USJ October 2020

Journal The Union St.

Keeping us safe: staff at Creek

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Basketball fights for social justice

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Adjusting to the hybrid model

Cherry Creek High School 9300 E. Union Ave. Greenwood Village, CO 80111

12 Vol. 6 Issue 1 October 2020

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News

Feature

Kinds of masks

The staff behind the scenes during a pandemic

By Nate Meredith & Jonathan Trigg

By Lily Deitch

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Life at Creek during COVID

Mulan Review

By Hannah Edelheit & Jane McCauley

By Giovanni Machado

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cont ents In-Depth

A&E

Sports

Opinion

Basketball team stands up for social justice

How to find power in our community

By Raegan Knobbe

By Jane McCauley

Find more stories at

unionstreetjournal.com

FRONT COVER BY HANNAH EDELHEIT BACK COVER BY JANE McCAULEY

@creekusj

@creekusj

USJ STAFF Editors-in-Chief Hannah Edelheit & Jane McCauley News Editor Carly Philpott Feature Editor Madison Seckman A&E Editor Bre Mennenoh Opinion Editor Giovanni Machado Sports Editor Raegan Knobbe

Managing Editor Madison Seckman Design Editor Ethel Yagudayeva Staff Writers Lily Deitch Lydia Foster Breanna Medel Nathan Meredith Aila MonLouis Adam Nowlin Jane Parker Natalie Swyers Jonathan Trigg Advisor Yoni Fine

Purpose: The Union Street Jounral is a student publication distributed to the students, faculty, and staff of Cherry Creek High School. The paper serves as an information source amd a two-way communication forum for both the school and the community. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of Cherry Creek High School or the Cherry Creek Letters to the editor.

Letters to the editor are accepted and can be submitted via email to unionstreetjournal@gmail.com Letters cannot be anonymous and they may be edited for clarity.

Letter from the editors Let this issue be a standing reminder of the monumental moments we have all faced this year as high schoolers, students, teachers, and citizens of a democracy. We know this year has already been more than memorable for everyone, and we’re excited to share what we have put together in an attempt to capture this craziness.

Both of us have known each other since our first freshman English class with our very own advisor, Yoni Fine, and both of us joined journalism as sophomores. It seemed fitting that we would take on the Editor-in-Chief position together, knowing how hard we’ve worked both separately as individuals and collectively as a team over these past four years.

We wanted to express our love and passion for this newspaper and our newsroom first before getting into the details of what this year has been like for us. Having new and old faces in IC703 has always been a constant for the USJ, even through the mess of what these past six months have brought. Teaching what journalism is and means to new members and seeing some of them take on the responsibility of being editors has given us the opportunity to see how journalism is continuing to survive in our generation and democracy, even with print newspapers being a dying industry.

In today’s world, it seems like truthful storytelling in the media is a difficult and rare subject to come by, which is why we’ve dedicated our news stories to be accurate and our opinion stories to be strong. We’re determined to be the generation of journalists and truthtellers that is continually reliable and factual that won’t just print about how the world “is what it is.”

We’re so proud of our staff this year in all of the hardships and struggles we’ve overcome both in and outside of the newsroom. It hasn’t been easy for anyone, and we hope this issue helps display some of that hard work.

Now more than ever, we’re proud to represent our school through our writing and our dedication to providing the truth, no matter how scary, how ugly, or how much we want to turn away from it.

Peace and love, Hannah Edelheit & Jane McCauley

October 2020

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT OUR SCHOOL’S MASKS Cover-up: how Creek chooses their masks

BY AILA MONLOUIS Staff Writer

Masks are our new norm. It can feel like a burden to wear one. But we’ve got options.

As we go about our day, we can look around and notice the different masks others are wearing. Some are wearing disposable masks, while others are wearing cotton masks or even gaiters.

Cloth masks seem to be the most popular option at Creek these days, with disposable paper close behind.

It’s fairly obvious that it’s mandatory for those at Creek to wear masks but a few factors when it comes to the mask they wear are comfort, communication, environmental issues, and individual expression.

“I like to wear cloth masks when I go to the grocery store out in the community,” Latin teacher Amy Rosevear said, “but at school for the whole day I find that the paper mask helps me breathe and be understood by my students.”

Communication is key for all of us at Creek, especially teachers and even more for certain classes such as world language

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classes.

“I think my students can hear my voice better, which for learning a world language is important because they have to hear how the words are pronounced,” Latin teacher Amy Rosevear said.

The staff at Creek don’t all have similar views when it comes to the mask they wear daily but they do have the same concerns. Some wear what they deem as comfortable.

Library coordinator Michelyne Gray

chooses to wear a cloth mask. “I don’t feel as muted,” she said. “I feel like my voice is able to project [in a cloth mask].

I feel better, environmentally, that I can wear it, wash it and then re-wear it. With disposable masks, I feel like it’s a little wasteful. They don’t fit as well either.”

Students have similar concerns and formed their own opinions.

“I like my [cotton] masks for the way they look,” soph-

omore Cooper Collins said. “I have masks that support businesses and masks from TV shows & movies. I have gotten compliments because of my masks.”

Some students are thinking ahead for the mask they wear due to the colder weather conditions we will soon be facing.

“I wear cotton masks rather than disposables and gaiters because they are not good for the environment Cotton masks keep my face warm during the colder weather conditions,” freshman Addison Summitt said.

Students at Creek don’t favor the masks but in the end, they all understand that the masks are here to ensure safety for us all from COVID- 19.

“It’s annoying when walking a larger distance for example from East to West [Building] but it helps ensure safety for our school,” freshman Ava Landy said.

CREEK’S VOICES

Why do you wear your mask?

Gaiters: how effective are they?

BY NATHAN MEREDITH & JONATHAN TRIGG Staff Writers

At the start of the school year, Cherry Creek School District gave out neck gaiters to the entire district in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The effectiveness of these types of masks was questioned by a study from Duke University, which claimed that the gaiters were actually worse than no masks at all, although that study has been contested.

The gaiters that were given out by the district are made from a polyester/spandex blend. This blend of materials splits the droplets up into smaller particles called aerosols, according to the Duke study. “[The aerosols are] really tiny, invisible, and buoyant, they don’t fall to the ground, gravity doesn’t act on them,” according to Kimberly Prather, distinguished chair in atmospheric chemistry at UC San Diego, speaking to CBS News in June.

This could mean the aerosol particles will spread more, possibly increasing the number of COVID-19 cases.

These studies came out relatively recently, and the CDC reported that they do “not recommend the use of gaiters or face shields. Evaluation of these face covers is

on-going but effectiveness is unknown at this time.”

Assistant Principal Kevin Uhlig said that the district is following regional and national guidelines about mask effectiveness.

“If and when Tri County or CDC says no, those [gaiters] aren’t permissible, I’m confident that the district will come back and say, these aren’t allowed,” Uhlig said.

Until that happens, students are allowed to wear them on campus.

A similar thing happened with masks that had valves.

The vents on the front were intended to make breathing easier, but the CDC reported that these were unsafe, and told the public to avoid them.

At that point, the district told administration to ban them, and that kids weren’t allowed to wear them at school.

The number of people wearing their neck gaiters at Creek is low, but of the people that do wear them, it’s often for comfort, not to stop the spread of the virus. “[The gaiter] just made things easier,” sophomore Ciara O’Rourke said.

LATER, GAITERS: Freshmen Ian Youngblood and Riddic Pollard pose with gaiters. Both said that on a normal basis, they wouldn’t wear the gaiters.

PHOTOS BY CARLY PHILPOTT, BRE MENNENOH, AND HANNAH RIEWE

“I chose the surgical mask because it’s lightweight and more or less breathable when exercising.” ‑ junior Eli Freyre De Andrade

“I have a preexisting health condition. I know there’s other people around me who also have preexisting health conditions that are invisible, and so I want to do whatever I can to protect them because I know what it feels like.”

- senior Gabriella Arnold

“I wear my mask to protect myself and others. I know that if I get [COVID-19] I’ll probably be fine but if I unknowingly pass it to a high risk person they might not be fine.”

- sophomore Giselle Marians

October 2020

COVID creates new opportunities for Creek theater

BY CARLY PHILPOTT & BRE MENNENOH News Editor & A&E Editor

For many Creek clubs, The show will be perfinding ways to meet and formed twice in late Nocontinue with relative norvember, and will run for malcy has been a challenge, about an hour and a half. but theater has found just the COVID restrictions and right way to make this year cohorted separation meant count. that changes were necessary Towards the end of the to not only how theater persummer, theater director forms, but also how it preAlex Burkart decided that pares. Rehearsals are by corather than its usual fall play, hort, meaning that the final the Creek theater program performance will be a comwould be producing and perbination of several smaller forming a radio show. groups.

“Radio dramas cater well And, instead of the clasto the present COVID-19 sic audition style, students world,” Burkart said. “Staging were asked to audition vircan be done with relative distually. Relying only on their tancing; they are also easy to EMPTY STAGE: the theater will remain empty for the remainvoices to see if they will share digitally, as its origin au- der of the semester as the radio show will be recorded and make the cut. dience listened from distances listened to remotely. “We wanted to keep making theater,” said “I’ve been in theatre for via radio-waves.” the past 3 years at Creek.” theater president Jen Failinger. “It’s such a big part of our lives, The show is called Vintage junior Alex Mitchell said. and we knew we had to find some way to do art.”

Hitchcock, and it is a combi“What we’re really doing is nation of three murder-suspense thrillers. The shows consist of getting creative and improvising in the ways that we have fun and The Lodger, a love story that quickly spirals into a suspenseful make art; no matter what challenges we face.” murder mystery; Sabotage, revolving around the multiple different For the students, this situation has presented a new set of chalterrorist attacks and bombings at the hands of the tedious sabo- lenges, from finding ways to stay connected to developing friendteurs; and The 39 Steps, an international spy ring story. ships with newer theater members.

“The world of Hitchcock also allows us to focus on the suspense “It’s been more difficult than in the past to foster community, esgenre, which we have not recently explored here at Creek,” Burkart pecially with our limitations,” said theater president Jen Failinger. said. “The radio play script itself leans more into melodrama, but “Our incoming member amount has been lower than in the past.” it’s fun to resurrect the classic and thrilling work of Hitchcock.”

The split between the cohorts has been especially difficult, says Burkart. “The biggest challenge is missing the students so much,” he said. “In theater we love being able to see each other and interact with one another every day.”

Regardless of this, the members say that the sense of community is still apparent in theater. “Despite not seeing the people that I do in theatre anymore,” Mitchell said. “We’re all just trying to adapt Vintage Hitchcock will run for two days in late and grow together which I think is what makes us even more conNovember, most likely around Thanksgiving, but nected and allows us to grow together.”

“We are all so close that we still feel super connected and like a the exact date hasn’t been decided upon yet. It will community with the people we have gained,” Failinger said. be performed live twice, both times starting at 7 pm Sophomore internal spirit officer Hayden Noe agreed. “I think and running for an hour and a half. that communities have to come together in times of crisis,” he said.

It will be pay-per-view on Broadway On-De“I truly believe that Cherry Creek Theatre has made the best of mand’s website. Admission prices will be $5. these horrible times we are in.”

HOW TO ACCESS THIS FALL’S R ADIO SHOW

For updates, follow @troupe1730 on Instagram.

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PHOTO BY CARLY PHILPOTT

GLOBAL NEWS

CREEK’S VOICES What other global issues should we know about?

The refugee crisis in Europe

BY JANE McCAULEY Editor-in-Chief

For half a decade, refugees have fled from poverty, conflict, and persecution in countries like Syria and Iraq and scattered into the homes and streets of many European countries to seek safety.

Traveling by boat in the Mediterranean Sea is one of the fastest ways to get to these borders, which is why so many families and migrants have ended up on islands like Lesbos off the coast of Greece.

However, in overcrowded facilities like Moria on Lesbos, the safety refugees thought they had finally found was no better than the places they were trying to escape from in the first place. Instead, issues like COVID and increasing homelessness are adding fire to the flames, quite literally.

After a small group of angry migrants set fire to their own camp in Moria in retaliation of quarantine restrictions in mid-September, the flames engulfed what was left of the asylum-seekers’ shelters.

The fires left an already overcrowded camp with thousands more homeless families and migrants.

“People were just extremely upset. Not only about the overall poor conditions of the camp, but because they felt that COVID was being used to hurt them even more,” Matina Stevis-Gridneff, a reporter from the New York Times podcast who was in Moria, said in The Daily on Sept.

17.

This refugee crisis has been going on since 2015, and there are no signs it will slow down anytime soon. Initially, many

European countries like Greece and Germany welcomed these migrants into their homes to share shelter and food.

The journey many of these refugees have made was slow and dangerous. Sea sickness while on the boats for days on end is common, and it is estimated that about six people die every day while at sea.

In Greece alone, about 77,000 refugees await in these camps and facilities to move somewhere else in Europe.

Countries like Germany that have already reached over a million refugees are considereing the idea of closing their borders and not letting any more people enter the country.

Even the US has limited the number of refugees allowed into the country. Last year on Sept. 30, 2019, the Trump Administration set a cap of 30,000 refugees. This year, the cap is 18,000.

Organizations like The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and the International Rescue Committee are helping to fight this crisis and supplying the refugees with homes, food, and help.

European countries, organizations, and citizens continue to help fight this battle, but those who are in the heart of it know that these transitory facilities like Moria will continue existing as long as there is no where for these refugees to go.

“There’s always going to be these places where hopes end rather than begin,” Stevis-Gridneff said.

IN THE MORIA CAMP: the tented homes for the refugees in the camp of Moria on Lesbos are becoming overcrowded. Even more homes and tents are needed now because the camp’s own refugees started a fire over COVID quarantine restrictions.

“The Muslim situtation in China because I just found out about it, and there wasn’t a whole lot about it.

This has been going on for a while, and it’s really disheartening.”

- senior Ben Seep

“We’re all really focusing on the future, and one really blurry thing in the future is how the climate is going to affect our lives as adults. That’s what I’m really focusing on.”

- senior Hannah Meg Weinraub

“The Black Lives Matter movement is one of the biggest things that people should be talking about. I know some people are afraid to talk about it, but it’s one of the things that really matters.”

- junior Nadya Posmachnaya

PHOTO COURTESY OF PIKIST PHOTOS BY JANE McCAULEY

October 2020

Behind the Scenes

Creek’s staff members push themselves even harder to protect students during COVID-19

BY LILY DEITCH Staff Writer

TIMELY SANITIZATION: Re-Juv-Nal, the chemical teachers are using to spray down desks, is mostly composed of ammonium chloride variants which are effective cleaners. Teachers are required to spray all desks in their classroom before the next class arrives.

MAINTAINING COVID PRECAUTIONS: ABM worker Araseli works to clean the school after hours. The custodians must go up and down each row of desks, spraying and wiping them down, in addition to their

COVID-19 has impacted everyone’s lives ‑ that isn’t news to anyone. Whether it be the loss of a loved one or even just the loss of our old lives, COVID-19 is something that is on our minds throughout the day. When we go to school, we see our teachers who show up in class and put themselves at risk to give us an education. But, what about the hundreds of other Creek staff members who risk coming to school every day and enable us to learn safely?

Recent data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey shows that between 42 and 51.4 percent of all school employees

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across the country meet the CDC definition for being at increased risk of severe COVID-19 complications.

Even more school employees live in a household with people at high risk, according to the same survey. As schools open up and school workers go back to their jobs, there’s a lot of work behind the scenes. We see our teachers, but there are so many other workers that we may not even appreciate.

Here’s a few of the departments and people who work in the background every day.

They have taken on the year with more work to keep everyone safe, and COVID-19 has

impacted them all in their personal and work lives.

TRANSPORTATION When bus driver Debbie Kinemond walks into school to get the bus ready, it’s almost like a normal school day, just like she has been doing for more than 20 years. But this year, Kinemond, who is also the Assistant Director of Transportation for the district, has a job that is anything but normal.

To maintain the students’ safety on buses, CCSD has had to implement a new COVID-19 transportation plan.

“Capacities are now half of what they were,” Kinemond said. “We changed spacing on the buses, kids are wearing masks, drivers are wearing masks, [and] we disinfect the buses.”

Requirements for the drivers change as health department guidance changes, and bus drivers now have responsibilities that they never had in the past. This new role for the drivers can be stressful, but they are willing to adapt to the extra challenges.

“I put up with that,” Safety and Training Manager Susan Nowland said.

The additional responsibilities and added stress of working in the school transportation department during COVID-19 is in addition to the personal stress workers feel on the personal side. Nowland is one of many Americans who suffered economic stress due to family members who lost their jobs during COVID-19.

“I feel very blessed that I still have a great job,” Nowland said. “And, that I know that the district is fighting very hard to keep me and everyone else.”

The pandemic changed Nowland’s worklife significantly and it gave her more to think about personally. While she is worried about catching COVID-19 herself, she is most worried about spreading it to her elderly mother that lives with her.

“That would be my biggest fear: to bring it home,” Nowland said MAINTENANCE AND JANITORIAL STAFF The workers in the maintenance and janitorial staff had similar issues.

Amy Johnson, an assistant for facility/ attendance, has taken a new role this year

of distributing PPE (personal protection equipment) due to COVID-19. In addition to Johnson’s usual tasks that she followed before COVID-19, she is also now responsible for making sure teachers have all the materials needed to teach in a safe environment.

Each day Johnson oversees things such as sanitizing wipes, the district approved cleaner, rubber gloves, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and proper masks are dispersed throughout the campus.

“It takes a huge portion of time to make sure that everything is coordinated and gets out to everyone that needs it,” Johnson said.

She also is a mother to an eighth grader and a junior so she has experienced COVID-19 as a parent too. Johnson sees how hard it is for her kids to adjust to learning in COVID-19.

“As parents, we just feel for you guys,” Johnson said. “[I] know that you guys are doing the best that you can.”

Other workers in these departments have also had a lot of extra work to shoulder. The maintenance and janitorial staff is usually busy, even without COVID-19, since they are in charge of cleaning the school. Now, they are responsible for a whole new operation - every room must be disinfected every evening and again every morning.

To keep up with health and safety standards, they must do extra rounds and clean more frequently. Maria D. Martinez, a custodian, explains her experience with the COVID-19 situation.

“Everything has changed - I disinfect everything including the tables and chairs,” Martinez said.

Every time she comes back from work, she has to make sure she is being careful about

not spreading COVID-19 to her husband.

“Things in my house are completely different. I have to disinfect everything when I come back from work,” Martinez said.

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF This year, the administrative support staff has had to pitch in by taking on new tasks and getting creative about how to do their jobs for the school in the COVID environment.

Rosann Bryant is an Assistant to Assistant Principal Marcus McDavid. Their office oversees student field trips but that work was mostly placed on hold as COVID-19 started.

In its place, Bryant took on new tasks left behind by teachers and administrators that transferred to the Elevation School. “This is the new normal for offices across Creek that have to jump in and make sure everything still gets done,” she said.

“There’s a lot of people doing things that just don’t come up every year, but in COVID-19 - you know we’re all tapping in,” Bryant said.

Bryant also explained that all staff and administrators are “working hard to meet the extra demands of this year.”

Like all employees, Bryant’s work at Creek impacts her home life. Bryant worries about getting COVID-19 and passing it on to her 88 year old father.

“I find that I am more careful about making sure I check in on him regularly. And, that he doesn’t feel isolated during this time.”

Everyone at Creek is trying to stay safe and keep their families safe - that feeling is what school workers are striving for.

“They need to feel safe coming here,” Johnson said.

Debbie Kinemond’s Bus Driving Routine

waits in line six feet from 1. Kinemod others, with her mask on, to get her temperature taken.

in and picks up her book 2. Checks with route information and keys. up all windows for circulation 3. Opens and heads off to pick up and drop off kids.

4. Disinfects all of the seats.

5. Picks up the next batch of students and drops them off at school.

6. Disinfects again.

off her keys and book and 7. Drops heads home.

PHOTOS BY MADISON SECKMAN

TRANSPORTATION SAFETY: Cherry Creek bus driver Albert R. sprays and wipes down his bus before the students on his route arrive.

comes back mid-day to do it 8. Then again.

October 2020

The Cherry Creek

S cialist. cialist

Two seniors create a pamphlet to spark political conversations

BY JANE McCAULEY Editor-in-Chief

“I refuse to believe that just because I was born with a certain confirmation bias in conversations they hear at home. amount of melanin in my skin, I immediately am handed a White“We wanted to dispel misconceptions and introduce socialism to Card that lets me not get shot by the police, because statistics from people who haven’t heard of it or considered it before,” Headrick said.

Statista, say that in 2018, 158 African Americans were shot and killed, At a school with almost 4,000 students representing different politand 318 White Americans were shot. That is 2 whites for everyone 1 ical views, cultures, and ideologies, Barnes and Headrick realized the Black.” paper could consist of fun, light, and digestible stories and articles These were the words that sparked the idea in senior Nathan that could help get students thinking about what socialism really is.

Barnes to create The Cherry Creek SocialThe four page paper consists of the mission ist, a four-page newspaper with articles and statement, a general definition of what socialopinions supporting socialist ideals. ism is and what it means to Barnes and After Barnes saw those words pubHeadrick, and small articles about how lished in this newspaper in an opinion socialism is a growing movement in article two years ago, he realized there not only America, but in younger genwas a population at Creek that felt paserations as well. sionate and strongly supported these This is why they both feel it’s their beliefs. duty to inform and hopefully influence He also realized he could create an Creek students now more than ever. outlet to convey his own political be“Younger generations are trying to liefs and share them with other stuburst that bubble of elitism that both dents. parties suffer from,” Barnes said.

So in early September, Barnes joined Both seniors are also considering senior Ramsey Headrick in making starting a website that will contain lona newspaper that expressed the other ger and more substantial information side on the political spectrum. in case students want more exposure Alone, Barnes conveys a voice in the and access to what the paper is already paper he deems as forceful and abraproviding. sive, but joined with Headrick, he beSo far, they have received feedback PHOTO COURTESY OF MELISSA CHU lieves they are a match like “a jazz band from people who agree and praise their where people with different ideas play in A NEW WAVE OF SOCIALISM: senior Ramsey work and also from people who disHeadrick holds the latest edition of The Cherry tune to try to create a change.” agree, reaching out to have conversaThey believe their two voices com- Creek Socialist. Along with senior Nathan Barnes, tions and discussions. bined in the paper compliment each the two seniors have distributed two editions Luckily, this is exactly what Barnes other well both in expressing their ideas this year and hope to create a new one every and Headrick were hoping would hapbut also in trying to create a moderate three to four weeks. “With everything going pen. voice that isn’t too overbearing for stu- on in America, I got radicalized over the sum“I’m open, and I love people contactdents with opposing beliefs. ing us,” Barnes said. “We can debate and mer and started doing research into socialism,” For Barnes, Headrick is key to helphopefully change some minds.”

Headrick said. “It’s really good to be more set in ing him and the paper convey a more To Barnes and Headrick, socialism is moderate and easygoing voice that will beliefs, and it feels good to have this as a a an ideology that motivates them and draw people into how they actually in- method of political involvement.” gets them excited to talk about. terpret socialism. For them, socialism With the paper, it’s a more convenient is more than just an ideology. It’s an opporand available option to share that excitetunity to get people and students thinking ment with other people and help spark conabout what their true beliefs and ideas are. versations and discussions about left-wing politics.

They believe the paper could open students’ minds up to the idea “A lot of high school students don’t have full knowledge of what of having more political conversations and discussions that they socialism really is, so I think we’ve had some success at spreading our might not normally agree with rather than just affirming the same message to people,” Headrick said.

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Remote learning

BY MADISON SECKMAN Feature Editor

Student perspective: how learning from home has become a nightmare

EMPTY DESKS AND EMPTY MINDS: junior Madison Seckman comments on how the normal Creek workload is already overbearing - and even worse with the hybrid model. “My grades have been slipping from not being able to keep assignments straight, and I’ve been stressed more than I’ve ever been,” Seckman said. “I’ve been grateful for the time I’ve had at school, but trying to keep my work straight between the two types of days is only making things worse. Remote learning was never a good idea.”

PHOTO BY HANNAH EDELHEIT

Creek students are feeling the increasing pressure of a workload at home much bigger than what they would normally have. It’s stressing them out, and it needs to change.

The workload pressure could be removed in a number of ways: giving less homework, spreading out test days, or giving assignments that increase learning rather than take a lot of time.

“It’s really stressful because of trying to find every assignment, figuring out when it’s due, how soon you should work on it, and juggling all seven classes online,” junior Stefven Klein said. “It just kind of all merges together.”

In a recent email from Principal Ryan Silva, he wrote, “it is unreasonable for [teachers] to feel they need to cover everything they normally would. In most cases it is too much for the students to manage when they are only on campus two days a week.”

Silva’s directions clearly stated that students should do “two hours of homework (20 minutes per class)” per night, Silva said.

Unfortunately, for people like myself, classes often assign more homework than what can be accomplished in 20 minutes.

AP Spanish Language and Culture includes in the course syllabus, “students com-

mit to an average of 45 minutes of homework per night, every night.”

Since there are so many difficult courses offered at Creek, students can load their schedule with AP and honors level courses that require a lot of work. Granted, they have the choice to take easier classes, but I take them because I believe these harder classes will improve my college applications.

A study done by Stanford University showed how high achieving students are more likely to experience ”stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance in their lives, and alienation from society” (Stanford University) because of larger workloads.

So, Creek students, like myself, who want to increase their chances of getting into colleges, are more likely to experience extra stress and health problems.

This year, the stress is also coming from lack of organization and big changes in what learning looks like.

Stress is something I’ve always experienced from trying hard in school, but I’ve never experienced this much stress.

Every year I have to remember when projects are due, all of my tests, and what I have on my to-do list for that night. This year it’s even worse. All of my teachers have different

formats to Schoology, - some of them don’t even use Schoology - sometimes tests are sprung on me the day before, and the calendars are always changing.

“It’s a lot more work that you have to search for, in a way. If you’re on Schoology, teachers organize their pages differently, and sometimes there are hidden assignments that you don’t know about,” Klein said.

The missing organization makes it hard to turn in assignments on time or properly prepare for tests and quizzes. Preparing for tests and quizzes is harder, too, because genuine teaching is only happening two days a week.

“There’s not much of teachers talking online - that’s more me doing [school work] myself. I mean, you got some classes that the teacher will talk for a certain amount of minutes, and then you have to do the work yourself,” junior Zach Macauley said.

Students are required to spend hours at home working for school in a manner that resembles homework more than an inschool learning environment.

The workload from teachers is overwhelming and causing students to stress more than they already are this school year.

The assignments and hybrid model have been a disaster and should be eliminated.

October 2020

Teachers face new challenges with hybrid learning

Separate cohorts complicate teaching

BY HANNAH EDELHEIT & JANE McCAULEY Editors-in-Chief

Early August was a time of uncertainty for everyone. The district had not told teachers or students about a plan for in-person learning and Conley Flynn didn’t know how to prepare for her incoming students.

“It was definitely stressful not knowing exactly what was going to happen and having the constant change of plan,” science teacher Conley Flynn said.

Hybrid learning has been difficult to structure and adapt to. Teachers are trying to assign work in a way that is easy for everyone and it is becoming more difficult to work with students when they aren’t actually there.

“I feel that we're all beginning to adapt and adjust to try to optimize the opportunities within that sort of hybrid model, but it certainly again presents certain challenges,” English teacher David Rowe said.

Teachers are still able to interact with students; however, it is different from what they used to do.

“I'm really happy being around the students and seeing how you guys have adapted to it,” Flynn said. “Part of the reason why I wanted to be a teacher is because I

want to interact with kids, and so being able to do that, I think, is great. Although it is nerve wracking sometimes.”

The social scene has changed for Creek as well because events that students would expect every year, like homecoming, are canceled. Campus energy has also changed because our communication has changed from a lack of facial expressions.

“There is so much that you lose in terms of facial expression and in social energy that I feel that I feel like my students are making a genuine effort in terms of their work, but I feel like they miss out on some of the energy that you typically get socially, Rowe said, “so I think it can really be a challenge.”

Even though students and teachers are trying their best to make the two-day system work, it doesn’t come without challenges. Managing two different sections of classes has caused teachers to have to cut out work.

“I’ve actually had to cut things that I actually think would be beneficial,” said history teacher Virginia DeCesare. “I usually have a term paper, but I had to cut that because I don’t have time to teach it.”

Organization for teachers has been hard because they have to balance two groups of students and make sure that everyone is getting the same instruction.

“It's a challenge for both the teachers and the students just staying organized in a way that makes sense for everybody and then figuring out how to teach this way is a huge adjustment for the teachers,” Flynn said.

It has also been more time consuming to grade and assign work. Technology has complicated the work process for everyone.

“Grading online takes much longer than grading a stack of papers,” DeCesare said.

“Somebody submitted a file that my computer can’t read so then I have got to see if I can read it on my phone.”

Both teachers and students are working to make this system work as it has been difficult for everyone.

“I'm really proud of the effort and how everybody's doing their very best,” Principal Ryan Silva said, “whether it's to adapt to the new learning and teaching environment or to wearing a mask all the time.”

TOO MUCH TIME: senior Apoorva Maddhi studies Stat during her remote learning day. The hybrid system has been a difficult process to adjust to for her rather than a system of learning completely at home or all online. “I don’t know the last time I sat down and was actually able to think,” Maddhi said. “Having more time makes me procrastinate more.”

12 | In-Depth

PHOTO BY JANE McCAULEY

PHOTO BY HANNAH EDELHEIT

ADAPTING TO A NEW NORMAL: English teacher David Rowe wasn’t expecting the craziness surrounding 2020. Students and teachers are adjusting to a new reality with socially distanced classrooms and hybrid learning. “I realize this is not the sort of situation that anyone wants going into any year of high school, and I really feel that most of them come give me genuine effort,” Rowe said. “That sort of positive spirit - I really appreciate that.”

“It is hard to go back and forth from school. It’s too much change. I need consistency.”

- freshman Maya Friedlander

“It’s a pretty good compromise. You get some in person learning, remote learning, and the teachers seem to be doing pretty well with everything all things considered.”

- junior Aveline Hwang

PHOTO BY MADISON SECKMAN

“While the hybrid system is imperfect and possesses many flaws, I think it’s a respectable effort by the district to ensure a sense of normalcy through continued face to face academic challenges.

- senior Molly Rojec

COURTESY OF MOLLY ROJEC

PHOTO BY LILY DEITCH

“I mean, I would prefer in person learning overall, but considering the situation we are in, hybrid learning is better than full online school. Since we go to school two days a week, I am able to get clarification on my work, which I wouldn’t be able to do if we were full online.”

- sophomore Gauri Thaliyil COURTESY OF GAURI THALIYIL

October 2020

Katie Vasquez: TikTok Famous at Creek

BY BRE MENNENOH & NATE MEREDITH A&E Editor and Staff Writer

What was the main thing that inspired you to get on TikTok? My 3rd period students last year asked me to start a TikTok. This was when TikTok was fairly new and super big on the dances and such, so we thought it would be funny. And that’s where it all started.

Are you a part of the TikTok fund?

So I got approved for [the TikTok fund] on August 26th. It obviously depends on how many views I get each day so sometimes I’ll make like $5 a day while other times I’ll make like $45 a day. In the last month I’ve made about $450 so far! I just signed a deal, and I’m going to get $3,000 for the next six videos with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. All I really have to do is post about wearing masks and social distancing!

What does hate look like for you?

Lately there’s been quite a lot of hate and I don’t really know why because, I mean, I’m just posting general stuff in the classroom.

How do you generally deal with the hate that you’re getting on this platform?

Usually, if I see a hateful comment I will just delete them. In my life I like to keep around only positive people, and if there’s ever hate in my life I just try to get rid of it. I just dont need that. It’s my TikTok page.

Is there anything that you’d like to gain or any message that you’re trying to spread?

Just to really try and spread positivity. I want other teachers to understand that teenagers are teenagers, and they go through some really tough stuff. I just hope that the teachers that see my “Teach Toks” [on TikTok] appreciate that kids are going through some really tough times and that they just have bad days. And to be aware of anything going on if they’re acting differently or acting up, so that rather than treating the kids as robots, we’re identifying their differences and understanding that they all have different circumstances at home.

Do you want to say anything to your fans?

The kids at our school are all very supportive. Sometimes you have a couple haters on there, and I always look to see who responds [positively] and it’s always kids from Creek, my students that I’ve had before, always there, defending me.

UP TO THE MILLIONS: Vasquez’s most popular video, “First day of school” has 2.4 million views and counting.

The video alone has over 445 thousand likes which contributes to her six million likes on all of her videos combined.

Her students describe her as charismatic and outgoing which helps her attract a younger audience.

14 | A&E

PHOTO BY BRE MENNENOH

NEWFOUND FAME: Teacher Katie Vasquez has over 225 thousand followers on popular social app TikTok. Senior Nicole Shetov described her as “one of the only teachers I’ve met that I genuinely feel comfortable talking about anything to.”

TikTok in politics

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump declared war on TikTok. Citing cybersecurity concerns, his administration announced that if the American portion of TikTok was not bought by an American company, it would be banned from all app stores.

Issues first arose following a Tulsa Trump rally in mid-June, when TikTok teens bought tickets to the event with no intent to show up. The rally had a disappointing low attendance, which was partially lamed on the TikTokers.

Whether Trump’s battle with TikTok is due to his personal feuds with its users, security threats, or a mixture of both, the app is in the clear – for now. Two US companies, Oracle and Walmart, are currently in talks to take over US operations for the app, fulfilling Trump’s demands and keeping TikTok on American phones.

– Carly Philpott, News Editor

BY GIOVANNI MACHADO Opinion Editor

Why Mulan (2020) is a cinematic disaster

When Disney announced they were making a Mulan live-action movie, I hoped and prayed it would be good, considering how mediocre the other live-action and adaptations they had released in the previous years were.

Deep down I knew it wouldn’t be very good, but I was excited anyway since Mulan from 1998, in my opinion, is the best animated Disney movie ever.

My expectations were low but holy God. First of all, I feel like I need to make clear that you don’t have to feel bad if you liked the movie, but if you liked it it’s probably because you haven’t watched the original animated piece yet, and if you haven’t, I strongly recommend you do if you get the chance, so you can understand why so many people are upset about the live-action.

Mulan was already an announced tragedy since it would have to live up to the masterpiece that its original version was, but the movie kept on subverting my expectations every minute that passed. Not in a good way.

First of all, I don’t understand exactly why they decided to remove some key characters from the original movie and add characters that were somewhat loosely based on them.

Either remove them or don’t. For example, I truly don’t understand the importance of the character Chen Hanghui, a character loosely based on Lee Shang from the original version who was an essential part of the plot on the animated version. You could remove all Chen Hanghui scenes from the movie and it wouldn’t change the storyline whatsoever.

Another thing they changed that I thought would be okay at first was not having songs which I thought would be fine since they would probably be taking a more serious take on the story.

They don’t.

They were certainly trying to make a more serious story, but I don’t know what was the last time I’ve seen such a failed attempt at making serious scenes. There were moments I actually laughed out loud that were not supposed to be of comical purpose. One great (or horrible) example of this is when Mulan goes back to the army camp after being exiled and dishonored for being a woman in the army. When she gets back she tells the

general the enemy is planning on killing the emperor, and the scene goes a little like this (have in mind I’m paraphrasing just a little bit): General: “Why should I believe you?

You’re a woman! You lied to me. I must execute you” *Long Pause* That Chen Hanghui guy: “I believe Mulan!”

Another soldier: “I believe Mulan!”

All the soldiers one after another: “I believe Mulan!”

General: “Ok, you’re our leader now, go stop the bad guys from killing the emperor.”

By the point, this scene ended, I was actually wheezing, which I don’t believe was the intention of the scene.

To give some credit where credit is due, I’ve seen many people complaining about the acting, but I honestly think it’s pretty solid considering the horrendous script the cast was given.

The villain is also another big problem with the changes they made. The Villain this time is a witch that can turn into animals, but mostly an eagle, and I saw some potential in that; it wasn’t that bad of an idea. But the execution, on the other hand, could be so much better. It is crazy how Disney creates such an interesting character and doesn’t explore her at all. All we know is that she is a witch and that she fights for the bad guys, that’s all.

She has about four interactions with Mulan in the entire movie, and some of them don’t have much talking, just fighting.

That is until Mulan is expelled from the army for being a woman, and the witch finds her returning home and says a sentence that, in my humble opinion, should be banned from any bad guy vs. good guy interaction forever. “You and I are not so different, you know.” Then she proceeds by saying how they are both women and how men will never accept them as true warriors which, again, is a very good idea for a theme of the story, but it is so poorly executed that it pains me. Mulan then decides to go back save the emperor, is promoted to leader out of the blue, and then the witch and Mulan finally meet again, and their dialogue goes a little like this (have in mind I’m paraphrasing just a little bit):

Witch: “Wait, you’re a woman and you’re their leader?”

Mulan: “Yep.” Witch: “I’m a woman and they won’t let me be their leader, that must mean I’m fighting for the wrong side!”

And then the witch sacrifices herself by taking an arrow and saving Mulan’s life.

Do you see what the problem is here? A lot of times it seems like the movie is talking down to its audience. Like “you probably didn’t pick up the last scene, so here is a fivestep tutorial to understand my movie.” It is so childish the way they establish, then re-establish, then verbally re-establish themes just in case the audience didn’t pick it up, especially when you promise you’re making a more “mature” version of Mulan.

But perhaps the worst problem with the movie is the fact that in the original movie, Mulan is just a woman who wants to protect her father. She is no warrior. She constantly subverts everyone’s expectations by outsmarting everyone, including the enemy, like when she shoots the last firework at a mountain instead of at them so the firework creates an avalanche that eliminates their entire battalion. The point of the movie is that everyone can be Mulan. But now? Well, forget that, she is gifted by nature now, even at a very young age she is amazing and skilled at everything, so too bad, you can’t be Mulan, no one can. She single-handedly defeats a good portion of the enemy army through her fighting skills, not her brain. I truly don’t even know at this point if the writers watched the original Mulan because why on Earth would you change one of the main themes of the story like that?

As someone who grew up watching Disney movies, it pains me to realize that Disney noticed a while ago that they don’t even have to try anymore in order to profit. They will keep on doing uninspired remake after uninspired remake, and people, like me, will keep on consuming because of a nostalgia factor, and, unfortunately, that seems to be the way Disney is shifting towards, let’s just hope that it won’t get to a point where they can’t steer back.

October 2020

Shut Up and Dribble?

Creek Basketball says ‘No thanks’

BY RAEGAN KNOBBE Sports Editor

“There comes a time when silence is betrayal” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Arden Walker (left) and Julian Hammond

PHOTO BY RAEGAN KNOBBE

16 | Sports

In 2018, conservative pundit Laura Ingraham told NBA superstar Lebron James to “shut up and dribble.” James refused to shut up about racial injustice, and you can be sure senior basketball players Arden Walker and Julian Hammond will also have something to say.

Arden Walker, varsity football’s highly-recruited defensive tackle, is also the starting power forward for the Bruins basketball team. Julian Hammond, the accomplished starting quarterback and starting shooting guard, has recently committed to play basketball at the University of Colorado.

These high-profile athletes are taking cues from stars like Lebron James and planning to use their platforms to promote change in the Creek community.

“In the Black community we look up to [Lebron James], and for him to speak out on racial injustice in America, that’s powerful,” Walker said. “We look for him to do it because there are a lot of athletes that don’t do it.”

Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games to protest police brutality and racial injustice in 2016. Senior Amanda Ampiah, President of the Black Student Union, remembers this moment.

“It’s important to speak about racial injustice because it could happen to me or my family members,” Ampiah said. “That’s why it hugely impacted me, and him raising awareness about the whole situation is spotlighting or highlighting things that go unnoticed in this country.”

Hammond also remembers Kaepernick kneeling, and he agrees that athletes should fight for what they believe in because you never know who you might influence to create change.

“There’s no reason why anybody - [no matter] how big or how small the stage is - shouldn’t be able to stand up for what they want to stand up for,” Hammond said.

People who disagreed with Kaepernick kneeling argued that athletes should “stick to sports,” but that comment strikes Walker and other athletes as ignorant.

“We’re human too,” Walker said. “That’s the reason why people like Lebron are speaking out - because we’re humans, we’re included in this situation. The people who say [“stick to sports”] - it’s an ignorant statement to me because they basically labeled me as just an athlete, and we’re more than just athletes.”

Varsity Boys Basketball Head Coach Kent Dertinger wants to help his athletes keep racial justice issues and the Black Lives Matter movement in the forefront of people’s minds.

“I know it’s something that my coaching staff and my players have talked a lot about,” Dertinger said. “Our goal is to be there to

support our players, our community, and a cause that we believe in.”

But Black Lives Matter is not the only movement in America.

All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter also have many supporters.

Hammond is frustrated with these two movements because he wants people to understand what it really means to support Black Lives Matter.

“You can’t argue something that you would never have to deal with,” Hammond said. “Of course every life matters, but when one part of the community is needing more healing than other parts, that’s the one you want to attend to, so to me it feels like it’s a counter way of saying ‘oh you guys are focusing in on you.’ And with Blue Lives Matter, you shouldn’t be killing cops, that’s an obvious thing, but I feel like it’s just to say something in response to go against Black Lives Matter.”

There is still uncertainty about the 2020 basketball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but what we know for sure is that Walker and Hammond will be doing something to protest racial injustice.

“During the national anthem we can all lock arms, both teams, to show unity,” Walker said.

“We’re showing that there’s no division. We’re all together.”

Hammond added that he is “not going to stand for the national anthem.”

The two athletes have the support of Athletic Director Jason Wilkins.

“I think it’s been really good for athletes in general to use their platform and to speak out about racial injustice,” Wilkins said.

“There’s been a lot of solidarity that’s come about. That has been a real positive.”

The Varsity boys basketball team also wants to make warmup shirts that say Black Lives Matter or another phrase that shows solidarity. Walker was thinking about adorning the warm-up shirt with the name Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Black man who was stopped by three police officers in Aurora in 2019, put in a chokehold, and declared brain dead three days later.

He was “a part of our community,” Walker said.

But no matter what the warm-up shirts end up saying, the end goal is the same: to keep Creek talking about racial injustice and to improve the community.

“By the time that we are able to play the game, I hope it sends a message to the people at Cherry Creek because there’s probably some people who are ignorant to this idea, or they have a different belief,” Walker said. “But I feel like my voice, and my other teammates’, is powerful enough to create a movement or change.”

“When one part of the community is needing more healing than other parts, that’s the one you want to attend to.”

-Julian Hammond

October 2020

Ten nis tops Regis Creek tennis wins State for the first time in three years

BY GIOVANNI MACHADO Opinions Editor

Even before we knew the toll the COVID-19 pandemic would take, CHSAA was one of the first organizations to take action and cancel all high school sports in the state of Colorado.

So when most school districts in Colorado announced classes would be back in person in August, many people were unsure of how sports would be affected, including tennis.

“We missed out on a lot of team traditions such as our trip to Pueblo and our invitational,” senior Braden Mayer said. “But we are gonna win State this year so that should make up for the craziness of this season.”

As it turns out, Mayer’s prophecy would come true. “[I’m] so happy to bring the title back to Creek where it belongs,” Mayer said after the State Championship. “That’s 43 state titles in the last 48 years.”

Despite all the bonding issues that come with any environment in which social distancing is required, the team managed to, after three years, bring the state trophy back to Creek.

“It was one of the best feelings of my life,” Mayer said. “The joy of winning with my team, bringing the title back where it belongs, and sharing a State Championship with my dad was one of the best moments of my life.”

Tennis was one of the few fall sports that weren’t moved to spring. But from the beginning, coach Arthur Quinn knew this wouldn’t be an ordinary season.

“We have a fairly socially distant sport,” Quinn said. “But we

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Senior George Cavo, the #1 singles player for Men’s Tennis, helped lead the Bruins to a State Championship after a three year drought. In the state final, Creek defeated Regis 59-55.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CASEY DENNIS

18 | Sports

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARAM IZMIRIAN

STATE CHAMPS: Creek tennis has a 43rd state championship under its belt after an exciting win over Regis on Saturday, September 26th. have taken steps to ensure that our pods were in order and we didn’t have any line drills or game courts that would violate safety standards.”

Although it was back, the tennis program had some restrictions on how their season would be, compared to previous years.

“Our match schedule was reduced from ten matches and two tournaments to nine matches and no tournaments,” said Quinn.

“But this was really nothing for us, we were fortunate to actually get to compete and have a season. Not all sports were.”

Despite being an independent sport, tennis requires certain bonding within the squad so that the team can function at its best, and at these times, safety measures may often get in the way of bonding.

“I feel that it limits our team from bonding and makes it extremely different than last year, senior Blake Holst said. “COVID has just limited contact as players can’t touch anyone or balls when playing matches. Practices are easier because we can be more carefree but it still requires masks and distancing.”

As it turns out, even in these crazy times Creek’s tennis team was able to bring the trophy home and make history once again.

“The players have been very professional,” Quinn said. “Acting in a responsible, positive, and conscientious way to the fluidity of the situation. I’d expect nothing less from our program or our school.”

Born to run

Senior Parker Wolfe broke the state record in the 5K

BY RAEGAN KNOBBE Sports Editor

Born to run? It sure seems so.

Senior Parker Wolfe is dominating this cross country season, setting a state record in the 5K on Saturday, September 12th, when he won the Heritage Distance Classic on the Liberty Bell Course, running an blisteringly fast 14 minutes 30 seconds.

Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that Wolfe was indeed born to run… and fast.

“It’s definitely genetics,” Wolfe said. “I would never be able to run without my mom’s genetics.”

If you found yourself on CSU’s campus back in 1993, you would hear about Wolfe’s mom, Debbie Maass, CSU’s female Athlete of the Year who earned All-American Honors in the mile run for track with a 4 minute 45 second mile.

Parker Wolfe’s sister, freshman Baylor Wolfe, an up-and-coming member of Creek’s cross country program, won the JV Bruins 5K on September 5th. Baylor Wolfe has nothing but high praise for her older brother, and when he won the Heritage Distance Classic, she was definitely there for it.

“I was trying to run around to see as many places as I could to watch him run,” she said. “It was really cool to see his time, and I was amazed by it because I can’t even imagine running that fast, so I was really, really excited and happy for him.”

The Liberty Bell Course is mostly flat and ends with a mile-long downhill-stretch on asphalt. When Wolfe reached this

point, knowing he was hitting his pace, he really started thinking about the state record, which he knew was 14 minutes 38 seconds, set by Cole Sprout in 2019.

“I started kicking it as hard as I could because I knew I was really close to [the record],” Wolfe said.

“And then once I got close enough to the finish line, I just coasted in, because I knew I was fast enough to break it.”

Maybe Wolfe got his speed from his mom, but Head Coach Ethan Dusto doesn’t think it’s all genetics, and he is very impressed by Wolfe’s work ethic.

“Parker has a lot of talent, but he is an extremely hard worker,” Dusto said. “To be a successful runner, you need to find a balance between what your goals are as an athlete, what kind of punishment your body can handle, and what you can mentally sustain.

He has done an excellent job of finding this balance and taking his training seriously.”

Wolfe plans to continue his record breaking success through the State Championship on October 17th in Colorado Springs, where he hopes to win an individual title and break the course record of 15 minutes 12 seconds, also set by Cole Sprout in 2019.

Most of Colorado’s high school running talent graduated last year, leaving Wolfe in a great place to bring home some hardware to Creek before he continues his running career next fall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wolfe recognizes his elite abilities compared to other runners in Colorado.

“I’m kind of the only one left in the state in 5A in terms of good competition,” he said.

But Wolfe knows that cross country is ultimately a team sport, and he wants to see the team succeed after the disappointment of missing state in his sophomore year and not winning state his junior year.

“My bigger goal is hoping the team does well, so I’m hoping that we can place top five at state.”

PHOTO BY RAEGAN KNOBBE

SPEED RACER: Senior Parker Wolfe is the fastest high school boys’ cross country runner in the country.

BY THE NUMBERS Parker Wolfe - Speed Stats

BY THE NUMBERS Finish Time Place

5K

1st 1st 1st

15:22.70 14:30.10* 15:30.30

Colorado 5A Region 1 Final Heritage Distance Classic Centennial League Warrior 5K

*State Record

October 2020

BY CARLY PHILPOTT News Editor

IT’S

TIME TO

STOP IGNORING

FASCISM

IN THE

WHITE HOUSE 20 | Opinion

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CARLY PHILPOTT

A word to the wise: never ignore the warning signs of an emerging fascist.

I was 11 years old when Donald Trump was elected. He pledged to fortify our borders against the immigrants he blamed for crime in our country. He fanned resentment against certain religious and ethnic groups. He vilified the press and openly fantasized about taking revenge on his opponents. He demeaned entire regions and demographics, making it clear he only spoke for those who pledged loyalty to him.

The warning signs were all there.

Not enough voters saw them.

I was only 11, but I saw something wrong with where this was going, where Trump wanted to take us. I saw deepened divides and ignorance and unwillingness to read anyone else’s story.

Above all else, I saw a self-centered man who had no intention to work for everyone. Who openly mocked people with disabilities and stood accused of rape, racism, and fraud. This man was about to become the leader of the nation where I was still growing up. I was terrified.

I’m 15 now. I’m still terrified.

Many Americans say that Trump shouldn’t be compared to fascist leaders of the past. The common argument seems to be that Trump cannot truly be compared to dictators like Hitler or Mussolini, and that to do so is to blatantly ignore history.

It is indisputable that Trump has not reached the pure evil of those leaders, and many of them are on a level that he most likely won’t reach. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t also awful, or that he can’t also cause irreparable damage to our country. If we as a nation ignore the warning signs of an emerging fascist leader as we have done in the past, we will only walk further down the path of authoritarianism. We’re four years into Trump’s presidency, and what he has done and attempted to do in those four years is disturbing and problematic and should be treated as such.

Fascism combines authoritarianism, ultra-nationalism, and the demonizing of minorities and “outsiders.” We know the threat fascist leaders pose; we’ve fought them before.

If Trump was an emerging fascist then, he’s a full-blown fascist now.

Recently, the president has been using federal troops to quash largely peaceful protests, and then parading a story of mob violence that only he can save us from. This is a dangerous threat to our free speech as a nation and should

not be ignored. Not only does this pose a direct threat to the lives of protesters, it also is direct propaganda. When protests get violent and deadly because of military involvement, Trump uses the situation to prove that those who disagree with him are inherently “un-American,” and furthers this mindset that all protesters of a certain type are “thugs.”

From the beginning, he has preached American superiority. Trump wants us to believe that America is forever superior, and when things go wrong, he won’t hesitate to blame it all on specific demographics of people. This form of scapegoating only results in persistent divisions between people and endless discrimination.

Trump has a very odd habit of cozying up to dictators and corrupt leaders – he praises international leaders like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Recep Erdoğan, Rodrigo Duterte, János Áder, and Jair Bolsinaro, who all use authoritarian tactics to varying degrees, and who govern countries that are not our primary allies. Meanwhile, Trump leaves our actual allies high and dry, dipping in and out of crucial international agreements and refusing to make decisions that would benefit someone else.

Perhaps most dangerous of all, Trump has managed to pit his base against everyone else, creating an “us versus them” narrative. He winks at white supremacists, never denouncing them as terrorist groups, despite their repeated attacks against minority groups. He makes it clear that if you do not agree with him, he does not work for you. If your needs are anywhere outside of his own, he does not work for you.

He does not work for any of us who believe Black Lives Matter, love is love, and science is real, or for my grandmother, who suffers from cancer and could die if she contracts COVID-19, or for my generation, who will have to deal with the consequences of our current climate degradation, or for any of us in the West, as we witness our worst wildfires yet and desperately need serious efforts to address the climate crisis.

Trump works for himself, promoting values that do not belong to the rest of us. That is what he fights for, not us.

He would like for us to believe that he is the savior we need.

Instead, he is a fascist working against our country and against our people.

The signs are there.

They’ve always been there.

And it’s time to pay attention.

“We’re four years into Trump’s presidency, and what he’s done in those four years is disturbing and problematic and deserves to be treated as such.”

October 2020

BY JANE McCAULEY Editor-in-Chief

Finding power in a powerless time

It’s been easy to feel helpless in high school. I’m sure most of us have experienced some of the aftermath of events that we had no control over - that sinking feeling of losing all power or sense of direction in our lives. Especially now more than ever, losing our high school experiences and memories to a pandemic has been more than challenging.

But for the first time, we actually have the ability to make a change and take back some of that power we’ve lost. The best part is that it’s simple - wear a mask when you can’t stay home, and for god’s sake, don’t go out and party, and vote if you’re eligible.

I’m sure many other seventeen year olds like myself are feeling the same frustration of being too young to vote, and not feeling like there’s anything we can do. But there’s still so much action we can take without even submitting a ballot or stepping into a polling booth.

According to Hackensack Meridian Health, we are one of the most influential generations to help prevent the spread of COVID. I don’t think this is a very surprising topic for many of us because we all know the impact we can make with our social media accounts and how powerful our influence in and out of school is.

But I also think that the responsibility that comes with this role is undermined when we take advantage of that fact that we can do whatever we want without thought to the other people in our community.

I know we want things to go back to normal. I know no one wants to hear any more lectures about doing the “right thing” and

how you shouldn’t go to parties. I also know that just makes people want to party more.

But it’s different now. Not only are other lives at stake, but our control over our democracy, our communities, and our homes filled with our loved ones are at stake.

When we knowingly go to a party, and we don’t wear a mask, we endanger the parents or grandparents of the people who sit near you in your classrooms. The students who sit next to you chose to come to school because learning at home full-time might be an impossible situation for them.

When we knowingly see others go out without taking any precautions instead of staying home, we endanger the lives of our teachers and their families. They come into school for our well-being and for our education.

Now is not the time to “take the chance” that you won’t get caught or you won’t have any consequences. Now is really the time to take the extra precaution of staying home whenever you can.

Only go out if you have to, and wear a mask.

We finally have the opportunity to make sure we’re the generation that pushes other people to be the responsible ones taking every extra step possible to stop the spread of this virus instead of being the bad example that’s being criticized.

Consider what is on the line right now. Consider the people who are really endangering everyone by trying to cross it, and consider what kind of power you have to stop it.

STUMBLING IN THE DARK: Working from home during remote learning days is hard.

As with most Creek students, forcing herself to stay home rather than going out has been a difficult process. But it’s also been a price we’re willing to pay if it means students can eventually go to school full time next semester when there are fewer COVID cases.

22 | Opinion

PHOTO COURTESY OF JANE McCAULEY

STAFF EDITORIAL

The hybrid system is failing.

We as individuals, as a school, and as a community have struggled exponentially these past two months alone trying to acclimate to this new system we now call learning.

It doesn’t seem like learning when most of us only see each other through computer screens or when we can’t recognize our friends and teachers without seeing the bottom half of their faces.

But we continue trying to learn through this uncertain time, trying to fill our brains with whatever assignments we are given. We may not be absorbing the information, but at least we turned it in before 11:59PM. But this is the kind of thinking that is only hurting students, not helping us learn.

For us, and many other students, a lot of the confusion and frustration that has occurred this past quarter is from the general lack of organization and structure between students and teachers.

Each teacher has a different plan with a different amount of work on different websites and pages to search through.

Some teachers dock late points, and some don’t. Some change the assignments we’re supposed to turn in when we’re already at home, and most of the time, nothing about assignments or the workload is ever clear.

The cherry on top is that teachers aren’t even assigning too much work for their own class. It’s the fact that the work from all of our classes together isn’t manageable, especially while trying to search for everything and understand it at home, where all of this is being dumped on us.

We’re not asking teachers to have all the answers and to be able to get this right on the first try. This is the first pandemic we’ve experienced, and no one should have that much responsibility, especially the teachers, staff, and administration when we know how hard they’re working and how much they’re risking during this time as well just for our well-being and education.

We also know Creek is ART COURTESY OF FAITH McCURDY known for being rigorous with its workload, and teachers have a job to do.

But constant confusion and frustration in this hybrid model wasn’t something anyone wanted either.

Having a hybrid system has been a great opportunity for students who still want an in-person experience this year instead of just staying home full-time. Plus, it’s been an option for students who feel that learning home full-time isn’t possible for their learning style either.

But this system also means that consistency and clarity will never be an option for anyone either. And for students who are already struggling to stay focused and organized, this model is only exasperating these problems.

Trying to balance the work we’ve been given in this kind of system is also an impossible task when there isn’t a consistent foundation for students to navigate the mess of trying to find all the assignments like an Easter egg hunt and going back and forth between school and home.

The result is that school has now become a matter of just finishing assignments in time rather than learning and getting a valuable experience out of this year.

As unfortunate as it may be for students right now, the best option for the mental health of students and teachers is staying home full-time for the rest of the semester, so everyone can come back full time for the rest of the 2021 school year.

Students would follow their whole schedule from 8:20 to 3:30 online during the day and finally keep some consistency at home and clear communication with their teachers.

For now, what students need is solid consistency from all teachers on what is due and when, and more than anything, understanding that our work shouldn’t be held in the same regard as any other year because let’s be honest with ourselves, this isn’t any other year.

October 2020