Issue 3 - November, 2018

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Post Midterms: blue wave takes Minnesota Minnesota’s historic Midterm election signals significant changes

Infographics by Anjali Aralikar

CyberPatriot Club comes to EHS page 5

Edina’s Representatives

In-Depth: affirmative action pages 6-7

Data from the Minnesota Secretary of State office.

Opinion: anti-immigrant rhetoric page 10

Boys’ Soccer wins seven allconference awards page 12

Submit an Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor online by going to the ‘Contact Us’ tab and clicking ‘Send Us A Letter’ For more, visit edinazephyrus.com

ith Minnesota’s newly elected governor, senators, and members of the House of Representatives, the North Star state has a lot of changes to look forward to.

On Nov. 6, millions of passionate Minnesota voters filed into the polls to take part of democracy. As midterm elections go, this race was an important one.

Both senate seats were up for election. After Senator Al Franken resigned on Dec. 7, 2017 due to sexual harrassement allegations, former Governor Dayton appointed Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith to take Franken’s place until a special election could be held.

This allowed voters to decide who they wanted to fill the remainder of Franken’s term, and voters chose Smith. Tina Smith was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but moved to Minnesota in 1984 to work for General Mills. According to her website, Senator Smith believes in continuing the legacy of former Minnesota senators on issues like protecting the environment and promoting better gun control laws.

In the other senate race, incumbent Amy Klobuchar easily beat Jim Newberger and made Minnesota one of only four states that will have two female senators. As for returning Senator Amy Klobuchar, she plans to promote similar policies such as supporting jobs, the economy, and affordable health care. Known as a ‘blue state, Minnesota has elected mostly democratic senators in recent history. This is in contrast to the Senate as a whole, which remains a Republican majority.

The election on Nov. 6 signaled significant changes for the House of Representatives. In Minnesota, the DFL Party managed to flip the state house from a 77-57 GOP majority to a 74-59 DFL majority. Democrats now hold the majority for the first time since 2008, with 222 Democrats and 196 Republicans.

Nationally, Democrat Dean Phillips beat former Republican legislator Erik Paulsen in Minnesota’s District 3, who had served since 2009. Minnesotans made their choice based on Dean Phillips’ plans of enforcing stricter gun control laws and fighting back against the threat of climate change. As Phillips is a Democrat, he sought to distance himself from President Trump. Minnesota voters

seemed to be ready for a change on election day as Phillips beat out Paulsen overwhelmingly.

Other districts in Minnesota are rather split, with districts one, six, and eight voting Republican, and districts two, three, four, five, and seven voting Democratic. This election brought a lot of firsts to Minnesota: Impressively, Ilhan Omar earned 78 percent of the vote in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, becoming the first Somali American elected to the House of Representatives.

In district 2, Angie Craig became the first openly lesbian representative to serve in Congress.

In the Governor’s race, Democrat Timothy Walz defeated Republican Jeff Johnson. Additionally, Walz’s running mate, Peggy Flanagan, who was born in 1979 and raised in St. Louis Park, is notable for being the first Native American to be elected to serve as Lieutenant Governor in the state of MN. Walz ran his campaign under the slogan “Together for One Minnesota,” promising fair wages, fully funded public schools, and affordable healthcare as a right, not a privilege. In addition, Walz prioritizes issues such as the environment, clean energy, and transportation.

This message of unity appealed to many voters in Minnesota and Walz was able to secure the vote of not only Democrats, but a large percentage of independents.

Rep. Keith Ellison won the Attorney General’s race, beating out his challenger, Doug Wardlow, by only a few percentage points.

As a result of this midterm, Minnesotans can expect a more leftleaning government for the time being.

Many of the current elected leaders plan on continuing in the tradition Casting their vote: Several EHS seniors voted of DFL leaders for the first time on Nov. 6. before them.

photo by Isha Konety

Want to have your voice heard?

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Art Boettge & Anjali Aralikar staff writer & student life beat lead

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COMMENTARY

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Zephyrus staff Editorial Board Lily Jones, editor-in-chief Simone Vaillancourt, print editor Emma Bailey, online editor Morgan Sheehy, managing editor Matthew Egger, copy editor Eva Hadjiyanis, copy editor Cecilia Orth, visual editor Margaret Sullivan, visual editor Anjali Aralikar, student life beat lead Isha Konety, news beat lead Greyson Mize, sports beat lead Brooke Sheehy, administration beat lead Staff Writers Art Boettge Michael Crater Mia DiLorenzo Dedeepya Guthikonda Leo Hickey Matt Hovelsrud Sadie Johnson Sieben Ellen Mi Mihika Sathe Reagan Stanchfield Alexis Yi

Page Editors Kyra Bergerud Hans Janovy Meyer Jack Marker Julia Nicholson Syd Pierre Alex Stenman Theo Teske Kerui Yang Photographers Mimi Beringer Madeline Brandel Sophie Charnell Brennan Merriam Cecilia Orth Margaret Sullivan Artists Hanna Faris Gillian Mousseau Mallika Srinivas Tiffany Qian Adviser Sarah Burgess

Letters to the Editor

To share an opinon or voice a concern over issues in Edina or an article Zephyrus has published, submit a letter to the editor online by clicking ‘Contact Us’ and then clicking ‘Send Us A Letter.’

Policies

Zephyrus is a monthly publication produced by students of Edina High School; 6754 Valley View Road; Edina, MN 55439; (952) 848-3800 x3087. Zephyrus is a designated forum for student expression that recognizes the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press, and abides by Tinker standard. Opinions published in Zephyrus do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire staff, adviser, administration, or entire student body. Submissions and letters are printed based on space available. Letters should be mailed to the school or given to the adviser or a staff member.

Follow us online @edinazephyrus

From the archives: TV Monitors Evoke Curiosity In November 1984, EHS debuted new television sets. The result: “Students stared in awe at the new technological advancement.”

Compiled by Anjali Aralikar student life beat lead

NEWS

“[I think the City of Minneapolis should] build more homeless shelters and provide more support to children in poverty at an early age.” Bryn Osborne, junior

Thursday, November 29, 2018 photo by Mimi Beringer

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Minnesota midterms at a glance The winners of MN’s key races infographic by Anjali Aralikar student life beat lead

Edina Promenade features art designed by elementary students The I in Edina: The artwork, designed by Mac Anderson, is on display with two others on the promenade.

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Simone Vaillancourt print editor

he Edina Promenade (near Hazelton Road) acquired three new sculptures this month, all of which were designed by students from Highlands, Concord, and Normandale elementary schools. Mac Anderson–EHS social studies teacher Erik Anderson’s son–was one of the selected students. His design, titled “The I in Edina,” is composed of the letters E, D, N, and A. The observer who stands in the middle of the sculpture completes the word by acting as the “I.” Last year, the district introduced this design project with grants from the Edina Education Fund and the Arts and Culture Commission. After acquiring 130 submissions from Edina elementary students, judges narrowed the pool down to three designs. The selected students each got to work with a local artist to make their design come to life. “[My son] was really proud to be selected, and he was really happy to be able to work on it over the summer,” Mr. Anderson said about Mac’s involvement in the project. “He was a little shy when they first revealed it, but in his heart he was

really happy to be chosen.”

Mac, along with the other two selected students– Ayana Griswold (Highlands) and Sylvia van Norman (Normandale)–participated in the reveal of the three sculptures this month. District employees were present, and community members got to see the finished sculptures for the first time.

“My favorite part about this is that it was a school-community-parental partnership. Someone from the school proposed it, the community group funded it, and the art teachers helped with it. Once [Mac] was selected, parents were involved, and then Charles Morrill, the sculptor, was great with helping put it together. Everyone was working together to realize the vision,” Anderson added.

When asked about the process of creating his sculpture, Mac said “I’m happy because I like Edina and people can walk by and enjoy it.”

There is no doubt that this project was a great way to unify people from all areas of the community, and with the art now on display, passerby will also get to benefit from the creative process being fostered in Edina elementary schools.

Pittsburgh tragedy unites community against terrorism The hidden reality of homelessness

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Sadie Johnson Sieben staff writer

n Saturday, Oct. 27, Robert D. Bowers entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh yelling anti-Semitic slurs and opened fire.

Bowers had an AR-15 style rifle and a minimum of three handguns. This act of violence was the most recent and most deadly action of anti-Semitism in the United States.

Bowers has been charged with 29 criminal counts federally and he is still waiting for state charges. Even though Bowers had no previous criminal charges, he posted multiple anti-Semitic messages and slurs on Gab, a social network that is popular among white supremacists and alt-right radicals.

President Trump responded to the shooting while at the Future Farmers of America Convention. Trump referred to the hate crime as a “wicked act of mass murder.” He continued, “If there were an armed guard inside the temple, they would have been able to stop them” and “maybe there would have been nobody killed except for him frankly.” Trump’s statement included no condemnation of anti-Semitism.

Members of the Pittsburgh community have come together after this tragedy with a candlelight vigil.

Not only did people in Pittsburgh come together, but people across the country did as well: multiple services were held around Minnesota. In South Minneapolis, there was a service held for the Jewish community. Also, an interfaith vigil was held in St. Paul.

Jewish students in Edina were affected by the shooting as well. Not only did they verbally support the

Jewish community, they also posted support on Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media.

Sophomore Lauren Brull expressed how this hate crime has affected her and her family, “The Pittsburgh shooting affected my life because I have a few living holocaust survivors left in my family and having such a hateful crime happen in today’s society brought lots of traumatizing memories back to the surface. But going to the synagogue and being with the rest of the Jewish community here in Edina brought back the sense of community and comfort.”

Sophomore Olivia Blumenthal, who religiously identifies as a Unitarian Universalist, which is a liberal religion that focuses on the equality of all faiths, disclosed how this act has affected her life, “I think that it creates a lot of fear in different groups of people and I think that people shouldn't have to live in fear of practicing religion.”

Blumenthal also indicated how she believed the government should have reacted to the situation, “I feel like they should've reacted in some way. I just feel like it was minor and it didn't seem like it was important to the government and I feel like this is a huge, important part of our country and should be recognized more than it was.”

Additionally, Blumenthal also spoke out against anti-Semitism, “I think that just in a lot of different ways our country could do a lot better because we’re supposed to be able to practice our religion freely and it seems that a lot of people are being prevented from that fundamental ability to practice their faith and that should not be the case.”

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Dedeepya Guthikonda staff writer

person in tattered clothing standing alone on the corner of a busy street downtown with a cardboard sign is not quite an accurate description of the growing issue of homelessness in Minnesota. What society perceives as homelessness is not the reality of the problem.

According to the MN Homeless Statewide Study, on any given night in Minnesota, there are 9,312 people sleeping on the streets. Though this is a 9% decrease from 2012, the number continues to be extremely high. Even more alarming is the fact that over 60% of this population is made up of youth. People Serving People is the region’s largest and most comprehensive homeless shelter located in downtown Minneapolis, and the average age of its guests is 15.

Though the needs of these youth and the homeless population in Minnesota are not being sufficiently met, there are several organizations around the state and region that are striving to address these needs and significantly lower the number of homeless people.

One of these organizations is Oasis For Youth, a nonprofit that works with youth that are at risk of homelessness. Hans Dosland is the School Outreach Manager of this organization and works with schools in the suburbs, including Edina High School. When asked about the common causes behind youth homelessness, Dosland says it heavily depends on the parents.

“A lot of the students I work with are in homes with parents that are often struggling with either mental health issues or addiction. Usually in the suburbs...[homelessness] is based on if parents are able to provide safe or stable situations for kids...

More or less, it really depends on the parents,” Dosland said.

In the suburbs, consisting of cities such as Edina, Bloomington, and Richfield, homelessness is often perceived to be nonexistent. However, it is still there, and is as problematic as ever. It is here that the issue is hidden, disappearing behind the

image that we perceive homelessness to be. “[Homelessness] presents very differently. Kids are usually couch-hopping or staying with friends or other family members and it’s not as visual as maybe someone downtown… standing on a street corner saying they’re homeless,” Dosland said.

“It’s relatively invisible, and I think that makes it hard for people to know that it’s even an issue, but when I find that people are aware, there’s a huge impact that they can have.” Dosland said.

Fortunately, he explains that helping to solve this problem doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be as simple as providing a friend a safe place to stay at night, or fundraising or donating items such as clothes and food to those in need.

At EHS, Dosland works personally with students who are not in stable living conditions, which can come as a shock considering Edina’s reputation as a fairly wealthy part of Minnesota.

“When I first started working here, a lot of people said ‘Edina’s one of the best districts in the State and we don’t have to deal with this problem,’ but homelessness doesn’t discriminate. It can occur in any kind of district or place,” Dosland said.

Homelessness is a major problem in Minnesota and one that shouldn’t be ignored because of the lack of awareness. Becoming aware of the problem is the first, and perhaps the most important step in combating this issue as a community.

art by Tiffany Qian

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FEATURES

“Yes, [the Latin American Business and Culture class] sounds interesting and I would like to get into the international business field someday.”

Autumn Garrison, sophomore

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Natalie Bartolomei brings the League of Women Voters to EHS

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Reagan Stanchfield staff writer

Violinist shines in music competitions photo by Sophie Charnell

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Competition, the Thursday Musical Young Artist Scholarship Competition, the Mary West Solo Competition, and the Music Teachers National Association Student Competitions.

She has played with professional orchestras, starting in 4th grade with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and most recently with the Minnesota Sinfonia in 2016.

As of now, she studies under Sally O’Reilly, Professor of Violin at the University of Minnesota’s School of Music.

“She’s the one who pushes me to do all these competitions,” Zhao said. “Whenever something isn’t up to par, she’s not shy about showing it . . . she forces me to apply, which forces me to practice, which forces me to grow.”

Junior Jaehyun Hong has known Zhao since middle school. The two are teammates on the Mock Trial team and practice together during the Orchwinds rehearsals. “She’s an artist who knows how to phrase the music,” Hong said.

“She captivates me every time she plays.

To me, that’s what makes her a great musician.”

Zhao plays flute in Concert Band, participates in Mock Trial, and takes AP classes. She doesn’t plan to make violin a major or minor in college, but she wants to keep it a hobby. When asked about her goal for the rest of high school, Zhao said she “just [wants to] keep having fun with it.”

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Mihika Sathe staff writer

s the United States economy becomes increasingly globalized, learning about international business is crucial for any student who wants to go into business. Luckily for Edina High School students interested in business, Mr. Diaz and Mr. Gallagher are offering a new class next year that puts a spotlight on Latin American business and culture. “[The class] is about Spanish speaking countries, the connection between the Latin American economy and the US economy, and the trade between them,” Mr. Diaz said.

The class, which will be conducted in English, will be co-taught by Spanish teacher Mr. Diaz and DECA teacher Mr. Gallagher.

This class has been in the works for several years, and started when Mr. Diaz and Mr. Gallagher went on a trip to Spain. “When we used to travel to Spain [for Spanish] with Mr. Gallagher, he usually brought kids from the DECA class.

He used to have his own mini-unit for those kids

to learn about the big companies from Spain,” Mr. Diaz said.

Mr. Diaz and Mr. Gallagher have finalized the class devoted to Latin American business and culture. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time, and we’ve finally decided to offer it.

We’re both very excited about it,” Mr. Diaz said.

The purpose of the class is to help students make connections between their everyday lives and Spanish owned businesses. “[This class is meant] to see how we can see the presence of Spanish companies in the US. For example, most of the windmills in Southern Minnesota are owned by Spanish companies, but most people don’t know about that.” Mr. Diaz said.

This class is also meant to give students exposure to international business before they study business in college. “Spanish and Business are two majors that many Edina High School students will eventually pursue. Why not explore it now,” Mr. Gallagher said.

The class will be one semester long and will be offered as an elective. Although there is no prerequisite or language requirement, an interest in Spanish language and culture is a must.

photo by Brennen Merriam

ach, Schubert, Kreisler and Sarasate: all these names fill the repertoire that junior Joyce Zhao, violinist extraordinaire, has under her belt. She has over a decade of musical experience and started entering music competitions in elementary school. Zhao has been the concertmistress (principal first violin) of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies’ premier Symphony orchestra for almost every semester since the eighth grade.

Zhao started playing when she was five years old, and now her practice volume is robust. When she’s not preparing for a competition, her practice sessions are around one to two hours a day; when a competition is approaching, the sessions are upwards of three hours. Sometimes, Zhao will come to the school at 7:00 AM to use the practice rooms. Her parents used to have to push her, but now they trust Zhao to get the job done. And she does; even when Zhao hits phases where she lacks motivation, she powers through.

“I think everyone has those periods.

It’s especially hard when you’re being swamped in schoolwork and extracurriculars, but you have a competition coming up,” Zhao said.

Over the years, Zhao’s achievements have been widely recognized. She has won prizes in the Schubert Scholarship

mbitious is the perfect word to describe junior Olivia Pierce. In September 2017, Pierce released an album titled “Acoustic Ambitions” on Spotify and Apple Music which perfectly described this young artist’s persona and goals. The young Edina High School student, now 16, is headed for a successful career in music; her album is an important first step towards that.

Pierce attempts to convey honesty in the album, which features five tracks. Among them, “A House Divided” is meant to capture what a fractured home looks like. Pierce drew on the experiences of those around her who had or were experiencing divorced families. Her album also features tracks like “Daisy,” which is a lighthearted song written for her little sister.

When writing and creating music Pierce likes to let the music speak for itself. “There is something special about acoustic guitars. I think you can portray a message deeper if there is not a lot going on in the background,” she said.

Pierce draws inspiration from Alicia Keys, who is unequivocally willing to be herself, a major goal of Pierce’s album. Her raw and meaningful music is exactly what Pierce hopes to communicate in her own work. “I really

look up to her and her music; my mom [and I] watched one of her concerts...she was just really open and honest... she didn’t want anything to get in the way of her music,” Pierce said.

Along with other artists, one of her main muses is her dad. “My dad is a musician, so he always sings around the house. He taught me how to play piano, and he would play the saxophone before breakfast,” Pierce said.

Pierce’s connection with her dad and her childhood surrounded by music gave her inspiration to embrace her own musical path. “In a lot of ways, [my music] allows me to connect with my dad, so I think that’s a reason I love music.” she said.

New class offering emphasizes Latin American business and culture

Life-long musician: Zhao has been playing the violin since she was five years old.

Alexis Yi staff writer

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Kyra Bergerud page editor

courtesy of Olivia Pierce

istorically, the League of Women Voters has worked to improve voter turnout of adults, but they are now working to engage students. Senior Natalie Bartolomei is a youth board member of the League of Women Voters Edina and is bringing the reach of the organization to students in the form of a club.

Despite its name, the organization uses non-partisan education to increase political involvement in all demographics, not just women. Bartolomei is creating a club to continue this method of education in hopes of piquing the interest of high school students.

According to the New York Times, colleges across the country are adopting measures to encourage their students to vote, such as awarding schools with high voter turnouts. Bartolomei, however, has an expanded goal that focuses on political literacy for voters and high school students who cannot yet vote.

It is important to note that membership for the club is not exclusive to those eligible to vote; however, members of the League of Women Voters Edina must be at least 16 years old. “The point of the club is that

when you turn 18 you have the resources you need to express yourself in government…and it’s really supposed to get teens acclimated [to] and aware of what’s going on, so they can have context for policies that are coming out and even affecting them,” Bartolomei said.

The president of the League of Women Voters Edina, Colleen Feige, also weighed in on the need she believes the club will fill. “There is a growth of student interest in voting and what’s going on in the political environment. It was the right time to go a little further on building that up,” Feige said.

Bartolomei became aware of the position when it was recommended by her AP Government teacher, Mr. Anderson. She does, however, have other ties to politics with her involvement in Model United Nations and her interest in pursuing a major in political science following her graduation from EHS. Her interest in politics also stemmed from her father. “He was a lawyer for many years, and he worked in all sorts of law. I think the most interesting, at least to me, was immigration law,” Bartolomei said.

Because she is still only in high school, Bartolomei is using this opportunity to introduce students to politics and to spark their involvement.

Olivia Pierce pursues musical ambitions

Latin-American business: Gallagher and Diaz’s class begins next year.

"I play flute in the concert band. We just started getting our Winter Jubilee music and just playing them altogether... We've been rehearsing about five pieces so far but we still have more that we haven't rehearsed yet." Anna Halloran, senior

ACTIVITIES

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Winter Jubilee to warm up the December cold his year, the music and theater departments will collaborate in the annual Winter Jubilee, continuing their tradition of a collective performing arts concert. Unlike last year, the concert will only take place on one day next month; however, there will be two performance times.

“It is a fun concert because it combines all of the top music levels of the band, orchestra, and choir and it appeals to families and people who want to see what the musical program at Edina is capable of,” senior trombonist Julia Kloiber said.

The concert will feature group pieces between the band, choir, and orchestra, in addition to solo pieces from each ensemble. The Edina High School Concert Band will be playing “Christmas on Broadway”—a Jubilee tradition—with both the EHS Concert Orchestra and the Concert Choir, and “O Magnum Mysterium” with the EHS Concert Choir. The Concert Choir will be singing “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “O Lux Beatissima.”

The three ensembles have been practicing their music separately for a while and had their first joint rehearsal on Thursday, Nov. 15. “I feel like the band is pretty prepared, but we still have to work out combining with the choir and orchestra, but I think that the concert will all come together in the end,” Kloiber said.

Typically, the Concert Band is only able to rehearse with the Concert Orchestra once a week, and the Concert Choir is rarely able to rehearse with either group. “I feel like we could be more prepared...but we are doing as much as we can in order to prepare,” senior Cellist Kendrew Chen said.

In addition to being able to work with other musical groups, each ensemble must also master a challenging repertoire for the concert. “I think the most difficult thing is memorizing the music and maximizing limited rehearsal time, because there are many songs we need to master and also the dynamics within them,” senior choir member KJ Singh said.

Despite the fact that some participants feel underprepared, members of the Concert Choir, Band, and Orchestra are excited to be playing in a big collaborative production of this sort.

“I’m excited about Winter Jubilee. This is my first year in Concert Choir, but I’ve heard a lot about it from friends and the Christmas songs are fun to sing….it is one of the most popular concerts hosting the band, choir, and orchestra,” Singh said.

The Jubilee will also consist of theatrical performances that will take place between the musical pieces. Members of the theater department will be acting out scenes from“Frosty the Snowman” and “Bear Snores On.” “I am very excited...we are rehearsing during lunch so it is fun and I get to have a break during the day. The performance will be very different and it will be really cool,” senior Carmen Wesselman said. Wesselman will read the part of Sally in

“Frosty the Snowman.”

The collaboration between the three conductors—band director Paul Kile, orchestra director Nick Gaudette, and choir director Christopher Piela—will take place on Saturday, Dec. 15 in the Fick Auditorium from 3 PM to 5 PM and from 7 PM to 9 PM.

each other at once, providing a sort of controlled chaos for competitors.

Players have access to a variety of techniques, such as charged “smash” attacks and midair dodges, to attempt to outplay their opponents and achieve victory. However, there are no difficult techniques or moves required to succeed in the game.

“The thing I love the most about [Super Smash Bros.] is that you can gather people who really aren’t into video games and still have a fun time,” club leader Brandon Bravo said.

“Everyone has a chance at victory when so many people are fighting at once.”

The original game was followed by the immensely popular sequels Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, all of which promote similar play styles but include additional fighters and mechanics. A highly anticipated fifth installment to the series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, is set to release this December.

Dozens take part in the club meetings, and attendance numbers are going up at each session. The atmosphere encourages players to laugh and have fun while also improving their skills at the game.

“I had a blast when I was at the club,” junior Cole Weinstein, who attended the club for the first time in November, said. “I really enjoyed meeting and playing with a new group of people. It revealed a bit about me and my skills in the game that I didn’t know I had.”

Photo by Sophie Charnell

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Isha Konety news beat lead

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Practice is key: The Concert Band, Concert Orchestra, and Concert Choir are hard at work to make this Winter Jubilee better than ever.

Super Smash Bros. Club promotes competition in a friendly environment

ideo games and school activities don’t always appear as a match, but sometimes they can be used as a helpful bonding tool for students. An example would be the Super Smash Bros. club, which is held after school on Fridays.

The club is a place for students to play the video game Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, a fighting game produced and published by Nintendo. The club was recently revived by senior Brandon Bravo after a year-long absence. Following a long day of classes, students have the opportunity to kick back and battle against fellow club members. The club promotes a relaxed yet competitive environment, and no previous experience in Super Smash Bros. is required to join.

The Super Smash Brothers series has been a staple in the fighting games genre since 1999, when the original version was released. The game revolves around characters from various video game franchises battling on a variety of stages, with the goal being to knock all of the other players off the stage and be the last one standing. Up to eight players can compete against

CyberPatriot Club comes to EHS A new type of 21st century competition promoted by the US Air Force brings students together

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Brooke Sheehy administration beat lead

art by Mallika Srinivas

Ready, Set, Fight!: Students at a Super Smash Bros. Club meeting gear up and choose their characters for a friendly match.

Students spread the Christian faith through athletics

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Theo Teske page editor

he Fellowship of Christian Athletes, more commonly known as FCA, is a nationwide program that was originally founded in 1954 by a basketball coach named Don McClanen. He wanted to use the star power of athletes to reinstill Christian values in the United States. Now, the FCA club at Edina High School is continuing McClanen’s legacy.

Sophomore Grant Rosselit says that athletics is something people can relate to, which makes it a valuable way to ensure comfort when discussing their faith. “We combine it with athletics, coming at it as ‘okay, what do we have in common? And how can we get that group of people to come together and talk more about what it means to be a Christian?’

That’s how we create that fellowship,” Rosselit said.

To Rosselit, FCA is more than just an extracurricular. “FCA is a fellowship. It’s a group where we get together every other Monday night. We’re all a group of athletes that want to share the fellowship of Christ and we want to spread and share the joy of Christianity that we experience,” Rosselit said.

As the host and club’s leader, senior Peter Engelking plans the group’s meetings: “First we do an icebreaker. The icebreaker is just a game to get everyone going. You can learn everyone’s names if you don’t know them.

And then after that we do chapter and verse, people share their own verse or one of the leaders will say a verse and what it means to them. After that sometimes we have guest speakers or youth leaders, or if an FCA person wants to share their testimony we can do that.

Then we end with a game and the games are fun because you can win a gift card, so it gets

pretty intense,” Engelking said.

Engelking is sure to emphasize that the group is open to all. “You don’t have to be a Christian, you don’t have to be an athlete.

It’s just a fun community. You talk about the Lord and play games. There’s treats, it’s fun,” Engelking said.

This sentiment is echoed by Rosselit. “I would say just come, even if you’re not a Christian, just come and see how it is. See if you like the message. We always have food and drinks and games. It’s just a good time overall. If you end up not enjoying it, that’s okay, but I always encourage everyone to come,” Rosselit said.

Ultimately, Engelking finds that FCA is worthwhile because it allows him to have a positive influence on his school community: “It’s just really fun knowing that I’m making an impact on other students. If they’re Christian and pretty quiet about it, they can learn how to talk to others about it.”

Photo by Mimi Beringer

he CyberPatriot club is a part of the National Youth Cyber Education Program, which consists of the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition sponsored by the United States Air Force. The competition places both middle school and high school teams in a group of six in the acting position of a newly hired Information Technology (IT) professional with the specific task of managing the system of a small business.

In the rounds of the competition, teams are given a set of three virtual images that are meant to represent an operating system. They are given the task to find cybersecurity errors within all of the images while hardening the system in order to maintain critical services within a time span of six hours.

Founders senior Aidan Swann and 2018 EHS graduate Jack Hong first heard about the opportunity through their participation in robotics while they were in Washington D.C. The EHS Cyberpatriot club was created in the

2017-2018 school year; however, they did not become officially registered to compete until this school year.

While each school can have as many teams of six as they desire, the registration period for this year is over, so the high school will only have one team competing in the Cyberpatriot Competition. This year’s competitors include Swann and five other individuals: seniors Annie Snyder, Andrew Hou and Said Tyada, and junior Aryan Jain.

Teams compete for the top placement within their state or region. The top teams in the nation will earn an all-expense paid trip to Baltimore, Maryland from April 7 to April 11 by the US Air Force to compete in the National Finals Competition where teams may earn acknowledgment for their accomplishments within the competition along with scholarship money.

“We will get to state for sure this year and hopefully qualify for nationals our first year,” Swann said as his team placed second in their first ever state competition this past weekend.

There were eight teams in this regional division, and if EHS can stay at the top two for the next regional tournament, they will advance onto state for the platinum tier, which will allow the team to qualify for nationals.

The club has a minimal time commitment, with little to no training as they believe that the best training is through experiencing what it is like to compete; nevertheless, Swann suggests that each team member has a decent amount of experience troubleshooting Windows or other comparable system administration software.

Photo by Sophie Charnell

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Alex Stenman page editor

Rosselit embraces the FCA: as a member of the club he combines his love of athletics with his following of Christ.

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OPINION

“I don’t think [the phrase ‘under God’] is necessary given that, especially in recent decades, the diversity of religion in the country has increased by a lot.”

Liliana Hanson, sophomore

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Current events with Theo: anti-immigrant rhetoric is counterproductive and dangerous

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Theo Teske page editor

Republicans as well. Trump is no longer discussing a policy issue. Instead, he is asking politicians to completely alienate a sizable portion of the electorate by labeling them as criminals, or at least people we don’t want in our country. Any notable vote to restrict immigration now is a rejection of immigrants as people instead of a largely economic decision made in the best interest of the United States. With 44 million immigrants living in the United States according to the Migration Policy Institute, no politician will make that decision lightly.

The substantial size of the immigrant population compounds the problem that his statements also serve to “otherize” immigrants, and when coming from the President this can have a considerable impact. When immigrants are viewed as less than natural-born American citizens, violence against them becomes justified. The Center for Public Integrity concludes that the election of Donald Trump has encouraged a climate of anti-immigrant sentiment, leading to a significant increase in hate crimes committed against immigrants in 2017. People

shouldn’t have to live in fear because of where they were born.

The creation of a negative atmosphere for immigrants trickles down throughout society, and even into Edina High School.

It’s important to realize that we can be against immigration while not condemning the immigrants themselves. A hostile environment towards immigrants will only create violence and emotional duress, something that shouldn’t be encouraged for any reason. It also creates unnecessary controversy around an issue that really doesn’t need to be controversial. Moving past placing the blame on immigrants is a key step that needs to be taken; maybe then a real debate about immigration can be had. art by Tiffany Qian

mmigration has been a perennial point of conflict in American politics. In many ways, the United States has gone from melting pot to tribalized multiculturalism, wherein each culture exists independently while coexisting with the others. This climate has accentuated divides and made immigration into an even more heated issue than in the past.

President Trump was elected on a platform of extraordinary measures to curb immigration—both legal and illegal— including building a border wall and imposing an immigration ban on Muslimmajority nations.

Since taking office, Trump’s hardline stance hasn’t weakened. He has made headlines lately by calling for an end to birthright citizenship, meaning that children born in the US to immigrant parents wouldn’t become citizens automatically. Trump’s most recent action, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, was to send 5,200 soldiers to the southern border in response to reports that a caravan of migrants is approaching from Central America. The military itself has criticized Trump for essentially using the troops as props.

Throughout his campaign and continuing into his presidency, Trump has consistently engaged in pointedly anti-immigrant rhetoric.

There is an important distinction to be made between rhetoric that is anti-immigration and rhetoric that is anti-immigrant: the former discusses the potential negative effects of immigration on the United States, while the latter consists of ad hominem attacks against immigrants themselves. By engaging in the latter, Trump is jeopardizing his immigration agenda while endangering a large segment of the populace.

The immigration debate has become more politicized than ever before in recent years.

In fact, CNN finds that political campaigns have collectively spent $150 million on ads concerning immigration this year, which is a large increase over recent election cycles.

This rise has been largely driven by Trump’s consistent attacks on immigrants from his position as President, and consciously in many instances. CNN also writes that Trump wanted to pull the ending ad his campaign ran, which stressed the economic growth under his leadership, to instead run an antiimmigrant ad that was rejected by both NBC and Fox News for being racist.

Essentially, Trump’s current strategy makes it almost impossible for Democrats to compromise with him, and it alienates many

Crossing the digital line “Under God” is out-of-date

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Eva Hadjiyanis copy editor

art by Gillian Mousseau

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Leo Hickey staff writer

he Pledge of Allegiance is recited by millions of Americans on a daily basis.

There are, however, two words within the pledge that don’t seem to belong. In the United States, the separation between church and state is an important concept of democracy. America has been heavily focused on Christianity since it began, with many early settlers entering the country for the first time in order to be able to freely practice their religions. In early America, faith and politics were heavily intertwined; the vast majority of political decisions were influenced heavily by religion and religious beliefs.

As time went on, more effort began to be put into separating faith from government institutions, a concept that would go on to be called “separation of church and state.” The gap between religion and governmental systems in America has only grown, and we are now a long way from citing biblical passages in governmental settings.

For this reason, the inclusion of the phrase ‘under God’ within the pledge of allegiance is unacceptable in modern America because it is inconsistent with modern standards of religious separation.

So why, then, does the pledge include this phrase, an inclusion that so directly contradicts the modern concepts of secularity within the government?

The answer, it turns out, is that the pledge didn’t always include the religious reference.

The original wording was simply “One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

However, a series of decisions made in 1950s America eventually led to president Eisenhower officially adding the phrase in a bill passed in 1954. Eisenhower was very religious himself (Eisenhower’s presidency also saw “In God we

trust” adopted as America’s official motto). In adding the phrase, Eisenhower was pushing his own religion on the whole nation.

At the time the bill was passed, the Cold War was raging, and there was a popular belief that promoting religious practices was important to fight back against ‘atheist’ communist forces.

Pew Research Institute explains in 2013 that “many members of Congress reportedly wanted to emphasize the distinctions between the United States and the officially atheistic Soviet Union.”

Thus, much of the desire to amend the pledge came from a historic feud, a concern that is not relevant to the modern day. The opposite is true; in fact, the inclusion of the words in the pledge only sets back progress by forcing religion upon the public sphere. The pledge is a statement about the relationship between the United States and its people, and should be completely separate from any faith-based beliefs that the citizens hold. Although many of the people who worked to change the pledge had the best of intentions in their actions, the actions do not meet today’s standards.

The argument can be made that the word “God” isn’t inherently Christian, and thus can refer to any faith. While this may be true in theory, it ignores the history of the action, as the government officials that passed the amendment to the pledge were Christian themselves, no doubt thinking of the Christian God when the phrase was added. If the reference to faith really was meant to be universal, the words would have been chosen more carefully.

For these reasons, action should be taken to remove the phrase “Under God” from the pledge of allegiance as soon as possible. Although some may argue that the words have historic value, history can be preserved in less intrusive ways.

Regardless of religious opinion, Americans should agree that there is no value to this overlap of religious and political authority. art by Tiffany Qian

n the age of social media, children as young as eight have their own phones, enabling them to communicate with the world through their personal devices.

With the younger generation so stuck in the digital world, some parents have determined that the risk for bad behavior and bullying is so high that they check their child’s devices. As the children age, however, this behavior often crosses the line from good parenting to an invasion of privacy.

When a child is younger, parents should definitely be allowed to check up on their child’s device. According to TechCrunch in 2016, “The average age for a child getting their first smartphone is now 10.3 years.” This is a time where kids are not mature enough, and have not learned enough about safety to be completely trusted online. Not only is this a time for parents to keep an eye out for cyberbullying, but it is a time where what happens over text and on social media will shape their whole childhood. In elementary school, and to a lesser extent middle school, it is a parent’s responsibility to watch over their child as they mature. There are definitely lines that should not be crossed, but for the most part, moderately monitoring online presence is within the bounds of good parental guidance.

At a certain point, however, it is no longer acceptable for the adult to check in on their child’s behavior without them knowing. The trust between a high schooler and their parent is one of the most valuable parts of their relationship, and checking their texts to monitor them shows that the parent has no confidence in their child’s decision-making skills. Yes, high schoolers do often times make rash decisions, but having a parent watching their every move might push them away from their parents, towards sneaking around even more. If the parent wants their child to trust them, they need to show that same amount of faith.

One of the main arguments parents make in favor of checking their children’s phones is that they are the ones paying for the device. In the cases that this is true, it definitely is something to be taken into account. Keep in mind, though, that using this fact as an excuse to have unlimited access to the electronic device is going too far. It does not change the fact that a relationship built on distrust and the invasion of privacy is not healthy.

If the adult really thinks that checking their child’s phone is necessary, they should be transparent and honest about why they are doing so, and set limits to show that it is purposeful and not stepping past what is appropriate. The worst thing to do is try to sneak on without the child knowing because, let’s face it, that won’t work. Even if they know the password, chances are the child will find out and start to distrust the adult.

Instead of monitoring constantly, parents should teach their kids how to make good decisions online and trust that they will do so. According to Nielsen’s Mobile Kids Report in 2016, “67% [of parents] expressed concern that their children might not know how to use their phones responsibly.” Instead of using this concern as an excuse to secretly monitor online and mobile activity, parents should teach their kids what to watch out for and what to avoid on their devices. The limitless opportunities on a device, from social media to Google, can be dangerous and scary, but it is a parent’s job to trust and leave room for their child to make mistakes, not to micromanage every aspect of their child’s life.

Why the phrase should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance

HEAD TO HEAD

Thursday, November 29, 2018

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Political polarization is hurting the US Hyper-partisanship has turned our nation into a political battlefield

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Greyson Mize sports beat lead

n 2016, the United States saw one of the most politically polarized elections of the 21st century. Disputes were fueled predominantly by party tribalism, easy access to political arguments via social media, and a culture of fear promoted by both Democrats and Republicans.

Since President Trump’s victory, political tensions have only increased, leaving America harshly divided against itself as new controversies surface every week. This evergrowing culture of hyper-partisanship harms the stability of America by pitting its citizens against one another and distracting from efforts towards unity.

Political arguments in 2018 are where common sense, respect, and “agree to disagree” mindsets come to die, but why is that? A large part of why the parties can’t seem to get along seems to be due to deeply ingrained partisan identities. A 2018 psychological study by the University of Maryland found that the likelihood of an individual holding negative opinions about the opposite party and distancing themselves socially from others with opposite opinions relies on political party allegiance as opposed to issuebased ideology. Unfair assumptions and stereotypes about Democrats and Republicans have become commonplace in modern political culture as both parties have taken ownership over objective views on controversial issues while the beliefs of individuals have lost value.

America’s current political culture makes it nearly

impossible to create friendships across party lines, a problem that has increased almost tenfold in the past 58 years.

In 1960, Pew reported that 5 percent of Republicans and 4 percent of Democrats would be upset if a son or daughter married someone from the opposite party. In 2008, the survey was replicated by YouGov and found that the results had jumped to 27 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of Democrats. In 2010, the question was posed again and the results increased to 50 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of Democrats. These statistics are an alarming demonstration of the growing political divide between Americans in an era where the United States needs unity more than ever.

Part of the open hostility in today’s environment can be attributed to the comments made by both President Trump and those who oppose him. “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, okay? Just knock the hell … I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise,” President Trump said at a rally in Cedar Rapids Feb. 2016, encouraging his supporters to assault protestors of his campaign.

Similarly, U.S Representative Maxine Waters made a public speech June 2018 which called for the harassment of Republican officials. “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,” Waters said. This rhetoric furthers American political culture’s descent into chaos and encourages violence

in the place of discussion, a dangerous and irresponsible mindset for politicians to promote.

Anger stemming from fear is another reason civility is absent in today’s politics, largely contributed to by campaign ads. In September of 2016, Wesleyan Media Project reported that 53 percent of advertisements that aired during the previous month had been negative and attempted to “appeal to anger.”

Minnesotans saw a variety of ads with this flavor leading up to the Midterm Elections on Nov. 6, most notably the attack ads aired by Dean Phillips and Erik Paulsen. “Phillips claims health care is a moral right, but he didn’t provide it to workers at his coffee shop because he said he wouldn’t make money,” the narrator of an Erik Paulsen attack ad targeting Phillips, said. However, this claim was based on outdated information intended only to falsely paint Phillips as hypocritical. In the 21st century, political disputes and elections are no longer about making America a stronger country. Candidates now grapple for power in a sole effort to prove the opposing party wrong, a childish and unproductive use of our government’s resources and time.

To truly bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats, the first values that need to be reinstated are respect and responsibility. Conversations can’t be productive when violence is seen as the logical alternative and lies are a political tool. Until both ends of the political spectrum can place more value on the people that oppose them than the uniform beliefs their party prescribes, unity is impossible in the United States.

Political polarization: damaging or valuable? art by Hanna Faris “Although politics are divided, I feel like there is a sense of overreaction between everyone with what’s going on right now.” Rebecca Hafey, sophomore

“I think that politics are becoming too polarized... it’s too hard not to talk about politics at school with everything going on.” Matt North, junior

Political polarization encourages people to become educated and engaged

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Julia Nicholson page editor

ore than ever before, Americans are blaming their dissatisfaction with the current government on the increasing political polarization. In reality, political polarization has shown to contribute to a rise in voter turnout, which leads to a more representative government and satisfied populous.

At its core, political polarization is the division of citizens by their opposing political beliefs. With the extent of radical ideas being passed around in our government today and the amount of divisive social issues represented on the ballot, it’s inevitable that the populous is divided.

A study conducted by Pew Research Center within the last year found that 95% of Republicans are consistently more conservative than the median Democrat, and 97% of Democrats are consistently more liberal than the median Republican. These numbers are up nearly 30% from 2004, providing clear evidence that our polarized nation is only becoming more polarized.

On the flip side, a similar study done by the same organization analyzed the political values of only the Americans that are politically engaged and the results leaned more liberal for both parties than they had in the study done on the broader populous.

Fortunately, the difference in political stance between the general public and the engaged public is decreasing as polarization trends increase, because more Americans are participating in politics by voting.

Take the 2018 midterm election which raked in 113 million voters, or 49% of the eligible voters in America.

According to CBS News, 49% is the highest percentage of eligible voters to go to the polls since 1966, and before that, 1914. In fact, the last midterm in 2014 reported only a 36.4% voter turnout.

When politics become as heated as they are in the current American political environment, those who are involved put a lot of pressure on those who aren’t to become educated and get out and vote. Without the persuasion from extreme partisan voters, these people would otherwise remain uninvested in politics. If it is the only thing that pushes people to get involved in politics who wouldn’t otherwise, then polarization is something to work with and not turn away from.

Currently, with only half of our country staying involved and voting, America is being represented poorly. Consistently, the same demographic of Americans is showing up to the polls while the same groups are ignoring them. As shown in the statistics gathered by Pew, there is a considerable difference in the beliefs and values between Americans and Americans who vote. However, if the recent midterm election is any sign of how our government will evolve in the

coming years, then America will become increasingly more representative of the people, and more voices will be heard.

At the end of the day, a nation of polarized people is a nation of engaged people. We can’t form a cohesive nation if we don’t have everyone’s voices being heard, and opinions being represented first. Only after mobilizing voters can we start to work towards true cooperation and compromise.

A common complaint and consequence of polarization in government is the presence of gridlock, which typically occurs when Congress is split between two parties, and leads to few laws getting passed. However, putting a hold on the nation is not an entirely negative thing. For example, when the nation settles down, Americans are able to focus on and improve their own economic status without the extreme fluctuation of the economy to distract and hinder them.

In addition, when there is a balance at the national level, both parties are being represented and neither party can control the government against the extreme complaints of the other. Although nothing is getting passed that can improve the nation, no damage is being done to the nation either.

Whether we like it or not, our country has not strayed far enough from the tendencies of the past for polarization to be wiped away. For now, we have to embrace polarization for its mobilization of voters, and wait for the day that enough people are involved in democracy for polarization to change and for the country to be united.

Political polarization is helping the US

SPORTS

“When I was recruited, coaches called and email me, and if I was interested I would email or call back.”

Lilly Murphy, senior

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Athlete of the month: Emma LaFrenz

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Eva Hadjiyanis copy editor

Big name colleges recruit Edina girls’ hockey players

On the track team, LaFrenz competes in pole vault and high jump and is looking forward to being captain during her fourth year on the team. “I am excited to hopefully build a new culture and to actually be outside and see daylight. Track is just super fun,” LaFrenz said.

Having three seasons of competitive sports means LaFrenz has an activity after school nearly every day of the school year.

Being busy does not bother LaFrenz; she enjoys the packed schedule. “I honestly don’t know what I would do with my time if I did not play sports year round. I know that I would become really bad at time management. I really like that they are so different so I don’t get bored with one.” photo courtesy of Emma LaFremz

ost student athletes train year-long to become competitive in one sport. Senior Emma LaFrenz, on the other hand, plays three sports at the varsity level: volleyball, basketball, and track.

LaFrenz finished her second season on the Girls Varsity Volleyball Team by helping the team make its first-ever appearance at the State Tournament. “Emma is such a positive asset to all of the teams she participates in.

I’m so proud to have a sister who competed in the state volleyball tournament for Edina’s first time ever,” freshman Madeline LaFrenz said.

Emma started playing volleyball freshman year, and took up the sport quickly; standing 6 feet tall, she played middle blocker this year, which is a critical position that focuses on blocking the opponent’s offense.

She received the Defensive Player of the Year award for the Edina team.

Looking forward to the rest of the year, Emma will be a captain for both the basketball and the track teams. She has played basketball ever since second grade, and is looking forward to another season with the team. “We have a lot of returning players, so we have a chance to build on what we did last year. It is a super fun group of people so I am excited to hang out with them for the next four months,” LaFrenz said.

Game face: LaFrenz prepares for the ball.

Boys’ Cross Country wins their first State Championship dina and Wayzata Boys’ Cross Country have fought for the State Title for the past seven years. Until now, Edina repeatedly placed second and third. For the first time in the program’s history, Edina Boys’ Cross Country won State on Nov. 3.

At the beginning of the season, the team’s initial goal was to win State - and after the Griak, a big middle of the season race, their goal was cemented. “When we won that race, I think we were like, okay, we have a chance here. So from that midpoint of the season we were like, all right, this [winning State] is definitely the goal,” senior captain Willem Gokemeijer said.

Even with two of the top seven athletes injured and out for the season, the team did not let the challenges deter them and worked to improve and fill the openings. “I would say the team as a whole stepped up when someone went down…everyone came together,” senior captain Luke Jessen said.

Other than the team, the captains credit a great part of their success to the head coach of 20 years, Jamie Kirkpatrick. This year, he trained the varsity team hard with eight

practices per week. “He’s a fantastic coach so it’s really nice that he can have that honor under his name,” Jessen said.

The team’s mindset ultimately contributed to their success at State. “As a group, we really had a team mindset. It was competitive with one another but as a team, we worked really well together and trained really hard together…there’s a lot of team chemistry,” Jessen said.

In addition, the team bonded to close the gaps between the various grade levels.

“In years past, the grades have been a little more separate. I feel like this year, we were just really close to the entire varsity group and so there’s just a lot more bonding,” Gokemeijer said.

Many of the varsity members are graduating and next year’s team will have to step up. “They’re gonna have to move up as a pack. But yeah, they have a chance,” Gokemeijer said.

Jessen advises his teammates to keep up the hard work at practice in order to win State again. “Practicing is kind of brutal, workouts are very difficult. But I would say it’s very worth it. At the end, you’re not going to look back and be like, I wish I ran easier,” Jessen said. photo courtesy of Willem Gokemeijer

Winning State: The boys’ Varsity cross country team poses for a picture after a job well done.

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Michael Crater staff writer

dina’s women’s hockey program has recognition across the nation that helps their players be recruited by some of the best hockey colleges in the country. With a great coaching staff to help them get there, these Hornet hockey players have an amazing chance at seeing college ice.

Sixth graders, usually only twelve years old, are old enough to be recruited for college hockey. Scholarships, now more than ever, are on the minds of many serious athletes and their parents. In one way, parents enjoy lower tuition and the pride that comes with the success of their kid, and the athlete is then also very proud to have attained that scholarship.

It is a reward for a long time of hard work.

Athletes like sophomore Kylie Roberts from Edina, who has a verbal agreement with Boston University, spent years training for the opportunity. “I put in a lot of training, I shoot pucks and stick handle almost every single day. We do on ice and off ice stuff too,” Roberts said.

The work has gotten Roberts noticed, but the attention wasn’t recent. “For me and a lot of kids, we start getting viewed by college scouts in 6th grade,” Roberts said. In the interview, she explained that it gets harder for kids to get recruited the older they get. There

are some rules, however, that are attempting to slow down the process.

The coaching staff at Edina are very involved with getting their players to a higher level. Whether it is support at practices and games or extra training, Edina coaches are helping their players develop for the next level. “We love helping our players get to a new level. Every day in practice and every game we want to make sure we try to develop our girls as much as we can, so that we can prepare them for the next level. During the recruiting process we are hands on making the transition as smooth as we can,” Head Coach Sami Reber said.

Edina is known nationwide because of its competitiveness and tradition. “ I think what sets Edina hockey apart from everywhere else in Minnesota, and the country, is that not only are the players themselves and their competitive drive and skill level, but the tradition that Edina hockey has is unparalleled. A program with so much consistency is unheard of anywhere else in the hockey community,” Edina junior Katie Davis said.

Even players who haven’t always played for Edina have heard of the program beforehand, like Davis found out. “Since I’ve played all over the country, I’m telling almost anyone I know that I play for Edina, [because] everyone knows exactly who I’m talking about,” Katie Davis said.

Edina Boys’ Soccer team receives seven all-conference awards photo courtesy of Oscar Smythe

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Cecelia Orth visual editor

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Posing for a picture: The boys’ Varsity Soccer team celebrates after scoring a goal.

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Jack Marker page editor

lthough the Varsity Boys’ Soccer team’s season has ended, the awards keep coming. The team had another successful season, with seven players selected to the All-Conference team.

Coaches around the Lake Conference voted on the best players on all teams. Raphael Cattelin, Isaac Eckroth, Tommaso Joy, and Theo Keller were selected to the first team all-conference, while TJ Mahoney, Oscar Smythe, and Will Swanda were selected to the second team.

Tommaso Joy, a senior captain and defender, explains what the award means to him. “Being named all-conference meant a lot to me. At the beginning of the season, it was one of my personal goals that I set out for myself. My teammates played a huge part in me getting the award as they pushed me every day to become a better player,” Joy said.

The team had an overall record of twelve wins, three losses, and one tie, which earned them the first seed in their section.

Despite a disappointing loss in the section semi-finals to Jefferson High School, Joy explained, “This season was one of, if not,

my favorite high school season. There were no individual presences this year that wanted the spotlight and it was truly a team rather than a bunch of individuals. It was the closest I’ve ever been with a team and I wish we could’ve gone a little farther in the playoffs.”

Like Joy, Oscar Smythe, a junior who scored nine goals last season and one of next year’s captains, recaps the season in a positive light. “We performed very well in the regular season, bouncing back from a slow start and eventually becoming the highest ranked team in the Lake Conference, which is the hardest conference in the state,” Smythe said.

A strong sense of teamwork was a common theme among the players. “I was surprised that we had so many players on our team that made an all-conference team.

It is a testament to how well our team works together,” Smythe explained.

Upon receiving his all-conference award, Smythe said that the award, “means a lot knowing I played a role in our team’s success this year.” As one of next year’s captains, Smythe is excited for what is possible for the team’s future. “Next year, we will build on what we learned this year and hopefully we can make it all the way to state,” Smythe concluded.