Devils' Advocate April 2017

Devils ’

Advocate

Adaptations and Accomodations Exploring facilities for students with disabilities P. 18

Paying for Hours Understanding the problem with service clubs P. 7

Violence on the Upswing

Digital Safety Seeing the other side of the Internet P. 24 Hinsdale Central High School - Hinsdale, Ill. - Volume 89 - April 2017

Looking at incidents in the district P. 14

Contents

Features

Violence on the Upswing Looking at student fights

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Adaptations and Accomodations Exploring facilities for students with disabilities Europe Trip Traveling to learn history

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If We Build It, They Will Come Understanding the lack of youth softball teams

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Profiles Club Spotlight: Taking a look at Poetry Club

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Sophomore in the Spotlight Meeting Emily Goggin

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Anushka Nair's "Shifting Perspective" Winning a national art award

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Opinions Ask the Athlete: Talking to Taylor Glenn

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In Memoriam: Mr. Horan

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Column: The Happiness Guide Being happy no matter where you end up

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Battleground: Debating Internet privacy

Editorial: Paying our way through service clubs

Cheers & Jeers

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12

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News Newsfeed Infographic: Examining safety in the digital world

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Trends What's Trending Now

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22 Cover photo by Alex Choi Table of Contents photos by Abby Berberich, Alex Choi, and Nora Wood

Section Editors

Photo Editors

Editorial Board

Head Editors

Staff

Letter from the Editor

As the the April issue comes out, my two years on the Advocate are almost over, with only the May issue remaining. I have had a memorable experience being a part of this magazine staff from our fish Editor in Chief Managing Editor drama last year and awkard brainstorms to food-filled productions, Seetha Aribindi Sayali Amin finishing designs last minute, and meetings in the panic room. My first article in the Advocate was my sophomore year, a small 200 word article about internet problems at school, and it's hard for me to believe how much time has passed since then. I know I've come a long way, but sometimes I still get confused with commas.

This year, as Managing Editor, it has been so rewarding to take a larger role in the magazine, helping revamp the design with our new Copy Editor Copy Editor fonts and staple pages. I'd like to thank my Editor in Chief for being Ray Shryock Maria Harrast great to work with and that we can always laugh over the smallest mistakes in the magazine. Our staff has grown in size this year and put in a lot of effort in each and every issue. So with that, I hope you enjoy the April issue, which has a wide variety of stories about the latest on-goings. Room 249, it's been a good few years.

Copy Editor Design Editor Sincerely, Celine Turkyilmaz Lancelot Lin Sayali Amin Mission Statement

Abby Berberich

Alex Choi

Nora Wood

Devils’ Advocate strives to provide fair and balanced reporting to its readers by working with students, teachers, and community members. It is a student-run monthly newsmagazine that wishes to inform the student body of Hinsdale Central High School.

Haley Anderson

Julia Baroni

Julia Chatterjee

Adam DeDobbelaere

Jayne Gelman

Minna Hassaballa

Bilal Khokhar

Cassie Kruse

Juliana Mayer

Sofia Rafiq

Charlotte Sudduth

Anya Uppal

Contact Information @hcDevilsAdvo on Twitter & Instagram @devils_advo on Snapchat Adviser: Cherise Lopez clopez@hinsdale86.org

Contributors Carolyn Chun Shubhankar Deo Isha Kukadia Amani Mryan Rahma Rafiq Stephanie Rakos Skylar Smith

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Ask the Athlete

Q: What inspired you to start playing softball?

A: When I was little, I wanted to try every sport possible, but ended up liking softball the most, so I stuck with it.

Q: What is your favorite memory from high school softball?

A: My favorite memories are from the team breakfasts.

Q: What is your favorite part about softball?

A: My favorite part about softball is the relationships you make with the girls and the coaches.

Win or lose, they always are there for you.

Taylor Glenn, senior, poses for her senior softball picture.

Taylor Glenn

photo courtesy of Taylor Glenn

Q: When did you start playing softball?

A: I have been playing softball since first grade.

Q: What is your favorite postgame snack?

A: My favorite post game snack are the brownies we get if we win three in a row.

Q: What is your favorite song?

A: “For Her” by Chris Lane.

Q: What is your favorite movie?

A: Either “The Longest Ride” or “Inside Out”.

46 Village Place Hinsdale, Illinois 630.537.1586 6300 Kingery Hwy #126, Willowbrook, Illinois 630.481.4944 www.cafelafortuna.com

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Battleground

Opinions

by Carolyn Chun and Shubhankar Deo

Internet Privacy Last month, the United States Congress handed Donald Trump legislation that prevents Internet privacy protections from taking effect later this year. The rules would’ve banned Internet providers from collecting browsing histories, location information, and app usage data, among other pieces of information, and selling them without your consent.

Sounds horrible, right? There’s almost a Big Brother eeriness to the situation. The actual impacts of postponing the privacy restrictions, however, are minimal, if not nonexistent. Many Internet service providers (ISPs), like Verizon and AT&T, already have company-wide privacy policies in place, and if an ISP violates its policy, a state attorney could take the company to court. And, the Federal Communications Commission is allowed to bring lawsuits against companies as well. The two-pronged risk of lawsuits at different levels of government is a deterrent that remains even without privacy regulations.

The notion that advertising companies, or anyone for that matter, can now buy your Internet information is also blown out of proportion. Based on how companies use and share data today, it’s unlikely an ISP would hand out your information for cash. Usually, a marketer asks a company like Verizon to advertise with a certain demographic—say, women between the ages of twenty-eight and thirty-five.

The two companies then settle on a deal, and the marketer begins advertising through some base, such as Facebook.

In other words, your Internet history is sold because you are part of a demographic being targeted by the advertising agency, and all domestic ISPs have in their privacy policy a guarantee that your identity is never tied to your Internet history.

The reality of these privacy protections not being passed isn’t much different from if they were passed. Ultimately, ISPs still face multiple barriers that prevent them from individualizing Internet history and selling it for money, and companies’ own regulations coupled with the risk of state and federal lawsuits are barriers that make any invasion of one’s privacy impossible. Let’s face it: these rules were never needed to begin with, and their absence doesn’t cause any changes in how our data is stored and shared.

Big data means big gains, big profit, big change--that is, for the companies who can use it. For them, it means targeted ads, improved mailing lists, more product feedback, a greater understanding of their audience, and a whole new toolset for innovation. But for the average American? It’s a big risk.

The other week, a largely partisan vote in Congress saw Republicans roll back a Federal Communications Commission rule that required user consent before internet service providers could sell browsing data to third parties; it’s a significant shift for the government, indicating a move away from protective policies and opening the path for individual information to be more shared and commodified than ever before.

Encroachments on internet privacy, of course, are far from a new phenomenon, and many will point out that the recent congressional decision merely grants internet providers a power already enjoyed by Facebook, Google, and other giants of the virtual world.

Yet, here’s the problem: Where the conscientious internet-using American can opt not to utilize Google as his search engine, he cannot access the internet without an internet service provider. In that market, there are few options for alternative access, and even fewer routes to escape the need for internet altogether. Moreover, the nature of the information that internet service providers have access to encompasses an alarming set of data: where you are, your finances, your purchasing habits, and much more. The WebMD articles you read become indicative of your potential health status; the web page of a therapist, of potential mental illness or marital problems. Allowing those same internet providers to share that information would be destroying one of the last practical and symbolic defenses of the right to privacy in an increasingly interconnected world.

This is the age of information, yes. But that also means that information is ever more valuable and dangerous.

Protect it.

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In Memory Of

Mr. Jim Horan

he world lost a brilliant man on March 18, 2017, with the passing of Mr. James T. Horan, who was an admired husband, father, brother, uncle, musician, friend, and teacher.

Mr. Jim Horan, age 60, was a Latin teacher, golf coach, and an inspiration to all who knew him. In his time at Central, Mr. Horan was a devoted teacher and a motivating figure to not only the students, but the teachers as well. He was admired for his great advice and the care he showed for each and every one of his students.

The Latin community was heavily impacted by Mr. Horan.

He was a role model to his students and had a way of teaching that stirred interest in his classes and made it easy for them to understand the material.

“The way Latin is taught now is by his influence, whether it be dumb ways of remembering vocab or little stories that help us remember obscure literary devices.” said Martin Berg, senior who had Mr. Horan for two years. “We remember that stuff because of him. He made me love the language for what it is.”

In addition to teaching Latin, Mr. Horan tied life lessons into his classes that would remain with his students.

“He told me that life isn’t over at your twenties, it’s only just the beginning... and life gets better as you get older because you get to see your family grow...” said Ben Griffith, senior who had Mr. Horan as a teacher for two years.

Although Mr. Horan retired from teaching after the 2015-16 school year, he still continued to coach the boys golf team.

“Coach was not only my golf coach, but he was also a mentor as he was to all the other kids he knew.” said Milan Outarsingh, sophomore on the golf team. “He was a light-hearted person, and always created an atmosphere that helped better ourselves as golfers, students, and most importantly, people.”

Mr. Horan also shared his passion of music with students, and was director of Guitar Club. He also had a band called Jambone where he was the bass player, while Ed Formanski, Hinsdale Central counselor, sang for the band.

“He’s one of the smartest people I know, he’s one of the most passionate people I’ve ever known, and he gave me an opportunity to sing in a band.” said Mr. Formanski.

The impact of care, positivity, and friendliness that Mr. Horan brought, will live through the school forever. He believed that his students could achieve anything if they put their mind to it.

“To me, Mr. Horan was one of the biggest role models and influences on my life...after golf tryouts, he saw something in me and set out on a mission to guide me up the right path. He gave me advice that would not only help me on the golf course

photo courtesy of Jim Horan’s Facebook

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“Find something to love and someone to love and share it with.”

-Mr. Jim Horan but that would translate into the real world,” said Matt Wingren, senior golf player.

Mr. Horan loved nothing more than his family. His children, Lisa and Bob, and his wife, Ellen, were constant talking points in his animated conversations with both his coworkers and students.

“He was the most brilliant man I ever got to know at Hinsdale Central and I’m so happy that he was a part of my life,” Griffith said.

This article is the consensus of the Devils’ Advocate Editorial Board

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Opinions

illustration by Julia Baroni

The Price to be a Member

Service Club Membership Does Not Emphasize Service

Every year, students and teachers lay on cots with an arm outstretched, ready for their blood to be drawn. Student participants are granted a gift card, an excused absence from a class period, and National Honor Society service hours.

While some students donate blood due to their genuine desire to help those in need, attaining two or three service hours is certainly a motivation for others. Within our school and beyond, the foundation of service based clubs is not based on doing physical service to help others. Often times, service hours can be bought with money, which does not measure a student’s dedication to a cause and willingness to be a club member.

For example, Key Club, one of the “service clubs” at Central requires its members to do at least five hours of service per quarter. However, four of these hours can be “earned” by selling candy boxes at school. When students fail to sell all 50 candy bars in their box, some either have their parents buy the box to sell as Halloween candy or just buy it themselves.

In addition to Key Club, other service clubs such as Habitat for Humanity fundraise using candy boxes. In this

situation, students have not contributed any hours to serving others, yet their spot as a member is secured the moment they open their wallets and pay up.

Various clubs at Central such as Varsity Club, NHS, and Habitat for Humanity participate in the annual event, Clubs that Care. The premise of this program is for clubs to raise money to purchase gifts around the holidays for families in need. The end result, however, is students spending money on gifts in exchange for membership security and points. For example, our school’s chapter of Business Professionals of America requires service duties to remain a member. Students can earn points by buying gift cards for teachers, buying food at the Student Council restaurant fundraisers or participating in Devils Who Care. The mandatory service duty is easily fulfilled by buying an expensive coat or shoes, rather than actually spending a few hours at a soup kitchen or a charity.

There is no doubt that the money students spend in their quest for membership to clubs like Key Club, Let’s Help Out, and Habitat for Humanity has the potential to help those in need. But

while the efforts of these clubs can make an impact on a cause, the means by which these causes are supported are not always representative of genuine service. Paying for diapers, canned goods, or detergent is not the same thing as rolling up your sleeves and helping someone.

Undoubtedly, service clubs at Central do participate in true service events such as Feed My Starving Children and Brown Bags of Hope. This type of service directly tackles a problem and should be a model for the projects that service clubs take on. Spending the time to do service for others teaches students the importance of empathy and dozens of other important life lessons. Those are lessons that buying a gift card for a poor family can never teach.

Spending money to support a cause should be an additional form of service, not the primary. Our school should teach students that just because some can afford to pay their way through a club doesn’t mean they should. Our service clubs should live up to their name and teach students what it means to dedicate themselves to causes they believe in.

This editorial is the consensus of the Devils’ Advocate Editorial Board.

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Opinions

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s the year approaches its end, many seniors will be getting ready to leave for a new school and new friends. A new home. That’s got us thinking a lot lately about what it means to start over somewhere and rediscover yourself—rediscover your happiness.

Right now, we all live in suburbs where there are more McDonald’s drive-thrus than independent coffee shops and more Dunkin Donuts locations than forests. There is a shortage of inspiration and creative energy. A lack of opportunities to explore.

And yet, a lot of us have found happiness here.

We see a couple walking through Fullersburg Woods and friends talking together before school starts. We see yellow flowers poking through a crack in the sidewalk and the sun’s rays reflecting across a fountain. Ideas emerge. Laughter blooms. The world keeps turning.

Inevitably, it’s a lottery: the places you always are, the places you’ll never be, the places you’ll only see once.

But no matter where you end up, it is possible to see light and excitement pulsing around you. Rather than looking for reasons why you dislike the place you are, look for room to grow and explore. There is beauty and joy even if you’re not surrounded by colorful buildings or glaciers or skylines.

There can be happiness no matter where you are.

Newsfeed My Kind of Town On April 29, Hinsdale Central will host prom at the Crystal Gardens ballroom at Navy Pier. The night will begin with a pre-prom red carpet at the school gym where parents can take pictures of the prom groups with city backdrops to fit the 2017 theme—My Kind of Town—which was chosen by the senior class board under the guidance of faculty sponsors Ms. Kate Saunders and Ms. Yulia Kapelnikova.

After pictures, students will board motor coaches to Navy Pier, where they will eat dinner and dance until midnight. The dance will be DJed by Dance Party DJs, who accepted student song requests online in early April. At 10 p.m. the Ferris wheel will open to students.

“I’m really looking forward to this year’s prom because the Ferris wheel is up and running,” said Alison Albelda, senior, who attended prom last year when the new Ferris wheel was still being constructed.

After the last dance, students will have the option to either board the buses back to school or attend the PTO-sponsored post-prom on the Odyssey cruise, where they can dance, take pictures in a photobooth, and view the skyline until 2:30 a.m.

The cost for attending prom is $100 and post-prom is $35.

Students may also invite guests from other high schools or nonhigh schoolers under the age of 20 to the dance by request to the school administration.

“The theme this year seems cool, and I’m excited to see how it turns out,” Albelda said.

photo courtesy of Pioneer Press

by Isha Kukadia

For the 2015 prom, students met outside the school before boarding buses that drove them to the Crystal Gardens ballroom at Navy Pier.

The Little Mermaid Musical

photo courtesy of Hinsdale Central

by Stephanie Rakos and Skylar Smith

“The Little Mermaid” will be performed on April 20 to 22 at 7 pm in the auditorium.

This year’s annual spring musical, “The Little Mermaid,” is being performed on April 20 to 22 at 7 pm in the auditorium.

There is also a matinee with a meet and greet afterwards where people can get autographs from their favorite characters. Tickets for the show are $10 for students and $15 for adults. For the matinee, tickets are $15 for all. Tickets are on sale at the door or at www.ticketpeak.com/hcdrama.

The show is directed by the Hinsdale Central drama department and teacher Mr. Maniscalco, with over 77 student participants either as actors, stage crew members, or assistant directors.

“I am extremely excited about this show,” said Hannah Fuechtman, an actress and singer in the ensemble. “Everyone has been working so hard to make [this show] a success.”

Students have been practicing for the performance for over a month with multiple rehearsals after school.

“We hope to see lots of people attending the performance. It’s a great show and I’ve had a lot of fun putting it together,” said assistant director Ginny Jablonski, junior.

For more news, visit www.hcdevilsadvocate.com 9

Profiles

Poetry Club

Club Spotlight

by Amani Mryan

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to AP kids,” Claycomb said.

Despite their stigmatization, the Poetry Club seeks to give a voice to minorities in the school, and by doing so, they allow for students to represent themselves the way they see fit. One of these students is sophomore Emily Hines, who joined the club her freshman year.

“My favorite memory has been performing at Louder than a Bomb this year. It was a great experience to get to write and perform for judges,” Hines said. Louder Than A Bomb, or LTAB, is the world’s largest youth poetry festival, with over 120 schools participating in the Chicagoland area. It is a competition that Central regularly performs at.

Sophomore Ayana Otokiti, who joined this year, views Poetry Club as very welcoming. Otokiti is figuring out her writing style and hopes to share her poems and experiences with the Central community one day.

“I believe the universe was spoken into existence, and we, as poets, are writing the world, shaping it with our words,” Peralta said.

For more information, students are encouraged to come to the Wednesday meetings in room 254 after school, or to talk to Ms. Corelitz.

photo courtesy of Jess Wilber

Seniors Jess Wilber and Vicky Peralta and sophomores Sarah Kim and Emily Hines perform at the first preliminary bout of Louder Than a Bomb.

ince its founding, the Poetry Club has been dedicated to spreading good vibes—hence the name The Good Vibe Tribe.

According to the dedicated student poets, poetry is an integral part of their lives. They view it as another form of expression that acts as an outlet for emotions, positive or negative. Those emotions translate into poetry that many students can relate to and identify with.

However, it isn’t all good vibes all the time. The Poetry Club deals with breaking down walls and barriers and getting the Hinsdale community more informed about issues that affect them.

“We often get mistaken for hippies, or drug users, or too angry, and I think it’s because people are afraid of how we express ourselves, or maybe they’re just ignorant to the problems we deal with in everyday life. I can’t blame them for that,” said club co-president Victoria Peralta, senior.

Peralta and Alyxandra Claycomb, senior, were co-vice presidents last year and are now co-presidents. They hope to improve the club by making it more inclusive, breaking down stigmatism and stereotypes, and providing a safe space for all.

“Even if you don’t like writing, there’s a place for everyone from student athletes

Cheers & Jeers

- Cheers to girls’ rugby being allergic to losing.

-Cheers to North Carolina pulling out the W! #whoyagot -Cheers to Mr. Bhatti coming to visit.

-Cheers to Spring Break tans. #itsactuallyaspraytan -Cheers to student athlete tweets. #grindneverstops -Cheers to the people who stopped on a page without a picture.

Features

-Jeers to the referendum failing. #ourschoolisfallingapart - Jeers to seniors not graduating early next year.

-Jeers to cafeteria coffee lids. #spillingeverywhere -Jeers to people who work out in jeans. #stop -Jeers to seniors coming in at the last minute to confirm superlatives.

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Profiles

Sophomore in the Spotlight photo by Nora Wood

by Haley Anderson and Cassie Kruse

A

s the final note of “Part of Your World” resonates through the auditorium, Ariel smiles to herself. After the countless hours of perfecting the melody, she can now be mistaken for King Triton’s daughter.

This spring, the drama department will be performing a musical that features musical sea creatures, evil sea urchins, and a love story between a mermaid and a prince, The Little Mermaid. But, the underwater setting isn’t the only component making this year’s musical drastically different from last year’s “The Secret Garden”.

The lead of the play, Ariel, will be played by sophomore, Emily Goggin. In recent years, the lede has been reserved for upperclassmen, but the directors, choreographers, and musical directors decided that Goggin was a good fit for the role.

“Emily is a professional,” said Director Mr. Domenico Maniscalco, “she’s a seasoned pro and a total professional in everything she does.”

Despite her age, Goggin has had a lot musical theater experience, appearing and performing with local theater companies since the age of five. Her past roles include Peter Pan in Peter Pan, the genie in Aladdin, the Sour Kangaroo in Seussical, Patrice in 13 the Musical, and Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family. Goggin boasts a large vocal range, and experience in other major roles.

Many students auditioned for Ariel, including Ariel’s sister Katie Schaber.“Emily has a phenomenal voice,” said Schaber. “Ariel is all about her voice—her whole character is built around it—and Emily brings a lot to her character.”

Even though she was chosen for the part, Goggin recognizes

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that her age brings on added pressure for her.

“It is a little bit of pressure just because everyone knows I’m a sophomore,” Goggin said. “But this is something I have always wanted to play, and it has been a dream role of mine.”

In preparation for the role, Goggin has been supported by Ms. Burkemper, Mr. Maniscalco, and choreographer, Allison Hornbacher. With two hour practices every night, the musical takes around four months to perfect. She also participates in choir and forensics, which smoothens the process of learning the music and lines. Goggin also credits her cast for helping her transition into the role of Ariel smoothly.

“Everyone agrees our cast has a lot of talent. Every single person in the show has a lot of strengths and we work well together,” Goggin said.

Although having a sophomore cast as a lead is unusual for the program, the cast is very supportive and excited to see Goggin’s performance. The fellow ledes, including senior Jack Rasmussen, playing Eric, and very excited for Goggin “Emily is really on top of things and very talented, sometimes you forget she is an underclassman,” said Rasmussen.

The Little Mermaid will be performed on April 20, 21 and 22, with a meet and greet in costume after the performance on the 22. Tickets will be $10 for students and $5 for parents on the 20 and 21, and $15 for everyone on the 22.

From Central to Carnegie Hall Anushka Nair, junior, recently competed in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Nair received the Gold Key, the highest regional award, for her painting titled “Shifting Perspective.” In the national stage, she won the National Gold Medal, which is reserved for only the top one percent of national entries.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, one of the most prestigious art programs for teens, recognizes and provides opportunities for artists, writers, filmmakers, and photographers. With more than 320,000 submissions, only 85,000 pieces of art were recognized at the regional level. Only 2,500 earned National Medals.

“My painting dealt with identity and empowerment, so it was recognized for that,” Nair said. “My painting will be on display in Carnegie Hall before touring nationally.”

Nair’s inspiration for this piece comes from her personal struggle with body image and self-esteem. Nair said it was important to portray a complex internal struggle faced by other women, displaying how it feels through visuals and symbolism.

It took Nair 13 hours to complete her painting.

Nair is also one of the two students nationally to have won the RBC Flaunt It Award, which goes to students that best represent thematic elements in their art.

One of Nair’s paintings that received awards.

photo courtesy of Anushka Nair

by Rahma Rafiq

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VIOLENCE ON THE

UP-SWING

by Jayne Gelman and Minna Hassaballa

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G

lla

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imless chatter filled the lunchroom on another day in fourth period lunch as Neil Cumberland, junior, departed from the pasta line and began to walk back to his table. As he made his way back he witnessed two boys in the middle of the lunchroom arguing. After a few angry words, the smaller boy was shoved into the lunch table. After the boy got up, he retaliated with punches, which resulted in his face becoming blackened and bruised from the other boy’s reciprocation. Less than a minute later, the lunch advisors emerged through the newly formed circle of spectators and pulled the boys apart.

After this, lunch resumed just as it had been before.

Over the past few weeks, two fights have broken out during two different lunch periods. Although, these fights began for different reasons, they both resulted in a student becoming injured and a teacher separating them.

According to Director of Deans, Mrs. Kimm Dever, students seem to be struggling with resolving their conflicts and unknowingly let these situations escalate.

There are many different reasons why these escalations can occur, and students and teachers attribute them to different things.

“I think I’ve seen more students struggle with how to deal with conflict resolution due to social media. Social media has played a part in students not being able to talk things out like they used to be able to in the past.”

Cumberland believes that there was no specific reason for the fight he witnessed, it just happened.

“I assume that the two kids

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“Social media has played a part in students not being able to talk things out like they used to be able to in the past.”

Neil Cumberland, ‘18 had a major disagreement [that] boiled over into a fight that happened to be at school,” Cumberland said.

According to Mrs. Dever, one of the reasons why there seems to be an increase in altercations to students is because the incidents that occurred were more visible.

“Maybe in the eyes of the students, because there were more people around during these occurrences, you guys think that there is an increase,” Mrs. Dever.

“But the data that we show, if I compare last year to this year, it’s pretty even keel.”

However this increase in more visible physical and verbal altercations has not only been seen at Central; it can be seen throughout the district. This past October, at Hinsdale South, a 16 year old junior was placed in police custody after threatening to carry out a “Southocaust.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, multiple weapons including guns, gas and ski masks, explosives, brass knuckles, and ammunition. The Darien police also found Nazi paraphernalia including uniforms in the student’s home. Days before the planned attack, the student posted messages on Snapchat about ‘shooting up’ the school.

Following these messages, a different South student informed the school who notified the appropriate authorities.

According to the Tribune, both parents and students were concerned about the incident.

Parents expressed that perhaps

the most disturbing aspect of the incident was how easily the young student was able acquire such weapons.

The incident, although it occurred at South, has impacted Central students as well. It did not take long for news of what happened to spread throughout the district and leave a lasting impression on all students.

“I don’t know how a 16 year old gets weapons and supplies like [that],” Cumberland said. “What is super frightening [is that] it’s so close to Hinsdale Central and the community.”

According an article published on The Patch, as a consequence for the student’s actions, he was admitted to a detention center and later made a deal for his release. “[The student was] banned from the Hinsdale South High School campus, will be fitted with a GPS device to ensure he doesn’t leave his home, is banned from owning any weapons and using any social media and has been prohibited from contacting four people who are part of the investigation.”

Despite these punishments, many students, like Belle Coffey, senior at Hinsdale South, believe that the consequences are not enough to prevent a situation like this from occurring again.

“I think there can be better conflict resolution programs put in place, rather than just giving them a detention and not having

the students learn anything from the incident,” Coffey said.

Similarly, Cumberland also believes that the consequences of the student’s actions should be more severe.

“He should be imprisoned. He posed a legitimate and imminent threat with illegal weapons and should be punished by imprisonment,” Cumberland said.

Although there have been over three fights within the last school year, between the two district schools, according to students and staff, no one has seen that there is a history of violence.

Mrs. Dever says that data has not shown any dramatic increase in physical and verbal altercations, at Central.

“If I compare last year to this year, it’s pretty even keel. There has not been this significant increase of conflict in the building that would lead to a physical confrontation.

Natalie Axelrod, junior, at Hinsdale South has noticed that the amount of fights within the past few years have remained consistent. Axelrod maintains that she does not feel threatened by fights in her everyday school life.

“Since freshman year, it’s pretty much known that if you don’t want to be involved in violence, you won’t get into it,” Axelrod said. “It’s easy to stay out of fights.”

However, despite all of these occurrences, for many students,

their perception of the school has not changed.

Emmett Grundberg, senior, is not very worried about the school’s reputation. In his four years of attending Central, he has only seen a few fights and does not see a clear upward trend in fights and violence.

“Teenagers can get pretty emotional, so it’s reasonable to expect the occasional fight,” Grunberg said.

Similarly, Izzy Wychocki, freshman witnessed the second fight, says that seeing the fight actually added to her high school experience and that it did not alter the way she views high school.

“In the least violent or weird way possible, I was looking forward to seeing [a fight].”

“Since freshman year, it’s pretty much known that if you don’t want to be involved in violence you won’t get into it,”

Natalie Axelrod, ‘18 For more information, go to hcdevilsadvocate.com.

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Adaptations &Accomodations Students with disabilities find their own path throughout their school days

by Julia Baroni and Juliana Mayer

T

he hallway is nearly empty as Morgan Chisholm, sophomore, makes her way to her class. The bell rang a few minutes ago but no teacher or student is bothered by her late arrival. As she enters through the doorway, some of her peers smile at her presence, happy to see her arrive to class, but Chisholm can’t help but cringe as her walker clatters against the doorframe with an unsettling friction.

Chisholm was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy a few days after she was born. Cerebral Palsy is a “disorder of movement”, which affects muscle tone, posture, and reflexes, according to the Mayo Clinic. The disorder is caused by damage, often bleeding in the

Sophomore Morgan Chisolm utilizes a bright green walker to assist her.

brain, which occurs before a child is five years old. This disorder could have been developed either during birth, or when she was moved around as a newborn. Though Cerebral Palsy can result in both cognitive and physical impairments, Chisholm has only experienced the latter.

“I use a walker at school but it’s not an impairment to my legs.

It’s actually my balance,” Chisholm said. “I can stand. I can walk, but it just doesn’t look very pretty.”

As a result of her impaired balance, Chisholm has to take measures in planning her schedule that most don’t have to worry about. Her longest trek, from her AP European History class on the second floor to her Earth Science class on the first, requires much more than a walk to a stairwell.

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“I go from the beginning of the history hallway all the way down to the elevator in the English hallway downstairs and then I’m at the beginning of the Spanish hallway and then I have to go all the way back down to get to science,” Chisholm said.

Chisholm is thankful for the elevators, but wishes that they were scattered more conveniently throughout the school. Two are located right next to each other, at the end of the English hallway, and across from room 260. More than that, Chisholm notes that only the freight elevator is large enough to accommodate a wheelchair user.

Chisholm feels there is often a discrepancy between the needs of disabled students and the perceived needs from those with no physical impairments.

Chisholm finds difficulty in navigating through narrow doorways in and out of rooms.

Thomas Meehan, senior, is no stranger to Chisholm’s struggles.

Meehan, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and uses a power-chair at school, says he is able to venture most of the same paths as other Central students through the hallway, but must use the elevators, like Chisolm, to get up and down the school.

Meehan has been specifically appreciative of Central’s differentlysized chairs, which accommodate his power-chair during class.

“Most of the building is completely accessible” Meehan said.

Just this school year, Meehan began assistance with a service

s

dog. He was accepted by the Mid-Atlantic American service dog foundation at the beginning of the year, and from there he participated in a compatibility process, in order to obtain a service dog.

Last month, Meehan was placed with his dog, Kanga, and now attends all classes with her.

“She helps me get off my jacket when it’s cold out by pulling the sleeves off, or if I drop something she can pick it up for me,” Megan said. “Before, I would have to have someone else get it for me.”

Meehan is a part of the marching band as a percussionist,

Mehann's service dog often retrieves fallen objects for him in hallways.

understand that there are many disabilities and every student has different needs.

The two women have had to address a diverse range of situations at the different buildings across the district, from granting special parking for students like Chisolm with walkers, to making the South’s cafeteria wheelchair-accessible, to obtaining adaptive knives and scissors at the Transition Center.

“They’re the hidden figures of this school,” Chisholm said of Ley and Angelica. “Everything is about adaptation. I can talk with my counselors and parents to help me do what I want to do. I have a bunch of people on the team to make sure I can get through school safely.”

Blake Harmet, an alum of Central who graduated in 2014,

photos by Abby Berberich

ugh

Features

though he hasn’t quite figured out how he will include Kanga during the next season.

Adaptations have been made in the school’s structure in recent years to accommodate the needs of disabled students.

The addition of the bathroom outside of the cafeteria allows handicapped students that use walkers and wheelchairs to actually access student stalls.

“For most of my freshman year I had to use the teacher bathrooms because they don’t have that obstructive wall,” Chisholm said. “Even though they have handicapped stalls in every single bathroom they’re not exactly accessible to handicapped students.”

According to National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 4.2 million students between the ages of three and 21 receive accommodations for physical disabilities. Though the Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the provision of a free and appropriate public school education for these students, adaptation has still required hard work for many disabled students.

Biweekly, the school’s occupational therapists, Ms. Stephanie Ley and Ms. Mary Angelica, meet with disabled students to discuss their needs around the building and within activities.

Beyond that, students may be assigned aids to meet their day to day needs.

“That’s pretty much the definition of a school-based therapist: helping a student access the building or access the curriculum,” Ley said. At Hinsdale South, Central, and the Transition Center, Ley and Angelica use different kinds of problem solving to adapt the building to the needs of students with permanent disabilities.

They operate on a case-by-case basis, as they say it is crucial to

Senior Thomas Mehann was matched with his service dog after months of trials. was pleased with the resources provided at Central. Harmet is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his Spina Bifida, a hole in his spinal cord, a severe form of this condition. “[My disability] didn’t affect me much in high school at all,” Harmet said.

Harmet notes that there were a couple entrances in the front of the school where he couldn’t get in. The courtyard, for example, has steps rather than ramps, inhibiting entrance for many.

Despite complications with facilities, Harmet was the manager of the football team all four years. For away games, wheelchairaccessible buses were provided. His senior year, Harmet repurposed some equipment to get around during practices.

“One day at practice I found a pole and I put that pole on the gas pedal of the golf cart we would use to get around,” Harmet said.

Harmet is now a junior at Wisconsin-Whitewater, a school he chose for its accommodating nature. Though he has since moved on from Central, he is in agreement with other alum and current students that Central puts its best effort forward for disabled students.

“Thankfully students here are very understanding of people with disabilities so they’re really helpful,” Chisholm said.

Reflecting on his four years, Meehan agrees with Harmet and Chisolm.

“The school has been great at accommodating me in many ways… [people here have] always there for me in case I need something,” Meehan said.

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photo by Lauren Lee

SPAIN TRIP Over spring break, students traveled to Spain to meet the families of the exchange students they will be hosting in a few weeks and experience the country’s culture and history.

“The exchange was the highlight of my high school career. We experienced the life of a Spainard which means so much more than visiting as a tourist. I learned so much about myself on this trip and if I could, I would go back.”

-Maddie Studnicka

Spring Break Europe Trip, March-April 2017 photo by Maddie Studnicka

Features

If We Build It, They Will Come

by Julia Chatterjee and Adam DeDobbelaere

T

he room is buzzing with the competitive but friendly banter of high school softball coaches in the area. Brittany Wolski, head coach of the varsity softball team at Central, takes a seat at the round table.

It’s her third time at this meeting, and she knows how it will go. The mingling dwindles as discussion of schedules for the upcoming season begins.

“Okay and everyone has the three teams, freshman, JV, and Varsity, 22

right?” someone asks. Nodding coaches line the circumference of the table, except for one who looks down.

“We only have two,” says Wolski with the same regret and embarrassment she has each year. “And I hope we have two.”

Central’s softball program has teams at the Junior Varsity and Varsity level, but lacks the freshman team that all of the other schools in its conference have. The program has been shrinking within its last three seasons. In 2015 it had 41 girls, in

2016 it had 35, and now in 2017 it has 31.

“The fact that other schools see Hinsdale Central as such a well-respected school, but we can’t even put three teams out, that says something right there,” said Wolski. “Of those, we have a lot of girls that are just trying [softball] for fun, not so much because they grew up with it.”

Wolski blames dwindling participation on Hinsdale’s failure to provide enough opportunities for girls to play softball.

Hinsdale does not have a softball little

Central feeder school that offers softball.

The majority of the varsity softball team did not grow up attending Hinsdale schools, as Hinsdale Middle School and Clarendon Hills Middle School do not offer softball.

Most often the girls on Varsity from Hinsdale began playing at BRW, a recreational softball league offered by Burr Ridge and Willowbrook for ages six to fourteen. The parent board is currently chaired by a Hinsdale resident and 27% of its registrants are from Hinsdale. Beckeris said that BRW seems to currently fulfill the demand for softball in the area, but Hinsdale is a large enough community to support a softball league itself.

“This type of program would require a lot of community support,” Beckeris said.

“Should the interest be palpable, a group of individuals would need to start a governing board and from there assign positions, establish the program, and market it.”

In the past ten years, an initiative to start a softball program in Hinsdale has not been brought to Parks and Recreation.

Wolski has spoken with Parks and Recreation and the principals of District 181 middle schools about starting a softball team, but they argued that softball is not a highly recognized sport in Hinsdale, citing a lack of money and space as reasons for not having their own softball teams. The village currently only has one field that could accommodate softball, but Beckeris said it could work with District 86 to use its fields.

Clarendon Hills has a field on its campus, Wolski mentioned.

“It is more than just wanting to be a competitive varsity team,” Wolski said. “It is the fact that these kids are playing, they are putting their time in,

“We need something in the community. It’s not so much we want it, we are past the want, we need it.”

- Brittany Wolski

why are we giving them this gap of six years where they can’t play the sport.

Allison Tracey, senior on varsity softball, attended Westview Middle School and played for its softball team all three years. Tracey said that the other teams in Westview’s conference had girls who played softball outside of school, and this helped to develop Westview’s team of mainly beginners. Tracey was viewed as a leader on the team because she had already been playing the sport on a team out of Downers Grove, and she credits this with the leadership skills she brought to high school.

“I think [offering softball at Westview] definitely raised awareness about the sport, and encouraged the girls who really didn’t know how to play try it out,” Tracey said. “There were a few girls that played for Central as a result of their only experience playing at Westview, which was really cool to see.”

Tracey explained that softball is not a sport that girls can easily pick up in high school and then eventually play on varsity. Wolski agrees that in order to play softball at the highest level in high school, girls have to have been playing softball from a young age up until that point. Ultimately, she wants girls in Hinsdale to have the ability to do so either through recreational leagues or middle school teams.

“We need something in the community.

It’s not so much we want it, we are past the want,” Wolski said. “We need it.”

photos by Nora Wood

league, and its Parks and Recreation Department does not offer a softball program. Wolski said these would allow girls to pique their interest in softball at a young age and prevent them from swaying to other competing sports. In comparison, Parks and Recreation offers a girl’s lacrosse league from kindergarten to 8th grade. Girl’s lacrosse at Central is able to field four teams.

According to Interim Manager of Parks and Recreation Heather Bereckis, the only role Parks and Recreation plays in youth leagues is reserving field time.

Youth leagues in Hinsdale, such as Little League, Falcon Football, and AYSO, all are run by parent volunteer boards.

Because of the lack of a softball league, a population of younger girls in Hinsdale end up playing baseball through Hinsdale Little League in all of its 11 and under age groups. Many attend Hinsdale Central’s softball camp in the summer, as well. However, once Little League ends, girls in Hinsdale are left with few options to continue playing softball or baseball in their own town.

“When [these girls] go to middle school, now they can’t play anymore,” said Wolski. “We had that huge population of softball players as they are kids [in elementary school], but when they can’t play for a certain amount of years, it’s a no brainer that they stop playing in high school.”

The Southeast Dupage Elementary Athletic Association offers softball as a sport at its middle schools. Eisenhower and Cass in Darien, Jefferson in Woodridge, and Gower in Burr Ridge are included in this association. However, all of these middle schools primarily feed into Hinsdale South. Westview Hills is the only

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STAYING SAFE IN THE DIGITAL AGE

by Lancelot Lin

Security tools and practices to consider using.

If you have a Google account, chances are there is a lot of information § being collected § This can include serach about you for history, YouTube watch history, location, device advertising information, physical location, sites you visit, purposes. and more. You can

1

Choose passwords with random combinations of letters and numbers, and avoid reusing passwords across sites. If you’re worried about remembering several complex passwords, consider using a password managner*.

*

‡

13% of students use a VPN

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If you’re worried about your internet service provider or ‡ other people seeing what sites you visit, try using a VPN. This routes all your traffic through an encrypted server, so other people can’t see your final destination. If you are able, opt for a paid service over one that is free.

choose what data is saved about you by going to Google Account settings -> Personal Info & Privacy -> Activity Controls

How is your school Google accunt different from a personal one?

Google has stated that that information from Google’s education accounts is “not used to target ads.” If you would still like to control what information is gathered from your school account, follow these steps.

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In a March interview, Couselor to the President Kellyanne Conway mentioned “microwaves that turn into cameras.”

Even though some smart TVs and home appliances have the potential to transmit audio and visual information, microwaves do not have that capability.

If you have internet-connected TVs, fridges, security cameras, or other smart appliances, be sure to update them regularly to patch any security flaws.

data from a survey of 110 students

1 Sammy McSamface

Enable two factor authentication* on your digital accounts, so when you log in from a new computer or phone, the site will send you a code through a text message or a separate app so you can prove you are who you say you are. This means other people can’t get into your account even if they have your password.

14% of students use two factor authentication

Much of our lives today is lived through a digital device. Here are some ways to keep control of your life.

pacebook Email Password

2

Log in

Update your device regularly to keep up with the most up-to-date security patches.

†

a-

Many popular apps already have encryption built in.

Apple iMessage, used by 96 of 110 students surveyed, has E2E enabled by default.

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e mplex

2 3

3

4

1

Don’t plug USB drives, SD cards, or CDs from people or places you don’t know into your device

X

Facebook Messenger, used by 75 of 101 students surveyed, has an option to enable E2E through “secret conversations”.

Whatsapp, used by 19 of 101 students surveyed, also has E2E enabled by default. †

If you’re worried about your personal conversations getting out, communicate with chat apps that use end to end encryption (E2E). This means that the only people able to read your conversations are you and the recipient. This does not prevent people from taking your device and reading messages from there, however.

Cover your webcam with a sliding cover or a piece of tape. If you want to disable your microphone too, cut off the plug on an old pair of headphones and insert that into the headphone jack

You’ve just spent your hard earned dollars on a shiny new computer or phone.

Here are some ways to keep it, and yourself, safe.

*

3 email

Don’t click links from unknown senders. If you are unsure if an url is legitimate and/or secure, check that it starts with https instead of http.

Sammy McSamface Sam@boat.org Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim http://totallylegitsite.com consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh

invoice.docx

2

Avoid downloading attachments from people you don’t know

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WHAT’S

Trends

TRENDING NOW

by Ray Shryock

Smurfs: The Lost Village starring Demi Lovato and Rainn Wilson Comdey/Family Released April 7

The Fate of the Furious starring Vin Diesel and Jason Statham Action/Adventure Released April 14

The Circle starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson Drama/Thriller Released April 28

Music Mania

of the Month “Humanz” is the new album by the alternative rock/hip hop band Gorillaz and will release April 28. It will feature the song “Hallejulah Money” that was released on Jan 19.

On March 7, the pop duo The Chainsmokers released the album “Memories... Do Not Open”. photos via Google Images

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By the Numbers Oishi Sushi, 6300 Kingery Hwy in Willowbrook Score: 9/10 Roll: Chicago Bears Roll and Golden Roll As an all you can eat restaurant, Oishi Sushi is able to give the the biggest bang for your buck while remaining delicious and flavorful.

28%

Percent of students think hot dogs are sandwiches.

18%

Percent of students think cereal is a soup.

Sushi House, 830 E. Ogden Ave in Westmont Score: 8.5/10 Roll: Crunchy Roll and Scorpion Roll The elegant ambiance makes the unique, high quality sushi taste even better.

They definitely had the best tasting sushi on the list, but it was still pricey.

8%

Percent of students think ketchup is a smoothie.

Dao Sushi, Thai and Hibachi 200 Burr Ridge Pkway in Burr Ridge Score: 7/10 Roll: Burr Ridge Roll This upscale sushi alternative has great presentation, but the high prices for what turns out to be average sushi makes it fall flat.

photos by Ray Shryock

Percentages collected from a survey of 110 responses

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