Issue 6 by The Lance

THE 8701 Pacific St. Omaha, NE 68114 Volume 61 Issue 6

March 17, 2017

ANCE

* FEATURE Show choir photos featured on page 10

BEHIND THE SCENES Student paints murals for theater program

A A RON N O RTO N , GEORGI A W I M M E R STAFF WRITER, NEWS EDITOR

Backstage is lit by a couple of lights — a dramatic shift from the multiple spotlights on stage. However, Warrior Theater wouldn’t be as special without the unique qualities that lie behind the curtain. Murals line the walls and scribbled signatures surround the paintings. Each mural has a special significance to each cast member of each show and to all of Warrior Theater in general. On Tuesday March 7, senior Samantha Fee stands on a ladder with a paintbrush in her right hand and a cup full of blue paint in the other. Like the many muralists before her, Fee is capturing the hard work of a theater production in a single painting on a wall. “I love to [paint the murals] and I love the people that I work with,” Fee said. “We’re pretty much like a family.” Fee was first introduced to the theater world in sixth grade, when her older sister, who was involved in theater at the high school, introduced

her to Westside’s theater director, Jeremy Stoll. “My sister was a huge theater nerd and had known him from when he worked at the middle school,” Fee said. “And of course like my older sister I want to follow and do everything she does, so that’s how I met Stoll.” Although she’s known Stoll since elementary school and had been participating in theater based projects since the beginning of high school, it wasn’t until her junior year that Fee began officially working as a muralist in the theater department. “The previous muralist we had was graduating, so Stoll personally asked me if I’d be willing to continue [working on murals in their place],” Fee said. Fee is just one of many muralist that have carried on the tradition of painting on the wall backstage. Some of the earliest murals date back to the 90’s and show the many theater productions that have taken place since then. Although hidden to all except those in theater and choir, these murals carry on a tradition that has been in place for decades and impacts those that play a role in the shows.

“It’s tradition;when that tradition goes on… and the people that are involved in the shows, if they get the opportunity to sign those murals, sort of see that they’re part of something that dates back way before they were ever a part of it or even I was ever a part of it,” Stoll said. “That’s our way of remembering our programs history and keeping the tradition and the history alive.” The murals are also a way of connecting the students to a tradition that they have worked so hard to become a part of. “The walls backstage reflect a lot of theater history and performing arts history in general,” senior Audrey McCann said. “It’s a really cool thing that connects you to Westside Theater past, present and future.” Fee said that it’s an honor to be one of the many muralists that have taken part in this long tradition. “I love the fact that I know that [the murals are] going to be here long after I’m gone,” Fee said. “They’re still going to be up there until they tear that wall down, and it’s just an awesome feeling to be able to [be a part of that].”

Senior Sam Fee paints the mural for Zombie Prom. Zombie Prom will be performed at the high school Thursday, March 16 through Sunday, March 19. Photo by Aaron Norton

NEWS

H(APP)INESS

Students win money through state competition RE ES E P I K E wanted to solve. The group listed out problems COPY EDITOR

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, depression affects over 15 million Americans. It is a serious problem for many people, impacting their lives on a daily basis. Five eighth graders at Westside Middle School— Victoria Chin, Raeanne Sando, Caleb Dykhouse, Alex Carson, and Allison Bash—want that to change. Making people feel better about themselves to help combat depression and suicide is the goal of their new idea for an app, called Smile Time. These eighth graders are all members of the Computer Science club, sponsored by Kristeen Shabram, a Business and Technology teacher at WMS. In theory, Smile Time works as a way to both send and receive inspirational quotes and/or messages with other people who have the app. These students created the idea for the Smile Time app for the Verizon Innovative Learning App Challenge, a competition that takes place at both the statewide and national levels. They won Best in State. Coming up with the idea for the app wasn’t easy. First, they had to identify a problem they

they could think of in the community, and suicide and depression “popped up.” One way they thought they could help solve this problem was to help people send kind messages to each other. “What you do is you send inspirational quotes or messages to people and the goal is to, you know, make them feel better about themselves or have a better day,” Chin said. If you had the app, you would open it up, and through the app you would be able to send messages to other people with an account. The prize for winning Best in State was $5,000 to promote STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) education and mobile tablets for each member of the team. They’re working with personnel in the district office to determine what to do with the money, which can’t be used for things like hardware or software. The team doesn’t know exactly what they want to do with the money yet, but they have some ideas. “One of the ideas is to actually use the money to have someone teach the kids how to build the app, because it’s just an idea,” Shabram said.

VICTORIA CHIN EIGHTH GRADER

“The goal is to make [people] feel better about themselves or have a better day.”

While there are only five members of this team, there are many more in the club, which does a variety of different things, from designing apps to working with robots. Chin and Sando said they both hope to take what they have learned from the competition and the club and continue to do computer science throughout high school, hopefully taking the Intro to Computer Science class. Chin also said she hopes to continue to use her knowledge in the future. “I would use my computer science knowledge...to try to find a problem and try to create a device or something with computer science that would help solve some problems,” Chin said

Left to right: Members of the Smile Time team: Victoria Chin, Alex Carson, Caleb Dykhouse, Raeanne Sando, and Allison Bash pose for a picture after they submit a video for their competition in January. Photo courtesy of Kristeen Shabram

SCULPTING YOUR EDUCATION

Professional artist works on product with high school students GEORGIA W I M M E R NEWS EDITOR

The art students of Drawing and Painting 2 have been working with artist and Kaneko Foundation board member Therman Statom, towards creating six-foot tall painted aluminum panels that will cover the bottom of the pillars in the Courtyard. The students’ artwork will be permanently installed on Thursday, April 6. Westside’s partnership with the Kaneko foundation began in the summer of 2016, when a board member of the non-profit organization and friend of art instructor Erin Lunsford, wanted Lunsford to meet Statom. Lunsford said the partnership took off after hearing about how much Statom loved working with schools. “We thought that having an artist and this partnership with Kaneko would allow [the students] to have different experiences that we can’t provide for them,” Lunsford said. The classroom experience that the partnership provides is unique, Statom acts not only as a teacher, but as an artist in residence. Instead of teaching at the class, he works on his artwork with the students to provide them a two-sided experience of how art is created. “By working here, [the students] learn about my techniques and philosophies about

process,” Statom said. “By actually making a piece, we engage even deeper in terms of how these spaces function and sort of create a working education component instead of just a classroom.” This partnership provides a beneficial experience for the students, and for Statom as well. “[This experience is] more of a journey for [both me and the students],” Statom said. “Being around high school students is inspiring because generally I am around a body of people that are looking at things and becoming things, and that in itself is catalytic because even though I’m three times as old as everybody here, that enriches my own sense of self.” While the main focus is currently on the creation of the permanent artwork in the Courtyard, there is a possibility of more to come with this partnership with Kaneko. “We are hoping to also do a partnership with [the Children’s Hospital],” Lunsford said. “Right now we’re currently working on getting that set up, it’s just a long process.” Lunsford said she hopes that by doing something like working with the Children’s Hospital will get the students back out into the community creating their own artwork.

THERMAN STATOM PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

“[This experience is] more of a journey...”

Artist Therman Statom teaches students in one of Westside’s art classes on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Photo by Georgia Wimmer

NEWS

Making room for imagination Students design creative space for middle school

J ULIA S T E I N E R type of room, and when they heard about Job and FEATURE EDITOR

Kelly Kroeger, Eva Collins, Theo Jansen and Thomas Lundin were four middle schoolers on a mission: to develop an environment for Westside Middle School that would cultivate creativity. A place for minds to grow and fill with ideas, where eyes could light up with wonder. The room would be called a MakerSpace. Defined by the Director of Information Technology at the New York Law Institute Ellyssa Kroski, a MakerSpace is “a creative, DIY [do it yourself] space where people can gather to create, invent, and learn.” In the fall of 2015, Excellence in Youth (EY) Coordinator Kristen Job emailed eighth graders asking them to design the MakerSpace for their school. The four students who responded, Kroeger, Collins, Jansen and Lundin, formed the MakerSpace team and went on to plan the room from the ground up. The MakerSpace was intended to be a place where middle schoolers could hone their creative thinking skills and independence. “I think it will benefit students in really implementing a creative space that combines art, engineering [and] architecture,” Job said. The idea for a MakerSpace came up when Job and middle school Principal Russ Olsen were thinking of ways to improve the old, closet-sized EY room. They came up with the MakerSpace concept, and Job went on to recruit kids for the design job. “It seems kind of disingenuous to have a bunch of adults create a space for kids when it’s really the kids’ space,” Job said. At the same time, architects had been planning renovations and an addition for the middle school. They had a similar idea for a MakerSpace

the students’ plan they reached out to them. After the student team presented their ideas, the architects agreed to construct the MakerSpace. Instead of having it in the cramped EY room, it would be included in the school’s new addition, located on the east side of the property. Although the young team got their space, there were many complications. “It was hard to get people to take us seriously,” Kroeger said. “We presented our idea at local engineering conferences, and people were like ‘Oh, okay, good luck.’ They didn’t think we could do it.” The students said the lack of faith from adults made the students’ jobs all the more difficult. Kroeger explained that people were less willing to support something with their time and money if they didn’t believe it would become a reality. Nevertheless, the room exists and is in use, although it’s not yet filled with the materials necessary to make it a true MakerSpace. According to the designers, all that’s left to do is to buy the materials. At the top of their shopping list is a 3D printer, art supplies, a desktop computer, robotic equipment and a sewing machine, followed by many other materials that could help students express themselves and utilize their creative potentials. Of course, all of those consumable products require consistent funding. Their biggest issue was unsurprisingly money—they needed it to build the space and stock it. In total, Kroeger, Collins, Jansen and Lundin raised $2,625. $1,500 came from them winning an engineering competition called the Student Mentoring Program (or SMP). They also earned $800 from a Westside Foundation grant and $325 from a crowd funding site called Indie Go-Go. “Money is always going to be that key factor of impacting everything that we do,” Job said.

Another issue is supervision. For students to occupy the room, an adult needs to be present. They will have to find a monitor and the resources to pay them. The MakerSpace team acquired many skills as a result of their endeavor. Figuring out how to be professional, writing up budgets, presenting, fundraising and writing grants (without a professional) were among many things the eighth graders had to do. Despite their obstacles, the MakerSpace was constructed. “Creativity is key,” Job said. “If you can’t have creative problem solving skills you are not going to be successful in the world.” The MakerSpace has exposed ceilings and cement floors, so the room has bad acoustics. Middle school Art Plus students are resolving the issue by creating large pop-art panels and lining them with soundproofing material to hang around the room, making the environment acoustically sound. “So [that’s] creative problem solving in action right there,” Job said. The team expressed that with the freedom students will have inside those walls, they’ll grow from their own work and experiences. “[The Maker Space] lets [students] learn more on their own,” Collins said. The MakerSpace is an attempt to get administrators and students to stray from the one-sizefits-all teaching approach. The team built the room to encourage students’ originality and self expression. “[The MakerSpace] reestablishes creativity, which is something that’s been slowly taken away,” Kroeger said. “This just attempts to reinstate that idea that you can create whatever you want, and you can change the world.”

Freshmen Theo Jansen, Eva Collins, Kelly Kroeger, and Thomas Lundin designed the MakerSpace. Photo by Roshan Sapkota

Westside Journalism sponsored by Emspace

C RA ZE the heartland issue

out december 12 // check westsidewired for more

right across the street from Westside High School!

EDITORIAL

The LANCE The Lance is a school-sponsored publication of Westside High School, Westside Community Schools, 8701 Pacific St., Omaha, NE 68144. The Lance office is located in room 251. Phone: (402) 343-2650. The Lance is an in-house publication. The paper is distributed every month to all students, except in vacation periods. Subscription rates to others are $25 prepaid. The Lance is printed by White Wolf Web, in Sheldon, IA. Advertising rates are available upon request. The Lance editorial staff reserves the right to edit all ads for clarity and grammatical errors. The editorial staff reserves the right not to publish any ads that are libelous or that contain non-factual information. The Lance editorial staff also reserves the right to nullify contracts at any time without prior notification. The Lance also refuses ads that promote activities illegal to a majority of the student readership. Reader response is welcomed in the form of letters to the editor. Letters should be less than 300 words, signed by the author and sent to room 251. Names may be withheld upon special request. Lance editors will decide whether to honor such requests. The Lance editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and grammatical errors. The editorial staff also reserves the right to not publish any letters that are libelous or that contain non-factual information. The Lance is a member of the Nebraska High School Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association and the Quill & Scroll Society. The Lance staff recognizes that the administration of Westside Community Schools controls the curriculum and, thus, sets the parameters of the production process of school publications. The Lance staff also recognizes its own responsibilities to inform, enlighten and entertain its readers in a way that reflects high standards of journalism, morals and ethics. Editors-in-Chief Celena Shepherd, Libby Seline; Managing Editors Jim Schueneman, Sam Cohen; Media Coordinator Madigan Brodsky; Design Editor Bella Radler; Photo Editor Roshan Sapkota; Copy Editors Emma Korengel, Reese Pike; News Editors Nick Vincentini, Georgia Wimmer; Opinion Editors Alex Bergin, Maryam Akramova; Feature Editors Malia Battafarano, Julia Steiner; Sports Editors Trevor Mumford, Nolan Tracy; Arts and Entertainment Editor Theo Jansen, Sophie Knight; Staff Writers Ryan Adkins, Cindy France, Alex Goldstein, Kaelyn Mettler, Tristan Newman, Aaron Norton, Nicole Petersen; Photographers Taylor Baca, Lili Fogland; Advisers Timothy Kaldahl, Jerred Zegelis.

Graphic by Bella Radler

Editorial

Students should find ways to express creativity At Westside, we value students who have different talents. The school offers a vast amount of programs for people who have unique interests and so many of these programs have excelled — especially activities involving technology. Through programs such as CAPS and DECA and other activities such as welding, Westside is able to offer real world experiences. Students are encouraged to challenge themselves in new areas and prepare for the future. For example, at Westside Middle School, students were granted an opportunity to create a room dedicated to challenging students and furthering themselves, called MakerSpace. They broke away from the traditional classroom setting and made a space dedicated to expressing creativity. We believe that these events should continue to be praised and encouraged. Of course, we recognize that a student cannot win a new contest, paint a mural or design a room everyday. However, Westside still challenges students daily. In fact, we would like to compliment staff on their ability to consistently find opportunities to break the traditional classroom setting and to move towards personalized learning — especially in more artistic aspects. As students, we recognize how blessed we are to go to a

school with modular scheduling, honors and AP classes, fantastic arts and English courses and our own computers. We understand that Westside is not the traditional high school and feel that Westside is one of the best — if not the best — school district in Nebraska because of the opportunities offered. We encourage students to grab these opportunities while they’re available to us. Whether you choose to go to college, the military or the workforce after graduation, it is important to seize the opportunities laid out before us. Because Westside encourages us to grow and allows us to have a say in our education so in many circumstances, it is hard to not reap all the benefits. These opportunities are provided so we can graduate as well-rounded individuals who have the capacity to make a difference in the world. Although we students sometimes put education aside, we must challenge ourselves to maximize creativity in our education because now is the time to discover an outlet by which to express yourself.

“...it is important to seize the opportunities laid out before us.”

Warrior Voice

How do you express your creativity at Westside?

NEHA KHALID, SOPHOMORE

“Through fashion, I put all these patterns together that are unique, and no one is telling you what to do , so I am able to creatively express myself.”

PAIGE GROGAN, SENIOR

“I express it through DECA. It’s given me a lot of opportunities to express my different ideas and allow me to find new ways to be creative.”

AJ BRUCKNER, JUNIOR

“[I express it] by learning new and creative ways to make money in my marketing class.”

MICAH ST. CYR, FRESHMAN

“I express my creativity through STEM and the engineering project because I had to come up with my own design and implement it.”

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OPINION

School district needs to enforce punishments Westside is a school which strives to set the bar in both academics, athletics and nearly every other area attainable. One area though, is one many see as Westside’s biggest nuisance: consequences. “The vast majority of students at WestTRISTAN NEWMAN side’s behavior is STAFF WRITER very good,” Principal Jay Opperman said. “There’s only a small percentage of students [at Westside] who don’t follow the rules. Most of the students that don’t follow the rules are for reasons like truancy. Most things that happen here can be taken care of through detention or ISS [In School Suspension].” Some events go beyond the realm of detention or ISS. Certain offenses require a far greater consequence. When an extreme offense is committed against a school, often the immediate reaction by most students and parents alike is to pull the student from that school. Opperman explains that Westside cannot simply get rid of a student from the district, as Westside has a legal obligation to provide that student with an education. Despite however heinous the act, the right to a public education remains if legal punishment is dismissed. Westside is somewhat consistent in overall behavior, but many who do go against the grain get no more than a mere slap on the wrist. For example, two students clash in the hallways and then they’re both seen roaming the school the next day. The consequences they face are usually undisclosed. But why do I still believe that Westside doesn’t punish students accordingly? The answer for me is simple. Events do not define schools. What a school chooses to do about them, does. Consequences of the past aren’t a whole lot different from now. This is a concern to myself and other members of the Westside student body. In Observation of Westside’s actions that rarely, the punishment is suited for the crime. The current consequences, from everything to food in the hallways to a firearm in a school, do not meet the standard much of the community and student body see fit. Punishments for breaking the rules is not being enforced in the right places. It fails most of the time, food in the hallway being one of these. Many and myself witness numerous students on a daily basis smuggling foods from Café Express to various parts of the building. This rule was only heavily enforced because of rodents in the school, supervising throughout the halls does not work. Is food in the hallways a problem? Yes. Have we proven it’s making a difference to not have food in the hallway? No. We have far bigger issues to worry about. Take the recent incident which occurred at Westside Middle School in early February, according to KMTV, involving a student being threatened with being stabbed with a knife by another student. We are aware of the factual punishment that the student, who threatened the other, is faced with, which is a thirty day suspension. A multitude of students, community members, and myself wish for only the most serious of punishment or in other words, an expulsion from school. From my perspective I want the heinous behavior to earn a severe consequence. Whether the issue be something great or small, the fact is, it doesn’t matter if a rule is said to be enforced. The significance lies on whether we actually enforce it. Westside should toughen consequences, especially in the most severe circumstances. Being soft on the rules only lets students know that the bar is set low for some of the highest offenses. Things aren’t like that in the real world. If things will be different in the future, no one is going to be ready.

Graphic by Jim Schueneman

Twitter beef

Social media fights are the ultimate time waster

I’d like to think I have an after school routine pretty similar to most high school kids. I get home, flop my shoes off, adding to the pile of junk accumulating on the floor and retreat to my room. Maybe I turn on the TV or some music, but I tune it out just like everything else and habitually pull out my phone for the real entertainment. I’ve been waitJIM SCHUENEMAN ing all MANAGING EDITOR day for this, and now it’s time to catch up on the day’s drama. On the internet, anyone can say anything they want without backing it up with sources, which leads to some solid entertainment. When you scroll through Twitter, you have your memes, your news, your celebrities, but most importantly, your Twitter beef. Twitter beef is the best media to consume. While regular arguments are personal and quickly defused, Twitter allows what would be a simple argument to be drawn out over days in full view of hundreds of people. The escalation of the conflict is pretty serious. A seemingly simple reply or subtweet becomes a fight of many voices — few of whom understand exactly what they’re talking about. What’s not to love? Watching literally everyone you’ve met all argue about something mundane is about as good as it gets.

One night, people are arguing about whether blacks or whites make better chili, and the next we’re at each other’s necks about if show choir is a sport or not, all while Chris Brown and Soulja Boy go at it about who’s better. Fights on social media are begging for an audience. The setting is deliberate, which is why I stress that beefing on Twitter is entertainment. Maybe there’s an argument for standing up for something online, but it’s undeniable that taking to Twitter purposefully draws attention to the user. There’s a time and a place for defending yourself, but Twitter fingers don’t prove much. Unless you’re only after the attention, there’s a better way. It’s great as a viewer, and the majority of us are just viewing it, but for those who choose to delve into the fight, there can, of course, be consequences. Perhaps your peers will lose some respect for you or gain some, but if you take things too far, you’ll probably get a trip to your dean. If things really get out of hand, Twitter won’t hesitate to suspend your account. I don’t want to discourage Twitter beef. It’s a great way for everyone to bond, and without it I probably wouldn’t even use the app, but if you’re putting yourself in the online ring, remember this: we’re probably laughing at you, not with you.

“...we’re at each other’s necks about if show choir is a sport, all while Chris Brown and Soulja Boy go at it...”

RETRACTION STATEMENT On Friday, Feb. 3, The Lance published an in-depth opinion article about the women’s march called “Con: Certain groups were excluded”. The majority of a paragraph about pro-choice issues should have been attributed to a Conservative Review column written by Jen Kuznicki, which was posted on Saturday, Jan. 21.

FEATURE

Siblings First, SWimmers Second

Brother and sister bond, become closer through swim season

SAM C O H E N , JIM S C H U E N E M A N MANAGING EDITORS

In the early mornings at Westside, the halls are silent. The IMCs are bare. From the swim locker room, however, comes some all too familiar chants. Westside swimmers embrace the “grind”, chanting it in the locker rooms, and recognizing it as a sacred unifier. Senior Alexander Bayles swims sprints, and his sister, sophomore Laina Bayles, swims distance. The two each finished second in state this year. “I feel like some guys from other sports would look down on the idea of training with their sister, but they’re probably afraid of being beat by a girl,” Alexander said. “Training with Laina has given me a lot of respect for her. She’s the fastest girl on the team and one of the hardest workers.” After almost 20 hours a week together swimming, the two have improved their relationship out of the water. “[Alexander and I] spend a lot of time together, so this year we’ve gotten really close, which is sad because he’s a senior so he’ll be gone soon,” Laina said. “The guys’ would act like I was part

of the boys team, and we got pretty close during that time.” As with most siblings, the Bayles didn’t always enjoy a positive relationship like they do today. “I would say swimming is one of the reasons we are such good friends,” Alexander said. “Being on the same team, going through the same stuff, sharing similar goals as her for 18 hours a week has made us a lot closer.” High school season is now over for Alexander, who doesn’t plan on continuing swimming in college. Laina hopes to pick up where her brother left off and has one clear goal: win state. “I’ll reach it by… trying to fix as many flaws in my stroke as I can,” Laina said. “Just having confidence in myself will do a lot. I got second this year so now I’m confident that I can win it next year.” Alexander of course knows her better than anyone, and is confident in her ability to perform at state in the coming years. “If Laina continues to work hard, she’s going to get crazy good in the next couple years,” Alexander said. “There’s nothing she can’t accomplish.”

ALEXANDER BAYLES SENIOR

“I feel like some guys from other sports would look down on the idea of training with their sister, but they’re probably afraid of being beat by a girl,”

Above: Sophomore Laina Bayles and Senior Alexander Bayles pose for a photo in front of a statue on June 11, 2012. Photo courtesy of Alexander Bayles Left: Sophomore Laina Bayles swims during the Westside vs. Marian meet on Tuesday, Dec. 6. Photo by Dana Cox

BOOMER RADIO: OMAHA'S HOME FOR CUBS BASEBALL

SPORTS

WESTSIDE INTRAMURAL

BASKETBALL

Story by Trevor Mumford

TEAM TRACY:

TEAM MADSON:

Featuring Ian George

Q: What’s the biggest asset of your team?

A: Some skills we bring to the table are relentless hustle, tremendous teamwork and breathtaking layups, it’s all about layups.

Q: What’s the biggest highlight of the season?

A: Our biggest highlight of the season

will occur when we molly-whop the cross country team in the championship... everything that has happened before does not matter.

Featuring Nolan Dondlinger

A: Cedric: There was a win with a last

second free throw by Andrew Overgaard. Mack: I’d probably say Milton dunking.

Q: What’s the biggest asset of the team:

A: Cedric: Banging out.

Mack: Probably my threes, I’m not gonna lie.

A: We had a lot of endurance and would constantly run teams on the court.

Q: What’s the biggest highlight of the season?

A: We had a great win against [Team Tra-

cy] early on in the season and we hit lots of threes.

TEAM DUGGAN:

Featuring Mack Tempero, Cedric Homan

your season?

team?

Team Tracy won in the championship.

TEAM OVERGAARD:

Q: What was the biggest highlight of

Q: What’s the biggest asset of your

Featuring Pat Duggan

Vs Team Duggan won in the championship.

Q: What’s the biggest asset of your team?

A: We are pretty physical and used this to our advantage each and every game.

Q: What was the biggest highlight of your season?

A: We beat [Team Overgaard] and it got super heated, so that was super fun.

Graphics by Sam Cohen

IN BRIEF State Wrestling Championship Results in Review NOL AN T RACY during and leading up to the championship. “I was obviously not trying to be cocky, but I was pretty confiSPORTS EDITOR dent heading into [the championship] match with a sophomore from Two Westside Senior boys made history several weeks ago at the Burke,” Hill said. “Mainly because I had already defeated him earlier Nebraska State Wrestling Championships, which were held at the in the regular season CenturyLink Center in Omaha. For the first time since 2001 a WestJansa, who is a transfer from Burke, competed in the 152 weight side competitor was crowned champion. Not just one though, two of class. He was a district champion this season and also did not lose any Westside’s seven qualifiers took home first. matches during the state tournament. Both seniors, Josh Jansa and Darlondo Hill earned their first place To Jansa, winning the state championship is completing a lifelong medals by way of pin. The high pressure of competing at state was goal of his. nothing new for either of them as both qualified last year. “I’ve worked so hard throughout my life to get to this point,” Jansa For Hill, the accomplishment is nothing short than expected after said. “All of the time and effort has been more than worth it.” being the top ranked wrestler in the 170 pound weight class. Although At the beginning of the season, they both had the goal of winning the nothing was ever certain, Hill was very confident in himself, both last matches of their high school careers. That goal was completed.

A&E

9 Aries 21 mar – 19 apr

Taurus 20 apr – 20 may

Gemini 21 may – 21 jun

Aries is a very special sign with lots of strength in leadership roles. Use your skills to do what you do best, work. Your incredible work ethic helps you stay on top of things even when life is looking down. With planet Mars ruling your sign you are quite the go-getter, and if there’s something you’ve been wanting to do, now is the time to do it. Today: write a short story.

Taurus is an easy to count on person but can also be stubborn. Your dislike for change can take a toll on your reputation but you don’t mind. Friends are very important to you so be careful of upsetting people you’d be unhappy with burning bridges with. Today: learn a song on an instrument.

Your affection and curiosity in others makes you a very intriguing person. You dislike being alone, so if the opportunity comes why not pursue someone? You are so full of life it is sure to draw anyone in. Today: read a book you loved as a kid

Leo 24 jul – 23 aug

Virgo 24 aug – 22 sept

Cancer 22 jun – 23 jul You are ridiculously skilled with properly channeling all of your mind to one thing at a time. The drive you have should motivate you to to work hard for what you want. You have great luck in business and relationships. Even if you are close-minded when it comes to reaching out to new people you should open yourself up for change. Today: text an old friend.

You are a very generous friend: your pals are aware that they’re lucky to have you. Even if you had to stop what you were doing to help someone you would, and others admire that about you. Take time for yourself and relax a little this week. Today: get yourself a treat afterschool.

Libra 23 sept – 22 oct Your affectionate and gracious presence can make an entire room cooperate better. You have a way of charming others. It is unnatural for you to feel alone and unhappy so surround yourself with the things you love. Today: make a friend a gift.

Sagittarius 23 nov – 20 dec

Scorpio 23 oct – 22 nov Scorpio, your passion has drawn others closer to you. Your life has changed a lot in the past year and and so have you. As you’re a water sign, relationships may be complicated. Think about the positive changes you’ve experienced recently and compare them to the negatives. Create a list to do what you can to rid them from your life. Today: call a family member you miss.

Capricorn 22 dec – 20 jan

Aquarius 21 jan – 19 feb

Although you expect the worst, this weekend will be one of the greatest in awhile. Your actions will be sudden but worth it in the end. You need to get some things off of your mind, celebrate a good week with your friends. Worry less about the past and focus on the future. Today: make up a new word.

This weekend you may hit a financial rut, but your problem solving skills will come in handy. Just because you’re broke doesn’t mean you’re boring. A fun game night with your family would be beneficial to your relationships and your wallet. Try to hold yourself back from going out too much and your pocket will thank you. Today: go on a walk outdoors.

Horoscopes by Kaelyn Mettler

Virgo, you are all work and no play. Lately your perfectionism has been taking over your life. Stay focused on your good work but don’t dwell on your mistakes. It may be time to reach out to that someone special — especially since faithfulness is a strength of yours. Today: learn a new skill.

Your encouraging heart draws people in to you. A sagittarius can always have a conversation no matter the topic, so you’re always down for a discussion. But sometimes you can be rather blunt. Your drive to live everyday like its your last is wonderful and you should maintain that attitude for things you don’t necessarily want to do. Today: go out to lunch with some friends. Pisces 20 feb – 20 mar This week you should expand your social circle, as your friends have been bothering you a little more than usual. Your lack of focus may be more frequent than usual and your mind is elsewhere. Your spirit lives in the night, so get out of your pajamas and into your favorite outfit, you have some socializing to do. Take a break from the stress and go have a night with friends. Today: have a conversation with a stranger.

Graphics by Bella Radler

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A&E

SPARKLES, SASS AND SHOW CHOIR Show choirs excel in recent performances

Left: Senior Katya Ward and Nathan Wallace performing their first number called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Advice to a Young Firefly. Photo by Hannah Bowes Below: Junior Kayla Sonnleitner, apart of Simply Irresistable dances with fellow show choir members on Saturday Jan. 28. Photo by Katya Ward Far Below: Senior Soren Johnson plays the sousaphone during one of ATSCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performances. Photo by Hannah Bowes

Right: Senior Kalan Ferate sings her solo at the Elkhorn South competition Saturday Feb 11. Photo by Hannah Bowes Below: (from right to left) Senior Morgan Stouffer, sophomores Vivian Jacobitz and Vanessa Dosoo performed at the Competition of Excellence at Westside High School. Photo by Katya Ward

A&E

[LANCE CROSSWORD CHALLENGE] Story by Emma Korengel

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Down

4. Name of the company that provided a contest for 5 students. 8. Location of the best water fountain. 10. Month the new courtyard art should premier. 11. Name of foundation helping students in art classes at Westside. 12. The app contest was to promote interest in these fields. 13. Slang term for a conflict between two or more people, sometimes on Twitter.

1. Name of the artist that comes to Westside to aid student artists. 2. Placement of the Baylesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; siblings at State. 3. Number of years since last wrestling championship as individuals 5. Title of the new spring musical. 6. Westsideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s varsity show choir. 7. Name of the room middle schoolers recently founded. 9. The zodiac sign for late February to midMarch.

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A&E

PUSH

DRINKING FOUNTAIN REVIEW RYA N A D K I N S ,THEO JA N S E N defect can change the whole drinking experience for students. SPORTS MEDIA COODINATOR,A&E EDITOR We tried all of these water fountains and rated them in 5 catWith such a big school, Westside has a lot of locations for egories: taste, temperature, beauty, stream and convenience students to hydrate throughout the day. In a perfect world, from a scale of 1-10. Here is the definitive ranking of the water all the water fountains would be the same. However, one slight fountains at Westside.

Courtyard: The fountains in the lunchroom got the highest marks on convenience as well as good marks across the board. These are perfect for filling up water bottles after lunch and they also had the best water pressure in the school.

36.5

100s Hallway: Some of the top water fountains in the school are located in the 100 hallway. They are very balanced in terms of taste, temperature and stream. However, they are only convenient when you are in the area, which prevents them from being among the top three.

4th

1st

Auditorium: This water fountain is in an odd location, but can be well worth the trip. It had top marks in most categories, but the location is what prevented it from really being the best.

300s Hallway: Overall, the water fountains in the 300 hallway are in the middle of the pack. They have a great taste and temperature, but the stream for both are lackluster. They are located in a convenient place, near multiple classrooms and stairs.

5th

2nd 200s Hallway: This water fountain was okay, but it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stand out in any way. The stream, taste and temperature were good, but the convenience was not the best as they were not located near many classrooms and is in a very crowded part of the hallway.

34.5

Outside Main Gym: These water fountains get the job done for those who are hot and sweaty during P.E. They had decent scores, but there are better options if you want a nice refreshing drink.

3rd

29.25 6th Graphics by Sam Cohen