Spartan Banner | Spring 2020 by Spartan Banner

Volume 61, Issue 3 • Spring 2020 Brookfield East High School 3305 Lilly Road Brookfield WI • 53005

Editor’s Note

Overcoming Together “Bera, it was unfortunate that school had to be cut short because I had 30 dollars in my lunch account.” - Vivek “Indeed, Vivek. We should dedicate this magazine as a nod towards all the lost lunches. While I do miss being together with everyone, at least I now have a valid excuse to skip class.” - Bera That’s why as Editors-in-Chief, we pushed stories about accomplishments our school community has made in multiple arenas, social initiatives that were necessary in our school environment, and we tried to remember what some of our student body will miss. We wanted this publication to match how the school is reacting to this whole situation. Along the way, we were not sure what direction our search would take us. However, we stayed on our path, in a sincere effort to redefine and bring into light the experiences of all students. To get to this new vision, we had to find a new identity for our publication at home. As a publication, we have looked for ways to redefine the way we reach students. The majority of our staff has been focused on revitalizing the online publication, (www.spartanbanner.com/) to broadcast breaking news events in real-time for the student body. Our social media has taken creative risks in design and made student body coverage a priority to make every Spartan feel apart of every moment. You can watch this idea manifest in our surroundings through the stories in this edition of the Spartan Banner as we reflect on the numerous accomplishments that various teams at Brookfield East have made (pg. 6), the sports and activities seasons that were cancelled (pg. 12), how our school’s PRISM club is helping students (pg. 16), and delving deep into the COVID-19 Pandemic’s impact (pg. 4). As you delve through these pages, we encourage you to take time to appreciate what Brookfield East has meant to us. It can cause variety of responses, but hopefully comes down to a deep love for our school community. Bera Demirbilek & Vivek Srivastava

The Banner Staff 2019-20 EXECUTIVE STAFF Editors-In-Chief Vivek Srivastava Bera Demirbilek Print Director Rishav Kumar Online Director Sydney Munnagle Advertising Director Tessa Jester Social Media Director Maddy Tabaska Data Director Ido Korabelnikov Features Editors Maddie Miller Shagun Singh Lifestyles Editor Rucheng Pan News Editor Jordynn Balducci Sports Editor Catherine Ding Staff Journalists Will Staviski David Jia Henry Irwin Amanjot Kaur Elizabeth Redmond

Rose Knachel Sophia Finn Ariana Collins Anant Jhaveri Emily Zhang

Design Team Audrey Hameister Elizabeth Redmond Spencer Harris David Kernan Advisor Mrs. Lindsay Skatrud

Mission Statement The Spartan Banner is an open forum of student expression that aims to inform, enlighten and enternain the students of the Brookfield East community.

Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor may be submitted to spartanbanner@elmbrookschools.org. Please specify what topic or article you are addressing and limit your letter to 200 words. Include your name and preferred method of contact. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity before publishing your submissions. Please submit your letters in a timely manner.

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While the student body is the primary audience, the staff recognizes the publication is read by faculty, administrators, parents and the Elmbrook community. The Spartan Banner staff reserves the right to write about interesting and relevant material at a local, regional, national and worldwide level. As decision makers for the publication, staff members strive to adhere to the qualities of professional journalism with emphasis on skills defined tby the Journalism Education Association.

Overcoming Together Issue

Table of Contents VOLUME 61, ISSUE 3, Spring 2020

04 06 12 16

Another Side of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Activity Accomplishments of 2019-20 The year 2020 was supposed to be wonderful. Students were looking forward to a new semester of classes, sports, activities, and time with friends. Juniors were looking forward to prom. Seniors were looking forward to an amazing final semester. Though encountering a pretty significant rought patch and coming to an unexpected early close, this past school year hasn’t been a downer from all angles. Brookfield East sports and clubs alike have experienced some of their greatest successes this year, bringing home numerous state titles and awards for the Spartans.

How Coronavirus Changed Brookfield East Every new year begins with the promise of new experiences. Goals are set, standards are raised, the world lives on and history is made. For students at Brookfield East, those senses of renewal were found in the new semester of classes, sports, activities, and time with friends. What they didn’t count on was a worldwide pandemic that had risen out of the blue coming all the way to Brookfield and cutting their experiences short.

LGBTQ+ at Brookfield East PRISM has been a prominent voice for LGBTQ+ issues at Brookfield East. They voice their concerns, and bring awareness to struggles the LGBTQ+ community faces at East, for example, a lack of LGBTQ+ content in the school’s curriculum. Although PRISM has tried to include every student at East, there are still students hesitant in joining. One student, who is not a member of PRISM, shares her experience being LGBTQ+ at Brookfield East. Spartan Banner • Spring 2020 3

Another Side of the Coronavirus Pandemic Written by Elenore Cornelli and Designed by Spencer Harris

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Many students across Wisconsin cheered on April 16th as schools closed for the rest of the year. Not attending school seems to be the dream; however, the inability to attend school physically has revealed how many depend on the school for essentials such as food, technology, and internet security. The Elmbrook School District has made many efforts to support those struggling the most during these unprecedented times. As schools across the nation shift their classrooms online, this leads to a variety of issues for those who depend on the school for necessary resources such as food, internet, and access to printers. In the United States, millions of Americans have been laid off, which causes problems at home when trying to access resources for school. Many students at East depend on the school for stable internet, computer and printer access. Without accessibility to the school, they are left struggling to keep up with the school work, or not able to have any access to it. Melissa Matz said, “If you couldn’t get an internet connection or your stuff fell apart or it just stopped working. I don’t think you really could learn.” Matz said, “We’re trying to then connect with the Pick family, make a call trying to figure out why is it they don’t have connections and some people are embarrassed to say, you know, we can’t afford this stuff or is there just a lack of understanding.” Moreover, many students depend on the school to print. Without printers at home, it can be difficult for students as all their resources are virtual. Matz said, “And you don’t have a printer, you just think of your computer as a book that you can’t write in. And then you just have to do a lot all by hand.” Not only is the pandemic hurting students financially, but schools are also finding virtual learning to be more costly. Matz said, “I’ve been doing a lot of helping teachers get resources. So for example, I’ll use an example from which five classes in French, five mins, cosmetic or has everyone read the

little Prince in French? No, we’re in school. We cannot get the books. So, I went to see if we could afford to buy them. Actually ebooks can be extremely expensive. They can oftentimes be way more than a print book.” The Elmbrook Schools district, like many other school districts around the nation, is working hard to help students left behind in virtual learning. For example, the Appleton Area School District will distribute around 1,2000 Chromebooks and 350 hotspots to families, and the Green Bay Area District has been shipping Scholastic books directly to students’ homes. Matz said, “They are] working to get families connected with some sort of internet connection and I believe they’ve procured more hotspots.” For design: enter a infographic here with the information/contact for if someone is struggling with tech resources (so basically resources for anyone struggling) CollegeBoard is providing free laptops to students who need one Spectrum is offering free internet services for K-12 Students (https://corporate.charter.com) Food security is also a worry coursing through many families. The Elmbrook School District has been providing free meals to every student in the district by extending the Federal Summer Meals Program. This project started on March 30th, and these meals are provided Monday through Friday from 11 am to 12:30 pm. The pick-up locations are at Wisconsin Hills Middle School and Brookfield East High School. Financially, the coronavirus has struck in factors outside of school. The safer-at-home policy has forced hundreds of workers to stay at home for the time being. For those whose parents do not have the luxury of working from home, life these past few days have been a struggle. Even students whose parents were not laid off are still facing the financial impacts of the health pandemic. Part-time student workers who are not deemed essential workers have been sent home for the time being.

income. The Coronavirus Pandemic has impacted society in every aspect of life, perhaps financially being the most profound. As students are out of work, parents may be out of work, and students struggling to connect via virtual learning, these past few months have posed various challenges in and out of school. At a time unlike any other, the community needs to bind together and help everyone walk out of this health pandemic stronger.

1200

ChromeBooks

350 Hotspots

Supplied to families 80.6% of Milwaukee and 88.8% of Brookfield has broadband internet access.

Alyssa Rivera (10) works part-time at Pump It Up. As Pump It Up has temporarily closed, she and her co-workers have lost a source of

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ctivity

Accomplishments Of 2019-20 Written by Emily Zhang and Designed by Rishav Kumar

The year 2020 was supposed to be wonderful. Students were looking forward to a new semester of classes, sports, activities, and time with friends. Juniors were looking forward to prom. Seniors were looking forward to an amazing final semester. Though encountering a pretty significant rought patch and coming to an unexpected early close, this past school year hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been a downer from all angles. Brookfield East sports and clubs alike have experienced some of their greatest successes this year, bringing home numerous state titles and awards for the Spartans. Spartan Banner â&#x20AC;˘ Spring 2020 6

Debate With a history of excellence in debate, Brookfield East did it again with another state champion title. Bera Demirbilek (12) and Vivek Srivastava (12), four year members of the debate team, placed first at the Wisconsin State Debate Tournament in West Bend earlier this year. They competed against debaters from all across the state of Wisconsin and debated a total of eleven rounds to receive the title. Fellow members on the debate team have commented on the duo’s outstanding contribution to the debate team over the past few years. The debate team at Brookfield East is a place to develop public speaking skills, argumentation skills, and learn more about current issues in the world. As of this year, the club had at least 30 active members all of which took part in one of the three debate categories.

The Brookfield East Debate team after the Rufus King Debate Tournament, the first tournament of the season for many debaters on the team. Picture taken by head Debate Coach, Justin Flynn

Ammar Sulemanjee (10), a two year member of the debate team, describes his own experiences in the activity. As a freshman, Sulemanjee joined debate to improve upon his public speaking skills and be more knowledgeable about current events. It was through debate, that Sulemanjee first gained a liking for public speaking. “Before high school, I was horrible at public speaking and got extremely nervous whenever I had to give a presentation.” Sulemanjee says, “Now, because of the repeated practice and application debate has

Nathaneal Ren (9), Xander Ge (12), and David Jia (9) wait for the results of the CFL National Debate Qualifications. Xander Ge and David Jia would go on to qualify for the Lincoln Douglas Category. Picture taken by Debate and Forensics coach, Michael Maier Spartan Banner • Spring 2020 7

After four years of being on the team, Vivek Srivastava (12) and Bera Demirbilek (12) end their high school debate careers as state champions in the Public Forum debate category. Picture taken by fellow debater, Ammar Sulemanjee.

given me, I’ve become much better at my speaking skills. Debate has also given Sulemanjee a place to meet new people. Sulemanjee has connected with fellow members of the debate team and debaters from other schools. Many of whom have helped him grow as a debater.

The Brookfield East Debate team after Demirbilek and Srivastava won the state championshp in the Public Forum debate category. In the center, they proudly hold their trophies with head Debate coach, Justin Flynn.

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Sulemanjee’s debate skills have benefited him beyond the debate setting. Sulemanjee recalls the knowledge he gained from debate has helped him be successful in his 20th century class this year. Sulemanjee says that “debate teaches me skills that I can use at a collegiate level.”

Moving forward, Sulemanjee plans to continue with this activity throughout the rest of highschool. He aspires to bring back another state title for Brookfield East in years to come, just like Vivek and Bera did this past year.

Swimming For the first time in school history, the Brookfield East girls Swim & Dive team took home first place in the Division 1 State Championship meet held in Madison. This unprecedented victory was a product of the team’s hard work and determination throughout the past year. Reilly Tiltmann (11), a member of the team, has been involved with swimming for nearly her entire life. Tiltmann comes from a family of swimmers and started swimming at the young age of six. Surprisingly enough, Tiltmann did not always have a love for swimming. “I hated it,” Tiltmann admits, “I left for a year and tried literally every other sport.” Eventually, Tiltmann came back to the sport and soon grew to love it. Swimming has become a major part of Tiltmann’s life. Whether it be showing up to practice, or competing at meets, Tiltmann dedicates a great deal of her time to swim. “It runs my life,” she says, “I wake up early for practice and then at night I practice again, I basically manage all my time around it.” Her dedication to swim, however, does not go unnoticed. Although Tiltmann is only a junior in high school, she is already well accomplished as a swimmer. Some of Tiltmann’s greatest achievements thus far include making her trial cuts for 100 fly, 100 back, and 100 free as well as committing to college. High school swim has also been a

large part in Tiltmann’s life. State this year was full of successes for Tiltmann. “The first event was the 400 medley relay, and we broke the state record and everyone lost it.” She goes on to describe that she dropped time on her 100 back and missed the state record by only half a second. Tiltmann’s swimming career will not come to an end after high school. “I’m taking it to the collegiate level for sure, and one day I’d really like to go to the world level, like the Olympics,” Tiltmann says. For Tiltmann, the key to her success is determination. “Stick with it and train hard.” She says, “Things may not seem like they will come, but they will.”

Reilly Tiltman (11) and Kamryn Dembny (10) holding the Division 1 State Championship trophy at the Madison Swim Team. This year, the Brookfield East girls Swim & Dive team won the championship for the first time in school history.

Reilly Tiltman (11) swimming for the Elmbrook Swim Club. Through her high school career, Tiltman has accomplished a lot as a swimmer, including making her trial cuts for 100 fly, 100 back, and 100 free as well as committing to college.

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Chess

Although it was cut short this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the chess team still had an unforgettable season. The chess club, an activity open to all grades and levels of experience, is an after school club that meets in the LAUNCH room every Tuesday from 3:305:00. Since the founding of the club in 2016, the chess team has developed into a 30 member club with plenty of successes throughout the years. Glenn Chen (12), a four year captain of the Brookfield East chess team, began playing chess in the first grade and has played for over 12 years now. Chen first started chess when joining the Burleigh Elementary chess club in the first grade. At the time, he “wanted to join only because friends were already in it.” However, the club allowed him to “make lots of good memories” and sparked his love for the game. Upon starting high school, Coach DJ Richeln asked Glenn

Chen and a few others to assemble the Brookfield East chess team. Chen, along with five other players, were first to join the team. Since then, the club has grown significantly.

Glenn says, “During our early days, we were situated in a very isolated room in Mrs. Leupolds’s health room. After gaining 15 new players in the second year, we relocated to the excellence center near the cafeteria and after gaining 13 new players in the 3rd year we finally located to the launch room.” Throughout his years as a captain, Chen’s goal was to win first in the grade championship. Unfortunately, after a year of practice and preparing for the state event in April of 2020, the team’s plans were can-

celled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Chen remains positive about these circumstances. “This devastated us,” Chen says, “But, I feel like even though we didn’t get the result we hoped for, we were successful in trying and preparing for the event.” Overall, Chen believes that “chess is not only a great pastime and hobby, but also helps with brain function, memory and cognitive abilities.” He continued saying that chess has helped him become a better decision maker and made him more attentive as an individual. “Chess is a lifetime sport,” Chen concludes, “As I grow older, I am sure to remember all of my experiences and continue playing this intricate game.”

Brookfield East’s Chess Team scores multiple wins after a long and competitive tournament. Since its foundation in 2016, the B’East Chess Team has developed into a 30 member club.

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Football

For many athletes it is a dream to be able to earn a title at the state level in their sport. For several football players at Brookfield East, this dream has come true, not only once, but twice. Earlier this year, the football team played in its second football finals game in four seasons. With a score of 31-30, the team defeated Waunakee marking its 2nd state championship in Brookfield East history. Tyler Rhode (11), a member of the team, has been playing football since he was in sixth grade. In his sophomore year, he earned a starting spot on the varsity team.

to have won a state title, Rhode replies with “pure happiness.”

Rhode says, “State was a goal for all of us.”

Rhode says, “I thought a lot about all the memories along the way and how all the training has paid off to reach the awesome goal.”

Rhode’s advice for other players and aspiring athletes is particularly positive in a time where optimism is crucial.

Rhode attributes the successes from the past year to his teammates.

Rhode simply says, “Have faith.”

“Knowing everyone wanted the same thing really badly had a group of guys bonding like a family.”

“Do not let anyone or anything stop you from accomplishing what you want.”

As a player on the team, Rhode has built friendships, memories, and developed lifelong skills. Rhode says, “Football has helped me build confidence and leadership skills. It has also made me physically stronger, as well as building a lot of team skills that you can only get from a sport like this.” One of Rhode’s favorite memories thus far is making it to state finals this year. Rhode says, “Everything about state. The bus ride, the pregame practice, even running out of the tunnel was epic.”

Brookfield East Varsity football player Tyler Rhode (11) on the B’East football field after their game. This season, the Brookfield East Football Team had their 2nd state championship in B’East history. Rhode described the win as “pure happiness.” Picture taken by Tim Rhode.

When asked about how it felt Spartan Banner • Spring 2020 11

How Coronavirus Changed Brookfield East Written by Amanjot Kaur and Designed by Isa Zuniga-Meyer Every new year begins with the promise of new experiences. Goals are set, standards are raised, the world lives on and history is made. For students at Brookfield East, those senses of renewal were found in the new semester of classes, sports, activities, and time with friends. What they didn’t count on was a worldwide pandemic that had risen out of the blue coming all the way to Brookfield and cutting their experiences short. The year 2020 was supposed to be wonderful. Students were looking forward to a new semester of classes, sports, activities, and time with friends. Juniors were looking forward to prom. Seniors were looking forward to an amazing final semester. All of that changed when the coronavirus pandemic struck the world. Now, Brookfield East students anxiously wonder whether or not they will be able to return to their schools to finish the year. Even if they do return, things will be different. Activities have been cancelled and delayed. Opportunities and memories will have been lost.

Lexi Penney (12) pole vaulting at a Track and Field tournament from the 2018-2019 school year. This year’s Track and Field season was cancelled, with the indoor season cancellation announcement over the WIAA Twitter. Taken by Wendy Penney.

Brookfield East students who are heavily involved in afterschool activities have had their school year changed permanently. Among these students are high school seniors, athletes, and Forensics, and Unaccompanied Minors. Many students feel loss, but understand that the pandemic is a time to think about the bigger picture and do their part to flatten the curve. Lexi Penney (12) is an active member of East’s Track and Field Team. Track and Field has had their indoor season cancelled, and is most likely going to have their outdoor season cancelled as well. This would also mean that the team banquet would be cancelled. The indoor season’s cancellation was announced to students by the coaches. It was also available on the WIAA (Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association) twitter.

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“I was looking forward to the indoor season because you don’t have to deal with weather conditions, and obviously all the bigger meets like conferences, regionals, sectionals, and hopefully state,” Penney explained. The season’s cancellation had an effect on Penney’s high school career. Her goals for this year included breaking the school record for pole vaulting. She was also affected by the cancellation of other after school activities. “I’m in Acapella and our semi-finals got cancelled, which hit me harder than other things,” she said. Another student whose school year has been deeply affected by the coronavirus is Jenna Ernst (12), who is on Brookfield East’s soccer team. The team’s pre-season camp, tryouts, and season have all been cancelled. Furthermore, the soccer team wasn’t warned of the cancellation until schools shut down. According to Ernst, “it wasn’t really announced. We just got out of school. We were supposed to have pre-season camp the week school was cancelled.” Brookfield East’s athletic department let the soccer team know about the cancellation once the school shut down. The news was especially upsetting for Ernst due to this soccer season being her last.

“I’ve been looking forward to being a senior for four years, and it kinda sucks how we aren’t getting the opportunity to lead the team after our years of work,” Ernst said. She added, “It’s just put my life on hold. A lot of stuff is being cancelled in my last two terms of senior year. Like senior ball, not knowing when you’ll see your friends, and not knowing what’s gonna happen next.”

“Forensics was announced on our team chat on Spond by our coach, Mr. Maier. State was postponed to possibly be online, but that whole situation has yet to be figured out,” Donohue explained.

However, it is not just students in sports who have had their high school career changed. Students in other extracurriculars are also losing opportunities due to the coronavirus. One of these students is Max Donohue (9), a member of both Unaccompanied Minors and Forensics.

The coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented, and has affected everyone. Due to this, Brookfield East’s athletics and activities department has been doing its best to make up for students’ losses. These efforts include rescheduling of events and positive messages for students during virtual learning.

Both UM and Forensics have been trying to find ways to make up for the lost seasons. “UM is trying to do the virtual concert and for forensics, we are possibly doing online meets,” Donohue said.

Unaccompanied Minors (UM), Brookfield East’s acapella group, was supposed to have its semi finals in the second semester. This changed when the coronavirus hit the country. UM was especially complicated because finals were supposed to be in New York City, the nation’s hardest hit city. UM also had their fundraising delayed, which would be important to support the team in the future. Donohue added on, “Then, they were going to do them online but it got cancelled too because they realized they couldn’t have so many people in one area together to do this online. Our group is 18 people, which is against safer-at-home restrictions.” Forensics also had massive changes in their season, with cancellations of the home tournament, postponing of the State Tournament, and the cancellation of national qualificati ons. The National Catholic Forensics League tournament was also cancelled, and the National Speech and Debate tournament has been moved online. “Forensics was announced on our team chat on Spond by our coach, Mr. Maier. State was postponed to possibly be online, but that whole situation has yet to be figured out,” Donohue explained.

Jenna Ernst (12) during a soccer tournament from the 2018-2019 school year. Ernst explained that she was looking forward to the upcoming soccer season and “getting the opportunity to lead the team after our years of work”. Taken by Randy Safranek.

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“Our coach Kokta has been giving us workouts to do at home in case our season isn’t completely cancelled and sending us positive messages,” Penney said. She also mentioned that Mr. Westphal, East’s Associate Principal for Athletics and Activities, is currently working on a presentation for senior athletes. Ernst’s coach took a similar approach of posting at-home workouts and videos to motivate the girls soccer team and keep them in shape in case the season starts up again. She had also been hearing rumors about the WIAA rescheduling the soccer season from spring to summer. However, she worried that this approach could be ineffective for seniors going off to college. “I’m lucky because I’ll get to play in college, but I do feel bad for girls and boys who rely on high school sports to play and this is their last chance. I hope they don’t give up on sports though,” she added. Donohue found that the coronavirus crisis gave him mixed feelings of remorse and gratitude. As a freshman, he was concerned that the virus could affect the upcoming school year as well since the longevity of the pandemic can’t really be predicted.

Unaccompanied Minors singers Max Donohue (9) and Tyler Tranchita (9) backstage at a performance. Unaccompanied Minors, the Brookfield East Acapella team, qualified for semi finals, but the competition was cancelled due to Covid-19. Taken by Emily Donohue.

“It has given me a lot of time to reevaluate myself, give myself time to think, be more laid back than usual and appreciate the smaller things in life. Small things like going in a car, walking, being with friends… you have everything at the tip of your fingers. you’ll be okay,” Donohue said. Ernst had some recommendations as to how the school could approach athletics if students returned to school. She said, “maybe don’t cancel the seasons fully and do some alternative plans for seniors once it blows over, so that we can still play for the team a little.” The Brookfield East Forensics team won in multiple categories at the Slinger High School Forensics Tournament. Although the remaining forensics season was cancelled, the State Forensics tournament was moved online to the week of May 11th.

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Donohue added on, “ I feel like the clubs should still have communication and virtual meetings just so club members don’t feel isolated. They are still as much of a part of school as classes are.” All of the students agreed on one thing: Brookfield East’s staff and administration is doing their best to handle this crisis. The health and safety of all students and staff comes first, and keeping that in mind has helped them to accept all of the changes. As put by Penney, “obviously it sucks to have the season cancelled, but it’s important to keep that perspective that there is a valid reason.”

Jenna Ernst (12) kicking the ball at a soccer tournament from her junior year. Even though this year’s soccer season was cancelled, Ernst will be playing soccer at the collegiate level. “I do feel bad for girls and boys who rely on high school sports to play”, she says.

Many Brookfield East students are learning to come to terms with lost opportunities because of the coronavirus. By being patient and staying optimistic, they are accepting the effects of the coronavirus crisis and remembering what matters most: keeping their communities safe.

As a competitor in the Track and Field pole vault category, Lexi Penney (12) had a goal for breaking the school record for pole vaulting in Track and Field. However, she was unable to due to coronavirus. The Brookfield East Forensics team after a long day of competing at the Marquette High School Forensics Tournament. Taken by the Forensics coach, Michael Maier.

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LGBTQ+ at Brookfield East • Writer: Sophia Finn • Designer: Audrey Hameister • Photographer: Yearbook Staff PRISM has been a prominent voice for LGBTQ+ issues at Brookfield East. They voice their concerns, and bring awareness to struggles the LGBTQ+ community faces at East, for example, a lack of LGBTQ+ content in the school’s curriculum. Although PRISM has tried to include every student at East, there are still students hesitant in joining. One student, who is not a member of PRISM, shares her experience being LGBTQ+ at Brookfield East. Brookfield East states that “our culture is our strength.” An important part of our student body’s culture is the LGBTQ+ community.

“PRISM to a club for all to connect and share experiences with others like themselves,” said Schwab.

A few school years earlier, they held a Day of Silence. They are hoping to bring the event back this year.

This is typically associated with the Promoting Respect and Inclusion for Sexual and Gender Minorities Club, also known as PRISM.

Another member, who will be called Mary for the sake of anonymity, agrees that PRISM shouldn’t “be labeled as a club for just LGBT.”

Another factor PRISM is widely involved in is the acknowledgement of LGBTQ+ issues in education. Issues facing the LGBTQ+ are rarely discussed in education.

Tatyana Waukau (10), the president of PRISM, says that “some people feel they have to be a part of the LGBTQ community to be in PRISM, which is not it at all.”

She believes that getting more members outside the LGBTQ community involved in the conversation PRISM is starting would enable it to help even more.

“We work with different organizations such as Diverse and Resilient to educate our members in ways that school education doesn’t,” said Schwab.

“I invite anyone who is a loving, caring person,” said Waukau.

“For me, I think it’s important for people to be happy and true to how they are. I recently came out to my father’s side of the family who is very conservative and I felt like I could be myself,” said Waukau.

Next school year, LGBTQ+ education is one area PRISM will focus heavily on. “Next year we also want to talk to teachers about supporting students who rely on them with these sorts of issues as it’s not widely spoken of in our school,” said Schwab.

Emily Schwab (10), is an executive board member of PRISM. She describes PRISM as a club for not only LGBTQ+ students, but also allies.

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Members of PRISM pose for a club picture. These meetings respond directly to what needs the LGBTQ+ community at Brookfield East vocalizes. Mary enjoyed one meeting about healthy relationships that was “kind of focused on the LGBT community but also other harmful norms, like the social construct of virginity and how that’s oppressive to women.” Meetings are one educational opportunity, but she also appreciates that the club puts them “in touch with internships in the healthcare community,” especially because many members are curious about how health changes when it comes to the LGBTQ+ population.

Emily Schwab (10), a member of PRISM’s executive board

Despite the strong support that PRISM provides, there are still hardships that East’s LGBTQ+ students endure. Mary describes her experience as a “genuine struggle.”

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She’s witnessed her fair share of bullying inside the classroom and wants her peers “to understand the line between a joke and harassment. There’s a difference between just making a joke and using comedy to kind of push their slightly discriminatory viewpoints.” The bullying she sees ranges in aggressiveness. Some peers have belittled her identity as a bisexual person because of religion. Mary is religious herself and says it does “coexist” with her bisexuality. Mary sees less aggressive forms of discrimination against our LGBTQ+ community when she helps her friends come out. Mary said, “I helped him come out to his friends … and they all say they’re LGBT accepting, but they treated him differently once he came out.”

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Antigone (9), another PRISM executive board member, agrees. “most don’t face heavy discrimination,” said Antigone. However, he believes that discrimination is still a problem -- even inside the classroom. “The administration here is really good at handling this,” said Mary. “If a teacher overhears someone making rude comments to me about how I’m LGBT, they call it out.” This school has certainly taken steps to protect its LGBTQ+ students, but there’s more to be done. The responsibility of this doesn’t only have to fall on the LGBTQ+ population or our teachers, but on allies. They can offer their help through PRISM fundraisers, participation, or simply by being welcoming.

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