FEATURE

PREOCCUPIED

Procrastination is something everyone has struggled with at one point or another. More recently, smartphones have become a huge factor in this dangerous game of continuously pushing back tasks.

Secure your phones!” You’ve heard it before in the West High classrooms, a common phrase teachers use to remind their students to remain on task throughout the period. However, outside of school it’s much harder for students’ phone usage to be regulated. This often results in a large amount of time spent on cellular devices rather than doing homework and other important tasks. It becomes even more complicated when the usefulness of cellphones as a resource is taken into account. Students are able to use their cellular devices as a valuable tool for studying. Dictionaries, calculators, music and video recording are just a few of the very easy-to-use academic features smartphones boast. While there are many positive aspects to having one of these devices, they are still a leading cause of procrastination among students at West.

With the introduction of an extended break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students BY MISHA CANIN & ISAAC YOUNG “

“MY PHONE CAN BE VERY DISTRACTING AND I CAN BECOME TOO RELIANT ON IT.” -HELEN ZHANG ‘22

are finding their screen time increased and motivation lacking. Teachers are no longer there to tell teens to “secure your phone” — this time it’s all on the students. There are no required assignments during this time, though teachers are posting optional reviews and lessons to stay on track. The ICCSD has chosen to continue this method of learning at least through April 30. Without having the motivation of a time frame that exists in school, the days pass quickly and can start to blend. For Emily Shian ’22, her screen time has increased dramatically since she started practicing social distancing and remaining at home.

“Being cooped up at home 24/7 has been boring and uneventful. The only way I stay entertained is by watching Netflix or going on TikTok for most of the day. Also, because I can’t hang out with friends due to social distancing, FaceTime is my only option, so my screen time has increased by 57% now,” Shian said. Her screen

time is now around 8 hours a day.

Many West students are currently feeling that way. The question is how to find a balance between connecting with others through social media platforms and spending academic time keeping up on school work. For those in AP classes, the College Board has decided the AP exams will still take place, but with two different test date options and a shortened 45 minute exam. This leaves the studying entirely up to the students, and a deceptive feeling of having all the time in the world. It is, however, a common theme among students that studying for their cumulative exam is what they plan to do with their extra time while at home.

“I am studying for my AP U.S. History test. I review 2 [time] periods weekly using my AP book, videos and assignments posted on Canvas,” said Emma Selby ’22.

A multitude of other students are doing the same, but phone distractions can be hard to regulate without a teacher there to monitor.

There are a lot of solutions to this problem. Finding a quiet space that can act as a school zone is important. While the comfort of a bed may seem appealing, it can quickly lead to procrastination. Any surface can work, just make sure it’s clear and a space big enough to get the job done. To prevent having to continuously get up and disrupt the flow, lay out all materials — including snacks. Often times, the sheer amount of work that needs to get done is so overwhelming that it’s hard to even get started. To combat this, make a to-do list to stay on track and focus on one or two big tasks a day.

Here’s a surprise ... there are actually ways that phones can be helpful in reducing technology use! Huh? Using apps that regulate screen time is one way to prevent overuse when working to get tasks done. Most phones allow time limits to be set on apps that can be distracting and keep work from getting done. These limits can only be overridden by a password. Having a family member set the password can prevent any self-control slip-ups. If this doesn’t work, there’s also the trusty technique of just leaving the device in a different room while buckling down on work. This works well for Natalie Young ’20.

“If I really need to get something done, I’ll try to put my phone far away so I can’t reach it easily, or I’ll set a timer on my phone and not open it until the timer goes off,” Young said. Not even having the option of the distraction is sometimes the best way to go.

Cell phone usage is seemingly inescapable for high schoolers. According to NPR, around 84% of teens have their own smartphone as of 2019. The increase in ownership has been drastic since 2012, when ownership was merely 41%, accord

THROW YOUR PHONE ACROSS THE ROOM If all else fails, there’s always the option to physically distance yourself from your phone in order to make progress. Leave your phone in another room or have someone keep it from you until you are finished with whatever task it is you are wanting to accomplish. FOCUS TO-DO Available on the app store and for installation on a computer, Focus To-Do is a time management and study help application that uses the Pomodoro technique. Twenty-five minutes of full focused work followed by a five minute break, all timed for you. There’s even a space to make to-do lists for “today,” “tomorrow,” “upcoming” and “someday.” FOREST: STAY FOCUSED Downloadable on both the App Store and Google Play Store, Forest: Stay Focused is an app that helps you stay away from your cell phone and focus on your work. Whenever you want to stay focused, you plant a virtual tree. As you work and remain focused, the tree grows. If you leave the app without finishing your task, the tree will die. You are able to grow a forest by continually staying on task and making your trees grow. MAKE A 1-3-5 LIST If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work you have in the upcoming days, this list is for you. Everyday you should do one big task, three medium tasks and five small tasks. Forcing yourself to narrow down the never-ending list of to-dos can lead to better focus and more motivation. SCREEN TIME APPS Most phones have this feature in settings already. This allows you to set limits on certain apps that tend to distract you the most. In order to prevent yourself from overriding the screen time limits, have someone else set the password for you. This makes it that much harder for you to avoid your to-do list! (Which, by the way, we hope you made on Google Keep.) Google Keep, an application that is already attached to any Google account, is a perfect way to store a multitude of lists and make sure you’re able to stay on track with your work schedule. GOOGLE KEEP STUDY SOLUTIONSSTUDY SOLUTIONS

ing to USA Today.

Following national trends, a large population of West students are smartphone owners. Many of these students feel their phones are a big interruption and a leading cause in their procrastination. Though it is easy to recognize how addictive a phone can be, it is often hard to break these habits out of one’s own sheer will. Helen Zhang ’22 feels as though her phone is too much of a diversion and wishes to spend less time on her device.

“[My phone] can be very distracting and I can become too reliant on [it],” Zhang said. “For example, I use autocorrect a lot so when I am without my phone, I can have a harder time spelling words.”

Many might think that the simple solution would be to distance themselves from their phones. For most students, this isn’t practical. Often, students rely on their phones for applications like Quizlet, which help them study for tests and quizzes. They can also be a valuable resource for staying in contact with peers over text, for help with assignments and projects. Being able to confer with other students that take the same classes can be very beneficial if one does not understand a certain assignment or was absent in the class that day. Massa Suleiman ’22 remembers multiple instances in which her phone came in handy to study.

“Right before an exam if I need to review a term or topic that slipped my mind, and I don’t have enough time to use any other resource. Pulling up a Quizlet or reviewing materials last minute as a refresher have probably saved me so many points on exams,” Suleiman said.

Cellphone usage at West High continues to be a problem, even with the implementation of the new cellphone policies this year. Outside of school, the quick access to a distraction can lead to hours of homework procrastinated; one quick text message check can lead to hours of procrastinated time on TikTok. For some students, they are easily able to control their phone usage when it is time to finish their work, but others struggle greatly with this task. Learning how to adjust homework habits and finding tools that can help regulate phone usage is a great way to ensure that procrastination is kept at a minimum.

WHERE’S WALLING?

Feeling cooped up at home? Take the extra time to plan your next trip post-social distancing times using chemistry teacher Carolyn Walling’s experiences from around the world.

BY ANNABEL HENDRICKSON

ART & DESIGN BY XIAOYI ZHU PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAROLYN WALLING

Having been to roughly a fourth of the countries in the world (and counting), traveling is something that has always been a priority for science teacher Carolyn Walling. From sleeping in hostels in Europe to meeting a lifelong friend during a summer in Uruguay, the excitement of seeing new places and cultures is a feeling that hasn’t diminished over the years for Walling. Though she’s visited amazing places in all seven continents, Walling tries to stick to a rule of only traveling to a destination once, giving her more opportunities to discover new people and cultures. Here’s what she has to say about some places that stuck out from her trips across the world.

South America - Patagonia

“I loved going to Uruguay because the people were so nice and Ecuador [because] the Galapagos is amazing,” Walling said. “But one of my favorite things we did in South America is go ‘glamping’ in a national park in Patagonia. If I get to go to South America again, I would really love to see Machu Picchu and then take a trip to Argentina and Brazil.”

“My rule is to only go to a place one time — with a few exceptions,” Walling said. “[My favorite place] was Antarctica. By far the best trip of my life. It was the most beautiful place with amazing wildlife and very few people. That is one place I want to go again.”

Antarctica

Cambodia

“[Being a teacher] gives flexibility in the summer, but no flexibility in the school year. We spent a summer in

Nome, Alaska. My husband was doing a rotation there in a hospital during his residency,” Walling said. “Nome is not pretty at all — there are no trees and the mosquitoes are as big as fat flies — but it was so interesting to be part of the community. I think of many of the places I have traveled in my life, it is one of the most foreign.”

North America - Nome, Alaska

“We also went to the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea last summer. From there, we were able to look in telescopes across this river to see the people in

North Korea,” Walling said. “It was strange to know they were so close but that we were not allowed to go there. Although, I did find out there are tours you can take to North Korea, so now it’s on my list.”

Australia - Sydney

“When I was growing up, going to Eastern Europe was not a possibility. So, now that we can go to those countries, I am super interested in hearing about their history,” Walling said. “Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic have all been amazing countries to visit. There is so much beauty there and not much tourism. I hope someday to get to Poland and Croatia.” “Funny enough, I won a trip to Australia in 2000,”

Walling said. “It was just for a week and only for

Sydney, so we have since been back. We got to go snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef the second time we went. It was there that I found out that I am afraid of heights under water too. When you look down it is so far down, it is scary.” Vietnam

Europe - Eastern Europe

Laos

“I have only been to South Africa. Of course, my favorite part was going on a safari. Being so close to all of those animals is amazing,” Walling said. “I would love to go to Africa again, like Botswana or Tanzania. I also want to get to northern Africa someday and see Morocco and Egypt.”

TACKLING TOURETTE’S Two West High students describe their experiences with Tourette Syndrome, also known as Tourette’s: a neurological disorder involving tics, which are involuntary movements or sounds. In order to be diagnosed, individuals must have motor and/or vocal tics lasting more than a year, according to Tourette Association of America.

BY FAREEHA AHMAD & ALICE MENG

Before his diagnosis, Ty Waters ’20 did not understand why he was experiencing certain uncontrollable twitches. He began to notice them more frequently in fifth grade, but because they weren’t very severe, he tended to ignore them. A couple years later, he went on the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. It was on that bike ride when he began to question these movements.

“It’s RAGBRAI, and you get a lot of time to think,” Waters said. “And I was just kind of like, that’s really annoying you know, doing the whole blinking thing.”

Waters’s symptoms include uncontrollable tics of the face and mouth and continuous blinking. However, even though he had these constant symptoms, he never understood why they happened and did not seek out an answer until much later.

“The biggest thing is that I felt alone because I didn’t know anyone else who had similar symptoms. I think that’s a big reason why I didn’t immediately say [something],” Waters said. “I was just like, ‘This isn’t really that big of a deal, so I’m just gonna keep it to myself, and hopefully nobody notices.’”

During his first years of high school at Mid-Prairie, Waters met Cooper Thomas. While the two were in class, Thomas started twitching and believed Waters had noticed. Thomas then explained what Tourette’s is and why he was having these movements. Waters described this to be the moment when he connected the dots between the condition and his own symptoms. After the interaction, Waters decided to visit the doctor, and he was officially diagnosed with Tourette’s.

“It’s honestly kind of relieving to know that other people are with you in this, [and] you’re not alone,” Waters said. “I think just having something that’s categorized and knowing that there are other people out there with Tourette’s is really comforting.”

Although Waters came to terms with his condition, others did not. Even though Waters nevTY

er experienced any extreme cases of judgment, he has experienced moments where individuals haven’t been very kind or understanding. He has also seen other kids with Tourette’s be bullied for their mere motions.

“In high school, kids can be really quick to put labels on people,” Waters said. “They can be really quick to judge people on literally anything.”

Because of this, Waters was reluctant to be open with others about having Tourette’s for a long time and attempted to suppress his tics.

“At first I was just like, ‘I don’t want to be different from everyone else. I don’t want to be seen as different,’” Waters said.

Waters’s confidence grew as he transitioned into West High. He became more open and honest about his tics as others were more kind and understanding.

“I’ve always felt like the people who I’m close to here at West High are really good about accepting me because in previous environments that I’ve been at or worked at, people don’t understand,” Waters said. “But here it’s different. It’s not ignorance, it’s not that people are ignoring that I have symptoms of a condition. It’s people accepting that I have a condition and not caring about it and just accepting me for who I am.”

Even if Waters couldn’t always rely on everyone to understand, his hobbies were something he could always fall back on. Waters emphasizes that there may be a direct correlation between stress and tics, but it is not a cause and effect relationship. So, whenever Waters feels stressed or is having severe tics, he relies on “The Office,” snacks and music.

“It just kind of sucks because sometimes your body is really, really tired if you are ‘ticing’ a lot. One of my tics used to be grinding my teeth a bunch,” Waters said. “And to me it’s always been, I have to find a way to get my mind on something else.”

Music is the outlet that Waters relies the most on. He first picked up the trombone during fifth grade and started to scat, or imitate jazz instruments with his voice, after hearing a particular song. Since then, he hasn’t stopped either one. He’s practiced the trombone incessantly and has

“IT’S PEOPLE ACCEPTING THAT I HAVE A CONDITION AND NOT CARING ABOUT IT.” -TY WATERS ‘20 participated in marching band, Jazz Ensemble and a prestigious marching band called Drum Corps International. Waters has also participated in All-State Choir and All-State Jazz Band.

“I think it’s just something that’s constantly running through my brain. [Music] kind of found me,” Waters said.

Former West student, Thomas Duong ’19, played in jazz band with Waters and knows him as being an eccentric and quirky person. The two formed a close friendship, and Duong witnessed how Waters developed a deep connection with music. The two even meet up to play together nowadays.

“He hasn’t changed ever since I left high school,” Duong said. “I mean, I think he’s grown as a person like everybody else has throughout high school, but Tourette’s has never affected his ability at all in achieving great things.”

Because Waters never lets anything stop himself from achieving his goals, he wants to let all kids know that Tourette’s does not hinder their potential for success.

“It’s really, really important for people who even think that they have Tourette’s to know that they’re not alone, and they’re not abnormal,” Waters said. “It’s something that’s normal ... No one should judge you, and if they do judge you, they’re not worth being around.”

Early in her elementary school years, Kaylee Gibson ’23 began to notice she had occasional tics, but never thought much of it. It wasn’t until junior high, when she started to develop vocal tics, that her worries started to arise. Since she developed anxiety early in life, which worsened during junior high, she initially thought her tics were anxiety-related. However, a trip to the doctor at the beginning of her freshman year proved otherwise, and she was quickly diagnosed with Tourette’s. In her particular case, she has both motor and vocal tics, and more specifically, echolalia, which causes her to repeat phrases others say.

Because none of her family members have the condition and Tourette’s is oftentimes genetic, her tics were unexpected. However, her diagnosis brought about relief since she finally had a true explanation for her symptoms.

“I actually wasn’t too frustrated or anything,” Kaylee said. “It made me feel good that there was something actually going on, and I wasn’t just being weird.”

At first, she only openly informed a few close friends of her diagnosis. When she initially started having symptoms of Tourette’s, they helped her navigate her confusion and showed their support.

“They were just helping me emotionally, because I was like, ‘What’s going on in here?’ [and] they were like, ‘It’s okay, we still love you,’” Kaylee said.

One of Kaylee’s close friends, Tess DeGrazia ’23, reaches out to her regularly to check in. “Most of the time if she’s having some bad tics, I’ll go to her and I’ll be like, ‘Hey, are you alright?’ And we’ll laugh it off because she thinks her tics are funny,” DeGrazia said. “I think her way of coping with it is laughing it off, and I think that’s good for her.”

Through it all, her family has been the backbone of her support system. They suggested “I REALIZED THAT IF I JUST TELL PEOPLE OUTRIGHT, THEN IT’LL PROBABLY BE BETTER.” -KAYLEE GIBSON ‘23 KAYLEE

therapy to help figure out strategies to relieve her tics, and she currently focuses on containing one tic every week. Kaylee describes the feeling before a tic as a “premonitory urge … kinda like when you have an itch and feel the need to itch it,” and the tic itself as a “relief of an uncomfortable feeling.” The therapy works to target where and when she feels the premonitory urge for that specific tic, figure out its patterns and find a countermovement to eventually stop the urge.

Emma Gibson ’20, Kaylee’s sister, has noticed the toll Tourette’s has taken on Kaylee’s mental health. This became more apparent as Kaylee got older.

“As she grew up she got a little bit more reserved, and then recently she’s had lots of problems with anxiety and just all of those things that normal teenagers feel, but she feels them more strongly,” Emma said.

With Kaylee’s anxiety and more recent development of obsessive-compulsive disorder adding up, she has come to Emma in times of need.

“There’ve been times when she’s been having a big tic attack and she’ll just text me and say, ‘I need to come to sit by you,’” Emma said. “I think just having a presence that understands what’s happening and won’t judge her for anything she does [helps].”

However, not everyone is understanding of Tourette’s. Kaylee believes the media has pushed the stereotype that individuals with Tourette’s swear frequently, and many assume this applies to her case as well. In reality, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, only around 10%-15% of individuals with Tourette’s swear involuntarily. There have been many other instances where others make assumptions without understanding her situation.

“I’ve been told many times to be quiet during class, and it’s frustrating because I’m trying,” Kaylee said.

She often tries to suppress her tics, and some of her strategies include wrapping her legs around chairs to prevent stomping and keeping her arms straight to avoid punching. However, she often finds her attempts unsuccessful in the long run.

“Something that’s used a lot of the times for people [without Tourette’s] to connect with [suppressing tics] is trying not to blink,” Kaylee said. “You can hold back a blink for a little bit, but eventually you just have to blink.”

Additionally, people have assumed she is faking her tics, and in one instance, she was imitated by a classmate when having a motor tic. When going to crowded public areas where others don’t know her condition, Kaylee often prepares beforehand to know what to expect, es- pecially in the possibility of a panic or tic attack.

“It’s definitely something she’s had to overcome and learn to not care about what other people think,” Emma said. “I think she’s still working on that.”

Though she faces judgment from others around her, Kaylee has received mostly positive feedback from her teachers and classmates. “I’ve walked into class a couple times and approached a teacher and said, ‘Hey, I’m having a bad day today,’ just as a heads up, and they’ve been totally fine with it,” Kaylee said. “They’ve even pulled a couple students aside to tell them what was going on with me.”

She eventually became more comfortable with her Tourette’s and began to openly inform others about her condition.

“I realized that most people are probably going to be fine with it, they’re not gonna be mean about it as much as I thought they were gonna be,” Kaylee said. “I realized that if I just tell people outright, then it’ll probably be better.”

Kaylee has found the tuba as an outlet. She has noticed that when playing she doesn’t tic, so when she has a tic attack, she can turn to her tuba to find some relief. Earlier her freshman year, Kaylee auditioned for SouthEast Iowa Band Association honor band, where Emma saw a growth in Kaylee’s confidence.

“[The SEIBA audition] was really stressful for her because she could tic at any moment; she can’t control when that happens,” Emma said. “When she went into the audition, growing as a person she was able to just tell the judge, ‘Hey, I have Tourette’s and I might tic, and if I do, please just ignore me.’”

Emma noted that since Kaylee was a freshman auditioning against upperclassmen, she faced more pressure, but felt more encouraged to work harder to meet her goals. As a result, she earned second chair tuba.

“When she got in [SEIBA], I think that just solidified the fact that she can fight through the difficulties,” Emma said.

Since her diagnosis, Kaylee has learned to accept Tourette’s as a part of who she is and has become more accepting of those around her due to her heightened empathy.

“I think everything she’s gone through has made her a better person, better able to relate to other people,” Emma said. “Now she has gotten a better handle on everything that’s happened to her, and she’s a really good person.”

DESIGN BY ELLA ROSENTHAL PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAYLEE GIBSON & TY WATERS

VIRAL.

WSS examines the effects of the novel coronavirus at a local level. BY KAILEY GEE & MARTA LEIRA

THE WORLD, the impact wasn’t immediate. It all started in late December, when a few individuals in Wuhan, China, were diagnosed with pneumonia from an unknown cause. As cases spread throughout the world and death tolls soared, on March 11 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a global pandemic. Eventually, the virus reached Iowa City. By then, scientists had given the ominous new threat a name: the coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19. HALFWAY ACROSS THE

CLEARING THE AIR

Because of the mysterious nature of COVID-19, medical professionals have had a hard time finding out more about the virus, and how to combat it. Meanwhile, hysteria and misinformation were spreading.

Referring to COVID-19 as the ‘coronavirus’ can be misleading because there’s more than one type of coronavirus, which is an umbrella term for a category of respiratory diseases. Other branches of the virus, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), have been around for much longer. They were discovered in 2002 and 2012 respectively.

Dr. Stanley Perlman, a professor of

microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa, has been studying strains of coronavirus for years. What sets COVID-19 apart is that it’s far more difficult to detect.

“[SARS and MERS are] both really deep lung diseases, so you weren’t contagious until you were pretty sick. This virus is different because it’s much more contagious … and much more lethal,” Perlman said. At first, the media and the public compared COVID-19 to the flu, saying that the flu kills more people each year and there’s no need to worry about it. Even now, many dismiss health warnings because it doesn’t affect them.

Teenagers and children often experience only minor symptoms, such as a cough, runny nose or fever. This leaves older adults and anyone who is immunocompromised, or those who have impaired immune systems, at risk.

Lila Terry ’20 has a family member currently undergoing chemotherapy, which severely limits the body’s ability to fend off infection. COVID-19 directly affects her, and there’s no opportunity to dismiss it with a family member at risk.

“[It’s difficult] hearing somebody say ‘Oh, it’s not going to affect me; it’s just a glorified cold.’ That may be a glorified cold for you, but for the person in my family it may be deadly,” Terry said.

For Terry, it can be offensive to hear the remarks people are making about the virus and the populations it can affect, and she attributes the comments to ignorance.

“They’re acknowledging that there’s a group of people who this is going to affect negatively, but because they’re not in that group of immunocompromised people, they don’t care,” Terry said.

Drew Peterson ’21 is part of that immunocompromised group. He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in September, which is an autoimmune disease that affects insulin production.

Because of this, Peterson and his family have “THIS ISN’T A JOKE. AND EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY, MY MOM AND BROTHER

ESPECIALLY, ARE IN

DANGER.” - REAGAN YAMASHITA ’22