NEWS BRIEFS
As the 2021-2022 school year draws to a close, WSS highlights recent news ranging from spring sports to prom. BY LILLY GRAHAM
DESIGN BY SACHIKO GOTO
COVID-19 UPDATE ENTERING SUMMER 2022
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH
With the ICCSD dropping its mask mandate in early March and major airlines no longer requiring masks onboard domestic flights, there is hope that this summer will be closer to pre-pandemic normalcy. However, epidemiologists caution against this optimism. There are fears that a more potent variant will emerge, similar to how the Delta variant diminished hope of the pandemic waning last summer. With at-home COVID-19 testing becoming popular, experts are concerned that most positive cases will go unreported, leading to an undercount of COVID-19 cases across the country. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that a mere 7% of COVID-19 positive tests are being recorded in the US.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS Having planned this year’s homecoming, initiated the Green Bandana Project and assisted the Best of West Program, West High Student Government is active again, following a hiatus during the 2020-2021 school year. To implement the Green Bandana Project, Student Government handed out six hundred green bandanas to students for them to display their solidarity for those with mental health struggles. The Best of West service connects West students to peers who can tutor them in standardized testing, academics and extracurriculars. Student Government held elections for next year’s president and vice president on April 29. The president is required to be a rising senior and their vice president a rising junior. Jayden Shin ’23 and Cindy Wang ’24 won the election and will lead Student Government next year. PHOTO BY SACHIKO GOTO
SPRING SPORTS SUMMARY
PHOTO BY MADDY SMITH
04 NEWS
MAY 24, 2022
As the regular season for spring sports ends, teams are beginning to prepare for state tournaments. With a second-place finish at state last year, the boys soccer team maintains a 10-2 record, and Michael Nelson ’23 leads the team with 21 goals scored. The girls soccer team secured a win over Liberty and is 5-5 in the regular season. At the Drake Relays, West’s track and field team placed 3rd in the boys 4x100-meter relay (Rent ’24, Loveless ’24, Janis ’23 and Gudenkauf ’22), and Erinn Varga ’24 finished 6th in the 400-meter hurdles. The currently-undefeated boys’ tennis team looks forward to another run at the 2A state title. The girls’ tennis team has a regular season record of 3-10. All season records were current as of print time.
