WG ECHO April 2023 Issue

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

Hadley Hoskins

PRINT/PODCAST EDITOR:

Sam Klein

JUNIOR EDITOR:

Ali Schulz

VIDEO EDITOR:

Margaret Oliphant

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER/ GRAPHICS EDITOR:

Soledad Lee

NEWS/OPINION EDITOR:

Arianna Peper

FEATURE EDITOR:

Jasper Winterton

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:

Margaret Korte

SPORTS EDITOR:

Henry Boland

STAFF WRITER:

Roxy Flood ADVISOR:

Donald Johnson

SOME MATERIAL FROM TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

The Echo is a monthly publication of the newspaper staff of Webster Groves High School, 100 Selma Ave., Webster Groves, MO.

To contact staff members, call 314-963-6400 ex. 11157 or write to wgecho@wgmail.org.

Unsigned editorials are the opinion of a majority of staff members; signed articles are the opinion of the writer.

Letters to the editor of 300 words or less are welcome; submit letters by the 10th of the month to wgecho@wgmail.org, or room 155. All letters must be signed, although the name may be withheld from publication if requested. The Echo has the right to edit letters for publication as long as intent remains unchanged.

The Echo is a member of SSP, Quill and Scroll, MJEA, JEA, MIPA, NSPA and CSPA.

Cover Cutline:

theecho

Jim Schoemehl Run supports ALS research

New cheer coach brings positive spirit to Webster

Media, politicians fuel Anti-Trans prejudice

Festival shows off student-made films

Earth Day is celebrated around St. Louis

Does prom live up to students’ expectations?

Students share excitement for ‘The Eras Tour’

What will be the ‘Song of the Summer?’

Students discuss ‘the sports groupchat’

Science teacher shares Ramadan experiences

Best Buddies brings back Buddy Ball

The ‘Super Mario Bros.’ movie lives up to expectations

Fashion choices have economic and environmental impacts

Editorial: Individuals should do more to stop climate change

Senior Molly O’Neil poses for a photo at Special Olympics while hula-hooping.

Juniors Chase Westmeyer and Jack Matteotti shake hands during tennis match on Thursday, March 30.

Senior Holly Travers prepares for start of play during the lacrosse game on Tuesday, April 4.

Seniors participate in dance circle at prom.

Seniors Ellie Halls, Ross Werner and JaKobe Merriweather pose for a picture at Special Olympics.

Seniors Owen Veech and Peter Hebisen look at Planetarium decorations.

Jim Schoemehl Run supports ALS research

Arianna Peper News/Opinion Editor

When talking about the Jim Schoemehl Run, marketing teacher Kathryn Laurentius said, “It’s a cool event that has a lot of history at Webster.”

The run began when Jim Schoemehl was diagnosed with ALS. ALS, also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is a nervous system disease that breaks down nerve cells, which weakens muscles and impacts physical function. The cause of this disease remains unknown.

His wife, who was a marketing teacher at Webster, started the run with her students to raise money for him. Since then, it has continued to support those who have ALS by donating the money raised from the run.

This year, the Jim Schoemehl Run will take place at WGHS on Saturday, May 6, 7:30 a.m. To help support the cause, community members can donate on its website, volunteer and par-

ticipate in the run.

To participate in the run, adults must pay $30 for the 5k, and $35 for the 10k. It costs $20 for children ages 18 and under to participate for both the 5k and the 10k.

This year is Laurentius’ fourth year running the event with the Marketing ll students where they’re able to have a connection to their community through helping support those with ALS.

Senior Ellie Nakatanti said that this is a really special opportunity to help those in need who have ALS while also getting to do something she loves: planning events. Nakatani has been helping organize the run as co-chair and has been in contact with the beneficiary’s son for the event while also having volunteered last year.

Every year, the Jim Schoemehl Run raises money: 90% of the profit goes to a different family or person with ALS, and the other 10% goes to the ALS charity.

For 2023, their beneficiary is Djenad Novalic, who grew up in Bosnia and moved to the United States in 2001.

New cheer coach brings positive spirit to Webster

Margaret Korte Entertainment Editor

“I don’t know if I chose cheerleading so much as it chose me,” said Kita Thames, next year’s cheerleading head coach. She is starting at Webster in August.

Cheerleading “chose” Thames a year or two before her high school career at McCluer North, and she continued to pursue the sport through college at Maryville University. “Cheerleading always felt like home to me,” she said.

Thames hasn’t cheered since but has taken every opportunity to coach. She wants to be the “closest [she] can be” to cheerleading: she has coached middle school cheer and high schoolers at McCluer North since graduating college. It’s been seven years since her last coaching job, and she said she’s been “on the hunt” for another since.

“I opened up Indeed[.com], and there was Webster.” Thames applied as soon as she saw the offer.

“[Thames] has a positive, upbeat disposition about her,” Chris Johnson, assistant activities director, said. He hopes she’ll be able to bring a new perspective to Webster’s cheerleading department.

Out of the five coaches who applied for the position, Thames’ “passion came through,”

according to Johnson. She demonstrated goals for the season, then explained how they would reach them. “It was clear even for someone like me, who doesn’t know anything about cheerlead ing,” he said.

In an an nouncement on the athletics de partment website, activities director Jerry Collins de scribed Thames as having an “en ergetic and positive personality that is contagious to those around her.” coming season, Thames looks forward to being a part of Web ster’s community. She wants to treat the athletes like young adults: be ing available to them and being open to collabo

ration.

Overall, Thames said, “I try to be the coach I had.”

Building Game Changers!

First Tee is a youth development organization that uses golf to enable kids and teens to build the strength of character that empowers them through enges.

Media, politicians fuel anti-trans prejudice

media.

Anti-LGBTQ bills have been passed all around the country, including the Don’t Say Gay Bill (HB 1557), Productivity Over Pronouns Act (US HB985), and hundreds more. Transgender individuals around the globe have felt targeted by them.

Social media influencer and actress Dylan Mulvaney has spent her entire career spreading awareness on trans rights.

Mulvaney appeared on comedian and actress Rosie O’Donnells’ podcast, where Mulvany said, “It’s gotten so bad, to the point… with all these bills, that we just have to stay alive.”

Since the shooting, people have tried using it as evidence that transgender individuals are dangerous, or even going as far as to call them terrorists.

Demonstrators gather at a rally to protest the passing of SB 150 on March 29, at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky. SB 150, which was proposed by State Senator Max Wise (R-KY), is criticized by many as a “Don’t Say Gay” bill and was vetoed by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear during the General Assembly. Lawmakers may override this veto, passing the bill into law.

Jasper Winterton Feature Editor

Background

“Since [the Nashville shooting] I’ve seen stuff on social media saying that trans people don’t deserve to exist, just because of what one person in our community did,” sophomore Tate Harcourt said.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, thus far there have been 148 mass shootings this year in the U.S., a portion of which were at schools, with roughly 373 school shootings since 1999.

One of the most recent mass shootings occurred at the Nashville Covenant School, an elementary school located in Tennessee holding grades from pre-K to sixth. One factor of this shooting that caused it to stand out in the media more than others is that the shooter was transgender.

Junior Teddy Woldow explained that the way the media and society has treated the transgender community is much different than how the hundreds of cisgender shooters were treated.

“There is this idea that if a transgender person does something wrong, others then have the right to misgender or deadname them,” Woldow said.

“I do not in any way condone or admire what the Nashville shooter or any school shooter has

done. Killing a human being is an awful thing to do, no matter who you are. However, when a cisgender person commits a heinous crime, we don’t suddenly begin calling them the wrong name, or misgendering them,” Woldow added.

Harcourt added, “What your trans friends, your trans family, your trans coworkers see is that you view who they are conditionally, and that it’s something that can be revoked- or taken away.”

Media and political aftermath

Harcourt has witnessed the political and social aftermath of the shooting, and it’s clear to them that this specific shooting has been treated differently in the press and social media and has caused the transgender community to become further targeted by politicians and a significant number of people.

Harcourt added very few pieces of media have been published where the shooter isn’t being misgendered or dead named, and the whole trans community is being targeted with disrespect from the stereotypes created by politicians and the

One public figure to do so is Tucker Carlson, Fox News host, who included the description “Trans killer” and “We are witnessing the rise of trans violence” under a picture of the Nashville shooter, which provoked the current rise of stereotypes around trans people.

Woldow said, “As a trans person, I have always felt fear directed at me.” He added how he’s grateful to not be a source of the bullying stemming from the shooting, but he is still exposed to plenty of ignorance and hateful speech online, even from government officials.

Former president Donald Trump is one of them.

In a video posted on March 28, Trump said, “There is a clear epidemic of trans or nonbinary mass shooters,” while according to gender and criminology experts, it’s rare for the perpetrator of a school or mass shooting to be transgender, and transgender and nonbinary people are usually the target of violence.

Laura Dugan, human security and sociology

Perpetrators of shootings

Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images/TNS

Chart made on Excel by Jasper Winterton

professor at Ohio State University, said with the four known events of shootings perpetrated by transgender or nonbinary individuals, only 0.11% of all recorded shootings were done at the hands of someone who was not cisgender.

Trump has made multiple statements targeting the trans community in the past, including comparing gender affirming care for minors to “child sexual mutilation,” while saying that if he were to be re-elected he would pass a law to only recognize two genders, male and female, in the government.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also made comments regarding the trans community and was recently suspended on Twitter.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in [transgender] children, which is not normal nor common many years before this. I think that’s completely devastating,” Greene tweeted.

However, even before this year and the Nashville shooting, government officials have spread anti-transgender messages and posts.

In 2022, U.S. Rep. Vicky Harzler’s account was also suspended on Twitter, due to an anti-transgender Tweet stating, “Women’s sports are for women, not men pretending to be women.” also, a month prior she released an ad on television targeting a transgender swimmer and using the swimmer’s name and photo from before transitioning.

Impact

“After the Nashville shooting, it was originally labeled as one of the first female school shooters, and it was a huge deal, and then it came out that he was trans, my stomach dropped, and I started crying. With the political climate with trans people at the moment, I knew it would come up at every opportunity they got to prove that trans people are inherently more violent, and they would take it and paint a negative picture on us,” Harcourt added.

Woldow said, “America is steeped in white supremacy and gender bias. Ignorance as a whole is a plague that much of our country suffers from, due to the systematically implemented lack of black history, queer inclusive sex education, queer history, indigenous history, Hispanic/Latinx history, conversations about disabled people, etcetera in public schools.”

“People fear what they do not know, and they can’t possibly know enough outside of stereotypes if we do not eliminate this type of ignorance through education. So yes, people jump at the opportunity to blame a shooter’s race, ethnicity, gender or sexuality if it falls outside of a white, cisgender, heterosexual description,” Woldow added.

Woldow described his individual experience as a trans person and how the recent implications rooted at the shooting have impacted him.

“My identity is not a weapon. A gun in any-

one’s hand is dangerous- shooters are not terrorists because of their race, gender or sexuality. They are terrorists because of the weapons in their hands,” Woldow said. He explained how even if he wasn’t directly called a terrorist, every attack on transgender identities affects him personally, and he feels the societal pressure of expectations, stereotypes, and fear every day.

Graphic made on Canva by Jasper Winterton

Festival shows off student-made films

be given to the directors.

“What I really enjoyed was every director’s got their feel which I really like; everybody’s got a style. I like how Casey’s (Drilingas) are experimental, and he’ll play around with editing and audio and stuff like that. I like how artistic and the camera movement on Saroya’s (Williams) films and on Nessa’s (Schroeder) films are really nice,” Giordano said.

Junior Saroya Williams found parts of her film style in her films, and even her humor.

Soledad Lee Social Media Manager

Reel Film Club has been working on its own films since the beginning of the year. The result: a festival featuring student-made films.

The Reel Film Festival was April 1, in the Jerry R. Knight Auditorium at 7 p.m.

“Whole festival is great, I love how the films really reflect everyone; how everyone’s got their style,” Reel Film Club president Luca Giordano said.

Giordano was glad each film shown at the festival showcased a different director’s style.

Senior Jack Eveker, actor in “Minesweeper,” and junior Katherine Ragain believed the turn out for the festival was an improvement from last year’s.

“The turnout was crazy; everyone was having fun, it was… honestly I thought it was better than last year,” Eveker said.

Ragain said, “It was even better than last year…it’s really fun especially when you don’t really like, like I didn’t know what a lot of the films were going to be like, so that was my favorite part, was just seeing what everyone had created over the course of the year.”

In reality, although the actors are very important to these films, a lot of the credit can

“One of the movies I made was a comedy movie, and it was about the mafia, so it had nothing to do with me, but I could see parts of my humor coming out. The movie I’m making now, kinda reflects me, just cause the style and like camera work and the jokes,” Williams said.

For junior Frances Baken she noticed that smaller details captured bits of who she is rather than the main theme for her films.

Baken said, ¨The plots of my movies weren’t very similar to my life, because they were pretty unrealistic, but the overall way that the characters talk, and I think the smaller things like that, did reflect me a bit and some of the jokes we made.¨

Giordano believes his films are a place to put energy into, that isn’t something like his job, but a more self fulfilling outlet.

¨Honestly, I make these films because I do like to show them to other people and be a part of stuff, but I really do them for myself. I feel like I can’t run without some sort of creative drive behind myself and so these films give me like a thing to look forward to and a sort of outlet for my creativity, when work or school is not fulfilling that need,¨ Giordano said.

Junior Vanessa Schroeder reflected on how film making is the perfect way to express an idea rather than something just objective.

“The expression is like you have a vision and then you want to convey that vision, and I think that’s easiest done through film, cause that’s like actual people, rather than drawings or something,” Schroeder said.

Directing is important for the films because it is most of the structure that maps out the film and makes sure that the process still stays collaborative with the actors.

“It’s really interesting, to like be the person in charge of everything. It’s really fun to work with a group. I really like making my own ideas come to life, it’s so fun and that’s why I want to go into film in college,” Williams said.

¨I didn’t really know what all went into a film or what I was doing, and so it was really fun to be the director with like no experience, because I just really kind of plunged into it,¨ Baken said.

This is Baken’s first year in the club, so she got to learn the different aspects of making a movie, along with her co-director junior Sydney Arrandale.

Filmmaking is overall a creative art that can introduce people to new concepts, people’s inner thoughts and bring collaboration between friends and students.

“At the end of the day, this is your friends who are a part of this club; this is like your classmates. If you don’t know much about them, then you can see their films. You can see what they’re like proud of,” Giordano said.

Poster created by Luca Giordano

Poster created by Vanessa Schroeder

Earth Day is celebrated around St. Louis

Margaret Oliphant Video Editor

Students can celebrate Earth Day with Gardening Club and Environmental Club, their thoughts and ideas for projects on Earth Day, and Forest Park’s plans for their annual celebration and projects.

Gardening club meets at 8 a.m. every Thursday in room 385 with sponsor Skylar Garcia, biology teacher and is led by juniors Sarah Staab, Tessa Garrison and Ava Fitzgibben.

Club members have been planting various plants indoors due to the cold weather.

However, when it warms up, the group plans to move projects outside.

The group has been looking for various volunteer opportunities around town, but it has been unsuccessful due to not having an out of school location.

As Earth Day approached on Saturday, April 22, Garrison and Staab have looked into different opportunities such as fundraisers and getting together for volunteer opportunities around town.

Letter to the editor

“Especially with the changing climate right now, it’s important to have a time where everyone can come together to make a larger difference,” Staab said.

The Forest Park Earth Day Festival took place during April 22-23. Activities such as numerous vendors, a bird show, upper limits climbing walls, a sustainable fashion show, and a large array of live performances were available.

The event usually has around 20,000 attendees from across St. Louis, according to the Earth Day 365 blog.

According to the 2023 Forest Park press release, the festival’s main goal has been to inspire St. Louis to live a more sustainable lifestyle by providing more environmentally stable options for things such as fashion, repair courses and more.

“Every little bit helps so picking up trash you find, shortening showers, turning off lights when they aren’t in use. However there is an unfortunate truth that most pollution comes from big companies, so another thing is to vote. There are a lot of laws that could be made that could really benefit the environment,” senior and Environmental Club President Calvin Lescher said.

The Environmental Club spreads awareness through the announcements, and giving some information about the Forest Park festival.

Lescher wanted people to know that even if they can’t vote they still have a voice in environmental issues.

“If we let it be known to companies that we don’t want them polluting that helps, but what helps even more than saying it is to be environmentally conscious while purchasing products. Companies will be a lot more willing to change if they aren’t making as much money because people want them to be greener,” Lescher said.

“If you can buy something that’s a little more expensive, but more green it’ll show the companies that’s what the consumers want, and they’ll change if that’s what they see people paying for,” Lescher said.

Teacher expresses thanks for WGHS experience

To the Webster Groves High School community,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to work as a building substitute teacher throughout the 2022 - 2023 academic year.

This year is my first in the field of education after completing my B.A. at Saint Louis University and beginning work in UMSL’s Teach in 12 program, and as such, it has been fundamental for me in cultivating what it means to be an effective educator.

I have found that the experiences I have had in classrooms at WGHS, including successfully implementing lesson plans, managing student behavior and differen-

tiating instruction, have undoubtedly contributed to the successes I have had in my practicum experience.

It is also important to acknowledge the interplay of the unique circumstances that define public education in our lives today.

We have each experienced the effects of the pandemic, political and social unrest, and the emergence of new technology that forces us to wonder what life will be like for academia in the future.

However, a philosophy that I have adopted and spoken with students about is the need to embrace change, for it is the only constant in life. While change will continue to be an aspect of our lives, it is important to recognize that we control

ourselves and our actions.

Given this, no words of mine can express well enough the gratitude I have for having such incredible colleagues here at WGHS who have become mentors of mine, and for the students here whose ambitions, aspirations, and genuine kindness leave me with no regrets in choosing to pursue education and history.

Good luck to the class of 2023, and to those whose time it will soon be to consider what things in life drive them forward through change everyday.

Go Statesmen!

Best regards,

Quentin Milosevich “Mr. Milo”

The unofficial Earth Day flag was created by John McConnell in 1970. Public domain photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Prom expectations vs. reality:

Sam Klein Print Editor/Podcast Editor

Senior prom was held at the Planetarium on April 15, from 7:30 to 10 p.m., after a delay due to severe weather. The event was open to seniors and their guests.

Prom has been glorified in different types of media for years-- photos of prom on Instagram feeds or videos on TikTok, movies centered around the event, and the idea that it’s the defining moment for a class creates high expectations for the night.

“It kind of feels like one last big push for the whole grade…I feel like this is like the big last thing you do with your class before you graduate really,” senior Luke Hedenburg said.

For students, prom means months of planning-- including buying dresses and suits, coordinating with friends and scheduling out what the day will look like.

“Getting a spray tan, getting my nails done and talking to everyone in the group I’m going with to make sure we’re not, like, wearing the same dress,” senior Ellie Keegan said about how she prepared for prom.

Senior Spencer Willman said he began setting up arrangements for his tuxedo four months in advance. Others, like senior Kaz Bergman, said he rented his tuxedo two weeks before.

Despite its portrayal in media, students said they expected prom to be like most other school dances.

“Honestly, I expect it to be like the regular homecomings, where everybody just goes to say they went,” Willman said.

“I’m expecting it to be very crowded, very smooshed, a lot of people,” senior Maren Quentus said.

Despite their low expectations for the event, students said they were looking forward to other parts, such as getting ready and the attire. Long dresses are much more common at prom compared to other dances such as the Friendship Dance.

“We get to wear long dresses… That’s mostly what I’m excited for,” senior Annemarie Sweeney said.

“I’m excited to see everyone all dressed up, because I feel like that’s very rare, other than, like, homecoming,” Quentus said.

“The getting ready-- That’s always the most fun part,” Keegan said.

Others said getting ready was one of the more stressful parts of prom.

“Some of the prep stuff isn’t so fun, you know, because you want to hangout with as many of your people that you can and

Seniors Drei Luna, Aidan Minute, Tom Winterton and Spencer O’Brien put their arms around one another at prom on April 15.

Photo by Jocelyn Reiss

“I feel like this is like the big last thing you do with your class before you graduate.”

- senior Luke Hedenburg

“It was like a ing kind of dance that you’re wearing dress.”

- senior Tori Gray

Hadley Hoskins Editor-in-Chief

Seniors Ellie Halls, Mirabelle Williams, Romano and visitor Ella Martin on April 15.

Photo

reality: students discuss

a

homecomdance except wearing a long

obviously that’s not how it works when you’re trying to do it in one group, so I think some of that is probably the worst part about it. I wouldn’t say it’s too bad,” Hedenburg said.

“It’s kind of stressful leading up to it,” Sweeney said. “It’s supposed to be fun, but to plan when I’m going to get ready, when I’m going to get there, to make sure I’m on time for everything, can be stressful.”

“I feel like for girls, you want to look perfect, you want the pictures to look perfect,” senior Tori Gray said.

In addition to the stress of getting ready and making plans, the National Weather Ser

vice issued a tornado warning 6 to 8 p.m. Rain, strong winds and even hail affected students’ plans for the night.

“We went and got dinner and it started getting really bad and stormy, so we ran to my car,” Gray said. “It was really scary.”

“[When the sirens went off] I was on the highway. Honestly, the most stressful part was parking with the torna do. It was pretty bad,” senior Jake Staab said.

The start of the dance was delayed until 7:30 p.m. due to the storm.

Despite the stress and planning that went into the night, most students said they stayed for around two hours, and it was mostly what they expected.

“Yeah it was about [what I expected],” Staab said.

“The dance circle was pretty fun,” said senior Will Kaup. “It was really pretty when we first walked in. They had a UV light when you went in, and there were a lot of people dancing, and then there were a lot of people around the whole planetarium itself,” Gray said. She added there were lots of activities, such as a photo booth.

About their experience, Staab said, “Overall, it was a good experience.”

“My favorite part was just being able to be with my friends and take pictures and have fun with all the seniors for a night,” Gray said.

Seniors Gretchen Daves and Eleanor Kanerva smile at prom on April 15.

Photo by Soledad Lee

Williams, Alexis dance at prom

Photo by Jocelyn Reiss

Seniors Adrieana Dyson and Camilah Jones attend prom on April 15.

Photo by Jocelyn Reiss

Students share excitement for ‘The Eras Tour’

Hadley Hoskins Editor-in-Chief

“The Eras Tour,” Taylor Swift’s sold-out stadium tour, opened on March 17, in Glendale, AZ. The tour includes 52 shows across the United States and concludes on Aug. 9, in Inglewood, CA.

Swift has released six albums since her last tour-- the Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. Due to the extensive amount of songs and albums fans want to hear, the set list is three hours and 14 minutes long, spanning her entire discography, from her debut album, “Taylor Swift” to her most recent album, “Midnights.” It includes 44 songs and 16 outfit changes.

“I’m excited for how long the show is,” junior Lily Teague said.

Among these 44 songs, some shine through as fan-favorites. Teague said she was excited to hear “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”

Since opening night, livestreams and videos of the tour have been all over social media, especially on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

“Whenever I see them on TikTok, I have to force myself to scroll because I don’t want it to be, like, ruined for me,” junior Macey Fisher said.

Swift does play two new acoustic songs every night, which are a surprise to concert goers. So far, Swift has played songs such as “Clean” from 1989, “Mirrorball” from “Folklore” and “The Lucky One” from “Red (Taylor’s Version)” so far on the tour. Some fans said they were hoping to hear her play certain songs, especially if they aren’t on the original set list.

“The one that we’re going to is Phoebe Bridgers and Gracie [Abrams], so we’re hoping that one of the surprise songs will be ‘Nothing New,’” Teague said.

“If ‘Teardrops On My Guitar’ isn’t played, I will cry,” junior Audrey Culver said.

Each show has two different opening acts, spanning nine different artists and groups across the tour. Paramore, Bridgers, Abrams and Haim are among these.

“I love Gracie Abrams a lot, so I’m really excited to see her, and I like some of Phoebe’s songs,” said Fischer.

Another part of the tour that fans are excited about are the outfits. Fans plan elabo-

rate outfits and costumes referencing all parts of Swift’s discography-- dressing up as past eras, characters from her songs, or just in sparkly and fun outfits.

“I want to go to one of the shows more reputation themed,” Fischer said. “Like, a black dress and dark makeup.”

“We’re going to bedazzle our own cowboy hats before the concert,” Teague said.

“I got like a light blue dress that has little rhinestones on it,” Culver said.

“We’re both writing the teal thirteen on our hands, and we’re doing the friendship bracelets,” Teague added.

Getting tickets for the tour wasn’t easy, though. The process included waiting for hours in presale que lines and website crashes, making it frustrating for fans.

“We spent an entire day with the Ticketmaster que pulled up,” Culver said. “As we were checking out, the site kicked me out, and then it crashed. We were in pre-calc together and my entire class just heard me go, ‘No, what the f***!’”

Overall, though, fans said that their excitement for the show outweighed any struggles they had getting tickets.

“It’s going to be the best night ever. I know all her songs by heart so seeing them live will be unbelievable,” Fischer said.

“I might cry. I’m going to need to get waterproof makeup,” Culver said.

“It’s going to be the best night ever. I know all her songs by heart so seeing them live will be unbelievable.”

- Junior Macey Fischer

Students decide...

What will be the ‘Song of the Summer?’

Soledad Lee Social Media Manager

Summer is approaching quickly, and students are thinking about their bucket lists or better yet, the songs they will have on repeat all summer long.

The top three songs last summer were, “As It Was” by Harry Styles, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush and “Me Porto Bonito” by Bad Bunny & Chencho Corleone, according to newsroom. spotify.com.

Students suggested songs from artists like Frank Ocean, Mac Miller or Taylor Swift. No matter how different, they all achieve that summer feel of screaming the lyrics of a song outside car windows with friends or lying in the sun with no homework to worry about.

Junior Charlotte Collier will be listening to “The Spins” by Mac Miller.

“It just has the vibes of like, rolling down your windows and, like, driving with your friends,” Collier said.

Juniors Owen Barrs and Kellsie Shell personally both believe Frank Ocean’s song, “Pink + White”’ will be on repeat.

“‘Pink + White’ by Frank Ocean, because it’s Frank Ocean,” Barrs said.

“Last summer it was ‘Pink + White’ by Frank Ocean, and this summer it will be the same. The best song in the history of music. Frank Ocean is the best music creator… it’s like Beyonce’s in the background singing, and then Frank is singing, like what song can top that,” Shell said.

Ocean is very popular, as even junior Tyson Knapp will be listening to “Slide” by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean and Migos.

“It is such a fun and upbeat song,” Knapp said.

Another Ocean song, junior Libby Combs will have on repeat is ¨Sweet Life.¨

Combs said, ¨Honestly because, first of all it’s about having a sweet life. It’s about being free and like exploring things… I don’t know it just has that summer feel to it.¨

Junior Josh Delay weighed out some different options.

over summer break.

“It’s just a vibe, it makes me feel independent… it does remind me of lifeguarding,” Strawbridge said.

No matter what, this generation will find a way to bring Swift into their playlist. Albums differ from songs from “Lover,” to “folklore,” to “1989.”

“‘Betty’ by Taylor Swift, cause I really like that song, and I’m probably going to be singing it a lot in my car,” junior Amelia Kennerly said.

“For me, it will be, ‘You Are In Love’ by Taylor Swift, because it reminds me of late summer and it’s a song that’s on my summer playlist,” junior Lauryn Riefle said.

Delay said, “For the real ones, if you know good music, it’s going to be ‘Players Anthem’ by UGK and Outkast. I think if you’re kinda you know basic…maybe some Steve Lacy, ‘Bad Habit’ probably. Let me find a good one, ‘This Charming Man’ by The Smiths. There was one song I was listening to, I was like this is going to go hard in the summer. I think the biggest song this summer is going to be… ‘What is Love’ by TWICE.”

Junior Brady Curtis has an out-of-thebox summer song, “Aengus The PrizeWinning Hog.”

Curtis said, “We just listen to it all the time, during summer, and it’s like a good hype song, if you ever have sports or events.”

Junior Kyzer Strawbridge will be tuning out to “The Hills” by The Weekend

Another beloved artist who was popular last summer is English singer-songwriter Harry Styles, especially with his album release of, “Harry’s House” in May of 2022. Last summer, the album definitely defined summer.

Junior Kate Beck said, “‘Daydreaming,’ by Harry Styles, just cause you know the background music and the beat or whatever is just so like happy and fun… it’s vibey.”

For sophomore Kate Link, ¨light¨ by wave to earth accompanies a summer feel. Link said, ¨The instruments, they just all blend really well together. It’s like summer because it sounds like a warm, cool breeze.¨

Senior Michael Blessing is looking forward to moving on to the next chapter in his life. He thinks, “Snow (Hey Oh) by Red Hot Chili Peppers reflects that.

“The more I’m learning, the more I realize all I don’t know,” Blessing said.

Art by Vanessa Schroeder

Students discuss ‘the sports groupchat’

Print/Podcast Editor Sam Klein

High school students have participated in a group chat surrounding sports. The chat is completely independent from the high school and is run and monitored by students entirely themselves.

This year the men’s soccer team won State and gained a lot of support from the school and town. A lot of the communication over sports is done in the non-school-affiliated group chat on the platform “GroupMe,” which all sports teams at the school can use to communicate.

The chat is called “WGHS Sports” but is known as “The Sports Group Chat” and is made up of almost 600 students, across all grades.

Teams use the chat to communicate when they will play, who they will play, and if there’s a theme for the game.

The chat is also used to let people know the final scores of the games and in cases where it applies– who scored.

In other cases, the chat has been used to send out surveys for school projects, let people know about club events and share information about snow days.

There are, however, instances where the group chat has had controversies. Senior Holly Travers, who was added to the sports group chat at the very beginning of her freshman year because she played on the volleyball team, shared her thoughts on the group chat.

“I think it’s nice for spreading the word about sporting events, and I think it can be funny on occasion when it’s like people are joking around, but I do think sometimes people in the sports group chat go a little too far,” Travers said.

Travers contributes to the chat on a fairly regular basis due to participating in three varsity sports: women’s swim and dive, women’s volleyball and women’s lacrosse.

“Each one [sport] always has something going on whether it’s like a game, some rivalry or some sort of that, so I’m always putting my input in there,” Travers discussed the context of how she participated in the chat.

One recurring issue in the chat is sexism. This mainly consists of people doubting female athletics.

“I think for the most part the main culprits are joking when they say that, so it doesn’t really affect me that bad. However, as a female athlete, it does kind of annoy me when they doubt a women’s sport or something because it does suck to hear people say you’re terrible or yadiyadiyada, but I don’t really care that much,” Travers said about sexism in the chat.

Senior Sebastian Macaire was added to the group chat when he was a sophomore because he played on both the soccer team and tennis team. He doesn’t contribute to the chat as much but has said one or two things if soccer or tennis had a victory.

About if the chat is constructive or deconstructive to the school environment, Macaire said, “There can be some constructive times, but there are a lot of destructive times where it just seems like different teams, it’s not like friendly banter, but they’re just

kind of fighting with each other for no reason.”

“Having such a big chat that everyone can see in, you really need to think about what you’re sending in it,” Macaire said.

“Some things are deconstructive, and people don’t know the responsibility of their own words, but I feel like it’s constructive to lift other people up by their wins,” Junior Rebekah Rhyne said about the group chat.

A recent controversy that’s taken place in the chat involved the women’s lacrosse team and the baseball team. The baseball team decided it would challenge the lacrosse team to a lacrosse game. The lacrosse team agreed, as long as the baseball team promised to follow the rules of women’s lacrosse, not men’s.

“We decided that the baseball team, we’re a bunch of athletes, we think we could beat them in their own sport, so we decided to challenge them and they accepted,” junior Graham Stisser, a Varsity baseball player, said about the game between the two teams.

“Go girls’ lax, but I think it will all be proven when we beat the boys’ baseball team,” Rhine said.

The game was supposed to take place on April 16, at 11 a.m. However, the game was not played.

“I think it makes school a little bit more fun. I mean, it gives people stuff to talk about in school. I know I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and ask me about the lacrosse game and stuff,” Stisser said about how the chat affects the school environment.

Students communicate in WGHS Sports Group Me about baseball, men’s tennis and men’s volleyball wins.

Screenshot taken by Sam Klein

Science teacher shares Ramadan experiences

Henry Boland Sports Editor

Every year, most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims participate in the holiest Islamic holiday of the year during the ninth month, Ramadan. Muslims follow the Islamic lunar calendar, consisting of 12 months based on moon sightings.

Ramadan is known as the month of remembrance and the celebration of angel Gabriel revealing the Qur’an (The Muslim Holy Book) to the Prophet Muhammed. Muhammed received the teachings of Allah and spread the Islamic faith after the Qur’an was revealed to him. Starting in the seventh century, Muslims grow their bond with Allah during this month by fasting, reciting the Qur’an, and doing good deeds.

For Muslims, participating in this holiday is one of the most important facets of their beliefs. This is because it is one of the five pillars of Islam. This list of five practices are obligatory for Muslims, fasting is one of the most important pillars.

Participating science teacher Kyle Lockos said, “It’s one of the five pillars of Islam. It’s a recognition where you fast, fasting means you’re not eating or drinking, nothing passes your lips from sunup to sundown.”

Lockos spoke about to the broader relevance of Ramadan fasting, “It’s for obeying Allah. It’s for a cleansing of your physical being, spiritual being, and it gives you a great appreciation for the less fortunate.”

Lockos participates in Ramadan every year with his family. Lockos said, “My wife, she’s a stickler. She makes us get up and we do what we’re supposed to do.”

Lockos participates with his wife and two children. Although they are older, with their own children now, the Lockos’ children have been participating their entire lives.

About the effects of fasting on him, Lockos reflected on times of participating in Ramadan when his children were young. “I feel a lot of guilt. When they were little, my kids were doing fasting. They were doing Ramadan, and I would be grumpy and crabby about it, so I felt a lot of guilt because here these little kids can do this and some grown man is having trouble doing this.”

Lockos spoke of how proud he was of his children for completing this task. “Man there’s nothing they couldn’t do, and I felt so proud of them.”

Before Muslim children reach puberty, fasting during Ramadan is not mandatory. Although many children will participate before this because they see everyone around them abstaining from food and drink and they want to participate.

Whether or not children participate, anyone who is past the understood age is required to fast. Every day, Muslims wake up well before dawn to make sure they can eat enough food to supplement them throughout the day. During Ramadan, Muslims won’t eat or drink for around 13 hours every day. Muslims follow a strict morning schedule to maximize their fuel for the day.

When discussing his family’s routine, Lockos said “We do our morning prayers and then you eat and drink as much as you can before 5:30, and then you pray again after that, and then you basically try and conserve as much energy as possible.”

Lockos said work and school keep him and his family distracted from their hunger. Regarding free time, Lockos said “We hunker down, watch a lot of movies, do a lot of day sleeping.”

Towards the end of the long 30 days of Ramadan, lots of Muslims experience tiredness, dizziness, headaches and sometimes even insomnia.

Lockos said, “You feel lighter, but you can also feel sluggish.” Lockos admitted there were many years that fasting was a great challenge to him. The sacrifice Muslims have to make to grow closer to Allah is taxing on the body but well worth it in the end.

Another Islamic holiday falls at the end of the month Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr meaning “festival of breaking fast” in Arabic is the celebration of the end of Ramadan.

Starting on April 20, this year, many Muslims gather to celebrate accomplishing the month-long fast.

Lockos said he and his family participate in Eid al-Fitr. “We go to a mosque, and we celebrate the end of Ramadan with everyone at the mosque.”

The original purpose of this fast is to sacrifice to Allah and grow closer to the Islamic higher power. Despite reaping these benefits,Lockos spoke to the positives he notices within himself. He said, “If and when you can do the full Ramadan, the full fasting, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish mentally.”

Ali Jadaan, a contractor in Scania, Iraq, welcomes members of Oregon Army National Guard, into his home for a preRamadan feast.

Public Domain photo from Wikimedia Commons

Best Buddies brings back Buddy Ball

Margaret Oliphant Video Editor

Best Buddies’ second annual Buddy Ball comes to Webster Groves High School April 28, from 6-8 p.m. in the PV Common.

The Buddy Ball is a dance for the club Best Buddies to make sure everyone has the chance to have fun at a high school dance.

According to its website, Best Buddies is an international non for profit group that helps build friendships, integrated employment, develop leadership and inclusive housing. The organization was founded by Anthony K. Shriver in 1989.

The dance started because usually at the Friendship Dance they set up a sensory friendly

area; however, in 2021 when Webster hosted the Friendship Dance, there was not one.

The Buddy Ball was organized to give students a sensory friendly dance free from crowds with quieter music outside to prevent an echo, fairy lights instead of strobe, and a quiet space inside with games.

“It’s extremely important our school has events like this one to ensure every single person in our community gets to attend a dance,” senior and president Grace Closson said.

Officers have been planning the event since January. The ball will have activities like games, a photo booth, cupcakes baked by the students, decorations that were also made by the students, a car for the students to take

pictures with and speeches from club members.

“[Watching the speeches] was such a special moment and made all the planning and time it took to put the event on worth it. I am very excited and hope to see those speeches again,” Closson said.

Although last year about 3050 people attended, numbers of officers and buddies vary. The group expects more this year, due to inviting other schools.

“The Buddy Ball gives participating members of Best Buddies a safe space to have fun. It provides them with an opportunity to relax, play games and enjoy traditional high school dances. It is important to have an inclusive environment for all students, and the Buddy Ball

provides that space for our buddies,” sponsor & U.S. history teacher Dontrail Johnson said.

The group meets once a month in Johnson’s room, 276, or the PV commons; however, the buddies meet more frequently, in one of the special school district classrooms on the third floor during advisory.

Senior Alison Merriman has been in Best Buddies all four years of high school. She enjoys the fun activities and seeing her friends. She most looks forward to seeing her friends.

Junior Hanna Lauren is also excited to see her friends at the dance.

Freshman Owen Giliam looks forward to dancing, food and seeing his friends. This will be his first dance.

Mario movie lives up to expectations

Roxy Flood Staff Writer

Breaking the box office record, making $337 million on opening weekend, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was released on April 5, and is a faithful adaptation of the games.

It does not change aspects of the Mario world drastically nor the characters personalities or dynamics. It has a very light plot, like most Mario games, which lets the directors use the movie for world building, with small details making the world feel more alive, like the Blooper Squids in the water or a Yoshi Dinosaur herd running by.

The movie follows the Mario brothers who are plumbers from Brooklyn. After trying to fix a massive flooding problem in the city

they get transported through a magic pipe which separates the two. Mario ends up in the mushroom kingdom and with the help of Toad and Princess Peach they go to the darklands to save Maio’s brother Luigi. Along the way they get help from the Kongs who are the inhabitants of the jungle kingdom.

While the film is filled with references to Nintendo and its various properties, some notable ones are the Punch Out Pizzaria that the two brothers are seen in, this being a reference to the NES game “PunchOut.” There is also a reference to “The Super Mario Bros Super Show” theme song as it’s played in the brothers’ plumbing commercial. The references don’t take away from the plot and don’t isolate new viewers to the franchise.

The movie does have some pacing issues, with parts of the film wrapping up very quickly, not having enough time to sit for the viewer to process.

Two stand out performances are Jack Black (“School of Rock”) and Keegan Michael Key (“Key & Peele”) as Bowser and Toad. Black’s voice suits Bowser completely and Key’s approach to Toad makes him sound adventurous and cute, rather than the original Toad voice, which would be ear grading to hear for an hour and a half.

Notably, Chris Pratt’s (“Parks & Recreation”) Mario voice was not as bad as the internet predicted, due to Pratt’s previous work in voice acting sounding very similar to his voice. In the movie however, he does have a new voice for the character. In the movie the Mario voice is more of a Brooklyn accent instead of Italian.

The film is only in theaters at the moment with tickets selling for $16.70 at Ronnie’s and a runtime of an hour and 32 minutes.

Arianna Peper News/Opinion Editor

“Fast Fashion” started as a 1990s corporation trend of cheap, trendy, and poorly made clothing and has now become the third largest contributor to pollution.

“Fast Fashion” brands such as Zara, H&M, Shein, Romwe, Forever 21, GAP, and Nike pro duce trendy, cheap items and are then contributing to single-wear mentality. This is the idea that items should only be worn once and not repeated, which leads to the purchasing of more items.

While it might appear as though custom ers are getting the most out of their pur chases with cheap prices and an abun dance of items, there is more behind it.

When purchasing from “Fast Fashion” companies, a customer can get stuck in a cycle of buying items that are trendy and cheap, which over time can have a nega tive impact on the amount of money spent for what they receive.

The websites “State of Matter Ap parel” and “Earth Day” both state that most “Fast Fashion” items are made out of synthetic fibers. Synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon are derived from fossil fuels and

are non-biodegradable while also releasing harmful chemicals into the environment.

Aside from the long-term waste of synthetic fibers used to make clothing for “Fast Fashion,” these fabrics also do not provide good quality for

The fabrics used to make the clothing items from places like “Shein” do not last long. An article from “The Clothing Coach” stated synthetic fabrics rarely last longer than a few wears, which puts the consumer in a constant cycle of purchasing new items and contributing to landfills.

These chemicals in the synthetic fibers, such as formaldehyde and dioxane, are designed to not break down easily.

According to “Impakter” and “The American Cancer Society,” these chemicals are also

Workers are then exposed to the toxic chemicals in these clothing items every day and the dyes used in the clothing items for little to no pay.

“Earth.org” stated that workers in the garment industry are required to put in 14 to 16 hours daily and endure verbal and even physical abuse from managers.

Not only are there unfair hours, but child labor is common among these popular “Fast Fashion” brands so companies can keep the costs low while producing more items.

Fashion Design teacher Amie Shea said, “[Fast fashion] is very deceptive. I don’t think people realize what their purchases endorse, especially in the United States where it is a common practice to buy items without realizing what the actual cost of it is.”

The majority of these items purchased from cheap online fashion stores and malls are making their profits from unfair wages and forced labor, Shea said.

Out of around 100 billion clothing garments produced each year, 92 million tons end up in landfills. Producing these items uses large amounts of natural resources as well as releasing greenhouse gases, which are responsible for climate change.

“Fast Fashion” is one of the leading causes of global warming. People purchase items that won’t last and companies are continuing to exploit workers for these items. Rather than purchase them and support brands that provide harmful working conditions and unfair hours and wages, Shea said people should either buy from thrift stores or invest in clothing that will actually last.

Shea stressed the importance of realizing what your purchases are contributing to. She said the unfair labor practices and harmful chemicals used are not worth the purchases people make from Shein and other companies.

Just because it’s cheap and cute doesn’t mean it’s worth it.

Art by Margaret Korte

‘Fast Fashion’ isn’t just hurting your wallet: Fashion choices have economic, environmental impacts

Editorial

Individuals should do more to stop climate change

Environmental issues have become a hot topic of conversation as the harm that humans are doing to the environment has become more and more apparent.

According to Central Connecticut State University, environmental issues include but are not limited to “Global warming and Ocean Pollution.” While these are only a few issues, they are some of the main ones that contribute to the issues we see today.

National Geographic stated, “Global warming is the long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature.” While global warming has been going on for hundreds of years, the effects have not been as noticeable until recently. As world technology has evolved and improved, the amount of fossil fuels being burned has significantly increased.

Fossil fuels are used for everything from heating one’s house to making one’s car run. In addition, as cars on the road have increased, more gasses have been released into the atmosphere. These gasses are called “greenhouse gasses,” and these gasses contribute greatly to the warming of the globe.

According to the United Nations website, “It [Global warming] can also cause a rise in sea level, leading to the loss of coastal land, a change in precipitation patterns, increased risks of droughts and floods, and threats to biodiversity.” Global warming causes extreme danger not only to the environment, but also humans through natural disasters, and other environmental events.

Another environmental issue is Ocean [Marine] Pollution. National Geographic states, “Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from land sources and is washed or blown into the ocean.”

Marine pollution typically comes from trash, sunscreen, and chemical spills. Sea animals often mistake trash for food, and digest it by accident. They can also get tangled up in the trash, which can affect their growth, or even cause death. Chemical spills can also have the same effect. In addition, there are many chemicals in sunscreen that can cause harm to marine life. Oxybenzone and Octinoxate are two harmful chemicals. According to the People 4 Ocean website, “These chemicals are used in 97% of sunscreens.”

It has been proven that Oxybenzone and Octinoxate have many negative effects on

marine life, specifically coral reefs. This is why in certain places in the U.S., it has been banned, as these places require reefsafe sunscreen. Coral reefs are a vital part of human survival.

The Eco Watch Website states, “While coral reefs only cover 0.0025 percent of the oceanic floor, they generate half of Earth’s oxygen and absorb nearly onethird of the carbon dioxide generated from burning fossil fuels.” This shows why reefs are such an important thing to protect.

The environment is a vital thing to protect. It not only provides shelter, but also provides people with the things people need to survive. Every day, people harm the environment more and more, and one day it will become beyond repair. If humans continue on the trend they are on, global temperatures will rise causing increased natural disasters, pollution will become uncontrollable, water shortages will occur, and there will be countless other problems.

The environmental issues humans are causing is not something to be taken lightly.

There are many ways one can get involved in the community. When shopping for sunscreen, one can make sure the sunscreen they choose does not contain any detrimental ingredients to the environment.

One can participate in trash pickups in their local area. In addition, one can make sure that they conserve fossil fuels as much as possible. Lastly, one can speak out and spread awareness of environmental issues to their peers and others in their community.

The harm humans are doing to the environment will continue to cause damage, and now humans need to step up and fix the problems they have created.

Art by Gracie Giles