Winter USJ 2023-2024

Journal The Union St.

BEHIND THE

SC ENES

We rush past the people who keep our school running.

Here are two of their stories.

Cherry Cherry Creek Creek High High School School 9300 9300 E. E. Union Union Ave. Ave. Greenwood Greenwood Village, Village, CO CO 80111 80111

Vol. 9 Issue 2 January 2024

Table of Contents News

4 - New Courses 2024-25 6 - Creek Struggles to Tackle Trash Crisis

Features

4

Sports

14

7

A&E

18

Opinions

20

7 - Breaking Down the Effects of Phone Use 8 - Carissa Pomeroy’s Push For Comprehensive Sex-Ed

In-Depth

10

10 - Behind The Scenes: Meet Two Staff Members That Keep Creek Running

14 - Legendary Baseball Coach Marc Johnson Retires 16 - Queer Athletes Feel Pressure To Conform 17 - Jordan Herron’s Calling

18 - We Ranked Every Quentin Tarantino Movie

20 - Drug Treatment Should Be Affordable 22 - Multi-Lingual Learners Deserve a Practical Approach to English 23 - Staff Editorial: Sex Education

On The Cover

Lunch staffer Donald Duvall Jr. stands behind the West Cafe lunch counter, working the register. “With any school that you’re in, what we do is one of those things that’s behind the scenes,” Duvall said.

Duvall is like many other staff members at Creek, working hard without truly being seen. And Dr. Kelly Albada is just like him.

She works as Principal Silva’s Office Manager, as well as his personal assistant. “I think you’re a customer facing person, whether it’s students or faculty that you’re helping out. I like the part that involves multitasking,” she said.

For the pair, whose occupations are separated by a hallway and two left turns, this isn’t their first career, or second. But both find a special solace in their work, despite their anonymity. Beginning on page 9, Albada and Duvall introduce themselves, and their jobs.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE & KELLEN RINGLAND

Staff Editor-in-Chief Alex Gribb Junior Editor-in-Chief & Sports Editor Quinn Rudnick

SEASON OPENER: Junior Emily Dick competes in the girls’ varsity 200 Yard IM event during Creek’s season opener meet against Arapahoe on Nov. 28.

Creek won 212-160.

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

Letter from the Editor

With my second magazine under my belt, I am further understanding what defines Creek students.

We are in a constant battle between excellence and compassion: understanding and upset.

As we start off the new year, I want us to remember that what lies ahead is a culmination of our hard work and dedication, not a punishment for what we feel is lacking.

In this issue, I sat down with two of the school’s staff members to try and portray them as they are. These two people, Dr. Albada and Mr. Duvall, truly embody Creek as it is: a place that is always working to become better.

The pair have pushed through defeats and multiple careers, finding themselves at Creek for different reasons. Both were incredibly interesting, and have become some of my favorite people at this school.

We also sat down with the sports phenomenon Jordan Herron, and saught to paint a colorful and intense image of who he is.

In this issue’s staff-ed, we called administration and teachers to restructure how sexual education is taught, asking for an additional class to be made.

To round this off, I want to thank the numerous staff members and editors who put an unquantifiable amount of love and care into this magazine. From late night phone calls to four hour long coffee meetings, you guys make my life immeasurably better.

-Editor-in-Chief Alex Gribb

Managing Editor & Asst. News Editor Peter Philpott A&E Editor & Design Manager Katya Roudakov News Editor Amanda Castillo-Lopez

Asst. A&E Editor Nick BeDan Asst. Opinions Editor Gabby Schrock Chief Photographer Wryn Duepre Chief Artist Angela Xu Business Manager Gillian Neale

Asst. Video Editor Jonathan Lee

Staff Writers Jayna Baker Briana Flores Sophia Hady Claire Hansen Madalyn Hoop Serenity Hurtado Alisa Kovaleva Andrei Machado Maya Marino Rue Minar Mae Murphey Lina Rakhmanova Kellen Ringland Ava Segale Anaiah Shahrukh

Asst. Sports Editor Avery Hutchins

Advisor Seth Fine

Features Editors Jude Gorden Opinions Editor Izzy Krauss Video Editor Nour Kreishan Asst. Managing Editor Aram Bazarian

Purpose:

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.

news

New Courses Most years, only a couple new classes are introduced to Creek’s curriculum.

On Nov. 10, Creek approved 14 new classes for the 2024-2025 school year.

We spotlighted a few of them.

2024-2025

Creek’s other new courses include...

INFOGRAPHIC BY PETER PHILPOTT

CP Zoology

BY PETER PHILPOTT

“So many people love animals, whether it’s your family dog or something more exotic, our animal companions always give us a reason to smile.”

Managing Editor & Asst. News Editor

Science Teacher Alexandra Bak

The science department introduced the CP Zoology class, to be taught by science teacher Alexandra Bak. It will be a semester-long, elective course, so students can take a journey through the wide world of animals alongside a basic science class like chemistry or biology.

“It will serve as an introduction to various vertebrate and invertebrate animals, their evolutionary relationships, and their

4 | News

anatomy and physiology,” Bak said.

Students from Bak’s biology classes are looking forward to expanding their scientific knowledge in a new direction; one that isn’t covered in classic core curriculum.

“Ms. Bak is a fun and interesting teacher and learning from her about things she’s passionate about is really fun,” sophomore Ingrid Carlson said. “I’m excited about the possibility of learning more about animals and the ways they’re alike to us as well as different.”

A main goal of the course was to encourage and fuel future careers related to biology or the animal world.

Bak hopes that students learn the basics to make beneficial change later on.

“An understanding of the animal kingdom prepares you to be a more empathetic and knowledgeable citizen of our planet,” she said. “[I] hope that CP Zoology will ignite students’ passion for animals, and inspire them to be advocates for all the creatures that cannot speak for themselves.”

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

Honors AI and Machine Learning

BY MAE MURPHEY Staff Writer

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is commonly used among students, from recommending Instagram posts to asking Siri simple questions. But most students do not understand what AI really is. Computer education teacher Paul Lein and computer science volunteer Richard Bourquard cre“There’s just a natural curiosity ated the curriculum for the new course, Honors AI and Machine Learning, which goes in depth on the about artificial intelligence right definition of AI with the use of statistics, probability, now.” calculus, and ethics.

According to Lein, this class could help students Computer Education interested in pursuing computer science (CS) by proTeacher Paul Lein viding foundational knowledge on Al. “We have a really large population of students here at Creek who are interested in studying computer science,” Lein said. “So we are designing this whole pathway of classes to better prepare students who want to then go off to college and study computer science further.”

CS students are excited to explore the opportunities this class has to offer. “I know the teacher, Mr. Lein, and he’s great. I’m excited to see where he takes the class. It definitely has interesting possibilities,” junior Ben Forman said.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

CP Introduction to Queer Literature

BY IZZY KRAUSS Opinions Editor

English teacher Erika DeShay Lowenkron will be teaching the new CP Introduction to Queer Literature course next year.

While much of classic literature is taught in schools, having a class dedicated to teaching work written by queer authors allows for a more in-depth conversation about LGBTQ+ issues.

“The goal is to try to give a little bit of history of queer authors and queerness in literature. So it would be a little bit of classic authors that maybe we’ve heard of, but we haven’t read their works that are geared towards queer material,” DeShay Lowenkron said.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

One of her goals was to create a place of acceptance. “I’m not just going to sit here and say, ‘I wish that these kids could have this. I’m going to make it happen,” Deshay Lowenkron said.

In this course, students will analyze literature that relates to the unique experiences of the LGBTQ+ community.

Students will read classic authors such as James Baldwin and Virginia Woolf and analyze more contemporary articles.

“Instead of reading just the same books over and over again, it’s better to get a new perspective, especially if it’s from older books,” junior Milo Anderson said. “It’ll be cool to get that new view on things.”

January 2024

Creek Struggles to Tackle Trash Crisis

PHOTO BY LINA RAKHMANOVA

BY PETER PHILPOTT

E

Managing Editor & Asst. News Editor

very weekday morning, at 6:30 a.m., Creek maintenance staffer Tyjuan Martin begins his trudge about campus, collecting trash bag after trash bag from the exterior trash cans of Creek, Campus Middle School, and Belleview Elementary School.

147 trash cans, 75 acres. It takes him four hours to complete the process, and he does the work all alone. “[My job] does have some challenges, such as working around the kids and time management,” Martin said. He’s done similar jobs, but never for such a colossal area.

Cherry Creek School District grounds manager Mike Cochran says his job is a challenge. “[Martin] is spending 4 hours a day removing and replacing the trash bags in the trash cans only,” Cochran said. “He then spends another 2 hours picking up litter in the parking lot the best he can.”

Cochran believes that Martin should not be solo in his job. “I have always advocated that Creek and the surrounding area needs a minimum of two personnel to handle the tasks at ground level,” Cochran said.

Martin also says he is doing a job meant for a whole team, all alone. And under staffing is just the beginning of Creek’s garbage problem.

Martin is just one of the puzzle pieces in making the campus cleaner. Campus administrator Brynn Thomas is a primary contributor to a new project that involves students and faculty in cleanups, using advisory time.

Thomas created a map, assigning advisory

6 | News

teachers and their classes areas around campus. “It’s unrealistic for a person or even… multiple people to be able to go around and pick up the trash,” she said. “Kids need to do their part, adults need to do their part…to get [trash] into a trash can.” Along with advisory cleanups, some groups like cross country and DECA have organized events.

Sophomore Judd Ross noticed that students were not enthused when they heard that homework time would be replaced by the cleanup.

“I feel like many students aren’t dedicated to the effort,” Ross said. “They don’t really care about the cleanliness of the school and find it annoying that they have to go clean up during advisory.”

Ross doesn’t see the advisory cleanups being a sustainable solution. “The advisory effort is not going to have much of an effect because a bunch of unmotivated teenagers going out to clean one day a week isn’t enough to keep the campus clean,” he said.

“The root of the problem…is littering. With Trash gathers in the quad because it’s near the cafeteria and is a popular lunch spot.

COMMUNITY EFFORT: Advisory students collect trash behind Fine Arts. Hundreds of students have participated in campus cleanups.

“Kids to do their part, adults need to do their part,” campus administrator Brynn Thomas said.

well over 3,000 students at Creek, the campus gets dirty fast.”

Environmental science teacher Jeff Boyce agrees, but focuses on the effects of leaving trash outside of trash cans, and how it affects local ecosystems and residential areas.

“If we’ve got loose garbage flying around on campus, it tends to settle in aquatic systems,” Boyce said. “We can go down to Cherry Creek Reservoir and we can see [trash] there. It’s not boaters and people on the beach that are dumping garbage into the reservoir.”

But Boyce doesn’t think the advisory cleanups will solve the problem. “I think the scale is too big,” he said. “I think the biggest piece is that the bulk of our community lacks an environmental ethic and lacks the willingness to properly dispose of their waste.”

Principal Ryan Silva hopes advisory cleanups can become less common. “The taxpayers pay for this…students should go to school where it’s clean,” he said. “By creating an awareness and all of us having ownership, I hope that will change some habits.”

Wind blows trash from the IC strip, which gets trapped in the FA courtyard.

The Biggest Overflowing trash cans at sports games result in waste surrounding Stutler Bowl.

Trash Problem Areas South parking lot is riddled with garbage because many students dump trash from their cars after lunch.

INFOGRAPHIC BY PETER PHILPOTT

features

Breaking Down the Effects of Phone Use

BY AVA SEGALE Staff Writer

55%

of adults experience symptoms of Digital Eye Strain

Symptoms Like: Blurry Vision Headaches Neck and Shoulder Pain TRADING SLEEP FOR SCROLLING: Because of the dopamine that gets released when using social media, many teens opt to scroll instead of sleeping.

SOURCE: VISION COUNCIL

PHOTO BY RUE MINAR

The Cycle of Doom Scrolling

S

tudents often can’t tell how long they’re spending on their phones, resulting in their screen times being much higher than they thought.

“Frankly, there’s so much content out there. And it’s just a never ending stream of information,” junior Miles Nevener said.

According to Trevor Haynes of Harvard University, notifications trigger an unlimit-

ed amount of social stimuli, which releases dopamine. This creates a cycle: the longer you’re on your phone, the more dopamine gets released. There are jobs in social media management created specifically to make money by getting people to stay on their apps.

“Experts in psychology and technology sit around a table and think how can we get people to pay attention?” psychology teacher Janelle Smith said.

INFOGRAPHIC BY WRYN DUEPRE

Disrupting Sleep Patterns

P

hones have become the last thing teens look at when they go to bed and the first thing they look at when they wake up.

“People tend to have worse sleep when they fall asleep next to their phones,” psychology teacher Janelle Smith said.

According to a National Library of Science study, if you are on your phone for 30 minutes before bed, your quality of sleep worsens.

In order to solve this problem, students can train themselves to create a calming environment with low lighting, cleanliness, and no electronics in their room.

“We can train your body to be like ‘I’m in my room. It’s time to rest and sleep.’ If you create this space that’s chaotic, then your body responds to that,” Smith said.

When students have their phones in this proximity, it’s easy to check notifications and develop a habit. But if students create a less over stimulating situation, they’ll not only get more sleep, but learn to regulate themselves without endless scrolling.

January 2024

SPEAKING UP FOR CHANGE: Senior Carissa Pomeroy poses behind a podium in the Fine Arts Theater. Pomeroy is working with the Colorado Youth Congress to fight for all-encompassing sex-ed in Colorado high schools.

8 | Features

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

Carissa Pomeroy’s Push for More Comprehensive

BRIANA FLORES

year and now we’re working on pushing that to be something.”

Staff Writer And for Pomeroy, that “something” has o senior Carissa Pomeroy, been neglected for a long time. sex education (sex-ed) means “I know so many girls throughout my more than awkward conver- life that don’t even know that there are two sations about condoms. For her, it’s holes in a vagina and people are too scared a way to learn about the government to say it,” Pomeroy said.

The process of getting sex-ed to be talkand, more importantly, prevent sexed about more has been difficult. Pomeroy ual assault. has to navigate con“I feel like so much flicting opinions from of sexual assault can school communities, be prevented with “Sexual education is not made up mostly by proper education parents, to fight conjust sex and biology, it’s and breaking down troversy around the conservative views of also about your own topic. sex,” Pomeroy said. identity.”

“A lot of the people Pomeroy joined who have that view are Colorado Youth Conreligious and there’s a Senior Carissa Pomeroy gress (CYC), an orgalot of immigrant parnization run by high ents who don’t have school students, right that liberal view. It’s before her junior year, not a normal thing in hoping to pad her college resume and their lives,” Pomeroy said. “But it pisses bring awareness to issues she’s passionate me off. Because how else would you learn about. about it [without] experience?”

“We have a lot of good initiatives that Controversial opinions from parents we are focusing on like immigration polialso exist at Creek. cy and ways to implement environmental“I don’t think I would bring it to Creek ly friendly programs in schools.” Pomeroy right now, just because the type of parents said. “I’m specifically a leader for sex-ed, that are here are way more involved than because it’s the one thing in the whole orDSST (Denver Schools of Science and ganization that I care about.”

Technology) city schools,” Pomeroy said.

Pomeroy wanted to use her spot in the Pomeroy and her team are currently CYC to spread awareness about sex-ed in in the research process and are working schools. towards getting government officials inNow, her work is centered around findvolved. ing a way for sex-ed to be basic informa“Our angle last year was to get legislation for high schools to teach to students. tion passed that required a comprehen“[The] idea was to have a better sexual sive and inclusive sex-ed program in eveducation,” Pomeroy said. “We started last

T

ery Colorado school,” Pomeroy said. “We spent the bulk of our initiative time just researching and gaining connections.”

Pomeroy’s team works with an organization called Trailhead Institute, an organization that implements pilot programs into schools that may not have sex-ed to test it out.

“School curriculum and community also makes a difference on where this course could be offered,” Pomeroy said.

“Schools that don’t have [an existing sexed class] are more willing to try it than schools that already have a program in place.”

Pomeroy also wants to bring diversity to the curriculum.

“The biggest thing we also wanted to focus on was to incorporate LGBTQ+ representation,” Pomeroy said. “[We want to] navigate [what] that kind of world is like for someone who could be trans, [and] could be doing sexual activities.”

Instead of making a separate sex-ed class, Pomeroy would rather incorporate it into a pre-existing health curriculum, altering it to be more comprehensive. “[Students] should have the choice to take it anytime they want,” Pomeroy said.

“I feel like more people would be willing to take a class like that if they had that voluntary choice.”

Pomeroy strongly believes that sex-ed is crucial for people to learn because it can introduce them to key things about themselves, not just sex.

“Sexual education is not just sex and biology, it’s also about your own identity,” Pomeroy said.

January 2024

BEH IND TH E Meet Two of the People Keeping Creek Running

BY ALEX GRIBB Editor-in-Chief

10 | In-depth

S C ENE S

W

hen students come to school, their lives revolve around themselves: their homework, their relationships, their livelihoods. But behind this success are hundreds of staff members keeping the school alive. And many, like the ones you will come to learn about, sit tucked into corners, and stand behind registers. People that are essential to Creek, and in turn, are essential to you, often go unnoticed. But here, I hope to raise that veil, and let you understand them as they understand us.

January 2024

W

alking into the main office, you get hit with the reverie of principality. Awards are scattered on various surfaces, and dark blue paint coats the forward facing walls, representing true Creek Spirit. But tucked to the left of this opening, behind a wooden desk covered in pridefully written notes filled with scrawled handwriting, sits Doctor Kelly Albada, who has an affinity for travel, grunge music, and teaching.

Got a PhD from University of Texas at Austin Kelly Albada went to Dayton University, in the town she grew up in, for both her bachelor’s and master’s degree in communication.

Then, making a jump from snowy Ohio to Sunny Texas, Albada went to get her PhD in

mass communications at 24. “I met this cohort of PhD students. And so we would get together for Friends giving and we would go to happy hours and we’d go out and see live music,” she said. “There’s a lake called Lake

Travis. We’d go out there and go swimming.

[I] had a great roommate that I met when I got there. And I think it was just a good experience.”

Was a Communications Professor After receiving her degree from University of Texas, Albada began to teach, starting at North Carolina State University. “I taught a lot of different communication classes, everything from communication theory to quantitative research methods, but I loved teaching nonverbal communication,” she said. “I got interested in it as a student because I thought you could go into any type

of industry, but you could also just relate to it in your personal life. It was just something I found fascinating.” Even now, as Creek’s office manager, Albada still applies the lessons she’s taught, and learned. “I might edit letters that Mr. Silva is going to send out to the community. So back to some of my writing skills.

And then I do a lot of communication on the phone, because we field a lot of phone calls.”

Enjoys Rock Blues and ‘90s Grunge K ELLY ALBADA

PRINCIPAL SILVA’S OFFICE MANAGER AND ASSISTANT

With a music scene so incredible in Colorado, Albada tries to take advantage of the concert’s held. “I definitely have an affinity for all the ‘90s grunge Seattle

sound music. I’ve seen Pe a r l Jam a couple times,” she said.

“We were gonna go see Gary Clark Jr. out at Red Rocks, and it was

my opportunity to go watch my daughter row [at] the ACC championship. And I was like, ‘that’s the only time I get to see her.’ So we had to miss [the concert.]” Albada’s appreciation extends beyond the music itself. “I love doing that when we get the opportunity. And Red Rocks is fabulous.”

Enjoys Global Traveling CUSTOMER SERVICE: Dr. Kelly Albada reads an email containing student details. The bulk of her work revolves around human interaction, either in person or over the phone. “I think you’re a customer facing person whether it’s students or faculty that you’re helping,“ she said.

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

12 | In-Depth

Albada’s husband, who she met during her PhD study at UT-Austin, is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, a place she has frequented, along with many other countries.

“We’ve been to England. We’ve been to Holland. We went to Spain last summer.

My kids started travel-

ing when they were babies,” she said. And when she travels, immersion is her priority. “I enjoy learning [about] different cultures. I always have the philosophy that, if at all possible, ‘go local.’ I want to eat what they eat, [as] if [I] were going to live there.

I don’t want to go to the part that’s been Americanized.”

L

eading me through the back of West Cafe, Donald Duvall Jr. sat down in a seasoned gray office. His bright purple shirt matched the canned fruit scattered in the background, painting Duvall as colorful and varied, something that I would soon find to be true. This isn’t Duvall’s first career, or his original plan, but somewhere along the way he found value in serving food, and helping those around him.

Was Set to Be a DII Track Athlete Duvall began his academic career at Hinkley High School in Aurora, where he graduated in 2006. Then, with a full ride scholarship to University of Mary in North Dakota, Duvall planned to run track and field.“[My NCAA Clearinghouse] just kept saying pending. Me and my coach would call up there and I don’t know, it just wasn’t meant to be. I

didn’t get kicked off the team. But I couldn’t practice,” he said. “I was like, ‘Whoa, but we have to figure this out.’ And I just didn’t see too much effort from him either. So I was like, ‘well, it’s cold up here. Time to go home.’

It’s cold out here too, but it’s different.” He returned to Colorado, and went to Otero Junior College in La Junta. “It was fine. I just went

there because my friends went there,” he said.

Now, after leaving Otero years ago, Duvall is taking night classes at MSU Denver. “I first started out as a full time student. And it just was not good. I couldn’t do it. It’s very, very hard.”

Owns an Athletic Apparel Company Duvall’s daughter, who runs track and field, came up with the idea to make her own uniform. “And then that’s what we did. Basically, we just did our research on most of it.

Leggings are super big. And so we’re basically in the process of just trying to put it all out

in our company,” he said. The company, called Zip it Up, features an emoji with a zipper over its mouth.“It’s just like, ‘Shut up and work.

It’s time to work.’”

WORKING THE REGISTER: Duvall works behind the counter in West Cafe. “I love working the register because it gives me a chance to see all the kids,” he said.

Served in the Army After leaving Otero Junior College, Duvall joined the army, following in his Grandfather’s footsteps.“It’s really hard to get under my skin, which is a good thing. I love all the physical training and all of that stuff. You know, I liked it. But it is not for everybody.

It’s a lot of standing around outside,” he said.

Duvall returned in 2015 because of the birth of his daughter. “I went to Afghanistan and came back Mar. 20 of 2014. You have children and you have to put your life in dan-

ger like that. I would rather be with my family than be stressed out about never seeing them again, and them not seeing me.” After returning to the U.S, Duvall felt disconnected.

“I was really cold. I was happy, but I just wasn’t reactive.

[Coming back] wasn’t hard, but I was kind of scared,” he said. “I just wasn’t used to it.”

Aspires to Be a Coach Since running track and field in high school, Duvall has turned to coaching as an athletic outlet, something that he will continue at Creek. “I’ve worked in the kitchen for years. And now hopefully, will be the assistant one of the assistant coaches for track and field,” he said. “I just coached my daughter in the hurdles to nationals in her first year of running.” But his expertise extends beyond just his family.“I have a lot of knowledge and it wouldn’t make sense for me to just keep it in my head.”

DONALD DUVALL

LUNCH STAFF ASST. TRACK AND FIELD COACH

PHOTO BY WRYN DUEPRE

January 2024

sports

ART BY ANGELA XU

50 YEARS IN Legendary Baseball Coach Marc Johnson Announces Retirement QUINN RUDNICK Junior Editor-in-Chief & Sports Editor

M

arc Johnson has been coaching Creek baseball since 1973.

Over his 50 years of coaching, he has accumulated eight state titles, six runner-ups, 846 wins, and 32 Centennial League championships. But at 78, Johnson has made the call to retire.

“I didn’t want to leave the cupboard bare,” Johnson said. “I knew I had a really strong junior and senior class coming back, so I thought this was the right time, because we’re going to be a very talented team this year.”

Moving forward, Johnson is planning to spend more time with baseball, through spending more time with his family in Arizona.

“It’s time to turn the reins over, and I’ve got a couple of grandsons playing at Chandler High School in Arizona, and I’m going to go watch them play,” Johnson said. “If I can’t handle not coaching, I’ll volunteer to be a bench coach for somebody.”

Johnson and his teams have a stagger-

14 | Sports

ing record, and have held the most wins ing an impact on the school and its stufor any high school in Colorado since dents. During his retirement announcebeating Grandview 6-5 on May 12, 2021, ment speech, he encouraged his players bringing the team to 808 overall wins. to always be good people.

Over his career, Johnson has coached 53 “A better you makes a better we,” he players who would go on to be drafted by said. “And a better we makes a better the MLB, and seven of which would offi- team. These things are more important cially play in the than wins and lossmajor leagues. es.”

But state reOne of the things “He tells us to get 1% better cords, wins, that Johnson focusevery day, not only in the and the major es on is his playgame but as a person. It has leagues aren’t ers mental health, all that matter whether or not it taught me to keep pushing to Johnson. His has anything to do forward in all aspects of my real goal with his with baseball. life.” team is to help “He looks out his players defor us. Whatever velop into kind, we need he lets us Senior Eddie Esquivel well-rounded know he’s there to adults. help, [like] reach“S om e t h i ng ing out to college I’ve learned from Coach J is to always be coaches, talking to a teacher, or mental positive,” senior varsity catcher Brayden health issues,” senior varsity player Eddie Yasuzawa said. “He posts his positive Esquivel said. “J’s door is always open.” thoughts of the day, which are a helpful In order to work towards having reminder to be a nice and caring human stronger team game play, Johnson focusand athlete.” es on players’ game play mentality the Even with his time at Creek coming to most, instead of purely physical talent. a close, Johnson wants to continue mak“Coach J helps keep the team mentally

THE MAKING on track and helps us focus on the plan for the game,” Yasuzawa said. “Before games he gives a debrief of the other team and tells us what to expect throughout the game. We’ve been the underdog and top dog so he has to make sure we stay ready for anything.”

Johnson’s dedication to the team goes beyond Creek as well. One of his goals is also to help the community around the school, through volunteering, cleaning, and much more.

“He has helped create many volunteer opportunities such as the Thanksgiving food drive, volunteer coaching during hitting camps, and maintaining the beautiful field we play on,” Yasuzawa said.

This year, most players hope that Johnson’s final season can come with a state title as well.

“I’m so blessed and honored to be part of coach J’s last season,” Esquivel said. “I expect the team will rally together, and with a little luck, send him out with a state win. “ As of November, there is no word of who will replace Johnson after his retirement, but the team is hopeful that their final season with him will not be any different, if not better.

“Coach will make sure our heads stay down and grind throughout the season until the final game,” Yasuzawa said. “I’m excited to be a part of his last year of coaching and thankful to be able to know Coach Johnson not only as a coach but also as a caring human being.”

Marc Johnson, through coaching for 50 years, began the careers of nearly 200 D1 athletes, including six baseball players who would go on to play in the Major Leagues.

BASEBALL LEGENDS Johnson coached well-renowned former pitcher Brad Lidge, who played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Washington Nationals before retiring in 2008. Lidge is a two-time All-Star and World Series Champion.

Johnson also coached five other players who would go onto play in the major leagues: John Burke, Darnell McDonald, Griffin Jax, Bill Wilkinson, and David Ardasma.

CREATIVE COMMONS

K RUDN IC

Johnson has had 160 players sign with Division I schools to play baseball, four of whom signed this year.

Seniors Cameron Larson, Brayden Yasuzawa, Paul Hughes, and Eddie Esquivel committed to Wofford College, Villanova University, Miami University (Ohio), and the University of San Fransisco respectively.

PHOT O BY Q UINN

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAUL HUGHES, MASON SCOTT, AND EDDIE ESQUIVEL. GALLERY BY QUINN RUDNICK

160 D1 PLAYERS

January 2024

Queer Athletes Feel Pressure To Conform

F

BY ALISA KOVALEVA & ANAIAH SHAHRUKH Staff Writers

or a lot of queer athletes, the politics and pressure surrounding competing in sports is completely overwhelming, due to the constant feeling of needing to “fit in” and “belong.”

ART BY LINA

RAKHMAN OVA

Over the past summer, the media payed particular attention to the validity of transgender atletes competing in their gender-affirming sports. Many politicians and critics felt that transgender atletes held an unfair advantage, causing increased discomfort for trans and queer athletes.

“What America is witnessing is ‘cheating,’” Tucker Carlson, ex-host of Fox News, said in reference to a belief that if trans athletes were participating in sports, they were at an unfair advantage.

With Creek being such an athletically renowned school, pressure on athletes to be the best for the team is high, and queer student athletes admit that they are hesitant to come out. Many athletes feel that they must hide an integral part of themselves from the team, a team that is meant to be a unified and supportive community.

Junior Aspen Murphy*, whose name has been changed for their safety, is a closeted queer non-binary athlete at Creek, and they feel like there is an intangible separation between them and their teammates on the girls’ sports team.

“It feels like you’re not a part of the group,” Murphy* said.

“You don’t feel connected with them the way they’re connected to each other.”

This connection can

16 | Sports

manifest physically as well. whether it’s an insensitive comment about a “They’re like, hugging each other and student’s sexual orientation, their preference, very physically affectionate,” Murphy said. their identity, anything along those lines,” he “It’s just weird because it’s if I was like that said. with them, it’d be different to them since I’m Renee Teagan*, whose name has been not a straight [person.]” changed for their safety, is another queer In addition to feeling isolated from athlete. When Teagan* had started playing the team, some queer athletes also feel like sports her freshman year, she went by prothere’s a negative culture surrounding queer nouns that didn’t align with her birth gender people in sports that can lead to bullying and and dressed what she described as “pretty rumors. masculine and gay.” Her sophomore year, “I knew a girl on a team above me that she publicly detransitioned and dressed was out as a lesbian,” closer to what a typical Murphy* said. “The cisgender athlete would whole team was talking wear to practices.

“It feels like you’re not about her behind her “Now that I’ve dea part of the group. You back. They were like, ‘I transitioned, people don’t feel connected with just don’t want her to talk to me a lot more,” have a crush on any of Teagan* said. “We’ll see them the way they’re conus!’ It’s not fun.” if people will talk to me nected to each other.”

The nasty feeling of next year. If I’m comrumors and whispers pletely straight passing, Junior Aspen Murphy* that surround queer they probably will.” athletes can make them For a lot of queer consider quitting the athletes, feeling like you sport that was supposed need to hide who you to be a home. are or feeling like you need to detransition to Marcus McDavid, one of the track and feel included on your team is common. But field coaches, tries to create a safe environ- despite the controversy surrounding queer ment for all of his athletes by ensuring that athletes in sports, many straight players feel cruel comments aren’t made. that being queer shouldn’t be a big deal in the “There’s always something that we can sport, and that players shouldn’t have to feel continue to work on. Whether it’s a kid’s isolated or excluded. poor word choice, like bad language, or “I feel like there are people who are being mistreated a lot, especially at this time,” freshman sophomore team basketball player Dina Yoseph said. “Being queer should have nothing to do with your skill level, if you’re contributing to the team, then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Jordan Herron’s Calling: Prove Everybody Wrong

BY AVERY HUTCHINS & KELLEN RINGLAND

S

Asst. Sports Editor & Staff Writer

enior Jordan Herron’s entire life has been dominated by sports.

Growing up in an athletic environment, Herron has been developing his ambitious athletic mindset from a very young age.

And he doesn’t plan on stopping now.

“Growing up seeing my brothers and cousins play football, I just had the same mindset as them,” Herron said. “I carry [their influence] with me, and I still want to be better than them, so I just hold a ‘grudge.’ It always makes me want to improve myself.”

But familial pressure didn’t end with competition. As he developed his athletic abilities, Herron also felt extra pressure from his father, who was a well known athlete when he was Herron’s age.

“My dad was always hard on me, he [had] high expectations for me. And since I’m his son, he expected me to do more than him,” Herron said. “My dad was a great person, [he] was the greatest at his school.”

For Herron, the balance between his mother and father’s attitude towards his athletics helped him bounce back after tough criticism. While his father wanted perfection, his mother was always around to help him refocus on the sport. “[My dad] was always pushing me [to find] what I could do better. And I’d just get down on myself. And it’s sad. I just lost focus,”

Herron said. “My mom was always there to downs in 5A Centennial. Herron is hoping to help me on track.” repeat this success on the basketball court, Herron is currently a multi-sport athlete; and his individuality it seen by more than just he plays varsity for both the basketball and himself. football teams. Despite being well-regarded “He’s improved every year for sure in basfor his football talent, Jordan has gravitated ketball, and of course in football as well,” head towards basketball since boys basketball coach he was a child, and didn’t James Hartsfield said. expect to start playing “He’s just an athlete “I just always wanted to football. and so we know that be that basketball “Just growing up, I he’ll be able to bring a liked basketball more. different dynamic to ‘person,’ and somehow My older brother played our team.” football got me.” basketball. And my dad For most high played basketball,” Herschool athletes, the Senior Jordan Herron ron said. “Everybody dream is to play in played basketball, and I college, Herron is no just always wanted to be different. But in order that basketball ‘person,’ to make it to college and somehow football got me.” leagues, he feels constant pressure to be the Still, Jordan is able to find individuality in best he can be, both in sports and as a person. football.

His efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.

“I’m just different from other people, [I “He’s very respectful, well mannered and have] different things that I can bring to the just a good kid to be around,” Hartsfield said. table like speed, catching, all that stuff,” Her- “That makes us coaches happy. We know that ron said. “And I feel like in basketball, every- he’ll be a good teammate.” body can do that. Everybody’s fast. EveryStill, Herron sees this progress as a continbody can be physical. I feel like that’s different uous motion. from football.”

“I find myself every day [trying] to become Despite his love for basketball, Herron the best person I can,” Herron said. “And more acknowledged talent lies in football. In I want to be the best to come out of Creek. the 2023-24 season alone, Herron ranked top [Criticism] just pushes me even harder to 19 in Colorado for total yards, top 5 in Divi- make it to college [basketball] and make it to sion 5A in total touchdowns, and ranked first the league and just prove everybody wrong.” in rushing yards, total points, and total touch-

#7

FOR TOTAL TOUCHDOWN POINTS SCORED

Herron has scored 108 total points during the 2023-24 season within the Colorado Class 5A for football.

#44

FOR ASSISTS PER GAME

Herron averages 1.1 assists per game for the 2022-23 season within the Colorado Class 6A for basketball.

PHOTO BY QUINN RUDNICK

January 2024

a&e

TAR AN T IN O R ANK E D

Quentin Tarantino is an absolute movie freak. His career spans decades and his notoriety reaches even further. And, with his tenth and final movie rumored to be coming out this year, viewers will be more immersed in his filmography than ever. In preparation for this, a group of USJ editors decided to test the validity of his hype, by reviewing and ranking (almost) all of his movies. Death Proof was omitted.

#8 #7

#6 18 | A&E

Kill Bill: Volume 1 This movie reminded me of middle school gym class: unnecessarily gross and uncomfortably weird. Tarantino’s worst personality traits showed in this movie. Most notably, his urge to abuse women for no purpose. Made in the early 2000s, these movies realistically put him on the map, but that map should have been burned.

If I could go back in time and erase Uma Thurman’s toes from my memory, I wouldn’t. Instead, I would erase the entire concept of this article, so I wouldn’t have had to endure such agony. I couldn’t bring myself to start the second one. DNF. -Alex Gribb

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood I watched this movie when the pandemic had just started, with absolutely nothing to do, so the bar was already extremely low.

But even then, this movie was honestly a whole lot of nothing. I can’t remember for the life of me what Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt were doing for ninety percent of this movie. The ending was the only lick of anything interesting. But even then, it’s pretty hard to make a scene about killing hippies with a flamethrower uninteresting. This isn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen, but if you want a good movie to fall asleep to this would be it.

-Jonathan Lee

Pulp Fiction I will die peacefully the day we collectively stop pretending this movie was amazing. After two hours of elaborate and interwoven stories, the ending was meant to unravel everything, leaving the audience with this mind blowing revelation. While the ending was my favorite part, it was less because of a mind blowing revelation and more because it was finally over. When you look at the raw plot, it’s nothing special. Hopefully the illuminated briefcase that all the characters were inexplicably crazy over had better screenwriting inside. -Nour Kreishan

Jackie Brown Winter feels so much worse after watching this movie. Samuel L. Jackson’s weird rat tail gave me a permanent chill, and Tarantino’s obsession with feet did nothing to help. I was warmed by the soundtrack, but ice trapped my soul once again after I had to endure another male main character with anger issues. Tarantino’s lack of versatility in this department really started to bother me, because his characters remind me of teenage boys who want to punch their door. -Alex Gribb

Reservoir Dogs I randomly found this movie on Netflix and decided to give it a go, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was very easy to follow, because it basically all took place in the same warehouse.

Tarantino didn’t falter with the violence in this movie, but he could’ve given Tim Roth a bit of a break with all his screaming in agony while covered in blood. Michael Madsen’s character is especially insane, and I won’t spoil what he does but it does involve a razor and a cop tied to a chair. -Jonathan Lee

The Hateful 8 I remember my parents buying this movie on iTunes back in the day. I also remember begging to watch it at that same age. I’m glad I waited until now. Boy, was it gory, and at times I felt like I was the damsel covered in blood, but Samuel L. Jackson’s laugh made this movie hilarious. Again, Tarantino’s southern accent kink kicked in, and made me incredibly happy. This movie was as disastrous and gorgeous as the 2016 Met Gala. Camp. -Alex Gribb

Django: Unchained I want this movie’s hand in marriage. Jamie Foxx does an incredible job with his character, and Leonardo DiCaprio plays an excellent racist. This film was like extremely softened butter — perfect for spreading on toast, but jarring in any other situation. The shock value that Tarantino attaches to every movie glues you to the screen. It’s like watching a car crash: you know you should look away, but you don’t want to. -Alex Gribb

Inglorious Basterds What an amazing, hard-to-follow, overly saturated movie. At times it felt more like French Duolingo practice than a film, but it kept me on my toes. Tarantino did a questioningly amazing job at making me feel like I was in Nazi-occupied France, while masterfully balancing serious discussions with goofy delicacies, like the obviously fake mustaches. This movie was just like Brad Pitt’s southern accent: incredibly indulgent, yet awfully grotesque. -Alex Gribb

#5 #4 #3 #2 #1

ART BY LINA RAKHMANOVA

January 2024

op inions

$12,500 for a Life? Drug Addiction Treatment Needs to be More Accessible

BY QUINN RUDNICK & IZZY KRAUSS Junior Editor-in-Chief and Sports Editor & Opinions Editor

M

ore than 106,000 people in the United States died in 2021 due to drug-involved overdose. 1,146 of those deaths were teenagers. In order to assist in addiction recovery, treatment needs to be more available to everyone, specifically teenagers.

Thousands of young people struggle everyday from substance abuse issues, but they’re not finding any approachable sources of treatment due to affordability and lack of awareness.

“Even if I did decide to look at treatment centers, I couldn’t afford them,” junior Riley Brensen* said, whose name has been changed to protect their privacy. Riley* has been in active recovery for a year and four months.

In the U.S., the average price of inpatient care per day ranges from $500 to $600, and a 30 day program averages to about $12,500, according to the National Center For Drug Abuse Statistics. And while there are many different treatment centers within the Denver Metro Area, including Sandstone, The Cornerstone Program, and Denver Springs, many students find those programs completely unattainable.

“A lot of times, recovery treatment places are expensive, like intensive outpatient care, residentials, detoxes, places like that,” said senior Micheal Kirk*, whose name has been changed to protect their privacy. “If you are less fortunate than others and you don’t have [a] specific insurance, then you’re kind of out of luck there and you’re screwed over.”

For Creek students, there are inschool programs to help with substance abuse, but they rely on the student being caught using drugs on school property.

20 | Opinions

If students are caught with substances, al-life problems,’ which leads to a feeling they have the option of facing a ten- of isolation. And many think that getting day suspension or meeting with Creek’s treatment could harm friendships and Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist, relationships.

Sarah White, to potentially reduce their This negative idea furthers a lack of suspension to three days. access to treatment, as embarrassment “It’s not always solely focused on a and fear can prevent an addict from substance,” White said. “Really my whole seeking recovery. goal is to meet the student where they’re According to John Hopkins Medicine, at and, [figure out if] school stress is their using ‘person-first’ language can help to issue or maybe [it’s their] friendships.” reduce stigma. This structure addresses Most Creek students didn’t even the person before the addict, both literknow that there was an Abuse Preven- ally and figuratively. For example, “subtion Specialist because its addition went stance abuser” is changed to “person unnoticed. with a substance abuse issue.” Using this “I know there’s counselors at Creek, method, can encourage addiction treatbut I didn’t know there was one specif- ment more effectively, but that support ically for drugs means nothing if and substance treatment remains Colorado Substance Abuse abuse,” Kirk* incredibly expenHotline said. sive.

Without help According to from a counthe National Liselor at Creek brary of Medicine, or different serthe Affordable The Colorado Addiction vices, addiction Care Act (ACA) Hotline is available 24/7 affects the user plays a large role in for people struggling with but also leaves a granting access to tremendous imsubstance use disaddiction pact on families. order treatment.

The strain that’s The ACA helps put on the relationships causes a sense treatment services be more affordable of hurt and betrayal as well as confusion and accessible to many. and fear. For a lot of users, the tension But while The ACA is helping with within their family can encourage them cost, we still need to create an environto seek recovery. ment where substance abuse disorder “I think the main deciding factor [to isn’t stigmatized. A combination of the seek help] was my parents because it two is the only way to make treatment turned into this thing [where] I would more accessible. wake up every day and just constantly Making treatment programs more afargue with my mom and [she] would fordable and accessible is crucial to helpbe arguing back with me through tears,” ing teenagers recover from addiction and Kirk* said. “And it just got so brutal be- remain sober. If people could gain access cause I wanted her to stop giving a s**t to a recovery program without exorbiabout me.” tant costs, they can finally have access Not only are there issues with afford- to a support system that will save their ability, but there is also a debilitating lives, instead of draining their funds. stigma that follows. Many people treat drug addiction as a way of avoiding ‘re-

866-210-1303

1 in 10 young adults have an alcohol use disorder.

1 in 7 young adults have a substance use disorder.

SOURCE: AMERICAN ADDICTION CENTERS INFOGRAPHIC BY QUINN RUDNICK

15%

COULD NOT AFFORD TREATMENT

In a survey conducted by the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication, 15% of respondents said that they couldn’t seek treatment because they ran into financial barriers.

17%

LEFT TREATMENT EARLY

In the same survey, 17% of respondents said that they had to leave treatment early because of financial strains.

LA ART BY ANGE

XU

January 2024

Multi-Lingual Learners Deserve a Practical Approach to English

BY ANDREI MACHADO Staff Writer

A

lthough the thought of learning a foreign language was weird for 8-year-old me to understand, through hiccoughs, coughs, and enough thorough learning, I managed to plough through the language barrier and learn English in two years.

22 | Opinions

ART BY ANGELA XU

Not only does this first sentence explain my experience with learning English, while being grammatically correct, but it also has the letters “ough” in nine words. In those nine words, eight different sounds are made.

Difficulties like this make learning English brutal.

Imagine learning English and coming across that sentence. Phonetically, there’s no way to figure out how to pronounce each word, and not only are there the eight different sounds “ough” can make, but also the words ‘weird’ and ‘foreign’ break the commonly taught “I before E” rule.

Since I was only eight when I moved here from Brazil, I managed to pick up the basics of English very quickly; however, something that I have always struggled with is spelling.

When it comes to double letters, verb conjugations, and words with weird spellings, many non-native speakers struggle a lot.

Even people considered fluent speakers sometimes struggle with knowing how to spell certain words.

However, most native speakers don’t realize how hard English is to learn.

“Some languages transfer much faster than others because of the similarities (cognates) that occur across languages,” Cher-

ry Creek District English Language Supports “If you are lucky enough to be immersed (ELS) Program Lead Tricia Macrae said. in the country/culture where the language is Languages such as Spanish, Dutch, Ger- spoken/written, etc, that is the very best way man, and others transfer faster due to these [to learn English],” english teacher Amy Ast cognates. Since the majority of immigrants said. to the U.S. are Hispanic, Americans gain the In the co-taught system, the way students sense that learning English is easier than it learn is unnatural, because they have extra actually is. support at all times and are learning the same A big problem people face while learning thing as native speakers. The extra support English if they don’t speak a language that isn’t a bad idea, as students might be entirely transfers easily is the expectation of learning new to the language, but from my perspecit as quickly as someone who speaks a more tive, if they’re learning the same thing native similar language. In reality, they are facing speakers are learning, it won’t help them as completely different problems than expected much in the real world.

by Americans.

For someone learning the language, things There are too many difthat are taught in a stanficulties in English to single dard Language Arts class one out and name it as the Most native aren’t what they need. Inbiggest problem for English stead, they should learn speakers don’t realize learners, which is a huge to conversational Enhow hard English is reason why some people glish because this is the to learn. struggle to learn English. As skill they’ll use the most a new English learner, it can throughout their Enbe incredibly overwhelming glish-speaking life. to learn and memorize all the different parts However, separating the students from of the language. classes with native speakers might also harm What could make it less of a burden is them as they won’t be as immersed in the changing how English is taught. Co-teach- language. This causes a very tricky situation ing is the current way they teach English in where you have to prioritize teaching importthe whole of Cherry Creek School District. ant topics with little practice, or prioritizCo-teaching implies that there are two teach- ing the use of the language while sacrificing ers in a class of non-English speakers, one teaching things students would use the most who helps the students and the other who Don’t get me wrong, the way CCSD teachprimarily teaches the subject. Although this es English is excellent, but from my expehas proven to be a great way to learn and rience, it didn’t work very well. What did teach a language, it isn’t the best. work, however, was having conversations and learning from others, which is very hard to implement successfully in one class. Still, the teaching system should at least involve some more conversational skills.

If I managed to be fluent in a brand new language only by talking to people, implementing conversational skills to help English learners would allow them to thrive in the language, not suffer because of a lack of practice.

STAFF-EDITORIAL

Creek’s Sex Education Needs a Redesign

S

ex-ed has always been a big debate in public schools, with the disapproving parents and uncomfortable students, resulting in thousands of students lacking this life-altering knowledge.

Creek needs to separate sex-ed and health class, maintaining both as graduation requirements.

Sex-ed, short for sexual education, is commonly taught in middle and high schools.

Kids are taught about safe sex, pregnancy prevention, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and consent. Students tend to feel uneasy in these classes, but sex-ed is valuable information that they won’t learn anywhere

else, and shielding kids from uncomfortable content shields them from fundamental knowledge.

Colorado law doesn’t require schools to offer sex-ed courses, but if taught, curriculum must be comprehensible and include equal information about all sexual and gender identities. Parents are permitted by law to opt their children out if they are weary about sex-ed classes.

Five out of seven school districts in the Denver-metro area, including Boulder Valley, Denver Public Schools, Jefferson County, Aurora Public Schools, and Cherry Creek Schools do teach sexual education, while Douglas County and Littleton Public Schools

See how much you really know!

have not provided any information regarding their curriculum.

According to health and physical education teachers Holly Lane and Allison McKean, CCSD’s health curriculum teaches two weeks of sex-ed, including healthy and unhealthy relationships, sexual assault and harassment, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), contraception, and birth control. All Creek students must complete a half credit, or one full semester, of health class in order to graduate, or they can take interpersonal relationships and culinary arts, two semester long classes, to complete their health credit.

For students who take health, two weeks isn’t long enough to thoroughly teach kids about their sexual well-being, especially when it completely skips over less discussed topics.

All of the components deserve in-depth, detailed lessons rather than the abridged version.

The new sex-ed course could be offered in person or online, both containing in-depth lessons. Students whose religious beliefs, personal safety, or guardians’ preferences contradict with topics discussed within sexual health should be permitted to opt out, through a process involving counselors and guardians.

The combination of interpersonal relationships and culinary arts should not be able to waive either health or sex-ed, as both are necessary for students to live safely and healthily.

Accessibility to this education early in life is crucial to stable mental and physical health, and to our pursuit of careers and higher education. STDs, especially HIV, hepatitis, and HPV, are incurable, possibly leading to cancer, organ damage, and other harmful diseases. Pregnancy completely alters the lives of all people, but affects teenagers and young adults the most. In teaching content that can inform students of these life-changing events, Creek will be preparing them for more than just secondary education.

Students come from all different backgrounds, and go through life differently. For all students, the very real risk of sexual disease and unwanted pregnancies bars us from reaching full potential- the potential that could have become a reality if our education was fortified.

INFOGRAPHIC BY GABBY SCHROCK

January 2024

BACK TALK : C OMMUNITY Q&A The questions on eveyone’s mind

Tim Wright

Will McDavid

Security Officer

Student Body President

Celebrity crush?

Erykah Badu

Number of unread emails?

Dasha Osovskaya

Ryan Silva

FBLA Officer

Principal

Margot Robbie

None

Betty White or Jennifer Garner

70

Zero

9,976

46

Last song or movie that made you cry?

The Imitation of Life

The Notebook

A Dog’s Purpose

Napoleon Dynamite

Guilty pleasure on your phone?

Mini Basketball

Retro Bowl

None

“I don’t have any. I’m boring.”

Most overrated thing?

Politics

Starbucks

Taylor Swift

Social Media

CREATIVE COMMONS