The Rock - February, 2020 by SouthSide Media

ROCK

THE For daily news, please check out our website rbhs.bearingnews.org

The Student Voice of Rock Bridge Since 1973 . Vol. 47 Issue 4 . Feb. 6, 2020

@bearingnews

@rbhsbearingnews FEATURES . . . 14&15

SPORTS. . . . . . . . 18

Students reflect on their relationship with material possessions and how they impact values and motivations.

RBHS girls’ and boys’ basketball programs hope to expand and maintain their legacy of success and talent.

CAMRYN DEVORE/THE ROCK

ANA MANZANO/THE ROCK

CLEANING UP: (1) A liquid soap dispenser in the studies hall bathroom was one of many missing from or broken in the boys’ bathrooms Jan. 30. (2) An unknown student removed a paper towel dispenser from the boys’ bathroom studies hall and scrawled a pentagram in its place. RBHS staff has since replaced it. (3) After ensuring the bathroom was empty, custodian Alex Robinson uses a damp cloth to wipe down the mirror in the boys’ bathroom in the math wing at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 3.

WILL COVER/ THE ROCK

2 3 SOPHIA EATON/ THE ROCK

WILL COVER/ THE ROCK

Vandalism creates unprecedented cost

AMIRA MCKEE

oday students returned to yet another boys’ bathroom closing, as administration opted to shut down the studies wing facility as a result of vandalism Feb. 4. Vandalism in school bathrooms, particularly boys’ facilities, forced RBHS to spend more than $10,000 on labor and materials to replace and repair damaged property, assistant principal Dr. Tim Baker estimated. In the wake of recent incidents, including students ripping down the stall walls, smashing soap dispensers and scrawling obscene images onto the wall, RBHS administration closed the Auxiliary Gym, studies wing, and band hallway bathrooms until the school can repair the damages. As a result, only six of the nine RBHS boys’ bathrooms are open, while all girls’ bathrooms remain open. RBHS principal Jacob Sirna said he hopes limiting available bathrooms will discourage future vandalism by increasing the number of students within the bathrooms at any given time. Baker said this year ushered in an unprecedented amount of defacement, and with it record spending on restoration. “I don’t want to say it was nonexistent before this year, but it was virtually nonexistent. There would be a towel dispenser broken, maybe it was vandalized, but it was so rare,” Dr. Baker said. “Now it’s every bathroom, all the time. It’s just become an enormous issue.” The Student Handbook for Columbia Public Schools (CPS) defines vandalism as the will-

ful damage or the attempt to cause damage to physical or personal property belonging to the school, staff or students. Junior Josh Froidl said he noticed more destruction and vandalism within school bathrooms this year than in years past. He said he observes the aftermath of some form of destruction in the boys’ bathrooms nearly every day. “It varies on a day-to-day basis. You never really know what you’re going to get,” Froidl said. “You see things like writing on the wall or broken things, such as soap dispensers. Usually there is a mess on the floor, too.” RBHS school custodian Sean Jones, who has been responsible for cleaning several bathrooms after students vandalized them, said disinfecting bathrooms and property after students deface them makes the job significantly more difficult. “[The custodial staff] has to wipe up all the mess and stuff on the floor and everything. It depends on how bad they mess it up, but sometimes when there’s stuff on the wall we have to scrub it off,” Jones said. “It’s just so disrespectful to the people cleaning and your school and everyone.” The RBHS Student Handbook states students who vandalize or misuse school property are eligible for detention or even suspension depending on the severity and scope of the destruction. Dr. Baker said RBHS administration may require anyone responsible to cover the cost of fixing damages.

What to know about the February ACT - The CPS district funded ACT is available to all CPS juniors. - As of the 2019-20 school year, the school-funded ACT is mandatory unless a student already earned a 36. - RBHS juniors will take the test at RBHS Feb. 25.

[SOURCE: RBHS COUNSELING]

CAMRYN DEVORE/ THE ROCK

Results of RBHS Vandalism

The destruction in the boys’ band hall bathroom was so extensive that CPS needed to hire an independent contractor to repair the stall.

Administration was unable to identify those responsible for the vandalism because 69 students entered the bathroom in the hour and a half following the vandalism in the band hall bathroom.

Assistant principal Dr. Tim Baker estimated RBHS has spent $10,000 on repairs and restoration as a result of vandalism. [SOURCE: DR. TIM BAKER, CPS 2019-20 BUDGET]

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TURNER DEARMOND, LORELEI DOHM/ THE ROCK

He said administration attempted to use the school’s camera system, which monitors the doors of every bathroom in the building, to identify vandals but the number of students entering and exiting the bathrooms made it too difficult to identify any suspects. Although Baker said administration has not identified any students as responsible for the recent destruction, he hopes the combined efforts of camera monitoring, the inconvenience it cre-

ates for the RBHS community and an anonymous tip link on the RBHS website will reveal the responsible parties. “We’re hoping that now that we made it public perhaps it will guilt people into either stopping vandalism or push guilty-conscience friends to anonymously telling us who did it,” Dr. Baker said. “It’s already been a hassle and a time suck for [the custodial staff]. It’s just not good, and nobody is winning.”

Administration changes CPS funded ACT test date, policy ISAAC YONTZ he mandatory Columbia Public Schools (CPS) funded American College Test (ACT) will take place Feb. 25, more than a month earlier than last year’s testing date. Director of counseling Rachel Reed said the earlier scheduling came after the ACT testing company chose a date that clashes with RBHS’s spring break. Reed went on to say that RBHS plays no role in choosing the non-Saturday test date. Reed also said counseling recommends all students take the free February ACT. Beginning this year, students cannot withdraw from the test unless they have a perfect score of 36 on the exam. Counselor Carrie McKee said students are not able to opt-out because of a district policy put in place this year. The previous policy allowed students to skip the test as long as they had a 35.

Angela Jacquin, who teaches the semester-long ACT Prep class at RBHS, said she believes the change will affect students’ preparedness for the test as she was not informed until the beginning of this school year. Jacquin said her delayed awareness affected her ability to prepare students appropriately. She also said the new testing date leaves students overwhelmed. The ACT Prep curriculum is designed for three months of studying to help students score adequately. With this change, Jacquin said she is uncertain if her students will be prepared enough. “I teach a lot of juniors, and even in my math classes, [precalculus and geometry], we won’t get through all the math curriculum that could be seen on the ACT,” Jacquin said. “So as teachers we sat down and discussed whether or not we needed to switch units around to expose students to crucial concepts before the ACT. Realizing, of course, we won’t get through all

the crucial material because it is all on the ACT.” Jacquin said the school ACT date is usually the same, and ACT Prep’s curriculum in previous years was sufficient to score well. Junior Phillip Lei, however, said he believed the early test date may benefit his score, as the April ACT date nears Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Lei said he understands the district’s choice to mandate the tests but does not believe the earlier ACT date plays to a student’s strengths. “This might be an unfortunate change, though, for some, since it could cut much needed classes or prep time between February and April,” Lei said. “I don’t think I can generalize what impact [changing the ACT date] would have, but I’d guess that for future classes, and students who already knew of this change, winter break will give them a good opportunity to prepare for this new date compared to the April date.”

INDEX . . NEWS 1 . . EDITORIALS 3 . . COMMENTARIES 7. . IN-DEPTH 9 . . A&E 13 . . FEATURES 14 . . SPORTS 17. . COMIC . . 20

2 |NEWS

THE ROCK | RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | FEBRUARY 6, 2020

What is StandardsReferenced Grading?

What is the difference between Standards-Referenced and Standards-Based Grading? “Standards-referenced refers to inputs (what is taught) and standards-based is focused on outputs (what is learned).”

Fair: The same work, by the same student, should

[SOURCE: THE GLOSSARY OF EDUCATION]

“In education, the term standards-referenced refers to instructional approaches or assessments that are ‘referenced’ to or derived from established learning standards — i.e., concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. In other words, standards-referenced refers to the use of learning standards to guide what gets taught and tested in schools.”

Superintendent Dr. Peter Stiepleman said “[CPS] lives through this FAST acronym.” receive the same grade, even if the teacher is different. Accurate: Grades are based solely on achievement, which means other factors, like behavior and attendance, are not used to calculate a grade. Specific: Grading policies should be so clear that students should be able to tell teachers what grade they have earned even before the teacher calculates it. Timely: Feedback to students is so timely that students can actually use that feedback, right away, to improve their performance on tests and assignments.

No-14.9%

No-21.9%

No-1.5%

No-10.3%

No-25.6%

Yes-85.1%

Yes-78.1%

Yes-98.5%

Yes-89.7%

Yes-74.4%

Would you be willing to adopt the common grading practice of eliminating the “semester killer?”

Would you be willing to adopt the common grading practice of “trend scoring” in lieu of “averaging?”

Would you be willing to adopt the common grading practice of eliminating “extra credit?”

Would you be willing to adopt the common grading practice of “separating academic performance from work ethic and citizenship?”

Would you be willing to adopt the common grading practice of eliminating “the zero?”

RILEY KERNS/ THE ROCK

Executive Council conducted surveys of teachers during shared planning

Teachers talk, form common grading practices to prepare for SRG ANNA XU

olumbia Public Schools (CPS) is reforming its grading system to move toward Standards-Referenced Grading (SRG), Superintendent Dr. Peter Stiepleman said. While CPS elementary and middle schools are phasing in SRG during the 2020-21 school year, high schools aim to use SRG by the 2022-23 school year, Dr. Stiepleman said; however, this timeline may adjust based on feedback from teacher leaders, principals, educational coordinators and parents “in the process to ensure understanding and clarity.” Dr. Stiepleman said the idea of SRG came up more than six years ago and contributes to his goal of being Fair, Accurate, Specific and Timely (FAST). He hopes SRG helps “develop a clear plan for reaching success,” one that limits subjectivity, grades on achievement and is consistent among teachers. “As CPS lives our Achievement, Enrichment and Opportunity mission of providing an excellent education for all students, it is very important we are working to ensure grading practices are equitable across building and grade levels throughout our 19,000+ student district,” Dr. Stiepleman said. “At the heart, we

at CPS believe grades should communicate what students know and are able to do.” Because the jump to SRG requires major reformations to the current grading system, especially in high schools where grades matter more than before, Dr. Stiepleman said to cushion the change CPS teachers have been collaborating on specific steps they can take to achieve more common grading practices across schools. At RBHS, the Executive Council is a governance body consisting of six faculty members. Civics Studies teacher and Executive Council chair Benjamin Niewoehner said it exists so the principal and administrators are making decisions “in conjunction with teachers who have been elected to serve,” not in isolation. Beginning this year, he said the Council has prioritized studying common grading practices in its shared planning, where teachers in interdisciplinary areas collaborate every month. Niewoehner said teachers are reading the “Columbia Public Schools Grading Practices Handbook 2019-2020.” The writing highlights six grading practices detailed in the text above. While teachers have discussed the chapter ideas since the beginning of

GR DE CHANGES Survey comments from teachers “There needs to be another way to use behavior.”

“How do we enrich without making things ‘extra?’”

“College classes still use zeros in their grading system."

“What does an NHI become?”

Eliminated Under SRG • “Semester Killer:” The assignment that will make or break the final grade. • “The zero” • Extra credit • Work ethic or beha vior in grades: Grade student by the quality of their work.

Timeline of RBHS grading practices 2010- RBHS eliminates the practice of ranking students and weighting grades and begins using the unweighted scale. 2020- Dr. Stiepleman said CPS elementary and middle schools will use standardreferenced grading (SRG).

2022- Dr. Stiepleman said CPS high schools will begin using SRG.

/T XU

[SOURCE: WWW.ASCD.ORG]

the school year, Niewoehner said they are now deciding what practices are possible to adopt for the next school year and whether or not teachers should adopt them. Some specific departments have already implemented some of these grading practices, most notably the studies department where Niewoehner said many classrooms already use the fourpoint SRG grading scale, Niewoehner said the point of these meetings are to move practices school wide. “I think as a faculty we’re at the understanding that we like a lot of the ideas that SRG has to offer. We don’t necessarily know how to implement them with fidelity, [however,] and we don’t know what that looks like for our current teaching practices,” Niewoehner said. “Some people might say the easiest thing is the best thing, but some people might recognize that maybe the best thing isn’t always the easiest conversation to have.” The Executive Council has narrowed next year’s implementation plans to four of the six possibilities from the handbook: eliminating the “semester killer,” “the zero,” extra credit and “separating academic performance from work ethic and citizenship.” Niewoehner said the faculty will certainly take at least one, and every idea has a majority approval rate with exact breakdowns shown above. While most teachers are “willing to adopt the common grading practice,” many still have questions about the ideas, which are in the comment section of the survey. In brief, common negative responses included, “We are not ready,” “is switching ‘better’ or simply ‘different’” and general confusion over the framing of the grading practice. “It’s hard to get people to change their practices, rightfully so,” Niewoehner said. “We all come from different age groups. We’ve all had different backgrounds in education; different philosophies have made their way through different collegiate programs of how to become an effective educator, and so we’re trying to wrestle with all of those things.” Still, Dr. Stiepleman said SRG is inevitable for the school district even if the “when” is hard to define. He said SRG will better prepare students for life beyond high school by making them “critical partners in the learning process.” “Students are able to communicate the learning goal and work with the teacher to goal set for meeting the target,” Dr. Stiepleman said. “SRG works to prepare students to be critical thinkers, problem solvers and learners that are able to assess where they are in a process and develop a clear plan for reaching success.” While seeing its intention, junior Anna Batten said SRG is too narrow of a grading scale and may limit educators’ ability to teach students beyond the curriculum. She said SRG doesn’t allow for individuality of teaching styles. “I just don’t think that for every single subject you can put it on the same grading scale because every subject is so different and has their own ins and outs, so you can’t really fit them into the same thing,” Batten said. “And teachers are all different, too. They all have different ways they want to teach and grade things.” While Batten said the benefits do not mask the downsides of decreased flexibility, sophomore Carson Dale said the dependability of SRG makes it worthwhile. Dale said he preferred when SRG was used in his eighth grade Gifted Program class as well as in his freshmen Civics class. “I thought it helped to ensure student success because it shows them exactly where they are struggling. It doesn’t just give them a holistic grade, but it gives them specific grades on specific things,” Dale said. “So, like, if a student was struggling with contextualization or your thesis, they know specifically what they need to work on.” Because current high schoolers haven’t had a majority of classes use SRG, Dr. Stiepleman said the transition would be easier for the younger students who’ve grown up with SRG. The next step, he said, is getting high school teachers to utilize the scale. Niewoehner said RBHS is collectively moving in that direction. “Rock Bridge is a really special place where top-down decisions aren’t welcomed with open arms,” Niewoehner said. “So even though people ask for it, I don’t know that [administration] can just make a top-down decision. I think it might have to come from some sort of majority vote, you know, the way we do a lot of things in a democracy.”

EDITORIALS 3

THE ROCK RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Bruin Bear

Out of order

Unsound spending

School Board meeting

Thank you everyone for coming to tonight's Board of Education meeting. We've heard your complaints and decided the best course of action is to spend $3.3 million on new turf practice fields.

Third period

Second period Albert Einstei

Better luck next year? SNOWY LI/ THE ROCK

Inflexible deadlines worsen quality of education

eadlines control students’ lives. The mastery of content through flexible deadlines. specter of late work deductions or even The current grading system does not create worse, a zero, force students to figure equal opportunities for all students. For examout a way to manage their time that often result ple, one student who does multiple extracurriculars is expected to do in stressful, unhealthy an assignment in the work management. Should RBHS eliminate late work The RBHS Execusame amount of time penalties for students? tive Council and faculas one who does not. ty are right to support It’s illogical to expect THE ROCK STAFF VOTED separating academic students to create high performance from quality work when 13 YES work ethic and behavoutside responsibilior, moving away from ities constrict their NO 12 harsh late work penalavailable time. ties. Furthermore, reThis change will lead to a truly equal grading moving penalties for late work leads to fewer process for all students, more open exploration “redo” assignments. In studies’ classes, students would be able and increased creativity. Instead of testing students on how quickly they can complete an as- to come to teachers with homework and go signment, teachers should test students on their through multiple rounds of edits or advice be-

In Memoriam BHS French teacher Krista R White passed away surrounded by family at her home Dec. 26,

2019. White was born May 25, 1966 in Roswell, New Mexico. Her students describe White as constantly understanding and empathetic in her instruction. Mrs. White was an endless optimist who strived to see the best in every student. Senior Jenna Hoagenson said although her class was difficult, Mrs. White remained patient and forgiving. Hoagenson and her peers held a surprise party for Mrs. White in 2018 to show her how much she meant to them. “I don’t think anything could have truly conveyed that message, but it was better than nothing,” Hoagenson said. “I [thought] of [her] like Wonder Woman at the time, so I got her a stuffed bunny in a Wonder Woman outfit to remind her of her own strength. I remember how happy we made her on that day, and I wish we had been able to

Krista White 1966-2019

do that for her everyday.” Mrs. White’s mother, Dona Jones, writes of how grateful Mrs. White was for the help both students and faculty provided her in her battle with cancer, from the cards, flowers and calls to simple actions, such as holding a door open for her. Jones also credits the football team for brightening White’s day by holding a “beat cancer” game and selling T-shirts to fundraise. “You [RBHS faculty] took your time to find her subs at the last minute, helped her maneuver the paperwork necessary to retire, and when she was no longer able to stand up to teach, or interact with her students the way she desired, you helped her leave with her head held high,” Jones writes. “Not in shame and sorrow, but with love and confidence that she did the best she could. She gave it her all.” Mrs. White always wanted to be a teacher, falling in love with both the job and her students. Jones describes teaching as “her passion.” Senior Sarah Stelzer affirmed this sentiment, speaking of Mrs. White’s love for her students and the lasting impact Mrs. White will have on her. “[She] was extremely patient, humble and never let her health get in the way of her teaching,” Stelzer said. “She taught all of her students the strength it takes to be a great teacher and person while dealing with her own battles. She is an inspiration to me and all of her students, and we will miss her incredibly.”

fore turning in their highest possible quality work. In other subjects like math and science, students could ask for help to fix their errors in problems, then re-work them until they fully grasp the concept. The key to effective pedagogy should be ensuring total understanding of a topic, not rushed, potentially incomplete work just to avoid late work penalties. In classes that are particularly difficult for a student, mastering the curriculum could take months. In a class with harsh deadlines, students' grades would suffer simply because they are challenging themselves. RBHS should encourage strenuous course loads, not punish them. Eliminating late work deductions keeps duedates that serve as a guideline for students to budget their time, but doesn’t prevent them from taking more time when they need or want it. Teachers can often give students time that is

inadequate for them to complete the task to the best of their ability. For instance, students in Civics Studies write five paragraph summatives with limited time to complete them, resulting in students potentially turning in work that is far from their best. Writing a meaningful essay can take months. With hard deadlines, students rush their papers and projects, failing to maximize their learning potential per assignment. Inadequate time management skills are a common argument of those in favor of late work penalties, but students could learn this ability by deciding what deadlines works best for them and taking initiative to discipline themselves. To enable students to show full comprehension over content learned, RBHS should not penalize students for taking their time to produce their best work. For the betterment of both quality of life for students and quality of education, it is imperative RBHS eliminates deadlines.

video games not to blame for recent rise in shootings T SARAH DING

he political discussion surrounding mass shootings in schools is peppered with fear, doubt and video games. More specifically, the laughable argument that violent video games have affected the American psyche by provoking violent thoughts in teenagers, pushing them over the edge to become mass shooters. Though scientifically inaccurate, various politicians including President Donald Trump and Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy support this rhetoric. “We must stop the glorification of violence in our society,” Trump said in a White House address following the El Paso and Dayton shootings. “This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace.” The notion that video games provoke shootings has become widespread after first-person shooter games, which place the player in the role of the attacker, became popular in the 1990s. While these games typically feature gruesome scenes, there is little evidence connecting them to real-life violence.

A 2010 California law attempted to restrict the sale of violent video games to minors, citing studies claiming these games caused minors to act more aggresively. The Supreme Court struck the law down, however, as nearly all of the research was based on correlation, rather than causation and suffered from flaws in methodology. While correlation suggests a connection between two factors, it is unable to legitimately explain a cause-and-effect relationship between them. A 2015 American Psychological Association (APA) report found violent video game play is linked to increased aggression in players but is insufficiently connected with criminal violence or delinquency. While children might feel more quarrelsome after playing a violent game, the results are far from the magnitude of gun violence. The APA report continues to say the effects are indistinguishable from those of other types of media, such as movies or TV shows. “No single risk factor consistently leads a person to act aggressively or violently,” the authors write. “Rather, it is the accumulation of risk factors that tends to lead to aggres-

sive or violent behavior.” Additionally, video games are so popular, particularly among men, that it’s hard to blame the industry for causing acts of violence. According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of men aged 18-29 (the archetype for mass shooters) play video games, although shooters make up very little of this population. The commonalities of mass shooters do not include playing video games, a 2019 New York Times article said. Instead, they tend to have “mental health problems, sometimes undiagnosed, a history of antisocial behavior [and] have often come to the attention of law enforcement or other authorities.” In its fervor to pin the blame on something for increased gun violence, the Trump Administration is the latest to have presented video games as the antagonist. In reality, this merely distracts from the root causes. There is little use in fishing for clues in computer desktops and game consoles. Instead, politicians should look elsewhere in their hunt to decrease mass shootings. While it’s easy and popular to criticize video games, putting an end to acts of violence, particularly in schools, is a complex issue that requires a nuanced and well-researched response. SNOWY LI/ THE ROCK

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLASHBACK YEARBOOK

The Rock Rock Bridge High School 4303 S. Providence Rd., Columbia, Mo. 65203 Vol. 47, Issue 4 Feb. 6, 2020 Population: 2,067 Students, 148 Faculty Circulation: 1,500 Contact information: Phone: (573) 214-3141 Website: rbhs.bearingnews.org

Advertising: $50 — 1/4 Page $100 — 1/2 Page $150 — Full Page $200 — Backpage The Journalism Newspaper and Honors Seminar classes produce The Rock and Bearing News. The paper’s purpose is to accurately inform, educate and enlighten readers in an open forum. The Rock is a member of the National Scho-

lastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Quill & Scroll. The Rock accepts letters to the editor from its readers regarding any possible issues of concern in the publication. If you have a letter to send, email it to contact@bearingnews. org or fill it out online. Limit entries to 400 words. The Rock reserves the right to reject material based on stan-

dards set by the staff. Staff: Editors-In-Chief: Anna Xu Bailey Stover Business Managers: Mason Cohen William Yoo A&E Editor: Isaac Yontz Art & Design Editor: Sarah Kuhlmann Editorials Editor: Will Cover Commentaries Editor: Sarah Ding Features Editor:

Maddie Orr In-Depth Editor: Bailey Stover Multimedia Editor: Maddie Marrero News Editor: Amira McKee Photo Editor: Camryn DeVore Sports Editor: Ryan Choe Staff Writers: Anjali Noel Ramesh, Audrey Novinger Artists: Devin Hall, Lorelei Dohm, Rachel Stevens, Riley

Kerns, Snowy Li, Sophie Froese Photographers: Ana Manzano, Audrey Snyder, Sarah Mosteller, Sophie Eaton, Turner DeArmond Multimedia: Jared Geyer, Parker Boone Adviser: Robin Stover For daily school, local and national news, visit rbhs.bearingnews .org

4 EDITORIALS

THE ROCK RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG FEBRUARY 6, 2020

EDITORIALS 5

THE ROCK RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG FEBRUARY 6, 2020

A RISKY GAME US Troop Deployment in Eurasia

SO PH IE

FR O ES E/

TH E

RO CK

American imperialism camouflaged as security 2020

US Military spending by year

Total spending: $989 billion

= DoD Overseas Contingency Operations (war-related expenses)

= Supporting operations Overseas Contingency Operations “The Rock” surveyed 201 students, approximately 10% of the student body.

[SOURCE: WWW.THEBALANCE.COM]

8 01

25% of students can locate Iran on a map.

= Supporting operations base budget

6 To $7 tal s 67 pe b illi ndin on g:

: ing d en l sp llion a t To 91 bi $8

5 01

2 g: din en sp on tal illi To 36 b $7

19 To tal $9 57 spen bil d lio ing: n

= Department of Defense (DoD) base budget

Total spending: $819 billion

2017

C E, RO ES HE O T FR / IE ERO PH RR O S MA E DI D A

33% of students can locate Venezuela on a map. “The Rock” surveyed 207 students, approximately 10% of the student body.

US meddling in the Middle East increases instability, terrorism

In Venezuela, economic sanctions bring human suffering WILL COVER

lthough the U.S. often claims to be supporting democratic rights as a A justification for foreign policy measures, particularly during the Cold War, this promise has remained unrealized for the people of Latin America.

Since President Theodore Roosevelt began to expand America’s influence in the Western Hemisphere at the turn of the 20th century, the U.S. has meddled in the political processes of Latin American nations, primarily for our own economic interests, with disastrous consequences for the region. The same is true of Venezuela, where the Trump administration is increasing sanctions, which exacerbate an existing economic crisis and famine. A 2019 study from Torino Economics, a New York investment bank, estimated the effect of sanctions the Trump Administration imposed in 2017 on Venezuela’s oil industry. The study found the total loss was a whopping $16.9 billion per year. Unfortunately, oil is where Venezuela derives 99% of its export revenue, making the commodity crucial for the government to be able to buy food and medicine. Consequently, a 2019 study from the Center for Economic Policy and Research, a left-leaning think tank, concluded the victims of sanctions have not been the Nicolás Maduro-run government, but rather the poorest Venezuelan citizens. “Sanctions reduced the public’s caloric intake, increased disease and mortality (for both adults and infants) and displaced millions of Venezuelans who fled the country as a result of the worsening economic depression and hyperinflation,” Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs, the study’s authors, write. “We find that the sanctions have inflicted, and increasingly inflict, very serious harm to human life and health, including an estimated more than 40,000 deaths from 2017 to 2018.” Although the goal of sanctions is to remove Maduro from office for his human rights abuses, they tragically only increase the suffering of the Venezuelan people. It is time for the U.S. to learn from its history of misguided intervention in Latin America and recognize we are worsening the problems we aim to solve. While Venezuela is the main focus of current U.S. intervention in Latin America, it’s far from the first country we have tried to influence, actions that have often been a result of selfish policies. During the Cold War, U.S.-sponsored violent overthrows of leftwing leaders were

AMIRA MCKEE, WILL COVER

commonplace, regardless of the general population’s viewpoints. In 1954, the Guatemalan military overthrew president Jacobo Árbenz in a CIA-backed coup, despite Árbenz being democratically elected. Árbenz’s expansion of workers’ rights ran afoul of the United Fruit Company, which lobbied the U.S. to overthrow Árbenz so the company could keep their worker exploitation. An authoritarian Guatemalan military leader replaced Árbenz, systematically reducing rights for Guatemalan workers. In 2019, the U.S. government launched an unsuccessful coup to remove Maduro. This came in the midst of sanctions that have been systematically destroying Venezuela’s economy in the hopes of putting more international pressure on Maduro to leave office. While Maduro, whose administration commits numerous human rights abuses, including extrajudicial executions of opponents, must not remain in power, these sanctions harm the Venezuelan economy, in turn limiting their access to medicine and food and continuing a long legacy of the U.S. amplifying existing issues within the region. Instead of attempting to coerce regime change by contributing to an already dire situation, the U.S. should send aid to those in Latin America in need of it, particularly food. Venezuela is already on the brink of famine, with the resulting malnutrition carrying lifelong ramifications. Sanctions and a lack of aid are only making this crisis more pronounced. While ousting Maduro is a noble goal, the U.S., as a country based on the principle of self-determination, should ultimately leave their leaders up to the Venezuelan people.

hen the New York Times and Washington Post released the Pentagon Papers in 1971, revealing U.S. officials’ knowledge of the worsening situation in Vietnam and consistent misleading of the public, the result was outrage. When the Washington Post released the Afghanistan Papers in 2019, which revealed senior U.S. officials hid “unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable,” any uproar from constituents fizzled out almost immediately, allowing the government’s errors in the Middle East to continue to fly under the radar. The Middle East has substantially faded from political discourse following the failure of the War on Iraq, but it continues to dominate current U.S. foreign policy with detrimental consequences for the Middle East. When President Donald Trump ordered the killing of

TOP COUNTRIES IN MILITARY SPENDING

1. U.S. ($989 billion) 2. China ($177 billion) 3. India ($60.9 billion) 4. Germany ($53 billion) 5. Saudi Arabia ($51 billion) [SOURCE: WWW.ARMY-TECHNOLOGY.COM, WWW.THEBALANCE.COM]

Qassem Soleimani, essentially the second-in-command the Midof Iran’s government, worries of World War III immedi- dle East only ately popped up on social media. These fears, however, is quickly disappeared, revealing the true consequences of prolonging a U.S. engagement within the Middle East. The victims of legacy of imheightened tensions will not be Americans, regardless of perialism. The whatever Twitter might have us believe. Rather, the pain- War on Terror, ful side effects of the U.S. government and military stok- an abject failure ing the fire in a region already rife with conflict will fall that has further destabilized the region, firmly upon Middle Eastern civilians. has cost our Although government roughthe aim to stop ly $5 trillion to wage. global terrorism Although the aim to stop global terrorThis money could have must inarguism must inarguably be a goal of the proven far more successably be a goal U.S., the War on Terror and U.S. engageful if our government were to of the U.S., the ment in the Middle East will only serve invest it at home or abroad in the form War on Terror to do the exact opposite by fueling anof aid. Instead, it has funded intervention and U.S. enthat runs contrary to the best interests of gagement in the ti-American sentiment.” Middle Eastern civilians. There should Middle be no justification for government acEast will only serve to do the exact opposite by tions that increase civilian deaths and terrorism; fueling anti-American sentiment. Terrorism the U.S. must at once de-escalate and withagainst the U.S. is largely a result of a nega- draw from the Middle East. A critical and informed populous is tive perception of us as an imperial nation that uses our military might to exploit the region by crucial to rectify U.S. overreach. whatever means necessary. Deploying troops In Vietnam, the Pentagon Paor killing a powerful leader like Soleima- pers served as a turning ni, therefore, plays right into the hands of point in the conflict for this rhetoric. Additionally, an April 2019 the better because of report from the United Nations found public outrage over U.S. and allied forces killed more ci- the report. Recent vilians than the Taliban in the first administrations have quarter of 2019, which only serves to been able to get by, reinforce this anti-American mindset. however, because of a Troublingly, the U.S. could’ve pre- lack of public scrutiny. Only by being endicted and prevented these civilian deaths and the resulting increase in ter- gaged and speaking out rorism, as the government knew of the can we ensure our govineffectiveness of military intervention ernment’s gross misbut decided to proceed anyway. As his- takes in the Middle torian Garikai Chengu, a former scholar East do not perat Harvard University, Stanford Univer- sist. sity and Columbia University, writes, “In 1997, a U.S. Department of Defense report stated, ‘the data show a strong correlation between U.S. involvement abroad and an increase in terrorist attacks against the U.S.’” Thus, either the Bush presidency knew of the report and chose to ignore it or made a major military decision without fully considering the evidence available to them, both of which would be a grave misstep in policy making. Continued U.S. involvement in

2,500 = troops [SOURCE: WWW.VISUALCAPITALIST.COM]

DID YOU KNOW? In 2018, the U.S. sold $55.6 billion in weapons to foreign nations, a 33% increase from the previous year. [SOURCE: WWW.THEHILL.COM]

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COMMENTARIES | 7

Nostalgia stirs introspection

BAILEY STOVER

TURNER DEARMOND/THE ROCK CAMRYN DEVORE/THE ROCK

New Year’s resolutions are good for every day AUDREY NOVINGER

unday mornings tasted like Bisquick pancakes covered in butter and drenched in bottomless pools of Mrs. Butterworth’s Sugar Free Syrup. Sundays sounded like “Scooby Doo” cartoons as I followed The Mystery Machine and the Mystery, Inc. gang on their exciting expeditions. Sunday mornings looked like wallpaper as old as my mother and sepia photos far older than she in dusty picture frames. For the most part, the grand adventures of my childhood blur together in my memory. I have fragments of places I went and people I met, but my timeline twists in on itself until I can no longer recall how old I was for any given event. Talking about how my life has changed becomes increasingly difficult when I struggle to recall the sequence of my youth. The only consistent memory my Swiss cheese brain has kept safe from time’s thieving grasp has been the Sunday mornings I spent with my grandpa in his house, which hasn’t

changed since I was born. Through my elementary school years, I would spend the night with my grandpa on Saturday, and he’d make peas in sugar, crunchy curly fries and hamburgers cooked to greasy perfection. My greedy hands, smaller than the onion-flavored hamburger buns, were coated in salt by the end of the meal. We laughed the whole time we ate. I slept in my mom’s childhood room — a time capsule of when she was in high school with the same brass bed, family pictures and knick-knacks. I fell asleep soon after sunset and woke as morning light breached the horizon, entering the kitchen to the fire-cracker popping of frying bacon and the muffled shuffling of my grandpa’s footsteps. He is not a diverse chef, and for the last 18 years I’ve eaten one of his same six meals — chili, cheeseburgers, pizza, stew, fried fish, hot dogs — every time I visited. But pancakes were special. Pancakes were for watching Sunday morning cartoons and playing cards after church. Pancakes were for af-

he first day of January used to begin when my groggy, pajama-clad self trudged upstairs to the kitchen for a late breakfast and a mug of black tea at 10 a.m. The night before, I held my eyes open until midnight while simultaneously eating cookies and scouring my brain for words starting with ‘J’ during a family round of Scattergories. I still felt dazed and jittery, but what really assaulted my peace of mind was a notorious plethora of personal aspirations: New Year’s resolutions. For years, designing multi-colored flow charts in my jumbo-sized planner felt more grueling than rewarding because my plans were often too ambitious or complicated to achieve. I met this cumbersome task with fleeting enthusiasm that quickly morphed into resentment and self-defeat. As the allure of my objectives wore off, the last flames of my motivation sputtered out, leaving me stranded with no way to navigate the road to achievement. This cycle persisted until about two years ago when a radical notion threatened to upend my beliefs: maybe, just maybe, I didn’t need to set unreasonable goals simply because the calendar read Jan. 1. Maybe I didn’t need a New Year’s resolution at all. Facing a new year without a solid plan horrified me. Not having a resolution meant I had to rely on my own mind. If I could barely survive a two-day school week without my planner and a barrage of phone alarms, making it through an entire year would be utter chaos. Instead of going cold-turkey and ditching my entire goal-setting system, I compromised. I selected the most urgent areas of my life to give immediate attention to and gradually worked my way down the list. When people wait an entire year to set health-related goals, they may deprive them- COURTESY OF BAILEY STOVER selves of a better quality of life, according to the online news platform HeraldNet.com. Postponing doctor visits and ignoring feelings of discomfort only prolongs medical issues. By the same token, it’s wise not to take on RYAN CHOE too much at once and become overwhelmed. s the son of Korean immigrant parAdopting a shorter to-do list only kept me ents, I grew up learning to practice afloat for a few months. There were just too and take pride in my culture. Whethmany things I wanted to do. I knew it was er it’s traditional ceremonies like time to revise my revisions. Chuseok — the celebration of a successful As I sat down yet again with a fluorescent year of harvest — eating Korean food or congel pen, I considered what, exactly, was so versing with my non-English speaking relaappealing about making resolutions on Jan.1. tives, my culture has been a staple in my life. Why not St. Patrick’s Day? Or the first day of Near the end of middle school, however, I spring? The start of the year offers some peocame across Asian biases disguised as jokes, ple a “blank slate,” allowing them to feel in which challenged my belief that I should be control of their lives, according to the healthproud of my heritage. For Asians, the wisecare system of hospitals, physicians and specrack jokes usually involve succeeding at cialists, Piedmont Healthcare. math, playing an instrument and having bad Dopamine, the “neuro-hormone” that regeyesight. I never encountered these stereoulates the brain’s pleasure and reward hubs, types at school; however, the summer before is at its highest when creating goals. Implemy freshman year, I came across an incident menting a reward system helps combat the with jests that crossed the line between joking gradual decrease in dopamine, and thus motiand bullying. vation, one experiences. During my summer school physical eduI knew, however, I needed to make resolucation class, a group of boys — mostly white tions when they were appropriate, not just on and all snooty — teased me while I was near New Year’s. This would increase my chances a corner of the gym. They began making racist of sticking to a plan and seeing results. Anjokes. The leader of the bunch asked if I was other factor to consider was self-criticism. I good at math. One asked how long I had been noticed the rigorous charts where I tallied my playing piano, blatantly assuming I played an progress fostered an all-or-nothing attitude. I instrument because of the color of my skin. resolved to give myself more clemency and Another pretended to hold an experimental room to grow by setting broader goals. flask and asked if I was all set to join the SciMy resolutions today are a far cry from ence Olympiad team with all the other Chinese how they were several years ago. I no longer kids even though I wasn’t Chinese and didn’t write a novel’s worth of aspirations on Jan. plan on joining the team. 1. When I make goals now, I scribble a quick As the guys walked away laughing, I relist and return to it every few weeks to see if mained mad but also confused. I felt like they those areas still require work. I also pay attenweren’t necessarily wrong. I’d been playing tion to overwhelming areas of my life, which cello for more than 10 years at that point, so alert me of the need for change. the instrument joke wasn’t entirely false. SimiThis past semester was one of the busiest, larly with math, I happened to enjoy it because most chaotic chapters of my life. I felt chronI was good at the subject. As I thought more ically stressed, agitated and unwell. Naturalabout how many of the stereotypes I aligned ly, I got out my notebook and made a brief with, I became more insecure about my identilist of possible resolutions for second semesty and personality than before the episode. ter, but unlike past years, these goals weren’t I thought of my other Asian friends, and overbearing or punishing. Now, when I’m they too appeared to check the boxes of the finished sipping my New Year’s Day tea, I race’s stereotypes. I worried the quips from can face life with less weight on my shoulders the band of cruel boys weren’t just jokes but and be willing to move on and forgive myself were facts. I discussed the experience with my if I can’t complete everything on the list.

ter summer nights spent stargazing and for before long days of playing Frisbee and Wiffleball. After I stepped in the halls of Gentry Middle School, I traded in the smell of my grandpa’s house, a mixture of old spice and chopped wood and coffee, for the familiar fragrance of my own bedroom. Sunday mornings tasted less like Bisquick white flour pancakes and more like tart berries and cheesy scrambled eggs. Sunday mornings sounded like a jumble of voices traveling from the kitchen to my bedroom, slipping under my closed door to wake me up. Time might have flown during middle school if not for the stale, stagnant air trapped under its tired wings. I thought I would never leave, but finally I was about to enter high school, and high schoolers must be serious students. I wouldn’t have time for the sentimental parts of my childhood like spending time with my grandpa. It would be foolish of me to spend time with him when I have more urgent concerns. I used to wake before my parents and wait for my dad to come

out to the kitchen so we could start our weekly tradition of cooking together; now I can barely make it out of bed before 10 a.m. The weeks and months drag on, one blending in to one another as I succumb to the relentless monotony of the reality I signed up for. Throughout junior year, as my course load and extracurricular commitments reached their peak, I spent my weekends sitting alone on the floor of my room doing homework. Sunday mornings tasted like bland snack bars and stale Honey Nut Cheerios without milk. Sunday mornings looked like the blurry image of a red-eyed reflection: a girl with unbrushed hair and upside purple crescent moons permanently stamped under her eyes. It is too much work to make time for family meals. We eat out or pick up food — “Mexican again?” “Sure, why not.” — and dine at different times, our schedules rarely lining up. My father stays downstairs watching sports and movies with my brother. My mother resides in the upstairs living room, drowning under the demands of relentless students. I confine myself to my bedroom, surrounded by a nest of papers and computers, textbooks and calculators and binders. Weekends are no longer a time to relax; rather, they are merely a bridge of work between one week and the next. I long for weekends with my grandpa and resent myself for allowing a warped idea of who and what I should be determine how I spend my life. For too long I believed my selfworth came from my accomplishments; I held myself to an imaginary, unrealistic standard of the serious student I created for myself. Getting a full eight hours of sleep every night is not a criminal offense, and taking time to visit my grandpa is not some fatal error. I miss the smell of Bisquick in the morning, but I have also grown to love my family’s conversations at Las Margaritas as we laugh over queso and chips, sharing our daily stories. I cannot be all things to all people, but I can make sure I am present during the times that matter most in my life. All I have is this moment, this Sunday morning breakfast with the people I love and who love me. I do not need more.

External validation disregarded

parents and explained to them how I felt. AfIt’s important to understand where the inter a lengthy conversation, I realized there was sulter is coming from. Looking back, the group more to me than just the racist stereotypes. of boys who teased me did it at a time when A talk with loyal and supportive people they were probably scared and confused gofrom my school orchestra members to my ing into high school. I’ve realized in any case close friends, helped me discover while some of bullying, the oppressors try to bring down biases applied to me, the whole point of them others because they have a deeper feeling of was to bring a person down. What my parents insecurity about themselves than the people and sister told me was that I couldn’t let a they torment. small experience like this mentally affect me. No matter how hard a bully may try to deter If these occasions became repeated prob- someone in a case of verbal harassment, it’s lems, my family members and friends suggest- crucial for the attacked to not react in a way ed to tell a teacher. If the occurence was a that will only escalate the situation. With lone one, they told me the interaction the group of boys, I learned I should was merely stupid high schoolers take more pride in my culture and being stupid. With this advice I heritage than before. There will shook off the insults and tried always be hate in this world, to be less self-conscious by but I constantly remind myfocusing on topics and events self not to get too depressed I was passionate about, like about it. While I may fit some cello, golf, basketball, footAsian stereotypes, I certainly ball and writing for the don’t fit them all. school newspaper. The summer school incidents revealed to me that I Although not as frequently should always take pride in my as before, I still worry about my ethnicity, especially when others self-image and try not to be “just try to bring me down because of it. another Asian.” My greatest fear is I urge others and myself to not let being mediocre, and I thought if I it confine personal goals or fit the description of a typical aspirations. Asian kid, I would only At the end of the be remembered as day, I owe it to my“just another Asian.” TURNER DEARMOND/THE ROCK self to be true to who Fortunately, my parI am. Since then, I have ents and friends reAs I thought more about how pursued many dreams mind me to stay true many of the stereotypes I aligned with music, sports and to myself by being me. They say I shouldn’t with, I became more insecure school, having successtry to be someone about my identity and personality es and failures along the way. Even though I’m not, and that real than before the episode.” I failed at times, what’s friends and supporters important is that I dewill accept me for who cided to go and reach for my goals without I am, no matter how quirky I may be. Near the end of summer school, the kids fearing how my ambition fit the description of came back and attempted to rattle me with a racial stereotype. Moving forward, I hope to more insults. Instead of shrinking, I looked at continue to use stereotypes as a way to prove them and took the insults with a blank face. Af- bullies and skeptics wrong and show them that ter a few awkward laughs, the guys scrammed, race doesn’t limit a person’s ability or imagiseeing their words had no effect on me. nation.

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adulting

THE ROCK | RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | FEBRUARY 6, 2020

IN-DEPTH | 9

(noun) “The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.” — Google Dictionary

Change

Independent (noun) “I’d say it’s a big change, at least. You have to take on more responsibilities and actually find your way without any help.” — Trenton Elsbury, sophomore

Perspective (noun) “Adulting, like as in parenting? I would say it’s fulfilling that responsibility of growing up and taking things to a different level as far as your perspective on different situations and circumstances.” — Reagan Bullock, junior

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH KUHLMANN, ANA MANZANO

(noun) “It’s hard ’cause I’m used to being lazy, and my parents told me I have to get a job and have to do all this other stuff now: get money to get my own car. It’s very, I don’t know, it’s just stress.” — Charles Wilson, senior

Duty (noun) “Being responsible, like making sacrifices and doing what you have to do.” — Jadela Bonaparte, junior

Future

(noun) “The first thing that comes to mind is having a family or children. I guess, like, drinking, having a job, just stuff that adults do.” — Nguyen Nguyen, sophomore

Accountable

Independence, experience accompany adulthood

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money teenagers spent in total, including on clothes, cosmetics, that you have a budget and this is your requirement.” One of Lidholm’s hopes for the future is to be able to invite technology and food, was $2,600 per year. After responses from outside business managers, such as car salespeople and bankers, 8,000 adolescents, the survey revealed food was the number one to come to events at RBHS like the course fair and career fair. She spending priority for males and the number two for females. Lidholm said paying for lunch or a snack is not inherently caresaid professionals in these fields would help educate students on insurance maintenance. Additionally, from their experience in the less because food is an essential part of everyday life. She did highworld outside of school, they would provide opportunities to prac- light, however, the importance of allocating a cap on food finances. “Since we have such an open campus at [RBHS], just be aware tice budgeting for novice high schoolers. “We do [simulations] on a smaller level in class, and it works out of how much you’re spending, particularly [on] food,” Lidholm said. “And not that spending on food really well,” Lidholm said. “So, [it is a bad idea, but think about if you would be helpful] to be able to make budgeted that money and whether [the project] broader and more hands you’re spending within your budget.” on with real-life situations.” Food is only one of the priorities Senior Jordan Kuhnert enrolled for junior Quinn Tyler. To pay for in an online, condensed version of Personal Finance during the summer (noun) “Taxes. Paying taxes. her vehicle’s expenses, such as gas, before her junior year. While she said Doing adult responsibilities like she has worked at Addison’s American Grill as a waitress since March taking the class was useful to an extent, currently she is turning to her paying rent and supporting 2019. What she does not spend on her car goes into her savings account parents to answer more detailed ques- yourself independently.” and helps pay for any educational tions about finances. This includes programs she wants to take over the how to manage her insurance for the — Asmaa al-Sharif, junior summer. Tyler, who took Personal Fifuture, both with living arrangements nance online during the summer beand automobile maintenance. Kuhnert knows how to complete basic tasks for independent living, like fore her junior year, said working during high school has not only doing laundry and changing a tire, but she said she would rather helped her improve her budgeting skills, but it has also increased have help from her parents when tackling tougher financial issues, her awareness when considering how much she spends. “I realized that what you may think is a lot of money runs out such as managing insurance and doing taxes. “I have a job, so I’ve had to do taxes, but my dad definitely really quickly,” Tyler said. “Spending your own money completely helped me with them,” Kuhnert said. “And I’ve had practice bud- changes your perspective about money, what necessary expenses geting my money because my parents made sure that was a big part are and the value of hard work.” Tyler and Kuhnert both said their previous experiences — from of what they taught me.” In terms of controlling how much she spends on food, Kuhnert parents and employers alike — helped improve their financial abilsaid she maintains a healthy lifestyle for the most part. She avoids ities more than the ideas they studied in school. Though Missouri eating out at fast food restaurants for lunch and packs her own food educators impart the importance of financial management on studaily. Kuhnert also tries to exercise through activities she enjoys, dents, Tyler and Kuhnert said exposure to real-life situations is the best way to practice economic skills. such as hiking. “School hasn’t really taught me any skills that will directly imExercising regularly helps reduce the cost of healthcare bills because it lowers the risk in medical issues, such as heart attack pact my ability to live independently,” Tyler said. “Most of what and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- I’ve learned in school is really just preparing me for more vention. With these practices, Kuhnert said she is ready to live school, which is applicable to what I want to do with my life, but the same doesn’t apply to everyone.” independently beyond high school. While Kuhnert said the required Personal Finance “My parents have played a pretty big role in teaching me how to live on my own,” Kuhnert said. “It’ll be an adjustment, course hasn’t given her much insight directly into her future, she said a combination of the class and her but I think I’ll be OK [after I graduate].” Though Kuhnert said she is conscientious of how much parents’ lessons supply her with the confidence to she spends on meals, Lidholm said having a financial take her next step, college, after high school. With plan when it comes to food is often the major strug- more practice handling economic issues through gle for high schoolers. Students pay large costs trial and error, as well as performing individufor food from off-campus fast-food restau- al, daily tasks, Kuhnert said she will become rants, according to a survey by Piper self-sufficient financially and feel ready for Jaffray, a branch of the financial adulthood. “I’m probably not as aware of my services business Piper Sandler Companies. spending as I could be, but if I make a In spring, 2019, budget, I usually stick to it,” Kuhnert the average said. “ I feel like I’d adapt [to living inamount of dependently] and that in the long run I’d be OK.”

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n a secluded hallway on the North side of the school, surrounded by art and language classes, lies the two finance and economics classrooms. Teachers Susan Lidholm and Stacy Elsbury educate their students on both individual and global economic principles. Personal Finance, one of the business classes RBHS offers, is a required credit by the state of Missouri for all high schoolers to complete before they graduate; however, students can test out of the class by taking Advanced Placement Economics. The personal finance class became mandated in 2006, when the State Board of Education deemed it necessary to prepare students to make informed decisions in their future work and family life. The class focuses on educating students on how to manage their expenses, income and how to invest their time to create a profitable future for themselves. Lidholm teaches the class through simulations such as controlled spending through a budget wheel tracker, and giving the students practice dividing an assigned net income among necessary day-to-day expenses. The simulator also provides “chance” cards that throw in possible, random scenarios, such as a speeding ticket or a small sum of money from a lottery win, for students to deal with when completing the activity. She also said she believes the best way to tell students about budgeting is through hands-on, real world practice rather than lectures. “The cardinal rule in Personal Finance is to put money in savings before you even actually start to spend,” Lidholm said. “It’s always easy to overspend, and we want you to know

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ANJALI NOEL RAMESH

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hile in the U.S. one becomes a legal adult at the age of 18, the educational resource material group Lumen Learning categorized adulthood into three stages, the first of which begins around 20 to 21 years of age and lasts about two decades. During early adulthood, Lumen Learning said one finds meaning through work and family. For virtually his entire life, 2019 alumnus Kai Ford, a current freshman at Harvard University, has felt “rather independent.” He said being a functioning adult is a combination of increasing one’s awareness of the world outside his or her education community and developing self-reliance. “My mother, from an early age, gifted me much more trust than was common,” Ford said. “I was buying groceries with her debit card by the age of 10, traveling all over town well into the night by myself, and many other things that many parents would fear to let their children do.” His mother’s trust meant Ford was able to be more involved in extracurriculars than some of his peers and not worry about meeting a curfew, which in turn made him feel “more self-assured being independent.” In social situations, such as refusing peer pressure or going in for an interview, Ford said he has felt confident. Junior Maddy Kovaleski’s first true taste of autonomy came a year ago when, while her grandparents were visiting, her grandfather passed away. She said his death disoriented her family, and they had to take care of her grandmother. Second semester had recently started, and Kovaleski was suddenly responsible for getting rides for after-school events, watching out for her younger brother and, on one occasion, finding a place to spend the night. “It was sort of like a flash-forward for a few months of, ‘I need to handle almost everything myself,’” Kovaleski said. “Not because my parents aren’t willing to help me, but because I’m worried that it will be too much.” While Ford’s transition into the world of adult responsibilities happened earlier in life than Kovaleski’s, they both were thankful for the support their families provided. Ford said because of the trust his mother invested in him, he did not feel too nervous about entering college. The confidence she created in their relationship helped “foster a strong foundation” for Ford’s future self. Regardless of how prepared Ford thought himself to be at the beginning of college, securing official documents and navigating communication among himself, his mother, administrators and medical personnel presented its own challenge. Along with managing his own employment records and insurance cards, Ford said he also found ways to strengthen his ability to advocate for himself by attending office hours with professors and taking on internships. “Going to college has helped me identify the disconnect between my family’s status, whether that be financial or social, and my own social mobility,” Ford said. “I’ve started thinking about future career paths, and, while investigating, I came to realize that my own initiative had a much more direct impact on what I could do and become.” During her own transition into adulthood, Kovaleski said she is learning to recognize how and when to ask for help. As a “very prideful individual,” she felt at odds with her own self-perception when, for the first time, she had to go to the math tutor room for help completing her Advanced Placement Calculus BC homework. That experience forced her to reflect on how she will handle real-world tasks, especially when asking for help is the best course of action. “I think when you are trying to be self-sufficient for the first time ever, you’re going to run into stuff that you can’t really do yourself,” Kovaleski said. “And I think it’s going to be difficult to recognize situations where it’s going to be better for me to be on my own versus ask my family or one of my friends to help me with something.” Although Ford said he is more familiar with Columbia, nowadays he claims Boston as his home if someone asks because he feels connected to it. The moment Ford truly came into his own happened when he was nearly 1,300 miles from Missouri. Ever since he was legally allowed to work, Ford said he has held a part-time job. This trend continued during college, and Ford said he was able to accumulate some money. During the middle of his first semester, he said his mother’s car required significant repairs, which she was not able to afford at the time. “Luckily, I had the money in my bank account and was able to cover the cost for her,” Ford said. “Realizing that, if I hadn’t had worked during the semester, the cost of the repair would have placed [a] great strain on my family led me to acknowledge that I wasn’t just the kid of the family anymore, but a fully functioning adult who accumulated my own wealth and assisted my family just as everyone else did.” Ford’s ability to aid his mother in her time of need marked, at least temporarily, a role-reversal in his life where he could help support her financially. Through college and his own financial awareness, he is learning to make connections that will enable him to pursue a career he is passionate about in the future. To be a successful educator at RBHS, studies teacher Debra Perry said one must be completely invested in his or her work. After two years of going back and forth trying to decide what to do, she took a year-long sabbatical from teaching to work on her Master’s degree with an emphasis in positive coaching — providing support in a positive way — since she plans to be a life coach in her next career. She said being a student again allowed her to better understand situations from a student’s perspective. Rather than telling students how to improve their time management or complete their homework, Perry now tries to empower them more by asking questions and have them provide solutions themselves. For Perry, the idea of being a life coach is similar to the job of a teacher, without an attachment to content. Becoming an adult is complex, and what might represent adulthood for one person may not be the same for another. Some people seek out guidance in the form of a life coach, a person who helps support clients’ personal growth and goal-setting, according to the recruitment site jobisjob.com. “It’s not about fixing people; it’s just about helping people to become the best versions of themselves,” Perry said. “I think that’s the goal of a life coach: to help people arrive at their truth rather than you giving it to them, and I’m trying to do more of that.” Being a life coach is rooted in positive psychology and human flourishing, Perry said. The role of the coach is to walk alongside, listen to, echo back to and hold accountable the person he or she is working with, which she said is similar to “what your best bud is for.” Additionally, she said life coaches give people a place to go when they need support in moving toward their goals. In both her position as an aspiring life coach and her role as a mother of two now-adult daughters, Perry tries to focus on “asking more questions than giving answers.” Because of their self-sufficient natures, Perry said she has a deep respect and appreciation for both her children. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, woe is me,’ and then sometimes I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is the way it’s supposed to be.’ It’s a tough place to be: a parent with these kids that you have that are [your everything],” Perry said. “They’re like your heart. Like you would give your life and your last thing for them, and then for them to be independent out there, which is what you’re supposed to do, but [it can be hard sometimes].” From significant financial decisions like retirement to small household repairs like changing a faucet, Kovaleski said being an adult means being able to adapt to situations and help others do the same. She said she once read all people should have three hobbies: one to keep them in shape, one to earn them money and one to make them happy. Rather than viewing adulthood as a fixed state one reaches, she sees it as one constantly in flux. “Living on your own doesn’t make you an adult. Knowing how to do your taxes doesn’t make you an adult,” Kovaleski said. “I think it’s really just an acceptance that you’re going to keep learning how to do things.”

Young adults struggle, succeed with financial intelligence

E: BUSIN

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the stage

Feb. 6 - Voices for a Cause concert Feb. 8 - Harrisonville Festival D ATE

ALL

IN H

V DE

TR US ILL

Students collaborate, grow through show choir

ANNA XU hrough television shows and movies like “Glee” and “Pitch Perfect,” show choir has thrust itself into popular media. As the media company CNN reported in 2010 along with the beginning of the show, “singing is cool again” by the “Glee effect.” RBHS show choir Director Mike Pierson said, however, the performance’s rich history extends far before media like “Glee.” While there is a loose timeline for the arrival of high school show choir, it officially began in the 1960s, emerging in the Midwest first and starting at RBHS in 1988. The inspiration for show choir is widely credited to “America’s Singing Master” Fred Waring and his dance band, “Pennsylvanians,” which launched in 1918, according to freelance show choir director Michael Weaver’s page. The group is famous for its vocal and visual acts, as well as for their embracement of new technology from the radio to the first television. Later in the 1950s golden age for the screen approached, artists and bands required visual performance aspects, from eye-catching dance moves to humorous facial expressions to mesmerizing costumes, all of which make up the essence of show choir. Pierson, who has been the director for more than 15 years, said series such as “Glee,” while helpful in elevating interest in show choir, are not accurate to the real process. In “Glee,” new arrangements with the latest popular song hatch spontaneously every episode. Pierson said the activity demands much more thorough planning that typically starts in May or June, when Pierson conducts auditions. The choreography, he said, isn’t threaded in air but carefully constructed. Satin n’ Lace, the all-girls choir, and Bright City Lights, the mixed-gender choir, began practicing their shows in August and twirled into competition season in late January. Senior Lindsey Smith said the program is time-consuming but absolutely worth it. Because she is a part of both shows, she practices every morning for an hour as well as several days after school for four hours. Smith said the dynamic nature of show choir keeps the experience interesting and serves as a valuable learning tool beyond technical performance. “[Show choir] taught me discipline … because in rehearsal you need to be focused; you need to be ready to change things instantly,” Smith said. “Like one of the years, one of our soloists got kicked out the week before competition, so we obviously have to be flexible.” Senior Katherine Chrisman, along with Smith, said the education show choir provides extends further than singing, dancing and other forms of stage expression. She said the experience imparted to her deep lessons about “being in a group, teamwork, listening to other people and taking care of each other.” “Show choir can be hard sometimes because you are with the same people every day,” Chrisman said. “So you can either have a really good time together and be really close, or sometimes you can be really toxic towards each other, and it’s like living in a house together, and you kind of have to learn how to live with each other.” Smith said during her freshman year she surrounded herself in drama and has since learned to be more professional after realizing, “I don’t have time for that.” She said she tries to give genuine compliments to her peers, rather than mulling in negativity. Pierson said he hopes to train students to be better citizens through the program. Pierson sees students become leaders who will achieve major career feats after high school from professional singing and acting to becoming newscasters and doctors. “They’re going to learn to work with people that they may not see eye-to-eye with, but guess what, in the real world, you have to do that with the people you work with, too,” Pierson said. Not only do practical life skills come into play in the activity, Pierson also said the “total synthesis of singing, movement, acting [and] professionalism” fosters self-belief. Coming into her freshman year, Chrisman said she suffered from a negative perception of her body image. She said her friends in show choir made her feel comfortable, and it’s this caring atmosphere she wants to further enhance as a role model to the younger members.

“I have always struggled with my weight, and freshman year fifth overall, with senior Allison Whittom achieving best female one of my friends really encouraged me to do [show choir],” vocalist. On top of the all-girls choir achievements, City Lights Chrisman said. “And I just found my groove and progressive- also brought home trophies, as they were best in class and secly just started losing weight out of dancing so much, and I lost ond place overall. Pierson said he remembers years when the choirs had a near 30 pounds my freshman year. Not only has it helped me with friends and stuff, it has also helped me with my self-confidence.” perfect record, such as 2007 when both choirs earned a finals Although each show choir contains dozens of other students, spot at every competition, and one RBHS choir would achieve Pierson said it’s important for each member to own the stage the ultimate Grand Champion title, which is awarded only once. with conviction, especially for independent roles. Sophomore While Pierson said the gratification from the crowd or the colosElla McGinty received her first solo performance this year. sal trophies may entice many of his students, he finds meaning While she has sung in choir throughout her schooling, McGinty in the activity before the moments of triumph. “It’s not [about] the competitions. For me, it’s the rehearsals said she was nervously excited for the opportunity. She said before each show a wave of uncertainty and doubt washes over when everybody is dialed in and really, really looking to develop her, making her think, “I’m going to forget everything up there.” their own performance,” Pierson said. “The group gelling as a When the moment comes, though, she said she’s always able to whole and seeing the dream come to life, whether that’s charperform and is working toward calming her nightmarish imag- acter development or whether that’s the singing development or polishing off the choreography [is the ination and being more “realistic” best part], when you see all of that start to before the stage. come together, and the students get excitSenior Jack Buckley also has a If you don’t actually like what you’re ed about what they’re doing.” prominent solo role. He plays Elvis doing, or, like, put your heart and soul Pierson said the chemistry of the team Presley in Bright City Light’s’ “Presbuilds from the first day back to school. ley Palooza.” Buckley said the show into something, you won’t enjoy it, In the beginning of the school year, he revolves around Presley’s lifetime, and actually enjoying it really helps said there is a lot of intentional meshfeaturing his iconic dance moves like you express yourself on stage.” ing such as icebreakers, but as the year “The Pelvis,” evolution of song from - Lindsey Smith, progresses and students “travel together, religious anthems to Rock ‘n’ Roll spend early mornings and late nights toand ending with a contemporary persenior gether, they develop a bond.” formance of “Viva Las Vegas.” For Especially during competition season, the first half of the show, Buckley is dressed in a white, popping outfit that makes him stand out from Chrisman said the experience is exhausting and only achievable his peers as he swings his hips and shakes his knees like the with friends. She calls the day after an invitation “show choir “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” By the end of his solo, he’s shining in hangover,” when students sleep through the entire day. Chrisman, Buckely, Smith and McGinty all said show choir has domisweat and a signature smile. “It can be a lot of work, but then it can be a lot of fun, es- nated their school and extracurricular life. The members are conpecially when we have like an entire crowd cheering at [us],” stantly around each other and thinking about their performance. “[Members of show choir] are all really accepting and really Buckley said. nice to each other,” McGinty said, “and it’s nice Like Buckley, Smith said the public shows make the relentto be in something with people who all less behind-the-scenes effort worth it. In both choirs, Smith appreciate the same things that you dances in the front row, on beat and constantly changdo.” ing the emotion of her face; she is almost never Buckley and Smith said stuck with a stagnant form. friendships extend beyond their “I make sure that I actually have fun on choir, and they’ve also constage,” Smith said. “If you don’t actualnected with singers of different ly enjoy what you’re doing, or, like, put groups across the nation. your heart and soul into something, you “I have friends all over the won’t enjoy it, and actually enjoying it state, and people in Iowa that I really helps you express yourself on know I never would have met if it stage.” wasn’t for show choir,” Buckley With 55-65 experienced memsaid. bers, both RBHS show choirs While Smith has are extremely successful at the dozens of relationinvitational competitions. In a ships because of recent competition at Pleasthe performances, ant Hill, Mo., Satin n’ Lace Smith said the most placed best in their meaningful one to class, and her is her closeness to RBHS’s costume designer Victoria Mongillio. “I have spent so much time in the costume shop, helping with the costumes and just talking to the costumer,” Smith said. “She has been such an amazing person throughout my entire four years. She’s easily my second mom.” For around 60 people out of the 2,000 member student body, Pierson said show choir becomes their home in the school. While there is always some sort of drama and more work to do, Pierson said the commitment molds a tight-knit community, one that Buckley said he has never regretted being a part of. “When you first start high school, you meet all these new people, and some of your [middle school] friends, like if you don’t have classes with them, you barely see them,” Buckley said. “So it’s nice to have all these people right there that you can go to, and, like, we’re all friends together; we all love each other.”

AUDREY SNYDER/ THE ROCK

LOCKED IN: Senior Jack Buckley portrays his roll as Elvis Presley, or the “King of Rock n’ Roll”, at the show choir premiere Jan. 16 in the RBHS Performing Arts Center (PAC). Buckley participates in a variety of songs from “Hey, Look Ma I Made it,” by Panic! at the Disco to “Viva Las Vegas,” by Elvis Presley. Show choir alternates between the all-female group, Satin n’ Lace, and the co-ed group, Bright City Lights. Some members choose to participate in both groups, coining the term “doubler.”

14 | FEATURES

MATE rIA lIS M

$36,000

Luxury watch revenue amounted to

$30 million

After going Black Friday shopping back in November, 2019, Brown said she was “reaping the consequences of spending too much” once she saw the sum in her bank account. As styles change or she has an inclination to buy a new item, Brown purchases new clothes, typically from cheap brands with a low price tag. “I would rather go to the store and shop because then I have more control over what I buy,” Brown said. “I can try it on; I can see how it works, how it fits. If I shop online, I’m risking buying something that won’t fit, that will come in damaged or not the quality that I want it.” The constant high-quality expensive apparel she finds with Nike and Adidas appeals to Brown. When she wants a more dressy look, she may purchase an item from Wild Fable’s selection, but to her, brands don’t matter. Brown said she would rather her clothes look good on her and be affordable than have a name brand, be expensive and risk getting a hole in them. Senior Lindsey Pellock said she usually spends her money on clothes, gas and food, but she has decreased her spending now that the money she is using is hers and not her mom’s. As soon as she turned 16, Pellock got her first job working at Justice, a tween girls’ fashion store, and she now works at HuHot Mongolian Grill. “Part of [getting a job] was having the independence of having my own money,” Pellock said. “I didn’t want to have to rely on my mom every time I wanted to buy something, so once I had a Debit card I was like, ‘I can buy things whenever I want to.’ It feels more like the first step into being your own person.” The National Association of Sales Representatives, a global sales association, reported the two reasons why a consumer will

in 2019.

[SOURCE: WWW.STATISTA.COM]

The average American woman will spend on makeup in her lifetime.

$300,000

[SOURCE: WWW.SKINSTORE.COM]

Jewelry spending on Valentine’s Day totaled at

$4.3 billion

in 2017.

[SOURCE: WWW.MENTALFLOSS.COM]

CAMRYN DEVORE/ THE ROCK

FOR THE LOVE OF StufF materialistic principles drive consumer habits r. Marsha Richins, a professor in the Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri — Columbia, has published numerous journal articles on the subjects of materialism, consumer values and social comparison. She said America’s emphasis on one’s acquisition of material possessions is by no means unique to the country, though the pervasiveness of its materialistic tendencies does make it distinct from other societies. “America, historically, has been a very materialistic culture,” Dr. Richins said, “and even before our country was founded, people were using consumption to demonstrate their status and (in the early days) demonstrate their favor in God’s eyes.” While piety and the fear of God may, in some religious branches, determine one’s social status, modern American society’s socio-economic ranking largely stems from material possessions. As a nation rooted in a diverse composition of religions, the U.S. has long been a melting pot for differing ideologies and religious practices. Driven by a need to belong, in much the same ways religion creates community, Dr. Richins said material possessions satisfy one’s need to publicly display his or her status. Senior Daphnée Brown has nannied and babysat in her free time since she was 11, earning $12 an hour. She said she puts a lot of what she earns into savings, which allows her to have a degree of economic freedom, and spends the rest of what she makes on gas, personal products and shopping. “I am very money-conscious, so I don’t like to spend everything that I have,” Brown said, “but I do believe in a little self-reward.”

is how much a single pair of diamond stud earrings can cost. [SOURCE: WWW.MERVISDIAMOND.COM]

SARAH MOSTELLER/ THE ROCK

BAILEY STOVER

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THE ROCK | RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG | FEBRUARY 6, 2020

purchase a good or service is, first, to fulfill his or her need to avoid pain or a loss and, second, to gain pleasure. During her Algebra 2 Honors class sophomore year, Pellock would shop online. She said browsing different stores’ online indexes was a way for her to do something other than math; the items tended to end up on her Christmas or birthday lists. Courtney Cothren is an assistant teaching professor in marketing at the Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri — Columbia. She said marketers use a variety of strategies to convince customers to buy their products. “During the holiday season, one of the most prevalent techniques we see is the use of price promotions and scarcity to increase purchase intention,” Cothren said. “If customers believe that they are getting a good deal and that there is a limited time to act in order to get the deal, that works well.” Two-for-one offers, temporary price cuts and coupons help manufacturers and retailers increase sales and bring in customers. Once an advertising campaign ends, according to the “Harvard Business Review,” research shows sales fall back to normal levels and patrons return to their consistent buying habits. Although price promotions may help businesses in the short-term, purchases can decrease over time as consumers search for the best deals. “A lot of culture revolving around shopping and clothes is based on the brands and what they promote,” Brown said. “Consumer culture to me would mean buying something for the status that comes with the product.”

In a study of 187 U.S. student consumers, materialism and acquisition as the pursuit of happiness. They said those with showed a positive relationship to “buying products that higher scores, compared to those with lower scores, were “less satconfer status,” while it negatively related to “consumer in- isfied with their lives,” according to an abstract published in the dependence,” according to a study the National Center for Oxford Academic Journal of Consumer Research. The “Greater Good Magazine” at the University of California Biotechnology Information (NCBI) published. The study also stated “the association between materialism and con- — Berkeley said studies for more than 20 years have “consistently sumer independence is completely mediated by consuming found that people who score high on Drs. Richins and Dawson’s for status,” and this status-conscious behavior influences scale score lower on just about every major scale that scientists use to measure happiness.” Other studies, such as ones from the Jourconsumers to purchase items following social norms. “I noticed that a lot of people flocked toward the same nal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Social and Clinical things. I worked in a little kids’ store, but our products Psychology, have likewise found materialistic people experience looked the same as if you walked across the hallway to less positive emotions, more negative emotions and less meaningPink,” Pellock said. “Our products looked pretty much the ful lives than those who place a lower value or level of importance same, just shrunken down, so I think it’s just like people on physical possessions. “My greatest, and saddest, realization is that materialism leads follow each other. I think it’s kind of like the wanting to people to make a lot of bad choices that have long-term negative fit in.” The rise of American consumerism began in the 1950s implications for their lives,” Dr. Richin said, “but materialism is during the Baby Boom, which in turn fueled national eco- deeply embedded in our psyches and not likely to change.” In his article, “The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic growth. Suburban living became the new “American Dream” complete with a one-story house, small backyard nomic status impacts thought, feelings and behaviour,” which was published in the NCBI in 2018, Antony and a front lawn that was seemingly Manstead, Emeritus Professor at Caridentical to one’s neighbors, accorddiff University, argued “the material ing to an article by Rollins College. Marketers tell us that buying someconditions in which people grow up First proposed by Norwething new will make us happy ... Reand live have a lasting impact on their gian-American sociologist and search shows that we actually get personal and social identities.” economist Thorstein Veblen in his Unlike members of the mid1899 book “The Theory of the Leimore happiness from experiences dle-class, Manstead said people in lowsure Class” is the idea of conspicuthan from material goods ...” er- and working-classes are less likely ous consumption: buying items out- Courtney Cothren, to define themselves in terms of their side of one’s price range to increase socio-economic status and will instead his or her prestige. Veblen claimed a Trulaske College of Business at the have “interdependent self-concepts,” society is characterized by its wastUniversity of Missouri — Columbia understanding oneself based on his or ed money and time. The concept of her position in a group. With the value pecuniary emulation — working to American society places on possesmeet or surpass another’s status as related to wealth — came about as consumer culture con- sions as status symbols, Brown said how someone is raised and tinued to expand. One fundamental way companies influ- what he or she values will influence one’s susceptibility to conspicence consumers to spend money, Dr. Richins said, is by uous consumption. As a result, individuals buy items to fit in with convincing them they will be better off if they purchase a others of a similar or higher social class. “Especially going to a big school where there’s a lot of diversity particular good. “Because most of us in the U.S. have our basic needs for in family income, I feel like we experience the high-end families housing, food and clothing pretty well met, companies of- having more brand names, more products, more high-class assoten appeal to people’s psychological needs, such as the need ciation, and then that makes others feel that they need that, too, to fit in with the group and be liked, the need to feel okay to have that status,” Brown said. “I don’t need the brand to have about ourselves and the desire to express who we are,” Dr. status. There’s more depth to a person than what they’re wearing.” With “high-end, high-status brand names,” Brown said social Richins said. “Most of the time, this is done through subtle means. Instead of an advertisement saying, ‘People will media has the power to make teenagers believe owning the newest like you better if you wear our shoes,’ the ad might show phone, living in the fanciest house or wearing the most expensive a close-knit group of happy young people shopping for or clothes can bring them popularity. “People go to all lengths to get a selfie in a unique location or wearing their brand.” During adolescence, people begin to consider how their Instagram a meal at a cool restaurant or buy a new lipstick with identities affect their lives through social interactions, the right brand,” Dr. Richin said. “However, in the long-run, this is which can make teenagers self-conscious, according to the completely ineffective in solving the problem of how to feel good intermediary organization ACT for Youth. In this way, chil- about ourselves.” When people wear name brand clothing, Pellock said she sees dren may look toward brands and material possessions to it as a mark of socio-economic status in that the wearer wants to characterize their outward identities. Through their possessions, children symbolically show others present himself or herself in a certain way, which can promote their personality traits or act “cool,” according to Moriah Houser’s overspending. Advertising, impulsive buying, retail therapy and marketing undergraduate honors thesis, “Why Teens Today Wear prioritizing spending over saving are all factors that influence one’s the Brands They Wear and How This is Affected by Reference likelihood of overspending, according to the personal finance eduGroups” for the University of Arkansas. Houser said teens ques- cation program BalanceTrack. “I definitely think that everyone wants to be the same, and they tion whether they should conform to existing social standards and patterns of behavior or choose instead to portray individuality in want to have the most expensive things,” Pellock said. “Like especially here at Rock Bridge, like why do you need $300 shoes? what they wear and how they act. “In middle school everyone looked the same, and they all wore I don’t understand.” When she is buying a piece of clothing, the same things, and it was kind of like — I felt like in sixth grade it was harder for me because I didn’t really understand why we were Pellock said she first considers if she will actually wear all trying to look the same,” Pellock said. “I didn’t get it.” To better recognize the roots of materialism, Dr. Richins and it or not. Dr. Scott Dawson, the Dean of the Orfalea College of Business at Portland State University, developed the first scale to measure materialism in the early 1990s. Drs. Richins and Dawson explained their scale’s three components: possession-defined success, acquisition centrality

Because she is going off to college soon, she said she is beginning to get rid of some of her old clothes so she can more easily move out. “There was one day when I went shopping, and I spent like $300 in one store, and I was like, ‘Oh, God,’” Pellock said. “I’ve gotten less impulsive about it. At first I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna buy this,’ and then I keep thinking about it, and I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe not. Maybe I’ll wait, or maybe I just don’t need it.’” A few of the main reasons people impulse buy are loss aversion, enjoyment and a biased evaluation of a product’s use, according to the psychology, science and philosophy website brainfodder.org. At the beginning of high school, Pellock said she spent so much of her mom’s money that she gave Pellock a budget. Once she got her own job, Pellock realized she needed money for gas and food, so she became more conscious of how much she was spending and makes sure to have enough money in her account before she buys a non-necessity item. “Unfortunately, most of us aren’t able to figure out in advance which 10% of our purchases are worthwhile,” Dr. Richin said. “We don’t have very good skills in understanding why we want things and actually analyzing whether a purchase will meet those needs.” Well-chosen consumption can have positive outcomes and benefit a person’s life, Dr. Richin said; however, she said approximately 90% of what the average person purchases is “pretty useless,” and only a small percent of it improves one’s life. In general, Cothren said American culture values consumerism. “Marketers tell us that buying something new will make us happy, and it does, but it’s fleeting,” Cothren said. “Research shows that we actually get more happiness from experiences than from material goods, and culture is starting to illustrate that as well.” Growing up, Brown said she didn’t come from a lot. Her family has experienced financial problems to the point where they have almost been homeless. At times her life has been extremely challenging, but she said her mom raised her to value personal connection more than material objects. The main difference she sees between “materialistic people” and “people people” is what they value. “I feel like a lot of people would rather have a new car, the newest, best car, over having a deeper connection with somebody,” Brown said. “So the way I was raised has really put having a connection, listening to someone, talking to someone, getting to know their true self over liking their appearance or their clothes or their products.” Human connection rather than tangible possessions allows relationships to form, which in turn provides people with a sense of belonging, identity and a support system, according to the mental health and therapy website goodtherapy.org. An article in the Scientific American, a science magazine, explained how human survival is dependent on social connection rather than individualistic, materialistic behaviors. Brown said she is lucky to not have the multitude of problems that comes with caring about people for their outside appearance rather than the content of their character. “To me, I don’t care if you’re dressed in diamonds. Like, if you’re a crappy person, you’re a crappy person,” Brown said. “Especially in high school, I think there is the misbelief that having brand-names, having high-end stuff gives you status and gives you meaning because in the end it’s not. It doesn’t provide you any pizzazz.”

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THE ROCK RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Rewriting the record books

Boys look to defend state title

O maddie orr

Lady Bruins’ legacy at forefront

maddie orr

n March 16, 2019, a coach with 30 years of experience and a hungry group of boys, ike the boys, the girls’ basketball team also carries excellence in the form of state titles. six a part of the Class of 2019, came together when the Bruin boys’ basketball team Having won five Class 5 championships in 2008 and 2012-15, four of which were consecmade history in Springfield, seizing the state championship title for the first time in utive, the Bruins enjoy continuous prestige. school history. Currently, the team is ranked fourth in the state behind Incarnate Word Academy (St. Down eight points going into the second half, the Bruins surged back to defeat Louis), Liberty High School and Jefferson City High School. Christian Brothers College High School. Senior Jacob Ungles, then a junior, scored two points in Looking forward to the rest of the season, head coach Jill Nagel helps lead her players to sucthe championship game and said the vastness of the arena was most nerve racking for him. Returncess as an involved and vocal mentor. Nagel began coaching the team in 2005. ing to the locker room after the legendary finish, Ungles recalls senior Grant Hajicek, then a junior “We talk a lot about the process. You have to do steps A, B and C before you can get to being also, dumping a Gatorade tub of water on head coach Jim Scanlon’s head. [good] enough, and so we really focus a lot on the process and taking it one step at a time. There’s RBHS has eight Final Four appearances overall but only one championship game appearance. steps that you have to take in order to get to the end,” Nagel said. “So just really focusing on the After last season, RBHS became the first public school in Missouri since 1962 to win a state title fundamentals, and we try to never overlook that every single day in practice and then [make] sure in Class 5 basketball, improving on their third place finish the previous year. The team also bethat we’re as prepared as we can be for every opponent that we play.” came the only Class 5 Final Four returner, which added even more experience to a vengeful group Preparation is key to success, and practicing beneath the numerous green and gold state chamgoing into the next season. To further their lengthy resume, the Bruins have won three straight pionship banners constantly reminds the girls of past accomplishments. From 2011-2015, RBHS district championships and, in the last 16-17 years, have won the district championship eight or witnessed history in the form of a few talented female basketball players including Sophie and nine times, assistant coach Blair Scanlon said. He also said the boys have won more than 20 games Lindsey Cunningham and Cierra and Bri Porter. Sophie Cunningham and Cierra Porter both carin all but two seasons over the last 16 years. ried the weight of four first place medals around their necks at the time of their high school gradu“Last year we were straight focused on winning because we knew we could do it,” Ungles said. ation. All four girls continued their athletic careers at the University of Missouri — Columbia and, “So this year we just kind of stayed in that mentality even more than that.” after graduating from college, Sophie Cunningham went on to play professionally for the Phoenix Alumni guards Isaiah Mosley and Ja’Monta Black currently play at Missouri State University; Mercury. Nagel said, however, thinking about the past will not benefit her team in the future. Dajuan Harris is on the men’s basketball roster at the University of Kansas, and Noah Patrick “I think the past is in the rearview mirror. I think it’s great to have tradition, and we always plays for Central Methodist University. say tradition never graduates. You definitely hope that the kids want to continue on that tradition, All of the graduates played together since middle school, and finishing their high school but you want them to do it for themselves and for their teamcareers with a state title was the perfect way to say goodbye. mates and not just because of the past players,” Nagel Even though a talented group of boys left RBHS last May, said. “There has to be an intrinsic aspect to it for each they left behind veteran, ambitious players. player, otherwise it’s not going to be meaningful for “The past players, they just had more experience than them in the end.” we have right now. It’s a lot younger of a team than we Looking forward is the best way for the team had, and a bunch of those guys had skills that you see to succeed, Nagel said, and this season consists of once every few years in a school like this, and we had even more collegiate commits, including senior Eryn three to five of them on one team,” Ungles said. “We just Puett, Missouri University of Science and Technology, don’t have the offense that we used to have and the scoring and sophomore Averi Kroenke, University of Missouri ability that we used to have. So this year it’s a lot more — Columbia. Although the team is different from past defensively focused and just doing the simple things right.” years, Nagel said being able to coach new kids and Ungles said it was difficult to follow the example the se“see all the pieces of the puzzle come together" is exniors before him left but he has enjoyed filling an important citing. leadership role on the court by being a voice the younger “I think this year we just get along so much betplayers listen to. He said he focuses on “making everyter,” Puett, a previous Class 5 All-State selection, body better,” not just himself, a key tactic for a winning said. “Everyone is really close, and since we are all mindset. Additionally, he said both Jim and Blair Scanlon’s so close it allows us to work together and play really experience will help the team continue to succeed. well.” “Last year [the current seniors] were just in reserved The varsity lineup traveled to Florida over holiroles where they weren’t playing as many minutes day break to strengthen their bond, playing against but now those guys who were in the back-up roles highly competitive teams. The Bruins went 1-2 at are playing major minutes and major roles for the Naples Holiday Shootout in Naples, Florida. us. I think it took a little bit to adjust to Following in the footsteps of the girls before her, that because they weren’t used to it. Puett aspires to hold a first-place championship They’ve handled it, and guys have trophy in March. stepped up and made plays and done She said the Bruins have a “very good chance” a really good job and not just with of making it to state if they continue to work together. the stats part but with leadership “It gets nerve racking going into postseason beand mentality and stuff like that,” cause if you lose you’re done, and that’s a lot Blair Scanlon said. “They’ve hanof pressure each game,” Puett said. “Last dled it really well.” year’s loss in quarterfinals was very Following an achievement like a disappointing, and I’m excited to see state title is difficult, Ungles said, but what we can do this year.” focusing on “one game at a time” Last season, the Bruins brought and working toward the postseason home a district championship title, alleviates some of that pressure. but a loss to Republic High School Ungles said people suspectended their Final Four potential. ed the team wasn’t going Girls’ basketball is 13-3 on to be as good based on the the season, with district state of the team after losing play starting March 2. players, but they needed to The best part about realize there were some talentthis year’s team, Nagel ed returners including himself, said, is how distinct junior Xavier Sykes and seniors Brant each of her players is, Bowers and Charles Wilson. something she thinks “As a team, our goal is really will bode well as the just to win the district championship season becomes more again and then just to have fun and competitive. Each player, she get better as the season goes on,” said, is talented and works Ungles said. “It’s a goal to play in well with one another which college, and I’ve gotten the chance to makes the girls difficult have people see me.” for other teams to keep Doubt is a major motivating facup with in gametime. tor this season, Blair Scanlon said. She said their personalHe said his team knew other schools ities and playing staples are inbelieved they would drop down this dividualistic in comparison to year, but Blair Scanlon hopes the other teams they’ve played. team will come back strong with “We’ve got nine kids on vareach player’s support. He said it sity, primarily, and they’re all was beneficial for the seniors to very unique in their own great have people doubting them in ways, and I think that’s what order to “prove them wrong.” makes us really special, and I “[RBHS has] one of the think it’s what makes us hard top programs in the state evto guard because everyery year, and that’s attributed body kind of has a unique to [help from] coaches and aspect that they can bring players and parents,” Blair to the game. And it’s not Scanlon said. “I think every just one person,” Nagel year is a different challenge said. “We have a difbecause you have different ferent leading scorer groups, but our six seniors about every game, have really done the job and that’s the other this year listening, followthing that I think is WE GOT NEXT: (Clockwise from front left) Senior Eryn Puett (photo by Camryn DeVore), ing the game plan, workunique about them RBHS alum and current player for Missouri State University Isaiah Mosley (photo by Camryn ing and [blocking out the and special. It’s DeVore), RBHS alum and current professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury negative notions] has not just dependent Sophie Cunningham (photo by Madelyn Stewart), senior Charles Wilson (photo by Ana Manmotivated them to play on one or two zano), junior Xavier Sykes (photo by Ana Manzano). better.” people.”

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SPORTS 19

THE ROCK RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG FEBRUARY 6, 2020

Wrestlers’ diets, training impact weight classes

RYAN CHOE n wrestling, making a weight can be the difference between facing a physically larger and more imposing opponent or being that opponent. The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) follows specific rules and regulations for wrestling from the National Federation of State High School Associations, where male competitors compete in 14 weight classes ranging from 106 pounds to 285 pounds — female wrestlers follow a similar set of rules but use different weight classes. Throughout the season, wrestlers weigh themselves each day and use it to update which weight class they will compete in at a tournament. Junior Garrett Roach began wrestling in his freshman year after encouragement from a cousin. Roach said the part he enjoys most is “the confidence” that wrestling gives him, along with “the team culture and chemistry.” Roach said one common strategy in wrestling he learned is to be the heaviest competitor in a weight class without exceeding the maximum weight. Roach, who wrestles in the 132-pound and 138-pound classes, said being the heaviest wrestler in a class can give a bulk advantage over the rest of the competitors. “I was about five pounds over, and I was wrestling the next day, so I put on two pairs of sweats and two sweatshirts, and I taped the sleeves and ankles so the heat would stay in,” Roach said. “[Our team] went outside to the stadiums, and I had to run up and down the stairs and around the track. After a while, the sweat builds up in the clothes, and your body stops wanting to sweat, so I took off the outfit and put another dry one on to sweat more.” This tactic seemed fairly successful, as Roach said he lost about four pounds in just 90 minutes. Workout alone, however, cannot help a wrestler consistently lose or gain weight. A rigid regiment that is mindful of calorie intake per day is also crucial. ANA MANZANO/THE ROCK First-year head boys’ and girls’ wrestling coach Robin WatCONFLICT FOR CONTROL: Senior Jace Shackelford wrestles Dec. 3. RBHS lost to Kirksville High School but defeated Tolton kins, a former high school wrestler from Baltimore, brings a new Catholic High School. The Bruins continue to compete in the Seckman Tournament Saturday, Feb. 8. mindset to the team. Over the past two years, former head coach Eric Wilson encouraged RBHS wrestlers to lose weight. Watkins said he personally prefers for wrestlers to gain weight but ulti- at age five and has since learned about ways to achieve a goal very dehydrated and will gain back weight from rapidly drinking mately said cutting or losing weight is more of a mental obstacle weight, which he said is one of the most important parts of the water to rehydrate. McCallister said moments where no weight is lost or gained are “the worst,” as wrestlers have to create a than a physical one. sport. “Most times when somebody is cutting a lot of weight, they’re “I’ve known how to [cut weight] for a while because my dad new plan to get to their desired weight. “[My] worst experience for losing weight has to be when I ducking somebody [and] avoiding competition. You can starve knows a lot. I usually get off my sweets and eat no junk, then yourself down, but that doesn’t really mean you’re going to be drink lots of water and eat a little less,” McCallister said. “The lost nothing the night [before a weigh in]. I had to wake up at 5 any better,” Watkins said. “To me, the weight process is more final five days I dehydrate and lose a lot [of weight]. My dad usu- a.m. and go to the gym before school,” McCallister said. “Then psychological. Your technique, your ability, transcends weight.” ally knows what’s best for me and my diet. During the season I I had to suffer through the school day just dead.” It’s important to note that because Watkins said the “emphasis shouldn’t be on cutting weight; eat lots of meat, veggies and water.” each wrestler has a different body, all if anything it should be [on] getting stronger and [improving] McCallister said he thinks differMost times when somebody is cutting a of them must have a plan specific for technique.” He pointed to freshman Carter McCallister, who is ent wrestlers have various views on their bodies. At one point this searanked 15th in the nation for the 106-pound class, according to whether to cut or gain weight. lot of weight, they’re ducking somebody son, Roach said his meals consisted preseason rankings from WIN magazine, and sophomore Anna With McCallister, he had to gain [and] avoiding competition ... To me, the of electrolyte solutions like Pedialyte Stephens as “great examples” of wrestlers whose technique, tal- weight to qualify for the 113-pound weight process is more psychological. Your and Starkist Tuna Creations. ent and skill transcend weight classes. class. For Roach, he said he usualtechnique, your ability transcends weight.” “When I cut to 132 pounds, I ate Stephens, who competes in the 130-pound weight class, start- ly constructs a plan to lose weight Starkist Tuna Creations. They’re ⅛ ed wrestling in the seventh grade after watching old tapes of to stay in the 132-pound class or - Robin Watkins, of a pound and [have] a lot of proher father, who is a former RBHS wrestler. The company of her 138-pound class. head boys’ and girls’ wrestling coach tein, so I had a couple of those with teammates, love of competition and desire to improve her skill “If you weigh 140 pounds, but 16 ounces of Pedialyte every day,” motivated Stephens to join the RBHS wrestling team. Two years you cut eight pounds to wrestle Roach said. later, Stephens is one of the top wrestlers and leaders of the team. people 132 pounds, then you have No wrestler on the RBHS team is “I used to be smaller in seventh and eighth grade. I was at a strength and weight advantage,” Roach said. “There are defi110 pounds, then 115 [and] 120 as I kept grownitely some cons to losing weight, though. When I had to cut forced to follow a specific diet, but the coaching staff tries to ing. [However], if I gain too much to 132 pounds, I had to do it over the course of multiple days. assist all of the team members who seek guidance. Stephens said weight I won’t be strong Luckily, it was over winter break, so it didn’t affect my academic Watkins often informs her about what the competition is at her enough to [successfully] performance. For kids that have to cut that much all season, they weight and gives his advice on whether or not she should move wrestle,” Stephens said. have to deal with being tired, hungry and thirsty during classes weight-classes. Most choices are made by the athletes and Watkins and his staff will suggest diets to follow after decisions are “Over the summer and tests.” when I went to nationIf a wrestler tries to cut weight too rapidly, this leads to det- made. “Coach [Watkins] is on the paleo diet and he gives me adals I [moved] up two rimental effects on his or her awareness and performance, acweight classes … and it cording to a Mayo Clinic article. The vice and help on what to and not to eat,” Stephens said. “I [first] DEVIN HALL/ THE ROCK [probably] cost me from same source states a weekly weight thought, ‘Ok cool I’ll give it a try and see how it goes.’ Now I placing.” loss of one to two pounds is rec- enjoy eating healthy because now if I eat at McDonalds or have Stephens’s experience ommended. In fact, the article a soda it makes me feel sick. [This] helped train my body to gave her an opportunity to said people may lose water or [recognize] what’s good for me and what’s not.” The paleo diet is designed to “resemble what human huntreflect on her decision to lean tissue because it’s strenuer-gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago,” according to gain lots of weight in order ous to burn many fat calories in First step to move up classes. Cura short period of time. A lack an article from Healthline. Stephens said the planning and trainsf or rently, Stephens said she of calories and water can af- ing, like the diet advice, along with guidance in academics, are a competes at a weight she is fect a student’s ability to fo- extremely appreciated. “I love all my coaches because they motivate us to put in the comfortable with, which is cus in the classroom and his the 130-pound class. Makor her daily energy. Watkins work. They do so much for us as a team and put in all their time. 1) Switch to Skim ing smaller cuts or gains in said he tries to put trust and It’s an amazing feeling because it shows us they care about us 2) Eat lots of fruit weight has allowed Steresponsibility in the wres- 100%,” Stephens said. “They give us advice on if we’re hurt or sore [and] how to handle that. Since coach Robin [Watkins] is 3) Drink juice, not pop phens to perform more tlers over diet decisions. consistently. “Starving yourself to also on a paleo diet he helps to keep me eating right. If I buy “The pros of cutting death and dehydrating something, he’ll [say] if he [thinks] it’s actually healthy or not.” No matter one’s decisions, Watkins said he believes in all of to stay down is [that] yourself is not someI’m strong where I’m at, thing you want to do the wrestling team members to make the right choices with their and I’m not super tired because when it’s time diets because they are “young adults.” At the same time, he said and dehydrated from cutto wrestle, you’re go- he and the training staff feed the athletes nutrients — such as [SOURCE: USA WRESTLING CONNECTICUT] ting a lot,” Stephens said. ing to be feeling horri- peanut butter, fruits and vegetables — they think they should eat “I’m able to be comfortable ble [since] that bad weight on a regular basis during after school practices and tournaments. there and just maintain that weight cut will affect you,” Watkins said. Ultimately, however, there is no cookie-cutter weight plan for instead of going up and wrestling bigger girls where I’m not “You don’t need empty calories, you need food that’s going to all wrestlers. “Everybody’s different culturally, physically, [even in their] strong at.” help fuel your body. We have a food box that we take to tourMeanwhile, McCallister has garnered recognition at the na- naments so that [wrestlers] have carbohydrates [and] proteins allergies. One of our assistant coaches, Brock Davis, created a slideshow for healthy eating, and that’s on our team app,” Wattional level for his success in the 106-pound class and has more ready to go.” than held his own in the 113-pound class, evident with his vicA disciplined approach of which foods to eat is necessary be- kins said. “We want [the wrestlers] to eat as natural as possible. tory in the group at the Hickman Invitational from Jan. 24-25. cause not all attempts at losing or gaining weight are successful. Leave all the hot Cheetos and junk food alone during the season With the support of his family, McCallister began wrestling If wrestlers try to lose too much weight at once, they can become because it’s not going to help [this team] succeed.”

ling diet rest

What’s on deck in RBHS athletics? Girls’ Swim and Dive Feb. 8 Hickman/Battle/Hannibal/Marshall @ Hickman High School

Boys’ Wrestling Girls’ Wrestling Feb. 8 Feb. 8 Seckman Tournament District Tournament @ Holt High School @ Seckman High School

Girls’ Basketball Feb. 8 Webster Winter Challenge @ Webster Groves High School Boys’ Basketball Feb. 8 Central Bank Shootout @ Helias High School RILEY KERNS/THE ROCK

20 COMIC

THE ROCK RBHS.BEARINGNEWS.ORG FEBRUARY 6, 2020

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ILLUSTRATED BY JARED GEYER, RACHEL STEVENS DESIGNED BY ANNA XU, SARAH KUHLMANN

Spi n

All you need to know for the Oscars Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, 7:00 p.m. Watch on ABC. The Oscars are known as the “most important night in film” where the Academy of Motion Pictures gives awards for artistic and technical merit. The Academy of Motion Pictures determines winners by a ranked voting system. Voters are anonymous, and the Academy of Motion Pictures voter eligibility can be achieved many different ways; from being nominated for an Oscar to being sponsors of two current members. [SOURCE: THE ODYSSEY]

Top movies of 2019 voted by students “The Rock” surveyed 245 students, approximately 10% of the student body.

1. Avengers: Endgame 41 votes

2. Frozen 2 25 votes

3. Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker 14 votes

4. Joker

13 votes

5. Spider-Man: Far From Home 12 votes

Most viewed Oscar Nominees by students “The Rock” surveyed 200 students, approximately 10% of the student body.

What was the best movie of the year? “I really love the retelling and how they were able to make it work and use such a dynamic cast. I really love that [‘Little Women’] was made up by women and directed by a woman; that was really cool.” Rachel Bailey, sophomore

“What [‘Jojo Rabbit’ is] best at is showing things about the war that no one shows, like people will show that the war is gruesome but not in such specifics and in such a way.” Devon Lewis, freshman

“Well, it’s a very popular movie, and everyone knows of the ‘Joker,’ so of course it’s going to be the best movie, and it’s really action-like.” Quibillah Harvey, senior

“[‘Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood’]was based in a timeline of real events, but it took a huge spin on it with original characters, and it’s really hard to sometimes do that successfully, but they pulled it off really well.” Hannah Cantin, sophomore