHT: Charisma perform their last song, “Lost at Sea.” PHOTOS BY OLIVER PALMER excited to be back to performing in front of a live audience.

“We still had to wear masks, so it’s not back to how it was two years ago,” Gibson said. “But it’s good to be back.”

While a feeling of true normalcy still remains far away, students and directors alike believe that progress is already being made to get there.

“I think the students that we have are very happy to be together again, and I also think they feel like they are connected again to the group,” Hagy said.

Since the first winter performance, the choir and combo have gone on to compete as well as hold “Choirs for a Cause” at City High. This was the first year the event was

held at City High, and the school was joined by two other choirs visiting from West High. “[Choirs for a Cause] was hard in some ways because when you get more people in the audience, the air is thicker and sometimes it’s harder to breathe with our masks.

But I think we did our best, and I’m really glad about that,” Roth said. “I’m really proud of both our show choirs and combo!”

After a lack of performances the previous years, students are happy to return to a regular competition schedule.

“Everything fell into place at the first competition, and we all remembered the little traditions that we do,” 4th Ave member Lucy Corbin ‘22 said. “It was nice to be back in that supportive community.”

ABOVE: Members of Jazz Ensmble performing at the Winter Show. PHOTO BY MAX BERRY-STOELZLE

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

A&E A13

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:

Alondra Escorcia Empowers Female Bodies Through Her Artwork

ABOVE: Alondra Escorcia ‘22 paints art inspired by her culture and advocacy against fatphobia. PHOTO BY MARINA ESCANDELL

By Marina Escandell The oil paints blend together as Alondra Escorcia ‘22 glides her brush across a canvas nearly as tall as herself. Vibrant colors and brushstrokes compose the bodies of women, creating a style recognizable and unique to her. While working on her latest piece, she explains her origin as an artist and how many aspects of her identity come through in her paintings.

“I came out of the womb drawing,” she said.

Escorcia emphasizes the importance of representation in art; one that is not centered around eurocentric beauty and thinness. During quarantine, she fell in love with drawing and painting bodies, especial-

ly curvier and larger ones. She started with cially because there can be a lot of trauma painting her own around the same time she between moms and their daughters conbegan to feel secure in her own skin. cerning weight and body image,” she said.

“I learned to become Through her jourmore confident. I wanted to “I learned to become ney as an artist, she has express and put more attento address issues more confident. I want- learned tion to women’s bodies within society in her own way. ed to express and out sexualizing them. Which She does this through the is why cultural identity goes of her own experiput more attention to lens into my art. Thinness is reences and perspectives ally valued. Growing up I women’s bodies without while learning from other did deal with a lot of presartists of color that influsexualizing them.” sure from my older sister ence her.

ALONDRA ESCORCIA and mom due to that. It’s “I know that fatphobia CITY HIGH SOPHOMORE something that a lot of othis rooted in racism,” she ers, specifically Latinas, face. said, “So I think being And so I think I also kind of took it upon a fat Latina is seen much worse compared myself to make my art racially diverse, espe- to a fat white woman. I follow a couple of

brown women on Instagram who also do art. I love the way that they tribute and incorporate flowers from Mexico, and they incorporate their culture. I paint a lot of self portraits, so I guess that’s a way of expressing my culture.”

Escorcia plans to take art into her future.

While apprehensive about turning her passion into a career, she plans to work with high school students.

“I definitely have internalized classism but I want to be an art teacher because I can incorporate art into it. I also enjoy talking to people and I think high schoolers are a lot smarter than people think. I like the idea of being able to talk to students about art; it seems really interesting,” she said.

A14 A&E

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Corridor Jazz Project Hosts City High City High’s Jazz Ensemble performed on Iowa radio station KCCK-FM

ABOVE: City High’s Jazz Ensemble poses for a group photo within the Opus Concert Café. PHOTO COURTESY OF AARON OTTMAR

By Julius Perez Manny Kaine ‘22 had wild eyes as he belted out his solo, his bluesy phrases filling the jazz club-esque room. It seemed as if he was blowing with his whole body, pushing all the air from his lungs through the saxophone and into the cool red and blue lights that emanated from the ceilings and walls.

A camera operator leaned closer and closer to Kaine with every booming riff, bearing down on his horn, lens barely feet away.

“I think it went really well,” Molly Riepe ‘23 said. “We were a bit nervous and thrown off for our first take, but then once we got more comfortable with the surroundings and all the recording equipment and every-

thing I think we sounded a lot better.”

The Corridor Jazz Project is a recording and performance opportunity provided to high school bands in Iowa by KCCK-FM. Directors of each band choose a guest artist to record with the band for the project.

The professional setting and ambience of the Opus Concert Café combined with having an accomplished jazz musician play with the band made this performance different for some members of City High’s Jazz Ensemble.

“This was more serious [than other performances],” Ashley Kelly ‘23 said. “ I think everyone felt that in the room.”

This was Jazz Ensemble’s second show of the year, the only other being the Win-

ter Show in December. “I think the performance on Wednesday night was a lot better than the Winter Show,” Riepe said. “We just had more time to prepare and we were more mentally ready for what we were going to be playing.”

This jazz season, the Ensemble is taking extra steps to better prepare for competitions and get tighter as a band.

“We’re really trying to make sure the smaller parts are fitting together correctly and sorting out all those minor details,” Riepe said. “Sectionals can really help with that.”

In previous years, Jazz Ensemble has been an award winning band, with alumni going on to study and/or play jazz and mu-

sic in college. Some students feel the weight on their shoulders when trying to fill the shoes of a high achieving band.

“I feel like there’s definitely a little bit of unspoken pressure. As a freshman, I know that I definitely looked up to the band that year. And they were really good… I remember talking to people who are in the same section as me freshman year and wanting to be as good as them,” Kelly said.

However, director Aaron Ottmar has made it clear that it is their responsibility just to be the best band they can be. “[Ottmar] definitely reassured us,” Riepe said. “I think he’s aware that past bands have been really good, but he also knows that we can be a great band.”

Music Department Begins Spring Musical Directors introduce students to the upcoming spring musical, “Big Fish”

By Sophia Wagner There was a quiet bustle as students took their seats at this week’s introductory meeting for City High’s spring musical, Big Fish.

The meeting was led by director Troy Peters, who teaches English and acting classes at the school.

“I was really happy with the number of people that showed up,” Peters said. “We’ve got a great group of freshmen through seniors that seem to be interested.”

Joining Peters in direction is Flint Hawes, who will be leading the music component of the show. Hawes, who studied piano in college and is now the accompanist for the City High choirs, is excited to begin work on Big Fish.

“I’m looking forward to developing relationships with the musical students and passing down information that I’ve learned through my career to help shape the performance,” Hawes said.

Peters adds to this excitement, sharing how once practice begins, the process for preparing the performance can be intense.

“I am really excited about listening to the music and getting the vocal rehearsals going,” Peters said. “It’s going to be quite a

challenge — there are quite a few big songs.

That’s what I’m most looking forward to.”

On top of the professional direction provided by City High staff, there are also student leaders who will take charge of certain aspects of the show. Drama Board dance captains Alice Boerner ‘22 and Whit Jury ‘23 will help lead the choreography of Big Fish. The dances themselves will be choreographed by City High alum Thomazin Jury.

As part of the audition process, optional dance auditions were conducted due to the heavy amount of choreography within the show. To prepare, the dance captains held a Dance Workshop after school on January 19 in order to help students feel more confident in their audition.

“It is a tough [dance combination] for people to learn for the audition,” Jury said.

“So with the dance workshop, we are hoping to help everyone see it is not quite as daunting as it may seem. It is not required, but it is definitely encouraged. It will help a lot.”

On Friday, February 4, students anxiously paced the halls of the music wing, awaiting the cast list. Now, selected actors begin the preparation for the upcoming musical, Big Fish.

ABOVE: Charlie Faden ‘22 inspects a “Big Fish” flyer for details. PHOTO BY SOPHIA WAGNER

SPORTS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

ABOVE: Coach Bill McTaggart talks to the referee. PHOTO BY TOMMY JUNE SIMMONS GIRLS BASKETBALL

Coach Bill McTaggart Wins his 500th Career Game

By Lauren Koch Bill McTaggart is entering his 23rd year as the City High girls basketball coach. In early December, he led the girls to victory against Cedar Rapids Jefferson, earning his 500th career win as a basketball coach. McTaggart explains what 500 wins means to him.

“It means I’ve been around a long time. I’ve had a lot of talented boys and girls that I’ve had the opportunity to coach.”

McTaggart began his coaching career as a boys coach in Texas.

In six seasons, Coach McTaggart earned 116 wins. McTaggart then moved back to his hometown of Iowa City, and began his career as the girl’s basketball head coach at City High. He led the girls to a state championship in 2008, and has taken the girls to 11 additional appearances at the state tournament.

To McTaggart, being a coach is not just about the sport, it’s about building relationships with the players too.

“You have impacts on student athletes’ lives, the memories that will carry over, and the lessons in life that will help them after basketball.”

The girls started off the season with a number eight ranking, but now has risen to a higher ranking by taking down a top 5 team. Upsetting Waterloo West early on in the season, the girls improved to

ABOVE: Eviyon Richardson ‘22 avoids a Liberty defender.

PHOTO BY TOMMY JUNE SIMMONS

a number two class 5A ranking.

Now with a record of ten wins and zero losses, McTaggart recounts why he believes the team has found early success this year.

“I think they believe in one another and keep getting better week by week. The sky’s the limit, because I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball yet. I think their togetherness has been a huge asset to being successful”.

Senior captain Andie Westlake is entering her fourth year

as a member of the girls basketball team. Westlake comments on Coach McTaggart’s main focuses that have helped the team find success.

“One of McTaggart’s biggest focuses this season is getting the ball inside more on offense. Especially with Bella now, he emphasizes getting it the paint, because the three-pointers are a shot we’re going to have. Getting it inside helps get our offense moving”, said Andie Westlake.

Senior Bella Cooley transferred from Texas this year. Now a varsity starter, the 6’3 center leads the team in blocks.

While City High has proven their offense dominance, Coach McTaggart has also put emphasis on improving the Little Hawk’s defense.

“I’d say another one of his focuses is working to better our defense overall, we do a lot of drills in practice to improve our rebounding and communication.

By building on our defense, it can help us flow into our offense better”, said Andie Westlake.

Looking ahead, McTaggart discusses his goals for the future.

“Ultimately my goal is that we make it to the state tournament, win three games up there, and then win our conference. If we win our conference this year, that would be the ninth year in a row.

But, I think if we take things day by day, those goals will take care of themselves.”

A16 SPORTS

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT:

Eviyon Richardson

ABOVE: Eviyon Richardson ‘22 dribbles the ball down the court in the game against Cedar Falls PHOTO BY TOMMY JUNE SIMMONS

By Ben Horwitz, Jacob Williamson, and Aaron Stalkfleet

I

n 2021, City High Women’s Basketball continues its tradition of greatness by adding to their total record over the past 4 seasons, now having 79 wins to only 8 losses. After a slight drop-off in an awkward 2020 covid-riddled season, the women’s basketball team has retained its spot as a top 5A team in the state. Senior Eviyon Richardson gives her thoughts about the team’s success along with her plans after high school.

Richardson began playing basketball around the age of 7 when she moved to Iowa City from Waterloo.

She was previously into music but was looking for more to do, and basketball did just that.

“I wanted something more to do so I started playing basketball,” Richardson said. “Ever since then, I just really liked the game. I’m a competitive person, so I feel like it just kind of stuck with me.”

Through playing basketball, she met multiple of her City High teammates when she was in elementary school. Such close relationships with her teammates are a big part of her motivation and are an important part of her growth on and off the court.

“We’ve been together since elementary school so we’re kind of like a family,” Richardson said. “They hold me accountable and it helps me take re-

TOP LEFT: Eviyon Richardson ‘22 prepares to shoot a free throw in the game against Dubuque Senior TOP RIGHT: Eviyon Richardson ‘22 looks to pass to a teammate in the game against Waterloo East PHOTOS BY TOMMY JUNE SIMMONS AND ANNA GAYLEY

sponsibility for my actions. They have always motivated me as a student and an athlete.”

When asked about the reasons behind City’s success, Richardson put emphasis on a change in mentality and community, as the players and coaches have practically stayed the same. This trust shared between teammates is a big part of City High’s success this season.

“I think this team trusts each other more than last year. The team effort mentality has changed, we are more patient with each other and play more as a team. We’ve had a good start to the season because we have played as a family and as a team.”

Richardson is used to being a part of a top team in the state, as she was a part of two

teams that competed in the state tournament her freshman and sophomore year. Taking a lead role as a scorer has been something she has developed as she played throughout high school, as she grew confidence and stepped into a bigger role as an upperclassmen.

“I’ve always had the ability, but now I have the physical size and confidence too,” said Richardson. “I wasn’t as confident during my freshman and sophomore years because I was playing alongside three Division one commits. Being in a versatile position, I think that now I’ve been shooting more and showing my full potential.”

When asked about her personal goals for this season, Richardson was quick to respond. As usual, City High Women’s Bas-

ketball has their eyes on a state title.

They have not won a title since 2008, although constant success has allowed them to get close multiple times in the past five years.

“I’m hoping that we’ll get a state title,” Richardson said. “That’s the big picture right now. We’re just trying to take one game at a time and focusing on executing the little things, so we can be the team that we’re capable of.

I’ve also focused on school more to prepare myself for college.”

Richardson also has future basketball plans, as she is committed to Nebraska-Omaha. She is looking to continue to improve her game to succeed on the next level throughout her last high school season. Aspects of her game need improvement to succeed at the collegiate level, and she touches on a few important parts of her game.

“Just making sure I’m in good shape, learning to be more of a leader by guiding other people. From a vocal standpoint, I’m preparing myself by communicating as a team on offense. I want to be ready for that college environment.

When asked about why she chose Nebraska-Omaha, Richardson talked about how comfortable she feels with the program. Similar to the City team, she is ready to step into another tight-knit group of players and coaches.

“The family environment and the fact that it’s not too far from home.

I also love the coaching staff and I know some of my teammates already.”

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THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT:

CLAIRE BROWN Claire Brown, a multisport athlete, competed the mat this winter, along with the first ever girls wrestling team at City High.

By Lauren Koch

the year. Claire is extremely hardworking and she is already starting to figure out how ith the addition of a to work hard in wrestling to improve. It’s girls wrestling team at showing in her matches, but also in practice City High this year, too. She’s starting to look more comfortable many brave girls have in different positions in wrestling”. stepped into a brand Claire describes her experiences during new sport and found much success this sea- the wrestling practices. son. Among these athletes is junior Claire “They’re intense. There is a lot of conBrown, who finished her season strong with ditioning. With wrestling, you don’t have a record of 11-2. time to walk through the motions because Being a manager of the boys wrestling our season is so short, and we have so many team since 8th grade, wrestling has always back-to back meets.” had a presence in Claire Brown’s life. HowDespite the physical challenges of wresever, it wasn’t until this year she was truly tling, the girls have been able to continue able to experience the sport. Claire recounts to work hard through their positive team the initial reason she went out for wrestling. environment.

“I think the biggest thing was just that “Everyone always supports everyone I wanted to stay in shape for soccer, since during every match, and when somebody basketball wasn’t really my thing last year”. does something good or bad, there’s alClaire has been ways somebody a varsity starter on there to support the soccer team you”, said Claire since her freshman Brown. year. When comCoach Ahlers paring soccer with acknowledges wrestling, wrestling Claire’s leaderis a very different ship and encourexperience. aging efforts as a “Wrestling is teammate. only six minutes “Claire sets a and soccer is 90 good example of minutes, and I hard work and would say wresfocus. Just those tling is a lot hardsimple things er. Compared to of cheering for City High Giirls WRESTLING HEAD COACH soccer, it’s just a lot teammates and different, there’s so also helping much more presinstruct them sure on yourself, during a match. and just being fit is totally different.”

When your teammates are doing that, that’s The new program has recruited some a really good feeling, and that’s something brand new coaches to City High. Ryan I’ve seen from Claire a lot this season”.

Ahlers began wrestling in seventh grade, The girls wrestling state tournament and continued all throughout high school. was held January 21-22 at X-Stream arena.

Now, he has stepped into a new role as City Coach Ahlers described his expectations for High’s head coach for girls wrestling.

Claire at the state tournament.

Ahlers recounts his first experiences as a “I just want to see her go out and wrestle wrestling coach. hard in every single match and see where “There was a lot of basic teaching that that gets her. I think if she does that, she’ll coach Jeff Koenig and I had to do which be really happy with her results after the was really fun. I really enjoy that aspect of weekend.” coaching wrestling, because there’s a lot of Although Claire did not end up placing teaching what to do and what not to do in at state, Ahlers acknowledges Claire’s succertain positions. Our team is a group that cess throughout the season.

I think understood that wrestling will be a “Being 11-2 is incredible for this being challenging sport, but they were ready for her first year out. I don’t think Claire has the challenge. Going in knowing that and done little kids wrestling, so to come into still having a positive attitude and a growth a new sport that you’ve never done before, mindset was huge.” that physical, it takes endurance, it takes Coach Ahlers has noticed Claire’s hard muscular strength , and it takes a lot of working attitude in practice this season. mental strength too.”

“From the beginning of the season Iowa is making history this year by offiClaire has been focused on the sport and cially sanctioning girls wrestling as a sport what she can do in the sport, which was by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic really cool to see from the first practice of Union.

W

ABOVE: Claire Brown ‘23 wrestles at the state tournament at XStream Arena. PHOTO

BY ANNA GAYLEY

“Claire sets a good example of hard work and focus. Just those simple things of cheering for her teammates and also helping instruct them during a match. “ RYAN AHLERS

ABOVE: Claire Brown ‘23 attempts to take down her opponent in the tournament at Iowa City West. PHOTO BY AMBER SEATON

ABOVE: Claire Brown ‘23 waits for the next period of the match to begin at the state tournament. PHOTO BY ANNA GAYLEY

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THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11 2022

THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

SPORTS A19

ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES RUBIO

The Dental Dangers of Sports Throughout High School about 57% of students participate in sports, however in some contact sports mouthgaurd usage can get as low as 7%

I

By Max Berry-Stoelzle

njuries in sports are not uncommon, and many end up healing, leaving little trace. However a hit to the teeth usually has more lasting effects, and can end up giving people difficulties throughout their entire life.

In sixth grade, Haileigh Steffen ‘22 chipped one of her teeth when playing soccer during recess at her elementary school.

An incident like this would typically be viewed as minor when compared to other sports related injuries, however, the amount of time and money that went into the injury was anything but. “[It] was a very clean chip, so [the dentists] kept gluing my tooth back on until my mouth was more developed,” Steffen said.

However the more often the chipped part of the tooth was glued back in, the easier it became to break it off again. The constant regluing of the tooth caused it to become crooked which led to Steffen needing braces to fix its alignment even though before the injury it had been predicted that she would never need them.

“It became a hassle to deal with,” Steffen said. “Lots of medical bills over a silly accident from years ago.”

Dr. Ryan Stuntz is a dentist working out of Farley, Iowa. In 2020 he was president of the Iowa Dental Association, and has seen his fair share of sports injuries over the course of his career. “[If ] you get a tooth knocked out, it’s gone for life. So you have ongoing maintenance. You’re going to have to replace it, and

that’s usually expensive. [The price] can be anywhere from a few thousand to five or six thousand dollars to replace a single tooth.

And the odds of that replacement lasting your whole lifetime are very low. You’re probably going to have to have it redone a couple of times,” Stuntz said.

Over one’s lifespan, people only get two pairs of teeth: the primary teeth, which start growing around the age of 6 months and fall out before the age of 12, and the permanent teeth, which replace the primary teeth as they fall out and stay with you for the rest of your life. According to Forbes, the average price of having a permanent tooth replaced with an implant ranges from $3,000 to $4,500.

The way most athletes get a dental injury is through a hit directly to the teeth, or to the bottom of the jaw. This impact can cause chipped teeth, or even completely knock one out. Contact sports such as basketball and soccer often have the highest risk due to the amount of collisions between players. “[Dental hits] happen quite often,” Brennan Swayzer, head coach of the City High Boys Basketball team, said. “At least once a practice [or] twice throughout a game, we’ve got a guy that’s checking an elbow or random shoulder in the mouth area.”

Basketball is one of the sports with the highest chance of dental injuries. This is mainly caused by the amount of collisions with other players in tight areas such as under the hoop. In a survey of Florida high school varsity basketball players, 31% of players surveyed had gotten a dental injury over the course of the season.

This prevalence of dental hits is a large

contrast to the amount of people wearing mouthguards. Studies have shown that in most contact sports, fewer than half of players wear mouthguards, with some sports such as soccer and baseball going as low as 7%.

“I know [mouthguards] work, and I probably should be wearing one, but they are an annoyance. I yell and communicate a lot when I’m playing, and I think a mouthguard would get in the way of that,” Julius Perez ‘23, a member of City High’s soccer team, said.

The effectiveness of mouthguards is something that has been known for many years. In 1962, college football players were required to start using mouthguards, and some studies show this change alone caused the dental injury rate to drop from almost 50% to nearly 1%.

“Just wear a mouthguard,” Stuntz said.

“A typical soft mouth guard will work pretty well, and it’s going to be a little thicker and a little less comfortable than a custom-made one, but for a couple of bucks you might save yourself from losing some teeth.”

Mouthguards aren’t the only preventative measure used in sports. In softball and football, players’ helmets often include built-in face masks to block dangerous hits to the face from the ball or other players.

Dr. Michael J. Kanellis is a professor at the University of Iowa. He works in the department of Pediatric Dentistry, and has been in the practice for almost 40 years.

“If you look at football, initially it didn’t have helmets, face masks, and mouthguards.

As injuries were becoming more and more

prevalent they decided that it was unsafe, and they changed to harder helmets, and made them mandatory. Then they put on the face mask, and continued with a mouth guard,” Kanellis said. “So let’s say that you’re an athlete playing football and you ride your bike to practice, [today] you’re more likely to wipe out on your bike and break your teeth on the way to practice than once you get to practice, put in your mouth guard and put on your helmet.”

However, people only get the protection if they actually wear mouthguards and other equipment while both practicing and competing.

“I remember when I fractured my tooth in wrestling practice in my junior year of high school,” Kanellis said. “[It ended up costing] thousands and thousands of dollars.

If I had just been wearing a mouthguard, that wouldn’t have happened.”

While mouthguards are the most effective way for protecting your teeth, many high schoolers already wear a different kind of tooth protector.

“Ironically, braces are one of the best protectors in the world,” Kanellis said. “You see kids get hit in the mouth and the damage that gets spread out over multiple teeth and then you’re able to pull [the teeth] back into place.”

In general, tooth injuries can be caused by something that is seemingly minor, but can lead to major financial consequences.

“The trick is to get yourself protected before you need it, because if you get hit in the mouth and you don’t have something in there, it’s too late,” Stuntz said.

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THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM FEBRUARY 11, 2022

TOP LEFT: Sydney Wilkes ‘23 wrestles in women wrestling’s first match at the state tournement. TOP RIGHT: Nina Peterson ‘25, Nicole Peterson ‘25, Nabi Emmanuel ‘23, Sydney Wilkes ‘23, Erin Anderson ‘23, Sierra Pruessner ‘24, Sydney McCleary ‘22, Nina Kuhlmann ‘25, Brianna Lopez ‘24 Claire Brown ‘23, Mia DePrenger ‘22, and Kayla Moore ‘23 pose for a photo at the state tournament BOTTOM LEFT: Mia DePrenger ‘22 pins her opponent during her second match at the state tournament in Coralville.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Nabi Emmanuel ‘23 takes down her opponent during her first match at the state wrestling tournament. PHOTO BY ANNA GAYLEY

Girl wrestlers make historic trip to first ever state meet

By Tommy June Simmons

C

ity High’s first-ever girl’s wrestling team competed at the first ever state meet in Coralville at The Xtreme Arena.

There were about 800 girls who registered for the state tournament from schools across Iowa. Next year, the state meet will be officially sanctioned by the IGHSAU. “We think there’s a great foundation in place for the success of this sport and we intend to fully support these Iowa Girls as they continue their pursuit of championships,” Jean Berger, IGHSAU

executive director, said, in a statement. “As the sanctioning process unfolded, the Board was able to quickly approve this new opportunity for our girls and schools across the state. The increase in participation, the growth in youth wrestling and the willingness of our schools to commit to the sport all factored into this decision.”

City High women’s wrestlers, Nina Kuhlmann ‘25, Nabi Emmanuel ‘23, Sydney Wilkes ‘23, Erin Anderson ‘23, Claire Brown ‘23, Sierra Pruessner ‘24, Mia DePrenger ‘22, Nina Peterson ‘25, Nicole Peterson ‘25, Kayla Moore ‘23, Sydney McCleary ‘22, and Brianna Lopez ‘24 competed in the state tournament.

ROWING

City rowers test the waters with Iowa Jr Rowing Team

By Lucy Thompson & Eviann Smith

R

owing is a very uncommon sport leaving not one school in the area to have its own program. Considering this fact, it makes the University of Iowa’s Junior program so much more special to young athletes. The program allows for an excellent opportunity to become closer with other students who all share the same passion. “This setup allows you to meet new people from all the schools in the area because it is a community sport…it is such a great team atmosphere,” Fincham says.

Our very own City High students, Brody Clarke ‘25, Marty Powers ‘25, Leo Partridge ‘25, Landon Griffin ‘24, Madeline Fincham ‘24, Izzy Greving ‘24, Savannah Pisarik ‘24, Liam Clarke ‘22, and Kimberly Marquez ‘22 are all members of a rowing team with the University of Iowa. “I like the team aspect of

this program but also the focus on personal goals. It is very mentally and physically challenging,” Pisarik says. City High does not offer its own rowing program but the University of Iowa has a juniors rowing program for anybody in the area aged 12-18. “My mom was scrolling through Facebook and came across an ad for this program and she said I should give it a try,” Greving exclaims The University of Iowa’s Juniors rowing program practices five days each week and each practice is a couple of hours long. “It is kind of hard and I feel tired every night from it, but it has helped me grow strong,” Greving says. A normal winter practice starts with a couple of laps around an indoor gym followed by dynamic stretching. Next, the rowers will do their workout, if the workout is shorter they will do a quick ab circuit.

Each practice will then end with dynamic stretching. “The workouts are very vigorous and sometimes I want to cry,” Pisarik said.

ABOVE: Iowa community rowers, Savannah Pisarik ‘24, Madeline Fincham ‘24, Liam Clarke ‘22, Izzy Greving ‘24, and Kimberly Marquez ‘22 pose for a photo..

PHOTO BY ANNA GAYLEY

A few of these rowers traveled to Tennessee for the Head of the Hooch competition in November. For this specific meet, teams did not have to qualify, but that doesn’t mean the competition was weak. The Head of the Hooch is a weekend-long rowing race that gathers rowers from all over the nation.

Brody Clarke ‘25 has only been rowing for two years and he placed 4th in the u15 men’s junior race. “I was so thrilled but I figured I’d do pretty well considering I was a lot stronger than most of the other boys,” Clarke says.

Due to how large this meet was, many athletes felt the effect from nerves, but they were also excited for the opportunity to compete with other programs across the nation.

“Going into the race I was nervous but excited, I just wanted to get it over with,” says Marquez. City High’s athletes came to this meet intending to have a good time and to experience what a bigger meet is like. “I would love to do it again just because the energy itself of the race is immaculate,” Marquez said.