News that Stands Out
THE KNIGHT TIMES Official Student Newspaper of Episcopal High School
April 2020
4650 Bissonnet, Bellaire, Texas 77401
Coronavirus puts stress on mental state in isolation
www.ehshouston.org
Volume 34, Issue 9
The E-Learning Experience
EHS initiates online instruction to help flatten the COVID-19 curve
NICK HELD Staff Writer As more and more time passes, the term stir crazy is starting to hit a little too close to home as people begin to show signs of agitation due to prolonged restriction, but going stir crazy is a legitimate ailment. The term was originally used as slang for going insane in prison - more specifically, solitary confinement. According to Farlex, an online dictionary, to go stir crazy is to become acutely anxious, restless, irritable, irrational, and/or depressed from remaining for too long in an unstimulating, confined, and/or isolated environment. These symptoms are due to the way every human’s brain is wired. Humans normally tend to have paranoid thoughts, but we usually have the ability to “reality test” something so see if the paranoia is valid or not. So, when that ability is no longer available, these paranoid thoughts have no way to get out of the brain, so they build and grow. The U.S. National Library of Medicine tested the importance of social interaction in a 2015 experiment. They found that humans literally cannot lead a healthy life without social interaction. Business Insider said that people with weaker social relationships are 50% more likely to die over a given period of time compared to people with strong social relationships, making toxic loneliness comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The Social Baseline Theory suggests that over time, humans have evolved to expect access to social interaction and will react negatively when access is removed. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology at Brigham Young University, says, “In evolutionary terms, when humans were around other people, they could outsource a lot of mental energy to the group, and they didn’t have to be as vigilant against external threats,” so when people are alone, they feel they are in physical danger. But these “periods of quiet contemplation and mind-wandering can facilitate learning, meaning-making, and other critical cognitive processes” says Dr. Terry Kupers, a faculty member at the Wright Institute.
INSIDE
Restaurants Tiny Boxwoods, Carrabas, and other restaurants support social distancing
PAGE 4 Sports
Local sports lead the way in donations to support those in need during these hard times
PAGE 8
Features ........................ 2-3 Culture.......................... 4 Entertainment .............. 5 Knight Shift ................. 6 Opinion ......................... 7 Sports ........................... 8
Clockwise, top left, Chorale sings a virtual choir piece for Chapel. A triptych titled “Dad.” Mrs. Willcutts shares her work space for her art classes. Students from Ms. Cunningham’s Mixed Media classes start her embroidery unit. Photos courtesy of Mr. Ashby, Courtney Davis, Mrs. Willcutts, and Ms. Cunningham. LARA VERSTOVSEK Staff Writer
With Episcopal’s e-learning preparations, the EHS community has the upper hand in this new form of education. Although the situation is not ideal, the community has overcome many of the challenges that has come its way and continues to thrive. Learn more about E-Learning on Page 2
Episcopal remains online for the rest of the year CONNOR SMITH Staff Writer During these confusing times, many EHS families and students may wonder what the remaining year of school will offer. With classes and school events completely online, what does the near future hold for Episcopal? To start, school is canceled. Since Spring Break, Episcopal has decided to remain in an online environment, and the remainder of the year will continue to be online. This comes after Governor Greg Abbot announced statewide public and private school closures on April 17, saying, “The team of doctors advising us has determined it would be unsafe to allow students to gather at schools for the foreseeable future.” This closure means that all events that would have occurred on campus have moved to the online world. Some of these events occurred during the scheduled Chapel time throughout the weeks. Arts Chapel took place on April 22 during the regular morning Chapel video, and Awards Chapel will have a similar event. Also, senior recognition events will be held as well. Many of these changes have not only affected events but systems of grading and even AP testing. Grading for the fourth
quarter now has a “no harm” policy, meaning that student grades cannot drop below the third quarter grades. However, Principal Mr. Kim Randolph notes that students must continue to arrive at classes and turn in assignments or they could receive a grade reduction. Finals have also been canceled, but teachers are allowed to assign major projects or essays in their place. AP testing has also changed, as most tests will be administered online on a chosen day. These changes are meant to help students
throughout this pandemic and new online school. With all of these modifications, The Knight Times remains uncertain about a few major end-of-the-year events and encourages the community to check the school website periodically for updates. As of this article submission, there are no plans for graduation, yearbook distribution, or Leaving Tree. In the future, these events may join the ranks of the many new online experiences for the Episcopal community.
The normally vibrant EHS campus stands closed for the remainder of the spring semester. Still image courtesy of Mr. Scott Cunningham.