The Rock - October 2017

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The Student Voice of Rock Bridge High School Since 1973 • Vol.45 Issue 2 • October 26, 2017

StuCo overspends, has to fundraise StuCo has made the class shirts since the beginning of the 2016 school year. An idea brought to RBHS by leading StuCo officers, Wittenborn said the shirts were a huge success last year as they raised about $3,000; however, for the 2017-2018 school year, the fundraising has yet to turn any profit.

ture decisions. Senior Jonathan LaHue, StuCo treasurer at the time, sees the shortage of sales lass pride isn’t translating into money as a learning experience. this year for RBHS Student Council “We definitely overestimated the sales of (StuCo). A lack of class t-shirt sales class t-shirts,” LaHue said. “This has been hard has left StuCo low on funds, club on our budget, but it’s a mistake we have all sponsor Kelley Wittenborn said. learned from.”

Both Wittenborn and LaHue are unsure as to why sales were low this year. Wittenborn guesses sophomores, juniors and seniors may not be purchasing shirts because they already own one from last year, and LaHue wonders if StuCo did not advertise enough.

“Buying the shirts upfront is quite the investment, and, while last year we made a large profit, this year we haven’t broke even yet,” Wittenborn said. “While we still had enough of a budget to pull off homecoming, it limited a lot of the more ‘fun’ items we wanted to do, such as a free photo booth at the dance and homecoming themed t-shirts.”

Despite the setback, RBHS can expect to see StuCo grow from its mistakes.

“I love where StuCo is going this year,” StuCo member junior Madison Hopper said. “We just finished up homecoming and had our most successful turnout with over 1,100 people. StuCo has had a successful year so far, and we are looking forward to Powder Puff and the annual blood drive coming up in November.”

Hopper refers to RBHS partnering with Red Cross to donate blood to cancer patients and those who need it most. With a full schedule for the rest of the year, StuCo is progressing forward.

“Our main focus in StuCo is to promote school run activities that everyone will enjoy,” LaHue said. “Without much funding, it can be difficult to purchase the ideal decorations and publicity that we need. Not much of work gets noticed, but behind the scenes, StuCo takes on MAYA BELL / THE ROCK the hard task to make sure our school events BATTER UP: Senior Addison Logsdon takes a swing at a used Jeep Patriot, donated by Stephanie Harman, on Tuesday Oct. 3 are not only the best Columbia, but involve as many students as possible.” at a fundraiser put on by StuCo. The event, which promoted homecoming, raised around $400 for a hurricane relief foundation.

Ben Kimchi

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Wittenborn sees their current financial situation as a result of a failed investment.

“This year, it was decided to order a full order for the new freshmen,” Wittenborn said.

“The shirt sales were fairly dismal; even the freshmen class didn’t buy very many.”

The overspending may offer insight into fu-

RBHS holds majority of New position to ensure equity referrals in CPS district Katie Whaley

Rochita Ghosh

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n the halls, it’s not uncommon to see kids goofing off in the north commons or resting against the walls of the main hallway. Nor is it surprising to see them walking around and laughing with friends as they traverse the school.

Many times, these students have an Alternate Unassigned Time (AUT) period and are simply passing the hour at their leisure, but in other cases, they may be skipping class.

Students skip so often, RBHS now takes account for 40 percent of referrals related to truancy among the three high schools in the district.

Taken aback at such a large number, assistant principal Dr. Tim Baker said after a long discussion with other administrators, they decided to attempt to reduce the number of truancies by 10 percent.

RBHS’s strategy is to have administrators walk around the school and question students on whether or not they have a legitimate reason to be in the hallways or in

a classroom. This is to comply with one of the district’s goals, which wants students caught up on class material as much as possible in order to learn more, Dr. Baker said.

“We’re so split up and so large around here, that a lot of times kids will just sit in the north commons, sit in the main commons, sit in the cafeteria, sit by the planetarium, whatever, and now that everyone’s got laptops, you can’t tell who’s on AUT [or] who’s skipping a class,” Dr. Baker said. “[Administration has] increased visibility quite a bit this year, and we’re all walking around all the time [asking students] ‘Are you in AUT?’ ‘Are you supposed to be in class?’”

After a student misses a class and the teacher records the absence, if it's not excused by a guardian within 48 hours, the school system automatically marks the student as truant. This usually results in punishment by the school in the form of warnings, meetings or giving out referrals, Baker said.

REFERRALS, A2

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his 2017-2018 school year marks the first full school year for Columbia Public Schools (CPS) to have a district level Chief Equity Officer. CPS added the position to ensure all students district-wide receive the same opportunities for success.

As the equity officer, Carla London’s goal is for every student to receive the same opportunities, no matter their backgrounds.

“One of the primary things I am responsible for is ensuring equity becomes a norm at CPS, which means incorporating equity training in all of our 31 buildings as well as here in the administration building. I lead a team of approximately 30 trainers who work in teams and conduct regular trainings at faculty meetings,” London said. “I believe

ISABEL GOMPPER / THE ROCK

The theater department sets stage for production of "The Little Mermaid"

A&E. . . C6 INDEX

fully in their own high school experience. When we are busing about 200 students from the north to RBHS to ensure our racial and economic diversity, we don’t take into account how that really impacts those 200 students and families, who may not have transportation available to support their children’s participation in tutoring or extra curricular activities,” Nieuwenhuizen said. “This goes to the equitable opportunities for all students. If we are busing students 10 or 12 miles from home, we should provide them with the same opportunities that our neighborhood students have to participate in the total educational experience of high school, which includes extra-curricular activities, such as clubs, music, band, speech and theater, sports and tutoring.”

EQUITY, A2

Standards Referenced Grading to come to CPS Jordan Rogers

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[SOURCE: DR. JENNIFER RUKSTAD]

maintaining equity throughout CPS speaks to our motto of ‘Our Kids’ by ensuring that all of our students feel welcomed, valued and enabled to perform to their highest capabilities.”

Assistant principal Lisa Nieuwenhuizen loves London’s ideology and tailoring schools to students needs, but feels the high schools have room to improve.

She believes implementing an activity bus for high school students should be more of a priority for the equity team.

“I believe that CPS is making huge strides toward increasing equity across our educational programs. I think that while these strides are good, there’s always room to do more to address inequitable practices, such as the drawing of boundary lines that make it extremely difficult for some students to participate

one are the days of traditional grading practices at Columbia Public Schools (CPS).

Starting next year at the kindergarten level, teachers across the district will begin using Standards Referenced Grading (SRG).

The following year, all elementary grade levels will adopt the system, and in the 2019-2020 school year, middle schools will use SRG; subsequently, high schools will follow in 2020-2021 school year.

“Standards Referenced Grading is a system in which teachers give feedback about student proficiency on a set of defined standards, and schools report levels of performance on the grade level standards,” said Kristi Shinn, director of Curriculum and Instruction at CPS. “Students are not moved forward or backwards to a different set of standards based on their level of competence.”

This means students will not receive adjusted standards or goals based off of their ability to reach the standards that were set previously. Teachers will set these standards and judge whether the student has reached them periodically throughout the school year. Traditional grading, which CPS uses

Don't be scared to read about student phobias and their coping strategies

FEATURES. . . B1

now, involves teachers grading worksheets, homework and tests based on points given for those assignments. The new system will allow teachers to grade students based off of goals for each semester, usually on a one to four scale, Shinn states.

GRADING, A2

DID YOU KNOW ?

CPS will swap traditional grading with Standards Referenced Grading in the upcoming years.

This is a timeline for when CPS plans to implement SRG. Elementary: 2018-2019 Middle: 2019-2020 High: 2020-2021 Source: Kiristi Shinn, director of Curriculum and Instruction at CPS

Take time to check out in-depths where individuals describe how time affects their everyday life IN-DEPTHS. . . B3

Be sure to check out bearingnews.org for video coverage of tomorrow's district football game

NEWS. . . . . . A1 OPINION. . . . . A5 FEATURES. . . . . B1 IN-DEPTHS. . . . . . B3 SPORTS. . . . . .C1 H&W. . . . . . C4 PROFILES. . . . . .C6 A&E. . . . . . . . . .C7

A2 NEWS

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

CPS official solves district equity concerns EQUITY, P1 A question of equity also comes into play for yearbook photos. For the past several years, clubs had to schedule times before and after school to take yearbook pictures in order to not cut into instructional time. This is a problem because the group photo schedule could differ from the club’s usual meeting hours and a number of students will miss their pictures.

For sophomores Shanley Silvey and Grace Dyer, timing couldn’t have been worse. Dyer missed Key Club and Relay For Life photos because of personal conflicts with the club pictures morning time, and later couldn’t make it to Young Democrats and Mini-MizzouThon pictures because they cut into tennis practice.

Alongside Dyer, Silvey feels that not allowing yearbook pictures during the day is unfair to those with obligations outside of the school day.

“I’m in Young Democrats and Mini-MizzouThon. I also participate in cross country and marching band. Both of my club pictures were after school around 4:15 p.m. [and] while I was able to make it to my pictures, it was a rush getting from the club pictures to my after school commitments,” Silvey said. “I think it would be helpful for the club pictures to be taken during the school day to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be present in the picture. ” Though there are still small matters like the activity bus and photos to work out, London’s team feels confident in what progress they have made so far. Right now, their focus is on giv-

Updated grading system to come New technique to evaluate student comprehension GRADING, P1 While colleges and certain careers may require students to meet deadlines and participate in classroom discussions, SRG includes only a student’s academic performance on assessments and defined tasks into his or her grades and resulting grade point average (GPA). This system of grading builds upon Shinn’s belief that grades should be about the learning.

“Nonacademic factors should not be included when determining student academic performance because the goal of the student grade is to communicate how much he or she knows,” Shinn said. “The solution to this is to separate grades for achievement from those of homework, effort, work habits, behavior and other nonacademic factors. Just as we will communicate student growth and performance using academic scales, one would communicate growth and performance on citizenship and employability.”

Sophomore Sami Alexander said SRG is good for students who plan on attending college after high school and will prepare them for the future.

“SRG is the best way to prepare students for college because it runs on the same philosophies that colleges do,” Alexander said. “They need to be responsible enough to do their homework knowing that there isn’t a grade taken, which will help students as they transition into college. The only difference is that college is a higher level, so if you fail to understand what is being taught, you have to retake the course.”

Alexander, however, also believes there may be some students who will abuse the system for their own benefit. Alexander’s concerns stem from a student’s ability to manipulate the grading system, and use it to their advantage.

“I think some students will be tempted to hedge their way through without really doing any of the work,” Alexander said. “But ultimately, having a teacher that’s willing to work with you to help you understand what you need to should be motivation for the students who may be tempted to not give a whole lot of effort.”

Lindhal said some of the benefits with SRG for students include a better understanding of topics, more opportunities to show growth and learning and the ability to decide what they need to do to reach their learning goals. Knowing these benefits, Shin and Alexander think SRG will dramatically improve students’ life at school.

“So much stress is placed on students to get that 93.5 percent or higher and in the end, most kids are more worried about their letter grade than actually understanding what they’re supposed to be learning,” Alexander said. “Flipping that entire system upside down and saying, ‘Here is what I need you to understand and know and I’m going to work with you until we get there,’ is much more motivational to the students. With SRG, students will abandon cheating, and when they come to class with a blank sheet of homework, the teacher will be able to catch them up and the student will work to get where they need to be. On the flipside, with our letter grading, students will copy down a friend’s answers without truly understanding the concepts and will comprehension-wise, be left behind.”

ing students equitable access to technology at school and home.

All RBHS students received personal laptops this school year, and London’s team decided CPS would provide Wi-Fi for students who do not have connection at home, which London believes was an important move on their part.

“It is absolutely necessary in this age of

technology where much of the work students are given can best be accessed through online methods and not every family is able to provide that for their students,” London said. “If we’re truly about providing access to opportunity, it’s imperative that we remove as many barriers as we possibly can to that access.”

Nieuwenhuizen loves the direction London is taking and hopes for progress.

“It is important for all students to receive equitable opportunities. That means giving each student what he or she needs to be successful. That might differ from student to student,” Nieuwenhuizen said. “If we are serious about closing the achievement gap and making our school equitable for all students, we have to think about differentiating to meet students where they are.”

TIME FOR TECH: On Jump Start Day, freshman Lucas Whitworth lines up to check out a new CPS issued laptop. The move to distribute laptops among CPS high schools came after concerns over student equity. RBHS students received laptops at the beginning of the school year, and they are now used in classrooms daily.

CAMRYN DEVORE / THE ROCK

Administrators work to reduce referrals and truancies at RBHS REFERRALS, P1 “For a truancy, our policy is that [students] serve a detention approximately twice the length of what they skipped, so if they skipped a class, we usually take away like two AUTs and give them AUT detentions,” Dr. Baker said. “That’s basically our common practice.”

In the last school year, RBHS handed out 2063 referrals related to truancy, principal Dr. Jennifer Rukstad said. Although this number is staggering to senior Don Hammers, he said that he felt the administrators’ time could be better spent elsewhere rather than questioning students.

Hammers said there are stronger underlying problems with truancies, where students already “have the mindset of what they want to be in life,” and don’t show up to class simply because they don’t care or are concerned with something else.

“I know there’s kids that don’t really care about school for certain reasons,” Hammers said. “Like, something’s going on at home or something.”

At Hickman High School (HHS), these reasons are what the HHS administration tries to hone in on, HHS principal Tony Gragnani said. Compared with RBHS’s 40 percent of truancy referrals, truancies make up about 25 percent of all referrals at the other end of Providence Road.

By targeting these hidden issues that Hammers mentioned, HHS is able to facilitate a better learning environment, Gragnani said.

“At HHS, we work to make sure students have what they need to get to class on time,” Gragnani said. “We work with the students and their families to address the issue. If the issue continues, we will

request [a] parent meeting, place students on attendance contracts and possibly limit the amount of time they can be in the hallways.”

Similar actions happen at RBHS should a student continually skip class, but the idea is to stop the truancy before an adult writes a kid up for it, Dr. Baker said. Hammers understands the reasons behind these questions, but believes that their efforts are in vain.

“I felt like [the increased visibility] was really pointless because [kids] will get annoyed by being told, ‘get to class on time’ and [will feel like the administration should] find something better to do,” Hammers said. “I feel like the administration going through the hallways, asking people to get to class is not going to help because if they don’t want to get to class on time, they won’t attempt to.”

Despite this hurdle, administrators will not stop trying to reduce truancies, Dr. Baker said. The entire purpose of increasing visibility and questioning students is not to constrict their freedoms, he said, but to make sure that they receive a proper education, as that is a responsibility RBHS has to its students.

“We’re trying to get kids in class more.

That’s one of the district goals — get them in class, catch them up, [that sort of thing],” Dr. Baker said. “Our biggest goal is to reduce the amount of time that kids are out of class for any reason. The biggest bang for our buck is to reduce truancies.

[At] this building, freedoms are massive here, so it’s easy to skip a class here if you lack the discipline. It’s pretty easy to walk out the door, you know? So that’s our focus: try to get them into class.”

I had a student that had to go help their mom with their little sister. Something about diapers; they had to go get diapers.”

— Jon Myers, English teacher CAMRYN DEVORE / THE ROCK

CAMRYN DEVORE / THE ROCK

One time I asked a kid if he was ever going to get to class on time, and he said that he walked his girlfriend to class every day and she was on time so…”

— Holly Kerns, drama director

What is the funniest story a student has given you about why they were skipping class?

She told me she had B lunch when she actually had A lunch, so she was absent from her second block class even though [she] showed up with a fresh bag of food.”

— Deborah Greene, assistant principal

CAMRYN DEVORE / THE ROCK

I get a lot of ‘I didn’t have clean clothes.’

‘I lost track of time.’

‘I wasn’t ready for my test, so I skipped.’”

— Lisa Nieuwenhuizen, assistant principal

[THE ROCK SURVEYED 200 PEOPLE, 10% OF THE STUDENT BODY]

VALERIA VELASQUEZ / THE ROCK

CAMRYN DEVORE / THE ROCK

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

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School tries to salvage Japanese, German classes Nikol Slatinska

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olumbia Public Schools (CPS) administrators and faculty members have created a committee to save German and Japanese programs following the district’s April 2017 decision to phase the classes out of high schools.

A need for the committee, which superintendent Dr. Peter Stiepleman created, rose out of dissatisfaction and confusion among students and parents over the decision.

Those involved in the committee meet regularly and have formed subcommittees in order to figure out a potential solution for saving the programs, which they will present to the Board of Education and Dr. Stiepleman in November.

Japanese teacher Shawn Beatty is on the subcommittee in charge of coming up with an alternative on how to offer the classes. “[One option] is distance learning, like the language lab we have. It could be blended learning, or we could change the format of the schools. We were told anything is possible, for now, and then we’ll narrow it down to what we actually can do,” Beatty said. “Kids will not be enrolling in the classes. It’ll be taken out of the course book; if there are changes to the format, that will be put in the course book before they enroll.”

Although nothing is definitive, the language cuts have already had an effect on students’ learning. Sophomore Alex Fritschi takes German 4, but his class is merged with two other levels. In addition to German 2, 3 and 4 being grouped into one class. German 1 is only offered online. This will likely cause enrollment for the class to drop, which will signify to administrators that the class is okay to cut. The muttled communication from the district has caused German and Japanese students and their parents to be proactive.

“I have attended two school board meetings.

[The School Board members] certainly know that people want to keep German,” Fritschi said.

“We’ve had, like, 12 people come up and speak at the Board meetings. Now they at least know there is some resistance, but I don’t think it has changed any of their minds much.”

Fritschi and other students may feel as if the board of education is indifferent when it comes to the future of the language classes, but Board member Christine King assured that she and her associates try to hear out everyone, even if the final decision turns out to be unpopular.

She explained low enrollment was ultimately the deciding factor in this case. Records show for the 2016-2017 school year, 46 high school students in the district enrolled in German 1, 11 of them from RBHS. 69 CPS students enrolled in Japanese for that school year, with 35 from RBHS. The committee working to save the classes has suggested enrollment trends over multiple years be used to decide whether or not a language continues to be offered at schools. For the current school year, 27 RBHS students had signed up for German 1, and 17 RBHS students had signed up to take Japanese 1.

“The district and the Board of Education have a balancing act to manage the fiscal responsibility and the allocation of resources with courses and offerings it can make available,” CPS Community Relations Director Michelle Baumstark said. “It’s never an easy decision. The fact there is a work group to consider anything beyond the complete phase out of the languages means [the Board is] listening to all voices.”

YOUSUF EL-JAYYOUSI / THE ROCK

LETTING GO: Japanese teacher Sawn Beatty stands in his classroom. He and German teacher Alison Kaiser are two faculty members whose courses face budget cuts. CPS plans to discontinue Japanese and German classes, a decision Beatty is against.

In addition to attending Board meetings, stu- students and not parents,” Baumstark said. “Indents and parents have been posting on a Face- formation and official district letters are always book group titled “Keep Japanese and German sent to parents. Students are minors. They were in CPS.” also posted online and provided to media outlets The group has 502 members who update as requested.” each other on news concerning the programs.

This is not the first time an incident like this Students and their families are also upset be- has happened. In July of 2015, former Superincause of what they see as a lack of communica- tendent Dr. Chris Belcher announced German, tion from CPS. Beatty said the language class- Japanese and Latin would be phased out of mides were on the 2017-2018 course registration dle schools, but teachers were later approved to guide, and he spent two nights last January pro- purchase new textbooks and materials for the moting Japanese to incoming freshman, so the 2015-2016 school year. decision to cut German and Japanese that came German teacher Alison Kaiser is unsure as to three months later was a why that is; her guess shock. is that whoever deDr. Stiepleman cided to cut the pro“The school district hasn’t been tweeted in April that letgrams did not comdoing a very good job of keepters would be sent home municate with the to students regarding person in charge of ing people informed of the dethe decision to cut Gerauthorizing textbook cision. They claimed to have man and Japanese, but purchases, and that sent out letters ... this was not students say they never the decision for the the case.” received the letters. programs was made — Crystal Odor, sophomore Sophomore Crystal suddenly, after teachOdor is in Japanese 2 ers had already been and was affected by the lack of communication. using the new materials for almost two years.

“The school district hasn’t been doing a very Another puzzling element, Beatty said, is good job of keeping people informed on the de- that students were allowed to enroll in the lancision. They claimed to have sent out letters to guage classes in February of 2015, even though students and parents informing them that Ger- classes were going to be cut. While the board of man and Japanese classes may not be offered education had a say in both the 2014-2015 and in the future. This was not the case,” Odor said. the 2017-2018 decisions to phase out the class“I only heard about it late last year. I’m glad es, it is unknown whose idea it initially was, classes are planned to be phased out rather than even to school administrators. cut outright so kids already taking German and “I can’t really say [whose decision it was to Japanese can continue, but I can’t help but think phase the programs out beginning 2017-2018]. the decision seemed to come out of the blue.”

I know who told me to communicate it, but I Baumstark, however, insists that students’ don’t know whose decision it was. In general, families received said letters. we’re told that the cabinet makes these deci“Parents received those letters. I’m not sure sions, so that’s Dr. Stiepleman and the assistant where the communication came from that we superintendents,” principal Dr. Jennifer Rukswould send enrollment information directly to tad said. “At RBHS we did our own communi-

cation, but I believe there was communication that came from the district. At best, it was kind of disjoint, so I don’t know that it’s necessarily been a coordinated process.”

Kaiser said she learned of the decision to phase German classes out from Dr. Rukstad last April and that no one else in the district ever contacted her.

Sophomore and Japanese 2 student Aaron Hill is disappointed in how the district has communicated the decision and has since been active in trying to get the programs back. Hill has attended multiple Board meetings, during which students have the chance to speak about their discontent with the situation.

“The school board has handled this very poorly. I respect the members of the school board, and I understand that they have many things they have to do. It’s very jumbled and disorganized,” Hweeeill said. “Every month, we ask them if they have sent the letter they supposedly sent, and every month they say yes, but every month, they haven’t. They haven’t even gotten a formal letter out to people who want to join Japanese or German [saying] those classes are going to be cut.”

Despite students’ feeling as if they’re not truly being listened to, Fritschi likes that he and his peers have the opportunity to take important problems to the board of education. He encourages other students to explore the idea if they have broad school-related issues.

“I’ve found that if you have an issue, it’s alright to take it to the School Board as long as you have some support among your peers. Talk to your teachers about it; see if any teachers or parents are also willing to help,” Fritschi said.

“It’s not as hard to get a meeting with the Board as I thought. So just make sure to state your mind if you have a problem. It’s a lot of people in charge talking, but it’s good to say what you want and try to solve the issue.”

School lunch account debt negatively affects students, families Jordan Rogers

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npaid lunch account debt continues to grow across the Columbia Public Schools (CPS) district. This debt has increased to $130,000 as of August 2017, and, barring any dramatic change, will continue to increase.

At the beginning of each school year, CPS sends out a letter to parents informing families of the free and reduced lunch program. The program is aimed to help families who are not capable of paying for school lunches each day.

CPS nutrition services director Laina Fullum says this notice is often

neglected, which can have a large impact on a family’s ability to pay lunch bills.

“Many of our families ignore the notice or move and fail to update their address and in return, the application is not filled out in time to avoid charges,” Fullum said. “The program is structured to go into effect once an application is turned in and cannot go retroactive according to federal law.

So, once the damage is done, families who cannot pay are still responsible for the charges incurred before they turned in an application. This is an unfortunate reality.”

Eventually, if lunch bills continue to grow for families who do not pay

[SOURCE: INTERDISCIPLINARY CENTER FOR FOOD]

VALERIA VELASQUEZ / THE ROCK

them off, they could possibly receive further retribution.

“Balances that reach over a specific limit go to our collection agency that handles sending out letters to our families,” Fullum said. “If the debt continues to climb, it then goes into true collections and the agency calls families. After that effort, and if the debt continues to climb, it may eventually go to court in the form of a lawsuit.”

While only 14 miles separate the Southern Boone Public School District from CPS, punishments for parents who do not pay off lunch account debts differ from those at CPS Southern Boone superintendent Christopher Felmlee, however, hopes the new punishments will decrease the school district’s debt.

“The district, for over five years, has had $30,000.00 of debt annually with lunch bills over $50,” Felmlee said. “This reoccurring debt was a concern with our past audit. As a result, the district has implemented new measures.”

These new punishments restrict parents with unpaid lunch account debts from attending classroom celebrations, middle school graduation and even high school graduation.

Southern Boone Public Schools aims to use these limitations to deter students and their families from allowing lunch account debt to accumulate over time.

RBHS junior Luke Harper thinks

the punishment Southern Boone enforces is tough on the parents; however, he also understands the reasoning behind it.

“I think it’s a harsh punishment, but if the parents can settle the debt, they should because the school needs to keep a balanced budget,” Harper said. “There are also many other things that can keep you from graduating which are much smaller than lunch debt, so in perspective it is a good way for the school to settle debt.”

While it is the student who is buying lunches from CPS, district policy determines the parent of that student responsible for the unpaid lunch account bills.

“Our district philosophy is that a hungry student cannot learn as effectively as a well-nourished student and it is not the student’s fault for the non-payment, it is the responsibility of the parent(s) to keep the accounts in good standing,” Fullum said. “We do not want to punish minors for the acts of adults.”

CPS parents, however, will not receive further punishment similar to that of Southern Boone’s harsher policy.

At both CPS and Southern Boone, if a student owes lunch account debt, he or she can eat meals that are provided by the district, but that deal restricts food from the specialty items list including chips, cookies and certain drinks.

“Students with an unpaid balance cannot make ‘a la carte’ purchases ...

They also cannot purchase a second meal,” Felmlee said. “There are no alternative meals for students with an unpaid meal debt. The administration wants every child to eat breakfast and lunch.”

Harper agrees that every student should be entitled to a full meal every day; however, similar to CPS’s and Southern Boone’s policy, he thinks there should be restrictions upon what is available to those students for purchase.

“All students should be able to get a lunch because it may be the only meal they get that day,” Harper said. “Students that don’t have credit in their account should be able to get full meals, but only students with credit in their lunch account should be able to get ‘a la carte’ items because the school [district] needs to keep its budget.”

Whether a family applies for the free and reduced lunch program before or after the start of the school year, they are still fully responsible for the debt that they have acquired.

“We accept free and reduced price lunch applications all year long to provide immediate relief to families who qualify,” Fullum said. “So, yes they can [apply for free and reduced lunch], but we encourage this at the start of each year and inform all families in the district about the meal benefit program.”

EDITORIALS A5

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

Liberals ruin the world Ann Fitzmaurice

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t first, they’re hard to spot. Looking at a crowd, one could never tell which ones hide among the faces. Then, with a silent engine, comes the first sign of a liberal: their Toyota Prius.

With no fewer than 20 bumper stickers detailing the need for peace, the Prius is the main mode of transportation for the liberal.

To get a real taste for the liberal culture, the first step is to follow the Prius; it will pull into a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. These are the liberal’s preferred stores; they are pure and aren’t yet tainted by the foul capitalist market. After grabbing a ten dollar jar of peanut butter, the liberal drives to the nearest protest rally to discuss topics it barely understands.

At the protest rally, the liberal takes a good picture with its expensive camera they bought so they can post professional-looking pictures on their Tumblr without being an actual photographer. As its main source for politics, Tumblr is like water to the liberal. When the liberal gathers its misleading information and hits the streets, it’s finally ready to be offended.

With their unhygienic bodies and uncut man buns, it’s a miracle the liberal is not offended sooner. What triggers them, however, is when people with an opposing viewpoints bring up their opinions. The liberal will never have a civilized discussion, nay, they throw tantrums. When something goes wrong, the liberal blames it on President Trump.

The liberal, or the Social Justice Warrior, blames poor Trump for not having the same views as it. If they are unhappy with a remark Trump made, their simple solution is to impeach him. If there is violence somewhere, their response is to tighten gun control, and blame firearms instead of a lack of mental help. If debt is an issue, a progressive tax is the answer.

In short, liberals are communists who have shrines of Karl Marx in their apartments they could barely afford because they spent so much on avocado toast.

What do these one-bedroom apartments consist of?

First, there is sage everywhere because all liberals are addicted to marijuana. The liberal only has sandals, so when they try to run from reality they will trip and fall into perceived oppression.

Luckily for the liberal, CNN is the only channel on the tiny television that is a safe space, and if anyone mentions FOX, the liberal immediately cries and gets offended like the pathetic snowflake they are.

The only thing that stops the liberal from crying is an Obama montage. Instead of eating avocado toast for breakfast, the liberal needs to start eating bricks from Trump’s wall of dreams. Liberals will always resort to their safe space full of pillows and stuffed animals they did not pay for themselves.

The resolution to their loss of money? Tax the rich. In fact, the liberal believes everyone should have equal pay, so their dreams of being a freelance cat grader can finally come true, and they can afford more protest signs for when things don’t go their way. But until that happens, the liberal has its Safe Space, for when they prepare for another tantrum.

MAYA BELL / THE ROCK

STEP ABOARD: After another day of school, junior Rylie Olinger climbs aboard her bus to go home Oct. 18. This bus is one of many that take students home directly after school, yet CPS did not allocate any buses for after school activities.

Equity team should prioritize activities

Activity bus needed in high schools to ensure students’ extracurricular success

C

olumbia Public Schools (CPS) saw the addition of the Chief Equity Officer, a fairly new administrative role, for the 2017-18 school year.

Carla London holds this new position, which aims to ensure that all students have a chance to succeed, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, etc.

The chief equity officer also attempts to ensure that activities and educational programs receive equal chances to allow students to succeed.

This position is an excellent addition for CPS as the district continues growing larger and larger. Many school districts throughout the nation usually have a Chief Equity Officer position within the administration; last year, however, CPS lacked such a role.

With such a diverse array of students and activities, CPS needs balance, especially the three high schools. The most pertinent issue is a lack of an activity bus for students involved in after-school activities; as a result, the equity team must prioritize this issue.

An activity bus isn’t as foreign as it might sound. Although administrators would need additional expenses to cover post-activity transportation, some schools in CPS had ac-

tivity buses in the past, including Jefferson each student’s right to receive a fair opporMiddle School. As a result of boundary line tunity to participate in them, with no worries changes with the opening of Battle High of getting a ride home afterward. By far, this School in 2013, some students simply lack should be the district’s main issue to tackle.

Currently, the district has promoted sigtransportation after school, which can affect nificant change in school their particiathletics. Among the most pation in afsignificant was the Board of ter-school exShould the CPS equity team make Education’s approval to renotracurriculars. establishing an activity bus their vate the RBHS stadium, which RBHS admain priority this academic year? was finished in late 2017. ministrators While such moves are fansaid about THE ROCK STAFF tastic, they shouldn’t be pri200 students VOTED oritized over academic issues at the school like the lack of an activity bus. are transported YES -15 They are not as pertinent to home to North NO - 10 students’ success than a comColumbia. plete lack of activity busing.

While these Academics should always students might come first for students, espehave transportation immediately after school, they aren’t cially if it has some issues.

CPS has plenty of work to accomplish this guaranteed a ride home after extracurricular activities, which end long after the final bell. year, and they are certainly on the right track A lack of transportation after extracurricular for the district. When activity busing is imactivities can be an issue for these students, plemented, however, the district will prove whose participation in them can make or that it is prioritizing measures to ensure all break their high school career. The sheer sig- students receive a chance to succeed academnificance of extracurriculars should justify ically.

Broadcast journalism needs change Faaris Khan

T

he United States’s dramatic political climate cannot only be exciting, but it also gives U.S. broadcast journalists topics to report and discuss.

Unfortunately, many of our nation’s biggest news networks have a tendency to be rather one-sided in their reporting.

Our world, as a result of social media, is more connected than ever. Yet, it seems U.S. broadcast journalism is mostly interested in reporting on issues in the American government instead of worldwide issues. There is nothing inherently wrong with covering politics, but much of their coverage involves drama that holds little value.

Channels such as CNN and Fox News

have a laser focus on exposing useless political topics. For example, news reports ooze with the latest buzz on President Donald Trump’s each and every move, whether it be a trip to Mar-a-Lago or even something as petty as his handshakes with certain world leaders.

While such styles of reporting might entertain some, these trivial issues lead broadcast channels to neglect real and serious crises throughout the world.

Take, for example, the albino genocide which has plagued Africa for years.

Citizens with albinism continue to be viciously hunted throughout the continent for their bones, which are believed to possess magical powers. The crisis has affected thousands, yet big journalism

ISABEL GOMPPER / THE ROCK

The Rock Rock Bridge High School 4303 S. Providence Rd., Columbia, Mo. 65203 Vol. 45, Issue 2 October 26, 2017 Population: 1962 Students, 148 Faculty Circulation: 1500

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names such as CNN, Fox News and NBC have failed to shed light on this shocking genocide. Any event as outrageous as a systematic killing must be covered. Surely, these killings hold more weight than secret tidbits of Trump’s personal life.

Failing to shed light on such horrific events is unacceptable, especially for such large networks. Simply because a news network is American does not mean that its agenda should focus almost entirely on American issues, many of which are simply unnecessary and repetitive.

As if that lack of attention weren’t enough, American networks have also failed to capture some of the worst crises on the globe. The ruthless genocide of the Rohingya, a Muslim-minority group in Myanmar who have been brutally persecuted for years, has also been a rarely-covered subject, despite its long history. Only in early August did channels begin legitimate coverage on the crisis, which the United Nations has long called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

News networks in America must take initiative and start to shed light on more significant events occurring throughout the world. The American people deserve to hear more than just drama surrounding our president and gossip plaguing the White House. If news networks fail to change, however, it is our duty as citizens of the world to search for worldwide news on our own; if U.S. outlets fail to provide sufficient coverage, find a variety of global sources to learn about the world’s important happenings and events.

Otherwise, the world’s worst events will remain unknown to the common man.

Southpaw.

The paper’s purpose is to accurately inform, educate and enlighten readers in an open forum.

The Rock is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Quill & Scroll.

STAFF:

Adviser: Robin Stover Editors-In-Chief: Elad Gov-Ari, Nikol Slatinska, Rochita Ghosh Production Manager: Nikol Slatinska Art/Design Editor: Moy Zhong Business Manager: Rochita Ghosh Photo Editor: Yousuf El-Jayyousi News Editor:

Students Speak Should American news outlets cover more international events?

No. Although international news may be important, there is so much we need to focus on here, and right now we’re not getting the job done.

KAI FORD / THE ROCK

— Grace Kirk, senior Yes, because they need to accurately portray all sides of the issue instead of just the leaning liberal ones in this country.

—Ross Steelman, junior KAI FORD / THE ROCK

Katie Whaley Features Editor: Ji-Sung Lee Editorials Editor: Faaris Khan Commentary Editor: Nikol Slatinska In-Depths Editor: Ann Fitzmaurice A&E Editor: Elad Gov-Ari H&W Editor: Grace Dorsey Sports Editor: Emily Oba Staff Writers: Allie Pigg,

Atiyah Lane, Ben Kimchi, Jacob Sykuta, Jordan Rogers, Jordyn Thompson, Kayla West, Maddie Murphy, Ryan Choe, Siena Juhlin

Photographers: Camryn DeVore, Kai Ford, Maya Bell Artists: Carmen Ramirez, Isabel Gompper, Kelsey Morgret, Valeria Velasquez Videographer: Cameron Fuller

A6 EDITORIALS

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

California Senate Bill trivializes HIV spread Elad Gov-Ari

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CARMEN RAMIREZ / THE ROCK

Social media hurt crises Mediums create confusion in critical situations Faaris Khan

W

hen it comes to 21st century news, social media dominates. From media such as Twitter and Instagram, networking platforms are not only packaged with everything the modern person could ever ask for — entertainment, uninhibited self-expression and usually a very generous sprinkle of political drama — but they are also a gold mine of information, providing the latest updates on regional, national and world events.

This hybrid, two-way combination might seem too good to be true for the average user.

Unfortunately, it can be too good to be true. Now, more than ever, users are turning to platforms such as Facebook and Twitter specifically for their news, with 67 percent of Americans relying on social media for at least some of their news as of August 2017, claims a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center. For many, this is the “modern” form of receiving news, one which is easy, quick and efficient.

The reality, however, is that social media platforms are the last place one should rely on for credible information. Social media, unlike verified news outlets, has a massive issue with reliable sources.

At its root, social media was initially designed as an online form of socializing, communicating and connecting with others, which explains why several million users are currently online. Unfortunately, when a social networking site such as Twitter has such a large number of users, many of whom are everyday individuals and prone to spreading misinformation, it can be downright difficult to pick out the truth from clueless rumors, especially when it comes to ongoing, critical events.

Consider the mass shooting at Las Vegas’ Route 91 Harvest music festival, Oct. 1, which left 58 concertgoers dead and over 500 injured. As bullets rained down on the festival’s concertgoers, Twitter exploded with thousands upon thousands of tweets which cited various rumors related to the shooting.

In the first hour of the bloodbath, reports quickly spread of a second, third and even fourth shooter at different lo-

cations throughout Las Vegas; howev- situations, not only diverting attention er, there was no second, third or fourth away from real dangers, but also potenshooter at all. tially causing delays in developing vital Police only encountered one suspect at situational awareness. This finding comes the scene, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, to show social media’s strong potential to who authorities found dead in the Man- cause massive damage during critical pedalay Bay hotel. Even though police were riods of time. later able to confirm that this man was inNow, this isn’t to say social media deed alone in his actions, the initial social should be completely disregarded as a media reports of multiple active threats source of information. Twitter accounts of throughout Las Vegas were overwhelm- credible news organizations, regardless of ingly confusing and made it extremely their political standings, can certainly be difficult to understand at exactly which relied upon for key information. location the real shooting was taking Additionally, verified police accounts place. This ultimately drew attention to- are looked at for important updates, esward unverified, untrue information and pecially in serious situations. Such orgaaway from what was a very real threat. nizations can be trusted with providing The tragedy in Las Vegas is only one users with accurate, verified information. example of T h e social mesame, howdia being ever, cannot When a social networking site more bad be said about than good the millions such as Twitter has such a in times of of everyday large number of users, it can be crisis. In the social me2014 shootdia fanatics downright difficult to pick out ing at Purwho have the truth from clueless rumors.” due Univera massive sity, when tendency to student spread false, Cody Cousunconfirmed ins fatally stabbed and shot fellow student rumors online and wreak havoc on our Andrew Boldt, the social media response understanding of ongoing situations. was almost a mirror image of that seen The safest and most efficient way to from the Las Vegas bloodbath. end such confusion is to take a step back Students interviewed after the cam- in time and begin to respect the power of pus shooting claimed Twitter was a huge credible sources for our information. Hissource of confusion during the situation, torically, news organizations in particuwith some tweets claiming that five peo- lar are revered for telling nothing but the ple were shot and that there were actually confirmed truth to the people, and they three active shooters threatening the cam- never go off of rumors. pus.

After all, their sole purpose is to conNeither of these claims came out to be firm information as true and then address true after the incident. it to the public, so there is no doubt we Such misleading responses from social should rely on their information much media users and more have been exten- more than what random people mindlesssively studied by Manish Agrawal, a pro- ly spew on social media. fessor at the University of South Florida.

So, next time any breaking news event Agrawal, along with other professors, ex- or a critical situation arises, be smart, igamined responses from the 2008 Mumbai nore social media’s unnecessary and unAttacks, the 2012 Seattle cafe shooting trustworthy rumors and stick close to all and many more disastrous incidents. available credible sources for informaThrough this research, the professors tion. Not only would there be a signifieventually discovered the sheer amount cantly less amount confusion and danger, of confusion social media spread in these our world will be much better for it.

poisonous injection is not a misdemeanor. It’s a felony that can result in incarceration of 20+ years.

Surely transmitting HIV without informing the other party is a felony as well? With the outrageous signing of SB 239, California has deemed it a misdemeanor, lowering the punishment for a terrible offense.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill Oct. 7. His reasoning behind this audacious law, Brown says, is to transform the HIV virus from a criminal act to a public health issue.

In concept, Brown’s initiative is commendable in that he is trying to decriminalize victims of the virus. On the other hand, reducing the penalty for this heinous act is unacceptable in a society that has fought so hard to cleanse its people of the everlasting disease.

In fact, HIV is dangerous enough to receive major recognition. In 1983, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) designated the virus as an epidemic. HIV, contracted primarily by gay men in 1981, was only labeled a sexually transmitted disease (STD) in 1983, two years after its outbreak. HIV transmits solely through bodily secretion, most commonly sexual intercourse, and lives permanently in the body causing an impaired immune system that fails to filter out diseases if not properly cared for.

Despite having a major decline in cases from the late 1980s, the rate of HIV transmission from 2005, according to the CDC, has remained fairly constant during the past 15 years. With no progress in containment, Brown’s bill is not only a step in the wrong direction but a public disgrace.

With this in mind, SB 239 is simply unacceptable. Science has shown how HIV can affect our basic immune functions. It’s simply ridiculous to lower the repercussions of transmitting such a deadly, life-changing disease, and how we are inadvertently allowing it to grow again.

This bill fails to respect the act of transmission as what it is: careless and unacceptable. From medical bills to illnesses, contraction of the HIV virus is not only a lifestyle change, but a general calamity toward a person’s social life, self-esteem and, obviously, health. With care, a victim can lead a normal lifestyle, but why subject someone to such hardships? HIV is truly a destructor and needs to be handled as such.

For the past 30 years, the affected have battled their conditions, and some have worked extremely hard to raise awareness about their hardships. And while acknowledging the victims as victims and not criminals is important, taking every preventative measure to ensure discouragement is needed.

If there is a lack of legal discouragement regarding HIV transmission, we will see many more cases like that of actor Charlie Sheen, who, in November of 2015, announced that he’s HIV positive and had known of his condition for years. He also admitted to having unprotected sex with two people since being diagnosed.

Although he claims it’s impossible that he transmitted the disease, such negligence when it comes to other people’s well-being is deserving of a felony charge.

Unfortunately, the law has also ruled a number of people infected with HIV guilty of purposefully spreading the virus, including Missouri native David Mangum, who told authorities in 2013 that he had had sexual contact with up to 300 people despite knowing that he was HIV-positive.

Mangum received a sentence of 30 years for his crime, which he is rightfully serving.

In Mangum’s case, he intentionally endangered 300 innocent people with a virus which could’ve ruined lives forever. Keeping this shocking instance in mind, a misdemeanor penalty is simply too lenient. The previous laws did not bar two individuals in engaging in sexual acts. It mandated the knowledgeable consent of both individuals. If one party fails to notify the other of the virus, harsh penalties should fall upon the transmitter. The concept of ruining a life and simply receiving a misdemeanor for it is abhorrent.

With contemporary knowledge of the weight of the disease, we as Americans should not be easing up on protecting our citizens, even if California decides to make it a misdemeanor. Knowledge and treatment has come a long way, especially with diseases like HIV.

Students should avoid goofing off, give teachers respect Elad Gov-Ari

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class of 30 sits quietly as the teacher lectures from the front of the room. The topic, personal finance, is somewhat dry.

The content of the lecture is muffled out by unintelligible comments and giggling.

A group of four boys in the back carry on an entire conversation all while the class tries to pay attention to the lecture. From interrupting class to snotty comments, some students have failed the balance of respect in the classroom.

Students often take friendliness too far.

Simply because a teacher cracks a joke to alleviate a boring string of mathematical equations is not an open invitation to interrupt the entire class to practice a comedic routine. Far too many students blurt out nonsense to squeeze a laugh from their peers.

The act of interruption is not only frustrating to kids but extraordinarily disrespectful to the instructors, as their hard work and planning is quickly undermined for a poorly thought out joke.

When planning, a teacher blocks certain chunks of time in order for a lesson plan to coherently flow through their day. What is not planned, however, is for an arrogant teenager to shout out a “hysterical” anecdote about his or her weekend. Furthermore, when this anecdote turns to a full story that riles up an entire class, valuable time and information is gone to the wind.

That being said, students should encourage fun in the learning environment; however, they should allocate it for appropriate times, such as independent work, or at the very least when the

teacher isn’t lecturing.

Disruptions are an indirect form of disrespect. Students don’t directly wish to aggravate their teachers; they simply attempt to appear

VALERIA VELASQUEZ / THE ROCK

funny or clever to their peers.

Mouthing off, however, is a different form of disrespect that adults believe has become more apparent with time, a USAtoday.com poll shows. From a young age, adults teach students to address school faculty with a Mr. or Mrs. As students bridge the age gap of children interacting with adults to children who think they’re adults, gone are the prefixes and are the filters and manners taught so long ago.

During class time, we should see our teacher as an authoritative figure who is there to inform and educate; after all, that is what their job is.

When students begin to view themselves as equals to their teacher, verbal disrespect strikes the class leaving a bitter and annoyed taste in the students and teachers mouth’s.

With that being said, teachers don’t have to be scary figures in classrooms. Fun, lighthearted humor is enjoyable and makes dry content far easier to sit through. Issues, however, begin to arise when students humor the class with their pointless, unnecessary, time-wasting wisecracks.

Disrespect in classrooms, whether in a humorous form or not, is simply unacceptable.

Students should keep in mind that they are in class to learn, and not to goof off. Sit down, be quiet, and take notes, because school’s primary focus is to learn.

And, if all else fails, teachers must begin enforcing harsher rules to ensure disruptions in class stay at a minimum.

COMMENTARIES A7

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

Stop the spree; put it back on the rack Nikol Slatinska ou don’t. Need. This sweater.

But it looks like something Audrey Hepburn would wear.

No it doesn’t. It has pit stains, and the collar is ripped.

Those are fixable. Don’t you want to look like Audrey Hepburn?

After five unsuccessful minutes of trying to talk myself out of buying another unnecessary garment that would just be flung haphazardly into my closet, I exited the dressing room and got in line for the cash register.

This is what my life has become, I thought as I handed the sweater to the cashier. The scratchy white pullover wasn’t even cheap since I was buying it from one of those trendy Chicago thrift stores where people with nose rings and undercuts shop.

In the end, I couldn’t keep convincing myself that I would eventually wear the sweater and gave it to Goodwill a month after buying it.

Audrey Hepburn would laugh in my face.

Recently, almost all of my shopping experiences have been dictated by spontaneous tendencies brought on by the desire to look and live like someone else. These impulses all began about a year ago when I started watching old movies.

Films from France and Italy in particular are my biggest influencers, especially those directed by

Y

French New Wave screenwriter Eric Rohmer. Most of his screenplays consist of carefree Parisians having meaningless philosophical conversations and worrying about where they’ll go for their next vacation. They languidly stroll down empty streets and sip red wine in the July heat, all the while looking effortlessly chic in their breezy clothes.

After looking at these images for two hours, and envisioning myself spending a lazy summer in the French countryside, I’m ready to reinvent my entire life, beginning with my wardrobe. I only want to wear flowy sundresses, loose blouses and silky pajamas all year long, even though I live in Missouri where the climate is as consistent as my stylistic mood swings.

A more specific cinematic source of sartorial inspiration has been the movie “L’Enfer,” in which a man named Paul becomes paranoid about his wife Nelly’s infidelity. An iconic scene from the film depicts Nelly walking around town wearing hoop earrings, tortoise shell sunglasses, red lipstick and a gold cross necklace, as well as a sundress and scarf headband of mismatched floral patterns.

Nelly’s confidence and allure not only caused Paul to stalk her like a maniac all around town, but it also had me standing in line at Zara, contemplating whether or not to spend $36 on headscarves.

CARMEN RAMIREZ / THE ROCK

The 1960 thriller “Plein Soleil” and its remake, “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” had me so enamored with the characters’ posh way of life and preppy, Mediterranean-style apparel that I bought my own white button-down yachting shirt to fit in, even though I definitely will not be setting foot on a yacht anytime soon.

In fact, it’s been four months, and I still haven’t found an occasion to wear the shirt. I also blame other movies with that same “classy European tourist” vibe for my pur-

[THE ROCK SURVEYED 200 STUDENTS, 10 PRECENT OF THE STUDENT BODY]

ISABEL GOMPPER / THE ROCK

Rochita Ghosh

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couple of weeks ago, I attended a birthday party for twin boys who had just turned one. The toddlers were a total mess: one cried every time someone picked his brother up instead of him, and they both had very short attention spans. The fussy boy loved sucking on the ear of his toy rabbit; his brother was fascinated by all the balloons decorating the room.

As is the standard for birthday parties, there was a cake for guests to consume, but the guests of honor could not eat it since it was unsafe for one-year-olds to eat cake. The parents brought a C O ER TH special cake for their children, instead: smash / EZ QU S cakes.

The brothers reacted differently from LA VE A I one another; one lightly pressed on the cake ER AL and gave a look of disgust to the surrounding adults. The other toddler had the time of his life — a grin across his face, he squashed his small cake, kneading it as though it were dough.

Letting go of his inhibitions had consequences, though. Bits of frosting and cake flew everywhere and landed on his brother, himself and the gathering crowd. His brother, appalled, let out a shrieking cry.

The other boy, for whatever reasons that made sense in his one-year-old mind, believed he needed to join his brother in sound. Instead of yelling at or admonishing them for making such a stupid mistake, the adults and I just laughed and cleaned up after the twins.

Where does that forgiving mentality go when babies turn into teenagers and adults?

A few months ago, I had the idea of making an at-home wax hair removal because I was too lazy to use tweezers for my eyebrows. I had all the necessary ingredients, according to some recipe website I found. All I needed to do was use the stovetop to boil them together until it was properly mixed.

I had only used the stove two or three times previously, but I figured not much could go terribly wrong with just throwing sugar, water and lemon juice together, right?

Before I could stop it, the mixture poured out of the pot and all over the stovetop. It was that day that I learned what caramelization is and, with just the right amount of heat, how fast it can occur. I also realized in cleaning up my aftermath just how sticky and hot wax is, and that simple paper towels cannot wipe away the mess nor protect me from the heat.

When I figured out a sponge, soap and time were my best bet, it was just my luck that my mom happened to walk into the kitchen, and my mother was not as relaxed as I was with the mistake I made.

I understand that the sight of my standing next to a boiled-over pot of caramelized sugar was a cause for alarm, but being yelled at only made me afraid to attempt anything related to wax ever again, in fear of making another wrong move.

Wrong moves are how we learn, though, and 10 minutes of yelling weren’t about to stop me from going on with the waxing process. While everything that happened had a terrible fallout, I don’t regret my experience.

As I overcame my fear of getting in trouble for using wax through sheer will, I discovered more about makeup and skincare, and thus the world around me.

To be human is to be fallible; it is to make mistakes. As toddlers, we learned how to walk by trial and error, and this same method applies to scientific breakthroughs. Heck, someone thought of penicillin because he accidentally let mold grow. The entirety of human knowledge comes from the mistakes of our past, in both individuals and as mankind. If we allow ourselves to break free of apprehension and not stop others from something that could be a learning experience, just imagine what we as a human race will continue to accomplish.

K

F

or 180 days out of the year, we were paired together in a classroom full of 30 other kids. Each day you stood in front of the class and shared your knowledge with us. You simply thought you were doing your job, but what you didn’t know is that you were saving my life.

You might be wondering how simply doing your job could save someone; you gave me the chance to find my purpose and see beyond the emotional pain I was going through.

In the beginning when you knew nothing about me, your level of care and compassion for a random student was remarkable. Not long after school started, as I was walking out of class one day, you told me I could always come to your classroom if I needed a place to get away. Even after you found out what I was going through, thank you for sticking by my side through it all.

There were days when I felt as though the world was crumbling beneath my feet, and I was falling deeper and deeper into the emotional pain and, without even knowing it, you were the one who pulled me out.

Those were the days your class would bring a smile to my lifeless face and restore the light inside of me. You did this through engaging my mind in an interesting lesson that distracted me from my own intrusive thoughts or noticing I wasn’t having the best day and offering a hug.

V

Kayla West

commit to one fashionable aesthetic and carry it out consistently; however, the most practical solution would probably be to work on impulse control.

That includes thinking about how often I will wear a garment before buying it, setting a spending budget and asking myself questions like, “Where can I wear this that’s within a 50 mile radius?” No more yachting apparel for me. But until I change this impetuous aspect of my personality, I’m happy to live in my own reality, or someone else’s.

Make no mistake

More than moral support Some might argue that this was your job, but you went beyond what was expected. Nowhere in your contract did it say you had to offer your whole heart to every student. I have seen teachers who believe their job is solely to teach; it doesn’t seem like a very happy life.You are the one who listened to me during the only hour of free time in your day, even though you had a pile of work sitting on your desk. You still sat there, and we cried and laughed and talked about anything from how the weekend was to some of our darkest feelings.

You were the one who hugged me in tears on the last day of school, saying to call you if I ever need anything. The one who asked me how I was “really” doing every day. You understood me beyond the walls I had built up. You gave me purpose, and I would not be here if it wasn’t for you. You made me feel like I was worth something even when I felt as though I wasn’t. You taught me life skills, such as problem solving, that will stick with me forever. You viewed me as a person, not just as another name on your roster, and for that I thank you.

You saw beyond the cloud of grief and my struggles, and pushed me to see through the darkness, even when I didn’t believe you.

The two simple words “thank you” could never fully express how grateful I am for all that you did for me, and you will always be in my heart.

I could never repay you.

chase of not one, not two, but three pairs of beige trousers. Why do I need three slightly different variations of the same pair of pants? You tell me.

To make matters worse, I end up wearing the same clothes almost every day. When I wake every morning at 6:30, I don’t feel like a glamorous socialite living it up in Saint-Tropez; I just want to put on comfy leggings and a sweatshirt that will get me through another day of sitting in cold classrooms.

Part of me wishes I could just

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Fear factor [SOURCE: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH]

VALERIA VELASQUEZ / THE ROCK

Students with phobias seek help Ryan Choe

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uman behavior is not always logical, as the mind can become afraid of ordinary objects, people or animals.

This unnatural human behavior can happen to all people from children to adults.

Junior Kiren MacLeod experiences this irrational human behavior when he finds himself near birds. Whenever MacLeod finds himself near a bird, he feels an uneasiness and a rush of anxiety. As a result, MacLeod maneuvers around the bird to avoid any contact.

This discomfort that MacLeod feels is a phobia. Four to five percent of Americans have a phobia, according to psychcentral.com. Macleod is included in this percentage; his fear of birds is known as ornithophobia.

“I’m fine if [birds] keep their distance, but if they start flying up too close to me, I start to get really uncomfortable,” MacLeod said. “I know a few people with pet parrots, and I just hate the thought of one of them landing on me or something.”

MacLeod discovered his phobia on

a trip to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Wash., which gave him a fearful lasting impression of birds. MacLeod was in the fourth grade at the time and had stopped in front of an exhibit with some parakeets and parrots in it. The exhibit was essentially a huge room where the birds could fly around freely.

“I went in without even thinking about [my fear of birds] because I [had] never really been super close up with a bird to realize that they sort of freaked me out. I got one of the bird-feeding sticks, and a bird landed on my hand,” MacLeod said. “All of a sudden I got really anxious about the whole situation. I tensed up and was very nervous that something bad would happen. I don’t know what I was worried about, but I still just hate it when birds get super close up to me.”

Despite MacLeod’s phobia of birds, it is not a serious problem to deal with.

It is pretty easy for MacLeod to avoid birds since they rarely fly close to humans; however, MacLeod is one of few teenagers who are able to find ways to solve their phobias.

According to the National Institute

of Mental Health, 15.1 percent of kids in the U.S. ages 13-18 have a lifetime phobias, which include the fear of heights, spiders and flying. Lifetime prevalence is the proportion of a population who have a specific fear or characteristic they have during their life.

Because of these statistics, some people are able to find solutions to their unease sooner than others. Depending on the type and severity of fear, people sometimes visit psychologists or therapists to help them cope with or find solutions to their phobias.

Licensed professional counselor Tiffany S. Borst is a local therapist who specializes in helping people, mainly teenagers, who suffer from severe anxiety disorders, social anxiety and agoraphobia, the fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness or embarrassment. The most common phobia that she sees is the fear of social interaction.

“Many people avoid social interactions, phone calls, texts, social situations of any kind,” Borst said. “Even going to classes is hard [because of the] fear that they will have to interact with people. The ultimate fear here is

that they will be judged or say something [that seems] stupid.”

Borst also says she works with people who have other phobias unrelated to social fear. The fear of failure, needles, heights, small places and crowds are not uncommon in her work.

Compared to MacLeod’s phobia of birds, junior Zainab Ibitoye’s fear of cats, called ailurophobia, is much harder to cope with since cats interact with humans more frequently than birds. Ibitoye says her ailurophobia comes from her negative experiences with cats in the past.

“My most recent experience was this summer [when] I was at [a] friend’s house, and she has three cats,” Ibitoye said. “I repeatedly told her to put her cats away, but she didn’t care to do so. Every time one of her cats would come near me, my heart literally skipped a beat. I couldn’t take my mind off the cats even though we were having conversations; my mind wasn’t actually there it was just on the cats.”

This was not the only occasion where Ibitoye had a poor experience with cats. She described one incident where a stray cat in her neighbor-

hood kept following her and her sister around. As they were trying to get away, the cat jumped on her sister. The incident increased Ibitoye’s fear of cats, even though she knows they are basically harmless.

“I know that they can’t really hurt me more than a tiny scratch,” Ibitoye said. “But every time I’m around a cat, I get an unsettling feeling [in my gut].”

Borst believes teens, and people in general, have phobias for different reasons. Sometimes it is related to a specific bad experience. Borst emphasizes that phobias, small or large, are treatable and that there are specialists ready and willing to help people who struggle with phobias.

“The most common and effective approach to treating fears and phobias is cognitive behavioral therapy. This is a process of identifying and changing distorted thoughts that fuel the fear,” Borst said. “Phobias and anxiety in general are very common and very treatable, and if someone is experiencing symptoms of anxiety or fear that is in any way limiting them in their lives, they should seek help from a counselor.”

Psychology teaches life skills Jordyn Thompson

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cognition, motivation, development, emotion and personality.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), AP Psychology helps students understand how their minds work, allowing them to have a better understanding of their surroundings and their own behavior.

This knowledge can help a psychology student make decisions and avoid stress more effectively than a student who has never taken the class.

“The study skills that you take from class are impeccable,” Lockett said. “By learning how we create mem-

uring the 90 minutes junior Keaton Lockett spends in his Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology class every other day, he learns more than just the scientific study of the behavior of people. It is the connections he makes outside of the classroom that makes AP Psychology such a fascinating course.

In every class, students learn about a specific curriculum, however, some classes impact students’ lives outside of school.

“Studying [psychology] can improve your capacity to empathize,” AP Psychology teacher Bryn Orton said. “You come to understand why people act and feel the way they do even if they’re acting and feeling in a way that is completely counter to the way [you’re] acting and feeling.”

Like Orton, Dr. Susan Whitbourne, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Massachusetts, believes psychology classes can have tremendous effects on students. They allow students to use what they learn in [SOURCE: VERY WELL & TIME TO KNOW] classrooms and apply it to the real world, Dr. Whitbourne said.

Additionally, psychology courses allow for students to learn more about themselves in areas such as

ories, you can learn how to study effectively.

Tests become easier due to your knowledge of overconfidence.”

Stress is a common problem among teenagers especially in high school due to school work and assignments like tests. A 2013 survey from the APA found that stress is extremely common among teenagers.

“AP [Psychology] has changed the way I look at people’s responses to stress,” Lockett said. “Whenever we look [at] the news, I am able to pick out emotions and reactions from what is happening.”

Having a new outlook can change an individual’s perspec-

tive on life. According to Psychology Today, a psychology class can also give individuals specific insight into the complexities of the political and social world.

“The one question that we need to ask ourselves when trying to be objective is, ‘What would the other side think or view?” Lockett said.

The ability to utilize what a student learns in school in his or her life is essential for many classes.

Psychology focuses on how to be empathetic and conscious of other people. This can help students better interact with their friend groups, family, school and even future workplaces.

What some students don’t understand are the scientific reasons behind why the world is the way it is.

These skills are important because they will help students solve conflicts and resolve miscommunications among their peers. Being empathetic for other people is a good character trait to develop. “[Psychology] gives you a sense of perspective that, for me at least, has a calming effect,” Orton said.

KELSEY MORGRET / THE ROCK “The world seems like a much more chaotic and confusing place when you don’t understand the underlying psychological factors that contribute to the issues facing our world.”

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Dominant emotions cause time warp Emily Oba

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n 2016, senior Cassi Viox traveled to Guatemala for the first time in 10 years. Previously, she went to the central American country to adopt her little sister, though Viox was young and didn’t fully understand the weight of what she was doing. As time passed, however, Viox learned more about the dangers for women in poorer countries and knew the potential she had to make a difference.

“I saw some of the [danger] victims when I went [to Guatemala] in 2016 and realized that my work in Guatemala is more meaningful than something to write about in college essays,” Viox said. “It was devastating and captivating. It took over my entire heart and mind and made me change the course of my future.”

Despite the hard work she puts in when she visits Guatemala by carrying rocks up and down a mountainside, visiting public hospitals with no funding and seeing people about to die that have no healthcare,

Altitude impacts revolutions

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ime passes quicker for someone’s face than it does for their feet while standing up.

Einstein’s theory of relativity said the closer someone is to the center of the earth, the slower time goes. At the summit of Mount Everest, a year is around 15 microseconds shorter than it is at sea level.

[Source: American Association for the advancement of science]

Clocks block schedule opportunity Emily Oba

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very morning when the blaring sound of sophomore Jordan Kuhnert’s alarm clock rudely awakens her short sleep at 5:30 a.m., she dutifully drags herself out of bed to face another busy day. After her 7:45 a.m. band rehearsal for two hours and 45 minutes on A days, and one hour and 10 minutes on B days, she goes through a full day of school.

Even though she would love to go home to get some rest, Kuhnert then goes to cheerleading or tumbling practice. She finally arrives at her house at 7 p.m. then stays up past midnight to finish Advanced Placement (AP) World History homework and study for any upcoming tests.

After only five hours of sleep, Kuhnert’s day begins again.

“I sometimes find myself getting really tired in my classes if I’m just sitting and listening to a lesson or when we’re watching a video,” Kuhnert said. “It’s pretty much to the point where I can barely keep my eyes open, but if I move around usually I can shake it off.”

As a member of RBHS’ marching band, the Emerald Regiment, a student and a varsity cheerleader, Kuhnert is always wishing for more time to complete her schoolwork.

When students age, the amount of homework can increase. Instead of procrastination causing stress, students overbook themselves with extracurricular activities on top of school, leading to less time to do their assignments.

A study conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that time management was key to helping students control their stress; participants of the study said they were less overwhelmed when they felt they had control over their time.

“I always feel like I need more time,” Kuhnert said.

“Most nights I get home at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. and still have homework; 24 hours is definitely not enough.”

Becky Allen, an assistant professor from the Moberly Area Community College (MACC), says there are multiple ways to help reduce stress, but the alleviators depend on the nature of the stressor, the person and their preferred coping skill.

Allen says one has to first get a handle on what exactly the stressor is and find social support in the form of friends and family who can listen and give good advice. While she realizes that talking will not solve all problems, Allen says it assists in getting rid of stress.

“There are helpful things we can do to deal with our issues, and it’s important to find the things that work for you,” Allen said.

“Some of these could be taking a walk; any type of exercise would certainly help. [Hang out] with a friend, listen to music, read, take a nap or meditate. It’s [also] important to remind yourself that everything will be ok.”

While finding time to sleep may be difficult for those who have many things to do before the day ends, Allen says when someone gets more sleep, they’ll be happier and more efficient during the day because, without enough sleep, people work more slowly.

“You really need to get ahold of your schedule,” Allen said. “Keep track of what needs to be done and when, how long things will take and when is the optimal time for you to do these things. For instance, I never grade papers late at night [because] I’m too tired, and it takes me three times as long.”

Viox cherishes the moments and opportunity she has to make passing through our system,” Eagleman said in the NPR article. He believes that when people feel time slowing down, it in the country.

“Despite the awkward or uncomfortable times, though, is actually their memory storing all the little information that [the hard work] is rewarding and makes the time down there would usually be thrown out, unless in an emergency situabe treasured,” Viox said. “The weeks I spend there don’t nec- tion, where any information the brain can receive is helpful.

Junior Eleanor Fay experienced this time warp feeling essarily go fast or slow. It’s more about savoring the sweet and bitter moments so I never forget why I care about the when she was driving on a narrow, winding back road. Fay’s right tire caught on the edge of the road. She overcorrected place.”

Among some of the sweet moments Viox experienced in into the other lane, jerked the steering wheel, flipped off the Guatemala was when she interacted and talked with the kids road and landed in a ditch.

“When I was rolling, time definitely stopped,” Fay said. in the youth group. Seeing the love the kids had for each other was an amazing moment for her, she said. She wishes that “I was holding onto the steering wheel and it almost felt like time would have stopped to have more of a chance to savor I was frozen in that moment. Once I stopped rolling, though, time almost seemed to go in fast forward; it’s all a the now bittersweet memory. blur now.”

“I got to meet these kids who were love deWhen Fay felt time stop during her prived and needing somebody to hold them life-threatening car accident, Psychology and pay attention to them,” Viox said. “[It] Department Chair and Associate Profeswas just such an amazing moment that I Once [my car] stopped sor at Westminster College, Dr. Abby wish I could replay again.”

Coats confirmed that stress can be the Even though time cannot literally rolling, though, time cause of that feeling. stop, the “slow motion effect” can make almost seemed to go “I think [time slows] because people split seconds feel like minutes. Neuin fast forward; it’s all a notice all the details when they focus roscientist David Eagleman has been blur now.” on one thing exclusively,” Dr. Coats studying this effect after experiencing said. “[As] an active area of research, the same phenomenon as a kid. When Ea— Eleanor Fay, junior no one knows just yet. The short answer gleman fell, he noticed that he saw the little is that it seems to involve an interaction details of his surroundings. This experience between the cerebral cortex and lower-level led to him conducting his own experiment, acbrain structures such as the basal ganglia.” cording to National Public Radio (NPR).

Allen says time slows down when people are in stressEagleman used a Suspended Catch Air Device (SCAD), which consists of a person being connected to a cable 150 ful situations because of the amygdala, a part of the limbic feet above the ground, and free falling for about three sec- system in the brain which facilitates emotion. “[The amygdala] becomes more active [and] creates anonds before safely landing in a net.

SCAD diving is designed to make the participant’s other set of memories that seem to create more vivid memobrain feel like it’s life is in danger, which helped Eagle- ries,” Allen said. “So the event is associated with more vivid man achieve his desired effect. When participants fell, memories. The more memories you have for a situation, the they looked at a perceptual chronometer on their longer it seems that it lasted. That’s why it often seems like wrists, which quickly flashed numbers. While certain situations that maybe only lasted a few seconds might unable to read from the ground, Eaglemen feel like a few minutes.”

Despite Viox’s desire to relive her moment in Guatematheorized that the “slow mo effect” would allow people to see the flashing numbers la, she appreciates the continuity of time and focuses on the future. in life-threatening situations.

“Even during my happiest moment, I would rather continWhile people felt like the fall was longer than it actually was, they ue living my life and wait for new happy moments because were still unable to read the there is progress that must occur,” Viox said. “Part of that progress is a zeal and excitement for my future and potential numbers.

“We’re not writing for more happiness if I keep on living and enjoying every down most of what’s moment I’m given.”

seconds tick for timeliness

T

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he Earth’s rotation is slowing down, making days longer and the original 24-hour day slightly off, causing watches to be one second slower.

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[Source: timeanddate.com]

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THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

Fi

e c s n r e o at e s s p s e r k t h e g we d i l f time r o p e rception t h g

M OY ZH ON G /T HE RO CK

Elad Gov-Ari

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eading sweat, clammy hands and a racing heartbeat. These feelings are all too familiar for the countless people who experience the physical response, fight or flight.

When confronted by an opponent, a wild animal or general adversity, the body assesses whether or not it can defeat or flee from the foe, releasing hormones and adrenaline accordingly.

Suppose, however, that rather than fighting or fleeing the mind freezes, unable to understand and react to a situation.

With a stricken sense of familiarity, many students and teachers have experienced events that freeze the mind, and, thereby, freeze time.

RBHS student Joanne* has soaked up and held onto this all consuming feeling. In the spring of 2016, after a verbal altercation with her father that escalated beyond proportion, Joanne reached a moment that will never leave her mind.

“One day, he snapped, and he threw me down and hit me and held scissors above my head and threatened me a lot. It was extremely scary, and I still have [post traumatic stress disorder] from it,” Joanne said. “My sisters threatened to call the cops and were screaming and crying for him not to hurt me. That’s when time stopped.”

With such a trauma, the event rarely leaves Joanne’s mind. Hearing the screaming and yelling in her mind, she can still remember every sight and feeling of that day.

“It felt like every second was 10 seconds longer,” Joanne said. “I felt like I was trying to run while underwater in the sense that all my movements felt long and drawn out. It felt like I was on the outside, watching myself and my dad engage almost as if I was the cameraman standing away, taping the scene before me.”

While frightening and extraordinarily unpleasant, the freezing aspect of the instinctive fight or flight is important to mentally processing the information as it comes in.

Furthermore, psychologytoday.com said the freezing response “adds a crucial dimen-

sion,” because the information coming into the mind is overwhelming, so the brain struggles to cope with the reaction.

In a sense, the affected body is freezing up in the face of adversity as the mind recognizes that neither fight nor flight would be appropriate or available.

Instead, the mind is suspended in time, fearing for its safety as a life changing moment flashes before its eyes.

Obviously, a person is not actually suspended in time. Rather, their perception of time is dilated in hindsight as the brain collects every aspect of the information and encodes it towards long correlation term memory.

Psychology novelist and researcher Jeff to age.

Psychology Wise suggests in an article on psychologytoday.com that the body becomes paralyzed, researcher Daand rather than reacting, the mind remains vid Eagleman told illustricken with panic and collects information livescience.com that the sory exposure to time warping is utilized rampantly to be able to judge the threat in through adolescence, when young minds hindsight assessment. encode important memories to compare to In continuation of his hypothesis, Wise future events.

This causes the younger searched further and compiled inforyears, 3-12, to crawl by, while mation regarding the physical adulthood seems to fly. responses of stress. He deBy setting a foundation duced, through studying for personal experiencresearch conducted by es, the first years of life University of CaliforIt isn’t until a few hours can be seen as long and nia Irvine, that the eventful, while the [after performing] or when amygdala, responsible adult years base their for emotional responssomeone shows me a vidjudgment on adoleses in the brain, is stimeo that I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, cent memories. ulated in the face of that’s a thing I did.’.”

While not expefear and triggers “flashriencing a traumatic — Finn Kisida, senior bulb memories,” which event, Kisida claims are remembered for life. time has warped for him, Senior musician Finn too.

He says time has no duKisida is extraordinarily familration when performing, and he iar with the concept of flashbulb has little recollection of his actions. memories. As a performing guitar player, every moment on stage is a pure excitement. The pure thrill of performing, Kisida says, “During a music competition, there was a is matched by none. With no fear and pure moment when I was singing, and I was look- excitement, time races forward rather than ing out at the audience, and it was really sur- slows down.

“Anytime I play on stage, everything goes real,” Kisida said. “What’s funny is that later by incredibly fast. The moment I pick up my on, I found the photo of me at around that guitar, I think I just go into autopilot, and it moment. It’s an extremely vivid memory that doesn’t stop until the show is over, at which seems like a picture in my mind.”

Although fear and excitement are the most point I’m like, ‘Wait? What? We’re done?’” predominant reasons the brain creates time Kisida said. “I’ve also found that in the post delusions, this form of reaction is present in gig adrenaline I’m not really able to remem-

ber anything that happened while on stage, and it isn’t until a few hours later or when someone shows me a video that I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s a thing I did.’”

From music to traumatic events, time is a decider of memories and health. Mental disorders, such as bipolarism and depression, are expressed in a cyclical pattern, passing through major depressive, extreme sadness and hopelessness, to mania and rampant happiness in a matter of days.

A licensed social worker in Columbia, Missouri, Michael Kaplan describes the process as an overlapping time ‘trapped’ cycle that causes moods to change like seasons.

“For some people with bipolar disorder, depression is the dominant phase, with only occasional bouts of mania,” Kaplan said.

“Others experience rapid cycling, which is when a person experiences numerous (four or more) phases of depression or mania in a year. There is also a ‘mixed state,’ which is when a person seems to experience both mania and depression at the same time.”

With the rise and fall of mood and emotion, time controls yet another human aspect.

Slowing in the face of fear, washing moods and capturing memories, time is the destructor and constructor of life.

For Joanne, time has engraved her trauma into a recurring nightmare. Although time froze, her mind relives the experiences on a loop.

“I felt like [the events] couldn’t possibly be happening,” Joanne said. “I was just waiting for it to be over as soon as possible, but time just slowed and made that horrible event feel like hours.” *Name withheld upon request.

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Culture Shock

Individuals adapt to customs

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Ann Fitzmaurice

rom the beginning of Sunni Islam in the Middle East to 1932, when Saudi Arabia formally adopted the ideology as the state religion, women have felt the effects, and not always in a positive way. Until only recently, Saudi Arabian women were unable to apply for their own driving permits without permission from their male guardians.

For these women, however, driving is only one small step in their fight for liberation.

Women in Saudi Arabia still cannot marry, divorce, travel or get a job without permission from their male guardians.

They also are not allowed to get a fair hearing in court, be in public without a full-length black abaya and mix freely with the opposite sex, according to CNN. For senior Raghad Nasraldeen, these restrictions were her reality before she moved to the United States after living in Saudi Arabia for 13 years.

“Before [I moved] all I knew about American culture was what I saw in movies and TV shows,” Nasraldeen said.

“It was hard in the beginning to adjust, but I got the hang of it a year later.”

Until her mother got a scholarship to study in America, Nasraldeen lived in Saudi Arabia where Nasraldeen went to public school, which was basic and simple, Nasraldeen said.

From preschool until high school, everyone has the same classes that are chosen for them. Students have one or more classes about religion, Arabic language, history or geography and basics of math and science, as well as one art class.

There weren’t any clubs or activities outside of school as there are in the United States.

Before she moved, Nasraldeen mostly watched Disney and Nickelodeon teen shows and movies, so she felt more prepared for the move though the little things made her transition hard, she said.

“Listening to music, having classes with guys or being next to a male in general [was hard],” Nasraldeen said. “The first day of school I was freaking out because I had male teachers, and my homeroom teacher was also a guy. I had to shake hands with him, [and] I was really scared.”

Although Americans see shaking hands as a common courtesy when greeting someone, in Saudi Arabia it is not proper etiquette for men and women to even talk, much less physically touch.

Having to shake hands in order to give the other person a good first impression was surprising to encounter when she first moved, Nasraldeen said.

Sophomore Amanda Kurukulasuriya, whose parents are from Sri Lanka, was born in America and sees small changes in gestures in the etiquette from one

country to the next, although her parents feel the affect more than she does.

“In Sri Lanka, the middle finger doesn’t mean anything,” Kurukulasuriya said. “My parents used to use their middle fingers to point at things, and [my brother and I] had to teach them not to.”

While gestures barely scratch the surface of what it’s like to live with parents from a different culture, Kurukulasuriya is still in the process of teaching her father that it’s inappropriate to call people Oriental.

“When [my dad] sees someone that looks like they are of east Asian descent, he will describe them as Oriental,” Kurukulasuriya said. “When I tell him this is an outdated term that is now considered offensive, he argues that it is just a descriptor because that’s how it was used in Sri Lanka.”

Kurukulasuriya understands American etiquette far more than her parents because of her young age. Children are typically more adaptable to change than adults, said Jodi Hasekamp, the International and Cultural Affairs officer at Missouri Science and Technology. Furthermore, when international students come to the United States to study, they are fulfilling a lifelong dream that requires change.

“When kids are growing up, their brains are like little sponges, and they quickly ab-

sorb new information,” Hasenkamp said. “Because of this, children often pick up on a new language quickly. They are also able to make new friends easily. Kids don’t see cultural differences – they just see their friends.”

As opposed to her parents, Kurukulasuriya just naturally pointed with her pointer finger and didn’t learn otherwise because she wasn’t exposed to the Sri Lankan gesture.

Adjusting to American culture for Nasraldeen was not as easy, especially coming from a place where men did not speak to women in public unless they were a family member.

In the United States, women are also allowed the freedom to dress however they want with protection from the First Amendment. In Saudi Arabia, however, Nasraldeen recalls having to cover her face if she went out at night or if she was surrounded by men in conservative Saudi Arabia. “[In the United States] everyone is social, talkative and nice,” Nasraldeen said. “You can have small conversations with people you don’t know. I was treated normally here.”

YOUSUF EL-JAYYOUSI / THE ROCK

Roasting brings humor, builds friendship bonds Katie Whaley

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[SOURCE: AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION]

KELSEY MORGRET / THE ROCK

udience members cheered as the fighters on stage ripped each other apart, the scene reminiscent of those that took place in the ancient Roman Colosseum. One blow after another after another, the entertainers tore each other apart with mockery, igniting laughter from spectators.

This brawl is one of many on the Comedy Central Roast show, and isn’t a physical one, but rather a verbal battle of insults known as roasting.

Merriam-Webster defines roasting as “subjecting one to severe criticism or ridicule.”

For sophomore Meredith Farmer, however, roasting is another form of learning more about peers.

“I enjoy [roasting] if it’s all in good fun. Usually, I’m a part of roasts where it’s of the people there, and everyone is saying things about [each other], kind of like passing around the roasting. It makes for a pretty fun time because you can laugh at your own faults and know that it’s okay to have those because you’re hearing what all of the other people’s faults are, too,” Farmer said. “You go away feeling better about yourself because you realize it’s not just you. I think [roasting] helps us feel more relaxed about ourselves and makes it a fun thing.”

Though willingly subjecting oneself to taunting may seem bizarre, a study published by Sage Journals explains the social implications of roasting and why people can enjoy it.

Roasting, the article describes, is a

form of disparagement humor. Through investigating test subjects’ reactions to defamatory jokes and researching the social psychology of people, the journal concluded roasting acted either as a social lubricant or an abrasive, depending upon the setting.

“The impact of roasting on a person’s emotional or mental well-being depends a lot on the quality of the jokes and the nature of the person being roasted. Like many effects in psychology, there may not be a straightforward ‘linear’ relationship, but instead what we call a ‘curvilinear’ relationship,” Lawrence Williams, a professor of marketing at the University of Colorado-Boulder, said. “My colleagues and I have studied situations where attempts at humor can backfire because they are too negative and hurtful, or they cut too close for comfort. Psychological distance plays a big role in determining whether a roast goes wrong.”

Senior Tricia Carver-Horner and her friends roast each other on occasion; she believes it allows them to become closer. She added that roasting, however, doesn’t work well outside of a close group.

“I’d say roasting is okay if it happens among friends and isn’t intended to be rude, but there is usually a fine line between what people are okay with others saying and when it could be considered bullying,” Carver-Horner said. “It can be really funny, and sometimes it can make a conversation more interesting.

It turns observations about people into something that can be relatable and

make others laugh.”

Making roasting personally engaging, Williams said, is the key to what makes that type of humor comical rather than insulting. If the jokes aren’t relatable to the audience then people wouldn’t enjoy roasting.

“Finding the humor in a joke is a shared experience that requires some level of mind melding, where an audience needs to understand what the joke-teller knows, and the joke-teller needs to understand what the audience knows in order to make jokes work,” Williams said. “With roasting, there is this added element of being ‘mock’ attacked in a way that is safe and ultimately inconsequential. In this way, being roasted can help people realize that their status within a group is ultimately safe from attack.”

Williams’ group position idea is similar to what happens to Farmer and her friends. When the friends roast each other, Farmer said the group uncovers each person’s opinions on a topic. Subsequently, this humor brings friendships closer. “[My friends and I] have definitely [roasted each other], but in the end it brings us together more because we realize that we all have our own faults and that, once we recognize those, we can do more to fix them,” Farmer said.

“From what I’ve seen, people are a lot more open if they’re interested in what’s going on or are having fun. Roasting is a way to get people to open up and say their true feelings even if they may not realize it.”

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Cheer squad confident for state Maddie Murphy

A

s the varsity high school cheer season comes to a close, the Bruins are ready to compete at the state level, and varsity Head Coach Kristine Hayes is as confident as ever.

The state cheer competition will be at the Hearnes Center Oct. 28. Varsity will perform a three-minute routine at 11:45 a.m., and awards will begin at 2:30 p.m.

“This year’s team is extremely strong and incredibly talented,” Hayes said. “I have a large group of seniors who have cheered multiple years, so there is a lot of leadership there. It has also been helpful for them to have consistency of coaches and expectations.”

While multiple factors have remained the same throughout the y, one thing is changing: the division in which the cheer team competes.

For the first time in RBHS history, there is a male cheerleader on the varsity competition team, junior Ethan Hayes, son of coach Kristine Hayes, which obligates the team to compete in the coed division.

“This is our first year ever to compete in a coed division,” Kristine Hayes said. “There are 22 teams in our category, which is more than normal and a little overwhelming to think about, but I know that the team has worked extremely hard all summer and fall to prepare, and if they do their best they will score well.”

The increase in competition is not the only obstacle that RBHS will face at state this year.

With the loss of several teammates, the team will have to turn adversity into good.

“We are in a bit of a scramble as we had some [team members] back out at the last minute, and the rules state that [the team] cannot replace them,” Kristine Hayes said. “Our alternates are already being used for the JV routine, so we are having to rework and rewrite parts of the routine to accommodate that. We have time to get there, and I am confident they can do it.”

Junior flyer Caroline Curtright agrees with her coach Kristine Hayes that the departure of the team members has been hard. The loss is discouraging to her and her teammates, but she is looking up.

“After hearing that [she] would not be competing with us in state, it was frustrating in some ways because it has a much bigger effect on the routine than [she] probably realized. The

KAI FORD / THE ROCK

FLYING TOGETHER: The team performs at the homecoming assembly Oct. 6. Seniors Gabby Soderman, Sydney Kent and

Maddie Diehls fly in a conncected stunt. The team added this last 30 seconds in order to include Kent in part of the state routine. stunts and pyramids were designed specifically for a certain number of people,” Curtright said.

“With that being said, it has [encouraged] the remaining girls work even harder and grow closer through this obstacle.”

The Bruins will also perform an additional section at the state competition for senior Sydney Kent. Her coaches and teammates will do this for her to show off how lucky they are to have been a part of a team with her.

Kent’s last year at high school will be her first time on the varsity team and her teammates

are equally as supportive of her as her coach.

Junior main base Anel Castro wants to prove that Kent’s down syndrome does not hold her back from achieving her dreams.

“My teammates and I have been working super hard on a special pyramid part for our teammate, Sydney,” Castro said. “We are so excited to show everyone that she really is no different than the rest of us.”

As a tribute to Kent, the cheer team plans to do a special recognition for her during the latter part of their routine. Kent will become the star

that her teammates already see her as.

“After our competition routine is completed, Sydney will enter the floor, and the team will perform the pyramid and dance from the homecoming assembly to spotlight her hard work and commitment to the team,” Kristine Hayes said. “We have been very fortunate to be able to cheer with Sydney for the past several years, and we have learned so many things from her. I am super proud of the team for putting in some extra time to allow her to participate in state with them this year.”

E-Sports on the rise; RBHS forms new team Ryan Choe

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hile playing the online multiplayer video game League of Legends, junior Tim Rhodenbaugh casts multiple spells and enchantments, beats enemy minions and attempts multiple knockout combo attacks.

He says playing in the heat of battle after a day booked with schoolwork and cross country is a way to channel his frustrations toward the gameplay on the battlefield.

“I started playing League [of Legends] about six years ago,” Rhodenbaugh said. “That’s the only [game] that I play for e-sports, [which are] competitive multiplayer video games.”

Rodenbaugh says League of Legends is easy to follow, and because of the popularity of the game, he has found himself often playing with his friends. The game is especially fun and freeing for Rhodenbaugh after his cross country practices and meets.

“There is no [designated] time; you just get on and see who else is on,” Rhodenbaugh said.

“People you can play with are almost always on, and it’s on the computer, so you just do it from your home.”

Since League of Legends by Riot Games, an American video game developer, came out in 2009, its popularity has exploded internationally. In 2014, Forbes Magazine revealed that up to 27 million people play League of Legends daily, and up to 67 million people play monthly.

A part of why the game has become so popular is because Riot Games pushed for an e-sports professional league for the League of Legends game. The company was successful and made the professional competitions into a legitimate sport.

The rise of major e-sports stars such as Bjergsen, Doublelift and Faker helped further increase the exposure of the game by streaming on Twitch, a live streaming video platform, and spreading the word about League of Legends.

Incentives and rewards come in the form of millions of dollars, which also draws out competitors.

Rhodenbaugh’s interest and skill in League of Legends led him to join RBHS’ first e-sports team, which began meeting in September. Led by e-sports head coach Kyle Reznicek, Rhodenbaugh decided to sign up and see how he compared to other players at RBHS. The prospect of taking a hobby to competition was more than enough to convince Rhodenbaugh to sign up for the e-sports team.

Reznicek himself has been playing Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video games

KAI FORD / THE ROCK

since he was two years old, and so they still have had a ton of sentimental value for him.

During Reznicek’s college years, his brother-in-law showed him how to play League of Legends for the first time. On top of his familiarity with League of Legends, Reznicek believed the notion of gathering a bunch of kids together to share a valuable experience seemed like a good use of his time.

“Video games are so much more than people give them credit for,” Reznicek said. “Gamers are one of the best communities out there. This past August, [RBHS athletics director] David Egan walked down to my classroom during biology one day. He asked me if I would be interested in potentially sponsoring the e-sports team, in which I replied yes and asked him to give my email [to the coordinators].”

Within the week, Reznicek was contacted via email by Ben Brooks and Joe Chee of Ukatsu. A local company in Columbia, Ukatsu KAI FORD / THE ROCK is centered around providing live, social and PLUGGED IN: Sophomore Eli Fritz focuses on his screen while practicing League of competitive video game experiences for kids Legends on Oct. 5. His teammates gather around him, watching and aiding him. in Columbia. Ukatsu is officially a partner with Columbia Public Schools (CPS) and helped on our server and participate [in battles]. Yes, ing the most effective tactics and accepting the form the RBHS e-sports program.

I make announcements and schedule meetings, role on the team helps everyone become better After exchanging brief emails about the goal but I also try to discuss League of Legends, the teammates. of the program, Reznicek met with Hickman most effective tactic available, ask questions When playing League of Legends, Mullen High School (HHS) e-sports sponsor, Alex Sop- in our channel, and most importantly, play the mans the Jungle role, which roams the battleer, along with Brooks and Chee from Ukatsu. field map and aids whoever needs to sit during game.”

It was at that meeting where Reznicek found Reznicek also attempts to organize scrim- enemy encounters. Mullen explains how his out CPS organized mages with team role and the team chemistry affects the team’s an exhibition match members.

For success. Mullen says when all of the team between the Rock him, this is where members execute their roles on the team they Video games are so much more Bridge and Hickman team captains rise are more likely to experience success against than people give them credit e-sports teams Sept. up and help him. their opponents.

8. Reznicek realized for. Gamers are one of the best “Basically, it’s a team of five that works toTeam captain and he would have just 12 senior Jeffrey Mul- gether in harmony to outwit the other team and communities out there.” days to prepare for the len helps keep the beat them by destroying their nexus [base],” — Kyle Reznicek, head coach match. members unified Mullen said. “To win, you have to outwit and Despite a hard kill the other team members.” under Reznicek. fought battle, RBHS Reznicek’s number-one priority right now is For Mullen, a losing 0-2, the team senior, being a cap- on-site practices. Practices are held Thursdays members were excited to improve their skill tain has made him feel more responsible and as- at 4:15 p.m. in room 245, and he said the team and coordination so they could perform better sume a role of leadership. He and fellow senior welcomes all students who are interested. He in future competitions. Reznicek said he tries Justin Zhang help keep the team and sport fun said that support from the district and RBHS to continue to motivate the team by playing and inclusive of all members. tech specialist Jeremy Young has been incrediLeague of Legends with the team members “Being a leader means making sure every- bly helpful in speeding up the formation of the once a week. He says he was proud how well the one is doing their job and does all the little RBHS e-sports team, and for that he is truly team was able to come together on a crunched things here and there to support everyone,” thankful. time schedule. He continues to use “raw, un- Mullen said. “I also help [Coach Reznicek] or“It’s obvious to anyone who talks to me bridled enthusiasm” as a way to keep the team ganize scrimmages with Ukatsu and other high about games that I’m passionate and know motivated and amped up, as well as having fun schools [during] our free time.” my stuff. I’m really looking forward to a great and learning new tips from each other.

Mullen says when everyone collaborates year,” Reznicek said. “I don’t even belong on “I’m a 29-year [e-sport] veteran and try to and shares good tips, then the whole team can the same map as most of [the team members], inspire the team by playing [games] with them get on the same page. The little things like of- but they’ve been nice to me and even taught me online,” Reznicek said. “I try my best to get fering encouragement during practice, discuss- as they [have] pummeled me mercilessly.”

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FAITH IN GOD: Freshman Avery Samuel, sophomore Ella Boswell and freshmen Maren Jones, Jillian Larkin and Ella Schouten pray before their district game against Grain

Valley High School on Oct. 5. The act of praying is under Columbia Public Schools’ regulations that prevent athletes from participating in prayer before performances.

CPS rules prohibit pre-game prayer Allie Pigg

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efore every Bruins softball game this season, the team could be found in a circle, hands held, praying for a safe and fun competition.

“We pray before games as a way to center ourselves,” sophomore Maddie Marrero said.

“It helps me relax and get rid of my last minute jitters before stepping on the field. . . being able to say it together is really cool.”

Prior to September, the team’s coaches were included in that circle as well. Junior Gemma Ross, who participates in the prayers, said it was a way for the team, including players and coaches, to unite before competition.

“Although coaches had told players that it is not mandatory to participate in pregame prayers, most players have done it, religious or not,” Ross said.

Earlier in the season, however, the Human Resources department at Columbia Public Schools (CPS) informed the softball coaches that they are not allowed to participate in the praying, as religious expression cannot include a public school faculty or coach.

On Sept. 12, The Human Resources depart-

ment released this statement to all applicable softball staff: “...To the extent required by law, district employees or school officials shall not lead attendees of a district-sponsored event in prayer or any other religious ritual, nor shall they direct, whether implicitly or explicitly, a student to lead attendees in a prayer or any other religious ritual. However, this policy shall not be used to deny any student, employee or district official any personal legal right of expression.”

In other words, neither CPS coaches nor staff can participate in pregame praying, but students and coaches may continue to pray separately from each other. Ross said this split has caused disunity among the team.

“Although this hasn’t changed the number of players who look to God before games, it has caused a slight upset due to both players and coaches being close to one another,” Ross said.

“We are no longer able to do something that has brought us together in many ways before game time.”

Similar situations concerning religious expression and school sports have sparked controversies across the United States for decades.

For example, in Dunmore, Pa. the local football team had a tradition of a coach led prayer before every game, according to an article by The Times-Tribune. Last November, however, an out-of-state civil rights group complained to the Dunmore school district, claiming it was illegal for the team’s coach to lead or participate in this prayer. The school system ultimately agreed with the claim, saying the law was clear that no coach or school staff member could take part in these prayers, breaking the team’s decades long ritual.

While the problem at RBHS was not identical to the issue at Dunmore in that softball coaches did not lead the prayers, the two issues have taken the same legal path.

“It was a decision by the athletes to conduct a team prayer prior to playing,” Head Coach Janel Twehous said. “The coaching staff only participated in the student athlete led prayer.”

The Human Resources department still considered coach participation in the prayers unlawful, and players now must pray separately from their coaches.

Despite the upset the change has aroused, players such as Marrero still understand why

the state and school district have an obligation to keep religion separate from public school affiliations. “[CPS] has rules regarding praying because they want to be considerate to people who have different religions, or people who don’t practice religion,” Marrero said. “It makes complete sense; I don’t think anyone wants to change anyone’s beliefs. We are just there to play the sport we love and have fun. . . It’s always understood on my team that you never have to pray if you don’t want to.”

Marrero sees the importance of uniting as a team before games, despite the fact that coaches are no longer included in their shared word to God. She hopes the change in the warm-up routine will not affect their ability to be connected and close with one another on the field.

“Our coaches try their best to let us do our thing and not interfere,” Marrero said. “Most of our coaches are religious people, so they understand how important praying is for us. Even if they can’t be a part of the praying, they are a part of our pregame pep talks, which are just as important in getting us centered and ready to play as a team.”

Students mix study, multiple activities Allie Pigg

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enior Caroline Stevens has been racing since she could walk. Her dad, a lifelong runner himself, entered his young daughter in local races as soon as he could.

Since she started competing so early, sports have been integrated into her way of life.

Now, Stevens said, being involved in athletics is natural to her.

A day in the life of Stevens consists of the typical routines of a student athlete: school, practice, eat, homework, sleep. Unlike other student athletes, however, Stevens plays not one, not two, but three different sports. She balances school, cross country, diving and track and field. “[Running] makes sense to me, and as I’ve gotten older my love for it has only grown,” Stevens said. “On the other hand, diving is something I only started freshman year. I had planned to do swimming, but it wouldn’t have worked with my schedule, so since I had done gymnastics, I decided to try diving, and now I continue to do it because it’s a fun middle sport between [cross country] and track.”

Stevens’ sports seasons fall back-to-back, which means

she trains all year long. She spends her weeknights at practice and her weekends at competitions. While trying to balance schoolwork among all of it, Stevens doesn’t have much time to do anything else.

“As for my social life, I don’t really have one,” Stevens, appositive about her course load, said. “I don’t go out a lot, which is tough when my friends are able to, so this year I’m really trying to make it to football games and stay on top of my assignments so I can have a little more free time.”

Junior Piper Osman also struggles to find time for herself, as she runs cross country, track and field and also swims.

Osman’s swim season is yearlong, however, meaning she always trains for at least two sports at a time. She said she takes advantage of her Alternating Unassigned Time (AUT) and lunches to catch up on schoolwork so she won’t have as much to do at night after multiple practices. In addition to her sports, Osman is also an active member of several clubs, including Student Council and Key Club.

“Playing multiple sports has taught me to manage my time very well and to choose

my priorities,” Osman said.

“Sometimes that means sleep over schoolwork or schoolwork instead of practice or getting up early to speak with teachers about missing their class or making up a test. All the sports and activities have taught me to plan my time well and be productive with the little time I usually have.”

Despite the never-ending hustle of life these athletes face, sports are important to them because they love the thrill of playing their game.

Ben Loeb, RBHS head tennis coach and sports psychology teacher, believes playing multiple sports can affect an athlete’s performance.

“The outstanding athlete who is committed to more than one sport can probably make it work without losing much in a given sport, but even for them they are bound to lose something,” Loeb said.

“It’s an opportunity cost.”

As a coach, Loeb finds it troubling when his athletes have to share time with another sport. He said it disrupts team unity and is impractical.

“In our society too many people do not want to make a choice, as they want to be able to do everything,” Loeb said.

“As legendary [RBHS basket-

ball] Coach [Jim] Scanlon told me years ago, some people are ‘committed if it’s convenient.’

In the real world, you have to make choices.”

While it would seem like school would be harder for athletes who have little time to study around practices, they have shown their ability to manage both success in school and sports.

In fact, almost half of the sports from the 2016-2017 school year ended the year with a cumulative 3.5 GPA or higher, said Athletic Director David Egan.

“Students that are involved in sports or extracurriculars typically achieve better grades than students that are not,” Egan said. As an educator, he believes students will receive their best learning opportunity when they are in class, which is often a struggle for all sports at RBHS. As for multiple sport athletes, Egan said all of these struggles are magnified.

“For a student to be able to manage playing multiple sports while being a strong student, it really takes a kid that has significant intrinsic motivation,” Egan said. “It’s not easy.”

Neither Osman nor Stevens have specific plans for

YOUSUF EL-JAYYOUSI / THE ROCK

YOUSUF EL-JAYYOUSI / THE ROCK

Junior Piper Osman runs Senior Caroline Stevens track and field, cross coun- runs track and field, cross try and swims for RBHS. country and dives for RBHS. collegiate sports yet. Osman said she is indecisive about playing a sport in college, but if she were given the chance, she would choose swimming.

Stevens would love the opportunity to run cross country in college but had a wrench thrown into her plans when she injured her foot during her junior year track season.

“This [cross country] season I’m pushing myself so I can run times that will get

noticed by collegiate coaches, and maybe I’ll be given the chance to run,” Stevens said.

Stevens, who had to quit her dance team because her time was simply gone, said it’s the love for the people on her team and the competition that makes the stress worth it.

“It’s really tough sometimes,” Stevens said. “It seems like my season never ends because it doesn’t, but I sort of like it that way.”

C4 HEALTH & WELLNESS

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

E-cigarettes entice younger generation What in vape nation?

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Maddie Murphy

ack in the ‘70s and ‘80s smoking lounges in schools were ordinary. According to a Los Angeles Times article, the 1978 law allowing school districts to set up smoking areas in school was adopted to move student smokers from bathrooms into separate areas.

When the law was first adopted, however, health risks associated with cigarettes were not widely known.

Nearly 40 years later, the dangers of the chemical- and nicotine-filled drug are plastered everywhere, from doctor’s offices to the internet. Vaping, or using electronic cigarettes, may seem harmless because it does not contain tobacco, however it still has negative effects.

In 2013 nearly three times as many high school students in Missouri smoked cigarettes as electronic cigarettes, according to a study by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Within four short years, that trend has

flipped.

Today, a study by the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that almost three times as many high school kids vape as smoke cigarettes. The same study finds that even middle school students have a strong preference to vaping over smoking.

An article in Science Daily, noted that last year roughly one in every four Missouri high school students and more than one in every 14 Missouri middle school students confessed to using some form of tobacco, whether that be through cigarettes, cigars, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) or any other form of tobacco.

RBHS students, including junior Dylan Soper, are no exception to this epidemic.

“I would say that 50 percent of my friend group vapes, but they don’t do it for the buzz,” Soper said. “They just do it for tricks. They don’t really use nicotine.”

Clinical Professor of Respiratory Therapy at the University of Missouri-Columbia Jennifer Keely says there are significant benefits to vaping without nicotine as opposed to with it.

With that being said, the negative effects are abundant.

“Sure, there are benefits [to vaping] without nicotine,” Keely said. “Users wouldn’t develop a nicotine addiction, which is good, of course. But they are still exposing their lungs to potential irritants and developing a hand-to-mouth habit that might be hard to break later. Also, the devices and liquids aren’t cheap.”

In addition to the physical investment associated with vaping, the habit is also a monetary expense. The expensive nature of this hobby has led many away from vaping, including Soper.

“The vape [pen] that I bought was almost $300 total, and I’m out almost another $200 in juice all together, so I’ve already spent $500 on vaping,” Soper said. “I just don’t see the point of doing it when the buzz only lasts five minutes now, which is not as long as it used to be. Now, I don’t really do it unless I’m with friends.

It’s more of a social thing.”

As a professor of respiratory therapy, Keely finds it hard to see why

Facts about smoking trends

• In 2016 more than two million high school and middle school students had used vape pens in the last 30 days.

• In 2015 58.8 percent of adults who vaped also smoked cigarettes.

• Examples of e-cigarettes include e-pipes,e-cigars, tank devices and disposables.

• Vape pens are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration to help smokers quit.

[Source: Center for Disease Control]

teenage vaping has reached the point it has. Despite this factor, she sees the trend in action on a daily basis because of her job.

“The increasingly popular vaping culture has glamorized e-cigarettes, particularly with younger users,” Keely said. “There is a vaping subculture in which pictures of users creating huge plumes of vapor around and [talking] about ways to get the smoothest ‘hits,’ and the biggest nicotine buzz are common.”

While Keely says e-cigarettes appear to be safer in terms of carcinogenic properties, teens are jumping head first into nicotine addiction when vaping. Soper saw the trend developing and decided to join in.

“I started vaping about the second or third week into summer break this year,” Soper said.

“I always wanted to [have a vape pen] since I first saw people using them at school because I thought they were cool.”

RBHS administration has dealt with the illegal repercussions of vaping on school property for the last couple years, but parking lot attendant Darryl Heaton has had to deal with it head on. Heaton says his job is to enforce school and district-wide rules in all aspects, but especially in tobacco use on campus. Heaton says given the way he has seen students become addicted

to vaping in the past, he would not recommend it.

“Vaping kind of took the place of chewing tobacco around Rock Bridge about five years ago, but it wasn’t an issue until last year,” Heaton said. “It was pretty crazy there last year for a while until the kids realized they were getting busted, and then it died down. I definitely still see it, just not nearly as much as last year.”

Heaton says the number of students he is responsible for monitoring is part of the reason why vaping is so hard to catch.

“I have to cover from Southampton all the way to the very back of the Career Center, and at any given time during the day, a lot of students are on AUT,” Heaton said. “During lunches, I try my best but trust me, it’s not nearly as easy as it may seem. If you see someone doing something they shouldn’t be doing, don’t be afraid to report it to myself or an administrator; we keep everything anonymous.”

Soper respects the RBHS administration and their responsibility to keep campus safe for all students. Though he vapes, he is willing to comply with Heaton.

“He’s just doing his job,” Soper said. “Even though it can be frustrating at times, it’s what’s best for the [RBHS] community as a whole.”

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

HEALTH & WELLNESS C5

Non-dairy milk options provide variety of nutrition

Grace Dorsey

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ows of coconut, almond, soy, cashew, rice, hemp and even pistachio milk fill aisles of supermarkets across the country.

Equipped with claims such as “50 percent more calcium than dairy milk,” the non-dairy possibilities present themselves as a healthy option fit for everyone.

With such an image, it’s not hard to see why marketsandmarkets.com forecasts that the dairy alternative industry will be worth $14.36 billion by 2022. But what does this mean for the dairy milk industry?

Well, for starters, drinking cow’s milk is losing popularity. Since the 1970s, the average amount consumed per day has dropped from around 1.5 cups to 0.8, according to an article by the Washington Post.

The future isn’t looking any brighter, either, with Euromonitor predicting an estimated two percent drop in annual sales from this point on. Still, most nutritionists recommend dairy as a good addition to any diet, including registered dietitian Allison Lesko, who works for the company Fit Flavors, which provides premade meals.

“As a part of a balanced diet, dairy is, as of right now, included from the Eat Right website by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

We, [Fit Flavors], include dairy and nondairy products within our company,” Lesko said. “That would include Greek yogurt because of its high protein content, and that would also include almond milk and coconut milk.”

Lesko’s approach mirrors a larger acceptance of milk alternatives, with mintel.com reporting 49 percent of Americans including them in their diets. Though Lesko believes variety is beneficial, some people don’t have the option of pure dairy because they don’t produce lactase, a key enzyme for breaking down the sugar found in milk. Researchers from the U.S. National Library of Medicine found that lactose-intolerant individuals make up 65 percent of the world’s population.

Andrew Kinslow, who is conducting research at RBHS via the Contemporary Issues in Science and Sociology class, is a part of that group. What’s

[SOURCE: SILK, RICE DREAM, ALMOND BREEZE ]

more, he grew up on a dairy farm during the 1980s, when U.S. culture was filled with marketing about the perfection of milk as a food.

“From a purely biological sense, there really isn’t much natural about continuing to drink milk past infancy. Lactose intolerance is really quite normal,” Kinslow said. “[Dairy] can be a good addition to one’s diet if a person can tolerate it and if it isn’t to an extreme. I do have concerns about too much high saturated fat [in some] dairy products.”

Like lactose intolerants, vegans do not consume any typical dairy products. For them, however, it’s a conscious decision rather than a consequence of their biology. Lesko acknowledges that choice, but also the fact that it doesn’t necessarily relate to wellness — still, some do cite health as a reason for going vegan.

MAYA BELL/THE ROCK

“Some people don’t like dairy due to the way that the animals are treated, and therefore dairy might not coincide with their personal values,” Lesko said. “The only reason you shouldn’t be consuming dairy is if you don’t tolerate it. We never want that to happen, so that would be a point where I would recommend to a client that they don’t consume dairy products at all.”

Though most people would attest to the nutritious nature of cow’s milk, adulthood and interspecies milk drinking isn’t found in nature. Humans can attribute this ability to a mutation that emerged around 6,500 years ago that meant production of lactase, which would normally stop during ages four to five and would continue throughout adulthood, according to nature.com.

Freshman Lola Gingerich possesses the ability to digest milk but finds it repulsive.

“I just don’t like milk. It’s disgusting to me. When I was young, my parents didn’t make me drink it, but it was a habit. They would have us drink milk,” Gingerich said. “As I got older, I only had the tiniest bit in cereal, and now I’ve completely cut it out except in [foods like] baked goods because I can’t really help that. Now I use almond milk for my cereal and whatever else.”

While Gingerich’s preferred alternative is almond milk, soy milk is the best match with respect to protein in the opinion of Jennifer Bean, an assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri.

In general, Bean is more concerned about sufficient intake of nutrients than about their exact source. “[Amount of cow’s milk consumption] is for the individual to decide, not

the health professional. If one chooses to eliminate an entire food group completely, a person must plan to make up the key nutrients that food group provides in some other way,” Bean said.

“The key nutrients for the dairy group are mainly calcium, vitamin D and riboflavin.”

In regards to nutrition, Gingerich has done her research. Last year in her eighth grade English class, she completed a report on why dairy isn’t necessary. Gingerich even has support from her dad, who also dislikes milk despite the fact that her mom and brother drink six gallons a week.

“It’s the taste. It’s like I have a phobia of it. I don’t understand why I don’t like [cow’s milk] because I haven’t had it in a really long time, so I would guess that it’s tasteless, but [I don’t like] the concept,” Gingerich said. “Dairy in general creeps me out.”

Teachers vary approach to ‘the talk’ Nikol Slatinska

ly,” said Minx, who noted that CPS guidelines require the etting the sex talk is awkward in general, let alone curriculum to be inclusive toward all students, including hearing about it in a room full of classmates. None- those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgentheless, knowing how to have safe sex is crucial, der (LGBT). “Would it be better that students get all of especially since 41 percent of high school students report- their sex education from those outlets, where often blatant ed having intercourse in a 2015 study conducted by the misogyny, homophobia and the no-strings-attached type mentality is glorified? Or should we talk frankly with stuResource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.

But sex education is more than about preventing early dents about relationships and the real-world consequences pregnancy. One month ago, the Centers for Disease Con- that they may face?”

Of course abstinence is the only surefire way to prevent trol and Prevention reported that STD rates are at a “record high.” Syphilis rates increased by 18 percent from 2015 to pregnancy and the contraction of STDs, but for the nearly 50 percent of teens who will have had sex by the time they 2016, while gonorrhea cases rose by 12.8 percent.

Some students, however, say their health class lacked leave high school, the concept no longer holds value. Even important information. One of those students is junior if some teens are not sexually active, statistics show that George Frey, who took health as a freshman. Frey said his an abstinence-only curriculum is not the way to go. The health teacher, who no longer teaches at CPS, stressed the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported that Texas has the fifth highest teen pregidea of abstinence when the topic of safe sex came up. “[My teacher] said abstinence is the most effective way nancy rate and the highest number of repeat pregnancies to prevent STDs, which it is, but he emphasized the idea compared to the other states. In correlation, 58 percent of of it a lot,” Frey said. “In reality, high school students will Texas school districts had an abstinence-only health curriculum for the 2015-2016 school year. have sex, so it’s more important Junior Hannah Ollar said the for them to learn about how to tone of her health class made have safe sex more than it is to her feel pressured to remain learn about abstinence.”

You don’t want to be like, ‘Wow, abstinent. She said her teacher The Missouri General AsI wish I had known how to pronever mentioned condoms as a sembly requires that all infortect myself before this hapmethod of safe sex. mation related to human sex“[My teacher] brought up the uality be medically accurate pened, but no one ever taught fact that birth control doesn’t when taught. Teachers must me.’” always work. He showed us difcite abstinence as the “preferred — Hannah Ollar, junior ferent types of birth control, but choice of behavior in relation then he was like, ‘You can just to all sexual activity for unmarried pupils,” and teach that engaging in sexual activity as go by the date [of your menstrual cycle].’ Like, ‘I’m not a teenager increases one’s risk of dropping out of school. ovulating this week, so it’s okay to have sex,’” said Ollar, Health teacher Wendy Sheehan said when it comes who noted that her teacher did, however, go in depth about to teaching the sex education unit, her opinion on what the danger of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). “When the best method is doesn’t matter. The Columbia Public I heard that, I thought, ‘That’s just not right.’”

Students in Minx’s class, though, received extensive Schools (CPS) district and the state of Missouri, instead, education. She contacted Michelle Scheikles, the public set guidelines that she must follow.

“On almost any topic taught in health education, you health promotion supervisor at the Boone County Health would find parents or guardians, students, perhaps even Department, who provided materials for demonstrations fellow teachers who vary greatly on what they believe on how to use condoms, as wells as pamphlets about STIs should or shouldn’t be covered over the health education and other contraceptives. Although not everyone agrees curriculum,” Sheehan said. “CPS and the State of Missou- with such explicit demonstrations, research shows that abri make revisions to the guidelines periodically, and the stinence-based curriculums do not help decrease STD and health teachers adjust to meet the expectations of those pregnancy rates among adolescents.

Missouri law does not require school districts to teach changes.”

CPS guidelines instruct teachers to encourage open sex education, but Ollar believes the school system should discussions and project-based assessments, Champagne have some responsibility in making sure students don’t Minx, a former RBHS health teacher but not the teacher make a mistake that could affect the rest of their lives.

“I think teachers should be there [when it comes to sex Frey mentioned, said. Minx did research to ensure she covered the sex education unit as thoroughly as possible and education] just to tell you how to protect yourself. Because said the information she found largely supported compre- you don’t want to have sex now, get an STD and ruin the rest of your life,” Ollar said. “You don’t want to be like, hensive sex education as opposed to abstinence only.

“Students talk about sex; TV, movies, music, online ‘Wow, I wish I had known how to protect myself before content and now even video games reference sex constant- this happened, but no one ever taught me.’”

G

[SOURCE: NCSL.ORG]

CARMEN RAMIREZ / THE ROCK

C6 PERSONALITY PROFILES

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

MAYA BELL / THE ROCK

HANDS ON: David Graham teaches junior Quintin Liddle, junior Kate Conley and senior Alexus Southworth during his 3A Contemporary Issues in Science and Society. In his 3A class, on Oct. 18 , they tested water quality at Bethel Park. Graham and his wife Kerri created the class for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Teacher, mentor focuses on connections Kayla West

S

ocial studies teacher David Graham focuses his life and career around connection. Whether that be coaching his twin boys’ soccer team, having a football competition with a student or just sitting down with a student and having a meaningful conversation during his only time off.

Graham has called RBHS home since high school and has taught for 20 years. His goal is to try and give the same experience to students that his teachers gave to him while he was here.

“My students, they come first above pretty much everything else in the building, that includes building mandates, district mandates and anything related,” Graham, who graduated in 1986, said.

His passion for teaching began with coaching. After receiving his degree in marketing education, he went on to coach college soccer.

After a while Graham realized this wouldn’t be a long-term career, as there are not many available coaching jobs, and he knew he needed to make a decision about his future. It was then he decided to go back to school and pursue his degree in secondary history and language arts education. A weight lifted off his shoulders as he began to find his place and secure a more solid foundation.

“I found through coaching my love for working with high school and college age folks,” Graham said.

In addition to teaching, Graham worked as a mentor during the last few years through the College of Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia. During this time, he saw the

bigger picture by being able to understand the level of passion not only in new teachers but those mentoring them.

“It was really awesome to work with college kids who wanted to be teachers and work with teachers who were passionate about finding great teachers,” Graham said. “So it became this thing of finding great teachers for our friends at Rock Bridge; our kids here deserve the best teachers.”

This year, he is back in the classroom. Mentoring has helped him realize the importance of putting his students first. All of the little things throughout the social studies department and building he used to get hung up on doesn’t seem to matter as much when looking at the bigger picture, he said. This perspective has helped him stay true to his goal of always making students his first priority.

“I try to focus not so much on the stuff I teach but on the kids I teach,” Graham said.

Graham strives to keep Rock Bridge the innovative and creative place it was meant to be.

Graham and his wife Kerri Graham co-teach Contemporary Issues and Science and Society, a class developed by the Grahams as a way to form connections through subjects as well as making RBHS a place where everyone can find something for them. For David Graham, this the first of many ideas that both he and students have to share.

“Far too often, standard-based and statebased mandates don’t allow teachers to be creative because they focus so much on things that aren’t really that important,” Graham said. “So I hope that we can continue to allow teachers to be

able to create and innovate and not put barriers up for classes like Contemporary Issues and Science and Society because I think you guys need stuff like that.”

David Graham is a mentor to many, even his wife and co-worker, Kerri Graham, who admires his passion for encouraging kids and helping others.

“Mr. Graham is one of the best teachers I know when it comes to really getting to know his students and inspiring them to push boundaries,” Kerri Graham said. “He pushes his colleagues and students to think outside of the box so that we are all better prepared for the unknowns of the future. He has been a mentor for me, helping me grow as a teacher. Through the years, I have observed him teach, talked through practical classroom issues, read articles he sends me, and engaged in major philosophical discussions with him. He is an amazing dad, if you ask our boys who spoils them the most, they will always say Daddy. He doesn’t just spoil them, though, he holds them accountable for being responsible young men and is modeling what it means to be a good person. Not only does he spoil our kids, but he spoils me; if I’m having a tough day or week, he’ll surprise me with a little note or a box of my favorite candy. All of these things he has done have a huge impact on who I am.”

Austin Reed, a co-worker at RBHS and best friend of David Graham, attributes what he has learned and the man he has become to him.

“Mr. Graham was my mentor teacher around 15 years ago. When I was at the University of Missouri and I had no idea what I wanted to do

with my life, I declared social studies education as my major. My senior year, David Graham was assigned my mentor for the year ,” Austin Reed said. “He was unlike any teacher I ever seen in my years of schooling. He was and still is passionate, fired up, willing to do anything for kids, and I was amazed by his character. I was definitely shaped as a young 22-year-old watching this guy a few years older than me handle kids, teach kids, interact with kids, encourage kids and empower kids. He taught me I can be reminded the kids in my class are people, they are not numbers, they are real, they have lives, they have struggles, and I owe it to them to teach in a way that recognizes their humanity. Having a best friend in the same building as you, it’s just the best thing ever. We still help each other, encourage one another in teaching and in life. It’s cool to have a best friend here with me every day when I come to work, and I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the influence of David Graham.”

David Graham higly values each and everyone of his students as well as his colleagues and peers.

He strives to grow those relationships whenever he can.

“It’s all about connecting,” he said. “My favorite part is the students and having fun with them. The second favorite part of my job is trying to be creative and innovative the way that Rock Bridge used to be all of the time. I’m honored that a student would think enough of me to spend 10 minutes just hanging out, talking about life.”

Determination fuels Squellati’s decisions Ann Fitzmaurice

ciples and always standing for hen he was 18 months what is right.

“He was the first [in a room] old, senior Connor Squellati mastered to hug,” Nancy Squellati said. the art of drawing a circle. “First to smile. First to run to He found permanent markers help someone. First to gently around his house and drew cir- care for animals. He was always cles on any surface he discov- putting others first. He is able to ered. Squellati drew the shape connect with people from so all over his sheets, crib, walls many lifestyles and so many backgrounds and literally idenand body.

Now, Squellati uses this in- tify with how they see the world nate determination to help oth- around them.”

While Squellati finds it easy ers and succeed in his own pasto sympathise and connect with sions.

One of the main projects people, he has also become Squellati’s determination goes more direct since the begininto is his presidency of Na- ning of high school, senior and longtime tional Honfriend or’s SociIlinca ety (NHS), Band was his outlet to Popescu RBHS cross playing daily, as playsaid. He’s country and ing for him was much m o r e his leaderlike how people take a willing to breath.” ship role in speak for the RBHS — Nancy Squellati himself club and and his local orgabeliefs nization, and is less concerned with ca“Mizzouthon.”

“I wanted to do something to tering to others if it gets in the provide support for [children] way of doing what’s right.

“Connor, as a friend, has and their families,” Squellati rubbed off on me, I think,” said. “After learning more inPopescu said. “He’s been willformation [about Mizzouthon].

I signed up to be a RBHS Mo- ing to criticize things that I’ve rale Captain my junior year for done in the past to my face, and the high school branch, Mini- it’s provided me with useful self-reflection that has changed MizzouThon.”

Although Squellati got in- how I act around others.”

Outside of his selflessness volved with Mizzouthon at the to others, Connor Squellati also end of his sophomore year, he specializes in the arts. He parhas had connections with the Miracle Children in the volun- ticipated in band throughout teering program since middle middle school and most of his high school years and plans to school.

His mother, Nancy Squella- audition for Drum Corps Inti, recalls her son always caring ternational (DCI) in the future, about moral and ethical prin- despite the heavy financial cost.

W

DCI is a branch of competitive marching bands for after high school and is the highest level a marching musician can achieve.

“I became interested in DCI freshman year when I was thrown into the marching program at RBHS,” Squellati said.

“I wanted to be able to perform in front of a large, supportive crowd as a way to improve as a musician and a leader.”

Connor Squellati was part of the RBHS Emerald Regiment for three years, becoming a section leader in the front ensemble for two of them. His main instrument is the marimba, though he plays all percussion, as well as the piano, which he taught himself how to play.

Connor Squellati dedicated six years of his life to band, and in the eighth grade he started to GRACE KIRK / THE ROCK transpose music. By freshman Talkin’ it out: During the homecoming assembly, seniors Connor Squel­lati and Priyanyear, he had composed a few ka Patel promote Mini Mizzou-Thon, a UMC program engaged in fundraising for hospitalclassical pieces.

Connor Squellati also be- playing abilities, Connor Squel- involved in a number of extra- am most stable when I’m doing came an apprentice with the lati said practicing has become curriculars, including Mizzou- more [activities]. What others Missouri Symphony Society a daily regiment for him in thon, practicing for DCI, being see as chaos, I see as balance.”

With his drive to succeed, in percussion. Nancy Squella- order to be in a DCI front en- president of NHS, running cross ti remembers her son’s time in semble. Connor Squellati will country and others, he strategi- Connor Squellati has flown band fondly, as it was one of her be competing in late November cally plans all his activities to through his high school years favorite activities to watch him against hundreds of audition- make sure nothing overlaps. but is ready for new opportuniees, although because Missouri Connor Squellati also holds ties. With a busy schedule both do.

“Band was his outlet to play- has little to no exposure to DCI, equal obligations to all of his inside and outside of school, he still takes his coursework ing daily, as playing for him was Connor Squellati has relative- activities. ly no experience with what it “Unlike many would susseriously. This determination much like how people naturally really takes to make his dream pect, I actually thrive off [of] is what keeps him moving fortake a breath,” Nancy Squellati being busy,” Connor Squella- ward, from circles on walls, to said. “When Connor played in come true.

“I’ll be competing with oth- ti said. “Yes, there are times fighting for a spot on an internathe front ensemble, he was in his element. Although his ca- ers who do have experience where I might have a lot of tional drum corps.

“I’ve always been one to pabilities stretched further than [with DCI], and that’s scary to deadlines to meet between acknow,” Connor Squellati said. ademics and extracurriculars dream big, to give it my all,” what he was contributing, his “Regardless, I’m still going to within the same week, but I Connor Squellati said. “Everymain goal was to lift his fellow try my hardest and make sure know how to manage my time thing I do is for a reason, and peers to show them what they, my dream comes true.” and prioritize what I personally I will forever strive to make an too, were capable of.”

While Connor Squellati is find important. Emotionally, I impact for the future.”

In order to reach even higher

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT C7

Drama Club to host annual haunted house Elad Gov-Ari

YOUSUF EL-JAYYOUSI / THE ROCK

RUNNING ON THROUGH: Junior Wolf Schaefer blocks out a scene Oct. 19 in after school rehearsal. Auditions

for the fall musical were held Sept. 18-21. The show will be performed Nov. 9-11 in the PAC.

A haunted fairy tale U Ann Fitzmaurice

nder the sea and under the lights of the Performing Arts Center from Nov. 9-11, RBHS will submerge itself into Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” for the 2017 fall musical.

Auditions began in September, and rehearsals followed suit. The intensive rehearsals are meant to prepare the cast to put in the work necessary to show an audience what they are passionate about. The cast hopes the show will leave a lasting impression on the audience.

For her last fall musical performance at RBHS, senior Andrea Baker is determined to end her era with a bang. Baker, who plays Ursula in the 2017 show, sees “The Little Mermaid” as an opportunity to better herself as a performer, as she plans to study musical theatre in college.

As for the rest of her high school musical career, Baker is still excited to perform with some of her best friends.

“I wanted to audition for this musical because it’s my last opportunity to perform with these amazing people,” Baker said.

“This program is such a big family, and we always become very close during the musical.

It’s always felt like a family, but as we progressed through high school and spent more time to-

gether, we’ve all grown insanely always has his worries for each close.” production. In the end, however, With rehearsal almost every the show usually all comes today, the cast of around 30 peo- gether with great success. ple is more than prepared to put Pierson chose “The Little on a show in November.

Mermaid” based on a number Among of varithe cast is ous facjunior Wolf tors but I really hope this musical S c h a e f e r, always who will with the brings more people to the play Prince same end program. It’s going to be a Eric as his goal in great show, and it’s a great first lead mind: an cast. role in any entertain— Andrea Baker, senior RBHS muing show. sical. “ Tw o Schaeimportfer feels confident in his abil- ant [factors] center around our ity to perform and sees all the cast and our audiences,” Pierson preparation during rehearsals said. “We want to pick someas an outlet for any nerves he thing that will appeal to both would have during the actual our students and community aushow. dience. We want to pick some“We rehearse almost every thing that we will be able to cast day after school for around three with our expected base of perhours,” Schaefer said. “I’m not formers.” new to musicals [at RBHS], When roles are cast for the but being in the spotlight is a musical, the intensive aspect of change from what I normally pulling off a recognizable Disdo in show choir or in the other ney show comes into play. With musicals I’ve been in, though I recognizable music, story and don’t have stage fright. None- characters, as well as a reach theless, all eyes will be on me toward a younger audience, the at times, and that will be a weird overall expectation for producadjustment. I hope we can put tion value seems to be higher, on an entertaining show without Pierson said. Baker agrees, betoo many things going wrong.” lieving the musical will generThe director, choral music ate a larger audience than past teacher Mike Pierson, said he years.

“Although we usually tend to have decent sized crowds, because this year is a Disney show, more families will be interested in seeing it,” Baker said. “I also think that because it’s a Disney show, the cast will just naturally have a lot more energy and even more fun than usual.”

In order to have such a recognizable show, the cast must put in the extensive work necessary to execute the performance well, Pierson said. With just a glance at an agenda belonging to someone in the musical, it’s obvious the amount of hard work that goes into the show for each preformer.

As for Pierson’s goals for the musical, he hopes for a strong, enthusiastic audience that leaves the show humming the tunes with great memories of the show and for outstanding performances by the actors for those audiences, he said.

Likewise, Baker aspires to leave a long-lasting effect on the crowd in order to shine light on her passion and inspire people to take part in what she loves.

“I really hope this musical brings more people to the program,” Baker said. “It’s going to be a great show, and it’s a great cast, and I hope a lot of people will come to the show and consider being part of this great program.”

Dim lights, open clues and a ticking clock. The connecting factor? The RBHS drama club’s creation of the third annual escape room and haunted house, available Oct. 28, 4-9:30 p.m.

Club sponsor and RBHS teacher Holly Kerns is excited to host families in the third annual event, explaining that the house bolsters multiple sections and even a mystery escape room.

“The Haunted House has games, a giant haunted maze, an escape room, candy and concessions and lots of fun costumes and makeup to see,” Kerns said. “This is a kid-friendly event. Our theme this year is ‘Haunted Fairy Tales.’ On top of that we have designed each room and section of the haunted house, gather items, design costumes, stories to go with each room in the haunted house, and the escape room always requires extra planning and prep.”

With the constructed layers of fun comes a slew of preparations. Club vice president and junior Bailey Long took over the construction from the president of the event and is excited to see her hard work come to life for the event.

“We have Drama Club every Wednesday, and during the spooky month of October, we stay after and plan something each time we meet,” Long said. “Slowly, we pick a theme, then pick what each room will be, characters’ decorations and props. Finally on the day of the event we set it all up the entire day. We’ll need as much help as we can get.”

As any good fundraiser has, Drama Club has a noble cause backing their motives and goals. Long explains that, with the $15 group admission for the escape room and $4 general entry fee, the money will go straight back into the Drama club fund to support future plays and activities for the drama students. Furthermore, attendees can pay an entry of four canned goods rather than the $4, which will go to Trick or Treat so Kids can Eat (TOTSEat), the International Thespian Society’s annual nationwide community service initiative.

Though commitments to show choir and the musical are hindering her involvement in the assembly of the haunted house, club president Roz Eggener is eager to see her club put on a charitable event for the fun of RBHS and public families.

“The maze is just what it sounds like. A haunted, spooky dark maze that takes place on the RBHS stage,” Eggener said. “You’ll find all kinds of interesting characters within.

And the escape room is a separate event with it’s own fee.

For $15, you and a small group will enter a room and are presented with a mystery. It should be exciting for all ages, and we’d love to see everyone there.”

Lasting hours into the afternoon, the haunted house is sure to be fun for all who come, Long says.

“We get into costume and start at 4:00 p.m. and stay until 9:30 p.m.,” Long said. “ Afterwards, we clean up and go home at 10:30 p.m. It’s a really fun thing to do, and in the end you get to be a different character for the day.”

CAMRYN DEVORE / THE ROCK

SPOOKY: Roz Eggener sorts through costumes Oct. 18. as she prepared for an afterschool practice.

BruCrew flour throwing upsets band Ann Fitzmaurice

T

he sky Friday, Oct. 20 was a perfect pink in the middle of the RBHS football game.

Dark clouds absorbed purple light, and when it got dark enough, the stadium lights came on, illuminating the football team as it took another win.

The sky, however, was not only colored by the sun, but also by the flour thrown into the air.

The purpose of the flour was to signal the beginning of second quarter, although it also caused damage to the band. This resulted in the decision to resituate the band into the end-zone for future games. As the powder fell, turning the sky white, the faces of the voluntary pep band fell with it. When sophomore band member Meredith Farmer started noticing little spurts of flour in the air, she became nervous for what the actions might escalate to.

“Before it happened, [BruCrew] was being totally respectful and pumping up everyone,” Farmer said. “Once they brought out the flour, we all realized that it could have very negative consequences.”

When the band registered what could happen if the flour made its way to them, pep band director Patrick Sullivan wrote “guard your instruments” on his whiteboard. Unfortunately, his warning wasn’t enough.

“We asked [BruCrew] to stop [throwing flour], but they just yelled at us, and then they all threw flour at once,” Farmer said. “We all huddled together and turned our backs towards the flour cloud that was coming our way.”

As a result of the flour, the drums where

completely taken apart by the players in order for the drum sound to not be tampered with. Most of the instruments, however, ended up being okay, but a couple of woodwinds couldn’t play because flour was stuck to their reeds, inside their instruments and on the pads, Farmer said.

Band director Steve Mathews said in his address to the band the following Tuesday morning that he had contact about the incident with principal Dr. Jennifer Rukstad. Rukstad was financially supportive of what happened and was willing to fund instrument repair, Mathews said.

“There’s been ongoing contact going on be-

tween us and the administration and [there] will continue to be,” Mathews said to the band Tuesday morning. “As a leader I’m trying to keep everybody at a state of ‘Let’s work through all of this.’”

When the pep band went inside to clean immediately after, BruCrew stayed in the bleachers, cheering on the football team. Senior BruCrew leader Henry Wilson said helping clean would have been a nice gesture to help out the band members, but no one from BruCrew would know the first thing about salvaging an instrument.

“During the aftermath I looked to the band

and saw upset faces,” Wilson said. “I then went to the band directors, and they explained they would not be able to play until they cleaned off the instruments. I felt an understanding for why they were upset.”

After talking to the instructors and apologizing, Wilson said the game continued as normal, from his perspective. BruCrew’s intentions with the flour, he said, was not to harm but to carry on a RBHS white-out theme tradition, last used two years ago.

“Nothing BruCrew has done thus far, at least as a unified group, has been aimed at hurting or offending anyone,” Wilson said. “I’ve gotten a lot of thanks from players this year because student support hasn’t been there in the past, and we’ve somehow gotten energy back, and they appreciate it so much. That’s really why the band, parents and students are there.”

Although administration gave them the goahead to throw flour before the game began as long as they cleaned up afterward, Wilson said there will be no more throwing flour into the air.

Wilson hopes this event won’t discourage the band from performing at football games because their music gets the players and BruCrew excited. Farmer plans to come back, especially since the band will be moved into the end zone to prevent more mishaps until further notice.

“Despite what happened last Friday, the team still deserves to have us there cheering for them,” Farmer said. “We will be back to MAYA BELL / THE ROCK THROWING FLOWER: BruCrew tosses handfuls of flour in the air at the districts football have fun and support the team in the rest of their games.” match Oct. 20. Although aproved by administrators, the prank damaged instruments.

C8 ADS

THE ROCK www.bearingnews.org October 26, 2017

India Nite ‘17 Get ready to be enthralled by a kaleidoscope of performances displaying the diverse culture of India.

Enjoy traditional Indian arts that include classical Indian dance, Bollywood dance, instrumental music, fusion music of the east & west, and folk songs will be showcased by Mizzou students and community members. This two-hour long spectacular cultural program is co-sponsored by the MU Organization Resource Group.

October 28, 2017 7pm–9pm Jesse Auditorium The event is free and open to public