Wingspan WEST HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL
3600 Haywood Road Hendersonville, NC 28791
March 2019 n Volume 38 n Issue 2
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MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE American longevity lowers as suicide and depression rates rise
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NEW YORK STATE OF MIND Should abortions up until birth be legal?
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
04 - OPINION SECTION 10 - NEWS SECTION 12 - FEATURE SECTION 27 - ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SECTION 33 - SPORTS SECTION
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n FLAVOR FACADE Recent FDA regulations on JUUL flavors are not the solution to teen epidemic
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n FOOD REVIEW: EXOTIC EATS
Message In a Bottle By Evan O'Donnell Cover Photo by Curren Podlesny
New cultural restaurants open in Asheville area
American life expectancy drops as suicide and depression rates rise
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n TAKE THE SHOT Junior scores 1,000th career point
Wingspan News Magazine MARCH 2019
VOLUME 38, ISSUE 2
The student forum of West Henderson High School is published three times each year by the newspaper journalism class. The purpose of Wingspan is to convey school and community news to the students, faculty, administration and surrounding communities. Wingspan content is determined by an editorial board of student editors. Wingspan is a Southern Interscholastic Press Association All-Southern, National Scholastic Press Association All-American, Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist, North Carolina
Scholastic Media Association All-North Carolina and Tar Heel Award publication. The 2018 Wingspan made the CSPA Crown list. Staff editorials express the opinion of the editorial board. Columns reflect the opinions of the individual writers. Circulation is 1,200. Printed by Mullen Publications located at 9629 Old Nations Ford Road, Charlotte, NC 28273. The Wingspan staff also publishes online at www.wingspanonline.net and can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @westwingspan. Contact the staff at wingspan@hcpsnc.org.
PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bartel Van Oostendorp
NEWS EDITOR Nathan Turpin
WEB EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Elise Trexler
SPORTS EDITORS Wyatt Hughes Graham Grush
COPY EDITOR Katie King
OPINION EDITORS Annabelle Murray Cat Whiting
MANAGING EDITOR Katie King A&E EDITOR Kinsley Morgan
FEATURE EDITOR Bryn Bowen EDITOR Emily Mertz
STAFF WRITERS Kareem Al-Abed Emily Chambliss Kera Putnam Ashley Rich
Jackson Futch Madison Hall Stone Hogan Maureen Husted Sarah Monoson Evan O’Donnell Julia Perrotta Aidan Shelton Ryan Thorsland Chloe Van Oostendorp Lawrence Whittington
PHOTOGRAPHERS Curren Podlesny Avery Brewer Chloe Eidt FEATURE WRITERS Nicholas Boyer Allison Caskey Ian Domansky
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ADVISER Jason Livingston
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March 2019
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New York State of Mind PRO:
A hopeful mother visits her doctor and hears the worst— her unborn child would be unable to survive outside the womb, and is putting her own life in danger. She is devastated. She had carried her child for over eight months and had By n Cat Whiting done everything to prepare— picked out a name, had a baby shower, painted the nursery and carefully kept her health in optimal condition. However devastated she is, she has no other option but to abort the fetus. This tale is a sad one, but it is a grim reality for many women. Pregnancy isn’t always a beautiful and healthy thing. For some, pregnancy can have all kinds of damaging effects to the mother, the unborn fetus or both. It’s thanks to late-term abortion laws that fewer women are harmed. In the news, the latest win in women’s reproductive healthcare is New York’s abortion law, which would preserve women’s rights to an abortion even if the Roe v. Wade decision is overturned. It also removes abortion from the state’s criminal code. Of course, as soon as women’s reproductive healthcare is discussed, people start freaking out. The panic seems to be more focused on late-term abortions. However, before one makes up their mind completely about the issue, there are important facts to consider. I’ve heard many peers who are pro-life talk about late-term abortion as if the mother randomly decides she doesn’t want the child. That simply isn’t true. Have you ever talked to a pregnant woman and noticed how exhausted she seems? Pregnancy is hard. No one would carry a child for nine entire months and then decide, “Nah, I don’t want this.” That doesn’t happen. If a woman was apprehensive about having a child either for personal or medical reasons, she would not wait until right before the baby is due. She would have either aborted it earlier, worked to complete the process for adoption or foster care or gone through with the birth. You can’t just walk into a doctor’s office and say you want
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OPINION
an abortion; it’s a process. Chances are, someone would have already helped her find her options. Another fact to consider is the state of children in foster care, orphanages or who are otherwise parentless. Since women are relentlessly shamed to not get abortions, unwanted children are continually birthed and have nowhere to go. The adoption process is difficult enough already, and telling women to “just put the baby up for adoption” means there are more children left without parents. This can also lead to childhood abuse and neglect. Forcing someone to be a parent puts the child at risk. Frankly, there are some evil women in the world who should never parent. Children need some sort of positive parental figure to thrive. You cannot claim you care for the life of a fetus if you don’t care about what happens after it is born. What people also don’t know is the details of the new abortion law. It does not allow just anyone to have an abortion. There are still regulations to appease both prolife and pro-choice advocates. The New York abortion law states that, after 24 weeks of pregnancy, abortions are available for life and health of the mother. This means that a woman can’t get an abortion unless a health expert confirms that carrying the child to term could be harmful. So, if it turns out someone does randomly decide to have an abortion, that would be prevented. Funding more healthcare organizations such as Planned Parenthood can also lower abortion rates. These places also provide services like contraceptives, test for STDs and even detect cancer. Everyone deserves access to affordable and convenient healthcare. Cutting funding benefits no one. Abortion doesn’t have to be such a black and white issue. Pro-choice doesn’t equal pro-abortion, just like pro-life doesn’t equal anti-women. However, women should have more rights to their bodies and choose what happens to them. Regulating abortion laws keeps the practice safe, sterile, and quick. Anti-abortion laws do not prevent abortions. It means people will have unsafe abortions, which can cause permanent damage, spread of infection, serious injury or death. That isn’t fair to America’s women. Women deserve safe and fair healthcare. And, before people quickly make their claims about abortion, it’s important to think about what abortion can do: preserve the health of women and prevent unwanted children from living miserable lives.
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This is a major victory for
women and families in New York, and sends a powerful message across the country reaffirming a basic truth: Every woman deserves the fundamental right to choose if, when, and how to grow
”
her family.
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Adrienne Kimmell
Vice President of NARAL ProChoice America
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1/4 of American women will have an abortion by the age of 45.
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44% of women who had abortions in the U.S. had at least one previous abortion.
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19% of all pregnancies were terminated by abortion in 2014
Should bills allowing abortion up until birth be passed?
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This [bill] isn’t about
women’s health. This isn’t even about women’s rights. This is about an aggressive abortion lobby that is helped by its seats in the Senate, in the Assembly, Governor Cuomo, who’s been hugely backed by Planned Parenthood. This is about the abortion lobby having a heyday in
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New York.
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Lila Rose
President and Founder of pro-life organzation Live Action
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1.5% of all abortions are due to situations of rape or incest.
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One-third of babies in New York City are aborted.
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Abortion is the leading cause of death in the world. In 2018, 40 million unborn lives were terminated.
CON:
Babump Babump
Ba-bump. The universal sound of a beating heart. Outside of the womb, this vibration signifies life, a living person deserving of human rights. But inside the womb, these common-sense acknowledgBy n Annabelle Murray ments seem to fade away. On the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, New York declared that a woman’s right to an abortion should last up until the very moment of delivery. A fully-formed, perfectly healthy baby, able to survive outside of the womb, can now be legally murdered in the state of New York. The law claims that “Every individual who becomes pregnant has the fundamental right to choose to carry the pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion.” The passing of this bill was celebrated with a standing ovation from the smiling Democratic Senate chamber, with the top of the World Trade Center lighting up in pink. The chilling image looked as if the crowd was cheering on a Super Bowl victory rather than the success of a new law legalizing the right to kill a fully formed child. Previously, New York State’s law allowed abortions until the 24th week. The recent legislation furthers the age of legal abortion to 40 weeks–the entirety of the pregnancy–as long as the mother has valid “health” reasons. The glaring issue is with the oddly non-specific term “health”, which can include a woman’s psychological, familial and even emotional well-being. As long as the woman can come up with a compelling “health” concern, she is able to terminate the life of her baby, even if the preborn child is in perfect condition and able to survive outside of her body. Abortion advocates promote the idea that third-trimester abortions are reserved solely for “life-threatening situations”, arguing that they are necessary for the health of the mother. This claim is disproved by a statement from the Dublin Declaration on Maternal Health, which states: “As experienced practitioners and researchers in obstetrics and gynecology, we affirm that direct abortion – the purposeful destruction of the unborn child – is not medically necessary to save the life of a woman.” If there is a complication in the pregnancy that puts the mother’s life at risk, it is extremely rare for
detection to occur after the time of viability (20 weeks), completely disproving any need for a law allowing thirdtrimester abortions up to the time of birth. In instances such as this, there is not physically time to carry out an abortion, as the procedure can take several days. In the direst situations, the baby will be delivered via induced delivery or c-section, and both mother and chld will be given necessary medical care. At its core, the left strives to categorize abortion as “healthcare” to mask the evil intention involved in terminating a life, and to appear to society like they are finally giving women “rights” and the “choice” over whether or not they want to have a child. But, alas, a baby is not a disease to overcome, and one does not gain freedom from killing a new being, nor does it take away the hidden lifelong emotional grief associated with abortion. One of the most common phrases used to support abortion rights is “my body, my choice.” The claim is that, because a woman is carrying a child, she should have the right to kill it if she pleases. This is wholly incorrect from a purely scientific standpoint--a mother’s body does NOT include the preborn child’s. Yes, she is providing for and carrying the baby, but the child does not constitute a part of her individual person. The philosopher Mortimer Adler claimed that a baby inside a mother’s womb is a part of her just as an arm or a foot–“a clump of cells,” and that abortion could simply be compared to a tonsillectomy or appendectomy. Apparently our country needs a brush up on basic biology. Every cell of a pregnant mother’s body contains the same DNA–except the baby growing inside of her. The preborn child–although sharing half of her DNA–has a distinctly different genetic makeup. Therefore she has no rights whatsoever over the fate of her preborn baby, any more than she would over her already-born child. As a society, we need to collectively recognize the extreme consequences of viewing a child as a choice. Instead of standing up for a woman’s “right” to an abortion, we need to instead fight for better postnatal care for both mother and child. We need to strive to make adoption more accessible and foster a culture that honors and respects life instead of diminishing it. I can only hope that one day those in favor of a woman’s “choice” will register what abortion is truly doing to humanity, and see the magnitude of what we are choosing to destroy. In the end, our greatest thanks should be forever attributed to our own mothers, who may have had to overcome countless obstacles and sacrifices in order to support and honor life for each one of us living today. If you’re reading this, you are privileged. Your mother made a choice–she chose life. And for that, you should be eternally grateful.
OPINION n March 2019
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f l a vo r facade
Recent FDA Juul regulation has no effect on teen use By n Annabelle Murray n Opinion Editor
H
igh schoolers’ obsessions with nicotine have resurfaced in a new form: e-cigarettes. In the past couple of years, teens’ use of electronic cigarettes has taken off. Today, nearly 3.6 million middle and high school students admit to vaping. At first, the phenomenon was supplied by a number of small-brand vapes and retailers, such as the ‘Vuse’ and the ‘Phix.’ Then came JUUL Labs: the sleekest vape to hit the market yet, JUUL revolutionized the electronic cigarette. Unlike the old, bulky versions with large batteries and pods, JUUL provided a polished, discrete alternative, reminiscent of a flash drive. Dubbed ‘the iPhone of e-cigarettes’ JUUL created a perfect storm for the resurgence of nicotine use among teenagers. A JUUL is comprised of two parts: a battery and a pod, where the ‘juice,’ or nicotine liquid is stored. Unlike many other vapes on the market, JUUL sells individual, pre-filled pods that come in different flavors. The ease and convenience of this product is appealing to teens, as there is no mess in re-filling the liquid. The amount of nicotine in JUULs is the most dangerous element for teens. With a 5 percent nicotine content, one pod is equal to an entire pack of cigarettes. Studies show that teens can become dependent within just a few days. As teens become more and more ad-
dicted, many can go through a pod every other day, inhaling comparable nicotine levels to a chain smoker. Because the use of a JUUL feels more like leisure than an addictive habit, many adolescents do not realize the magnitude of their dependency until it’s too late. Aside from the behavioral effects of teen addiction, nicotine has been a proven detriment to the development of the teenage brain. After inhalation, nicotine reaches the brain in seven seconds, causing receptor cells to release a signaling molecule you may have heard of: dopamine. After continued exposure to nicotine, the brain requires more and more to release this feel-good transmitter in order to get the same effect. This continued cycle results in addiction. The real problem with teenage nicotine dependency doesn’t concern the actual substance of nicotine, but rather, the lifelong consequences. Once the brain has been altered from this addictive chemical, the person will be at a much higher risk to become addicted to other substances, as the brain and body crave the flood of dopamine from any source. The teenage years are critical for the brain’s development, and as many adolescents continue to use nicotine, their brains simply cannot form to carry out proper cognitive functions leading into adulthood. Although many e-cigarette brands exist, not one has captivated the market quite like JUUL Labs. The increased adolescent attention to the company’s
NICOTINE NUMBERS:
products has many wondering if teen use was part of JUUL’s plan from the start. Recently, there has been backlash against JUUL Labs. The claim is that by carrying ‘fun’ flavors, they are marketing their products to adolescent users, and making nicotine attractive to the younger generation. However, the company continues to insist that the product is meant for the purpose of weaning adults off of cigarette addiction. This response has led to an FDA regulation against certain flavors of JUUL pods that are especially attractive to teens. On Nov. 15, 2018, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb demanded that the brand halt sales of flavored JUUL pods including mango, fruit, creme and cucumber at over 9,000 retail locations, as well as requiring age verification for online purchases. The regulation seeks to decrease teen use of e-cigarettes, primarily by banning sales of these flavors in places where minors can freely shop. The regulation also calls for JUUL to remove all social media, as this is viewed as a platform mainly used by the younger generations. The problem is so widespread that even JUUL Labs Chief Executive Officer Kevin Burns acknowledged the issue in a statement released by TIME Magazine: “Our intent was never to have youth use JUUL products. But intent is not enough…. The numbers tell us underage use of e-cigarette products is a problem.” Many health officials claim that the FDA’s regulation is “too little, too late,” since many ado-
lescents are already hooked on nicotine through vaping, and unlikely to stop. An additional issue is that the regulation underestimates the number of teens using JUUL as their e-cigarette of choice. After the flavor ban was put into action, many minors simply switched to another flavor, such as mint or tobacco, or they simply began using a different vape brand altogether. Clearly, halting the sales of selected flavors won’t have an effect on teenage nicotine use. Once teens are addicted to nicotine, the inconvenience of switching (Photo bynot Curren to a different flavor will stopPodlesny) them from vaping altogether, something the FDA does not seem to understand about the teen generation. Many high schoolers begin vaping with the JUUL brand, but the flavors were not the main motivation. The main appeal is the small size and ability to conceal the vape. Countless other e-cigarette companies offer similar or even exact replicas of the ones made by JUUL; therefore, regulating only the JUUL brand will not affect teen vaping habits nearly as much as they think. In order for us to control the epidemic at hand, considerable efforts need to be made to research the dangerous effects of e-cigarette use, as well as educate the public–particularly teens–of the severe risks of nicotine on the developing brain. Almost identical to the cigarette obsession of the 20th century, the world has not yet seen the long-term consequences of the e-cigarette phenomenon. We can only hope that in the future, today’s generation won’t deeply regret their impressionable years spent harming their health through vaping.
(Photo illustration by Curren Podlesny)
feel 73% 12% ofpeerstudents pressure to vape 47% admit to use of e-cigarettes 93%
believe vaping is harmful think the regulation had no effect on teen e-cigarette use
Source: Wingspan poll
OPINION n March 2019
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Flexible seating movement catching on at West
F
lexible seating has transformed the educational experiences of West Henderson students as uniform classrooms have become comfortable and accomodating learning spaces. Students are no longer forced to take notes and complete schoolwork in stiff metal desks or assigned seats; they are allowed to choose from a variety of seating options. Students at West have embraced flexible seating, as it has proven to empower them to choose a learning experience that suits them. The flexible seating movement began after studies proved the negative health risks associated with teenagers sitting at a desk all day. Not only does brain activity decrease, but poor posture and muscular support can also be results of sedentary classroom habits. Teachers began renovating classrooms to incorporate a wide range of alternative seating options like stools, bean bags, high rise tables to allow standing and mats to promote mental and physical strength while in the classroom. The results have proven this approach to be incredibly effective. After a study conducted by the University of Minnesota proved the effectiveness of flexible seating, teachers across the country adopted this new idea. West Henderson students were introduced to flexible seating in history teacher Vanessa Price’s classroom. When students take notes or work on assignments, they
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STAFF EDITORIAL
have the choice to sit in camping chairs, bean bags, or stools. Price provides these tools to foster success in her classes. Through this accessibility, students can learn in an environment that is comfortable and supportive to them. While flexible seating encourages healthy academic surroundings, it also increases focus while learning. Oftentimes, students who are uncomfortable are easily disengaged and unproductive in class. When students are physically comfortable, they can mentally engage with lessons, understand class materials and complete assignments. Flexible seating also enables students to choose how they want to learn. The variety of flexible seating allows all types of learners the opportunity to learn the way that works best for them. Whether students want to sit closer to the board or at a table, sit independently or work in groups, the classroom is designed to suit each student’s needs. This not only encourages students to prioritize their individual learning needs, but it also builds good relationships between students and teachers. It is important for high school students to take an active role in controlling their study environment. Being empowered to do so in high school classroom settings will equip them to understand how to be efficient and productive members of the workforce.
(Cartoon by Cat Whiting)
Flexible seating simply makes learning fun. Students can interact with each other in an environment where they feel engaged and excited. Of course, flexible seating costs money. Refurnishing classrooms with new chairs, couches, exercise balls, yoga mats and more is expensive and can cost teachers hundreds of dollars out of their own pocket. Transforming every classroom in a school would be extremely expensive, especially since most schools lack funding for such projects. However, allocating funds to organize classrooms through flexible seating is worth the cost, as it makes successful learning accessible to all students. Schools have the goal of promoting academic success for their students, and flexible seating promotes this success in a healthy environment. Better yet, grants for teachers to utilize flexible seating in their classrooms have become available across the country, empowering teachers to affordably convert their classrooms. With so many options, teachers should, at the very least, attempt to make their classroom layouts more engaging to the students. Classroom by classroom, flexible seating continues to revolutionize the educational experiences of students across the country as students can learn in a classroom that is engaging, interactive and ultimately centered around them.
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March 2019
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WALLEd Up
Government shutdown over border wall becomes longest in history By n Bryn Bowen n Feature Editor
T
he United States Government shut down on Dec. 22 and didn’t reopen until Jan. 25. It was the second time in Donald Trump’s presidency that it happened and it was the longest in American history. The month-long shutdown and its effects cost the United States $11 billion. A government shutdown occurs when there is a gap in the funding period that causes a full or partial shutdown of federal government operations and agencies. The president wanted billions of dollars in funding for his southern border wall with Mexico as a part of his campaign against illegal immigration. The Democratically controlled House of Representatives pushed against this and the president refused to sign any federal budget that did not include funding for the border wall. “Mostly funding for the border wall shut us down,” civics teacher Vanessa Price said. “The Democrats refused to put any money toward the border wall and Trump said he wasn’t going to sign anything unless it had funding for the border wall, so we went into shutdown.” The government shutdown had effects not only at the national level, but also in Western North Carolina. Federal workers in particular in this area experienced issues as a result of it. “One of my neighbors rents her home and actually had to move because she could no longer afford her rent,” Price said. “She’s a single mother with three kids and she had to move and find a new
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NEWS
job. She worked for the government and so when it went into shutdown she was nonessential personnel, so she wasn’t getting her paycheck.” Federal workers in this area weren’t paid and many essential workers still had to work without pay for the whole shutdown. After the shutdown, many federal contractors didn’t receive any back pay for the month of salary they missed. There were airport workers who were furloughed or working without pay. “Locally, your biggest effects are probably the airport and the national parks,” civics teacher Frank Gerard said. “From what I understand, their payments were deferred and they were told that they would be paid, but they were still having a hard time. Mortgages, car payments and power bills were still due and saying, ‘Well, we’re going to have this money in a month or so’ wasn’t necessarily helping them at that moment.” The federal government shutdown caused issues for historical sites such as the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. It was closed due to a lack of resources and safety reasons. “I was pretty annoyed at all the federal sites being closed, although I can understand why,” senior Ryan Santiago said. “They didn’t have any employees working to maintain them during the shutdown.” The Blue Ridge Parkway experienced some changes as a result of the shutdown. Visitor services provided by the National Park Service such as restrooms, roads
(Photo illustration by Nathan Turpin)
maintenance, trash collection and public information were not in place during the shutdown. “The shutdown really didn’t affect me personally since neither of my parents are federal employees, so they still got paid,” Santiago said. “The only difference I noticed was that the national parks and forests that I visit pretty often were closed.” Pisgah National Forest was also affected by the shutdown. Few workers were left to maintain the area. Prescribed burns, which are used to prevent larger fires from happening, did not happen during the shutdown. “From what I understand, like for workers that were told to come in to work and your pay will be deferred, then those parts were open,” Gerard said. “For workers who were being furloughed, then they weren’t.” The shutdown ended after the president signed a bipartisan funding bill. The $333 billion spending bill Congress passed will keep the government fully funded through the end of September. Instead of meeting Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion to build 200 miles or more of border wall, his negotiators settled for a lesser sum of $1.375 billion which would equal 55 miles of border “fence.” “He signed it probably because his popularity rating was going down,” Gerard said. “You could assign blame on both sides, but in the polls, more people were blaming the White House than the Democrats in Congress.”
New
Neighbors Proposed subdivision on Tap Root Dairy Farm could bring potential impacts to schools, traffic By n Julia Perrotta n Feature Writer
Cows grazing at Tap Root Dairy Farm on March 6. (Photo by Curren Podlesny and Sean Sullivan)
L
and that has been home to one of Henderson County’s last surviving dairy farms for over a century has been the topic of debate for several Henderson and Buncombe County stakeholders for weeks now. After a developer released plans for the purchase and use of Tap Root Dairy Farm on Butler Bridge Road, neighboring residents and county officials began discussing the impacts of the proposal. Developer Ken Jackson has proposed the utilization of 286 acres of land to develop a neighborhood with 1,200 units, including apartments, townhomes and houses. This development would rest within miles of two other major developments: Riverstone and Hollabrook Farms, as well as Glenn C. Marlow Elementary School. As word of this proposal spread, residents attended county meetings to understand the impacts that this proposed development would have on the area. Many have expressed concern over the project, while others have voiced support. “The developer is proposing two entrances and exits, both of which are on Butler Bridge Road,” Kris Kaufman, Hollabrook Farms resident and mother of two said. “By comparison, there is a very large development across the street that has three entrances and exits onto two different roads, and it is difficult to get in or out during peak times.” Butler Bridge is the two-lane road that connects Asheville Highway and Highway 280. If the proposed
development is approved, road construction would be necessary to accommodate the increase in traffic. Many parents utilize Butler Bridge Road to get their students to Glenn C. Marlow Elementary, Rugby Middle School and West Henderson High School. “I am all for a new housing development to support the booming population in Hendersonville,” Riverstone resident Jason Hellman said. “However, with five kids to drive to school, increased traffic will make it difficult for me to drop them off and make it to work on time.” The impacts of the sale of this land in an already sprawling area has created a dilemma for county residents and leaders to work through. Senior Cameron Kanetzke has lived in Hollabrook Farms for 11 years and has observed the exponential growth that has occurred in this area of the county. “I do think the Johnston family has the right to sell their property,” Kanetzke said. “The development could bring in lots of revenue for the community. However, there will be drastic effects. More tourists and residents alike will be coming to this area, causing a need for road construction, airport expansion, and more school facilities.” School board members and county administrators have already begun to formulate plans for the potential growth. “We have to look at the schools most affected, which would be Glenn Marlow Elementary, Rugby Middle and
West Henderson High School,” Assistant Superintendent John Bryant said. “Its effects will be determined by what, if any, development is approved. Specifically, the number of approved housing units with school-age children.” The school board estimates about 720 students will live in the new development. Such an influx would demand more school buses, more classrooms and possibly the construction of more schools. “Ultimately, the Henderson County Board of Public Education is charged with serving the students who live in our community,” Bryant said. “If the development increases the number of students in any area of our county, our staff will make the necessary provisions to provide for their education. We are proud to have a shared responsibility with other community resources to serve future generations of children in Henderson County, and our schools will continue to provide the best possible education experiences for every child in our community.” The Asheville Airport has vocalized concerns about the development’s proximity to the runway. Being 4,500 feet away from the airport, the development could pose risks to emergency flight procedure. The decision for the development has been tabled by the Henderson County Planning Board so the issues citizens have addressed can be further investigated. If the development is approved, citizens of Hendersonville can expect new neighbors in the coming years.
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FEATURE n March 2019
11
Time Out
Issues with the suspension of minority and disabled students have led administrators to take a closer look at the discipline system in North Carolina By n Bryn Bowen n Feature Editor (Photo by Bartel Van Oostendorp)
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FEATURE
11.97 %
5.17 %
1.63 %
FEATURE
n
African-American Males
(Data from 2016-17 Race/Ethnicity/Gender Reports. www.dpsnc.org)
20.11 %
White Males
Who is getting suspended in Durham?
charting, strategies to cool down and return to class, peer mediation and conflict resolution. ”The challenge for alternatives like that is both parties have to be willing,” Associate Superintendent for Administrative Services in Henderson County Schools John Bryant said. “If you’re not going to utilize a suspension or a disciplinary strategy then you have to have a willingness by the parties involved to try to resolve the issue.” Supporters of alternative methods to suspension believe that sometimes communicating with students can be more effective in handling the student’s behavior than relying on punitive measures like ISS. “That’s where it also pays off to be a responsive teacher,” Price said. “I mean my number one thing is, and it’s really simple and really basic, is just talking to the kid and understanding where the behavior is coming from.” One criticism of suspension as a discipline method is that it is used in
African-American Females
confront and interrupt biases around gender, sexuality and culture that contribute to disparities in the treatment of our students.” Approximately $800,000 a year will be spent by Durham Public Schools in order to hire coordinators for restorative practices at schools. These coordinators will be responsible for helping faculty teach students to replace negative behaviors with more productive ones. “We have been transforming our schools’ approach to discipline,” Durham Public Schools’ Superintendent Pascal Mubenga said in a statement. “We believe in restorative justice, including turning our in-school suspension programs into restorative practice centers.” Price had experience with both the previous discipline system and the new discipline system in Durham schools. According to Price, Durham schools tried to implement Positive Behavior Intervention Systems or PBIS for short. “PBIS is proven on like a small level in a classroom, but what they wanted to do was put this on a school wide level and so they were trying to do this at every high school,” Price said. “The idea behind it is rather than yelling at a kid for not having a pencil, you go around telling all the kids who do have their pencils, ‘Thank you for bringing your pencil today.’ That way it’s not calling that one kid out and they’re like, ‘I want praise so I’ll bring my pencil next time.’” One idea from the new PBIS was to give students “bucks” themed with the school. “If the students did good things they would get these bucks and they could buy things from the school store,” Price said. “It was a good idea in theory, but when your kids are worried about where they’re going to get their next meal, buying a pencil from the school store is not making a huge impact.” As a part of the effort to change the discipline system and reduce the amount of suspensions, Durham Public Schools have tried to move towards alternatives to punitive methods. Research indicates that culturally sensitive, collaboratively regulated, consistent and positive school practices make schools more likely to have lower suspension rates than schools without those practices. “A few methods that administrators often use instead of ISS are before and after school detentions, lunch detentions and reduced privileges around school,” Chief Human Resources Officer of Henderson County Public Schools Scott Rhodes said. “These alternatives can be very effective, especially with elementary and middle grade students.” Alternative methods, also called restorative justice methods, to suspension currently being used in schools in Durham include community service, negotiation and problem solving approaches, behavior monitoring and self-
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atima Salleh sat with her son in in-school suspension after he was sent there for horseplaying in the cafeteria. She had decided to go with him to show him that ISS wasn’t as bad as he had told her it was. However, as she spent hours with him in the silent room, she noticed not only how most of the students were left with nothing to do but sit in desks facing a wall, but that there was a disproportionate amount of students of color. “I am devastated and heartbroken at what I witnessed in my 14 hours of isolation and virtual captivity in a single room at the basement of that school,” Salleh said in a Facebook post. “Let me be clear, although I was at a school, little to no education was taking place where my son and I were located.” A 2013 complaint filed by Legal Aid of North Carolina and the Civil Rights Project of UCLA claimed that students with disabilities and black students in Durham schools received suspension more frequently than other students. This would be in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws. “In my understanding, the lawsuit was probably the legal side and the social side was a lot of our kids were just struggling,” history teacher Vanessa Price said. “You had kids who were getting suspended over and over again for ten days and how do we fix that? How do we fix these behavior problems and how do you fix having fights once a week?” Price taught in Durham for five years prior to teaching at West. In a resolution to the complaint made in 2013, Durham Public Schools were required to take measures such as reviewing and revising the current student discipline policies with input from the Office of Civil Rights, provide training for staff on fair and equitable imposition of discipline and develop a discipline action plan that would make certain that consequences and discipline referrals are fairly and appropriately applied without regard to disability or race. “For decades the trend of zero-tolerance and punitive school discipline policies nationally and locally has contributed to a punitive culture, leading to the disproportionate criminalization and incarceration of Black and Latino youth,” according to Durham Public Schools philosophy. “We must interrupt this school to prison pipeline, the punitive philosophy of discipline it is based on, and the racial discrimination and various forms of bias that feed into racial disparities in suspension and incarceration rates. We must also
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situations that do not warrant it as a punishment. The misuse and overuse of suspension for certain student actions have been reasons for the consideration of alternative methods. “There are other instances where you would have kids that brought their cell phone like four times in class and got suspended,” Price said. “To me, suspending a kid for cell phone usage isn’t worthwhile.” One problem with sending students to ISS is the claim that they’re missing learning time. Another issue is that although teachers are supposed to send work to their students in ISS, that does not always happen and students may be left with nothing productive to do with their time in ISS. Research has suggested that students who have been removed from the classroom for discipline are more likely to drop out of school, get involved with the juvenile justice system and repeat a grade. “Any time we can keep students in class it is a positive,” Rhodes said. “Students can’t learn if they are not in class. Unfortunately, there are student infractions that require a more strict punishment such as ISS and OSS.” Although Durham schools have implemented changes to the discipline system, suspension is still a possible consequence for student actions. The Legal of Aid of NC reported in 2018 that the district actually had a spike in the use of suspension in the last school year. “For things like fighting and bullying you need to remove them from that social situation, so going to ISS is a great option because they’re separated, they can remove themselves and everyone can calm down,” Price said. “I think that the benefit to suspension is those situations where it’s higher tension, multiple people are involved and you can remove something and cool tensions. People move on mentally and they keep going so it’s not getting continually fed.” Suspension is still widely used in schools across the country. Aside from removing students from situations such as fights, proponents of punitive disciplinary methods believe that there are other benefits to punishments such as suspension. Suspension can be useful in removing students that are being distracting or causing a disruption in class. All teachers surveyed in one study related to ISS reported that they felt the ISS room in their school helped with classroom discipline. “An advantage of suspension is accountability for student actions,” Rhodes said. “It all depends on the student infraction.” As the advantages and disadvantages of punitive and alternative methods of discipline continue to be weighed, school systems like Durham will try to find a balance between the two that will best benefit students and faculty. “Consequences are intended to create a situation by which students maybe will choose to not perform a certain behavior or do something that’s inappropriate,” Bryant said. “Discipline practices are evolving with what the issues are.”
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Sophomore Madison Hall fills in a Scantron sheet for English teacher Matthew Parent’s class. (Photo by Elise Trexler)
By n Elise Trexler
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Web Editor-in-Chief
Sweat beaded on the girl’s forehead as she shakily hit the mouse on her computer for what seemed like the 100th time that night. While the screen was reloading her practice test yet again, she turned to her friend with a dejected sigh and let her head fall into her hands. In the shelter her hands provided against the noise and light of the outside world, one thought ran repeat-
edly through the girl’s head, taunting her while she tried to prepare: “I’m going to fail.” Juniors Anna Campbell and Megan Huske were preparing for their chemistry NCFE (North Carolina Final Exam) that night by reviewing a practice test made by their teacher, Amy Zalevskiy. Though she ended up with a passing score, Campbell spent the week leading up to her exam stressing about it. “I felt like I didn’t know anything,
but I did. I just panicked even though I had no reason to do that to myself,” Campbell said. “Finals are worth 20 percent of your grade, and it stresses me out that one test could change my A to a B or my B to a C.” Many students at West Henderson and throughout the state of North Carolina have found themselves in similar situations as Campbell, and teachers, as well as government officials, have taken note. FEATURE
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“The punitive nature of A-F grades adds a huge amount of stress on teachers and into the classroom,” NC Board of Education Member Wayne McDevitt said. State Superintendent Mark Johnson has introduced the possibility of reducing the number of questions on many tests and eliminating some NCFEs, according to the NC Board of Education’s newsletter. Johnson has also proposed and begun to implement many other changes to the way standardized tests are handled. While many people support the reduction of over-testing, the majority of Johnson’s proposals would not affect high schools, instead focusing primarily on elementary schools. According to the NC Board of Education’s newsletter, fourth and fifth graders would potentially not have to take their science and social studies NCFEs. “I think that (over-testing) is something that is really a K-8 problem,” Assistant Principal Joni Allison said. “I think at high school, we are anticipating final exams; that’s something that we’ve always done. We’ve always had final exams. Colleges have final exams. If we were to give a little more freedom as to what that final exam would look like, I could see a case for that. I do think elementary and middle school kids spend a lot of time taking standardized assessments.” Freshman Addison Russell has a sister, Kinsley, who is in sixth grade at Rugby. Kinsley has been testing since elementary school, and Addison said he thinks there are some benefits to early testing, even with its occasional problems. “I don’t think over-testing is a problem in younger grades because the kids have to be prepared for the amount of high school tests,” Russell said. “I think all the benchmarks are pointless though. They don’t count toward your grade, and a lot of times, teachers aren’t even teaching what’s on them.” According to Dr. Jan King, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for Henderson County, NCFEs were created to satisfy a requirement for a grant received by the state. In order to get funding, schools all over North Carolina had to measure student growth through a standardized test, hence the creation of the NCFE. The grant has now expired, so NCFEs are no longer required; however, some schools are continuing to administer them. “I think (teachers) need to still be held accountable somehow,” math teacher Jodie Baker said. “Maybe teacher-made tests would be good. I don’t think (the current method of statewide testing) is beneficial to kids because some people test better than others, and some people stress out. They need to be accounted for what they are doing in class, not some test that the state makes up.” The only change high schools have seen from Johnson’s proposed changes is the implementation of a roaming proctor. Instead of requiring one
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A student takes a multiple choice physics exam. (Photo from tjevans on Pixabay)
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I think we have to remember why the tests were initiated to begin with, which was all about wanting some accountability and wanting some data to know if students are on track to be productive post-high school.
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Dr. Jan King
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
proctor for each test room, one proctor can stand in the hallway and monitor all the classes in the area. “I hope (Johnson’s changes) mean that there’s a reduction in stress level. The word ‘test’ or ‘assessment’ in general makes people stressed out,” King said. “I think we have to remember why the tests were initiated to begin with, which was all about wanting some accountability and wanting some data to know if students are on track to be productive post-high school. (This dates) all the way back to assessments we do in kindergarten. The whole idea of assessments are (making sure that) communities are getting the results they deserve for their investment, and holding teachers and students accountable for work.” Although most of the changes are focused on eliminating stress from lower grades, Allison said she is in favor of the overall push to reduce overtesting. “I appreciate looking at why we’re testing,” Allison said. “I do think we need to revisit why are we testing, and I think we need to find a balance and I think we need to be open-minded about the types of tests we give students. You can assess someone on their learning and their knowledge without a standardized multiple-choice test. I believe in professional judgment. Teachers are trained to judge what students know and we need to allow teachers to have that professionalism to do that.”
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MESSAGE IN A
BOTTLE
American life expectancy falls again as suicide and depression rates rise By n Evan O’Donnell n Feature Writer
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itting in the counselor’s office, tears streaming quietly down her face, the girl rocked back and forth in her chair. She waited for her anxiety to subside so she could return to the class she desperately wanted to attend. After being diagnosed with depression in seventh grade, many of her days consisted of this ritual: anxiety, tears, waiting. The routine of it was ironically almost calming for her, knowing there would be no surprises, just the usual feeling of being attacked from the inside. “I had had thoughts of hurting myself, and I talked to my cousin about it, and we agreed that I should let someone know,” Jessica Holmes, a Henderson County student who wished to remain anonymous said. “That’s when I told my mom, and I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety.” Holmes’ name has been changed to protect her identity. The opioid epidemic has been making major headlines recently, but there is another trend that is occurring among young people: suicide. The suicide rate among teens and young adults has increased to the point that it is the second leading cause of death in that age group. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for Americans over the age of 10, but the second leading cause of
(Photo by Sean Sullivan)
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When I get depressed, I tend to steer away from other people, and stay more to myself. If you notice that behavior in someone just try talking to them about it. If you aren’t sure about that you could always go down to the counselors and they could call them down to talk.
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Jessica Holmes
Henderson County student
death for people between the ages of 15-25. Although the rate among young people has been increasing steadily since 2007, the largest jump was from 2016 to 2017 with a 1.31 percent increase. There’s something else that has been decreasing as suicide rates increase: life expectancy. The life expectancy has decreased for a second year in a row, and is now at 78.7 years. Although the opioid epidemic plays a major role in this decrease as well, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that a major cause was depression. Steven Woolf, co-author of the report, said that the life expectancy has decreased due to an increasing feeling of despair among Americans. Our happiness, or lack thereof, is typically referred to as our “subjective well-being.” The economy is hitting record highs, but the subjective well-being of Americans is lower than it was during the 2008 recession. This leads to the question, why are Americans unhappy? “When I came to West, my parents and I met with one of the counselors, and I come to them when I start to feel upset because I trust them,” Holmes said. “I do it any time I get upset, and eventually it just became a thing.” Depression, or major depressive disorder, is characterized as a constant sadness or loss of interest in daily activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. It is a common, but serious mood disorder. There are biological, psychological and social sources of depression, and it is believed to have the ability to change the way the brain functions altogether. “It doesn’t matter what grade you’re in,” Holmes said. “What’s important is to talk to someone you trust. If the counselor you trust most is for a different grade, then just go talk to them.” Depression can change everything about a person, from their habits, to their physical appearance. The symptoms of depression are feelings of sadness or hopelessness, outbursts of anger, a loss of interest in daily activities, sleeping too much or too little, tiredness and a lack of energy, reduced appetite or weight gain, anxiety, slower thinking and moving, feeling worthlessness, trouble concentrating, suicidal thoughts and unexplained physical problems. “When I get depressed, I tend to steer away from other people, and stay more to myself,” Holmes said. “If you notice that behavior in someone just try talking to them about it. If you aren’t sure about that you could al-
ways go down to the counselors and they could call them down to talk.” Depression can have roots in their personal biology. Additionally, biochemical levels are determined by genetics, so if your parents suffered from depression it is likely that you are predisposed to depression. The chemicals that are typically associated with depression are gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), and dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that usually runs low, and is what most medications supply “When I get really depressed I just tell people that I’m fine,” Holmes said. “Even if they know I’m not. I avoid most conversations, avoid eye contact, and I shy away from the people I care about most.” Conflict or abuse in an individual’s personal life can cause psychological damage, and cause depression later in life. Conflict can be arguments with your friends or family that cause a large amount of stress. Abuse can be emotional, physical or even sexual. “Usually (when I get depressed), the world starts to look bad,” Holmes said. “Well, not the world. It’s just me. Just myself looks bad. And by that, I mean that I don’t see anything good left in the world.” A social situation can affect one’s susceptibility to depression. The feeling of failure in a friendship, or isolation can lead to depression. The failures can be anything from disappointing a friend, all the way to being ostracized by an entire friend group. Isolation is different. Isolation is felt by everyone, and is a completely natural feeling, but is unhealthy nonetheless. It is caused by a lack of important connections, be it friends or family “Sometimes the world just feels distant. Like, I’m there, and I know that I’m there, but that doesn’t seem to matter. It feels like I’m not in control of anything in my life.” Holmes said. Isolation can lead to loneliness if experienced enough. A study conducted by Brigham Young University found that it can be just as destructive to your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and can increase a person’s risk of mortality by 26-32 percent. Isolation and loneliness lead to an increase in suicide if prolonged. “I think the hardest part for people who have been depressed isn’t that they used to be depressed, but rather what they used to do to themselves,” Holmes said. “The scars are the worst part because they don’t go away. They make me feel more insecure than hurting myself ever did.” Though these three causes don’t seem as large as many would expect from the cause of an epidemic, they have significant effects on the American public, and increase stress levels drastically. This leads to a higher rate of anxiety and depression, which in return lead to an increase in the suicide rate. Because of these reasons, there has been a 24 percent increase in suicide since the year 1999 as of the year 2014. This number ranges from person to individual, but transgender individuals have the highest percentage. When people get depressed, if there is no help readily available, many will turn to drugs or alcohol. The depressed person will typically start the abuse as self medication to help them feel less depressed, but it can quickly spiral out of control into addiction. This can lead to “cooccurring disorders,” where the person is affected by both a chemical dependency and an emotional disorder. “I’ve witnessed prescription drug abuse on multiple levels in my life, and all of my experience has been from people who were trying to cope with some sort of trauma,” English Teacher Matthew Parent said. “My uncle ended up dying due to complications from prescription drug abuse and I had a friend who ruined her life before
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she cleaned her act up. I wish that people realized that there are so many other ways to deal with difficult situations. There isn’t a pill that can fix everything.” In response to this crisis, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) launched a completely new page about depression and suicidal trends. Some of the new features include interactive tools and the ability to share the information found on the page. The goal, according to the NIMH, was to help people understand the impact of mental health on people’s day-to-day life. Other government agencies, such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC), have released multiple research papers covering the suicide rate and how it relates to mental health. These research papers not only include the causes of suicide, but also the signs of a suicidal person and how to help them. There were also responses at a local level ranging from students being more open about mental health to local news agencies publishing multiple investigative stories to raise awareness. There is also Hope Rx. Hope Rx is an organization that was started to help combat addiction in Henderson County. The organization creates a working coalition to educate people about the dangers of addiction, and implements local policies to accomplish their goals. The treatments for depression are usually a combination of therapy and medication. Behavioral therapy is used to help the depressed person how to help themselves, while antidepressants are used to alleviate the depressed person of their depression. Antidepressants work by balancing out the chemicals in the brain that regulate happiness in order to help the depressed person feel better. “For a depressed friend the best thing they can do is to be supportive and a good listener,” Senior Counselor Anne Hafer said. “The main thing you can do as a friend is listen because you’re not trained as a therapist. Just be supportive. Be there for them. If you think the depression is severe then you need to tell somebody. Tell a parent, tell a teacher, tell a counselor or tell an administrator.” At West, the three guidance counselors; Hafer, Cole Church and Lea Putnam; are all trained to help students with mental health issues, as well as school nurse Amy Chandler. “My depression is still there, but when I feel upset I just have to remind myself that there are people around me who love me, Even if there aren’t at that moment, people still care about me.” Holmes said. “Also, if you feel like your parents will freak out, it’s only because they love you and are worried for your safety. If you don’t feel like you can trust your parents, please still tell someone, even if it’s just one of the counselors.”
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Warning Shots
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School shootings in the United States increase in 2018 By n Graham Grush n Feature Writer
M
assacres have been a bloody stain on United States history, even dating back to before the nation was officially established. However, in the current day and age, the stain grows as a new form of massacre has taken American society by storm: school shootings. School shootings have occurred for the past several decades, but they were not nearly as prevalent and regular as they were in 2018. The Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) have recorded statistics on school shootings starting in 1970. Their database’s documentation is based on their definition of school shootings, which is any time “a gun is brandished, is fired or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims (including zero), time, day of the week or reason.” Prior to 2018, there were approximately 26 school shootings per year. In 2018, there were 97 shootings, more than tripling the annual average. John Bryant, associate superintendent of Henderson County Public Schools, commented on this dramatic increase. “Statistics such as this simply are tragic and saddening,” Bryant said. “Episodes of violence devastate the lives of families and shatter communities. I believe we all want to live in a country where such events are unthinkable.” Jeff Kilpatrick, a psychologist at West Henderson High School, agreed with Bryant. Kilpatrick said he was saddened and concerned about the fact that school shootings have become such a big issue in the country. In order to prevent a larger increase in school shootings, one must determine why an increase occurred in the first place. However, Kilpatrick indicated that this was easier said than done. “It’s hard to say why all this is taking place,” Kilpatrick
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said. “There are so many different levels that can impact that sort of statistic.” Bryant said if there were direct answers to this question, then acts of violence could be prevented more directly. He mentioned that many factors can play a part, including societal issues, mental health concerns and social media influences. Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin said that questions such as this are complex, and they require response. Several changes in today’s society could have contributed to the increase of shootings, including the fast spread of gossip and criticism in social media and the internet, as well as a lack of respect students have shown one another. Griffin listed several initiatives that are being implemented in an effort to prevent school shootings. Engineering controls are being put in place in certain schools to make it difficult for an intruder to gain access to student areas. Student Resource Officers assist the Sheriff’s Office in being prepared to respond, and they also intervene in any developing incidents. Ongoing training in the field of communications, strategies and tactics also assist with preparedness. Communication with school administration and aggressive investigations into early warning signs and threats allow law enforcement to identify and quell threats prior to their fruition. Though law enforcement plays a major part in preventing school shootings, Bryant mentioned that individuals have the ability and responsibility to assist in prevention as well. “[Prevention] starts with every one of us,” Bryant said. “Treating each other with respect and dignity. Paying attention to the needs of others. Reporting concerns
and supporting others who might be in crisis. As a school system and community, we are then charged with providing resources to someone who is struggling and when appropriate, enforcing consequences that discourage acts of violence and aggression. Without a doubt, the safety of our schools, our communities and our world is everyone’s responsibility.” Prevention of school shootings would keep students physically safe, but they would also prevent students being affected mentally by trauma. Kilpatrick said different people respond to tragic events like shootings in different ways, but for most people, shootings are highly traumatic. Kilpatrick is a part of the Crisis Response Team in Henderson County that helps students deal with pain and grief after mentally traumatizing events through counseling, debriefing and emotional support. Since 1970, the CHDS has documented over 1300 school shootings. More than 66 percent of the shootings take place in high schools. Griffin discussed multiple reasons for this statistic. “The suspects want to attack places that are familiar and people they feel have wronged them,” Griffin said. “It usually takes this age before the mental focus changes to the ‘Woe is me, I need to get even’ mentality. It’s also the age where the physical ability to carry a weapon is developed as well as the ability to transport themselves.” Kilpatrick said that when students reach later adolescent years, they have more knowledge and access to dangerous weapons. He also noted that increased levels of emotional stress have a role in the matter as well, and he said social and emotional development, as well as stressors in general, can greatly change for some people as their age increases.
Bryant, Griffin and Kilpatrick each discussed the Columbine incident of 1999, in which two teens went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The two killed 13 people and wounded 20 more before fatally shooting themselves. Rumors flew that violent video games and music influenced the killers, other rumors stated that the shooting was a result of bullying the students received. “When I was in high school, it was during the time of the Columbine incident,” Kilpatrick said. “That was fresh on everyone’s mind. It definitely shook things up a lot during that time period. Times have definitely changed where, I think, schools are taking a lot of these things a little bit more seriously than they were.” The Columbine incident occurred when Bryant was in high school, and Bryant said that the idea of a school shooting was unthinkable then. He said he was very fortunate to be able to attend school without having to fear that type of violence. While Columbine clearly had a profound effect on the community of Littleton, it also affected law enforcement policies nationally. Griffin was the first certified
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[Prevention] starts with every one of us. Treating each other with respect and dignity. Paying attention to the needs of others. Reporting concerns and supporting others who might be in crisis. As a school system and community, we are then charged with providing resources to someone who is struggling and when appropriate, enforcing consequences that discourage acts of violence and aggression. Without a doubt, the safety of our schools, our communities, and our world is everyone’s responsibility.
” n
Dr. John Bryant
Associate Superintendent of Henderson County Public Schools Rapid Deployment instructor in Henderson County. Rapid Deployment is the term for the strategy employed in a school response to an incident such as a shooting. While the state provides the standard and training, Griffin is responsible for making sure the Sheriff’s Office is trained to the standard and that certain skills, such as marksmanship, communications and suspect identification, are particularly sharp. Griffin talked about policies
(From the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security)
that were established because of the Columbine incident. “The basic tactics [regarding school shootings] were developed in response to the tragedy that occurred at Columbine,” Griffin said. “Authorities agreed we could not afford to repeat the mistakes that law enforcement made at Columbine and tactical experts immediately became involved. Procedures and curriculum were developed which were mandated across the state of North Carolina. All law enforcement officers, regardless of agency, are trained to the same guidelines and standards so that we can work in concert should we need to respond to a mass violence incident at a school.” Incidents other than the one at Columbine High School have also affected policies in North Carolina. The incident at a high school in Parkland, Florida in early 2018 resulted in 17 deaths from a 19-year-old gunman who was recently expelled from the school. Kilpatrick said after this incident, it was mandated at the state level that each school district must have a plan in place for threat assessment protocols. The policies regarding school shootings in Henderson County are ultimately established by the Henderson County Board of Education. However, according to Bryant, the superintendent and the school system have the role of recommending, implementing and enforcing these policies and the superintendent also has the authority and responsibility to establish directives that fulfill the intention of Board policy. The policies were most recently updated in 2018. “Of the policies, procedures and initiatives most recently implemented in the Spring 2018, safety drills were increased in frequency, exterior classroom doors were to remain locked during student hours, school building entrances were renovated, and we conducted a safety protocol audit by an outside agency,” Bryant said. When asked about the specific measures taken by schools and the county office in the event of a school shooting, Bryant said these measures are confidential as
a function of school safety protocols. Griffin also could not detail each specific strategy used during a school shooting, but he did highlight the main objective as well as prior training given to law enforcement officers. “The first objective is to stop the threat by any means possible,” Griffin said. “We have worked with training our fire, rescue and EMS partners to operate in a mass violence situation so that they can render aid as soon as possible to any casualties. Officers are trained to be aggressive in these tactics, even though it exposes them to much elevated danger levels, to reduce the number of casualties.” Stopping any threat quickly is a major factor in keeping the schools of Henderson County safe. The school administration and law enforcement office cooperate in establishing and enforcing policies to ensure complete safety of students. Bryant said the role of the leadership of the school system is to establish effective school safety procedures, trainings, and coordination with emergency responders. He said they ultimately have the charge to continually evaluate and improve safe environments for every student under our care. Griffin shed light on the cooperation between law enforcement and school administration and the work they put into keeping students out of harm’s way. “Our role, as with any other incident, is to work hand in hand with the school administrators to identify strategies which reduce the risk to students,” Griffin said. “Basically, we advise the schools, we remain ready to respond, we work to investigate suspicious activity by students, but the schools set the policies. The School Board and administration have the final say so on all our actions on campus until a crime is committed. Once the crime is committed then we exercise our jurisdiction. Fortunately, we have a strong relationship with the Henderson County School administration and work for the common good.”
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n March n March FEATURE 2019 FEATURE 2019
Marijuana Use Last Time Using Marijuana
13% of people that try weed as a teen become dependent
35.1%
Only 32% of 12th graders feel that regular marijuana use is harmful
21.3%
44% of high school students know a classmate who sells drugs
Nicotine/Vaping Boys
2011
2017
10th Grade
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Sexual Activity
7 in 10 teens exposed to ads about vaping
11%
5
12th Grade
Past 30 Days
16.6% Last 30 Days
0
Girls
Past Year
63% of users didnt know
NICOTINE
Only 39.5% of high schoolers have had sex in their life 39.5% 60.5% of high schoolers have not had sex
Has been on the decrease ever since
was always in a JUUL pod
Alcohol Use 12th graders
68% 11% of U.S. alcohol used by 12-20 y/olds
37.4% last 30 days
10th graders
23.5%
10% of high schoolers have admitted to drinking and driving
last 30 days
Stats from: CDC.gov, therecoveryvillage.com
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Hashin’ It
Out
NC Congressmen propose new bill to decriminalize marijuana use By n Nathan Turpin n News Editor
In August 2018, the Medical Cannabis Town Hall in Charlotte, North Carolina convinced Democratic Rep. Kelly Alexander to start the North Carolina General Assembly’s (NCGA) cannabis caucus. In May of that year, Alexander tried and failed to pass House Bill 994. The bill aimed to legalize the possession of marijuana quantities to less than four ounces in an effort to decriminalize the substance. During the NCGA’s short 2018 session, five more cannabis reform bills were written. They were rejected before ever reaching the House or Senate Floor, which is common for cannabis bills. Despite this, Alexander stated that he will continue his legalization campaign in January 2019. The current federal ban on drugs puts marijuana on the same level as substances like LSD and heroin; the possession of more than 1.5 oz. is a felony, and comes with three to eight months in jail and a $1000 fine, regardless of whether the substance is medical or recreational in use. This is considered after individual state laws, as 10 states have legalized it for recreational use and another 23 have legalized it for medical use only. The focus of Alexander’s cannabis reform bills is, as co-sponsor Democratic Sen. Paul Lowe Jr. said, to take focus off catching cannabis users and
(Photo from maxpixel.net)
FEATURE n March 2019
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onto catching those guilty of more serious crimes. “We’re criminalizing more and more people that probably shouldn’t be criminalized,” Lowe said. “Something should be done, but they shouldn’t be criminalized.” Although support of these bills is not enough to pass them, it has been steadily growing since their introduction with HB 994 in May. Much of the conversation with other legislators is happening via email, as many could not attend the caucus. While legislators are still not in agreement on the bills, the opinion of NC voters is nearly unanimous. According to a 2017 poll by Elon University, 80 percent of NC voters support the legalization of medical marijuana, while only 17 percent oppose it. While medical use is mostly agreed upon, opinion on recreational use is more controversial. Only 45 percent of voters support recreational marijuana, while 51 percent oppose it. To alleviate concerns, Alexander suggested a system of legalization similar to alcohol sales in the state. “North Carolina has an ABC system that pretty much is the model,” Alexander said. “We have dry counties. We have wet counties. We have portions of counties that may be wet, and the rest of them are dry. All of those are driven by local option decisions.” The most compelling argument in favor of marijuana legalization is its medical benefits. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several cannabisbased medicines to treat a number of illnesses. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) concluded in a review of over 10,000 studies on the medical benefits of marijuana that it was effective at relieving many types of chronic pain. Medical marijuana may also be useful in treating some mental health disorders. A 2017 study published in Clinical Psychology Review found evidence that marijuana can alleviate symptoms of depression and PTSD. Alexander cited the health benefits as his main motivation for legalization. “It just made sense,” Alexander said. “North Carolina should be moving to change these draconian laws because it was evidenced that medical marijuana helped to alleviate pain and suffering in a number of conditions, and in the period of time that I’ve been here in the legislature, more and more evidence comes out that that’s the case.” No matter how Alexander and
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Marijuana purchased at a California Medical Marijuana Dispensary on Feb. 18, 2011. (Photo from flickr.com)
his supporters plan to implement legal marijuana usage, they still face a steadfast opposition. Many who argue against legalization of the drug say that its addictive quality would lead to misuse of the substance. According to studies by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in 2018, 30 percent of marijuana users may have some degree of marijuana use disorder. This disorder is identified through the presence of withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, difficulty sleeping, mood swings, decreased appetite, cravings, restlessness or physical discomfort. In some cases, this disorder can become addiction, in which the user finds extreme difficulty in abstaining from using the substance despite its interference with other aspects of their life. This misuse could not only hurt the user, but those around them. NIDA studies have also found a direct relationship between marijuana use and impaired driving ability. THC, which gives cannabis products their hallucinogenic properties, leads to impaired judgement, motor coordination and reaction time. The likelihood of being in a car crash while impaired with THC is nearly doubled. American psychiatrist and current director of NIDA, Nora Volkow, found similar data in a study four years prior, “Adverse Health Effects of
Marijuana Use.” “Marijuana is the illicit drug most frequently reported in connection with impaired driving and accidents, including fatal accidents,” Volkow said. “There is a relationship between the blood THC concentration and performance in controlled drivingsimulation studies, which are a good predictor of real-world driving ability. Recent marijuana smoking and blood THC levels of 2 to 5 ng per milliliter are associated with substantial driving impairment.” Long-term health effects of cannabis use are also a major concern. While the substance can alleviate symptoms of some mental health disorders, NASEM reports that THC may exacerbate symptoms of bipolar disorder. They also found moderate evidence that suggest that THC puts users at an increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts. Many studies found that cannabis use can alter brain development in adolescents. NIDA studies on the effects of THC in newborn rats found that early exposure to THC caused problems with learning and memory later in life. Rats exposed to the chemical were more likely to selfadminister other drugs when given the option, suggesting that marijuana use could lead to the use of more dangerous substances later in life.
Human tests have had more vague results. Some NIDA studies have found that THC use in adolescence leads to decreased memory, learning ability, impulse control, and IQ scores of up to eight points; others have found no such correlation. Volkow reports findings supporting the connection. “The brain remains in a state of active, experience-guided development from the prenatal period through childhood and adolescence until the age of approximately 21 years,” Volkow said. “During these developmental periods, it is intrinsically more vulnerable than a mature brain to the adverse long-term effects of environmental insults, such as exposure to tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the primary active ingredient in marijuana.” The effects of marijuana for medical use have not been fully studied California was first to legalize the substance for medical use in 1996, but cannabis laws did not resemble those of today until the passing of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act in 2015. Until studies can prove once and for all the benefits and drawbacks of marijuana for recreational and medical purposes, it is up to legislators and voters to use the current evidence at hand to decide if the substance is worth statewide use.
Fortnite craze sweeps the school, country By n Marissa Detwiler n Staff Writer
C
hildren, teens and adults around the world activate the power on their gaming consoles. Excitement apparent on their faces, the gamers lift their controllers and prepare to be transported into worlds of magic, danger and intrigue. In this instant, they are bound together by fantasy worlds more familiar to them than their own. Recently, however, one multiplayer game has dominated gaming news and become a worldwide phenomenon. “Fortnite,” the most popular video game of 2018, is played by everyone from elementary schoolers to professional gamers. The game continuously topped Twitch viewership charts for months on end. Created by North Carolina-based studio Epic Games, “Fortnite” was originally released in July 2017 in an early-access format. The video game currently has two versions: “Fortnite: Battle Royale” and “Fortnite: Save The World,” both of which are considered survival games. Many players prefer the free-to-play “Fortnite: Battle Royale” over “Fortnite: Save The World,” because of its affordability and
new features that are constantly being added to the game. “There are tons of different modes,” freshman Jonathan Cavanaugh said. “I don’t play the single player one, because I don’t want to spend money on it. Instead, I use the multiplayer version to play with my friends. They add new stuff almost every week, so it makes it really fun and interesting. The game never gets boring.” The game’s popularity has caused many to categorize “Fortnite” as the latest social networking application. Although communication is not necessary to complete the game, many players choose to verbally enhance their
(Photo from Reddit)
experiences with online friends. “You don’t need interaction to play the game. I’m sure you could consider it to be a form of social media, but the only communication that happens is verbal,” freshman Noah Krauss said. “Most of the time, communication between players consists of assisting the other players in playing the game, so it’s not usually too much side conversation.” Although “Fortnite: Battle Royale” is free to play on almost any gaming console, computer or phone, Epic Games manages to collect over 300 million dollars a month from purchases made with “V-bucks.” This form of gaming currency presents the opportunity
for players to purchase alternative versions of the game and skins. “There are different forms of items in the game that are available for players to buy,” Krauss said. “Personally, I’ve bought some skins in the game, along with some other cosmetic items.” According to many players, the popularity of “Fortnite” has ultimately resulted in a more competitive and challenging environment for everyone. Even the most experienced gamers have new skills to learn. An ever-growing amount of new contenders joining the “Fortnite” community has resulted in a greater challenge for existing players as they fight to balance this influx of new, more skilled players. “I definitely feel challenged by the game the majority of the time, because the more popular it gets, the better the players get,” Krauss said. “So there’s this balance of new players who don’t know how to play the game and then the players that have been playing and keep getting better and better.” Nevertheless, “Fortnite” players have found many ways to fit the game into their
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busy schedules and everyday life. According to Business of Apps, players spend anywhere from six to 10 hours each week playing “Fortnite.” “I play ‘Fortnite’ almost every day,” Cavanaugh said. “I don’t take it very seriously, but it’s always been really fun for me to play on a daily basis.” Other students hold a different perspective on the game. Freshman Danielle Osteen said she believes that many of her classmates have become less productive as a result of “Fortnite” and other similar activities. “I definitely don’t have anything against it, because I respect the fact that people have their own hobbies, but I don’t think anyone should be spending every waking moment of their lives playing the game,” Osteen said. “Not just this particular game, but anything that stops someone from doing something productive.” Despite this opinion, the increasing popularity of “Fortnite” has ultimately allowed the game’s creators to enhance its addictive qualities. Modern gaming tactics record data from gamers and use this information to develop add-ons and new features that will keep players invested in the game. Betsy Morris, a writer for “The Wall Street Journal,” touched on the compelling features that have caused “Fortnite” to heavily influence the way children and teenagers are spending
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their time and communicating with one another. “Like with many video games, the more people play ‘Fortnite,’ the more data is generated about what captivates players the most and what drives players to quit,” Morris said. “The constant stream of information boosts the ability of game designers to use machine learning to amplify player engagement.” Alongside this captivating set-up comes a mass following of the trending game. Millions of engaged players across the globe view YouTube walkthroughs and tutorials on the daily. Some even take these interests to the next level by participating in “Fortnite” tournaments and championships with large prizes in store for winners. “Everyone is playing the game. All you have to have is a microphone to connect with all these other amazing players,” Cavanaugh said. “Some people go to huge tournaments and events revolving around ‘Fortnite.’ It’s pretty crazy to see how popular it’s gotten in this past year.” Some students, including Osteen, believe that the video game’s reign will be short-lived. Several recent studies conducted by Video Game Rage revealed that “Fortnite’s” revenue growth rate dropped
from 32 percent in April 2018 to two percent in June 2018. While this number still indicates growth within the video game’s revenue rate, the severity and suddenness of the drop hints that a decline in popularity could be in store for “Fortnite” in the near future. “I think it’s really overdone. But, at the same time, I don’t have a problem with it, because it makes some people very happy when they play it,” Osteen said. “Now, I honestly I believe that it’s going away because a lot of people aren’t taking it as seriously as they used to.” Regardless of these facts, many “Fortnite” players plan to continue playing the game until the withstanding trend begins to die out. Whether the video game will lose its popularity in the coming year or not depends on how quickly creators can generate new, engaging content to supply demands from players. “I started playing ‘Fortnite’ last fall and plan on continuing to play until it dies out for good,” Krauss said. Although the video game is marketed toward children, young boys, in particular, many “Fortnite” players strongly disagree with stereotypes, such as this one. These players, including Krauss, instead believe that the video game should be advertised to all age groups and genders. “I feel like the game is stuck in this consistently younger stereotype. But, people need to realize that ‘Fortnite’ is not just for nine-year-olds,” Krauss said. “Other people can definitely play the game and have just as much, if not more, fun with it.”
(All photos from Fortnite Wiki)
l u f r e d Won of d r Wiza
Oz
Fine arts students to perform 43rd musical April 4-6 By n Aidan Shelton n Feature Writer
D
orothy and the gang are headed to the mountains of Western North Carolina as West Henderson High School will be performing their annual spring musical, “The Wizard of Oz.” For the first time, tickets will be sold online, but they will continue to be sold at the door as well. Ticket prices start at $12 for general seating, and $10 for student seating. The musical will be performed on April 4, 5 and 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the West Henderson auditorium. This year’s “The Wizard of Oz” is West’s 43rd musical production, and it is directed by theatre teacher Kelly Cooper. This will be the second time “The Wizard of Oz” has been performed at West. “We’ve been wanting to do ‘The Wizard of Oz’ for a long time now,” Cooper said. “The first musical West performed was ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ It is cool that we are going back to the roots of West Henderson’s musical history. I think it’s important to perform classic plays because we can always put our own spin
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on things. It allows students to be creative and take initiative on how good they want the performance to be.” Lead roles feature juniors Jaylan Brinson as Dorothy, Jeffrey Cooper as the Tinman, Makayla Cooper as the Scarecrow and seniors Chloe Hallman as the Wicked Witch of the West and Travis Pressley as the Cowardly Lion. “I think it is really exciting to participate in plays,” Brinson said. “It is always fun to stand out and play an important role, especially since I have been a fan of “The Wizard of Oz” ever since I was little. I’ve always dreamed of playing Dorothy, and to finally play her is a surreal experience that I will always remember.” The Munchkin Land ensemble features sophomore Colin Barton as Mayor, with children of West Henderson faculty members playing the Munchkins. “We’ve always tried to include the younger children in our productions,” Cooper said. “It really brings diversity to the ensemble, and encourages younger
children to pursue the arts.” “The Wizard of Oz,” as with musicals in past years, will feature contemporary, jazz, ballroom and ballet-styled dance routines choreographed by dance teacher Elizabeth Creamer and performed by students in her dance classes. Nine specialty dancers will perform unique routines they choreographed themselves. “It has been really cool choreographing the musical,” Creamer said. “I actually had the chance to perform in “The Wizard of Oz” for The Lost Colony in 2010, and have used that experience to put a personal touch on the routines. One of my favorite things is seeing my dancers make classic dance routines their own.” Along with the dance routines, the musical will feature a live pit orchestra conducted by orchestra director Tiffany King. As with the production of “Grease” last year, students taking band and strings will combine their experience and sit beneath the stage to accompany numbers with live music.
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Junior Makayla Cooper rehearses the part of “Scarecrow” on Saturday, March 16. (Photo by Pat Shrader)
“The music has been very exciting to conduct,” King said. “Seeing so much theatrical talent in one place has really inspired the musicians to provide the cast with the best possible music. I’m glad they are being pushed out of their comfort zone.” The musical’s set will be designed, constructed and decorated by West’s art club. Led by Visual Art Teacher Kelly King, the art club plays a main role in setting the stage, utilizing their skills to create scenes, backdrops and costumes that try to keep the integrity of the original movie. “The biggest challenge has been trying to stay true to the original set while also making it work with the space that we have available,” Kelly King said. “My students have struggled a little with pulling everything together, but we’ve worked together really well and I think that we will be proud of the end result.”
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Staying Local, Eating Global By n Kinsley Morgan n A&E Editor (All photos by Kinsley Morgan)
New restaurants and unique places to eat have been popping up all over the Asheville area. The trend of all the upcoming restaurants is that they are serving cultural and exotic dishes. Food from Ethiopia, Germany and other country’s cultures are being sought after by food lovers. With each of the new culture-filled places, new food becomes more mainstream. For example, Spanish food brings tapas and Greek food brings unique sitting styles. The listed restaurants are from Hawaiian, Greek and Ethiopian cultures that are both new and trending in the area. Not Worth It
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A Must Go
Yum Sushi Burrito and Poke Arden, NC At the front of a newly built shopping complex off Long Shoals Road in Arden is Yum Sushi Burrito and Poke. Poke bowls have been a craze with food lovers, particularly on the west coast. This small restaurant is bringing a fresh taste to Western North Carolina. You have the option to order one of their favorite fresh bowls or build your own with toppings of your choice. The roadside unit that houses the restaurant is new and very appealing. The side of the restaurant is a patio with places to sit under streams of hanging lights. When you walk into the Yum Sushi Burrito and Poke, you are greeted with a very modern aesthetic, featuring an ordering station and bar at the front. It is dim lit with televisions and soft music playing in the background. It is an overall modern, fun eating environment. The restaurant itself is clean and the staff welcomes you as you walk in the door. There are two people at the counter where you begin your order with the base of your bowl. One is the owner, who is Hawaiian herself, and very knowledgeable of all the ingredients and house favorites. She was extremely nice and excited to prepare food. My only complaint is that it was a little hard to understand exactly what she was saying because of her accent. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Bowl, which is a white rice base that I chose myself with edamame, lettuce, vegetables and a soy ginger sauce. The rice was hot and the fish was very fresh, which I was initially concerned about. The bowl itself had a good balance and everything was to my liking because I could tell them exactly how much I wanted of each thing. After I had eaten the main meal, I decided to order dessert, but not just any ordinary dessert. Yet another recent craze, rolled ice cream also has a place at Yum Poke Sushi Burrito and Poke. I ordered the Nutter Butter flavor. It had vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, Nutella and whipped cream. The staff was fast to make it and brought it to the table. Like the main meal, it was very good. My entire meal cost about $17. I would give this restaurant five out of five stars for the great service, affordable meals and yummy food that is close to home.
Twisted Crepe Asheville, NC Tucked in the many unique restaurants and shops in downtown Asheville, you’ll find the Twisted Crepe: a small cafe that offers not only crepes but also salads, soups and coffee. Presenting gluten-free and vegetarian options along with a kid’s menu suited for the tastes of younger customers, this eatery has an item on the menu for everyone. With a wide variety of crepes, including breakfast, savory and sweet crepes, as well as a makeyour-own option, the intimate setting provides a cozy atmosphere and a notable experience. When entering the restaurant, customers must approach a counter to place an order before seating themselves. Several tables and booths as well as a small bartop looking out onto the street are available for those wishing to dine in. One unique seating feature is a bar toward the back of the restaurant that allows customers to watch the crepes being made. Although my visit was between meal times at around 2 p.m., the crowd was larger than I expected, but the seating still proved sufficient. I chose to sit at the bar, which let me watch my food being made right in front of me. Having ordered a lemon powdered sugar crepe, a strawberry nutella crepe, a cappuccino and an iced coffee, my bill came out to be about $25. This came as a bit of a surprise due to the lack of pricing for the coffee on the menu, but the quality of the crepes made up for it. After waiting in line to order and taking our seats, it took about 15 minutes to get our food, which was understandable due to the fact that the restaurant only staffed two people: one cashier and one cook. Once the food was brought out, the aesthetic appeal was the first thing I noticed. The crepes looked very appetizing and tasted just as good as they looked. While light and airy, they were still full of flavor and there was no shortage of filling in the pastry. Overall, I would rate this cafe a four out of five. My only suggestion for improvement would be having more transparency on the menu as far as beverage pricing. I was extremely pleased with these treats, and I would definitely recommend the Twisted Crepe to anyone who wants a unique breakfast experience.
BaBa Nahm Asheville, NC Along the busy streets of Downtown Asheville, there are many rows of small restaurants and shops tucked into every corner. On the side of the Grove Arcade is a small and colorful Mediterranean dive, BaBa Nahm. It is owned by a middle-aged Mediterranean man with a friendly and helpful local staff. Here, you have the option to eat in or carry out any of the eight food choices. You also have the option to order online. The exterior of BaBa Nahm is like most of the other shops in the downtown area. However, the interior of this Mediterranean restaurant is what can really draw you in. The inside is aesthetically appealing, adorned with bright yellows and blues with art on the walls pertaining to the culture. When you first walk in, you are faced with the menu and a bar to order. To the left is a bright eating area with a garage door to open on warm days. I sat in the back section, which is a barstool peninsula that is quiet and well lit. The Mediterranean style didn’t stop there. The music helped immerse customers into the culture. The staff was definitely one of the best parts of the experience. The owner welcomed me and said to let him know if I had any questions about any of the ingredients. I wasn’t sure of some of the Mediterranean aspects, but after he explained each of them, I ended up ordering the right thing for me. Each dish is more of a snack-type meal that you are able to change as you wish. Every dish was affordable; none cost more than $8. I ordered the Hummus Bowl and the Israeli potato fries. The food was made quickly, and was hot and fresh when I recieved it. Every item was good. The long potato fries were my favorite, because of the special Israeli mix seasoning that made them stand out. Overall, I would rate BaBa Nahm four out of five stars. My only concern with the restaurant was the limited options on the menu, since there were only eight dishes. However, since the goal of the dishes was a snacklike concept, it worked. The meal was affordable and very delicious. I would recommend it, and would love to go back in the summer to enjoy the outdoor seating.
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MEME-
INGFUL
A West student holds their phone, displaying the Instagram account of Kayla Hirsbrunner, @lolielf. (Photo by Curren Podlesny)
Freshman draws following with Instagram account By n Kinsley Morgan n A&E Editor
A
fter school, freshman Kayla Hirsbrunner grabs her phone and gets on Instagram, like many of her classmates do. The usual notifications are popping up from various apps. Her phone dings as it begins to blow up all at once from follower requests. Unlike other students, they are not from her personal page but rather one of her passion projects. Clicking on her meme account, @lolielf, she accepts the 20 or so requests, making her page total come to around 28.8 thousand followers. Hirsbrunner is not an average high school student at West Henderson; she has amassed a huge following on social media. She makes her own memes and shares popular memes on Instagram through her account dedicated solely to memes. Though she usually keeps to herself, she said she finds her account a fun way to share humor with her friends, and it has become one of her favorite hobbies in her daily routine. Even though Hirsbrunner has always liked making funny memes and video content, she never anticipated gaining many followers from her account when she created it in 2017. “I kind of blew up by accident,” Hirsbrunner said. “I started just posting all kinds of memes on my personal account and they kept gaining views really quickly. So, I made that account a meme account and made a new personal one.” Hirsbrunner cites the explore page as the main reason for her account’s success. Memes are frequently shared on the explore page, so when people saw one of Hirsbrunner’s videos, her account began to gain traction. “Right now I have about 27,000 followers,” Hirsbrunner said. “For a good post, I get about 50,000 views, but an average video post gets around 20,000 views. For a
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picture, though, I get anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 likes.” With the hobby taking up a large portion of her day, Hirsbrunner said she tries to maintain a balance between her media time and the rest of her free time. “I try to not let my account cut too much into my day, but I do try and post at least once a day; either one of my
“
I’m just really happy doing what I’m doing right now and if it ends up growing more, then that’s really cool that more people are seeing my stuff. n
”
Kayla Hirsbrunner Freshman
memes or a popular one at that time,” Hirsbrunner said. “But my meme account is not my only priority in the day, and if I miss a post one day it isn’t a big deal, and I don’t worry about it.” Friends, as well as classmates, of Hirsbrunner know of her meme account. Some of her closest friends even
give their input on her upcoming posts, making them as funny as possible. The account itself began for the purpose of getting a laugh and sharing memes with friends. As the account has continued to gain buzz, original followers and even those who just learned of the account who know Hirsbrunner personally have high remarks for the idea of an account dedicated to memes themselves. “All my close friends and most everyone at school has heard of my account, and they think it’s really cool,” Hirsbrunner said. “Especially as I’ve gained followers more and more, people will come up to me and say it’s cool.” Rather than bragging about her account and showing it off throughout the halls, Hirsbrunner has kept to herself on her account’s major growth and lets her memes speak for themselves. As for the future of the account and her plans, she said she has not worried over it because her account is strictly for enjoyment and laughter. “I don’t really have a preference on whether I gain followers or not,” Hirsbrunner said. “I’m just really happy doing what I’m doing right now and if it ends up growing more, then that’s really cool that more people are seeing my stuff.” Though the feedback from friends is what Hirsbrunner said she enjoys most about her account, she wants to keep her page as well as her content as private as possible. Memes have a tendency to be filled with humor and innuendos, and Hirsbrunner said she does not want her page’s suggestive humor to negatively impact her school life. This could be a potential challenge with her continuously growing follower count as well as the buzz going on at West about the large following, but she said she plans to keep posting.
Destined for
VICTORY Sophomore becomes first West female wrestler to win state match By n Elise Trexler n Web Editor-in-Chief
T
he girl squatted down, hitting her knees on the soft green floor. Her legs burned with adrenaline as she stood up, took a deep breath and began to shake out her arms and legs, a semisuperstitious ritual she completes before every match. Fear and excitement rushed through her veins as she stepped onto the mat, facing the final match of her first season, the one every wrestler dreams of: the state final. She got into her stance. She let out the breath she had been holding. The whistle sounded. The final match had begun. “It was a really big experience since it’s only my first year wrestling,” sophomore Destiney Cairnes said. “I used all of the tactics I could remember. I didn’t even know all of the tactics. I just worked with what I had.” The 2018-19 season was Cairnes’ first time stepping on a wrestling mat, and she finished it undefeated by taking first place at the state meet in Greensboro, North Carolina on Feb. 2. “I had (my teammates) cheering me on and when I came off I hugged Coach (Mike Connelly) and started crying, and I gave Mickey (Allen) and Marissa (Connelly) a hug,” Cairnes said. “All the girls were surrounding me, and I felt really proud and loved. I was also really proud of them too. It was just really emotional.” Along with the team, Head Wrestling Coach Mike Connelly said he was moved by Cairnes’ win. “As a coach, you always just want to see every kid you have win and do the best,” Mike Connelly said. “Winning’s
not everything, but you want to see them perform to the best of their abilities, and (Cairnes) did. It’s a great feeling knowing those kids worked that hard and you’ve been behind them and seeing them achieve goals that they’ve set out. That’s what coaching is about.” Not only was this Cairnes’ inaugural wrestling season, this was the first year West has ever had a female wrestling team. The team is comprised of three wrestlers: freshman Mickey Allen, sophomore Cairnes and junior Marissa Connelly. “We are working our way to make it more of a female sport,” Marissa Connelly said. “It’s just in the beginning so at the moment it’s hard to push through anxiety when wrestling boys or accepting that you aren’t always going to win all your matches. n Unless you’re a really buff female, most of the guys out there have done this for years, or they do other sports, so they
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Sophomore Destiney Cairnes stands at the top of the podium after winning the state wrestling competition in Greensboro, North Carolina on Feb. 12. (Photo by Mike Connelly)
are more fit. As a female, there are some things you can’t control. You can’t really control your muscle weight, but you can control what you learn and how hard you work.” Throughout the season, the team competed in many meets and tournaments with schools from across the state, but one in particular stood out to Cairnes. “My favorite memory was wrestling a Pisgah guy,” said. Destiney Cairnes Cairnes “My lip started Sophomore bleeding and his nose started bleeding. It was really tough. I almost pinned him, but he came back somehow
You’re not going
to win every match, or beat all these experienced boys. You’re going out there to show them what you can do and what you’re making out of yourself.
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and managed to pin me. But it was good anyway because I didn’t give up.” While the team said they have had a lot of good memories during their first year, they have also experienced difficulties because of their gender in the predominantly male sport. “The most difficult part is that guys think they can take advantage of you in bad and good ways,” Cairnes said. “Some guys exclude us because they think that we’re not supposed to be on the team, but other people are really nice and tried to include us. They think they can beat you because you’re a girl, and I don’t believe in that.” Despite facing occasional physical and mental limitations, Cairnes and the team said they keep their thoughts positive and put their best effort into each match, which is sometimes more impactful than a win. “You’re not going to win every match, or beat all those experienced boys,” Cairnes said. “You’re going out there to show them what you can do and what you’re making out of yourself. Wrestling is a contact sport; you have to go out there and show them you can and that you will (do your best).”
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Take the
SHOT Junior scores 1,000th career point By n Cole Braswell n Sports Editor
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unior Ben Bryson steps out on the court after halftime, down a couple of points to North Henderson, but he knows that won’t last long. The ball is inbounded by senior Kyle Porter and Bryson drives the ball down the court. He pops a mid-range jumper over a defender, and the crowd explodes with celebration. Just then, the announcement is made: Bryson had just scored his 1,000th point. The referees stop the game, and Bryson is presented with a game ball, reading “Ben Bryson–1,000 points.” In an unexpected turn, Bryson grabs the ball, runs to the bleachers and hands the ball to his grandmother, Lynn Bryson. “It was such a special moment to me, scoring 1,000 points has been a goal of mine since freshman year,” Bryson said. “And to be able to score my thousandth point at a rivalry game, that made it even more amazing.” However, the moment was bittersweet. Bryson’s 1,000th point ball was supposed to go to his grandfather, Tommy Bryson, who was murdered in July 2017. Bryson
Junior Ben Bryson takes a shot while guarded by a North Henderson defender on Feb. 5. (Photo by Ralph Raesemann)
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Scoring 1,000 points is a huge deal. It’s really the ultimate milestone for a high school player. Only 10 basketball players at West have ever done it, and for him to be able to achieve that is beyond amazing. n
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Joey Bryson
Head Basketball Coach decided to give Lynn the ball to honor and commemorate the late Tommy Bryson. Tommy Bryson could always be seen at West games, and all of Ben’s basketball games. “If he was here, the ball would’ve gone to my grandad,” Bryson said. “He was my biggest supporter and came to every game. He always pushed me to be the best I can. And since he passed, my grandma has taken over that role, so it meant the world to me to be able to give her that ball.” Bryson joins only a handful of West players to accomplish this 1,000-point goal. Among the list of 1,000-point scorers is Joey Bryson, Ben’s father and coach. According to Joey Bryson, this marker is an incredible milestone for any high school basketball player. “Scoring 1,000 points is a huge deal, it’s really the ultimate milestone for a high school player,” Joey Bryson said. “Only 10 basketball players at West have ever done it, and it for him to be able to achieve that is beyond amazing.” With this milestone, Bryson nears the West Henderson career points record, which, coincidentally, is held by his father Joey Bryson. After breaking 1,000, Bryson needs 783 points to break the record, which is going to be extremely challenging considering the fact that Bryson is working against the clock as he approaches his senior year. According to Bryson, however, this goal is well within reach. “We’ve done the math and if I average 25 points a game the rest of my career at West, I’ll break the record by 200 points,” Bryson said. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work to get there, but I know what I’m capable of.” The points record is about father-son competitiveness and pride, but, according to Bryson, it has deeper meaning than that. Bryson doesn’t want to be surrounded by skepticism and doubt. According to Bryson, the points record is less about the glory and more about making a name for himself. “Ever since I came to West, people knew me because of my dad. They knew how great of a basketball player he was, but I want people to know me because of me.” Bryson said. “I want people to know how good of a basketball player I was, not how good my dad was. And I think if I put in the work and break the record, things will
Junior Ben Bryson poses with his 1,000-point ball after the game against North Henderson on Feb. 5. (Photo by Ralph Raesemann)
start to change.” Bryson’s achievements have not gone unnoticed, as he is currently being recruited by several Division I schools such as Tennessee Tech University, Wofford College and Presbyterian College. If Bryson has the opportunity to play Division I basketball, he will be one of the few Falcons to do so, another being his father, who played for Western Carolina University. According to Athletic Director Jeff Smith, Bryson brings a newfound recognition to West Henderson. “Any time you have someone scoring such a high amount of points like he is, it affects the people around him by earning recognition for our school and it also shows the caliber of our athletic program, to be able to produce athletes that break records like these,” Smith said. “College coaches are looking for players who can score inside and out, and anyone who can put up these numbers can most likely play at the next level.” After accomplishing such an important task however, the challenges don’t stop there for Bryson or his family. The trial for Tommy Bryson’s murderer, Phillip Stroupe II, was scheduled to start on Jan. 28, which fell right in the middle of basketball season. Joey Bryson was on leave due to his involvement with the trial, but Bryson insisted on playing through the trial. “I’m still playing to make my grandad proud. I know that’s what he would’ve wanted,” Bryson said. “I think about him all the time but at the end of the day I just try my hardest to put everything that happened behind me. I don’t let it affect the way I play because I know no matter what mistakes I make or no matter what I accomplish as a basketball player, he will still be proud of me.”
HIT Slopes the
Junior shares snowboarding passion By n Lawrence Whittington n Feature Writer
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eet frozen from the slopes, junior Auden Brennan glances toward the downhill jump that didn’t look as daring from the bottom. While taking a deep breath, building up enough courage to take the jump for the first time, he feels a push. As his stomach sinks, the jump approaches at an increasing rate. Next thing he knows, he is airborne. Struggling to regain his balance midair before landing, Brennan finds his feet beneath him and stabilizes himself midair. Brennan sticks the landing, despite hitting a patch of ice below the jump. “Snowboarding makes me feel free and gives me a crazy adrenaline rush,” Brennan said. “I can go speeding down a mountain and hit a jump to go flying through the air. It is a crazy experience that everyone should try.” Brennan tried snowboarding for the first time four years ago, and ever since then, he says he has been addicted. Every year he waits in anticipation for the black diamond slope to be open at Cataloochee Ski Resort. The black diamond is the hardest slope at the resort. Brennan didn’t just stop with the toughest slope, though. He has moved on to learning tricks. “I’ve been able to do frontside and backside 180s and grabs for a while now, but this year I have been trying to practice doing a 360 grab,” Brennan said. “I’ve only landed about three good ones.” Once Brennan learned how to handle himself on a board, he went straight to trying 180s, and after that, what was just a pastime turned into a passion. After learning a 180, he went straight to grabs, eventually completed a 180 grab, and has steadily progressed to 360s. He has now successfully completed 360 grabs. “When I go snowboarding, I usually go with my friends,” Brennan said. “It’s good to have some competition and to
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Snowboarding makes me feel free and gives me a crazy adrenaline rush. I can go speeding down a mountain and hit a jump to go flying through the air. It is a crazy experience that everyone should try.
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Auden Brennan
Junior
have friends there I can make lifelong memories with.” Last time he went to Cataloochee he convinced one of his best friends, senior Josh Candler, to go down the black diamond with him. On the way down, Candler wiped out and ended up off the side of the mountain in a creek. Brennan had to climb back up the mountain to help get him out of the creek. His parents made sure he never left someone behind on the slopes. “My parents were both skiers and I
hated skiing, but I would watch Shaun White snowboarding in the X-Games and the Olympics,” Brennan said. “He glided so gracefully down the slopes that I had to try it instead of skiing.” Brennan’s parents have been skiing since they were in their 20s. When Brennan was 11, they took him to Cataloochee, but he didn’t enjoy it. So the next time they went, he asked his dad to go snowboarding instead. Since then, he has gone so much that he bought his own board. “When I saved up enough money, I bought a 157-inch Lamar Ultra snowboard and some Burton freestyle bindings,” Brennan said. “It was a good investment because every time I go, I don’t have to rent all of the equipment.” Brennan is currently trying to save up enough money to buy a new board. “I’ve used my board very well for the past four years and over time. I’ve built up a lot of scrapes and scratches,” Brennan said. “Every time I look back at my board, I just think of the all the fun times I’ve had snowboarding, and hopefully I get a new one so I can make more memories with friends.” According to Brennan, his new goal has become recruiting more snowboarders. “I don’t ever want to stop snowboarding. I don’t want to imagine what my life would be like without it,” Brennan said. “I love spending most of winter on the slopes surrounded by all of my closest friends. I just hope I can make them fall in love with the sport like I did.”
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Congratulations Westwind staff on being a 2019 Crown Finalist!
Go to www.jostens.com to order your copy of this year’s yearbook. Dustin Cox – Jostens representative