Devils' Advocate September 2019

DEVILS'ADVOCATE - SEPTEMBER 2019 -

DOUBLING DOWN ON DEFENSE A look at the new edition to security and safety throughout Central p.16

HINSDALE CENTR AL HIGH SCHOOL | VOLUME 93

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HEAD EDITORS HANNAH ADAHB OLIVIA BEARGIE AUDREY CARTER CATHERINE DOLAN ANCHAL KUMAR RIMA RAFIQ KATIE SHARP

CONTRIBUTERS KATIE BUSCHER DAVID GUST AVA SEVERTS ANAND YALLAPRAGADA SIMRAH QASIM

SECTION EDITORS LOUKAS BEZANIS SOFIJA BUZELIS NATHANIEL BITTNER CAROLINE CUBBIN RAMZEY DOUEDARI GRACE ERWIN LAINEY HARVEY AMMAR HUSSAIN RAYHAN HUSSAIN CEDRA JAZAYERLI DALYA LABAN AILISH LYMAN JOHN OLSEN HARI RAO KRITIN SHANMUGAM

Editor-in-Chief Audrey Carter Managing Editors Catherine Dolan & Anchal Kumar Head of Design Olivia Beargie

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chal Kumar e

PAGE

20

A

LETTER FROM THE

[EDITOR]

s hard as it is to admit, summer has officially come to an end. Two months into the year, students have finally begun to settle into the high school routine, some for the first time, some for the very last. Yet, even for those most familiar with Central’s halls, the new year brings new changes. In this month’s issue, we cover one such change in Doubling Down on Defense, in which students and faculty discuss the effects of this year’s new security system and the reasoning behind its implementation. Back outside the building, upperclassman explain their various strategies for dealing with Central’s limited parking, and a profile on senior Matthew Phillip’s describes the community’s response to Philips’ diagnosis with a rare illness.

Even as the stress of academia begins to ramp up, there are still plenty of events to look forward to, chief among these being Homecoming. In our new ‘Meet the...” section, readers can get to know this year’s Homecoming court. Meanwhile, on the more athletic side of the event, a profile on head football coach Brian Griffin examines the team’s dynamic under their versatile new leader.

Yet, exciting as the dance itself may be, for many the weeks prior are far from a relaxing experience.

Our piece Behind the Glitter describes students’ experiences with the lead up to Homecoming, and the social pressures involved in their planning processes.

In response to the recent climate strike, this month’s editorial addresses the trend of social media activism, and our Battleground writers weigh in on the issue of government involvement in the prevention of global warming. Meanwhile, columnist Rima Rafiq seeks out the best mac and cheese in the west suburbs, and Katie Sharp advises students on how best to stay hydrated.

We hope you enjoy the September issue!

05 06 12 23 28 30

AROUND CAMPUS 05 DAILY DEVIL

PROFILES 06 #MATTHEW’S DUGOUT 10 THE TURNOVER

FEATURES 12 PACKED PARKING 16 DOUBLING DOWN ON DEFENSE 20 BEHIND THE GLITTER

PERSPECTIVES 23 24 26 27

SHAPING UP BATTLEGROUND EDITORIAL DISHED

BY THE NUMBERS 28 DEVIL’S DIALECT

TRENDS 30 MEET THE...

31 PUZZLE

MISSION STATMENT

CONTACT

ADVISER, CHERISE LOPEZ CLOPEZ@HINSDALE86.ORG 630.570.8361

Cover Design by Audrey Carter TOC photos by Sofija Buzelis & Catherine Dolan

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THE DAILY DEVIL Not a One Man Band Central’s Marching Band gets to enjoy South’s

by Anand Yallapragada

T

he stands are packed for game night between the sister schools Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South. As the two football teams prepare to face off on the field, their classmates in band get ready to enjoy each other’s performances.

Despite the rivalry between the schools, Superintendent Tammy Prentiss wore a shirt which read “Two Schools, One District,” which alluded to the coordination of the bands. The task of syncing up the bands falls to the drum majors- the conductors of marching band. There are four drum majors at Central: seniors Lorenzo Jennings, Mia Gaddis, and Sydney Wojczynski, and junior Amer Goel.

“It’s important for us to get to know each other because at the end of the day, we are still the same Hinsdale family, and I think this is something that has brought us together,” Goel said.

This year, South’s marching band held a solo performance. The two bands have performed a conjoined halftime show in the past, but this

year Central band enjoyed being spectators.

“Every time we have a half-time show, it’s different because we never get to see from the audience perspective,” Wojczynski said. “Coming to this half-time show, being able to stand on the sidelines, and watching them all perform was awesome.

It was very different from anything we have done as a band, and it was an inspiration for us, so we can try to implement some of those things in our drills in the future.”

Despite it not being a regular occurrence, the merger of the bands has a lasting positive impact, according to Jennings.

“It was a good opportunity for us. Not only did we get to learn about the different types of marching techniques, but we were able to get to know other people that, though they may be from another school, are all under the same district family,” Jennings said.

Photo by Sofija Buzelis

The marching band practices for the homecoming game scheduled for Sept. 27.

On The Spot

Drama Club puts on first ever Improv Show

A

by Simrah Qasim

dog. A stapler. A spatula. A teddy bear phobia. What do these things have in common?

Nothing. By using the art of improvisation, performers in this month’s September Show worked with each of these words to create comedic skits. This was the first time drama club performed an Improv Show.

“For this show specifically, when I heard it was an improv show, I thought it was such a fun idea. I knew I wanted to be a part of the production whether it be in the cast, crew, or an assistant director,” said Noela Musil, junior and assistant director.

“I knew nothing about improv and wanted to take this show as a learning experience.”

Mr. Chris Kostro, English teacher, directed the show and brought in the professional comedy troupe, ComedySportz, to work with the cast.

The cast encouraged audience members to participate in the production

by

providing scene suggestions.

“All of the shows at Central are great,” said Anisha Undevia, freshman. “The September Show in particular stands out because the whole cast had such great energy and enthusiasm.”

Since this performance style was new for many, the cast spent the past few months perfecting their transitions into a new style.

“We had auditions at the end of the school year last year and had a couple of rehearsals over the summer,” said Alegra Waverly, junior.

There were four teams, Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green, each with four players and one assistant director. Audience members voted for winning teams after each skit.

“Every cast member really got the perfect opportunity to let their goofiness show through,” said Sarah Lotsoff, senior. “I loved feeling supported enough to willingly make a fool of myself and enjoy it all the way.”

Photo by Katelyn Buscher

On Sept. 12 - 14, juniors Ellie Peña and Grace Gits performed sketches as the green team for Drama Club’s September Show.

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#Matthew’s Dugout

by Ammar Hussain and Caroline Cubbin

How the Hinsdale Central community supported one student diagnosed with a puzzling illness

Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Phillips

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n the midst of one of his basketball practices at the beginning of January, Matthew Phillips, senior, first realized something was wrong when he began to suddenly face a spur of lightheadedness, unlike anything he had felt before.

Attributing it to a medication he was taking, Matthew shrugged it off. However, as the days progressed, his condition only became worse and he began to lose his appetite. No longer able to get through basketball practice without discomfort, Matthew and his parents decided to visit the pediatrician.

Little did they know, that would lead to months of doctor visits and consulting various sources, most of whom had no clue what was wrong with Matthew. Finally, three months after their first visit, Matthew and his parents received a diagnosis: Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome, or MALS. According to Mayo Clinic, MALS occurs when fibers of the median arcuate ligament in the abdomen compress the celiac artery, leading to a loss of appetite, weight loss, and abdominal pain. It is considered to be a very rare illness.

Matthew said they were thankful to have a diagnosis, and his parents scheduled surgery for Matthew in April. At that point, doctors predicted that Matthew would have to miss a few weeks of school, but other than that, the ordeal would be over after a recovery period. Matthew and his family were informed that the surgery was a success. However, shortly after, Matthew began to experience excruciating pain attacks in his abdomen.

Matthew’s illness took a major turn for the worse with the attacks as the surges in pain in his abdomen lasted anywhere from 30 minutes to 14 hours. The doctors

“

the Phillips family visited suspected they were either a result of MALS or a potential effect of the surgery. Matthew has since spent multiple weeks in the ER and Lurie’s Children’s Hospital in the city, where pain medication after medication has failed to prove successful in reducing the pain of the attacks, ultimately causing the Phillips family to seek help from Mayo Clinic, from where Matthew just returned.

“The most difficult thing for Matthew and our family has been the severe pain he has experienced. But, he is working hard and improving,” said Kathleen Phillips, Matthew’s mother.

At the same time, Matthew’s younger brother Evan Phillips, freshman, has had to deal not only with the emotional consequences of Matthew’s illness but also physical changes to his lifestyle over the past few months. Evan explained how it has been tough emotionally with Matthew and his parents gone for weeks at a time. Physically, Evan said that during the summer his older sister, who attends Indiana University, was able to stay with him at home while Matthew and his parents were away at the hospital, but ever since classes at Indiana resumed, he has been alone at home with his grandmother, who flew in to help out.

“The most important thing for staying strong through this is our faith. Our family’s faith and especially Matthew’s faith is an important part of our lives and always gives us hope,” Mrs. Phillips said.

Matthew himself has been vocal about his condition and faith on social media. “[I want to] try and inspire others with what I’ve gone through to face their own challenges in their life,” Matthew said.

Photo by Rayhan Hussain

[I want to] try and inspire others... to

face their own

”

challenges...

Matthew Phillips

Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Phillips

It was because of this emphasis on faith that the Malchow family, friends of the Phillips’, suggested and helped organize a prayer service for Matthew before he went to Mayo. After a massive social media outreach effort led by Matthew’s sister Kaitlyn, in which a great number of students posted on their Instagram stories in support of Matthew, hundreds of friends, family, classmates, teachers, etc., poured into St. Isaac Jogues Church on Aug. 14, the first day of school.

“It was just amazing just to know the support that I have in the community.

And like I mentioned before, it was just something that really served as an inspiration to me to know, like these people have got my back,” Matthew said.

Mrs. Phillips further expanded on what it meant for their family to see the showing of support.

“The service was incredibly impactful and important to Matthew and our family.

Seeing hundreds of people of all ages come out on short notice to pray for him was amazing and truly inspiring,” Mrs. Phillips said. “The image of seeing the church completely full that night is something that we replay in our minds constantly as a reminder that we are not alone on this journey.”

Evan, in particular, was visibly moved during the ceremony.

“I thought it was amazing that everyone is there to support our family, but especially Matthew through what he’s going through and what he’s doing right now at the Mayo Clinic and getting better,” Evan said.

Over the past few weeks, red wristbands, with the words #PrayForMatthew could be seen on the arms of students. Created

Junior Sofija Buzelis wears her Pray For Matthew bracelet as she works on the September issue of Devils’ Advocate

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by friends and teammates of Matthew, Jackson Giunta and Griffin Hawthorne, the wristbands were meant to support Matthew and get more students involved.

Matthew’s aunt also made wristbands with the same goal, and the words “Matthew’s Dugout” ingrained in them, a reference to the metaphor one of Matthew’s former baseball coaches used at the prayer service to represent Matthew’s support system.

The coach explained how Matthew was the team’s catcher, the most tiring defensive position. During a particular tournament, despite it being hot outside, Matthew refused to take even an inning off because he didn’t want to let the team down. Just like Matthew was there for his teammates, the coach described everyone at the service as “Matthew’s Dugout,” there to support Matthew now.

Matthew’s friends have witnessed firsthand the effects of the invigorated support system that Matthew has had. “[The way that everyone came together] was really cool, everyone really seems to care,” said Alex Froiland, close friend of Matthew.

Due to his condition, Matthew was not able to continue playing for the school’s basketball team.

“Not being able to play is just one

more thing that’s kind of taking me away from normalcy and reminding me [that] I have a condition,” Matthew said.

Despite his condition, Matthew’s coach, Nick Latorre, mentioned that Matthew continued to come to practices whenever he could in support of his teammates as well as helped out at the Hinsdale Central summer basketball camp.

Matthew’s business law teacher, Janelle Hoeksema, also said Matthew is committed to his studies.

“Matthew is hardworking, loyal, kind, very dedicated, and honest,” Hoeksema said.

Many Central students attended the prayer service and have been wearing the wristbands despite either barely knowing Matthew or never having met him in their life.

One such student who attended the prayer was Chelsea Biala, senior, who knows of Matthew, but does not talk to him often.

“Usually when the school comes together, it’s to mourn someone, but it’s cool to see them come together for something positive like this,” Biala said.

According to Matthew, the positivity has helped this ordeal.

“I think it’s amazing to know the

support that I have and know that people who hardly even know me [wear the wristbands] around; people I haven’t talked to in years are wearing them … and I’m just so grateful that I have so many amazing people in my life,” Matthew said.

Matthew recently returned from Mayo where he went through a program designed to help him manage the pain caused by his condition and help him return to normalcy.

Matthew said that the goal now was to implement the strategies he learned at Mayo and at the same time, continue to figure out how to bring an end to the pain attacks.

Support alone won’t cure Matthew, but as he, his family, and his friends made it clear, without a support system like the one Matthew has, it would have been much tougher for the Phillips family to stay strong and keep pushing forward. “[Hinsdale Central] gets the reputation… of being a really difficult school, only focusing on academics and sports, but… I think that it’s definitely different in my experience to know all the support I’ve had from everybody, [including] my friends, my teachers, my counselor, the nurse, [and] just everybody that’s been willing to help me out and help give me the support and accommodations I need to get through my condition,” Matthew said.

Photo courtesy of the Phillips family

Phillips family at St. Isaac Jogues after the prayer service for Matthew on Aug. 14. (Left to right: Evan, Ric, Matthew, Kathleen, Kaitlyn).

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The Turnover

Brian Griffin begins his tenure as the new head football coach

by John Olsen and Ailish Lyman Photos by Sofija Buzelis

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coach

Buzelis

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alking through the crowded hallway, Brian Griffin, math teacher, makes his rounds giving high-fives and greeting crowds of students who happen to cross his path. He maneuvers his way out of the building and heads towards the teacher’s parking lot. Dropping off his school supplies in the car, Griffin puts on his Hinsdale Central hat and fastens a whistle around his neck. He heads over to the turf field where his players anxiously await his instruction, and he begins to set up practice. The Red Devil football team is put through another grueling evening of work, the players reminded of this by the sweat running down their faces.

After Griffin was appointed to this new position, he’s learned how to balance his time between being a math teacher, football coach, husband, and father.

Griffin is already familiar with Dickinson Field. He earned All-Conference and All-State honors in 2003, his senior year, playing Defensive End for the football team, and also helped lead the Red Devils to the State Semifinals in that same season, ultimately falling short of the State title.

“Any time where you work really hard for a goal and then don’t accomplish that goal, [it] grows you,” Griffin said.

“I grew a lot in terms of learning about team and sacrifice and hard work.”

After having been the assistant coach for 11 years, as head coach Griffin said he’s ready to train and prepare his players for the work required of any football season.

“The foundation of what I do as a coach is trying to instill [sacrifice and hard work] in the players...my model for them is aggression and perfection,” Griffin said.

Junior cornerback Terrence Luzano said that the team can be successful by focusing on the process and not just the end results hoped for.

“I feel like sometimes we overlook the small details, but the coaches are doing a really good job of making sure that we pay attention to every detail so we don’t mess up on game day,” Luzano said. “It’s not about one person. It’s about the whole team.”

Another player on the team, senior linebacker Ryan Loughlin, said Griffin changed the dynamic of the team when he became the head coach.

“The team feel[s] like [they]’re more together as a group with Griffin [as the head coach],” Loughlin said. “Griffin is a good

guy… and wants us all to be the best we can be.”

Another aspect of Griffin’s life is his family. He met his wife, Kelly Griffin, math teacher, through teaching math at the school, and according to Mr. Griffin, she has been a great support system during this transition. “[Being the head coach is a] big responsibility…Mrs. Griffin is very supportive and that help[s]. She knows what this means for me and the [team] and the school,” Griffin said. “If she wasn’t a part of it, it would be a lot harder, but she’s awesome.”

Mrs. Griffin, who sponsors Habitat for Humanity, said she understands the pressures of coaching and teaching and tries to lessen his responsibilities during the season as best as she can.

“We both work in the same place and see the loads one another carries. It makes it easier to support one another. I think it could be hard if I didn’t understand the inner workings and expectations of teachers and coaches,” Mrs. Griffin said. “We always find ways to make it work. Like on Wednesday practices, sometimes I bring the kids here to him. [Coaching the football team] has been a dream of his, and seeing him live his dream makes it easier for us to sacrifice time with him so he can lead [the team].”

Athletic Director Dan Jones said

Griffin doesn’t put all of his focus on beating certain teams, but rather bettering his players and hoping that they find success along the way.

“Ultimately the goal someday is to have a football team win the state championship.

But, there’s only one team that gets to say that every year and every other team is disappointed if that’s your goal, and so trying to then build those foundational core values is what I’m trying to do,” Griffin said.

Luzano said that Griffin doesn’t want their team to make the mistake of underestimating any team or game, even LT. “The coaches want us to take every game week by week. We’re not overlooking any team this year because I remember last year we lost to Willowbrook week two and we kind of took that team for granted,” Luzano said. “This year, we’re just going to focus on each team and make sure that we do our jobs really well.”

When he’s not coaching, Griffin teaches both Geometry Honors and AP Calculus AB classes.

“I love my classes…I just love teaching and all of the interactions that come with that and helping people really learn things and understand things they couldn’t before,” Griffin said.

The foundation of what I do as a “coach is trying to instill sacrifice and hard work in the players... my model for them is aggression and perfection.

”

Brian Griffin he admires Griffin’s ability to balance the different aspects of his life.

“He is passionate about both his teaching and his coaching, and also about his athletes,” Jones said.

In regards to playing Lyons Township High School (LT), the rival of Hinsdale Central, it is equally, if not more important to the team that it wins than in past years. The Hinsdale Central head football coach from last year, Dan Hartman, made the transfer to coach at LT this year over the uncertainty of the Hinsdale Football Program post-referendum, according to the Chicago Tribune.

He finds parallels between his jobs and attributes that to his success in both fields.

“Coaching is teaching and you’re ultimately trying to teach someone,” Griffin said. “Now you’re a little more specific sometimes in what you want them to do and how you want them to do it [but coaching and teaching] go hand in hand… and so I think they’re very similar. I feel like every day I go into practice and teach something.”

Opening the season with many wins, Griffin said he looks forward to representing his alma mater from Dickinson’s sidelines.

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Parking Blah Blah

PACKED

Students discuss their strategies for d ealing Cars parked on Grant Street.

Photo by Sofija Buzelis

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PArking for d ealing with Central’s limited parking

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hilip Fan, senior, turns on to Grant Street at 6:20 a.m. only to see that there is just one parking spot left. He angles his car and carefully maneuvers into the tight space, coming bumper to bumper with the vehicles in front of and behind him. He looks around and sees other students in their cars, some asleep, some on their phones, some looking at textbooks. As Fan gets out to finish his homework in the cafeteria, he walks past the many people who will be waiting on the street for another hour and a half.

The school has only two parking lots. The student lot is only available to seniors, who apply for a semester long parking pass. The staff parking lot is reserved for teachers, administrators and other staff. Students who can’t park in the senior lot have other options, including Grant Street, Hinsdale United Methodist Church, Hinsdale Racquet Club, The Community House and driveways near the school. The parking system is an issue discussed by many students and parents. Some students see it as a difficult and complicated system, while others see it as fair.

Although most students are content with the parking policies, some, like Fan, would like to see an overhaul.

In the winter, when there are more early morning activities and practices,

Fan gets to school around 5:40 a.m.

“I would want a senior parking pass now, just so I wouldn’t have to wake up so early,” Fan said.

For students that park in the senior lot, the timing can be more flexible.

Shavani Shah, senior, has a first semester parking pass and comes to school around 7:20 a.m.

“I can come later, I just like coming to school early,” Shah said.

The senior lot has a total of 218 spots, 21 of those are reserved for students and teachers traveling between Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South during the day, according to the Dean’s Office.

This leaves 197 spots for seniors. Since there are more than 800 seniors in the class of 2020, each person can only have a spot for one semester for $75. This makes it so that a larger percent of the senior class can have a parking spot.

For many students, the senior lot is seen as the ideal parking spot. It is the closest student parking to school, with an entrance to the building located nearby. According to a survey of 119 students, 80.7 percent of students say that the senior lot is the best place to park.

“I love parking in the senior lot, it honestly makes life so much easier,” Shah said.

Since the lot is so popular, Kimm Dever, Director of Deans, receives about 400 applications each year.

Juniors apply at the end of the year for their senior parking spot. Students are asked to fill out the Google form and give the Dean’s Office a copy of their driver’s license and insurance card. Although it is the closest to the school and therefore seen by many as the most convenient parking spot, people have expressed concerns about the safety and space in the senior lot.

Itanella Urgo, class of 2019, received a parking pass for both semesters her senior year through the lottery system and said she witnessed multiple accidents.

“It’s no secret that everyone who

“It’s no secret that everyone who has ever parked their car in that lot has gotten tapped once or twice.”

Itanella Urgo has ever parked their car in that lot has gotten tapped once or twice,” Urgo said.

The senior lot has one exit.

Students can only take a right turn onto 57th Street, which results in a long line of cars after school.

“If I leave earlier then it takes longer, but I’ve probably had to

Photo by Sofija Buzelis

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wait like 10 minutes,” Shah said.

Another popular location to park is the Hinsdale Methodist Church. Kacey Schlais, junior, parks there every morning.

“I like that I don’t have to get there really early or fight anyone for a spot,” Schlais said.

The church is a common location for students who don’t have a school parking pass. Despite being the closest parking lot to the school, aside from the senior lot, it is still approximately a ten minute walk away.

“I don’t like that I have to walk a whole street,” Schlais said. “There should be another big parking lot that’s closer to the school.”

Similar to the church, many students park at The Community House. Claire Sciortino, junior, attempts to park on Grant Street every morning. If she doesn’t get there in time, she parks illegally at The Community House.

“It’s ridiculous that there’s only a small amount of parking on Grant Street in front of the school for parking,” Sciortino said.

Since there are so many houses close to Central, driveways are also a popular parking option. Many residents that live walking distance from Central offer their driveways up for free parking.

Families can make extra money throughout the year by charging for a spot in their driveway as well. Depending on the size of the driveway, families can fit anywhere from one car to eight.

Jeffrey Pruesser, freshman who lives a block away from Central, said his family sells three spots in their driveway for parking throughout the year. Each spot is $600 per semester.

But this is not the most expensive driveway.

Others, depending on the size of the driveway and the proximity to the school, charge more than that. Sophie Lundmark, junior, pays $1,200 a year for a parking spot.

“I park in a driveway and I love it because it’s so close,” Lundmark said.

“This is my ideal spot.”

The parking system at Hinsdale Central has not been changed for many years. It used to be a carpool system, which allowed students to ride with their friends and have the parking pass extended to a full year, instead of one semester. This system caused many complications with friends and parents, according to Dever. Drama between friends caused constant changes in the carpool groups, leaving many students without a ride.

“Let’s say [students] were carpooling together, and promised to drive [each other], and now [they’re] not friends anymore,” Dever said.

Due to these complications, Dever, along with a committee made up of staff, parents, and students, came together to decide on a new plan.

In 2010, the current system started.

While Hinsdale Central has parking spots for less than a quarter of the senior class, Hinsdale South has a different system. According to South administration, they have one student parking lot with about 350 spots that are available to anyone from any grade level with a driver’s license.

The administration said it costs $150 for a full year of parking, and is able to accommodate anyone who applies. In 2018, South had 1,483 students, with 24 percent of their students parking in the lot.

Central had 2,767 students in 2018 and 197 parking spots, with seven percent of students receiving a parking pass.

Amanda Birtch, junior at Hinsdale South, parks in the student lot. She chose to pay for the year of parking, but knows some people that did not want to.

“People park along the baseball fields,” Birtch said. “Not everyone wants to pay for a parking pass.”

The street along the baseball fields and the student lot are the most popular places to park at Hinsdale South.

“I think it’s just because we’re landlocked,” Dever said when asked about the comparison of South and Central’s parking.

Central is surrounded by tightly packed residential streets This would make it difficult to expand on the current parking lot or build another one. Hinsdale South, on the other hand, had more space to build, which resulted in a parking lot almost double the size of Central’s.

“We shouldn’t have to sacrifice our sleep in the morning to get to school an hour and a half before school starts just for a parking spot.” Sciortino said.

Despite the complaints of some students, there are no current plans to update the parking system.

119 Students Surveyed

82% of Students Aren’t Happy With the Parking System!

18% Pay More Than $200 Per Semester!

41% of Students Park Almost an Hour Before School Starts!

48% of Students Aren’t Happy With Their Parking Spot!

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DOUBLING DOWN ON DEFENSE A look at the new additions to security and safety throughout Central

by Hari Rao and Nathaniel Bittner

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NSE

ral

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he teacher quickly turns the lights off, checks the halls, makes sure the doorknob is locked and secure before shutting the door in a hurry, and tells the students to close blinds and to silence phones before they hide in a corner of the room. Huddled on the floor, students quietly wait until there is a sudden knock on the door, it’s unlocked, and in walks the security guard to tell the room they are clear to resume class. This is how schools practiced for lockdowns, at least in the past.

According to Gun Violence Archive (GVA), there have been 297 mass shootings in the U.S. this year as of Sept. 1.

Of those, seven have occurred at a school or university. The GVA tracks all shootings in the U.S. and defines a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people, excluding the shooters, are shot. In total, 1,219 were shot and 335 died.

All over the country, schools are starting to increase their own security in an effort to keep students and faculty safe.

The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) found that schools around the nation spend up to $3 billion on security guards and security features, such as new cameras and video surveillance.

Hinsdale Central, after a recently passed referendum, is no exception.

Since the $139 million April referendum was approved, the school has been carefully planning its steps in order to make sure everything throughout the building is up-to-date and ready for the upcoming school year. From the referendum, $1.5 million was dedicated to student safety and security, resulting in major changes throughout the building.

As per recommendation from Kevin Simpson, the Director of Security, district officials hired 15 people to staff at both Central and South. Eight of those people staff security at Central, who in total have 233 years of law enforcement experience.

The new security officers at Central include two former Hinsdale police officers with 30-plus years of experience: Mark Keller, the resource officer at Central, and Michael Coughlin, who taught at the D.A.R.E. curriculum in schools for 20 years. Simpson himself was a former Hinsdale police chief.

“Four of the guys used to work here as staff supervisors or security supervisors, but now they’re security officers, and four of us were brought in,” Coughlin said.

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Domenico Maniscalco, District 86’s human resource officer, said administrators looked for staff that were focused more on developing positive relationships with the students and staff at the school.

“Before first period, I’m usually at the front door,” said Coughlin, who can be seen greeting students on their way in.

“In emergencies, sometimes there are no rules. No one is going to say that you shouldn’t have went into that math classroom that wasn’t yours -- you’re alive, and that’s what matters.”

Officer Geoffrey Cooker Students may have noticed that all the security personnel wear the same colored shirt every day. It’s a gray shirt with the Hinsdale D86 logo and the word “security” printed on it. And that’s for a specific reason.

“We feel we have school spirit, too, but if we wore red, we would blend in with everyone,” Coughlin said. “We want to stand out so that if you do have a problem, you could come to us for help.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, one of the additions to the security include 159 new security cameras, all installed and ready to go on the first day of school. “All the cameras are new because it’s a whole new company and program, meaning that even the old ones were replaced,” Coughlin said. “Not every camera is a 360 camera, but we have a handful of them that are.” The cameras not only capture and store images for at least 45 days, they are constantly monitored by a security officer in the command center.

“It was like an entire wall dedicated to all the cameras around the school, and there are people just constantly watching it,” said Lorenzo Jennings, a senior at Central, who happened to notice the command center on his way to class.

The center is staffed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday. “There’s a minimum of one [security guard] in here at all times,” Coughlin said. “There are practices for sports that go on in the evening, or people who use the school, like the cleaning company.”

They do have shifts, so there are multiple people monitoring the footage throughout the day.

The District also introduced a new method of student protection: ALICE training. ALICE stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate. All staff learned this procedure during an Institute Day on Aug. 30 in an effort to create another line of defense in the event of an armed intruder entering the building.

“For the first eleven years of my career, the focus was on getting kids to lock down in the corner of the room, be quiet, turn the lights off; everyone hides in the corner,” said Kathryn Tosh, English teacher and ALICE training participant. “But now the philosophy is shifting where that should be something you do if you’re in immediate danger and you can’t get out.”

Teachers who attended the training learned ways to empower themselves if an intruder is in the building.

“The philosophy is to teach people to combat or fight back,” Tosh said.

This takeaway applies to those who feel comfortable to counter. Students received an overview of the new procedures on Sept. 11 during their physical education classes. Coughlin also mentioned that teachers can share best practices for particular rooms with their students.

According to Coughlin, teachers can instruct students on how to barricade the door with cabinets, and then protect the door.

“You can put a belt wrap around [the door handle],” Coughlin said.

In an article in the Chicago Tribune, Simpson said the new skills from the ALICE training do not guarantee safety, but they would greatly increase the odds of surviving a mass attack by a gunman.

Another aspect of the security that has been repeatedly practiced by students and staff are lockdown drills. During the P.E. class presentations, the security staff talked about procedures everyone should follow during lockdowns, including what to do if you are on lockdown in a room.

He highlighted the many ways to help the officers do their job. This includes not only hiding and locking the door, but also barricading the door and doing whatever

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is necessary to keep the intruder from during the passing period should at least breaking inside. Coughlin made sure to be thoroughly discussed; like we should remind everyone that even slowing down have a practice lockdown during a passing an intruder is critical, and can make the period to understand what we can do,” jobs of the security guards much easier.

Jennings said.

“What you’re doing is you’re stalling until Coughlin said he understands the we get there,” Coughlin said. concerns students have in the uncertainty In the presentation, Coughlin of an attack during passing periods. mentioned that, during a lockdown, “It’s a tough [situation], but that’s what students should text their parents to let we want to make sure all the students them know there is a lockdown and that know. [They] have options,” Coughlin said. they are OK. According to the ALICE training, “We want parents to be concerned, evacuating is an option stressed if students the school will even send out information find themselves in the hallway. Students to the parents,” Coughlin said. However, can also barricade themselves in the he stressed that parents should not nearest classroom. immediately rush to the school, because “At a middle school, we did it during it would only make the situation worse. a passing period, and we had 12 kids go “We’re going to have the streets closed, into an empty classroom where there the situation blocked off, and police tape was no teacher, and they locked down by everywhere: we don’t want anyone to get themselves,” Coughlin said. too close to the building.”

The security team expressed how Coughlin stressed how difficult and students have a right to make the best scary this situation is for parents. decision even if an adult is not nearby.

“Being a parent, if something happened “They teach you here that you have to to my kid I know the first thing you want follow rules,” said Officer Geoffrey Cooker, to do is run to the school and see if you another member of the security staff. “In can help out,” Coughlin said. “When we emergencies, sometimes there are no rules. have an idea when the situation’s over, No one is going to say that you shouldn’t have we’ll let parents know and we’ll have a went into that math classroom that wasn’t reunification location where everyone can yours -- you’re alive, and that’s what matters.” meet far away from the school.” photo by Sofija Buzelis Students around the building are starting to notice the changes to security and how the school is making changes to students’ safety.

“I can totally see the difference now, with all the security guards,” Jennings said.

“I feel like there’s a big change in approach between last year and this year: this year I can tell the security is an active group, where last year I did not really notice that.”

When asked if, after all the upgrades to the security, something could still be added or clarified, Jennings said that it was still unclear on what to do if a student was in the hallways without a teacher, and there was an active shooter present.

“During the presentation, they talk a lot about figuring it out in your situation. They gave us a couple techniques, like ‘alert others’ or ‘evacuate,’ but I feel like what to do

Coughlin did clarify that Central will have a lockdown Oct. 17, but not during a passing period.

“The first one is going to be a regular lockdown; down the road, maybe we’ll have them during the passing period,” Coughlin said. “Active shooting events could happen at the beginning of the day; someone could walk in with other students, or during lunch, a passing period, P.E…. you have to plan for these situations whenever.”

The administration has added funding to security in reaction to results from shootings around the country.

According to NPR, Sherrie Lawson, a survivor of the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard where a gunman shot 12 people dead and injured three others on September 16, 2013, it took a long time to get over her trauma. She couldn’t sleep. She had nightmares daily, as well as panic attacks.

Even families are still affected long after shootings. According to AP News article published almost a year after the Parkland shooting, Lori Alhadeff, the mother of a Parkland victim, still leaves much of her daughter’s belongings untouched. They keep stones painted with her name “Alyssa” leading up to the steps of their house in remembrance.

According to Sun Sentinel, Parkland had only vague procedures that were not well established and had not provided any practice drills for staff, said Bob Gualtieri, who is also the Pinellas County sheriff.

Now, schools are learning from Parkland. Cooker uses an analogy to demonstrate the importance of having procedures and practicing them.

“It’s like defensive driving.

You’re driving down the road, and you’re thinking ‘what am I going to do if this car turns suddenly left in front of me or swerves into my lane,’” Cooker said. “You practice it every day, and just apply it to the real deal.”

Officer Michael Coughlin talks with Heather Raslan, junior, about the new security features.

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Photo by Sofija Buzelis

Behind The

Glitter Students share their reality of Homecoming and the social implications of a century-long high school tradition

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by Cedra Jazayerli and Dalya Laban

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d

r

alya Laban

I

t’s the day of the home coming game, the cheerleaders wear their red and white sparkling bows as their ponytails swing back and forth, showcasing their stunts and tumbles on the football field. Meanwhile, the football team hustles on Dickenson Field. Students roar on the bleachers for the victory of the football team, while the cheerleaders stunt and jump with glee. The next day, students open their closets and take out their homecoming attire to prepare for the big day.

This year, homecoming is on Saturday, Sept. 28 . In order to attend the dance, many students organize themselves into groups.

These groups are used for dinner reservations, photos, and other homecoming related functions. While many students view the dance as an exciting social opportunity, others struggle to fit in. Students share a variety of social implications they face in preparation for the dance.

Throughout the years of homecoming, many traditions have changed. According to VICE, Homecoming began in 1911 at the University of Missouri to celebrate its football team’s accomplishments.

Ever since, homecoming has spread throughout the United States and into high schools to celebrate football games and welcome back to the new school year.

“Homecoming week is my favorite week of the entire school year,” said executive board president Lauren Hughes, senior.

However, Angie Brinckerhoff, senior, discussed the stress that homecoming can induce.

She explained that the dance can often mean extensive planning.

“People start planning for

homecoming like a month in advance, which is kind of obnoxious,” Brinckerhoff said.

Student anxiety does not go unnoticed by the adults in the building.

Allison Fish, social worker, said she believes that both Homecoming and Prom cause stress.

Fish has been working as a social worker since 2014 and has seen both boys and girls coming to her for help on how to deal with social stressors before and after homecoming.

“I think the stress grows exponentially before the dance, as groups get unexpectedly big and [are] hard to plan for,” Fish said. “The stress continues after, when students have to deal with the aftermath of their homecoming group.”

Fish’s sentiments of stress being associated with the dance are supported in a survey of the school’s students. In a survey of 253 students, 65.7 percent claim that it is not easy to plan a homecoming group.The survey suggests that stress comes from making the group’s outing, pictures, and dinner reservations.

Justin Tatooles, junior, said he believes that being around people who know each other makes for a better homecoming experience.

Furthermore, Tatooles said that doing so helps avoid unnecessary drama.

He adds that some students view their homecoming group as an opportunity to show off their social stance among their peers. Tatooles said he believes that this contradicts the genuine purpose of homecoming.

Zaida Apichai, freshman, admitted feeling anxious while creating her homecoming plans. Apichai said that making groups for the dance does not always work out. She explained it is frustrating to plan a group when some friends don’t want to go, or when the group gets too big.

“People just want to have all their friends go together and sometimes that just doesn’t work out,” Apichai said. “I still try to be inclusive of everyone looking for a group.”

According to Tatooles, people seem as though they are enjoying themselves at homecoming.

Sometimes, however, this is done to avoid possible drama or confrontation.

“There are people who pretend to have a good time, and I don’t blame them because the dance often has a lot of drama with it,” Tatooles said.

Researchers from the University of California Berkeley, Stanford, and Syracuse recently claimed in a study, “Misery Has More Company Than People Think: Underestimating the Prevalence of Others’ Negative Emotions”, that pretending to be happy in a social group is referred to as “emotional pluralistic ignorance” – “the tendency to believe that people are as happy as they appear in public.”

Brinckerhoff said that she enjoys attending the dance. Yet, she feels that homecoming is not worth the many disagreements and issues that surround it.

“Every single argument that gets picked during homecoming is unbelievably petty and unnecessary,” Brinckerhoff said. “People freak out and get angry for a three hour dance in a sweaty fieldhouse.”

Zoya Anjarwala, junior, said some students struggle to find people to go out with. While she adds that people easily go to homecoming with their friends, others are hesitant to attend the dance because they do not have an existing group of friends.

Furthermore, many students find dates to accompany them to the dance. Brinckerhoff has attended homecoming with a date every year. She explained that generally guys will ask girls with handmade signs.

Brinckerhoff said she believes that this tradition is more exciting than anxiety inducing.

“It’s a nice gesture more than it is a big deal,” Brinckerhoff said.

According to the survey conducted, 166 students feel that they are not obligated to go with a date to the dance.

Still, the feelings of date obligation are there and echoed by many. Sarah Riaz, sophomore, said she thinks that homecoming may be difficult

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when a person does not have a date.

“If you don’t have a date, then people can be kind of mean,” Riaz said.

For some students, this pressure to have a date to the dance contributes to the concerns of attending and planning for the dance. However, school social workers say students can avoid this by being more open with their groups.

“I just think the less and less exclusive [the groups] can be, the less of a [big] deal it will cause,” Fish said.

Brinckerhoff said there are many factors which limit a group’s size. For example, dinner reservations are much easier to organize with a smaller party.

“Somewhere between 10 and

15 [people in a group] is pretty average,” Brinkerhoff said.

Tatooles said he believes there are many ways to make someone feel included. He advises people to start conversations and invite others to join their groups.

“I think I am one of those who doesn’t fit in,” Tatooles said. “Even if you are within a group, you feel isolated.”

Anjarwala said she feels bad for people who stand alone at homecoming. She feels that there are many people including her, who want to reach out because everyone could use some sympathy.

According to Fish, upperclassmen

especially have an obligation to help out.

“I think the upperclassmen could do a better job of encouraging everyone to go, regardless of whether they have a big group or date in general,” Fish said.

Hughes stated that student council has done a great job making sure everyone feels involved in homecoming this year.

“I never want a social stressor to impede [students] from going because even if you show up with two or three of your friends, once you guys are all here, people end up having a great time,” Fish said.

“There are people who pretend to have a good time, and I don’t blame them because the dance often has a lot of drama with it.”

Justin Tatooles Photo by Sofija Buzelis

Juniors Tatum Flynn, Ava Pappas, and Courtney Usher compare homecoming plans during lunch.

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Shaping up SEPTEMBER: Increasing Hydration Follow along as we adopt one new healthy habit each month.

Helpful Water Apps

Nanny, which allows you to grow plants based on your water consumption, and My Water Balance, which calculates how much water you should personally be drinking each day, and let’s you know the percentage of daily intake you still have to go. Both of which are free in the App Store.

One app that I found helpful was Drink Water Reminder N Tracker, also free, which calculates how much water you should drink based on your sex, weight, and climate. You can then set customized reminders throughout the day so you can reach your daily water consumption goals.

I found this app really helpful for after school especially. It is easy to remember to drink water in the classroom when you always have your water bottle by your side. However, when you are home or out and about, and you do not always have your water bottle, then it can be more difficult to keep up with your goals.

This app helped to keep me on track and make sure that I met my goal pretty much every day. Slone actually recommended this app to me and said she used to use this app a lot until drinking water became more of a habit than a task.

“This app is really easy to use,” Slone said. “It really helped me ensure that I was drinking enough water each day, until I no longer needed the reminders in order to reach my goal.”

I did not find this challenge to be difficult, especially with this app and my Hydro Flask. I think that if you are trying to drink more water, it is important that you prepare yourself so that you have

the best chance of meeting your goal.

One thing that is also important is making sure that you are using reusable and sustainable water bottles. According to Forbes, globally, humans purchase a million plastic water bottles per minute and only nine percent of them end up in recycling bins.

Sofia Malamazian, senior, began buying Boxed Water after years of maintaining a stocked fridge of plastic bottles. The entire container, including the cap, is recyclable and 76% of the bottle is made from certified, sustainably managed forests according to their website.

“I like drinking [them] because I feel like I’m doing my small part to help the environment.” Malamazian said.

So, grab your sustainable water bottle, fill it up to the brim, and drink up.

Images courtesy of App Store

I

ncorporating a different practice into your life can be difficult, but the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to adopt new, healthy habits.

In order to focus more at school and improve my overall well being, I decided that I wanted to drink more water this year.

Simply drinking more water seems like an easy task. Yet, I knew I had to be prepared. The first thing I did was order myself an extra large water bottle. For the purpose of this experiment, I selected a 32 oz. Hydro Flask. This water bottle brand is known for being a sturdy choice and for its ability to carry large amounts of water. Furthermore, Hydro Flasks are great for keeping water cold for hours.

Melina Slone, senior, said she brings her own Hydro Flask to school almost every day. “I really like it because I am not constantly filling it up, and it makes it really easy to make sure I’m drinking all the water I need throughout the day.”

According to Cascade Business News, 77 percent of Americans do not drink their daily recommended amount of water.

The Mayo Clinic recommends that men drink around 15.5 cups (124 oz) a day and women drink 11.5 cups (92 oz) a day. For me, this meant that I needed to consume around three Hyrdo Flasks a day, which made the challenge seem more doable.

Having the Hydro Flask also made it easy to track how much water I was drinking.

However, there are many apps that can help you track your water intake and help you make sure that you are meeting your goals.

Some well-rated apps include Plant

by Katie Sharp

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BATTLEGROUND CLIMATE CHANGE

CONTEXT—For seven hours on Sept. 4, ten Democratic presidential candidates presented their plans to fight climate change in a CNN town hall. Many of the proposals shared similar principles, such as investing in clean energy and putting a price on carbon emissions, but varied widely in spending and timeline. However, the general strategy was the same—the U.S. government needs to get directly involved in the fight against climate change. Here, we ask whether that’s the right approach.

An “existential threat.” This phrase came up several times during the town hall, and the international consensus is that Democrats aren’t wrong. The UN Secretary-General himself has called for “urgent and … ambitious action.” However, no one can agree on what that action should be, with some arguing government shouldn’t have much of a role. Yet, when we look at actual proposals, it turns out that an interventionist approach is the right track.

Tackling climate change is difficult because, on their own, individuals don’t suffer the cost of environmentally damaging decisions.

For instance, carbon emissions might lead to rising sea levels, but commuters who drive their cars to work don’t pay for it. This is where the government steps in—they factor in the social cost of climate change through carbon pricing, which charges consumers for every ton of carbon emissions they release. The government is the only institution that has the power or resources to create that incentive. Hence, Democrats are right to push some form of carbon tax or cap and trade system, with the goal of forcing consumers and businesses to become more efficient.

Most democratic candidates also understand that it’s unfair to tax emissions without offering clean alternatives, and so smartly include huge spending increases for clean energy research and development (R&D). Think of all the innovation that has resulted from government funded research. The polio vaccine. GPS. The Human Genome Project. A mission to the moon. Climate change is arguably a more existential threat than any of those crises, and yet we spend “just $22 billion a year” on clean energy R&D, according to Vox. To put that in perspective, CBS reports that the Apollo program cost $288.1 billion in today’s dollars. We need to develop clean, cheap energy to convince U.S. businesses and consumers to switch over, but also to get the rest of the world on board--that won’t happen if there isn’t funding.

Of course, there is concern over the deficit; however, given that government intervention is needed, we must accept some level of spending. Tackling climate change involves transforming the energy sector, which if done correctly could lead to job growth and international demand for U.S. technology. However, radical or poorly planned policies (ie immediately banning fracking) will have the opposite effect, pushing workers out of the industry before viable alternatives are available. Going too far, too fast could cause an economic backlash.

And while most of what had been suggested makes sense, candidates should be more open to nuclear energy. It is efficient, produces almost no emissions, and uses a plentiful fuel. Candidates avoid it due to stigma—no one wants another Chernobyl. But current reactors are much safer, and the transition to renewables takes time.

Regardless, the best news of all is that these candidates are taking the issue seriously. The clock is ticking. Our generation can’t afford to wait.

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According to NASA, the average global temperature has increased by 0.8 degrees Celsius since 1880. The world is not ending, the Earth is not screwed, and this isn’t some apocalyptic scenario. Due to Milankovitch Cycles, movements of Earth in relation to the sun, our planet has previously experienced “climate change” during the Medieval Warm Period (950-1250 AD), not to mention the Pleistocene Epoch: two million years of alternating ice ages and interglacials. CNN’s Climate Town Hall exposed Democratic candidates’ obsession with climate change DAVID GUST plans that are not only unrealistic, but uneconomical, inefficient, and irresponsible.

The solution to climate change has been around for decades: “Reduce, reuse, recycle”. They even added a fourth r, repurpose, for diehard environmentalists. Fighting climate change doesn’t start with the president, it starts with rejecting the notion that our government can solve the problem. We must recognize that 69 percent of Americans who “are worried about climate change,” according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, have the potential to change the world. According to the EPA, the two biggest sources of carbon emissions in the U.S. are transportation and electricity—29 percent and 28 percent respectively; we don’t need a trillion-dollar plan to tell Americans to turn off the lights and carpool.

Carbon taxes, federal bans on fracking, and the Green New Deal were among the most common solutions proposed by Democratic hopefuls, but all candidates failed to mention the economic repercussions of their overextending plans. One million Americans currently work in the traditional energy sector, jobs eliminated by Democrats’ goals of “zero emissions by 2050,” as promised by Amy Klobuchar. These lofty goals, supposedly achievable through higher taxes and regulation, will prematurely shift the economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work. According to the Energy Information Administration, nuclear and renewable energy currently produce 20 percent of our nation’s energy and will account for one-third of new electricity generation added to the U.S. grid over the next three years; the shift to green energy is already in motion and imposing new taxes will only unnecessarily stifle our economy.

Bernie Sanders climate change plan costs $16.3 trillion; to put this into perspective, that’s approximately $48,632 per American (yes, including children). Where does this money come from? A vague combination of new taxes on Wall Street, fossil fuels, and of course, personal income. According to the U.S. National Debt Clock, the U.S. holds $22.6 trillion of debt as of yesterday. It’s irresponsible and immoral to increase the budget deficit by trillions of dollars to create another unnecessary branch of big government, and scare Americans into paying for it.

Illustrations by Audrey Carter

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STAFF EDITORIAL #Advocacy

R

ecently, it is not uncommon to find our social media accounts littered with the #prayfortheamazon. Instagram posts, Snapchat stories, and Facebook images all luminesce with the same firey, burning forest.

In August of this year, the Amazon Rainforest burned at record rates, and nearly every social networking site broadcasted the news.

In recent years, social media has become increasingly pervasive in our nation’s culture.

These networks now serve as platforms by which individuals can rally for their political, cultural, and social opinions. Known as social media, or hashtag activism, this trend has the remarkable ability to aid the outreach of major movements.

With the rise of the Internet, the world is more connected than ever before. According to the 2018 Global Digital report from We Are Social, “more than 3 billion people around the world now use social media each month.”

This unprecedented level of social media use also means that individuals across the globe now have the ability to engage in critical discussions, communicate new information, and share important knowledge. Aided by social media, these people now have the ability to raise awareness for causes that are important to them.

For instance, on March 14, 2018 students across the country participated in a nationwide protest against gun violence. This movement, known as the National School Walkout, began after the devastating mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,

.

Florida in February 2018. The protests lasted 17 minutes, a minute for every victim of the attack.

Central students participated in the movement as well. They read the names of every Parkland victim and held a moment of silence in remembrance of the lives lost.

This was a remarkable organizational feat.

Just a day after the protests, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Gun-Violence Protests Drew an Estimated 1 Million Students.”

Arguably, this could not have been accomplished without the aid of social media.

The organization that ran the National School Walkout utilized social networking sites as a means to reach their younger audience. Its Twitter page published calls to action, “Start a walkout at your school, all the cool kids are doing it.”

The National School Walkout took the communication capabilities of social media and translated them into real life, active participation. Despite being a trending method for advocacy, social media activism does not always translate into actual political change.

“Slacktivism” is showing support for a cause in relatively uncomplicated ways. It is generally characterized as ingenuine and less devoted than true activism. Often, it is accompanied by the intention of boosting the egos of participants in the movement. This action may have little effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfied that they have contributed.

According to the University of British Colombia, those who voiced public support for

issues did not show an increased probability of taking private actions, like performing charitable works. One example of this, according to the Nonprofit Hub, was the campaign in 2014 titled #BringBackOurGirls. Even though huge portions of the population, including famous personalities, spread awareness on their own platforms, the 200 girls remained missing for a whole year. While people thought their uploading would make a difference, it didn’t. And even when it didn’t, they took no further action.

It is clear that media activism alone will never be enough. However, it does have the ability to bolster other efforts--donations, volunteering, and charity events. The positive effects outweigh the negative ones, because without this activism we may never have seen events like the #BlackLivesMatter, the #ALSIceBucketChallenge, and the #WomensMarch take shape.

According to the Pew Research Center, 67 percent of Americans agree that social media activism can create sustained movements for social change. This is a significant portion of our nation’s citizens. Therefore, there are many people convinced social media activism actually works.

It is accessible, effortless, and straightforward to use. Moreover, social networks are ideal for passionate students who want to express their political attitudes. Social media sites are powerful forces for change in our modern world. Twitter and Instagram themselves can’t change lives, but they can create pathways to guide the way.

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DISHED

by Rima Rafiq

This Week's Dish

With school in full swing, it’s hard to avoid doing the same things every single day. One huge part of that is what we consume. Oftentimes, I find myself going to the same restaurants and sticking with something in my comfort zone. This year, I want to explore unique restaurants and food joints to discover what the best options in the area are. What better way to escape beginning-of-the-year stress, studying, and homecoming drama than eating comfort food. For this reason, I decided that the perfect food this month would be mac n’ cheese, a classic dish that’s well-liked by pretty much everyone.

Photos by Rima Rafiq

Panera

Panera’s mac n’ cheese is a goto. Made with Vermont White Cheddar, this dish has a really rich flavor. My favorite part of it is the cheese sauce; it tastes fresh and smooth. I really dislike when the mac n’ cheese sauce isn’t blended enough, and Panera’s definitely wasn’t stringy when compared to thethe other mac n’ cheese dishes I tried.

Noodles & Co.

While Noodles & Company has one of the most popular mac n’ cheese, I wasn’t a huge fan. Sure, the noodles are done well, but the sauce is not ideal for me. They add too many noodles in comparison to the sauce, making it taste very gooey and unblended. In fact, it is as if they just melt a couple blocks of cheese and combined it with noodles without extra flavoring. While I can understand why other people might like it, I probably wouldn’t order it again.

Chick-Fil-A

When Chick-Fil-A introduced their mac n’ cheese in August, I was pretty surprised. I figured that they would stick to chicken burgers and fries rather than introduce something way off the spectrum.

However, their pasta was definitely a pleasant surprise. With a mixture of Parmesan, Romano, and Cheddar Cheese, it is super creamy and flavorful. It is very well done for a restaurant whose main focus is chicken.

The Verdict

While mac n’ cheese is a pretty simple dish, each restaurant I went to had a different way of making the meal. For example, Panera had a lot of sauce, while Noodles & Company was lacking in that area. Chick-Fil-A had a great mix between the two extremes. Panera is a classic mac n’ cheese that I love to order, but in the end I liked ChickFil-A’s mac n’ cheese the best. While I was surprised that Chick-Fil-A, a restaurant that specializes in chicken, made mac n’ cheese, I enjoyed their version much better than Noodles & Company’s.

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34.8%

SPANISH

1.7%

lithuanian

!

S A B AL

HOLA!

DEVILS’ D STUDENT

CZESC! 1.7%

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one

CIAO! 22.3%

POLISH 33%

LAN

OTHER

40% two

22%

THREE

4.8% FOUR+

How many la can you spe 9/23/19 3:49 9/24/19 2:21 PM

97.4%

ENGLISH

5.2%

HI!

GERMAN

HALL O!

S’ DIALECT

DENT

LANGUAGES

based on 233 student responses

SALAM!

BONJOUR! 9.0%

7.3%

FRENCH

ARABIC How many languages can you speak Infographic.indd 204286 DA September 3 r1.indd 29

88.8%

STUDENTS TAKING A LANGAUGE AT SCHOOL

By The Numbers | 29 9/23/19 3:49 9/24/19 2:21 PM

MEET THE...

HOMECOMING COURT

Photos by Anchal Kumar

What’s your couples theme song?

Herbert Wang & Chelsea Biala

Chinmay Amin & Maiwen Amagadji

Johnathan Hernandez & Rachel Foracappa

Brennan Walsh & Sofia Malamazian

Lucid Dreams by Juice Wrld

Suavemente by Elvis Crespo

Ransom by Lil Tecca

Patrick Hsiao & Genny Haarlow

Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65

Manas Gajjela & Bahar Abtahi

Despacito by Luis Fonsi

Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira

Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac

Toxic by Britney Spears

David Chu & Taylor Wagner

Alex Ovan & Lauren Zelisko

Kyle Shrader & Mckenna Revord

Nick Moawad & Olivia Fallon

Sachin Advani & Alyssa Moncrief

Charlie Brubaker & Lauren Hughes

Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO

Obsessed by Mariah Carey

Teen Titans Theme Song

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Trends CROSSWORD

OVERHEARD AT CENTRAL Comical Quotes Heard In the Halls of Central

“

The Endzone

With the start of the school year, football season has begun.

Take this puzzle to learn more!

I’m OK if Ikea puts horse meat in their Swedish meatballs, horses are monsters.”

”

*Fortnite dancing* My mom doesn’t remember my own birth.

“

Did you know that one year I got shorter??

”

Life is juicy. Keep it that way.

Clues Across

Down

3. What is the only football team not to change their name or city since the NFL was formed in 1922?

5. Which is the only current NFL city to never have hosted a Super Bowl?

7. Who is the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different teams?

8. Which team won the most recent Super Bowl?

1. Who has the most playoff wins?

2. Which NFL team is known for having the most loyal fans?

4. Which state is home to the team that lost the first televised football game?

5. Which team is known as “America’s Team” 6. Which team holds the record for the fewest points scored in a Super Bowl

Answers 1. Tom Brady 2. Packers 3. Bears 4. Pennsylvania 5. Cleveland 6. Dolphins 7. Peyton Manning 8. Patriots crossword/overheard 204286 DA September 32.indd r1.indd 1 31

Trends | 31 9/24/19 3:49 2:22 PM

Back Cover 204286 DA September September.indd r1.indd1 32

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