Lance Issue 1

THE

LANCE The #BeKind Issue

October 5, 2018

Westside High School

Volume 63 Issue 1

info // letter from the editors

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS issue of the Lance is unlike anything we’ve attempted before. A 32-page square paper with a T his backwards ‘E’ in Lance? This year, we merged The Lance with our old magazine Craze, to create a brand new newsmagazine: a publication with the unique design elements of Craze and the hard-hitting journalism of Lance. The best of both worlds! We decided to focus on the #BeKind movement for our first issue because it’s something that’s not only affecting you, but every other student and teacher in the metro area.

One thing we want to push for this year is your involvement. Students and staff, feel free to write to us in a Letter to the Editors expressing your thoughts, opinions, or any questions you may have. Remember, the Lance is published by Warriors, for Warriors.

Sincerely, Malia Battafarano, Sam Cohen, Julia Steiner and Isabella Tyler

Malia Battafarano Sam Cohen Julia Steiner Isabella Tyler Maryam Akramova Theo Jansen Elliot Evans Emma Miller Emma Rieser Abby Schreiber Angelina Pattavina Natalie Gill Meredith Matz Virgina Jansen Jane Knudsen Reese Pike Daisy Friedman Mina Testolin Alex Vandenberg Joe Brunkhorst Nick Protzman 2

CONTRIBUTORS Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Managing Editor Design Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor Graphics Editor News Editor Opinion Editor In-Depth Editor Feature Editor A&E Editor Copy Editor-in-Chief Copy Editor Copy Editor Business Manager Staff Writer Staff Writer

Will Christiansen Phil Sokolof Eleanor Dodge Luke Steiner Brooklyn James Faith Rice Kaelyn Mettler Angela Li Meghan Maynard Parker LeFebvre Brad Griffin Tommy Sullivan Kenzie Harden Lydia Kasem Ryan Alger Nolan Spisak Max Frost Vinny Nelson Eli Mccabe Claire Benson Ariel Smith

design by malia battafarano

Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer Graphic Artist Graphic Artist Graphic Artist Graphic Artist Graphic Artist Photographer Photographer Photographer Photographer Photographer Designer Sports Writer Wired Managing Editor Photographer

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news // death policy

D E A T H P O L I C Y school board implements new death policy for westside

T

he Westside Community Schools adopted a new set of procedures that focus on what students and staff can and cannot do following the death of a student. Board members unanimously approved the Grief Response Protocols at their meeting on Aug. 20.

“We are kind of updating our response, making sure there’s always groups on hand, should we ever need them,” Brandi Paul, director of communications and engagement, said.

This new policy prohibits certain memorials after a student death. Dedication to the deceased at school-sponsored events and other places such as graduation, school dances, concerts, sporting events and banquets will not be allowed. Some memorials will be allowed in specific parts of the school.

“The policy is that you can have a memorial ... around the guidance center and then every night we will make sure that whether it’s flowers, candles, teddy bears, or whatever it is, that we bring them in here [the guidance office] to protect them,” Vicki Londer said.

The policy states that moments of silence or empty chairs in memory of the deceased will not be allowed during graduation ceremonies.

The district recommends that students come up with community service to do in honor of the deceased, make donations to the Westside Community Schools Foundation for scholarships or to charities designated by the family in the student’s name.

Another option the district will allow is to make financial contributions in name of the student or for a memorial brick located at the high school campus. With this, the school will also collect letters given by students for the family of the deceased.

“We wanted to make sure that memorials, when they are taking place, are serving an important function in the grieving process,” Paul said.

This new policy was created to ensure that any student, alumni or teacher is memorialized in an equal fashion. After board members researched other schools’ death policies as well as what the National Association of School

Psychologists recommended, they decided this new policy was necessary.

“We’re not going to treat one death any differently than the other, even though they are different,” Londer said.

“The way we respond and the way we work with students , and how we help students through that grief journey is going to be the same.”

Along with the policy, a Grief Response Protocol team has been updated, with one team at every school in the district. The Grief Response team is composed of various staff members, such as counselors, administrators and teachers who have been trained to respond to student deaths or other crises. “[The Grief Response team is] a specific group of people who all have the background and training to help students during those times,” Paul said.

Whether it’s through the new policy or the Grief Response Team, the Grief Response Protocols were put in place to benefit students and help them through the grieving process, should it be necessary.

“Part of the reason for updating the policy was we just wanted to make sure that we were helping students through the process of grief and guiding them through that because it can be really difficult,” Londer said. “We just want to support our students and make sure that we’re helping them in any way that we can.”

The policy also applies to alumni, as it encompasses the Westside community, past and present.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a current student or you’ve been a student five years ago,” Paul said. “you’re a part of our Westside family. We want to make sure that we support our staff members and our students [with] whatever they may be going through … That’s what we’re here to do at school, is just really do what we can to help all students in every facet of their lives.”

“We just want to support our students and make sure we’re helping them in any way that we can.”

Vicki Londer, counselor

story by emma miller and meredith matz, graphic by angela li, design by elliot evans

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news // superintendent search

WHERE’S OUR WALDO?

B

lane McCann has served as the superintendent of Westside Community Schools since 2012, but, on May 8, he announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2018-2019 school year. The Board of Education is currently undertaking the search for a new superintendent.

At the head of the search are board members Dana Blakely, Adam Yale and Doug Krenzer. The search process will be lengthy, according to Board President Blakely.

“The board is extremely grateful to [McCann] for giving us the amount of notice that he gave us,” Blakely said. “I think that we’re going to be out ahead of anybody else who will be looking for superintendents this year, just because he gave us such a good amount of lead time to figure out who his replacement is going to be.”

The first step the school board took was the decision to hire a search firm. This will cost the district an estimated $20,300, but will provide experience and help spread information, according to Blakely.

“The board decided that given the fact that no one was on this board at the time that the last superintendent was selected, that we would feel better having the guidance of a search firm,” Blakely said. “We’re making an investment in the district, so we felt like that was a good investment to make.”

Before hiring a firm, the district sent out a request for qualifications (RFQ). They then received firm applications and narrowed it down to two finalists, that each sent representatives in for an interview. The board eventually chose the firm Ray and Associates. According to their website, Ray and Associates’ mission is to “provide our clients with the highest quality services to assist them in hiring leaders who will meet district specific needs and positively impact the education of all students.”

The board said they chose Ray and Associates for multiple reasons, but one of them was their connection to the district.

“We just felt like [Ray and Associates] really understood Westside, the school district, who we are and who might want to come work for us and why they would be excited about it,” Blakely said. “We [thought] they had a really good grasp of background information of our district.”

After being selected on Aug. 27, Ray and Associates met with the Board of Education to discuss district priorities for the search. Once the

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story by virginia jansen and reese pike, graphic by julia steiner, design by vinny nelson formal job application is posted, the firm will put together a brochure to recruit applicants. It will contain information collected from public input sessions and meetings with the board. The brochure will be sent out across the country and candidates will apply through Ray and Associates, who will then bring the candidates’ information back to the board. The board will make the final decision on who the new superintendent will be.

Ray and Associates is not the only group involved in the search. The school board members said they hold the opinions of the community in the highest

regard. In order to take the community’s opinions into account, the school board has created a survey which is posted on the district’s website. The survey includes 33 different characteristics that participants are asked to rate, choosing the ten that are most important to them. There is also a comments section where survey takers can put any thoughts or recommendations for the search. The characteristics are widely varied, according to Brandi Paul, director of communications and engagement for the district.

“What’s most important to you?” Paul said. “Does your superintendent have to have

been a former teacher? Do they have to have a proven track record of working with community businesses? Do they have to have a Ph.D. or a master’s degree? So many different things, but we want our community to really rate those things.”

In addition to the survey, the board members said they hope to get community opinions through creating groups of various community members to give their input on what qualities the superintendent should have. These groups will include stakeholders in the district, parents, students, teachers, administration and other staff members. These groups will help the school board identify important qualities for the new superintendent. The school board will decide who is in each of these groups, so community members can’t apply to get in.

“We want to make sure we get a great representation from all parts of our district [and] all levels of our district,” Paul said. “Whether it’s one of our empty nesters ... or a staff member or a parent of a current student, we want to make sure we get a really good representation.”

Both Paul and Blakely stressed the importance of community involvement in the search. According to Paul, the district wants students as well as parents and staff to give their opinions because they will be directly affected by the new hire.

“It is extremely important to our Board of Education, and I think to all of us at the ABC building and administration, we want our students to play a role in this,” Paul said. “You guys are smart, you’re bright, you are invested in our school district.”

Students can take the survey using the link https:// www.surveymonkey.com/r/HTCVYVJ. While the board won’t know the main characteristics they will look for in a new superintendent until more community input is received, Blakely said they are focusing on fiscal responsibility and a level of caring about the district.

“We want somebody who is unafraid to put students first in their decision making and to think about what’s best for students,” Blakely said.

DRAWING

THE LINES

story by theo jansen and maryam akramova design by abby schreiber

news // drawing the lines

boundary engagement process revisited with new approach

Boundary Engagement Process is a series Tof hediscussions revolving around the borders

of several elementary schools. The process’s main goal is to balance district enrollment by changing the boundaries of certain elementary schools.

Balancing district enrollment means keeping overcrowding at a minimum in the elementary schools.

The schools that would be most affected by these changes are Swanson, Loveland and Sunset, which was recently reopened. The original school could only house 150 students, but the new school can hold up to 300, doubling the size of potential enrollment.

“We planned back in 2014 that we were probably going to have to redraw boundary lines because we don’t want this new beautiful school [to] sit empty without children to fill those classrooms,” said Brandi Paul, director of communications and engagement for Westside Community Schools.

The process began when there was a facilities study done of all of the schools in the district to determine the renovations that were needed for each school.

The study addressed the issue of overcrowding in some schools and what to do about the problem. At first, there were two options presented: to eliminate the Loveland school because of lack of land or have Swanson become a three-sectioned school rather than a two-sectioned one. This means it would have three classes per grade instead of two.

“Both of those proposals were met with a lot of concern from our residents,” said Dana Blakely, President of the Westside Board of Education.

“They were not very popular suggestions.”

Another option that was brought up later was to take Sunset from a one-sectioned school to a two sectioned school by completely rebuilding it.

At the same time, Swanson would be rebuilt as a two-sectioned school and district boundary lines would be redrawn. This option was chosen in 2014 by the Westside School Board because it appealed the most to the community, according to Blakely.

“Here we are four years down the road and we finished the school at Sunset and we are building the school at Swanson,” Blakely said. “The line needs to be redrawn so the populations at the buildings do what they were intended to do, which was to alleviate some of the overcrowding.”

According to Paul, the process came with a lot of

deliberation. Last year, the board did not have a successful attempt at determining the boundaries. Some community members said they felt like they weren’t being included in the process and in the final decisionmaking. This caused the board to rethink the process. “[The board] stopped and they said, ‘Okay, we’re going to circle back, reevaluate, maybe bring on an advisory team,’ which we have done in the fall, and we will start this discussion again,” Paul said.

The advisory team, RSP and Associates, was included in the process because the board said they wanted to

“I think that [the district] is on the right path to get the community engaged and look at the data and figure out what will be best for all elementaries involved.”

Cathy Haney make sure the right decision was made for the students.

They will use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data to help project future enrollment of these schools. A timeline was also created to help community members become more aware of the process and how they can be involved. In addition to this, several meetings will be conducted, including two public forums.

“We decided as a board to hire a consulting firm to help us create a process with a timeline and a message in order to engage the right people,” Blakely said. “The people who would be impacted will come together and make a decision in the best interest of the students.”

There are also several community members from the affected schools who will make up committees to help to make the decision. They will be in charge of understanding and evaluating the scenarios, such as

how the boundary should be redrawn and how they would affect the district. They will make their decisions based on community values. The committees then make a recommendation to the Board of Education.

A Boundary Committee meeting took place on Sept. 20. The feedback from community members was generally positive.

“I think that [the district] is on the right path to get the community engaged and look at the data and figure out what will be best for all elementaries involved,” said Cathy Haney, Chairperson of the District Outreach and Advocacy Committee.

Haney’s children went to Loveland and she said she is anxious to continue the process. Former Westside School Board candidate Sean Conway said he is glad that the community is involved. He also attended the Boundary Committee meeting.

“I think it’s good to get the community involved and get their opinions and their thoughts in being in those affected neighborhoods,” Conway said. “It’s pretty vital for the district … Even if we are not affected, it’s still important as a Loveland school member, as a Swanson school member and a Sunset school member to participate.”

One of the major issues is what will happen to students currently enrolled in the affected schools after the potential boundary changes. For example, if a student was enrolled in Swanson and after the process is now in the Sunset zone, the community wanted to know if the student could continue their education at Swanson. There is a suggestion that there could be a grandfather clause, which would allow all students to remain at the school they are currently attending.

“Last spring, Dr. McCann made very clear that there would be a grandfather clause and that is something that will likely come up in discussion,” Paul said. “We don’t really know any of that yet. All of that’s on the table.”

In the end, the Boundary Engagement Committees will make a proposal to district leadership and the school board. Those parties will then decide what actions to take.

“We also hope that people come into this process with an open mind and try and remember that we’re all trying to do something with one goal in mind, and that is what is best for all of the kids in our district,” Paul said.

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news // bathroom buzz

BATHROOM BUZZ

westside relies on consequences for vaping as opposed to nicotine detectors

W

ith the growing use of nicotine in school bathrooms Westside has implemented methods to prevent student vaping on school grounds.

Administration is aware of the usage of nicotine in school, and Principal Jay Opperman is taking steps to prevent it.

“Nicotine detectors are fairly new, no schools that I’m aware of in Omaha have implemented nicotine detectors,” Opperman said.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration electronic-cigarettes work by vaporizing a liquid that contains nicotine and, when the liquid is heated into an aerosol, users inhale it into their lungs. Teens are vaping in high schools nationwide and Westside is no exception. Jordan Rhodes, freshman and sophomore boys’ dean, said he wants students to be aware of the danger

of electronic-cigarette devices.

“I think the addictive nature of nicotine is a pretty scary one,” said Rhodes. “Students think one puff, no big deal but that repeated behavior overtime is not healthy and cannot be good for

teenagers, and I don’t know where that leads to next,” Opperman said.

Another concern is the possible danger of the chemicals in vapes.

“Juuls don’t necessarily have the tar that tobacco has, but we don’t know the exact dangers of these devices and probably won’t know for another five to ten years, and I’m not convinced the liquids used in vapes are safe,” Opperman said.

Opperman said he may be unsure of the dangers, but he has a plan for quelling their use.

“I think the long term solution is probably more about education, helping inform parents what to look for, so that we can work together in eliminating some of these devices from being in backpacks and pockets,” Opperman Said.

“We have consequences for kids that we catch vaping or with vaping materials, I think solutions lie more in that land rather than use of detectors,”

“I think the addictive nature of nicotine is a pretty scary one.”

Jordan Rhodes, Dean of Students their brains.”

“The vaping device we see being used most are Juuls. Which I believe are creating addictive behavior for

story by joe brunkhorst, graphic by megan maynard, design by brad griffin

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news // sound the alarm

SOUND THE ALARM administration installs new door alarms to increase safety

H

eading into the new school year, rumors about alarms being installed on exits throughout the building spread quickly among both students and teachers. Westside requires students to accumulate a minimum of 35 service hours in order to take advantage of the school’s open campus, so many students looking to leave lack the necessary requirements. This leads the way for the method of leaving through an unsupervised exit and having a friend inside the building prop the door open when they are ready to return. This year, students were greeted with a brand new alarm system installed on the exit in the 300s hallway near the Guidance IMC. Acknowledging that administration is indeed trying to tackle this problem, the question of “what’s next” in terms of Westside becoming a more secure building is important. “[Administration is] figuring out if there are other places we should put local door alarms or not, just to help discourage a behavior that doesn’t help with our safety and security of the building,” Principal Jay Opperman said. “One of our best ways to manage the entrance and exit of people in the building [is] actual humans.”

There are often staff stationed near some of the most popular exits, deterring students looking to leave the building without

permission. However, Opperman clarified that this heightened security’s sole intent is not to punish students who are looking to spend their open mods somewhere other than an IMC. “[Security is] always something we’re discussing,” Opperman said. “But if I’m being honest, the Parkland situation rekindled a stronger focus on school security.”

Recent tragedies have created discussion within the media about further precautions schools can take to prevent these happening in the future.

“The students are the ones in every corner of this building,” Hall Supervisor Rose Kent said.

“Ask the students and take some open-minded suggestions [on how to make school a safer place].”

Although there are no definite plans on more door alarms being installed at this time, administration said they will continue to discourage using unsupervised exits throughout the school with the students’ wellbeing in mind. “[Propping the door open for someone] seems like a simple thing at the time,” Opperman said. “But if the door didn’t get closed or someone was waiting there we didn’t want in the building, we just want to limit those opportunities to stay safe.”

“One of our best ways to manage the entrance and exit of people in the building [is] actual humans.”

Principal Jay Opperman

story by nick protzman, graphic by parker lefebvre, design by elliot evans

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news // sunshine on sunset

SUNSHINE ON SUNSET

Westside completes renovations of Sunset Hills story by will christiansen, photos by meghan maynard, design by abby schreiber Hills Elementary has a new look. It has Sa unset sleek and modern design with lots of natural light. Many classrooms look out onto the Happy Hollow Country Club golf course. Spacious common spaces give a pop of color and an interesting look to a new style of collaborative teaching. Gathering spaces feature moveable furniture and whiteboards perfect for small group projects, similar to the common spaces Westside Middle School created in the recent renovations.

The building opened on time on with a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 8. The project took about two-and-a-half years to build and it was under budget , according to project manager Joel McWilliams of Project Advocates. Not only was the school built efficiently, but it was built to last at least 50 years.

McWilliams and his team had to bring in approximately 24,000 cubic yards of dirt in order to level out the site for the school.

“In order to do this, we had to bring in trucks through the neighborhood,” McWilliams said. “So we had to coordinate with the homeowners, making sure that we were safe and respectful of their property,” Principal Michelle Patterson said all of McWilliams’ and his team’s work paid off in the final product.

“Students and staff love it,” Patterson said. “The kids seem happy, healthy and glad to be there.”

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Students like fifth-grader Hannah Liakos are excited about their new school as well.

“I like that the cafeteria is seperate from the gym,” Liakos said. “I also like how the classrooms are bigger so we can split into different small groups.”

The building was designed keeping the community

“We took this process very seriously and it shows in what the building looks like today.”

Joel McWilliams in mind. Through a Design Advisory committee made up of neighborhood members, staff, and administrators, the architects gathered information on what the community was looking for in a new school.

“We sat down for quite a few meetings to put the pieces together,” said McWilliams. “Through that

process, we figured out what we needed from a safety, security, and functionality standpoint; we took this process very seriously, and it shows in what the building looks like today.”

According to Patterson, one major change in the new building is the common spaces.

“There might be a whole classroom of kids in there doing silent reading or small groups working at tables,” Patterson said. “I’ve seen it being used for math lessons too. Some classes have used the space for indoor recess. You could also do science projects in there because you have access to sinks and a ton of counter space.”

These spaces were built to be versatile and to fit the growing population of the Sunset Hills community according to Patterson.

“The common spaces also feature built-in risers so you could lead instructional learning if you wanted to,” McWilliams said.

According to Patterson, the main goals in building the new Sunset were security and safety for students and staff. A fresh modern look that will inspire students for generations to pay homage to the look of the old Sunset Hills. This new building will continue to be the focal point of the Sunset Hills Community and will bring people together for decades to come.

The new Sunset Hills campus sits at 9503 Walnut St

opinion //a narrow window

A NARROW WINDOW standardized testing doesn’t show student’s full potential

E

very school year students get to face the viral plague known as the ACT. Symptoms of this plague include nausea, stress and obstruction of neurological pathways. The worst part is there are no practical ways to avoid the ACT. It’s something all of us have to suffer through together.

Most of us have found ourselves, at one point or another, asking questions such as, “Is the ACT really that effective at measuring my aptitude?” and “What does the ACT have to say that my GPA doesn’t?”

“I feel misrepresented by the ACT. I don’t like being summed up into a score,” senior Jonah Yeoman said. “It makes me feel like my interests outside of the core subjects don’t matter.”

I’d be willing to bet that this sentiment is shared throughout most students. So, the question is, what exactly does an ACT score say about a student?

“The ACT acts as a snapshot of a student’s capabilities on one particular day out of the year”said Vicki Londer, academic counselor. “There are too many factors that can contribute to the outcome a student gets for it to be considered the end all be all measurement of a student’s capabilities,” It seems like a student’s ACT score is more dependent on the external factors that lead up to the day rather than the information stored in the individual’s head. But that’s okay because that means in order to do well all you have to do is

eat, sleep and avoid stress the day before.

One might argue that it’s important to understand the material covered by the four sections of the ACT fully. While that’s a valid point, it’s not exactly practical. It’s more effective to study the way the ACT goes about formatting problems and mentally preparing for them. Learn how to read in between the lines, and you’ll often find hints to the answer inside the questions themselves.

“The environment created around the ACT is unhealthy, most of the strict rules that the ACT enforces seem unnecessary and do little but intimidate students,” Londer said.

It’s almost as if the ACT purposefully makes things hard for us. You would think students would be encouraged to bring drinks, like water and Gatorade, to stay hydrated during their four-hour prison sentence. However, the punishment for hydration in the testing areas is a voided test.

“Unfortunately, not much can be done to change the way we go about administering the ACT, but it’s up to the teachers to prepare students and to ease them into it so that way the day comes, students aren’t stressed and overwhelmed,” Londer said.

It’s up to us to work around these tight rules and to just get it done. It’s not all that bad though. ACT does provide a break half way between the test. It’s surprising how much water they expect one to drink in this small timeframe.

story by phil sokolof, graphic by brad griffin, design by elliot evans

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editorial // death policy vs. #bekind

DEATH POLICY VS. #BEKIND there must be more conversation around #bekind

T

he start of the new school year always seems to bring about some kind of change, either dreaded or welcomed. Last year, PBIS rolled through our school and continues to affect us today. This year, students were given bracelets in homeroom and watched a video on the importance of kindness. The #BeKind movement officially arrived at Westside. At the same time, a new death policy had been put into place, with little fanfare and acknowledgement.

“School officials must balance the desire to honor and remember a cherished individual with awareness and concern for the emotional well-being of all students [...]”, reads the new Westside death policy, “This must include avoiding actions which may, in the minds of some students, appear to glorify or glamorize the death or the manner of death.”

With the implementation of the new death policy for Westside schools, students are now held to the expectation of memorializing students who have passed away in a specific way. Along with integrating this new policy, Westside has also adopted the #BeKind movement, which was created in order to remind students to be compassionate in the wake of the death of Ralston superintendent Mark Adler’s son, Reid. #BeKind is a way for Adler to remind people to be nice to each other in an effort to prevent another parent having to experience the pain of losing their child from the malicious words of peers. But, with the new death policy in place, the two don’t exactly line up.

We think that the lack of communication on this matter between the administration and the students of Westside has lead to the students acknowledging some hypocrisy between the death policy and the #BeKind movement. When school started, there was no announcement given to the student body of either the death policy change or the #BeKind movement. Without the recognition of either of these changes, students have gotten the impression that the Westside

administration doesn’t want them to notice the overlap in the fact that the students of Westside can only memorialize a student death in a certain way. While #BeKind doesn’t memorialize the death of Adler, it still carries his memory in a way that the death policy implies is no longer allowed at Westside.

Another critique of the death policy is that the few contributions someone can make to remember those who died would be to make a financial contribution to the

graphic by abby schreiber, design by elliot evans

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school. This includes making a donation for scholarships, paying for a memorial brick or doing community services under the name of the person. Those options are also unfair because, for some families, it might not be financially feasible to buy something.

To promote the #BeKind movement, the student body got wristbands, teachers are wearing t-shirts with the hashtag on them and classrooms all around the school have reminders about it. The expectation for the students to follow the death policy and then contradicting it isn’t fair to the students because it seems that the district is going back on its word. It also results in general confusion about what is allowed and what isn’t. #BeKind is a beautiful movement that has spread the importance of kindness across the metro after a tragic event. The students of Westside High School support the initiative, even if we weren’t told exactly what it was about. Kindness can sometimes be lacking in our school environment and bringing the topic to the light again is important. The problem is the contradiction of the movement and our school’s death policy. It’s necessary to be consistent and open about what’s happening in our school and district, and we don’t have that right now.

In the journalism department, our own policy regarding death is that there would be a 300 word obituary written with the deceased yearbook mugshot. Someone could also take out an ad in the yearbook for the person to honor them. We have now realized our policy is similar to the new death policy. #BeKind has forced us, too, to reflect on our policies and consider making changes in our guidelines.

The #BeKind movement has not only let us notice the kindness of other people, but also the kindness that others leave behind, and the resounding impact of losing their voices has to our communities. We want the new death policy to do the same and make sure the voices aren’t silenced.

teaser // politics turns to high school

POLITICS TURNS TO HIGH SCHOOL O

n July 9, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat left by the resignation of Justice Kennedy. Kavanaugh has since been accused of sexual misconduct by two women and sexual assault by a third. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is the first woman who came forward and accused Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her at a gathering in the early 1980s when the two were in high school.

At a hearing on Sept. 27, Blasey Ford brought her accusations before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kavanaugh was then given the opportunity to respond, denying all accusations. Individuals around the nation watched the hearing

on TV and drew their own conclusions about the validity of the accusations. Both Kavanaugh and Blasey Ford have received threats due to the case.

Throughout the hearing, Democratic senators continually called for an FBI investigation of the case. Republican senators and Kavanaugh himself said they did not believe an FBI investigation would provide any more clarifying details.

On Sept. 28, the Senate Judiciary Committee decided to pursue a one week FBI investigation shortly after Republican Senator Jeff Flake was confronted in an elevator by two women who had experienced sexual assault. The Senate vote will take place in the next couple of days following the

report of the findings.

The investigators have been examining Kavanaugh’s high school and college years through looking at old yearbook comments, calendars and reports of heavy drinking in an attempt to discover the truth. But as politics turns back to high school, are high schoolers turning to politics?

Information compiled with reference to articles by The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and Newsweek *For more information on incidents of sexual misconduct and assault in high school, read the next issue of The Lance

Have you been following the Kavanaugh hearing at all?

YES

Freshman Jenna Liakos

“I just know it’s really annoying. I hear it all over Freshman Jenna Liakos the news.”

NO

Junior Neri Nguyen

NO

YES

Sophomore Blythe Grady

YES

Freshman Macy Rieser

NO

Junior Khedir Langford

“I know part of it. I just know it’s really confusing.”

Senior Gabi Hayford

“I mean, a little bit. I kind of try to stay out of it ... [I heard about it in] sociology. We were just watching it.”

story by malia battafarano, photos by meredith matz and malia battafarano, design by malia battafarano

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in-depth news // behind bekind

BEHIND BEKIND the story behind the hashtag story by eleanor dodge, photos by kenzie harden, design by julia steiner

Joni Adler, Reid Adler’s mother speaking at Beautiful Savior Church on Sept. 16.

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he #BeKind movement has taken Omaha by storm. Schools all around the city are embracing the movement and taking it into their own hands to spread kindness. Unfortunately, many students do not know what prompted this popular hashtag. #BeKind was started by Ralston Superintendent, Mark Adler after his fifteen-year-old son, Reid, committed suicide on Jan. 7, 2016. Reid Adler was halfway through his freshman year at Ralston High School when this tragedy happened.

According to Reid’s parents, Mark and Joni Adler, Reid was the victim of bullying and prolonged intimidation after he sent an explicit picture to a girl.

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They said the girl began to bully Reid about the photo and threatened to post it if he didn’t do as she said.

These threats continued for almost a year before she finally posted the picture. The next morning Reid Adler committed suicide.

“I’m certain that if a little kindness had been extended through this journey that Reid was on that we wouldn’t be here today,” Mark Adler said during a talk he gave at Beautiful Savior Church on Sept. 16.

Mark Adler now gives speeches around the community, working to share Reid’s story and spread the #BeKind movement.

After their son’s death, the Adlers decided that rather

than letting grief take over them, they would work to bring more kindness into the community. They now work to raise awareness of mental health and bullying, in addition to advocating for suicide prevention.

“Suicide is not the end of pain,” Joni Adler said. “It is simply transferred to others, transferred to the ones who love you most.”

She and her husband said they want people to know that suicide should never be an option. They encourage students to seek help and tell someone if they or a friend ever experience suicidal thoughts.

They also ask students to stand up to bullying and said they want to eliminate it from schools in Omaha.

in-depth news // why coffee is so cool They urge students to be nicer and more forgiving to one another.

“If we all continue to practice an eye for an eye we will all end up blind,” Joni Adler said.

Joni Adler said she hopes students will learn to let things go and forgive each other. The Adlers said they created the #BeKind movement in order to bring kindness into their community in a way that honored and embodied their son. “[Reid] didn’t see differences, he just saw, ‘Hey, this is my friend and I want to include you in the things I’m doing,” Mark Adler said. “He didn’t get up every day and say, ‘Hey, I’m gonna be kind.’ That’s just who he was, and that was probably one of the things I’m most proud of him for.”

The Adlers said he was the kind of kid who never needed a reminder to be kind.

“Kindness is something that is an investment in each other and it costs zero, but the dividends will pay forever” Mark Adler said.

He said he believes that spreading kindness is the key to making Omaha a better place to live and helping out kids like his son. The Adlers said they have been pleased to see the movement catch on throughout the city. “#BeKind is about all of us,” said Jim Sutfin, the superintendent for Millard Public Schools and close friend of Mark Adler. “It isn’t a marketing plan. It isn’t

“Kindness is something that is an investment in each other and it costs zero, but the dividends will pay forever.”

Ralston Superintendent Mark Adler

a buzzword. #BeKind is about developing our own character, about developing others around us and about being of service to each other, and I think that is the most powerful thing we can do as a community is to be kind to each other.”

Millard was one of the first Omaha districts to embrace the #BeKind movement.

“Every place has taken a little different angle on it, but the different angles are so cool to see how powerful they are and how creative they are and I really think that goes back to, [how] I still think we have awesome kids all across our city and in Nebraska, and I’m just proud of them for the leadership that they brought,” Mark Adler said.

The movement has become extremely well-known and successful in the Omaha area, even earning itself a day. Omaha officials recently declared Aug. 24 ‘Be Kind Day.’ Going forward, the Adlers said they hope to continue to spread the #BeKind movement as well as awareness of bullying and suicide.

“I hope as we go forward that, you know, when people are having interactions when they’re living their life, that they always think about how. ‘How is it that I’m treating somebody?’” Mark Adler said. “‘How is it I’m being perceived?’ and hopefully that’s in a positive manner. And if that happens, I think we’re definitely going to have a better place for all of us to live.”

#BeKind succulents being sold at Beautiful Savior Church on Sept. 16 in support of the movement.

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in-depth news // counselor change

SUPPLYING SOCIAL SUPPORT changes within the guidance department

Seniors Margot Ruff, Grant Jabenis, Destiny Howard, Reyna Mack and junior Jaycie Swanson studying in the Guidance IMC.

story by claire benson, photo and design by julia steiner

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estside’s guidance department recently implemented a major change into their structure.

As of last year, students were given only an academic counselor. This year, students have an academic as well as a social emotional counselor. This gives students the opportunity to meet with multiple trusted adults to not only discuss their academics, but also personal conflicts that may occur.

Head of the guidance department Vicki Londer said she feels as though students were not given enough resources previously.

“We have seen an increased need for [resources for] students with mental health issues, overall wellness issues if you will, and we as counselors in our department felt as if we weren’t meeting the students’ needs,” Londer said. “We weren’t able to give them everything they needed, the time they needed, the support they needed, just in general we felt as if we were reacting to everything and not really doing much to be proactive in helping them be more successful.”

Londer explained how the department proceeded to meet and discuss future options on how to provide students with a better environment.

“We met last January as a department, offsite, and had an entire day to talk about if we could have the ideal department, how we would structure it so we could better meet the needs of kids,” Londer said. “We found that [some] counselors would really rather do the social/emotional piece with students and [some] counselors would really rather focus on the academics.”

This change gives each student the opportunity to have an academic counselor as well as a social emotional counselor. This allows them to benefit from

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having two adults in the building that they can go to, something which has already invoked a positive impact.

“We already have seen a tremendous benefit with our students, just from working with our deans and administration and those kids that are maybe just struggling,” Londer said. “They’re already having kids meet with a social emotional counselor just so they have that other person to touch base with and ... build that relationship.”

Ted Dondlinger has been an academic counselor in the past, but has now transitioned into the position of a social/ emotional counselor. Dondlinger feels that not only the students are benefited by the change, but the counselors are as well.

“I get to do the things I do well,” Dondlinger said. “I go home the past three weeks and just feel very, very fulfilled,

because I’m doing stuff that I love. Any time [students] get to work with [their] strengths and [their] weaknesses, I think positive things are going to happen.”

Senior Neha Khalid said she has found having both a social emotional counselor and an academic counselor to be very helpful and is overall supportive of the change.

“The change in the counselors has impacted me, because it’s been really nice to just be able to go to a counselor and tell them how my day’s been, and have them listen and give me advice on stuff that an academic counselor couldn’t tell [me],” Khalid said.

“I think the change Westside made for the counselors is a really beneficial one for the students, because you have two separate parts of your life: inside of school and outside of school, and Westside made a change that reflects that,” Khalid said.

in-depth opinion // #bekind opinion

A FLAWED MOVEMENT what the district should be doing for #BeKind story by natalie gill, graphic by abby schreiber, design by julia steiner

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he start of a new school year means implementing new expectations for the school environment. The most notable this year is the #BeKind movement spreading throughout schools in the metro area. #BeKind is a way to spread positivity and kindness to one another, rather than diffusing hate. In my opinion, #BeKind is a great idea in itself, but is not being carried out effectively by the district.

This recent movement of benevolence was started by Mark Adler, Ralston superintendent, and his wife, Joni. They lost their son, Reid, in 2016 to suicide after he had been tormented online. In the aftermath of Reid’s passing, the Adlers have started the #BeKind movement to remind students of the importance of being compassionate towards peers. Of course, students have always been told to be nice to others and to never become a bully. But with a positive message being put into effect across the metro schools, the high school students of Omaha can develop a better understanding of being more amiable to each other. This is, of course, a good idea.

One way that Westside High School is putting the #BeKind movement into effect is through student council. Student council has been promoting kindness to the student body by placing stickers around the school with the reminder to be kind.

Student council is also getting Westside’s clubs to support the idea of being more considerate. Members of student council also tweeted out a message, prompting the students of Westside to #BeKind. Student council member Lindsay Tierra said she believes these new kindness procedures will definitely help Westside become a nicer place.

“It should help and will help spread kindness,” Tierra said. “I know that some people have been against it [...] [but] #BeKind is supposed to spread positivity and make sure that each student knows that they can go to someone to talk to and that a simple act of kindness can brighten someone’s day.”

Again, I see this as positive. However, a flaw with the movement is the lack of information on ways students can apply

kindness to real high school situations. #BeKind focuses on being a better person, which of course is a positive message to send to teenagers, but how can teens become better people if they lack the skills to incorporate compassion into their daily lives? It seems that quite a bit of hate stems from ignorance, which could be solved by students learning to become more respectful of the diversity around them.

The guidance department is also striving to enforce the #BeKind message by designating emotional counselors. These emotional counselors are now a way for students to feel like they have a way to talk about their problems with someone. Freshmen group guidance consists of talking about being kind to yourself, which will eventually make you kind to others. Dr. Vicki Londer, the guidance department chair, said she can see #BeKind impacting students at Westside in the future.

“I just really hope that it resonates with students and that they start to take care of each other,” Londer said. “We just really hope that it takes off and kids just start to be more kind to themselves and be less critical of themselves which in turn will help them be more kind to others and really lift others up and just really make Westside a welcoming place for everybody.”

While #BeKind efforts are a positive way to go about solving the unacceptable amount of hate that is constantly floating through the life of high school students, it feels -- in my opinion -- ineffective.

The movement was kept under the radar until students of Westside were given bracelets that remind them to be kind, with no further explanation. Students could have asked more questions or the teachers could have brought more attention to the matter of making kindness a routine here at Westside. #BeKind is a small step in the right direction of a more caring and accepting society, but, until students can truly take the message to heart, schools will remain a place of judgement and hostility.

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in-depth // swimming together

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t Underwood Hills, teachers and students are striving for inclusion in their Peer Modeling Program. The developing program is made up of classrooms with 12 students, six typically-developing and six with an identified disability. “[The program] provides all children the opportunity to come in and have access to the general curriculum, learn with their same-aged peers, have the same opportunities,” Kate Staples, a teacher for the program, said. “For the students that are identified with a disability, it gives them an opportunity to have their goals, the things they are working on, embedded into their daily routines … They are practicing it every single day in a natural environment.”

The main purpose of the program is to teach inclusion and acceptance in the classroom.

“It’s not just a tolerance of kids who are different, it’s an acceptance, so we want to model that from the very get go,” Jeanette Lengmann, program coordinator, said. “Everybody is different in some way we accept all kids as they are.”

The program has been around since the late 1970s, but is constantly improving and changing, according to Lengmann. The program has grown from seven children in 2011 to almost 200 today.

The classrooms are run like a typical preschool, where everyone is set at the same standards and no one is left behind. Each day, the students with disabilities are paired with a buddy that is typically-developing. The children that are identified with a disabil-

ity are learning how to behave in a normal classroom setting, while the typically-developing student is learning acceptance for their friend.

“For example, when we go to line up, I find their [students identified with a disability] friends looking to see if someone needs help cleaning up instead of just going and lining up,” Staples said. “Or, just taking care of themselves, they’ll look for a friend and see if they need help.”

Kids are learning to help their peers without having to be told.

“And the beauty is, #BeKind, you know, the kids do that on their own without an adult intervening and saying they need help… when they move on to kindergarten they will continue to do that,” Lengmann said.

The peer models, students that are typically-developing, get free admission to the preschool, but must meet requirements, such as basic social skills. The children identified with disabilities get admission through the Free And Public Education law, which mandates that children with disabilities will have schooling from the time they are born.

One family at Underwood Hills has a typically-developing peer model and a child identified with a disability participating in the program. The family consists of two twins, LJ, who has Down syndrome and his sister Harper.

“For me, the most impactful part [of the program] is there is an expectation that everyone is more alike than different,” Their mom, Kendra Ely, said. “Harper is going to be held to the same standard as LJ, and LJ is going to be held to the same standard

SWIMMING TOGETHER

underwood hills introduces new inclusive program LJ Ely in his classroom at Underwood Hills.

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she is.”

“I really liked the peer model program and I thought it would be great for both kids, because it would allow them to go together in same school, but be in different classrooms…,” Ely said. “It kind of gave us the best of both worlds.”

The program does not only teach the children how to act in a school setting but is showing them how to act in the world.

“LJ is communicating more and using his voice to vocalize…,” Ely said, “They have been really receptive to utilizing different types of communication in the classroom.”

The school is teaching these skills through fun and academic activities.

When asked what his favorite part of the day was LJ responded, “Slide and dancing,” through sign language that his mom translated. Harper responded that her favorite part of the day was “music.”

It’s not just about learning your ABC’s in the peer modeling classrooms.

The program was made to teach kids identified with a disability how to act, but has grown into a classroom teaching acceptance and love for everyone.

“One quote we use in our classroom is ‘even though we may be different fish we all swim together,’” Staples said.

story by luke steiner, photo by lydia kasem, design by isabella tyler

feature // german exchange student

EX-CHANGED EXPERIENCE

german exchange student’s journey in a new home story by angelina pattavina, photo by eleanor dodge, design by vinny nelson

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ooped up in multiple airports for over two days, thousands of miles away, dealing with cranky customer service, cancelled flights and emptying an entire suitcase just because of a jacket with pins isn’t how sophomore Jule Wessels planned to start her year in the United States.

In order for Wessels to get to the U.S., she had to take several flights in 48 hours.

Many things went wrong. By the time she arrived in Omaha, she said she already missed her home town Vechta, Germany.

“I had to wait at a gate while I was in New York and I saw my flight was not on the display,” Wessels said. “I was then told I had missed my flight, but the woman that told me that got it wrong. It was very stressful, and I was crying. [Customer service] told [me] to go to another gate, then I had to go back to the same one. Again, I was sent to another gate, all to be told the flight was cancelled. When you’re 17 on your own, you want to just get home.”

Wessels has come from Vechta in the German state of Lower Saxony, 4,530 miles from Omaha, to be a Rotary Youth

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Exchange student here at Westside.

She is staying in the house of Laila Seran, who would be a sophomore this year, but is currently studying in Germany, also through Rotary.

Wessels was in the Gymnasium school. This school is one of the main schools where students go based on their education level. It is for honors students from grades five to 13. She is now studying as a sophomore at Westside and taking classes such as French, Foods and Nutrition and Advanced Algebra. Getting used to school in the United States has been a big experience for Wessels.

“I don’t have open mods at my school,” Wessels said. “We have a five minute passing period between classes.

[During my day], I have six lessons, mostly just three subjects. So, it goes, first class is math for 45 minutes, then five minute break, then the next lesson is a 45 minute math [class].”

The rest of the week, Wessels had the same setup, but her classes changed. Wessels said her homework load is also much lighter and easier

here compared to back home.

“In Germany you have homework in biology, chemistry and physics,” Wessels said. “Each day I would spend two hours on homework in things like art, chemistry and religion, [classes] I have once a week. English, French, math and German I have two times [a week]. So I will have [a week to do the homework], but it’s not as much time as you think.”

Wessels has also been able to experience American traditions that she doesn’t get to experience in Germany. She’s met new people and attended her first football game. Her house mother, Robin Seran, helped Wessels to enjoy these experiences.

“It’s almost like we have moved into a new district,” Seran said. “I’m trying to help her make new friends, go to events where she can meet new people and that type of thing.”

Seran said daily tasks for the average person such as going to Costco or going to the movies at Majestic are things that Wessels gets to experience that are huge in her eyes. Even being able to choose from all the different classes was fun for her.

feature // german exchange student

“[With] Jule, you have to explain the different clubs or the different expectations of school, academics and extracurricular and social type things,” Seran said. “It’s fun to see things through someone else’s eyes.

It’s like a new experience for yourself.”

Seran said she tries to make Wessels feel at home as much as she can.

As part of the Rotary Exchange, the student is treated as if they are part of the family, so they go to all family events and respect the family’s rules.

“It’s so nice [being in my new house],” Wessels said. “I didn’t expect to feel [at] home so quick. The first month was over in a minute. When I look back, I’m like, ‘Whoa, this is fast.’ I really appreciate that I’m at Robin’s and with Orhan [Wessels house father] … It’s really nice to feel at home so quick.”

There have been some things that We s s e l s and Seran have had to get accustomed to while living with each other, such as how many times Seran should wake Wessels in the morning or other family events.

But, they live together and act like a normal family would. A part of living with the Serans that Wessels said she has gotten used to is the food.

“You would think food is food,” Wessels said. “It tastes different, and they make it different. So, at home, potatoes are what we eat the most. They eat very spicy [foods].

Every time I’m eating I have to have milk because it’s so hot.”

The difference in traditions in America and any other country are things that not many people get to experience or often think about.

This is something Wessels has lived through for the past few months.

Wessels said she is still continuing to explore and discover more about the United States.

Seran said Wessels can’t wait for popular American traditions like a powwow or Halloween.

Every day is a new adventure.

“There’s little things that always turn up every day,” Seran said. “It’s a different experience [for her] of things we take for granted that other countries don’t have.”

Sophomore Jule Wessels talks about the significance and importance of her Rotary jacket.

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feature // fun with the nuns

FUN WITH THE NUNS Warrior Theatre debuts “Sister Act” story by abby schreiber, photo by ryan alger, design by abby schreiber

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n her first show with Warrior Theatre, senior Tatenda Chivero will be joining the fall production of “Sister Act” to bring the role of Deloris Van Cartier to life. The show centers around Chivero’s character going from being a lounge singer in Reno to leading a choir as a nun in a San Francisco convent.

“I’ve performed for cabaret and choir,” Chivero said. “I’ve done some plays a long time ago, I think in elementary school back when I was still into Broadway.

That’s about as much experience as I’ve had … I’ve generally had an interest in the performing arts, and I thought [the musical] would be a very great thing to do for my senior year. I looked into the musical itself, and I just thought that it would be such a great story and it would’ve been so fun to act that out.”

While Chivero said she was enthusiastic about the show prior to her audition, she didn’t expect to star in the show.

“I think going into [the audition] I was a little bit nervous,” Chivero said. “I wanted to be part of the musical, even if it was a smaller role … Finding out that I got the role [of Deloris Van Cartier] was very exciting for me.”

Even though Chivero hasn’t performed for Warrior Theatre, directors Jeremy Stoll and Greg Woodin said they saw promise in her performance abilities.

“She has a gorgeous voice,” Stoll said. “She can sing

Senior Tatenda Chivero rehearses for “Sister Act” soul really well, but she also has the right range for the role of Deloris … I saw a lot of natural potential for her to become an actress.”

Woodin said he believes that Tatenda is able to embody the role of Deloris in “Sister Act.”

“I really wanted to celebrate diversity within our choral program and within our school and ‘Sister Act’ was a really great opportunity to do that.”

Greg Woodin “She’s such a sweet, sweet person so seeing her audition as Deloris, who’s this super sassy woman … was really fun and really impressive,” Woodin said.

“It’s just a really funny and super fun musical.”

The comedy in “Sister Act” was one of the main reasons Woodin said he wanted to perform the musical,

which contrasts the heavy and emotional theme of “Dogfight,” which was showcased last year. Unlike “Dogfight,” it also showcases Warrior Theatre’s diverse ensemble. “‘Dogfight’ was really male-heavy, so I wanted to do a female-lead musical,” Woodin said. “I really wanted to celebrate diversity within our choral program and within our school and ‘Sister Act’ was a really great opportunity to do that.”

Although this musical leans more towards the lighthearted side compared to “Dogfight,” Chivero said she sees an important message for the audience to take in while watching “Sister Act.” “People should come see the show because it’s a great story,” Chivero said. “It really is. It could be a lesson for the people that watch it that if things don’t go your way, maybe you should just look around.

Maybe there’s actually an answer in your current circumstances that’s an answer that you weren’t looking for.”

“Sister Act” premieres on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. and will continue on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $8 for students and seniors and $12 for adults.

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feature // tech savvy teachers

TECH SAVVY TEACHERS westside brings in new additions to their tech department I

n the classrooms of the Westside School District, there is a touch of technology everywhere, from kindergarteners with iPads in hand to high schoolers with laptops in their backpacks.

With all this technology, there is bound to be some problems, and to help with that is tech support. This year, there are two new tech support workers, Travis Vo and Michelle Siderewicz.

They were both hired earlier this spring and said they have really enjoyed working at the high school.

“I started my job with Westside in March,” Vo said. “I actually got a job at Boys and Girls Club in January, that was at Westbrook. That got me into the district, and I really liked my time there, so I wanted to work at the high school.”

Siderewicz came from Google, where she worked as a contractor. She said she had different reasons for looking into a job at Westside.

“I started working at Westside in early May,” Siderewicz said, ”It took a few months for me to get on. This job is a lot closer to where I live. My son goes to this school district. I am very passionate about education. The opportunity to help teachers help students is awesome.”

Although Siderewicz and Vo are both working in the tech support room, their jobs are somewhat different.

“I’m a technology support specialist,” Vo said. “I work with the teachers, staff and students here on their computer problems, so anything softwarerelated. If they want to download something on their computer, I look at it.”

According to Vo, every day is different and something new for him to resolve.

Siderewicz works at the front desk of the tech support room and is the first source to go to for help.

“I do a lot of filing, walking students through how to make sure their internet access is working properly, helping you guys download apps, putting in the administrative password for things a lot,” Siderewicz said.

Siderewicz mainly helps out students before a different tech has to address it. If she can help quickly, it can save time and students will have their computers back sooner.

For many years, it seemed that most tech support workers were men.

Although there have been more women working in tech support since the 1990s, the majority of workers have been men.

“Working in technology as a woman is hard,” Siderewicz said, “[...], there are not a lot of women doing it. When they go out to hire, even if they want diversity, they are going to have a lot more applicants who aren’t women compared to men. It is not only challenging as a woman to stand out more, it is challenging from an employer’s standpoint to just find women who are willing to do the work well.”

Both Vo and Siderewicz said they have really enjoyed their jobs so far and have plans for the future.

“I love my job here,” Vo said. “ It’s challenging at times because you have to learn how to work with the students and staff here. I know what I’m talking about when it comes to technology, but trying to explain to the other person is the challenging part.”

Vo also said that he is planning on staying at Westside in the position he has.

“My plan is to stay at Westside,” Vo said. “Westside has a great oneto-one program that I’m really interested in continuing here. I love Apple products, so Westside being one of the only districts with Apple products makes it very interesting.”

Siderewicz has plans for the future, as well.

“I definitely want to get more involved in tech support,” Siderewicz said. “I have a long-term plan to end up going into project management for Information and Technology. I would be the head of a group of IT people, whether it be designing a website or something else.”

Michelle Siderwicz works at a computer in the tech support center.

story by brooklyn james, photo by emma rieser, design by isabella tyler

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feature // hottman sisters

HOTTMAN SISTERS

an omaha-native band transforming the indie music scene

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ack in the early 2,000’s, the indie rock music scene in Omaha consisted of bands alternative vibe. Recently, the sisters have been touring the country. Heather Hottman like Bright Eyes, 311 and The Faint. Now, there’s a new Omaha-native band on said they love going on tour and being able to see new places. the rise. The Hottman Sisters are comprised of two sisters and a former Westside “We aren’t in any hurry to relocate out of Omaha, but it’s really dependent on a few musician. The Hottman Sisters are getting ready to take the Midwest music scene by things over the next couple of months,” Jessica Hottman said. storm.

Jessica and Heather Hottman said they love to perform live shows. They spend In 2015, two sisters, Jessica and Heather Hottman, decided to turn their family-driven countless hours in the studio planning and playing until they create the perfect sound. passion for music into a career with their indie, electronic band, The Hottman Sisters.

“We like to be really intentional with our live shows,” Jessica Hottman said.

Jessica and Heather Hottman, along with Westside alumnus and drummer Ed Genzlaff, They’ve played different types of shows in all areas of the country. No matter how far are performing their music all over Omaha. Jessica and Heather were born and raised in they travel, they said always have each other to depend on while out on the road.

Omaha into a family where music flowed all around them. The sisters began singing in “My favorite moments are when we break out of it and just look at each other and church, creating musicals in their basement, and looking for local coffeehouses around do something different,” Jessica Hottman said. “We look at each other and it’s like, ‘Oh town that would let them share their talents. yeah, we love playing music together,’ and then something magical happens.”

“We spent countless hours jamming in the basement They both said they value strong of our house,” Jessica Hottman said. “Our mom is also a vocals and harmonies, which clearly comes through in many musician, so she would play drums and someone would play of their songs such as “This Two.” guitar and another person would sing. There was always “I love folky, old school country, and eclectic pop is music.” definitely where it’s at,” Heather Hottman said. “I love when Jessica and Heather Hottman said they had minimal the blend of genres really works for [a] band. We like to spin formal training in both voice and instrumentals before their off of different genres.” careers began. As for Genzlaff, he got his start in band at The sisters said they have big dreams of being able to Loveland Elementary in fifth grade. He continued his work with different artists all throughout their career. Their musical career all throughout his time at Westside. He was dream is to one day collaborate with Justin Timberlake, involved in jazz band and drumline. He later continued his Kanye West and The National. passion of music in college.

The future of the Hottman Sisters is growing by the day.

The school district has been brought into the lives of these “We want to continue to put out new music, to tour, and to musicians at many stages of their lives. Genzlaff said he found just keep pushing the envelope,” Jessica Hottman said. his passion for music in the band room of Westside High school, while Jessica Hottman Above all, they said they are always looking began her teaching career as a student teacher at Swanson Elementary. to improve their sound and have the freedom to do what they want to do. They said “Westside had the environment that inspired me to really go after music,” Genzlaff they aren’t scared of what the fame has to bring. said. “My senior year, I tried to enroll in every music class I could. I had a lot of teachers “As long as your roots are true and you’re standing on something you want to be there that really shaped the way I think of music.” standing on, then it’s more exciting than scary,” Jessica Hottman said. “We don’t want When Jessica Hottman student taught in District 66, she said she often tried to to skip steps, because then there isn’t a solid foundation built, and it’s too easy to fall.” incorporate music into the classroom, but found there was still something missing in her The sisters said they want their music to speak to everyone, not just one certain group of life. At the time, Heather Hottman was living in Nashville and wanted to pursue music in people. They want everyone who simply loves good music to come and take a chance a professional way. After brief conversations over the phone, the sisters decided to form on them. a group for real and see if they could make a name for themselves.

The Hottman Sisters just put out their new single “Fire” and they “We started with open mics around Omaha,” Heather Hottman said. “We had sort of a have a release show at the Waiting Room on Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. Their songs are grass roots kind of a feel back then. After a while, Jess had the idea to go electronically available on all digital music platforms. and that’s been a blast.”

“I am so glad I have these people next to me having this incredible experience,” The sound of the band has transformed from an acoustic sound to a rock, electronic- Heather Hottman said. “It is special to be connected by music.”

23 story by daisy friedman, photos by brad griffin, design by elliot evans

“We love playing music together... something magical happens” Jessica Hottman.

feature // inside the minds of class officers

Seniors Madigan Brodsky, Mily Loo, Tierney Schirmer pose for a photo.

INSIDE THE MINDS OF CLASS OFFICERS class officers aim to make memorable year

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hen an individual is elected class officer, it is part of their responsibility to plan and organize school events.

However, these officers can also play a crucial role in how students’ high school years are remembered. Senior class president Roshan Sapkota, senior vice president Milly Loo and junior class vice president Lauren Kruger aim to incorporate everyone in making it a memorable year.

“Class officers take care of some things that I think are good for a senior class,” said Benjamin Baber, senior class officer advisor.“For example,some of the things they work on [are] designing the graduation announcements that every senior will mail out to their family announcing when graduation is. ... They [also] come up with the senior class motto and then we have a vote for the students.”

Not unlike the class officers themselves,

Baber said he wants to involve the students.

“I’ll bet you not everyone will remember who the class officers [were], but it’s just to try to let people know that they were involved in their senior year,” Baber said.

Although originally senior class president Roshan Sapkota didn’t know that he would be elected, he feels good that he was chosen, he said.

“It kind of gives me pride,” Sapkota said. “Well, in the beginning, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know people were going to pick for certain positions and stuff like that, but it gives me a sense of pride. People chose me and voted for me as class officer, meaning that they think that I can rightfully represent them. That felt humbling, it felt nice.”

Sapkota said that he plans to make the 2018 to 2019 school year more interesting for his peers and the teachers of Westside.

“[People] think that I can rightfully represent them.

That felt humbling” Junior Roshan Sapkota

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“I want to give back to my peers, first of all,” Sapkota said. “Peers and then teachers, by making this last year a little more exciting by planning the senior photos ... and just some activities here and there that Mr. Baber and I can plan together for the class of 2019 and also the teachers that helped us get here.”

Milly Loo, senior class vice president, has a different outlook on her position.

“It’s exciting,” Loo said. “It’s a really good accomplishment. I can say I’m vice president of the senior class. I’m just proud that I’ve got to be able to say that I’m taking six AP classes [and] I’m senior class officer. I can just add it to my list of accomplishments.”

Loo said she wants to impact the year, and one way she plans to do so is through the creation of senior t-shirts.

“The t-shirts should be something that people will remember and have for almost the rest of their lives after they graduate … [my goal is] just for people to have a memorable time outside of high school,” Loo said.

One thing Loo said she is looking forward to is incorporating as many people as possible this year. Loo hopes to use the upcoming senior movie, a collection of videos and photos submitted by the senior class, as a way to incorporate her peers.

“I’m really looking forward to making the movie with the seniors …,” Loo said. “Usually when you do stuff like senior prank it’s only a specific group of people, so I really want to try and incorporate as many people as [we] can.”

Lauren Kruger, junior, said the position of vice president makes her feel good about the trust given to her.

“I feel like I did something,” Kruger said.

“There was quite a few people who wanted this position, and honestly it means a lot to me that I actually got the position. … It makes me feel good about myself ... [when people] trust you enough and your organizational skills to be good at planning this or doing that.”

Kruger wants to improve the school through providing a place where students can be heard.

She wants to include the students whose voices aren’t heard as frequently as others voices are.

“I would try to make [the school] a place where your voice could get heard, because I feel like a lot of people think that there’s a small minority of students that are always like on top,” Kruger said. “Their voices are always getting heard above all else, so I would want to say if anyone wants to spread their opinions or get their voice out there, I would try to help them achieve that.”

story by faith rice, photo by nolan spisak, design by elliot evans

sports // head in the game

HEAD IN THE GAME football coach teaches meditation and mindfulness T

here is a mental side to football. A stressful, nervous, tedious side to football. This is where kicking/tight end coach Garet Moravec comes in. Moravec has been working with Westside’s football team the past two seasons, serving a role as the team’s psychologist and assistant coach.

Moravec wakes up and is either at the District 66 schools mentoring or is busy running his own cybersecurity business Bend the Bar. But when the clock hits 3 p.m., he is on the football field talking strategy with other coaches.

He brings a different perspective to football with his experience in sports psychology.

Moravec’s father studied psychology at the University of Maryland, and during his time there Moravec was able to get plenty of exposure. According to Moravec, his father’s classmates would come to their house, and they would use what they had learned in class on Moavec.

“I got tremendous exposure to psychology in a safe environment where I felt comfortable,” Moravec said.

This week, Moravec was emphasizing focus with his players. After a normal Wednesday practice, they gathered around to see what Moravec had to say and watched in anticipation as Moravec began. He brought a laser pointer, a bright electric flashlight, and a low-power manual flashlight. He also brought three red balloons along with him. He had three players volunteer to come up and hold the lights. The low-quality light was barely visible on the balloon. The second light was visible, but was not seen well.

Then, the laser pointer, a green beam you couldn’t miss. He told the player to slowly get the laser closer to the balloon.

After about ten seconds of suspenseful waiting, pop. The balloon exploded, and the players looked around mouths wide open with curiosity, wondering how he got the beam of light to pop the balloon. Each flashlight symbolized a different level of focus, and the balloon served as the goal.

This was one of Moravec’s many lessons he will teach the

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players throughout the course of the 2018 football season.

“The meetings are about mental training and performance enhancement,” Moravec said. “How do they improve their performance not just on the football field, but in life, in school? I’m trying to teach them to look at things from a different perspective.”

These lessons are all meant to focus on important life lessons, all the while serving a purpose on the field, he said.

Moravec has a list of subjects he wishes to cover every Wednesday for the remainder of the season. Each subject

“[Moravec] helps us keep composure in stressful moments during the game and has helped keep our focus.”

Senior Cade Jochum contains a lesson that, according to Moravec, will hopefully give valuable experiences that the players can hold onto.

Moravec said that he looks at his players as his children because he has none of his own. Senior Joe Stegman is one of the leaders on the team who said he appreciates what Moravec brings to the table.

“He’s somebody you can go to for your problems,” Stegman said. “On the field or off, he’s there to help,” According to peaksports.com, the most common role in sports psychology is teaching mental skills that enhance performance on the field. This describes exactly what Moravec is doing. He is teaching skills that can help on the

field, but, according to Moravec, also in other aspects of life. Meditation is one of the many skills Moravec asks his players to attempt to master. Moravec requests that each player meditate twice a day so that time can serve as a time to clear their mind and relax.

These meditation periods provide the players with a time to clear their heads after a day of school and practice.

According to Moravec, it will help with their in-school and in-game performances.

“Trying to put [the players] in someone else’s shoes,” Moravec said. “Or recognize that their behavior and concept of what happens is all within their control.”

Along with being the team’s sports psychologist, Moravec is also the tight end/kicking coach.

Moravec said he was interested in a coaching position since he began living in the Omaha area in 2001. He said he was interested specifically in Westside, so he called Athletic Director Tom Kerkman. One thing lead to another and he interviewed with head coach Brett Froendt.

Froendt said that he was simply looking for a coach and that he was very lucky to have Moravec call in and present himself available for a position on the staff. Although Moravec’s coaching experience was from a while ago, Froendt said he was surprised and is grateful for the psychology experience Moravec is able to provide.

“The interview process wasn’t really extensive,” Froendt said. “He mentioned that he had this unique background and I thought that might be a nice fit especially coming off from what we learned from our Navy SEAL speaker.”

So far, according to Froendt, Moravec has been able to make a change in the mental piece of the sport for the team and has been able to make the Warriors a strong-minded team as a whole.

“He brings the mental toughness and mental focus aspect that is difficult to achieve at this level,” Froendt said.

Being the tight-end/kicking coach gave Moravec a

position he said he felt he would be able to help out in.

Moravec said he felt he would be able to make an impact on the performance of the team in a positive manner.

“Here’s my chance to make a difference again,” Moravec said. ”I took the chance of just asking and I got my first choice.”

Moravec has been given a chance to assist in more ways than one. His experience coaching high school at TC Williams High School in Alexandria , Vi rg i n i a will come in handy as he is stepping into a role for a team who has high standards for themselves.

So far, Moravec has been able to meet those high standards, according to senior C a d e Jochum.

Jochum is both a punter and a tight end.

Both of these positions fall under the supervision of Moravec.

“He really helps me visualize myself making plays out there,” Jochum said. “Staying calm when I make my cut, when I’m trying to get open, or visualizing my kicks.

He’s been great for me and for the whole team.”

Moravec said he wishes his players were appreciated just as he feels he is. Some players on the varsity football team gave him a nickname: “The Wizard.” After sharing his stories with the team ,they felt that Moravec had something special to share. This makes Moravec feel even more comfortable in with the team.

“It’s flattering in that they’re giving me an affectionate term,” Moravec said. “They are the children I never had, and I want to know them the rest of their lives.”

said.

Jochum has the ability to be close to Moravec in practices because he is a tight end and also a punter. Both positions are under Moravec’s supervision.

According to Jochum, he was able to earn the trust of the players and the coaches. Moravec has solidified his spot as a valuable asset for the Westside varsity football team as an assistant coach and team psychologist.

Jochum said that he appreciates Moravec for everything he’s done for the program.

According to Jochum, Moravec has been able to help get the team ready for each game with his mental strength techniques.

“He helps us keep composure in stressful moments during the game, and has helped keep our focus,” Jochum

story by eli mccabe, graphics and design by sam cohen

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sports // powderpu power

POWDERPUFF POWER the DECA-sponsored tradition has another successful year

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n October 1st, the junior and senior girls competed in the annual powderpuff football game sponsored by Westside DECA. By the end of the game, the seniors had beaten the juniors 14-0. The junior and senior boys dance teams also competed for the best routine. The seniors won based on a Twitter poll from Westside DECA where they obtained 64% of the votes.

Juniors Annie Bitzes and Abby Hellman play against senior Rachelle Tomasek.

Seniors Matthew Sutej, Nick Connelly, Tommy Oldenhuis, Nolan Breedlove, and Nolan Miller Johnston represent the seniors in the halftime dance routine.

Senior Sylvia Fehr participates in powderpu, playing for the senior team.

photos by ariel smith, design and story by isabella tyler

Juniors Hunter McKay, Adam Alkarute, Michael Finan, Tyson Haney, Max Frost, Cal Hofmann and Grant Tagge perform their halftime dance routine.

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arts and entertainment // kaneko

CREATIVE CAFÉ

whs art students’ involvement at kaneko story by kaelyn mettler, photos by max frost, design by vinny nelson

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any of us may recognize KANEKO from our Instagram feed. We see peers surrounded by lights and statues, but have you ever taken time to check the tag behind the photo? KANEKO is a public nonprofit organization in downtown Omaha dedicated to exploring and encouraging the process of creativity and how it impacts our lives. The museum consists of many exhibits, core programs and other small events throughout the year.

Westside art teacher Erin Lunsford explained how their collaborative art projects work.

“At first it all actually started through my friend, one of the Kaneko board members, Vicki Kruzak,” Lunsford said. “She took me down one day and introduced me to the

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employees and different artists.”

Lunsford explained the involvement and the projects they have worked on in years prior.

“We did a two year program to create a model of how to involve KANEKO through public schools,” Lunsford said. “The first year, we partnered with Thurman Statum, where the students in Drawing and Painting 2 did the pillars in the cafeteria that are centered around education.”

Right now, the summer exhibit is running Reality, which began June 1 and is going on until Wednesday Sept. 26. Without spoiling it too much, Reality is supposed to disengage you from the world of technology and throw you into a sensory wonderland. There are tours

by appointment or you can explore the museum independently. Their exhibits and programs are decided by a Creative Council composed of national leaders in the arts, sciences, business and technology and a committee of local community leaders.

There are many potential opportunities for students and families, including private tours, new teachings, performances and many other events throughout the year.

“KANEKO educational programs at Westside have been very successful with exciting outcomes,” founder Jun Kaneko said.

The way that KANEKO is set up makes it so that no matter who’s coming in, viewers will have an eye-opening new experience.

Junior Abigail Erftmier participating in the interactive art gallery at KANEKO.

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A&E// the staff’s best slow dance songs

THE STAFF’S BEST SLOW DANCE SONGS one Q, several A’s

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ith Homecoming approaching, people are beginning to prepare for all aspects of school dances. Going with a friend, going with a group, or maybe working up the courage to ask that one special person to dance. Of course, asking a person to dance only works if you have the best song to dance to. I asked several members of Lance’s staff about these songs and the results should provide a collection of slow, romantic themes to make any dance wonderful.

What is your favorite slow, romantic song?

Daisy Friedman: Copy Editor

the struggles he faced with love. By the end of the song, his voice is filled with so much passion as the instrumentals swell while still staying orderly. It’s wonderful — there’s nothing sentimental to me about it. It’s something melancholy that would fit right in at a school dance.

Vinny Nelson: Staff Member My favorite romantic song is “Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele. It tells a story of a love story gone wrong and the desire to stay in the relationship despite negative[s]. It is both an extremely emotional slow song, but it is also a sing-a-long bop, which I feel many ballads fail to do.

My favorite romantic song is “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes. I really enjoy it not only because of the folky, whimsical essence it has, but also because Bright Eyes is a band originally located in Omaha. The song’s lyrics describe the feelings of infatuation and gratitude that come with love. It was also my parents wedding song, so I always think of love and happiness when I listen to it.

Abby Schreiber: Graphic Editor The tea: “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley is the best slow dance song and it will never get old.

I don’t have enough brain cells [to explain why], it’s just so wholesome and the chord progression is really pretty. Also, the pace is really nice for a dance.

Virginia Jansen: Feature Editor

Isabella Tyler: Co-Editor-in-Chief

My favorite slow dance [song] would be “The Time of My Life” [from “Dirty Dancing”]. I like this song because it accompanies one of the most iconic scenes of all time from one of the best movies of all time. “Dirty Dancing” is the whole package: it has drama, dancing and Patrick Swayze and it is wrapped up perfectly by this amazing scene. Nobody puts “The Time of My Life” in a corner!

When I was younger, I watched a lot of 80’s movies.

In these 80’s movies, there was almost a requirement that there needed to be a dramatic scene at prom or homecoming where the main character would finally dance with their crush and they would kiss at the most climactic part of whatever song was playing. This made me extremely excited for high school and my drama-filled dances that were to come. Although high school dances didn’t really live up to these expectations, “If You Leave”

by Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark always takes me back to watching the prom scene of Pretty in Pink and waiting for my chance to live out a John Hughes fantasy.

Kaitlyn Jansen: Staff Member “Promise” by Ben Howard is one of my favorite slow songs because it just really opens up your heart to wondering who someone is to you. It’s not a very happy lovey dovey slow song, but it has a nice soft feeling to it.

It makes your heart warm just listening to it. You can feel the artist’s emotion through it and that’s just beautiful.

Jane Knudsen: A&E Editor For me, “I Know It’s Over” by The Smiths is the perfect slow dance song. It starts off really traditional, exactly what you’d see in some slow dance scene in an old movie. The lyrics are heartbreaking, going over the narrator’s life and

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Alex Vandenberg: Business Manager The greatest love song ever is “Can’t Help Falling in Love”

by Elvis Presley. There’s something about the song that I really like. I think it’s the vulnerability behind the lyrics, just how Presley is professing his love for whomever and would sacrifice anything to be with that person. It’s a song I shared with my first boyfriend and it brings back those times. I think the nostalgia combined with romanticized [style] of the song makes it stand out to me.

story by jane knudsen, graphic by tommy sullivan, design by elliot evans

A&E // best halloween movies

BEST HALLOWEEN MOVIES story by alex vandenberg, graphics by virginia jansen, design by brad griffin “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) “A Nightmare on Elm Street” follows four Los Angeles teenagers who are stalked in their dreams by Freddy Krueger, a dead child murderer. Throughout the film, the teens have to avoid being killed by Freddy in the dream realm, otherwise they will die in real life.

Out of the Wes Craven films I’ve seen, I’d easily consider this as his best, maybe even one of the greatest horror movies of all-time. One thing that I found to be fascinating was Craven’s seamless transitions between dreams and reality. Typically, movies introduce dream sequences with lighting changes or abstract visuals, but Craven gave no forewarning when entering a different realm. Most of the time, I didn’t understand it was a dream until I heard Freddy’s scratchy voice. I think added an entirely unique element to the movie.

Compared to other horror movies, I liked that the plot seemed to benefit Freddy and not the protagonists.

Freddy’s motive to haunt the children is fueled by pure revenge. He was released from prison on a technicality and was burned to death by the parents, who were angered by his crimes. After death, Freddy’s spirit stays to haunt the dreams of teenagers, which allows him to continue to wreak havoc on children. As the film progresses, the inevitability becomes more obvious. No matter what the kids do, there’s no escaping Freddy Krueger. This approach is different than other horror films because typically, the protagonist perseveres and defeats the villain. Because of this, the film evokes a new level of fear and set a precedence for the films that have followed.

“Halloween“(1978): SPOILER The movie “Halloween” revolves around Michael Myers, a young boy who was committed to an institution for the murder of his older sister. He escapes fifteen years later and goes on a murderous rampage in his small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, with his primary victim being high school student, Laurie Strode.

I enjoyed the development of the villain and how Myers had a solid backstory. It wasn’t some outlandish idea like being possessed, but that he was a purely evil child.

What spooked me the most was that despite being in a sanitarium for so long, Michael’s tendencies were still prevalent and he continued to murder people.

Throughout the entire movie, I was rooting for Dr.

Samuel Loomis, Michael’s pediatric psychiatrist. Despite the predictable ending, I was thankful that Loomis was able to save Laurie from Myers.

Along with the exemplary soundtrack, John Carpenter did a great job directing a great horror movie.

“Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974) Tobe Hooper’s “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is about a group of friends who go visit an old homestead and become the next victims of a family of cannibals.

The movie itself is pretty good, but I think the idea of cannibalism is what truly deters me. Throughout the movie, when I saw the abnormal remains of the beloved friends group, an unsettling feeling washed over me and it made me uncomfortable. I think using this abnormal concepts sets a new tone of fear that is unique from other films.

I do commend the special effects crew because for its time, they’re exceptionally grotesque and create an entirely new atmosphere and could be considered a pioneer of special effects.

with this. I thought it had an okay amount of horror, but it was awfully predictable.

“Friday the 13th” (1980) Friday the 13th, directed by Sean Cunningham, focuses on the murderous legacy of Camp Crystal Lake which has been carried on by the infamous killer, Jason Voorhees.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t fond of this movie. I thought it was too predictable and as a Kevin Bacon fan, I was disappointed. He’s had much stronger and more iconic roles, but he did have to start somewhere. The acting was mediocre and I don’t know if it was sleep deprivation, but I was excited for the movie to be over.

“The

Exorcist” (1973) The Exorcist, a revolutionary movie directed by William Friedkin, is a movie I enjoy watching every Halloween.

The idea of being possessed by a devil is terrifying and to see someone’s interpretation of that is even more so. When an innocent little girl, Regan McNeil, starts exhibiting strangely vulgar behavior and subconsciously kills her babysitter, Regan’s mother, Chris, is told to have someone perform an exorcism on her daughter.

Although most movies from the 70s have mediocre production quality, I do have to commend this one for its phenomenal use of mechanics to portray Friedkin’s vision of a possessed girl. The iconic scene of Regan cussing profusely and her head spinning around was a huge feat in the film industry and is recognizable by many.

The Exorcist has been named the scariest movie of all time by Entertainment Weekly in 1999. Maybe it’s because more violent and bizarre movies have come out since or the quality of special effects increased, but I disagree

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graphic by sam cohen (back) and angela li (front), design by sam cohen