The Tiger Print — August 2019 by The Tiger Print

THE TIGER PRINT

bilingual student body students share their stories of being brought up bilingual, read about it on page 9.

design by charlie trent

2 | august 2019 | contents

Contents ON THE COVER

Luck with languages Students explain the benfits and struggles of growing up bilingual.

FEATURE

Summer fun Students and teachers of BV reveal what they did over the summer.

ENTERTAINMENT

Put on your Running Shoes Do you think that running a 5K could never be fun? Check out all the fun ways to run.

OPINION

Bronzed — Bad or Beneficial? Staff writers Aubrey Herrin and Chloe Browning debate whether tanning is harmful or helpful.

| DESIGN BY CHARLIE TRENT

//TIGER PRINT THE

editors in chief Maddy Kang Shay Lawson

managing editor Vince Orozco

design editor Charlie Trent

adviser Michelle Huss

staff members Megan Bridges Chloe Browning Emily Cummings Isabelle Fletcher Aubrey Herrin

Allyson Imhoff Erika Kolseth Stephania Kontopanos Anika Kreegar Frannie Lamberti

J.D Loftin Harrison Melton Claire Middleton Tymber Moody Spencer Norman Lizzy Parkerson

Liya Patel Jaidyn Phillips Claire Powell Gabriela Ruiz Olivia Sherlock

“The Tiger Print” is an official publication of Blue Valley High School, an open forum distributed to all students eight times a year. This publication may contain controversial material. Kansas law prohibits the suppression of a student publication solely because it may contain controversial matter. Blue Valley Unified School District No. 229 and its board members, officers and employees may disclaim any responsibility for the content of this publication; it is not an expression of school policy. Student authors and editors are solely responsible for the content of this publication. Letters to the editor are encouraged for publication. “The Tiger Print” reserves the right to edit all submissions for both language and content. Letters should be submitted to Room 450, emailed to thetigerprint@gmail.com or mailed to: The Tiger Print Blue Valley High School 6001 W. 159th St. Overland Park, KS 66085

3 | august 2019 | feature

Teacher Trips Staff members discuss summer plans

frannie lamberti & kate oudejans staff writers Principal Scott Bacon traveled more than 8,000 miles for his summer trip this year. “June 5, my wife and I [got] on our airplane and we [went] to Hong Kong,” Bacon said. “My daughter works there currently. So we visited her and [we were] there for three days.” Bacon and his wife did a multitude of activities while they were in Hong Kong. “There’s a lot of things we [did] in Hong Kong. Obviously [we ate] the food and experienced the culture. There’s a couple of hikes [my daughter took] us on,” Bacon said, “[We went to] the harbor, and they had a firework show, I think every weekend, and [it was] pretty spectacular. Everything that you’re supposed to see or do when you go to Hong Kong she [tried] to figure out how to help us do it.” On top of going to Hong Kong, Bacon traveled to Vietnam for the first time with his wife and daughter. “We’re going to go Ho Chi Minh City and I hired a private guide. I got on TripAdvisor and found this guy that does private tours and, and so he [took] us to several different places, we’re [got] to see all the sites there in Ho Chi Minh City,” Bacon said. “Then we’re going to go outside the city a little bit, there’s a place called Chu Chi Tunnels, which is basically an underground city that the Vietcong built during the Vietnam War.” Not only did Bacon take a tour he also got to go down to Mekong River Delta. “[The Mekong River Delta] is one of the more beautiful regions of Vietnam.” Bacon said. Bacon and his family got to float down the river and visit the farms along the delta. “[We were] just tourist for a day it [was] a lot of fun and pretty exciting.” Bacon said. Bacon was excited to go because he has taught about Vietnam for years so he was looking forward to his first opportunity to go. “It’s an experience far different from anything that I’ve ever had,” Bacon said. | DESIGN BY FRANNIE LAMBERTI

Teachers’ Summers TJ Slade “I [went] to the Dominican Republic for my honeymoon. I [got] married July 20 and [went] to Punta Cana July 22 - July 27 to stay at a resort. We plan on eating lots of food, snorkeling and lounging by the pool.”

Brian Mowry “Me and my family [went to] camp in New Zealand for about two weeks and then [we got to] see some Australian Football. [We were in] Australia for two weeks during June and July.”

Samantha Newlin “My family [went] to Cancun, and we’ve never done that before, so it’s pretty exciting. I [could] eat and drink all I want, so I [did] a lot of that — just relax. I’ll read a couple of books and [got] too much sun. I’m also going to go to the lake Table Rock Lake and spend a few days. I have a little bit of training and I’m going to do because I’m taking a new position here next year, I’m going to be an intervention specialist. So I’m going to get some suicide training and some mental

4 | august 2019 | feature maddy kang & shay lawson co-editors in chief

his Summer, our tigers explored near and far. Some took up unique jobs, while others served across the globe. Dive into this article to see how fellow students spent their summer.

FUN IN students reveal summer

Jack Dillavou, 12 Began working as a Camp Counselor “This Summer I worked at a day camp where the kids get to do all sorts of activities ranging from fishing, canoeing and having fun in the creek. It’s a really great gig I get toenjoy nature — and I get to have Mr. Hare as my boss.” may 28

june 19 june 11

Zak Svendsen, 10 Played on a Summer Baseball Team

“This summer I have been playing a lot of competitive baseball with my team — Building Champions. Every weekend I am competing with my team. We even travelled as far as Indianapolis for a tournament. During the week, we practice hard allowing us to be successful when we play.” Tori Ward, 12 Left for Santa Elena, Ecuador “This Summer I went to Ecuador for six weeks with a program called AMIGOS de las Americas. I lived with a host family in the little town of Cadeate, the capital of bread. Everyday we worked and played games with the kids, while also creating a mural, health classes, and a recycling initiative in the town. I made so many connections and cannot wait to go back and visit my second family!” | DESIGN BY MADDY KANG & CHARLIE TRENT

feature|august 2019 |

THE SUN adventures, activities

june 25

Brian Mann, 12 Travelled to Washington, D.C.

“My family and I went to DC for our summer trip and we got to see all of the landmarks, monuments and museums. We also got to tour the Supreme Court, Capital and White House. My favorite place was the White House because it is the most important building in the country ”

july 11

Maddie Gessler, 11 Explored Barcelona, Spain “Spain was amazing. My friends and I went to Parc Güell, La Sagrada Familia and Barceloneta Beach which were all so pretty and so much fun. I also got my phone pickpocketed so be careful!”

july 18

Mary Kate Arnett, 9 Enjoyed Time at the Lake “My friends and I love the Lake of the Ozarks. While we were there, we swam tons and went cliff jumping. We also like to tube and use the rope swing and cove out on the boat. You can find us on the dock!”

6 | august 2019 | a & e

Fun Ways to do 5Ks Kansas City offers races with a twist

Foam Foam Glow Glow Run Run Providence Amphitheater in Bonner Springs July 12 The Foam Glow 5K is the world’s largest glowing foam run. Runners from across the area came to Kansas City to experience this event. The run is focused on giving back to the community by supporting childhood cancer awareness, one race at a time. Kansas’s run contributed to this when more than ____ people came to show their support. During the race, runners experienced black lights and glow-in-the-dark foam to enhance the run. Following the race, runners enjoyed “one of the best after race parties in the world” according to the Foam Glow website.

| DESIGN BY EMILY CUMMINGS

Bubble Bubble Run Run Providence Amphitheater in Bonner Springs July 13 The bubble run is a highly anticipated event that has made its way around the country and even made a stop in Kansas for runners to enjoy this summer. The run was about three miles long, with colored suds that runners encountered along the course. The run has no timing system, and its main focus is for runners to have fun. There were many ways for people to get involved, ranging from running to sponsoring to volunteering. This summer, many students from BV participated to help the event run smoothly.

on the cover |august 2019 |

Bilingual backgrounds WRITten by: claire powell SHAY LAWSON maddy kang Blue Valley High School prides itself with accepting all students and the diverse qualities that they bring to the table. Students and faculty respect each other regardless of their gender, appearance, language or interests. BV is lucky enough to have such a unique mix of students and faculty that exists in a high school environment. Amidst this unique mix of are those that can speak more than one language. Read on to hear what these bilingual students have to say about themselves

ONline education Duolingo’s new French-English podcast On June 18, after several requests, Duolingo launched a French podcast. It features true stories narrated in French along with an English translator throughout each episode. According to the app, over 20 million people are learning French from Duolingo. The company said their goal, similar to their Spanish podcast, is “to use compelling storytelling to help learners improv their listening comprehension while hearing and learning from people who represent the diversity of French speakers globally.” The first podcast episode featured Mahmoud M’Seddi, a child of Tunisian | DESIGN BY CHARLIE TRENT

immigrants and the youngest to win “France’s Grand Prize for Best Baguette in 2018”. Other stories include Martinique, Cameroon and more. Users of the Duolingo app said while they enjoy the French podcast, they wish there was less English. This is the same concern for many users who listen to the Spanish podcast, in that some even would prefer zero English throughout the episodes. The French podcast is hosted by journalist, lawyer and podcast producer, Ngofeen Mputubwele. Duolingo recommends the weekly podcast.

8 | august 2019 | on the cover

language logistics being bilingual benefits students

russian

With parents having immigrated from the then Soviet Union, sophomore Helena Sherbinin finds it vital to stay close with her Russian culture, which includes speaking the language. “It allows me to connect with my grandparents and [the rest of] my family because everyone lives out of the country,” Sherbinin said. “The only way I can communicate with them is using Russian.” Sherbinin’s parents have her and her siblings speak Russian at home, as it is a big part of their identity. “They [want us] to keep the family close, even though we’re across the Atlantic Ocean,” Sherbinin said. Sherbinin said it has been easy to switch languages thanks to the other Russian speakers in school. “I’ll randomly start speaking Russian with them in the hallways, and then I can switch to English,” she said. Sherbinin performs in Russian shows in order to teach young children about their Russian culture. “A lot of the parents like it to because it reminds them of the stories and folk tales they [heard as children] that don’t really exist in America,” Sherbinin said. “I love being on stage so getting to do that, while teaching kids, and being [immersed in] the culture is a neat experience.” Sherbinin said she appreciates being bilingual because of the challenge. “For me, learning language, is like a puzzle and I encourage it,” Sherbinin said. “It’s really cool to say ‘I’m bilingual. I can speak two languages’, since Russian isn’t offered in schools [very often].” Because of this Sherbinin welcomes students to ask her questions about her Russian roots. “I like teaching people Russian because I want people to be as culturally immersed as possible,” Sherbinin said.

Whatever it may be, Sherbinin wishes for students to try learning a different language.

according to a study done by Gallup

1 in 4 Americans speak a language other than English

“There’s all

these little, every“There are so day experiences many languages and culture you get to connect [with] someone on a better basis,” and ethnicities in the world, Sherbinin said. “There are so many laneach of them having their guages and cultures and ethnicities in the world, own unique each of them having their own unique culture.” culture.”

| DESIGN BY CHARLIE TRENT

on the cover |august 2019 |

bv basics in the 2018-2019 school year

546 students were enrolled in

Spanish

138 students were enrolled in

French riching life experiences it may lead to. “This summer, I am going to study abroad for six weeks, with this program called Nestle. It’s basically the US State Department sponsoring kids to go abroad and study critical languages — I’m studying Hindi,” Arunachalam said. “Learning a little bit of Hindi and Tamil and knowing En-

Tamil Senior Sivaanii Arunachalam often faces the question, “Do you speak Hindi?” and finds herself saying she speaks Tamil instead. “I think when a lot of people think of the language in India, they think of Hindi, which is spoken in North India, but [Tamil] is actually one of the oldest languages and it’s a very ancient,” Arunachalam said. Regardless of primarily using English in her early years, Arunachalam still learned Tamil to connect with family. “I would speak Tamil to all of my grandparents, which is why I wouldn’t say I’m amazing,” Arunachal am said. “I definitely am much better at English.” Unlike English, learning Tamil was difficult for Arunachalam because she was starting from square one. “I started learning Tamil in sixth grade. I took a class but it was just too hard,” Arunachalam said. “It was difficult to memorize because there are double the letters than in English and for every letter there’s a different sound inflection.” Despite already speaking two languages, Arunachalam is learning yet another language at school: Spanish. She believes it’s important to know many languages because of what en-

glish and Spanish has just really opened up my worldview.” Arunachalam encourages Blue Valley to introduce even more foreign language classes. “Culture is about people,” Arunachalam said.”[Learning a foreign language] helps understanding others and where they come from.”

“Culture is about people. [Learning a foreign language] helps understanding others and where they come from.”

| DESIGN BY CHARLIE TRENT

10 | august 2019 | on the cover

Student stories growing up surrounded by different cultures, languages

japanese Unlike most bilingual students, Ken Drakey was not urged by his parents to learn a second language, but at age five he felt it necessary to learn Japanese. “It was [my] choice. My parents didn’t want to force it

racism at school, but he has noticed assumptions about people in Japan. “Everybody [thinks] Japanese people, or Asian people in general are smart and know math,” Drakey said. “When I went to school [in Japan] lots of the kids were actually really bad at math.”

out of the 291,524,091 population ages 5 years and older…

60,577,020 spoke a language other than English at home

230,947,071 spoke English at home

on to me” Drakey said. “I wanted to learn so I could talk with my family members in Japan.” Every summer, Drakey attends school in Japan. “They try to enforce [learning english],” he said. “I don’t need to take [english class] but they have to teach me. I’m usually better than the person teaching the actual language.” Fortunately, Drakey said he hasn’t experienced any

from a study done in 2011 by US Census Bureau

tat-

Drakey will often see people with toos written in Japanese and finds it quite funny. “They like talking about how it means something or thinking they got a dope looking tattoo, but it’s just some random Japanese word like rain or something,” Drakey said. Drakey said he wishes for people to ask him to speak his

“You never know— you might meet somebody that you become best friends with. You wouldn’t have known about them if you didn’t know their language.”

| DESIGN BY CHARLIE TRENT

on the cover |august 2019 |

in the United States over

350

second language. “I hate it when people ask me to say something in Japanese,” Drakey said. “I always say no.” Drakey said that while he can’t force fellow students to take up another language, he thinks it could help them connect in unexpected ways. “You never know–– you might meet somebody that you become

languages are spoken

SPanish Sophomore David Salas moved to the U.S. from Cuba last year and as soon as he walked through the Blue Valley doors, he was seen as an outcast. “Everybody seemed to hate me for no reason,” Salas said. “I didn’t understand what they were saying to me because I speak Spanish and everyone speaks English. It was weird.” Fortunately, time has passed and now students are curious about Salas’s culture. “A lot of people ask me questions about my country and language,” Salas said. “I’m open to any questions that people

Salas said he would have his future family learn Spanish because it’s an important part of him. “Spanish is a language I learned from my mom and why still speak it,” Salas said. “I could speak English all day and forget my language but that would be a waste of knowledge.” Despite the struggle in the beginning, Salas is grateful to be in the U.S. “It is a complete different culture, different school system, economic levels, everything,” Salas said. “Moving from Cuba to America was the one thing that changed my life the most.”

“Everybody seemed to hate me for no reason. I didn’t understand what they were saying to me because I speak Spanish and everyone speaks English.” ask me.”

Salas speaks both Spanish and English but plans on learning a third language soon. “I’m planning to be at least trilingual before I graduate from high school,” Salas said. “I want to learn up to five languages; Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese.” Last year Salas took Spanish class at BV but doesn’t find it beneficial because he already speaks the language. Salas urges others to learn a second language because it can help in ways more than imaginable. “It is something that is going to improve you life… will give you a lot of advantages in work,” Salas said. “For example, I’m working at Costa Vida and being bilingual helps me communicate with more customers.”

out of the 291,524,091 population ages 5 years and older…

37,579,787 spoke Spanish or Spanish Creole

| DESIGN BY CHARLIE TRENT

opinion |august 2019 | charlie trent design editor

If you have ever walked into Forever 21 at the local mall or ordered from a site like H&M, you’ve seen first hand what the fast fashion industry is. From the outside that is. It’s no secret that these companies don’t have the most clean production process, but there are many other layers behind these cheaply-made trends.

questionable labor laws To add onto the numerous problems with this practice, the companies aren’t only hurting their employees, they are hurting the fashion industry as a whole. Although some may call an evolution, the facts show that clothing is becoming less valuable and important to the American people as a whole. According to Bloomberg, in 1977, “clothing accounted for 6.2 percent of U.S. household spending,” while, “four decades later, it’s plummeted to half that.” This decline is due to clothing becoming more of

FAST FASHION FIX quantity of quality. If people are given the chance to spend the minimum to get the maximum, they will. However, this phenomenon has resulted in less quality clothing pieces that last for decades and generations, and have been switched out for garments that fall apart at the seams on the first wash. Clothes used to heirlooms that were important and special, and now with the growth of fast fashion, the focus is off of the heritage and meaning behind the clothes and more on the more the merrier.

destruction of an empire The clothes produced by these companies aren’t made by magic, although sometimes it seems as if they were. All we know of their origin is the little tag on the inside that says, “made in ____” and fill in the blank with whichever country with poor working conditions the respective company chooses. According to HuffPost, the countries with the worst rights for workers are, “China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, and United Arab Emirates,” many of which are

commonly found on those little tags. These countries allow practices such as child labor, dangerous working environments, unnecessary temperature control, etc. With these major retail giants supporting and exploiting these laws — or thereof — the fashion industry has bewho can create the newest trend the fastest, cheapest and in the highest quantity, without concern for their employees.

lack come

trash full of trashed clothes Despite the fact that inhumane methods of production are used to create them and that clothes are becoming less and less apart of our culture, there is one effect of fast fashion that influences everyone on the planet. That’s because this industry is killing just that: the Earth. According to United States Environmental Protection Agency, “[it is] estimated that the generation of textiles in 2015 was 16 million tons.” This amount is 6.1 percent of the

total waste makeup in the United States. The growth of the fast fashion industry is directly correlating to the growing number of clothes in the landfills each year, and at this rate, the clothes will be flowing right out of our closets into the dump.

| DESIGN & ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHARLIE TRENT

13 | august 2019 | opinion

To Tanor Not To Tan aubrey herrin staff writer

I have two words for anyone who is obsessed with laying out 12 hours a day during the summer: skin cancer. I get that a lot of people like to enjoy time in the sun during the summer, but tanning for hours at a time is excessive, and many people don’t even use sunscreen. The common misconception that sunscreen keeps you from getting tan leads to damage from UV rays because of teens skipping it. Ultraviolet radiation is one of the main causes of melanoma, which is a skin cancer. It causes DNA in skin cells to become damaged and mutate into harmful cancer cells. Is becoming slightly darker really worth jeopardizing your health? If I could avoid the harsh rays all day, I would. Unfortunately, playing sports during the summer forces me to get outside. And let me just say, soccer tan lines are not cute — sleeve lines, white thighs and the ever famous kneehigh sock tan. You’d think this would make me want to tan, and even out these horrendous pale areas, right? Wrong. Practicing multiple days a week, for hours at a time, wearing the same uniform makes these tan lines almost impossible to get rid of. When you’ve been playing soccer for as long as I have, you learn to give up on perfecting your tan — it’s just not going to happen. If I can’t get rid of these tan lines, I’d rather avoid them at all costs, even if it means staying pale.

| DESIGN BY AUBREY HERRIN

chloe browning staff writer Does anyone else just love the way the sun tans your skin? As someone who works as a lifeguard, I’m exposed to the sun all summer. I love the feeling of the sun beating down on me. I’m always told how stupid I am to want to work outside because the sun is only going to cause cancer or other diseases. This statement is simply not true — not only does the tan make you look better, but the sun is actually very helpful. Ever heard of Vitamin D? Well, according to Yale Medicine the sun is rich in giving out Vitamin D, which reduces heart disease and can actually reduce risks of certain types of cancer. The sun can also cheer you up. Sunshine boosts serotonin levels, the body’s “happy hormone”. Have you ever noticed that after you go tanning or are exposed to sunlight that your acne starts to clear up? Not only does it clear your acne, but it also helps heal conditions like eczema and psoriasis with anti-inflammatory qualities. So sure too much sun could harm you but the benefits outweigh the risks especially if you tan responsibly. Make sure to wear sunscreen, and enjoy the daily Vitamin D.

opinion |august 2019 |

trainin e r o m d e e n s Do lifeguard chloe browning staff writer

We have all seen the person standing in the red swimsuit with a whistle in their mouth watching over us at community pools, but have you ever wondered what they had to do to get there? All lifeguards must go through the latest training to make sure they are able to protect the lives of swimmers. As someone who works at Life Time Fitness, our workplace strives to make sure we are all prepared to jump into action at the sign of an emergency. During lifeguard training, we are taught specific maneuvers for different types of injuries and emergencies, and we then practice these moves on each other to make sure we all know what we are doing. According to the Red Cross, all lifeguards are strong swimmers and trained in CPR/AED first aid, certified in water rescue using several different aids and pieces of equipment. Specifically for Life Time, we go through several tests to make sure we are ready for any emergency. For example, we must be Lifeguard and First Aid Certified, have the ability to swim 300 meters without stopping, be able to tread water for one minute and have the ability to swim and retrieve a 10-pound brick from the bottom of the pool and swim the brick back without stopping. We also always have multiple guards as well as a manager on deck at all times, as do most pools. Many people see lifeguards and think of us as lazy people who just blow a whistle and yell at kids for running near the pool — but we truly want for our guests to be safe and have fun while they relax and spend time with each other. As someone who has been around pools my entire life, I’m always watching lifeguards scan the pool and making sure everything is running smoothly. At pools and waterparks around the country lifeguards switch stands so we can even make sure we keep our focus clean and clear. We also don’t have the daily distractions of our phones since we obviously might have to jump into the water, so we are always on high alert. For all these reasons lifeguards are perfectly qualified to serve the community to their best ability. We realize we are the first response to many pool-related emergencies, and none of us take that lightly. So next time you see that red suit and whistle, just know you are in good hands.

j.d loftin staff writer

You may have seen a lifeguard before, but that also means you more than likely have seen a lazy lifeguard, too. They are the ones that look the part but don't act the part. They typically are slouched or leaning back in their chairs or on stands. They could be looking at their phone, or they just look like they’re not paying attention. This is because the mindset they have is what are the chances someones gonna drown while I'm here. Yes, lifeguards go through a lot of training but that training is mainly how to save a life. Most of the time, they gloss over in training how to identify if someone is drowning or how to tell the difference between someone who is pretending like they're drowning or someone who is actually drowning. Lifeguards need more training. Yes, it is already hard but that's because you are going to be responsible for someone's life. So why are teenagers who are still in high school allowed to be guarding community pools on their own? It's simple — most adults either don't want to deal with the stress of having to save someone's life, or the pay is laughable for having to be responsible for saving someone's life. I'm not saying all teenagers can't do it — teenagers should be working at some place like Life Time Fitness pool first before they become in charge of an entire community pool or working at a water park where it can be chaos. If you haven't been a lifeguard before, imagine your self carefully analyzing a question on the ACT — you reread the same passage or just keep scanning the answers but none of the answers standout. That's what it is like to be a lifeguard — you have to have an incredible focus just to continuously look and search the water. This doesn't just apply to pools — it's even more dangerous when you see a lifeguard not paying attention at a water park when they're in charge of the lazy river or the wave pool. The training lifeguards go through is challenging, but what's the point in the training if the person isn't qualified to focus for long enough on protecting lives? Would you put someone you love in the hands of a lifeguard who might not even pay attention but are more focused on checking their Apple Watch for when their shift is over?

| DESIGN BY CHLOE BROWNING & J.D LOFTIN

Politle Politics, with Respectful Republicans and Listening Liberals

15 | august 2019 | opinion olivia sherlock staff writer

In first grade, we are taught the difference between fact and opinion. We are taught the difference between the sentences, “This color is green” and “I love the color green.” We are taught that the way you view them is that an opinion is impossible to prove right or wrong because an opinion is neither right nor wrong — it’s not a fact. Whatever political party you identify with is based on your opinions on how you believe events in America or the rest of the word should be handled. If you hear something and discard it because from your point of view you think it’s “wrong,” that does not give you the right to put down other people who do agree with it. I promise you, your opinion is not so superior to someone else’s that no one else’s opinions matter. We see it and hear it in the halls every day: “I won’t sit next to that annoying hick, Republican.” or “I can’t believe that stupid libtard.” But why do we sell the person as a whole so short just because of something as simple as a political affiliation? Would you hate everything someone wears for the rest of their lives, just because one day they showed up to school in a sweater you hated. Just like how one article of clothing doesn’t make a whole wardrobe, a political affiliation is not a whole person. So why do we do that when we get scared

| DESIGN BY SPENCER NORMAN

and hear words like democrat, republican or any other political ideology for that matter? I’m aware that comparing something like politics that’s personal and people get passionate about something as little as the color of a shirt is a bit absurd. But the point is that people disagree on things all the time but never just hate each other for it, except when it comes to politics. What is the point of free speech if no one is willing to listen to each other? We have the right to free speech so we can grow as intellectuals who listen to one another so we can be heard, and as a society and country, we grow. instead, we chose to set everything people say aside because of a political ideology they identify with. To quote “Mean Girls,” “I wish we could all get along like we used to in middle school. I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy.” We’re all different people with different ideas and two people who are in the same political party can still think differently from each other. Furthermore, I don’t know about you but I don’t sit around talking about foreign policy and taxes all day. That’s draining — I’d much rather talk to people about their life and family. I’d rather sit down and ask people how they are than sit down and ask people their opinion on gun control. So if I’m sitting down wanting to have a discussion about my math test coming up or whose party I’m going to, I’m not going to make a list of current events we must agree on to have a simple conversation. We, as a human race, should be able to respect each other’s opinions just as we wish for our own opinions to be respected.

feature |august 2019 |

seniors discuss plans after high school From pressures from parents and older siblings to living up to expectations,not having an idea of what one’s college or career path can be scary. Ask any junior what the topic of discussion is at the dinner table, and you will get the same answer — college. Read on to hear about these seniors who are prepared for what’s to come in the next few years.

Rachel Ma Senior Rachel Ma wants to attend medical school. She’s interested in going into anesthesiology or dermatology because of the flexible schedule. What do you want to study? “I want to major in biochemistry or another type of biology or chemistry and probably an undergrad in French or Chinese.” Where? “I’m going to go to USC because my dad lives in California.” Motivation? “I actually didn’t want to do anything medical for the longest time because I thought I was squeamish around blood. Recently, I realized

I actually do not find those things uncomfortable. I am more gifted in the STEM field than in any liberal arts.” Struggles? “My parents don’t want me to be in school for that long because they want me to get a job, but they still think the medical field in Kansas [doesn’t have] a lot of opportunities for internships and things like CAPS.” Advice? “Don’t feel too stressed about figuring it all out right now. I mean, undergrad, that’s what it’s for. It’s just to figure out what you want to do. It’s good to prepare ahead of time, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t decide until college.”

Akshay Venkat Senior Akshay Venkat is specializing in criminal law because he has been really passionate about it after he read a book called “Just Mercy.”

encouraged me to look more into law. After reading some more books about it, I like decided to go into law.”

What do you want to study? “In college, I want to have a double major — one in biotechnology, one in psychology and then a minor in Spanish and maybe business.”

Struggles? “My parents didn’t want me to do law. They wanted me to stick to medicine, but there’s not much exposure you can have in high school except for like the CAPS program.”

Where? “Either East Coast or West Coast. NYU and UCLA are my top schools.”

Advice? “Just do a lot of exploring and look for what you like to do, and don’t be afraid to change it. Before, I was really set on medicine [and I was] kind of scared to change it. But when you look for other things outside of your comfort zone, you might like it.”

Motivation? “I wanted to go into medical school, but then this year, after reading “Just Mercy,” it | WORDS BY SHAY LAWSON & MADDY KANG

| DESIGN BY CHARLIE TRENT