May 2024 USJ

HOW DOES CREEK SUPPORT STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES?

LOOKING THROUGH THE MIRROR:

Junior Dakota Kennedy performs as Beauty in Creek theater’s production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. The play acted as a twist on the classic story, including fairies, an overbearing sister, and more.

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

Letter from the Editors

As the school year ends, Alex Gribb’s time as Editor-in-Chief as well. The rest of us staying behind are watching our incredibly talented seniors leave, but we’re ready to take on the years that will follow.

As part of our goal of representing all of Creek’s student body, we decided to explore how Creek works to help students with physical and mental disabilities learn and feel like they have a place at the school in our In-Depth. We talked with teachers, case managers, and students about the issue, looking into 504s, IEPs, the ILC program, and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Further in the issue, we highlighted the athletic talent of the Creek community with a profile on sophomore Addy Beck and health teacher Seneca Holmes. We discussed the end of the paper-based SAT as many students took the online version for the first time a few weeks ago, and we assessed which items are best for our departing seniors to bring to college. Our staff editorial argues that Creek students should use their education to exercise their right to vote, and a group of seniors commemorated the media that got them through high school.

It’s impossible to quantify just how proud we are of the work put into producing this issue, and how thankful we are for our wonderful staff. Congratulations on this amazing issue, and here’s to another wonderful year!

- Editors-in-Chief, Alex Gribb & Quinn Rudnick

On The Cover

From left to right, starting at the top, sophomore George Lautaha and junior Mason Hall are drawn with other ILC students: sophomores Rowan Pollard and Clarissa Caupono hug freshman Alexa Lawanson and senior Jasmine Nakuma.

Students enrolled in special education programs make up 11% of Creek’s population, and often face a lack of visibility as well as a lack of understanding of their needs.

“It feels like we are always the first to get opportunities taken away from us,“ senior and ILC student support Addi Allis said.

Creek caters to each of their needs in a number of ways, and starting on page 10, the USJ investigated many of these, including Elements classes, Para-Supports, the Unified program, 504s, IEPs, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Alex Gribb

Junior Editor-in-Chief & Sports Editor

Quinn Rudnick

Managing Editor & Asst. News Editor

Peter Philpott

A&E Editor & Design Manager

Katya Roudakov

News Editor

Amanda Castillo-Lopez

Features Editor

Jude Gorden

Opinions

Editor

Izzy Krauss

Video Editor

Nour Kreishan

Asst. Managing Editor

Aram Bazarian

Asst. Video Editor

Jonathan Lee

Asst. Sports Editor

Andrei Machado

Purpose:

Asst. A&E Editor

Nick BeDan

Asst. Features Editor

Anaiah Shahrukh

Asst. Opinions Editor

Sophia Hady

Chief Photographer

Wryn Duepre

Asst. Photographer

Briana Flores

Chief Artist

Angela Xu

Business Manager Gillian Neale

Staff Writers Jayna Baker

Madalyn Hoop

Serenity Hurtado

Alisa Kovaleva

Rue Minar

Mae Murphey

Lina Rakhmanova

Kellen Ringland

Ava Segale

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.com

Letters may be edited for clarity.

ART BY ANGELA XU

SAT Digitized to Make a ‘Better Test Experience’

BY JONATHAN LEE Asst. Video Editor

As of spring 2024, the SAT will have become fully digital across the US, along with a new adaptive format meant to improve the testing experience.

The SAT isn’t just moving to computer screens: the way it’s taken and proctored is completely changing. In an update to their website, the College Board gave information on how the SAT would be changing, and how it would be staying the same. According to the College Board, the SAT will still follow the same 1600 point scale, be taken in schools and standard testing centers, and “remain an accurate measurement of knowledge and skill for colleges and careers.”

“[We] didn’t just take the paper and pencil test and put it on the computer,” College Board said on their site. “We took the opportunity to make the SAT a far better test experience for you.”

In order to test the validity of this new method, Assistant Principal Krista Keogh had the opportunity to attend a workshop for the College Board in November, where research was done comparing students who had taken the paper SAT and the new SAT.

“College Board has done a lot of studies over the last couple of years,” Keogh said. “We have all different kinds of kids taking the paper and pencil, and then we’re giving them the digital SAT and their scores are correlated very strongly.”

Opinions among students who have taken this new format of the SAT are mixed. Junior Benji Simberg, finds that the reading section of the new version is

much more manageable than the older version.

“The biggest pro would be in the English section,” Simberg said. “Since the passages are much shorter, you don’t have to read these huge long passages which makes it much easier for the evidence based questions.”

Junior Ryan Gopalani recognizes the benefit of the test now being shorter since he can stay focused for longer while taking the SAT. “Timing is huge, because you burn out less quickly and your energy drains at a slower rate on the digital SAT,” Gopalani said. “You’re more awake for those harder questions that come at the end.”

Gopalani finds that the math section of the SAT becomes more inconvenient on a computer, rather than the standard paper and pencil. “You can’t annotate directly on the page,” Gopalani said. So for the math section, that was a little bit of a burden having to transfer content from screen to page.”

Social Studies teacher David Knoeckel, who proctored for the digital SAT, found the process was much easier than the old SAT. “It was self paced for the kids and [the computer] did the timer for them as far as their break,” Knoeckel said. “Once they got going, it was incredibly easy to proctor. The only thing I had to do was walk around to make sure they weren’t cheating.”

For Biology teacher Alexandra Bak, taking the SAT on computers made proctoring more inconvenient. “With everybody starting at slightly different times, the breaks didn’t line up,” Bak said. “Some kids would be on break while other kids around them were testing.”

Despite differing opinions among students and staff regarding the new SAT, they still recognize the ultimate goal of the College Board’s decision to change. “It’s trying to [evolve] into modern times; how students learn and how students are using technology now.” Keogh said.

INFOGRAPHIC BY AMANDA CASTILLO-LOPEZ & PETER PHILPOTT

ART BY PETER PHILPOTT

TEDx CherryCreekHS Aims to Engage, Include Bruins

BY PETER PHILPOTT Managing Editor & Asst. News Editor

TEDx CherryCreekHS, a project led by freshman Michael Zhang, is going live at the Parker Arts Schoolhouse theater on Aug. 31.

Zhang’s goal is to reach out to the students and faculty of Creek, and get them involved in speeches and the audience.

He led the same event as a Campus Middle School eighth grader. Now, he’s returning to TEDx in high school.

TED events provide a platform for professionals to speak: to serve TED’s slogan, “ideas worth spreading,” but they can only be held by the company itself. With TEDx, one of TED’s divisions, anyone who is approved through an application can host an event. Zhang is gearing his event towards Creek; any student can apply to speak, and he hopes many will choose to stop by and listen.

He’s even granting free admission to those at Creek. “I feel like students could benefit

from it because they can spread their ideas, and we’ll help spread them.” Zhang said.

Social Strategist and Author Nick Shelton spoke about social anxiety and his experience with it at Zhang’s event last year. Shelton agrees that the event could be very fruitful for high school students.

“This is an opportunity that very few people get,” Shelton said. “If they can take advantage of it and not overlook this opportunity, they can get their message out there.”

Despite Shelton’s nerves and the topic of his talk, he found it cathartic and gratifying to speak to so many people.

“It was exhilarating... But, at the same time, [I was] relieved that with all of that preparation, I finally got to share that message,” Shelton said. “I was excited to share the message that I’ve trained so long to share.”

So far, Zhang has been discouraged with a lack of Creek applicants, but other students from around the country have shown a willingness to participate. One such student, freshman Claire Xu from the Harker School in San Jose, California, is excited to work on

the event. With a background and a passion for science fairs, Xu plans to speak about AI, or about bettering communication between neuro-typical and neuro-divergent people.

“I was seven years old when I was first introduced to TEDx,” she said. “I’m really passionate about being able to find an issue or a gap and then being able to find a creative solution to solve that.”

Zhang hopes that passionate speakers like her and Shelton can drive his event to success.

“From my experience, the audience, the speaker, your peers, the coaches, everyone is extremely supportive,” Zhang said. “You learn a lot from the process and the actual speech. You’re giving your original ideas to the public.”

Thomas Eckschmidt, civil engineer and applicant to the 2024 event, believes that students are the country’s bright future, which is why young people need to get involved with leadership and TED. “The change is not going to start from the top to the bottom. It’s going to start from the bottom up,” Eckschmidt said.

SPOTLIGHT: Author and social strategist Nick Shelton gives his talk at the 2023 TEDxCherryCreekHS event, hosted by now freshman Michael Zhang when he was an eighth grader at Campus Middle School. “I felt really comfortable up there,” Shelton said.

Application Speaking

Prospective speakers can apply on the event’s website. Some apply to many events, to have a good chance at earning a spot.

“I am a bit of an overachiever, so I applied for 83 events, and I got accepted.”

Presenters will have access to speaking coach Tanja Diamond to work with them and perfect their speeches, style, and stage presence.

Even professional speakers say that anyone truly passionate about their subjects shouldn’t be nervous to speak.

“Tanja will help [everyone] become an extremely successful TEDx speaker.”

“You’re not reading a teleprompter, you’re talking from your heart. It’s very easy,”

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL ZHANG

-Civil Engineer Thomas Eckschmidt -Freshman Michael Zhang -Author, Social Strategist Nick Shelton

Creek Addresses Venezuelan Student Immigrant Influx

BY NOUR KREISHAN Video Editor

Coming here is like a break,”

senior Claudia Naranjo Marcano said. “You can use your phone on the streets and they won’t get snatched, or you can wear your nice clothes and they won’t get stolen.”

Naranjo Marcano fled from Venezuela to the U.S eight years ago, and in recent years, immigration from the country has only increased. Venezuela has one of the largest external displacement crises in the world with over 7.7 million refugees and migrants as of August 2023.

Since Venezuela accounts for the largest share of global oil reserves, when oil prices declined in the mid2010s, the Venezuelan economy crashed. This crisis was only exacerbated when the U.S imposed sanctions as a response to human rights abuses and corruption under the government of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The financial instability and government corruption led to a steady increase in crime rates in the mid 2010s.

arriving in Denver since January, Colorado is still experiencing the flood of immigrants and continues to provide increasing support. The city’s nearly $90 million budget plan focuses on immigrant housing and aid for the rest of 2024. These accommodations are reflected in the education system as well.

The Cherry Creek School District (CCSD) is one of the largest school districts in Colorado, with 52,392 enrolled students. According to CCSD Data Analyst Dave Roybal, the number of immigrant students in CCSD has increased by 33% since last year, with 1728 immigrant students in 2024.

“What was the hardest wasn’t even the fact that I was lacking resources, it was just the fact that I was the only one like me.”

Senior Claudia Naranjo Marcano

According to English Language Supports Program Head Tricia McRae, Creek is one of the top CCSD schools impacted by this influx of immigrants. To accommodate, Creek is expanding their English for Newcomers program, a class dedicated to teaching immigrant students English.

“We haven’t had the numbers in the past to have another [English for Newcomers] class,” English Language Supports Specialist Andrea Aldridge said. Creek added another period for English for Newcomers this year and plans to hire another ELS specialist for next year.

trying to navigate this new situation,” Buddington said. “My number one concern is trying to make those students feel welcomed and included in the class.”

Naranjo Macrano, who didn’t have that support when she immigrated eight years ago, heard about Buddington translating his notes while tutoring another Hispanic student.

“When I saw [Buddington’s notes], I was like ‘Wow, the time and effort to do that for your students is incredible,’” Naranjo Macrano said. “I mean, this is new for them. This is new for everybody.”

When Naranjo Macrano immigrated to the U.S in 2016, there was less organized support in place. Her elementary school in Florida didn’t provide any resources to ease the transition and the potential language barrier.

“I would cry every single night because my mom and I would have to Google Translate every single page and then read it in Spanish,” Naranjo Macrano said. “What was the hardest wasn’t even the fact that I was lacking resources, it was just the fact that I was the only one like me.”

Naranjo Macrano is a member of Latinos Unidos, which not only supports native Spanish-speaking students academically but also provides a community for newcomers to meet people with similar backgrounds.

As more Venezuelans became exhausted with economic struggle and anti-democratic governance, immigrants fled to the U.S for refuge and job opportunities, with 262,633 Venezuelans having crossed the U.S-Mexico border in just 2023.

While there have been fewer immigrants

Some teachers also go out of their way to overcome the language barrier with newly immigrated students. Social Studies teacher Matthew Buddington has a version of some of his CP World Geography hand-out notes completely in Spanish.

“For teachers, we’re in a tough situation

Antonella Salih is a freshman at Creek who immigrated from Venezuela in December 2023. Initially, she was intimidated as a new student but Latinos Unidos quickly welcomed her.

“It’s a big help because you can get together with Latino people and talk with them and socialize,” Salih said in Spanish. “Being in Latinos Unidos, even just for a moment, is like being in your country.”

Venezuela - 23.6%

Columbia - 11.1%

Mexico - 8.7%

Afghanistan - 6.1%

India - 4.8%

Ethiopia - 2.3%

Honduras - 2.2%

Peru - 2.0%

Ukraine - 1.8%

Total from countries with <1% - 37.4

LEAVING HOME: There are 1,824 students in CCSD that immigrated in the 2023-2024 year. This infographic shows where they immigrated from and their demographic breakdown.

features

Creek’s Recommendations for College Dorms

BY GILLIAN NEALE Business Manager

“A

Not sure what to bring for your college dorm? Torn between childhood stuffed animals and fuzzy pillows? Here’s what seniors, current college students, and parents think is crucial to starting college right.

GRAPHICS BY GILLIAN NEALE & QUINN RUDNICK GRAPHICS

Answering the Call: Senior Nathan Kelmen’s Search and Rescue Experience

BY SOPHIA HADY Asst. Opinions Editor

It’s 10:40 at night and senior Nathan Kelmen is on the verge of sleep when a page from Arapahoe Rescue Patrol jolts him awake.

A 16 year old with autism has gone missing in Arapahoe County. Kelmen and 25 other teen volunteers gear up to go find the kid. It’s freezing and everyone is tired, but Kelmen and his team are determined to find the 16 year old.

He won’t get home till 2:00 am.

“Imagine going from being asleep to [an] adrenaline rush,” Kelmen said.

As a junior, Kelmen started volunteering for Arapahoe Rescue Patrol (ARP). Since then, he has completed rigorous training and collaborated with other teens to help find urban and rural missing persons.

The Arapahoe Rescue Patrol (ARP) employs high school volunteers to search for people that go missing and return them to their loved ones. The ARP receives calls from the local sheriff’s department and promptly sends out a gaggle of teens. All the volunteers in ARP are unpaid.

“People assume that we’re like paid to do this and this is like a job. But in Colorado, we’re all volunteers,” Kelmen said.

Kelmen has many fond memories with the ARP, many of which include the people he works with. He often goes on missions late at night and has dinner with his crew once the mission is completed. These dinners and time spent with other volunteers are what really stand out about ARP and what makes the experience so special for Kelmen.

“In a search for a missing woman, my pager essentially went off at dinnertime,” Kelmen said. “And all of a sudden, I’m going through fields in Douglas County. It’s the evening so then I get to sit down with the patrollers, my second family, and have cheeseburgers with them.”

than turning to social media and screens for entertainment like a lot of his peers.

“I [was] bored in my life. So it was the perfect fit to fill my time because…you get to doom scrolling and then it just seemed like a waste of life,” Kelmen said.

Kelmen’s decision to join ARP came naturally once he heard about the program. He’s felt connected to nature for as long as he can remember, and has recently felt a strong desire to be of service to his community.

“I feel like Arapahoe Rescue Patrol has kind of helped with figuring out my life after senior year, because there was definitely a lot of uncertainty before that.”

Senior Nathan Kelmen

Struggling with never-ending boredom and endless scrolling, Kelmen wanted to find a productive way to fill his time rather

“I’ve always been quite an outdoorsy person,” Kelmen said, “So I just decided why not apply that to helping people.”

Before Klemen could become part of the patrol team, he had to undergo a month of intensive training, including both classroom and field experience. To become a part of the team, he had to train both his mind and his body for the work they’d be doing, with a heavy emphasis on the mentality that search and rescue requires.

“I think you have to have a lot of mental fortitude. You’re gonna see some things that most people don’t and you have to be able to push yourself,” Kelmen said. “They talked about mental stamina before they even started talking about physical stamina.”

Being a part of search and rescue has caused Kelmen to develop more strength. During hours of training and missions, Kelmen is doing intense leg and arm workouts by carrying supplies, climbing, and walking long distances.

“Physically I’ve gotten a lot stronger, obviously[in my] legs but [also I’m] carrying various

LOUD AND CLEAR: Senior Nathan Kelmen uses his walkie talkie to communicate with other volunteers in the program. Arapahoe Rescue Patrol volunteers are sent on group missions to search for missing persons.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

pieces of equipment to places. So it’s just been a big boost for my physical fitness,” Kelmen said.

Being a part of search and rescue has had a positive impact on Kelmen academically as well. He has ADHD, and ARP has helped him to manage his time and focus in school more. He has also experienced little to no academic burnout, something many seniors struggle with.

“[ARP] helped me to not get senioritis this year,” Kelmen said.

Some aspects of ARP can get in the way of his school life; late nights spent scouring acres of land for missing persons can leave Kelmen exhausted and with little time left for homework. Since Kelmen could get urgently paged at any time in the school day, he had to inform his teachers of his commitment to ARP at the beginning of the school year.

“I had that conversation with all my teachers at the start of the year. I was like ‘Hey, I’m on this team, and if I get paged I have to go’,” Kelmen said.

The search and rescue team has become what Kelmen considers his second family. The people that he went through training with have become some of his closest friends due to impromptu dinners and hours spent bonding during missions and training activities. This bond between volunteers fosters a community within the organization, and has allowed teens like Kelmen to build connections.

“We’re all very tight knit as a whole unit. you gotta be for this,” Kelmen said.

ARP only allows current highschool students to volunteer, so Kelmen only has a few more months left in the program. However, he plans to use his experience in ARP for a related career field, like being a park ranger. Kelmen is going to Western Colorado University, which also has their own rescue team on campus that Kelmen plans to be a part of.

“I feel like ARP has kind of helped with figuring out my life after senior year, because there was definitely a lot of uncertainty before that,” Kelmen said.

To Kelmen, ARP is more than just a search and rescue organization. It’s a close knit community and the starting point of his future. Kelmen plans to draw upon his experiences and take his connections with him into the rest of his life.

PREPARING FOR A MISSION: Senior Nathan Kelmen kneels while packing up a gurney used on missions. The Arapahoe Rescue Patrol volunteers use these to transport injured persons. “[The program] benefits people being rescued [because] all of our services are free,” Kelmen said.

WHILE SUPPLIES LAST: Senior Nathan Kelmen reaches into the patrol truck to take out medical supplies on a training operation. He appreciates the experience and the missions he’s gotten from Arapahoe Rescue Patrol. “What we do together is just something you can not get anywhere else,” Kelmen said.

“I found a second family [and] I found a lot of purpose,” Kelmen said. May 2024

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

ABOVE: ILC students

From

‘THEY

JUST LEARN DIFFERENTLY’: ADRESSING EVERY STUDENT’S UNIQUE NEEDS

BY ALEX GRIBB Editor-in-Chief

Elements Classes

At Creek, students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) can take any number of classes, ranging from Principle all the way to AP.

Principles classes, which are for mainly ILC students, focus on a different metric then most other Creek courses. “[In] math we will learn fractions and we’ll relate it to cooking. We’ll learn decimals and we’ll relate [it] to money and adding things,” ILC teacher Kathryn Canham said. “We try to teach concepts that will help them be more independent when they’re adults and leave us.”

Elements Classes, which any of the roughly 400 students with IEPs can take, serve as a bridge between Principles classes and CP ones. “[They] are courses that are taught by a special education teacher, [and] the teacher is highly qualified in that content area,” assistant principal Jessica Robinson said.

And according to Julie Reynolds, an Elements teacher whose name has been changed to protect the privacy of her students, the classes are also a place where academic risks can be taken. “Elements classes [are] a place where everybody’s struggling at learning in some way,” Reynolds said. “They feel much more comfortable to push themselves and answer if they’re wrong, because their peers aren’t going to laugh at them the way that they get laughed at in a CP class, because kids are cruel.”

Admin like Robinson can see this appeal.

“It’s only special education kids in the class. So I understand the benefits of some of that because maybe you have some kids who are coming out of ILC programming, and that’s kind of a next step,” she said. “However, I feel that our data shows that a lot of our students with special needs are not growing, and academically they’re not growing.”

Starting next year, Creek will reduce its number of Elements classes from 12 to eight.

“With Elements classes, I think that our kids are isolated from gen ed students, and I think that there’s a benefit of kids having access to gen ed classes. They have access to the content standards that are grade level, they have access to grade level instruction, they have access to peers that they can model behaviors after [that] they can collaborate with,” she said. “There are so many things that I feel that Elements classes can’t provide students.”

Reynolds believes that the gen-ed environment is what makes Elements students feel disconnected. “Their safe spaces were elements classes where they felt like they were finally seen because [in] most of our classes, the kids looked like them,” she said. “That fear for them is intense.”

Senior Addi Allis, who has an IEP and is enrolled in an Elements class, believes that without the classes, the pace gap between Principles classes and CP classes will be too great. “ILC kids will be kind of in this awkward situation of ‘Is it going to be too hard to push up into a CP class, but then [a Principles class is not] challenging myself.’ It’s like they don’t have a place,” she said.

gathered to take photos.

left to right starting from the top: Sophomore Rowan Pollard, freshman Alexa Lawanson, sophomore Clarissa Caupana, seniors Brandon Jeon and Jasmine Nakuma, sophomore George Lautaha, junior Mason Hall.

PHOTOS BY QUINN RUDNICK

INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLANS

IEPs are created for students with mild to extreme needs. These can range from Autism, to Down Syndrome, to more.

PRINCIPLES CLASSES

Classes provided for ILC students which use a practical application for gen-ed topics.

The Unified Program

Any student, IEP or not, can become involved with the Unified Program, which exists as a way for ILC students to interact with gen-ed peers.

“I’ve been hanging with my best friends, and I’ve been chilling out,” sophomore ILC student Ryan Debolt said.

With four classes and five different sports teams, the program relies mainly on gen-ed student involvement and district funding.

All four classes need gen-ed students, but enrollment has been incredibly low.

Para-Supports

With a student to teacher ratio of 5:1, instructors play a vital role in providing education for students in the Integrated learning Center (ILC) program.

And, special-Ed positions are determined as “extremely hard to fill” according to the CCSD.

“I will say from a district level, something that we’ve struggled with is hiring para-educators for [the] program. Right now, we have at least like eight vacancies

INTEGRATED LEARNING CENTER

The ILC program is by the East Gym and Supports students with more extreme learning needs.

ELEMENTS CLASSES

Classes provided for any student eligible, typically with an IEP. These classes can act as a bridge between Principle and CP Classes.

“Unfortunately, we’ve only had four or five students sign up for the like 20 classes we have offered. So that’s something we’re really trying to promote,” Chirico said.

This lack affects more than just teachers and students. “It’s been really nice having some peers who realize these kids are just like them. They want friends. They want to be involved. They want to be included.,” Unified Coordinator and ILC teacher Kathryn Canham said. “[ILC students are] just like them, they just learn differently.”

And with such a large scale program, funding for every sport has become in-

creasingly difficult. “I get a district budget that doesn’t even cover the cost of all my coaches. So I have to be really creative,” Canham said.

Canham has had to use Creek’s Student Achievement Incentive Plan (SAIP), which allows teachers to take on additional roles for more pay after being tapped out on their pay scale.

But this creativity comes at a different cost. “What we’ve learned is we might be pulling back on what we pay our coaches in order to suffice the supports needed,” Chirico said.

of positions we’re trying to fill and we have had zero applicants since the beginning of the school year,” ILC teacher Caitlin Chirico said.

According to Robinson, the lack of applicants is likely due to the lack of pay. “I know that the district has tried to incentivize the job, but some people can go out and work at a fast food place and make more money doing that.”

And, according to Allis, three para-supports can be hired for the same district cost of one teacher.

Without these positions filled, multiple students are put into the same elective classes, preventing them from having a more varied schedule. “We have to prioritize grouping [students] into one class, instead of giving them the opportunity to try different classes, based on the Para’s support needs,” Chirico said.

READ MORE ABOUT IEPs, 504s AND HOW CREEK ACCOMMODATES FOR PHYSICAL DISABILITIES ON THE NEXT TWO PAGES.

How do 504s and IEPs Affect Creek?

504s

WHAT IS A 504?

504s are plans created by a team of students, counselors, parents, and admin to decide how the school will support students with disabilities, hopefully removing barriers, and giving students equal opportunities in schools.

ARE THEY PROTECTED?

504s are not legal documents, but are covered under the Rehabilitation Act, meaning they cannot be disregarded.

WHAT DO THEY DO?

These allow for accommodations such as extended time on tests, changes to the environment such as testing in quieter spaces, changes to instruction such as checking in frequently on key concepts, and changes to how curriculum is presented such as notes and outlines on lessons.

WHAT IS AN IEP?

While similar to 504’s, IEPs are plans made to support students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), ADHD/ADD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), mental health issues such as depression or anxiety, speech, language, hearing, orthopedic, or visual impairments, and many more.

ARE THEY PROTECTED?

IEP’s or Individualized Education Programs are required in public schools and some charter schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Compared to a 504, an IEP is a legal document made by the school.

WHAT DO THEY DO?

The accommodations for IEPs are structured differently due to the fact that they are specialized to what the student needs so there is no specific basis for their requirement. IEPs can fall under the special education programs so they can have extra classes and specialized programs to support them.

Even though many students have 504s and IEPs, most shy away from discussing it.

“It’s embarrassing because people are obviously judging you when a teacher comes up to you to talk about accommodations”

- Senior Kate Duymelinck

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

How Creek Works with the Americans with Disabilities Act

BY QUINN RUDNICK Junior Editor-in-Chief & Sports Editor

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law in 1990, allows for regulations surrounding employment, public transit, state and local government services, businesses, and more for citizens with disabilities.

Under the ADA, people with disabilities are granted certain protections from discrimination, and because of the broadness of the law, those regulations apply to how public schools provide for and work with disabled students.

nity for new accessible features to be built if Creek is rebuilt in 2025.

“I think if we end up doing a redesign of this campus, I think that’s when we’d see some pretty drastic updates,” Silva said. “Like the theater and access to the stage. And then there’s some awkwardness to the west building, like getting to the main office.”

“We can’t say no to accommodations, we have to meet them,”

Principal Ryan Silva

The ADA defines a disabled person as anyone “who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) works with the ADA to mandate free public education in the least restrictive environment for disabled students. If a student does not meet the requirements for a disability, they are classified under IDEA and a 504 plan.

At Creek, these three classifications are what form the basis for how school structuring and administrative employees must function in order to provide comfort for students.

“I would make reports, when there’s concerns, to the district Chief of Maintenance and facilities to make sure that they are addressed.” Principal Ryan Silva said. “So my [role] is more monitoring, to make sure that all those things are addressed.

While actual construction to provide accessibility has already happened, Silva believes that there will be more opportu-

Because Creek was opened after January of 1993, the school had to comply with the ADA’s 1991 standards, which include fewer requirements than the current 2010 standards, which apply to schools opened after May 2012.

“There definitely are some differences that you would see if you’re in a new building compared to us, and every now and then maybe [we receive] questions about that, but we’re grandfathered into the older system.”

The ADA requires all schools to make extracurriculars, educational opportunities, and all buildings open and accessible to students. Creek implements these policies through programs like Unified Sports and by making doorways and ramps easily accessible.

Many students, however, have complaints about some of Creek’s accessibility standards; the basements in West and East have no elevator access, and are completely inaccessible, and the ‘push to open’ buttons on doors often don’t work.

The Creek administration consistently works to accommodate all students on campus; through meetings with parents and their children, working to renovate issues, and more.

“We can’t say no to accommodations, we have to meet them,” Silva said.

DOES CREEK COMPLY WITH THE ADA?

The Americans with Dishabilles Act (1990) creates a set of requirements for public places to follow in order to help people with disabilities move around. In public schools like Creek, there are certain requirements that must be met.

HOW DOES CREEK COMPARE?

HALLWAY WIDTH

Hallways at a minimum need to be 32 in. across wheelchairs can travel across campus.

ENTRANCES

Ramps, accessible parking and spots, and sidewalks need to be provided into buildings.

LEVEL CHANGES

There are no ramps in the West or East buildings to help students access classes in the basement.

AUTOMATIC DOORS

Automatic doors are installed across campus so students have an easier time opening doors.

TOILET STALLS

Accessible toilet stalls must abide by hallway width regulations: a minimum of 32 inches across.

SEATING

Six wheelchair accessible seats must be provided in assembly areas that hold over 301 people.

Boys’ Volleyball Struggles Rebuild

ANDREI MACHADO Asst. Sports Editor

After two great seasons in 2021 and 2022, the boys’ volleyball team has struggled to regain form during a rebuilding effort.

Starting the season 3-12 in their first 15 games, head coach Cara Quayle has been trying throughout the season to guide the team back to winning ways.

“Majority of [teams] we played were top 10 or top 15,” Quayle said. “Our record in the beginning was frustrating to me and to the team because we were doing some really good things and we had some really close matches.”

Something clearly wasn’t clicking between the players with loss after loss coming in disappointing ways.

“It’s been tough to try and get the team to form a bond or chemistry, but it’s just a work in progress,” Quayle said.

With new players coming in every year, the bond Quayle is trying to improve becomes hard. This is worsened by the relative nicheness of boys volleyball, with it becoming a CHSAA-sanctioned sport in 2019.

“One of the big things that I want to do is focus on getting the underclassmen varsity level experience, and just learn what the program is about so that they can have the tools that they need to be successful in transitioning up to the varsity level,” Quayle said.

Quayle isn’t the only one who sees the team in this way. Players also understand the need for varsity experience.

“The experience on varsity definitely helped. I’m a lot more confident on the court now,” senior setter Andrew Chung said. “I’m able to make mistakes and then correct them myself.”

While in a rebuilding phase, their record can still be demoralizing. Instead of focusing on that, players have tried to look beyond and focus and what can be changed for the future.

“I think we can just keep improving,” sophomore outside hitter Noah Reynolds said. “We need to stay more disciplined and we need to remember the fundamentals.”

Having this mentality of constant improvement has been necessary for the team to make progress, after an underwhelming and below par start to the season.

to guide new players and to create the bond and chemistry the team needs.

“Six people have gotten a good amount of playing time on varsity, so they not only are on the team, but they have the experience of competing at the varsity level,” Quayle said. “I think that those six people that are returning will have a better idea what worked this year and how they can help to start us off strong next year.”

In order to start the season with the bond Quayle wants, it’s important for players with experience to help new ones.

“We need to stay more disciplined and we need to remember the fundamentals.”

“It’s really important to guide younger players who are still learning the halls of Creek and understanding how Creek volleyball works because it’s a very different setting from club,” Reynolds said.

Sophomore Noah Renyolds

“I feel like the way that we’ve played and the momentum that we had, their overall aggression… and building each other up as a team as a play rather than playing as six individuals, I feel like that’s what we’ve been missing,” Quayle said.

With progress in mind and an idea in place to improve for the future, Quayle is relying on returning players next season

While their record shows the contrary, Quayle feels hopeful for the future of the team and believes the team is already placed on the right track for the future.

“I feel like the trend that we’re on is like, really exciting for me and hopefully for them too” Quayle said. “We just keep growing and growing, I want that to continue and I want us to become just stronger as a team.”

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

CHEER: The boys’ volleyball team celebrates after a point during a game against Grandview on April 9. Creek lost 3-0.

Seneca Holmes: Creek Champion to Canadian Football Leauge

KELLEN RINGLAND Staff Writer

Thirty years ago, Seneca Holmes played football at Creek as a wide receiver and kick returner, eventually becoming a state champion.

Now, he’s back to his roots at Creek teaching health to students.

Holmes fell in love with football at a young age and played through his childhood and into high school. It was during these early years that Holmes and Marcus McDavid met. The pair knew each other while growing up, after meeting when they were both around 9 years old at church. When they played together, they were a part of the 47-6 1994 5A Championship win against Horizon.

“I dreamed of playing [in] a major college, and everybody dreams of being in the NFL when they’re younger,” Holmes said.

Holmes went on to play college football at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Despite playing DII football, Holmes kept his eye set on being the best he could.

In Durango, he was named part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) All-Conference team in 1996, As a WR and a KR He was also a finalist for the regional Harlon Hill Award, commonly known as the ‘Heisman Trophy of D2 football’ that same year.

Holmes soon transferred to Northwest Missouri State University in 1997, winning two D2 National Championships in 1998 and 1999. In the spring of 2000, he graduated from college without any offers for the NFL draft.

“When we got done with college, we wanted to keep training to try to keep playing football,” McDavid, who ended up as a cornerback at the University of New Mexico, said. “[Holmes’ dad] kind of turned into

our personal trainer and he would give us workouts to do all the time. He came up with cool, or really hard workouts to do.”

Holmes was signed by the B.C. (British Columbia) Lions on August 14, 2001, after being released by the Calgary Stampeders in June.

“That experience I had playing in the CFL, flying to games, and getting money that they give you when you’re traveling. Getting paid for playing and having fans signing autographs,” Holmes said. “Seeing your jersey getting sold and those kinds of things … those are dreams that you have as a kid and I had when I was growing up.”

was fun,” Holmes said.

Silva recognized his talent in coaching football. “He was always enthusiastic, [and] passionate. He connected well with the players. He took a lot of pride in what he does because coaching is [an] important role,” Silva said.

“[McDavid and I have] a genuine respect we have for each other because we both know how hard we had to work to get that opportunity to play professional football in Canada,”

Health Teacher

Seneca Holmes

Holmes kept in touch with McDavid, who had also played in the CFL in 2000 for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a cornerback.

After Holmes’ release from the Lions, he was signed by the San Diego Riptide in the Arena Football League, and finished his career in football in 2004.

“There’s a genuine respect we have for each other because we both know how hard we had to work to get that opportunity to play professional football in Canada,” Holmes said.

After the end of his football career, Holmes landed a job as a JV football coach and Varsity wide receiver coach at Creek with McDavid. The duo both worked alongside Principal Ryan Silva, who was a JV head coach and Spanish teacher at the time.

“Hanging out with those guys and getting to coach with them

After receiving his K-12 Physical Education degree in 2005 from Metro State University, Holmes jumped around a few schools in the district, coaching various sports.

This year, Holmes is reunited with McDavid and Silva. He’s known at Creek as the beloved health teacher to students who brings a piece of his past to his students each year.

“I believe this is my purpose. And I think that’s why football didn’t work out, that’s my mentality. And that’s what I truly believe,” Holmes said.

ABOVE: Seneca Holmes competes during a 1993 Creek game in Stutler Bowl. At Creek, he played as a wide receiver and kick returner.

Seneca Holmes (right) coach during a 2005 Creek game.

LEFT: Health teacher Seneca Homes teaches his 8th period health class. After leaving the CFL, he returned to Creek as a health teacher.

PHOTO BY KELLEN RINGLAND

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCUS MCDAVID

PHOTO COURTESY OF SENECA HOLMES

Addy Beck Balances Three Sports With Ease

The pressure to perform in sports at Creek is huge, and many athletes struggle to balance just one sport with their academics and social lives.

But sophomore Addy Beck has built a trifecta of varsity sports at Creek, making a name for herself in soccer, basketball, and flag football. Her constant devotion, practice, and passion, has been balanced with her schoolwork and friendships for years.

“I think soccer growing up was just for me to always have fun and I think I had coaches that just killed that for me,” she said. “But I was still gonna play because it’s the game I still have some love for.”

Kicking a soccer ball was just the beginning of her athletic abilities. After that, Beck shifted her attention to basketball camps in fifth grade, which created a new perspective for her. She was able to find the sport she really loved.

“I had [a] coach who really brought it to me and he was like, ‘You can go places with this, you’re really good, you’re really athletic,’ Just from that I’ve learned, for basketball, [that] I’m gonna work hard and get where I can,” Beck said.

The 2023-2024 basketball season gave Beck a place to showcase her skills, even allowing her to play in the Denver coliseum. Her abilities were able to help the team play up to the Great 8 before ending their cham pionship run in a loss to Regis.

“Addy brings a lot of pos itivity and calmness to the court that is unique to see especially in such a young player,” junior point guard Molly Dorighi said.

friendships throughout the season.

For Beck, it’s really difficult to be able to have personal time to rebuild herself while constantly being at a game for whichever sport is in season.

“I think physically sometimes I’ll overdo myself, especially as a three sport athlete, I’ll think I’m fine. Then I’ll be like, ‘I do feel like I need to take some time to recover.’” Beck said.

“In high school I’ve definitely understood that I need that schedule in place to help me stay organized”

Sophomore Addy Beck

But those two sports were not all that Beck had in mind. Right before the start of her sophomore year, she decided to work for a spot on the flag football team.

“I decided to do flag football this year just for fun. I think it’s the best thing for me to have as much fun as I can while I’m still in high school,” Beck said.

Beck was able to earn a spot on varsity, despite it being her first time ever playing flag football, and she was also able to gain

With the CHSAA rule preventing sports games on Sundays, Beck has had a chance to recharge herself and have a social life. “It’s really nice for me to do all my homework or hang out with my family, especially my little brother, and I think just balancing a good schedule,” Beck said.

Still having two years left in high school gives Beck the chance to improve her athletic abilities and gain more attention from college coaches that can lead to possible offers.

“I think having that first official visit [at Denver University] was really eye opening and it made me realize that I really want to do this,” Beck said. “I think it’s always been a thought in the back of my head to play D1 or wherever is possible.”

PASSION: Sophomore Addy Beck plays three varsity sports at Creek; soccer, basketball, and flag football. She finds passion in each sport, and hopes to play D1 in the future.

BRIANA FLORES Asst. Photo Editor

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADDY BECK

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADDY BECK

Why Everyone Should Wear a Bonnet

RUE MINAR Staff Writer

Bonnets come in all colors and sizes, just like people, so why not let anyone wear one?

There is a stereotype that only people of color or people with textured hair should wear one, but the benefits of wearing a bonnet is beneficial to anyone.

No matter what kind of hair you have or what culture you come from, you need a bonnet. Bonnets save you from the trouble of waking up with messy hair because your hair will not get matted or tangled while sleeping. Bonnets help keep moisture in your hair while you sleep.

If we get past this idea of cultural appropriation and let other people wear bonnets, our nation can further understand culture and hair. There are a lot of confusing things with bonnets and black people should be willing to help teach what kinds of bonnets are helpful, how to properly wear, and how to benefit from them.

Bonnet usage is one size fits all, and if we shame people for wanting too expand their horizons then humanity will never find peace.

They even keep natural hair oils from going to other places, like your face, when you’re sleeping. And if these oils touch your face or any other part of your body for long periods of time, pimples and acne can occur. Bonnets can even keep these oils in the correct place.

“One thing that it does is hold the hair cuticle down, it helps to keep it in place,” JC Styles Salon Academy director Jessica Clarke said. “So when we’re lying in the bed and tossing and turning on cotton sheets and things like that, it tends to dry it out more any hair texture. And so the bonnet helps to keep the cuticle in place.”

These numerous benefits should not be blocked from anyone. One thing that gives me horrible migraines is the fact that we gatekeep bonnets. Black people think that when a person of non-color is wearing a bonnet they’re making a joke and abusing black culture.

We should share hair hacks and tips with people across the world and not just gatekeep it for one community. Just like how many other cultures have welcomed outsiders, the black community should do the same. Cultural appropriation isn’t impactful unless the person doing it has malicious intentions. Just like how the black community has made a big thing about white girls wearing box braids or white guys having dreads, it all doesn’t affect you unless they’re doing it for malicious reasons. Even if these hairstyles are bad for their hair, let them make their own choices.

And as Ash Sarkar, a journalist and political theory lecturer wrote in The Guardian “Not everyone who participates in a misguided attempt at cultural borrowing is a colonizer in disguise. Some people are just sad try-hards.”

If you are considering wearing a bonnet, as you should be,

looking for the right one can be confusing. There are so many different types and some have more benefits than others. But overall there’s one type of bonnet that I think is amazing if you want to grow your hair to its full length and health. Anything silk is amazing for your hair, because not only does it give you benefits beyond appearance, but the texture and look of you hair will be amazing.

Bonnet usage is one size fits all, and if we shame people for wanting to expand their horizons then humanity will never find peace. We need to share the love: just like how black people love their hair, we should be able to let everyone love theirs too.

The Media That Got Seniors Through High School

Five USJ staff members and three non-members shout out the movies, shows, games, and more that carried them through four years at Creek.

Would it be embarrassing to say that one of my many Instagram usernames freshman year was an homage to the movie star? Yes, it would be. That’s why I won’t publicly admit to that. What I will say is that Timmy T’s growth from Little Women to Call Me By Your Name to Dune: Part Two has been a roller coaster, much like my own high school career. And although massive sandworms aren’t threatening to eat me, the AP Calc test

Yet as I am writing this, I realize that time truly flew by. Cliché, am I right? One movie that’s stuck with me for all of high school is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Specifically the quote “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” This piece of advice allowed me to experience every opportunity high school had to offer, whether they were sports, clubs, or social events. Living this way helped me not regret how I spent these past four years. I did it all! And the memories will live with me for a lifetime. -Annika Rouse

It may seem basic, but the TV shows “Friends” and “Modern Family” have helped me through my four years of high school. Whenever I felt sad, needed a laugh, or just needed a break from anything, I would watch “Friends.” I could recite every episode by heart, but it didn’t matter, it always put me in a good mood. I know that I will continue to go back to these TV shows in college and whenever I need a break from life.

-Ava Segale

PHOTOS BY WRYN DUEPRE, ALEX GRIBB, AND KATYA ROUDAKOV

When we stopped paying for Netflix, I started watching clips of cooking shows online — apparently “Canada’s Next Top Chef” has full episodes on YouTube. There’s significantly less yelling than “Hell’s Kitchen” or “American Master Chef” (any common denominator there?), and it just puts me at ease. Watching competent cooks anxiously assemble a macaron tower in under an hour validates my struggle to write a decent essay or finish a test in 47 minutes.

-Amanda Castillo-Lopez

Fortnite, oh, Fortnite, words can’t de scribe my love for thee. We’re playing squads tonight, cause four is better than three.

My high school career wouldn’t be the same

I always get the most kills, and Nour complains

I’m dying in the storm from all these APs

Fortnite, oh, Fortnite how you saved me

-Jonathan Lee

A game that truly means a lot to not only me but the whole class of 2024 was “Mi necraft.” “Minecraft” was probably the peak game of our childhood and to see it grow so much while some of us still play makes it such a fantastic game. It didn’t matter who you were or how good you were at games, “Minecraft” was friendly to all players and all gamers. So yeah, the game of our class? “Minecraft.”

-Lux Vang

Being a freshman, my school work came second to my social life. Adapting to the new environment and finding my place as a high school student was first on my docket. I felt that I needed to belong; to act like everyone else. My English teacher that year made us read “The Giver” second semester. The book’s themes of conformity and self identity enlightened me that to fit in is to cheat yourself. Be ing your own person and finding things that make you happy, not other people, is the only way to live correctly.

-Cael Clancy

If one thing got me through APUSH and US Gov, it was “Hamilton.” After spend ing middle school refusing to join the hordes and become a Hamilton Kid, the recorded version on Disney+ took me by storm. It swarmed my Spotify Wrapped, knocked me down a peg in the way every freshman needs. There comes a time in every nerd’s life when they must embrace their truth. Even four years later the lyrics call out to me.

-Katya Roudakov

Zoos Are Good For Us, But Are They Good For Their Animals?

BY QUINN RUDNICK Junior Editor-in-Chief and Sports Editor

Attending the zoo, going to look and hang out with a variety of incredibly cool animals, and grabbing a snack at a restaurant overlooking an enclosure is a common weekend activity for lots of families.

Any child who’s been to a zoo will recall the memories of feeding a giraffe a lettuce leaf for the first time with fondness.

Going to the zoo makes us happy, but is the animals’ discomfort worth it?

Debate about whether zoos are humane enough, if they provide enough conservation efforts, how their funding is allocated, and more has been the subject of a tense discussion for years.

Most zoos, in order to provide for their animals, partake in conservation efforts. Conservation, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service is the “protection, preservation, management, or restoration of natural environments

and the ecological communities that inhabit them.”

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) keeps track of how their accredited zoos spend their money and promote conservation efforts. The AZA reported that $252.2 million worldwide was spent on field conservation in 2023, and $29 million was spent on the AZA Saving Animals From Extinction program in 2022. This is a significant amount of money to put towards conservation, and I think it’s great, but the only way it’s benefiting the animals is by protecting their species as a whole.

Even though species in zoos that work with the AZA have opportunities for reintroduction to the wild, the vast majority of animals will spend their entire life in captivity. These animals are born into captivity, and will live out their days behind gates and glass windows with crowds of people ogling at them every day. That can’t possibly be good for their mental health.

“While the physical needs of animals are met in captivity, the conditions of confinement and exposure to humans can result in physiological stress,” a study by the National Library of Medicine found.

After I leave the zoo, I can’t help but feel a massive sense of guilt; all of these animals deserve to be outside and in the

wild, and we’re using them as a distraction from our stressful lives. We use these animals to relieve stress, but we’re just causing them more anxiety.

And while animals are continually stressed out by us, going to zoos and interacting with nature provides us with incredible opportunities for happiness and enjoyment. “Access to nature has been shown to promote positive wellbeing and alleviate mild depression and anxiety in humans,” the National Library of Medicine said. “Modern zoos are consistently aiming to promote both animal welfare and positive human wellbeing.”

I love going to the zoo. That’s a fact. I’ve been going to the Denver and Cheyenne Mountain Zoos since I was born, and I love the San Diego Zoo just as much as the next person. I’m happy to go to the zoo and walk around with my family, learning about new animals and feeding giraffes lettuce, but every time I go, I can’t get over that guilty feeling. Zoos need to do more to help their animals feel better, both physically and mentally.

LONGING: An adult male lion watches visitors through the chain mail wiring on the top of the enclosure at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

LOOKING OUT: A mature bald eagle looks out at visitors at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The eagle enclosure is fairly open, but it’s in the middle of an area with heavy foot traffic.

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

Get a New Punchline: ‘KMS’ Is Not Funny

BY JUDE GORDEN Features Editor

“I’m gonna kill myself” has become Gen Z’s way to express frustration.

When a term becomes everyday slang, the meaning is easily forgotten. But “I’m gonna kill myself” isn’t just a fun play on words or a misunderstood metaphor; it’s a blatant warning.

A threat to end your life is still a threat, whether or not it’s a joke over a bad grade or an honest call for help. But does that mean you’re going to get Safe to Tell called on you because you used hyperbole? It depends on the audience of your oh-so-funny suicide joke.

Yes, if you threaten to kill yourself you might have the hotline called on you. But I’m not saying the people who called Safe2Tell were wrong. It would be much more dangerous to treat all threats of suicide as jokes, because the reality is, your survival is not stand up comedy material.

When teens continue to meet breakups and failed quizzes with “kms”, their ‘hot new slang’ comes as a sickening gut punch to those who’ve lost people to suicide, and also to those who have faced suicidal ideation themselves.

dean’s office for skipping class.

The problem is that these aren’t just hypotheticals, they’re the reality of those impacted by actual suicide everyday. Before you’ve been personally affected by suicide, it might not seem “that deep.” To those unaffected, losing a friend or family member to suicide might seem just as impossible as to a zombie outbreak.

But unlike a sudden zombie apocalypse, real people die to suicide every day. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, suicide is the 8th leading cause of death in Colorado.

Struggling with suicidal ideation doesn’t give you the right to senselessly trigger those thoughts in other people. Some things, although protected by freedom of speech, should not be joked about.

It’s not a question of whether or not you’re able to say it; it’s whether or not you should. You should care about how your words affect others, even if that means giving up your favorite insensitive phrase.

But completely censoring the topic of suicide is not the answer. Suicide is taboo enough as is, and acting like it doesn’t exist only adds to ignorance and controversy. Suicide needs to be talked about, but it shouldn’t be the subject of a punchline.

You should care about how your words affect others, even if that means giving up your favorite insensitive phrase.

The Center for Disease Control found that 22% of teens seriously considered suicide in the past year. That’s nearly one in every four teens.

Imagine walking through the halls after losing a loved one to suicide and hearing a peer say they’re going to kill themselves because they have too much homework. Or because they heard TikTok might be getting banned. Or because they got called to their

In the same survey, 17% of respondents said that they had to leave treatment

Every teen I know has used humor as a coping mechanism. In fact, it might be the only way they know how to address uncomfortable topics. But I’ve learned that it’s very rarely just a joke, but instead, a way for people to reach out for help without blatantly asking.

If you’ve tried to discourage this behavior in your friends or classmates, you’ve probably heard things like “you’re just sensitive” or “I obviously didn’t mean it.”

It’s not socially acceptable to be uncomfortable with people threatening to kill themselves. The progress towards making suicide less taboo is now going too far, and becoming more harmful than helpful.

So what happens now when a joke carries more meaning than the person lets on?

Because it’s so popular to joke about killing yourself, real calls for help are ignored.

Regardless of how many times you hear it in a day, how many friends joke about it in the halls, or how many times you even say it yourself, laughing off someone’s threat at suicide could be the difference between life and death.

So, be the buzzkill. Be the annoying friend who takes everything too seriously. Be the stranger who reminds people in the hall what their words really mean. I’d make that sacrifice if it meant I could help just one person, and you should too.

JUST A JOKE: Many people use “KMS” as a common saying to express irritation. This normalizes and devalues cries for help.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY WRYN DUEPRE

Put Your Phone Down and Pick Up Your Mental Health

BY IZZY KRAUSS Opinions Editor

During COVID, I spent months in my bed sleeping, unable to go outside, and feeling incredibly disconnected from the world and people around me.

It felt lonely and flat out awful. After that, one would think that I would be outside at every opportunity I can, but as much as I love being outside, it’s still a struggle, because sitting on my phone and viewing the outside world from my phone feels much more interesting.

As I sit in my bed and scroll through TikTok, I see trends popping up that glorify the same gross habits and ideas that I try to move past. Because of the addictive algorithm perfectly crafted just for me it makes it so hard to put my phone down and go outside even though I know it would make me feel better.

A common phrase used on TikTok is “bed rot”, which glamorizes the idea of feeding into depressive habits and laying in bed all day. On many social media platforms, the idea of bed

rotting has become something that is considered cute or relatable, And while it may be relatable, it is definitely not cute.

As we continue to support the trends that highlight and romanticize mental health issues, we continue to prioritize staying in bed over going outside. According to University of California Davis Health, being outside can increase focus and concentration, lowering heart rates, and increase sleep quality. By focusing on going outside and getting the sun we need, it will be pushed to have better habits and better health.

As you become older, there will be less and less free time to frolic in fields or use the day off of school to explore. Most energy will be devoted to family, jobs, further schooling, and more, rather than things that are appealing and healthy. Youth is time to explore outside your phone, so why not take the opportunity to do so?

According to Must See Denver, within the Denver metro area, there are nearly 20,000 acres of city and mountain parkland, more than 250 individual urban parks, and about 850 miles of paved and off-street bike trails. With the accessibility of the state park being so close and the amount of free parks nearby, there is no reason we shouldn’t take advantage of all of the free outdoor space. Creek sits directly next to The Cherry

Creek Reservoir as well, so rather than sitting on your phone, you should take a little walk in the reservoir that’s wildly accessible and take care of your mental and physical health? Whenever I sit in my bed for days and don’t go outside, I feel isolated and disconnected from the world. When I go for a walk with my dogs or sit on my porch and read, its so much more beautiful and real then when I see a video of a view from a random person on social media. I feel more connected when I’m experiencing life rather than just watching it. So choose to go outside rather than staying indoors and prioritize yourself over a fun TikTok video or Instagram post.

Not only are there the benefits of an increase in mental health or lowering stress, it’s also just fun to play outside in the snow or go for a bike ride during the spring or summer. When I took the time to go outside, no matter the season, I found a sense of beauty that I will never be able to find scrolling through TikTok or Instagram.

GO TOUCH GRASS: Despite the health benefits of being outside, students often fall victim to endless scrolling and brain rot. The algorithms on different social media apps make it harder to put the phone down, but doing it can be beneficial.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

Put Your Education to Work

Creek Students Should Choose to Care

In 1960, the Vietnam war was in full swing, and America’s involvement was solid.

The New York Times was of course covering the conflict, but their reports did not include an almost constant factor that we see now: there were no dead bodies. Back then, a visual of a corpse was shocking to the American people because of its cruelty and tragedy.

But now, an image of a dead refugee can cycle through Instagram constantly. For some, this image still represents a deep injustice like it once did. But for most, the picture is just that: a picture.

It is a collection of 2,000 some pixels taking up a fraction of a second in their mind. And we do what we have become accustomed to doing when we see things that make us uncomfortable; we scroll.

Creek students exist in a bubble, many of us haven’t experienced poverty, or witnessed violence, or walked past the homeless daily. We are incredibly comfortable with our silver spoons and our white summer dresses. For us, pollution in our pristine lives can only exist if we let it. And so, when we see a video of a dead body, or images of Fentanyl addicts, or an infographic about abortions, we scroll.

Online, viewing violence has become so grotesquely common that a dead body no longer resonates as a dead body. Rather, it is seen as some twisted art piece that exists in someone’s imaginary world, but not ours.

The issue with picking comfort over acknowledgment is that we will become unable to recognize and resonate with issues that do not directly affect us. This, in turn, will begin to deteriorate our democracy. Good, strong countries rely on good, strong people. But if we refuse to recognize the incredible horrors that exist outside of our very limited lives, our nation with falter.

Seniors on the precipice of voting should use the incredible privilege of a Creek education to understand complex issues, to give themselves the ability to truly feel for difficult topics. Choosing ignorance should never be a Creek alums answer to political conflict. Rather, we should use the excellent education we bout on our applications to acknowledge the plight of those thousands of miles away. Our role as American citizens is to act upon our beliefs, and advocate for our vote. It is not in our nature to sit idly by and pick an apolitical viewpoint. This stagnancy has translated into our legislative branches. The U.S. is at a standstill that only its citizens

This is an opinions piece written by the Editorial Staff of the Union St. Journal. Staff-editorials serve as a way for members of the magazine to give commentary on a community wide issue. The views expressed represent the opinions of the editorial staff, not those of CCHS or CCSD.

can break, and if we don’t, we will continue to slither through foreign conflicts either falling whim to an administrative agenda, our doing nothing at all.

A conceptualization of trauma and upset can translate to real action once these seniors reach voting age. A large benefit of social media is its ability to pummel ideas into it’s users, if they care enough. Seniors should use this motivation to follow the trends of voter turnout in years past, and continue to act on their feelings, rather than turning a blind eye to them. Seniors will be given the power to make a change within U.S. policy, but only if they choose to care.

The controversy about the Vietnam war came to a head because of mass protest and the use of the press. We too can cause change, no matter the conflict, if we fight the Creek urge to ignore what makes us uncomfortable and instead act on whatever beliefs we may have, using our American nature to our advantage.

The USJ’s Editorial Board voted on the subject of this Staff Editorial.

CAN’T AVOID: Citizens hold the power to vote for initiatives that could change things. But instead, many choose to ignore action because it makes them uncomfortable. The longer people avoid the things that make them uncomfortable, the more difficult solutions becomes when faced with voting.

RECAP

GIRLS’ LAX

The girls’ varsity lacrosse team has held a steady lead across the season, and holds an 6-8 overall win record and a 4-2 league record. This year, the team could head into playoffs against leading teams like Colorado Academy and Thunder Ridge. The team fell to Colorado Academy in the semifinals for the state championship last year, after beating Columbine and Fairview.

BOYS’ LAX

The varsity boys’ lacrosse team has had an extremely successful season, holding a 10-3 overall record and 5-1 league record. Looking towards playoffs and the state championship, the team might secure a first or second seed. The team lost to Mountain Vista in the Final Four of the state championship last year, after beating Columbine and Denver South in high-scoring games.

ABOVE: Senior attacker Gracie Kindy (#15) plays during an April 10 game against Arapahoe. Creek won 12-9.

ABOVE: Junior long stick midfielder Logan Nicklas (#17) fights to keep control of the ball during a game against Olympus on April 2. Creek won 12-8.

BELOW: Senior midfielder Brian Bowler (#20) plays during a March 12 game against Cheyenne Mountain. Creek won 17-6.

LEFT: Junior defenseman Marlee Winkelman (#17) plays during an April 17 game against Denver East. Creek won 16-9.

BELOW: Senior attacker Owen Burke (#9) passes the ball during a game against Olympus on April 2.

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

PHOTO BY KELLEN RINGLAND

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

PHOTO BY KELLEN RINGLAND

ART BY ANGELA XU