2 Index
News Opinion Mini-Feature Student Life Feature Health & Lifestyle A&E Sports Backpage
2 4 6 7 8 10 11 14 16
Editors-In-Chief Anna Busse Cassie Busch
Copy Editor
Carolina VonKampen
News Editor
Daniel Pape News Assistant Quinlan Moran News Writers Carolina VonKampen Maria Efting
Opinion Editor Bryan Banowetz Opinion Assistant Peyton Rosencrants Opinion Writers Hannah Gibbs Brennan Graeve CJ Lampe Morgan Noonan Gina Reiman Chloe Streif Ben Valentine
News Xavier High School Xavier Saints march to the pro-life beat According to LifeNews.com, almost 4,000 children have been victims of abortion every day. To defend life, 25 Xavier students went marching up Constitution Avenue, on January 25 for the annual March for Life. The March for Life protests the Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. This year’s march coincides with the 40th anniversary of the landmark Court decision. The Saints were part of a caravan of seven buses on their pilgrimage to Washington D.C. They left early afternoon on January 23 heading to Beckman High School in Dyersville to start their journey with Mass. “I chose to go on the March for Life because I believe in a right to life for all people. It’s something I think is important, and being in D.C. was super cool. I enjoyed touring and marching,” freshman Lydia Brown said. After a 17-hour drive to D.C. the Saints reached their destination, and headed to the Pro-Life Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception,
Student Life Editor Jenna Fenske Student Life Assistant Colette Miller Student Life Writer
The students brave the weather and cold for a photo in front of the Capitol. Kelsi Fuller Photo.
Xavier students march with over 600,000 pro-life supporters. Lauren Lutgens Photo.
the largest Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The following morning the students worshipped at the Youth Mass and prepared for the rally and march. “The Youth Mass before the rally was really cool because a bishop from the Vatican was there and he read us a letter from the Pope! It was a once in a lifetime experience,” junior Kelsi Fuller said. The Saints gathered at the National Mall between 7th and 9th Street for the March for Life along with 600,000 others to mentally and emotionally prepare themselves for the march. The attendees prayed and listened to speakers including Republican politician Rick Santorum and Chris Smith, a congressman from New Jersey. Following the rally, participants marched up the street carrying signs expressing their
feelings about abortion and pro-life. “The rally and march were super fun. I spent a lot of time with my acquaintances, and we marched to victory for children!” sophomore Edward Krouse said. Xavier finished up their trip by participating in a night tour of all the monuments and the White House, and walking through the Arlington Cemetery. They also visited the Holocaust and Smithsonian Museums, and ate at Georgetown Cupcake before embarking home. “The Nazi Holocaust killed 12 million Jewish people, but this Holocaust of unborn children has killed 55 million, which is almost 4 times the Nazi Holocaust. It really puts the issue of abortion into perspective,” junior Mary Esker said. Senior David Kirpes had powerful things to say about his experience on the March for Life. “I have trouble imagining anything worse than taking away the lives of 55 million unborn children. That is twice the number of the current U.S. teenage population. We need to renew our faith, be confident in it, and share it with others. I feel that Matthew 14:18 applies to the situation: ‘So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.’”
Lauren Lutgens
Mini-Feature Editor Anna White Mini-Feature Assistant Ameena Challenger Mini-Feature Writer Rachel Brady
Feature Editor Megan Lynch Feature Assistant Robbie Thinnes
Above: Senior girls pose for a picture while marching. Lauren Lutgens Photo. Below: Xavier students pose in front of the White House on their night tour of D.C. Kelsi Fuller Photo.
Feature Writer Mary Esker
Health and Lifestyle Editor Ansley O’Brien Health and Lifestyle Assistant Hannah Chute Health and Lifestyle Writer Molly Vipond
Arts and Entertainment Editor Maddie Smith Arts and Entertainment Assistant Emma Hunt Arts and Entertainment Writers Lauren Van Hoeck Payton Janney Meghan Gerke Ashley Pudil
Sports Co-Editors Connor Collins John Richardson Sports Writers Alex Fox Connor Collins Shannon Mulcahey Kyle D’mello Lizzy McWhinney
Backpage Editor Nicole Draker Backpage Assistant McKenzie Potter
Business Hailey Sojka
Distribution Brennan Graeve
The Xpress Bi-weekly Xavier High School 6300 42nd St. NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52411 Volume 15 Issue 9
The priests process out of the Verizon Center after Mass. Elizabeth Woods Photo.
Quinlan Moran Assistant News Editor
It’s all adding up for Xavier Math Club Xavier’s Math Club competed in the Math League competition in Iowa Falls on Saturday, January 12. Xavier was the overall small school winner and Xavier’s JV team placed third among the small school JV teams. In individual competitions, participants are divided by grade level. In the Target Round, Jacob Schmitt placed first among high school juniors and James Krouse placed third among high school seniors. The Target Round consists of eight questions that
are given out in pairs; each pair must be answered in ten minutes. Krouse placed first among seniors in the Sprint Round. In the eleventh grade level of the Sprint Round, Schmitt placed first and Grace Busse earned second. The Sprint Round is an individual test in which the students have an hour to complete 30 multiple choice questions. Xavier’s team of Krouse, Sarah Chicchelly, and Daniel Pape tied for first place in the Team Round. This part of the
competition was not divided by grade level. Instead, each team worked together to solve five questions in twenty minutes. Schmitt hopes to participate in Math Club next year. “I would like to go into a math or problem-solving related career,” Schmitt said. Xavier’s Math Club will compete next at Iowa State on February 9. Carolina VonKampen Copy Editor