Stark Street Journal – Issue #1

Central Catholic High School

October 2020 Issue

The Stark Street Journal

AMembers of the SCA working together to produce the assembly - Credit: Ms. Nguyen (left) and Mr. Horne (right)

Welcome Back Assembly Wows Over Zoom

by Olivia Johnson '21 “Welcome to Central Catholic Live. The show will begin momentarily.” For the first time in Central Catholic history, a school-wide assembly was performed entirely online on Friday, September 25th. The very concept of a virtual assembly sparks the expectation of sound issues, wifi mishaps, and technical di culties. However, due to the Student Council’s growing proficiency in Zoom and remote technology, the morning was filled with a surprising lack of digital troubles and an abundant amount of laughter.

After a humorous opening sketch from Ms. Ramsey, Mr. Shephard, Mr. Horne, and Ms. Nguyen, the assembly transitioned into some classic StuCo. Productions. These included Mad Lib Theatre (featuring Mr. Workman and Marduke Shabaz ‘21) and a video describing the painfully accurate types of people on Zoom video calls. Next, the student body had the opportunity to learn some fun facts about the new members of the Central Catholic community and hear powerful messages from both the Black Student Union and Latinx Student Union.

See what's going on with the Rams Program on page 2

Further in the queue, the audience was greeted with the musical stylings of a new band on campus, The A-Days (or “The A-Dayz” as lead vocalist/guitarist, Mr. Gri th, prefers to call it). With an intense Kahoot competition and a few more StuCo films, the assembly was brought to a close. It concluded with a farewell from the brave members of Student Council and the message from Ms. Nguyen to “make it a great day, Central Catholic.”

Despite Student Council wading in unprecedented waters, they managed to produce the very first digital assembly, which reached nearly every student in the school. Though it seems daunting, they created a multitude of acts and videos that ultimately replicated the feeling of being joined together at school for an in person assembly. Even when the entire world is flipped upside down, students of Central Catholic can depend on virtual assemblies to be a good source of laughter and familiarity.

Sports page 3 and 4 World Page 5 Opinion/Features page 6 and 7

How did your favorite UFC fighters do in the latest bout?

Check page 3

October 2020 News Page 2

The Rams Program in the Time of Covid-19

By Jack Anctil '21

While students and teachers at Central Catholic have been dealing with the trials and tribulations of fully online schooling, those who are a part of the Rams Program have been coming on campus every day, and as a result face a whole new set of challenges.

Founded in 2015, the Rams Program started with just two students.

This year, there are twelve currently enrolled in the program.

It maintains the goal of providing a full inclusion Catholic education to high school age students with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that goal has been more di cult to achieve.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down and speak over Zoom with Mrs. Maudlin, the director of the Rams Program. She stressed how, “our students rely on their peer mentors,” and praised the students in the program as well as their peer mentors for adjusting well to the changes in the spring.

Adaptability and resilience were crucial factors in getting through the last few months of school.

Along with Mrs. Maudlin herself, Mr. Gray and Mr. Duarte worked tirelessly over the summer to prepare for the fall.

For the 2020/2021 school year, the Rams Program is extremely lucky to be on campus f

five days a week considering the strict regulations and guidelines surrounding social gatherings, according to Mrs. Maudlin.

Running on the same schedule as those at home, Rams Program students have online peer mentors for a Theology class and two electives, with the rest being taught in person by Mrs. Maudlin and others.

When asked about the environment on campus, Mrs. Maudlin said it is quiet and a little sad without such a large majority of students missing, but those at school are finding ways to remain positive. The biggest challenge facing the Rams

Program is maintaining a full inclusion model for its students. The bottom line is, “school is just di erent right now,” Mrs. Maudlin says.

As for Ram Roast Co ee, the schoolbased cafe and cart sta ed and managed by Rams Program students, Covid-19 restrictions have kept it from continuing into this year. However, as soon as those restrictions ease up, the cafe will be having the faculty and sta of CC back to being ca einated.

Left: a socially distant setup in Room 254 Right: taking a break in the courtyard Credit: Jack Anctil '21

CC Upcoming dates S4S launch on October 13 during Utility(Freshman & Transfers) and October 16th during Utility (rest of the school) No School October 23rd (Parent-Teacher Conferences) Club fair on October 27th & 28th Character Conversations during Student Life Hour (Utility): November 3rd (Black Students United) and November 10th (Indigenous Student Union Fall production: November 13th, 14th, 18-22nd

October 2020 Sports Page 3

After Domination by Covington, Woodley’s Future Unclear after September 19th Clash of Contenders

By Joe Fricke ‘21 Six years of bad blood and animosity finally reached its boiling point on September 19th in Las Vegas for Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley.

The two welterweight contenders finally collided in the octagon for a clash of the top welterweight contenders, and it was lopsided.

In 2014, Tryon Woodley was notching up win after win on the contender circuit. Woodley called in a young Colby Covington to his training camp. The two had varying stories on how the camp went, with each one saying that they dominated in sparring sessions.

Fast forward to 2018, and Tyron Woodley is a welterweight champion and Colby Covington was crowned the “Interim Welterweight Champion” due to Tyron’s inactivity at the time. The bout was supposed to unify the world championship, but it never materialized due to a number of problems, but mostly because UFC President Dana White thought Covington was getting eye surgery to avoid Woodley at the time, so White forced him to vacate his interim titleholder status. Woodley later lost his championship to Kamaru Usman in early 2019.

Now, in 2020 both are top 5 contenders, If the match was going to be made, the time was now.

The concerns about Woodley’s desire to fight were real.

Connor Luthi ‘21, an avid mixed martial arts fanatic said, “Tyron Woodley has made a tendency of fighting with his tail between his legs. He has consistently put his back on the cage and throws a low amount of strikes” Members of the media and fans on the internet criticized Woodley for not letting his hands go once he stepped in the cage in previous bouts, and explained how that was not going to fly against Covington.

Nick Ginter ‘21, another fanatic of mixed martial arts as well, also o ered his prediction: “Woodley is

A Season To Remember

photo courtesy ESPN.com

going to get a steady dose of that jab and I do not think he can handle a full 5 round bout at this age”. Tyron Woodley is 38 years of age, leading another huge narrative heading into the bout.

The bout was a dominant win for Covington, to say the least. The concerns that were made vocal all throughout fight week about Woodley’s reluctance to to throw strikes, held true. Covington outlanded Woodley 78-34 in significant strikes. The bout was stopped early in the fifth round because, while on his back, Woodley appeared to su er a rib injury, and proceeded to yell out in pain, so veteran referee Dan Miragliotta decided to step in and call an end to the contest, meaning Covington was the winner.

After the bout, UFC President Dana White mentioned retirement as a possible path for Tyron Woodley to consider taking at this point in his career. As far as what is next for the welterweight division, Dana White said they are currently working on a big money bout with Covington and Jorge Masvidal, another grudge match consisting of former teammates with a toxic breakup. Ginter said, “Before the fight, I thought Colby would wait until the Usman-Burns fight, then challenge for the belt, but since he took such a low amount of damage I could see a big money fight with Jorge Masvidal in 3-5 months.”

Most likely, we will have to just wait until the Champion has a date and fight set in stone to truly see what is next. Until then, we can only speculate about what is potentially happening behind the scenes.

By Max Matterazzo '21 A year that has been anything but ordinary has brought the return of college football. With the late start by the BIG 10 and PAC 12, the SEC is the conference to watch. Two new coaches rolling into struggling programs brings the competition in the SEC to a new level. Clemson, Ohio State, and Alabama are still the three favorites but outside of those teams, the fourth spot in the playo s is wide open.

Oklahoma knocked themselves out of the playo race early and now Georgia, Penn State, Notre Dame, and Miami moved into the picture. Many questions have been raised whether or not North Carolina is legit and has a case to bounce into the playo s.

UNC won’t be playing a ranked team until back to back weeks against Notre Dame and Miami. The same goes for Oklahoma State. Although the BIG 12 will more than likely not get a team in because they keep beating themselves up. The PAC 12 once again looks like the weakest of the power five conferences and has a small chance of getting into the playo s.

Overall, the SEC has a better chance of getting three teams in than the PAC 12 and BIG 12 have of getting one team in. Enjoy the best playo race since its inaugural in 2015.

• October 2020 Sports Page 4

US Open Round-Up

Novak Djokovic (above) and Naomi Osaka competing at the US Open Credit: The Guardian

By Gus Krauel '22 The US Open, located in New York City, is one of the four biggest tournaments of the year. It takes place in late August every year. It is one of the four Grand Slams along with the French Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open. The top 128 players in the world are put into a draw to battle it out to see who will be left standing to win a grand slam. The US Open started on September first and finished on September 14th, a two week long tournament.

The winner of the 2020 Men’s US Open was 27 year old Austrian Dominick Thiem. He beat the German Alexander Zverev in a 5 set thriller with the final score of 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(8-6). After dropping the first two sets in a best of five match, Thiem battled back and made a miraculous comeback to win the next three sets in a row to seal his first ever Grand Slam.

He is the first player in 71 years to come back from 2 sets down in a final.

Novak Djokovic, the clear favorite to win the tournament, was disqualified in the fourth round after hitting a ball in anger behind him and accidentally hitting a lines judge in the throat. After consideration, he was deemed disqualified for the act. Before he was disqualified, he had a record of 26-0 and was striving to win his 18th Grand Slam.

Sophie Whittle, a top 400 tennis player in the world, said “Yes I do think the decision to disqualify Djokovic was the right call. As a professional tennis player you are aware of all people at the back of the courts, including ball kids, line judges, camera crew, etc. When he made the decision to hit the ball back there he was at a high risk of hitting someone, let alone injuring them. Every person no matter what their rank is should be held to the same standard. Although it is unfortunate he got disqualified I believe it was the right decision by the supervisors of the US Open.”

Djokovic later that day said he was very sorry for his acts and is taking his actions to heart and promised it would never happen again.

On the women's side, 22-yearold Naomi Osaka from Japan won her second-ever US Open.

She defeated Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. This is her second career grand slam both coming from the US Open. She has a long career ahead of her and it will be exciting to see if she is the new generation of Women's tennis.

With the US Open over the next tournament around the corner is the French Open, one of the biggest tournaments, located in Paris, France. It is played on the surface of clay.

Rafeal Nadal, the clay master with 12 French Open titles, is

coming back to competitive tennis making his return in one of his best places to play at.

Mr. Workman, Math Teacher and Men’s Tennis Coach at Central Catholic, said “Everyone should be worried about Nadal on clay, it's his bread and butter which makes him tough to beat.

No one is as dominant and has won as many grand slams on the same surface as Nadal has on clay.”

Currently, Nadal is playing in Rome and has advanced to the Quarterfinal only dropping 6 games. As for predictions to win the 2020 French Open, Workman, without a moment of silence, said “I believe that Nadal will take home his 13th French Grand slam.”

Only time will tell to see who the 2020 French Open champion will be.

Rams Sports Cohorts Info Athletic cohorts are in full swing! Most cohorts run for an hour from 4pm-8pm on school days.

All safety procedures are being followed. Sports currently invovled are cross country, football, basketball, volleyball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field and starting up next week:baseball, To get involved, email our coaches for schedule information. They can be found on the athletics page of Central Catholic's website.

Go Rams!

• October 2020 News and Opinion Page 5

Teachers Are On Campus During Covid?

By Sarah Rosenbaum '24 During Covid-19, students this year will be starting o the school year online. As some of you know, there are a few sta members who teach on-campus. Some of these sta members are Ms. Ramsey (principal), Ms. Pelster (photography teacher), and Mr. Frank (math teacher). The sta members going on campus do have the choice, they also can choose when they go.

Some go because they believe that it makes it more organized, or even just a better place to concentrate due to noise at the house.

During online school, most agree it's been more di cult to learn online.

For sta , they think this is because being online means it's harder to make sure everyone is actually working.

Students, it could be not understanding the work, as well as not enjoying being face to face. The sta members who I interviewed all agree that during this time, this is the best we got. There are still days students, as well as sta can go on campus. Around the end of the month of September, Central Catholic held their Oktoberfest. All students will go on Campus during a week of October for school photos. During these days, school will require social distancingf, as well as always wearing a mask.

Mr. Frank, as well as Ms. Pelster, both agree that due to online learning, they have started to give

The Greatest Puppet Show: Social Media taking over Society

By Max Matterazzo '21

Above Top to Bottom: Mrs. Pelster, Mrs. Ramsey, and Mr. Frank in their work spaces at Central Catholic Credit: the photo subjects!

less homework. “Since all homework is online, as well as classes, I have started to give less homework.” (Mr. Frank) Also, just like most students, all three of the sta members agree on campus learning was better. Due to seeing the students, better learning time, and everything more organized.

Hopefully Central can transition to hybrid classes soon, until then there will just be few sta members inside the building.

From the Muppet Show to Sesame Street, puppet shows are bound to put smiles on faces. Yet, the one we all live in doesn’t have that same e ect.

Media and Social Media have provided an unprecedented amount of good to this world.

With connecting people from far and making life much easier, the media has played a vital role in our society. But to what extent do these platforms give to the greater good? The age of connectivity might just be the last one.

As technology reaches a new extreme, we find ourselves clinging to it at every possible opportunity.

Social media has put people into a small bubble.

What people cannot see is what's going on behind the screens they use. "Big Tech" has controlled our world for a long time and will probably not stop running it.

In a study conducted by The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, in the UK, they found that boys who look at social media three or more times a day (not specifying time) had worse mental health and greater psychological distress.

Mr. Ward, theology teacher, says, “I see the e ect of technology in class and he sees the

Photo Credit: Sarah Zimmerman: http://robertcatalano.com/ho w-to-increase-social-mediaengagement/

overuse of all these apps”. The blame is put often on the user but it should be placed on the companies behind these apps.

They use algorithms to predict user interest and keep each person on the screen longer, enabling these addictions.

Tech cannot be the demise of the world. All these companies are, is a few select people profiting from people overusing and becoming branded to their product.

Every individual has the ability to put a stop to all this. At some point it all must stop or we could see the fall of society.

October 2020 World Page 6

Russian Oppositional Leader Poisoned

By Will Francis '23

On the 20th of August, 2020, prominent Russian Oppositional Figure and anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny was poisoned on a plane to the Russian Capital of Moscow. The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk where Navalny was transferred to a German military hospital shortly afterward.

Alexei Navalny works against the Russian government as an exposer of corruption. He is known for being an avid member of protests against the government, his revealing videos in which he reviews the Russian establishment, and shows the public the corruption in its elite members.

Many sources describe him as charming, charismatic, and a great storyteller. Because of this, he is incredibly well-liked and respected among the public.

However, these gifts and stories do not come without repercussions, The Guardian states that Navalny gets under the Russian government’s skin which makes him a threat in their eyes.

The Russian government, lead by Vladimir Putin, has done everything they could to stop Navalny from doing what he did, freezing his assets, taking away ID, and subjecting

Left: Alexei Navalny with his family at the hospital during his recovery Credit: The Guardian

him to intense persecution. But Navalny’s resilience comes back to continue the war against corruption. But it seemed like Putin had succeeded with the poisoning of Navalny until he came out of his coma.

When Navalny arrived in the military hospital in Berlin the poison in his system was tested and then retested. It was concluded that Navalny had been poisoned by a deadly chemical nerve agent known as Novichok. This immediately threw everyone into speculation because over the past few years some Russian opposition leaders were poisoned and killed with the same kind of Novichok that poisoned Navalny. Experts on the subject have discovered that traces of Novichok were found on the water bottles in Navalny’s room ending the first theory that it was in his tea which he drank the same day.

Many interpret Navalny’s poisoning as a message from President Putin that he could have Navalny killed whenever he wanted too. Sources say tPutin was feeling weak when he had Navalny poisoned. A counter-intelligence representative from a Baltic Nation says “the presence of Novichok-which is made in a strictly controlled military labconvinces me that Putin had to authorize it himself.”

Navalny meanwhile is recovering in the hospital in Berlin. He is out of his coma and already making plans to return to Russia to carry on his fight against corruption. But if he does he will be returning to a higher risk then when he left.

Many NATO sources say that Putin will try to assassinate Navalny again. One can only speculate if the anti-corruption activist will survive.

October 2020 Fashion/Around town Page 7

Wondering what to wear this fall? Predictions from two Portland designers.

By Owen Hanson '24

Good evening gents and ladies.

This Week, I have come together with Fashion designers, In Portland to discern this seasons upcoming fashion choices coming down the buyline. The stress of what will come up this year is something that can work someone up if first impressions are your kind of thing, whether it is the mask of the year or the dress for the autumn dance.

First a disclaimer, the person I interviewed were their own designers and they held their own private businesses. Most of her thoughts are of their own taste. Her name is Erica Lerrie, and she owns a private business, called Garnish. She makes her own private designs and clothes, based on her own imagination and creativity. Meaning that she doesn't follow the normal guidelines for larger known businesses. Thankfully, she was willing to let me interview her..

The first thing that she told me was that unless you are going to a masquerade, mask design is not something to worry about being criticized over. “People and doctors alike generally don’t think too hard about what is being used as a face mask. You won’t find special and intricately designed face masks at Gap or on Zulily.'' Most people mostly choose whatever properly functions as a defence. It’s like making your ax head out of gold, it will turn some eyes to you but not some jealousy (unless that’s your kind of thing) and there is a possibility that it will. “

Above: Fall fashion ideas from new2you.com

The best to predict the future is to look to the past.” Robert Kiyosak American Author and Businessman said. Going o that knowledge, the styles likely to emerge from the future are likely to happen now. You might have also heard the saying that in order to look good you have to be a little uncomfortable? It is completely false, especially in the fall. Most of the clothing will be made for cold dry skies and orange leaves, thus colors that pop when next to orange will be most prominent. “Most of the clothing I make is meant for comfort and lounging. Most work being done is work that will require less toil than the other seasons, so being able to sit in one spot comfortably is important in our designs.”

These were the tips and tricks from designers around Portland. And so when the leaves start falling, you can sink into a warm sweater and worry not about the mask situation

The Stark Street Journal Issue 2, October 2020 Staff members: Jack Anctil, Joe Fricke, Max Matterazzo, Gus Krauel, Will Francis, Owen Hanson, and Sarah Rosenbaum Adviser: Ms. Quigley For any letters to the editor or concerns, please email starkstreetjournal@gmail. com Thanks for reading!