The North Star September 2019

THE NORTH STAR September 2019 | Volume 34 | Issue1 Blue Valley North High School 12200 Lamar Ave, Overland Park, KS

Epidemic A look into the physical and disciplinary consequences of vaping Page 16

Kaohsiung, Taiwan Having only taken one Chinese language course, senior Nick Buffo was chosen for a language immersion program in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. From eating dumplings to climbing mountains, read about his experience and the selection process on page 28.

Beta Boost Art teacher Alison Crane has kickstarted the first BVN makerspace.

What makes the space special? Find out on page 24.

Sound and Color Inspired by classic rock, junior Gabby Geiger’s art decorates the halls and will soon have a place in the UNplaza Art Fair Sept. 21-22 at Southmoreland Park. To read about Geiger’s process and check out some of her featured work, turn to page 26.

Editors-in-Chief Briley Everhart Megan McConnell Delaina Sanden

Online Editor Daniel Park The North Star is the official high school news publication of Blue Valley North High School, an open forum distributed to all the students six times a year. This is the September issue of volume 34. The North Star is printed by the Sedalia Democrat. This is a student publication and 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.

2 | The North Star | September 2019

Staff Writers Maddie Austin Ellianna Cierpiot Ana Curi Lopes Scarlett Jones Aubrey Karns Olivia Miller Emily Mrkvicka Charlotte Raley Yasmeen Saadi Angelica Henson Charitha Lakkireddy

Table of Contents Student Life

Pages ‘n’ Paradise

4

Editorial Cartoon

22

5

Life or Death, editorial

24 Beta Boost

6

Meet the Staff

8

The 8-Letter F-word: Feminism

26 Sound and Color

11

Break to Books

28 Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Features

Health and Education 12

The Plastic Crisis

14

Flexible Space

16

Epidemic

21

Gas Money and Elbow Grease

31

Mustang Top Charts

32 Photo Story

New to bvnnews.com this month

The North Star Social Media Facebook

@bvnnews

The Amazon is burning.

What does that mean?

by Ana Curi The Robotics Room

by Aubrey Karns

Twitter

@bvnnews

Making Sleep a Priority

by Maddie Austin

instagram

@bvnnews

North Teens on Social Media

by Maddie Austin Meet the Fall Captains

by Ana Curi

entertainment

scan here to take you to bvnnews.com

Website

www.bvnnews.com September 2019 | The North Star | 3

Editorial Cartoon | By Angelica Henson

An administrator views a hallway full of anti-vaping posters as a student stands in the corner using a Juul. Illustration by Angelica Henson

4 | The North Star | September 2019 | Editorial

Life Life or or Death Death The North Star editors describe the impact vaping has left on our community and the purpose of this issue.

T

hroughout the past couple of weeks, the news has been riddled with the image of parents sitting beside their pneumatic children, hospitalized and fighting for their lives due to recreational vaping. After Juul released their electronic cigarettes in 2017, vaping quickly took hold of the nation’s youth.

The product, originally created as a cessation aid for smokers, became a substitute for smoking.

The brand’s “guaranteed” safety for its users made the product appealing to many.

Juul’s e-cigarette is small, easy to use and comes in a variety of flavors.

Nicotine users were led to believe that almost all the negatives of smoking were eliminated when electronic vaping joined the scene.

Almost.

Though e-cigarettes don’t involve smoke, the chemicals in vape solutions cause rapid deterioration of

the lungs, sending more than 400 teenage US citizens to hospital beds. On Tuesday, Sept.10, the first vapingrelated death in the state of Kansas was confirmed.

A large population of our student body uses nicotine products, disregarding the health repercussions and copious amounts of “anti-vape” advertisements. School administrations from all over the country have taken action. Within the Blue Valley District alone, new disciplinary consequences force student users to wager between a “hit” and a 10day suspension.

We were the generation that was projected to end nicotine addiction, but instead we have become test subjects. Our September issue wasn’t written to cause guilt or place blame on those that have been consumed by the vaping epidemic. Its purpose is to inform and educate our community. As journalists,

our goals revolve around the protection and wellbeing of our readership, and vaping has jeopardized their safety.

For the past two years, a variety of health professionals, educators and police enforcements officers have been warning students of the consequences, but the time has come for students to step to the forefront. As a student body, use this information, written by your peers, to change the future of our generation’s health.

Our school has grown talented students with bright futures that we will not allow to be dulled by the fumes of vaping. At first, it might have seemed cool to poke fun at the anti-vaping posters hung in the bathrooms but now our society has turned a corner. The corner that divides life from death.

Choose your path.

— Briley Everhart, Megan McConnell and Delaina Sanden

Editorial | September 2019 | The North Star | 5

4:11

55%

bvnnews_staff Megan McConnell

Briley Everhart

Q: If you could have any accent, what would you pick?

Q: If you had a million dollars, what’s the first thing you’d do?

A: Irish because I have tons of practice from my Visits to the Container store.

A: Throw an extravagant party for everyone who’s never been invited.

Senior

Senior Delaina Sanden

Q: You can Only eat one food for the rest of your life, what do you choose?

A: Frozen yogurt because it’s so versatile.

Senior

ElliaNna Cierpiot

Q: If you had one superpower, what would it be?

A: Telekinesis because I’m lazy and I’d love to be able to grab things without getting up.

Junior Daniel Park Q: What Fruit Are you?

A: Orange Because sometimes I’m sweet and sometimes I’m sour.

Senior

Yasmeen Saadi

Emily Mrkvicka

Q: If you could meet anyone (dead or alive), who would you chose?

Q: If you could be friends with any celebrity, who would you pick?

A: Jonathan Van Ness from Queer Eye. I need his confidence in my life.

A: Zendaya because it’s zendaya.

Junior

6 | The North Star | September 2019 | Student Life

Junior

Angelica Henson

Charitha Lakkireddy

Q: If you could live inside a fictional world, where would you Be?

Q: What is your favorite band?

A: Frank Ocean or the Strokes.

A: The Wizard of Oz because it’s easier but still Kansas.

Junior

Junior Olivia Miller

Q: A genie has given you one wish. What will it be?

A: End climate change.

Junior Charlotte Raley

Maddie Austin

Q: What’s Your spirit Animal?

Q: If you could live in one season forever, what would you Pick?

A: My spirit animal is a llama because they are cute and silly.

A: summer.

Junior

Junior Ana Curi Lopes

Q: Are you a listener or a talker?

A: I’m more of a listener because I’m just shy.

Junior Scarlett Jones

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? a: Paris because of the bookstore Shakespeare and company.

Aubrey Karns

Q: You’re stuck on a desert island, what do you bring?

A: Water, food and a boat.

Junior

THe North Star

By Megan McConnell

Sophomore

Student Life | September 2019 | The North Star | 7

The The 88 letter letter f-word f-word In wake of disagreement in the senior girls’ groupchat, members of the chat and other seniors weigh in on the incident, feminism and how it can be seen as toxic

F

By Charitha Lakkireddy

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eminism is an eight letter word with four syllables.

According to Bustle.com, the term was originally coined by Charles Fourier, a utopian French socialist, in 1837, and has remained the subject of debate for people ranging from politicians to ordinary citizens, even finding its place in the halls of BVN. Senior Bennett Beckmon said he believed in equality between men and women, but didn’t believe that’s what modern day feminism was. To him, it has evolved into something much more toxic for everyone.

“First wave feminism was the simple idea that [women] have the same rights as men and I agree with that one hundred percent… we are all Americans and we all should have the same

8 | The North Star | September 2019 | Student Life

I don’t call myself a feminist just because of what a negative connotation it has.

- Bea Crist

[women] can do the same things men can do...so I agree with the original ideology, but the feminist movement has reached a lot of ideologies now that I don’t agree with, personally.”

Senior Bea Crist said that although she hesitated to label herself a feminist because of the connotation it had, she still agreed with the basic ideology of equality.

“I feel like people view feminism in a negative manner, which is sad, because I totally agree with some of the things about feminism, like equal pay and equal rights,” Crist said.

“But I don’t call myself a feminist just because of what a negative connotation it has and what people think it automatically means because when you hear feminist, you immediately think of the extreme, instead of girls like

“

constitutional rights,” Beckmon said. “What it is now, third wave feminism, is basically the idea that [women] don’t need men and [women] are the same as men and

me that are just for equality.”

Beckmon credited the news and pop culture for affecting the perception many had of feminism.

He found himself influenced by the media’s portrayal of feminism and his real life interactions with feminists, and said that was what cemented his stance against feminism.

“The media helps it [affect the perception of feminism] a lot because you see a lot of these women that are kind of showing radical feminism, where they really believe that men are holding them back and they need to get past that,” Beckmon said. “Because of that, there’s an offsetting message from the feminism movement to me, as a man.”

According to Stanford University, feminist ideology believes in women’s autonomy or self-direction — that values, reasons, and motives are one’s own. Some believe radical, or “toxic,” feminism doesn’t fully take into account autonomy, and that some women may have a different self-direction than others.

Although Beckmon attributed the perception of feminism to how it is portrayed on television, an example was found, much closer to home, at BVN. We Love Our Senior Boys.

For as long as this year’s senior class has been attending BVN, the senior girls have been making and buying T-shirts in support of the senior boys’ soccer players and they’ve been printed with this same message for just as long. It’s what every senior class traced back a far as 2014 had done without hesitation, until the senior class of 2020 came along, according to Crist.

Crist, the T-shirt designer, said the girl who made the T-shirts for the 2019 seniors told her people would just thank her for making the shirts or not buy one if they didn’t want one.

Although that was the reaction Crist was expecting to receive from her class, what actually happened was different.

Crist is referring to the

differences that arose between some members of the senior girls’ group chat when she sent out information about purchasing a shirt. She explained that some were reacting positively and were interested in buying a shirt, while others brought up their concerns with it.

“Some girls started to respond and they were questioning why it was just for the boys’ team instead of both girls and boys or a gender neutral shirt,” Crist said.

“Then, it just started to escalate and got a little almost toxic. It started to become a really negative environment.”

Crist clarified that she wasn’t choosing a side and had only

“

Being a feminist means reaching a point of equality or empowerment without putting men down.

- Olivia Humphrey

agreed that neither side came into the group chat with the intention of creating an environment they described as toxic, but that’s what they both felt it had turned into when arguments in support of different sides of the issue became heated.

“No one came in thinking they were going to upset other people,” Humphrey said. “I didn’t come into that group chat trying to start a fight with anyone, which I think a lot of people assumed I did.”

The two also agreed that the T-shirt incident was representative of something much greater.

Humphrey said that the reasons she was so adamant the boys do something in return for the girls was because of how little support the girls received in other aspects.

“If you look at all of the boys’ sports team, they receive infinite more support from the school.”

Humphrey said. “They receive so much more attention and support than the girls’ teams have ever had.”

Crist said she understood the different perspectives that had been voiced in the group chat, explaining that she could get behind the desire to stick to tradition, but also saw the appeal in starting something new.

Although Humphrey voiced her disappointment that none of her ideas had been taken into consideration or put into practice, Crist ensured that she had done her best to listen to all the different opinions and ideas people were sending into the group chat, including Humphrey’s. She had already paid the down payment required for the shirts and had gotten the design verified by the company making the T-shirts, which didn’t allow for last minute changes. She said she was open to a collaboration in the future, with the Stampede, for any T-shirts that the girls wanted to make.

Despite understanding their reasoning, Crist was still hurt by those who reacted negatively. She felt that some girls in the group chat had been getting upset on her behalf.

“

designed the T-shirts because it was a responsibility passed down to her from the BVN alum who did it last year. She considered it a task that was listed on the unofficial requirements of her job at the school store, The Stampede.

Senior Olivia Humphrey was the first to voice her concerns, which were fueled by confusion, she said, when she saw that the girls’ effort wasn’t being reciprocated by the boys.

“The first thing I saw [when I got added into the group chat] was that [the girls] were going to make the boys’ T-shirts this year,” Humphrey said. “But I didn’t see a single mention of the boys doing anything for the girls.”

Both Crist and Humphrey

Student Life | September 2019 | The North Star | 9

Crist and Humphrey both described the environment of the group chat as toxic, but for different reasons. Humphrey cited misogyny as the perpetrator.

“I definitely do think that a part of this is women just refusing to support women, there was so much misogyny” Humphrey said. “It raises the question of, ‘Why would we not support a group of already discriminated against people?”

Crist, on the other hand, saw it as more one side wanting to do abide by nothing but tradition, while the other side seemed intent on letting go of everything from the past. Neither side’s ideas appeased the other.

“Some girls were getting upset that others weren’t as mad about it and wanting to stray from tradition and were kind of looking down on them for wanting to be so traditional,” Crist said. “The opposite side, though, was saying stuff too and, like, going after them because they didn’t want to do the same thing again.”

Humphrey didn’t believe that the incident was a symptom of toxic feminism, although she believed that’s what some group members were implying “I know some other girls in the group chat are considering this toxic feminism,” Humphrey said. “But I certainly don’t think it’s radical feminism or toxic feminism to say that this is a situation that’s clearly unfair, and not equal. Even if I don’t agree with their traditional values, I respect it. I just disagree with them not respecting my desire to do something else.”

Toxic feminism is so often intertwined with the meaning and purpose of true feminism that many start to consider the two to be inseparable, according to Humphrey.

“Toxic feminism hurts the actual feminist movement because there’s one or two instances of toxic feminism that are written off as true feminism,” Humphrey said. “And people start to think that all feminism does is hate men, which is far from what it is.”

Although Humphrey was 10 | The North Star | Septermber 2019 | Student Life

The Feminist Movement in Waves Wave: term coined to describe different eras and generations of feminism 1st Wave: 1848 - 1920 ­• aimed for political equality among women Outcome: the right to vote 2nd wave: 1963-1980s • aimed toward achieving social equality, changing the perception that women could do more than be domestic Outcome: many legislative victories, such as Title IX for educational equality and Supreme Court case series that gave both married and unmarried women the right to use birth control 3rd wave: 1991-???

• still confusion surrounding the third wave and when exactly it started and if it's ended • fought against workplace sexual harassment, and worked to increase number of women in positions of power Outcome: hard to narrow down because there aren’t specific pieces of legislation that align with the movement, like the right to vote 4th Wave: Now? • could be in a Fourth Wave with #MeToo and Time’s Up, as well as Women’s Marches across the nation source: Vox.com

open about labeling herself as a feminist, she understood where points of view like that of Beckmon and Crist came from.

“It’s really just a whole societal issue where lots of people believe that the term feminist means hating men,” Humphrey said. “Being a feminist means reaching a point of equality or empowerment without putting men down.”

Beckmon agreed with the idea of equality between men and women, but felt that approaching it in the way feminists have is ineffective.

“If we keep dividing between our genders, it’s just going to create a wider gap,” Beckmon said. “We’re not going to come together to push for the equality of all people if we’re still fighting with each other about it. As Americans, I mean, as I see, despite whatever race you are, whatever gender you are, whatever religion you are, you are American first.”

He felt that the United States was privileged to have what it does in terms of equality between men and women and that feminists need to focus their efforts elsewhere.

“I don’t think they [feminists] realize how lucky we have it here [in the U.S.],” Beckmon said. “There’s some third world countries where women are basically treated like animals.

They can’t drive, can’t vote, they really can’t do anything other than be slaves, so the fact that they [feminists] are not trying to fight for those women, but they’re trying to fight against stuff like manspreading, it’s just absolutely ridiculous to me. And I think, really, their hearts are in the wrong place.”

Beckmon felt that what he described as toxic feminism was what ruined the chance of the true message of feminism rising and being properly conveyed.

“The original ideology is so far from what it is now because of how modern-day feminists have taken the call for equality and twisted it into man hating,” Beckmon said.

Break to books Students’ routine changes and struggles when transitioning back to school

A

round 56.6 million students went back to school this fall, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, with roughly 1,603 of these students returning to the halls of BVN. As students adjusted to their new schedules, changes in sleeping, eating and exercise followed.

Sophomore Caroline Clarke altered her daily routine to prepare for upcoming classes and cross country practice. These alterations to her daily schedule have been perfected since freshman year and helped her become one of the top 20 female runners on the BVN team. Cross country conditioning started at 6:30 a.m. every summer morning and practice during the school year is after school.

“Starting cross country practice has definitely made my running more intense,” Clarke said. “The biggest difference is that I usually run early in the morning during the summer and now I run in the afternoon.”

Clarke noticed difficulty switching her routine, like some of her teammates.

Although BVN sports began official practice at the start of the school year, Clarke trained with the team all summer for the fall season.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, teenagers require about nine hours of sleep each night, but studies have shown that students fall short by almost two hours. According to a recent Instagram poll taken at BVN, students averaged six hours of sleep per night, an hour below the national average.

Along with these sleep habits, students also struggle to eat the correct amount of food. During the school year, 48.5 percent of teenagers skip breakfast, according to Science Daily. There is a greater chance that teens will skip meals because of the shorter time windows for meal times.

As a senior, Sydney Pedersen has had three years to perfect her high school routine, even with the changes that came with CAPS. Pedersen participated in the CAPS program during her junior year, studying Veterinary Medicine for two semesters in the mornings. One problem in her routine came with finding time to eat.

“I eat on a scheduled basis,” Pedersen

By Charlotte Raley said. “It’s not like I wake up, eat and then [can] eat whenever I’m hungry. You [only] have a certain amount of time to eat and if you don’t have time, then you can’t.”

The drop in blood sugar from skipping a meal can affect your cognitive function and students do better on tests when they’ve had breakfast, according to Shannon R. Weston, a certified educator at UTHealth School of Nursing. Skipping meals is a compensation some students make for loss of time in their routine that can effect the brain and learning process.

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I definitely spend more money during the summer because I have time to go shopping with my friends Whereas in school, I’m trapped in the building.

- Sydney Pedersen

“

Students are free to choose how they spend North Time and are not obligated to eat. Pedersen spends her North Times doing homework but sometimes doesn’t have time to eat. Although this hour offers limited freedom to students, some believe that had more free time in the summer.

“I definitely spend more money during the summer because I have time to go shopping with my friends,” Pedersen said.

“Whereas in school, I’m trapped in the building.”

The greater free time during summer break often gives students time to spend money. With the school routine, students are in class for most of the day and have fewer opportunities to spend money.

Like Pedersen, junior Chase Uhlig agrees that with the school year comes a decrease in how much money he spends.

“I spend more money in the summer

11 | The North Star | September 2019 | student life

but I also make more money in the summer,” Uhlig said.

Uhlig mowed lawns for extra money during the summer. With a seven-hour school day, he has had fewer opportunities to spend that money. Uhlig gets home from football practice at around 6 p.m., leaving only a couple hours for homework.

School and football consume most of Uhlig’s day, making it hard for him to earn money during the academic year.

Junior Emma Kneller also had to tweak her spending habits and routines with the start of school. Kneller gets around six to seven hours of sleep a night, making it hard for her to wake up some mornings. Ninety-three percent of BVN students that participated in a survey said they got less than nine hours of sleep.

“You have to transition into a set schedule,” Kneller said. “It’s hard to transition from nights where I can stay up as late as I want and have no consequences in the morning to staying up and being completely exhausted in the morning because I just couldn’t go to sleep. It’s kind of throwing me off because I’ll take a nap in the middle of the day because I’m just exhausted and then the cycle starts over again, because I can’t go to sleep at around 10. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Kneller’s spending habits changed with the start of the school year because her summer lifeguarding job ended Sept.

1, leaving her more free time in her after school routine.

“I definitely spent a lot more money in the summer then I do now because I [would get] bored,” Kneller said. “I was working during the summer, so I had a steady income of cash. Now, since I only had a summer job, I need to be more conservative with my money because I don’t have that steady flow of cash anymore. I need to be more careful with where I spend it.”

A change in routine can increase concentration, improve memory, and promote creativity, according to Medium.

Although students experience struggle in transitioning their routines for a new school year, this change in schedule can be beneficial and help students regain focus.

The Crisis T

he average American uses 220 pounds of plastic each year, with more than 60 million plastic water bottles being thrown away every day, according to National Geographic. The increasing production of disposable plastic products is currently overwhelming the world’s ability to properly deal with them.

Plastic trash has become so common-place in daily lives that it has prompted multiple countries to try to partially ban or place taxes on them.

At BVN, the environmental club meets every first and third Wednesday of the month to discuss such issues. Both science teachers Chris Ollig and Daniel Smalley serve as club sponsors for student participants, like seniors Liam O’Leary and club president Sam Bhatia.

“If it was a perfect system and those [plastics] went straight into the garbage, into the landfill and were covered up, the problem would be minimized because [it would be] contained,” Ollig said. “But often, those things don’t happen. Those bags blow out of the garbage can or out of the garbage truck when it’s going to the landfill.”

National Geographic reports about eight million tons of plastic waste finds its way into the oceans every year. Most of this plastic flows from land or is directly dumped into the ocean by countries with no infrastructure for recycling. Trash can also be carried to sea via major rivers, picking up more and more trash as it moves downstream. Once in the ocean, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters. But if caught in strong ocean currents, it can be transported around the world.

“In some ways, you can imagine worse things being out in the environment than

Single-use plastics are filling the oceans. So what can we do about it?

By Olivia Miller

plastic, like radiation or oil,” Smalley said.

“But we don’t really know all of the reasons that [plastic is] going to be a problem yet.

[There are so many] unknown possible reasons why it’s an issue.”

Plastics offer a convenience that have led to a throw-away culture. Many of these single-use products, such as plastic grocery bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan ranging from mere minutes to hours until they are discarded, yet they will persist in the environment for hundreds of years. Single-use plastics account for more than 40 percent of plastic produced every year.

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[Plastic may] technically break down, but it will take forever.

- Liam O’Leary

“

All plastic created on Earth since its invention in 1907 still exists because it takes so long to break down. Since plastics made from fossil fuels were invented so recently, there’s no way of knowing exactly how long it will take to break down; current estimates range from 450 years to never.

Millions of tons of plastic waste currently float in the ocean in giant islands of plastic trash called garbage patches.

One patch, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located halfway between Hawaii and California, has grown to occupy more than 600,000 square miles, according to USA today. That is over twice the size of the state of Texas. A three-year long study concluded in 2018 found that it includes about 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic waste and

12 | The North Star | September 2019 | Health and education

weighs 88,000 tons. This collection of trash and others like it were formed as a result of plastic trash being funneled to the area over many years via ocean currents and winds.

Once plastic finds itself in the ocean, harsh sunlight, wind, and waves work to break it down into small particles known as microplastics. Any piece of plastic measuring less than five millimeters across is classified as a microplastic. Ocean currents spread these microplastics throughout the water column and around the globe. A study conducted in 2015 estimated that the number of microplastic particles in the oceans ranged from 15 to 51 trillion pieces, weighing between 186 and 472 million tons. Microplastics have been found in the stomachs of small crustaceans living in the Mariana Trench and at the top of Mount Everest.

“Essentially, our Earth is being covered in them,” Smalley said.

Microplastics are filling the seas and working their way into the creatures that live in them. That means these ocean microplastics are entering the food chain and, ultimately, our bodies. Microplastics have been found in more than 100 aquatic species, including fish, shrimp, and mussels — destined for our dinner plates.

Microplastics are breaking down further into smaller and smaller pieces, releasing potentially dangerous toxins.

Plastic particles have been found in municipal drinking water systems and drifting through the air.

No one currently knows the possibly damaging effects of microplastic on the human body, however there is a concern spreading among scientists that microplastics could potentially harm human health as they move through the marine food web. Microplastics can absorb and give off chemicals and harmful pollutants into

Plastic Breakdown graphics created by Genevieve Hulsof and Olivia Miller

Around the world Left: Sam Bhatia picks up single use plastics (pictured above) from a creek. Bhatia said she frequently picks up trash to relax. Photos by Olivia Miller.

their surroundings, according to the US National Library of Medicine.

According to Ollig, in addition to acting as a pollutant and food contaminant, larger pieces of plastic generally tend to become something an organism might eat.

“Those plastic pieces look like food to a lot of animals, and if they get that in their system, it kills them,” Ollig said.

“There are [countless] documented cases of people finding dead birds and dead sea life, with stomachs just full of plastic.”

Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds and fish to other marine organisms.

The world produces an estimated 10 tons of plastic every second, according to The Atlantic. These plastics find their way into our oceans, into our food, and into the stomachs of millions of sea creatures.

Once in the ocean, it is difficult, if not impossible, to remove plastic waste.

“All this discussion comes back to a question of economics,” Smalley said.

Because there is currently no viable and cheap alternative to oil-based plastic, one of the only ways to reduce plastic is to become aware of the issue and personally become less wasteful, Smalley said.

“When the system is set up to be so easy… [it] doesn’t matter if it’s a package of gum. They’ll put it in a plastic bag for you, because that’s just the routine,” Ollig said. “That’s just the way society is set up.

It’s going to take either the corporations deciding they don’t want to supply things in plastic or governments passing laws outlawing the use of those things.”

One of the only ways for companies to alter their plastic consumption is through an economic incentive because plastics are cheap and they help businesses meet their bottom line.

“Buy products that don’t use plastic,” Ollig said. “You have to support the industries that don’t use those materials.

Consumers have the real power in two ways: buying products that are sustainable and electing people who will pass laws that will require things to be sustainable.”

But also, try to consume less, environmental club member Sam Bhatia said. “[Because] you never know where [plastics will] wind up,” Bhatia said. “They could end up in a creek somewhere, stuck between some rocks or in a tree.”

Bhatia often goes down to Cherry Creek to pick up trash as a way to relax.

She has seen the effects firsthand of mainly single-use plastics and plastic pollution on the creek — tattered plastic bags that flutter in the wind and to-go cups and straws caught in trees’ root systems.

“Find ways that you can reduce [your plastic use],” Bhatia said. “Start small.

First find ways that won’t affect you as much like [using] paper straws [or reusable water bottles and bags]. They’re not some life changing thing. Instead of using shower gel that comes in a plastic carton, use a bar of soap because those are wrapped in paper.”

Jumping to a zero-waste lifestyle isn’t always necessary to promote change, Bhatia said while tugging on a plastic bag entangled in a tree.

She said there are countless simple ways to reduce plastic consumption.

“Whatever you’re doing. Whatever changes you’re bringing, [while consciously] thinking about the environment, are a good thing,” Bhatia said. “You’re doing a very good thing. You’re helping out the planet in a small way, but in a good way.”

countries or states that have bans or taxes on plastic bags

at BVN

63% of BVN students said they used a single-use plastic on the day they were surveyed

72% of BVN students said they always try to recycle

89%

of BVN teachers said they always try to recycle

Health and education | September 2019 | The North Star | 13

FLExible space After the new renovation to BVN, students and staff are sharing their varying views on the flex space

By Emily Mrkvicka

I

n place of where lockers once stood, a new open space takes shape. After renovations over the summer, BVN has a space that provides students a place for classes, extracurricular activities, lunch and homework. It’s a space intended to help students with academics by providing an environment outside of the classroom where students can work together.

Since the flex space is new and has only been available for just a couple of weeks, students and faculty are still finding ways to use it, such as meeting during class periods, eating lunch and socializing. Junior Christine O’Brien said she believes it will benefit the student body academically in the future.

“I feel like it’s a good place for people to do work ... to get outside of the classroom and work in a different area so people don’t feel so confined,” O’Brien said.

The flex space lets students have an environment outside of the classroom where they can work together. For cross country coach and math teacher Laura O’Connell, the flex space has proved to be a useful area for classes and gathering the cross country team.

“I’ve already used [the flex space] every single day,” O’Connell said. “I’ve been able to use it for AVID classes and taking big groups down there. I’ve used it in my algebra classes for a space for us to spread out and work and collaborate.”

Other students were happy to see the lockers go and be replaced with the open space. Sophomore Alexander Houts said he feels like the space is being used more efficiently now.

“No one really used the lockers and everybody hangs out [in the flex space] during North Time now, it was just a better use of the space,” Houts said.

Even with new learning opportunities, while some students are disappointed with the layout. While O’Brien sees the benefits of the space, she doesn’t feel like the flex space has been helpful and would rather work in a classroom environment.

“

that space was one of the biggest open spaces, And it’s been used so much more for curriculum and class time now that it’s been changed.

- Laura O’Connell

“

“It’s more clustered [now], and there’s not as much of a flow of traffic throughout the area,” O’Brien said. “I prefer going in other classrooms because there’s so many people in [the flex space] doing so many different things that I just [can’t] get anything done.”

Although Houts could understand how it might be a better use of the space, he was unsure that teachers and students would benefit from it the way administrators had intended for them to.

“I feel like the space isn’t very [functional], the tables are kind of random,” Houts said. “[The

14 | The North Star | September 2019 | Health and Education

administrators] were envisioning teachers going to teach [in the flex space], but I just don’t know how they would do that.”

So far this school year some classes have used the flex space. Senior Lexy Farrington has been able to use the flex space for her math and AP Literature classes.

“We used it as a discussion and collaborative space,” Farrington said.

“I think it has a lot of positives in the classroom. But we definitely could improve transportation and make a pathway for people getting to classes.”

For now, though, O’Connell is happy with the flex space and hopes that students and teachers alike can utilize the new space.

“I love the flex space, and I think it’s great,” O’Connell said. “From [the teachers’] standpoint, [the students now] have more space to work and more space for curriculum.”

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Ep]i]dem]ic Teenage vaping has reached what professionals are calling epidemic proportions — what’s happening at BVN?

By Ellianna Cierpiot

A

ccording to the current Blue Valley District policy, there is no difference between vaping and opiates. Students heading to the bathroom during lunch to use their Juul now risk the same base penalty as having Oxycontin at school: a suspension of up to 10 days and a referral to an addiction help program.

It’s frequently said that vaping has risks: posters in school bathrooms, news broadcasts and YouTube ads. The common message from the media?

Students need to be aware of the potential risks that come with vaping.

Out of all the consequences of vaping that can fall on teenagers, two stand out: the disciplinary consequences it can incur and the health risk it poses.

16 | The North Star | September 2019 | Health and Education

Health Vaping is, by many accounts, a public health threat. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calls it an “epidemic.” In recent months, more and more evidence has come to reveal vaping’s adverse health effects.

Indiana University’s School of Public Health professor Jon Macy has researched the effects that vaping can have in regards to both public and individual health. He said that perception of vaping is an issue.

“There’s some misinformation, or misunderstanding, of the risks of [vaping],” Macy said. “So the use rates of Juul have just gone up.”

According to the product claims of companies like Juul, vaping products were initially intended to help adult smokers quit, but the reputation of vaping as a safe alternative to smoking stuck — regardless

Relaxation

Boredom

“

life because of the cognitive development levels of teenagers.

“Brains are still developing,” Macy said. “And there’s the risk of becoming addicted to nicotine and then eventually switching to cigarettes.”

Smoking Cessation

- Jon Macy

Flavor

“

People have a hard time making decisions based upon health consequences that aren’t going to happen until way later down the road

Why Students Vape

Experiment

The products sold by Juul contain enough nicotine concentration to be considered cytotoxic — harmful to living respiratory cells when tested.

According to Macy, although vaping was intended as a smoking cessation aid, it can actually cause cigarette use later in

Yes

Not Sure Aware

4 in 10 Students at BVN Have Vaped

No

Not Aware

“

- Jon Macy

According to the CDC, there are other health risks that come with nicotine addiction: lung disease, seizures, respiratory and throat cancers, elated blood pressure, adrenaline spikes and heart disease are common side effects of nicotine use, says the CDC. These blood pressure and adrenaline boosts are the reason vaping can cause strokes and seizures, as well as the risk of heart disease. However, the lack of awareness that teenagers have for these risks is a concern in both the public health world and with educators, according to Macy.

“People have a hard time making decisions based on health consequences that aren’t going to happen until way later down the road,” Macy said. “It’s like, ‘I do this now, it’s not going to really affect anything, [so] I’m not going to worry about it.”

Tried/Succeeded in Quitting Vaping

Awareness of Health Risks at BVN

There’s some misinformation, or misconception of the risks

The Breakdown: Vaping At BVN

Looks Cool

“

of the label’s accuracy. According to Macy, since public health officials will recommend vaping to adult cigarette smokers to help them quit, teenagers think it’s safe. However, Macy said, that’s not the case.

Nicotine usage alters the user’s brain permanently, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) In adolescents, whose brains are still developing, these effects can be dangerous, if not deadly.

Health and Education | September 2019 | The North Star | 17

Discipline

“

At the District level, the two biggest factors for deciding the disciplinary policy are student health and well-being, according to David Stubblefield, former BVN principal and current Executive Director of Administration for high schools.

“The increase in the number of students vaping at our school has caused those two very important items to be affected,” Stubblefield said.

Although only four in 10 students who responded to a survey say they currently vape, Stubblefield said that the numbers have increased enough to cause concern throughout the district, not just at BVN. “The principals in every building… said that this has been the worst it’s been,” Stubblefield said.

According to Stubblefield, the solution was to get together and create new, stronger policies to both stop students who vape from continuing and prevent others from starting. He said he’s helped form a group with this purpose in mind.

“I’m actually working with a task force that the state of Kansas has put together,” Stubblefield said. “We’re working on locating more resources, finding ways to get that information in front of students, whether that be a

“

I actually didn’t know it was illegal to do… because there were so many people doing it.

- Tatiana Rogers

The biggest change of the disciplinary policy is reclassification of vaping to the same level as a controlled substance, like

“

poster or a website that we developed, those things are in the works.”

This task force is responsible for the posters that are hanging up around BVN to warn students about vaping, as well as more programs that educate students and develop new disciplinary policies.

As of last year, there has been a change in the District policy in regards to vaping and the disciplinary consequences it can have.

Yes

Nothing has happened to the people who vape, so they think it’s okay to continue doing it.

- Tatiana Rogers

“

marijuana, opioids or alcohol, instead of a tobacco product that may have in the past received a lesser punishment. What this means for students caught vaping is an increase in the number of suspension days, as well as a referral to a vaping education program, called Aspire.

“Things had come to a level that… we needed to increase these consequences,” Stubblefield said.

Over one-fourth of BVN students who responded to a survey didn’t believe their friends knew of the disciplinary consequences of vaping. Senior Tatiana Rogers has seen the way students at BVN approach the topic. However, Rogers still said that students at BVN are aware of the disciplinary consequences.

“I feel like they drill it into us,” Rogers said. “But nothing has happened to the people who vape, so they think it’s okay to continue doing it.”

According to students surveyed, last year only half of the students caught vaping experienced a disciplinary consequence.

“I actually didn’t know it was illegal to do ... because there were so many people doing it,” Rogers said.

Too Harsh

Poll: “Is the vaping policy appropriate?”

Not Harsh Enough

Awareness of Disciplinary Risks at BVN

No Not Sure Yes

One-half of students surveyed who were caught vaping said they experienced a disciplinary consequence; one-half did not.

18 | The North Star | September 2019 | Health and Education

“

aims to educate adolescents about the consequences of nicotine use.

Jon Macy, a public health professor at Indiana University who researches tobacco use in adolescents, said that he thought referral to an educational cessation program was appropriate.

“I think the main thing that should be done is… more educational campaigns about the addictiveness of the product... what that means and what that looks like,” Macy said.

According to Stubblefield, education is the key to increasing awareness. This education starts early in the Blue Valley district, and is intended to prevent students from starting in the first place, according to Stubblefield.

“Schools are educating, we’ve implemented a lesson as early as fifth grade,” Stubblefield said. “So, those types of preventative measures are steps that our district is currently undertaking.”

40

30

20

10

0

Why Risk It? Nonetheless, vaping persists. So, why?

There’s a myriad of motivations cited by both public health professionals and students surveyed, from addiction to making a profit to wanting to look cool.

“I think [the motivation] ranges, from students trying to make money by selling product, [and] students who have experimented and have found themselves addicted,” Stubblefield said.

More than one-half of the high school students who vape do so to experiment, according to the Journal of Adolescent Health. But students surveyed at BVN said the biggest reason is boredom, with appearance coming in a close second.

“People put it on social media… kind of exploit it in a discreet way,” Rogers said.

“

50

Both on and off school grounds

- Jon Macy

60

On school grounds

“

The main thing that should be done is... more educational campaigns.

70

Off school grounds

To remedy the vaping “epidemic,” schools turn to education, according to David Stubblefield, Executive Director of Administration for high schools.

Current school policy dictates that if a student is caught vaping, they are required to go through Aspire, an online addiction and tobacco education program, accessed through the MD Anderson Center, that

Poll: Have you ever vaped on school grounds?

80

No, Never

Solutions

People put it on social media... kind of exploit it in a discreet way.

- Tatiana Rogers

“

Although some use Snapchat stories to show off their habits, Rogers said she sees it in bad taste.

“I don’t think highly of anyone who does it just because they do it,” Rogers said. “If your teachers find out that you do or your parents do, there will be huge consequences for it, [and] it could ruin your life.”

Whether or not teens will continue to vape remains to be seen, but as of now, the “epidemic” persists and the death toll rises.

Health and Education | September 2019 | The North Star | 19

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NORTHERN LIGHT YEARBOOK!

Gas MOney and elbow grease Students share about their summer internships and jobs

By Scarlett Jones

S

tudents are in need of ways to finance their daily lives, whether it be to go out to the movies with friends, saving up for college or even just to afford gas money. During the summer, some students look for employment when they don’t have to worry about the pressures of school and can focus on their interests. One student, senior Halley Kern, took a job at a Christian Youth Theater summer camp.

“I love working with kids and I love theater… I love teaching them how to sing and dance and perform on stage,” Kern said. “I was an assistant, so I... was in the childcare areas with the younger

“

“

I just love waking up and seeing those little kids with that smile on their faces.

- Halley Kern

women mentors for the kids.”

Crocker said her experience was beneficial, not just for her, but for the many kids that she worked with each week. According to Crocker, many of the children had never seen a laptop

“

kids. I would teach them the songs and then they would perform the songs at the showcase at the end.”

According to Kern, her summer job allowed her to gain experience working with children and prepare her for a career in elementary school education.

“I’ve [worked at the camp] for four years, and I love it,” Kern said. “I just love waking up and seeing those little kids with that smile on their faces and them wanting to do theater.”

Sophomore Elizabeth Crocker also worked with children over the summer through the KC STEM Alliance, a program that offers summer camps to children to expand their knowledge of the sciences.

“I worked for a few weeks [during a] camp that they do for kids at community colleges to build and program robots,” Crocker said. “They wanted to see more

But it’s Everyone coming to do the same job.

- Gladys Bockelman

“

before, and through the summer camp they were able to construct and program robots.

“A lot of them don’t have a way to get into [robotics]… this gave them a chance to see if they were interested in it,” Crocker said.

Another student, junior Gladys Bockelman, applied for a job lifeguarding at Tomahawk Ridge Aquatic Center,

where she spent long days by the pool.

Bockelman’s job consisted of keeping the pool safe, as well as teaching children the basics of swimming.

“The kids were… excited to be doing anything close to swimming,” Bockelman said. “It meant a lot to me because I was actually teaching them new skills and they improved a lot while having fun. It especially meant a lot to me because two of the girls in my class drew me a cute picture and gave it to me at the pool.”

Bockelman explained that while the work days were long and hard, it was made enjoyable by the many people she met.

“I really like all the people,” Bockelman said. “I met a lot of good friends through it and it’s a lot of people that aren’t just from North. It’s other schools, but it’s everyone coming to do the same job.”

According to Bockelman, her motives for applying for the summer job were purely for making money, but the job became meaningful because of the people she met and the experience she gained. Student jobs don’t have the initial purpose to be meaningful, but they can help students gain experience and money doing something that they enjoy.

Children program robots through the KC STEM alliance. Photo by Elizabeth Crocker.

Student life | September 2019 | The North Star | 21

Pages N’ Paradise What books have BVN students read over the summer and why are they asked to do so?

By Daniel Park

S

ummer. It’s the time of year associated with vacations, free time with friends and family, beaches, pool parties, barbecues, sports games, amusement parks, camps, concerts, events, and...

Summer reading.

When the confines of school no longer bind students, summer assignments find ways to bring the classroom back into the summer. Among these summer assignments, summer reading often require students to read a certain book and annotate as they read.

According to an article from Education Week, the number of students who read books over the summer has declined from previous years. The article used information from a poll conducted by Scholastic, and it showed that among the 77 percent of students who agreed that summer reading will help them, as much as 20 percent of them reported not reading any books at all over the summer.

32 percent of kids ages 15 to 17 said they read no books over the summer, compared to 22 percent in 2016. The number of 9 to 11 year olds who do not read doubled, increasing from seven percent to 14 percent also since 2016.

What may contribute to these figures?

Especially in a setting such as BVN, where many English classes, from AP English Literature to Honors ELA 9, have required summer reading assignments, the summer period often requires students to keep up with books that they may not

want to read. However, allowing students the freedom to read whatever they wish to read may not prepare students for the classes they will take.

“Personally, I’m glad that I don’t have to assign summer reading,” librarian Terri

“

reading lets me escape.

So instead of having to deal with chores or work, you can use reading within the summer as a way of finding that vacation.

- Shelly Weir

“

Snethen said. “Because we’re all about free choice in the library. We want kids to read whatever they want to read. I know, especially for classes like AP Literature, in preparation for the test, students have to be well read on some of those classic texts that are going to be covered by the test. Unfortunately, the only way to get that information is to read the books, even during the summer. It is what it is. There’s got to be kind of a balance between the literature and the fun reading.”

Snethen said that although being required to read certain texts may

22 | The North Star | September 2019 | Health and education

deter students from wanting to read in the first place, those requirements are unchangeable without . To make up for the dissatisfaction of being forced to read a certain book over the summer, Snethen also encourages students to check out books over the summer to enjoy on their own time.

English teacher Shelly Weir said that many of these assignments are almost a requirement. Certain texts are necessary to read for taking a class and the amount of work throughout the school year can be cut down by giving summer reading. This allows students to effectively spend more time on each text and practice reading habits consistently.

“We really, really kind of battled for summer reading,” Weir said. “I can show you that the students that are most successful in college are the people that free read for themselves without being told because they’re in the habit of reading.

The last three years, we changed the summer reading assignment each year and we learned that, within the time in the school year we had to read five books, it would be better to use literature that was relevant to the class in order to make sure everyone was on the same playing field, having a purpose to their reading, and learning how to really examine the depth of what their reading.”

polls:

Did you do your summer reading assignment?

Out of 76 people polled...

34% said no.

66% said yes.

Did you read anything for fun over the summer?

Out of 76 people polled...

48% said no.

52% said yes.

Some of your favorite summer reads: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

Harry Potter by J.K Rowling Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman Becoming by Michelle Obama Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Health and education | September 2019 | The North Star | 23

Beta Beta B st

By Briley Everhart

Students find a creative outlet in the BETA makerspace

T

hroughout the past two years, a group of students have been harboring an idea that has finally come to life. At the end of the 500 hall, in rooms 518 and 520, there is a doorway draped with white lights and inside of it is home to a makerspace named The Beta.

Art teacher Alison Crane helped kickstart the first ever BVN makerspace.

“The Beta is our student-designed makerspace and the purpose of the Beta is to invite students to come make, explore and create,” Crane said.

The BETA houses a wide variety of tools and technology available to anyone in the school. At any time, students and staff are encouraged to come in and create.

Some of the equipment that can be found in these rooms are a 3-D printer, two vinyl cutters, a heat press, prototyping materials and a variety of arts and crafts materials.

Not only has this space made room for imagination, but it has created a community of students and staff members.

Senior Daniel Cady is part of a leadership

group known as the “Beta Bosses.”

“I describe the BETA generally as kind of like an environment and group of people,” Cady said.

“The people in [the Beta] are really nice and we like to support each other no matter what, so we’re all kind of just a big group of friends.”

“

“...cultivate a culture of creativity”

— Alison Crane

“

According to Cady, the Beta isn’t a club or an exclusive group of people and it’s easy to get involved.

The rooms are open during North Time and students are encouraged to ask questions.

In the past year, students and staff involved with the Beta have made a variety of accomplishments “We have held multiple events to invite people to come and make things,” Crane said. “We co-hosted the hacky sack tournament and makerjam and that was a collaboration between the hacky sack club and Graphic Design

24 | The North Star | september 2019 | Health and education

2.”

The group plans to make similar strides this year in the direction of fundraising and mental health awareness, but they also plan on using their space to motivate other schools to follow their lead.

“Ultimately, we would like to be a model for other schools,” Crane said.

The Beta bosses and Crane have gotten inspiration for BVN’s makerspace from local collaborative spaces like the one at Operation Breakthrough. They plan to grow the Beta and its resources and collaborate with other teachers to reach their ultimate goal, “to cultivate a culture of creativity,” according to Crane.

Students and staff involved look forward to the school year and are already planning new projects for the year. All students are welcome to stop by the BETA during North Time to experiment and create.

The Beta Guidelines Make everything visual Be explorative Invite others to play

Hacky Sack

Take risks

de-stress and invent

What you’ll find in the Beta 3-D Printer

Various Arts and Crafts Supplies The Beta Boss leadership team poses for a photo in the BETA. The BETA bosses help run the makerspace. photo by Briley Everhart.

Health and education | september 2019 | The North Star | 25

Sound and Color A look into Gabby Geiger’s art and her inspiration behind it

By Delaina Sanden

E

ver since she could hold a pen, junior Gabby Geiger has been creating art.

Throughout her childhood, Geiger would spend hours at a time drawing and listening to classic rock with her father. In high school, Tom Holland has taught her everything she knows, according to Geiger. Thanks to these experiences, Geiger continues to create art today, much of it inspired by the classic rock musicians introduced to her by her father. Here, Geiger shares her inspiration behind some of her work.

Cherry Bomb (Acrylic and oil on canvas)

“My top three artists that I kind of go off of are James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol and Keith Haringpop artists,” Geiger said. “I did that one based off of a James Rosenquist painting where he did spaghetti, a woman and a car.

It’s so randomly put together, but it still fits. I had based off of the Keith Haring painting, but it also is based off the song Cherry Bomb by the Runaways, which is one of my go-to anthems.”

Teen Spirit (Acrylic and sealant on wood)

“I started skating this summer,” Geiger said. “I picked it up as a hobby, but now I absolutely love it. I found that a lot of skateboard designs were cool and all, but that they weren’t very original or true to the skater, especially for girls, so I decided to paint mine,” Geiger said. “I personally am a huge fan of Nirvana and that’s why I picked Cobain for mine. He was a real person with real pain and that’s all I want in my art. I thought it was a nice tribute to his fans. I wanted to add a little more girly twist to it, so I did the roses and the butterflies.”

26 | The North Star | September 2019 | Feature

Andy Warhol (Oil on paper)

“He’s such a big inspiration to me that I wanted to do a piece of him and I tried to do it in his style, so that it would, you know, throw in a little bit of that element to that,” Geiger said. “Nothing [draws] me to him per-say, but his art style with bright colors. I can’t possibly compare myself to him, but but I try to use elements like the cherries in Cherry Bomb.”

Butterflies in my Stomach (Acrylic and oil paints with craft butterflies on canvas)

“It’s of a skeleton and then there’s butterflies coming out,” Geiger said. “So it’s supposed to represent butterflies in your stomach, but it’s also on life and death. It’s supposed to capture the feeling of anxiety to where you feel naked to the bone and unprotected. I’ve been doing a lot of that theme lately, with the skeletons and butterflies.”

Trust the Process Take a look into Geiger’s creative process

Q:

What does your creative process look like?

A:

“Usually, I sketch it out, kind of lay it down on paper and then I’ll go and find references that I can use to help me add it to the canvas, and then I’ll sketch on the canvas, then add the paint layers.”

Q:

Where do you find your inspiration for your pieces?

“For me, it’s a lot of influence through music and because music and art kind of flow together quite well. And for me, that’s how most of my ideas come about. I’ll hear a lyric and be like, oh, that would tie into a painting, and then I’ll do it from there.”

A:

Jim Morrison (Graphite on paper)

“I am honestly just a huge fan of all things rock and roll, including Jim Morrison, and that time period,” Geiger said. “He is beautiful. I was born in the wrong time. Sometimes inspiration is just that simple.”

Find more of Geiger’s art on Instagram @GabbyGeigerArt

feature | September 2019 | The North Star | 27

KaohsiUng, Taiwan Nick Buffo studied abroad in Taiwan over the summer

K

aohsiung, Taiwan.

Last year, this city was completely unheard of by senior Nick Buffo. But after six and a half weeks of immersing himself in the city and culture, he said he could not wait to go back.

Buffo traveled to Taiwan through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), a program that gives students 15-18 years old the chance to study a foreign language abroad for six to eight weeks in the summer, even with little to no prior experience with the language.

After considering several different foreign language programs, Buffo decided to apply for NSLI-Y’s Mandarin program the fall of his junior year. Buffo said that an entire summer dedicated to learning Mandarin was what made NSLI-Y stand out to him.

“It’s not just a class that’s 45 minutes a day for four days a week,” Buffo said.

“You have so many more opportunities to speak the language and it’s a dedicated program to studying the language. I think a lot of language learning in the United States is done as an extracurricular, not as a priority. And so having the priority to study it, that’s all I was there for.”

Prior to applying for the program, Buffo had only been taking Chinese 1.0 for two months. Because of this, Buffo was afraid he would not make the cut.

“I didn’t have the serious language commitment that I had seen a lot of other applicants have,” Buffo said. “I was just kind of like, “Wow, this would be a great opportunity, let’s try to apply for it.”

Since the program is completely paid for by the U.S. government, NSLI-Y only chooses around 20 percent of the competing applicants. While considering students, Rebecca Berman, a member of the NSLI-Y administration, said the program looked for passion and motivation, rather than experience.

Berman said that a common

misconception among applicants was that years of experience were needed to make it into the program. But she said that in reality, 36 percent of NSLI-Y participants come into the program without previous studies in their NSLI-Y target language.

As the months went by, Buffo went through several rounds of selections, including application evaluations and an interview.

In April, the results started coming out.

Each day leading up, Buffo noticed others receiving their acceptance letters, so not seeing his email made his anticipation grow. Finally, while sitting in a lecture in his chemistry class, Buffo received the email. He had been accepted into the Taiwan program and would be studying in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

“

28 | The North Star | September 2019 | feature

I really have found a passion for studying East Asian Languages - Nick Buffo

“

“[After] reading the subject [of the email]: “Your application status has been updated,” I knew that I would be going!” Buffo said. “...I went to talk to my Chinese teacher and Mr. Breedlove who had written recommendations for me. I thanked both of them for their support and help through the application status and then I was kind of in a shock for the rest of the day.”

In Taiwan, Buffo stayed with a host family, which he described as one of the best experiences he has had.

“My host family was just so

By Yasmeen Saadi

welcoming right away that I was able to adapt,” Buffo said.

Students in the Taiwan program attended classes at the Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Monday through Friday, and were taught by teachers brought in from all over Taiwan.

Throughout the program Buffo spent around 20 hours a week in the classroom listening to lectures, and engaging in reading, writing and listening practice.

Outside of the classroom, Buffo was able to participate in cultural activities with both his classmates and his host family. One of Buffo’s favorite cultural experiences with his host family was when they took him hiking through a mountain range to different waterfalls where he was able to interact with locals who spoke solely Chinese.

“It was really cool to hike through a mountain only speaking Chinese with these people, never knowing them before this,” Buffo said. “And everyone was just so welcoming to me, [they] gave me gifts [and] gave me a bunch of food.”

One person Buffo met on this hike was a young boy who challenged him to a dumpling eating contest at a nearby restaurant.

“He was 6, and he challenged me to a dumpling eating contest at this restaurant,” Buffo said. “And so, you know, I ended up winning, but it was really funny. He [made a] bet [with] me in Chinese and I was able to understand it and not have to ask anyone what it meant.”

Buffo said interacting with the boy meant less to him about the contest and more about their ability to bond with each other over Taiwanese food, a special aspect of Taiwanese culture. Buffo was able to observe Taiwanese culture daily, through smaller means as well, such as riding the city bus.

“Riding the city bus to school every day was interesting to get used to, but... I found it kind of fun because I got to see Taiwanese culture… in its natural place,” Buffo said. “It wasn’t a tourist view, it was more like I was living there.”

At the end of the program, Buffo returned to the U.S. with a new respect for foreign cultures.

“Having an appreciation for people of different cultures, I think has really been something that I took away and something [that] when I came back to America... [after] meeting new people, really seeing who they are and what their identity is, rather than just a visual stereotype that you give someone,” Buffo said.

In the future, Buffo hopes to use the knowledge and awareness he gained through NSLI-Y in his career.

“I’m wanting to go into medicine,” Buffo said. “I think I want to go into some sort of global perspective on it... studying global medicine or global health. But using it some way or helping third world countries [by] giving them access to health care.”

Even if the language doesn’t find a prominent place in Buffo’s future career, he wants to keep practicing Chinese and learning about Asian culture. He plans on doing an academic year for Mandarin with the NSLI-Y program, where he would study for 10 months.

“There’s a lot of moving parts to that right now, but I think I wanted to study a year in China or Taiwan, [and] do the same program,” Buffo said. “And so that would, I think, really, really help my Chinese.”

The NSLI-Y program offers eight different languages for students to explore.

Buffo said he would recommend the program for anyone wanting to learn a new language and culture.

“If you have this burning desire to learn a new language that you wouldn’t have the opportunity to, [since] the only [language] through NSLI-Y that’s taught at North is Chinese,” Buffo said. “But if you want to learn Indonesian, if you want to learn Turkish, if you want to learn Arabic, or just really learn a new language that you otherwise would not be able to, it’s a really, really good program to do it and I totally recommend it to people.”

Buffo’s mother, Novice Buffo, also noticed a change in Buffo’s perspectives after returning from Taiwan.

“I see such more awareness of the world around him,” Novice Buffo said.

“He listens to [the] news differently.

He pays attention to world events.

Not that he didn’t before, but I think... when you’ve lived it and you’ve been there, you have such an awareness that there is something outside of the world that we live in here in the United States, in Johnson County and down even into the little city that you live in, within the Johnson County world.”

From their organizational structure, their communication, and the immersion experience itself, Novice Buffo described NSLI-Y as going beyond her expectations.

“It was so much more than we ever

“

Stroke by Stroke Buffo worked on his handwriting through calligraphy, as well as his reading and writing skills. Below are examples of his calligraphy, tests and homework from the experience.

I want to go back. and I want more people to have this same opportunity.

- Nick Buffo

“

expected,” Novice Buffo said. “It was beyond our wildest dreams for the experience and the cultural knowledge that [Nick] gained. It’s so beyond what we ever expected. And I think we’re still peeling back the onion, I call it, to learn all of the things he has learned.”

Month2019 2017| The | TheNorth NorthStar Star||29 # feature | September

Top Left: Smiling, Buffo poses with his host family on his last night in Taiwan. On the last night of the program, NSLI-Y had a closing ceremony with dinner and presentations.

Top Left: Buffo poses with his Chinese teachers from the program. Teachers were brought in from all over Taiwan to teach the NSLI-Y students.

Bottom Right: Buffo kayaks with his friends at an island off the coast of Taiwan. Through NSLI-Y, Buffo was able to meet friends from Taiwan as well as other parts of the United State. “Some of the Taiwanese friends that I met, I still talk to them every day today,” Buffo said.

Bottom Right: Buffo hiked to this waterfall in Pingtung, Taiwan, with his host family and their family friends.

(Photos provided by Nick Buffo)

NSLI-Y Quick Facts 15 Host Countries

8 Languages offered *Arabic *Chinese (Mandarin) *Hindi *Indonesian, *Korean *Persian (Tajiki) *Russian *Turkish

30 | The North Star | September 2019 | Feature

expenses paid for by scholarship

For more information on NSLI-Y’s programs, their website is: www.nsliforyouth.org

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4 Clockwise from top left: 1. Lucy Thomas stunts with the cheer squad at the White Out soccer game. 2. Senior James Eshleman holds a sign at the last White Out game of his high school career. 3. The sun sets over BVN. 4. The varsity boys’ soccer team walks out on the field at the White Out game. Photos by Taylor Slusher and Annie Stier.

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