The Rock - October 2018

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The Student Voice of Rock Bridge High School Since 1973 • 4303 S. Providence Rd. Columbia MO, 65203 • Vol. 46 Issue 2 • Oct. 25, 2018

CPS concerned about OSS rates of black students Ann Fitzmaurice, Katie Whaley

T

he American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri published a report in October entitled “Missouri’s Pipeline of Injustice: From School to Prison.” The 64 page document outlined data showing black students in Missouri were 4.5 times more likely to receive suspensions than white students.

The study comes two years after Missouri made national headlines when the Center for Civil Rights Remedies ranked the state number one in the country for suspension of black elementary students.

In the 2015-16 school year, black students in Columbia Public Schools (CPS) received half of all out-ofschool (OSS) suspensions with 54.1 percent (760 students), according to data provided by CPS Community Relations Director Michelle Baumstark.

White students received nearly half as many as black students, accounting for 32.5 percent (457 students) of all OSS. The following year, in 2016-17, the gap in OSS rates for the two groups shrunk. Black students obtained 45.1 percent (595 students) and white students held 37.7 percent (497 students) of OSS. The next year the progress reversed as black OSS rates increased, having 51 percent (808 students), while white students accounted for 31.7 percent (502 students).

No other racial groups have received over 10.6 percent of all OSS in any of these years.

There are around 19,000 students in CPS; around 20 percent of whom are black and around 60 percent are white, according to U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. In the 2017-18 school year, 10 percent of all black students received an OSS while four percent of all white students did.

The 2017-18 suspension rate surge, however, was an oddball due to unconventional occurences, CPS Equity Officer Carla London said.

CPS requires administrators to respond to incidents that may pose a threat to students and faculty. Last year, she said, there were a multitude of those instances “which did not allow us much discretion in how we responded as a district.” Excluding last year, London said OSS disparity rates between black and white students follow a downtrend.

“Our situation is CPS has improved slightly over the years,” London said.

“When I initially [came] to the district [in 2016], if you were black, you were almost nine times more likely to receive an OSS; that rate has decreased to about five times more likely [which is] a definite positive trend but we still have a long way to go.”

Breaking down the data shows the root of why there are discrepancies, Baumstark said. Though there are more cases of black students receiving OSS, she said it may be because one student recieved many out of school suspensions, which can distort data.

SUSPENSIONS, P3

ALLIE PIGGS / THE ROCK

ALLIE PIGG / THE ROCK

DUMPED: A custodian of 36 years, Greg Reinkemeyer works to support his children in college. He collects bins twice per day, one after each lunch period. The amount of food waste students produce is appalling, he said. He feels they should be more grateful to their parents who pay for the meal.

UN report urges for less food waste Anna Xu

T

he International Panel on Climate Change (I.P.C.C.) published a special report updating the physical realities of global rising temperatures Oct. 10, which is at an increase of one degree Celsius since preindustrial times.

The assessment said the consequences of another temperature bloom over a 0.5 degrees growth would be devastating for world sustainability and also detailed possible ways humans could stagnate such occurrences.

In a press release following the publication, United Nations Devel-

opment Program Country Director Caitlin Weisen said “the time to act is rapidly closing.”

The 25-page report covered nearly all aspects of the proven impacts of global warming, from rising sea levels to extreme weather, and outlined the potential solutions of climate change, from curbing greenhouse emission to cutting organic waste.

The report said, “decreasing food loss, waste and behavioral change around diets could lead to effective mitigation and adaptation options by reducing both emissions and pressure on land with significant co-benefits for food security, human health and sustainable development.”

Change, the report argues, should begin with the individual because between 2007 and 2014 Americans disposed of, on average, one pound of food per day which made the United States the leader in per capita organic waste, according to "Plos One," a review scientific journal.

The negligent lifestyle, RBHS janitor Greg Reinkemeyer said, proliferates when students enter school.

Reinkemeyer empties and collects trash daily after both A and B lunch, and as he wraps up the gorged black bags he notices the leftovers: whole slices of pizzas, apples with two browning bites, untouched mashed potatoes with gravy slathered on and much more like it.

Halloween dress rules for safety Isaac Parrish

H

ALLIE PIGG / THE ROCK

JUMP SCARE: During Horror Day of homecoming week on Oct. 11, science teacher Kory Kaufman dresses as Pennywise, the clown from the film "It."

alloween falls on a school day, and while RBHS allows students to style themselves into whatever Marvel action figure or spooky demon they desire, there are a few general rules, such as facial disguises, principal Dr. Jennifer Rukstad said.

“For safety reasons, we need to be able to identify people in our building; therefore, we aren’t able to allow masks or makeup that makes identification difficult,” Dr. Rukstad said. “Also, we need to maintain our learning environment. Costumes that are so distracting [make] students [unable] to focus on learning, [which] can be problematic. Those are case-by-case, and we rarely have something like this.”

Senior Hunter Manes loves Halloween and costuming as he is a part of the drama club. He describes his ensemble as a “scary scarecrow slasher character” with a bloody blue coat, a white flannel, a scarecrow mask, a pair of gloves and a pitch fork. Because of the dress code as well as labor intensive classes, he won’t wear the costume at school. Instead, he looks forward to taking nightmarish pictures in a cornfield with his father.

Manes wishes there was no dress limitation as he said

Virus interrupts staff administrative power online Ben Kimchi

A

computer virus that infected Columbia Public Schools (CPS) devices, discovered Oct. 3, caused teachers and staff to lose access to their application files.

The virus was device-specific and did not affect data servers, according to CPS director of community relations Michelle Baumstark. To avoid the spread of another virus as well as increase security, CPS technology support analyst Jeremy Young said faculty lost administrator rights to their computers and cannot download,

Along with the trash bags, Reinkemeyer must gather the food that didn’t make it there: trays left out on benches, chicken tenders dropped on the floor and curdles of food likely to have been monkeyed around.

While Reinkemeyer said many students clean their plates, the large amount of organic waste accrued and littered is a shame at RBHS. “I’m pushing, like, around 100 to 115 bags [of trash] per day out of the school,” Reinkemeyer said. “In the average trash can, I see three or four trays with a [combined] whole meal wasted. An average meal is $3.50, [and] that meal can go to somebody else.”

WASTE, P3

modify or access specific softwares.

“It’s all restricted right now. It’s not determined whether it’s going to stay fully restricted or [if] they will be lifted over time,” Young said.

The virus metastasized when one of the Aslin staff members released a quarantined email that had been contained with other suspicious emails. Sometimes perfectly safe emails with large attachment files become quarantined, Baumstark said, so employees check their quarantine file periodically. The spoofed email tricked a particular employee, causing the accidental spread of the virus; however,

it dampens the spirit of the holiday.

“I understand why it’s there, but I would like it to be changed in the future because [there would be] so much more room to work with when it comes to costumes,” Manes said.

On the other side, senior Yahor Vazmitsel, who emigrated from Belarus last year, never had the opportunity to festoon himself at school because of a his school's more formal dress code. He believes the stricter rules condition students to pay better attention in class.

“We never had this [leniency] to wear a mask, put on makeup or wear some skeleton costume. We were all required to wear official-style,” Vazmitsel said. “It would certainly show by statistics that people who are dressing more freely are not paying attention to education. First thing that you do [at school] is get your education.”

Since the holiday is only one day of the year, Manes thinks the attire will not greatly affect education. He still hopes one day he will be allowed to wear his costume in its full at school; however, because of the political climate, he doesn’t think it’ll happen in the near future.

“I believe it will change when this whole paranoia of school shootings dies down,” Manes said. “A man can dream.”

Baumstark said the quick response of technology services diffused the impacts.

“Any of the computers that were affected were reimaged and the virus has been mitigated,” Baumstark said. “The effects were minimal as it was device specific and did not impact services. Technology Services worked quickly to resolve the issue.”

The email-spread virus affected students of Columbia Area Career Center teacher Mikah Simpson.

“I wasn’t affected much by the security failure,” Simpson said.

CPS VIRUS, P3 [SOURCE: WWW.GEEKSONSITE .COM]

BEARING NEWS For fast, fresh, daily coverage of RBHS news, sports and more,

visit www.bearingnews.org

Editorials . . . . . . . . . . .P5

In-Depths. . . . . . . . P9-12

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . P17

A little nervous: Two staff members take opposing sides to debate whether students with anxiety should do presentations.

Raging, sparkling fire: Students reflect on how they cope with physical, emotional and verbal abuse from family and friends.

Road to victory: The Bruin football team will host the district tournament tomorrow to play Francis Howell Central High School at 7.

ISAAC PARRISH / THE ROCK

INDEX . . . . . . 1 NEWS. . . . 5 EDITORIALS. . . . . 7 COMMENTARIES. . . . 9 IN-DEPTH . . . . 13 FEATURES . . . . 16 SPORTS . . . . 18 A&E

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

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NEWS | 3

RBHS looks for solutions to food waste to see uneaten, perfectly good snacks go to the Students such as sophomore Olena Sawelenko dump. feel bad to dump food, but said sometimes it is “It just breaks my heart to see all those apples her only choice. in wrappers [thrown away] because we could re“I don’t eat a ton at lunch, [so] I don’t eat all use them if they just put them in the share basof it; I’ll just eat whatever I can,” Sawlenko said. ket,” Brown said.

“I’ve offered it to friends before but a lot of them Wessel said while she thinks the cafeteria don’t take it because they don’t eat school lunch- staff is doing a good job controlling the cooking es, so I end up having to throw it away.” leftovers with the implementation of compost alOther students, like junior Ruth Bryan, said ternatives for the unsold meals, the student body the scraps are because of the unappealing taste of could use awareness over the subject. the cafeteria menu. “[As teenagers], the ability for that forward School policies, like the requirement of a fruit thinking, I mean you’re just not there yet. It’s a deor vegetable to make a meal, also contribute to velopmental thing, but also an American thing,” added waste, she said.

Wessel said. “For people who have plenty, [they “I often only eat the fries that come with it be- think,] ‘who cares if you throw away something cause everything else is disgusting,” Bryan said. when you’ve always got enough?’ People who’ve “It costs less when you get it with like vegetables, experienced not having enough are probably not and I just throw it all away.” throwing that stuff away. It is a thing of privilege RBHS’ Southside Media measured the per- to even have food waste.” ishables at RBHS Oct. 15 by organizing the garTo ameliorate the issue of excessive combage into two categories: organic waste and other postable waste, some school across the nation waste, which includes liquid waste. took initiative to improve their trash policies.

Of the trash cleared for the two lunch periods, Last year one high school in Kansas City, Turner 168 pounds of compostable waste were accumu- High School, amassed 300,000 pounds of organic lated. waste.

The evaluation does not include the bins of This year, students created a compost plan trash in classrooms, which are collected after with a grant from Kauffman Foundation and the school, as well as trash holders aligned along the help of Missouri Organics. exterior of the school.

Now, the school is on track to cut 80 percent Biology teacher Melissa Wessel said this es- of their perishables by converting it to compost. timate could be Wessel said higher as students RBHS should also don’t always emp- For people who have plenty, [they think], ‘who apply compost polty their trays in the cares if you throw away something when you’ve icies, but additioncafeteria and hallalways got enough?’ It is a thing of privilege to ally, students need ways. to understand why “In my hall- even have food waste.” they should care. way, the kids who “[Educate youreat outside of our — Melissa Wessel, self by] taking a biclassroom doors, a teacher ology course; know lot of the times pop the science behind into the classrooms why putting the apto throw some trash in there, so there is definitely ple somewhere other than the trash can is a better more,” Wessel said. choice. You have to have some knowledge and Head of kitchen staff, Shannon Brown, shook a reason to care about the future,” Wessel said. her head after hearing the large figure of food “Why do I care? Because I care about the world waste at RBHS and said she feels disappointed that I’m leaving for my children.”

WASTE P1

TRASH TALK 41.5 percent of students

How much food waste does the student body think A and B lunch produce?

25 percent of students

13 percent of students

20.5 percent of students

0-100 lbs 101-200 lbs 201-300 lbs >300 lbs

On Oct. 15, 739 meals were sold...

168lbs WASTED

translated to 140-336 meals translated to 600 pizzas translated to 579 apples

Americans on average throw out 1 pound of perishables per day making the United States

the leader of food waste per capita.

SARAH KUHLMANN, ANNA XU, MOY ZHONG / THE ROCK

[SOURCES: PLOS ONE AND RBHS SOUTHSIDE JOURNALISM]

CPS says OSS race disparity was an anomoly SUSPENSIONS P1

Forty-four black students accounted for 253 of the discipline incidents districtwide, Baumstark said. Additionally, she said 31 white students held 183 of the discipline incidents districtwide.

“Essentially what this means is that we have a small number of students that are involved in reoccurring disciplinary incidents which also contributes to the number of overall incidents appearing high and with a greater percentage of disproportionality,” Baumstark said.

“There are still more black students than white students, which we continue to address as a district, but the percent of disproportionality is perhaps better understood when you look at unduplicated counts and numbers of students versus number of incidents.”

To address the issue of disparity, the district requires teachers and administrators to go through equity training classes. London said faculty can choose between two or four sessions that examine implicit biases and utilize the understanding to gauge impact on students. She hopes the training can eliminate any personal prejudices.

“There may be a variety of secondary reasons why our

[SOURCE: MICHELLE BAUMSTARK]

African-American students receive OSS disproportionate to our white students, but I believe a primary reason is unexamined bias,” London said.

“We are all socialized through family interactions, media and peers, among other ways, and we have a tendency to believe what we’ve heard about certain groups of people and then assigning characteristics to those groups that fit in line with our socialization. If we don’t take the time to unpack what we’ve been taught, that won’t ever change.”

Senior Montoi Lane, a black student, wants teachers to regard situations with an open mind so less black students get suspensions. He said some teachers do not consider the different ways students live and act compared to them.

“I guess [teachers] don’t understand how we play. That’s probably the big reason why you see more black people than anybody in ISS. [Be]cause they don’t understand how we play,” Lane said. “Yeah we hit each other, yeah it could get serious, but we don’t let it get serious.

This was how we were brought up playing. Nobody got mad, this is just fun.”

As an assistant principal, Dr. Lisa Nieuwenhuizen agrees with Lane, believing there have

been times when teachers have been ignorant.

“I think there are several factors. The idea of hyper-visibility plays a role in referrals.

I think that, in the past, there has been a lack of cultural competence in the way we interact with children of color, sometimes not understanding or perceiving intent, or not operating with a positive presupposition,” Dr. Nieuwenhuizen said. “Over time, we have learned some cultural competence strategies, through the multicultural committee and through [the] equity team.”

Junior Hunter Naylor, a white student, said race has to be a factor as everyone has their own biases, even if people do not show them on the surface.

“I feel like if you ask the principal if [it’s race] they’re going to be like no, it’s not race, but deep down it probably is,” Naylor said. “Society’s standpoint on, even though people are ‘equal’, there’s still that social divide. People still see [African-Americans] as less and they can better justify punishment.”

A less offensive incident is an in-school suspension (ISS).

As an insider, ISS supervisor Donnell Jones said race has never concerned him in ISS rates at RBHS. He knows most

students in ISS have received tardies or truancies.

“It had never even crossed my mind for that scenario. It’s an issue in law enforcement in regular society. It wouldn’t shock me that it could translate to possible high school discipline scenarios unintentionally.

It didn’t even cross my mind to view it in that scenario,” Jones said. “To know if the same, a Caucasian and a black African-American got the same write up, one gets in [ISS] one doesn’t, that would be shocking to me. I haven’t even acknowledged that scenario as far as acknowledging whose in here on a day-to-day basis.”

As a message to teachers and administrators, Lane requests they get where students are coming from. He said administrators like Dr. Darlene Grant can better perceive black students, as she is black.

“Understand [us]. They’re not brought up [like us].

They’re not living how we’re living. So, if you can understand what’s going on, then we probably won’t get suspended every time,” Lane said. “And then us fighting, we can tell a serious situation between a playful situation. If you can get teachers to understand which one is which, we probably wouldn’t be suspended as often.”

ANNA XU / THE ROCK

ANNA XU / THE ROCK

INFECTED: After school on Oct. 16, Senior Jocelyn Heimsoth works on the yearbook after losing time when the virus locked her out of the yearbook drive. In the aftermath of the virus, her computer needed to redownload essential files such as fonts.

Staff loses administration rights after email virus CPS VIRUS P1

“But I did have some students lose their work because they didn’t save it before shutting down their computer though, it wasn’t too much of a hassle for them to start again.”

Baumstark said the reason most teachers didn’t experience detrimental consequences was because of the security precautions CPS already has in place.

“We have firewall, we have filters, we have monitoring, we also have a third party entity that does security audits for us,” Baumstark said. “So we have all of those things in place, which it is partly why nothing was impacted.”

While Young and Baumstark trust in the firewalls and security systems, added precautions like less privileges for teachers aim to supplement those already in place, Young said. Fortunately, the loss of software downloading, modifying and accessing did not affect most teachers as most store information on online drives rather than applications.

But for the design edi-

tor of the yearbook, junior Chloe James, lack of access is a hassle as making a yearbook requires uploading new fonts to look fresh and stylish. While ultimately she is still able to get fonts, the process now needs the involvement of more, less reachable, people.

“It’s not going to look the same without [downloading] right fonts,” James said. “We have to [get permission] from their help desk instead of us just being able to like type in [the password.] And they might answer, they might not. [And even if they answer] it takes 15 minutes longer than it should.”

For an undetermined amount of time, Young said, whenever teachers or staff need to use administrator privileges, they must contact CPS technology services. Although he is more busy, Young said, the increased security is worth the cost of time.

“Everyone would hope it [is the last time],” Young said. “We will definitely take all the steps possible to make that the case.”

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EDITORIALS | 5

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Food surplus leads to excess waste

which trash goes where seems like a waste of To solve struggles with budgeting, we, like money to some. In response to this: yes, THS, could obtain grants and make the we can’t get every single student effort to create similar school wide to obey every single rule put in policies. place, that’s not realistic, espeOverall, RBHS needs to become cially considering students more organized in the way we eat all around the school. deal with waste, by conWhat we could do is structing compost bins.

Should the school start construct more bins in Of course, change starts a food waste initiative to popular lunch areas, small, but if we conencourage composting? which will hopefully enstruct the bins, perhaps courage more students THE ROCK STAFF VOTED other schools will follow to use them. Of course, in our footsteps. money is also a factor, We are the youth. The but bins outweigh the future relies on us and being / economic issue. Waste more aware of what we dispose Z UE of is a first step. We might as well is a problem that imQ S LA pacts the environment create a brighter, cleaner and less VE IA R E that we all share. wasteful future for our children.

L VA

YES — 18 NO — 11

RO CK

away.

The food waste measured out to around 168 pounds. RBHS produced this trash in just one day during both A and B lunches, not to mention the other unmeasured trash people didn’t even bother to put away in the first place. It’s safe to say RBHS produces a lot of waste, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Schools in the Midwest have been able to reduce their production of trash, such as Turner High School (THS), just outside of Kansas City. THS received a grant from the Kauffman Foundation to create specific bins labeled, ‘Compost,’ and ‘Waste,’ which encourages students to be more aware of their waste. The school produces 300,000 pounds of food waste every year, but they hope to dramatically decrease their amount of waste by 44,000 pounds.

Creating specific bins and telling students

TH E

W

ith the world’s population being 7.5 billion and rising, human beings will endlessly continue to pollute. There currently isn’t a total and complete way to stop pollution; as we will always rely on driving cars, landfills and, of course, food, which can create waste as it decays and plastic waste from disposable utensils.

So we must ask ourselves,‘what can we do before it’s too late to turn back?’ The simple answer: we need to become aware of the way we dispose of things.

In a recent Southside Media project Oct. 15, news editor Anna Xu led a staff effort to measure a day’s trash and spent hours sorting through bag after bag of food. Items ranged from a variety of condiments to fruits that people didn’t eat and then proceeded to throw

Now you’re talking

Classroom staple strikes issue with students

Public speaking aides youth

Problems follow presentations

Katie Whaley

Ethan Hayes

n the United States, anxiety disorders affect 25.1 percent of adolescents between 13 and 18 years old, according to a study by Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA). Though there are many types of anxiety disorders, feelings of nervous panic generally interfere with daily activities, are hard to control and can last a long time, according to an article by the Mayo Clinic. School, “TIME” reports, can become an anxiety-inducing environment for teenagers. When teenagers spend 900 to 1,000 hours on average in school per year, according to the Center for Public Education, school becomes a prominent part of a student’s time in adolescence.

In September, American adolescents took to Twitter to demand changes in classrooms to reduce anxiety. They posted tweets insisting teachers abolish classroom presentations, as public speaking causes students with anxiety, stress and nervousness and grading them on their presentations skills is unfair. The individuals believed anxious adolescents should have the option of completing an alternative assignment in place of presentations, according to an article by The Atlantic.

At first look, it makes sense to omit presentations for students struggling with anxiety; schools should not force students into emotionally and mentally challenging situations.

Delving deeper into the circumstances; however, that is not the best solution.

Though being sensitive to teenagers with stress disorders is imperative to helping them overcome their fears, allowing kids to opt out of presentations in place of other assignments debilitates them from learning. Teenagers need public speaking skills for their futures, and one of the best ways to overcome anxiety is to face the circumstances that cause it. After school ends and teenagers are looking for jobs, a strength many employers look for is effective communication.

Executives and hiring managers rank oral communication skills as the top most crucial ability a college graduate should have, at 80 to 90 percent important, the Association of American Colleges and Universities found. Practicing and refining conversation skills in forums, such as one-on-one interviews, group discussions and presentations, will help create strong communication abilities, according to a study by the University of Bradford. Though students with anxiety do not enjoy speaking in these situations, they can gain confidence in speaking by participating and developing their conversations.

Additionally, a treatment for anxiety, the ADAA recommends, is a specialized cognitive-behavioral therapy called exposure therapy. Therapists gradually expose patients to feared situations or objects so the patient becomes less sensitive to them overtime. For students, this could mean doing presentations to smaller sized groups and adding more people as time progresses.

Having teenagers work their way up to bigger presentations is better than omitting presentations entirely, as it allows them to improve upon communication skills and getting used to presenting in front of people. Students should not ask for opting out from every presentation assignment, but work with teachers to figure out specific accommodations they need to feel more comfortable. This way, teenagers can learn important public speaking skills and experience situations that may be nerve wracking but also provide a safe place to learn how to overcome anxiety.

Teachers should listen and provide assistance to adolescents who ask for help. A balance should exist; students should feel as comfortable as possible while also experiencing a little challenge to learn from.

our heart pounds, and a fist squeezes your heart. Inhale. Exhale. Isn’t breathing supposed to be an involuntary function? You stumble, trembling in sheer terror, your world unfocused and fading. It’s so bad that it can’t be real. This can’t be real. You look around for the thing you are sure is seconds from slaying you. “Ok,” says your teacher. “Start whenever you’re ready.”

Those with an anxiety disorder, however, are not in the same position, as a fear of speaking in public is a common symptom. It is one of the major symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) or social phobia, according to “Mental Health America.”

Last month, on Twitter, a user by the name of “Leen” posted a tweet receiving more than 132,000 likes and over 400,000 retweets calling for students to be given an alternative assignment choice to presentations. She is one of the many who took to Twitter to petition for an end to what they view as a discriminatory assignment towards those with anxiety, according to “Let Grow,” an organization working to develop independence and grow resilience in children.

Teachers push kids out of their comfort zones, but for Leen and other teens with diagnosed anxiety, this is more than an uncomfortable experience.

Using exposure therapy to make kids face their fears is merited as one of the most effective methods for treating anxiety, the U.S. National Library of Medicine found, but implementing this strategy in front of a classroom full of peers could prove more traumatizing than beneficial.

Granted, teachers have students’ best interests in mind, but that doesn’t prevent negative outcomes. The just-suck-it-up attitude and tough love mentality can work for some and at times a gentle nudge of encouraging is all a kid needs to overcome their anxious emotions.

But some people with anxiety are less prepared than others to face their mental illness. One in four Americans between 13 and 18 years old have an anxiety disorder including SAD, and if left untreated, children with anxiety disorders are at high risk to perform poorly in school, Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) found.

This is a valuable opportunity to evaluate the methods by which we handle those with anxiety and mental illness as a whole and make education more fitted for people’s needs. An essay or a prompted short answer response can be just as effective in assessing understanding. One can learn communication skills through other forums. Students also gain expertise on real world tasks like college applications, which sometimes require essays, an important factor in the admissions process.

If students with an anxiety disorder feel comfortable enough, the alternative assignment option could be a one-on-one exit interview or a modified oral presentation that uses a pre-recorded narration that eases them into public speaking.

Forcing students with anxiety to do a presentation can be detrimental to not only their mental health, but also their education. If students feel marginalized by an assignment, they will be less likely to participate.

The distress imposed on those with anxiety disorders creates an attitude of apathy and disinterest toward their classes. By innovating educational models better suited to the needs of students with these disorders, teachers can help create an inclusive classroom that is safe and stimulating for everyone involved.

I

Y

VALERIA VELASQUEZ / THE ROCK

The Rock Rock Bridge High School 4303 S. Providence Rd., Columbia, Mo. 65203 Vol. 46, Issue 2 October 25, 2018 Population: 2,021 Students, 190 Faculty Circulation: 1,600 Contact information: Phone: (573) 214-3141 Website: bearingnews.org

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6 | EDITORIALS

Letter to Editor:

Abolish entrances

T

he plan to have only one student entrance to the school is unacceptable. That plan doesn’t go far enough. All entrances need to be abolished.

There’s still one entrance left for a shooter to enter, so if thought about tactically, you could get a steady 2x2 stream of shooters through each door.

The only sound policy to get rid of all school shooters is to get rid of all student entrances.

Almost all school shooters are students, so if we cut the entrances down to just a teacher entrance, the shooter will realize they aren’t allowed to enter there, so they’ll leave.

The only good part of this proposal is the positioning of a faculty member at the student entrance to make direct eye contact with people. If any stranger who happens to be shy tries to enter the school, the faculty member sitting there, waiting to stare at them, will scare them away from entering the school.

But back to the problem at hand, the remaining entrance. There’s a 1 in 614 million daily chance I’ll get killed in a school shooting. That’s unacceptable.

On that note, vending machines should also be eliminated from the school because there’s a 1 in 112 million annual chance I get crushed by a vending machine, but that’s a different letter.

Anyways, the only solution is to get rid of all student entrances. If students really wanted to learn, they would have no problem getting into the school.

I’ve climbed through a window on many occasions, and, to be honest, it wasn’t that difficult.

But as I write this, I realize that if students can enter windows, so can shooters. So, ignore the first half of this letter, starting from scratch: eliminate all doors and windows to the school. Then there becomes only two ways a shooter can enter the school: they break through the walls like the Kool Aid man, or they dig into the school. Either is unlikely considering almost every time I’ve tried to run through a wall I was unsuccessful and dirt is gross.

To still allow student access to the school, the entrances should be eliminated while students are already in the building, they can just live there and break free upon graduation.

This is the only sensible and practical solution to rid us of the incredibly small and decreasing chance of a school shooting.

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

“The Talk” Real conversations across barriers of humanity Valeria Velasquez

— Will Cover, junior

Absent voters neglect duties

OC K

A

t 6 a.m. on Nov. 6, the polls open. More than 100 precincts scatter across Columbia. In August, 99,934 people registered to vote, yet only 37,305 casted their ballot.

With polling places open for 13 hours and the vast amount of easy-access areas to vote, why wasn’t the outcome greater? The simple answer: people do not feel like their voices matter.

The sad fact is the more people who believe this misleading idea, the fewer people vote and the more weighted the decision becomes for those who do exercise their right. When eligible voters decide to stay away from the ballot, they inhibit the purpose of democracy: for everyone to have a say in the issues that affect them.

Not only do these issues affect individuals but also communities: counties, states and the entire country. The government has control over public schools, roads, taxes, medication and even air. Every single decision impacts not only the voter, but everyone around them, as well.

Yet, having some aspect of control over U.S. representatives and legislature still does not appeal to the amount of people who did not vote in August or in the last two presidential elections.

Even if citizens feel their voice matters, many decided not to go to the polls because they did not care.

Whether non-voters disliked the candidates or weren’t interested in the subjects on the ballot, many people — nearly 100 million in 2016 — decided voting was not worth their time. The majority of people, Pew Research Center found, do not regret their decision to refrain from voting. As divided as the United States is today, non-voters should deeply regret their decision; 272 years ago, residents of the United States would kill for privileges we have as a nation now — and they did. “No taxation without representation.” “Give me liberty or give me death.” Popular sayings like these followed the inhabitants of the 13 colonies as they fought to become their own nation. Centuries later, Americans are forgetting their roots and are bringing shame to ancestors of

the United States who fought for the rights we take for granted today.

When an eligible voter ignores the opportunity to vote, he or she is backtracking the progress the United States has made as a society, regardless of political affiliation. In 2016, Clinton received 28.43 percent of all votes and Trump 27.20 percent.

44.37 percent of people abstained from voting altogether.

If this percentage was its own candidate, “Did Not Vote” would have won the presidential election. Almost half of eligible voters did not vote for their choice of president of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief of the military, the figurehead of our country.

There is no valid excuse for any U.S. citizen that is 18 years or older not to vote. Not only because of their civic duty but also because of how easy registration is. In Columbia, voters can register at 17 and a half years old either online, by mail, the Associated Students of the University of Missouri Office in the basement of Brady Commons, University of Missouri—Columbia campus or at the Boone County Government Center. There are also several voter registration tables at public events such as Roots n’ Blues n’ BBQ. The ease of voter registration provides citizens with an easy-in to exercising their rights, one they have almost no excuse to not take advantage of.

EZ On voting day itself, polls are open for QU S A the convenience of voters. The Secretary of EL V RIIA State provides all voters with assistance in getVA;LE ting a valid Missouri non-drivers license and covers the cost of any documents required to get the ID. Waiting in line to vote in Missouri has an average time of 11 minutes, according to the Missouri Secretary of State, but the duration of wait depends on the time of day one goes to the polls.

Regardless of an eligible voter’s position on the political spectrum, he or she still needs to voice his or her opinion about the government. The U.S. democracy was derived from a lack of representation. Eligible voters need to keep this history in mind when choosing to opt-out on something that will affect everyone no matter how minuscule the decision seems. Voting is both a right and a duty that everyone must embrace. /T HE R

Ann Fitzmaurice

VALERIA VELASQUEZ/ THE ROCK

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

COMMENTARIES | 7

Harsh tones create disinterest WE NEED

I used to be more self-conscious about my “dull” personality, as little insecure Isaac would’ve interpreted it, but over time I’ve come to don’t mind passionate people. In fact, I used to be jealous of them, realize that I’m not the only one who acts this way. According to “Psysomething that transformed into respect as I got older. Possessing chology Today,” researchers in 2012 estimated that introverts made up immense knowledge and excitement for a certain topic is something 26 to 50 percent of the population, while extroverts made up the other I’ve always found admirable, and I’m usually able to learn a lot if 50 to 74 percent.

Quiet types like myself are counterbalanced in society by those who I ever have a conversation with such a person.

Certain individuals, however, make these conversations more dif- pursue very vocal activities like advertisers, fund-raisers and political ficult than they need to be; an extreme example is my friends activists. The goals of these outspoken people are to convince us why who take a stance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The their subjects are worth the attention and have many a time succeeded, swaying the opinions of communities across the war is a very interesting topic globe.

I know close to nothing about This isn’t a bad thing; many of our world’s and is certainly worth the atI think those who harbor dedication problems are fixed via worldwide cooperation, tention. for a certain topic and wish to see and that wouldn’t happen without the appropriUnfortunately, the friends I others convey the same feeling ought ate leaders. I think those who harbor dedication have who side with Palestine are so passionate about their stance to learn how the feeling is most ef- for a certain topic and wish to see others convey the same feeling ought to learn how the feeling that they’re almost blind to fectively spread. is most effectively spread. the opposing perspective. I’m I believe the traits that help the most with the afraid of ever seriously askvocal type’s success in life often comes down to ing about the current climate or why my friends think the way they do, only because being their own openness and professional demeanor. When someone I feel like treading those dangerous waters might end up getting me else would express a common interest in a certain subject with these chewed out. Because of their adamant views. I don’t do this because I sorts of people, the “leaders” do a good job of making sure they feel have any genuine stance but because I’m afraid of them thinking that I included and respected.

A worthy club president for Young Republicans or Young Democrats might have one which opposes their own adamant opinions.

It’s completely normal for people to plainly ignore specific subjects wouldn’t object to providing an unbiased overview of American poliif they feel it’s not immediately important to them. I straight ignore tics before they then explain why they believe their own stance is corcertain cases because I don’t think they’re worth the time. Others I only rect. While I’m sure either president would do that now, I don’t know if try to remain uninvolved in, so I don’t end up opposing the opinion either would do so of their own initiative; they’d have to be prompted.

The fact that other people have to first ask for an unbiased explaof somebody who knows a lot more than I do. That way, I can avoid nation is what I see as the problem; aspiring leaders should have to do feeling like an idiot.

My own reluctance to argue might stem from my lack of a that on instinct, as it is the one trait needed to ensure they’re effectively competitive nature. My parents tell me that when I was little, I used attracting followers.I often find myself intimidated when it comes to to be on a tee-ball team I never took seriously enough. Regardless of certain subjects, especially the more controversial ones, which, unforwhether we won or lost, I’d always remain nonchalant after each game. tunately, also usually happen to be the most important. Something as The sport held no value to me. My parents later signed me up for soc- serious as the war in Israel/Palestine certainly deserves a passionate attitude, I’m sure. Nonetheless, entering a conversation with the mindcer, as well, but it mostly ended with the same result as tee-ball.

My apathetic attitude wasn’t exclusive to sports. Whether it’s a set of a Palestinian or Israeli when you’re talking with someone who matter of controversial political stances or who in the room gets the knows nothing about the history will steer away any potential allies due last cookie on the plate, I’ve never been animated when it came to de- to their fear of saying something that might sound foolish or insensitive.

If you want to effectively make change, learn to effectively make batable issues. I’m the guy who would give up the cookie, figuring it friends first. wasn’t worth the effort to fight over.

Isaac Parrish

REFORM

I

LOCK HER UP

N O I T C A NOW!

NG / T

HO MOY Z

CK HE RO

It’s okay to be alone The case for self-censorship I L Atiyah Lane

’ve never feared being alone. I’ve always had people to be around, talk to and hang out with. I remember being a nice little sweet girl who got along with everyone.

At a young age, relationships aren’t as serious as they are when people are older, especially as they reach adolescence.

In elementary school, my teachers taught the class to be nice to everyone with the Golden Rule: “treat others how you want to be treated.”

When I got to middle school, everything shifted. Having friends mattered, being one of the “cool kids” mattered. If I hung out by myself, I instantly felt like an outcast and hated knowing I was being left out of conversations, inside jokes or any news going on among my friends.

I had about five friends in middle school and I lost a couple because of jealousy. We had petty, childish drama, of course. Titles of relationships such as best friend, right hand, or ride or die, were major, causing most of the conflict between my friends and me.

One friend would get mad if I called another person my best friend instead of them or if I was talking to people my friends didn’t like I was called fake. As I look back on my friendships

and the way I acted when I was younger, I realize I was just trying to figure out who was and was not not my friend.

As I transitioned into high school, I was friends with everyone. I wasn’t afraid to meet new people, which allowed me to start off as friends with one person who knew other people and so on. This led to a new, big circle of friends that I had made, and over time we grew close. This helped me because I hated doing things on my own, including being in a big school with hundreds of kids I barely knew. I only hung out with my friends and did the activities that they were doing.

Therefore I didn’t go to many football or basketball games. I didn’t attend school events unless I knew people who were going. If I knew people at an event, it made it easier for me to loosen up.

I’ve lost relationships with my closest friends, even my best friend, mainly because we grew apart and because I lost trust in them. We found other friends who we connected with more and who we ultimately built better relationships with. At first it was rough to lose people I was close with, but I knew it was all for the right reasons.

In previous relationships, when I have had to question someone’s trust or loyalty, I instantly

distanced myself. It isn’t healthy for me to continue to try and build relationships with people with negative energy because that then causes me to adopt the negative energy as well.

One of the biggest reasons my ex-friends and I grew apart is the drama they got into. I hate drama; I’m a chill person who doesn’t like to get involved in petty fights.

When they started getting messy and beefing with other people, that signaled the end of those friendships.

Although I have friends that I talk to in school and a couple outside of school, I don’t have too many people I can go out and do things with or have deep conversations with.

After I basically cut off all my friends, I became all I had which isn’t the worst thing.

So I learned to be independent. If that means I attend a movie alone or shop by myself, so be it.

The more I depend on other people, the less fun I’ll have.

I now push myself to take that class that none of my friends are taking or go to that concert even if I have no one to go with. I can meet new people along the way. I’ve learned to go out and live my best life and not wait on people. They can get with what I’m doing, or get lost.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SOPHIE EATON / THE ROCK

Though embarrassing at first, lacking a filter leads to a plethora of admittedly humorous memories latacking a vocal filter is the new rage; people see er in life. I might not hate how openly I speak my it as a sign of authenticity and associate speak- mind if small laughs were the only consequences. ing absolutely everything on one’s mind with But, nothing is that simple. The repercussions run anything from honesty to integrity to, as we saw in much deeper. the 2016 election, qualification for the One time, I accidentally revealed a friend’s crush U.S. presidency. in front of an entire group of people. Another I’ve seen enough finsta time, I let my sharp tongue temporarily end posts and viral tweets to three friendships in the span of barely one know just how many month. of us want to be surI think I may never forgive myself rounded by brutally for laughing at an eating disorder joke a honest people. friend made toward someone else back We want friends in eighth grade, not knowing that was who will question how I would find out my best friend sufour choices if our fered from anorexia. I didn’t make the makeup is a little joke, yet my own lack of a bold. We seek friends filter made it difficult to see who will yell at us for when someone else crossed our stupid choices. We a line. yearn for friends who are I have no idea how these nothing but real, friends words I so carelessly blurtwho don’t see it necesed out affected those they sary to sugar-coat their were directed to. Not because I didn’t regret sour words. them the nanosecond they came out of Although I’m not my mouth; I almost always do. Not benearly as brash as cause I didn’t apologize from the bottom many of my peers, of my heart, because the number of texts Words take mere my brain-to-mouth I’ve sent asking friends for forgiveness seconds to put in the thought process is is insane. Not because they chose to close to zero. I’d forgive instead of dwell, which, someatmosphere, yet have like to think this how, most everyone I’ve impulsively the capacity to cling to is in part because I misspoken to has. someone forever. value honesty.

Because once I’ve said someI enjoy spendthing, there’s no taking it back. Even ing time listenat moments where I wish and I pray ing to outspoken and I plead with anything out there, individuals. I like anyone listening, to just rewind those MOY ZHONG / THE ROCK hearing people’s raw, five stupid seconds. Even if I truly, candid truths. I watch honestly, sincerely didn’t mean to say that biopics as much as I can because of how much I horrendous thing that jumped out of my mouth adore seeing people’s intriguing life stories brought and landed in everyone’s ears. Even if I apologize to the big screen. and cry in the middle of Target and get them GarOther people’s truths aren’t just important to me; detto’s the next day with a pink sticky-note reading, they’re some of the most fascinating things I can “I’m sorry!” on it. Once those words are out, there’s think of. Blocking things out because they might be no putting them back in. I can’t sweep them into a risky just isn’t something I agree with. dustpan and toss them aimlessly into the trash, disAll of that said, I think somewhere along the way, carding them without a memory of their existence.

I confused a refusal to censor oneself with a refusal If for no other reason, filtering my words would to filter one’s words. help my own well-being. I have enough on my plate I am not exactly sure at what point in my life I as it is without carrying the guilt of things I could’ve decided to forgo using my brain properly. Maybe it avoided with a literal second more of thought. My was in sixth grade, when I wanted to seem funny and friends are some of the best people I know; I hate make friends at my new school. Maybe it occurred how much I hurt them, and I hate even more that I in eighth grade, when stress from National History do it so easily.

Day turned my face into a permanent scowl. Maybe While people do over-glorify the idea of not havfreshman year put my filter six feet under at a time ing a filter, I recognize being outspoken helps me in when I used dark humor to cope with my devastating some ways. I would consider myself a decent comanxiety. municator. I collaborate well because I can bounce Maybe it doesn’t really matter: regardless of ideas off other ideas and solve problems. When whichever year took my ability to use the cognitive I speak the appropriate things on my mind, things powers bestowed upon me by centuries of evolution, usually work out well. I take things seriously, someI swear to start thinking again. times. There’s nothing wrong with being unapologetI’m at least intelligent enough to dress myself, ically me, but I often inadvertently choose eliciting yet I unintentionally make myself look completely a laugh from my peers over staying out of trouble. idiotic on a minute-by-minute basis. In eighth grade, I don’t want to put weight on my shoulders, not I complained about period cramps a little too loudly without good reason. in front of my male history teacher.

Words take mere seconds to put in the atmoI have, completely jokingly yet quite rudely, in- sphere, yet have the dangerous capacity to cling to sulted friends in front of a teacher countless times. someone forever. Filtering them isn’t dishonest. It’s I drop enough F-bombs in biology to blow up the caring. It’s sensible. It’s the most responsible thing room. one can do.

Saly Seye

8 | ADS

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

F THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

IN-DEPTH | 9

Fueled

by

ire

Illustrated by Isabel Thoroughman

A single spark can raze a forest to the ground,

incinerating leaves and charring bark in its wake.

The cycle of destruction and creation exists in nature and in the temperament of the human spirit.

The scars of trauma remain for years, some never fully heal. But over time circumstances change, fresh mindsets form, life regrows.

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

10 | IN-DEPTH

The Chances of Developing

if

PTSD

Raped or other sexual assault 72.7 percent

Child’s life-threatening illness 10.4 percent

Severely beaten

Shot or stabbed

31.9 percent

15.4 percent

Witnessed a killing Unexpected death or serious injury of a loved one 7.3 percent

14.3 percent

Natural disaster

Serious accident or injury

3.8 percent

16.8 percent

Burned [SOURCE: WWW.SIDRAN.ORG]

Bailey Stover

For legal and ethical reasons, “The Rock” has made the following sophomore source anonymous.

S

ince the sophomore was 13-years-old, her life has been a roller coaster of unexpected twists, hairpin turns and sudden drops, leaving her feeling like she lost her stomach somewhere along the tracks.

For much of the 10th grader’s childhood, her parents dealt with addiction and substance abuse. Two years ago, when her family situation became too unstable for her and her two younger brothers to handle, she moved into her grandparents’ house. While her family is hectic but loving, frequently spending time together, she said her mother and father isolate themselves.

Her parents, who argued more than normal, lived together for about 10 years after their divorce because she said they wanted their children to feel as if they “grew up with a family.” During this time she said her father was arrested following an altercation between him and her mother. He went to jail for a couple nights after her mother said he tried to hit her with his car, though nothing further came of the incident.

“There would be times where my dad would be super great. I’d want to go hang out with him. We’d have stuff that we did together. He’d take my brothers places,” she said. “And then there’d be other days where it was a complete downfall. He was just sleeping all the time. He didn’t want to do anything with us. He would say, like, ‘Oh, I can’t be here.’ He’d leave and have these random outbursts just at anybody who was around and would get super paranoid that we all thought he was a bad person.”

At the time she did not recognize the effects of drug use in her father. She recalls his visiting her grandparents and, after he left, they would explain to her he was high, not a “normal, tired, grumpy end-of-the-day type funk” as she had believed. After witnessing how substance abuse affected her parents and family, she refuses to be around people who smoke or use drugs recreationally.

“I don’t want to be there whenever you have your bad days, which almost seems selfish,” she said. “But I don’t want to be there whenever you’re grumpy and groggy and can’t remember what you did the other night because that’s just not something that I want to deal with again, especially with kids my age.”

The sophomore’s mother eventually remarried, which, at first, created a more stable and positive environment for their family.

Her new husband had more money than her ex-husband, so they lived in a nicer home and could afford more expensive posses-

sions. While she said her stepsisters were great, her stepfather had been in jail before for “drug related issues” and would say “really awful things” to the entire family. Afterward, he would try to cover up his actions, she said. It got to the point where her stepfather would insult and maltreat her mother.

She remembers her mother constantly being upset with him.

Her new situation was “almost like living with a bully, but all the time.” Instead of escaping an unstable environment, she had simply been relocated to another arena of anxiety.

“Whenever he started abusing her, we would have to leave the house while the police were there, and we’d come back and he’d be there the next day,” the sophomore said. “So very, like, still the same type of situation where you don’t know what the next 24 hours of your life are going to be like.”

The police came more than once, the 10th grader said, to make sure the family was all right. They would ask her simple questions about the night’s events then file a police report. Sometimes they offered her mother suggestions for creating a safety plan and recommended her family stay somewhere else for a while.

Though the sophomore does not know the extent of the abuse, she said her mother once received a concussion from the man after he threw her down. Sometimes he would hit and bruise her mother. At one point her mother said she was unable to come see her children because “her face was deformed,” but the sophomore is unsure if her mother’s explanation was actually the case.

“It was just really rough because I have two little brothers, and I was their mom. They see my mom as their mother, but they come to me for, like, help getting dressed in the morning, and I woke them up for school, and I did all those things with them. And it was just really wearing down on me,” she said. “And later, whenever I told my grandparents, ‘I don’t want to live in a situation where the police are being called all the time,’ my mom would call me a liar and just things like that, that really weren’t okay to tell your kids, especially about that type of situation. So my grandparents saw it most fit that we don’t live with [my parents] anymore.”

Often the oldest sibling in the home will take on the role of a parent in the house if no one else is acting like a parent, Jennie Bedsworth said. Bedsworth is the owner of The Counseling Palette and a licensed clinical social worker specialising in providing therapy for trauma and post-traumatic stress. Bedsworth said in these situations one sibling will step up to “feed everybody and take care of things” if adults are not meeting these needs. Without a strong system of support and structure, children can have problems self-regulating what is acceptable, and when, as adults.

“As you’re growing up you’re learning sort of how to self-discipline, and when you’re a kid it’s your parent that says, ‘Don’t have that second bowl of ice cream,’ or ‘Don’t stay out too late.’ And

as you get older you sort of become your own adult self making those decisions,” Bedsworth said. “But if you didn’t grow up with somebody teaching you that structure, then that can be really hard to do when you get older. So that can affect people as adults, too.”

The transition to living with her grandparents was simple because her family used to live down the street from them. The sophomore said whenever an argument would happen at her house, she would just walk up the road to stay with them until the fighting ended. Because of her close relationship with her grandparents, the 10th grader described changing homes like “moving in with a best friend” rather than a couple of unfamiliar acquaintances.

“I think that I missed out on a lot of things [not being raised by only my parents],” she said. “I didn’t get to have the great relationship with my parents that some kids did when they were little, and I also, especially now in high school, I don’t want to talk to my grandparents about things I would talk to my parents [about]. But I also know I can’t talk to my parents about those things.”

Once the sophomore decided she was no longer able to live with her mother, she said her aunt, uncle and grandparents immediately became the best support system they could and did their best to help her. After realizing she needed assistance from people outside of her family, the 10th grader told some of her friends about her situation. She talked to her counselor at school and to other therapists, finding people who “understood what was going on and were there to listen” rather than tell her what to feel.

“I rely heavily on my grandparents to kind of be there for me when I need them to be, and I go to therapy once a week, and I try to keep as tight of a family connection as I can, which other people might say is weird, because I love spending time with my family,” she said. “I surround myself with my brothers, my aunt and uncle.

We go on family trips, and I just constantly want to be around them, so they can be the reminder that I still do have people who care about me.”

Prior to moving in with her grandparents, the sophomore said her mother’s words would “make you scared that she was going to hit you.” While she said her mother “smacked” or “slapped” her a few times, she does not consider that behavior abusive because for her it is not comparable to “kids on other levels.” When these interactions occurred, however, the 10th grader said, they made her immediately not want to be around her mother. The sophomore never came to school with bruises, though she said she did feel the mental effects afterward. One instance in particular stood out.

When she was younger, she said she pushed her brother, so her mother pushed her back as an attempt to hurt her daughter as much as the sophomore had hurt her brother, something the 10th grader considered to be a “revenge type tactic” to some extent.

“Whenever I was living with my mom, and she had just came

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

IN-DEPTH | 11

Antagonizing,Agonizing Realities Ann Fitzmaurice

W

alking through the hallways, sophomore Owen Dack feels comfortable. As an open homosexual who prefers they/them pronouns, they embrace their sexuality and identity. Dack trusts their peers will not discriminate against them.

In late September, as Dack cut through the cafeteria to avoid the crowded commons, they passed a group who, at first, Dack thought nothing of. Then, Dack heard a remark that made them rethink their safety at school.

“The loud sounds of everyone yelling over each other almost seemed to hush just for me to hear it. And as my hand is on the door to push it open I hear the word ‘faggot,’” Dack said. “As I opened the door, everything became so much louder, and my chest got tight, and I gripped my bag closer on my back in case it was me they were talking about.”

Dack’s body carried their lagging mind to class feeling paralyzed. The freeze approach is less known than the fight or flight reactions, according to an article in “Psychology Today,” a mental health website. The brain responds to stress-inducing moments based on the external stimuli that triggered the release of adrenaline in the first place. Professional counselor Dr. Leeann Pennington applied these responses to one’s possible reaction during an intruder situation.

“Depending on the person that you are and the resiliency that you have, personality type, lots of different factors and variables will take place. You may decide to fight with that intruder: throwing things, fighting physically. You may choose to flee and hide, try to get away, try to escape,” Dr. Pennington said. “Or you may freeze and just stay wherever you are at in hopes that it doesn’t impact you. So I think, depending on what’s going on, your reactions could be different. People could react differently even in different traumatic reactions. Any traumatic reaction you look at, it’s probably in

the category of fight, flight or freeze.”

Dack’s response falls mainly into the flight category. Though their mind froze up and an overwhelming feeling of daze clouded their thought process, Dack’s body carried them away from the hurtful situation.

Even before the incident, Dack was acutely aware of the hate surrounding LGBTQ people, including glares, exclusion and textbook bullying. Last year, Dack’s friend lost his backpack and later had to sift through trash for more than an hour because some other students threw it away. This year, an upperclassmen shoved Dack’s boyfriend and shot rude remarks at him.

While people close to Dack have been bullied at school, Dack has never experienced hateful comments directed toward them.

When the vulgar incident happened, it broke Dack’s barrier of safety, and they said it felt like a stab in the chest.

“When I was walking through the halls by myself I heard the word ‘faggot.’ I’ve never felt more scared at school,” Dack said. “[Even if] the word wasn’t even directed toward me, I froze up and got super tense, and I wasn’t sure what to do. The only thing on my mind in that moment was just to keep walking.”

For the rest of the day, the slur lingered in the back of Dack’s mind. But because Dack was unsure who the slur was directed toward, Dack resisted escalating the situation.

Dack thinks about what happened daily.

As soon as the memory returns, their mind and body become desensitized. Dack’s feeling of becoming emotionally numb goes handin-hand with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) VeryWellMind.com, a medical research site, found.

While Dack’s experience was out of their control, people with PTSD often attempt to escape their emotions by shutting their feelings down. Sophomore Quinn Tyler intentionally attempted to escape her emotions by avoiding thinking about her father’s death. In the seven emotional stages of loss, “The Huffington

Post,” a news site, found numbness is stage two following shock.

“I was still really young [when my dad died], so I didn’t really realize how it was going to affect me,” Tyler said. “For a few weeks after [his death,] I just was real quiet and worked on just trying to avoid realizing how it affected me.”

Tyler’s father passed away in 2009 after a heart attack at home. After he died, Tyler felt confused and stayed home for several days.

For elementary aged children, Kidshealth.org, an informational medical site, found confusion is among one of the most prevalent responses to death as they are still learning to understand what happened to the people who passed away.

At just six years old, Tyler’s life got flipped upside down, and her adolescent senses had to play catch-up to what happened around her.

While Tyler’s mind swarmed with bewilderment, Dack’s senses fell into an ever growing crater in the ground, swallowing Dack’s thoughts and emotions in an instant under the luminescent lights of the cafeteria.

“I felt stuck, like my body was moving, but my mind couldn’t move on,” Dack said. “I was walking to [world history,] and it felt like only a split second had passed after I heard the word that I was in my first hour class hearing about a lesson.”

The jump from one event to another without realizing the amount of time that passed is another symptom of PTSD, though it tends to occur closer to the triggering event, “Live Science,” a news site, found. The reason why time seems to slow down during intense moments is because of a neurological or psychological “trick” on one’s own mind, according to an article in “Psychology Today.” “[When a traumatic event happens,] your breathing will go faster [and] your heart will go faster, but your processing speed slows down, and you’re taking things in at this different level due to the stress hormones that are going through your body,” Dr. Pennington said.

“So your perception of time is your brain’s way of trying to take in as much detail as you can.

It’s also why traumatic memories of traumatic events stay more in the forefront of our memory.”

Though she was just a child, Tyler remembers several moments from the day her father passed. A study by “Psych Central,” a psychology website, found most memories before the age of three begin to fade when the child turns seven years old. Traumatic moments, however, tend to stick to the mind longer. When her father was in the hospital, Tyler remembers sitting with her siblings in silence, while a million thoughts plagued the room. Later, her mother returned to pick them up to take Tyler and her siblings to see their father. Tyler stayed behind.

“I remember that day. We had spent it at my brother’s soccer games, then we got home, and I went to take a shower when my sister came and took me to the neighbor’s house,” Tyler said. “My mom was doing CPR, and I saw a fire truck. For the most part, it was just a blur.”

The whirlwind Tyler underwent, however, is not always associated with negative experiences, “Psychology Today” said. When life becomes obscure, the best people can do is hold onto stabilizing support systems.

Encouragement often comes from friends, family or religion. Regardless of what supports them, after a dizzying event people remain stable as their body reacts to the event.

The only assistance Dack had in fleeing from the homophobic situation was the power of their own body going into “survival mode.” “[I felt like] my heart was burning ice, sizzling, and my brain was falling behind. I was walking like my body was on autopilot, and my mind, my consciousness, was [floating],” Dack said. “After my first hour I had A lunch, and the whole time I just wished I was invisible like no one could see me [and how it affected me]. My whole day [I] was on autopilot. I wasn’t all there. My body took me places, and I just sorta went with it.”

In the struggle to care for herself, one student overcomes internal and external turmoil to generate positive self-perception. into my room and totally, like, gone off and was yelling all these awful things at me and raising her hand as if she was gonna hit me and was just super awful and just saying these horrendous things that, it almost sounded like the things that you see in commercials that cyberbullies say, that nobody actually says in real life to your face,” she said.

In Bedsworth’s experience, children are able to grow up in an unsafe or unhealthy environment but “legitimately don’t know that things are wrong.” Sometimes it is not until they begin staying at other people’s houses that they see their circumstances are not what the average family is like. As children age, she said they sometimes awaken to the realization that their mother’s or father’s behavior “wasn’t actually okay,” but until that point they were unaware their situation could have been any different.

“Think of [it] like raising a little puppy, and it’s only been around you its whole life, then it’s not going to know what’s right or wrong. It’s just gonna know how you treat it. So it’s kind of the same with families,” Bedsworth said. “Like, we just know what we are exposed to. And then the other thing that happens sometimes is it’s really hard to admit, like, ‘Hey, my mom abused me,’ or ‘My dad abused me,’ and then you look at them differently, and then you might start to kind of question your relationship with them, and that’s really complicated and really hard. And so that doesn’t come super easy.”

How the sophomore’s mother and father treated her growing up decimated her confidence and self-esteem. She asks for forgiveness profusely, internalizes her mistakes and avoids negative interactions whenever possible. Often, the sophomore will apologize when asking for assistance or refuse to seek help entirely for fear of being rejected or angering someone for speaking her mind. “[Living with my father] was almost like living on a roller coaster because everything was so up and down all of the time and you would walk in the door and you wouldn’t know what to do next,” she said. “And everybody was kind of living on the edge of their seat wondering, ‘Is today the day to not have an attitude? Is today the day that it’s okay to have an attitude? Is it okay to ask for a snack, or is it not okay?’”

Often times parents will help children to make the decision to try new things and gain confidence, Bedsworth said. Pre-teens, teenagers and adults typically learn what they enjoy without parental guidance. For young adults who grew up with little or no consistent structure or support system because of parental neglect or abuse, however, Bedsworth said they will question their own actions and blame themselves for their situations.

“Sometimes people will turn on themselves and start saying, ‘Oh, my parents weren’t there for me because there’s something wrong with me,’ or, ‘I should have been more helpful,’ or, ‘I

shouldn’t have complained,’ or, ‘I shouldn’t have had my problems,’” Bedsworth said. “And then we start to kind of turn on ourselves, which isn’t helpful ‘cause it’s never, never the child’s fault what’s going on.”

After 14 years of living with instability, the sophomore said she still gets scared when people raise their hand or their voice, a jarring reminder of her past. The emotional and psychological effects of her experiences did not go away after a few months without maternal contact, and two years later they are still present.

“I just want people to know that that’s something that does happen and that’s something that I just kind of have to deal with,” she said. “And I can’t just say, ‘Oh, sorry. I’ll stop.’ I have to keep going with that.”

To better understand her circumstances and to not allow them to define her, the sophomore worked with a therapist who helped her understand her emotions are valid. Instead of allowing her childhood to dictate her character, she recognizes she cannot deal with people yelling or being aggressive and hateful. While part of her internal identity is intertwined with her past, she thinks other people see her in a different light.

“I wish I could have told my parents that they are worth more than [how they acted]. Because, like, I wouldn’t want to tell them that they could do better because they know that they could do better, but I almost want to tell them, ‘You are better than a drug addict and a woman who won’t leave her abusive husband.’ And they both deserved so much more than they got because of their own situations,” she said. “And because of them thinking they were not worth more than drug addiction and not worth more than abuse, then we weren’t worth more than that. So it was kind of like if they would have thought of themselves as worth more, we would have thought of ourselves as worth more.”

The sophomore learned to tell her family when they upset her and to recognize she can “come home at the end of the day grumpy.” After living in an unstable home for so many years, she is still learning positive coping mechanisms for when she feels stressed or overwhelmed. To develop past the point she was at two years ago, the 10th grader took control of her mental and emotional health. While growing up she was depressed because her parents were not a present support system for her, she understands there continue to be other people in her life who step up to fill those long empty shoes.

“If the parents are very distracted by the drugs or alcohol, then they might not have given the support that the child needed growing up,” Bedsworth said. “So there may have been some issues with physical or emotional neglect or even physical abuse because sometimes people under the influence can become violent.”

Each form of abuse has its own physical, emotional and psycho-

logical ramifications. Carlos Rivera with Ocean Breeze Recovery, an addiction rehabilitation center, wrote neglect is when a caregiver fails to provide for a child’s needs: basic care, love and support, appropriate moral and legal guidance, adequate supervision and control. The effects and extent of abuse can vary greatly, though its presence may potentially lead to PTSD or substance abuse later in one’s life.

“I was at my grandparent’s house and everything was kind of escalating and my emotions were out of control, and I told my dad that I really needed him there and that he really needed to stay, and I really need the support for the time being, and he just said, ‘No. I can’t do that,’ and left and didn’t turn around whenever I asked for help,” she said. “It almost made me feel like I was unimportant at the time, like my emotions didn’t matter. I was just a little kid that was sitting on the couch crying. I almost felt like I wasn’t there, like he didn’t hear me and had no reason to.”

The effects of any form of abuse depend on whether or not the person has access to the support he or she needs at the time, Bedsworth said. PTSD, which includes symptoms such as nightmares, panic attacks, flashbacks and anxiety with social situations or crowds, can accompany abuse. How one’s situation affects him or her reflects the individual’s circumstances at the time.

“If people have ongoing symptoms like these, then that’s usually an indicator that they have post-traumatic stress. For other people it’s possible they could have had good support and help at the time, and so there may not be as many long-term effects,” Bedsworth said. “And then there are variations of effects on people. So some people might—let’s say they don’t have the nightmares or the post-traumatic stress, but they might still be sort of uncomfortable in relationships, or they might have other problems that affect their work or their life or their family.”

Her younger brothers’ tempestuous upbringing generated animosity between them and the idea of motherhood. The sophomore said there have been years when they did not want to celebrate Mother’s Day because of painful memories.

When she is older, she wants to have a family of her own. Living with her grandparents taught her the value of love and respect.

Though she believes children should respect their parents, she thinks it is important for them to respect children in return. In her mind, a house should be filled with unconditional love rather than merely discipline and respect.

“I feel like I’ve gotten to a point where I can kind of teach [my siblings] that a mom is not just somebody who gave birth to you.

A mom is somebody who cares for you and loves you and is gonna help you make your bed and help make breakfast in the morning for you,” she said. “And just seeing that their circumstances are not who they are but rather what makes them stronger.”

12 | IN-DEPTH

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

The Musical

Mad Scientist

Internal conflict can consume every aspect of life, generating a feeling of confinement between internal expectations and motivations.

As time progresses, one develops coping mechanisms to satisfy both sides.

T

Bailey Stover

Tragedy, like terminal illness, affects people regardless of religion, socioeconomic standing or morality. Junior John Hassett’s grandfather was a smoker and alcoholic for the majority of his life, he said. When Hassett was 13, his grandfather died of a heart attack in front of him, which he said really freaked him out at the time, though his passing was not altogether unexpected.

“We were driving out from Yorktown, [Pennsylvania] back to his house, and he was in the front seat, and he was like, ‘I don’t feel so good, so I’m gonna swap the passenger side.

I’m just gonna take a nap in the car.’ And everybody was like, ‘Yeah, okay.’ He gets out and he just [collapses]. And I had to call 911 and stuff,” Hassett said. “They don’t tell you this in movies: when people die, their eyes get really, really tiny, like needlepoint thin.”

Witnessing a death is horrible, said Jennie Bedsworth, owner of The Counseling Palette and a licensed clinical social worker specializing in therapy for trauma and post-traumatic stress. Such an incident can be especially traumatizing for a child who has limited life experience and understanding of the world. How people respond to a death is largely dependent on their support systems. Without a structure of discipline and love, Bedsworth said, it takes longer for someone to make peace and reconcile with the death.

Children who do not receive the help they need following a traumatic experience could experience symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), including nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety problems or depression, she said. Treatment later in life can help one heal from his or her trauma.

Bedsworth said drug and alcohol abuse can run in families, and growing up in a “dysfunctional setting” might make one more vulnerable to turn to drugs or alcohol as a way to cope with stress as he or she grows up. Substance abuse is a mental health problem, though it can also accompany underlying issues such as depression or anxiety. While turning to drugs and alcohol for short-term management may work, Bedsworth said, in the long-term it “starts to mess up your life.”

Hassett, who said he drank alcohol socially and as a coping mechanism his sophomore year, said his grandfather’s alcoholism and his own struggle with depression made him a prime candidate for developing a drinking problem. Hassett no longer consumes alcohol because of the medication he takes. He said if he metabolizes alcohol now, there could be serious, possibly fatal, complications.

Even at moderate drinking levels, medications can interact with alcohol to result in “adverse health effects for the drinker,” Ron Weathermon, Pharm.D. and David W. Crabb, M.D. wrote in their paper “Alcohol and Medication Interactions” for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Two types of alcohol-medication interactions exist. With pharmacodynamic interactions, alcohol “enhances the effect of the medication” in the central nervous system. In pharmacokinetic interactions, however, alcohol interferes with the way the body metabolizes medication.

“I don’t like being inebriated with the people I was around,” Hassett said. “When people are drunk or they’re high, they’re either cute, funny or annoying, and the majority of the peo-

ple I’ve been around when they’re like that are very, very annoying. And I’ve found that when I’m inebriated I become more easily annoyed by these other people; in other aspects I become much more calm.”

Alcohol consumption can lead to memory impairment, blackout, recklessness and impaired decision-making in the short term, according to American Addiction Centers, a group aimed at providing help and empowerment for those dealing with addiction. For heavy and/or chronic drinkers, the organization stated, alcohol consumption also can lead to diminished gray matter in the brain, loss of visuospatial abilities, an inability to think abstractly and memory and attention span loss.

Hassett said the cultural idea surrounding underage alcohol consumption presents few consequences for social drinking and, in most cases, binge drinking, too. About 7.4 million Americans between the ages of 12 and 20 reported alcohol consumption, according to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, though there is a distinction between social drinking and binge drinking.

“Out of social situations I think maybe [for] a few months or so I had a drinking problem, but it never got completely out of hand; however, I am biased, you know,” Hassett, who describes himself as having a “really loose moral compass” and being susceptible to peer pressure, said. “The number one thing a former alcoholic will try to convince you, if they’re not at peace with it, is they’re not an alcoholic. So take that with a grain of salt.”

Growing up with “sound-based anxiety,” a condition similar to phonophobia, Hassett said he developed agoraphobia, the fear of situations that could cause discomfort, and an aversion to social situations and crowds. He used different substances as a way to handle the world around him, relying on them in a sometimes senseless manner. The combination of his sound-based anxiety and depression made alcohol consumption an attractive option. Hassett said his depression impacts how often he eats, sleeps, talks with other people, makes things with his hands or does his school work. He tried to justify his drinking to himself and his friends, but ultimately realized it was an ineffective and self-destructive coping mechanism.

“I was like, ‘Does drinking help you not be depressed?’ And then I did it a few times, and I was like, ‘No, now I’m just depressed and bad at holding things.’ I mean, some days now it’s just like, ‘Ah, I hate being sober. I hate being as aware of things as I am.’ It’s like anxious.

Like, it [mellows] you out,” Hassett said. “The way I used to describe it to other people is when all the chemicals in your brain are going all over the place ‘cause you’re nervous or you’re scared or you’re anxious, and you take something that just throws your brain at a wall, it has to, like, relevel itself, and when it does so you’re gonna be back to normal. That’s not true. Don’t listen to that. That’s pure b---s---.

Never tell anybody that. It’s terrible advice. But if you’re trying to convince other people that it’s okay that you have like a quarter cup of gin in the mug that you carry around iced tea [in], it works. Sometimes. Other times, no.”

As Hassett understands himself better, he realizes the seminal role music has come to play in his life. Having taken band since middle school where he also played in the jazz band after school, he plays baritone saxophone and joined Emerald Regiment last year. He is proud of his taste in music and his hands-on projects, such as a pickup for acoustic instruments so he

can connect them to amplifiers and run a distor- is only able to view his treatment of other peotion pedal through a mandolin in order to play ple through his own lens of self-perception.

Black Sabbath. His identity as a musician and “I’m not allowed to define myself as a good his passion for music, he said, have helped him person. Those are actions that are interpreted craft a new approach to life. by other people, and those are actions that have “I like to define myself by the results of my to be defined by other people,” he said. “I can’t creative endeavors,” Hassett said, “because I define them on my own. You need some kind of like talking with other people that have their outsider approval or else you might be fudging own creative endeavors and that sharing of your results.” ideas.”

Though he used substances as a coping He also enjoys making music, seeing peo- mechanism, he believes the term “finding an ple laugh and sharing ideas with other people escape” is flawed. To handle anxiety or shame in small groups. After reading Frank Herbert’s inducing situations, humans rely on coping 1965 science fiction novel, “Dune,” Hassett mechanisms: adaptive, attack, avoidance, besaid the story’s “uncomfortable philosophy” havioral, cognitive, conversion, defense and became important to a deeper sense of who he self-harm, according to ChangingMinds.org, is or at least who he would like to be. a site aimed at developing metacognition and Hassett believes people are the sum of their philosophical methods of thought. Rather than actions. Even if he tells someone his thoughts using music, a substitute for drugs and alcohol, or what he is trying to do, he said he is not the to escape from his life, Hassett relies on it to things he wants to be nor the things he thinks change his view of the world. Still, he said he about doing unless he actually does them. lets go of his pain as much as he can, mainly “All of the thoughts that you think are only because he does not find it productive. within [your mind], even if you share them with “I use [musical composition] as [a tool] other people. You’re only the things that you do. to make interpretations and reflections of the And you’re not even the things that happen to world as opposed to [trying] to find an escape you, necessarily, right? Because the only thing from it. I write things ‘cause, you know, I have that you can control is how you respond to ev- a feeling,” he said. “And it’s like, well, how do erything else going on [around] you,” Hassett I put this feeling into sounds? And then I do. Or said. “So there are things that have happened I don’t. Or I put something into sound that is a to me that I don’t define myself by, necessar- different feeling than the one I was going for, ily, because I don’t view it as an intrinsic part but I work with it anyway.” to myself. And there are things that I do that Compositional challenges, like trying to I have to define understand classical myself as that I Chinese music theory, didn’t like. I am rhythmic patterns and All of the thoughts that you think the sum of all of chord progressions, almy actions, good low Hassett to “wig are only within [your mind], even and bad. Beout.” He said he finds if you share them with other peocause those are peace in music because ple. You’re only the things that you the only things it allows him to create do. And you’re not even the things that other people tension or relax into sesee, really.” renity. While he believes that happen to you, necessarily, For people he is inferior to most of right? Because the only thing that diagnosed with his friends in “levels of you can control is how you rea mental illness, musical experience and spond to everything else going on defining themmusical skill,” Hassett [around] you.” selves by an rationalizes his anxiet- John Hassett, illness identity, ies of not measuring up junior “the set of roles to them by taking a step and attitudes that back and realizing there a person has deare seven billion people veloped in relation to his or her understanding on the planet, each with their own set of unique of having a mental illness,” can adversely af- talents. fect their recovery and could further increase “There’s always going to be somebody their risk of suicide, according to Philip T. Ya- standing next to you that’s gonna be better than nos, David Roe and Paul H. Lysaker with the you at something. It doesn’t matter. It matters National Center for Biotechnological Infor- what you create and what they create and what mation in their study, “The Impact of Illness you do and what they do,” Hassett said. “And Identity on Recovery from Severe Mental Ill- perhaps maybe it matters that the two of you ness.” People with mental health issues such as can do things together, ‘cause it can be better depression or PTSD can be at risk for suicide than either [individual alone].” or suicidal thoughts, Bedsworth said. In situaUsually Hassett believes his own intertions involving suicide, she believes the most nalized anxieties create more adversity than important thing is for one to share his or her what he encounters externally. Still, he said his thoughts rather than keeping them bottled up. friends and peers support his personal projects “I would definitely encourage people [to], just as he tries to do for them in return because like, talk to your doctor or talk to people at Hassett said he knows what it feels like “to hurt school that you trust, adults that you trust, call in some of the ways they do.” These relationlike the suicide, national suicide hotline. Just ships help his mental health, he said, and he [keep] asking for help until you get it,” Bed- hopes he offers the same kindness in return. sworth said. “‘Cause there are people that want “I have an amazing support group from my to help; you just gotta find the right people friends. I have an amazing support group from sometimes.” a lot of my peers that I don’t know, as well,” Hassett considers himself a nice, helpful Hassett said. “I think I draw a lot of self-esteem person but believes others must describe him in and self respect from the people close to me that way first for such characteristics to remain ‘cause they make me think that I am worth it, true. He said his “narcissistic” view of himself and I try to make them think that they are worth biased him toward his own actions because he it, as well.”

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

FEATURES | 13

Pay the price

Education brings high costs, extra fees free and reduced lunch.

Despite the low-income qualifications, there ne in three students sitting in class at are still some aspects of public school that the RBHS qualifies for free or reduced equitable values of government provided educalunch. A family’s qualification for tion do not cover. Senior Savannah Schnabel bethese meals depends on how many lieves these costly parts of RBHS are not directly people live off the gross pay for the household. through the school, but more through extracurIn Missouri, the maximum income for a ricular activities like her Professions in Healthhousehold size of one person is $15,782, or care class or volleyball team. $304 a week. For a group of eight people, the “In my Professions in Healthcare class, we maximum income is $55,904, $1,060 a week, have to be CPR certified, have a background according to the policy outlined by the Missouri check and also have tests so that we can parDepartment of Elementary and Secondary Edu- ticipate as Student Nursing Assistants until we cation. A junior, who requested to be anonymous get our [Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) libecause of sensitive financial information, is one cense],” Schnabel said. “We got our syllabus and of three people in his family, which brings in found out that we had to pay a total of $64 for around $35,000, qualifying him for free lunch. these necessities. Without these payments, we “Growing up, I didn’t know that not everyone couldn’t continue the course. The payment was gets free lunches,” the junior said. “When people due within a week, and I paid for it because it were like, ‘I’m hungry,’ [I was] like, ‘Well, why was my class, and it was last minute notice.” don’t you just go get a lunch?’ and they [were] Professions in Healthcare teacher Lyndsey like, ‘I can’t afford it right now’ [because] they Gambill said she does not provide financial aid don’t have any money on them. I didn’t know in her class because the class provides a CNA you have to pay for lunch. So I’m like, ‘Oh, I get certification for free, while the normal cost is my lunch for free,’ and I’ve been told before that $1,000. Within the first few months of school, that’s because I’m poor. It’s like one, don’t say Schnabel said she estimates she paid around that to people and two, wow, yikes. I didn’t know $250 altogether. This includes fees such as club I was poor, sorry.” dues, which can be either a fee for being in the Students who qualify for free and reduced activity or t-shirts. Organizations at RBHS are lunches at RBHS remain confidential. There is mainly student-run with teacher sponsors; thus no lunch checkout line separating meals for kids the students choose what to make members pay able to pay versus students who meet the income for with light regulation from bookkeeper Donna requirement.

Piecko.

While lunches might remain anonymous, RBHS Director of Counseling Betsy Jones, extracurricular activities are more public as the however, said club leaders and sponsors should groups are more independent. Many clubs and not allow club dues or should at least provide fee teams do not have fee waivers that families can waivers for students who have lower incomes. qualify for by filling out Aside from this, Jones an application, and in believes there are many smaller groups students My mom is a single parent raising two ways RBHS tries to stay may feel more pressure equitable. to hide their financial sit- high school seniors and just barely “We do everything uations. For the junior, making enough money. She lives pay- we can to support stuthe most economical- check to paycheck and sometimes dents’ needs,” Jones ly-straining activity he even has us kids pay for things when said. “We have a Bruparticipates in is show in Care Account that it’s really tight.” choir. Despite the cost of is funded by donations - Savannah Schnabel, and also supported by the optional activity, the senior student council. [Misjunior said he chooses to take part in the group souri State High School because it is his passion.

Activities Association] “At show choir competitions the food is usu- rules do affect what we can do for student athally cheap, but the costumes are what’s on the letes.” upper-end,” he said. “At the end of the year we While RBHS does what’s in its power to help have to pay for our shoes and stuff. We don’t re- students with costs, sometimes paying for food ally have a choice how much our shoes cost so and activities are completely up to the families, they can be anywhere from $50 to $70, and it’s depending on if the student expresses need or just like, ‘These are your shoes.’ You don’t have not. Schnabel and her sister, Olivia, often have a choice. You don’t have to keep them, but you to pay for things themselves, and Schnabel destill have to buy them.” scribes her financial situation as fairly one-sided.

While the junior said show choir sometimes “My mom is a single parent raising two high covers the cost of the outfits, the fee waivers are school seniors and just barely making enough usually for the jackets. If a member cannot af- money. She lives paycheck to paycheck and ford to buy the jacket, he or she can talk to choir sometimes even has us kids pay for things when director Mike Pierson for financial aid. The eli- it’s really tight,” Schnabel said. “My dad on the gibility for fee waivers is usually the same as for other hand is paid more, so he usually pays for

Ann Fitzmaurice

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

things when needed; however, my dad is very picky about money. If there’s a time when Olivia and I need food before practice, we end up paying for it, which is hard because we only make so much money.”

Both Schnabel and her sister have part-time jobs to help their parents out when it comes to paying for school and extracurriculars. Likewise, the junior took on a job to help pay for the cost of show choir and other school charges. Last year, RBHS fined him $700 and withheld his schedule until he paid the fee. While he said $200 of this was a mistake and got refunded, the remainder of the money came out of pocket.

“The first time I joined show choir I didn’t know that you had to pay for stuff that you didn’t keep,” the junior said. “I bought my corset which was like $20, but at the end of the year I almost couldn’t get my schedule because I had like a $700 fine because I didn’t pay it.”

The remainder of his fee was because of show choir clothing charges on items such as replacement Spanx, pantyhose and corsets. The cost of these items, however, came with an opportunity to fundraise. Jones said fundraising works by clubs depositing funds in their accounts for use, and RBHS will help with fee waivers if they know the financial need. Other than this, Jones said she wishes there were other ways RBHS was more equitable. “[I would like] more sporting opportunities for students who do not play competitive ball

ISABEL THOROUGHMAN / THE ROCK

year-round for our sports that are so competitive,” Jones said. “[Also,] an activity bus so students could stay for co-curriculars.”

In terms of fundraising, the junior would like the money to be distributed fairly. The choir department portions out the money from events like the RBHS ad book or show choir garage sale to each member equally. He believes there are some people in the group who need it more than others, and fundraising should be more equitable, not equal. “[Spreading the money equally is] not the best idea because there are people who are on the upper-end of financial stability and there are some people who have to walk a couple miles to get here early in the morning so that they can even be in show choir because their parents have jobs that they have to be at,” the junior said. “You should give it to the people who actually need it.”

Because of the fluctuation in show choir in terms of financial status, the junior said he feels nervous constantly. The fluctuations make the junior wonder if he should even be allowed in the activity. Though the junior compares himself to others who are financially secure, he said he’s still willing to participate in the art that he loves.

“It makes me kind of sad. It makes me feel like I’m not as much as other people,” the junior said. “I feel like [other people] have a better way of life than me, even though that’s probably not true it just feels like that because that’s the way that things are set up.”

Public speaking sparks worries, occasional challenges Katie Whaley

P

ublic speaking is not a skill junior Tyler Ostrander feels confident in. He said he avoids sharing his opinions, as he worries what others might feel, and sometimes develops a stutter or mumble that makes him feel self-conscious. His selfdoubt, however, is not without reason.

Ostrander has anxiety.

Those who have an anxiety disorder experience different symptoms and challenges, as there are many types of anxiety, diverse social environments people live in and specific triggers each person can have, accord-

ing to Mayo Clinic. As a generalized experience, Mayo Clinic reports anxiety disorders cause intense experiences of excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations.

In his life, Ostrander feels immense pressure and worry when presenting in front of the class. Before a presentation, these fears cross his mind: he’ll stutter too much, have the wrong information and receive a terrible grade.

He said he’s lucky if he can manage to push his presentation back a few days and will fake sickness if he’s feeling too overwhelmed. “[Presenting makes me feel] in a word sick, like physically sick. Some-

times it gets to the point of getting dizzy. I end up blanking on things I know.

I always wear a jacket in presentation days because I often sweat through my shirt. After and sometimes during [the presentation] I end up getting shaky,” Ostrander said. “I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety, so that doesn’t help. . . telling me to go up and talk to a group of people is like telling a 10-year-old to use the high dive.”

The nervous feelings Ostrander describes is something Dr. Patricia Schoenrade, a professor of psychological science at William Jewell College, sees in her students and experiences herself. Because she has a form

CAMRYN DEVORE / THE ROCK

TONGUE-TIED: Radio is a form of debate where the speakers are allowed to sit with their back to the audience. Freshman Jeff Windmoeller performs his radio piece Oct. 18 for his debate class. “I think [radio] helps if you have stage fright.” Windmoeller said. “It doesn’t affect me personally but I know other people who do.”

of anxiety, she can perceive her students with anxiety from two angles: as a researched psychology professor and a fellow subject.

“Anxiety can interfere with memory, so the presenter forgets some of the points he or she intended to present.

If anxiety symptoms are visible, the presenter may worry that others will notice, which becomes an additional source of anxiety,” Dr. Schoenrade said. “For some, receiving the assignment may [cause] anxiety, which can interfere with focus in preparation.”

In September, students with anxiety voiced their issues on Twitter with teachers imposing students with anxiety to present and grade the public speaking. The tweeting individuals believed it was unfair to grade students with anxiety on their presentation skills, as they cannot perform as well as their peers, and said students should have the option of completing an alternative assignment in place of presentations, according to “The Atlantic.”

Though Ostrander despises speaking in front of his class, he does not see allowing students to skip out on presenting as the most helpful option, as social skills are a necessity for teenagers in the future.

“It’s good on paper, but in practice it could turn into no one presenting, and public speaking — though I try to avoid it — I recognize as an important skill,” Ostrander said. “Take working at say McDonalds for example, you need to talk to complete strangers all shift, or you have a high-end job, at meetings you might be expected to talk to all your coworkers at once.”

Research backs Ostrander’s think-

ing. Eighty percent of executives rank oral communication as very important for recent grads, and 90 percent of hiring managers have the same preference, according to the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

U.S. History teacher Bryn Orton recognizes the significance of communication but wants students to feel comfortable. He allows students who have diagnosed anxiety issues and a deep lack of confidence or experience in the English language to break off from the rest of the class and perform their presentations separately.

“It is important to make accommodations for people, but it is also important to show people that they have it in themselves to overcome their fears,” Orton said. “Based on my experience, that process has almost always been successful. Anxiety doesn’t magically melt away after giving one presentation in front of a small group, but I’ve seen enough students glowing with pride after giving a presentation that it is something I want to push students to do once or twice a year.”

Though Ostrander does not enjoy presentations, he sees them as small steps toward improving public speaking skills. Students, he said, should not ask for mercy or alternate assignments, instead for understanding.

“Students should talk [to teachers] when they feel the need to. For teacher responses, I would want honesty and sincerity. I don’t think leniency would work, people would take advantage of that,” Ostrander said. “However, talking to students to breakdown what the rubric is saying and how to improve it would be better than any leniency.”

14 | FEATURES

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

Words to the wise

Spoken language brings power, influence to conversation Bailey Stover

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passions with others.

Slam poetry has historically been linked with activism, Banker said, and many poems she writes have a call to action embedded in them. She said slam poetry is like stepping into a character. How authors speak, the specific metaphors they use and what gestures they make while performing convey their tone and purpose to the audience. Though Banker has listened to her fair share of “cute poems about friendship,” she said she sees more poems at the high school level centered around topics such as police brutality, how to deal with sexual assault victims and the discrimination people in the LGBTQ community face.

“I’ve heard a lot of poems about school shootings last year, and I feel like that’s the hardest part. Just being able to get up there and being like, ‘Yeah, this is my opinion.’ You know, just owning the way you feel, because I’m not very used to that,” Banker said. “I’m used to not talking about how I feel because there’s a lot of different opinions around me and not a whole lot of people who agree with me.

And so poetry has also been my way of owning my own thoughts.”

Banker said slam poetry has a variety of approaches and methodologies. She said writing about her own life and emotions is easiest for her, so she tends to focus on personal experiences when crafting her poems.

“A lot of times I’ll try and think of creative ways or metaphors to put [the emotions] that I feel [into words] with a different spin, because sometimes it’s hard to say those things straight out,” Banker said. “And so poetry is a way you can change [your diction], but you’re still getting the same emotion, but you’re not saying the same words.”

As an educator, Dr. Strickland noticed the more standardized tests students take, the more they become confined to a set of arbitrary rules.

Rather than understanding the creativity and subjectiveness, students appear more inclined to view literary composition as something formulaic insas a free-flowing affair. Dr. Strickland said rhetoric and reflection are the two key components of influential writing, so the “art of communicating well” requires trial, error and adaptation, not a set of finite rules.

“This way of thinking can be at odds with how good writing actually works, which is as an informed and intelligent response to a [situation],” Dr. Strickland said. “It isn’t that writing is a free-for-all, but it has to be flexible in order to be responsive and effective.”

Full-time author Antony John, writer of the Elemental series, Five Flavors

s soon as children are born, they cry.

In the first year of life, they will coo and babble, stringing sounds together to form words that relate to their environment, according to Kidshealth.org, a nonprofit children’s health site. By 15 months, toddlers should be able to respond to one-step directions and use simple nouns to communicate.

The older the child is, the more complex his or her speech becomes. As children age, they understand how to use their words to express their wants, needs and emotions. During adolescence, “HealthyFamilies BC,” British Columbia’s health-promotion plan, said young people search for identity, seek independence and responsibility and develop new ways of communicating.

Teenagers might exhibit “strong feelings and intense emotions” and an increased sensitivity to other’s feelings, “HealthyFamilies BC” stated, while at the same time they could become more self-conscious.

Physical, social and emotional changes can thrust teenagers into unexpected, yet sometimes exhilarating situations. Following a traumatic event at the start of her sophomore year, junior Logan Banker joined slam poetry as a healthy way to cope with and work through her emotions. Though she was initially reticent to join, she said the experience was better than she originally believed it would be. Banker said she thought poetry was “kind of stupid” before her friend, junior Maddie Renner, suggested she give it a shot.

“I think what really ended [up] getting me into [slam poetry] is because I saw that you can make it something if you want it to be,” Banker said, “and it’s not just something for pretentious human beings.”

Because slam poetry is verbal and visual, body language and diction are crucial parts of conveying her message to the audience. The main distinction Banker sees between oral and written poetry is in the author’s ability to portray his or her tone. Banker said she uses her poems as a way to share her experiences and opinions with her audience constructivly.

“A lot of my poems, if they’re about things that have happened to me or that I have perceived, I usually have some message or some call to action left with them, and I feel like when I do that I am, in a sense, contributing to improvements of society, you know,” Banker said.

“Even if [my words] only [get] to people in my club or the people who show up to our competitions, which right now isn’t that many because the first one was last year, [I still feel like I am leaving a positive mark with my work].”

Banker does not use a specific process to write poetry, but she does pay attention to the way people around her phrase their ideas and draws inspiration from her surroundings as well as her own experiences.

“A lot of times I’ll just be sitting in class and I’ll get an idea. I’ll get like a line or two, like a certain thing that I want to use. So I’ll jot it down on a sticky note so I don’t forget, and then I’ll just write a whole thing, as much as I can, later,” Banker said. “And when I look back I’ll edit it, but I don’t usually have anyone else look at it. I’ll just perform it for the club, and it’s fun.”

While poetry is a hobby for some, Dr. Donna Strickland, associate professor of English and former Director of Composition at the University of Missouri—Columbia, included the literary style as part of her master’s degree in creative writing. Dr. Strickland, who holds a PhD in rhetoric and composition, uses expressive writing and personal journaling as a way to reflect on her thoughts.

CK RO “In this class we HE T G/ bring the qualities of ON ZH Y intention and attention MO to our writing in order to avoid writing with discom-fort a n d lack of focus,” Dr. Strickland said. “We develop intention and attention through formal mindfulness practices, such as breath-awareness meditation.”

Dr. Strickland recommends one writes and reflects on his or her words and ideas before verbalizing them. This process allows the speaker to better understand the possible impact of his or her words. Writing can be both a personal experience and a way to share one’s

of Dumb and Thou Shalt Not Road Trip, said you talkin’ white?’ So it’s like you’re taught to words are his “bread and butter.” He loves code switch from early on. Although I really thinking about how words do hate when people say, like, ‘Why are you can shape one’s talking white?’ because they make it seem like understanding proper English is only limited to white people, of a moment, and it’s not,” Payne said. “And also, I event or guess, it depends story, and on your definition he said the of proper, ‘cause, responses to like, who said Afhis books rican-AmeriJust as we spend our teen years exare gencan Vernacerally ular English ploring different aspects of our personpositive. isn’t right? So alities, so too should we explore differ“ M y it’s kind of ent voices. It will only help to make us proudest about this into more empathic human beings.” letters are thing that, those from like, only - Antony John, readers white is author who’ve said right.” that a book, or By not using more likely, a charAAVE, Payne acter, has spoken to said the burden them in some way,” John said. of effective communication “The thought that this reader and I are connectfalls upon non-white peoed through a fictional character is a powerful p l e in predominantly white settings. thing.”

She is conscious of not slipping up and using Verbalizing ideas is not a necessity limited Ebonics at school. To reduce how often people to poets and writers. Teenagers often encounter in the black community have to “translate” from this challenge, too. Junior Jessica Payne said AAVE to “standard or proper English,” Payne people raised in the black community often feel said, they rely on code switching. Though code the need to avoid speaking African-American switching is less than ideal, she said it is a surVernacular English (AAVE), or Ebonics. They vival skill most black people have to learn in are most comfortable using this vernacular order to communicate with people who do not around their black friends and family rather generally use Ebonics.While at school Payne than when they are in predominantly white in- feels unable to be her true self, but not around stitutions. her black family and friends. Switching beFor people of color, she said “code switch- tween her two personas leaves her feeling “twoing” refers to alternating between one form of a faced.” language to another. Payne said she, and many Payne said AAVE stems from a time when other black people, code switch from AAVE to African-Americans were not given equality or “standard” or “proper” English. equity within the American education system.

“I feel like code switching is a necessity, and Because of this she believes black people found it’s also a lot of work because you have to bal- their own ways to pronounce certain words and ance the way you talk at home versus the way created their own cultural customs. In Payne’s you talk in school or work or any other profes- experience, as in Banker’s, words have power. sional setting,” Payne said. “I feel like the rea- How, why and in what context people use words son we have to code switch is because you can determines how an audience receives them. never be black enough for black people, but you As a white person, Dr. Strickland said she is can never be white enough for white people, so conscious of how implicit or unconscious bias you find yourself in between trying to balance influences language. She asks herself questions that.” about the assumptions she makes, the inclusivWhen she is at school or in a professional ity and exclusivity of her writing and how she setting, Payne will code switch to what can learn more about people from other backshe said white America defines grounds. She said speaking and writing about as standard or proper English. injustice generates awareness of the impacts When she was younger, and promotes activism toward addressing them.

Payne said her teachers “Words have tremendous emotional weight, would correct her in both in terms of the sound of words and the class if she used words meaning conveyed. The Nobel Prize winning like “ain’t” or “finna.” novelist Toni Morrison, in her Nobel Prize acShe also learned not ceptance speech, said that ‘We die. That may be to drop her Gs and Ls, the meaning of life. But we do language. That something frequently may be the measure of our lives.’ What we say done when using Ebon- and how we say it affects those who hear us, as ics, when she speaks. She well as ourselves,” Dr. Strickland said. “Are we was taught to say “going using language that moves things forward and to” instead of “gon,” “go- uplifts or that stops things up and brings people ing” instead of “goin’” and down? I believe Toni Morrison is saying how “all right” instead of “aight” we use language has both ethical and political when she is around people who consequences.” are not black.

Empowerment is a common theme in Bank“If you’re at home or, like, er’s poetry, and she tries to leave her audience with your own people I guess, with the message that the topic of her poem around black people, and does not control a person’s life, even if someyou use ‘standard English’, times in her real life she lets that happen to her. they’re probably going to Banker acknowledges her poems can be sad, say something like, but she hopes sharing her experiences with an ‘Oh, why audience will help them better understand her topics.

“I still feel like I’m getting something out there that people can think about,” Banker said. “I challenge people to see something that they probably wouldn’t normally see or think about in their normal life.”

Books, poems and other forms of literature both transform and reflect the world.

Through his work, John hopes to encourage his readers to “see the world through someone else’s eyes.” John said the reason he writes is to imagine what life would be like for those different than he. Similarly to how one’s personality evolves during high school and into his or her adult years, John said, so does his or her literary voice.

“Just as we spend our teen years exploring different aspects of our personalities, so too should we explore different voices,” John said.

“It will only help to make us into more empathic human beings.”

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

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THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

16 | SPORTS

Students discuss therapy treatments

Trainers weigh in on difference between chiropractor, physical therapist Jordyn Thompson

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unior Lulu Frey was in pain from her slight spine curvature and realized the only way to relieve her anguish was to begin physical therapy treatment. Now, to keep her pain from returning, she does strengthening exercises every day.

When a person gets hurt, he or she might see a doctor; however, some injuries are handled by two other specialists. Physical therapists or chiropractors can fix musculoskeletal issues or torn ligaments. But even though both treatments are similar in relieving pain through the nerves and skeletal parts of the body, they have disparities that set them apart. “[Physical therapists and chiropractors] do a lot of crossovers and treat the same things,” Athletic trainer at Peak Sport and Spine Physical Therapy, Phil Threatt, said. “However, chiropractors are able to refer fractures or sprains to a specialist or physician.”

Some states consider chiropractors health care providers and allow them to refer patients, while some states do not consider doctors of physical therapists practitioners which chiropractors are.

JointChiropractic.com, a chiropractic clinic, reported physical therapy treatment for people that need to repair and diagnose movement impairments as things like active stretching, hot or cold therapy, specific exercises to repair and diagnose movement impairments. The goal of physical therapy is to prevent future injuries and to help patients improve movement where the person might have injuries. Opting to visit a chiropractor instead of a physical therapist, senior Sydni Brown and her mother visit the chiroprator often.

“I go to the chiropractor at least once a month because it helps drain my sinuses and the nerve on my neck,” Brown said. “I don’t go to physical therapy because it is an opposite therapy than what I need and my condition would be worse if I

[SOURCE: WWW.DUPAGEHEALTH.NET]

didn’t go to my chiropractor .”

Those who use chiropractic therapy wish to realign the spinal vertebrae and want to alleviate pain pressure from the nerves. Chiropractors adjust the spine and nerves using their hands or an altering device.

Chiropractic treatment on your ligament injury will not focus on physical exercises to strengthen the muscles again, found Selfgrowth. com, a website where experts share information. Physical therapists are the experts on this one. Chiropractors often lessen or reduce the inflammation on patients’ knees. Senior Siyuan Guo on the other hand prefers physical therapy over visiting a chiropractor.

“I’ve never considered visiting a

MOY ZHONG / THE ROCK

chiropractor before partly because it is [an] unfamiliar area to me,” Guo said. “But also the cause of the problem for me was the torn ligament and the muscle.”

Chiropractic therapy can relieve some symptoms from other conditions such as earaches, depression or asthma, according to JointChiropractic.com. This is because chiropractic treatment focuses more on the body’s nervous system. Most lower back injuries, like Guo’s case, encourage gentle movement exercises like physical therapy or light stretching.

“I don’t really like physical therapy based on my own experience,but I do know how it has helped my friends,” Guo said. “I went there for my lumbar muscle strain, and I think

it would be better if it could help cure my strain instead of just relieve the pain.”

A physical therapist has knowledge of everyday muscle coordination, sports performance and heart rehabilitation, TheArrowheadClinic. com found.

In addition, both jobs require a doctorate degree. A physical therapist must have 3,500 instructional hours, while a chiropractor requires 5,200.

Each of these specialists diagnose and treat patients for different conditions.

Doctors of chiropractic can legally diagnose joint subluxation, Florida Spine and Injury said, which is when a patient’s joints begin to dislocate and cause other nerve conditions.

Physical therapists are able to diagnose disorders that occur in tendons, muscles and ligaments.

“More times than not, you are going to see a medical physician get more business than a chiropractor or physical therapist,” Threatt said,” It all depends on what your parents will send you to.”

Frey’s parents had a big influence on her therapy options as well. Frey’s dad prevented her from going to the chiropractor because of her past bad experience. Although Frey has yet to see a chiropractor, she has had a good exposure to physical therapy.

“It was just relaxing and interesting for me to see how certain exercises can help me feel instantly better,” Frey said.

Boys’ soccer to prepare for districts better and better,” Wittenborn said. “We have really tried to be more focused on the process of getting better instead ith the regular season finished, varsity boys’ of the results.” soccer is preparing for the district tournament Sophomore forward Lucas Godon said the team has imOct. 30. The game determines whether or not proved with each game and, because of its steady progress, the Bruins have a chance to advance to sectionals. has a shot at winning state.

The team’s goal is to reach the championship tourna“I feel my performance is good because as a sophomore ment Friday, Nov. 16 and 17.

I have scored seven goals so far on varsity and can play to Last season the Bruins lost to Smith-Cotton High the level of the older kids,” Godon said. “The team has School 1-3 in the district final. In the 2016-17 school prepared by working hard all season and being mentally year, the team made it to semifocused on the goal.” finals, but fell to Rockhurst High Godon has made many memSchool 0-2. ories this season thanks to his I am confident that this team will With a 12-5-1 record, the boys teammates. continue to work hard and stay tohave gotten their bearings. De“I look up to [senior defendgether, it is a terrific group of kids that spite a rocky start, junior goalie er] Freddy Nene the most on the I know will give everything they have Cooper Deneke said the Bruins team,” Godon said. “He’s a great to being the best team possible.” have improved. He is confident leader and does everything hum— Scott Wittenborn, in the team’s abilities to do better bly.” than last year and win the tournaEven through losses to St. head coach ment title.

Louis University High School “I feel good about districts,” and Marquette High School, the Deneke said. “I think we can make a good run this year team has remained strong and united. into state, but first we do have to make it out of districts.”

“I am confident that this team will continue to work Head Coach Scott Wittenborn, too, is confident in the hard and stay together,” Wittenborn said. “It is a terrific team’s preparation for postseason play. group of kids that I know will give everything they have to “We have made it our goal every game to try to get being the best team possible.”

Will Napier

W GABI TELLA/ THE ROCK

THE LAST STRETCH: Senior Han Bin Kim races at the Parkway West Invitational Sept. 29. Both the boys and girls teams will compete in the sectionals competition Saturday, Oct. 27, in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Cross country to compete in sectionals Emily Oba

After a successful district run, with girls’ winning first place and the boys’ finishing third, the cross country team will once again fight to stay on top at sectionals, Saturday, Oct. 27.

“We will go into sectionals as we did districts,” freshman Maci Steuber said. “Meaning knowing our competition but keeping an open mind. Districts showed our heart and drive as a team, our capability to show up and race. Sectionals is a challenging course that many of us girls have ran in junior high. We will definitely focus on preparing ourselves throughout the week for the conditions sectionals hold.”

To prepare for sectionals, senior Mojuba Shonekan said the team has being going through Head Coach Neal Blackburn’s training regiment. The plan was specifically set up for runners to peak towards the last part of the season, where it matters the most.

“At sectionals, we’ll be focusing on advancing to the state meet as a team,” Shonekan said. “We’ll also be focusing on finishing as high as possible, and running the hardest we can at the tough course at Cole County Park. If we can do all that it will make for a interesting state meet the following weekend.”

On the girls’ side, Steuber said the preparation for sectionals is not different from any other meet. She said the workouts and long runs have the same amount of intensity or sometimes more.

“As we focus on not building up nerves, we have been striving towards completing goals,” Steuber said. “As sectionals creep up we keep reminding ourselves of our accomplishments and areas to improve. With so much heart and culture on RBHS [cross country], everyday I can rely on the team to push me towards my highest potential as a runner.”

Based on Shonekan’s district performance, he said it affects his mood a little bit as he is not entirely pleased with it. He believes he has more potential than what was shown at districts and is motivated to improve at sectionals.

“I have to move on and focus on what’s next,” Shonekan said. “I feel like the team as a whole can take some more strides this week throughout practice to prepare us for a big performance at sectionals. I think if we all lock in and focus, we can surprise ourselves a whole lot.”

Steuber is not only preparing for sectionals physically but mentally as well. Personally, Steuber approaches each race with the same perspective; she likes to know her competition and visualize her perfect race.

“The mental aspect of running differs for each runner,” Steuber said. “I focus on what drives me and reminds me of why I run.”

CAMRYN DEVORE / THE ROCK

LOOKING FAR FORWARD: Sophomore Jeremiah Johnson looks down field for teammates during the game against Ft. Zumwalt South (FZS) High School. RBHS defeated FZS 2-0. The Bruins start their District Tournament Oct. 30.

THE ROCK | WWW.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | OCTOBER 25, 2018

SPORTS | 17

Football reaches for districts George Frey

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rom Oct. 26 until Nov. 9, RBHS will host the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Football District Championships. Last year, the team had made it to semifinals, losing to Blue Springs South High School 16-13. This year, the players hope to make it even further and are ready to take on one of their biggest competitors, St. Charles’ Francis Howell Central High School, head on despite a few setbacks.

Varsity coach Van Vanatta is in charge of preparing the players for the upcoming competition. The athletes are one injury away from having to play young competitors who have not had much varsity experience, Vanatta said.

The fact that the playoffs are at RBHS, however, does positively impact the morale of the team and gives players an ease of mind.

“Anytime you can host a playoff game it definitely makes a difference, since you may have to travel some distance the deeper you go into the playoffs,” Vanatta said. “I think this year the players know that in the playoffs everyone is going to bring their A game, which I feel we will be ready for.”

The team’s season has been very sucessful so far, having a 7-2 streak.

The playoffs give the football team an opportunity to show off their skills on the field and give their competitors a taste of what RBHS has to offer in terms of competition.

Senior defensive end Noah Horton says he feels determined to beat Francis Howell Cen-

tral and represent RBHS. As this season is his last year playing for RBHS, Horton wants to make these last few games count.

“I know [Francis Howell Cental] run a very similar team to us as some of their coaches worked under coach Vanatta,” Horton said. “So they are a very similar team to us and they have a very similar record, but I think we’re gonna kill em’.”

With many of the Bruins’ varsity players being seniors, the playoffs give them an opportunity to reminisce on their high school football experience before they step off RBHS’ field for their last time. Senior and center guardsman DJ Baker feels nostalgic as he thinks back on the times he has had with his fellow teammates and friends.

“I will miss just being a part of the team,” Baker said. “I’m just excited that I get to still play and be able to do it in front of my home crowd. Districts are a lot different than normal games. It’s always more physical since if anyone loses, their season is over.”

In addition to the pressure put on seniors to succeed on potentially their last game, the athletes feel the heat to end the season with a bang. With this pressure, comes the motivation to succeed and present themselves as tough competition. Still, the football players feel united as a team and are ready to push each other toward success.

“I admire how these guys work hard together and know the man next to them is working hard not only for themselves, but for the team to be successful,” Vanatta said.

“We are good at a lot of things and we have to get better at everything. Good teams continue to get better at all aspects of the game and continue to progress at the things they do and the things that will help us week to week.

The playoffs have one mantra, “just win.””

PLUCKED: Senior wide receiver Martez Manuel makes a flying catch as he receives a pass from junior quarterback Grant Hajicek. The Bruins defeated the Helias Crusaders, 52-28, Oct. 12. The game marked both the Bruins’ homecoming and ‘orange out’ game, which showed support for those suffering from leukemia. The Bruins will begin their district tournament tomorrow night.

MAYA BELL/ THE ROCK

Fight song lyrics comeback Emily Oba

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he crowd bellows and roars as the announcer triumphantly says, “touchdown Rock Bridge!” Soon after, the band raises its instruments and the familiar tune of the RBHS fight song begins to stream its way through the stands. The easily recognizable piece plays at assemblies, games and any time school spirit needs to rise. This year, an old tradition returned, the singing of the lyrics in the middle of the song.

Both spirit squads, the Bruin Girls and cheerleaders, have a dance to accompany the fight song. The routine ingraned itself into senior Anna Ostempowski’s brain because of how often she performs combined with how long she’s been on the team. For the new freshmen on the team, however, Ostempowski said it is necessary to go slow when teaching it.

“I love doing it especially at home games because as soon as you hear it playing you get a rush of energy,” Ostempowski said. “It’s played after the football team runs out so you have to run from the field to your sideline spot, and it’s all adrenaline pumping through your body.

It just brings the football game spirit all together.”

As a veteran of the fight song, Ostempowski was surprised to learn there are lyrics in the middle of the fight song. The lyrics, while unbeknownst to many, is a special part of the softball team’s post game routine.

“It has been a long standing tradition that the RB softball girls sing the song on bus rides home,” head coach Janel Twehous said. “Once the bus pulls on the outer road right by Sophia’s, the girls begin singing the RB fight song and finish right as the team is pulling into the parking lot for softball. This has been a tradition before my time, in which we have continued. It shows school pride and is a different way for the team to bond together.”

Band director Patrick Sullivan said the lyrics in the fight song have never disappeared, though the lyrics haven’t been

sung in the band for the past six years he has been at RBHS. The fight song started at RBHS in the 1970s and was adopted from the University of Michigan fight song, called “The Victors” by Luis Elbel; the words were slightly altered to fit RBHS. Sullivan said the band has played the fight song every year since then.

“We as a student body have not really known the lyrics to the song since I’ve been here,” Sullivan said. “[Head football] coach, [Van] Vanatta taught the lyrics to the football team last year, his first year here. Last year, the football team started a tradition of running over to the band after games and singing the fight song along with the band as we played.”

Sullivan brought the song back this year specifically for the band’s summer camp. He felt it was important for the band to perform the fight song as well as sing the lyrics in the middle of the song.

Not only did Sullivan see this as a good idea, but he said Principal Dr. Jennifer Rukstad made the push for more of the faculty to learn the lyrics as well. “[Rukstad] was a driving force; at our first faculty meeting back, she lead the faculty in singing the fight song,” Sullivan said. “Then, before our first home football game, on the intercom, she lead the student body in singing the fight song.”

This extra piece of school spirit has been on the school website for years, Sullivan said. He sees the comeback this year as dusting off the lyrics and simply singing it again. Ostempowski enjoys this old tradition rising back to the limelight, and hopes it continues to grow among the student body and staff.

“I like how we are supposed to do it because it creates a stronger unity between the football team, band, dance and cheer teams and all of the fans,” Ostempowski said. “Something we all have in common is that we are a part of this school and learning a song [about] how we are strong together allows us to share this experience together.”

[SOURCE: LUIS ELBE]

KATIE WHALEY/THE ROCK

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18 | A&E

MAYA BELL / THE ROCK

GHOSTED: (From left) Sophomore Martha Nishimwe and seniors Polina Kopeikin and Lucy Beattie try on costumes Oct. 23. RBHS drama club willl host its annual haunted house Oct. 27.

Drama club presents fourth annual haunted house Jared Geyer

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relate to the circus for each room.”

Senior Jocelyn Heimsoth said they want the house to have a theme not necessarily like a Disney movie, but reminiscent of the game Clue.

“I make sure all of the parts come together,” Kerns said.

“Various

rom the weeping angels of “Doctor Who” to the bloodsoaked walls of “The Shining,” the RBHS drama club will host an annual walkthrough haunted house. The event is 4-9:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) of the school. Preparation is under way for the house, and drama club member Audrey Mueller is excited for the alterations to this year’s experience.

“The biggest change in the haunted house from year to year is our theme,” Mueller said. “My freshman year we did [a] haunted carnival and last year, we did fairytales. This year the theme Oct. 27 at RBHS is haunted mansion.”

For the new theme to Haunted Mansion: 4-9:30 p.m. settle into place comFall Carnival: 4-9 p.m. fortably, lots of prepaTrunk-or-Treat: 4-6 p.m. ration goes into making the house and CK its activities finRO E ish on time.

TH G/ Holly Kerns, N HO MOY Z groups the drama club focus on a sponsor, keeps the space, and I have members on their feet with the leadership that tries to communiyearly themes.

“We start at the beginning of the cate with various parts. I am a facilyear in general terms,” Kerns said. itator and babysitter.”

With each new year of the haunt“We come up with a theme that inspires the group. Within that theme, ed house, more and more people we find areas that support that come. Large crowds lead to a wide theme. For example, we once had a range of demographics visiting, circus theme, so we find themes that from young children ready for small

Spooky Hours

startles to older individuals eager to handle more intense frights. The scarier elements of the house can often be too much for the younger participants.

“I would say that the situation that always happens each year is a child will end up crying from being scared. I have been a victim of that myself,” Heimsoth said. “I didn’t purposely try and scare them really bad. I stood there looking creepy, and it occurred to me that some kids are easier to scare than others. It’s always important for the actors to be aware [of] who’s going through the maze and let the actors know who is with them and how well the children with them will react to the scares.”

In addition to convincing acting, drama club needs good leadership in order to make a satisfying and spooky experience for all of the attending guests. Senior and club president Bailey Long makes sure to keep everyone in the club engaged while preparing the haunted house.

“I go around to each committee and see what they are doing,” Long said. “If they aren’t on task, I put them in the right direction by asking them questions on how they can make their room or character better.”

Saturday, members of the club work all day to get all aspects of the event and haunted house itself up and running smoothly. The members have to set up the maze by utilizing panels and the curtains of the stage to make the activity. The club

also has to pick a soundtrack for the whole haunted house itself. When members first arrive in the morning, Heimsoth said members frantically run around, trying to prepare for their busy day.

“We will get [to RBHS] around 8 a.m. and we will work all the way up until opening,” Heimsoth said.

“It can be pretty stressful because sometimes, we may want to do something that was vital to our plan for the night, but then we figure out we can’t do it last minute because people forget to bring props. There’s a panic and we have to change a lot of things.”

Lots of preparation, from brainstorming to building sets, must be completed for the haunted house prior to opening day. Members of the drama club consider the preparation of the haunted house their favorite part.

“The best moments happen when everyone is jamming out to music while working on the rooms,” Long said. “It’s so much fun to set up rooms while singing with your closest friends while you are working hard, of course. Nothing bad really ever happens, other than someone forgetting a crucial part of their room and have to go back and get it.

Overall, it’s a really fun time.”

While this is only the fourth annual haunted house, members of the drama club still remember the great times they had in previous years.

Heimsoth, who participated in drama club for all four years, reflected

on her past before her last year in the club.

“I remember my freshman year, all of the cast [were] in their costumes and makeup and were wandering around the haunted house just goofing off until it started,” Heimsoth said. “I ended up hearing someone coming, so I hid behind a curtain near room 408, and then once they passed me, I jumped out and scared them, and they ended up falling on the ground. They weren’t hurt or anything, but it was really interesting to get a reaction I normally don’t get from people.”

For the club to continue making favorite moments for its members, all profits collected from the haunted house go to the drama department, which funds plays, musicals and other fine arts necessities. Participants of the haunted house can either pay the four dollars required to enter per person, or they can pay in the form of four canned goods.

The canned goods will help benefit TOTS EAT, a community service initiative that helps families and children in need of food. To help fund the future careers of RBHS students in the drama field, head to the frights and chills of the Saturday, Oct. 27 haunted house.

“I love it when everybody is ready to go, and we are about to open the doors,” Kerns said. “It’s just a lot of anticipation. They change the characters as they go and adapt to the crowd. Its exhausting and satisfying at the same time.”

Recording studio to come to RBHS Darkroom Records offers music production experience to students Ben Kimchi

P

rofessional-grade recording may soon be readily available for RBHS students.

Darkroom Records, a Columbia based series of student run recording studios, is in the process of coming to RBHS, sponsor and special education teacher William Rosen said.

“We are getting the software here. The studio computers should be arriving any day, and we are going to get the computers, put them on it and make a mobile recording studio,” Rosen said. “We’ll be able to do vocals and guitar and piano and things like that.”

Rosen hopes to have the mobile recording studio functioning before the end of this school year but does not expect a full fledged recording studio to arrive by then because of constraints on available space for a location at RBHS. The studio here is run with two Extended Educational Experiences (EEE) interns, junior Luke Milyo and senior Piper Page. Milyo interns as a audio engineer, and Page works as a studio manager in her internship under the direction of Rosen.

“It’s my job to interview candidates for the internship positions and provide guidance,” Rosen said. “A lot of the focus is working with [Milyo] and learning and teaching the software.”

The software can be tedious and challenging to use, Milyo said. Overall, he enjoys the learning process that comes along with using advanced audio techniques.

“The difficulty comes in making sure that you do everything precisely and correctly every time,” Milyo said. “Because if you don’t, the whole song can get screwed up. Basically, attention to detail [is important] the whole

way through.”

The role of audio engineer for the RBHS Darkroom internship relies on the professional audio program Studio One, Rosen said. Milyo develops his abilities in audio work using this program at the Boys and Girls Club’s Darkroom recording studio, where he works to edit and manipulate audio files.

“I’ve learned how to set up mics and software for recording, and the process of recording, adjusting settings to the musicians’ liking, communicating with them, etcetera,” Milyo said. “After we record, we’ll spend a number of days editing the song, which is what the majority of the time is spent doing. It’s tedious but rewarding work and also required and requires lots of learning.”

Darkroom Records offers other learning opportunities outside of purely technical audio work, such as the role Page holds.

As a studio manager, she works to ensures the studio runs smoothly by organizing the artists, finding and bringing artists into the studio getting them all signed up and ready to go and running promotional stuff and social media, Rosen said.

A physical location at RBHS may help the studio attract more students. As of right now, Rosen said there are still a lot of opportunities for RBHS students to get into studio management if they are interested.

“I would love a room to come to RBHS because I feel like it would be so beneficial,” Page said. “Rock Bridge has a lot of artists that we are just now uncovering, and they have so much talent. I think we were all a little bit stunned at the sheer number of people interested in the studio this year.”

This demand may soon be met, Rosen said.

BAILEY STOVER / THE ROCK

HEART AND SOUL: Senior Bradley Snyder performs with his band, BlackWater, at Roots and Blues and Barbecue Festival at the Darkroom Records stand in front of the event Sept. 29.

With the space concern at RBHS, the Columbia Area Career Center (CACC) is under consideration as a potential location for the permanent studio by Rosen and Darkroom Records.

“Moving forward we are going to find a space. I don’t know if it will be here or at the Career Center,” Rosen said. “Within the next, probably, year or two we are going to have an actual recording studio here at Rock Bridge.”

The recording studios around Columbia offer CPS students a chance at learning what the real world of audio work is really like and also

allows them performance experience through the program.

Rosen hopes students know of the advantages and opportunities present while working in the studios.

“Interning at Darkroom is honestly one of the best experiences I’ve had as a musician in CoMo thus far,” Page said. “I’ve met so many great people and become more confident in music. I’m also getting the chance to really dive into the music scene in CoMo which is preparing me for the life of a musician and manager in the future.”

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Don’t touch my hair

Atiyah Lane shares her experiences and views on black hair and image

Atiyah Lane, story / Moy Zhong, art

can i touch your hair? why not?

NO. black hair can be manipulated into many different styles that white people’s hair can’t. we can do a twist-out style or just simply wet our hair and wear our curls. it often takes a lot of time and effort.

for so long, black women have been influenced by american beauty standards by keeping our hair straightened. when we go against the “normal” look, it amazes others. with black hair, our hair reacts to products or styles differently. no black person’s hair is the same. i sometimes spend hours just getting my hair right, and i don’t want people just messing it up. i was sitting in class and felt something touch my hair, thinking someone threw something at me. when i turned around, it was someone feeling my hair.

i just wanted to touch your hair!

natural black hair has come a long way to become accepted, but we still have a ways to go. as natural hair moves toward a more natural look for black females, you should also respect my personal space and respect that i am not comfortable with just anybody touching my hair. compliments are acceptable but don’t touch my hair as if i’m a pet or an animal that you’re observing.

my personal space was invaded, but it was also interesting to see how intrigued someone else was by my hair.