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echo Volume 105 Issue 3 January 2021 1 0 0 S e l m a Av e . w g e c h o . o r g
Anticipations raise spirits for staff, students pg. 6
Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jaden Fields PRINT EDITOR: Maeve Taylor JUNIOR EDITOR: Jackson Parks VIDEO EDITOR: Calum Shank SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER/ GRAPHICS EDITOR: Zeke La Mantia NEWS/ OPINION EDITOR: Elise Wilke-Grimm FEATURE EDITOR: Ava Musgraves ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Addy Palmquist PODCAST EDITOR: Lydia Urice 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.
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Capitol riot shows inequity of police response John M. Thomas retires from WGSD Trump tries to overturn turn election in final days Indoor dining becoming available Anticipations raise spirits for staff, students Valentines, birthdays impacted by COVID COVID influences New Year’s resolutions
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Read about the Donald Trump’s phone call on page 4
See how Valentine’s Day and birthdays are affected during the pandemic on page 7.
Flip to page 6 to read about students and staff raising anticipations for the new year
The Echo is a member of SSP, Quill and Scroll, MJEA, JEA, MIPA, NSPA and CSPA.
Cover Cutline: Jumping down a hill at Deer Creek Park, junior Ryan Sullivan enjoys a snowy half day on Wednesday, Jan. 27. “Great weather, good conditions, I just had to do it,” Sullivan later said. 2
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Read about indoor dining reopening on page 5 Table of Contents | January 2021
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images/Tribune News Service
A pro-Trump mob enters the U.S. Capitol Building on Wednesday, Jan. 6, in Washington, D.C.
Editorial
Capitol riot shows inequity of police response History was made on Jan. 6, with the attack of the United States Capitol, the situation showing the differences between White and Black America. The angry mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters, upon his directions, stormed the nation’s capitol and forced their way inside. The violent mob was able to make its way into the government building with little to no trouble, police even taking selfies with rioters. Videos and images from the event quickly went viral over social media, one video in particular of a woman who claimed she was maced quickly picked up traction. In the video, she stated, “I got maced. I made it like a foot inside, and they pushed me out, and they maced me… my name is Elizabeth. I’m from Knoxville, Tennessee.” About why she was trying to get into the Capitol, she responded, “We’re storming the Capitol; it’s a revolution.” One could speculate the irony in the entire situation. Elizabeth seemed to be shocked that police had maced her for storming one of the most important governmental buildings in the United States.
January 2021 | Opinion
The rioters of the Capitol were met with little to no resistance initially, swarms of individuals being able to fully infiltrate the building. Many have compared the event to the Black Lives Matter marches and protests that took place during the summer, protests that were met with large and violent amounts of police interference. At numerous BLM marches, protestors fighting against oppression and seeking equality were met with tear gas and rubber bullets. According to theguardian.com, as of October 2020, nearly 1,000 instances of police brutality cases were recorded in anti racism protests. During the protests, numerous videos of police using tear gas and firing rubber bullets on crowds that were standing holding signs or kneeling went viral, one such example being an incident that took place at the plaza between St. John’s Church and Lafayette Park. Demonstrators were nonviolently protesting police brutality when the police and National Guard used tear gas, pushing the protesters out of the way. Interestingly enough, it turned out that the reason they
were cleared in such a way with no warning was because Trump was coming for a photo opportunity at the church. More force was used against this nonviolent crowd of peaceful protesters than was used against the entire swarm of Trump supporters who raided the Capitol that was full of government officials and information. According to the New York Times, “At least 100 law enforcement agencies... used some form of tear gas against civilians protesting police brutality and racism” as of June 2020. The hypocrisy in everything going on is the simple fact that many Americans who attended these nonviolent protests for the Black Lives Matter movement know that had the raid at the capitol been orchestrated by BLM or any other minority driven group, they would have been met with far more casualties. The fact that the list of casualties was so few for the capital raid shows the double standard and illustrates the way that marginalized groups will likely never get away with as much as the majority.
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John M. Thomas retires from WGSD Lydia Urice Podcast Editor
Photo by John M. Thomas
John M. Thomas poses with a Go Statesmen sign. Thomas joined the district 29 years ago. “I have a lot of great memories from my time in the district that I will always cherish,” J. Thomas said over email.
“This is my 33rd year in education (29th in WGSD), and it just feels like it’s the right time to retire,” director of student services John M. Thomas said over email. “I’m so happy for him! Now he will be able to enjoy activities he didn’t have much time to do before,” wife and personal finance teacher Kim Thomas said over email. “Over Mr. Thomas’s 29 year in the WGSD, he has demonstrated high levels of care for the students and staff of the district. Along with a variety of skills developed through experience and training, Mr. Thomas’s calming demeanor has helped ease many heightened situations and provided tremendous support to people in need. He will be missed!” superintendent John Simpson said over email. “At this point in time I don’t have any firm plans. My wife and I do like to travel so we’ll continue to do that, especially as we get beyond the pandemic,” J. Thomas said over email. “I’ll miss the buzz and activity level of being around students. Also I’ll miss seeing a lot of my colleagues at WGHS and throughout the district on a regular basis,” J. Thomas said over email. “I have a number of home improvement projects that I’ll work on and I’m sure my wife has a long list in her mind of tasks she’ll want me to complete J. Thomas said over email. K. Thomas said that she had no immediate plans to follow her husband into retirement.
Trump tries to overturn turn election in final days Addie Palmquist Entertainment Editor Former President Donald Trump came under fire earlier this month after a phone call between him and Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was released. During the phone call, Trump made several false claims regarding the vote count in Georgia, where President-elect Joe Biden had him beat with over 10,000 votes. Trump is heard on the call stating, “I just want to find 11,780 votes.” There is no evidence of several thousand dead people casting ballots in Georgia; however, Trump said over 5,000 voters were deceased. Along with this, he said hundreds of thousands of votes for Biden were “dropped” into the polls; he also said that Dominion voting machines were responsible for shredding thousands of ballots. Raffensperger disputed Trump’s claim that 5,000 dead people voted, saying that there were only two cases in which this was a concern. Dominion has also denied that any of their machines were compromised. Dominion Voting Systems has filed defamation
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Photo from Wikimedia Commons by Gage Skidmore
Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Arizona in 2016 before he won the 2016 election. After losing to President Joe Biden in the 2020, Trump tried to overturn the election.
lawsuits against attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Guilliani, seeking $1.3 billion in damages each. None of the claims Trump made in the phone call are supported by evidence.
News | January 2021
Photos by Elise Wilke-Grimm
O+O Pizza chef Mynor Ramirez prepares pasta in the kitchen for various pasta dishes. Graduates Chris Kuse and Gavin Ashley prepare for the day’s opening by making pasta noodles and cleaning the back area.
Restaurants reopening
Indoor dining becoming available Elise Wilke-Grimm News/Opinion Editor St. Louis County Regulations announced that restaurants can begin to seat guests indoors. Throughout COVID restaurants have either lost significant amounts of money and/or had to close down. According to www. restaurants.org 100,000 restaurants had to permanently close down just six months into the pandemic and there are still nearly 3 million unemployed restaurant workers looking for jobs. Now that restaurants are able to reopen their indoor dining, there are more hours available on the schedule for their employees and there are more possibilities for jobs available. Jordan Goodman, the manager at O+O Pizza, said the increased business leads to more jobs for everyone employed at the restaurant (cooks, dishwashers, servers, bussers, etc.). “I feel great about the reopening of indoor seating. In my opinion, restaurants are some of the safest places you can be when done right and all the proper precautions are taken,” Goodman said. O+O Pizza is only open for 25% dining which brings in more guests so employees are getting closer to being able to support their living costs that unemployment was not covering. On the other hand, there are still worries that arise regarding
January 2021 | News
eating in restaurants, or being in public places in general. Graduated senior, Sophie Delay is immunocompromised and hasn’t eaten in a restaurant since before COVID arose in the U.S. “I need to be more careful about being in public, especially in the food industry where there is an increased risk of transmission. I’m not saying all restaurants are extremely risky because most follow the procedures, but it just makes me uncomfortable being around people without their masks right now,” Delay said. Of course there is reason for concern being in public in general during this pandemic, especially coming into close quarters with strangers. “It is good to support local businesses of course but at this point in the virus I just don’t feel comfortable eating in restaurants yet, but I’d encourage people to order take out to support these businesses,” Delay said. Though eating in restaurants can be a nerve wracking experience for some people, for others, like Junior Remi Wagner, there is comfort in the fact that all procedures are taking place behind the scenes. “So many people get their jobs back now that restaurants are reopening. I got mine back at The Frisco and I believe that it is a super safe place to be. I have asthma and I feel very comfortable eating and working in restaurants due to the mandatory rules everyone has to partake in,” Wagner said.
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Photos by Kimmy Dang and Lydia Urice
Snowfall on Wednesday, Jan. 29, made for some peaceful and picturesque scenes. Several people have expressed that snow was one of the things they looked forward to for raising spirits. Social studies teacher Alison Bryar said, “I look forward to our first real snow of the season. My puppy has not seen snow yet. I can’t wait to see her romp around in it!”
Anticipations raise spirits for staff, students Jackson Parks Junior Editor In the height of a pandemic and the midst of winter, it’s easy to become sad. In an effort to raise their spirits, the students and staff share what they’re looking forward to most. Social studies teacher Alison Bryar shared what she was looking forward to most. For her future interests, Bryar said, “Long term I look forward to visiting Chicago family again. It has now been a year since we have been able to travel there, and my husband and I really miss them.” However, for her near future, Bryar said, “Short term I look forward to our first real snow of the season. My puppy has not seen snow yet. I can’t wait to see her romp around in it!” In a similar theme, English teacher Melissa Rainey shared her excitement for the possibility of winter weather too. “I am looking forward to the snow: the way it looks, the way the world gets so quiet, the different birds you notice when everything is white, and, of course, more fires in our fireplace, more warm jammies, and the clear blue skies you only see in winter,” Rainey said. Junior Lillie Torbit shared her hopes and excitement for the future as well. “I am looking forward to hopefully hanging out with my friends again without having to worry about COVID-19 restrictions. I’m hopeful that by the end of the year everything will be somewhat back to normal, and I can see my family, friends, and classmates again.” Torbit reflected on the past year, “This past year has been so unexpected and overwhelming, that I can only hope that 2021
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will be somewhat better so that we can all be together again.” Junior Izzy Gunning shared her hopes for this year. “I am looking forward to the end of my junior year and spring break. I’m also looking forward to the fact that things are somewhat looking up since there are vaccines slowly getting out now,” Gunning said. While most look forward to a world without COVID-19, some might hope for excitement this year. Junior Olivia Nennert shared, “I’m most looking forward to when the Coronavirus is under control, so that I can go see the Harry Styles concert in the fall with my friends.” Junior Zoe Rush said, “I’m excited for junior year to be over and then to be a senior. I’m also excited for senior year to be over, so I can get out of high school and study what I want to study.” Junior Elsie Baker shared what she’s looking forward to as well. “I’m looking forward to what’s next after COVID-19. Obviously, nothing’s going to go back to ‘completely normal,’ but I’m excited to see how we pull through after the vaccines. I’m also looking forward to the possibility that school will be a little more like it used to be next year, because that’s also something that I miss from pre-COVID,” Baker said. Reflecting on the past year, Baker continued, “Quarantine has been really tough for a lot of people including myself, because I like to be able to travel, see friends and family, and other stuff like that. I hope that eventually things can be to the point where we can do things like that.” Similar to the rest of the world, WGHS hopes for somewhat of a return to normalcy this year. Whether it be upcoming events, the summer, or a world without COVID-19, WGHS looks forward to the year ahead of them.
Features | January 2021
Valentines, birthdays impacted by COVID Zeke La Mantia Graphics/Social Media Editor Valentine’s Day for many means 24 hours jammed full of affection from those closest to them, but this year, some distance is required. Last year, COVID became serious to many March 13. Lots of schools like Webster dismissed for Spring break and then stayed closed to finish out the school term. Based on this timeline many people’s last holiday spent with friends and family before quarantine would’ve been Valentine’s Day. Almost a year since quarantine began and with Valentine’s day approaching quickly, this holiday season has some people feeling bittersweet. “Sometimes waiting for things can make the end result even better. Once COVID is vanquished, we’ll appreciate even more every moment with extended family, friends, even classmates and teachers— everyone we didn’t get to interact with normally during the pandemic. I’m excited for that moment,” senior Sonia Bergfeld said. Valentine’s Day is the holiday most well known for affection, whether it be physical affection or in the form of gift giving to show appreciation. With COVID still raging around the world, the way many celebrate the day will have to change drastically. “I think Valentine’s Day is an important day for some people but not everyone, and anyone who doesn’t have a significant other to celebrate on that day shouldn’t feel bad or like they’re Photo by Zeke La Mantia missing out compared to those who Schnucks offers a variety of Valentines Day gifts including candles, flowers, candy, do,” senior Alex de Foy said. teddy bears and balloons. Valentines Day, this year, will change for many due to Junior Jacey Van Leuven is a stu- COVID concerns. dent whose birthday happens to coincide with Valentine’s Day. When asked “It felt super weird because I usually hate my birthday and about how she felt about her birthday and the holiday being the don’t like celebrating it. So the one time I do, it ends up being same she said, “Having a birthday on a holiday is the same as having your one of the last times I get to hangout with friends. I guess I got birthday on any other day, except it’s more stressful because you lucky,” junior Elsa Surfas said. “My birthday was the last ‘normal’ day— at least in the U.S. have to adjust your plans because your friends might be busy.” Aside from Valentine’s Day being the last official holiday It was the last day we attended regular school. It makes that day celebrated by many, birthdays between Jan. 1, and March 13, even more memorable, knowing I went out and celebrated withwere some of the last birthdays celebrated before states went into out wearing a mask for the last time in over 10 months,” Bergfeld lockdown, and birthdays were celebrated alone inside homes or said. over Zoom.
January 2021 | Features
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COVID influences New Year’s resolutions Ava Musgraves Feature Editor New Year’s resolutions are said to have dated back to the ancient Babylonians around 4,000 years ago. According to History.com, they were also the first group to hold celebrations of the new year to honor it and hope for a good season for farming. Similarly, people today hope for a better year in 2021 than the challenges that were faced by all in 2020. There are classic resolutions that many adopt year after year, but how has COVID-19 affected these timeless adaptations the public strive for in the new year? Junior Nina Schroeder said her “goal in 2020 was to exercise,” and COVID-19 has hindered this because “I don’t like going out running because masks, and I’m not going to go to the gym.” For 2021, she is keeping it open because resolutions “put too much pressure on the new year.” Gym memberships usually sky rocket on Jan. 2, as in past years exercise is a common resolution. On average 12% of gym goers purchase a membership in January, according to U.S. News. With safety concerns this trend did not continue, as in 2020 64% of the world’s fitness sites were closed due to the pandemic, according to Leisure Database Company. In April of 2020 only 12% of American gym goers said they
would be comfortable going to the gym; in October 41% responded as being unsure, according to Statista. Junior Lexi Sylvan said this year she is going to be swapping the traditions of resolutions for goal setting this year. Some of her goals this year are to “read more books, stay healthy and get good grades. The pandemic has limited some things like valuing and using time for myself.” Self care is something that many became very familiar with in 2020 as self isolation became necessary. Alike to Sylvan’s goals for the year, staying healthy holds significant importance in 2021, which involves taking care of mental and physical health. There are still ways to implement these resolutions in 2021 while abiding with safety regulations put in place. About how to stay active following COVID guidelines, PE/ health teacher and assistant swim coach Evyn Spencer said, “For high school students the exercise and active world has blended almost seamlessly with the tech world! YouTube, Tik Tok and even Instagram are full of workouts and activities that you can easily do at home.” Spencer’s home workout recommendations include, “The Fitness Marshall on YouTube,” and she also recommends “yoga and pilates” for a lower intensity workout. “Oftentimes, people set goals that are too high or take too much effort because they sound good to other people, which can actually affect mental health negatively,” Spencer said. “ People who set smaller, more attainable goals are much more likely to boost their self confidence.”
Comic by Calvin Lescher
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Comic | January 2021
