2022-10-07

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

Hey there!

Welcome to the new school year, Trojans! We hope you had a great summer and are looking forward to the year ahead.

As you become familiar with your courses this trimester, flip to pages 6-7 to learn about three new classes offered at West.

While you are walking through the halls, you may see the new faces of faculty members. To learn some fun facts about them, see pages 12-13.

One of these new staff members, Demetrius Harper, talks about his upbringing and what inspired him to teach and coach on pages 14-15.

This issue’s cover story is about violence in the West community. Flip to page 18 to learn about the causes and implications of these conflicts.

We appreciate your support and can’t wait to see what this year will bring.

SINCERELY,

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS

FEATURE

PROFILE

FACULTY

COVER

COURSES

KRISHA KAPOOR (she/her)

CONTACT US

Mailing address: 2901 Melrose Ave., Iowa City, IA 52240 Website: wsspaper.com Email: westsidestorypaper@gmail.com

KATHERINE SHOPPA (they/them)

ENTERTAINMENT

WORDS OF

WISER

West Side Story reflects the views of the staff and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the school administration, faculty or student body. Students who want to join WSS should enroll in Foundations of Journalism. For more information, go to wsspaper.com/join.

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RESPONDING TO WSS

Letters to the editor may be submitted to room 111, emailed to westsidestorypaper@gmail.com or mailed to the school. All letters must be signed. Names will be published and identities verified by the opinion editor. Letters must not contain personal attacks against an individual and may be edited.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

The WSS strives to correct its errors. If you notice any inaccuracies, contact westsidestorypaper@gmail.com.

EQUITY STATEMENT

It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, martial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or sociaeconomic programs, activities, or employment practices. If you believe you have (or your child has) been discriminated against or treated unjustly at your school, please contact the Equity Director, at 509 Dubuque Street, 319-688-1000. Please contact westsidestorypaper@gmail.com for questions or comments.

FRONT COVER

BY EVA JORDAN

OPINION

WSS SOCIAL MEDIA

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STAFF LIST

Zaira Ahmad* (she/her) Profiles Editor

Jack Alden (he/him) Reporter

Defne Bayman (they/she) Artist, Photographer, Designer

William Cheng* (he/him) Visual Editor

Maya Chu* (she/her) Feature Editor

Ella De Young* (she/her) Managing Editor

Heidi Du* (she/her) Copy Editor

Sila Duran* (she/her) Assistant Design Editor

Jack Furlong* (he/they) Reporter

Sachiko Goto* (she/they) Design Editor

Lilly Graham* (she/her) News Editor

Eva Jordan* (she/her) Entertainment Editor

Krisha Kapoor* (she/her) Print Co-Editor-In-Cheif

Reem Kirja (she/her) Photographer, Reporter

Kamakshee Kuchhal* (she/her) Assistant Copy Editor Jane Lam (she/her) Reporter Jessie Li (she/her) Reporter Gianna Liu (she/her) Photographer, Reporter

Jay Mascardo (she/he/they) Photographer, Reporter

Ginger McCartney (she/her) Artist, Designer Helen Orszula (she/her) Artist, Designer Esther Park (she/her) Artist, Designer

Lily Prochaska* (she/her) Sports Editor

Mrudani Ramkumar (she/her) Reporter

Katherine Shoppa* (they/them) Print Co-Editor-In-Chief

Anna Song (she/her) Artist, Designer

McKenna Stephens (she/her) Designer, Photographer

Marie Stier (she/her) Reporter

Rosemary Timmer-Hackert* (she/they) Opinion Editor

Erinn Varga (she/her) Artist, Designer

Sofia Wells-Lu (she/her) Artist, Designer

Sara Whittaker (she/her) Adviser

Athena Wu (she/her) Artist, Designer

*Editorial Board Member

NEWS BRIEFS

As students ease into the new school year, here is the latest news from the world and West.

BY JACK ALDEN AND KATHERINE SHOPPA

PRIDE FESTIVAL

DESIGN BY ESTHER PARK

ART BY WILLIAM CHENG & ESTHER PARK

Coralville hosted its second annual Pride Festival Sept. 4 in the parking lot of Green State Credit Union. The festival con tained booths for selling products, company publicity and community engagement. In addition, the festival included a book signing of Dr. Loren Olson’s “No More Neckties,” a mem oir about coming out. The festival featured a stage for live performances and the recognition of the Pride Honor Roll Hall of Fame 2022, a group of local businesses that demon strated inclusion and community, such as FilmScene and the UI Health Care LGBTQ+ Clinic.

FALL SPORTS

The West football team’s season record is 3-2 as of print time. Mason Woods ’25 tied the school record for the longest in terception return with a 98-yard touchdown Sept. 9. The girls’ swim team has gone 5-0 at their dual meets as of print time with Jade Roghair ’23 earning an automatic state-qualifying time in the 100 freestyle. Boys’ golf won 1st place at their meets Aug. 16 and Sept. 1 and Jack Jensen-Fitzpatrick ’26 hit a hole-in-one Aug. 23. The varsity volleyball team’s record is 8-14 as of print time and earned third in the silver bracket at their Sept. 24 tournament. Girls’ cross country placed third Sept. 22 and boys’ cross country fnished second at their meet Aug. 27.

NEW YEAR, NEW CHANGES

As with every school year, West High has made some changes. AFT is now after 5th period and shortened by 10 minutes to match with the other high schools in the district. Additionally, instead of using reusable laminat ed hall passes, the administration implemented the use of single-use paper passes that require a teacher’s signature. They have also installed vape detectors in the bathrooms. To curb an uptick in fighting, the district enacted a rule stating that anyone who records or participates in a fight will be suspended. Buses now leave at 4:05 instead of 4:10. School lunches are no longer free as the federal funds for COVID-19 no longer cover them. Finally, backpacks are not allowed in the servery and must be placed outside the servery or at students’ seats before entering.

PHOTO BY SACHIKO GOTO

PHOTO BY KRISHA KAPOOR

PHOTO BY DEFNE BAYMAN

EXTREME WEATHER

Extreme weather events swept across the United States this summer and into September. The Pearl River near Jackson, Mississippi exceeded its food stage Aug. 24, causing a Jackson water plant’s system to fail and forcing 150,000 people to go without drinking water for several weeks. Earlier in the summer, roughly 25,000 Kentucky residents went with out water due to fooding that broke water lines. The Midwest endured several heat warnings during the summer. Addition ally, California is facing its own record-breaking heat waves and intense wildfres. President Biden cited these climate crises as further justifcation for the infrastructure bill he signed into law last fall.

STUDENT DEBT FORGIVENESS

President Biden announced a three-part plan to ease student debt Aug. 24. The plan aims to help American families lessen the financial burden caused by student debt and COVID-19. The Department of Education proposed a repayment system that caps monthly payments at five percent of a person’s discretionary income and gives up to $20,000 of debt cancellation for Pell Grant recipients or up to $10,000 otherwise. The application for one-time relief will open in early October.

TRUMP SEARCH

Donald Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, was searched by the FBI Aug. 8 for documents he removed from the White House. The FBI obtained the warrant on the basis of three possible crimes: obstruction, unauthorized retention of national security secrets and destroying or conceal ing government documents. They recovered 15 boxes of documents. The federal judge overseeing Trump’s case appointed a special master to review the documents that were seized. Until the review is done, the Department of Justice cannot use the documents in the criminal case against Trump but can still review them and use them to debrief members of Congress.

HOMECOMING WEEK

The homecoming Spirit Week themes included pajama day, t-shirt signing, anything but backpacks, throwback clothing styles and school spirit. The Trojan Games were Sept. 22 and featured a basketball game through the Community Inclu sion Club, fag football and volleyball. The pep rally Sept. 23 included a game of musical chairs, a pie-eating contest and other activities. That night, students attended the Battle of the Boot football game against City High, which West lost 0-49. The homecoming dance was Sept. 24 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and the theme was “Starry Night.” Joseph Alar ape, Paige Albright, Krisha Kapoor, Audrey Parrish, Jayden Shin and Hebah War were named the 2022 Heroes of Troy.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

PHOTO BY DEFNE BAYMAN

NEW YEAR, NEW COURSES

This school year, West has added three unique courses to its catalog.

BY KRISHA KAPOOR & JESSIE LI

DIALECTICAL BEHAVIORAL TRAINING

Dialectical Behavioral Training, or DBT, is a trimester-long, group-based course that teaches skills for improved mindful ness, stress tolerance, emotional regulation and relationship building.

DBT was introduced to the district by the Uni versity of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, or UIHC.

e UIHC had used DBT with patients and was interested to see the implications of imple mentation in schools. Initially, DBT skills were taught to students in an a er-school setting, but accessibility issues and positive feedback demonstrated the need for a DBT class with a set curriculum. e course started at City High and was integrated into West High this fall. ere is one period of DBT taught by social studies teacher Travis Henderson.

Henderson believes that the skills taught in DBT are some of the most applicable lessons students will learn in high school.

“So many times we sit in classrooms, and we’re like, ‘I don’t get how I’m going to use this,’” Hen derson said. “ is is the class where I don’t see how I could not use this every single day of my life.”

One of the most important lessons that Hen derson teaches in the class is e ective interper sonal skills. He believes having that focus will be most impactful.

“[DBT] requires a lot of conversation, and to have those conversations, you really have to trust one another. We’ve been working on build

ing trust, respect ... and relationships,” Hender son said.

ICCSD Learning Supports Coordinator

Coreen Frank is working closely with the UIHC to make this course as e ective as possible. e Child and Adolescent Psychiatry department at the UIHC provides trainers to teach sta across the district about DBT. Additionally, they will be surveying students who take the course at the beginning and end of the trimester to assess its e ectiveness.

“At the end of the year, we’ll have three trimes ters worth of data to look at in terms of what kids are saying about the course,” Frank said. “I want to see what the research says there and then gure out what we can do to make it even better.”

While helping to develop DBT, Frank has learned many skills.

“If I’m struggling with something, I will use one of those DBT skills to help myself get through it,” Frank said. “It’s exciting to be on the front edge and kind of thinking di erently about what we can teach to kids that will be helpful.”

Considering the utility of these lessons, Hen derson hopes that a larger group of students en roll in the class. Anyone can take the course by inquiring with a guidance counselor, or by sign ing up during course enrollment in February.

“[West’s] student population talks frequently about [how curriculums] don’t focus on mental health enough. I’m like, ‘Here is an option, give

ART & DESIGN BY GINGER MCCARTNEY

THIS IS THE CLASS WHERE I DON’T SEE HOW I COULD NOT USE THIS EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE. -TRAVIS HENDERSON, SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER

it a shot, step up and make this a big deal,’” Hen derson said. “We can start changing the narra tive and we can get a critical mass of people who have these skills to help each other.”

In only a few weeks of instruction, Henderson has already observed the skills his students have gained.

“ e big win right now is seeing students that come from a lot of di erent backgrounds and experiences opening up to talk about big feel ings.”

CORE DBT LEARNINGS

MINDFULNESS

Being aware of the present moment with out judgement

DISTRESS TOLERANCE

Getting through crisis situations without making things worse and accepting reality as it is.

EMOTION REGULATION

Understanding and reducing vul nerability to emotions, changing unwanted emotions

INTERPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Getting interpersonal objectives met, maintaining relationships, and increasing self-respect in relationships

Ayear-long science course now available at West High is Human Anatomy. Previ ously only available for students to take at Kirkwood, this course provides them with the opportunity to learn about the structure of the human body, along with its development and functions.

Science teacher Nickolas Bushkofsky is pilot ing Human Anatomy, which is available during two class periods. Common activities in the classroom include working with life-size ana tomical models to better understand the body’s systems and memorizing body part names.

“It’s very related to understanding how body systems work when they’re working very well, but also when something’s up. If we have some thing that’s not working, what does that do to our system?” Bushkofsky said.

Nate Anderson ’23 believes that taking this course will lend itself well to his future aspira tions as he plans to go into the medical eld.

“I’m going into the chemistry, pre-med route, and I’m going to have to know [anatomy] later in school,” Anderson said. “I was always pursu ing more knowledge in [anatomy], so this was

perfect [to] get that added interest.”

Students are required to take three science courses to graduate. However, many are interest ed in taking more. Bushkofsky appreciates how Human Anatomy provides a new course option for upperclassmen.

“A lot of our fourth-year courses are AP cours es, and some of them are physical science cours es, but we don’t have just a general life science course that [students] can take. is provides an opportunity for [them].” Bushkofsky said.

To Anderson, the content of this course is un like all other science courses at West.

“We got to use actual mannequins that had all the organs, and for a test, that’s [a] really cool way to see where things are located,” Anderson said. “It’s not just pictures on a piece of paper, we actually get to know how it is, where it is, how deep, how super cial, all those kinds of things.”

Bushkofsky recommends this course to any and all students.

“If there’s a question you have about a body sys tem or you’re interested in learning more about how your body works, you should de nitely take this course,” Bushkofsky said.

Digital Music is a trimester-long course that allows students to tap into the music production world through professional music production so ware.

“ e course was created more to acknowl edge that large ensemble music-making is not necessarily for everyone, and that kids should have opportunities to explore the eld of music outside of the traditional realms of band, choir and orchestra,” said David Haas, the curriculum developer and course instructor.

Students not only learn how music is produced, but how to do it themselves. ey use Logic Pro X, which allows students to drag in pre-existing music then cut it apart or put it back together in di erent combinations. Additionally, the district provided iMacs tted with M1 processor chips, Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboards, mixing headphones and mixing speakers for students enrolled in Digital Music.

Shadi Elsiddig ’26 was already familiar with music production through his father, a music producer who uses Logic Pro X. is course has given Elsiddig a deeper understanding of the process of making music.

“I really enjoy music. Making my own beats would be something I’d like to learn,” Elsiddig said. “[Some] kids might be thinking they want

to pursue their dreams in the music industry.

Taking this class could really kickstart that.” Hass believes this new avenue of music is essen tial for students who are exploring their musical expression.

“Some kids don’t want to do music as perfor mance [because] music is very personal to them, [but] would rather work on it in their own head independently,” Haas said.

Students have already shown interest in learn ing more past this course’s curriculum. In the future, Haas wants Digital Music to expand so students have access to more di cult levels of music production.

“I’m teaching the same course three times ev ery trimester to accommodate all of the students who were interested in taking the course. I’m hoping to add an advanced course in the future,” Haas said.

LIVING WITH

BY LILLY GRAHAM AND MRUDANI RAMKUMAR

Kaylee Gibson ’23 once had to tap a rhythm on her computer for three hours before she was able to begin her homework. When passing through doorways, she always steps with her right foot rst. She must stutter-step to avoid sidewalk cracks. For Gibson, these routines are mandato ry. But what if she were to stray from these rules?

“I just feel really awful. Like I did something bad, like I cheated on a test,” Gibson, who has OCD, said. “It makes me physically uncomfort able to break my OCD rules.”

According to Dr. Amanda Elliott, the Universi ty of Iowa Associate Division Director for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, OCD is a mental disorder characterized by intrusive, obsessive thought patterns and compulsions that induce stress.

Obsessions may present as mental images and can range from fearing the uncertain to the un likely. Compulsions are repetitive urges some one feels driven to complete in order to relieve the stress brought upon by obsessions. An exam ple of an obsession paired with a compulsion is fearing one’s environment is ridden with germs and then being compelled to wash one’s hands constantly. e most common disorder associ ated with OCD is Tourette’s Syndrome.

“Most people with OCD have both [obses sions and compulsions] … and these must take up more than one hour of your day and impair [your] function,” Elliott said.

Elliott emphasizes how OCD can be alienating, as others may nd an obsession irrational and try to talk someone out of their experience.

“If somebody’s worried that if they don’t do certain things, a family member is going to die, people are like ‘ at’s not even a logical thought,’” Elliott said. “[ ose with OCD] feel really sad that other people don’t understand why their thoughts are so distressing.”

Gibson has dealt with obsessive compulsive tendencies for as long as she can remember. Her obsessions take the form of being concerned

THE EMOTIONAL SIDE OF MY BRAIN WAS TAKING OVER THE LOGICAL SIDE.

Today, many of Gibson’s intrusive thoughts fo cus on the threat of shootings.

“I can be anywhere and be afraid that some body is going to come in and shoot people and hurt the people I love,” Gibson said. “I insert my own endings to every situation.”

Gibson’s thoughts can be all-consuming, as she xates on things many wouldn’t think twice about.

“I’m always on high-alert. Did I step through that door correctly? Did I take a drink out of my water bottle correctly?” Gibson said.

According to the second student source, who chose to remain anonymous, their OCD primar ily takes the form of obsessive thoughts.

“[OCD], like with a lot of mental disorders … waxes and wanes,” the anonymous source said. “At this point, I’m good about not letting into the compulsions aspect. I try to use logic because none of [the compulsions] are logical.”

e anonymous source’s OCD is in uenced by anxiety. Subsequently, their obsessions can sometimes revolve around future or past inter actions, making them increasingly self-aware during social situations.

“OCD is on the same trajectory as anxiety. It just gets more severe,” the anonymous source said.

Both Gibson and the anonymous student were diagnosed with OCD during high school and found receiving a diagnosis from a medical professional helpful. For Gibson, the diagnosis provided clarity behind some of her behaviors.

“If I’m doing something, people are like ‘Why are you doing that?’ [I can say] ‘Because I have OCD,’” Gibson said. “It’s not an excuse for every thing, but [the diagnosis] helps explain.”

about others and feeling as though she needs to protect them. In elementary school, she would check the trashcan when exiting the classroom to ensure there were no bombs.

“ e emotional side of my brain was taking over the logical side,” Gibson said.

Elliott nds that obtaining a diagnosis is ben e cial for her patients, as the correct diagnosis improves access to the best treatment. e pri mary treatments for OCD are medication, as well as exposure and response prevention ther apy.

“[With exposure therapy], you take some of the obsessive worries that somebody has and don’t let them engage in their compulsion,” Elliot said. “[It] provides proof that your worry doesn’t hap pen if you don’t engage in your compulsion.”

Gibson nds exposure therapy helpful with counteracting her compulsions. Gibson used to be compelled to check the locks in her house multiple times a night. She later employed ex posure therapy by writing down her worst fears of what would occur if she failed to check the locks. e more she read her worst fears, the less real they felt.

“Now, I don’t check the lock as much. I still want to, but I can beat that thought,” Gibson said.

In addition to the struggle of dealing with her compulsions, Gibson’s tendencies toward per fectionism can make completing schoolwork challenging. She nds herself double, triple and quadruple checking assignments. To ensure her handwriting is perfect, she will erase and re write, sometimes even needing a new sheet of paper.

“I spend so long on my homework, because of OCD,” Gibson said. “It’s just exhausting.”

For the anonymous student, OCD can be help ful with their academic performance, as they are very thorough with their work. However, they don’t want the detail-oriented component of OCD to be glamorized.

“ ere are some positive aspects of having OCD, but I don’t want people to glorify it,” the anonymous source said. “It does help with get ting everything completed.”

e ICCSD o ers a 504 plan to students with special needs, including students with OCD. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination based on disability in any program that receives federal funding. Un der this section, schools are required to provide students, who qualify, with accommodations that make education more equitable.

Gibson nds her 504 plan useful, as she isn’t a great test-taker under restricted time, and it grants her extended time on tests.

“With timed tests, it’s really hard to get it done in that amount of time and still feel good about my work,” Gibson said. “More test time is some thing I take advantage of, since I don’t like to

PEOPLE LIKE TO SAY EVERYONE IS A LITTLE OCD … BUT NOT EVERYBODY IS A LITTLE OCD. -KAYLEE GIBSON ‘23

ed a character they think exhibited OCD traits.

“ ey put labels on [the character] like freak or obsessive, or just weird and bizarre,” the anony mous source said. “I don’t know if it was proper ly dealt with on the TV show.”

According to the anonymous student, the key to correcting misconceptions about OCD is understanding what it means before using the term.

“[OCD] is a disorder, and we’re not just being weird or paranoid,” the anonymous source said. “We act that way because of this extra depth of stu that we have to deal with.”

Aside from misusing the term OCD, self-di agnosing is potentially harmful. As a health care provider, Elliott’s job is more di cult when someone has self-diagnosed and enters their appointment already knowing the speci c diag nostic criteria and symptomatology.

“People watch a video or do a Google search and learn what the symptoms are supposed to be,” Elliott said. “ ey incorporate symptoms into their daily life they didn’t have before be cause this ts with what they think their diag nosis is.”

Diagnosing becomes tricky when people have enough background knowledge to provide canned answers that re ect a disorder’s presen tation.

“

ey’re answering questions in a certain way that makes it really hard for us as the treating provider to know what symptoms were part of their baseline illness,” Elliott said.

Gibson thinks casually self-identifying with OCD is problematic because it gives a false idea of what OCD really is - that it is con ned to just wanting things clean and lined up perfectly.

leave things incomplete.”

Accommodations, however, don’t always translate into understanding. Some common misconceptions frustrate Gibson, including the idea that OCD only entails wanting things or ganized.

“People don’t acknowledge [intrusive thoughts], they just acknowledge the part [of] ‘Oh, I like this clean,’” Gibson said. “OCD is so much more than that. It’s so much more com plex.”

e anonymous student believes that poor me dia representation can exacerbate an inaccurate understanding of OCD. Growing up, the source watched the show “Total Drama,” which includ

“People like to say everyone is a little OCD … but not everybody is a little OCD,” Gibson said. “People can have traits of OCD to a certain ex tent, but people with OCD have so much more than just a few traits.”

As OCD is largely misunderstood and all dis orders carry stigmas, the anonymous student initially had reservations about sharing their ex periences with OCD. ey hold that compassion is important to understand and support those with OCD.

“

ere is a stigma that comes with all disor ders,” the anonymous source said. “It would be nice if people had empathy … just step back and realize that this stu can be really di cult.”

AT WEST

BY REEM KIRJA & KAMAKSHEE KUCHHAL

Riddled with anxiety, the rst tear trails down your cheek. You keep your head low as your face reddens in discomfort. e need to escape the room engulfs your thoughts before your crying face is branded into your classmates’ memories. Faces start to turn; you need to get out of there, but you can’t. You have nowhere safe to go.

In response to the need for a centralized space for students to relieve emotions, teachers at City High School implemented Navigating Emotions and Stress rough Training, or the NESTT. Due to the positive reception from students and their parents, administration sent emails to the state asking for a grant to fund the program.

City High was awarded a grant from the state during the spring of 2020 to expand the NESTT. By the 2022-23 school year, a NESTT had been established in every high school and junior high school in the school district.

At West, the NESTT serves as a place for stu dents to relax using an array of stress-relieving techniques such as participating in mindfulness activities or talking with Phil Keitel, the NESTT Coordinator. Keitel is a trained Engagement In tervention Strategist, or EIS, who has worked at West High for seven years as a paraeducator and Student Advisory Center, or SAC, coordinator. His primary role is to help students regulate their emotions.

“Within 10 minutes, I know the type of person they are. Are they quiet? Are they outgoing? Do they get mad easily? Do they not want to talk to adults? Do they just want to talk to adults because that’s all they need?” Keitel said. “All of that data processes when you walk in … If they don’t tell you, you kind of have to pry a little bit, but that’s part of the job.”

When walking into the NESTT, students are welcomed by aromatherapy di users, col

or-changing lights and bean bag chairs. Students can choose from a variety of relaxing items that include snacks and drinks, exercise balls, activi ty books, an ambient noise machine and over 50 di erent dgets and stress balls.

Josie Friedman ’25, a student who has utilized the NESTT as a break from school, believes the environment Keitel has created provides stu dents with a safe space to take time for them selves.

“I thought that it was a really comfortable place to be. ey have a lot of di erent dgets, or sensory toys, that you can use. It’s also just a very calm room to be in and Phil is really nice,” Friedman said.

Friedman appreciates the added privacy of the NESTT being in Temporary 10.

“[ e NESTT] being separate is an important part of what it is,” Friedman said. “You get to take a step back from whatever is overwhelming you or stressing you out, and are physically away from school.”

Students can report to the NESTT room in two ways: teacher recommendation or self-referral. e maximum amount of time that can be spent at the NESTT is 15 minutes per referral.

“ e data shows that kids still need to be in class. When you miss more than 15 minutes of the class it can be hard to just go back in and gure out what you’re doing,” Keitel said.

-PHIL KEITEL, NESTT COORDINATOR

NESTT, SPACE, or Student Prevention Ac cess Connection Engagement, and the SFAs, or Student Family Advocates, work as a triage for student support. If Keitel is unable to provide students with the proper resources, he can send them elsewhere to get help. e NESTT is a good starting point for assessing students’ needs.

“You can come out here and then there’s some

This school year, West High added the NESTT, a space where students can process emotions with mindfulness exercises and talk to a trained adult.

“

AT SOME POINT, [STUDENTS] ARE JUST SO OVERWHELMED. ANYTHING THAT COMES WITH BEING A HIGH SCHOOL KID IS A REASON TO COME TO THE NESTT.

one to talk to you immediately and gure out, ‘Where do we best need to send you? Do you only need 10 or 15 minutes to get through some anxiety?’ en this is the spot,” Keitel said.

If students are suicidal or require more than 15 minutes of attention, he redirects them to SPACE, a rebranding of the SAC, or the SFAs. He is not trained to help them but can see the signs and send them to the right places for help.

Kristin Brack is the EIS coordinator for SPACE. With connections across the community, she is able to help students with needs outside of school to make learning in the classroom easier. Brack helps solve issues at the root of their prob lems instead of letting them fester into ghts or skipping class.

“We found that there was a really big stigma with the name ‘SAC,’ because it’s been ‘SAC’ for four or ve years. ey found that students thought it was a place where the ‘bad students’ go, and we did not want that stigma anymore,”

Brack said. “We want everybody at West High to feel like they are engaged with their student body and teachers, and that they have access to resources at West High.”

Whether due to stress or simply saying hello to Keitel, students are always welcome at the NESTT.

“It’s any litany of things. At some point, [stu dents] are just so overwhelmed,” Keitel said. “Anything that comes with being a high school kid is a reason to come to the NESTT.”

Keitel mentions that adults can have a hard time understanding what students go through on a daily basis because they’ve already grad uated from high school. However, the NESTT makes it easier for them to help teenagers pro cess emotions and o er support.

“It’s easy to say, ‘Oh you’ll be okay. You’ll get over it.’ at may be true. It may not be true,” Keitel said. “ e thing about the [mental health] stigma is that we want people to come and seek

help.”

Friedman visits the NESTT when she’s feel ing overwhelmed with schoolwork or to be in Keitel’s company.

“I love to talk to Phil all the time. While I’m there, I’m either doing schoolwork or drawing in my sketchbook that I have just because I get bored all the time in class, and it’s helpful to do something I like and then go back and be like, ‘Okay, well, now I can do this,’” Friedman said.

Even students who aren’t likely to ask for help now still have a space to vent and be themselves.

e NESTT is a space for everybody.

“It gives all students power and freedom that they need help and gives them the space that they need to work through whatever they’re going through … It’s not just for the ‘bad kids’ or for the kids that have mental health issues,” Keitel said.

COURTYARD

9TH GRADECENTER

ART HALLWAY

LUNCHROOM

LIBRARY

DESIGN BY ANNA SONG

PHOTOS BY REEM KIRJA

FACULTY FACTS

BY JANE LAM

Several new faces have joined the West High community this year. Here are some fun facts about these new faculty members.

David Alexander

Computer Science

Alexander received a degree in meteorology and worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Liz Bruening

Assistant Principal

Bruening grew up on a farm in western Iowa and won competitions with her family’s sheep.

Karen Goering

Spanish

Goering is working on becoming a quadru ple Hawkeye by having four degrees from the University of Iowa.

Kurtis Broeg

Special Education

Broeg has read every book written by “Kil gore Trout,” a fictional author in books written by Kurt Vonnegut.

Ryan Duwa

Special Education

Duwa thoroughly enjoys ice fishing every win ter and has gone on trips to Minnesota and South Dakota.

Scott Jespersen

Social Studies

Jespersen has had the same haircut since high school but once shaved his head for the Uni versity of Iowa Dance Marathon.

DESIGN BY HELEN ORSZULA

Jake Lanagan

French

Lanagan holds a Black Belt in taekwondo.

BJ Mayer

Athletic Director

While coaching bas ketball, Mayer’s son was born on the day be tween his team’s state tournament semi-final and final. He flew home for the birth and drove back that night to be with the team.

Ryan Middleton

Band

Middleton has never had a cavity or broken a bone.

John Reynolds

Industrial Technology

As a child, Reynolds once sat on Jimmy Carter’s lap because his mother was a delegate in Carter’s campaign.

Ryan Lee

Student Family Advocate

If Lee wasn’t a teacher, he would be a pilot for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, a flight demon stration squad.

Mike Mettenberg

Social Studies

Mettenberg’s favorite quote is “Life’s a gar den, dig it,” from the film series Joe Dirt be cause “sometimes you just gotta dig it.”

Neil Mulka

ELL

Mulka has met Pat Sajak and Vanna White, the hosts of the game show Wheel of Fortune, twice.

Bob Wagner

Special Education

Wagner worked in radio in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City for 10 years. He took the roles of a DJ, news announcer, sound engineer and production manager.

PHOTOS BY SACHIKO GOTO, MCKENNA STEPHENS & RACHEL SWACK

COACH HARPER

BY HEIDI DU

PHOTOS BY MEGAN BARNES, ISABELLA TISDALE & CURTOSY OF UNSPLASH

DESIGN BY DEFNE BAYMAN

On Friday nights, the freshman football team gears up for their game, running routes and trading passes across the eld. Demetrius Harper stands close by, call ing out tips and instructions to his athletes. Al though new to West this year as a PE and health teacher, Harper has been coaching since he graduated college.

Harper’s passion for coaching stems from his adoptive father, Kenyon Murray, who he met as his basketball coach during his freshman year of high school at Cedar Rapids Prairie. No stranger to the world of sports, Murray played basketball at the University of Iowa and is the father of twins Keegan and Kris, who both play basketball at Iowa with Keegan going on to play profession ally this year.

“Being able to just have somebody that took me under their wing like [Kenyon] did, I think it de nitely sparked the passion,” Harper said. “[He] put a light on how not everyone’s gonna have a great situation, but if you can help some one, then help them out. Just thinking about that made me want to go into coaching.”

roughout his years in high school, Murray would take on more roles in Harper’s life, as a teacher, mentor and eventually dad. e rst time they met was at a basketball meeting for incoming freshmen.

“One of the things that I noticed about him is that he didn’t look me in the eye when we rst met,” Murray said of the encounter.

“ en [Kenyon] stopped me mid-sentence and was like, ‘Hey, when you’re talking to someone, [have] a rm handshake and then make eye con tact [as] a sign of respect,’” Harper said. “Right away, it was a teaching moment.”

Murray saw the moment as an opportunity to teach Harper the importance of con dence.

“I think a lot of times when people don’t look [into your] eye, [it’s] sometimes a sign of lack of con dence or they’re not really sure of them selves in those moments,” Murray said. “At that point, [Demetrius] hadn’t had very many Black coaches that he played for, so for me, it was just that moment to be able to teach him [to be]

self-assured.”

To Harper, meeting Murray was a wake-up call.

“I think that day I had spent like two class periods in the o ce because I’d gotten in trou ble,” Harper said. “[Kenyon] told me that if I’m going to be an athlete, I can’t be spending class periods in the o ce. Someone had called me out and told me that I can’t continue to act like an eighth-grader anymore. I gotta grow up at some point. And so it just sank in and then I just ran with it.”

A er the rst basketball practice, Harper’s ath letic potential immediately stood out to Mur ray.

“I came home and said to my wife, ‘Man, I got this kid, Demetrius. He’s super athletic, re ally raw, doesn’t really know how to play the game, but he has tons of potential,’” Murray said. “ ere are a lot of kids that fall through the cracks who have a chance to really be special in a lot of di erent areas. I saw that potential in him.”

Harper found Murray’s guidance led them to a deeper relationship that he hadn’t experienced before.

“[Kenyon] saw something in me that I didn’t see, and he knew that I didn’t have the best home life, coming from a single mom who I didn’t have the best relationship with,” Harper said. “He un derstood where I was coming from. I think he took it upon himself to be a mentor. And then we pretty much went from there.”

During Harper’s rst year in high school, Mur ray took on a more active role in his life.

“I just looked [up to] him as a coach my whole freshman year,” Harper said. “But, he would al ways give me rides home, pick me up for prac tice, take me to games and stu like that. And then he actually bought me my rst pair of bas ketball shoes.”

Harper and Murray remained close through out his rst couple of years of high school.

“Once he moved into high school as a sopho more, his family was a family that [my family] really connected to,” Murray said. “[Demetrius] comes from a very humble background, so one of the things that we tried to do was help him and his mom and his brothers make sure that they had the necessities. We stayed close, and we helped out whenever we could.”

During his junior year, Harper’s younger brother, Kamel, was diagnosed with cancer. According to Murray, this event made the fam ilies grow even closer, and they started to oat around the idea of Harper moving in with Mur ray and his wife, Michelle.

“ rough that time, with Kamel getting sick, we really got close. We noticed that when Deme trius was spending a lot of time [at our house], he was performing at a higher level whether it was in the classroom, on a football eld or a track,” Murray said. “ at’s really when we kind of started to think maybe it’d be a good idea for him to move in.”

At the time, Harper was in the midst of his ju nior year track and eld season at Prairie. at spring, for the nights leading up to big meets such as the Drake Relays and state, he had al ready been staying over at the Murrays’ house to get good meals and rest.

“I still stayed at their house the two days before

GROWING UP HAVING A COACH THAT BELIEVED IN ME, MAKES ME WANT TO BE A COACH THAT BELIEVES IN MY ATHLETES. - DEMETRIUS HARPER

PE and health teacher Demetrius Harper finds a home at West while continuing his passion for coaching.

state,” Harper said. “And nally one day Michelle texted me, ‘What do you think about moving in with us?’ I told her I’d be interested and they called my mom, and three days later, I was living in their house.”

By the summer a er that school year, Harper was o cially adopted by Kenyon and Michelle.

“ ey always treated me as if I was one of their own. So [I] was like, ‘Alright, might as well just move in at this point,’” Harper said.

Before and a er the o cial adoption, sports were an ever-present connector between Harper and the three Murray kids. Twins Keegan and Kris are four years younger than Harper, and younger sister McKenna is eight years younger.

“[ e kids] knew that I was gonna be around for a while,” Harper said. “We always spent time together, whether it was going outside and play ing catch with the baseball or football, or them wanting to wear my jerseys on game day.”

According to Murray, the family and stability aspects of the home, as well as growing closer with the Murray family, helped Harper mature as a person.

“Seeing how we interacted with each other

every day — myself, Michelle, Kris and Keegan and McKenna — we really embraced him,” Mur ray said. “I think he felt safe, which allowed him to grow and mature in that aspect.”

A er his high school graduation, Harper went on to play collegiate football at Iowa Western Community College and Coe College where he was a standout athlete, breaking several school records and coming close to breaking an all-time leading record. Following graduation, Harper coached football and track for a couple of years at Cedar Rapids Washington before coming to West. Murray believes that one reason Harper chose to coach was due to his desire to build connections with his athletes.

“I think one of the driving things for him be coming a coach was he felt he didn’t have all the best coaches growing up. Coaches take on a dif ferent role with athletes, where sometimes we become pseudo-parents,” Murray said. “I think he felt like he didn’t have a lot of coaches like that. So he always wanted to be a coach that he felt someone like him deserved.”

Harper nds his passion for coaching stemmed from his and Murray’s relationship.

“I think just growing up having a coach that believed in me makes me want to be a coach that believes in my athletes,” Harper said. “I don’t want a kid to feel like I’m not listening to them.”

Murray shares the same sentiment.

“He de nitely coaches from a side of compas sion,” Murray said. “He looks at his athletes the same way I look at him, like, you got all this po tential. Let’s try and harness [it], and let’s try and get you moving in the right direction.”

Harper has passed on this guidance in the form of how he coaches his athletes today.

“ e way that I coach is that I’m very intense, but [I] also want to make sure that I’m telling the kids what they’re doing right,” Harper said.

“I don’t want to harp on all the negatives. If you do something bad, I’m going to try and nd a positive in that.”

Murray believes Harper’s story is one that many can relate to.

“I think his journey is one that a lot of people can look at and have hope because most people probably know someone like Demetrius, some one young and gi ed who just needed a little bit of guidance,” Murray said.

AFTERSHOCK AFTERSHOCK

BY ZAIRA AHMAD, ELLA DE YOUNG & GIANNA LIU

ART & DESIGN BY EVA JORDAN

As fights break out in schools due to the wide variety of struggles teenagers face today, administrators and teachers are finding ways to prevent violence.

Fight or ight — it’s o en one or the other. e choice can be di cult, and your an swer may di er when you have to make a split-second decision versus when you have time to process the situation. Standing up for what you believe in may culminate in throwing a punch, but it could also result in you walking away. It all depends on your ght-or- ight re sponse.

According to a May 2022 federal survey ad ministered by the Institute of Education Scienc es, approximately 1 in 3 public school leaders reported an increase in ghts between students during the 2021-22 school year compared to the school year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, West High and the ICCSD work to investigate the causes, as well as preven tion methods, for these con icts.

BUILDUP

In a school environment, con ict is inevita ble. With human interaction comes disagree ments, which may result in ghting. ere are 1535 students at West High this year. With such a large population in one building, there is no guarantee that all students will get along. How ever, the reasons behind ghts occurring among peers are distinct for each person involved.

Christine Dougan, one of two full-time Stu dent Family Advocates at West, emphasizes how there can be vastly di erent explanations for the same ght.

“We all end up in these sorts of situations for a variety of reasons, and no two experiences are the same,” Dougan said. “Multiple realities can be true about the same situation. If there’s two people engaging in an argument, whether that be physical or verbal, they both have their own authentic truths.”

Every individual’s decision to ght stems from their own life experiences, but Gen Z shares ex periences, such as living through a pandemic as a teenager, that impact their response to chal lenges.

English teacher John Cooper witnessed many of the e ects of COVID-19 on teenagers through the changes in overall student behavior following the shock of life during a pandemic.

“[Teachers] saw kids get up and walk out of the room crying a lot last year,” Cooper said. “We saw people who would choose friend groups that they would just attach themselves to because they needed emotional support. en, we saw kids who would just lock up — they wouldn’t do homework; they wouldn’t do anything.”

is trend was not surprising to Laura Gray, the ICCSD Executive Director of Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness.

“I do know that people [have] a considerable amount of anxiety since COVID-19, and it shows up di erently for di erent people,” Gray said. “People who are internalizing the nervous ness and anxiety, or the depression that we’ve

seen statistically amongst a lot of our youth, have been having suicidal ideation. And, stu dents who externalize it show up with these big, explosive personalities and are ready to ght.”

A March 2022 scienti c brief by the World Health Organization supports Gray’s observa tions. According to the report, the worldwide prevalence of depression and anxiety increased by 25% in the rst year of the pandemic. e brief also states that the pandemic had a greater in uence on young people’s mental health com pared to adults, causing them to be more at risk of suicidal and self-harming behaviors. Dougan describes how she sees the pandemic a ecting young people in particular.

“Feeling isolated, which many of us were for months and months, can make us feel a lot of things, especially for young people who maybe have never processed that sort of collective trau ma,” Dougan said. “Not having the toolkit and coping skills to move beyond that can lead us to act out in a variety of ways, one of which could be verbal or physical aggression.”

According to a July 2020 article published in

e Journal of Pediatrics, not only has the social isolation caused by COVID-19 had direct e ects on teenagers’ mental health, but the pandemic has worsened other adverse childhood experi ences, such as food insecurity and school clo sures. ese experiences have also contributed to greater mental health concerns.

Along with the heightened level of struggles youth are facing due to the pandemic, Cooper believes teenage emotions and hormone levels have always played a big role in why high school students choose to ght.

“Kids are chock-full of hormones, and some times it’s really di cult to think with your front brain,” Cooper said. “It’s not about the individ ual themselves. It’s about their abilities — it’s about their ability to think rationally in a tense or tough situation. at is a learned behavior.

ey’re kids, and they’ve got all these emotions, all these feelings, all this adrenaline pumping.” e emotions that teenagers feel aren’t limited to school boundaries. Payton Busch, a seventh grade science teacher at Northwest Junior High, has seen many instances of ghting in school

IN FACT, MULTIPLE REALITIES CAN BE TRUE ABOUT THE SAME SITUATION. IF THERE’S TWO PEOPLE ENGAGING IN AN ARGUMENT, WHETHER THAT BE PHYSICAL OR VERBAL, THEY BOTH HAVE THEIR OWN AUTHENTIC TRUTHS. -CHRISTINE DOUGAN, SFA

THE BYSTANDER EFFECT

take place as a result of a simple misconception before the school day even begins.

“More times than not, it’s maybe just a misun derstanding on something that just boils over,” Busch said. “We’ve got to kind of peacock in front of our peers and show like ‘I’m bigger and stronger’ and try to impress everybody.”

Vumilia Maleunda ’24 describes a factor she believes causes ghts to erupt on school grounds.

“I think ghts start at school because folks just get into drama,” Maleunda said. “ ere are people out here who like drama and some other ones who don’t, and if you’re into it, you just get into it with anybody.”

A bystander typically...

Is in a hurry and will therefore not notice

Social media is a common denominator in many of these con icts. West High Assistant Principal Elizabeth Bruening shares how she has seen social media in uence the occurrence of violence.

“It’s easier to say things in a message than it is to someone’s face, and so people are not going to be as cautious about what they say [on social media],” Bruening said. “Because they’re not be ing careful with their words, even if they didn’t necessarily mean something in a bad way, it comes across that way. en somebody on the receiving end of that is mad, and when they do see each other, there’s con ict.”

West High Principal Mitch Gross views social media as problematic, especially in a school set ting.

“I would say the majority of ghts start from a social media con ict,” Gross said. “If I had my way, I wish there was no social media at school at all, because it probably consumes at least a quarter of my day and all administrators’ days. If someone says something on Snapchat, and then it’s gone, and then they bring it to us, we have no way to prove it … en, people are going back and forth about it and that blows up in the hall way.”

A er a ght breaks out, social media contin ues to be used. Franny Jordan ’26 describes how quickly the nitty-gritty of a ght can spread from a couple of people to entire high school populations.

“People would take videos of ghts, and they’d be all over [social media],” Jordan said. “I know this rsthand because I’ve seen them on my [Snapchat] story. My friends would send them in group chats … I’d see the same ght like 16 times.”

Not only does social media aid in sharing vid eos of nearby ghts, but it also makes it possible for con ict across the country to be shared with a wider audience with a simple tap of a nger.

Many events in the years since COVID-19 rst struck the U.S. have reportedly been triggered by racism, such as George Floyd’s killing and the Bu alo Supermarket shooting. With social media, anyone in the world can see these en counters taking place and can be heavily a ected by them. Due to observing this violence, some may experience racial trauma, the mental harm caused by racial discrimination. As a person of

A social psychology theory that states that one is less likely to help in a situation of emergency when other bystanders are present

that because others are not acting, it is not an emergency

that others will take responsibility

the skills necessary to help

about the danger or embarrassment of helping

color, Gray describes how the underlying reason for members of the BIPOC community ghting could likely be racial trauma.

“Especially since George Floyd’s death, I feel like it’s just been this huge platform of feelings of disrespect, feelings of wanting change, feelings of crying out, and so it’s really a culture in pain,” Gray said. “Underneath [the anger], there’s pain and longing for respect, longing for connection, longing for di erence. en, their patience is being tested in real life, and that’s where I think a lot of the clashes are happening.”

ALTERCATION

West High and the ICCSD are no strang ers to ghts taking place on school grounds.

An incident reportedly broke out March 24 at Northwest Junior High. A er the nal bell rang, an older teenager who did not attend Northwest met a 14-year-old Northwest student outside of the school to ght. Amidst the normal af ter-school commotion of vehicles driving in and students ling out, administrators had a di cult time breaking up the ght themselves, causing then-principal Elizabeth Bruening to call the police.

“Most people do not want to go to jail,” said Shane Kron, the Coralville Chief of Police. “So when the police lights rst start ashing or they rst hear the siren, that’s usually when most ghts are over. But in this particular case, it was not. ey continued to ght; they continued to be aggressive. Even when we had o cers on scene, they called for more o cers. We ended up with everybody we had available over there.”

Current Northwest student Momo Shinozaki ’27 describes how she felt while watching that particular ght.

“It just felt uncomfortable, especially when the police [were] called,” Shinozaki said. “It had gotten to the point where even teachers were being punched. People from other schools got involved too. [I] felt like it escalated very quickly and it was out of control.”

e Iowa City Press Citizen’s coverage of the event brought more attention to exactly what went on at Northwest that day. Although po lice, teachers and administrators describe this

occurrence as an anomaly, Jordan comments on the other numerous, but smaller ghts that took place at Northwest throughout the 2021-22 school year.

“I wasn’t very proud of my school last year,” Jordan said. “I would tell people about the ghts, and they’d be like, ‘Why do you sound so non chalant?’ I’m like, ‘Because it happens [a lot].’ I’m used to it now. I don’t always act super surprised when it happens, because it doesn’t faze me very much anymore.”

Northwest has experienced many changes in administration the past few years, including a new principal and assistant principal this year. Altering a school’s administration can result in di cult and confusing adjustments for students and teachers.

“Every set of admin has their ideas of what they want the school to look like and how they want the school to run,” Busch said. “ en the ones that are in charge of putting that in place are the teachers. It’s hard for teachers to be consistent with those things.”

During the 2021-22 school year, Jordan felt as if there were a multitude of new rules frequent ly implemented at Northwest. Jordan believes these changes created tension between students and teachers at the school.

“Say a student never did anything wrong. [If they] walk out of the classroom, slam the door

and yell at the teacher, they would get in trou ble,” Jordan said. “For kids who do that every day, [the teacher] wouldn’t even blink. e kids who get in trouble more o en, they would have less punishments. ere was kind of nothing to lose. [ e teachers] were tired of us. We were tired of them.”

Due to new methods of rule implementation, Northwest feels more secure to Shinozaki this year.

“[We have a] new principal this year, and she’s more strict with these rules. It feels safer … I think it’s better that it’s organized,” Shinozaki said.

According to Shinozaki, the new principal of fers prize incentives to motivate students.

“For each student who doesn’t get a major re ferral, their name will be added into a drawing, and at the end of the year, [the principal] will draw ve names,” Shinozaki said. “ ose ve students will get $100 from the principal and can pick three friends that will also get $25.”

Many factors play into the materialization of a ght, and sometimes an incentive is not enough to prevent one from breaking out. When a ght actually unfolds, a di erent component comes into play: bystanders. While there might be only two people engaged in a ght, many watch from a distance and choose not to intervene.

“O entimes, bystanders are perceived as ac

USED TO IT NOW.

DON’T ALWAYS ACT SUPER SURPRISED WHEN IT HAPPENS, BECAUSE IT DOESN’T FAZE ME VERY MUCH ANYMORE.

cepting [the ght]. People are just standing by watching this; they’re not jumping in to stop it,” said Dr. Alison Bianchi, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminol ogy and director for the Center for the Study of Group Processes at the University of Iowa.

e West High Mentors in Violence Preven tion, or MVP, program advisor and counselor Paul Breitbach believes that intervening in situ ations is an important skill to learn not only for school, but for life.

“Usually ‘bystander’ has a negative connota tion … e big goal [of MVP] would be to em power young people to realize that they have the power to intervene,” Breitbach said.

Cooper shares the same view as Breitbach.

“When bystanders do not intervene and do not attempt to support others, they’re encouraging a violent community,” Cooper said. “It is 100 per cent on other kids to put phones away, to help de-escalate, step in [and say], ‘Hey, you don’t want to do this. First of all, you don’t want to get suspended. But more importantly, you don’t want to get hit. You don’t want to get hurt.’”

With each new school year, ICCSD schools adapt their approach to t stu dents’ needs. A er a year of increased violence, they put new plans into place to dis courage violence. One of these plans is the new lming policy — any student caught recording a ght will be suspended. At West, Gross believes this rule will help prevent students from insti gating ghts as well as aid in de-escalating the situation.

“Whether we’re in school or just in life, if we come across a con ict, hopefully the rst im pulse isn’t to record it, [it is] to aid and help and de-escalate it,” Gross said. “ at’s what we want our students to be doing, not just capturing a video.”

Additionally, this year, the ICCSD has changed how its schools address out-of-school suspen sions. Tate High School is an alternative high school in the ICCSD. e school has a smaller setting with goals to maximize every student’s potential. If a student in high school receives a suspension of ve or more days, they go to Tate for four days, and return to their home high school for the h. Gross believes this will help students stay on track when they need time away from the normal school environment.

“I think there are certain situations where a student needs to be removed from an environ ment but just sending a kid home, I don’t know if that does anything. In fact, I would argue it probably makes things worse, because then that kid gets further behind,” Gross said. “ ey could be isolated with no social connection at all. I can’t be sure that they’re eating, that they get meals. It’s supposed to actually help you so when you come back into our school, you’re not really behind.”

Out-of-school suspensions at Tate provide stu dents with time to talk and re ect on their situ ation. Once students are ready to come back to school, administrators meet with the student’s family to create a plan.

“It’s more of a therapeutic approach to a dis cipline issue, rather than saying, ‘Alright, you’re home for ve days, see you ve days later,’” Gross said. “Whenever you get suspended, we sched ule a reentry meeting, and say, ‘Here’s what hap pened’ and [go over] the expectations, so it’s a real concrete plan of reintroducing the student back into the school.”

e smaller student population at Tate allows teachers and administrators to know about con icts before they escalate. Although this can be more di cult for schools the size of West to address, Tate Dean of Students Kristina Brown doesn’t think it’s impossible.

“I think that it’s harder to implement some of the things we do at Tate High School at the larger schools, but I don’t think it should be the barrier to implementing anything,” Brown said.

In order to address ghts at the root of the problem, the ICCSD continues to implement Social-Emotional Learning, or SEL, presenta tions during advisory time. e lessons are cre ated to teach students about healthy ways to deal with their emotions.

“When you’re not feeling good, when you’re about to blow up, there are some strategies that you could do to self-regulate. ere’s a place you can go to take a timeout, you don’t have to just let it explode,” Gray said. “I think that is what’s happening; things are exploding. Either people feel like they can’t go to a trusted person to say, ‘Hey, I’m feeling this’ or they just don’t have the skills to say, ‘Okay, these are some things that I

THINGS ARE EXPLODING. EITHER PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY CAN’T GO TO A TRUSTED PERSON TO SAY, ‘HEY, I’M FEELING THIS’ OR THEY JUST DON’T HAVE THE SKILLS TO SAY, ‘OKAY, THESE ARE SOME THINGS THAT I COULD DO DIFFERENTLY.’ -LAURA GRAY, ICCSD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY & CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS DE-ESCALATION

Defne

S P A C E

tudent revention ccess onnection ngagement

Source:KristinBrack,SPACECoordinator

could do di erently.’” rough SEL, the ICCSD is working on pre senting these skills to students to help them better understand their choices when it comes to their feelings. Art teacher Christian Aanes tad recognizes that while students may not nd these lessons useful, they are a step in the right direction.

“I think it is a little [bit of a] manufactured con cept, that it comes out in this way that [makes it] hard to convey sincerity,” Aanestad said. “But I think if it’s not said, you have no chance of mak ing an impact and making a connection.”

As of this year, West High also provides stu dents with spaces to process thoughts, such as NESTT and SPACE. e NESTT, or Navigating Emotions and Stress rough Training, is an area where students can take a moment to destress. Turn to pages 10-11 to learn more.

Another resource students may use during times where they feel overwhelmed is Student Prevention, Access, Connection and Engage ment, or SPACE. For a student to have access

Formerly the Student Advisory Center (SAC)

Location: Room 103

What it is: Classroom in which students are able to process stress, regulate emotions, learn new coping and problem-solving skills and understand who can help if they have a social, emotional or mental health concern while at school

Coordinator: Kristin Brack

How to go: Teacher referral

to SPACE, they must receive a teacher referral. Kristin Brack, the SPACE Coordinator, express es that SPACE is a great place to go when stu dents feel like ghting and need to overcome that urge.

“SPACE is a place that [students] can come to and have restorative conversation before [a con ict] escalates into something that’s physical,” Brack said. “We’ve had students just come in for advice [saying], ‘I’m going through this problem at home or with my family. What are some steps that I can do to make things better?’”

Maleunda feels that SPACE is a place where adults will listen to what teenagers have to say. “Go there if you need advice and if you need somebody to talk to because they always listen. ey’ll listen to your story. If you’re having a bad day, go in there [and] they will help you out,” Maleunda said.

Busch tries to make connections with each student that walks into his room. He believes it’s important to show them that science isn’t all they have to talk about and hopes this prac

tice helps students know they can come to him whenever they have a problem.

“I try to compliment something about maybe what they’re doing or if they competed [athlet ically] the night before. I just try to have more personal conversations and relationships. I try to share stories from my life to kind of show them that even though I’m your teacher, I’m still human,” Busch said. “I’ve still dealt with a lot of issues that maybe you are dealing with. I have some advice or maybe some insight that might be useful.”

Busch believes giving students respect helps them open up about their own lives more.

“I think a lot of [conversation] comes with giving students respect whenever they have de served and earned it, but then also holding them accountable whenever they start to slip,” Busch said. “If you are able to tread those waters lightly and also keep a positive spin on things, students tend to respect that a little bit more and tend to come to you with more things to talk about — good, bad or in between.”

WORDS OF THE WISER

BY MAYA CHU

High school is hard. Maybe you’re struggling through APUSH or just can’t stop getting lost in the hallways. But, fear not: here’s some advice from a seasoned West High veteran.

QUESTION:

How can I make highschool more enjoyable for someone who is antisocial and an introvert?

ANSWER:

I may be 80% extroverted according to the Myers-Briggs test, but I’ll do my best to answer this. First off, don’t feel too much pressure to find a large group of friends. One or two close friends is enough, as long as they’re genuine. However, I encourage you to join a few clubs or other activities — human interaction is important, and if you join things that interest you, you’ll meet people you can connect with. Lastly, find a place to escape the chaos. Your favorite teacher’s classroom could be a nice space to take a breather and hopefully get a pass out of class (kidding of course).

QUESTION:

Do you have a trick for motivating yourself to do homework? When I’m not pressured by time, my brain just refuses to understand anything. What might help me focus and prevent me from getting bored?

ANSWER:

A couple things.

First, try doing your homework outside of your living space, like in a library or cafe. When your study spot is too comfortable, it’s easy to take breaks (fall asleep on your bed) or get distracted (scroll on TikTok). By being in a public space, you feel pressured to stay focused. You can’t be seen messing around when everyone else is hard at work, can you?

Second, find incentives to finish your work. Think about what you could be doing after you’re done. Maybe you’ll FaceTime a friend or play video games — whatever it is, it’s probably more fun than spending hours on homework.

QUESTION:

Does practice really make perfect?

ANSWER:

Did the chicken come first, or was it the egg? Does a staircase go up or down? Was math discovered or invented? There are a lot of questions I don’t know the answer to. I do know, however, that practice is the only way to improve. Smart and deliberate practice, in particular, is key. Allocate practice time wisely, break things down and take note of your mistakes. Even if practice doesn’t make perfect, what’s the alternative?

Until Elon Musk figures out how to implant humans with performance-enhancing arti ficial intelligence microchips, we’ll have to settle for practicing.

THE RADISH

Warning: the contents of these pages are entirely satirical. These stories should not be taken seriously as they bear faint resemblance to reality. Unless…

BY KATHERINE SHOPPA & ROSEMARY TIMMER-HACKERT

ANOVULATION BANNED

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, several states have e ectively out lawed abortions. Some have gone even further in defense of the unborn. is includes Kentucky, which recently passed a law criminalizing an ovulation, a menstrual cycle where an egg is not released from the ovaries.

On the day of the vote, protestors lled the streets of Frankfort, Ken tucky. ey had signs reading slogans such as “None of Your Business!” and “What Right to Privacy?”

Of particular concern to many protesters was that anovulation isn’t con sciously controlled.

“People don’t wake up and go, ‘I’m feeling done with ovulation for the year,’” Abby Based said. “It’s like we’re punishing AFAB individuals just for existing at this point.”

Senator Urbod D. Michoice addressed these concerns at a recent press conference.

“Anovulation is normally caused by too much strenuous exercise or be ing underweight, and these are choices,” Michoice said. “We’re just looking out for women’s health and making it easier for them to nd a husband by encouraging them to maintain a healthy weight.”

ere were also several pro-life organizations in attendance the day of the vote to show support. One of these organizations was Speaking for ose Who Can’t Yet, headed by Iggy Norant.

“I was surprised by the number of people protesting against this bill,” Norant said. “ ink of the eggs that aren’t being released. ey deserve to have the chance to live a full life too.”

SPIRIT WEEK HAS A DIRECTION

West High’s Spirit Week had more creative themes than ever before. Of these themes, cardinal directions day proved to be di cult to follow.

“No one was really sure what to do,” Nort West ’26 said. “One of my friends was planning to glue a weathervane with directions to their head.”

A er much debate, students settled on what they considered the only true way to embody a cardinal direction.

“We decided to walk in one direction the entire day — obviously west,” Maggie Net ’24 said.

Students who chose north, east or south were referred to as “traitors” and returned home due to shame. Another group, the “compasses,” decided to leave because they did not nd themselves attracted to any direction. ose who remained a er rst period, known as “Occidens,” continued walking west. Upon ending up in the business classrooms, they decided to bulldoze through the wall.

“All I remember is rubble, dust and the ear-piercing screeches of bull dozers. It was terrifying,” Naveen Gation ’23 said. “Once I saw the light though, I knew we couldn’t stop.”

e Occidens climbed through the hole onto a ledge and dropped to the grass, su ering six casualties consisting of broken ankles and dislocated knees. e students continued the march west for the rest of the school day, ending up somewhere in a eld near Williamsburg.

“I’ve seen way too much today,” Net said. “I will never participate in a school spirit day ever again.”

THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

Iowans will be asked to vote Nov. 8 on whether to add the right “to keep bear arms” to the state constitution. Many of the state’s hunters are en thused by this idea, including Carni Voran ’24.

“My bear arm collection is quite extensive. I’ve got arms from black bears, grizzly bears and even my childhood teddy bears,” Voran said. “We need this law to prevent the government from taking my bear arms away.”

Some Iowans are concerned that the amendment is worded too strongly. According to the language of the proposed amendment, any laws that in fringe upon the right of an individual to keep bear arms will be subject to strict scrutiny — the highest level of protection a right can have.

“I’m concerned that strict scrutiny will make it really hard to regulate things like hunting and taxidermy,” said Annie Mal ’23. “I know that when Alabama instituted theirs in 2014, it led to the state’s bear protection law being rescinded. ere haven’t been any black bear sightings in Alabama since 2018.”

Bear arm bearer Ursi Dae ’23 believes that strict scrutiny is necessary because the right to keep bear arms is essential for safety purposes.

“ e only thing that can stop a bad bear with arms is a good guy with bear arms,” Dae said. “My uncle was attacked by a bear while he was on a hunting trip to add to his bear arm collection. If he had had his bear arm collection on him at the time, that bear would have known not to mess with him.”

is point has been contested by those against the amendment.

“Bears do not care if you own bear arms,” Ker Mode ’25 said. “Bears at tack when someone is threatening them or their young, so if anything, trying to obtain bear arms increases bear-related violence.”

Current polls show that Iowans are heavily split on this issue.

BACKPACKS OR SNACKPACKS?

Going into the 2022-2023 school year, West High administration decided that backpacks are no longer allowed in the servery. At rst, students le their backpacks in the hallway, but things went wrong once they tossed their backpacks down right in the servery entrance.

“My friends and I just wanted a space to put our bags so we wouldn’t keep forgetting where we le them,” Trenton Setter ’23 said. “We didn’t realize so many people would join in.”

Others saw the pile and decided it was convenient to throw their bags on it too. e growth of the pile made it di cult for people who had already eaten their food to reclaim their bags, and more bags kept being added as people came in for food. By B Lunch, the pile had grown so large that it blocked the entrance to the servery for many students.

“It was a terrifying, bulging, beastly monstrosity sitting right there by our school cafeteria,” Becky Pack ’24 said. “We couldn’t even go into the servery through the exit since administration wants people to only go one way in and out.”

At this point, students saw no other option than to nd another source of food — the backpacks themselves. Students ransacked the pile of back packs trying to nd a tasty-looking pack. e students gnawed apart the fabric, folders, homework and other materials inside.

“I never thought I’d look at backpacks and determine tastiness,” Chompíne Onbags ’26 said. “If anyone needs any advice, try to nd pat terned backpacks; the pattern really adds avor.”

e school administration became aware of the situation during h pe riod when many teachers reported that their students were failing to come to class prepared with the excuse that their homework and Chromebooks had been devoured. e administration released a statement on the situ ation.

“Please do not block the door with your bags, and please do not eat your backpacks or any other non-edible items,” Principal Mitch Gross said.

MONEY MOVES

The new statewide policy titled Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL, is changing how student-athletes can benefit financially through Iowa high school sport participation.

BY ELLA DE YOUNG & LILY PROCHASKA

ART & DESIGN BY ATHENA WU

PHOTOS BY OWEN AANESTAD & CECI DE YOUNG

Aperson’s name, appearance and person ality are all qualities that others remem ber them by. But in this competitive day and age, it is unlikely an individual will make money based solely on those attributes. at was until NIL came along. Now, businesses and brands are providing student-athletes opportu nities for cash ow while they are still in school.

e Iowa High School Athletic Association, or IHSAA, and the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union, or IGHSAU, released a new policy Aug. 17, referred to as NIL, that permits high school athletes to accept money for their name, image and/or likeness. is means that high school athletes can be paid to appear in a speci c com pany’s commercials and wear their brand. ey are also prohibited from a liating with any competitor brands. e payments for NIL deals vary greatly depending on factors, including the sport, the individual and the business.

“Some people get $25 for doing a Cameo,” Ed die Etsey ’98, West High alum and the current University of Iowa Associate Athletic Director for Technology and Data Analytics and one of the sports administrators on the Senior Leader

ship Team, said. “Some people do commercials for $100, or some people get free pizza. It all de pends; there really isn’t a set amount.”

Companies make these deals because they believe that the athlete will bring in pro ts for them. Athletes are many people’s role models, so if an athlete is sporting a speci c pair of shoes, a fan may want to emulate them by buying the same pair of shoes.

NIL at the high school level is based o of the collegiate level’s NIL policy, which was put into e ect by the National Collegiate Athletic Asso ciation, the NCAA, in June 2021. is was a ma jor change in college sports because, since the founding of the NCAA in 1906, NIL had been outlawed, meaning that college athletes couldn’t have partnerships with businesses, but profes sional athletes could. However, college athletes rarely make it to that big stage. In fact, less than 2 percent of NCAA student-athletes eventually become professional athletes according to the NCAA.

Jack Wallace ’25, the quarterback for West’s varsity football team, recognizes that in order for an athlete to receive nancial bene ts from a sport, they need to put themself out there.

“Now you have to get your name out, and you

have to advocate for yourself,” Wallace said.

With the ability to get an NIL deal earlier in an athletic career, strict guidelines have been con structed. High school athletes must follow the rules put in place by their state. erefore, high school athletes in Iowa who are involved in NIL activities must follow the rules and regulations produced by the IHSAA and the IGHSAU. Iowa high school NIL regulations can be com plicated. For example, high school athletes are not allowed to sport their school’s mascot, name or logo while participating in NIL activities, such as an advertisement for the brand.

Furthermore, an NIL deal isn’t solely based on the athletic abilities or accomplishments of a high school athlete. Talent aside, student-ath letes o en receive NIL deals based on how their face and name will look in an ad. Wallace sum marizes the basis of this NIL rule.

“It’s more about you rather than your athletic performance,” Wallace said.

Although no one at West has received an NIL deal as of print time, student athletes have mixed feelings about the fairness of NIL deals.

Meena Tate ’23, a West varsity girls’ basketball player and Dartmouth College commit, views NIL as being unfair, but is also able to see the

positive opportunities it will bring to some ath letes at the high school level.

“I feel like [NIL deals] should be based on your athletic ability and not just how popular you are, but good for you if you’re making money from your sport as a high school student,” Tate said.

Wallace follows NIL updates closely, especially for athletes at the University of Iowa and has no ticed a di erence in NIL participation based o of social media presence.

“Social media following has a huge impact on people’s names,” Wallace said. “Iowa football players who don’t get playing time are getting money because of their big following on social media and because people like to see them.”

Etsey has seen both the upside and downside of NIL deals for student-athletes going to the University of Iowa. Distinct from the beliefs of University of Iowa Athletics, Etsey believes NIL deals could harm students’ educations.

“NIL takes away from students focusing on getting an education versus focusing on ‘how do I make quick money?’ Now, granted, there are some situations that families from low in come housing and from di erent groups would really bene t from the NIL money,” Etsey said. “But, the way it’s presented now is it takes away from your college experience … Now you have to worry about the business side of being a stu dent-athlete.”

NIL TAKES AWAY FROM STUDENTS

Wallace has a similar take on how NIL could a ect a high school student-athlete’s education and choices, especially during the recruiting process.

“I feel like the new NIL law could take away from academics,” Wallace said. “At the college level, recruits are going to bigger colleges main ly for the money and not for academics because they want that fame.”

e NCAA maintains that colleges cannot use NIL as a way to in uence recruits to commit to their athletic program, but, according to Etsey, there are potential loopholes. For example, a business can make it known to a particular col lege that they are willing to o er an NIL deal to a speci c recruit. en, a college recruiter can pass that information on to that athlete. As long as the college isn’t directly o ering money to a recruit to come to their school, NIL deals can be used as an incentive in the recruitment process without any punishment from the NCAA.

“You’re not supposed to use NIL as a recruit ing tool for incoming high school students, but people do use it,” Etsey said. “Personally, I don’t think that’s right, because instead of selling a program and what they want to get out of the program, you are now enticing them with re sources, which is going to make their decision somewhat easier.”

Tate is one student-athlete who still consid

IT’S MORE ABOUT YOU RATHER THAN YOUR ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE.

ered the quality of the academics above all else during her D1 recruitment process for women’s basketball.

“An NIL deal wouldn’t a ect where I would go to college, but in the sense of other people who had di erent motives, I think it de nitely would a ect their decision-making,” Tate said.

In considering the future of this new law, Et sey hopes it will support equity among sports of varying popularity.

“NIL is meant for everybody, but just as a so ciety, we put value on certain sports and not on all sports,” Etsey said. “In a perfect world, I think we need to put value on all sports to be fair and equitable.”

MONEY?’

ON GETTING AN EDUCATION

TRIPLE THREAT

BY MAYA CHU & MARIE STIER

Not many 14-year-olds are training for the Olympics — even without a disability.

Four years ago, freshman Hannah Long mire didn’t think she would be either. Longmire was born with a congenital limb di erence, which a ected the formation of her limbs. at resulted in the amputation of her legs from be low the knee when she was just two years old. However, since receiving a pair of glittery pink running blades at the age of 10, she has become an athlete.

“[My old] prosthetics weren’t the most com fortable,” Longmire said. “I didn’t really like do ing things because my legs kind of hurt.”

Until she was 10, Longmire’s prosthetics irri tated her bone, making it di cult for her to do most sports. Right before a surgery that was scheduled to alleviate the pain, Longmire was o ered a di erent option: go to Nashville and get t with new, more comfortable prosthetics instead.

“[ e doctors] gave me new walking and run ning prosthetics. Instead of making me put a sock on and carbon ber prosthetics, they put a piece of foam between so my bone doesn’t hurt, and it’s way more comfortable,” Longmire said.

A er getting her new prosthetics, Longmire went to NubAbility, a camp for kids with disabil ities. ere she was able to try numerous sports: running, swimming, biking, soccer, basketball and dance. Out of everything she tried, running was her favorite.

“Let’s just say, I was not in shape at all,” Long mire said. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is a lot of work; I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.’ But I stuck with it.”

Longmire’s parents were supportive and moti vated her to keep up her hard work.

“ ey were just like, ‘Come on Hannah; if you want to be the athletic, awesome kid that you were born to be, then you’ve got to keep going,’” Longmire said.

Longmire joined the cross country and track teams at Northwest Junior High, where she

competed against everyone, not just those with disabilities. She was one of the fastest runners on her team, running sub-seven-minute miles. In the past, she had only ever raced against run ners with disabilities, so her con dence surged a er competing against — and beating — those without.

“I actually won a race because I did it, not be cause of my disability, so it made me feel a lot better,” Longmire said.

A er feeling invalidated by people expecting her to do worse simply because of her disability, Longmire aims to prove otherwise.

“People think I’m gonna be slow and then I go out there and smoke their kid,” Longmire said.

Aside from running, Longmire is chasing a new endeavor: triathlons. ese races consist of running, swimming and biking. Because she was already an experienced runner, Longmire decided to join the swim team instead of cross country this fall.

“I already have the running part down … I’ve been doing it for ve years now,” Longmire said.

After excelling in sports from running to swimming, Hannah Longmire ’26 has a new goal: the Paralympic triathlon.

PHOTOS BY GIANNA LIU ART & DESIGN BY ERINN VARGA

“I need more work on my swimming form [and] get my endurance up because the older I get, the farther I have to go in a triathlon.”

Emelia Greuter ’26, one of Longmire’s close friends and teammates, says Longmire’s bub bly and outgoing personality makes her a great member of the swim team.

“She’ll get to know anyone and everyone,” Greuter said. “If she sees that West cap in the water, she’ll cheer you on. It doesn’t matter who you are.”

eir friendship and support extends further than just the pool, according to Greuter.

“We push each other in whatever it is, whether it’s working hard at practice or with our school work. I think we just strive to make each other better in all aspects,” Greuter said.

Longmire’s dedication was illustrated this sum mer, when she started training for triathlons. She joined two training groups: one for any kid

LONGMIRE ‘26

ners and I was absolutely terri ed,” Longmire said.

Despite nerves, Longmire nds her motivation to continue training by thinking about those who have made it possible for her. She is grateful for those who developed and gave her the pros thetics which allowed her to run.

“ ey gave me that chance, and I’m taking that chance,” Longmire said.

Longmire also views her parents and siblings

“ NO JUDGMENT. JUST BE YOURSELF AND DON’T LET ANYONE ELSE TELL YOU WHO YOU SHOULD BE.”

-HANNAH LONGMIRE ‘26

interested, and another speci cally for training with disabilities called the Junior Development Paralympic Triathlon team. Longmire trained with both groups throughout the week and com peted in triathlons each weekend. A er her rst triathlon, Longmire found passion for the new sport.

“I was so scared before [my rst triathlon], but I really loved it,” Longmire said.

In October, Longmire will go to a triathlon camp at a paralympic training site in Chula Vis ta, California. ere, she will get more special ized training for athletes with disabilities. A er nding out about the camp, Longmire’s mom immediately submitted her race times and back ground, recognizing what a great opportunity it was.

“[My parents] know me sometimes better than I know myself,” Longmire said.

When the next Paralympics come around, Longmire will be 17 years old. By then, she aims to be on the triathlon team. Longmire has al ready raced against Paralympic athletes, and has had scouts verifying her times.

“I was racing against a couple Paralympic run

as inspiration to continue to excel.

“My de nition of an inspiration is someone who works hard,” Longmire said. “[My biggest inspiration] is probably my family.”

Longmire’s family support follows her throughout all of her activities. From running, swimming, triathlons and even modeling, her family has been there with her.

Longmire’s modeling journey began in 2020,

when she signed with an agency called Sprout Kids in Florida. Since then, she has modeled for companies like Go-Go Squeeze, Claire’s and Justice. Longmire’s brother, ad, accompanied her all the way to Florida to model for Disney, where she modeled for the launch of the Star Wars park.

Despite her success, from athletics to model ing, Longmire is still pursuing her own nish line. Following her goal of attending San Di ego State University on an athletic scholarship, she aims to become a coach, especially for ath letes with disabilities. She has already taken on coaching young athletes along with her peers. Her junior high track coaches identi ed her as a leader on the team, giving her opportunities to lead exercises.

“I enjoy helping people, and coaching is help ing somebody reach their dreams and their goals,” Longmire said.

rough her coaching, Longmire hopes to promote messages encouraging people to em brace who they are. When she received her prosthetics, Longmire had the opportunity to put a message on them. She decided on “Be sav age, not average.”

“It means that ‘normal’ is not a thing. When someone says I’m crazy and di erent, that’s the best compliment anyone could get,” Longmire said. “No judgment. Just be yourself and don’t let anyone else tell you who you should be.”

PEOPLE THINK I’M GONNA BE SLOW AND THEN I GO OUT THERE AND SMOKE THEIR KID.”

DRIPPED OUT OF STYLE

Despite the spread of inspiration through social media, fashion trends have lacked creativity and online platforms promote the overconsumption of clothes without being conscious of the environmental impacts.

BY JAY MASCARDO ART & DESIGN BY WILLIAM CHENG

Being a teenager in the 2020s is one of the most convenient times to discover fash ion ideas. It’s easy to nd inspiration on apps such as Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok, with algorithms constantly adjusting to our likes and dislikes. is system makes it easy to nd a speci c article of clothing to wear and purchase. However, this algorithm discourages creativity and new ideas. Instead of something unique in our everyday fashion, we have been wearing trends from other decades — colorful ared trousers from the 1970s, pristine Mary Janes from the 1920s and Y2K tracksuits from the 2000s. Even though we have resources on social media to show us di erent styles, colors and ideas, we are retreating back to the same trends from other periods, leaving the question: Are there any original trends that de ne fashion in the 2020s?

Some Gen Z fashion trends have grown pop ular through TikTok such as maximalism, or in other words, a “bigger is better” mentality. Maxi malism emphasizes layering and mixing textures and colors to make an out t look over-the-top. It emulates Gucci and Balenciaga’s expensive and complex looks without a brand name attached. Even though this seems like a way to bring out your personality and artistic ideas, not all of us can own an abundance of random clothes or af ford new ones constantly. As someone who of ten cleans out my closet and analyzes whether or not I want to donate old clothes, this isn’t a sustainable option nancially or physically. Like many other teens, I don’t have unlimited space or money to keep up with this maximalist trend or any other fast fashion trends that will follow. While maximalism promotes self-expression, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It mere ly layers and uses di erent patterns to create something original for the time being before you

need to buy more clothes. Overconsumption mindsets are becoming popular and boost pol lution through manufacturing those products and shipping them around the world.

Overconsumption is a forgotten problem when driven to build your wardrobe. Buying so many pieces just for one or two out ts is unrealistic for the average teenage lifestyle. Because trends like maximalism promote overindulgence in owning clothes, it is easier to support fast fash ion companies like Shein and Forever21. Shein is an online retailer that supplies cheap, trend ing clothes at the cost of poor and exploitative working conditions. e low prices and online availability are appealing, especially for teens, and only encourage buying more. Low prices draw you in, but the truth is that the clothes are inexpensive because they are poor-quality and made by underpaid people in harsh work environments. According to World Bank, fast fashion is the third largest contributor to pol lution in the world, responsible for 10% of all annual carbon emissions. e rise of Shein from TikTok and Instagram through viral hauls and reviews has only increased its success. In fact, Shein has been outperforming established fast fashion companies H&M and Zara combined as of 2022. While fashion may be something that is on the back burner for some people, the in u ence it has on others every day is rather scary, especially in terms of waste. I avoid shopping through advertisements on social media; as a broke 17-year-old, the cheap prices hypnotize

me into buying clothes even if I don’t like them. I set those boundaries a er getting low-quality clothes from a fast fashion brand I impulsively bought from. Learning to invest in more sus tainable clothes, even if they’re not dirt cheap, is easier said than done. But in the long run, I have clothes to wear for years to come.

Many teens think about fashion trends daily, whether it’s what they’re going to wear for school or a potential out t for a weekend evening with friends. Following fashion trends is something that I’m guilty of doing too. e in uence of Tik Tok and innumerable viral fashion trends will be our downfall concerning creativity. When I think about my time living as a teenager in the 2020s, I de ne it as a time of copy and pasting. We only reuse techniques and add to the waste and pollution that is already a problem. While you can scroll past viral Shein hauls and ignore the new fashion trends on Instagram, they still harm the environment regardless. We need to acknowledge our unhealthy, unethical shopping habits to avoid buying into another unsustain able fashion trend. Shopping locally, upcycling old clothes and keeping a more minimalistic mindset when you want to buy new ones are simple ways to avoid feeding into fast fashion. Tweaking our “easy way” nature and adding more awareness to our shopping habits will help limit the consequences of overconsumption and allow us to explore more creative ways to express ourselves.

BUYING SO MANY PIECES

FOR ONE OR TWO OUTFITS IS UNREALISTIC FOR THE AVERAGE

LIFESTYLE.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT MY TIME LIVING AS A TEENAGER IN THE 2020S, I DEFINE IT AS A TIME OF COPY AND PASTING.

THE GRADING ILEMMA

In recent years, the ICCSD has moved closer to having grades based only on assessments. is year, departments determined their own assignment-assessment ratio as long as assess ments were worth at least 85% of the grade. Individual teachers on the grading committee are experimenting with systems where 100 per cent of the grade comes from assessments. e

WSS Editorial Board believes that switching to a grading system where assignments do not count would harm the quality of education students receive.

Homework is an essential part of students’ learning in most classes. In courses with ex tensive curricula, there is too much material to cover entirely during class, requiring students to learn some material through homework. For other classes, homework is instead a chance for students to practice their skills and re ect on what they need to work on. A review of studies spanning from 1987 to 2003 conducted at Duke University found there was consistent evidence that homework improves test scores in middle school and high school.

While there is still homework in a system based on assessments, students are less likely to do it. In 2018, graduate student Cheryl Brenner con ducted a year-long study of high school chem

istry students where homework only counted in the grade of every other unit. She found the number of students that completed all home work increased by 13.69% when it was counted, and the number of students who did none of the homework decreased by 4.84%. e study also found that students scored better on unit assess ments during graded units.

Another issue is students have fewer chances to demonstrate their learning. Every student may have an o day, whether due to external factors like issues in their home life or internal factors like test anxiety, which could lead to a student underperforming on an assessment. In these cases, the student’s grade would not re ect how much of the material they had mastered but in stead how well they could demonstrate mastery on that particular day.

e move towards a grade based on only as signments is an attempt to make grading more equitable as some students have more time and resources to do homework than others. Howev er, moving to a system based on 100% assess ments isn’t an e ective way to solve the issue of inequity. Whether or not homework is graded, it still exists, and students that have more time and resources to devote will be advantaged nonethe less. e only thing this policy changes is instead of the time and resources spent on homework being rewarded explicitly by being factored into your grade, it is rewarded implicitly. ose who have the time and resources to do home work will do more of it and score better on as sessments.

e solution to this inequity is to try to limit

the amount of homework given and allow exi bility in regard to when it is turned in. e cur rent policy, where points cannot be taken o for late work until midterms, already makes prog ress towards these goals. Teachers should also think critically about the purpose of their home work assignments, and whether or not it is really essential for learning material. Any extra home work can be o ered to students as extra practice and not put in the grade book, so grades are only on the line for homework that is essential for a student’s learning.

School policy should serve to enhance stu dents’ learning, but switching to a grading sys tem based only on assessments will only harm it. e inequities the district is looking to ad dress through this change can be better solved through more mindful assigning of homework and exible deadlines for students who need them.

The ICCSD should stop moving towards a policy where grades are based only on assessments.

DE YOUNG

Lily Prochaska ‘23 and Sophia Deyak ‘23 high-fve after working together to score a point against Bishop Heelan Sept. 10. The varsity volleyball team lost 0-2 (12-21, 15-21) after a hard fght.

Fall Crossword

Put your brain to the test with this WSS fall crossword.

BY GINGER MCCARTNEY

ACROSS

2. Fall fails to prevail against this synonym of superior scale.

5. Sweets bring the scamper of little kids’ feet, asking for a trick or a treat.

8. Turkeys stuffed and cranberries served, we discuss what has touched us this year.

9. A fall tradition that fans wait each year to come to fruition. Most Fridays come with the thrill of watching these athletes’ skill.

ART & DESIGN BY GINGER MCCARTNEY

4. A horn of plenty but a word unknown to many, symbolic of the first Thanksgiving.

7. One third of fall that is assured to be absurd, but don’t be deterred by this month known for fear.

10. Apples and hayrides abundant, the stench of rotting fruit repugnant. Each year, we flock here to stock fall fruits.

DOWN

1. Round and orange with stems of green. We cut them and gut them each Halloween.

6. Cornfields, straw, and bales of hay. A face with flaws meant to scare fowl away.

3. The first dance of the year. A chance for romance and posters made in advance.