The Lance Volume 66 Issue 2

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THE

LANC E

Nov. 23, 2021

Westside High School

Volume 66, Issue 2

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Cover by Delaney Davis, Design by Luke Steiner, Photos provided by Jasmine Palikhya

Humans Editor Emma Allen

Managing Editors Izzy Dodge Kiera Ginn

Staff Writer Lydia Frost Presley Gofta Zoe Rector Sydney Rolles

Contributors

Editor-in-Chief Luke Steiner

Design Editor Jasmine Palikhya Copy Editor Jadyn Anderson Graphics Editor Delaney Davis Business Manager Charlotte Miller

Graphic Artists Dani Acers Teddy Twit Guest Contributors Tanatswa Chivero Brandon Meseure Jaden Taylor Chloe Rogers

Feature Editor Kate Stevens A&E Editor Emma Tyler

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Issue 2

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News

CONSOLE COMPETITORS Westside’s Esports team continues to dominate in video game league

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n its inaugural year, Westside’s Esports team has already placed high among their nationwide competition. The competitive video game team consists of 28 varsity players who specialize in a variety of online games led by coach Chase Tonkinson, a Westside special education teacher. “[Coaching Esports is something] I’ve always wanted to do,” Tonkinson said. “I tried to do it at my old school that I was at before [Westside], but they just didn’t have the resources to do it. I just jumped at the opportunity to lead and coach it [here], and it took us about a year to get the program off the ground, but now we’re online and we’re doing good.”

According to Tonkinson, the team functions as a club sport that consists of many different games. For this first fall season, the team has its focus on three different games with most members specializing in one team-based game.

“Right now we’re playing three different games and we have five different competitive teams playing those three games,” Tonkinson said. “ It’s very much like a sport.

We’re playing competitive matches against schools here in Nebraska.”

The Esports team competes in two competitive leagues, one in Nebraska with 50 teams and one nationally with hundreds of teams per game. Specific games that schools will compete in for the season are chosen by the league’s coaches.

“The coaches of the Nebraska league meet before the start of the season and vote on what games they want to play,” Tonkinson said. [It’s chosen] by what they’ve done in the past but also by popularity. We have a choice of like 12 different games in this national league, so we just pick two or three at a time and focus on those.”

Tonkinson said the team is currently playing Hearthstone, a virtual card game, Overwatch, a first-person shooting game, and Rocket League, a soccer-like driving game. Hearthstone is played individually while Rocket

League is played by a team of three players, and Overwatch is played by six players.

Esports players have successfully competed in all three games this season. “[For] Hearthstone, we have two players in the top ten nationwide right now, though it’s a much smaller league,” Tonkinson said. “I think there are like 80 kids [nationally].

[In] Rocket League, [they’re] undefeated in the state, I think they’re 13-0,” Tonkinson said. “They have lost one game nationally and that was against a school in Chicago.”

Senior Luca La Fata-Hornillos said he joined Esports because he has always enjoyed playing video games and the team was an opportunity to do so competitively.

“I felt it was a good group of people who had similar interests to me and we were now doing something that we all loved but we were competing,” La Fata-Hornillos said.

“It’s just a fun time, and a great opportunity, and just a good experience with good people.”

La Fata-Hornillos is part of one of the two Overwatch teams which, according to Tonkinson, is undefeated in the state. La Fata-Hornillos said that working with a new team was challenging at first, and it took a lot of practice to learn how to work together. “[Overwatch] is very team based, you have to be constantly talking to each other and figuring out what you’re going to do,” La Fata-Hornillos said. “It’s very coordinated and very intensive in terms of figuring out how to work together [in] the best way with your certain skills.”

Although initially challenging, the team has been working well together and ranking high nationally.

“Beginning of the season we weren’t really doing well, we didn’t know how to talk to each other, but we eventually fell into this rhythm of knowing what people are going to do before they do it,” La Fata-Hornillos said. “My team, specifically, is ranked number 6 in the country out of 250 teams.”

La Fata-Hornillos said that he has enjoyed the competitive experience because of how engaging it is to play against other teams.

[My favorite competition experience] is really just going against teams that match your skill level because you have to fully engage your brain,” La Fata-Hornillos said. “You’re pressing all the buttons, you’re looking at the screen, you’re talking to your teammates, you’re seeing what’s happening and you’re adapting and changing [the plan].”

La Fata-Hornillos added that, although it may be difficult, you must stay focused on your end goal.

“While all of that is going on, you’re trying to keep in mind what you are trying to achieve,” La Fata-Hornillos said. “It’s a lot of things going on at the same time. You really have to get focused to accomplish [your goal].”

Following Thanksgiving, the Overwatch teams will compete in multiple playoff games that will determine if they are eligible for the national tournament in May. According to La Fata-Hornillos, based on their record, his team has automatically qualified for the state tournament’s semifinals which took place in mid-November.

As the first fall season concludes, Tonkinson has seen major improvements amongst the players and a lot of new friendships made on the team.

“You see better communication from each individual, better teamwork,” Tonkinson said. “Especially for those team games, it requires a lot of those skills, so you see improvements in those two aspects of each player.”

La Fata-Hornillos said he hopes to see the team continue in the future and build on vital team skills. “[Esports is] a place where people who typically have different interests and are good at different things can shine, and where they can compete at a high level and achieve,” La Fata-Hornillos said. “Teamwork, communication, and being able to work together is a very important thing and Esports really helps with that.”

Story by Kate Stevens, Design by Jasmine Palikhya, Graphic by Sydney Rolles, Photo by Brandon Meseure

The Lance

News

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OUR

PLAC E Westside Theatre competes in the One-Act District Competition

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t’s almost the end of a semester. Warrior Theatre has wrapped up its fall musical, Little Shop of Horrors, but there’s one more show to perform before break.

Every year, the Warrior Theatre program participates in the NSAA’s (Nebraska School Activities Association) OneAct District Competition, usually shortened to “the oneact.” This year, the show is Our Place by Terry Gabbard. It tells the story of five different groups of people who are all interconnected by the dock, or the setting of the play.

The show was chosen by the NSAA, who also chose the panel of judges that will examine each troupe at the

Issue 2

competition. The show is judged based on acting, direction, set design and other technical aspects.

The 14 cast members started rehearsals on Nov. 4 and were handpicked by Our Place director Anna Jordan. Her directing credits include assistant director for UNO Theatre and Nebraska Shakespeare, director of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Omaha Fringe Festival with the Found Ensemble, and director of a reading of Perennials at the Great Plains Theatre Conference. Jordan’s experience makes her qualified to direct the one-act, despite never having directed competitive theatre before now.

“I’ve never directed a competition piece before, I’ve never done competition,” Jordan said. “I’m excited! It’s a fun challenge.”

She said her only challenge is being judged.

“Honestly, I think competition theatre is fun, and I love that Westside gets to participate in that,” Jordan said. “I don’t like to prescribe scores to theatre.

Theatre is an art, you can certainly compete with it, and I think the goal of it, my goal, is to just tell a good, honest story. And of course I want them to do well, but ultimately, for me, it’s about telling a good story, and everyone learning and having fun.”

WHS theatre instructor, Our Place production manager and former one-act director Jeremy Stoll has experience with competitive and noncompetitive theatre.

“In a regular show, you have the ability to be creative within the context of the script and what your audiences expect,” Stoll said. “Competitive theatre asks that you sort of work toward a formula. Some competitions are more obvious about their formula, some competitions are not… the set of outcomes needs to fit the competition, whereas, when we’re just producing a show for ourselves, we sort of decide what those outcomes are.”

It’s not a stretch to say that Westside is a competitive school. Acting in front of a panel of judges is the theatre equivalent of football championships or show choir competitions. No matter the situation, there’s a need to succeed.

“I think whenever you get into a competition, there’s pressure [to] do well,” Stoll said. “It’s not a good feeling to come back and realize you were on the bottom half of the list or something like that. We’ve done pretty okay at state in the

past with the one-act, despite the fact that our show clearly did not fit the formula that everybody else was trying to do.

My point is, the value, particularly the educational value in theatre, is in the development and vision of an outcome that doesn’t necessarily suit what a handful of judges actually think is good theatre.”

After the last show in 2019, Warrior Theatre ranked fourth out of seven for Front, a story about World War II in England. Current senior Jalen Johnson, playing Stanley in the show, described his experience acting in Front his sophomore year.

“We traveled to Gretna High School,” Johnson said.

“We were there all day… all the shows performed, and at the end they had this awards ceremony from each school.”

According to Johnson, the theatre experience can change when it becomes competitive.

“When people normally come to watch a show, it’s for entertainment,” Johnson said.

“For competition people are actively judging you while you’re performing, and that can kind of affect how you [act]. We’re each judged collectively, as a group, so it’s like, ‘Okay, if I do bad, that brings down the rest of the cast,’ according to the judges, so I think that can be more intense pressure.”

Helana Moray, a senior who also participated in Front, explains that acting competitively has some perks. “[There is] a lot more pressure,” Moray said, “but there’s also more fun to it because you kinda get that adrenaline rush.”

Junior Aiden Carman said he feels little pressure playing Jake in Our Place despite having never performed in a oneact before.

“Even here there’s people who are watching you … a lot of people would judge you, just at a normal high school performance instead of a competitive one,” Carman said.

Our Place will premiere at Westside High School on Dec. 2 and 3 at 7pm. The all-day competition takes place on Dec. 4, at Kearney High School.

“ Theatre is an art, you can certainly compete with it, and I think the goal of it, my goal, is to just tell a good, honest story. ”

- Anna Jordan

Story and Graphics by Delaney Davis, Design by Jadyn Anderson

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I

n 2020, Dr. Mike Lucas, superintendent of Westside Community Schools, started WE-SIDE which stands for Welcoming Equity Support Inclusion and Dignity for Everyone.

According to Andrea Haynes, the assistant superintendent at Westside, WE-SIDE is a group designed to make every student and staff member feel welcome at Westside.

“WE-SIDE is really synonymous to the name,” Haynes said. “WE-SIDE represents the best of Westside which is all of us: we collaboratively and we individually.

‘We’ comes from all different walks of life. Westside does not look the way it did demographically 30-40 years ago knowing that Westside wants to create an environment where everyone feels like they belong. That’s really great rhetoric to say out loud.

Right now, what we are working on in WE-SIDE is the action behind it.”

Haynes said that WE-SIDE was started in the summer of 2020.

“WE-SIDE was started by Dr. Lucas and board member Adam Yale during the summer of 2020,” Haynes said. “There was a lot of civil unrest that was going on in the United States talking about social justice and some of those pieces being grappled with due to current events. Dr. Lucas and Mr. Yale decided that it was important that Westside shows some unity around what it means to be a Westside Warrior and so they developed WE-SIDE.” WE-SIDE is composed of four main departments: Student Achievement and Well-being led by Dr. Mark Weichel, Supported and Engaged Staff led by Dr. Haynes, Community and Parental Partnership led by Erika Payton, and Safety and Infrastructure led by Tola Dada.

Haynes said that the Supported and Engaged Staff department is working on making sure every staff member at Westside feels welcome.

“WE-SIDE gave all the staff a belonging survey similar to the ones the students took [at the beginning of this school year],” Haynes said. “So we are taking that data and looking for discrepancies. When you break that data down into different groups like gender or job class, do our teachers all report having the same sense of belonging, from our non certified staff, such as custodial and lunchroom staff, to the admin? We then want to hear from the staff and learn what we can do to improve and grow and help them feel like they belong and are valued. We know that, as adults, if you don’t feel like you’re valued, then your work with students isn’t going to be your best work.”

Haynes said Student Achievement and Well-being, led by Dr. Weichel has recently created a student advisory board.

“As of three weeks ago, we started the student advisory council for WE-SIDE,” Haynes said. “I appointed two

News elementary school principals, Emma [Dobson] and Kira [Mclean, to] run the council. I felt like, if we are going to get students around a table and give

FOR WESTSIDE

them [a] voice, we can’t put their admin in the room. I wanted to have two individuals in the room who would feel safe reporting this stuff too. The WE-SIDE council is really to keep the adults in check. We are also starting [a student advisory committee] at the middle school. The student advisory council is a really great action we took to say, we mean what we say.”

Senior Morgan Ryan was among the first students to be a part of the student advisory committee.

She explains that she originally was applying for something else, but they liked her application so much that she was chosen to be in the student advisory council.

“It is a student advisory committee for the WE-SIDE program [and] our role is to provide feedback to the program as a whole,” Ryan said.

“It’s a lot like a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee. Really, the goal is to make Westside a welcoming place.

I think [I’m] really just trying to include all voices in this conversation.”

Ryan believes that this program will have a positive effect on not only the students but the district as a whole.

“I always think that there is a deficit of opportunities for young people and students,” Ryan said.

“To give input on anything in general is creating a pipeline for this work between students and the district [and] is a great thing for the district.”

Haynes said that Dr. Lucas and Yale created the group to be an example for the community.

District implements new group to promote diversity “I know Dr. Lucas and Mr. Yale really want this to be authentic and not formal,” Haynes said. “So [during] a lot of what was happening during the summer of 2020, and all the civil unrest we saw and division and divisiveness, there were some organizations and companies that came out with statements. It felt very inauthentic and it felt very performative. We want to lead our work for other school districts. Westside has always been a lighthouse, a beacon of light leading the way for other school districts. Why not lead the way and show others, especially suburban school districts, how you can embrace difference, how you can look beyond a really narrow view of diversity that people sometimes have?”

Haynes said that the future of WE-SIDE is all about intently listening to the students to be able to make effective changes.

“Right now we just need to be really good listeners and synthesize the information we are receiving,” Haynes said. “At this point, we are just really listening to staff, really listening to students, and really listening to parents. WE-SIDE is really looking at all those facets of identity: gender, race [and] socioeconomic status and trying to help everyone feel like they are here in Westside. You belong, Westside is for you.”

“ The goal is to make Westside a welcoming place [and] just trying to include all voices in this conversation. ”

Story by Izzy Dodge, Design by Jadyn Anderson, Graphic by Dani Acers

- Morgan Ryan

The Lance

Opinion 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.

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e d i t o r i a l

DOES WE-SIDE WORK?

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E-SIDE stands for Welcoming Equity Support and Dignity for Everyone, an initiative that has been trying to ensure that every student and staff member at Westside feels like they belong. According to Westside Community Schools’ 2020-2021 Selected Demographic and Statistical Data, 69 percent of students identified as white, three percent identified as Asian and 10 percent identified as African American.

In an effort to ensure that Westside Community Schools continues to grow as a more diverse and inclusive school system, District 66 has been working towards helping students of all backgrounds feel welcome within the past two years. While the idea of WE-SIDE is good, in theory, junior Malaika Kathurima feels that there is a need for more inclusion and diversity from what she has experienced.

“It doesn’t feel like many changes have been made because there are still many spaces where I and kids of color don’t really feel accepted, or certain types of kids we can’t talk to because we just know we will get asked weird questions,” Kathurima said.

WE-SIDE, as defined by one of the initiative’s founders, Superintendent Mike Lucas, is an initiative that creates a sense of belonging and acceptance for all in the Westside community. “[WE-SIDE is] creating a sense of belonging for everybody, all students, all staff, all visitors who come to any of our 13 campuses,” Dr. Lucas said.

When Dr. Lucas was hired as District 66’s superintendent, he, along with members of the school board, realized that District 66 needed to take steps to be inclusive of all students, regardless of their backgrounds. “[WE-SIDE] started back in the Winter of 2019, talking with the Board of Education ... about different things the District wanted to focus on,” Dr. Lucas said. “We just discussed how we wanted to tear down some of the walls within Westside [such as] the walls [between] option-in students and resident students.”

According to Dr. Lucas, there were some incidents that led to the implementation of WESIDE, mostly resulting from student behaviors, and he wanted to ensure that they would not happen again.

“We have had some religious issues, some anti-semitism, so we were just trying to figure out strategies and different things we could do

that got our students and staff and community to focus on all the things that bring us together instead of the things that can bring us apart,” Dr. Lucas said.

According to Dr. Lucas, WE-SIDE was not politically or religously motivated.

“We’re not focusing on any one theory, any one speaker, any one author or book, we’re really just focused on being good people and teammates,” Dr. Lucas said.

While WE-SIDE as a whole is not focused on a particular group or movement, it was used as a response for social justice during the summer of 2020, when the Black Lives Matter Movement was in full effect.

Kathurima feels that WE-SIDE is something that the administration created to make District 66 look better and more diverse.

“I would say that [WE-SIDE] is very performative, it shows that a lot of the administration [and] the parents don’t know what we see and hear daily in the hallways at school,” Kathurima said.

Although WE-SIDE has been in the works for over two years, the initiative has been slow to start. Dr. Lucas admits that it will be a while until there is enough measurable data to prove if the initiative is effective or not.

“I think WE-SIDE is an effective initiative so far, but we have a long way to go,” Dr. Lucas said. “I would like to see WE-SIDE have some real tangible, measurable results that people can feel good about.”

Although WE-SIDE is attempting to make District 66 a better environment for all, its effects are sometimes hard to see. According to Dr. Lucas, a drawback in the initiative is that there are not any ways to see tangible results within the same school year or calendar year.

Kathurima feels that WE-SIDE has not been as effective as it can be and that WE-SIDE needs to focus on changing biases.

“I didn’t know that [WE-SIDE] was trying to be inclusive with different races, religions and sexualities because sometimes it doesn’t really feel like that,” Kathurima said. “In order for anything to be fixed, it would have to be the students and the staff having to unpack their

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own personal biases they don’t realize they have before they can fix anything.”

Assistant principal Tola Dada said that Westside is more diverse than it has been historically and that WE-SIDE will continue focusing on the community.

“Listening to feedback from students, parents, and teachers [WE-SIDE] is really trying to focus on just listening,” Dada said.

Sophomore Hanan Loroto feels that WESIDE needs to take more action to achieve their goal of ensuring everyone feels like they belong.

“Honestly I don’t think that it is taking any steps to get the job done of what the initiative is actually for,” Loroto said.

Even though some students haven’t seen WE-SIDE’s work, the administrative committee has sponsored multiple events to get the community involved and learning about WESIDE, such as speech and drawing contests.

In the beginning of November, WE-SIDE held meetings for community members to attend and learn about goals from administrators, and what has been accomplished in the past two years of this initiative.

Brandi Paul shared that WE-SIDE is sponsoring across District 66 including speakers for teachers, conducting sense of belonging surveys and adopting an ant-hate/racial slur policy that would make sure consequences are administered to those using the words.

“All thirteen of our buildings are working on getting a No Place for Hate Distinction from the Anti-Defamation League, it will be the first time in a school district that all thirteen schools will have earned that at the same time,” Dr. Lucas said.

Additionally, Dr. Lucas hopes that WE-SIDE will forever be a part of Westside’s culture.

“The thing about a lot of initiatives, they are one and done, [but] WE-SIDE is not going to be like that, it’s really [going] to be ingrained into our culture,” Dr. Lucas said. “Just like we are always going to talk about reading, math, science, social studies, fine arts and activities as a school district, we are always going to talk about the importance of WE-SIDE and the culture of team and family.”

Overall, WE-SIDE’s mission to create inclusion and belonging is something that District 66 could benefit from if executed properly. With that being said, WE-SIDE still has a long way to go to change the social climate of District 66 long-term.

Story by Kiera Ginn, Design by Kate Stevens, Graphic by Sydney Rolles

In-Depth

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CULTURAL CUISINE Students reflect on the reception of their cultural foods at Westside

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aul Fiamaple, a sophomore with mixed Togolese and Ghanaian heritage, says he is hesitant to bring his home country’s food to school because of other students’ opinions, a sentiment shared by other Westside students with different cultural backgrounds.

“I don’t think I’ve [ever brought food to school], but that’s mostly because I don’t want to get judged or ‘oh what is that’ questions,” Fiamaple said. “I’m okay with the school food. [I wouldn’t bring my food because] some people aren’t open minded, they’re closed minded about the food that you eat, they think it’s gross or disgusting, or it’s weird. If someone comes up to me and is like ‘ugh, what is that?’ I get kind of ashamed, but I get over it quickly. I don’t really care what other people think [though]. If I’m eating good food, I’m eating good food. I don’t

really care about [their] opinion because I love my home country’s food. It’s so much better than school food. I love fufu, jollof rice, yellow rice, there’s also plantains.”

Fiamaple explained that African food is especially important to African culture.

“It’s kind of what makes [Africans] different,” Fiamaple said. “I get that other cultures and races can eat [West African food], but these new foods with these new spices, it brings out a whole different flavor that you just can’t find here in America.”

Fiamaple said that it would be a large task to bring African food to Westside students’ plates, but he believes that students would be willing to try it, and many may even enjoy it.

Some of his own friends have expressed their desire to experience Togolese and Ghanaian food.

Fiamaple said it would be a good learning experience for Westside students to step out of their comfort zone to try new food.

“I think it’s good for people to try new stuff, and they’ll never know if they like it or if they don’t like it if they never try it,” Fiamaple said. “They might actually open their mind and say, ‘wow, this is actually really good.’”

Sarah Rizwan, a sophomore from India, feels that other students are very invasive when it comes to her home country’s food.

“I used to bring food from home in elementary

school, and I stopped bringing Desi food in the beginning of first grade because kindergarten was the worst in terms of [people] making fun of my food,” Rizwan said. “That was when I barely knew any English, so people were bullying me and I didn’t even understand them.”

Rizwan said, when kids are little, they tend to be judgmental of food that is new or different, but, as they grow up, they tend to become more interested in new foods, though they ask her weird or uncomfortable questions. If she’s eating something, she can’t eat in peace because she is bombarded by questions.

“I’m fine with answering those questions, but some of them are not kind and very invasive,” Rizwan said.

“I would bring something from home, I’d bring roti and achaar for example, and they’d just question me, they’d say stuff like ‘what is that’ and ‘why does it smell like that’. They just ask a bunch of questions and they talk about how disgusting it is.”

According to Rizwan, bullying surrounding her food began in elementary school, and wound down as she entered middle school. However, she still felt uncomfortable bringing Desi food to school.

Rizwan said that bringing food to school doesn’t especially make her feel proud to be from India because she grew up surrounded by Desi food outside of school.

While attending American schools, the situation became very different for Rizwan. She felt out of place, as she attended predominantly white schools with a very small immigrant population.

As the years have passed, Rizwan has become more secure in her view of her culture, and has become less embarrassed to bring her food to school.

During middle school, Rizwan said more people became interested in food different from their own, and started experimenting with their own versions of Indian food. She remembers an encounter with a girl who brought chicken tikka masala for lunch one day.

“It was bright red, there was some food coloring or something in it and it did not look accurate at all. It was neon. People like her would bring that food and [say], ‘oh look at me, I’m so Indian,’” Rizwan said. “I don’t think most [white students] are genuinely interested in [my food], they want to stay in their little bubble.”

When Rizwan brought her cultural food to school,

The Lance

In-Depth people would ask questions that she felt were judgmental.

“I guess the reason why they asked those invasive questions was because they didn’t know anything about it, and that says more about our education than anything else,” Rizwan said.

Rizwan believes the cafeteria does not expose students to authentic Asian cuisine.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen South Asian food in the cafeteria,” Rizwan said. “I feel like they have a few Asian dishes, but they’re not very accurate, and I think they should work on making the few things they have more culturally accurate rather than adding new ones.”

Lademi Davies is a junior from Nigeria who says bringing her food to school makes her proud of where she comes from.

“I started [bringing my food] around middle school, I would just bring rice, [and] probably not the most convenient dishes to bring to school, but I would bring them and people at my table would just be like ‘oh my God, what are you eating,’ and so I’d have to explain it all to them,” Davies said.

“At first, I would be kind of scared to bring it to school, but when I got to high school I started bringing different stuff like jollof rice, and other stuff from Nigeria and people would just be like, ‘that looks really good, what are you eating?’ I kind of gained more confidence explaining what I was eating to them, [and] that’s kind of been my journey, so now I bring it to school all the time and it’s not a big deal anymore.”

Davies said that most students are curious when they first encounter her food, and usually ask a lot of questions.

Davies suggested that her food doesn’t necessarily look that appealing to some people’s palates because they don’t always get exposed to other cultures’ food early on in their lives. Davies grew up eating Nigerian food, and finds it a bit difficult explaining each dish, because she’s so used to eating them.

“I grew up in that atmosphere and I know my niche, it’s harder to explain to kids that didn’t grow up

Issue 2

09 in that atmosphere,” Davies said. “I’m probably the most Nigerian kid in the family because I’m probably the only kid who actually brings their food to school, but I definitely feel more like ‘you guys don’t get to enjoy the stuff I get to enjoy.’”

African dishes are among the most complicated cuisines to transport, as many pieces of each dish are best served hot. To combat

food to the cafeteria and more people would be exposed to it and find something that they like, so they can dive deeper into that culture.”

Rizwan agrees that food is a vital part of her culture.

“I view food as an important part of my Indian

I don’t really care what other people think [though]. If I’m eating good food, I’m eating good food. I don’t really care about [their] opinion because I love my home country’s food.

- Paul Fiamaple, sophomore

this, Davies uses a bowl-shaped Thermos to take her food to school. She’s used the device for a long time, yet still gets comments asking about the unique shape of her thermos.

Davies’s food attracts more attention than traditional Westside lunches because of its unique smells.

“I [bring] things like jollof and fish. I like fish but some people don’t, so they usually say ‘ew,’” Davies said. “I feel bad that they have to smell it, but other than that it’s not that big of a deal.”

Overall, Davies is proud to bring her Nigerian food to school, and hopes that more culturally diverse foods are introduced to people in the future.

“I’m proud to be the person that I grew up being and I’m glad that I can have all these experiences even if other people don’t have them with me,” Davies said.

“Our culture is very food-centric and that’s kind of how we bond with people and that’s how we introduce others to Nigerian culture, [so] I think it would be cool if there were a little more international options to introduce kids.

I understand the limitations they might have and you know it’s school food and people have allergies and stuff, but it would be really cool to introduce more countries’

heritage because that’s how people talk to each other, and food is a way of sharing and celebrating,” Rizwan said. “Anything you can think of has food in it.”

Ramiro Torres is a sophomore from México who doesn’t feel that his food is especially unique based off of the exposure it already has.

“Honestly, I have never [brought my food to school], but I know I would like it because it’s different from American food,” Torres said. “However, I know a whole bunch of people here have had it before, so it’s not really special. They’d be interested, because everyone is different here.”

Torres doesn’t see much Hispanic food in Westside’s cafeteria, and doesn’t believe that it is authentic when it is offered.

“It’s alright, you don’t really see [Hispanic food in the cafeteria]. I don’t think it’s authentic. To be honest, I don’t know why I don’t bring it. You don’t know how people are gonna react, so I just don’t bring it. I’m worried about what people would say.”

Story by Tanatswa Chivero, Design by Jasmine Palikhya, Graphic by Delaney Davis

10

In-Depth

REGULATIONS & REASONINGS FOR SCHOOL LUNCH FOOD

with an additional grain component that would get through the door,” Vik said. “Beyond that, the creates a more balanced plate. The ratios quickest and easiest way for us to find out if something is of components vary at different ages, and worth putting on the shelves in [the Cafe Express] is if it’s the appropriate servings are reflected in the not selling. There’s constant shifting and shoveling.” meals served.

Even with efforts to sell recognizable products, some “[The] elementary, middle, and high snack foods are unique to schools. More health conscious schools all have different requirements as far versions of snacks that can not be found in grocery stores as the amount of total calories they can have, are supplied to schools, such as whole wheat versions of the amount of fat that they can have and the Pop-Tarts. With additional supply constraints in America amount of sodium [they can have],” Allen due to COVID, the school is finding it difficult to stock the said. shelves with prepackaged snacks that rely on the producers Vik said sodium is an area being discussed and shippers. for its nutritional value on school lunches.

“Right now we are having a huge difficulty [getting “There are some stipulations with products],” Vik said. “There are a lot of logistical and supply [sodium] which would really minimize the issues, and [pre-packaged items] are becoming extremely amount of sodium that goes into food,” Vik challenging [to obtain].” said. “Some would argue that’s a great thing To ease the effects of the pandemic on families, Westside [for health], and others would argue ‘yeah has been able to offer reimbursable breakfasts and lunches but no one’s going to eat [the meal without this school year through the government lunch organizations salt].’” they participate in, like USDA. Vik and Allen both agree that “Those three components [for a complete meal] are Westside accounts for the actual taste the baseline for the reimbursable meal,” Allen said. of the food being served when it must “Breakfast and lunch are free and we would ing that follow the guidelines. Packaged love [Westside students] to take the snacks follow similar advantage of that.” stud o regulations in order to be Vik and Allen s e nts ot served in school areas, like in the Cafe believe the like Express.

National Lunch “[Packaged snacks] are under Program will the Smart Snack Guidelines that we continue to have,” Allen said. “Smart Snacks evolve with can [have] a certain amount of fat, new health calories, and sodium, and if they requirements, don’t fall into [the guidelines], and Westside then we can’t serve it.” will continue While following USDA to change requirements, Westside available snack works to find the familiar, foods.

Despite visually appealing the rules school packaged snack products lunch food must that students are more follow, Vik does likely to purchase. not let regulations “We see a lot get in the way of an of sales folks that enjoyable lunch. come in and bring us “There are certain items that will fit [the] requirements we have nutritional [requirements], to focus on as far as the but no one knows what the package health and nutritionals looks like,” Vik said. “We try to look for things of the product, and the that fit our nutritional [needs], but also something that fits menus and the recipes that into the real-world.” w e put together,” Vik said. “But Similar to grocery stores, items that are not selling are in the end, if it’s not something that the not going to be purchased by the school and continually put students like [and] enjoy, then it’s not something that for sale. Vik said there is no point to just filling the shelves, we’re going to want to serve.” so discovering what is best for students requires changes in what is being served.

“The product itself, if the nutritional [components] fit,

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estside High School offers numerous meal options, along with an assortment of pre-packaged snacks.

Nutritional requirements are expected to be met in every food item available to students, and a careful process of selecting acceptable food products takes place long before students see items on the shelves.

Westside operates under the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) formulated National School Lunch Program, which has historically created many nutritional regulations inside of schools.

“The [regulations] were mostly versed on safety of a product, the nutritional side of things was kind of an afterthought,” said Erin Vik, Director of Nutrition Services in District 66. “Then, when people really started to look at the health of our nation, [nutrition] kind of became the focus of [the food regulations].”

According to Vik, what current Westside students know as the Cafe Express used to be known as the Warrior Hut, which served fresh cookies, hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza slices from Pizza Hut. The sparse health requirements have since become more thorough with different presidential administrations, and Westside’s partner, Pizza Hut, could no longer serve food daily.

Today, elements of a balanced meal are much more important for school-served meals.

“The five components are protein, milk, fruits, vegetables and whole grains,” said Jennifer Allen, a Westside Nutrition Specialist. “Out of those [components], three of them have to be [used] for a complete meal.”

Vik explains that, according to USDA guidelines, meals with less nutritional value, such as pizza, must be served

me th

How our cafeteria foods are chosen W

Story by Kate Stevens, Design by Jasmine Palikhya, Graphic by Teddy Twit

Issue 2

11

In-Depth

A DAY IN THE LIFE

W

ith hundreds of hungry students going through the courtyard lines everyday, the job of a Westside High School nutritional server can be challenging. Students only see these hardworking staff members for their 35 minute lunch mod, but they spend their whole day making food service centers run. For nutritional servers like and Naj Chatman who work in the Courtyard and in Cafe Express, a typical workday means lots of preparation to feed Westside students and staff.

“When I get here, we start hamburgers, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken, [and] lunch,” Chatman said. “Once we start that and finish [lunch] preparation, [we] then [take] a lunch [break] really quick and then, if we have enough staff, we come down to The Cafe. The best part of my day is opening the Cafe, I love being down there.”

The Cafe Express appears to be a fan favorite by many of the students at Westside. When The Cafe is open, Haddadin confesses her favorite part of the job is the students.

“I love my job,” Haddadin said. “I love the kids. I love being able t o take care of them and offering them the food and nutrition they need to succeed.”

When Haddadin isn’t working at The Cafe, she takes on other responsibilities of Foods and Nutrition throughout the building.

“Sometimes you get to see us as cashiers, sometimes you get to see us as ... lunch ladies, or serving in the line, [as well as] everything else,” Haddadin said.

Haddadin said she favors working in The Cafe because she’s able to interact with more students.

Nutritional specalists reflect on their average day

“At The Cafe,​we feel that we have more chances to be creative, more chances to build lunches and [make] some lunch ideas that the kids love,” Haddadin said. “This is the best part of our job, [when] we can communicate with you guys [and] have a personal relationship. We try to know you by name, we try to know what makes you happy, we try to know what helps you to succeed in school, we don’t just care about you physically, but we care about what you guys go through in life. We are here not only to feed you, but to give you a listening ear too. We can give you advice or help you in any matter. [That] is why we love our job.” Haddadin said.

At Westside, the Foods and Nutrition servers love knowing that they can play a part in students’ lives and help students succeed academically as well as in life.

Nutritional Server Rania Haddadin

The Lance

Story by Presley Gofta, Design by Jasmine Palikhya, Photo by Chloe Rogers

12

BOATING BURNETTS

Feature

Westside family reflects on two-year sailing voyage

I

n 2015, senior Issak Burnett and his sister Allie, to sail back to the Caribbean and we spent about 6 a sophomore, set sail with their parents and cat, months there, so our total trip was [approximately] 2 Gypsy, on their boat, The Amazing Marvin, for a two years long.” year expedition to escape the norms of everyday life.

During this two year long trip, the siblings were “Six years ago my parents got burnt out from their homeschooled. Isaak Burnett missed his sixth and jobs,” Isaak Burnett said. “My dad retired at the age seventh grade years and Allison Burnett missed her of 40 and Mom was working as a neurologist, so they fourth and fifth grade years. decided to sell most of everything we owned, buy a “We had school for maybe three hours a day for 90 boat and live on it.” days a year,” Issak Burnett said.

Preparation for the expedition looked different for It felt like every couple weeks we would have every member of the family. school and then we would just go swimming,” Allison “For us as kids there was not much preparation,” Burnett said.

Isaak Burnett said. “We sold all of our stuff, said Although the siblings didn’t take a traditional goodbye to our friends and got on the boat. For our approach to homeschooling, both kids were still parents, it took about a year.” able to remain at grade level and even take multiple In preparation, the Burnett’s hired a private captain honors and AP classes when they returned to a regular to teach them how to sail. schooling schedule. For Allison Burnett, the key to “We listed our house in Minnesota, we had a garage school work was cutting down on busy work. sale, we got rid of all of our possessions that couldn’t “We had a lot of personalization, we cut down on a come on a boat with us, drove down to Florida and s e t lot of the busy work that school makes us do, so it took off,” Allison Burnett said. a lot less time,” Allison Burnett said.

Spanning 30 feet wide, the boat was a Leopard 4 8 .

With abstract schedules, the Burnetts used gradeAccording to Isaak Burnett, a catamaran is much appropriate learning materials and stored textbooks more stable and spacious than most boats. The to stay on track with their progression. boat had two engines on both sides and three “Singapore math was the biggest [textbook],” Isaak large sails. Fortunately for the siblings, there Burnett said. “We had to write essays and read books. was enough room on the boat for each kid to Funny enough, the books I was reading then were get their own bedroom and bathroom. more advanced than books I read now as a senior.”

“Most of the time we did have our The schooling was very personalized to both own little spaces,” Allison Burnett said. siblings. Allison Burnett, being only ten at the time, “Because we had our own rooms, it helped would make slide shows for each island they would with our sanity.” travel to while Isaak Burnett would have to write a The trip was two years long and they five page essay. traveled through the Caribbean Sea and The siblings admitted that it was hard to stay Atlantic ocean. connected to current events and pop culture with no “We started off in the Caribbean for access to the internet. [about] a year, then spent three months “It felt like we didnt have WiFi for two years,” in Columbia to sit out hurricane Allison Burnett said. “We missed the entire season,” Issak Burnett said. “We 2016 election and fidget spinners. It was hard then crossed over the Atlantic Ocean in that aspect when coming back. However, the which took us 19 days.” knowledge we collected from the trip “We were in the Mediterranean made up for the lack of meeting for [about] a year and we saw new people.”

Greece, Italy, Spain and Throughout the two year Portugal, all around that journey, socialization was area,” Allison Burnett hard because of the constant said. “Finally, we had movement.

Allison Burnett The Burnett’s sailing ship, The Amazing Marvin, used for their two-year voyage around the world

confessed that the best way to meet new people was in the harbor.

“Our only socialization with kids our age was other boat kids,” Allison Burnett said. “There was just a huge area where we could meet kids and we would have boat races and play beach volleyball.”

Although the trip was an amazing experience, Isaak Burnett explained that not everything went as planned.

“We were off the Spanish islands when we hit an abandoned illegal fish farm.” Isaak Burnett said.

“We crashed right on top of it and we lost both of our engines. We called mayday and the Spanish coast guard was super nice and helped us all out, even though it took till morning to get us out.”

Allison Burnett added that, while their boat was being repaired, they spent three months in Gran Canaria Spain.

“We had a little apartment and mostly got a lot of schooling done and worked on staying sane,” Allison Burnett said.

Through all this chaos, their mother, Mel Burnett, started a blog. Mel Burnett wrote everything, from a travel guide to stories of the trip in her blog Burnetts Ahoy! Each sibling got their own section to write about the trip. This gave them the freedom to share what they learned from the trip and gave audiences the opportunity to see the experience through different eyes.

Although the whole family traveled together, Isaak and Allison Burnett took two different lessons away from the trip.

“The big thing for me was how wide-spread the influence of America is,” Isaak Burnett said.

“Everywhere we visited we expected them to be so different, but we were most commonly asked how citizens of that country could be more like America.”

Isaak added that the expedition was really culturally eye-opening. “ We aren’t as different from the world as you might think,” Isaak Burnett said. “As Americans, we get so caught up in the major issues in our society, but it is just more publicized because we are the number one culture in the world in terms of how much we influence. When I was able to get to see everyone else’s culture, I realized that a lot of our problems are also everyone else’s problems.”

For Allison Burnett, the travels taught her at a young age to enjoy the beauty of the world.

The Lance

Feature

“I was younger than Isaak when we were traveling, so I enjoyed meeting all the new people and seeing all of the amazing islands,” Allison Burnett said. “It helped me to appreciate our country and the cultures of others.”

After the two year dream ended, it was clear that the family needed to settle down. Isaak explained that they chose Omaha for its amazing health care program for their mother, Mel Burnett, and that the Westside district was also a major contributing factor.

“Our parents were very adamant about getting us a real world education, and Westside fit all our criteria perfectly,” Allison Burnett said.

Isaak Burnett, being a little older than Allison Burnett, was able to realize the true meaning of other cultures and ways of life.

“Visiting other countries helps you learn about your own better,” Isaak Burnett said. “One reason we are so successful as a country is because having people come from everywhere and mixing our cultures makes

13

us super strong. Going everywhere else and coming back to the U.S makes you realize how strong other countries have made our culture.”

Burnettsahoy.com

Check Out The Burnett’s Blog!

The Burnett family posing on the coast of Colombia

Isaak and Allie Burnett doing homeschool work with their dad while sailing on “The Amazing Marvin”

Allie Burnett watches as her brother Isaak Burnett jumps from “The Amazing Marvin” off the Italian Coast

The Burnett family after their final landing

Issue 2

Story by Izzy Dodge, Design by Luke Steiner, Photos provided by Burnett Family

14

WESTSIDEBADPARKING

Feature

Instagram profile features WHS’ bad parking jobs

Story by Auguste Kuehne

W

ith 831 Instagram followers and counting, “Westside Bad Parking” seems to be among the hottest accounts in school. Despite the account being less than a month old, it already has 54 posts featuring bad parking jobs by students and staff of Westside High school.

This account displays every bad parking job imaginable, from parking on the sidewalk to one car taking up 4 spaces. The account relies solely on student participation and send-ins.

The Instagram bio of “Westside Bad Parking” simply states “dms open.” If a student or staff member is stunned by an awful parking job, they can quickly snap a picture, direct message “Westside Bad Parking,” and the account manager will block out the driver’s license plate and post it on their account for the student body to laugh at.

The account often goes as far as captioning the parking jobs with snarky comments. Two posts from Oct. 14 featured a car parked diagonally with the caption “I’m convinced my grandma could park better than you guys,” and another of a Jeep parked over the parking lines with the caption “U guys know ur supposed to go in the lines right?”

Curt Cubrich, a current junior at Westside High School, is one of the 54 drivers that have been featured on the account.

“I think it’s really funny man,” Cubrich said. “I’ve always been bad at parking and was hoping no one noticed, and then this account started and I really wasn’t expecting to get featured and it really changed me. Getting featured on [the account] has caused me to really step up my game.”

Although showing your bad parking job to your classmates might be slightly embarrassing, Cubrich believes that the account is entertaining and has led him to become a better parker.

Design by Jasmine Palikhya

Graphics by Jadyn Anderson “I think it’s an entertaining way to have a laugh at all the bad parking found around school,” Cubrich said. “Now, whenever I see a parking space, I have to back up and redo my parking job a few times to make sure I have a good parking job.”

Tristan Alvano, a junior at Westside High School, recalls a time when he sent in a photo to the parking account.

“We were running out of football one day and Marty Mormino parked in a terrible spot,” Alvano said. “As he was getting into his car, I just felt the need to take a picture and send it to the account.”

Alvano’s photo ended up being featured on the account later that day with the caption “You guys and this spot.”

Alvano feels this account has had a positive impact on the students’ parking jobs and has held them to be more accountable.

“It’s made people become more aware and really caused students to check their parking job twice,” Alvano said.

The Lance reached out for an interview with “Westside Bad Parking” for insight into what prompted them to create the account, but they denied an interview in an effort to keep their identity a secret. They did answer a few questions over Instagram direct message. “[I] created the Instagram account because [I] saw Millard North created one and thought [Westside] could do much better than them,” they said over Instagram direct messages. “I think the account will go on for a while but I will eventually burn out so I’ll just give it to someone. There is one owner to the account. If anyone would like to also run the account DM Westside Bad Parking.”

For now, the identity behind this humorous account is left up to the imagination of Westside students.

The Lance

Feature

SIMPLY SCIENCE

15

Students excited to come back to Westside’s Science Club

R

ecovering from a year unlike no other due to COVID-19, Westside High School’s Science Club is attempting to make a comeback.

With three regularly involved members and two teacher sponsors, the club is very small compared to the previous 12 years it has existed.

Judith Stucky and Benjamin Powers, both physics teachers at Westside, primarily run the club.

Stucky has been teaching physics for 37 years, and 17 of those years have been at Westside.

The Science Club’s overall goal is to get students together who have a common interest in science.

“The club goal is to get like-minded people together to do science and engineering,” Stucky said. “It’s for the students to have an outlet like that.”

The club competes in various competitions and conventions throughout the year.

“The club also does some competitions,” Stucky said.

“They do Science Olympiad, which is an international competition. There [are] local events [and] online events since [COVID-19. There is also] a regional and a state competition. The winner of state gets to go to the international competition.”

Stucky said that there is some science trivia that club members can participate in competitively if they prefer that over hands-on events.

“We also do a Department of Defense Science trivia competition at the state level,” Stucky said. “We have guest speakers, we do fun science and engineering projects, we watch videos, talk about science news. [It’s] a whole variety of things, kind of led by what the students are most interested in.”

Stucky said that Science Club is essentially for anyone who is interested, regardless of whether it is simply a hobby or if it is because someone is looking into a career in science.

“The club is for anyone who likes science,” Stucky said. “In the past some of the people who joined because

Issue 2

their friend [was] in it and weren’t totally interested in science or [possible] career in it. [Yet, they] became more interested in both because they did fun stuff that wasn’t like science class.”

Stucky said that this year, a Westside alumni guest speaker, Yussef Eweis, came in to talk to the club members about how you don’t always have to have good grades in high school, and that you can still reach your goals regardless.

“My favorite thing this year is when we had a guest speaker who was a Westside grad,” Stucky said. “He talked about how, his first semester here, he was in AP physics and he failed the first quarter, but he worked really hard … and he got an A by the end of the semester. Now, he has a masters degree in physics.

[He] was giving [the club members] pros and cons about different careers. He is also going to help some of the students with their events for competition.”

There is a wide variety of experiments and project options for members looking to participate in the Science Olympiad, according to Stucky. One of this year’s options is bridge building.

“They build [a] bridge out of a list of materials that they can use,” Stucky said. “They’ll test it throughout the year and the goal is to make the bridge as light as possible, but hold as much weight as possible.”

Other options can include engineering challenges, chemistry lab, and circuitry lab.

Along with physically making something and admitting it to the competition, contestants also have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and thinking skills to the test.

“There are some events that are just knowledge tests,” Stucky said. “There is an astronomy test, there is an anatomy and physiology test, [and] there is a fossil test.”

A quiz bowl is also an event people can enter as a part of Science Club to go head-to-head, trying to answer the most science related questions out of all of the groups.

The club has already started doing

experiments this year and is looking into doing more exciting experiments and activities as the school year continues.

Simon Heise, a current freshman, is one of the three members who regularly participates in the club.

“Science in general just interests me,” Heise said.

“With how everything works together and what does not, and what makes everything the thing that it is.”

Heise said that one of the first things that they did in the club was make bottle rockets and had a small friendly competition of who could make the best functioning one.

“We made bottle rockets on the first day,” Heise said.

“It was a competition to see who could get their parachute to open on their rocket and have the most time in the air, without touching the ceiling. We put paper fins on the side of the bottles. Then, we pumped it up with bike pumps, [and] we launched them in the air.”

In regards to the Science Olympiad, Heise said they haven’t figured out what they’re going to participate in yet. “[We’re] working with figuring out what we’re going to do for the science fair,” Heise said. “What’s interesting and what’s not, and what we can do for that and what we can’t. The limitations on everything, [plus] what we can use to build different things [to enter in the fair].”

On Nov. 22, another guest speaker plans on stopping by to talk to the club, and Stucky said anyone is welcome to stop by and listen.

“I’d encourage anyone to give it a try,” Stucky said. “Especially on November 22, we’ve got another guest speaker.

Marissa Gigantelli is going to be coming in, and she is an electrical engineer now. She is going to talk to the students about electrical engineering.”

Story and Graphics by Sydney Rolles, Design by Jasmine Palikhya

16

BACK TO BACK?

T

Sports

Westside football to compete in their third straight state championship

he second-seeded Westside Warriors are one win away from winning back-to-back state championships after taking down the third-seeded Bellevue West Thunderbirds 41-26 in the Class A Semifinals.

The Warriors varsity football team will compete in their third consecutive Class A State Championship Game on Tuesday, Nov. 23 against the fifth-seeded Gretna Dragons.

“Certainly we’re comfortable with the process, the preparation, the time, how much we practice and we don’t,” Froendt said. “Obviously the kids pick up on that and they know that we’ve been there before so I hope that translates to them and gives them confidence that our preparation is proceeding in the right way.”

Westside’s 28 seniors have all experienced this type of game before, whether it was in 2020 at Phelps Field, or in 2019 at Memorial Stadium. Unlike in 2019, senior running-back and safety Dominic Rezac will be playing

comfortable on the big stage is something that is going to be emphasized.

“It’s a part of what we as coaches have to communicate to the kids in terms of what they’re gonna expect,” Froendt said. “We’re Sophomore safeties, Caleb Benning and Grant Buetler, celebrate gonna get on the field a little bit before the after deflecting a pass from Bellevue West’s Luke Johannsen to game just to experience that before we warm up. It’ll be up to the kids to make force a turnover on downs and guarantee a Westside victory. that adjustment quicker and to make sure “They’re just ‘dawg’s’ up front,” Froendt they’re focused on the game and not the said. “Those guys have played hard and they h a v e surroundings.”

After back-to-back wins over top-10 ranked teams, played against guys that are much bigger than them. Coach sophomore safety Caleb Benning feels that there isn’t much [Justin] Haberman coaches them to play with speed and physicality and the fact that they are not playing the other more the team has to prove.

“People doubted us against Burke and we won by 40, side of the ball means they’re fresh.”

Along with the dominant defensive line, an experienced people doubted us this past week too and we won by two touchdowns,” Benning said. “We’ve been looking at that linebacking core has wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. all season but they don’t know what we build day Against Bellevue West, senior linebackers Tommy Connelly in and day out in practice so I think our preparation and Jack Wimmer combined for 13 solo tackles, two sacks and two pass deflections and will look to add onto it against helps us a lot.”

The rushing attack for the Warriors, led Gretna.

“Our linebackers complement [our defensive line] with

by Class A’s third-leading rusher in Dominic Rezac, has been a big piece to Westside’s offense. a lot of speed and I think what other teams don’t appreciate Sophomore Jahmez Ross has also added a new layer about us is our team speed,” Froendt said. “We recover to the ground game for the Warriors averaging 103 fast on mistakes and when we have to cover ground to get yards in his last four games and was the leading sacks, to get roll outs, we’re there quick.”

For coach Froendt, the team’s culture has been a key to rusher against Bellevue West. Coach Froendt said that Dominic and Ross will both factor into the state success this season.

“You have teammates and brothers who have each championship game.

“Dom was fighting some injuries last week and other’s back and are constantly positively lifting each really didn’t take one practice rep on either side of other up and it’s needed in order for your team to optimally the ball,” Froendt said. “We had to go into the game perform when it matters the most,” Froendt said. “The Sophomore running-back Jahmez Ross finds open space against with a conservative thought with him and we have culture is strong because this team has bought into it more Bellevue West in the Class A State Semifinals. Ross ran for a Jahmez so we decided to play it by ear. Dom’s going than others and as much as anyone and I think they’re going total of 123 yards on 12 carries. to be ready to go and he’ll be ready to do anything to be as juiced as they have been all year for this game.”

The Class A State Championship game between we ask of him this week.” alongside his two brothers, Anthony and Teddy Rezac.

On the other side of the ball, Westside’s defense has Westside and Gretna will be held at Memorial Stadium in For Dominic Rezac, the perceived glamour of Memorial excelled in their three playoff appearances. After only Lincoln, at 7:15 p.m. It will also be available to watch on Stadium can be a distraction, it will be a positive experience allowing 182 yards in their first two games against Nebraska Public Media television (Cox Cable Ch.12).

The Warriors will look to claim their fourth Class A for him and his family.

Papillion-La Vista South and Omaha Burke, the Warriors “Obviously it means something being down there with held Class A’s highest scoring offense in Bellevue West to state title in program history while the Dragons are looking for their first title. the full family but honestly I liked playing here at Phelps just six points in the second half. last year,” Dominic Rezac said. “It’s going to be cool to get Much of this has been attributed to the Warriors’ that experience down at Memorial and hopefully we can dominant play at the line of scrimmage. Coach Froendt have a better outcome than we had two years ago.” expressed how well the defensive line has played, even For coach Froendt, getting his players time to feel when mismatched.

Story by Jaden Taylor, Design by Sydney Rolles, Photos by Mary Nilius

The Lance

17

FALLING FOR FALL FILMS

A&E

Movies that embody fall D

uring this time of year, holiday spirit is a big topic of conversation. With all of the most-favored holidays of the year coming up, people are rushing to watch their favorite seasonal entertainment. However, these celebratory films’ themes can get quite repetitive. Whether you don’t celebrate traditional festivities, or you’re sick of the holiday cliches, it’s always a good idea to celebrate the coziest time of the year: fall.

The same love and nostalgia you get while watching traditional holiday movies can be achieved with these fall movies as well. It’s time to honor this loving season with films that embody its most admirable attributes.

While there are no movies that explicitly celebrate fall time, there are ones that perfectly enhance the beauty of the season. ‘90s movies seem to perfectly capture the fall aesthetic.

With the fashion of the time period consisting of lots of layers and dark colors, most of these movies set in the last fourth of the year compliment the current season’s styles. With style icons of the ‘90s such as Jennifer Aniston in Friends, Winona Ryder in Reality Bites and Alicia Silverstone in Clueless, we see very common factors in each of their fashion. These consist of lots of muted lips, darks, plaids, and heavy sweaters or leather jackets. Each of these components are staple pieces in the chilly midwestern falls. These styles and settings of the movies perfectly capture the ambience of fall with its calming atmosphere and style inspirations.

One of the movies that exquisitely falls into this category is The Silence of The Lambs. Although The Silence of The Lambs lacks the comforting feelings of fall, it’s perfect for this time of year with the movie being filmed in the midst of one of the many beautiful falls in Pennsylvania. Plus, with the lead being the adorable and stylish Clarice Starling, her essence fits the setting of the film incredibly well.

Another movie that represents this time well is When Harry Met Sally. There is no other movie that matches this season so well. With an adorable love story being told in front of the pleasant scenery of fall in New York, it makes for a very cozy viewing experience. Plus, with t h e soundtrack mainly consisting of pleasurable jazz,

Story, Design and Graphics by Emma Tyler

it really ties the film together.

Dark academia is another aesthetic that embodies the feeling of fall very well. For a movie to fall under the category of dark academia, a subgenre of film, it must consist of a few factors. These include a setting at a cozy and vintage high school or college, a color palette with lots of gloomy and dark colors, layered and preppy clothing, and the main characters being students.

With most of the extravagant and vintage boarding school buildings being in the North, many of these movies take place in colorful and brisk falls which adds to the aesthetic of these films’ color palettes and style.

Not only do these movies capture fall with their overall aura, but the time of the year as well. With these movies usually beginning at the start of the school year, they are the perfect thing to watch as we are in the middle of our first semester.

As many high school students yearn to attend a pretentious private school in a cozy small town, with the right movie it can seem as if you are getting the full experience.

Two movies that fit well into this category are Dead Poets Society and the Harry Potter series.

With Dead Poets Society taking place in a beautiful old boarding school in the middle of Vermont from September to December, there is no other setting that captures the season better. Plus, with the plot surrounding literature and poetry, it’s a very cozy film to watch on a rainy fall day.

I would never call the Harry Potter movie series fine films by any means. However, they are the perfect thing to watch if you really want to feel the dark academic vibes.

The set design and colors of the movie really bring a warm feel to the film. Between the beginning of the school year, fashionable dark and classic uniforms, and the comforting feel of Hogwarts, you are sure to feel the cozy fall love as soon as you start it.

Honorable mentions that are from more recent times include Knives Out, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Little Women.

Although none of these particularly fall into the two categories listed, they are there for the comfort they give.

Even though they all still follow the ideas behind fall-like set design, color palettes, and style, a true fall movie leaves the viewer with a sensation of ease and love.

The beauty of fall is all that it represents within people.

To many of us it may represent time spent getting closer to

friends and family in this season, and to many others it may just be the cleansing feeling they receive when seeing the leaves change colors or inhaling the crisp fall air.

Whatever this time represents to you, it’s an amazing time to bond with those you love over cozy movie watchings of your favorite comfort films. At the end of the day, there’s nothing more fall than watching movies with people you consider your family.

Just like the time of fall, watching movies with those you’re close with is a time for connecting and celebrating the beauty of the simplest things in life. With just the right movies, you can truly enhance this experience to relive these nostalgic and cozy memories of fall growing up.

Fall brings out the best feelings for everyone, so live in the moment and celebrate. The beauty of this magical time of year is that it’s short; get the most out of this cozy time while you can.

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A&E

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NO TURKEY ON TURKEY-DAY Enjoying Thanksgiving as a vegan

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lmost all holidays are known for the food they inspire, but Thanksgiving is perhaps the most food-centered holiday of them all. With the turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and much more, this food concentrated holiday sounds like one of the least vegan-friendly holidays out there.

However, there are many different alternatives for vegans to make and enjoy on Thanksgiving day. So for any vegans out there, or people who are simply curious, let me answer your question of “what food is out there for me?”

Veganism is when people stop using animal products.

Whether it is for cultural, dietary, or morality reasons, there are many factors as to why people choose to be vegan.

I am a vegetarian, but in an effort to push my limits, I decided to try to find a homemade vegan turkey recipe.

As I looked, I was only finding store-bought options or recipes that were far too complicated for someone who isn’t an incredible chef. My recommendation would be to find a vegan turkey that you can just go and buy without too much hassle.

Keeping this in mind, I looked for some still well-loved, but lesser known Thanksgiving foods, and found vegan stuffing and mashed potatoes.

At first, I questioned how many of the ingredients in the recipe would be different from the usual way of making it.

However, I was curious when there were a few odd things that I had never worked with before.

Vegan butter, for example, is made by combining water with a type of plant-based oil. Yet, I would never have gotten that from the taste. Vegetable broth played a large part in the stuffing, as I used it instead of chicken broth.

Another, and possibly the strangest ingredient, was a flax egg. While wanting the stuffing to keep its shape without being able to use an egg, the recipe called for ground flax

seeds and some water. I was skeptical as to how well this would work, but after a few seconds of mixing, the water and flax seeds began to form an egg-like consistency. It was a shocking discovery.

The neat-egg is another type of egg replacer recommended by vegans. It is an easy-to-mix replacement that can be used as a binding agent, made of chia seeds and garbanzo beans.

These two egg replacements, along with vegan butter, coconut oil, spices, sweeteners, and apple or pumpkin butters are highly recommended for vegans to use in their

cooking.

I made gravy while the stuffing was cooling. The recipe I was using recommended using miso gravy, but one trip to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s resulted in no finds of miso paste, the main ingredient. Other vegan recipes also called for miso paste, and it was beginning to look hopeless.

Giving up, I decided to wing it. Using vegetable broth as an alternative for bacon grease, I added what I thought was a reasonable amount of seasonings, ranging from onion powder to cinnamon, and ending it off with salt and pepper.

To thicken it up, I started slowly adding flour to the mix, and continued adding more until I could feel it start to thicken as it stirred.

That ended up being a mistake. As the gravy heated up on the stove, it got thicker and thicker until it resembled something more like wet cement. It tasted good, surprisingly, but it was too thick to use on the mashed potatoes. I ended up scrapping it. For the future, wait until the gravy is hot before adding flour, as it thickens up pretty quickly once it gets warm.

The mashed potatoes were less complicated, but used more ingredients I wasn’t used to. I have always used butter and milk in my potatoes, and those two things were off the table. I decided almond milk would be the best alternative, and found vegan butter at Trader Joe’s.

After making the potatoes, I tasted them and was slightly underwhelmed. There was not as much flavor as there is in regular potatoes. I knew there would be some difference, but after the stuffing, I was a little disappointed. In spite of this, I managed to save it by adding lots of salt and pepper, which brought the flavors out a tiny bit more.

The mashed potatoes and stuffing together were delicious, and I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. The recipe showed how to make the stuffing in little muffin tins and top it with the mashed potatoes, having it resemble a cupcake. It was perfect for eating it together, but my personal opinion was that each dish tasted better separately.

So for my vegans and curious people out there, this simple recipe is a good place to start. Not only will you learn more about this way of eating, but you will have the satisfaction of presenting something to your table for your family to appreciate.

Story by Zoe Rector, Photo by Kiera Ginn and Design by Emma Tyler

Humans of Westside: What are your Thanksgiving traditions?

“My family comes to town and we celebrate with them coming over to our house, and eating a bunch of food and playing card games. We play Apples to Apples, Cards Against Humanity, pretty much anything you can think of.”

Tommy Connelly, 12

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Jackson Ingvoldstad, 11

“We alternate every year between going to my mom’s side of the family or my dad’s side of the family. Different members of each side of the family, depending on whose side we celebrate on. Everyone just makes a different kind of food, like my aunt will make sweet potatoes, [my] uncle and my dad will cook the turkey, my grandma will make the stuffing and then me, my aunts, my grandparents and my cousins eat dinner together.”

Story and Photos by Emma Allen, Design by Emma Tyler

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IMC REVIEWS

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nstructional Materials Center, IMCs, are a crucial part of Westside High School. These unique spaces give students the opportunity to meet and collaborate with teachers and other students, as well as studying. These centers at Westside are a great place for students to go during their open mods.

The following IMCs have been ranked based on environment, crowdedness, and productivity. Environment scores are based on the rules in the IMC, the seating and the students that often hang out there. Crowdedness scores are based on the busyness of the IMC versus the amount of seating. A productivity score is based on the quietness of the IMC and how easy it is for students to complete their work.

The IMCs will be ranked on a scale of one to ten. IMCs with the worst environment, least crowdedness, and hardest to be productive in will receive a lower score and IMCs with the best environment, most crowded, and easiest to be productive in will receive higher scores.

Library Environment: 10; Crowdedness: 8; Productivity; 6 The library is the most entertaining and fun IMC. The library offers private rooms for students to reserve, which are great for students who are doing a school project, or when someone is in need of a quiet space.

Featuring tables of Legos and abstract seating, the library provides a comfortable and collaborative work environment for students. Additionally, the library is home to desktop computers for students to use and a printer.

The librarians are very helpful with anything you might need.

Seating is comfortable, especially the wobbly stools, but there is often a shortage of seats. The library is quiet, but you are still able to talk to other students. The library has a laid-back atmosphere, giving it the highest rating for environment.

Social Studies and Business Environment: 8; Crowdedness: 7; Productivity: 8 The Social Studies and Business IC is a little noisy, but there is plenty of seating, including very comfortable upholstered benches. These benches are incredible for napping and sitting.

Upperclassmen mainly hang out and chat in this IMC, but there are many small desks and tables that people can study and do homework at. Many of the tables are close together, which makes the space difficult to navigate. There is also a printer in this IMC that has a clicky keyboard, which makes it a quality printer.

Math Environment: 2, Crowdedness: 6, Productivity: 8 The Math IMC is known for its sophomore-heavy crowd.

The IMC has the same comfy benches like in the Social Studies and Business IMC, but the environment is less laid back.

Rules are enforced more heavily in this IMC, which makes it a productive environment. Talking is also kept to a minimum in the Math IMC. Artwork is often hung up around the secretary’s desk and math competitions take place there. Students are sometimes able to guess the amount of candy in jars and solve “Daily Math Problems” which are fun additions to the IMC.

Little Theater Environment: 7; Crowdedness: 8; Productivity: 3 The Little Theater is a newer addition to the IMC collection. The Little Theater mainly serves as an alternate IMC to the Courtyard during lunch mods. One of its downsides is that it is not always open due to classes taking place there.

The chairs in this room are some of the best chairs at Westside, because they are comfortable and have wheels. However, there are other chairs in the Little Theater that are plastic and uncomfortable.

The Little Theater has a projector and multiple television screens which serve no purpose during open mods, but add to the room. The paint designs on the walls are colorful and there are different levels within the room. The tables are connected so many students are able to work in rows facing the front of the room.

English and World Language Environment: 6; Crowdedness: 6; Productivity: 8 The English and World Language IMC is known for being the freshman IMC. The IMC: is a quiet place where students can work.

Rules are somewhat strict in this IMC, students need to be working and using quiet voices. The environment of this IMC is nice because of its high ceilings and natural lighting. There are few seats per table, which makes this IMC a productive space. There is a good amount of seating, but the IMC is fairly dim.

Science Environment: 4, Busyness: 1, Productivity: 5 The Science IMC is located in room 313, also known as one of the biology rooms. During open mods, students are able to sit at the three sided tables in the room, even during classes. The reason that the Science IMC is so low on this list is because there is no actual space for the IMC. Because science rooms are larger than other classrooms, due to the need for lab spaces, there is not enough space for a Science IMC. Students who do go in the Science IMC can be moderately productive. The IMC is quiet during mods where classes are not taking place there, but often gets noisy when classes are performing a lab or activity.

Story by Charlotte Miller, Graphic and Design by Emma Tyler

Courtyard Environment: 8; Crowdedness: 10; Productivity: 1 The Courtyard is a popular place to hang out,because there is food, and everyone loves food. There is plenty of seating, but the chairs are uncomfortable and ugly because they are an awkward shape and a gross shade of yellow. The Warrior Cafe inside the courtyard is a convenient way to get snacks, but is not always open.

This area is very noisy and crowded, so the productivity of students is often low. Students are often unable to use their iPads during lunch mods, which also makes it hard to get work done.

Engineering and Technology Environment: 5; Crowdedness: 3; Productivity:7 The Engineering and Technology IMC is primarily filled with Engineering and Technology students, but all students are welcome to use this IMC. The workspace is somewhat quiet, but some noises are heard from different classes nearby. The IMC is very calm and very few students hang out in this IMC. Sometimes the IMC is musty because of woodworking classes. The secretary’s desk is decorated with seasonal decor that adds to the space.

Instead of the teachers’ desks being located inside the IMC, teachers have their own offices, so sounds of students working with teachers, phone calls, and meetings are muted.

The Lance

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Arts and Entertainment

CROSSWORD! 1 2

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Read this issue of The Lance to solve the crossword 5

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7

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Across 2. ingredients combined with water to make a vegan egg substitute 6. the lowest rated IMC in the “crowdedness” category 7. the dept. whose National School Lunch program Westside follows 8. the number of cast members in the show Our Place

Down 1. the state where The Silence of the Lambs was filmed 2. the state the Burnetts set off for their boating trip from 3. an ingredient whose amount has been minimized in school lunches 4. the show that Warrior Theatre ranked four out of seven in in 2019 5. the IMC with the highest rating for the “environment” category

Across: 2. flax seeds 6. science IMC 7. USDA 8. fourteen Down: 1. Pennsylvania 2. Florida 3. sodium 4. Front 5. library

Crossword, graphics, and design by Jadyn Anderson

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