Discovery Digest
March th
Train derails, causes toxic chemical explosion in Ohio
Chemical disaster in rural Ohio shakes up lives, a town and the nation at large.
By: Jack Walsh
On Feb. , , near East Palestine, Ohio, a freight train belonging to the Norfolk Southern Corporation and carrying approximately cars derailed due to negligence and continually-decreasing railroad conditions. The circumstances leading up to the derailment were spearheaded by corporate movements toincreaseprofitwhilecompromisingonstaffnumbers. The derailment’s miscalculation was that nearly a quarter of the freight cars contained highly hazardous chemicals that caused a large fire. Vinyl chloride, a substance used to make hard plastics for piping and wiring, was one of the chemicals being moved. Vinyl chloride has the potential to release other toxic chemicalswhenburned.
Two days later, officials in charge of the situation ordered , East Palestine residents to leave the area and demanded a controlled release of the vinyl chloride from the cars. The chemicals were causing serious concerns about a blast, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine wished to prevent any catastrophic events. A cloud of toxic chemicals was released into the air as a resultofthesechemicals'release.
Even though the initial disaster was still going on, its consequences were already visible. According to Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the chemicals had tainted local waterways resultinginthedeathsofthousandsoffish.
Two days after the controlled release of vinyl chloride, displaced residents were informed that they could safely return to their homes, despite the presence of toxic chemicalsintheair.
TheU.S.hadlearnedalotfromthiscatastrophe.Asthis event reaches national media and alarms the nation, railroad workers are likely to receive the national attention they deserve for their long-standing demand forsafetyreforms.
Discovery High School Aurora Borealis Ball
Aurora Borealis Ball was a hit at Discovery High School!
By: Haylee Kohler & Ivan Frazee
Discovery High School (DHS) hosted their Aurora Borealis Ball on Feb. , . The dance was the first of the new year and was designed around a winter theme—despitebeingclosetoValentine’sDay.Thedance was a much bigger event in comparison to the Fall Fest dance,whichhadasmallturnout.
“I believe it went very well, especially when compared to theFallFest,duetothefactthatthedancefloorwasnever empty,”saidZimriBaxter,afreshmanstudentatDHSand a member of the Associate Student Body (ASB). Imogen Jones shared a similar enjoyment in the fullness of the danceandalsobelievedtherewasareasonthedancefloor feltfullerthesecondtimearound.
their workers in my career.” He said the tension had been exacerbated by the rail companies’ determination toincreaseprofitsbycuttingstaff.
Despite being a disaster that should’ve been avoided, this chemical train derailment will certainly be an important piece of evidence for those in congress to push their agenda of reforms within the rail industry. Many have said this is evidence that the drive for profitswillpropelhumanitytoimmenseharm,oreven worse,extinction.
Amtrak engineer in Reno, Nevada and the vice-president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Norfolk Southern, the company that caused this disaster,hadbeengiventheresponsibilityofcorrecting
Southern representatives withdrew from a meeting with town officials, angering East Palestine residents. However, in addition to carrying out extensive testing of the water and air quality, Norfolk Southern has set up an Assistance Center and donated more than $ million to individuals in order to assist them in
Norfolk Southern has been the subject of a number of lawsuits and the governor is now calling for tighter regulationsonrailcompanies.
“I like how condensed it was,” Jones stated. “I didn’t likethegameroomthingthattookplaceinthegymat the previous dance. I felt like [the most recent one] wasmoreofadance,ratherthananactivitytime.”
“I believe as the ASB continues to work and improve, as well as experimenting with different ideas, that the dances will continue to become more enjoyable for attendees,”saidBaxter.
The dance’s decoration was a hit among students and somestudentsevenwishedthereweremore.
“I really liked the decoration, the light, it was all really on theme,” said Story Hope, a student at DHS who attendedthedance.
“I wish there were more noticeable decorations, a red carpet, a disco ball,” Hope continued. “I like the decorations, but it would’ve been cool if there were evenmore.”
However, despite the positives, there were also some critiques from students about the dance. The most common concerns were the theme, snacks, and, especially,themusic.
“It was a bit difficult to dress for the theme, however overall,itwasauniqueandcooltheme,”Hopesaid. ,
“I wish the theme was more Valentine-like, or more wintery,” Jones said. “The theme felt way too fancy, eventhoughthedancewassemi-formal.”
“I wish they had soda instead of hot chocolate or whatever,”Jonesexpressed.
Themusicwasalsoalargenegativetothedance.Some said it was hard to dance to, while others said it felt like music they listened to in elementary school; some evenmadefunofthemusicchoice.
“They [ASB] had taken actual suggestions from the form, which wasn’t actually implemented into the dance’smusic,”saidJones.
Jones had previously added music to a Google form from ASB and was quite disappointed to not have heardtheirrequestsduringthedance.
“The date changes for the dance [were] very rushed due to the Camas High School ASB having little to no communication with ours,” Baxter said. “[This] will hopefully be a change we are able to make in the future.”
For the future, some ASB officers want more student input regarding the dance’s themes, songs, and decorations.
student controversy, doxxes and insults
While administrative action led to the account’s memorialization, records of controversial actions still exist.
By: Aliferia Gonzalez
Days after the Aurora Borealis dance concluded on Feb. , , Discovery High School students began to circulate a series of controversial posts on Instagram from an account named @dhsbadshoes. The account criticized shoes students wore to the dance. After multiple days’ worth of controversy andbacklashfromstudents—someofwhichleadto situations where the account’s owner threw personalinsultsatstudentswhotalkedtothemand leaked their personal contact information—the accountwastakendown.
While no concrete record of the exact dates exists, the offending posts were made sometime between Monday, Feb. , and the dance’s conclusion. Variousstudentshadfoughtwiththeaccountinthe comment section of every post, as well as personal directmessages(DMs).
The account would not make any other posts after themorningofMonday,Feb. .However,itwould publish several Instagram Stories (hereby “Stories” or “Story” when singular), detailing the account owner’s thoughts and emotions as the backlash unfolded. The amount of Stories is unknown, as Discovery Digest currently only possesses records of the account’s last Story and interview recounts of another.
After intervention and personal discussion with Discovery High School principal Aaron Smith, @dhsbadshoeswoulddeleteallitspostsandmakea final Story before officially closing the account. However, the account page remains up and multiple screenshots exist of the account being online after the owner formally said goodbye. This could be due to the owner’s claim that they do not owntheaccount.
While much discussion by students was held over the rude nature of @dhsbadshoes, the account had performed worse actions by revealing the private email of a Discovery High School student publicly andwithouttheirconsentorpriorknowledge.
Simone Callan, a junior at Discovery High School, had submitted a copyright strike on one or more of @dhsbadshoes’ posts due to the fact that images she had taken and published were being used without her consent to make fun of her friends’ shoes. Callan expressed her opinion that copyright law in the U.S. permitted her to submittheclaim,whichledtothepostsbeingtakendown. The account’s owner then proceeded to screenshot the claim and post it to Instagram in the form of a Story. Within the details of the claim—which were included in the published photograph—Simone’s personal email was revealed, which she had not listed publicly on her Instagramaccount.@dhsbadshoes’actionsnotonlyrevealed potentially sensitive information but also gave viewers of the Story the means to contact Callan personally. Beyond the publishing of sensitive personal information, @dhsbadshoes also engaged in reportedly rude conversations with those who spoke out against the tone andimplicationsoftheirposts.“I’dsaythattheirrepliesto comments were worse than the original insults themselves,” said Story Hope, a frequent Instagram user and sophomore at Discovery High School. “@essaydespair you lucky I dident see yo ugly ass folded ankles cuh,” was @dhsbadshoes’initialresponsetooneofHope’scomments.
The response occurred before personal DMs were exchanged.
Reef Kjerting, a junior at Discovery High School and avid Instagram user, also interacted with @dhsbadshoes in the commentsectionoftheirposts.
“ThenatleastIcanmakehavingthisaccountasmuchofa non-pleasurable experience as possible,” Kjerting said when addressing their motivations for speaking out in the commentsectionsof@dhsbadshoes’posts.
“I still believe people were sensitive when looking at the account, at the end of the day it’s just shoes and nothing else matters,” the anonymous account owner, hereby referredtounderthealiasTennIshu,stated.
“No,aftertalkingtoMr.Smith,Ihavenofurtherplansfor [@dhsbadshoes],” Ishu stated later in the interview. “For now the account is just a resting site for what it was, until Irememberthepasswordanddeleteit.”
According to the owner, @dhsbadshoes’ first post was publishedonDec.9, .
“I originally created [the account] because there was a trend going around at the time of ‘school sleeping’ and ‘school bad parking’ accounts so I wanted to hop on the trend,” stated Ishu. “Some other classmates also did similar things with [@wtf_dhs] and some others. I thought bad shoeswouldbeagoodideasoIuseditanditwasgood.”
Café-Odd opens at Odyssey Middle School
Odyssey Middle School gets its own Café that is opened during lunches
By: Larken Grimes
At Odyssey Middle School (OMS), a new cafe opened, giving OMS their own student cafe similar to Discovery High School’s (DHS)—who had originally opened DiscoSales(theirstudentcafe)afewyearsprior.
“Café-OddistheOdysseycafe,wherewesellrefreshments, baked goods, popcorn, and other miscellaneous packaged items,” said Steiner-Bailey.Some students at DHS might rememberpopcornbeingsoldduringluncheslastyearat-
OMS, but there was never an area or cafe to purchase general items from during lunches until Café-Odd’s opening. “We got it off the ground last year when we bought a popcorn machine and started selling popcorn during lunch,” said Steiner-Bailey. “This year, Mrs. O’Rourke helped us take it to the next level through the purchase of various new items (register, cart, oven, and packagedgoods).”
At DHS, students have DiscoSales—a cafe providing snacks, drinks, and other items during lunch or in the morning. However, it's a club that is not run by DHS’ ASB.
“Café-Odd is operated by Odyssey ASB,” said Steiner-Bailey. “We use Café-Odd as a fundraising machine, so everything is purchased by ASB, with proceeds going directly back into ASB funds in order to fundvariousinitiatives.”
This gives OMS students a place to get snacks and various other items during their lunch time while having their money go towards projects and socials in thefuture.
Café-Odd is open during seventh and eighth grade lunchesandlocatedrightbythemainoffice. “Atitscore, Café-Odd is a PBL (project based learning) project, hitting on all seven of the essential project design elements; authenticity, student voice and choice, reflection, critique and revision, public product, challenging problem/question, and sustained inquiry,” saidSteiner-Bailey.
Running Café-Odd is not only helping students learn about OMS’ project principles but teaching them real-world problems and how to solve them. This, as Steiner-Bailey said, provides learning opportunities for project components and real-world components. If all goes well, Café-Odd should teach students the importanceofthosevalues.
A few have said they think it's a bit pointless, considering that DiscoSales is already open at DHS, and some of the middle school shares their lunch time with the high school’s lunch time. Others would like both schools to consider a merger between the two since bothstudentstoressellsimilaritems. The previous opinions were only obtained through a small percentage of students Digest asked about Café-Odd.Mostpeople Digest hadtalkedtodidn'tknow Café-Odd existed, leaving them without an opinion or generalimpression;thelatterofwhichwasthemajority response Digest hadgottenfromDiscoSalesmembers.
@dhsbadshoes
sparks
Café-Odd set up at the front of Odyssey Middle School on Feb. , (Larken Grimes/Discovery Digest)
A collage of the last Instagram story @dhsbadshoes posted with personal information removed from it (left), a QR code where Discovery Digest readers from Discovery High School can view an archived version of the interview with @dhsbadshoes' account owner (center) and an image that was posted to @dhsbadshoes page. (Aliferia Gonzalez/Discovery Digest)
Disco Sales, sales counter in Discovery High School on Mar , (Beck Gummer/Discovery Digest)
Senior Project Status Update
Many seniors at DHS are feeling intense emotions with senior projects reaching a critical checkpoint in their creation process.
By: Avery Perry & Beck Gummer
Relief, success, and stress were common feelings among seniors at Discovery High School (DHS) duringthemonthofFebruary.Withtheexhibition dress rehearsal behind them, DHS seniors had variedfeelingstowardstheirseniorprojects.
Seniors Aurora Szulc and Eoin Ryan gave mixed feedbackabouthowtheprojectswentforthem.
“The project went really well for me,” Szulc said. “The feedback was super helpful and now I know whattochangeforthefinalproductandIfeelmore preparedforthefinal.”
“The feedback didn't help me because I got two very different grades from two different teachers and got polarizing feedback, so I'm confused on whattofix.”saidRyan.
One interesting take from Ryan and Szulc was that students were getting too much time to work on their projects. “I feel like we had too much time to work,” said Szulc. “My project was mostly outside of school so I didn't need all the extra time in schooltowork.”
They also expressed feeling like people would have finishedtheirworkfasterormoreefficientlyifthey hadashorteramountoftimetodoit. Allofthestudentsthatwereinterviewedexpressed that they agreed with the grade that they were given.
Alex Abe, a senior at DHS, said, “I was not very prepared and that hindered me, also I didn't really expect to get a good grade because I didn't finish myproject.”
Whenaskedabouthowtheprojectorrehearsalfor himwent,Abesaid,“therehearsalformany,myself included, was pretty much just a reality check making us realize what we actually need to do by May.”
Heagreedthathewasgivenadequatetimetowork on the project—he just would utilize what he was given more if given the opportunity to do the projectover.
Abe did, however, state, “I got great feedback from teachers, it will definitely help me and it organizes my[needed]improvementsinmyhead.”
Discovery High School students input on transportation
By: Sophia Perian & Terrence Gillespie
At Discovery High School (DHS), there are normally three different types of transport a student can take. Most students either take the bus, walk or get a ride home from a guardian or a friend. The variation in averagetransportmethodhascausedasparkinbiased preferencesamongDHSstudents,manyofwhichhave issues with the process of getting to and from school viabus.
Out of the three students interviewed by Discovery Digest, all three said that they prefer walking home or getting a ride as it was a much quicker and more viable option. As of recently, many buses from DHS had become less punctual as time went on. The bus routeshadcausedalotofstresstomanypeopledueto thelengthoftimeittookforstudentstogethome.
All of the seniors interviewed understood and took the feedback they were given. Educators and underclassmen should expect an improved and exceptionalseniorprojectexhibitioninMay.
After the exhibition, the interviewed seniors felt relieved. Some might have not received the grade they desired, but there was still a weight lifted off theirshoulderswhenthedressrehearsalconcluded.
Discovery Digest requestedseniorJordanBasal’stake on how the end of the exhibition went and felt for him.
“Itwentpositively,itwasverystress-relievingtobe done with it,” said Basal. “I’m very grateful that I wasabletofixthestupidstuffIdidconsideringour graduationisontheline.”
A big weight for most seniors was the knowledge that their projects would decide if they graduated. This is a weight most high schools put on their seniorprojects,butitdidaddanotherlayerofstress to most seniors (especially those who did not pass themostrecentexhibition).
“It was extremely stressful, the thought of your entire senior year [hinging] on that project, but I knew that this wasn't the final,” said DHS senior ImogenJones.
A surprising majority of seniors were at a creative block with their projects, expressing that they had ideas for their projects that were denied due to the strict guidelines on how DHS’ senior projects wouldbeideatedandexecuted.
“The requirement of community impact only adds stress to every student involved in this project,” said DHS senior Nicholas Hoorn. “It limits creativity in regards to what is allowed to be exploredinthisproject.”
The teachers responded to this feedback in Nov., , giving students the creativity of the project they wanted to do but adding the layer of helping or supporting a community of their choice. Although the problem has (relatively) fizzled out, some seniors still feel a great lack of project motivationduetotheguidelines.
Although there were many complaints around the project that were valid and could be changed for senior projects in the future, students were able to support various communities through their work andhavelearnedmoreabouttheirpassions.
A few of the project administrators would also like the seniors to know, if they have any concerns about their projects or the feedback they were given,pleasecontactorgetincommunicationwith them. They have access to many resources that couldhelpastrugglingseniorpass.
Discovery Digest
Editor in Chief: Aliferia Gonzalez
Copy Chief: Ivan Frazee
Creative Director: Beck Gummer
Feature Editor: Sophia Perian Jack Walsh
News Editor: Willow Nusbaum Bee Logan
Arts and Culture: Haylee Kohler
Braden Tricola
Social Editor: Avery Perry
Larken Grimes
Many students who take the buses had been late to personal meetings or external work due to the time it took for the school buses to reach their homes. Those same students also reported their homework time feelinglimitedduetotheirbuses’timeliness.
A large number of bus routes take more than an hour togettomosthighschoolers'busstops,manyofthem have been getting students home as late as : p.m., eventhoughschoolendsat : p.m.
DHS student Maddie Hoyt stated that they prefer getting a ride home by car because it was faster that way.
“I usually get driven home; the buses take an hour but Icangetthereinfiveminutes,”saidHoyt.
“I can walk to school faster than riding the bus; I take the car because I have more time to sew, draw and do homeworkwhenIgethome.”
“I usually get home in about minutes by car, it’s a lot faster than the bus for sure so I stick to driving by car,”saidananonymousstudent.
In correlation, the majority of Digest-interviewed students at DHS expressed disliking that Odyssey MiddleSchool(OMS)studentssharedthesamebusas them, since it led to longer routes farther from their homes.Sometimesthestudentbasecausedbusdrivers
to alter their schedules and routes if even one student fromOMSwasmissing.
“I dislike having to ride the bus with the other kids from OMS,” said DHS sophomore Rory Perger. “It’s annoyingthatmybushastogotootherschoolstoget kids from different schools and take them home, increasingmybusridebyover minutes!”
“I personally think that having OMS students ride the same bus as me is not my favorite, because I have to waitalongtimebeforeIgethomesincealmostallthe students on my bus are middle schoolers,” said an anonymousstudent.
Overall, students at DHS seem to prefer other transportationmethodsovertakingthebus.Although some modes of transport may be frustrating, the districtisonlyrequiredtoensurethatstudentscanget to school safely day-by-day, of which every option previouslymentionedcomplieswith.
Students voice opinions on current situation with transportation
Discovery Advice Column
With Ivan Frazee & Haylee Kohler
My fish are really ugly and my mom wants to get rid of them but I'd feel bad for getting rid of them because they're ugly. I love them butthey'rejustsougly.
All I have to say is, don’t judge a fish by its cover. If you love your fish, keep them! They’re your pets so appreciate them while they’re around. Knowing fish, their lifespans are short enough, so let them live it out with you. I’m sorry your fish aren’t appealing to the eye, maybe decorate their tank to distract?
I have really bad social anxiety, and was wondering if you all had any advice on how to helpbemoresocial?
I previously experienced very bad social anxiety in middle school, as many have, and what I can say that helped me is to know that everyone around you is experiencing similar feelings to you are. They may also have social anxiety, or they may be happy because their friend said something nice, or they are excited they have a favorite food for lunch. People are in their own world thinking their own thoughts, which are unlikely to have a stranger in them, so no need to worry!
How do I find someone that will love me for who I am? I long for a relationship yet i cannotgetone.
Just be you! Someday someone will find an interest in you for who you truly are. Don’t try to be someone you’re not to try to impress someone or make yourself seem “more attractive,” whatever that means you’re pretty for who you are.
Students’ mental health affected by video games
Students in Camas have experienced both positive and negative side effects from gaming.
By: Willow Nusbaum & Bee Logan
Despite it being a very popular belief that video games can only affect mental health negatively, for some (as dictated by a set of interviews conducted by Discovery Digest), video games can affect their mental healthpositively.
While most students at Discovery High School (DHS) can say they play video games, four students were interviewed that Discovery Digest believed to be avid video game players. Those students were Colton Shaw, RileyVelazquez-Ridley,ZimriBaxter,andOrrinBrown. “Ithinkboth[positiveandnegativeeffects]cangohand inhand,”Velazquezstatedwhenaskedhowvideogames affect his mental health. “There are definitely some games that facilitate toxic behavior in people, like yelling at your teammates over something they did in a gameandsuch.”
“As for positive experiences,” Velazquez said. “I've beentarting to play this farmer simulator, and it has beenreallyfunanditisnottoounhealthysinceIplayit by myself. It has cutesy little art and it is a good sstress-freewaytojustunwindafterschool.”
Velazquez is referring to the game Stardew Valley, a farming simulator game, unlike many games, it is not massmultiplayer,andinfactcooperative,allowingyou to play with friends. This also creates a calmer gaming experience, rather than that of the toxicity from strangers.
Video games being used as a coping mechanism or an escape seems to be prominent among students. Shaw and Baxter highlighted gaming’s proficiency in providing relief from negative mental health circumstances.
“Yes I do I have a lot of anxiety sometimes,” Shaw stated. “It can help to have something either calming, orsomethingthatIenjoytotakemymindoffofthings thataregoingoninmylife.”
“I believe they provide a very positive impact to my mentalhealth,andgivemeanextracopingmechanism duringroughtimes,”saidBaxter.
“I think it's been / ,” Brown, a Camas High School student, stated. “I enjoy [video games], they provide entertainment, but overall I think there's better sources of entertainment that are less damaging to positivehabitsandsuch.”
ThereweresomenegativestovideogamesthatBrown spokeon.
“Slapshot: Rebound ruined my social life, as it was too hardformetograspandhonestlywasjustdestroying every single habit I had,” Brown said. Video game addiction can be harmful, and cause you to stop doing everyday activities you normally would.“Teeth went unbrushed, beds unmade, dogs.... Unfed,” stated Brown,“Nevertouching Slapshot:Rebound again.”
These interviews were of teenagers from our high school,thesespecificstudentsrangingfromages - . Discovery Digest believes views on video games can vary from generation to generation, especially depending on if the given person partakes in video games, or if they know about them. Different circumstancescanaltersomeone’sbeliefonthematter. SomehighschoolstudentsinCamasmightreallyenjoy video games as a stress reliever, while others who are older could find it stressful and violent. The effects of videogamescanvaryfrompersontoperson,therefore Digest readers should tailor their gaming habits and experience to what suits them best, not what others believeisbest.
Students were also asked what their first gaming experiencewas.
“Thatwasalongtimeago,they’vealwayskindabeena little bit of part of my life, but I'd say probably when I wasfiveorsoplayingontheWii,”Shawstated. When Velazquez was asked the same question, he stated that he had a different introduction to gaming through the popular social media video platform YouTube.
“A few years after I moved to America, I experienced my first interaction with Minecraft YouTubers in the s,” Velazquez said. “The first game I remember vividlyimpactingmylifewas Minecraft.”
Discovery Digest Mission Statement
Discovery Digest strives to differentiate itself from other local school-based papers by introducing unique and often hyper-localized stories. While accomplishing this goal, the Digest aims to remain factually accurate, uphold journalistic integrity, and provide an unbiased truth to readers.
