CAMPUSOFTHE FUTURE
In November, CCSD voters will be asked to approve a measure to rebuild campuses across the district. But how will it work?
Elementary
On Oct. 26, members of Student Senate, marching band, and athletics traveled to Creek’s elementary and middle feeder schools to spread school spirit. The program, Spirit Bus, aims to excite future students to come to Creek.
PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK
Letter from the Editor
I’ve been coming up with ideas about how to write this InDepth for almost a year. Since I first heard about the possible plan to rebuild Creek’s campus from principal Silva last fall, I’ve been wanting to write a full-coverage story that discusses how the project would actually work. Now, the In-Depth serves as a voter-information piece that explains the legislation behind the measure that voters will decide on, the impact of the probable construction on student life, and the minimal plans for reconstruction. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to ‘dig in’ to this issue as much as I did, and I hope that the article serves
as a solid explanation for such a large and complicated project.
Our Staff-Ed also addresses something related to the election; who would make a suitable choice for President. The Union Street Journal Editorial Board voted to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, on the basis of how her policies will benefit everyone, especially high schoolers.
Additionally, we discuss the effect of coming to Creek from a non-feeder school, new curriculum changes at Creek, and the development of the girls’ flag football team into a CHSAA sanctioned sport.
To the lovely staff of the USJ, you are all so incredibly talented. Watching you take on all of these complicated articles and write them extremely well is consistently impressive. I am so glad to spend everyday with you.
- Editor-in-Chief Quinn Rudnick
On The Cover
In November, voters in the Cherry Creek Schools District will be asked to vote on a bond measure, one that could lead to the reconstruction of schools across the district. The measure, the 2024 Mill & Bond, which is on the ballot as issues 4A and B, would allocate $950 million dollars to the district through a tax increase to update or rebuild multiple schools. At Creek, the bond would allow for the complete reconstruction of the West Building, and possible buildings in the future.
Because the bond hasn’t been approved yet, our staff wanted to create a cover that would represent imminent change, and remnants of Creek’s old buildings being cleared away. We carried out a blueprint theme throughout, in order to represent new ideas being created.
Staff
Editor-in-Chief Quinn Rudnick
Managing Editor & Design Editor Izzy Krauss
News Editor & Outreach Coordinator
Peter Philpott
A&E Editor & Asst. Design Editor Rue Minar
A&E Editor Anaiah Shahrukh
Opinions Editor Jude Gorden
Sports Editor & Video Editor Andrei Machado
Sports Editor Kellen Ringland
Features Editor Sophia Hady
Chief Photographer & Asst.
Sports Editor Briana Flores
Purpose:
Asst. Features Editor
Serenity Hurtado
Chief Artist Angela Xu
Staff Writers
Cristal Garcia
Pheonix O’Brien
Havana Amanlou
Emily Lambert
Angie Wang
Clay Biskner
Rayna Moon
Berkeley Bowler
IV Collier
Avery Exley
Evelyn Laughlin
Kazie Siegel
Oliver Scala
Elise Dougherty
Jackson Sloan
Peyton Champion
Vera Costa
Keagan Hong
Aleena Gopalani
Mae Murphey
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
SCHOOL SPIRIT: Senior Giselle Yokomichi greets Cherry Hills
students.
news bites
Littleton Public Schools Implements New Phone Policy
BY PETER PHILPOTT News Editor & Outreach Coordinator
The Littleton Public Schools
District (LPS) introduced a new phone policy for the 2024 school year, stricter than pre-existing regulations in surrounding districts, including Cherry Creek School Dis-
trict (CCSD).
With the new mandate, students are required to have phones shut off and put away in backpacks or in phone pockets in all classes. Regulations like these at Creek have only been made department-wide, never school or district-wide.
Many high schoolers in the district have expressed opinions towards the new policy. “Some kids need to have their phones on them [for] medical issues, family issues, personal issues, etc,” Littleton High School (LHS) sophomore River Lasswell said. “Taking away their phones also means taking away communication from
HIDE YOUR PHONES: According to Lasswell, some students, many of whom disagree with the new phone policy, have disobeyed it by simply hiding their phones under their desks.
anyone outside the school.”
But according to LPS Chief Communications Officer Diane Leiker, parents and students haven’t shown noticeable objection to the new regulations.
“Teachers helped shape the policy changes, and many had already implemented these practices last year. It’s my understanding that the policy implementation is going smoothly,” Leiker said via LPS’s press release on the issue. “Parents, teachers, and students were involved in the process.”
LHS sophomore Julia Yusas has seen benefits with her peers.
“I have seen a lot more engagement from people who I know previously would have just sat on their phones instead of listening to the teachers,” she said. “People are also almost forced to talk to one another instead of just sitting on their phones.”
Honors Theater Opens New Doors in Drama
BY HAVANA AMANLOU Staff Writer
With many Cherry Creek School District (CCSD) students wanting more in the drama world, the district created a new Honors Theater program to recognize their talent.
It aims to expand their horizons in theater by providing new opportunities to students, with the aid of mentors in the district.
“We saw a need to add an Honors Theater, so our students have the same opportunities as some of their peers in the performing arts departments,” Honors Theater Playwrights Mentor Eric Eidson said.
Junior Katie Whitehead hopes the
program will help her build more experience and help her for her college and career in theater.
“Honors Theater will allow me to make new connections specifically with other schools and other directors,” Whitehead said. “It will give me the chance to work with [people] I haven’t worked with before, which will be an amazing experience.”
Gifted and Talented Rebrands, Renames
BY KEAGAN HONG Staff Writer
The Gifted and Talented Program, created for academically accelerated students, has been renamed district-wide to the Neurodiverse Student Services.
Creek Counselor Renee Beck announced it through Schoology on Aug. 21. According to Neurodiverse Student Services
Liaison Dr. Daniel Buehler, the new term helps the program define its students better, to accurately describe how, neurologically, gifted students are different from people who are neurotypical.
“It empowers us linguistically to speak about aspects of the students we serve” Buehler said. Other than the name, the program itself is untouched .
Some students are confused by the transition. “I never really thought of being ‘neurodiverse,’” sophomore Andy Bian said. “I think that I’m just a normal person and don’t need some kind of spe-
GT NO LONGER: Neurodiversity counselors like Kacey Morgan helped introduce the renamed program alongside district administrators and Creek’s Neurodiversity Coordinating Team.
PHOTO BY BRIANA FLORES
PHOTO BY BRIANA FLORES
ART BY PETER PHILPOTT
District Expands Food Infrastructure
BY ANGELA XU Chief Artist
The Cherry Creek School District (CCSD) purchased a $20.8 million industrial facility at 7194 S. Revere Parkway on May 8 to accommodate growing meal numbers and anticipated growth in student food demand.
“The entire [Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)] operation will move to the new facility,” Director of FNS Kim Kilgore said. “Due to the increase in the number of schools over the past 15 years and the 40% increase in meal participation due to Free Meals for All, we have outgrown our facility.”
Alongside the new facility and extra refurbishments, new equipment will be purchased and moved to the new facility. All excess equipment will replace outdated appliances in schools across the district, in hopes of increasing efficiency as demand for free meals and more menu options increase.
“I would be overjoyed if there was an additional amount of food options,” junior Carter Bell said. “Sometimes the single chef’s choice item just isn’t enough.”
The district hopes to increase menu options at all education levels, as well as adding more ethnic and cultural foods to meet the needs of student diversity. New recipes will be created, tested, and finalized on the new menu once the organiza-
tion moves into the new building in 2026.
“It will benefit the students with higher quality products, more freshly baked items, and a larger variety of everything,” Kilgore said.
Since the old building was made almost 20 years ago, there have been more than 20 new schools and 13,000 students added to the district, making space the main problem. The previous facility covered less than 25,000 square feet with no room for expansion, making the environment no longer safe to work in.
By contrast, the new facility covers approximately 100,000 square feet of rentable building area, including four drivein doors, 32 delivery dock doors and parking, bakery expansion to make more items for the menu, kitchen space to train more than 350 new and existing staff, and a community pantry to shelf stable and perishable items.
“For our staff, it will be a safe environment with plenty of space to operate with much less chance of injury and opportunities for more training, which will support the professional growth of my team,” Kilgore said.
Despite the hefty price tag on the new building, the purchase allows the district to stop sourcing commercially, which is incredibly expensive. They can instead buy ‘truckloads of food’ from vendors at a lower cost, at the same quality, and with increased variety for the students. The money saved can then be directed towards other school programs and activities, like catering programs that will be able to provide staff meals for work days, conferences, and other district events.
“We can take full truck loads of food and can safely store additional products in the event of supply chain disruption,” Chief Financial and Operating Officer Scott Smith said.
INCREASED NEED: With cafeteria food being free for all students, the upturn in meal demand prompted the renewing and upgrading of CCSD equipment and facilities.
PHOTO BY BRIANA FLORES
PHOTOBYPETERPHILPOTT
HOUSEWARMING: Demand for more CCSD meal production was met with 7194
S. Revere Pkwy, a vast new warehouse compared to the old facility.
Six Months Later: Where Creek Stands on a Reshuffled Presidential Election
BY PETER PHILPOTT News Editor & Outreach Coordinator
The 2024 presidential election, between March and now, the 2024 presidential election has become arguably unrecognizable. President Joe Biden, in an exceptional move, dropped out of the running. The Democratic Party almost unanimously rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris for the new nominee, taking the internet and the American political landscape by storm. Three polarizing debates shocked the polls. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) stepped up as vice presidential candidates. Two assassination attempts and 34 felony counts all have been thrown towards Trump.
All of this in only six months.
“[Is the election] unprecedented in polarization? As a historian, the default answer is going to be no, because we don’t throw around ‘unprecedented’ easily,” said history teacher and Political Awareness Club (PAC) sponsor Thomas Michel. “But having a sitting president decide not to run for reelection after the primary process is over? Yeah, that is unprecedented.”
In March, the Creek community supported Biden over Trump, but with a very thin margin, and “Other Candidate” was the most-picked option. According to the Pew Research Center, the matchup was unfavorable, and many Americans didn’t support either candidate. Since then, most respondents took a stance besides voting “Other,” and Harris took a tremendous lead, with 74 percent of a September USJ poll of the Creek instagram community.
“Harris has re-energized a lot of voters towards being excited to vote,” junior PAC President Meryl Welsh said. “She is essentially the opposite of Trump and campaigning on a platform of change, which gives many people hope.”
Senior Kimaya Kini has involved herself with the political world in many ways, including her presidency of the Creek Students Demand Action (SDA) club, interning on congressional campaigns, and testifying for bills for the Colorado General Assembly. PAC, SDA, and Kini all hope to not only
inform students of the world around them, but produce more participation and voting, for those of age.
“It’s important for people to form an opinion, because federal policy affects everybody…the two candidates are radically different and you should be aware of it,” Kini said. “Even though you are just one vote, if everybody thought that way, no one would be voting.”
Welsh thinks that the candidate swap on July 21 not only pushed the polls blue, but also the general student viewpoint, persuading more people to participate in the election. “Harris is performing better in the polls than Biden on a variety of issues, and has the potential to move voters or student opinion over to a more democratic side,” she said.
A huge sway for Gen-Z is social media, and it has played a crucial role in the campaign so far. According to Kini, Trump was beating Biden at the internet game before the president suspended his campaign.
Since then, Harris has taken an online advantage, Kini says.
“Joe Biden was always trending for all the wrong reasons,” Kini said. “And so when Harris’ campaign
came along, they made sure that she was trending.”
But Kini emphasized that people, especially young generations, need to research their chosen candidate, not just hop on a viral TikTok trend to follow them.
“I do think there is something to be said about when a campaign goes viral, people stop caring about the policy,” she said. “Being a charismatic candidate matters, but we should also be doing our best to educate ourselves on issues.”
Whichever way people do sway, Michel believes that the election could be higher for turnout than previous ones because of the divide forced wider by social media.
“This anger, hate, in some of the debates… now with [new] media, makes it so much easier to hear it over and over,” he said. “Social media makes it so much easier for the extremes, the far left and the far right, to be as angry as they want.”
FUNNELING IN: Some students from schools like Challenge struggle to adjust to Creek’s size, while students from West and Campus have an easier time.
PHOTO BY BRIANA FLORES
The ‘Challenge’ of Adjusting To Creek
BY BERKELEY BOWLER Staff Writer
When students enter Creek as freshmen, many come from the school’s two main feeder schools, Campus and West Middle Schools.
These schools are where the majority of Creek students end up after elementary school, but people who don’t go to those mainstream schools instead go to Challenge School, which serves K-8.
Schools such as Challenge, which has a smaller graduating class and has different curriculums including more focus on advanced learning and critical thinking, differ vastly from Creek’s typical feeder schools. The transition from middle school into high school can be challenging, but even more so for students coming from a non-feeder school student.
“I’d say it was pretty stressful, but it was fun seeing everyone and making new friends,” freshman and former Challenge student Kate Farbish said. “I feel like I would have more friends if I came from a bigger school like [Campus or West].”
When coming from feeder schools you might not already have friends they can count on. Students coming into Creek from West and Campus already have established friendships where as people from Challenge might not have that.
“I feel more popular, I have more friends, and I’ve been socializing more,” freshman and former Campus student Vicky Yu said.
For students coming from smaller schools, entering Creek can be a more isolating experience because they don’t have as many friends on a brand-new campus. In contrast, most feeder students come into Creek with a large friend group, and often know the campus layout.
“I can tell when people aren’t from Campus, because I kind of knew everyone there,” freshman and former Campus student Sela Kahn said.
Although students like Kahn were initially intimidated, it was a good and positive start to the school year due to the original friend groups made.
Farbish said.
Separation from groups of people on campus can often lead to a more anxious experience for new students, and many feel that the isolation might lead to further image and mental health problems.
“It was a lot more awkward and I was more self-conscious about what people thought,” Farbish said.
Freshman and former Challenge student Kate McKinnon felt incredibly nervous coming into high school not knowing people or the campus, but once she found a good friend group she started to settle in.
“Some people seemed like they just didn’t want anything to do with me.”
Freshman Kate Farbish
“It was kind of a hard week, but it wasn’t the worst,” Kahn said.
The key difference between coming from Challenge and non-feeder schools is that people from feeder schools know people and already have friend groups from the previous years. While, people from smaller schools like Challenge may only be familiar with 5-10 people coming to Creek.
“Some people seemed like they jusdidn’t want anything to do with me,”
“There have been a lot of friend groups that you’ve seen coming from the middle schools who are so close and have stayed close, and it doesn’t seem like they’re willing to branch out to other kids,” McKinnon said.
This transition can be difficult for any student, but it’s even harder when there’s a smaller pool of people you do know. But despite this, non-feeder students do eventually adjust.
“Coming from Challenge was hard, but it all turned out great in the end,” junior and former Challenge student Simar Singh said.
Social Pockets Around Creek: Where
BY SOPHIA HADY Features Editor
At a school with almost 4,000 students not everyone is lucky enough to find a specific group but those who do find friendships and community.
Here are four stories of students who found a community within one of Creek’s many clubs.
where competition is the key to success. Within Troupe 1730, students combine their talents and help others to create a cohesive set, play, and group of characters.
“We all compete against each other to make each other better, and at the same time, once we are working together,,we just keep going and inspiring people,” Dann said.
Dann has found her passion in theater. It’s where she can be herself while still doing something she loves, and she’s not the only one. The theater has become a comfort for hundreds of students at Creek.
Theatre Athletics
Most people think of theater kids as overly dramatic, constantly bursting out in song, and having some type of obsession with “Hamilton;” but this is far from the truth for senior Kate Dann.
For her, and most other theater students, theater has become a second home.
“You find that it’s a place that you want to be, it’s [definitely] a safe space,” Dann said.
When you think of athletes, you might think of a group of students who spend their entire day at the gym, building up muscle.
STEM
Some people view students heavily involved in STEM you think of nerds who don’t know what deodorant is. But at Creek, there’s an extremely wide variety of scientific and engineering pathways available.
Whether students are involved in programs like robotics, engineering and design, physics, biology, medicine, or chemistry, they are constantly finding groups of people to talk about their interests. Within these groups, these students are finding the opportunity to ‘nerd out’ with each other.
“You find that it’s a place that you want to be, it’s [definitely] a safe space.”
Senior Kate Dann
As the current president of Creek Theater’s Troupe 1730, Dann has found that the group is extremely tight-knit; everyone knows her name, and she knows everyone’s names. Even though there is some divide between cast and crew, they all still work together. The troupe holds occasional bonding days that bring together cast and crew, upperclassmen, and underclassmen, and allow students to create close connections.
“[Theater is] where I met many of my close friends because they all share the same passion as me. So it’s easy to become friends with people who like the same stuff as you,” Dann said.
Theater also adds an aspect of healthy competition for students like Dann. Between auditions for the cast and crew head interviews, theater builds an environment
But for many student-athletes, sports have become a way to find a community of friends.
Senior Sydney Berry has been playing for the Creek softball team since freshman year and is currently a varsity catcher. She has since found a close-knit community.
“It’s really easy to talk to everyone, and the coaches are also part of that small community, so it’s nice,” Berry said.
Berry and her team have won and lost together, been through hard practices, and have created a community together.
“It does take a lot of commitment, but it also does reward you with a lot of really close friends,” Berry said.
Being a part of softball has also given Berry a closer connection with Creek. Like many other student-athletes, she feels pride for being a part of a Creek sport. Because Creek has such a strong athletic culture, participating in sports helps students find a sense of success and celebration in their athletics.
“I know what it feels like to put on a jersey that says ‘Creek,’ so I feel closer to the school community,” Berry said.
“I’m kind of like the ultimate nerd,” senior Dylan Chen-Becker said Chen-Becker is not only part of the robotics club, which builds and programs robots, but also participates in Aerospace leadership, which has taught him a lot of aerospace principles and how aircraft work,.
By being a part of STEM pathways at Creek, Chen-Becker has found a career path he hopes to pursue; aerospace engineering. As he’s fostered his interests in aerospace engineering through clubs at Creek, Chen-Becker has found that the experience has helped him come up with ideas about where to go to college as well.
Over the years, him and his robotic team have become good friends. The robotics team have dinners together, as well as other activities that bring those involved closer together.
Over the summer the robotics team was working on the T-shirt cannon and kept it stored at one of the member’s houses. As a result the robotics team would work on a project, while bonding as a group Chen Becker has also learned things from his STEM-oriented peers. When he doesn’t understand or is trying to learn something new he can ask others around him that know a lot about a specific topic.
“Just through these clubs and organizations that I’ve been a part of doing that type of thing, you just meet a lot of people that are interested in the very same things that you are,” Chen-Becker said.
Students Find Their Place
Speech & Debate
Popular opinion on Speech and Debate kids says they’re too argumentative and invested in politics.
But when senior Lucas Barun entered the halls of Creek four years ago he kept to himself and stayed quiet. Ironically he had decided to join Speech and Debate, and this decision would soon alter his personality.
“I was able to become somebody who’s much more extroverted than I used to be,” Barun said.
In the three years Barun has participated in speech and debate he has meet many of his closest friends. His girlfriend participates in the program, and almost his entire homecoming group is in it as well.
“It’s greatly positively impacted me because I’ve been able to meet a lot of new people and create a community,” Barun said.
Not only has speech and debate given Barun a community at Creek, it’s also helped him in more academic ways. He’s had to develop critical thinking skills and develop the ability to create speeches on the fly.
“It’s let me be able to think on my feet,” Barun said.
To Barun, joining a group or a club gives you a community and friends. At Creek especially, with how big it is, the easiest and most effective way to find yourself in a sea of thousands is by joining groups and meeting people who share similar interests.
“I think that it’s just something in general about Creek that getting involved in clubs gets you friends,” Barun said.
ART BY ANGELA XU AND SOPHIA HADY
POCKETS OF CREEK: Finding a group at Creek helps to make friendships, and can provide a sense of belonging to many students.
CAMPUS OF THE
FUTURE:
The 2024 Mill & Bond and how it couldbringthereconstructionof campusesacrossthedistrict
into two parts: a $950 million bond, and a $30 million mill levy increase. The $30 million will be reserved for school funding issues like teacher salaries, maintenance, safety projects, regulating class size, and specialized programs like ILC classrooms. Beyond that, the $950 million bond measure, if approved by voters, will begin the process of reconstructing Creek, as well as other schools in the district.
“Our
citizens have invested in these schools over years and decades. It’s our obligation to make sure that we value that investment.”
lion dollar house, it’d be $15 a month. If you own a million dollar house, [it] would be $30 a month,” Smith said.
CCSD CFO Scott Smith
“We’re reaching a point, like many of our neighboring districts, where our post World War Two buildings are just at the end of useful life,” CCSD Chief Financial Officer Scott Smith said during a presentation to parents on Sept. 11. “Does it make more sense to re-
As part of the bond, Creek itself would hope to see the complete reconstruction of its campus, along with the campuses of the Belleview elementary and Campus middle schools over a threebond measure. If approved, this $950 million bond would pay for the complete relocation of Creek’s administrative offices, and the teardown and rebuilding of the West building.
“We’re having indoor air quality issues and other plumbing issues in the West building at Cherry Creek that are just getting really, re-
Learning’ facility for the CCSD’s teacher li censing program.
At the district level, there’s hope that construction will extend into 2028 and 2032 with the passage of an additional two bond measures. If a bond measure is passed in 2028, the remainder of the Creek campus, along with the Campus and Belleview campuses, will be rebuilt in 2032.
For members of the district, there are two motivations behind the passage of the $950 million bond. Fiscally, construction prices are consistently increasing, and if the construction was delayed further, the bond could cost upwards of $1.5 billion. Otherwise, many believe that it’s time for students in the CCSD to see updated school buildings.
“Our kids deserve the opportunity to learn in schools that are 21st century schools,” CCSD Board of Education District A Director Anne Egan said during a bond proposal meeting on Sept. 11.
Bond Committee Planning Tech, Security Upgrades
BY PETER PHILPOTT News Editor & Outreach Coordinator
Because building planning and architecture can cost millions of dollars for a project of Bond’s size, no official plans or blueprints are released. Regardless, supporters and businesses involved in the project have visions for what the campus of the future could look like. Many plans have illustrated the four buildings centering around Stutler Bowl.
“I believe the evolution of the Cherry Creek High School Campus to a state of the art, innovative edu-
Bond Buildings Tech &
cation campus will help enable students to excel in their education and personal growth experience while attending,” said Tom Gross, local realtor at Kentwood Real Estate and Long Range Facility Planning Committee member.
For some community members, the goal is to bring Creek from a blocky campus representing the 20th century era it was built in, into a futuristic campus allowing students “enhance the education experience,” according to Gross.
Security
Several general outlines have been set out on the measure’s page for upgrades that could come with a mill levy and the bond funds, many including technology and security. Upgraded security cameras, ballistic window film, and higher funded security staff are all proposed, providing more
CAMPUS MAP: There are minimal design plans of what buildings would look like, but rough designs like the ones above are available. The new campus would center around Stutler Bowl, on the corner of Yosemite Street and Union Avenue.
safety in the case of the rising risk of shooting threats.
Students believe the district can do more to ensure everyday security, like the film which could make all windows bulletproof. “Safety is more important than convenience,” senior Mia Hausman said. “You want to feel safe at school.”
As for technological upgrades, Gross
ARTBYQUINNRUDNICK
thinks the tools at a student’s hand are just as important as the environment they work in.
“Innovated education facilities with abundant natural light, state of the art technology and open interior and exterior spaces [facilitate] positive interaction among students,” he said.
What Does the Community Want?
“I know a lot of people associate metal detectors with [danger]...but I think when you have them, it just clarifies that you will be safe.”
-Junior Jacquelin Greene
“I am excited at the prospect of having brand new spaces and brand new technology.”
-Tech Center Staff Jen Ford
“ The Wi-Fi here is not as good as I think it could be, because I feel like a lot of students have problems with that.”
-Senior Mia Hausman
“If we were to have some way to scan in with a [chip] ID , that will help...limiting who gets in.”
-Junior Jacquelin Greene
How Would Life On Campus Work?
As the 2024 Mill & Bond plan has gained more circulation, more and more questions have started to come up about how life at Creek will continue during construction.
If passed, many students, parents, and members of the community have expressed concern about academics, student life, traditions, and the how Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC) will function during an ongoing construction project.
Academics & Student Life
With the potential tearing down and rebuilding of the West building starting in 2025, there’s the underlying possibility that students and faculty on campus will see interruptions, but most administrative officials believe that issues will be minimal.
“In the first phase, [students] shouldn’t be impacted as much because the West Building is going to be built where the administration buildings are, so it won’t impact day-to-day life very much,” Smith said.
The reconstruction of the West building would primarily only affect the building site itself; which is currently planned to be contained in the administrative office building areas around Stutler Bowl. Because the building site is near parking lots like Stutler Bowl and West, there is the possibility of parking interruption. Beyond potential issues with parking, there is concern from parents and teachers that issues like noise and pollution could interrupt students.
“Noise during construction would definitely be a distraction, and it could be tough having to deal with longer walks between buildings,” junior Sophia Stansbury said. “It just seems like a lot to juggle while still trying to have a normal school day.”
Because the new West building is currently planned to be placed near the corner of Yosemite and Union Street, where the current administrative offices are, officials predict that the only major impacts will be to parking.
“We would lose, I’d say, 150 to 200 [spots],”
Principal Ryan Silva said. “The impact to instruction might just be that we have that many more kids who have to park off campus.”
Despite the possible interruption of student life, there are minimal plans in place to help students find new places to park, or how to deal with noise pollution in the area. Because the district can’t create exact design plans for the new buildings until the bond passes, the specifics on how construction will happen is unclear – making it harder to look into how students will work around construction. However, officials designing the project believe that the project will have minimal impact on student life.
“I can’t say it won’t at all, because it will be construction going up, but it won’t be impacting everywhere that kids are currently moving through the campus,” Smith said.
Events & Traditions
Creek hosts about 10 to 15 sport events every day, alongside multiple performances, club meetings, and other events throughout the school year.
For most students, having their campus bustling with activity is important, and because of that, there’s a rising concern that construction will disrupt Creek’s day-to-day life.
Important activities like sports games, especially those played in Stutler Bowl, might be interrupted by construction. Because the current plan would have buildings going into place around Stutler Bowl, there’s the possibility that increased noise could disrupt games.
“When you think about our after school events that are in the stadium, whether that’s track or field hockey, soccer, football, most of it might be when construction is done [for the day], although I don’t know if, because they want to get it done as quickly as possible, if [crews would work later]; then those could be impacted with noise,” Silva said.
In addition to sports games, graduation could also pose a challenge. At the moment, there are no plans, other than working around construction, in place to prevent interruptions.
“The campus has a certain vibe that’s developed over the years, and if they completely overhaul it, we could lose some of that,” Stansbury said.
Preserving artifacts and parts of the current campus has also been important to constituents of the projects, especially pieces of Creek’s history through its tradition of senior gifts. According to Silva, as many senior gifts will be incorporated into the new buildings, and there’s the possibility of a new ‘alumni hall’ being created.
“This is not about throwing out 75 years of history and tradition,” Smith said. “It’s about honoring 75 years of history and tradition.”
What are the phases of construction?
While each phase of the construction plan would warrant the passage of an additional bond measure every four years, the CCSD is hopeful that voters will support the continued project.
How Could Creek Stay Sustainable?
Solar Energy
By implementing solar energy, either on the roofs of buildings or as a covered parking system, Creek could see lower costs in energy bills, while also sustaining the school on a new system of energy.
“If you’re using solar panels, for example, you’re decreasing your carbon emissions every year,” science teacher Jeffery Boyce said. “You know that after five to 20 years, that you’re going to hit net zero.”
Lunch Systems
Transitioning to more sustainable sources of food could help Creek produce less detrimental waste from the lunch process. The use of more natural food, and the move towards more biodegradable materials in lunch meals, could move Creek towards a cleaner waste standard.
“We’re not using styrofoam trays. Potentially, we [should be] having conversations about ways to source our food from local farms,” Boyce said.
From an environmental standpoint, the reconstruction of a school campus is an extremely complex process to manage.
Over the course of the design process, however, admin have created work groups and collected information from people across the district to aid the process. As part of a meeting in spring 2024, science teacher Jeff Boyce, who specializes in environmental science, met with Cooper Carry, an architectural firm, to discuss how Creek could work towards a more sustainable path.
“I told them that my classroom faces where this construction is going to happen, and every day for the next, however many years that they’re building, I’m either going to be in my classroom talking on a daily basis about how Creek got it right, or I’ll be talking about how Creek got it wrong, because we’re so focused on saving as much money [as possible] right now,” Boyce said.
Building sustainably encompasses many factors, including energy sources, lighting, materials, noise and material pollution, and more. When balancing the overall cost of a building project and how to create something new in a healthy way, there are often envi-
Natural Lighting
If more classrooms had wider access to natural light, there would be less of a dependency on artificial lighting across the school, decreasing the school’s electric bill significantly. Easily opened windows and strong sources of natural lighting will help cool down buildings, and provide more healthy lighting.
“If every classroom had access to natural light, then you’re decreasing the electricity you need,” Boyce said.
Suistainable Materials
Incorporating natural materials, like wood, instead of materials like concrete and metal, there would be fewer harmful chemicals sequestered in Creek’s structure. Clay, wood, and cork are all sustainable materials that could be used during the building process in order to lower the amount of harmful material on campus.
“Within the manufacturing of the materials, you know that [different materials] release smaller amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” Boyce said.
ronmental grants that companies can apply for; where they would receive funding aid in return for meeting a specific environmental standard.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification is a rating system and grant program that focuses on creating sustainable construction standards. The program, led by the U.S. Green Building Council, aims to create “healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings, which offer environmental, social and governance benefits,” according to their website.
tainable campus: solar energy, organic and natural materials, electrifying buses, making heating room-specific, and more. Many of these changes are built around the goal of reaching ‘Net Zero’ for all buildings on the campus, meaning that the entire campus balances out its emissions to reach net zero waste.
“We have to stop pretending that our impact on the planet isn’t significant.”
Science Teacher Jeff Boyce
According to Boyce, partnering with programs like LEED could help the 2024 Mill & Bond Measure receive more funding. “[If we don’t apply for grants,] we’re leaving money on the table,” he said. “We’re leaving opportunities on the table.”
Besides meeting specific environmental standards, there are many small changes that Creek can make in order to create a more sus-
“There’s a bunch of net zero categories,” Boyce said. “We can talk about net zero water, and we can talk about net zero energy, and we can talk about electricity, and net zero carbon.”
While planning at the district level is still minimal, due to the fact that the bond has not yet been passed, officials are hoping to focus on environmental standards while building.
“We will do everything to the highest standard that we possibly can,” CCSD Superintendent Christopher Smith said during a Sept. 17 meeting with the community. “One of our organization’s core values is whole well being, and we take that very seriously.”
October 2024
Girls’ Flag Football Certified by CHSAA
BY EMILY LAMBERT Staff Writer
It’s now official. Girls’ flag football is now a part of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s group of certified sanctioned sports.
Girls’ flag football will become the 33rd sport sanctioned by CHSAA, and be the 18th sanctioned sport for girls in Colorado, compared to the 27 boys sports sponsored by CHSAA.
Through their approval from CHSAA, the team feels appreciated and as though they are a part of something bigger. This growth in acceptance of girls’ flag football has left the team feeling like their sport matters.
p orts s
“It just feels more serious. It feels more real,” assistant coach Jonathan Johnson said.
CHSAA’s acknowledgment has encouraged the team members to take the sport more serious and the team feels more connected than ever before. Because the players know that there’s real appreciation for their sport, it’s more exciting to play.
“It’s making the girls feel like they’re in a real sport, which they are, but now it’s, ‘for real,’” Johnson said.
The players on the team also believe the sanctioning will create a bigger community around the sport and drive more engagement.
“More media will eventually come, and more people will be attracted to the sport, which gives more opportunities [to us],” senior wide receive Molly Dorighi (#6) said.
Beyond the high school level, flag football has also been chosen to be a part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which players on the team hope will help future engagement and support, compared to more ‘covered’ sports.
“Because flag football is going to be an Olympic sport, and the next Olympics are in the United States, that’s definitely drawing a lot of attention, because before that, there was no club flag football,” Dorighi said.
student sections.
“But with most things at Creek, the involvement from the student population is limited,” Dorighi said.
“They got to feel like they’re part of something brand new, which they are, but it just feels real.”
Assistant Flag Football
Coach Jonathan Johnson
Tackle football, which is more commonly played by men and is arguably the most known type of football, leads to more people knowing the rules, compared to women’s flag where the rules are different and aren’t as familiar. In girls’ flag, there is less direct contact compared to tackle football. The flags around the waist are used as a tackling method; after the flag is pulled, the ball is marked dead and the person is marked down.
As the players adjust to the new CHSAA rules and the upcoming attention, the members on the team also wish for more school support and media coverage from Creek.
“It just doesn’t get the [same] all around excitement as normal football,” sophomore blocker Tallis Pilkington (#3) said. “But in the future, I do think the attitude will change.”
The girls on the team enjoy the new rules and regulations, but they also wish for more support when it comes to the
“People confuse the rules of tackle football and girls flag football all the time at games,” Pilkington said.
Because of the recent CHSAA sanctioning, changes in game play around things like blocking and the length of the playing field have also led to the development of the sport. Many players feel like these new changes only improve the game’s visibility.
“This year we are playing the full field, whereas last year we didn’t. The new rules do make it feel more like tackle football, which is intriguing,” Dorighi said.
Not only do players get to experience home games, they get to enjoy more standardized equipment and game style that will provide some similarities to tackle football.
“We got used to not blocking. Now we have blocking. The equipment is more standardized. Every girl has to use the same belt flag, so it’s all three flags instead of the pop flags. Pop flags are exactly like the name, they pop off when you pull on them. They’re connected to the belt,” Johnson said.
As the sport itself begins to grow alongside the support from Creek and CHSAA, students have begun to make the team feel more appreciated.
“It’s a chance for the girls to feel like it’s more real. Now, with it being CHSAA, it feels more official,” Johnson said.
ABOVE: Senior Sophia Baal (#14) jumps to catch thrown by junior Addie Beck (#4) during a game against Pomona on Sept. 4.
PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK
How Are Field Hockey and Lacrosse Different?
BY KELLEN RINGLAND, ANDREI MACHADO & SOPHIA HADY Sports Editors & Features Editor
“People often mix [field hockey and lacrosse] up due to the similarities in being team sports played with sticks and balls.”
- Senior field hockey and lacrosse player Grace Manning
Field Hockey
Strategy
In field hockey, there are 6 major roles, 3 for offense and 3 for defense. The offense’s main job is to facilitate passes and keep the ball by creating space and repositioning so that passes won’t be blocked.
As for defense, their main job is to steal the ball by creating less space and cutting off passes between players. Spacial awareness is crucial to field hockey strategy.
“We talk about looking at the field first, and knowing where you’re going to pass,” girl’s field hockey head coach Tori Karsten said.
Practice
Building player’s endurance is key to their success in field hockey. During both practices and pre-season players use interval training to build stamina. Interval training is a series of sprints and rests throughout allotted times. This helps athletes greatly improve. “Interval training is very much a field hockey game,” Karsten said.
Equipment
Field hockey requires turf shoes and ‘candy-cane’ shaped sticks for actual game play and shin guards and mouth guards from field hockey sticks. While Field hockey is not considered a contact sport protection is still required to protect against both the field hockey stick and ball.
Lacrosse
Strategy Equipment
Girls’ lacrosse strategies are fast and precise. Offensive strategies include quick ball movements and accurate passes. One common strategy in girls’ lacrosse is the ‘Give and Go’, where players pass the ball and then instantly make space to make a return pass.
Defensive strategy is based on footwork and positioning. Girls’ lacrosse often uses man-to-man and zone defense to prevent the offense from passing and scoring.
“Lacrosse is more dynamic with fast transitions, using quick passes and movements to create scoring opportunities,” senior lacrosse attacker Grace Manning (#3) said.
In girl’s lacrosse, players are required to have eye goggles, a mouth guard, cleats, and a lacrosse stick. Lacrosse sticks, or crosses, have a string basket used for catching and passing the ball.
Practice
Lacrosse, like field hockey, trains for endurance, even running laps around the field. Practices can include scrimmages and other drills to help maximize success in games. Some drills are used to help with crosse control while others focus on practically defensive tactics.
ABOVE: Sophomore middle Regan Talega (#2) moves the ball down the field during an Oct. 8 game against Kent Denver.
BELOW: Senior attacker Gracie Kindy (#15) passing the ball to a teammate again Denver East on April 17, 2024.
PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK
PHOTO BY KELLEN RINGLAND
What Do Athletes Listen To Before They Compete?
BRIANA FLORES & CRISTAL GARCIA Chief Photographer & Staff Writer
T.I Umu-Cais
Katie Degenhart Noah Renyolds Playlist: Warm Up Hype Album: “The Heist” Artist: J Boog
“This artist inspires me because they are very successful Polynesian people, and as a Polynesian I look up to him.”
- Junior Football Player T.I Umu-Cais
“It changes my mindset to be focused but not stressed and to have fun.”
- Senior Volleyball Player
Katie Degenhart
“It helps me get out of my head so I can perform my best both mentally and physically”
- Junior Volleyball Player
Noah Reynolds
Captains Work to Balance Academics, Athletics, and Team Building
BY RAYNA MOON Staff Writer
Creek sports have begun, and as onlookers we don’t know about every detail there is behind the scenes.
Over the course of their sport’s season, captains have to put in more work than most; between balancing classes, the team, and their extra responsibilities in organizing the team, it can be more difficult to be a captain than what most people think.
Not everyone wants to take the role of captains due to the extra work.
“It’s sometimes hard because the goal is to make everyone pretty happy but sometimes not everyone is gonna be happy, so I think people try not to be captains,” girls’ volleyball senior captain Ava Ross said.
Captains are often in control of warm ups, giving the team the team spirit as well as making sure that the team will not lose hope after
a major loss after a game; they not only have to lift and deal with their own burden of emotions but also deal with the team’s emotions from a loss or from low energy after school.
“[I have to] not only help lift myself up during stressful situations but lift up others on the team. I also have learned how to problem solve,” Ross said.
Creek captains are given higher expectations from coaches and team members, and often, they are chosen by their personality. Captains are supposed to be the ones who set the tone for the team in a positive manner, and they are supposed to keep the team in line but also the coaches in line as well.
“Who will put in, who will do more work than anyone else?” girls’ flag football coach David Knoeckel said.
Coaches expect captains to have characteristics of trustworthiness, altruistic, and good communication skills. “[Captains need] to be someone that encourages the team, has good communication with the coaches and the team, someone who can lead with playing
and can lead with words. Someone that will help others get better,” Knoeckel said. Being a student and captain at Creek is not easy, you have to bear responsibilities as a student and the expectations as a captain. “I struggle a lot with managing my stress of being a Creek student, making sure my grades are good enough for me to play, because if you have bad grades you risk letting your team down if not being able to be there for them,” Ross said.
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Remake or Original? Halloween Horror Edition
BY IV COLLIER Staff Writer
Out of all the movies reviewed for this, this one was by far the most violent and gory, but sadly, that was one of its biggest downfalls.
For the last 40 minutes of the movie it was just gore and chase scenes. And, don’t get me wrong, I love a good chase scene, but these were so unnaturally long.
Neither of these movies have anything in common
except for, surprisingly, the blatant sexism throughout them.
With the 50’s version, I’m not surprised, but the sexism in the 2005 version surprised me. Randomly in the middle of the movie, the guys will make crude comments about the women, and they’ll stand there and giggle. Both movies would be better without all of the sexism.
In the 1984 version, the writers really tried to develop their ideas into creating a cohesive story. But, with that, came lots of plot holes.
In Kruger’s dream universe he wasn’t in total control. If the person was woken up then they were taken out, all Fred could do is wait for them to fall back asleep. This is the reason
Nancy Tompson (the main character) knew that if she set a timer she could attack Freddy without it becoming a suicide mission.
But in the 2010 version, there is never a point that the characters learn the logic of the dream universe, instead Nancy happens to just think that’s how it would work with no evidence backing it up.
Both movies portray death in a very easy to understand way, and in both, the actors are very well chosen. A lot of times in films the child actors are just annoying, but in both of these movies I feel that the children’s participation works very well. The personalities in the
1982 version are a big reason why this movie is memorable. The characters are weird, with strange personalities, accents, or habits that make each one stand out individually.
In the 2015 version though, the characters aren’t very strange.
WARNER BROS.
WARNER BROS.
ART BY ANGELA XU
Taqueria El Comalito: A Pricey Lunch Option
The restaurant replaced Creek favorite Boba Plus and offers many Mexican options
RUE MINAR A&E Editor, Asst. Design
The new Mexican restaurant that replaced Boba Plus, is way too expensive, with prices that could pay off student loans.
The new Mexican restaurant, Taqueria El Comalito, is a family-run business that started its journey as a business near Creek on Jan 14. For the past few months, I have been visiting the restaurant, ordering food, talking to staff, and understanding what their business is all about. I have concluded that I would go there again for a quick snack and a drink but other than that, I just don’t like how expensive it is, the portion sizes, and the fact that the overall vibe is just off.
My biggest problem with the restaurant is the extremely high prices -- it does not take into account who might come and spend money there. Most students don’t have $20 to just spend on food every day. It brings up whether quality over quantity is better, and not knowing ruins my day. The main thing the restaurant seems to be focusing on is quality, and I will say that the food is good, but the amount of food you get for the prices just doesn’t add up.
I paid almost 20 dollars for one bland Machete De Alambre; which is like a long taco and nothing else came with it. When spending so much money, I would expect at least to get a free side of chips and salsa.
Some other examples of the other prices include a group of tacos, which come in fours, for $15, one quesadilla for $6, and a fast burrito for $6. These prices are more reasonable than the tacos, but the quality of the food is mediocre. I would recommend getting the fast burrito or the quesadilla if you are more
hungry than you can get the tacos.
The restaurant has made options for students that are reasonably priced, like the fast burrito. This is so beneficial because half of the students that go to the Creek can’t drive to Taco Bell or another mexican restaurant, so being able to buy something super cheap and a quick walk away is astonishing.
It’s understandable why not everything is perfect there, given that they just started and are trying to make a profit, but some things just feel too expensive.
The second problem I have with the restaurant is how little of their sauce they give you. To cope with the mediocre food, It would be helpful to have some type of sauce to accommodate for the blandness. But they only give one small cup of guacamole, a small cup of salsa roja chile, that is a spicy sauce made up from de arbol chilies -- it simply isn’t enough.
Along the same line, I wish they could add more seasoning to the food. Some of the food was delicious, and others were just mediocre. And even if the food tasted heavenly, like it came from Gordon Ramsey himself, then it would have had something else wrong with it. I
got a fast burrito once and it tasted phenomenal, but it was pouring grease out and made the burrito soggy.
But one thing I do appreciate is how nice the family is. I’ve only talked to them a couple of times, but in just those short moments I can tell that these people were good-hearted. Especially for a business that’s just starting, they didn’t seem like they were in distress. I’m a huge supporter of small businesses and seeing families come in to drop off supplies, and trade spots working, was an experience that I hope goes well for them.
Another plus side of the place is the drinks. The Agua de Fresa, which is a strawberry-flavored drink, exploded my taste buds because of how appetizing it is. Especially their horchatas like strawberries, mangoes, and regular ones are divine. It has been so long since I tasted a good horchata, and now there’s a new place that sells it down the street. It was reasonably priced, only paying 5$ unlike some of the food there is a deal.
One of my last complaints is that the atmosphere is depressing and not welcoming; it feels like everyone there would rather keep to themselves. How do they expect to get business if they don’t even do a small greeting? The decor is simple, but it doesn’t give off the authentic Mexican restaurant vibe. Seeing the cheap decor made my day gloomy, and when I first walked in I thought a child decorated it.
I’m a sucker for good Mexican food, and El Comalito has some good options but definitely could improve. If you’re looking for a nice place to get some Mexican food, come here if you have at least $20 to spare.
AGUA DE JAMAICAN : The Agua De Jamaican tastes good but not great it felt like Mexican candy mixed into water.
CHICKEN TACOS: The tacos look extremely appetizing, but only the bitter flavor of disappointment is what I get from them
PHOTO BY RUE MINAR
PHOTO BY RUE MINAR
‘Girly Pop’ is Our New Favorite Playlist
Female pop music is taking the music industry by storm
BY KAZIE SEIGEL Staff Writer
Billie Eilish’s whispery sorrowful voice adds the right
amount of gloom
Billie Eilish started her music career in 2016 with her viral song “Ocean Eyes.”
Since, she has been topping charts and winning many Grammy awards, for multiple songs and albums.
“Her messages through her songs are really great,” freshman Peyton Creenan said.
Eilish has been attracting her viewers since she began releasing music, and is now one of
the most well known artists in the modern music industry. Eilish’s newest album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” introduced some new hits that fans enjoyed, like “Birds of a Feather” and “Lunch,” which both reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100.
In the past year, Eilish has been able to work on the soundtrack for the “Barbie” movie and received a Grammy award with her song “What Was I Made For?”
Sabrina Carpenter has proven the ‘Disney kid’ curse wrong, and is growing up with the audience that she gears towards
Carpenter first starred in a Disney Channel show, “Girl Meets World” but her dream was to sing, so later moved on to begin her music career, and I’m glad she did.
“She’s an icon. She’s a blonde icon,” freshman Erica Choi said. Her first album, “Eyes Wide Open” was released in 2015. She found more success with her album “EVOLution” released in October of 2016, having an early hit with her sin-
gle,“Thumbs.”
Carpenter recently gained popularity with her song “Nonsense” off of “Emails I Can’t Send.” She now features the song on tours, and customizes the outro for each city she visits. She has recently released her sixth studio album “Short N’ Sweet” which has gotten her first Number One song on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Please Please Please,” and her other TikTok hit “Espresso” reached number three.
Chappell Roan shines a bright light on LGBTQ+ community and leads the future for the pop industry
Roan started making music in 2017, and didn’t make a big splash, but with her 2023 album “Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess.”
“I really like how she’s making a lot of queer culture and whatnot, and [making it] more mainstream,” sophomore Finch Carothers said.
She blew up the internet with a song she released in April of this year, “Good Luck, Babe” received recognition from all over the world and has made a rise on the Billboard Hot 100; peaking at number four, her highest reach
on the list. She has provided a way for the LGBTQ+ community to be seen with her music by creating awareness through lyrics and advocacy, and by telling people to be themselves without caring about how others feel.
Roan has stepped into her personal style which is drag inspired, avant-garde and elaborate. Fans of the newly found icon have taken a liking to her music because they can similarly express themselves. Fans have found themselves with her music, and many queer people have related to her because of their similarities. Some others have just enjoyed her music because of its synth-pop and 80’s sound, and her unique voice.
ART BY QUINN RUDNICK PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS
Everyone Can Benefit From Therapy
BY AVERY EXLEY Staff Writer
While therapy may not be your definition of a fun afternoon, it is incredibly helpful, and it can give you insight into things you would have never thought about. Learning these communication skills now can better you for the future.
According to Denver Therapy, about 17 percent of American teens have looked into therapy treatment. That means there are about 83 percent of teens who have not.
The percentage of non-therapy-goers should be exponentially lower than the current stats.
“I do go to therapy. I’m able to talk about my emotions and anything that is currently going on,” junior Jackie Newman said.
Everyone goes through tough times, especially teenagers. Teenagers experience heightened hormones and physical and mental changes, which can be hard going through by yourself. While you could talk to a loved one in your life, they can be biased depending on what you are talking about.
“It was an unbiased view on my life, and [my therapist] didn’t have anybody to go tell,” sophomore Colfax Hamilton said.
Experiencing emotions can be hard, especially when you are handling it by yourself. Therapy is not only for sadness it can also be used for anger, embarrassment, fear, and guilt. Having a therapist will help you process how to handle these and many more emotions.
While therapy is often thought of as a way for people to talk about their depression, that is not the only use for therapy. If
you have mental illness, of course not just depression, you have probably considered it. There is tons of research being done proving how helpful it is.
Therapy is used to effectively treat many mental illnesses, but so many different people who are not dealing with mental illness go to therapy too. Yes, therapy is extremely beneficial for people dealing with mental health issues, but it is not only for that.
Say you just got fired from your job or your best friend no longer wants to be friends with you and you are finding it hard to handle it. Nobody would classify you as mentally ill, but you still feel the need to talk to someone about it.
I know it may be hard to intimately talk about your feelings but trust me, as someone who has been in therapy for over two years now. It has helped me tremendously with being able to connect to myself.
beneficial for everyone is problem therapy. Everyone has problems and would like a way to solve said problems.
It takes so much willpower to seek help if you are struggling mentally. Many people who are struggling choose to suffer in silence, whether that’s because they are embarrassed or feel like nobody will ever be able to help. That is not something anyone should be alone with.
“I think [therapy] would benefit most [people, and] if not, it should at least be tried,”
Junior Jackie Newman
In a Danish health study reported by John Hopkins comparing two groups of people who had previously attempted suicide, patients who received therapy were 27 percent less likely to attempt suicide after a year. After five years, the treated patient group had 26 percent fewer suicides than the untreated group. Just because at one point you went to therapy, you do not need to stay there forever. It is not a long-term commitment.
I have learned better communication skills and how to set clear boundaries which is something that we all should improve on.
I truly believe that everyone should try it at least once, because the benefits completely outweigh the negatives. You do not have to stay for the rest of your life. If you feel like it is not benefiting you, you can freely cancel at any time.
According to Patient, an online healthcare directory, one therapy that can be
Nobody will fault you if you try therapy out and you decide that it is not for you. But whether you continue or not, it’s still important to try.
Seeking help is not weak, and you should never try to struggle alone.
There are people out there for you so don’t be afraid to reach out for help, whether it’s talking to family and friends or seeing a therapist.
“I think it would benefit most [people, and] if not, it should at least be tried,” Newman said.
If You Love Your Car, You Should be Hand-Washing it
BY JUDE GORDEN Opinions Editor
Paint scrapes, discarded license plates, forgotten “my kid is an honor student” magnets, soap scum and water spots.
No, these blemishes aren’t the result of a head-on collision with a fire hydrant, but common results of going through an automated car wash. All this could be easily avoided by taking ten minutes to hand-wash your car.
Drive thru car washes give you a worse wash for a worse cost. Just like you wouldn’t go back to a hairdresser who gives you a choppy cut, you shouldn’t be going back to machine operated car washes after seeing how well they really wash. Just like you wouldn’t be happy with botched balayage, you shouldn’t be happy with soap scum and scratches.
I worked at an automated car wash one summer, and it was traumatizing to see the reality behind the felt flaps and spinning scrubbers. When cars go through the water sprayers and soap shooters, they’re really getting the murky backwash of the car in front of them.
There’s a common theme among fast food workers and car wash attendants: they don’t use the product themselves. After all, they know how the mystery meat is made. They’ll be the first to tell you not to partake in that late night nugget craving (or quick car wash visit.) The very first time I drove through an automated car wash was the day of my interview for the job, which will also be the very last.
While your car is being pulled along a track, your precious pearlescent paint job (or worse, your already peeling, thousand-dollar wrap) is being battered with sharp sticks stuck in the felt scrubbers, and blasted with pine needles in the blow room.
Conversely, self-automated car washes will
only do as much damage as you, the washer, let them. So unless you beat your car with random sticks from the road and pelt your car with pebbles, I guarantee you won’t get the same effect.
The return on investment of time and money is off. I can hand wash my car in five minutes, and do it better than a track-operated car wash. And, for much, much cheaper.
Many car enthusiasts, busy parents, and new drivers alike rely on automated car washes for their convenience. Monthly car wash subscriptions also advertise ridiculous ease of use and cost savings. But what the car wash disciples don’t realize is that this supposed convenience discrepancy between a drive-thru car wash and hand washing a car isn’t really all that.
The oh-so-difficult “wow you must really love your car, I would never do that” process of hand washing your car can be simplified into four steps. Water, soap, rinse, and dry. Sound time consuming now? And you don’t need any fancy-schmancy self-operated car wash to get it done, you can do all this on any old street or driveway with a bucket of soapy water and a rag.
The ever-praised ease of use of automated car washes is as follows. Pay upwards of ten dollars. Don’t forget to roll up your windows. Stop at the sign. Put your car in park. Mindlessly scroll on your phone as you get pulled on a track through sprinklers and rainbow soap-sprayers. Drive off after being blasted with oversized blow dryers. Shake your head in disappointment as you watch the water beads roll down your windows.
All that and you still end up with water spots and bugs left on your windshield. You could be washing your car for less money and get a better result, and the solution is ditching drive-thru car washes for self-oper-
SHOPPING LIST: Automotive care shops can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Here’s a list of my recommendations for a cheap, at-home car wash.
ated ones.
I’m not the typical driver. I hand wax my car after every wash, whip out the vacuum upon witnessing one singular crumb, and clean in between my air vents with q-tips. But you don’t need to take car care to the extreme to retain your car’s value. Just simply put in the effort and elbow grease to wash it yourself.
Put Your Phone Down and Pick Up
Family Content Creation Has Gone Too Far
Your Mental BY ELISE DOUGHERTY Staff Writer
How would you feel living your entire childhood with an audience of faceless, nameless people? Everything you say, think, or do, with a camera shoved in your face. Imagine every birthday, holiday, family dinner with thousands of strangers watching. Imagine growing up and finding thousands of suggestive comments about your six year-old self. Imagine having to confront your parents about the content they posted about you when you were just a child.
Until recent years, having an entire career based around the internet was never an option. But with the ‘creator economy’ now being valued at 250 billion dollars, according to the Washington Post, this lifestyle is a fast-growing business.
Thousands of people are switching over to a life in front of the camera in order to make a quick buck, and it doesn’t seem like a horrible idea. Who wouldn’t want to have a seemingly easy job, while making thousands of dollars, and getting praise from countless online fans? But, like everything on social media, the line between good and bad is blurred and unpredictable.
One of the main outcomes of this sudden need for internet fame in the past decade is the ever-rising number of accounts
run by parents. They are impossible to avoid, no matter what platform you are on. Families like “The Dougherty Dozen” and “Not Enough Nelsons” are only a few of the dozens who have devoted their lives to exploiting their children for profit.
These families share virtually everything with their online followers, trying to provide relatable, funny content. But not everything needs to be shared online, and some of these parents have a hard time protecting themselves and their kids.
Some creators like “The Labrant Fam” and “Ten Kids in 10 Years” are not only an invasion of privacy, but just outright sketchy, making uncomfortable content that doesn’t seem as innocent, and yet goes unregulated.
I have never enjoyed seeing accounts like these while I’m using social media, and I wouldn’t think many teenage social media users would. It seems most of the viewers of these families are not the demographic they are catering to.
Very few regular people would enjoy watching videos of children who are obviously being exploited and sexualized. The scariest thing about these accounts is that even the ones appearing the most innocent and lighthearted are still providing a stream of content for child predators.
ing their children on social media is that it exposes them to predators against their own will. The people who would usually have to go through many stages of persuasion and grooming to get the images they want from young kids don’t have to do anything, these accounts just provide them with it for free.
Some parents posting online know this, and they purposely make content to provide to these predators in order to get more views. Even slightly regulating these parents could result in a huge decrease in the amount of kids exploited on the internet.
Imagine having to confront your parents about the content they posted about you when you were just a child.
Recently, a social media mom has been exposed online for creating content directly catering to online predators. “Wren.eleanor” is a Tik Tok account with almost 17 million followers. It features Jacqulyn, a young mom who posts videos of her toddler, Wren, doing extremely suggestive things. Her comment sections are full of faceless accounts leaving vulgar, inappropriate comments and the most suggestive videos have thousands of thousands of saves.
Currently this account has no videos, but there isn’t any way to know where they have gone and if they are still accessible. Banning this account was positive but these videos were up for too long in the first place.
It is so easy for this content to reach the wrong audience, and there is very little that can be done to regulate where what we post goes. Parents should always assume that their content can and will reach the wrong people.
One of the main problems with adults post-
Parents like these are the reason regulations should be put in place against these accounts. It is difficult to pinpoint the intentions of parents when it comes to social media, but it isn’t hard to predict what predators will do with content that is posted. It is one thing to put yourself in a position to be sexualized, it is entirely different putting an innocent child in the hands of thousands of predators on the internet.
Online moderators should flag these sooner so harmful accounts can be shut down before they reach a dangerous audience. While we can’t stop parents from making this content, we can stop it from getting into the wrong hands.
BEHIND THE SCREEN: Art depicts how everything posted online is manipulated to appeal to an audience and viewers never know what is actually happening behind the scenes.
ART BY ANGELA XU
Kamala Harris is the Only Option for America
As the time rolls around for another presidential election, Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are the right choice.
Harris and Walz are no doubt the best option, not only because of Harris’ ideas and plans, but also due to the concern of Trump returning to office.
Both Harris and Trump have plans for America, but with many high schoolers gaining the ability to vote in this election, we found it necessary to highlight main points covered under Trump’s and Harris’ policies. While economic plans are vital, issues such as abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and environmental issues affect voters in ways that can swing a voter’s decision in an instant.
Harris’ viewpoint on abortion, as well as her work cosponsoring abortion legislation on the Biden campaign after the passing of Dobbs v. Jackson (2022), had a huge impact on the number of young people’s votes.
According to a Gallup poll, more than 55% of Americans identify as pro-choice. With more than half of Americans supporting abortion rights and Harris making plans that would directly support that freedom, she has the chance to pull voters towards her and make the decision that would be best for all Americans.
“I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,” Harris said in an interview that aired on Wisconsin Public Radio. “We need
to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body.”
Education is another policy hot topic that will directly affect students within Creek, but also within the wider CCSD district and the entire nation. Access to schooling regardless of financial state is absolutely necessary, and having a well rounded education prepares students for adulthood and forming their own opinions.
According to Trump’s “Plan to Save American Education and Give Power Back to Parents,” which is posted on his website, he plans to cut federal funding for any school or program that involves Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.
While the idea of not ‘pushing’ any ideas on students sounds great, the reality is much more worrisome. By doing this, students would not be reading books with queer characters or about racial injustice, and would be sheltered from important social issues. Without content covering more diverse topics such as critical race theory, queer people, and political history, students are put at risk of becoming less socially aware. If students are exposed to all issues at an age where they are digestible, it will set them up to go out into the world with ideas of what they believe.
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.
The president is someone that Americans should look up to, and that should represent America in a way that citizens feel is correct. Trump is not that.
By placing a man that focuses on supporting the wealthy rather than the lower and middle classes, has 34 felony charges, and has made countless derogatory comments towards minorities, we are setting America up to be viewed as a joke.
As children we were taught that people in power were supposed to be respected. When people like Trump are put in power, we cannot expect children to look up to them, let alone want to be like them.
Harris’ time as District Attorney of California and a prosecutor set her up as a strong leader who creates a voice for others, which is exactly what we need as citizens right now. As Americans, we need someone who is willing to fight for the voices of those who cannot fight on their own, and someone who represents the core values of what we believe.
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GO TEAM BLUE: Kamala Harris’ strong policies, plans for education and reproductive rights, and likeable personality have us excited for the future of America.
ART BY IZZY KRAUSS AND BRIANA FLORES
Q&A With The Quarterback:
What got you into football?
“It was kind of early on in my life. I was three years old the first time I played flag football. I did a lot of sports growing up, but kind of football was my favorite because of the team bonding, and being a leader. Being able to play as a team and win as a team was my favorite.”
What’s your most memorable moment in football?
“The State Championship last year. [It was] obviously a great learning experience because of the way it ended. But the environment and being able to actually be on that field was amazing, because growing up, I would go to all the state championship games.”
Question 3
Who’s supported you the most?
“My mom and dad have always been there since literally the first day. They brought me to practices. They did everything and anything I needed. They would be there to help me out. It would be a lot of times where I’d be like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this; it’s hard on my body,’ but they’re always there. They try to push me because they knew what I could be able to do, so they allowed me to be where I am today.”
PHOTOBYBRIANAFLORES