October 2023 USJ

The Union St. Journal

Last year, antisemitism spiked nationally...

N ow, Jewish students have been forced to adapt. Some are hiding their identities.

SPIRIT BUS: Close to 100 students boarded spirit buses on Oct. 5 to visit 14 Creek feeder schools. This came before the Homecoming game against Smoky Hill. “[It was] such a fun expereince to put a smile on kid’s faces,” senior marching band drum major Becca Dwyer said via text.

PHOTO BY ALEX GRIBB

Letter from the Editor

As my first magazine as the sole Editor-In-Chief, this issue means a lot to me. Even more so because of the issues we wrote on. I am so incredibly proud of the entire staff, which is lucky to have 14 returning editors and a whole gaggle of talented and witty new writers.

Our In-Depth this issue is about antisemitism in schools and how it impacts students. Towards the end of last year, an image circulated of students at Campus Middle School who drew swastikas on themselves. After a number of interviews, the story behind this picture becomes much more complex, and uncovers a larger issue in schools: antisemitism is on the rise. In

this article, we sought to explain what antisemitism is doing, as well as how students, parents, and admin are working to combat it. This article was written before the Hamas attack on Israel.

The staff-ed this issue addresses a policy called “restorative justice.” This concept encourages students that have done wrong to have conversations with those they have hurt. In this article, the editorial board supports its effectiveness, and questions the usefulness of suspensions in comparison.

I am extremely pleased with the numerous other articles in this issue, especially those that were written by first time writers. Their ability to adapt to the magazine cycle while continuing to be wonderful is astounding, if not inspiring.

With that being said, I hope you enjoy the first issue of 20232024.

- Editor-in-Chief Alex Gribb

On The Cover

A USJ staff member poses with a Star of David Necklace, tucking it into his sweatshirt. This motion has become standard for some Jewish students who, after recent acts of antisemitism in the CCSD, feel unsafe showing that they are Jewish.

“I feel like a lot of the time it’s easier to just ignore [antisemitism] and not make it known that you’re Jewish,“ Creek freshman Stephen Baker*, whose name has been changed to protect their safety, said.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitism has seen a 36% rise in incidents on school campuses in the past 2 years. One source has been an increase of antisemitic rhetoric in pop culture.

Beginning on page 10, we discuss the recent rise in antisemitism, and what students, parents, and admin are doing to try and stop its increase.

Staff

Editor-in-Chief Alex Gribb

Junior Editor-in-Chief & Sports Editor

Quinn Rudnick

Managing Editor

Peter Philpott

A&E Editor & Design Manager

Katya Roudakov

News

Editor

Amanda Castillo-Lopez

Features Editors

Jude Gorden

Opinions

Editor

Izzy Krauss

Video Editor

Nour Kreishan

Asst. Managing Editor

Aram Bazarian

Asst. Video Editor

Jonathan Lee

Asst. Sports Editor

Avery Hutchins

Purpose:

Asst. A&E

Editor

Nick BeDan

Asst. Opinions

Gabby Schrock

Editor

Chief Photographer

Wryn Duepre

Chief Artist Angela Xu

Business Manager

Gillian Neale

Staff Writers

Claire Hansen

Serenity Hurtado

Alisa Kovaleva

Ava Seagle

Briana Flores

Jayna Baker

Rue Minar

Mae Murphey

Maya Marino

Sophia Hady

Anaiah Sharukh

Kellen Ringland

Andrei Machado

Madalyn Hoop

Lina Rakahmanova

Advisor Seth Fine

The Union St. Journal is the official online and print news source for Cherry Creek High School. We are a student-run publication distributed to the students, faculty, and staff of Creek, and serve as an information source and two-way communication forum for both the school and community. We welcome guest opinion writers. Content does not necessarily represent the views of Cherry Creek High School or the Cherry Creek School District. Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the overall views of The Union St. Journal, CCHS, or CCSD.

Letters to the editor are accepted and can be submitted via email to usj.editorinchief@gmail.org

Letters may be edited for clarity.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

New Universal Preschool Program Falters

Colorado schools have been struggling with the implementation of the program due to a lack of state funding and communication

BY AMANDA CASTILLO-LOPEZ & RUE MINAR News Editor & Staff Writer

Universal Preschool (UPK), implemented for the first time this year, allows all Colorado families to apply for their children of eligible age to attend preschool for at least 15 hours a week for free.

Several school districts, including the Cherry Creek School District (CCSD), are suing the state over issues with the program that include lack of funding and communication.

daughter would be attending preschool. The bill passed and she applied for the program. She didn’t expect to feel guilty about it.

“I wish we could have said, ‘Okay, option to defer,’ and put it back in the pot,” Chapman said.

“Families have struggled to register for preschool...in many cases.”

Cherry Creek Superintendent Christopher Smith

“[Funding] has been the biggest challenge because we didn’t know how much money we were going to get,” Brooke Cunningham, Assistant Director of Early Childhood Education (CCSD’s preschool program,) said.

In April 2022, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the UPK bill (HB 221295) into law.

At the time, English teacher Jenna Chapman cast her vote in support of the program, eager to promote accessible education and hoping to save money in the 2022-2023 school year when her

Families of students who are low income and have one other qualifying factor (which includes having a mandated accommodation, being homeless, being a multi-language learner, or living under foster care) could apply for up to 30 hours of free care under UPK. But due to limited funding, not all families who were promised additional hours can receive it.

Affected families who want their kids to remain in full-time preschool are left to figure out how to pay for the other 15 hours out of their own pockets. For families like Chapman’s, who benefit from the program but don’t depend on it, they might feel like they’re taking hours away from kids with more needs.

The unexpected changes arising from the lack of funding is one of the reasons six school districts in Colorado, includ-

ing CCSD, are filing a lawsuit related to the rollout of UPK.

“Families have struggled to register for preschool and in many cases, families were not matched with appropriate or available preschool programs,” CCSD Superintendent Christopher Smith wrote in a letter sent to families on Aug. 8. “We are concerned the new Universal Preschool program prevents our district and others from serving students and families in the way they deserve and in a way that complies with state and federal law.”

Currently, the district doesn’t recieve information about students, such as if they have IEPs (Individualized Education Program for students who need special education) preventing them from offering them the special education services that are available to them.

“[UPK] is going really well,” Cunningham said. “We’re just afraid that we’re missing some kiddos and not offering them their [Special Education] services because the state won’t let us see the application.”

The Journey Preschool, a standalone site in CCSD, is one of three sites in the district which have intensive needs classrooms, and almost all of the kids enrolled have an IEP. If students want to attend this school using UPK, they have to specifically request to be enrolled. This means the school hasn’t been able to reach as many special needs students as it can provide for.

Despite this challenge, Journey Preschool teacher Ileah Wylie has hope for the future of UPK.

“It’s just a different experience for all of us,” Wylie said. “It’s very new and it can be tricky… but overall the UPK is a good start for something amazing here in a couple years.”

PRESCHOOL FOR ALL: A young child plays with a toy clock in class at the Journey Preschool, a preschool involved in the UPK government-funded program.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

Vape Detectors Installed in Bathrooms

BY PETER PHILPOTT Managing Editor

Creek is fed up with vapers. Administrators are annoyed with fruity-smelling bathrooms, choking smoke, and widespread nicotine addiction, so, they’re doing something. Over the summer, the administration installed vape detectors in assorted bathrooms across the campus.

“I’m hoping kids will choose not to do them in our restrooms,” assistant principal Kevin Uhlig, who led the project, said. “It’s not appropriate to do at school and it’s illegal. We know there’s negative health consequences associated with using tobacco and nicotine.”

According to Uhlig, different detectors have different reactions. Some set off an alarm or a flash, some silently notify the administrators that the sensor had been tripped. “Some of them are a little bit more temperamental than others,” he said. “The company that we bought these from can actually control them remotely and tell if they’re getting too many false positives.”

though, because student vapers can find ways not to trip the detectors. “There’s a thing called zeroing where you just hit [the vape] and then you can hold your breath and all the smoke is gone,” Tanner* said. “[Vaping] is not going to slow down, it’s probably going to pick back up once people realize the sneaky [stuff] you can pull off.”

Tanner* was also worried about false alarms, or if he’s in a bathroom with another vaper. He doesn’t want to be caught, even when he wasn’t vaping.

“I got searched because some kid was hitting his,” Tanner* said. “I don’t know who’s gonna be in there. I don’t know what they’re gonna set off and if that’s gonna bring me to office…and then I get searched, and then I have something, and then I’m in trouble.

“Vaping is not appropriate to do at school and it’s illegal.”

Assitant Principal Kevin Uhlig

Uhlig declined to share the locations or pictures of the detectors. He said they were placed in a “handful” of restrooms.

But by the end of the first quarter, they will be stationed in 20, including eight male, nine female, and three gender neutral restrooms. He pointed out the gender imbalance was purely because of the uneven number of remaining detectors, after taking into account the three gender neutral restrooms.

Some students think it’s a step in a better direction. One vaper, senior Ben Tanner*, whose name has been changed to preserve his anonymity, claimed that administrators and security guards used to check under stall doors when they suspected a student vaping in the bathroom. “I thought peeking under stalls was super invasive,” Tanner* said. “I think having a specific smoke detector is somewhat reasonable.”

He doesn’t think it’ll solve the problem

The detectors, according to Uhlig, might have false alarms from time to time. Some students are worried that they’ll be caught in one.

“If I were to get involved in it, it’d be pretty scary because I don’t vape personally,” junior Addie McWilliams said. “I could get in a lot of trouble for that.”

But if the detector does go off, and it’s not a false alarm, and students are caught, punishment will look similar to other substance abuse consequences.

“The first violation is Saturday school detention which is 9 am to 12 noon,” Uhlig said. “The second violation will be a two day suspension. And you’ll have to work with our school health professional.”

The ‘school health professional’ is Sarah White, a mental health worker who operates at the school and educates students on tobacco and other substance violations.

White wants to make a change in her new position and be able to make a difference for students she works with. “My hope is that I can be a trusted adult to students and to walk alongside them as they navigate their high school careers,” White said. “High school can be so challenging and there are many ways to cope and deal with stressors.”

Uhlig is hoping the new detectors

can lead the school into a school year less ridden with vapes and addiction. “We know there are negative health consequences associated with using tobacco and nicotine,” Uhlig said. “Ultimately, I’m hoping students don’t have to go into bathrooms and see students vaping or smoking.”

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: Admin added signs to doors last year to try to curb vaping. This year, their next step is installing vape detectors.

PHOTO BY PETER PHILPOTT

news bites

Belleview Square Starbucks Closing

BY GABBY SCROCK & PAOLA JUAREZ GONZALEZ Opinions Editor & Club Writer

The Starbucks over on Belleview and Yosemite, a favorite to many at Creek, closed on Oct. 13.

The coffee shop has been a steady presence on Belleview Square for many decades and its sudden closing has affected students, teachers, and admin.

“I’ve been going there for a long time…probably my entire life,” senior Elizabeth Lace said.

Activities Director Kelly Devitt considers the Starbucks a part of the community due to its many interactions with people from Creek.

“We love their baristas...they’ve always been supportive of our students even when they’ve struggled to behave properly there,” Devitt said. “I think it’s a huge loss. It’s somewhere that we as faculty members and staff like to go and take a break before games, before events, and I’m devastated about it.”

On Sept. 22, the store posted a notice outside the front door. The closing was

unexpected for many, especially since the Starbucks was very popular in the shopping center.

As part of his research as a columnist for The Villager, English teacher Michael Mazenko spoke with the property manager of the Belleview location.

“It was her understanding that the lease was up and the parties were unable to come to an agreement,” Mazenko said.

Mazenko reached out to others who might have been involved, such as Greenwood Village city leaders and the Starbucks District Manager, but didn’t get any solid explanation for the closing. The store manager of the Belleview location declined an interview with the USJ.

CCSD Opens New Mental Health Facility

BY BRIANA FLORES Staff Writer

There is a new option in the Cherry Creek School District this year for students struggling with mental health, anxiety, or severe depression leading to suicidal thoughts.

Traverse Academy is a new school being brought to the district in the fall of 2023.

“We wanted this very unique transition wing, where we could slowly transition students back to their home school, while still bringing them to Traverse in

the morning, and helping them acclimate back to their home school,” said Tony Poole, Assistant Superintendent of Special Populations, who had the idea during COVID-19.

Creek’s mental health staff are hopeful that Traverse Academy will help students affected by the mental health crisis.

“We’re all kind of holding our breath, hoping that this is going to be a great thing,” School Psychologist Lisa Geisler said. “I don’t think anyone knows the answer to the crisis we’re having in the country or in the state, so we’re hoping this fills some gaps for us.”

A New Age: Minga

Minga has a calendar students can use to get into school events, where they are rewarded with points.

“Our core of this was to really get kids to go to events and want to be there,”

Activities Director Kelly Devitt said.

Creek employed the Minga app at the start of the 2023 school year, and began to require it for all students. The app has a digital ID for every Bruin, along with an event calendar for registered activities. “It will be another example of our phones driving another thing into obsolescence,” junior Andre Champeau said. “Just one less thing to carry.”

Security staff like Timothy Wright simply hope it will make the campus safer. “With all the catastrophes and everything that are going on in the…United States, it’s just one more way that we can make sure that everybody’s safe on campus,” Wright said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TONY POOLE

INFOGRAPHIC BY PETER PHILPOTT & GILLIAN NEALE

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

features

Herr Ye, Herr Ye: German Teachers Bring In Help To Coach Students

BY ALISA KOVALEVA Staff Writer

German teacher Susanne Smith annually registers students for the Goethe-Institute International German Exam, an official assessment of German abilities recognized by schools and employers worldwide.

After a few years, she realized that there was something unique about Creek students and how they were being taught that led them to score lower on certain areas on the test.

could dedicate time to uphold authentic conversations with students.

17 years ago, before Creek students had started taking the International German exam, Norbert Frueh, a retired engineer whose children had graduated from Creek, approached Smith with the purpose of finding something “mentally” engaging to do in retirement.

“If you’ve only had female teachers, the male voices are difficult [to understand]”

German Teacher

Susanne Smith

On the listening portions of the test, specifically when the speaker was a man, Creek students were consistently receiving lower scores. They even self-reported having trouble understanding male readers or actors. This was simply because the majority of Creek students’ exposure to the German language was from two German-speaking women, then Susanne Smith and Kersten Schultz, and now Susanne Smith and Lauren Kidd.

“If you’ve only had female teachers, the male voices are difficult and if you’ve only had male teachers, the female voices are difficult [to understand,]” Smith said

It comes down to subtle differences in cadence, speaking habits, or even tone and pitch- all of which can shape the way a student perceives a language. Any virtual listening exercises with male speakers weren’t substantial help either, as those actors were instructed to speak in a strictly uniform manner to not confuse students, something that was little help with the conversational tone that the International German Exam uses. Creek needed the help of a German-speaking man who

“So I thought, well, I have this knowledge of German, I’m a native German speaker. I’ll see if the German program wants me to participate in their high school.” Frueh said.

Frueh asked her if he could come around and help around the German department, and Smith was apprehensive, ‘You’re not a teacher, you’re just an engineer.’ Smith said. “I suggested [that we] just try it. Let me come to your class and see how it goes.” Frueh told her. “After that first one, she said, ‘Well, yeah, I want you to come back.’”

After German teachers had recognized the value of Frueh and how he could help Creek

students, he was asked to come in longer, work with more classes, and adopt a more personalized approach with AP students.

It took time to teach a man who had never worked in education how to interact with a class chock full of teenagers, but Frueh and Smith quickly fell into a rhythm that added variety and enrichment to the class.

“Hearing organic German and having a chance to respond to questions on the spot with Herr Frueh seriously improved not only my German fluency, but helped Creek’s national German Exam scores overall,” Senior Rose Chambers said.

He was even nominated for, and won, the “Colorado Friend of Foreign Languages” award. He also helped in writing and distributing resources to teachers all over the country when the German AP exam was changed.

“It’s quite a difference to be with young people. They have different perspectives and they think differently,” Frueh said. “They sometimes speak in riddles.”

HELPING TO LEARN: Retired engineer and German immigrant Norbert Frueh visits German classes to converse with and help students.

PHOTO BY ALISA KOVALEVA

Lo De Hacer Manualidades Es De Nosotros:

BY AMANDA CASTILLO-LOPEZ News Editor

My grandma taught me how to knit when I was ten, then again when I was fourteen, and had forgotten out of lack of practice.

This year, I sheepishly asked her to teach me one more time, promising that this time I’d keep practicing. I haven’t broken my promise, I’ve kept working on an already lopsided looking blanket. But I’d rather be next to her, watching the strange Peruvian game show that we’re super invested in, leaning on her when I’m not sure where the stitches became knots. Her hands work through my mistakes haltingly, but she knits fast. Her eyes never leave the TV screen.

It’s a beautiful craft, peaceful and grounding and yielding a precious result. I treasure the knit hats I receive from my grandma every time I go to Peru.

“When she’s sad, I’ll tell her ‘go make a hat for Amanda,’ then she forgets all about her sadness,” my grandma’s friend and favorite knitting companion Ceci Apaza said in Spanish. “She’ll even forget to eat or drink water. She’s that focused.”

My grandma isn’t the only one who finds solace in fiber art. The COVID-19 pandemic instigated a globally felt anxiety at the face of an uncertain future, and many turned to crafting as a way of put-

ting themselves at ease, especially without having the support they were used to before quarantine.

“I think I started crocheting during the pandemic,” Natalie Yon (’23) said. “I was really isolated and kind of bored, so I just looked up a YouTube video ‘how to crochet.’”

Yon along with many other teenagers started crocheting or knitting to fill the extra free time they never expected to have. Some started posting their creations online, initiating the impressive increase of young creators involved in the craft.

This change has redefined needlework as an activity that isn’t only reserved for elderly women knitting away in their rocking chairs, but it’s also for teenagers who listen to their favorite podcast while they customize their outfit for the next concert they’re going to - like senior Nora Basler, who crocheted her own top for Louis Tomlinson’s concert this summer after being inspired by a Pinterest post.

Basler crochets sporadically, really just whenever she has a project in mind. The accessibility of resources to learn the craft have especially motivated her to continue crocheting after her initial bout of curiosity.

“I remember I crocheted for the first time and just whipped out a hat,” Basler said. “I think that’s what inspired me to crochet

IN HER YOUTH: My grandma poses for a photo in Peru at 26 years old. Her childhood mainly consisted of providing for her family by working as a glorified maid for her uncle and eventually becoming a seamstress.

more because I was like: ‘Oh, I can actually be productive with crochet.’”

Now, Basler watches YouTube videos to help her start a project, but ultimately customizes the piece to be her own. Yon, currently a student in the fashion design program at Colorado State University, finds that this aspect of crochet has inspired her to be more experimental with the pieces she makes.

“I’d like to get to a point where I could be more brave with those artistic choices and maybe oriented more towards fashion,” Yon said.

Sophomore Leila Wallen, on the other hand, is mostly drawn to knitting because of her family’s passion. Her room is filled with colorful artifacts, from blankets to wall decorations, crafted by her mom, grandma, and great grandmother.

“I have watched all the women in my life make things, and I thought that was beautiful,” Wallen said. “So I wanted to try it myself.”

I find myself deeply relating to Wallen. I have a special drawer filled with hats my grandma has knit for me, dozens of them, many of which I’ve now outgrown. They’re not only special to me because they’re created out of love, but because the woman who made them has been supporting my future for longer than

How Knitting Brings Generations Together

I’ve been alive. Part of that effort has been through crafting.

Romula Eusebia Escobar, my grandmother, moved from a village in Ayacucho to Lima when she was nine years old. She went to school while working for her uncles as an honorary maid, but eventually, she was forced to enter the workforce as a seamstress two years before graduating secondary school to pay for her siblings to move in with her.

“I worked in this large factory called Confecciones Carolina. There they gave me the measurements for everything I had to make,” Romula said in Spanish. “I would go to work at the factory and then I’d go home and continue working through the night.”

My grandma’s always been toughshe was competitive in school though she was splitting her time between several responsibilities. Even though she never got a degree, she was adamant about supporting her children’s education. The best way she could do that was through her artistry, providing for a family of eight kids by working as a seamstress while her husband sold clothes.My mom remembers her favorite room in the house: her mom’s “taller de costura.” She remembers sitting under one of the tables listening to the whirring of the sewing machine and the jokes traded between my grandma and her workers. The noise was alluring. It became the noise of their home, and thus, a source of comfort and joy for my mom

and her siblings.

“It was our favorite place to do our homework because there was always so much noise,” my mom said. “The girls my mom hired were young; they always listened to music and told many jokes and stories about their lives.”

My grandma lives with Ceci, who cares for her and for the house. Ceci’s family lives in Juliaca, Puno, a small village near the Andes. She never got the chance to get a formal education. She learned how to knit along with all of her siblings to sell their pieces for a profit. That was their only source of income for many years.

I am in awe of them both: two women whose hands have artfully crafted a future for their families.

“When I was eight, my mom taught me [how to knit] so I could help her, because we lived off of that,” Ceci said in Spanish. I talked to her over the phone while she was visiting Juliaca. I could hear barking and the sound of kids laughing in the background while she told me how knitting was a communal activity in her household. “Here, we all used to sit and talk while knitting,” she said.

Now, she’s my grandma’s knitting companion and teacher. I am in awe of them both: two women whose hands have artfully crafted a future for their families.

I can trace back my passion for learning to my grandmother, as well as my sporadic attempts at art. I was talking to my mom’s cousin, Edith Escobar Montoya, about how I decorate my room with little crafts and doo-

dles I make out of a moment of inspiration. She laughed and told me it’s in my blood.

Edith gave me a brief history of crafters from our family. My mom’s grandpa wove baskets and Edith’s grandparents wove wicker chairs. I know from my own experience that my uncle is an exceptional artist - the walls of his apartment are his largest canvas. Edith herself crochets clothes for her pets and makes dolls to sell and as gifts for friends and family. I have one of her crocheted Spider-Mans hanging from my rearview mirror. My mom, my aunt, my cousins - many of them find joy in the art they practice as a hobby.

“Lo de hacer manualidades es de nosotros,” she said. In English: making crafts is ours.

She may have only been referring to crafts, but I was struck by the word ours. I’d like to think that everyone in my family has inherited some of my grandmother’s spirit. Her determination, her passion, and, most of all, her devotion to her family.

There are times I feel very separated from her - from everyone in my family who lives miles and miles away from Colorado. But the thing about missing someone is that it’s not a passive action. It’s a thought that follows you in your dreams and in your writing. It’s a feeling that becomes your art if you let it.

That’s part of why I want to get better at knitting. It’s like a part of me is reaching out to that nine year old girl, my abuelita, who was already set on giving as much of herself to her family as she could. A part of me is telling her that her love means everything to me. And that I love her too.

ANOTHER SEWING ROOM: During quarantine, I sewed together masks to donate. My mom was always by my side to teach me and fix my mistakes. She’d learned from hours spent in my grandma’s taller de costura, observing and mending her own clothing.

BY HER SIDE: We would always knit together whenever she came over to visit, which was fairly often when I was younger. Now, though our visits are more sparse, we still make time to knit by each other’s side.

“That’s What My Grandparents Did”

BY ALEX GRIBB Editor-in-Chief

Jewish

Students

Forced

to Adapt to Antisemitism in Schools and Beyond

PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONBY PETER PHILPOTT

“I was just speechless,” Tammi Gitin said.

Gitin, a parent of a Campus middle school student last year, was reacting to an image she saw on Facebook. The picture was grainy, and taken near a set of Campus Middle School’s stairs. It showed two students with swastikas drawn in purple and blue marker on their arms and legs.

Rikki Mor, a parent of Creek students, saw it too.

fore the event.

“So then we had to start watching it online. But it wasn’t as effective as being in person. And right after that, we had to do a bunch of activities,” freshman Stephen Baker*, whose name has been changed to protect his safety, said.

In that classroom, a handful of students weren’t paying attention, and opted to play shooting games and shout out German words instead.

“Its happening in 2023, where jews are hiding who they are out of fear.”

“I had just had enough. I posted about it on Facebook. It turned into close to 100 comments about just how upset people were to hear those things. People had similar experiences,” Mor said.

Parent Rikki Mor

“One family said the antisemitism and harassment is so constant that the mom has told her children not to tell anyone they are Jewish,” Mor wrote in a letter to the district signed by more than 250 people.

Mor shared many of these comments, along with other parents, to the School Board.

Some of the comments said:

“Holocaust b****”

“Leave the school, Jew” “Kanye was right.”

Many of the parents shared how they told their kids to not wear their Star of David necklaces to school.

“That’s what my great-grandparents did,” Mor said. “It’s happening in 2023, where Jews are hiding who they are out of fear.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL,) reported antisemitic incidents on school campuses have increased 36% in 2 years. And CCSD is no exception.

Before the image was taken, Campus Middle School students were meant to be watching a video educating them on the Holocaust. A Holocaust survivor was scheduled to speak, but became sick be-

But not all antisemitism is this bold.

“I think antisemitism gets swept under the rug. A lot of antisemitism isn’t negative comments. ‘Jews own the media,’ ‘Jews have a lot of money,’” Mor said. “A lot of the antisemitic comments aren’t derogatory.”

Still, these stereotypes are incredibly harmful, as they use arguments that are tied to Propaganda, which has pitted people against Jews throughout history.

Gitin, who works as a roaming sub at High Plains Elementary (HPE), has seen how Jewish students can feel excluded in school. Her son, who went to HPE and was a member of their student government, was prevented from participation.

“My son was president [of the student government.] The very first meeting was set to happen on Yom Kippur. The very first election was on Rosh Hashanah. You’re having an election that’s supposed to include the student body but you’re having it on a day when all the Jewish students aren’t there?” she said.

this trip to Poland, and Israel and I visited all these concentration camps, and really kind of immersed myself in that experience. And I told myself, ‘I’m not gonna let these jokes slide anymore.’”

This switch came after years of brushing off antisemitic comments.

“I didn’t want to make a big deal. Even though now I realize that it actually is a big deal. And I kind of just brushed it off. I didn’t really know what to say,” he said.

Baker* has also felt a pressure to teach his peers.

“I feel like a lot of the time it’s easier to just ignore it and not make it known that you’re Jewish, and just not teach it because there’s so many people that don’t know,” he said.

But why were Jewish students feeling the need to educate other students?

According to Gitin, her children weren’t truly taught about Jewish history. “I know that my daughter read ‘Number the Stars’ by Lois Lowry. I felt like the teachers weren’t given the resources to really teach about the Holocaust.”

Instead, these teachers focused more on comprehension, as opposed to Jewish history.

Baker* recalls a similar lack of education. “We learned a little bit about the Romanovs. And there was a bit about pogroms, which were against Jews, but we didn’t really touch on that,” he said.

“I feel like a lot of the times it’s easier to just ignore it and not make it known that you’re Jewish,”

Stephen Baker*

These actions truly impact the people they attack, especially when they mock an event as horrific as the Holocaust.

“It makes me feel scared or uncomfortable in that situation,” senior Leader of Jewish Student Connection Nitai Oesterle said. “This past summer, I went on

Pogroms, which are riots with the intent to massacre an ethnic or religious group, were mentioned in the book “The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia,” which Baker* read in the eighth grade.

Starting last year, Campus worked with the ADL for a No Place for Hate week.

During this week, students were shown another video, this time during advisory. But for Baker*, it didn’t feel engaging.

“Watching it in a video during an advisory with kids fooling around isn’t very

For Gitin, and a number of other parents, this level of teaching is not enough.

“If these kids had more education, they wouldn’t choose to continue anti-semitic remarks and Nazi symbols. I have a very hard time thinking that these kids that hear Kanye West and all this propaganda, if they knew deep down the real meaning of all these hateful signs and symbols, I believe kids would choose to not go that route,” Gitin said.

“And I say, unfortunately, because we like to address things, academically and restoratively, but we have to also send a very, very strong message that that’s not acceptable.”

“I think admin needs to have consitent, across the board ramifications.”

Parent Rikki Mor

But teaching isn’t all that Mor is pushing for.

“I think admin needs to have consistent, across the board ramifications,” she said.

Campus has implemented policies designed to curb the repetition of antisemitism. “We’re going to start of course, unfortunately, with a punitive measure,” Campus Middle School Principal Lisa Staal said.

Mor’s letter to the school board included a number of requests, one of which was the creation of a task force to address this epidemic.

“[The task force] kind of being a conduit between the community and the school district,” Mor said. “Part of it is to provide resources that the district may not be aware of, like education, speakers, holocaust survivors.”

One of the actions taken by the district was to have a speaker give a historical presentation of antisemitism to 500 faculty members from Creek, Campus, and West.

“I think for some people that was helpful for them to see the history of antisemitism, and to see how it has been part of our world in different ways, and really how you could

apply that to even other things that we’re seeing like immigration [and] slavery,” Principal Ryan Silva said. “Maybe some of the parts that are next steps are, ‘So what should be done to prevent this increase that we’ve seen?’ That was not an emphasis that day.”

The task force met the speaker at their second meeting.

“I did say to that, it’s too bad that you didn’t have this for elementary school teachers,” Gitin said.

For Mor and Gitin, these presentations, that are going to be extended district wide, are a step in the right direction.

But antisemitism isn’t starting in schools.

“This is a societal problem. Can we completely eradicate hate? I’d like to think so. But in order to do that, we need allies and advocates,” Staal said. “And so as much as we are doing, and I feel like we’re doing a lot, there’s never enough that can be done. Because as long as hate exists, the work is there.”

U.S Sees Sharp Rise In Antisemitic Incidents

From 2021 to 2022

Over the course of 2022, there were 3,697 reported antisemitic incidents, including assault, bomb threats, organized white supremacy, and others.

Pop Culture Invites Surge of Antisemitism

BY PETER PHILPOTT Managing Editor

It goes without saying that X (formerly Twitter), has gone through some changes since tech billionaire Elon Musk took the wheel, changes that are not just limited to its name.

But since the change in ownership, many have criticized Musk for becoming overly lax on community moderation, particularly in the sphere of antisemitism and white supremacy.

“On [X], you can find anything,” said sophomore Scott Weiner, a member of the Jewish Student Connection club (JSC), who has claimed to go through a lot of hate at Creek for his religious traditions and beliefs. “Many far-right people have gone on there and started just blasting all their beliefs.”

Weiner noticed that the difference in community moderation is clear when X is compared to other sites, like Instagram and Tiktok. “It is because of Elon Musk just repealing every single restriction there,” Weiner said.

similar clubs to the JSC all around the state.

“It’s definitely a source of community,” Khan said. “About a third of the students are not Jewish, which is amazing for us as a way to build allyship.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a nonprofit focused on fighting against antisemitism nationwide, has been involved in other ways at Creek; they lead the “No Place for Hate” movement. The mountain states (Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming) regional office, lead by Scott Levin, has been particularly involved around schools recently.

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of incidents that occur. Among the ones that we see these days are the painting of swastikas on either walls or equipment or on people,” Levin said. “There’s also the things that people say and do toward each other.”

On Sept. 5, 2023, Musk threatened to sue the ADL after claiming that the organization accused him and the platform of antisemitism.

“Many far-right people have gone on [X] and started just blasting all their beliefs.”

According to Weiner, the heat of the antisemitic debate peaked with a controversial Kanye West tweet, where West said he would go “[def]con 3 on Jewish people.” West has also claimed, not just limited to that tweet, that he couldn’t be antisemitic because “black people are actually Jew[ish].”

Sophomore Scott Weiner

After the statement, a pro-Jewish activism campaign titled X Out Hate responded in a public letter, signed by a group of rabbis and other Jewish leaders. The letter accused X of becoming a “breeding ground for some of the most dangerous antisemitic discourse in America,” and singled out Musk as the key figure responsible.

Weiner remembered the JSC meeting after the tweet was published and went viral. “When it happened, Kanye was one of the main things we talked about. A lot of my Jewish friends are fans of Kanye, even my brother,” Weiner said. “I do not like Kanye at all. I was kind of a fan of his music, but now I barely listen to it.”

In the JSC club, Jewish students have the chance to discuss topics of activism, tradition, and antisemitism in the world of Judaism, from injustice at home to global matters. The sponsor, Michael Kahn, is a member of the nonprofit Jewish Colorado, which runs

Levin detailed the trouble the ADL has had while handling issues that spread online. “A challenge that we have these days is that with social media, there’s a megaphone that’s out there,” Levin said. “The problem that we have is that the power of celebrity is really far reaching with all the followers that they have.”

According to Levin, popular figures like Musk and West have a far greater influence than their words; he said it made it easier to be naturally antisemitic in daily life. “Pop culture, being as it is, is amplified through social media these days so easily,” Levin said. “It does work in a very negative way to normalize not just antisemitism, but also racism and homophobia.”

Levin also cited the hidden harm in memes like Pepe the frog and Bart Simpson.

What do students have to say about the

What do students have to say about the

Jewish Student

Connections Club?

“JSC brings the Jewish people at our school together and gives them a place to celebrate their culture with their friends.”

-Sophomore Scott Weiner

“The club [is] a fun get-together once a week where all Jewish or non-Jewish students can come to learn about Judaism, feel comfortable being Jewish, meet Jewish students, get free food, and kick back, relax, and have fun.”

-Senior Nitai Oesterle

“JSC teaches students about Israelí culture and what Judaism means to different people.”

-Sophomore Daniel Roitman

INFOGRAPHIC BY PETER PHILPOTT

“Neither ...were originally designed to be anything other than funny characters,” he said. “But they can get adopted by some of these extremists and used in really awful ways.”

An important question that students like Weiner have questioned is whether to consider those online jokes funny, or more importantly, whether to support products that profit figures like West or Musk.

“It would be antisemitic to buy a Volkswagen in 1939 because now you’re just putting more money in Nazi Germany,” Weiner said. “I don’t stand for putting money in their pockets…And that’s why I don’t really listen to Kanye’s music at all.”

Levin claimed that in this time, filled with rising antisemitism, support for Jews and organizations like the ADL is ever more important. “The Anti-Defamation League has had the same mission, since it was founded 110 years ago, which is both to stop antisemitism and to secure justice and fair treatment to all,” Levin said. “If we are going to make the world better for any one of us, we’ve got to make it better for all of us.”

QUINN RUDNICK

Junior Editor-in-Chief & Sports Editor

For the first time, Creek has introduced an all-female ice hockey team to this year’s sports roster.

Held during the fall season, the team is Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) verified and will compete in the Colorado Prep Hockey League (CPHL) alongside schools like Chatfield, Monarch, and Castle View. For most players, the team creates an opportunity they haven’t experienced before; playing for their school.

“I definitely like high school hockey better than club hockey,” senior forward Camryn Wagner (#9) said. “I feel like people take it a lot more seriously, there’s a higher level of play, [and] also many more opportunities for development.”

The process to start the team began in April, when Creek hockey staff members like Jeff Mielnicki, Executive Director of Hockey Operations and varsity boys’ hockey head coach and Lauren Gunter, who became the girls’ head coach after the team was finalized, worked to create the team from the ground up.

“It is kind of a heavy weight to be the first coach of the first team in the first season,” Gunter said. “There’s a lot of ‘everything’s going to be built on what we do this season.’ So while it’s a heavy weight, it also seems like such an awesome opportunity to do it well, and that’s why I was just so excited to be involved in such a huge way early on.”

For most of the team, including coaches and staff, hockey has been a key part of how they grew up, making the inaugural season more important. Throughout the season, Gunter has been working to spark that same feeling in young hockey players that she experienced when she was in second grade.

“There was a group of high school girls that came to my school, from the high school team, and told us about [hockey] and how fun it was… and said, ‘Hey, we play hockey. Girls can play hockey too.’ And I was like, ‘I’m quitting cheerleading. I want to go, this sounds way more fun,’” she said.

Gunter also recognizes the increase

in funding and resources for girls’ hockey through the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA,) which works to grow hockey’s presence in Colorado through various fundraisers. This year, Creek’s hockey teams have partnered with the Colorado Avalanche and CAHA to spark interest in hockey for young girls.

“I feel like there’s so many more resources in Colorado than were available when I was a kid,” Gunter said. “We have support from CAHA and the Avalanche to be able to go out and provide these kinds of days where girls can try the game in an environment that’s not competitive or scary.”

Nationwide, there are only 211 high school girls’ hockey teams, and 698 men’s teams. There are 59 girls’ teams in Colorado, and of that only two are in CCSD, Creek and Eaglecrest.

Creek players view the new team as an opportunity to introduce more hockey to the district, and advance the recognition girls receive in hockey.

consistent improvement from our players and team chemistry is improving,” assistant coach Corey Wagner said. “Our players are competing and working hard in every game.”

Gunter has also focused on helping the team develop hockey-based interests outside of just game play. She has worked to foster players’ interests in careers like sports psychology and medicine by helping players network and begin researching possible career paths.

“I feel that it’s my job as their coach to help them pursue these endeavors, whatever it may look like,” Gunter said. “Being a good resource for my players is really important to me so that whatever that they want to go into, I have a person or multiple people and a network I can plug them into to be able to help get them there.”

“We have an abundance of young talent that is learning so much from the seniors, and they’re also standout players on the ice.”

Head Coach

“This team is an awesome opportunity to grow the game of hockey to girls all around,” Camryn Wagner said.

Lauren Gunter

To further increase the availability of women’s hockey, Creek opened up the team to other schools in and out of the district. Few schools in the CCSD have a dedicated girls’ hockey team, so players have begun to join developing teams.

“I like being able to play for Creek,” senior center Kinsley Tritz (#13) said over text interview. “I go to Arapahoe so when people ask me what team I play on, they think I’m crazy, but I love it!

Unlike most high school sports teams, winning is not what Gunter wants. Developing a team culture, building up positive relationships, and creating leadership has remained the team’s main goal throughout the season.

“We are encouraged by what we have seen from our team. We are seeing

The players recognize how much of an impact Gunter has had on the team, whether through her efforts to build a positive team culture or working to develop individual talents.

“Coach Lauren is amazing, I love her,” Tritz said. “She’s so positive and gives everyone a good amount of ice time. I also think she handles things very well. For this being her first year as a head coach, she’s doing amazing.”

Despite strong team chemistry, most of the players are multi-sport athletes, making it more difficult for coaches to schedule practices and games.

“With many of our players being multi-sport athletes,” Corey said, “We look forward to the winter portion of the season to have all of our team at our practices and games more regularly.”

The whole team has welcomed the opportunity to bring more recognition to women in hockey and develop a strong girls’ team for Creek.

“This team means so much to me, I love all the girls on the team and I am so glad I got to meet them,” Tritz said. “I am so excited to watch girls’ high school hockey grow.”

CELEBRATE: Eaglecrest senior forward Sammy Brennan

celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during a game against Chatfield on Sept. 16.

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

CREEK WELCOMES FIRST EVER GIRLS’ HOCKEY TEAM

(#26)

Creek lost 4-2.

Softball Welcomes New Coach, Sees Shift In Team Culture

BY AVERY HUTCHINS Asst. Sports Editor

Creek’s varsity softball team has seen a new coach every season for the past three years.

Without a consistent coach, the team has been through a rough stretch, and has not seen a winning season since their 2018-19 one.

Abby Marlow was one of the assistant coaches during the 2022-23 season, and took over as head coach this year. She plans to improve the team’s culture and lead them to a playoff spot.

“Her coaching style shows us that she’s determined to improve the team and pushes us to be the best we can be,” senior catcher Violet Strand said over text interview. “She supports us tremendously and does a great job handling her position as a young coach.”

Marlow is fitting in well so far, but it’s always tough to form brand new relationships with a team. In order to help Marlow adjust to the team, seniors are helping build team morale.

“[The seniors] have probably had the most coaches out of everybody on the team,” junior catcher Sydney Berry said. “They adjusted pretty well and helped a lot of the younger kids, especially me. It was just really nice to have a sense of community with them.”

Help from experienced seniors is extremely beneficial to new coaches, and working with them help Marlow form bonds with players, learning their personalities both on and off the field.

“Creek softball has been in need of a culture change, and I could not have done that without my seniors this year,” Marlow said. “They are so talented in so many different ways, I could not ask for a better senior class. They are setting the new standard for years to come.”

With the help of these seniors and the team, Marlow is looking to change the way Creek softball operates and make a lasting change on the program.

CELEBRATION PREP: Sophomore shortstop

Anastasia Shelvovich (#25) cheers on the team during a huddle for a game against Grandview on Sept. 18. Creek lost 15-4.

fans to come support our games, and follow through on that excitement. The players have been doing a good job already around campus, and we have seen a lot more attendance than we have in the past.”

The team started off strong before hitting a rough patch and dropping 7 of their last 9 games, finishing 5th in the Centennial League. Despite this, the team has continued to bond throughout the season.

“They have this crazy talent that I am not sure they even understand, that is so good, and it’s fun to watch.”

Varsity

Head Coach Abby Marlow

“Marlow wants to build a strong, positive culture within the program. I would say our team has a great bond and we all get along very well,” Strand said. “[We have] a positive and encouraging culture with an emphasis on women supporting women.”

Marlow also wants to increase popularity for the sport at Creek.

“[We want] to make the softball program more known at Creek,” Marlow said. “We want to increase attendance at games, excite

“I think that the girls are in a different mindset this year and realize that they are playing for each other,” Marlow said. “I have tried to also help them realize that they need to have more of a winner’s mentality.”

Marlow knows they have been through a rough couple of years, and she wants them to reach their full potential.

“I am constantly reminding the players that I will never count them out of a game, no matter the score,” Marlow said. “They have this crazy talent that I am not sure they even understand, that is so good, and it’s fun to watch.”

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

Doja Cat’s “Scarlet” Belongs in the Litter Box

BY KATYA ROUDAKOV

A&E Editor & Design Editor

My first memory of Doja Cat is her viral song “MOOO!” and its green-screen cow-themed music video. My, how far we’ve come.

For a brief period, Doja was a respected, up-and-coming artist — Grammy-winning and record-breaking — but she’s fallen from grace before even reaching her peak. A stark shift in persona left her fans feeling alienated and attacked, and she traded her pop sound for darker hip-hop in her newest album “Scarlet.”

Released Sep. 22, Doja promised “Scarlet” to be a dark, experimental album: the masses took this to mean demonic, even Satanist. She embraced this in just about all aspects, humiliating dedicated fans on Threads (Meta’s Twitter), shaving and bleaching her hair, and getting tattoos of traditionally Satanic figures. Clearly, she was desperate to escape the image of herself known to the world.

But “Scarlet” is lackluster, and audacious in all of the wrong ways. Nearly every song contains some sort of monetary flex and follows the structure of any basic hip hop track. Short, off putting instrumental loops, largely static flows, and gratingly high-pitched singing don’t do her any favors, either.

A few of the tracks are catchy, and it’s clear why they were picked to be the lead singles. “Attention,” undoubtedly, is a good song. Earworm “Paint The Town Red” has all the qualities of a viral hit and more. But when you look a little deeper, the rest of the album is just regurgitated versions of the themes hit on in those two songs: disinterest in fame, excessive wealth, and being content in her relationship.

It gets old quickly. There are a few exceptions, though. Most notably, “Love Life”

seems to contain an apology for her fans, though it’s buried in a heap of vain-feeling gratitude. “I know I’ve had a temper before, but still y’all don’t quit,” she raps, continuing “I understand the cause and effect now / like dog-eat-dog and cat-eat-fish.” It’s a warm sentiment, yet still somehow reeks of ignorance, and seems to lack a genuine appreciation for the fans that gave her the life she loves so much.

In July, Doja and some of her biggest fans, self-dubbed “Kittenz,” had fiery interactions on Threads. “[Y]ou need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house,” Doja wrote in a long-deleted post, firing back at fans that defended themselves by claiming “I don’t even know ya’ll [sic].” She criticized their fixation on her to the point that multiple well-established fan accounts deactivated. Understandably, people were upset. Of course, she deserves privacy, and she never would’ve been successful without endlessly hard work, but claiming that her fans had zero involvement and are wasting their time is outrageous.

An obsessive, chronically online fanbase watching your every move is the greatest marker of success for the celebrity of today, whether or not Doja wants to accept it. The people who run accounts for her, run up the streams, start TikTok trends to her music — they’re the direct cause of the indulgent lifestyle she spends her entire album bragging about. Frankly, it’s infuriating.

Especially when you consider that these die-hard fans are the ones that stayed when most everyone else turned. Her demonic “possession” was clearly an orchestrated stunt to try to loosen up her image; that makes complete sense. She doesn’t want to be type cast into bubblegum pop for the rest of her career.

But that stunt repulsed millions, and it was so obviously performative that it only makes her seem more entitled.

If she actually cared about breaking out of the system, about just being an artist, there were a million better ways to do it. A surprise drop. A social media blackout. No tour. Anything would have been better than dogging on her most loyal fans in an extremely public forum and adopting an ungrateful, petulant persona. When combined with the lyrics off “Scarlet,” her real motives are easy to unveil.

It’s money. It’s all just money. Any publicity is good publicity, and I’d bet that thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people streamed “Scarlet” to see if any of it was real at all (myself included).

There may be no morals left in the music industry, but they’re still alive in fanbases, scavenging around wastelands of greed and corruption. Maybe Doja thought no one would care, or maybe that people would appreciate her crudeness, that most people are as debauched as she is. But we aren’t, and she has half a million less Instagram fol

Don’t Get Too Cozy

Though they’re fun to watch, these characters reveal problematic patterns in on screen female role models

Bella Swan: Immature, Selfish, Unaware

BY MADALYN HOOP Staff Writer

As autumn peeks in from right around the corner, the season of “Twilight” and its dreadful main character Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) sneaks in behind it.

As the movie starts, her depressing and un-inspiring words infect the minds of everyone watching.

Stephanie Meyer, author of the “Twilight” saga, did an astounding job writing this series — name a more suspenseful love triangle than the one between Bella Swan, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

Twilight shows just how deep love can go with the right person, through Bella and Edward. But also, it shows that you should not have to fight for someone who wouldn’t do the same for you. She cared about Edward

way too much and sacrificed herself so many times, just to see a hallucination of him telling her to be safe. She is insane and immature and she acts like she has never been taught any form of safety or self-preservation.

Bella is an ungrateful and unmannered girl who doesn’t say thank you once after being saved, bought dinner, and driven home by Edward.

She’s annoying, selfish, and beyond unaware. She keeps those lousy headphones in while she’s in the parking lot on a rainy day, she pepper sprays a vampire, and she even hops on two different motorbikes just to “feel something”’ She relies on Edward way too much, acting like he’s the only person in the world that could ever love her.

She’s a great example of who we should all strive not to be.

One of her only semi-redeeming qualities is her attitude towards friends and family. She’s protective, which is good, but she needs to

realize that she’s taking care of everyone else’s problems while ne glecting her own. Bella causes more work for other people by trying to solve the bigger problems all on her own.

But, if you focus on the entertainment value and not Bella’s character, “Twilight” is undeniably enjoyable.

We see Bella do what she does, and we cringe, but as long as we remember that “Twilight” is a fantasy movie, and that these people are all fictional, it gets pretty easy to watch.

Rory Gilmore: Perfectionist, Crybaby, Unrealistic

BY SOPHIA HADY Staff Writer

School’s started, fall is upon us, and everyone is obsessing over the god-awful study inspiration that is Rory Gilmore.

“Gilmore Girls” is an incredible, heartwarming show that radiates fall festivity, but Rory’s effect on teen girls is incredibly damaging.

I myself have fallen victim to the Rory Gilmore mentality. Throughout middle school, all I ever wanted was to have “perfect” grades like Rory. I ended up being too hard on myself. I constantly felt like a failure if I didn’t understand a topic or forgot a homework assignment. I’ve always been a perfectionist, but Rory’s effect managed to make it worse.

Those who romanticize her and her aesthetic also idealize her perfectionist mindset. As someone who tries to be flawless like Rory, I can say that it’s miserable, and not something that should be romanticized in the media.

Rory also encourages other unhealthy habits: she says in the first season that she would rather get an A on a final than sleep. Though this should be taken as a joke, it still promotes a harmful idea.

Rory also grew up knowing nothing but

praise, so when faced with any sort of negative critique, she spirals into an existential crisis. In season five, after a mentor criticizes her journalistic abilities, Rory drops out of Yale and steals a yacht. She could’ve just cried for 30 minutes or done anything else remotely normal, but no, she had to be extra, drop out of an Ivy League, and commit theft.

There is an important line to draw between healthy study habits and fictional, unattainable ones: people need to take Rory with a grain of salt.

Her fictional perfection appears to be achievable — if you bend over backwards, sacrifice your sleep schedule, and develop an extreme dependence on academic validation. Instead, people should develop study habits and find inspiration that fits their mental health and personal needs, not try to fit into the mold of a perfectionist cry-baby.

USJ Recommends: Fall Favorites

BY KATYA ROUDAKOV A&E Editor & Design Manager

Music

The Shepherd’s Dog - Iron and Wine

The holy grail of folk. You could spend hours breaking down every lyric, but it’s more fun to listen, drink tea, and bask in warm, acoustic satisfaction.

Movies

Meg Ryan, sweaters. Jazzy soundtrack, New York bookstore. This is peak ’90s rom-com, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a movie more comforting. You’ve Got Mail

Food

This inoffensive honey cake is an Eastern European classic, and will make for a perfect break from the regular fall dessert rotation. Medovik

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? - The Zombies

Look beyond the TikTok hits and you’ll know why this is such a lauded alt-rock debut record: it’s rich with haunting vocals and evocative arrangements.

Hilarious, entertaining: all of the charm of old-fashioned accents and mansions. They don’t make characters like this anymore. And there’s murder! Clue

It’s versatile, it’s warm, it’s chewy — there’s nothing gnocchi can’t do. Drown it in sauce or sear it on a pan. Do whatever you want. Just eat more gnocchi. Gnocchi

Students Recommend

Dylan Jones (‘24)

River Jordan (’27)

Emily Jennings (’26)

Thriller - Michael Jackson

The Bus Ride Home

Girls

face constant harrassment on school buses

BY SOPHIA HADY Staff Writer

Ifeel uneasy as I board the bus each day.

I know what happens every time. Catcalling. Slurs. My instincts tell me to run or “accidentally” miss the bus just so I don’t have to experience hell for 15 minutes. Thousands of students board a bus everyday, and on those, students are being sexually harassed, bullied, and experiencing other violating treatments. Yet, Creek has little to no regulations on buses to protect students.

Everyday that I ride my bus suggestive comments are made. The revolting words about what the guys want to do with the girls on the bus make my stomach churn. On one ride, two boys made jests about pedophilia. On another they joked about rape. The boys continued to sexually harass the girls for weeks.

laugh and continue to say another horrendous thing. On the rare occasion they do say sorry for their actions, those apologies were insincere and used as damage control so administration wouldn’t get involved.

According to the Rape, Abuse, and incest National Network, an organization dedicated to ending sexual violence, the effects of sexual harassment can include both mental issues such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD, but also physical symptoms like headaches, increased stress, sleep disturbance. These side effects change the victims’ everyday life and can make it feel unbearable to live.

Not only is sexual harassment prominent on buses, but so is bullying, including a wide variety of physical harassment, verbal berating, and even calling people slurs.

The most disturbing part of this is that the perpetrators treat it as a joke, and expect the victim to simply laugh it off.

“They’ll say stuff to [girls] that are very questionable and definitely classify as verbal sexual harassment,” freshman Emma Medlock said.

Medlock says the boys talked about buying condoms and taking explicit pictures with a freshman girl. Medlock claims this is one of the less graphic comments made. Even though the comment wasn’t directed at Medlock, she still remembers being very uncomfortable.

These disgusting remarks make everyone uncomfortable, in turn creating a hostile environment.

The harassment and fear continues off the buses with many girls fearing they may be followed home. I had to walk a friend of mine to her moms car because she was terrified that the boys who had been harassing the entire bus ride would follow her home.

The most disturbing part of this is that the perpetrators treat it as a joke, and expect the victim to simply laugh it off. After guys make sickening “jokes” they simply

I myself have experienced some bullying on my bus due to being a “ginger.” People make comments that feel so degrading. This created a deep desire to dye my hair. I begged my parents to let me be a brunette, or blond: anything but a redhead. These comments lead to me being overly insecure

The bullying comes mainly from comments, but in some circumstances, it can be physical.

“[A senior] took this kid’s phone while [another senior] forced him down and they texted all the girls on his phone asking to go to homecoming,’’ an anonymous freshman source said.

Not only is this a form of physical harassment, because they were pushing the kid down, but also incredibly humiliating for the student. He was not only being bullied in front of his entire bus, which can be mortifying, but he was also facing embarrassment outside the bus.

That sounds like a scenario out of my nightmares. Having to face public disgrace is many high school students’ worst fear. So when that fear comes true on the bus almost everyday it can affect a student’s mental health. According to the National Institutes of Medicine humiliation can be a factor in self harm and suicide and the most common stress inducer for teenagers.

On one bus ride home my phone was

snatched right from my hands. Unfortunately, it was unlocked so the thieves had the ability to look through my phone. After the ride they kept my phone until I pried it out of their hands. I was scared that they would steal my phone again, so now I rarely bring my phone out on the bus, and when I do I hold it down so people can’t grab it.

Many others have experienced this annoying treatment. Although it isn’t as harmful as bullying and harassment, they still contribute to creating an unsafe and unbearable environment.

But many of these incidents are not reported by drivers because they simply don’t know what’s happening. They’re mainly focused on getting students safely from one location to another, and can’t be expected to pay attention to both the road, traffic, and the students.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

Another factor that prevents bus drivers from knowing that these awful things are happening is the length of the bus. The bus drivers are at the very front and the problems are in the very back. Buses are around 40 feet long, so drivers are left unaware of the unethical behaviors of students. The behaviors they are aware of are trivial compared to what actually happens.

“There is a little more freedom for kids to get up and walk around when they shouldn’t,”

CCSD driver Devin Monasmith said.

“I would like to see the school communicate more with the kids,” Hansen said. “Everything that happens, whether a behavioral issue, or a safety issue, or a communication issue is always reported through a report or directly with my immediate supervisor, but after that I don’t know how or if it gets back to parents,”

“If there was love and kindness towards everyone on the bus it would be a wonderful ride.”

Bus Driver Devin Monasmith

While there is very little control of the bus while in motion, there are ways to improve the issues that arise on the bus.

According to Ken Hanstein, a CCSD driver for 10 years, improving communication between administration, drivers, and students would significantly improve safety.

Students are also responsible for reporting incidents, but many of them don’t out of fear that the harassment would get worse or that administration wouldn’t do anything. I have yet to go to admin because I’m genuinely scared of what would happen. Would the harassment become targeted towards me? Would the admin even listen? These are the questions I’m sure many other students ask themselves when contemplating if they should report incidents.

There are protocols in place to help create a safe environment for students on the bus. These protocols include a detailed list of infractions. Many issues on the bus fall

under the level two to level three infractions list, ranging from discipline of 3 day bus suspension to year-long suspensions (List of School Bus Infractions. School Year 20222023). But how often are students actually facing the repercussions if no one knows it’s happening.

Students are too scared to report incidents and bus drivers are unaware of the repulsive behaviors, so administration has to take more initiative. They need to check the video records more, create a system that better regulates the buses, and have more serious consequences for misconduct. Buses cannot continue to be a dangerous place for students. Something has to change, and it’s up to administration.

CONSTANT STRESS: On many buses within the district, girls continually get harassed verbally and physically. This continues to happen every day, with nothing being done to stop it. The disruptions in the back of the bus not only harm the riders, but distract the drivers as well.

Our Solution To Hallway Slurs: Admin Intervention

BY JUDE GORDEN Features Editor

Sticks and stones may break some bones, but words can kill.

Hallway talk has become dangerously vulgar, making those whose identities connect to the slurs extremely uncomfortable.

The movement to denormalize words like the r-word has stopped in high schools as administrators are stumped with how to discipline speech. Creek kids calling each other r*****s might turn some heads in the hallway, but no action is taken to prevent students from using slurs any more than regular curse words.

But it’s not just ableist talk tainting Creek conversations. In one passing period, students will also hear the f slur, and likely, more than once.

People will always argue about whether free speech encompasses vulgarity, but when speech is this harmful, it has no place in schools. The right to free speech protects lives, but in this case, it endangers them.

According to The Government Accountability Office, in the 2018-2019 school year, about 1 in 4 students saw hate words or symbols written in their schools, such as homophobic slurs.

Whether the slurs are aimed at friends in a joking way or used to harass a stranger in the hall, they have the same negative effect. The intention behind the slur is irrelevant because the word itself holds so much power.

Slurs are more than just a random bundle of letters; they attack the foundation of peoples’ identities, carrying a dark history of violence and hate. While neither should be tolerated, there’s a big difference between calling someone “slow” versus the r-word, or “gay” versus the f slur.

Queer students have no way of knowing whether the snickers are targeted at them, so when hallway talk is littered with talk of f****s, an already stressful environment becomes a dangerous one.

When I hear someone call out f****t in the hallway, my heart instantly stops. Is it friends joking or is today the day I become a cautionary tale to future queer students?

Schools can’t patrol students’ mouths, but that doesn’t mean they should accept the current reality. Creek claims to be “no place for hate,” but isn’t doing enough to police student use of hateful slurs, and that’s harming the wellbeing of students.

Teachers are supposed to stand in the hallways during passing periods, but instead hide inside the safety of their classrooms instead. Administrators need to emphasize the importance of their presence during passing periods and make this more of a requirement than a request.

My freshman year, my school ID sporting

a rainbow sticker got stolen off of my backpack. Because of my experiences dealing with homophobia at Creek before, I immediately thought this was one of those instances, and haven’t felt safe expressing my identity since.

The safety of knowing teachers are hunkered down in their classrooms during passing period comforts the students spouting slurs, and even the few teachers present in hallways say nothing when they hear them. It’s hard to gauge whether it’s a random teacher’s place to confront these students, but the longer this issue is ignored, the more it grows.

Seeing deans in the hallway is instantly calming to me because I feel safe from the harassment that occurs when they are not present. It’s arguably even more important how a teacher’s presence calms victims of harassment than how it deters the possible harassers.

This issue could be easily solved if my peers could treat one another with respect, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for that pipedream to become reality. Administrators need to confront the issue soon, and reinforce the policy of teachers patrolling the hallways. Student safety should be protected above all else, and that needs to include mental harm too.

WALK THE HALLS: As students walk through the hall, they are bombarded with slurs, leading to harmful mindsets. While this happens many teachers hide in their classrooms protecting themselves rather than the students.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

Restorative Justice Works Against Theft, So Ditch Useless Suspensions

This year, Creek implemented a new policy to deal with theft: Restorative Justice.

“When there’s a situation between two students, whether it’s a stolen item, or name calling or just a conflict, we can sit down and really work with both students to gain a better understanding of the other person’s perspective and learn from that as well,” Dean Natasha Utterback said.

This system is meant to allow students to face the people they have affected, connecting them with the impact of their actions on others, not just themselves.

feeling is a priority.

This program is also likely to discourage repeat offenders, with that humiliation serving as a strong reminder of the consequences of theft.

Also, rather than hearing it from an adult, perpetrators are hearing the impact of what they did from their victim, not a third party.

Restorative justice pushes for the re-education of students as well.

Perpetrators are hearing the impact of what the did from their victims, not a third party

For some, this may appear as an attempt to lessen the punishment for the perpetrator. But realistically, sitting down with a peer, especially one you have impacted negatively, can make a person understand their actions more deeply.

The humiliation felt when a person has to explain a mistake they made to the person who they affected is immeasurable. And for most high schoolers, working to prevent that

“We always want to hold kids accountable, because we’re helping them become adults in society. We want them to be good positive citizens. And that’s [what] we’re trying to teach them how to do,” Utterback said.

While this accountability doesn’t mirror real world implications of theft, it shouldn’t. School systems should be teaching students how to become responsible people, who not only understand the seriousness of their actions, but are able to grow emotionally from them.

Suspensions, on the other hand, only push students farther away from this goal.

Rather than creating the one-on-one con-

TAKEN: As students walk through the hallway many have experienced their items being stolen by peers.

nection that Restorative Justice provides, suspension only further disconnect students from their actions.

Other than the humiliation, there is a strong value in sitting with a peer and talking about your mistakes. It forces a mature conversation to be had, because there is a person on the other end that you care about, at least socially.

But suspensions are interactions between a student and their dean, a dynamic that is likely already strenuous for thieves.

Suspensions also prevent a student from literal learning, as they have to interrupt classwork with their sentence. Removing a student from the very environment they are meant to grow in only deteriorates their progress.

Suspensions are dated and pointless, especially because they stop a student from learning from their mistakes, which is the very point of school.

In implementing Restorative Justice, Creek is taking a step towards fulfilling it’s role in raising students into good people.

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

FOOTBALL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

BELOW: Sophomore offensive linebacker Braylon Hodge (#20) kneels after a Creek injury during a match against Regis. Creek beat their longtime rivals 47-28, despite a high-tension game.

LEFT: Juniors defensive linebacker Keegan Perea (#80) and defensive linebacker Jack Francis (#95) embrace during an away game against Regis Jesuit on Friday, Sept. 22. Creek won 47-28.

RIGHT: Defensive Line coach Jarvis Moss lectures two Creek players during the season opener against Ralston Valley on Friday, Aug. 27. Creek won 35-9.

ABOVE: Senior cornerback Kiyon Johnston (#3) lands on the 28-yard line after catching a pass during a home game against Legacy on Thursday, Aug. 31. Creek beat Legacy 41-14 after scoring multiple consecutive touchdowns in the first half. “My favorite part was winning 42-14, [I’m] glad we came out of that game with a blow-out and I’m glad we’re 2-0,” senior running back Jordan Herron (#2) said. “We’re just getting started.”

LEFT: Sophomore quarterback Brady Vodicka (#13) throws a pass to sophomore running back Jayden Fox (#7,) who scored a touchdown against Smoky Hill on Friday, Oct. 6. Creek won 47-0.

RIGHT: Senior wide receiver Tyson Mauck (#18) drops the ball because of a rare showing of defense on Smoky Hills end during a game on Friday, Oct. 6.

PHOTO BY BRIANA FLORES

PHOTO BY SERENITY HURTADO

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

PHOTO BY ALEX GRIBB

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

PHOTO BY ALEX GRIBB