East Scroll issue 3

We are inclusive

Pg. 20-21

Trans in Iowa

Scarlet Strong

scroll staff

Editors-in-chief

Ny’Asiah Gully

Devyn Sam

Copy editor

Beverly Gillard

Design editor

Christopher Ramirez Chavez

Dayanna Vinalay

Multi-media editor

Kendall Moss

Scroll staff

Noelle Avon

Ollie Barnes

Eliza Berglund

Sarenidy Boydston

Ronaziah Buchanan

Gracie Boley

Gabriel Cook

Tysheena Davis

Laila Fisher

Oshay Franklin

Miley Jimenez

Taylor Landers

Salu Lee

Owen Littell

Gabriella Lopez

Isabella Lovan

Keven Martinez-Lopez

Angelina McDaniel

Trinity Mcgee

Myles Mickle

Kirsten Pierce

Abigail Rice

Finn Robertson

Zander Ross

Esmeralda Saldana-Hernandez

Kaylie Shannon

Natalie Taylor

Lilliana Thomas

Ebony Walton

Jaitreana White

Grace Withee Adviser

Natalie Niemeyer-Lorenz

Principal

Jill Versteeg

22-23

March 10, 2023

Design/ L. Thomas

shootingshootingshootingshooting East High School shooting,

1

Over 40 shots were fired in the East High School’s student parking lot, on Monday March 7, 2022, at 2:47 p.m., leaving two former East High students, Kemery Ortega and Jessica Lopez-Torres injured. While another former East High student, Jose David Lopez was killed in the gun fire. Since the shooting, students and staff are left wondering what exactly has changed over the year. Here are Principal Jill Versteeg’s thoughts one year after the shooting.

Why do you think school shootings are increasing?

What possible solutions would you suggest?

The rise in school shootings across the state is caused by a variety of reasons. Young people’s emotional health is one of them. East High School is incredibly fortunate to have six counselors and schoolbased therapists, but it’s not enough to meet the needs of students and families. There needs to be more resources to support the youth to be involved in activities at younger ages and make them accessible for families. Research suggests that the more students are engaged in activities, their communities and within their schools, less violence occurs. “There

year later

needs to be more youth mental health support in Iowa, Des Moines, and across schools,” Versteeg said.

getting emergency radios that will be direct patch to 911 dispatch should an emergency arise,” Versteeg said.

Do you think Students can feel safe at school?

What steps have been taken to prevent this from happening again?

Many steps have been taken to prevent this from happening again. District safety teams continue to review data and determine safety protocols. More cameras were added around the school, and public safety is in the building and parking lot often. DMPD has also partnered with East and the district more about having more awareness in the community when events occur and steps, we might need to take to keep the school safe. “Buildings are also

“More students state they feel safe than don’t. I also can say that is the case because students talk with us a lot about what they see and hear because they trust us and want East to be safe. Also, our engagement in activities has continued to increase this year, which tells me students want to be part of something bigger at school and create an environment that is about excellence,” Versteeg said.

What would you like to see change around our school?

“Well, while attendance has improved greatly this year, I’d like to see it improve even more. I also would like to see more school pride shown daily. East is a beautifully diverse school filled with incredible people. We need to highlight the good that happens here and showcase it more than highlight what isn’t going well,” Versteeg said.

“East is a beautifully diverse school filled with incredible people. We need to highlight the good that happens here and showcase it more than highlight what isn’t going well”

over 40 shots fired, 2 injured, 1 dead.

Story/ B. Gillard Design/ L. Thomas

DMPS data breach affects students, staff, and district wide with Lisa Irey, director of technology for DMPS

&Q A

OnJan. 9, around 7:30a.m. an employee got a security alert that there was someone hacking into the DMPS system. They had to shut down everything right away, including the whole entire network, which meant no Wi-Fi for students, staff, or anyone else in the DMPS district from Jan. 9, through Jan. 27. This caused classes to be cancelled for the DMPS district on Jan. 10 and 11, Those days will now be made up at the end of the school year.

Lisa Irey, the director of technology for DMPS, provided information on the situation.

How did they find out about the threat?

“We received a notification from one of our employees that had found a note on the computer pretty much saying you have been attacked. That caused us to go into reaction mode with our cyber response plans for when these things happen,” Irey said.

What is the cyber response plan?

“Whenever an incident happens, we have a very procedural approach. We shut the internet down, shut down all in our servers and we disconnected backups so that we can begin investigating in off-line mode for safety,” Irey said.

Being questioned about who might have hacked into the DMPS system, Irey was hesitant.

“I am not sure if I can speak on that now, they do have a name, and we do know who they are. We are working with all the proper law enforcement and authorities to report anything we learn to them for their investigation purposes, and we are working very closely with our cyber insurance. They have an engineering team that is helping sup-

port. They have a forensic investigation team that is working to support us, so they give us very strict guidelines of what we need to do,” Irey said.

actions, like installing a software that requires elevated rights and more people you have with elevated rights the more risk that there was more accounts or credentials stolen, then a threat actor could use those to gain our system essentially,” Irey said. “The way we built our network, the way we let people access our network has changed,” Irey said.

Asking why Irey couldn’t share much.

“It’s weird, I’m usually an open book, right? But now with all this we just have to be careful, our cyber insurance company, you know, one of their pieces of advice is to not really talk about it too much because the threat actor that is responsible is then also watching every move that we make.” They also responded with, “I can tell you the F.B.I. is involved.”

There were also a lot of theories made, what were some?

“There are a lot of crazy rumors, like somebody from Russia did it, a kid at whatever school didn’t like their grades first semester, so they did it,” Irey said.

People are curious about what data might have been stolen, can you say?

“At this time, we do not. We cannot say, I cannot say,” Irey said.

Wondering what are some of the next steps with moving forward?

“We are doing a lot, because when you know better, you do better. The way we are architecting our network is a safer way so that if we were to be infiltrated again it would be much more difficult to move throughout our environment. We have deprivileged a lot of accounts so for instance, you may have privilege access like you could have permissions on your computer to perform different

Now that the internet is back, is it temporary?

“The name of it is temporary, but the connection is permanent,” Irey said.

Is there anything different about this connection?

“One of the things we have to do in response is every user will have to change their password, and we are going to the password policy for our high school students to match the policy of our staff, 16 characters,” Irey said.

Why only high school students?

“Because our younger students, their accounts don’t have as many privileges, because they don’t need it. But as you get older you may need to email someone outside of the district. Our younger kids can’t do that, you may need to access different resources online, so we need you to have a little more freedom with your accounts, but we also need to make sure your accounts are secured,” Irey said.

“I am not sure if I can speak on that now, they do have a name, and we do know who they are. We are working with all the proper law enforcement and authorities...”

- Lisa Irey, director of technonlogy

Story/ L. Thomas

Tips from Irey for a 16 character long password.

“One of my biggest tips for a 16-character password is using a passphrase, use a saying. I use a movie quote or a song lyric or like a quote from a show or something like that. It doesn’t have to have an upper case or lower case, a number or a symbol, it can literally just be 16 letters.”

Here is how this data breach incident has affected some students and teachers

Why do you think that the internet loss was so hard on the district?

“I think that the loss of the internet caused a lot of stress on everyone. I believe that we rely too much on the internet in school. I mean they even cancelled school because we didn’t have access to the internet,” junior Bryce Dix said.

How did the loss of the internet affect you?

“The Wi-Fi going down stopped me from being able to do schoolwork on a computer with no access to internet there was nothing to be able to do my work on. I got behind in class and had to catch back later or even at home,” Dix said.

How did losing the internet affect your teaching? Was it easier or more difficult?

“It became much more difficult. The last books that were purchased were in 2013. Also, many of the things have short videos. I had to download them to a flash drive at home and then bring them to school in order to play them,” East High business teacher Derek Lounsberry said.

Did you have to do work at home where there was access to the internet? If so, how was that?

“I worked at home when they gave us the time to. But I made the decision to only do the bare minimum to teach. If the district said we had to be here, I did what I could here. I value my time away from school. I do not spend my off hours working,” Lounsberry said.

What class/ classes did the internet loss affect you the most in?

“The internet affected me most in yearbook. We build the book 100 percent digital, so internet is essential to its creations and our work,” senior Selena Gonzalez said.

How did it affect you and your learning or time in class?

“The internet loss didn’t really affect my learning, as my teachers were luckily able to adapt without it quickly. But my ability to work suffered as I was still given work to do virtually or there was virtual work I simply couldn’t do and it had to be looked over,” Gonzalez said.

Illustration/ L. Thomas

Gun violence within Des Moines and how it’s affecting our community

“Gun violence feels too big, too powerful to stop. But it’s not too big for you to take some real, meaningful actions. You can control what you decide you can live with, and what you can’t. You can choose whether you do something, or do nothing. You are not powerless.”

It seems like a normal day at East High School, everyone is smiling full of joy and spirit. You’re in your fourth period class listening to the teacher’s instructions to start the class, and suddenly you hear over the announcements that the school is on lockdown. Feeling confused and worried about why we’re on lockdown again, you hop on social media and see that it’s another situation involving a gun. So much gun violence going on in the world, what is being done to change it? Are actions being taken to help situations like this in schools and keep students safe?

“.If it occurs one way to protect the community is to locate who did it, educate young people and the people involved for the reasons why that shouldn’t happen again. It’s a tough situation,” East administrator Anthony Gianaras said.

East is no stranger to these events, leaving students and staff to deal with the anxiety and uncertainness that comes with having a gun brought into a school, especially after an incident in the community, like the shooting at Starts Right Here on January 23, which took the lives of two students.

“East staff has increased their security a lot. Public safety stays outside of the school and there are staff standing

at every door making sure everyone is safe. With everything going on, they have taken it into their own hands, ensuring students’ safety,” East campus monitor Sabrina Douglass said.

Students have questions about how the situations are handled when a gun is suspected to be in the building.

“It’s handled differently in different situations. If a person is contained, it would result in a lockdown situation. If they don’t have them or know who they are, admin always has radios on and communicates with each other what’s going on. They always try to approach the student in a calm manner, so they don’t freak out,” Douglass said.

Students are left to wonder what can students do to stay safe in the community and at school?

“Be involved in extracurricular activities and keep yourself busy. Clubs and sports are a good way to keep yourself busy. As well as a new hobby. There are many different clubs East and the community provide. Find what interests you and get involved,” Douglass said.

People often question what causes others students to commit gun violence.

“Students not seeing their own value, not seeing their self-worth. So their willing to throw it away for what I would say is not the right cause,” Gianaras said.

Timeline of gun violence

March 7, 2022

*3 students are shot at East High School. 1 dies.

May 8, 2022

*3 Roosevelt students shot at an after prom party in a residential neighborhood.

May 17, 2022

*3 Des Moines teenagers shot at MLK Jr. Park on the Eastside.

January 23, 2023

* 3 people shot at Starts Right Here. 2 die, 1 left in critical condition.

Story/S. Boydston

-Jennifer Rosen Heinz

Introducing the

Ambassadors

No one knows who the Ambassadors are, let’s introduce them!

Have you ever wondered who talks to the Des Moines School Board to make changes at East and the district? Do you ever wonder who advocates for East High School students? Have you ever wondered who plans most of the dances and spirit weeks? These people are strong-willed, amazing, ready to help in any way they can, and have amazing hearts. These people are called Ambassadors. The Ambassadors are a group of Scarlet Squad students ready to jump into action during fourth period every day.

To become an Ambassador, you must be in the Scarlet Squad as well. They do a lot to make East High School a better place. Right now, they are trying to find a new mascot instead of just the “E.” In order to end the controversy surrounding the Indian mascot of 25 years, East High School decided to remove it, now the Ambassadors are attempting to create a new mascot to better represent East. The Ambassadors must talk to students, alumni, and the school board to get a mascot everyone will like. The process of finding a new mascot is long and complicated but they are trying their best. They have gone through

Mascot Ideas

Students say that the Scarlets embody strength, toughness, pride, loyalty, trustworthiness, confidence, unity, dedication and supportivness, and they want a mascot that will show that.

1 Knights

It’s for Scarlet kingdom “For service of humanity” crest on the school.

2 Lions

It’s for Scarlet pride, represents a lot of the traits and qualities our community identifies with loyality, pride, family and strength.

multiple options, but they want to make sure it is perfect for East High School students.

“I would say it's kind of stressful finding a new mascot, we are still debating on what East would like that’s why it’s stressful,” Paulina Rojas/12 said.

When something needs to be done for East, they do it. They do all the volunteer work; they visit elementary schools and middle schools. They focus on things that will make East better and help student government; they do things that student government needs help with. Student government plans things but the ambassadors do most of the work after perfecting it.

“We are the backbone for student government,” Kate Acosta/11 said.

Everyone is so excited when homecoming comes around and the spirit week that comes with it. They never think about who helps with that. The people who help sell the tickets and help with the spirit weeks and what they should be and who wins the spirit weeks. They do a lot behind the scenes to help with homecoming.

“I liked how we all came together and worked on the decorations and everything that needed to be

finished for the dance, it was good to know what was going on at school,” Tabitha Hochmuth/11 said.

Homecoming is a hectic week for the ambassadors. They run around trying to make things look perfect, they make decorations for the dance and make it look nice. They put a lot of work into the dances, and they are so proud of what they do for the students.

Ambassadors are perfect examples of what it is to be a community and have one another's backs. Every decision they make, they make sure that everyone has their opinions heard and they come to unison with every decision they make.

“Personally, it is my favorite class to go to, the vibe is incredibly positive. It is a student lead class, and they work very well together,” Maddie Cano said.

They strongly believe that every decision they come to is for the students and to make East a better school to be in. They go beyond the stigma behind East and try to make East’s stigma better. The ambassadors put their heart into everything they do, they have such strong hearts and care about what the students of East want.

3Wildcats

Relates strongly to Iowa, it’s not a common mascot within our athletic conference.

4 Eagles

People like the alliteration of East Eagles, also connects to Iowa, has the qualities strength, honor and protectiveness.

5 Hawks

It’s similar to the eagles suggestion but a bit different.

6 Phoenix

This suggestion is a bit more poetic, the phoenix represents rising from the ashes and persevering.

Story/ G. Withee

Photo/ N. Niemeyer

East high girls wrestling

East high girls wrestling

2022-2023 Season 2022-2023 Season

The crowd was roaring, the lights were shining, and the East girl’s wrestling team season has come to an end. Let’s see the team’s best moments and what to do if you want to join next season’s fun.

Where do you practice and when?

“During season we practice in the girl’s wrestling room at 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday,” girls wrestling coach Mallory Hammit said.

Who is able to join?

“Any girls are able to join,” Hammit said.

Are there any requirements?

“No experience required,” Hammit said.

How long is the wrestling season?

“Our last day of the season was Feburary 3rd,” Hammit said.

What are the rules of wrestling?

“If you have never tried wrestling, come to open mat and we’ll tell you them, for more information come to the weight room or J. Rs’s office,” Hammit said.

What was your goal for this season?

“My goal was to get my first win,” Amaya said.

Why did you join?

“My online friends talked me into it, all my guy friends convinced me to join freshman year,” Yaw said.

What was your goal this season?

“My goal was to make it to state, but it didn’t work out,” Blakeman said

What was your favorite match?

“At Ames when I got my first win against an Ames girl sophomore,” sophomore Dayanara Amaya said.

What was your favorite meet or moment?

“Regionals because it was a fun experience,” freshman Avah Blakeman said.

What do you do to practice for a meet?

“Sometimes I listen to music it gets me hyped and I keep positive vibes or get a good workout in,” senior Kayte Yaw said.

Photos/K. Phal

Boys Swimming Seniors take their last dive

It’s a Saturday morning, you wake up and get ready for the boy’s swim meet. You then arrive at East High School; you walk through the pool doors and the smell of chlorine and the extreme temperature change hits you. You sit down and hear music playing while the team has fun warming-up for their meet. You see the seniors taking charge and leading the group, overall with a really good vibe. This is a typical day with the East boys swim team.

This swim season all the boys have worked really and swam their best with the helpful hand of couches Erin and Patrick Lowe, sadly this season will be the last for Ryan Trujillo, Sam Wagner, Nick Lueder, and Dashing Boston. The team won against North High School and Centerville, but lost all their other meets, but they improved every swim meet.

“This season was something, they tried hard, but they had a disadvantage because they didn’t have a lot of experienced swimmers, but they did pretty good considering”, manager Delaney Hayworth said.

Swimming is a family sport, if one of your siblings, friends, or even your parents did swim you will most likely end up going out for swimming.

“My brother did swim, and my crosscountry friend were doing it so it seemed like the right choice,” Sam Wagner said. Swim is a really good sport to go out for, you get to hang out with your friends, you get a full body work out, it can be relaxing, and you will have a good time it so sad that this swim season is over for these seniors it will be the last high school swim season and they made the most of it.

“This season went really well I met all my goals, we had a good team dynamic,” Wagner said.

Q&A with coach Erin Lowe

How long have you been a swim coach?

“I started coaching little kids and teaching swimming lessons while I was in High School. I have been coaching for 30 years.”

What is the best thing about being a swim coach? “I am happiest when I see kids work hard and really improve. When kids swim faster than they thought they could or have a big time drop, that is the best!”

What is it like being a swim coach?

“It is a lot of hard work, and late nights. I spend a lot of time looking at the times of the other teams, “scouting” them to determine our best chance at winning a high school meet. Writing workouts and season planning also takes a lot of time. I pretty much study swimming. I go to coaching clinics and I am always looking for ways to help swimmers get faster.”

And if there is anything you would like to add? “Swimmers work really hard, to be good you have to put in a lot of time and effort. The Varsity swim teams, the girls and the boys, swim 3-4 miles each day. They get a total body workout; it can be grueling and our East High School Swimmers are tough. They deserve to have more credit and more respect for their efforts.”

Photo/B. Moreno

story/E.Berglund

Diving into the water to start his race is Ryan Trujillo. The meet took place at East on November 30.

photo/B.Moreno

Have you been wanting to get ready for this upcoming track season at East High School but don’t know where to start? Follow these tips and ideas that you can do to be prepared and ready to start off the track season on the right foot.

Figuring out where you sign up

In order to get ready for the track season, the first thing you must do is figure out where you sign up so you can be on the team and get your team schedules. If you figure out where you sign up, you could also figure out who your teammates will be and who your coach is. You could also figure out and start going to the off season workouts so you could be even more prepared before the track season even starts. So, don’t wait too long to sign up or you’ll miss out on the great opportunities to be prepared and ready.

Get to know your coach and your teammates

During the track season, there will be relays and medley relays that you’ll run with your teammates so, before you start running races on the track, you should spend time and bond with your teammates. You should also get to know your coach so you could get along with them. “It’s important to build a relationship of trust with your coach so you can be able to trust and like each other,” Head coach Kenneth Morton said. “Respect and getting along is a must have especially with your teammates”. “You can do better as a team,” track runner Brittney Pera said. It’s also important that you don’t have a bad attitude on the track because that could reflect on how you run. “During races, you could mess up, due to the frustration of others,” track runner Irene Mugisha said.

Starting off track season at East High School

Get the correct clothing and materials needed

It doesn’t matter if you’re on the track, or in the field, you should have the correct and proper clothing materials needed. On the track, you should have spikes, which are shoes with spikes on them that help you gain momentum on the track and help your performance. In the field, you should also have the proper shoes because they help you maximize your throwing distance. A good pair of running shoes is a very important essential for track,” Head coach Kenneth Morton said. The best shoes for short distance runners are the Under Armour Sprint Pro 3, or the Nike Zoom Superfly Elite 2. For Mid-distance runners, the Nike Air Zoom Victory, New Balance MD 800v8 or the New Balance FuelCell MD-X. And for long distance runners, the Nike ZoomX Dragonfly, or the New Balance Sigma Harmony. All these shoes’ prices range from $100-$180 dollars.

Start going to practice

To be able to start running on the track, you must start going to practice. “Just like any sport it’s important that you show up, if you don’t you might not have such a good experience,” Morton said. The most important reason that you should be going to practice is because you can build up your speed and agility on the track. “Practice helps by improving your skills, finding out your weaknesses and strengths and improving those,” track runner Yuvia Lechuga said. It’s also a good chance for your coaches to see which race suits you best: 100s, 200s 400s or 800s. Your coaches could also put you in a sprint medley race, which is where you and four other people run in a race and run different distances until you go around the track once or twice.

3

Top Food options to eat before & After a track meet

1.

Foods that have proteins and starch. Like chicken, fish, potatoes, pasta, etc Bread/toast, peanut butter, sports drinks and fruit

2.

3.

To keep your energy up, you should eat a granola bar, sports bar, trail mix, dried fruit, or crackers

Track runner junior Kate Stemsrud running at the Duke Williams Stadium for East High during the 2022 season.

photo/A.Hudrick

Story/T. Landers

Special Olympic sports

How to get involved and become a peer partner

story/L.Fisher

If you have been looking to get involved with a school activity, here is a solution for you, be a peer partner, for special Olympic sports. As a peer partner, you get to spend time and help a special needs student by doing sports such as basketball and bowling. Here are three reasons why you should be a peer partner.

The Special Olympic sport in season right now Is basketball but that will soon be ending with soccer starting up. When competing there is an opportunity to go to the playoffs or a state meet. You get to play many different sports as a partner so there is an opportunity to learn a new sport. Most sports last 2 months but some can last as little as day just depending on the sport.

“I play basketball because it’s fun and I get to hang out and play with my friends,” Unified athlete Drew Coles said.

When being a partner you get to form a relationship that lasts outside of school.

“When a special Olympic partner pair sees each other in the halls at school or outside in the community, they have a connection still and they are able to be friends outside

of the sport,” East High School PE teacher Erin Lowe said.

Why you should get involved and be a peer partner. When participating in a special Olympic sport you have lots of support from your peers and you can be in a fun and safe environment. When competing there is no stress or pressure, everyone’s just trying to better themselves. By being a partner, you have the opportunity to learn acceptance and inclusion with the end goal of equalizing special Olympic athletes and their partners.

If you’re wondering how to get involved there are often announcements or by checking snap connect. Often there are community events where things like best buddies are advertised, and you can sign up. Contacting Mrs. Lowe about being a partner in unified P.E. is also a good way to start and get involved.

“Special Olympics Unified Sports brings together athletes with intellectual disabilities and athletes without intellectual disabilities to train and compete on the same team,”Intellectual disability teacher David Praska said.

Places you can go

3 as a unified pair

1.

MID IOWA WINTER TOURNAMENT

The Mid Iowa Winter tournament takes place in Iowa City, Iowa. March 11 and 12. Over 900 athletes across the state come to compete.

2. 3.

STATE BOWLING TOURNAMENT

State bowling takes place in late November. During this event, state qualifiers from across Iowa come to compete.

WELLS FARGO ARENA BASKETBALL

In March, qualified unified basketball teams from all over the state come to compete. This takes place during the day and is a highlight for the whole team.

photo/D.Sam

Unified participants can earn medals by competing in events. Medals go out to both the partner and the athlete from places first to third.

East High School Soccer 2022-2023 Season

Coach Lounsberry interview and thoughts going into the season

The 2022 soccer season was a great year for East High School. The Scarlets made it all the way to the sub state finals and lost a close game to Urbandale High School. But now it’s a new year and coach Derek Lounsberry has new goals. But what are these goals? In the 2022 season, the Scarlets finished with a 13-7 record, and this was led by their head Coach Lounsberry. Lounsberry has been at East for 26 years and has been the soccer coach for 25 of those years (He didn’t coach his first year). Over the years East has had many good seasons and many bad seasons and this year East can expect another good season.

“We want to one be competitive in every game, we want to make sure were in the top of

our conference, and some of the players want to make it all the way to state,” Lounsberry said.

This year East has a very new team. Last year, East had 18 seniors graduate from East High School who were on the soccer team so this means there’s many new opportunities on the team for underclassmen to step up this year. This means we will have many new starters on varsity, new players on the team, and overall a new look for East.

“We’re a younger team we have fresher legs, but this also means we have a lot of kids who will need to prove themselves on a varsity field. For many kids, this will be their first time on a varsity field,” Lounsberry said. This year, the

team is expecting a very similar season to last year. Last year, East shocked the state and made it all the way to sub state and this year the Scarlets hope to see similar results such as making the playoffs and hopefully going on a good run again. Many of the players want to see East make state and Coach Lounsberry has similar goals for his players.

“I think we are going to be fun to watch, we are going to score lots, of goals I think were going to be faster I think were going to have the opportunity to have many players who develop and go onto collage. I think we’re going to be a top team in the conference and hopefully a top ten team in the state,” Lounsberry said.

East High School Soccer By

the years

1999 Mr. Lounsberry Became the head soccer coach

Story/G.Cook

Photos/ D. Suastegui-Vinalay

1997 Mr. Lounsberry came to East

1998 Mr. Lounsberry became the assistant soccer coach

1999 the head soccer coach passed away near the end of the season

EAST HIGH SCARLETS 2022-2023 SOCCER SEASON

The East Scarlets fell just short of their goal in the 2022 season, losing to the Urbandale J-Hawks in substate finals. How do they turn the page and look to improve for the 2023 season? How high are their hopes for this season, and can they show that they are a serious team going forward?

Last season the Scarlets were not expected to be a good team, no one truly believed they would do as well as they did. More hype after staring off 3-0, the players became confident and finished the season strong heading into the substate finals where they suffered a heartbreaking loss. Determined to show that they are a legit team, they ended their season off really strong and kept the energy for the

LAST SEASON

13-7

BEST RECORD

SINCE 2011-2012

substate playoffs winning two in a row which lead them to substate finals where they faced off against the Urbandale J-Hawks, looking to get their revenge after losing to them in the regular season. The game was hard fought both teams played really well. Senior Jose Balderas says the team is slept on and believes in each other.

“Season was a big step foward and this season, we can take the next step,” Balderas said.

The Scarlets fell just short in their last game of the season in heartbreaking fashion, and suffered a 3-2 defeat.

“We just got to keep getting better we showed what we can do but we just came up short,” junior Aldo Camacho said.

photos/D.Caro-Rodriguez

As the new season looms, the Scarlets look to show the state what they are about and show last season was no mistake.

“All the players are ready for the next season and have high expectations we took a big step forward last season, now we got to take another step forward,” Camacho said.

This team is going to be something to look out for this season, but can they take that next step foward and go even further. They seem more determined then ever to prove the doubters wrong and accomplish the goal they have set WIN it all.

HIGH Hopes AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SCARLETS

STAT LEADERS LAST SEASON

GOALS:29 FREDDY MUNIZ-GARCIA

ASSISTS:14 FREDDY MUINZ-GARICA

SAVES:124 ASHTON RAYGOZA

The East High Scarlets after defeating the Valley Tigers last season. Story/O.Franklin

House Of Luxx

Story/J.White

Here are some House of Luxx pricing with photos

Are you looking for some bomb nails but maybe you’re on a budget and don’t have $160 for some boujee nails? Are you looking for someone you can trust to get your nails done right? Here is a person for you, she is local, affordable, an East High junior, and founder House of Luxx, Meredith Mendez.

Meredith Mendez, a 17-year-old nail tech, gets a lot of her inspiration from her mom that does nails in Mexico and her grandma that helped Mendez start out.

“I got Influenced by my mom because she does nails over in Mexico and first in the beginning, I got into all that cosmetology stuff. I enjoyed doing hair, I enjoyed doing nails and my grandma started me off as well. She got me this kit from Walgreens, and I would just do my nails and her nails, she would let me practice on her all the time so I kind of just got influenced by that. I started to enjoy doing them and thought this could actually be something,” Mendez said.

She also hasn’t been doing nails for the longest but still gets your nails right like she’s been doing them for years. “I just hit one year in January. I did my very first set that got me clients Jan 2, 2022,” Mendez said. Mendez’s week can get pretty full with how many clients she gets, but she does try to balance her time.

How many clients do you have a week?

“It kind of varies because I could get up to three clients a day but usually, I try to put myself at two a day because I do have school and it could just be a lot,” Mendez said.

How difficult was it starting?

“I would say it was very difficult because you have to get everything to be perfect and I would have times where I would just want to be good, and I would want to get straight to it but like there was times

where I wanted to give up on doing the nails because it just was not coming out right and everything. It was a lot of work and I never imagined myself taking clients, so it was a big change, more like something you have to adapt to,” Mendez said. How did you feel when you encountered your first client that wasn’t family?

“I was a very shy person before I even started doing nails, that’s one of my main things I am still working on because as a teenager that’s still in school, I’m not too social, so it was awkward but the more clients that I get the more I open up to my clients and make them feel comfortable,” Mendez said.

Do you want this to be your career or is this just a hobby for you right now?

“Honestly as of right now, I do want this to be my career once I’m out of high school. I do want to go to cosmetology school and get my license for my nails. I don’t think my dream is to open up a salon, I think I want to just get my own studio and just be myself but if I do go to cosmetology school, I do also want to learn how to be a barber and I’m also looking into how to do lash extensions,” Mendez said. Lastly, Overall, have you been having fun doing nails?

“Yes, I feel like if it’s something I didn’t enjoy I would have given up and long time ago but its very fun to do for me it’s like my form of therapy, it’s therapeutic,” Mendez said.

Short nails $35

Medium nails $45

Long nails $50 XL nails $60

appointment?

the QR code and DM her!

The changes coming to East’s color guard

Learn about the changes coming to East’s color guard and what is to come next

Have you experienced a halftime show at an East football game? Then you’ve probably seen the color guard preforming while the band is playing their music. Something you might not know is that after this school year, color guard will change.

Color guard is a sport that very few know about but if you’ve seen a football game, you have probably witnessed them performing. The sport of color guard is a group/team of people of any gender or background who toss flags, rifles, and even swords that they call sabers. The team here at East is small but that doesn’t stop them from making sure color guard is recognized.

“It may be small, but it is mighty, and we represent school spirit with our beautiful twirling of the flags,” sophomore Jay Johnson said.

Color guard is going to be undergoing a huge change after this year. The beloved color guard coach, Madi Williams, is going to be stepping down from her coaching position. Williams has been coaching East’s color guard for years now and as much as she loves coaching the team, its getting to be too much for her.

“It’s been a great time, and I’m still not really ready to leave… but I think I’ve given all I can,” Williams said.

Just like any activity or hobby that you like doing, it can eventually become boring, or you don’t feel as into it as you may have used to. Williams has choreographed some great routines like the ones you may have seen at this year’s football games to the songs of Michael Jackson and over the winter, she had choreographed a dance that the color guard took to the ISDTA dance team and solo competition at Wells Fargo Arena where the team successfully preformed and brought home a division one rating. (You can see the previous years and the division one rating downstairs in the band room.) Williams has many things she loves about coaching

color guard, but one shines over all the rest.

“It’s seeing the excitement when someone finally gets a skill down after working so hard, watching the performance, and noticing improvement. It’s rewarding all around,” Williams said.

Williams has made some great performances and even though color guard isn’t well known, she always makes sure the team leaves a mark wherever they go.

“I trust that the next person is going to launch the program to greater things,” Williams said.

After Williams leaves, color guard is going to be needing a new coach and the only thing that can make this happen is the school. The school has to try their hardest and make sure that next year, East is not short of an activity that is already lesser known than many of the other activities here at East. Color guard is very important to the team and having to possibly see their activity leave East is heartbreaking.

“Color guard is a family, it is a home, it brings you out of your shell and gives you sisters and brothers to rely on when you are weak,” Johnson said.

If the school was to not find a coach and the team’s efforts didn’t work, color guard would not be an activity at East anymore.

“We’ll find a new coach. If not, there are some options I know for some activities have a sharing agreement with other schools, that would be my last option. We will search high and far for another color guard coach. We have some people contacting us, and we have some feelers out there to promote

some things,” East’s activity director, JR Randall said. Color guard is not set to disappear any time soon and the team wouldn’t let that happen either way. Color guard is very important to all team members and provides many different things for everyone.

“It’s an escape from everything,” freshmen Serenity Safley said.

Other than the team not letting color guard disappear, the school wont either. Color guard is not only an activity at East but its just one part of why East is so great. Our school has many opportunities for kids to participate and feel like they are apart of something bigger than just being a student and that’s something that makes East unlike any other school in the Des Moines area. We are all about inclusivity and making sure everyone feels as if they are a part of something more.

“It [color guard] provides kids with an opportunity to participate. I look at what we did last year during football season with the band and how well that went over. I want to see color guard, I want to see that head coaching position be a priority in that coaches, I don’t wanna say career, but it has to be a priority for that coach,” Randall said.

The future of East’s color guard will be just like the previous years but slightly different. Like any sport here at East, a new coach is just an opportunity to start a new chapter in the future of that activity. The team’s hope is that the new coach of color guard will be just as great and fulfill the legacy of Coach Williams. Color guard will change but we will never forget just how far Madi Williams has brought East’s color guard.

The Best color guard moments of the 2022-2023 school year

The color guard getting ready to preform at the Clarinda Band Jamboree

The color guard, getting ice cream at Dairy Zone to celebrate the last day of band camp

The color guard at the 2023 ISDTA solo and team competition, competing for their division 1 rating

The color guard and band at their first day of band camp 2022-2023 school year

Story/M. Mickle

Photo/M. Williams

Photos/M. Williams

MARNARUOTAnEastHighstudentandmodel basedoutofL.A. LOOK BOOK

Adut Akech. Bella Hadid. Thijin Bol. Friday Choul. You may have never heard these names- but the modeling industry has. These are all very successful models that junior Marna Ruot looks up to. Ruot attends East High School and Central Academy- for a fashion class. Ruot recently signed to a modeling company based out of Los Angeles, California. Ruot can be described as very tall and lean, with a beautiful build. Ruot also takes pride in her gorgeous dark curly hair. Ruot is very exicited for this oppritunity- and she wants to bring more diversity into the modeling industry and more inclusivity of body types, hair types, and skin colors.

“My overall goal is to inspire people and make people feel comfortable in their own skin,” Ruot said.

While Ruot is from Des Moines, she has always wanted to go to Los Angeles. It has been her dream- ever since her childhoodto travel the world, and especially to Los Angeles.

“I have always wanted to be in California, ever since I was a little girl. I remeber being like seven years old and dreaming about flying out there and just living my best life,” Ruot said.

As the school year comes to an end, Ruot is getting more anxious and antsy day by day to be able to catch her flight to Los Angeles early this summer.

“I really just want to inspire people to live happily and peacefully in their own skin- I want people to know that you should stay true to yourself 100 percent of the time.”

“Adut Aketch is one of my biggest inspirations in the modeling industry. I love their story and their beauty is breathtaking.”

“My favorite place to take photos would definitley be anywhere with outside scenery- like mountains, plants, sunrises or sunsets, stuff like that. It is stunning.”

Senior, daughter, sister, worker, entrepreneur and East High School student. These are all words that could be used to describe Tiera Lynn Bennett, but there’s so much more to her. Here’s all you need to know about Bennett.

Bennet grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. She was born Oct. 22, 2004, in Des Moines, Iowa, Bennet spent her childhood happily in the presence of family and friends. She grew up in a family of four: Mom, Dad, and younger sister Lilly. Her sister claims to have loved having Bennett as a sister growing up.

“One time, my papa Kenny was baby sitting us and he decided to take me and my sister to Chicago just to see the river because it was green for St. Patrick’s Day. We had so much fun,” freshman Lilly Goode, Bennett’s sister said.

From a very young age Bennet has been somewhat of a social butterfly. Never has she been a stranger to making friends, a trait that has grown with her into her teen years.

“I’ve always been very social, a lot of people call me friendly. There needs to be more people who are wholehearted and supportive of everyone. I started gaining

Tiera Lynn Bennet

a lot of friends on my social media from selling concert tickets, promoting music and just simply Facebook in general,” Bennett said.

But despite growing up in such a loving and caring environment, Bennet has faced her fair share of struggles. With the recent passing of her mom, Bennet has experienced a shift in the dynamic that she has always known. She has now gone on to build her very own business as well as maintaining a balance between both school and work.

“I love it, it’s been great. It’s ‘The T Way’ I promote other people’s businesses off my social media following and help them grow and build their clientele. There are a lot of perks, like me getting stuff from their businesses. Plus, it’s always fun getting to know new people and their businesses, and seeing people win and grow,” Bennett said.

Along with being a full-time high school student and entrepreneur, Bennet has also established a life for herself. Having moved out at 17, she lives in her own apartment and financially supports herself. Through the past year she has proved herself to be hardworking, reliable, and independent.

“I love it but if you get along with your people at home I one hundred percent recommend staying there as long as you can, and not take anything for granted,” Bennett said.

All of this is interesting, but what does

Grow up with Tiera

Bennett bring to the East High community? She supports student owned businesses by advertising them and always brings a loving, friendly vibe to the school’s atmosphere.

“Tiera embodies hard work and dedication, while bringing a gentle sense of humor and fresh perspective to the learning environment,” English teacher Angela Jackson said.

Overall, Bennet is a fun, positive, cheerful person who brings an amazing presence to East and the people here.

“Everybody should know if you need any kind of help with growing your business, finding people who do hair, nails, lashes, sell shoes, really anything you can always contact me,” Bennett said.

Snapchat\Instagram: @theycallmet.t Facebook: @ Tiera Lynn

Photos/T.Bennet Story/T.McGee

Tiera as a baby

Tiera as a kid

Tiera as a teenager

Tiera is an East High Student and an entrepreneur, promoting small businesses.

Bill Eisenlauer

East High School Alumni

Story/G. Lopez

East High School alumni, father, husband, grandfather, retired real estate agent, well known pillar of the community, you may know him as Bill Eisenlauer.

Tell me about your family?

He has a sister eight years younger than him. His mom, dad and sister all attended and graduated East. Bill is married to his wife Myrna Eisenlauer, he is a father of three, took another child in under his wing, making him a father of four.

Where are you from and where did you grow up?

Bill was born in Iowa Falls a “tiny town 100 miles west,” Eisenlauer said. He later moved to Des Moines when he was just in kindergarten, because bill’s father was big on having him attend East.

What was it like growing up on the East side?

Bill enjoyed growing up on the East side because all his friends were East siders, as were his relatives. “It was wonderful, I loved growing up on the East side,” Eisenlauer said. Bill and his friends always went by this saying “Lee Township against the world,” the reason for this saying was because there was a printing store on East university, a friend of his owned it and it was called “Lee Township news”, but not only Bill and his friends say that a lot of the community on the East side would say “Lee Township against the world”.

Were you involved in any sports or clubs?

Bill was involved with many sports and clubs. He played football, wresting, baseball, key club and was vice president of the city student council junior and senior year.

How did East shape you?

“Everything in my life was because of East, East taught me to get along with different minorities. I wasn’t used to it till I went to East, it educated me about the different minorities.” Bill is thankful for the teachers at East during his time because not only did they shake him if he got out of line, but they were his friends as well. “They shaped me as a good person,” Eisenlauer said.

What was your time like at East?

“Every day was like a party for me,” Eisenlauer said. Seeing all his friends, teachers, girlfriends and just everybody you knew was there because at that time East was I think, the biggest school in the state, leaving my class with 500 kids, I liked them all, I wanted to be friends with them all.” Bill enjoyed every minute he had at East. He also had a good coach. “He was a good football coach he had been there for 40 plus years, he was a good man, shaped us kids on the football field,” Eisenlauer said.

What did you pursue after East?

Bill attended Grandview college after graduating East in 1971. After college his wife Myrna and him owned a restaurant for a few years, the restaurant’s name was named after his nick name in high school, Muggsy’s, so they called it “Muggsy’s corner café.” Myrna was the cook and he was the waiter. “She was the real good cook and we had a lot of people coming in, special’s every day, people would come from all over the place to get her special’s.” During owning the café, they would always see these men, realtors “they were dresses nice, always looked like a fun job.” Owning a restaurant was a lot of work, it didn’t really work out. Bill was always interested in selling stuff, didn’t know for sure, but always thought one of these days he would be a salesman like the men that came into his café, being a salesman he could sell houses. Soon, he became a real estate agent.

Why did you become a real estate agent, and for how long?

He knew a lot of people on the East side, he wanted to purse selling houses and with him already knowing a lot of people on the East side. “In order to sell things its good to have a clientele, lucky I fell into it,” Eisenlauer said. Fell into the real estate business in 1976 and was a real estate agent for 40 plus years, currently retired but his wife Myrna is still in the business along with his son Bob Eisenlauer.

Any advice to students soon to be graduates?

“Stay with all your friends that are at your school now, make sure to stay in contact with them throughout your life. Help them when they need help and when you need help make sure to reach out to them to get help, that’s the problem now is that we don’t like to reach out and admit that we need help,” Eisenlauer said.

How are you still involved with East even as an alumni?

“I go to all the events they have every year, they have a big event in which all the graduates come back. Whenever I can I like to volunteer, I have helped out a few times,” Eisenlauer said. He also enjoys going to football games and cheering on the scarlets. “Whenever I can help, I look and see if there’s ways we can help because I enjoy helping out there.” Bill’s friends are still involved with East, they became lawyers, doctors and the most proudest jobs, they give all the credit to East for providing the education they needed to be successful. On the second-floor wall you can catch a picture of Bill on the wall of fame for “service of humanity”. Bill’s quote is “we’re in it for the service of humanity” and still loves that quote to this day.

Bill is always there supporting his family through all, achievements big and small.

You can catch Bill spending time with family, having fun.

“We’re in it for the service of humanity.”

HOW TO FIND A COLLEGE FOR YOU

When you’re in high school,especially in your junior year, you start getting asked “what college do you want to attend?” or “how will you pay or get into college?” But, you haven’t really thought about that or maybe you’re is having trouble finding a good one, Follow these easy steps to find the right college.

story/ N. Avon

Factors to consider.

Academic majors’ availability - If the school you are looking at doesn’t have the major you are interested in, you will want to keep looking.

School size – If school size is very important for you, find out if the campus is huge, This is ideal so you know how long it would take you to get to each class and other activities, that’s important to know beforehand.

The location of the college – The location of the college can influence aspects of your college experience such as how often you can travel home for breaks, how much time you will spend just getting to and from class, your extracurricular activities. Internships and many more factors you should think about.

Overall cost- The money you have saved for things for when you are going to college may not be enough due to the living expenses or foods around your college that may or may not be the same price as your hometown. It’s good to know how much everything will cost you before attending the college.

The campus environment – The environment on campus is a huge aspect of your college experience. Campus environments and cultures vary from college to college. The environment can be just as important as your academics and to know how the campus works can help you see if you’ll be able to work with it and fit it to a place you feel comfortable in.

Resources and support systems – it is very important in college to have a support system, especially for first year students. It can be overwhelming and can be very stressful, you are away from your parents, and you need to be independent but also having to have time for your academic work, extracurricular activities, organizations, clubs, all while you need to adjust to college life on top of that. As a student, it is overwhelming on how you should be able to do all these and still get good grades. The stressful environment can lead to depression and you will start falling behind that is why it is important to know and have a support system set up to help you with all of this.

Something you need to know before applying for a college is to

• know your long-term goals. It is important to know exactly what you want to get out of your education before applying. You should know what benefits they have and how that found benefit you in the way you need. For example, a good college to investigate is DMACC.

If you do not have enough money to pay for any college, you can apply for financial aid by filling a free application for FAFSA and you can complete it online at fafsa.gov

You need to be complete for each academic year. Benefits if you attend DMACC.

•very affordable

•since you live in Iowa, its nearby

•exposed to many different cultures

•great teachers that are very understanding

•The environment around DMACC campuses is safe and huge.

•DMACC DOES NOT look at your highschool grades, so you basically have a fresh start to do better.

•No matter your grades, GPA, test scores you will have a 100 percent chance of getting in when you apply

5 things you need for college

1

notebooks

2

3

your own computers a planner

4 something to remind you of home

Transgender discrimination: The struggles of being trans in Iowa

opinion/ Z. Ross

According to PubMed, 40 percent of transgender people commit suicide, 82 percent have suicidal thoughts, and with Iowa’s anti-trans bills, it hasn’t been improving life for trans people. It gets you wondering what other struggles does the trans community face?

For years, trans people have struggled with not being seen or understood, social discrimination has been a fight for years, with people not understanding what they go through, the anxiety of coming out for years with everyone you meet, your family and friends. More recently the risk has lessened but the anxiety has not. The fear of not being accepted by the people around you is terrifying, the loss of social groups when you’re already in a bad place not feeling like you’re in your own body.

Internal issues are one of the first issues transgender people deal with. Having to accept the fact you’re different from everyone else, and thinking about how to function for the rest of your life. Coming out to family is terrifying; the possibility of transphobic family, along with what horrors could come with it often making transgender teens unable to come out until adulthood, and if they do come out and are met with abuse and unacceptance, this can lead to many things throughout their adolescence.

Gender dysphoria is something that causes a lot of trans people to suffer, knowing you’re not your truest form can feel like a nagging voice in the back of your head, like you’re walking with your sock falling down but you can’t stop walking to deal with it.

Personally, gender dysphoria is a large struggle for me, many nights I lay in bed wishing for a boys childhood or experience, wishing to exist in the same way guys my age exist. The discomfort in my own body makes it difficult to exist,

OUTSIDE OF IOWA

Outside of Iowa, there are other states discriminating against transgender people

I love getting dressed up and looking girly, but its never in the same way as a cis male. Trans men are often expected to be exactly masculine and manly, but gender is always a spectrum, presentation and identity are not always hand in hand.

Social discrimination is something I think every trans person deals with, if its anxiety or a hate crime. Trans people are often mocked for getting fed up with discrimination and lashing out, from the viral video back in 2018 where a trans woman is yelling at a Game Stop employee who had been misgendering her even after being corrected. She was frustrated, as anyone would be. In 2022, a video came out on TikTok of a boy yelling at another that he is not a girl and throwing a desk, it was obvious there was previous instances of bullying between the one recording and the kid who threw the desk. When people are not listened to and heard, they often lash out to make themselves heard, on that TikTok video, trans people in the comments defended the boy’s yelling, having understood that situation as a trans person. Others in the comments laughed at his anger. Trans people are human, you wouldn’t like it either.

Politically transgender people are still getting hurt, with many transgender laws and bills being against their ability to do things such as access to healthcare which is often a large part of their transition, with medication and possible surgeries being expensive. Trans adolescents are also heavily discriminated against. Providing hormone blockers can be punished by lawsuits or jail time. Often trans minors will file out a form called “Mature Minor doctrine” showing that they are able to make the choice for themselves even without parental consent. Outside of a medical sense; some states have been trying to

Tennessee a law had been passed expecting every trans child to de-transition within a year and make them unable to transition, even if they leave the state. Parents supporting transition of their children would be charged with child abuse.

put a law similar to Florida’s harmful “Don’t Say Gay” bill, where schools are not allowed to keep their trans-students protected and forcing them to out their students to parents.

This bill is active in Iowa, bill 9 makes teachers unable to let students stay closeted.

You would have to have a letter from parents saying that they are aware of their child’s name and pronouns. As a trans man, I find this ridiculous. Schools have been a safe place for years between gay, trans and abusive homes, school is often the only escape kids have, and with all the work American schools add to prepare children for factory jobs, the least a teacher could do to lessen the kid’s stress of home and work balance is let them be themselves. Bill 8 doesn’t let grades younger than third grade speak about their families if they have same-sex parents, or parents that do not fit the ideal family dynamic, this teaches kids shame. Shame for who they are or who their families are, kids shouldn’t be ashamed of their dads or moms.

In Iowa there are more laws being passed and in debate, do what you can as a minor or if you’re turning eight-teen, vote against these bills and make your voice heard

They’re trying to kill us.

South Dakota and Florida

Many other states are mirroring this bill, South Dakota being a major one copying it.

Florida and many other states have also been regressing in time.

Photo/ Z. Ross

“We say Gay” LGBTQ+ rights walkout

Representative Ross Wilburn holding up heart-hands after a speech about his support of the protesters. Wilburn met with East students inside the capitol building.

“It was very inspiring and heartfelt. I could tell he put a lot of emotion into it,” East sophomore Cali Jackson said.

The leader of this crowd is East High School senior Josue Aleman, who organized the East walkout. The group of what felt like over 50 people silently waited on the edge of their seats for everything he had to say.

“I felt ecstatic, I didn’t really know what turnout to expect yesterday, but it felt amazing to see so many people come out to support us,” Aleman said

The East group left the school at 1:40 p.m. and stood on the west side of the capitol building. In the middle of the group holding the “Stop dehumanizing us” sign is senior Samantha Conyers, who had spent her morning making signs. “Everyone’s speeches were beautiful, it was very raw and genuine,” Conyers said.

photos/ Z. Ross

Seasonal affective disorder

What is it?

During certain times of the year do you feel your appetite changing out of nowhere, low energy, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, higher irritability, weight gain, increased appetite, oversleeping, or troubles sleeping? If this is you, then you might be suffering from seasonal depression.

Seasonal affective disorder also known as SAD, is a type of depression that is triggered by the changes in the weather and seasons. It’s a mood disorder characterized by depression that occurs at the same time every year. It usually starts for most around the beginning of fall and ends around early spring. Less sunlight and shorter days are thought to be linked to a chemical reaction change in the brain and may be part of the cause of SAD. About five percent of adults in the United States will experience SAD. It tends to start in young adulthood, around the age 17 to 25.

“Of course, it depends on the person, but I think generally speaking the winter months can feel very long and disheartening. For me, it’s definitely harder to get out of bed in the morning, warm up my car on a cold day, or be patient on the road after a snowstorm. There are days that I have brain fog, can’t think clearly, or forget to do something I told a student that I would take care of. Sometimes I will just feel frustrated or be in a bad mood all day, and I can’t figure out why. I think it’s important for teachers and school staff to be open with

students about how they’re feeling. Let students know if they’re having a bad day, or just not feeling it. Nobody has 100 percent perfect days, and that’s okay! As long as you’re showing up to the best of your ability I think it’s important to give yourself grace and be patient. Try some different coping strategies or treat yourself to something you enjoy!” counselor Michael Freund said.

How is it diagnosed?

If you have symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, see your healthcare provider for a thorough evaluation. You may have another reason for your depression, many times, Seasonal Affective Disorder is part of a more complicated mental heath issue. Your healthcare provider may refer you to a psychiatrist or psychologist. When you see these mental heath care professionals will ask you all about your symptoms and see if there is a bigger problem behind your seasonal depression.

“Seasonal depression is actually more common in teens than adults and shows up as irritability, tiredness, low energy, and oversleeping. Seasonal depression is especially common during the fall and

winter months due to the cold weather and gray skies impacting serotonin, melatonin, and vitamin D levels. However, seasonal depression can also be present during the spring and summer,” Therapist Emily Cave said.

How is it treated?

There is many different ways to treat and help your seasonal depression. There is four main treatments such as Cognitive therapy, Light therapy, psychotherapy, antidepressant medications, and vitamin D. The most common treated used is the psychotherapy, which is a talk therapy with a psychiatrist or a therapist.

“I would help a student with seasonal depression by using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help them identify their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. I would

S.A.D.

2.) eating heathy

1.) listeningto music

Ways to help

4.)reading books

3.)working out

5.)drinking coffee or tea

You’re overcome with confusion as you hang up the phone. “Is she okay?” You ask but you already know the answer. As if losing a loved one isn’t enough trauma, imagine your school goes on lockdown because there is a gun in the school and you’re frozen with fear. Your anxiety rises and you experience that night all over again. Many people have experienced these triggering feelings and anxiety about situations after grief. These steps will help you through the journey of grief and overcome the everyday struggles that trigger anxiety related to your grief.

Step 1: Denial

Usually, denial is the first step. You will deny the fact that this person is no longer in your life. Deny the panic attacks that happen when you drive past an ambulance. Remember that the ambulance does not signal that something is happening to someone close to you. Do your best to not spiral into a state of panic. Our minds are so stubborn, and we convince ourselves that if we can shove it away and we’ll be healed but sadly that is not how this works. Eventually, you will realize that their time on earth is completed. You will question why the most beautiful people leave us so soon, why bad things happen to good people and it’ll never be easy.

Step 2: Anger

After coming to terms that they are gone, you will be angry. “I was so pissed,” teacher Laurie Huss Steils said. Huss-Steils lost her dad in 2021. Angry that now you come home to no mother, to no father or grandparent. That you’re achieving milestones without them. Even angry that when you desire a hug you won’t want one from anyone else but them. It’ll seem so unfair,

How to Grieve

and you’ll push so many people away. You will feel so misunderstood and different that it’ll be so overwhelming. Especially, when you feel stressed with schoolwork it’ll trigger your grief. You will then push yourself to race through these stages, but you must be patient and feel all the emotions.

Step 3: Bargaining

You will then feel like you will do anything to get rid of the pain. You may find yourself getting overly committed to school trying to do anything to fill your time, so it won’t hurt so bad. Others even choose to involve themselves in negative activities like drugs and drinking to feel better in the moment, but this will not change the fact they are gone or calm your anxiety. You’ll hide from the pain and convince yourself you are not in pain because you’ll feel shame. Shame creeps up because you know they are watching over you and want the best for you. You find out, in reality, you’re hurting yourself or making you numb to your feelings.

Step 4: Depression

Then depression will hit. Getting up for school will be so damn hard and it will trigger so many memories, like looking forward to coming home to your mother but she’s gone. Life will seem black and white. Your stubbornness will take over and you’ll think you don’t need help or that therapy is uncomfortable. Grief is such a personal feeling and can be unexplainable. For example, when you’re dissociating in fear because you don’t feel safe in the environment you’re in or even safe in your own body, you won’t know how to explain that. Though, not everyone experiences depression. There are a lot of people that are emotionally disconnected. Some people that have experienced grief aren’t always

close to the loved one, but they still feel sadness. You don’t have to be super close to the individual to grieve.

Step 5: Acceptance

“I’m not mourning because it’s been years,” teacher Jeramiah Cox said, but he still feels sadness. No matter how old or how young you are grief will still hurt. Everyone’s grief is different, and everyone grieves differently but that’s okay because it’s completely normal. The most certain thing in life, is death. You come into this world to grow, learn, reproduce, etc, and at the end, you pass to the other side. It’s unfortunate how this world works and all you can do is keep going. Also being in high school doesn’t make it any easier trying to mourn a loved one because you have lost your identity and searching for a new purpose but how can you if you are just a kid. Accepting the loss is the hardest part and accepting the things we can’t control. You will feel so disconnected from the world, from your friends and family but you will survive. You will breathe clearly again. You will move forward and be happy with your life. You will wish and be disappointed. It won’t be easy; the pain will never go away but grief does not define you. Accepting does not mean you forgot, it means you accept you have no choice but to keep living. Find ways to honor your loved one and keep them alive. I have listed these steps, but I guarantee you will not experience it in this order. Grief is messy and everyone experiences it differently. Remember to feel and breathe and don’t do it alone. Find people you trust and find therapy services. “You grieve at the same level you love,” counselor Ryan Bracken said.

3 to someone who has lost a loved one

Things you shouldn’t say 1. “At least you have a dad.” 2. “They are in a better place.”

3. “You’ll be okay.”

I believe there is never a right thing to say and that’s hard.

To anyone who has lost a loved one, these steps will help you through this tough journey

Story/M.Jimenez

Photo/M.Jimenez

Why should you be mindful of your surroundings?

In the United States, around 262,215 children under the age 18 get kidnapped every year. That’s around 750 children per day. Whether it be the middle of the day or the dead of night, you are at risk of being kidnapped, boy or girl.

In 2022, 19 percent of children (ages one through 18) die as a result of gun violence. It used to be three out of 10,000 kids per year but, the rise of gun violence started it 2014 and is still rising today.

Knowing your surroundings can help prevent you from becoming one of the 750 kids or 19 percent.

What you should be looking out for?

Fights and drug deals are some of the main issues. Lots of students are eager when it comes to recording fights and share them thinking it would be cool, but their actions can lead to consequences. If young kids experiment with drugs and alcohol, these types of things can go south very fast. People could get hurt or worse. “Don’t do it and move away from the area because you can put you and your friends at risk,” Campus

monitor Sabrina Douglas.

Staying safe

You’re walking home late from volleyball practice, it’s dark out and you’re walking with your headphones in down East 14th Street. You decide to take the short cut through the side street since you had this bad feeling in your gut that you were being followed. In your head you thought nothing bad can happen, you’re almost home, right? Wrong, as you turn the corner, the red pickup truck stops right in between the crosswalk and a bearded man comes out and tries to grab you. Just think, you could have avoided all of this if you knew how. The following things will help you stay safe in any situation.

Apps you can use to stay safe.

Apps like Noonlight and Bond- Personal security a really good apps that can make you feel safe in dangerous situations. If you feel as if you are in an emergency or dangerous situation, Noonlight is an app where you hold a button down when you feel unsafe, wants you let go the police are notified immediately on your exact location. A dispatch officer will text and call you until they know your safe. And if you accidently press the button, you can have 10 seconds to put in a pin and cancel it. This app is great for when you need quick help in an emergency but can’t call 911. The best part is that it is free. If you want to feel even safer, Bond provides similar features, but you can facetime with operators in your area and you can share your location with an operator that way someone knows where you are always. This app is also great because it makes you feel like you’re not walking home alone, but someone is always watching out for you. The con about this app is that it does cost a good amount of money. Around $50 a month.

-Bond’s security services are designed to make you feel safe 24/7

-Feeling safer has never been simpler.

-Looking for a passional security apps that cost nothing? If so, Noonlight is the app for you.

How these apps can keep you aware of your suroundings

Story/R.Buchanan

story/R.Buchanan

Photo/R.Buchanan

We need to talk about climate change

Opinion/O. Barnes

This article is an opinion piece. The opinions expressed should not be interpreted as the opinions of the Scroll or of East High School.

Since humans first walked in Africa, we have found ways to survive and thrive despite challenging environments. When we expanded north into harsh, cold conditions, we stayed warm by wearing animal furs. In the modern era, when people were falling victim to bacterial infections, we mass produced antibiotics to treat them. Now, we are racing towards extinction and destroying the only planet we’re able to live on, and some people seem to be fighting against the solution.

But first, the facts; climate change is real, and humans are causing it. Excess CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere directly causes the Earth to get warmer, due to radiation from the sun being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere instead of bouncing off the Earth into space. Human activities like burning fossil fuels, driving, flying, and more are causing climate change, which will continue to harm our planet unless major changes are made to our behavior in the immediate future.

In Iowa, we’re feeling the effects of climate change already. It’s caused more frequent and more severe flooding, more rain, as well as higher temperatures (especially in the winter and at night). In addition to this, pollutants in the air make it less safe to spend a lot of time outside, notably for people with respiratory conditions.

What can be done? First, we need to start listening to climate scientists instead of politicians or fossil fuel tycoons. When expert opinions are ignored, the public stays uninformed about the very real dangers that are affecting them every day. Climate

experts need to be put in positions where they can make real changes to help our planet, and governments need to start truly listening to them. In the long term, we also must shift entirely to renewable energy (which Iowa is well on the way to doing, with over 55% of our power coming from wind alone), reduce food waste, find new solutions to our waste problem (landfills are horrible for the environment in a number of ways), and clean up Earth’s oceans.

Lets zoom out and get the bigger picture. Unfortunately, some politicians have been fighting efforts to stop climate change in recent years. Former President of the United States Donald Trump made several comments denying climate change, including saying that global warming was “invented by the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive” in a 2012 tweet. He, along with other conservative personalities like Tucker Carlson, have continued denying climate change and presenting non-credible science that contradicts peer-reviewed scientific papers. It’s worth noting that Republican political campaigns and conservative media organizations receive large donations from fossil fuel companies like Southern Company, who runs the 2 largest CO2 emitting power plants in the United States.

The pattern is clear; the fossil fuel industry is paying off Republicans to kill or stall green legislation, as well as paying conservative media organizations to sway public opinion on climate change. Although it’s treated like just another topic of political discussion, climate change is the biggest

existing threat to humanity. If it isn’t dealt with, humanity could go extinct, or the population could be drastically reduced. We already know the steps we need to take; the only remaining barriers to a healthy planet are financial and political support.

Beyond You Climate change around the world AfricA

Agriculture is one of Africa’s biggest industries, but climate change has resulted in reduced crop yields, putting many millions of people in jeopardy

Beijing, Asia’s fifth largest city, has had problems with smog all throughout the last decade, with thick blankets causing major health hazards and shutting down the city

Immense heat and droughts in Europe have resulted in wildfires sweeping across southern regions, with many thousands losing their homes.

Preventing Substance Abuse

Brenna Bird, Iowa’s newly elected Attorney General, has introduced a bill that would harshen penalties for distributing controlled, counterfeit, and/or imitation controlled drugs that result in someone’s death and classify it a class B felony.

Overdose D eaths

by the years...

2020: 419 deaths 2021: 463 deaths

2022: 470 deaths

The bill introduced on Jan. 17 would make the sale of any drug resulting in someone’s death carry up to a 25-year sentence. This puts it on same level as an attempted murder and killing somebody while driving intoxicated. Currently, the maximum charge that can be pursued against someone who sells a drug following in death is for the distribution itself, which is only a Class C felony. Prosecutors could also charge dealers with involuntary manslaughter, a Class D felony, which has a maximum sentence of five years. The only drug exempt from this bill is Marijuana. Another exemption this bill creates is for Iowa’s ‘Good Samaritan’ law, in which legal protections for a person who calls emergency services when they or someone else is experiencing an overdose, is provided. The ‘Good Samaritan’ law encourages those who witness a drug overdose to stay and call 911. Generally, overdose witnesses under the law won’t be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for possession/delivery of a controlled drug and if they act in good faith. The bill was passed through subcommittee on January 25 with a vote total of 2-0.

Taking a step towards preventing youth substance abuse and violence, Bird drafted the bill with an eye toward saving lives. At the same time addressing what is “an imbalance in how the law treats such cases,” Bird said in a press release. Referring to the currently low charge. She drafted the bill with an eye toward saving lives.

“This bill was drafted to prevent overdose deaths and hold drug dealers accountable. Drug overdose is the leading cause of death for young adults ages 18 to 45. There’s no safe amount of an illegal drug,” Press Secretary Alyssa Brouillet said.

In Iowa, there’s been an alarming increase in overdose deaths. Bird aims to address the rising rate of overdoses here in Iowa.

“We must stop overdose deaths and hold drug dealers accountable,” Brenna Bird said in a press release.

Overdose deaths have increased at an annual rate of 3.93 percent over the last three years. In 2020, the count of deaths caused by drug overdoses was 419. Opioid-related deaths had increased by 35 percent during the pandemic. In 2021, the count had jumped even more with 463 overdose deaths. And in 2022, the number rose again, with a total of 470 deaths.

“This bill will toughen sentences, equip prosecutors for the war against dangerous drugs, and reduce drug-related deaths,” Bird said in a news release on Jan. 26.

Over the last three years OD deaths have increased at 3.97% an annual rate of

Story/ E. Saldana-Hernandez Illustration/ E. Saldana-Hernandez

On Jan. 24, 2023, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a new law, House File 68, commonly known as the “School Choice” bill. This bill will have a significant impact on all schools in Iowa, particularly the Des Moines Public Schools district. The bill allows parents to help pay for private schools if one chooses to send a child to one with an education savings account. However, opponents of the bill argue that this will divert taxpayer money from public schools to private ones, with no government oversight over where the funds will go directly.

Under the new law, the state government of Iowa will use taxpayer money to fund private school student education through educational savings accounts, which will provide $7,598 a year per private school student to spend on tuition and other education expenses. This is the same amount of state aid given to public schools per student. Opponents of the bill argue that this is money that could have been spent on public school funding, which is already struggling due to rising inflation.

While the Iowa State Legislature approved a 3 percent ($107 million) increase in public school funding, some argue that it is not enough to keep up with inflation, and that the $107 million fund for public education is just giving back money that would’ve been a bigger amount back to public schools in smaller amounts. However, House Speaker Pat Grassley views the 3 percent increase as sufficient and called it a “very solid number,” Grassley said in a statement.

Many believe that this new law will negatively impact public schools, including teachers and students at East High School. They fear that the diverted funds will lead to fewer resources and opportunities for public schools. Overall, the bill remains a controversial topic, with both sides presenting valid arguments.

One side argument being that this claw gives parents who would like to send their kids to private school but can’t and if they already pay state educational tax then they should be able to use government funds obtain an education of their own choice, but one fatal flaw with this

bill is that while it now gives parents who would like to send their child to private education a chance to do so, it doesn’t take into account that private schools could always just raise their admission fees, with the law seemingly only really helping parents who already go to private schools.

One student with an opinion about the new changes is Mikaela Treptow, a sophomore, Treptow voiced her opinions about the law when asked about the following questions.

Q1: Do you think that the vouchers will harm public schools?

A: “I think that it will not be beneficial to public schools because it will be taking away the money that would have been going into public schooling, limiting the access that public schools have.”

Q2: Even with the 3% increase to public school funds, do you think this will offset the balance between public and private school education?

A: “I think that it would definitely offset the balance, because it would just be even more money going into these private schools. Limiting even more of the money that public schools are already lacking. Causing public schools to fall even lower, lacking the funds to gain equipment to help learning, staff, etc.”

Q3: Do you think our fund from the state, which makes up 57% of our funds, will be effected by this law?

A: “Oh for sure, I do think that the funding we get from the state would decrease with this. Because most or almost all of it comes from the state and tax payers, if part of this money that we are already lacking, already need more of to increase our learning would end up going to private schools. That already have this money and can pay for the good equipment and good teaching etc. It would definitely cause public schooling to become worse.”

Q4: Do you understand why they would pass a law like this?

A: “I do see why this might have been a good idea, allowing parents to have more of a choice as in where their kid could be getting schooling. But if they want that good teaching and good environment from a private school, the money and time spent in making sure their kids get in and all that would be incredibly helpful to making our public schools have the same teaching and environment that they want from the private schools. If the money going into these private schools, being taken from public schools already lacking in money would have stayed in the public schools, environment that they want from the private schools. If the money going into these private schools, being taken from public schools already lacking in money would have stayed in the public schools, could be a factor in helping our schools grow and become better.”

When it comes to the balance between public and private schools, it seems that only a short few people will benefit from this voucher program, while many others think in the long run that this will only hurt public education in the states.

As the school choice bill takes effect, its impact on Iowa’s education system remains to be seen. While some believe it provides parent with more options for their children’s educational possibilities, other people in the states, and especially public educators and students, fear that the

“...Even more money going into these private schools. Limiting even more of the money that public schools are already lacking. Causing public schools to fall even lower, lacking the funds to gain equipment to help learning...”

Story/C.Ramirez-Chavez Illustrations/C.Ramirez-Chavez

school choice bill will only harm public education in the state even more so. As the discussion of this law will certainly continue, the future of Iowa’s education system remains uncertain.

The annual inflation rate for the United States is 6.4 percent for the 12 months ended January 2023 after rising 6.5 percent previously, according to U.S. Labor Department data, making the 3 percent increase to public education one that democrats have criticized the republican legislator for not being an increase that significant and that the 3% increase isn’t keeping up with inflation.

The percentage rate of where DMPS funding was from during the fiscal year of 2022

Polk County has 18 private school districts with 6,908 private enrollment, the highest in both throughout the state.

not a doll. This is the Sad Case of The Boy in the Box. This is only one of many cases that involve an unknown child that goes missing.

When the police arrived at the scene where the Boy in The Box was found, he was naked, his body had bruises, his face seemed to be drained of blood, he was wrapped with a flannel blanket, and he was inside a box that used to contain a bassinet. They were unsure of his age and assumed he was between the age of four-six years old. They determined him to be malnourished because his ribs were visible through the skin located on his chest and that he had died from being beaten to death, specifically blunt force trauma to his head. After analyzing the body, medical examiners found multiple scars and bruises on his body that were located on his foot, chin, and forehead. There were multiple healed scars on his ankle and groin that seemed to be surgical scars and the medical examiners also suggested that he had recently been inside a body of water because his right hand and feet were both wrinkled. They also found that he had thrown up prior to his death and found baked beans inside his stomach. The boy’s growth was also determined to be stunted because the analysis of the bones showed that he had been experiencing beatings, and malnourishment. This led to the idea that the boy was suffering abuse before his recent death, and that he possibly died a few days or weeks before his body was found, however the exact date could not be determined. Though these tributes were evidence, the investigators still could not find the identity of the boy…

Multiple detectives tried to pursue the case and identify the boy, but none of them could find any evidence to determine who he could be. There were also no missing people reports to help them determine who the boy could be, which led to even more questions that were left unanswered about the boy. After numerous dead-end leads, many theories

went by “M” who claimed the boy was named “Jonathan” and that her abusive mother had purchased him from another family. The woman had claimed that “Jonathan” was beaten to death by her mother because he had vomited out his dinner of baked beans. Then, her mother tried to bathe him which caused the boy’s body to become wrinkly. This at first, was believed to be true because the autopsy did find baked beans inside the boy’s stomach, and his fingers and feet were determined to be wrinkled. But the police could not prove her claim due to the lack of evidence that was provided from her statement. This claim, yet again, would then eventually become another dead-end lead, leaving the boy’s identity to continue to remain an unsolved question…

In the next couple of decades, this sad case continued to remain cold, with even the world referring to the Boy in The Box as “America’s Unknown Child.” This reminder was set onto his gravestone, implying that possibly he would never be able to be identified. But when society thought all hope was lost, in December 2022, after 65 years, investigators finally figured out the long, unsolved mystery of “who is Boy in The Box?”

The identity of Boy in The Box is actually “Joseph Augustus Zarelli,” and he was born on Jan. 13, 1953, in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, United States. The investigators were able to discover Zarelli’s identity through genetic genealogy. They recorded his official age to be four when he departed and was found inside the box in the Fox Chase Neighborhood Woods. They also took his DNA and were able to detect his relatives on his mothers’ side and identify his father. They also found that he had three other living siblings, but the names of both the parents and living siblings will not be released due to privacy reasons. The killer of Zarelli was also not identified. This fact is very upsetting, knowing that he may never get justice for his death. But now that his identity is finally solved, he will know that thousands of people will not have to worry about him being referred to as “America’s Unknown Child,” or as the mystery, “The Boy in The Box.” This was the Sad Case of Joseph Augustus Zarelli, and how he was discovered in Feb. 1957.

case, the case the occurred in Cedar Rapids, Iowa? This case was recommended by East High Student Chandler Formaro. It’s bizarre to think that a crime that would go unsolved for 40 years would ever occur in Westdale Mall, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “This case was pretty interesting because it happened here in Iowa, but what I thought was interesting was how it showed the advancements of technology when it came to forensics and stuff,” Formaro said. This case is sure to leave you appalled! This case is also well known by some of East High teachers and staff, so don’t forget to ask them about this case and hear from their

S. Lee

Illustrations/

S. Lee

Illustrations/

S. Lee

Reviews Crime Show

Lookingforanewbingeoverspringbreak? Looknofurther!

*BANG BANG* You hunker down beneath your blanket. You are sitting on the couch watching a suspenseful crime show. The main character just got shot, “who was it?” You think to yourself. You sit there barely containing your curiosity. Just then they reveal who did it… “IT WAS THE DAD?” You yell. A good crime show gives the audience a glimpse into what’s happening and what can happen in the world. There are so many good crime shows out there, almost too many. Picking out a good show can be complicated for many people; it takes trial and error.

Rating- 3/5

“S.W.A.T.” takes after the show “S.W.A.T.” which came out in 1975. It has a S.W.A.T. team that takes on high-risk crimes. It stars Shemar Moore as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, Stephanie Sigman as Jessica Cortez, Alex Russell as James “Jim” Street, and Lina Esco as Christina “Chris” Alonso.

I enjoyed watching this show, it had a lot of interesting and suspenseful scenes. However, as you get out of season 1 and 2, the episodes get predictable and kind of get out of talking about crime. The content rating for this is TV-14.

You can watch this on Hulu, Amazon, and Paramount+. You can also buy it on Google Play, Vudu, and Redbox.

story/K. Pierce

S.W.A.T. Criminal Minds Chicago P.D.

Rating- 4/5

This show takes place in Chicago, the police department there is split into two groups. The uniformed cops which take on street crimes and the intelligence unit that take on major crimes. The main cast is Jason Beghe as Hank Voight, Jesse Lee Soffer as Jay Halstead, Patrick John Flueger as Adam Ruzek, Marina Squerciati as Kim Burgess, and LaRoyce Hawkins as Kevin Atwater.

This was an enjoyable watch; I think the characters and story line are interesting.

You can watch this on Peacock Premium, DIRECTV, fuboTV, NBC, and USA Network.

Rating- 5/5

This show is a collection of crimes where a team of FBI agents must travel around and solve. The stars in this show are Kirsten Vangsness as Penelope Garcia, Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon, Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner, Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan, Matthew Gray Gubler as Spencer Reid, A.J. Cook as Jennifer Jareau, and Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss.

I love this show, the characters and story line are good. The content rating is TV-14. While they do talk about some gruesome crimes, they don’t show anything too graphic.

You can watch it on Hulu and Amazon. You can buy it on Vudu, Google Play, and Apple iTunes.

Speed Review

Under the Banner of Heaven- 5/5

Staring Andrew Garfield, this show is filled with exciting and nerve wracking scenes.

NCIS - 4/5

Staring David McCallum, in this show you follow a group in Washington DC. They go through many major crimes throughout the show.

~ HOW TO FIND THE BEST SHOW ~

You are in your room scrolling on Netflix not knowing what you want to watch but knowing you are looking for a new show to binge. You have looked through so many different genres and watched so many trailers, but nothing seems to feel right. If that sounds like you, follow these four steps to find the perfect show to start watching tonight.

Let yourself be influenced

Most people spend a lot of time scrolling on apps that have lots of ads, and most of those ads are for shows and movies, take those into consideration when you’re looking for a new show. Apps like TikTok have influencers posting videos and edits about or for shows, let yourself be influenced by those things because it’s very likely that if it shows up anywhere on your feed it will be something you like. The same thing goes for when your friends talk about new shows they have watched or heard of, even if you end up not liking it,

3 shows you must Break Spring watch over

just try it out.

“I would say I let myself be influenced because of the lack of motivation to randomly start a show and TikTok lets me see clips of the show, so I know what to expect and if it’s worth watching,” freshman at North High School Eli Ash said.

Try new things

Do not limit yourself to things you are familiar with, try out new genres and new types of shows. Try out shows that other people have talked about, or that just seem to be popular at the time. If you try out new things even when you don’t know much about them, you’ll likely find something that does suit you even if it’s not that specific show. Trying new things can be hard.

“It’s not easy for me to start a new show if I don’t know much about it. It usually takes me awhile to even start a new

show after liking another show for a long time. When I personally don’t like anything about something I can’t get into it, I’d have to do some research about it and look into it the plot to be interested in it. It usually takes me about two or three weeks before picking up a new show, even then it might take longer because when I get into something I can’t drop it easily,” freshman a North High School Kai Chia said.

Time management

Most newer shows have episodes that are roughly 45 minutes long so sometimes it can be hard to find time to sit and watch things. The main thing you should focus on before you start watching something is other things you need to do like schoolwork or chores.

“I mostly have time to watch shows when I get home from school while my mom is at work,” freshman Miles Lothridge said.

illustration/ B. Harapat

story/ A. Rice

How the internet changed society

A

Generation Z, born in the age of the internet. The first generation to ever have full access to the world and its wonders, and the first generation to never know life without it. Just how much has the internet shifted society? How come a generation couldn’t even imagine a world with the internet? Read more to find out how the internet has changed society.

The internet was primarily created for research and came from a governmental background. Beginning as ARAPNET connecting scientists and engineers across the country with the support of a few colleges in 1969, setting up the blueprint for what’s to come. As time went on the internet grew beyond its research roots and became accessible to everyone, anywhere at any time.

“The internet has allowed me to connect to so many people,” freshman Kiana Luong said.

Ever since the internet became mainstream it has had a unique way of connecting people all over the world. From internet friends to stan culture the internet has played a vital role in how people communicate in the 21st century. Forum sites and chatroom culture started this by being one of the first documented ways of communicating online in the early ages of the internet.

“It was always a hard thing to do to find people your age and not creeps in chatrooms,” teacher Keely Conner said.

The mask people hide behind online gives them a sense of security knowing nobody can really judge them and that they will not face any real-life consequences giving them the confidence to speak their truth and act on their darkest fantasies. We live in a world where free speech is advocated on the internet everyday by people saying whatever, whenever, to whoever at any time. People will speak their thoughts

that will get them chastised in real life and seek those who agree, this has created many online communities connecting people all over the world.

This pattern has also created a plethora of online hate groups who commit real life massacres partly because they were backed in their thoughts and supported by those communities. We the people have been accustomed to this, numb when we find out a hate crime has been committed by a member of a hate group, there has been an uprise of this behavior recently but where did it begin?

Durinng the pandemic, everybody was having a style crisis . Luckily with help of Tik Tok , everybody fell in love with the y2k aesthetic. From low rise jeans, to the music and moives from the early 2000s, the y2k aesthetic had a complete rebirth.The diffrent subcategory the y2k umbrella holds can commenly be found on the internet everywhere. The early 2000s will nolonger be the era of horrible fashion and constant celebrity controversies and will be remeberd by the people who’ve been inspried by the aesthic, music, and horrible camera quailty. The rise of the y2k aesthetic is just beggining. The y2k influence can even be seen on the runway with famous high fashion brands putting their own twist on the aesthetic.

many lives. Cyber bullies attack anyone they can for any reason with a goal, making the victim feel horrible about themselves and pushing them however far they can go, either looking for a reaction out of them or trying to inflict real life harm to the victim. Many cyber bullying cases end in death with the victim taking their life or attempting to, the cyber bully rarely faces consequences.

During the pandemic everyone became aware of the social issues surrounding them because of the internet. Hate crimes were and still are uploaded to the world wide web every day forcing people to face the reality of many in this world. People from all walks of life were given a platform through social media to express how they feel about the sudden quarantine and the rising human rights conversation taking place all over the world. Like-minded people finding each other online with social opinions bothering them so much they act in real life, whether for good reasons or bad their impact will never be erased from the effected minds.

Social media has created monsters out of many. Cyber bullying is nothing new and has changed so

As bad as the internet can be the internet is an outlet for creativity and individuality for many. With people all over the world trying to make it big by being discovered off the internet, many people try to pursue their dream careers like, being a musician, acting, and a social media personality. People really dedicated to getting discovered online will drop everything to pursue a career through social media, dropping out of school, leaving their family and friends and starting all over to do this often it goes nowhere. The success of those who have been successful through social media is very rare, yet everybody thinks that they can do it. Everybody idolizes their favorite social media personality, thinking their lifestyle is so easily attainable they attempt and re-create.

Social media has created false ideals for everybody. Nowadays everyone is always comparing themselves to whoever pops up on their feed. The way people navigate through the internet has changed drastically; Posting about their lives and constantly seeking attention from anyone willing to give is now the new norm. Leaning on your phone when an uncomfortable situation is at hand, constantly stuck in a cycle on depending on your phone when you simply don’t want to do things has plauged modern day society. “I wish I wasn’t on my phone as much as I am,” teacher Susie Gaul said.

brief retrospective on what the internet has changed society story/I.Lovan

“I wish I wasn’t on my phone as much as I am.”

-teacher Susie Gaul said.

The revival of the y2k aesthetic through the internet

photo/I.Lovan

COFFEE CATS CAFE REVIEW

312 5th St, West Des Moines

Review

The environment was pleasant and the vibes and energy were good. As I walked in, I got welcomed and instantly saw smiles from across the café. The area where the cats were was separated from the café for sanitary reasons. I got a mocha iced coffee for $4.20, and it tasted good, my expectations were high. They had what they called the “Cat Lounge” where you pay for time to spend with the cats in the lounge. However you do not have to call in advance to get a spot, you can walk in and see what times are available. For reference one hour in the lounge is $10.70 per person, 30 minutes is $5.35 per person, and 15 minutes is $2.14 per person.

Story/ A. McDaniel

Photos/ A. McDaniel

Railroad Bill’s Dining Car

Have you been driving around Des Moines trying to find a place to eat in the mornings? Check out Railroad Bill’s Dining Car, the menu includes breakfast foods, lunch and vegan options. They are open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. They are located at 621 Des Moines St, Des Moines, IA 50309. If you are trying to find a job, they provide job opportunities for individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment. Employees get one on one coaching to build skills and be successful on the job.

Menu

Most of the foods on the menu are breakfast foods with also lunch foods and a vegan option. The price range is around $3 - $15. The most popular food is the fried chicken and waffles, this sweet breakfast

meal is enjoyed by many people. It’s waffles with fried chicken on top, drizzled with their home-made maple cream sauce. Another popular dish is the avocado toast with provolone and pico de gallo, avocado, on a toasted ciabatta with eggs on the side. My first time eating at Railroad Bill’s Dining Car I ordered avocado toast I do recommend trying it, there is also a vegan version of the avocado toast, but instead of a side of eggs you get scrambled tofu. And many more delicious foods.

Restaurant atmosphere

The atmosphere of the restaurant is very cozy and relaxing, with friendly workers. When entering the building head to the stairs on the right, that is where the restaurant is and the amazing thing about the

restaurant is that the restaurant is attached to an antiques store. Those items are cool to look at, some of the items are historical as well, so it will be nice to wander around the antique store after eating.

Food truck

You can find their food trucks at the Iowa State Capital complex from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. through May to November only on weekdays. Their food truck displays their classic dishes, their vegan options and other foods from the Raccoon Fork restaurants. I have never been to their food truck, but it would be a cool experience to try other dishes from the Raccoon Fork business.

Three things you should know about Railroad Bill’s Dining Car !

1

Railroad Bill’s Dining Car is a part of the Raccoon Forks business. That is why they showcase other dishes in their food trucks.

2 3

The resturant is located near downtown so you can drive to the resturant for lunch if you want.

Their chicken waffle dish is their most popular dish, enjoyed by many customers.

A restaurant called Railroad Bill’s Dining Car located at 621 Des Moines St, Des Moines, IA 50309. This resturant serves breakfast dishes and lunch dishes.