March 2019 Issue

blue valley north high school

North Star

the

12200 Lamar Ave, Overland Park, KS 66209

March 2019 • Volume 33 • Issue 5

Editor in Chiefs Shantha Burt Sooim Kang Taylor Mills

Copy Editors

Anna Martin Lyndsey Henkel Megan McConnell Ramya Chilappa

Online Editor Briley Everhart

Social Media Editors Chris Lucas Genevieve Hulshof

Staff Writers

Alice Wu Angelica Henson Angelica Lidzy Charitha Lakkireddy Daniel Park Delaina Sanden Emma Brunner Genevieve Hulshof

The North Star is the official high school news publication of Blue Valley North High School, an open forum distributed to all students six times a year.

This is the March issue of volume 33. The North Star is printed by the Sedalia Democrat. This is a student publication and may contain controversial material.

Kansas law prohibits the suppression of a student publication solely because it may contain controversial matter. Blue Valley School District No. 229 and its board members, officers and employees disclaim any responsibility for the content of this student publication; it is not an expression of School District Policy. Students and editors are solely responsible for the content of this student publication.

Cracking the Chinese New Year

Feb. 5 marked the beginning of the Year of the Pig. Above, Ariel Levi, Sajni Saravanan and Grace Mao attend the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Chinese New Year Festival. Find out more about the traditions behind Chinese New Year on page 8.

Behind the Scenes of Bollywood

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From coordinating a 42-person dance to scheduling weekly practices, Bollywood prepares weeks in advance for the long-anticipated Diversity Assembly. Above, dancers Sophie Slusher, Praneeta Nalluri, Yunus Merchant, Vamsi Chavali and Tatum Trysla await their performance. Find out all that goes into Bollywood on page 14.

A

Letter

Ethnic Pride at BVN:

FROM THE

Editors

Forty-three.

Forty-three flags were proudly carried across the floors of the gymnasium during our long-awaited Diversity Assembly last month. The crowd cheered enthusiastically, as flag after flag swept across the gym with students holding onto their country’s symbol.

For that one day, students are encouraged to wear lehangas, speak another language and exhibit their culture through song and dance. But, as soon as the marching band ends the assembly with the notorious fight song, the day of ethnic pride has come to an end. Things go back to “normal,” but the roots that students shared throughout the event stay with them. As the school continues with its regular schedule, these roots will be buried again.

Unlike what most students like to assume, the pride that is worn on our backs, sewn into our flags and stitched into our lehengas doesn’t stop at the gym doors. Ethnic pride cannot be preserved and cherished for simply a one-hour long assembly once a year.

We must hold our promise to accept all cultures, all ethnicities, all sexualities and all religions seven days a week, 365 days a year, in how we teach and how we interact.

BVN has continuously been rated the number one Kansas public school and is in a 6A athletic division with several distinguished athletes, titles BVN is quick to take pride in. However, BVN falls short when it comes to taking pride with our student ethnic population.

It is not enough for us to accept the assumption that one day is enough for us to celebrate our diverse cultural backgrounds. Yes, out of all the Blue Valley high schools, BVN has the largest minority population. But, this simply hides the fact that BVN’s minority population only consists of 29.49 percent of the entire student body. We are far from reaching ethnic equality, especially considering our geographical location in the heart of the notorious “Johnson County Bubble.” We cannot deny that our community is a product of “white flight,” the phenomenon to move out of urban areas, particularly those with significant minority populations, into suburban areas. We should not hide from this history.

Our future feeder schools give a glimpse into what the BVN population has the potential to be. Currently, our three feeder elementary schools — Leawood, Overland Trail, Mission Trail and Valley Park Elementary— all have significantly higher minority populations than BVN, with Overland Trail leading with an impressive 54.21 percent.

When combined, this estimates the Class of 2026 to have a 34 percent minority population, a nearly 5 percent increase.

We must be prepared to talk about our differences in ethnic heritage and how these differences can create resilient societies. BVN has the potential to lead not only the district but the county in being a community that is accepting of all cultures. That is what we must take pride in. That is how we should be awarded the number one public school.

This responsibility doesn’t just stop at the students. The teachers, the custodians and the administration all play a role in setting an example, as they are the ones who define what we learn and how we apply these teachings in the real world.

We’ve seen a significant increase in the minority population within the media in successful blockbusters such as “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Black Panther.” This phenomenon of recognition has become a global feat that we must also participate in. We cannot wait for this wave to reach us, we must be proactive in this battle. Our classrooms need to reflect our world’s progression toward ethnic equality beyond the yearly diversity assembly.

Let’s all take a part. We are lucky to have such influence over our surrounding community, so let’s lead and take pride in our diversity.

— Shantha Burt, Sooim Kang and Taylor Mills

Editors-in-Chief

43

countries were represented during the Diversity Assembly

BVN’s Future Student Body: BVN- 2018 54.21%

45.79%

OTE

29.49%

84.04%

LES

58.08%

VPE

15.69%

70.51%

41.92%

White Minority

18.78% 81.22%

MTE

BV’s Minority Student Body: 29.49% 26.67% 24.79% 18.11% 15.11% 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

WE THE 4 | The North Star | March 2019

PEOPLE What have you been told?

Students write out what they have had said to them during black history social studies lessons.

-Ar’rion Wright

-Lauren Roth

E

By Delaina Sanden BVN’s selective inclusion of black history within the social studies curriculum has led students to question the school’s complete acceptance of American history.

very school year, students sit in social studies classes, slumped over textbooks, as a teacher lectures at the front of the classroom about subjects, such as the colonization of Africa, the slave trade in America and the Civil Rights Movement.

Regardless of the fact that this history specifically regards African Americans, these subjects are often taught using historical documents written by white historical figures, not the colonized, enslaved or the plethora of black historical figures who were fighting for their civil rights, according to the National Council for the Social Studies. Furthermore, in some mainstream school districts, even this level of exposure is not available to the students because teaching black history is not required of teachers, according to the site.

Erica Benson, AP and U.S. History teacher, chooses to go more in-depth with black history in her classroom than what is required of her by College Board and the Kansas Standards for History, Government and Social Studies. She explains how College Board determines what should be taught in AP U.S. History courses.

“It is very politically history heavy, and because African Americans did not have a lot of political power for a while, it’s very white male dominated, so you have to find a way,” Benson said.

“Teachers have to make the choice to work in the social history of other people.”

In hopes of making black history a more prevalent part of history courses within the Blue Valley school district, Benson is working with Curriculum Standards Committee to change the way the social studies curriculum is written. She wishes to see history classes take a step away from a power-centric approach to history and take steps towards a more inclusive curriculum.

“Knowing that there are people like me that feel passionately about that… I think that we should see some good changes,” Benson said.

Benson places a large emphasis on a black-history-inclusive curriculum because she believes it will benefit students’ knowledge far beyond the classroom, especially in a region where 87 percent of population is white, according to census.gov.

“We live in Johnson County, we have people who have to know black history,” Benson said. “Black history should be there always, and women’s history should be there always and other minorities. It’s so much more engaging for kids who are black or who are women or from an Asian-American country for their ancestry to be seen throughout. You’re not just a theme, you are American history, even if you didn’t have the power at the time.”

According to ‘Research Into the State of African-American History and Culture in K-12 Public Schools,’ a 2015 report conducted by the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, black history generally takes up only 8-9 percent of total class time in U.S. History classrooms.

Benson feels taking time to teach black history is vital to the classroom as well as the progress of the nation. She hopes a black history-rich curriculum will prevent the belief in false truths, such as white supremacy, which is last mentioned in the Gilded Age section of the American Pageant textbook that covers American history up until 2008.

“We, as a country, have to recognize what’s happened and try to do better and make right of situations that we weren’t there for,” Benson said. “If we’re not all on the same page of what really happened in history, you can have a lot of people that are easily swayed into believing in white supremacy ideas and other alternative facts that are not real.”

Administrator Kelly Wessel, participant with the Curriculum Standards Committee and former social studies teacher, understands that while it is important to show multiple perspectives when teaching history, the lack of power held by certain groups may impede their stories from being told.

“Within history, there’s always going to be multiple perspectives that are trying to tell a story, and within those perspectives, somewhere in there lies some truth,” Wessel said. “But, since it’s history, you have to look at multiple sources and try to consider that some voices might not be heard because there’s been a predominant theme or predominant perspective that has ruled when it comes to social studies curriculum.”

While working with the Curriculum Standards Committee, Wessel said she understood the importance of the inclusion of black history within the curriculum but that this inclusion was not the only focus of the committee.

“Of course African-American history, black history, is a part of [our history, but] it is not the only thing we are being intentional about,” Wessel said. “But, to understand our country’s future, we have to understand our country’s past, and even though much of that history is very difficult, it’s extremely important that we embed that history.”

Junior Lauren Roth said she felt the same way. As it is a part of her own history, Roth said she wanted black history to be taught in the same way as any other subject in social studies classes.

“It is a part of our history,” Roth said. “And so, this shouldn’t be any different. Learning about this would provide so many benefits and affect us so much better.”

Throughout her time in U.S. History class, Roth said she has seen a lack in representation of Black history. Looking back on past social studies classes, Roth recalled the same or smaller amounts of teaching on the subject.

“This year in U.S. history, we talked about Martin Luther King for what I think was a day, a brief day,” Roth said. “And then, last year, in Modern World History, we got taught nothing, nothing. There was a unit that had a part of slavery in it, [but] we kind of skimmed over it,” Roth said she feels as if teachers often skim over units on Black history. She said this could be attributed to a kind of uncomfortability surrounding the subject.

“We learned about the subject for a day, and we move on as quickly as possible,” Roth said. “It’s almost like the teachers

March 2019 | The North Star | 5

1 to 2

units on black history are generally taught in public schools.

7 out of 50

states have black history mandates.

Kansas is not one of these 7 states.

Statistics courtesy of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture

You’re not just a theme, you are American history, even if you didn’t have the power at the time.

- Erica Benson

are afraid to talk about it, because there are students in class that are like, ‘that’s wrong, that’s not correct.’”

When a unit on Black history does come up in a social studies class, Roth said she notices patterns in her classmates’ behavior, mainly staring. She said that she and her fellow black classmates have been subject to this feeling for as long as they can remember.

“I think all of us have grown up with just knowing that that’s how it is,” Roth said. “I mean, every lesson that’s taught with black history and everything, we always get stares, we’ll always get looks. Everyone knows that look’s focused on us and so whenever one of the teachers looks at us, it’s kind of a natural feeling when it really shouldn’t be.

So, I think we’re all just used to it. It’s a group feeling.”

Along with noticeable changes within the classroom, Roth said she has been subject to bullying during units on black history, which she said she has had to get used to.

“I mean, it’s our generation, [we’ve] got to take some of the jokes sometimes,” Roth said. “But, some of it’s like, don’t make whipping jokes or say you belong in Africa. I’ve also got a ‘you’d be prettier if you were white’ during one of these videos. So, it’s just like you kind of learn to take it throughout the years.”

While Roth said she feels that racist ideals and beliefs will continue indefinitely, she hopes that changes to the curriculum would improve the attitude toward black students and perhaps lessen racism and bullying within the school.

“I think there’s always going to be different perspectives on how people see things, but it would definitely, overall benefit helping to get rid of racism, but it will never be fully gone,” Roth said. “Yeah, there’s gonna be people that are going to have their own opinions about things and we can’t change that but, doing this would make a huge impact on us. And it would impact people’s lives.”

6 | The North Star | March 2019

Appreciation

VS Appropriation

Opinion by Angelica Henson

P

owwows, headdresses, beadwork the state. and dream catchers — these It can be difficult when depicting are things that are known to be the difference between appreciation and associated with Native American cultures. appropriation, especially when someone They’re things I’ve grown up with, whether is not actively a part of or involved in being a part of them, seeing them or Indigenous cultures. As someone who has creating them. dealt with a handful of racism directed As a child, I was very proud and vocal toward me and my culture, it’s easy for me of my heritage and culture. I was proud to define what is or isn’t appropriating. of being a Native American, and I still In terms of sports teams and schools am. I was told of stories that were wellusing mascots, Shawnee Mission North known within my tribe. I travel down to High School’s “Indians,” the Washington Oklahoma every summer to celebrate with “Redskins” and the Kansas City “Chiefs” family, and the second I leave it all, I come across cultural appropriation in Appropriation is belittling because many different forms. before your human rights are valued, Cultural appropriation is borrowing your culture and appearance is used another person’s beliefs and customs disrespectfully and without permission. for their own profit or personal gain Kansas’s history is full of Native American impact. After all this state is named from the Kansa tribe. Yet, when are strong examples of appropriation. looking at the statistics from census.

Rather than jumping to the defensive gov, 34,938 of the 2.9 million people of why these mascots are iconic, try who live in kansas are Native American understanding why these symbols are citizens. That is approximately 1.2 percent offensive in the first place. of the population. Thousands of Native The term “Redskin” is a dictionaryAmerican citizens must deal with the confirmed racial slur, known to be a appropriation that is spread throughout disparaging or offensive reference to

Native Americans. It originally began as a term used by Native Americans to differ themselves from white people. It is now used as an offensive term, similar to how other words have evolved over time. So someone can see why it’d be difficult for me to see such racist things used as a mascot.

Mascots aren’t the only disparaging part of sports though, the Kansas City “Chiefs” have insulting traditions such as doing the tomahawk chop during games.

Once again, this is reducing us down to stereotypes and is offensive when doing so. Pretending to be a Native American and doing a tomahawk chop to intimidate the other team seems unbelievable to me.

First I hear people claiming they’re part Cherokee and now this?

It feels dehumanizing. It shows how much people lack respect for my culture.

As I walk through the halls each day and see at least a couple of people wearing a Redskins or Chiefs shirt, I don’t feel the need to ask them take it off or ask why, instead there is anger within me because I know I can’t do anything about it. Anytime I try, I am the one being ridiculous.

I’ve had my own personal experiences attempting to speak out about how

mascots are offensive, how non-native girls shouldn’t be dressing up as Native American women or using headdresses for costumes when it’s such a sacred piece of culture that men wear.

In response a girl in my grade told me, “It’s not racist to dress up as an Indian, that’s like me saying it’s racist to dress up as a mouse because that’s a living thing too.” Which showed me that she felt it’s okay to appropriate my culture.

Appropriation is belittling because before your human rights are valued, your culture and appearance is used for their own profit or personal gain.

That girl continued to curse me out and claim she was Native American too, which I don’t believe because I know from experience that there wouldn’t be another Native American, at least in my life, that believes that it’s okay to dress up as someone from another culture.

When looking into what is more appreciating and less appropriating, there are several things that a person can do without attacking or damaging a Native American person’s culture. Instead of taking what you know about Native Americans and throwing it into one big pile of stereotypes, take into account that all Indigenous cultures are different. Each tribe has its own history and background.

Kiowa people are separate from Comanche people, and people who are part of the Cherokee tribe can be different than those who are part of the Navajo tribe.

For example, instead of wearing a feathered headdress to look cool for whatever celebration it may call for (Halloween and Coachella, for instance), try taking a step back and think, “Hey, this is prevalent in Native American

4th President Obama was the 4th sitting president to visit a reservation

culture, and it’s super disrespectful if I wear it. How about I wear something else this year.” Appreciation isn’t just avoiding appropriation though, it’s more than the do’s and don’ts.

A person has to take time in their life to engage in Native American culture if they’re interested it. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to go visit elders at the nearest reservation in order to accessorize Native customs into your style — firstly that’s still appropriation. You’re taking what you want from a culture for your own benefit. Secondly, you need to engage in acknowledging what we as a group of people have been through. We’re all so diverse when understanding the separate tribes, but as a whole, it’s similarity and experience that bring us together.

One way to understand tribes is to recognize that you are on stolen land, and maybe try to figure out who used to live on these lands. Way before people have fought for this country or owned any area, be conscious that Indigenous people lived here, and didn’t even own lands. Find out the history of where you live and always remember what happened to us. If you figure out what tribe lived where you do currently, then you can do some research and learn something new.

Speaking of Native American history and struggles (current ones included), never speak out about it as if you know everything as a non-Native. Instead of speaking over Native voices, instead project those who are speaking out.

Listen and learn, and realize the privilege you have as someone who isn’t Native American. If you aren’t Native, then you can’t speak from experience and emotion.

This also goes for slurs and offensive terms

124 There are 124 known mascots that reference Native American tribes or slurs.

March 2019 | The North Star | 7

in general. If you aren’t an active part of a culture or a certain race, it’s not okay to determine what is or isn’t offensive. You haven’t experienced what we have, so you shouldn’t do anything other than listen.

Another way to appreciate Native customs is recognizing the history and significance of clothing from different Native American cultures, such as moccasins, buckskin dresses, beadwork and headdresses. Some are all right to wear or use if you purchase or receive them from Indigenous people. Other things, such as headdresses are only ever okay to wear if you are the chief of a tribe. Rarely will a woman ever receive a headdress, but that varies within different tribes.

Items such as moccasins and buckskin dresses are okay to wear, regardless of how they are received. But when creating or buying items that have heavy tribal beadwork, it’s important to remember that their designs should never be copied or replicated. This is because different types of beadwork are pieces of artwork that need to be respected. It’s like copying the Mona Lisa and claiming it as your work.

When creating beadwork, stay original.

Native American citizens are united, and with unity comes respect for one another. Respect is important from outside cultures, too, and when we are always seen as mascots, costumes or brand logos — as if we don’t exist — then there is no respect.

All in all, looking through color and culture to see that we’re all the same on the inside is true, but that won’t happen until we all accept each other’s cultures. Accept and respect — don’t use and appropriate.

Native Americans are people, and appropriation is simply ripping away from what little we have left.

14 There are 14 schools in Kansas that use Native Americans as mascots

8 | The North Star | March 2019

Cracking Chinese New Year The traditions and customs of Chinese New Year are explained, as students discuss their personal experiences with this annual holiday.

By Chris Lucas

The Origins 起源 R

ed lights, red paper, red moon cakes. As the Lunar New Year festival approaches, the color red dominates Asian-American households.

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year and the spring festival, is a time of celebration, family and eating lots of food.

There are a multiplex of origin stories for Chinese New Year. One of the most common stories involves the existence of a magical beast called Nian who would terrorize villagers every new moon. To counteract Nian, the villagers set off hundreds of fireworks and painted villages with red signs.

Over time, the festival has become one of the largest events in Asian culture. Students receive several weeks off of school, and work is suspended during the height of the festival. Large firework displays decorate the sky as individuals in China and other parts of Asia celebrate the new year. The tradition spread over to America, as

Asian Americans all over the country continue to celebrate the new year.

For students like Sophomore Alec Liu, their favorite New Year tradition is the gift of money.

“There’s this tradition where you give red bags, [and] it’s always got money in it or just some sort of candy or prize,” Liu said.

The envelopes represent good luck and fortune.

Tradition notes that the bags should only be filled with crisp new bills, and that the receivers should never open it in front of the gifter because it is considered rude to do so.

This year is represented by a pig, and each year is marked by one of 12 animals that each represent the Chinese zodiac. The pig is the 12th animal in

the zodiac, and the order is said to have been determined by the order they appeared to for the first Chinese Emperor. Similarly to astrological signs, each animal represents a set of personality traits and suitable matches for relationships.

While the origins and practices may change, the legacy of these traditions have stood strong for thousands of years, all across Asia and have successfully transitioned into Asian American communities.

March 2019 | The North Star | 9

Chinese New Year in KC 堪萨斯城的春节 K ansas City hosts a variety of Chinese New Year events to usher in the new year. The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art hosts a free festival every Chinese New Year. The event brings hundreds of people to experience Chinese culture with Kansas City locals showcasing their artistic talents. This year’s festival showcased Chinese yo-yo and traditional dances and music.

Along with the festival every year, the museum contains a collection of over 7000 Chinese art and

artifacts. Besides just Chinese art, there are various periods and countries across Asia that are also on display year round.

Students in Chinese at North got the chance to experience Chinese Culture during a field trip in celebration of Chinese New Year.

“I learned that there’s such a vibrant community in Kansas, that it’s almost like an enclave of people that represent a Kansas [Asian] American culture that’s separate to any other Asian [American] cultures;

it’s unique and diverse,” junior Rory Swenson said.

The students toured the Nelson Atkins and ate Chinese food for lunch at the 888 International Market, Kansas City’s largest international market.

“The Nelson Atkins Museum has a large and diverse collection of Asian American art and just Asian Articles. It was pretty eye opening on how far the history goes back,” Swenson said.

The Food 中国 E

ating food is one of the primary festivities for Chinese New Year. One of the most traditional foods is dumplings. Making dumplings is a crucial part of Chinese New Year tradition. Families often come together and make dumplings for every meal of the day.

Dumplings are either pan fried or steamed dough that wraps a combination of meat and vegetables.

The delicacy is made and eaten constantly during the holiday season and symbolize wealth and longevity, for their shape resembles gold nuggets. The practice of wrapping dumplings is said to symbolize

wrapping a good fortune for the new year.

“It just shows the camaraderie and the friendship between each other,” junior Gabe Deng said. “It’s just that a time of celebration and making dumplings has been something that my parents have done and their grandparents have done.”

Another popular dish during Chinese New Year is mooncakes.

Mooncakes are rich pastries with fillings such as red bean paste, roast pork and salted duck egg yolk. They symbolize family and are sent to loved ones as gifts during the holidays.

The cakes represent the image of the bright and

full harvest moon.

Every family celebrates Chinese New Year differently, and students at BVN have special traditions. Deng travels every weekend to another family’s house to celebrate the new year.

“It’s a really big gathering. Everyone wants to reflect on the tradition and culture that they’ve brought from China,” Deng said.

“This includes making dumplings and a huge potluck, and all the kids are just having fun.”

In both Asia and America, cooking and eating good food is central to cultivating a successful new year.

10 | The North Star | March 2019

KC Kitchens

By Briley Everhart and Lyndsey Henkel

T

he Kansas City area is notorious for its barbecue joints and homestyle cookin’ diners.

From the corn fields to the dairy barns, Mom and Pop shops serving up cornbread and pulled pork have been around since the beginning. The metro area now holds just over two million residents, and with that, there’s room for diversity in the kitchens.

From Overland Park to Kansas City, new restaurants are popping up left and right. Boba tea, injeras and gyros are just some of the ethnic foods Kansas Citians have fallen in love with as the metro continues to become more diverse.

Ethnic foods are moving there way into the heart of Aamerica, one bowl of Pho at a time.

Elsa’s Ethopian Resaurant

D

8016 Santa Fe Dr, Overland Park, KS 66204

owntown Overland Park is packed full of burger bars and breweries, but buried within is Elsa’s Ethiopian Restaurant, serving up all kinds of authentic Ethiopian dishes.

There are multiple styles of

Ethiopian food offered at Elsa’s, including appetizers, entrees, seafood, pasta, vegetarian dishes and desserts.

Every item on the menu is completely authentic, and the restaraunt gained the title of having “some of the

best international cuisine in Overland Park,” according to visitoverlandpark.com. One of there most popular dishes is Awaze Tibs, a prime tender beef sauteed with tomato, jalapeno, garlic and berbere.

March 2019 | The North Star | 11

Jovito’s Italian Restaurant

J

12309 State Line Rd, Kansas City, MO 64145

ovito’s Italian Restaurant has been open for 17 years and is locally owned by the Scaglia family, the visionaries behind Mario’s family restaurant.

Mario’s restaurants

opened in 1969 around the Kansas City area and are known for their sandwiches, which can now be found at Jovito’s.

The newest chapter of Jovitos’ story begins with KC native Leasa Caron, who

carries on the Scaglia family traditions and recipes. They want everyone to feel at home and welcomed when they enter the café. Stop in today for freshly cooked family recipes and homestyle meals.

Tasso’s Greek Restaurant

T

8411 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO 64114

asso and Katina Kalliris moved to Kansas City from Greece in 1960 and settled down to start a family.

Tasso’s dream has always been to open a Greek

restaurant of his own.

In 1976, they started out selling Gyro sandwiches in Brookside, MO, and when they saved up enough money, the couple opened their own building. Tasso

and Katina love to entertain people, and they want to express that through live music, belly dancers, Greek cuisine and authentic hospitality at their familyowned restaurant.

kokoDak Korean Restaurant

k

14856 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66223

okoDAk serves “Koreanstyle fried chicken and a variety of savory Asian fusion dishes.” Located just off of Metcalf and 151st, it claims to be the first Korean-style fried chicken restaurant in Overland Park.

Part of the menu features standard fried chicken, such

as boneless chicken, wings and drumsticks. However in an effort to adapt to the local Kansas City cuisine, kokoDak also offers a “Kansas BBQ” sauce.

The other half of the menu offers authentic Korean dishes. One of their more popular dishes is Chicken

Bop, a chicken and vegetable combination, marinated in soybean sauce, mixed with a steamed rice.

The restaurants interior is modern with exposed wood and stone detailing. There is a fair amount of seating, and every meal is served with a pair of chopsticks, even with

12 | The North Star | March 2019

Stop saying

Diversity

Shifting our understandings of “diversity” is crucial to creating a truly multicultural future.

Opinion by Ramya Chilappa

I

s one assembly enough?

The simple answer is no – a single one-hour period over the span of an entire year will never be enough to encapsulate the diverse languages, culture, food and specialties of all the minorities and races at BVN. Examining the implications of diversity at BVN requires a more thoughtful interpretation of what it means to be culturally unique and inclusive than an attempt to encompass all ethnic nuances and traditions in one annual school gathering. The problem with centering our discussions of cultural sensitivity around the diversity assembly is that it oversimplifies a highly complex and relevant issue that affects students’ daily lives.

“Diversity” on its own doesn’t mean anything – the assembly’s purpose is to foster appreciation for all cultures and make all students at BVN feel welcome, regardless of their color or background. The assembly is solely a first step because it really is useless without the broader aspects necessary to make it helpful. Multicultural integration requires more than just watching a few ethnic dances and musical performances; it is creating an environment of inclusivity that requires time and much more effort on the part of the administration and the student body than a single council planning an event for everyone else.

The school is a place of education, and the curriculum and learning goals should theoretically shape the attitudes and beliefs of the students.

Consequently, a curriculum geared

towards multiculturalism should theoretically help foster a truly multiethnic society and culture.

That theoretical starting point, however, is impossible when all current curriculum seems to be geared away from it. True cultural inclusion isn’t just occasional talks about the importance of being nice to each other or always staying tolerant – it is inscribing those feelings as normalcy through continual education about those facts.

To put that into context, think of how we were taught American history.

We don’t believe that America was correct in declaring independence because we occasionally are told Britain was being insensitive and have an assembly once a year to assert that independence was necessary. Instead, we as American students believe America’s cession from Britain was vital because of the minute details, historical figures and iconic scenes that have been hammered into our heads for years. The breadth of knowledge all of us have on this topic has lead us to believe in the inherent truth of the idea that American independence was the only path for a desperate population of colonists.

On the other hand, British students in primary and secondary school probably don’t learn about the honor and glory of dashing young Patriots, but rather about the economic and political

conditions that pushed Britain to “unfair measures.”

Now, I’m not making a prescriptive claim about which approach to history is correct (the true situation was most likely a mix of the two), but rather one about the importance of perspective.

The point of view through which our education is written fundamentally shapes how we view the world, and the beliefs we form about it.

Why is this important in the context of “diversity” and multiculturalism? If it’s true that education shapes what we believe about those around us, then the dream of cultural inclusivity is currently unattainable because all the curriculum and the environment we’ve been in over our years in school have stood in opposition to it. So when classrooms do not give students the opportunity to sculpt views about the ever-increasing diversity they will grow up in, generations are susceptible to societal stereotypes and unfounded beliefs about multiculturalism.

The first is the way we view other parts of the world. The way we learn world history has always been through a Western lens. Even in classes like World History or Human Geography, imperialism and expansionism have been the dominant themes that shape the way we approach other countries.

The problem doesn’t come from the

Diversity on its own doesn’t mean anything.

March 2019 | The North Star | 13

point of view itself – that alone doesn’t really have an impact. The real issue arises from the people who create those points of view who inevitably skew reality – whether it’s by presenting only one motivation for a situation, underplaying the negative impacts of a Western action or not being critical enough when those same countries take actions that are inherently unethical.

The majority of curriculum writers and textbook creators are often white, meaning they can’t connect with the people in the other parts of the world they are writing about. And considering the large population of minorities at BVN, that means that students can easily feel disconnected from history about their own ancestors, exacerbating the distance that makes diversity a task to check off a list rather than the lived history of a large part of America.

For example, discussions of British colonization of India always play out the same way; they describe British motivations for resources and land capital, their years in India, and then we move on to the next thing. What is never talked about is the Indian perspective of intruders taking over their nation for decades, subjugating their people, changing their culture, all for the purpose of economic exploits.

As a child of Indian immigrants, it was frustrating to watch so much of the pain my grandparents had gone through be ignored in favor of discussing the economic benefits it brought Britain — those benefits might be true and are undoubtedly important to talk

about, but they should be supplemented by the lived experiences of the people that were subjugated in favor of the economy.

This is similarly seen in the way we speak about American expansion into places like the Philippines. Despite how much we may talk about American anti-imperialists and how they opposed colonization, at the end of the day, that is still ultimately an outsider’s perspective on the experiences of the Filipino people. How can we expect to ever truly embrace diversity and ethnic differences in our population if all of our discussions about the rest of the world preclude foreign perspectives and consider only a singular point of view?

This educational system creates a norm that excuses the entire student population from acknowledging our worst mistakes because we’re never forced to analyze their effects on other groups of people, but also in a world where other cultures beyond ours are shelved as afterthoughts. We default to a paradigm of ethnocentrism because that’s all we know. The traditional white, Western culture is always valued as more important than others because it’s the only we one we ever talk about.

Subconsciously, this affects the way we

view inclusivity now – other cultures are viewed in opposition of what it means to be American because they have always been obstacles to overcome on our path to becoming a great power.

The diversity assembly, instead of being a celebration of what makes us all American, becomes a spectacle of outsiders that don’t belong, that are performing something alien to our society.

But more than just that, it’s the way we treat integral parts of the domestic society. African American history is a fraction of the U.S. History curriculum.

Black History Month came and went without any recognition on the part of the school or even the assembly, while Constitution Day had a whole day and a video. And out of the entirety of our staff, I could count on one hand the teachers of color or outside the heteronormative norm. It seems a bit ludicrous to ever claim meaningful discussions of diversity when it is seemingly not mentioned at all outside of that one afternoon. We need to encourage discussions of personal experiences with history in classrooms, expand our history department for more classes about different cultures, reshape our curriculums within classes we already have to be more broad and expansive to all ethnic perspectives,and so many more actions.

It won’t be easy, or simple, and there’s obviously obstacles to each of those steps — but who cares? It’s not meant to be easy after years of monoculturalism, but the paradigmatic shift necessary to make diversity meaningful is still vital.

Don’t misunderstand me – the diversity assembly is a good thing. It’s fun, and it forces people used to the average normalcy of an American high school to look beyond what they’re used to and recognize other cultures.

But stop saying “diversity” just for diversity’s sake, because that’s really all the assembly has become — a forum in which we as a community can feel good about ourselves as multicultural saviors without ever taking meaningful steps towards true inclusivity and integration.

The assembly becomes a spectacle of outsiders that don’t belong.

14 | The North Star | March 2019

Behind the Scenes of

Bollywood

By Shantha Burt

Find out what it takes to pull together the biggest performance of the diversity assembly.

N

Senior and Bollywood dance choreographer Sneha Kannan sits in one of her Bharatanatyam dance positions. Photo provided by Sneha Kannan.

early 25 students are lined up boy-girl formation in rows.

They eagerly smile and look around in anticipation. In front of them, seniors Rishita Yidali and Prani Nalluri are in a starting pose, their hands up and legs bent.

At the very front of the room, senior Sneha Kannan walks over to a speaker and pushes play.

The music starts.

The bass drops.

The dancing begins.

Starting in December, senior Priyanka Neupane, along with Yidali, Nalluri, and Kannan, began the long process of planning the Bollywood Dance for the diversity assembly on Feb. 28. The dance, featuring 42 students, is one of the biggest performances BVN has had since the first official diversity recognition assembly in 2003.

“We’d meet up at each other’s houses for like three to five hours and just sit down and listen to song after song,” Nalluri said. “We all had Garageband on our laptops, and we’d download everything and splice it together to get the parts we like.”

March 2019 | The North Star | 15

Seniors Michael Adamson and Alaina Perila perform Ghagra dance in front of the school during the annual diversity assembly. Photo by Sophia Villarreal

With the dance comprising five different songs, choosing music was a tedious task according to the choreographers.

“The first one is classical, so it’s 30 seconds of where bollywood came from.

After that, it’s a girl section, so that’s very feminine, and then there’s a guy section, and that’s like really hype and modern,” Nalluri said. “After that, there’s a partner section, and it’s really flirty. Then, there’s a Bhangra at the end, and it’s hype but really hard to do.”

Despite all the work that went into picking and mixing the songs, most of their time was consumed by having to choreograph the specific steps of the dance.

Each of them were in charge of 1/4 of the dance. However, for the classical section at the beginning of the dance, they worked together. Although this was a short piece of the dance, it proved to be the most challenging for them to choreograph.

“It took nine hours,” Nalluri said, “and it was 30 seconds.”

When January rolled around, the choreography was finished, and it was time to get people involved. The four choreographers reached out to their friends and other students in every grade level, convincing people to join.

“There’s nothing to lose from doing it,” Kannan said, “and that’s what I told everyone who was hesitant about it.”

Luckily for Kannan, finding interested people proved to be an easy task because numerous different students were already eager to get involved.

“There are lots of different people here who run in different friend groups at school,” Nalluri said. “They’re all friendly with each other at school, but this is an opportunity for them to connect with more people and talk to people they wouldn’t normally.”

According to Yidali, diversity among the dancers has had a positive impact on

Sophomore Mikhail Dmitrienko and Junior Nirvan Silswal practice Bhangra dance during one of the reshearsals. Photo by Shantha Burt

both the group and the dance’s message.

“When people associate things of a different culture, they think people of that culture are only allowed to that,” Yidali said. “I think a lot of people think like, ‘Oh, I can’t do it because I’m white,’ but that’s not how it works.”

Throughout February, the choreographers began to host rehearsals and teach the dance. These hour-long practices typically took place late at night during the school week. To satisfy everyone’s schedules, the choreographers

“Diversity is a good

thing. It’s not just about the spice; it’s about the spice and rice.

”

-Nikit Khurana also offered makeup rehearsals sporadically throughout the process.

“At each rehearsal we learn a little bit more of each section of the dance and go over what we already know and basically learn it over and over again,” said senior Lexy Fromm, a varsity dance team member participating in the Bollywood performance.

Fromm also said that doing Bollywood dance was unique because it was completely different than any other dance style she had tried before.

“It’s a different type of dancing than we do on dance team,” Fromm said, “so I’ve gained a different type of style.”

Fromm was one of many students involved with the dance that were able to find value in learning about a new culture.

Senior Cassi Porter is one of the Bollywood dancers who is also on the Diversity Council.

“The point of the Diversity Council is to showcase the different cultures that are at Blue Valley North,” Porter said. “Having a bunch of different people involved in the Bollywood dance gets everyone involved in one of the biggest cultures at our school.”

For many of the students involved, these rehearsals were also a way to blow off steam and de-stress.

“It’s fun to hang out with friends and try something new,” Porter said.

Many students also got involved with the dance to spend time with their friends.

For senior Nikit Khurana, the Bollywood dance was a way to get even closer with Fromm, his partner.

“My partner is Lexy Fromm, and she’s one of my best friends,” Khurana said. “I really love her a lot, so I took that chance to spend some time with her.”

Due to the group’s diversity, a lot of the participants used the dance as a way to meet people they otherwise may have never crossed paths with.

“I’ve gotten to meet new people and become closer friends with some of the people in it,” sophomore Kelsie Fisher said.

Fisher, alongside the Bollywood leaders, said that it’s been both a culturally immersive and fun experience for many of the students involved.

“Everyone’s always scared to put themselves out there, but this experience is something I feel like everyone should do at least once in their lives. Put themselves out there in front of their whole school and dance their hearts out,” Kannan said. “No one’s going to make fun of you, and it’s just so much fun. It feels like you completed something.”

16 | The North Star | March 2019

The Floor is Yours

A photo story including the most memorable moments and the people behind them in BVN’s celebration of diversity.

Photos and story by Angelica Lidzy and Taylor Mills

B

efore the assembly’s performances began, seniors Priyanka Neupane, Micheal Adamson and Sneha Kannan of BVN’s Diversity Council spoke to the audience about the courage it takes to share one’s culture and what diversity means to them.

The diversity assembly relies on the organizational work of the council’s members. With Sheryl Stein as the advisor, this group of students plans the message of the assembly, which countries are represented in the flag ceremony and what performances to host in the hour time span.

“I was a little nervous because I’ve never really stood in front of the school,” Neupane said. “I was also really excited because we got to see what we had worked on for so long.”

March 2019 | The North Star | 17

T

hey are the group that made the Diversity assembly the event of the school year: the KPOP club. Two years after their performance went viral on YouTube with nearly 900,000 views, senior Brienne Sommerauer choreographed the 2019 performance taking cues from top KPOP stars in the business.

“I’m the one that learns all of it off the Internet and I try my best to keep it as similar,” Sommerauer said.

In matching sweatshirts, the club danced to a fast-paced, energized medley of songs.

Running through the set without the technical difficulties of prior assemblies, the school was able to see the product of months of work.

“Performing is like a rush of adrenaline,” senior Amanda Dennis said.

W

ith the largest group, Bollywood took over the gym floor and danced to both traditional Bollywood songs and Punjabi folk music remixes. Pictured above, sophomore Aarthi Aruna dances in the circular formation from the girls’ portion of the dance.

“I grew up dancing and singing to Bollywood songs, so being able to perform in front of the school was a thrilling experience.” Aruna said.

Each girl wore Lehengas either from their own closet or on loan from a family. This traditional attire worn primarily by Indian women consists of the skirt, a veil worn over the shoulder and a fitted shirt called a choli. The boys in the dance wore traditional kurtas.

There were 42 students who participated in the Bollywood dance. The senior leaders hosted rehearsals at various houses months prior to the assembly, with all of the choreography being influenced from previous years and other Bollywood professional works. Read more about the behind the scenes of the Bollywood dance on page 14.

18 | The North Star | March 2019

1

2

3

5 4

1: Jordin Mackenzie plays her original song, “Alaska,” on the piano.

2: Ryder Dreeson performs a flag routine as classmates sing a rendition of “This is Me” representing BVN’s Gay Straight Alliance.

3: Jennifer He plays the National Anthem on the Gizhang, a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument that is over 2,000 years old. “[The performance] combines the ancient, antique sounding instruments of the East with the new, modernized Western world.” He said.

4: Freshmen Janyiah Davis and Myzelle Law carry the Ghana flag in the flag ceremony. “I’m just glad I’m holding this flag so I can support whoever ... in this school.” Law said.

5: Freshman Rishi Palit dances during his Irish reel solo. With high jumps and kicks, Palit received a standing ovation for his performance.

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20 | The North Star | March 2019

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“It’s Just a Joke!”

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Students need to understand the point of making jokes to avoid offending others.

Opinion Column by Daniel Park

se “Excu me?”

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n Dec. 10, the Columbia University Asian American Alliance hosted a charity performance called cultureSHOCK with the star performer for the day being comedian Nimesh Patel. However, Patel never was able to finish his performance and was sent off the stage after including sensitive remarks on race and the LGBTQ community.

The organization issued their public apology for inviting him to perform on social media, and the majority of comments responded with complaints about the choice to send Patel off the stage, claiming that his message, although offensive, portrayed some truths associated with the topics he talked about and pointed out some of the issues students had in being wary of talking about those subjects.

People are funny. They masterfully craft jokes. They enjoy things that are dumb, intriguing, unrealistic and even at some

“That’s not funny...”

points offensive. No other organism on the planet is able to understand humor on a level that we do. With a role in TV shows, professional speakers and even therapy, humor has taken a central place in our culture. To most people, being funny is a desired trait because it adds personality and lets people stand out.

But at the same time, people have such a wide range of diversity and things we don’t necessarily understand about each other.

Jokes about those things can undermine the significance about the identity, experiences, and struggles of people. Jokes contribute to making hazardous mindsets towards difficult subjects, which is why it’s crucial to understand the purpose behind our jokes and be mindful of the people around us before speaking.

A large portion of what we find funny is somewhat sensitive or offensive. Kids think jokes involving using the bathroom

are hilarious. A friend might see another friend fall down, laugh, and then proceed to jokingly call him an idiot. Out of context, using the bathroom seems to be rather disgusting and maybe even inappropriate, but for a child in second grade it might be the funniest thing to him or her and his or her class. Calling out a friend who fell down might be heartless to outsiders, but to the group of friends it might be funny and even reassuring. Few people would say that they have never said anything offensive or sensitive that was meant as a joke.

Jokes serve a purpose. It’s important to remember the point of every joke we make. An article from “The Conversation” says that offensive humor has its strength.

The extremes of being offensive can make more of a lasting impression than other ways of approaching sensitive subjects.

Being funny breaks down barriers for things that normally can’t be addressed because they’re viewed as sensitive by

March 2019 | The North Star | 21

struggle with them.

Every time we bring up an issue that’s hard to talk about, it should be met with careful examination of the consequences.

We seemingly end up on both extremes — some of us make jokes and think it’s OK to make those remarks, and some view everything we say as a pathway to controversy and a need for censorship.

To many of us, it may not seem important. We live in the middle of the country, isolated from other major centers of diversity in identity and opinions, so jokes about race, or gender, and other issues don’t appear crude. But we may end up in different places with different people, with different backgrounds that may spark different reactions to some of the things we say because of how much more important a joke seems to that person.

Making specific jokes may reopen healing wounds that people try to close up for long periods of time. Jokes should never be intended to cause harm. Jokes aren’t used to belittle or offend each other, but to point out the comic extremes, which is why it seems so effective in some cases.

The reason behind our jokes is key here. We need to understand the point of the jokes we make, think through what we are trying to accomplish as we speak, understand that the things we say are real, tangible things, and then carefully consider the consequences of what we say to keep a healthy mindset when approaching these issues.

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making light of the subject, undermining understanding that the issue is acceptable. the weight of the issues, desensitizing Growing acceptance of problems, such as them, making the issues more guns or violence, can lead people to turn approachable and open for discussion or a blind eye or act without thinking about acceptance. But can they go too far? the impact of a joke. This is because jokes What do racist jokes, sexist jokes, emphasize the frivolity of an issue. stereotypical jokes, With more people Let’s first of all put or other touchy jokes becoming aware of contribute? They might sensitive topics, there aside the notion that seem funny because of has been a recent rise in something can’t be how extreme they can censorship in discussing offensive if it makes you some of these sensitive sound — but is that it? laugh... So I wonder if a The consequences of subjects. According to an these things seem to article from CNN, even line can be drawn. outweigh the benefits. well-known professional This more offensive -Frankie Boyle, The comedians have begun to type of humor isn’t avoid college campuses Guardian new. We’re not being because students have more inconsiderate grown to reject humor towards others by focused on making light of attaching comedy to sensitive themes. sensitive issues.

Throughout history, we’ve had plenty of The fact of the matter is, we have mediums where comedy and sensitive grown intolerant to a light treatment subjects meshed together. We have had of these issues, especially with younger political cartoons portray politics with generations. But with the increased caricatures that made issues seem petty. discussion due to technology and media, Over-dramatized plays and stories from the arguments we have are more exposed, Shakespeare, Twain and other writers that leaving us with jokes that are left wide had sensitive subjects still gained wild open to more of the public, especially to attention even with outlandish humor. audience members who may feel hurt after Satirical arguments made by Plato and seeing or hearing them.

Socrates since the classical times even For BVN, as part of the younger sarcastically approached sensitive subjects. generation, students have to understand What are the consequences to making when a joke goes too far. The purpose these jokes? Jokes serve to break down of a joke is key to know when that line sensitivity. Making a joke about something is crossed. In the case of Patel, his use offensive bends the subject so that others of sensitive subjects in his performance will find it funny and not as serious. But apparently was do we want things people struggle with done to push a to be exposed in a way that causes people point he would to treat them like they don’t matter, like otherwise be unable it’s funny, and like it’s acceptable? It’s to do. However, unfair for other people to make light of it still called real struggles or issues people have with complaints. If the themselves. joke truly reveals Real struggles with race, gender, something that violence, and how people see themselves should be brought matter, aren’t funny. Making fun of up, it should be these struggles opens up old wounds brought up. But if and indirectly shows the things they are it ultimately just struggling with are “just a joke” when hurts the issue in reality they might mean the whole being presented, it’s world to them. Even worse, it might even unfair to speak and promote the growth of what causes those desensitize these issues. Making the issues less significant issues on the behalf in the long term gives people a false of people who

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22 | The North Star | Month 2019

Black-lash

In the wake of BVNW graduate Camille Sturdivant’s civil rights lawsuit against the Blue Valley School District, BVN administration reviews, explains the school’s discrimination policy.

By Charitha Lakkireddy

T

wenty eighteen BVNW graduate Camille Sturdivant filed a civil lawsuit against the Blue Valley School District, principal Amy Pressly, former Dazzler coach Carley Fine and Cottonwood Point teacher and Dazzler mother Katie Porter, stating that there had been a violation of her civil rights.

The lawsuit states that Sturdivant was discriminated against and mistreated on the dance team because she is black.

After BVNW news broke the story with a tweet Jan. 14, other school communities, including BVN, began discussing its implications, according to freshman Ephren Taylor.

Although he said he was saddened that such a case had ever happened, Taylor said he wasn’t caught off guard. Taking into consideration the fact that Blue Valley is a dominantly white district, he said he had been expecting something of this nature to come up sooner or later.

“I wasn’t surprised [by the BVNW lawsuit]. This is one of the whitest districts in Kansas, so it was probably going to happen eventually,” Taylor said.

Taylor said Blue Valley staff members should have an obligation to talk about what happened with students and discuss preventative methods to avoid a recurrence of the incident. He said that without addressing it, the administration is unintentionally giving students a miseducation about it.

Principal Tyson Ostroski said the administration was always vocal about diversity: celebrating it, learning about it, knowing how to differentiate without discriminating. He said that BVN had always made an effort to share that message with its community and nothing was going to change it. The BVNW lawsuit might have brought the conversation about celebrating diversity to center stage, but Ostroski said that hadn’t changed the way

BVN approaches it.

“We haven’t really changed anything because what we’re doing works, and it’s had a positive impact on our students,” Ostroski said. “That doesn’t go to say that there aren’t ways we can’t improve, but what happened somewhere else doesn’t speak to what we plan to do here.”

Taylor said he believes that the only way to get something positive out of the case was to be open about it. He said that would give BVN an opportunity to learn from the mistakes

“When we talk about racism, people start to get defensive, people think we’re attacking them directly.”

- Ephren Taylor Although BVN counselor Vicki Petersen felt that improvement was always possible, she said the training staff receives was sufficient for her.

“For me, [the training] is just the right amount,” Petersen said. “It gives you the opportunity to be introspective and put yourself in others’ shoes and work on empathy for others. It’s never a bad thing, there’s never too much of that. For me, they’re good.”

Ostroski said the effort to make students feel safe and comfortable has been successful.

“We’ve received very, very, very few [complaints about racial discrimination],” Ostroski said. “I feel very comfortable with how we’ve gone about our business here at North, in terms of our diversity and that feeling of inclusion.”

This did not come as a surprise to

Taylor, who said that many might not come forward because they felt that no action would be taken. “[Very few complaints being filed] is not surprising to me,” Taylor said. “I don’t think most people would take it to administration because they’d probably just blow it off. If it’s a severe issue, a student would be too scared to come out about it.”

Petersen said action would be taken, that a teacher or another adult in the building would report the situation to a superior and further steps would be followed. If a student came forward, she said they would be listened to.

“If a student goes to a teacher and wants to report an incident, that teacher is under instruction to come to us and start a conversation about it,” Petersen said. “They aren’t going to just sit on that information.”

Petersen’s primary goal is for students to be in a position where they feel comfortable talking to their teachers and administrators about any incident that they felt uneasy about.

“I hope [students] do feel that the first thing they should do if there’s an incident, about discrimination or anything, that they want to report it to an administrator or a counselor,” Petersen said. “It’s our overall culture of open-door policy, no matter what a student might want to talk about. Of course, our hope always is that discrimination is less here in our building, but when it does exist, we hope that students feel comfortable sharing that with us.”

If students are uncomfortable talking to an administrator or a counselor, Petersen suggests they talk to a teacher, or another trusted adult in the building. Their privacy shouldn’t be a concern or keep them from coming forward because Petersen guarantees confidentiality in most cases, except if students talk about harming themselves or others.

The Range of Consequences for Personnel

Expulsion

Racial Diversity at BVN

Month 2019| The North Star | 23

White (70.51%) Other (17.28%)

Suspension

Hispanic (6.46%) African American (5.76%)

Conversation

Because racism and discrimination are so subjective and difficult to talk about, Taylor feels that it has kept more people from coming forward. The only solution he sees is for more discussion. Even if they are considered difficult topics to tackle, especially in school, Taylor feels that it is BVN’s responsibility to cover it with their community.

“It’s very hard to prove discrimination and racism,” Taylor said. “Racism isn’t really a topic that gets covered or it gets shut down right away. When we talk about racism, people start to get defensive, people think we’re attacking them directly, when we’re really talking about racism in general and not like their entire group of people.”

He claims that the severity of the discrimination he’d seen at BVN was low, but he said more drastic measures could be taken to educate perpetrators of racial discrimination.

“I’ve been called the n-word [by] peers,” Taylor said. “I don’t think [racial discrimination] here is severe, but I do think it kind of needs to be addressed by a principal talking about it, rather than just completely ignoring black issues or other cultural issues.”

Taylor, who founded the African American club at BVN, feels that the education has to go beyond that. While he appreciates diversity assemblies and the clubs for their efforts, he thinks it isn’t enough. No one is required to attend club meetings, and it’s never guaranteed that everyone in attendance during an assembly is paying attention. Taylor’s solution to this is to talk to students in smaller groups and in class, where their attention is a requirement.

“More has to be done, culture should be put in the curriculum,” Taylor said. “Black history [month] was ignored by every single one of my teachers. Education and prevention for racism has to be included in

our classes and we have to talk about it in a small classroom setting. In assemblies, it’s so easy for kids to be on their phones and not pay attention.”

This is an idea that both Taylor and Ostroski agree on. Ostroski feels the same way, saying that as valuable as they are, he doesn’t want the education and celebration of diversity to stop after an annual assembly or a 15-minute talk in advisory.

“I love our diversity council, I love the different clubs and organizations within our building, who want to make people feel like they belong,” Ostroski said. “This has to be a culture of caring, and that happens every hour, every day, in every class.”

Ostroski feels that BVN had a good history with maintaining their no tolerance policy for discrimination. He is happy with their progress, but he has no plans to stop improving the diversity education and reducing the discrimination. Although what the school has now might suffice, he feels that there was always room to grow.

“I don’t think anything is enough, I’m never going to feel just complacent, it’s going to be ongoing,” Ostroski said. “It’s systematic, class to class, hour to hour, not just an assembly here or an advisory lesson here. It’s how we’re interacting in a group project, how we’re interacting in the locker room, how we’re interacting with one another at North Time. That’s where you see things get traction.”

Ostroski said making the school a comfortable place for students has always been a priority. Ensuring their safety and their sense of community is what he wants to accomplish most.

“My number one goal, even above education, as a principal, is that this is a place where students feel safe and they feel included and they feel like this is a home, so safety is part of that, that’s a major, major part of that,” Ostroski said. “Feeling safe in a building means, ‘I’m not being

discriminated against, for whatever reason.’

You’re going to feel unsafe if you feel discriminated upon.”

Ostroski said students coming forward when they feel discriminated against is the most important step. He doesn’t classify discrimination as any one thing, saying that his first concern was how it affected a student.

“You should only feel like this is a place where you can learn, and you can feel positive,” Ostroski said. “And if there’s something happening in this building, for whatever reason — and discrimination would be part of this — if there’s anything that hinders you feeling safe, you feeling positive, then that’s a priority for me.”

Taylor said he appreciates the effort teachers have made so far, but found small things that he thought would make a big difference to him and other minority students.

“A small one is learning to pronounce names,” Taylor said. “They’re pronouncing super long Greek and French names, but they can’t pronounce TyShon.”

Taylor said he empathizes with students who would be uncomfortable about coming forward about racial discrimination. He said he imagines that having to initiate the conversation is difficult, so an adult providing an opportunity where they prompted students first would make it easier for them to share their experience.

“I think a big thing is that students don’t know how to report it,” Taylor said. “You should be able to go up to a teacher and talk to them about [racial discrimination], but at the same time, you should be able to turn in something anonymous if you don’t feel comfortable.”

26 | The North Star | March 2019

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Immersed in America When students immigrate, they may face challenges while navigating a new school.

By Genevieve Hulshof

F

rom cheesy TV shows to countless pop songs, high school is depicted as an international staple of pop culture, with movies like “The Breakfast Club” and “High School Musical” playing on screens around the world. Despite the seemingly wellknown story line of the “average” American teenager, fitting this role can be a daunting task.

But for senior Lina Hamdam, who immigrated from Venezuela, and senior Sherry Ronjuo, who immigrated from China, adapting to life in a new school, in a new language and in a new country can be a difficult, but ultimately rewarding challenge.

In the fall of 2015, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 10.6 percent of Kansas public school students were English Language Learners. Whether they immigrated to the area at a young age or at the start of the semester, these students may face challenges adapting to schooling in a new country.

Following state assessments, such as the Kansas English Language Proficiency

Assessment-Placement, students who may not exhibit full English fluency can receive services known as English for Speakers of Other Languages, or ESOL. The Blue Valley District website states that the mission of the Blue Valley Schools English Language Learners program is to provide instruction for English language acquisition, so that students can succeed in academic content and adapt socially and culturally. In order to fulfill this mission, students study once a day with ESOL teacher Brenda Kraft and are immersed in classrooms.

“If you think about a student here who takes Spanish or French, and they take two or three years of it, but they aren’t immersed in it, you have a foundation,” Kraft said. “You know colors and numbers and basic words, but you haven’t really used it in a deeper way. A lot of times our kids will come with a basic understanding but are so intimidated by it because they haven’t had to use it. But, once they are

immersed in it, they progress so much faster.”

While improving fluency through ESOL is helpful in improving students’ speaking, writing and listening skills, students must attend classes outside of ESOL in order to graduate and fully immerse into the language. From Algebra to Modern World History and ELA, students work through language struggles toward post-graduation goals. Hamdam sees writing essays as one of her most difficult academic challenges.

“When I have to make essays, it’s so difficult,” Hamdam said. “Writing a normal paragraph is fine, but when I have to use different terms that are different from the ones I use when I speak normally, I have to translate them and go back and write in English. I have to pay a lot of attention to when I write with words like ‘at’, ‘in’ or ‘of ’.”

Subjects like math and anatomy present distinct challenges, even to

March 2019 | The North Star | 27 students whose native language is English.

Yet for Hamdam, who wishes to become a microbiologist, these challenges are worth it in the long run.

“I have Anatomy—it’s a difficult class, but I want to be a microbiologist and like medicine,” Hamdam said. “I have to work hard because a lot of terms are different, but I like it, so it’s worth it.”

Yet, despite the difficulties they may face in classes, both Ronjuo and Hamdam see the staff as understanding and eager to help students succeed.

“When I first came here, I had difficulties speaking English and speaking out,” Ronjuo said. “But, teachers helped me to speak out and communicate more in English.”

In addition, Hamdam said there are differences in teaching strategies between teachers at North and teachers in Venezuela.

“The teachers here pay a lot of attention to students and show to them that they want to help them and that they want them to be better. I like that. In Venezuela it’s not like that,” Hamdam said. “When I have a situation or I don’t understand a class, I just say, ‘Hey, I don’t understand this,’ and they help.”

Collaboration between any student and teacher is essential to problem solving and helps a student work through difficult content. However, collaboration between the teacher, Kraft and the student is often crucial in helping students understand topics they may have never learned, in hopes of preparing them for life in the U.S. “When we have students who come in as a junior and need American history, or as a senior and need U.S. government, they have never had any background in that,” Kraft said. “We try to help them and talk with the teachers to get to the core content and decide with the teacher what the real essential question they need to know is and what they need to know to be successful in the United States.”

According to Kraft, working through and breaking down the curriculum to ease the learning process may help students to understand content better.

“They may not need the itty-bitty facts and figures even though they are interesting,” Kraft said. “If you go through the American History timeline and think about all the small facts, how much do you really remember? Although it’s really important to have that information, we might have to break that timeline down in a more understandable way so they can understand what they need to be truly

successful and go to college, if that’s what they are going to do.”

In addition to a different teaching style and completely new content, students must adapt to the new cultural norms of schools. Grade scales, multi-class schedules and the freedom to choose what to wear are all high school staples that students adjust to.

While North Time may not be a nationwide mandate and educational standards may differ from state to state, many differences exist between the traditional U.S. school day and education system and that of countries around the world like China and Venezuela. Instead of switching classes, students in both China and Venezuela stay at their assigned desk while teachers circulate from one classroom to a next. While students at BVN may express themselves through their clothing, students in many countries face restrictions on what they can wear and how they can style their hair.

“Think about if you were suddenly in another country or school. What would be the best things to help you?”

- Brenda Kraft

“Here, you can change the color of your hair or can have a tattoo. But, in Venezuela, it’s not like that. You can’t have a tattoo or piercing,” Hamdam said. “You have to cut your hair every month. It’s very different and strict. I thought here it would be stricter, but here it’s easier and that was a relief for me.”

These cultural and social differences may be difficult for students to grasp and language differences can sometimes make finding friends challenging. Ronjuo sees this new, unfamiliar environment as a distinct challenge.

“It’s challenging because you are staying with different groups of people,” Ronjuo said. “It’s not just people you are familiar with.”

While being the new kid in a new country and learning and improving in a new language may not be easy, Hamdam sees the chance to meet others with the same experiences as her as exciting.

“When I came here, I started to meet

different Latin people from different countries, and it was very interesting to learn about their cultures and their traditions,” Hamdam said. “I was very happy because I have my friends here from other countries that also have the same experiences as me.”

However, Hamdam notes that meeting friends from the US was a tough task.

“Maybe students don’t know that there are other students from other countries because when they see me or other ESOL students, they just see another student from the U.S.,” Hamdam said. “But it’s not like that. When I came here, I realized that everyone has a life or situation or problem that is going on in their lives. You have to be kind to everyone because you don’t know what they are going through.”

Yet, forming relationships with people outside their culture and getting involved in activities, sports or extracurriculars can be helpful to students as they are continuously immersed in both the English language and American culture.

“Being immersed in English and the culture is so important because most of [the students] will go home, and their families don’t speak English, and that’s OK,” Kraft said. “We don’t want them to forget their language. But, if they leave here and don’t have a lot of culture from our country surrounding them, [school] is where they get it.”

While imagining oneself in another country may be difficult, Kraft sees that the lessons learned from joining a new school or country are nearly universal.

“I always tell people, ‘Think about if you were suddenly in another country or school.’ What would be the best things to help you? You might be scared to do those things, but if you think about it, what helps you the most? Those extracurricular activities and your friends and the relationships you form are extremely important,” Kraft said. “The same thing is true here. We want to try and foster that with our students because it is different for most of them when they go home because their families don’t have the same culture or relationships as kids who have lived here their whole live.”

Although cultural and language differences may persist, through immersion in English and engaging in activities, students create lifelong friendships while preparing for a successful American life. Like any BVN student, ESOL students may face challenges. Yet, through hard-work and commitment, anything is achievable.

28 | The North Star | March 2019

Maternity Leave in BV

By Anna Martin

Teachers express their opinions on the Maternity leave policy in the Blue Valley District.

A

ccording to the Blue Valley District Policies under the the Family and Medical Leave Policy, district employees are entitled to family and medical leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”).

“There are 12 weeks you get of job-protected time off, then depending on how long you have been in the district, you have a certain amount of days from that 12 weeks [which are] paid for,” social studies teacher Krista Chugg said. “You can save up time from working in the district.”

Chugg had been working in the Blue Valley District for just two years when she first went into labor.

Therefore, she did not have many days stored up to use to extend the amount of paid days off.

“For my maternity leave, most of it wasn’t paid for, but because of FMLA, I was guaranteed my job back,” Chugg said.

“So most teachers [depending on how much time they take off] are not compensated for the full time.”

The FMLA states that it is required for all workplaces to allow employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid,

job-protected leave in one 12-month period. The BV District follows this policy.

“You are used to a certain paycheck, [and] then [you fall] off [of it]. It was an adjustment,” Chugg said. “[But] it was totally worth it, [and] I was happy to take the full time off. I’m never going to get that time back with my son.”

Out of the 50 states in the U.S., only three states have set paid maternity leaves: California, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

“In some districts, you can borrow [days off from other employees], [or] people can donate days to you,” Chugg said.

Blue Valley District does have a Catastrophic Illness Pool where employees may make a request for days.

In other districts, these sick banks work differently.

“In D.C., you can donate to a ‘sick bank,’ and then [your days off] would double, so if you put one [day] in you can get two or three back,” social studies teacher Ann Salimbene said.

Also stated in the FMLA, employees generally must give a 30-days advanced notice for an extended leave of absence. However, in cases where it is not possible to give notice 30 days in advance, the teacher must let his or her employer know as soon as possible.

“I was gone for a month [because I went into labor premature at the end of the school year], [and] then [I] took the summer [off] and got a long term sub in the fall,” Chugg said. “So I got to stay home and take care of my son for like the first five months of his life.”

The Maternity leave policies at Facebook states that their employees

March 2019 | The North Star | 29

get four months off. At Apple, the mothers get 14 weeks off, while the other parent can take six weeks off.

“In Blue Valley you can take a year off (a Leave of Absence), and they keep a job for you somewhere in the district, not necessarily in the same building,” Chugg said.

Other corporations, such as Netflix, give workers an unlimited time period of maternity leave within the first year after the child is born. The Netflix Policy applies to both parents and is considered as paid time-off. Meanwhile for the Chuggs, they had to -Krista share their time off, since they both work in the Blue Valley district.

“Because we both work in BV, he technically took [days off] from mine [because] he doesn’t have seperate days,” Chugg said.

Unlike the Chuggs, science teacher Kiah Kollman and her husband had different amounts of time off.

“My husband’s job is a lot different, as he only works off commission,” Kollman said. “Because he is not a contract employee, he can take as much time as he needs for paternity leave.”

The FMLA, which is the base requirement for all corporations, states that to be eligible for maternity leave, the employee must have had to work for the employer for the past 12 months and have over 1,250 hours of work time within that time period before taking time off of work. They also must work at a location with at least 50 employees within 75 miles of workplace.

Although the maternity policies vary for each job, most policies are implemented for a similar goal. maternity leave policy is so Chugg that“The you can take the time off to take care of your newborn while your job is protected during those 12 weeks, meaning you will not be penalized for taking leave,” Kollman said.

“During maternity leave, I plan on spending quality time and bonding with our new baby and learning all of the things I don’t know about being a mother,” Kollman said.

“I’m never going to get that time back with my son.”

3

states within the U.S. have an active paid policy set in place.

40%

of women don’t qualify for the FMLA, which allows for 12 weeks of unpaid, protected job leave.

25%

of women are forced to return to work after two weeks of giving birth.

According to the National Conferences of State Legislatures (NCSL).

30 | The North Star | March 2019

OFF LIMITS

Should Kansas students be allowed to travel more than 500 miles outside the state to compete?

OFF LIMITS

F

By Alice Wu

rom Elkhart to Atchison or “If a certain school has the resources to from St. Francis to Pittsburg, the travel extensively, the gap between those diagonal distance across Kansas traveling and those not able to do so may is approximately 500 miles. That is the widen,” Faflick said. “If allowed, I could maximum distance Kansas students can foresee a situation in which some Kansas travel for extracurricular competitions schools may avoid other Kansas schools outside the state, with the exception of a [un]til postseason.” select number of approved national events.

However, for senior Mickey McMahon, According to the World Atlas, the United this limit has posed several significant States spans 2,680 miles wide and 1,582 inconveniences in his debate career. In long, and as part of a state nestled in the February, he and his debate partner, senior heart of the country, Ramya Chilappa, Kansas students are around “If a certain school has traveled limited in pursuing 1,800 miles for the opportunities the resources to travel California Round beyond bordering Robin, a well-known extensively, the gap national debate states.

As stated in between those traveling tournament. They Article 14, Section 2 were allowed to and those not able to participate, but they of the Kansas High School Activities not allowed to do so may widen.” were Association associate themselves (KSHSAA) with BVN in any handbook, this way. Their coach, - Bill Faflick, travel limit applies Brian Box, was to all activities prohibited from executive director of under KSHSAA’s accompanying them, KSHSAA jurisdiction, both and they had to pay academic and for their own travel athletic. According and entry fees. to Bill Faflick, executive director of Although the travel limit was intended KSHSAA, the limit was first implemented to ensure fairness across schools of for the 1997-98 school year and was different levels of wealth, McMahon designed to level the playing field among believes that the limit puts more financial schools. strain on students determined to compete,

without the support of their schools.

“It’s expensive,” McMahon said.

“Normally, we wouldn’t [have gone] to this if we hadn’t been invited. For other teams to travel independently, it’s a fiscal nightmare.”

The BVN wrestling team has also been affected by the travel limit. There are numerous competitions throughout the country that coach Kyle Pacheco believes would be valuable opportunities, and if his wrestlers were allowed to attend, he has several fundraising methods he would be willing to use.

“If you want to make your team better, you do have to put forth that effort,” Pacheco said. “And I’m willing to do whatever I can to get these guys the best experience possible.”

Beyond the drawbacks that come from the inability to travel beyond 500 miles, the travel limit also prohibits teams outside of this distance from coming to the state. According to McMahon, if the limit were lifted, poorer Kansas schools could also benefit from increased competition without having to travel far.

“There’s one school in California that wanted to travel to one tournament in Kansas. That would have made it infinitely more competitive. But they weren’t able to because they’re outside 500 miles,” McMahon said.

Furthermore, Pacheco believes that when students’ skills are sharpened by out-of-state opportunities, they can then

March 2019 | The North Star | 31 return to the local area and raise the overall level of competition.

“Blue Valley Southwest is a really good wrestling team in this school district, … [and] they travel other places,” Pacheco said. “They try to branch out as far as they can to get the best competition possible for their team. By doing that, [they’ve] only made other teams better because they have to compete.”

Meanwhile, according to Faflick, another key reason the travel limit was implemented was to minimize the impact of long-distance travel on schools’ budgets.

“Cost ... is incurred every time a teacher [or] coach is not in his [or] her classroom to teach the students in class every day,” Faflick said. “The cost for a sub teacher is real, but [the] most expensive cost is that most subs are not the experts in the content area for the class for which they sub, and education may be substandard for those students in attendance.”

Faflick also points out that longdistance travel for extracurriculars is timeconsuming for participating students, who end up missing their classes.

On the other hand, Pacheco explains that most Kansas colleges with top wrestling programs are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), meaning that they are smaller schools and relatively expensive to attend. Attending out-of-state competitions, however, would open up more opportunities for BVN wrestlers to be seen by college scouts and earn scholarships that would help them to further their education.

Despite any justifications for a travel limit, exceptional students from most other states are free to attend whichever tournaments they’d KAY like based on the Music schedules and budgets ofBowlthemselves and Scholars Speech & Drama StuCo their schools.

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the travel limit affects various activities true of second semester. Because of unequally. other KSHSAA rules, most Kansas “How is it that, you know, bands debate tournaments are held during first and other teams can go out to Florida semester, and though nationally-qualified or California, and dance can go to all teams are eligible to continue competing these different during the following competitions, yet semester, they “The schools that are other athletic teams must do so outside can’t do it?” Pacheco good are still good. These of the state. As said.

McMahon prepares other schools that can’t While band is a for the Tournament KSHSAA-sponsored improve are just that way, of Champions, activity, many of he believes that so why not just open [the although the travel the long-distance events that band limit was designed opportunities] up?” students attend are to level the playing non-competitive field within Kansas, and count as field it is instead putting trips. Dance, which teams at - Wrestling coach Kansas is not under the a disadvantage jurisdiction of Kyle Pacheco compared to teams KSHSAA, is not from other states. subject to the same Moreover, rules.

Pacheco does not believe that the limit has While Faflick said he believes succeeded in ensuring equal opportunities that some valuable extracurricular for all Kansas students. opportunities could only be found beyond “The schools that are good are still good.

500 miles of Kansas, the costs would These other schools that can’t improve are outweigh any additional benefits. just that way, so why not just open [the “I do not believe you have to go opportunities] up?” Pacheco said. beyond the 500 mile limit to find worthy Looking beyond his individual career, competition,” Faflick said. “Most schools McMahon believes that allowing Kansas can find an opponent within the state that teams to display their talents at the most will provide mutual benefit and likely beat competitive tournaments in the country them.” would also promote unity and pride in the Nonetheless, Pacheco believes that state. facing opponents from other states offers “I feel like … as opposed to other unique challenges that he would like his states, debaters from Kansas have wrestlers to experience. more common interests and are more “You want more experience wrestling unified because they come from a state different types of styles. Like there is that historically has not had that many definitely a different type of style in opportunities to be competitive at a Oklahoma than Kansas,” Pacheco said. “It national level,” McMahon said. “So, I guess only makes your wrestlers better.” for some coaches and for some debaters, As for McMahon, while he believes you know, this is our time to get the that local teams offer ample competition recognition that our hard work deserves.” during first semester, the same is not

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