EC Insider Issue 7

ue 7

I ssue 7

The Insider

M arch 2018

New Or leans M ission Tr ip Catherine Vaughn Insider Staff On February 18th, 40 EC students began their mission trip in New Orleans, Louisiana to help build houses for those in need. Students learned how to build houses through eight hour workdays with Saint Bernard Project and Habitat for Humanity, two organizations that help provide homes for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. When Katrina hit in 2005 it affected 15 million people. Many of those people are still feeling the e to this day.

This trip brought opportunities to see and experience the culture of New Orleans through fun activities, such as going to a local church service and exploring Bourbon Street.

The Core Team leaders led the students in a set of fun chants to pump up the crowd and got featured on a local News Orleans news station.

On the last two days of the trip, students enjoyed the culture of New Orleans through two fun and uplifting jazz concerts. There were also opportunities to learn about the history of

Louisiana through visiting the Lower Ninth Ward Museum, the Whitney Plantation, the Preservation Jazz Hall, and hearing Ruby Bridges talk to the trip participants. The trip was also a great opportunity to see the reactions of kids who received the collection from our sports equipment drive in February.

When talking to students about their experience, everyone had many favorite parts of the trip and could not choose just one.

Sophomore Kate Simmons said, ?The music and dancing was very memorable. I liked the Preservation Jazz Hall because it was so unique to the culture of New Orleans.

Meeting the people who we were making the homes for was interesting and they were very inspiring.?

PHOTO CREDIT | CAMPUS MINISTRY |

Overall, the trip was a humbling experience for the students and adult leads and taught them valuable life skills on and off the work site. If you are interested in going on the mission trip next year, contact Ms. Ricci for more information.

PHOTO CREDIT | CAMPUS MINISTRY |

M aking a Difference on Peace and Justice Day Anna Leist

Insider Editor-in-Chief Serving is an impactful way to unite the entire school, Peace and Justice Day is an important day for the Eastside Catholic student body, staff, and faculty. This is a day where students gain a better understanding about the world around them, and how they can make a difference.

On March 6th, all students came to EC and gathered in their mentor classrooms.

Freshman and sophomores were sent to different locations around the school for a variety of activities and upperclassmen were sent off campus to volunteer at pre-determined organizations.

Anna Ricci, EC's campus minister has been spending the last few months planning this school-wide activity. She stated that Peace and Justice Day is a time, ?to come together and spread peaceful actions and justice around the school and the community.? She said that this year especially had a lot of participation and engagement from students, and mentor teachers stated that everything went well.

This year, underclassmen stayed on campus and did different activities centered around the lives of refugees around the world.Eastside Catholic hosted a speaker named Jok Nhial who war part of the Lost Boys of Sudan. He taught students about

empathy and the value of people recognizing that everyone has different stories.

Students were taught what it is like to be a refugee with an engaging activity in the gym. They acted out the difficulties that refugees face when fleeing their country and attempting to relocate.They also watched a video called Salam Neighbor about two men living in a refugee camp. They recognized that their experience was definitely different than others who were forced to live in the camps but gave students a look into the lives of refugees.At the end of the video, students drew self-portraits. These portraits are going to be sent to an organization that donates $3 for each, which is given to young people to empower them to make a difference in their community.

Sophomores Emily Quinn and Dani Lopezlira both stated that the activity in the gym was their favorite. They claimed that the activities gave them a better understanding of what it was truly like to be a foreigner.Emily stated that she is excited to go off campus as a junior next year.

Freshman Aiga Stevens claimed that he had fun spending time and bonding with different mentors. Another Freshman, Jack Kolb, stated that the movie was the most interesting part.

Overall, the underclassmen agreed that Peace and Justice day proved to be a good time

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to bond with their classmates.

Upperclassmen had a different experience, with each mentor assigned a different organization in the area to volunteer at for the day.Organizations included food banks, churches, clothing distributors, and places to connect with youth or adults in the community. Some of the organizations that people visited were Recovery CafĂŠ, Community Lunch, Wing Luke Elementary, and the Ronald McDonald House.

Senior Sara Williams went with her mentor to Maple Valley to clear out plants and help landscape.She said that it was a good time to bond with her mentor, and that clearing out the plants was satisfying because she was able to see the progress and difference that her group was making.

Junior Will Vanderzanden, part of Mr. Brown?s mentor, sorted clothes and stated that, ?it was a good time.? He claimed that his time made him aware of the greater need of the community, and it was worth waiting the first two years of Peace and Justice Day on campus to experience the day off campus.

Overall, Peace and Justice Day was a great success, pulling the Eastside Catholic student body closer together.As a community, we were able to make a difference in the area and lean more about the world around us.

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Issue 7

The Insider

Page 2

From the Writer's Room: Your Insider Staff Anna Leist Sophia Vandewark Matt Wittress Riley Wilkins Lauren Michels Katie Springborn Evan Greve Dawson Flowers Garrett Wallace Christ Grazko Brandon Bendix Catherine Vaughn Liam Edwards Emma VanSickle

Editor 's Note: Special editorials, opinion articles, and cartoons do not necessarily represent the opinions of the EC Insider, its staff, or Eastside Catholic School. These articles reflect the personal opinions of each individual writer.

Opinion

Issue 7

Page 3

Why I Walked Out Liam Edwards

" The reason I walked out was not only in memor iam for all the thousands of people who have died from gun violence in Amer ica, but to advocate for change."

Insider Staff

April 20th, 1999 two high school seniors walked into their school near Columbine, Denver. They ended up killing 12 people, 11 students and 1 teacher.

According to the FBI since the Columbine shootings there has been a total of 50 school shootings and even more massacres caused by gun violence. After Columbine the gun reform movement took off with survivors and relatives of school shooting victims, taking a stand against the outdated gun laws.

Last year there were of 590 deaths as a results of mass shootings, and another 1981 people were injured in these mass shootings.

Just this year there have been a total of 124 deaths because of mass shootings and 225 injuries. The shooters from Columbine high school were 17 and 18, and the deadly Tec DC9, 9mm HI-point, semi-automatic handguns that they used, along with two sawed-off shotguns, were obtained legally because of loose gun laws. There was no background check involved and no identification check involved. Another one of the most relevant school shootings was in Parkland, Florida.

Again, the AR-15 used in the shooting was obtained legally, even though the shooter had

mental issues, he did not undergo any form of background check and was able to walk into his old high school and kill a total of 17 students and faculty members.

The reason I walked out was not only in memoriam for all the thousands of people who have died from gun violence in America, but to advocate for change. Since the 1990?s gun violence has been a problem in our country, and has only gotten worse in recent years. With easy access to guns, it?s no wonder why there have been so many shootings, and there is still no change.

The Second Amendment gives all U.S. citizens the right to bear arms, but this has gotten out of control. Our Founding Fathers would be appalled at the misuse of weapons in our society, how guns aren?t being used as a means of freedom, but they are being used as

malicious tools for death and destruction, breaking families apart, and tearing a whole in American society and the self-deterministic values we hold so dear.

I walked out to remember those who have suffered at the hands of American idleness and failure to make a change. But we can stop this. We can be the generation to put an end to this killing, if we as a society work together and come to realize that we have to change something, in remembrance for the kids from parkland, along with others hurt by the effects of gun violence, and a chance to create a safer environment for our kids, and all those throughout America.

For infor mation on M ass Shooting Statics visit: www.massshootingtr acker.or g For infor mation about how you can get involved in activism for gun control visit: www.thej oycefoundation.or g You can also wr ite to your local representative: www.house.gov

Why I Didn't Walk Out Anna Leist Insider Editor-in-Chief Over the last couple of weeks, our nation has been gravely impacted by the issues surrounding the awful shooting at Parkland High School in Florida. An armed student shot and killed 17 students with no obvious motives or reasons.

" Over all, there are more proactive ways to refor m our nation to prevent these hor r ific school shootings."

This shooting, being one in the tragically high number of school shooting over the last ten years, has raised the question of how our country can prevent them from happening. Stricter gun control has been a popular option and has gained more widespread support after the event last month.

The nationwide walkout, supported by Women?s March Youth Empower, occurred on March 14th and was the talk around Eastside Catholic that week. Our school described it as being a time to honor the 17 victims killed in this tragedy.

Initially, I was torn by the choice to participate. School shootings have always left me heartbroken, and I wanted to do all that I could to demonstrate that I cared about the community affected by the event. Despite this, I did further research about the nationwide event and discovered that it was not merely about supporting the victims, but also to push for stricter gun control.

Deciding not to participate seemed like the unpopular opinion. I am a strong believer in the Second Amendment and believe in protecting the rights of our citizens to protect themselves with firearms. I don?t see the idea of banning assault weapons as a realistic way to decrease violence, as people will always find a way to get around laws and cause harm.

Increasing the thoroughness of background checks is a good idea, but the problem is not with the guns, it is with the mentally unstable people who are given the opportunity to use them.

beliefs or look like a heartless individual who did support the community in Florida.

Another issue I had was with Eastside Catholic?s refusal to recognize that they were taking a side on a major political issue in our nation. Slips were handed out to students on Monday, March 12th, describing that the walkout was merely about supporting the students affected by the shooting. In reality, by aligning our student body?s event with the nationwide walkout, they were taking a clear stand against the possession of certain weapons. By not recognizing this initially, students unaware of the ideas supported by the nationwide walkout were made to believe something that wasn?t fully true about the event at Eastside Catholic.

Overall, there are more proactive ways to reform our nation to prevent these horrific school shootings. Providing more mental health support for our citizens and arming more citizens in order to protect themselves and others will make a big difference in our society. In addition, students should not be pressured to support something by their school communities if they don?t truly believe in it.

The walkout seemed like a way to promote an anti-gun political agenda by taking advantage of the deaths of 17 high school students. The idea of leaving class for 17 minutes, in my eyes, didn?t seem to do anything about protesting school violence, and instead seemed to use the tragic event as a wayPHOTO CREDIT | MITCH FLIPPO | to manipulate political ideals. Nationwide, students claimed that they walked out to advocate for gun reform, but also to honor the victims. This left students who do not support gun control to either go against their political

Issue 7

News

Page 4

Europe's Attraction to Radical Politics Chris Grazko Insider Staff

democracy, or a terrifying prospect for the future, one thing is certain, the era of social-liberal politics as we know it is over.

Throughout recent years, media coverage on the rise of radicalism in the European sphere of politics has been seemingly incessant. Since the dawn of the 2010s, numerous grassroots movements incorporating populism and far-right and far-left politics have surfaced with great repercussions. The most recent of which can be seen in the divisive Italian election cycle resulting in the victory of right-wing and populist parties, forming a ?grand coalition."

According to The Political Loop, it is when two or more parties agree to form a parliament to achieve the majority required to enact meaningful legislation.

This overthrow of the established politically moderate left-leaning parties is particularly apparent in Europe during the last four years. During this period, voters turned out in record numbers in the United Kingdom to reject their country's membership in the European Union, while simultaneously experiencing a resurgence of the dormant ideology of socialism as evidenced by the explosion of the socialist party?s membership by a staggering 150,000, more than the current entire membership of the ruling Conservative Party. These numbers represent a new turn in global politics away from moderate liberal parties to far left and far right parties.

The precise beginning of the break from center-left politics that dominated European governments since the end of the Second World War is disputed, but most sources, including The BBC peg the beginning of modern populism and radicalism with the beginning of the 2016 American presidential election cycle. During this period, Donald Trump, a political outsider, effectively hijacked the Republican establishment, fueled by a grassroots rebellion against the perceived cultural and economic consequences of globalization. This discontent with the established order is said to have won the 2016 presidential election for Donald Trump.

Whether this comes as a triumphant victory of

Across Europe, this new trend has resulted in the demise of the once-powerful ideology of social democracy in favor of radical ideologies. Socialism and Euro-skepticism have been the chief beneficiaries of such a shift, perhaps aided by the ongoing migrant crisis.

In Germany, the right wing?s Alternative Fur Deutschland party?s polling numbers have seen a drastic shift upwards by 7%according to Politico. Die Linke, a left-wing party also experienced a 5% surge in poll popularity, starving the centrist SPD and Conservative parties of legitimacy at a time when they need it most.

Perhaps most crucially, voters of Italy, who since the end of the Second World War, have largely favored moderate center-left parties, turned out last Sunday in favor of right-wing populist parties, crippling the center-left parties legitimacy in a way that was largely unexpected. The leader of the anti-immigration 5 Star Movement party, Luigi Di Maio stated on the issue that ?immigration is a social ticking time bomb?.

Di Maio?s comments reflect a population of Western Europe that is fearful of mass immigration to their countries, which is largely forced upon them by the European Union. Voters of European countries are turning to radical parties with hope that they will be able to stand up to the migrant quotas of the European Union that many Europeans find take issue with.

Whether this trend of radical politics continues remains to be seen, but the reality of the situation is that the new European order established by the center-left parties of Europe following the end of the Cold War, is being rapidly overturned. The consequence of which is a continent and world more divided by nationality and race than ever, following the conclusion of the Second World War. The fate of Europe rests on the European Union?s ability to reform in a manner with which the population of member states are satisfied.

Candidate Dino Rossi For The Win? Matt Wittress

Jason Rittereiser, and Kim Schrier.

Insider Staff

As it so happens, Dino Rossi?s own daughter, Jillian attends EC in the class of 2019. When asked about her thoughts on the political election and her father?s campaign, Jillian Rossi said, ?Its super cool to see him on TV and in interviews and say: ?hey that?s my dad?! He stands for local businesses and individual rights, and that?s really some of the most important stuff he represents.? When asked about what it?s like to live in a politically active home, she commented that ?it?s really just like any normal family. We do the things any other family would do. We eat together and do other stuff like that together. We?re just a regular family."

Dino Rossi, a Republican politician, is best known for his political and real-estate career in the state of Washington. Now, as a former state senator he is running to be the next congressman from Washington?s 8th Congressional District. ?I need to do this right now because [Congress] needs help, they really need help? Rossi said in an interview with Q13. Rossi believes that the current political state in Washington D.C. needs to become filtered and become less toxic than it currently is. In the 2004 race for governor against Democrat Christine Gregoire, Rossi only lost by 133 votes, which was determined after two re-counts. While the election was extremely close, Rossi did not win the position of Governor. Again in 2008, and 2010 Rossi ran again for office, however he did not win the elections for those years. When asked about how he would handle things if he was elected in the 8th district, regarding president Trump, Rossi said that he would treat the president in the same way he would as any other president; when they agreed, the would agree, when they didn?t they won?t simple as that.

Before his political career took off, he worked his way through college at Seattle University, working many different custodial jobs before eventually landing a successful career in commercial real estate. Even before that though, Mr. Rossi came from a very

PHOTO CREDIT | WIKIPEDIA |

crowded home of seven siblings. Growing up, Rossi worked many different jobs, some of which included being a caddy for the Ballinger Park golf course. Just last year on September 19, Rossi announced that he would run for Congress in the 8th Congressional District to replace our current congressman, Dave Reichert. Reichert has announced that he will not run for re-election, but to many the race is still considered a tossup. Also running for the 8th Congressional district are Poga Ahn, Thomas Cramer, Shannon Hader, Robert Hunziker, Brian Kostenko, Brayden Olson,

If you are above the age of 18 currently or will turn 18 by November, you can register to vote for Dino Rossi in the election this November. You can also volunteer on his website, and donate to his campaign as well.

Dino Rossi is accepting all help if you feel inclined. Be sure to exercise your patriotic duty and get out and vote, EC!

To lear n more about the elections, or to register to vote visit: kingcounty.gov

Issue 7

US News

Page 5

Powerful Women are Changing the World Emma VanSickle

securing social, environmental, and economic justice; violence prevention; equality, and healthier workplaces, homes and communities for farmworker women and their families.They wrote a letter of solidarity to the women involved in exposing sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein. It also talks about their desire to support women, men, people of color, and the LGBT community who have less access to social media to speak about harassment.

Insider Staff In 1997, Tarana Burke sat across from a 13-year-old girl who had been sexually abused. The young girl was explaining her experience, and it left her speechless. That was the moment where the #MeToo campaign was born.Ten years later she created a nonprofit organization that helps victims of sexual harassment and assault. The #MeToo was started in 2007 after Alyssa Milano tweeted in response to sexual harassment commenting #MeToo and fueled the movement to end sexual harassment.Women immediately started responding to the tweet and commenting their own stories of sexual harassment.After the first twenty-four hours following the tweet, there were more than 12 million stories and comments with the #MeToo on Facebook.

On October 5, 2017, Ashley Judd accuses well known film producer and studio executive Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment. Judd recalls that she was called into Weinstein?s hotel room and was greeted by him in his bathrobe. She says that he asked her to massage him naked and watch him shower.

She refused and left the room immediately. 13 days later, on October 18th, Mckayla Maroney, an Olympic gymnast, accuses the team doctor, Larry Nassar of sexually assaulting her. Other

PHOTO CREDIT | THE DAILY BEAST |

gymnasts later come forward to back the accusation including their own personal accounts of Nassar sexually assaulting them.

Nassar was sent to sixty years of federal prison for child pornography charges.

Times Up is another movement founded on January 1, 2018. It calls women and men to help advocate for legislation to punish companies who tolerate persistent harassment. During the 75th Golden Globes, it asked for women to wear black and to speak out about sexual harassment and assault. The movement has raised $20 million for the legal defense fund and has around 200 volunteer lawyers to help with the Weinstein effect and the #MeToo campaign.

On December 16, 2017, the women of the Me-Too campaign became the face of Time magazine?s person of the year. On the cover of the magazine,Time called the people behind the movement "The Silence Breakers." The story featured women, including Tarana Burke, talking about their own personal stories and encounters with sexual harassment and abuse.

The power of the movement has brought women together to talk about something that has long been silenced and undermined by the rest of the world. #MeToo is a movement to get people to understand the extensiveness of sexual assault and harassment today. Most women defined their own sexual harassment and assault as something that is unspoken and private.

The Alianza Nacional de Campesinas is a national organization comprised of farmworker women that is committed to

School Safety at EC Sophia Vandewark Insider Staff On February 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School began to buzz with the sounds of students. At the time the kids' biggest concerns were the upcoming test or change in the latest fashion trend. By the end of that day three teachers and fourteen students were dead. The mass shooting in Parkland, Florida raised questions across the country about the safety of schools. On March 16, EC Insider Staff member Sophia Vandewark sat down with dean of students, Mr. Jeff Rodenburg and Mrs. Amber Johnson, along with high school principal Mrs. Barbara Swann to discuss the safety measures in place at Eastside Catholic.

Mrs. Johnson describe the day-to-day security that the school has, including the procedure every visitor to campus under goes.

This procedure that includes taking a photo that is seen on a badge that the visitor must wear throughout the duration of their visit.

Mrs. Johnson said that staff and faculty have been told to remain vigilant and to report to administrators or other proper personnel if they are concerned by an unidentified person on campus.

In an email sent to the EC community, news of a safety team was included, a team that?s job is to, ?ensure that we are in alignment with the latest safety protocols,? the school wrote. Dean of Students Mr. Rodenburg said, ?Right now they are meeting every two weeks,? ?To train people on the team,? Mrs. Swann added, ?they go out to see what the new [protocols are] so as protocols change and

schools change we want to make sure we are up to date.?

Further safety measure includes automatic locks for the glass doors to prevent entrance for an unidentified person, video surveillance, patrols done by Mr. Rodenburg, himself, and FlashAlert to keep parents informed. The school works hard to get tools that might be helpful to keeping the EC family safe. Rodenburg said, ?It's so important that our kids here stay safe at school. We have a wide array of safety plans in place to keep everyone as safe as possible.? EC works with the Police Department as well as the emergency services at Eastside Fire and Rescue. In case of a lockdown both departments have been trained what to do, having visited the school in order to be familiar with, and understand the layout of the campus.

EC is also committed to teaching students how to keep each other safe. One method used by the staff and faculty at EC is known as, "see something, say something."

This simple slogan encourages students, teachers, and parents, to act upon concerns they may have. ?It's worth a conversation,?

Mrs. Swann stated, ?Whether that's suicidal [thoughts], guns, anything like that. If there is something that makes you say, ?Oh that's not normal,?let us know, the counselors, let us make sure that the person gets help. Safety, as well as personal help.? Mr. Rodenburg also mentioned, ?what we say every day, when we say take care of each other, that?s really part of taking care of each other. Sometimes taking care of each other can be a fun job, and sometimes its work and sometimes its emotional. So, you know, it?s not just the fun

side of taking care of each other, ?hey come over to my house this weekend and we are going to go do this or that,?sometimes its standing by someone who is really struggling and being a friend when it would be easier not to.? Mrs. Johnson echoed her agreement. ?Say something,? she said, ?You never know what that might be leading to and what we could be preventing. We are successful when we all do the little work, when we take care of the little things that might come up that end up becoming big things because we neglected to take actions.? The willingness of students to speak up about their concerns could help prevent a violent act form taking place at EC. With the names of the victim?s haunting people across the country, students at Douglas High School organized a walkout to protest gun violence. The protest turned into a nationwide movement, seeing the participation of thousands of students.On March 14 students at EC had the opportunity to take part in the nationwide walkout. Insider Staff member Sophia spoke to several students about the walkout. ?I thought it was a really important thing to do to acknowledge what happened to the students who died,? said one of the students. Another student at EC said that the walkout provided them an opportunity to blend their faith life with their political views, an opportunity they were grateful for. One student commented that throughout the seventeen minutes of silence for the seventeen victims they keep ?thinking about the what the number 17 would mean at EC.? Thanks to the hard and dedicated work of all the members of the Eastside Catholic Faculty and Staff, hopefully we will never know.

Issue 7

Sports

Page 6

EC Boys Basketball Comes To A Ballin' End Riley Wilkins

way we were still gonna play the game out.?

EC Insider Copy Editor

With no point in playing, the game was postponed, and the league was notified. It was decided that a coin toss would take place, then the winner of the coin toss would move to the easier bracket, giving them a better shot at the state title.

With the boys?basketball season coming to a close we take a look back at the season and look through the amazing run the boys have had this year, carrying the school?s colors all the way to the Tacoma dome.

The quarter finals were the only trouble the team had on the path to state, but it wasn?t because the game was a close call, the opponent being Franklin High School.

Both teams looking forward to state, Franklin tried to take the easy was out by losing the game.

Why would they want to lose?

Losing the game would place them against easier teams, making the rout to the dome easier. But losing the game by just not trying would not be morally correct or fair to anyone playing.

go on to the easier bracket. Christian Lakes, `19 spoke about the game saying, ?We weren?t nervous or scare we were excited,? since they knew they would have no trouble winning.

The game was played, and our Crusader boys won, sending them on to the state tournament. Their first opponent was Kelso High School, on Wednesday February 28th, whom our crusader boys crushed.

The next game was Thursday, March 1st. The whole school got out early to go support our boys at the Tacoma dome. They fought their hardest against Garfield High School but the game ended in a win for the Bulldogs.

PHOTO CREDIT | EC ATHLETICS SMUGMUG |

The EC coaches first got word that Franklin was going to throw the game several days before game making it pointless to play.

Jayalahn Tuimoloau ?21 said ?We walked into the locker room and the coaches told us Franklin was planning on tank it.?

Eastside won the coin toss and it was decided that they would move on the play O'Dea in the easier bracket. But that wasn?t the end of it, several days later someone from the Metro league got wind of the coin tossed and deemed it unfair.

When asked about their game plan, team captain Orlando `18, said ?We were hoping to go into the easier bracket, but either

Both teams were called to play one another, as originally planned, and the game was scheduled, but this time the winner would

Though the Crusader boys didn?t claim the state title they are very happy with how their season went. Team captain, Brock Mackenzie ?18 said, ?We are coming to the apex of our playing? while friend and team mate Tommy Binz ?18 said, ?Brock is the G.O.A.T."

Using their conflict with Franklin High School as motivation to push them forward, our Crusader boys carried our colors to the Dome and did better than anyone could have predicted, ending their season with a great game.

The End of a Dynasty in Seattle?

Dawson Flowers Insider Staff As the NFL begins its new league year, it is a time for change for most franchises. In fact, change could describe the current phase that the Seattle Seahawks are in. Since 2014, the Seahawks were viewed as a dynasty built around their defense. The ?Legion of Boom? took over the country showing their dominance as they beat teams and forced offensive struggle amongst their opponents.

Comprised of superstars Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas, this was the defense that lead the Seahawks to their first ever Super Bowl win.

and Richard Sherman with an achilles tear.

Earl Thomas was on and off with hamstring issues and Michael Bennett was causing problems on the sideline. Tension was rising and there were several fights between the team.

This lead to a 9-7 record and the Seahawks did not make the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Their second attempt at becoming world champions did not end with them on the podium like the first. Instead, it ended in heart break as Russell Wilson?s goal line pass traveled into the hands of Malcom Butler, a Patriots defender. This marks the start of the end.

After another unsuccessful season, fan favorite Marshawn Lynch decided to retire sending shockwaves throughout the Seattle area. Players expressed their gratitude to Lynch and went on to their regular training. This season was full of offensive struggles and season ending injuries. Both Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril went down with neck injuries,

PHOTO CREDIT | @RSHERMAN_25 |

After a below average end to the regular season, Seattle has begun the offseason with some departures from key players.

Three-time Pro-Bowler Michael Bennett was moved to the Philadelphia Eagles and Richard Sherman has signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Earlier in the year Earl Thomas was

spotted heading into the Dallas Cowboys locker room after a win telling head coach Jason Garrett ?If you have a chance? come get me.? In addition to this, Pete Carroll has stated ?Cliff [Avril] and Kam [Chancellor] are going to have a pretty hard time playing football again? indicating their careers may be over.

As a team that was once known as a defensive power house, the Seahawks are trending towards being one of the weaker teams in the league. With needs scattered everywhere on the roster, close to no money to spend, and little draft capital, it will take a few years to recover from this slump. Not to mention the recent losses of wide receiver Paul Richardson and tight end Jimmy Graham to the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers respectively.

Hopes are high as the league continues through the offseason and on April 26th the NFL Draft will take place in Dallas. There are plenty of options at Pick 18, as the Seahawks could go either offense or defense, but a trade back could also help. Derrius Guice, Derwin James, and Connor Williams are all players who could interest them in the first round which could help build a younger team. This is the season of rebuilding so watch out for a lot of action from the Seahawks soon.

Issue 7

Sports

Page 7

Getting into The Swing of Things With The Tennis Team Katie Springborn

asked how Coach Dingler felt about the 2018 season, Coach Dingler says that he is ?looking forward to a fun and succesful year."

Insider Staff

The Eastside Catholic 2018 tennis season has started!

Practices started on February 26th and the season ends at the end of April. The Senior captains are Mitch Flippo and Delaney Green.

So far, our Varsity team has not won an overall team match but against both Ingraham, and West Seattle four individual players are undefeated. Mitch Flippo, Bela Tsilas, Ryan Xue, Lauren Michels and Katie Springborn all won both of their matches. The first two matches have gone very well and the team hopes to improve over the season.

As for the Junior Varsity team, they have had only one match against West Seattle so far, but it also went very well.

Amelia Aitken competed in her first ever singles match and played great. Michael Sentman also played fantastically and won his match. Margo Schreck and Sarah Leach played together in doubles and won their match. Boys doubles partners, Spencer Hunt and Josh Oamil also played well and won their first match. Overall the JV team is looking to build on their successes.

PHOTO

Head Coach David Dingler is in his 6th Season at the helm of the team and is very excited for the season. When asked who his best players are, Coach Dingler says, ?All of my players are great but Bela, Mitch, Xue, and Katie/Lauren have big goals to go deep into the postseason and I feel like they can go far and be succesful."

Obviously, Coach Dingler still loves all of the tennis players because tennis is his favorite sport. The tennis team has their own personal goals, but Coach DIngler has goals for the team as well. Coach says, ?I would love it if both the boys and the girls won their divisions, and I would love to send at least two people to state.? When

The Varsity Team includes, Mitch Flippo, Bela Tsilas, Ryan Xue, Hailey Terry, Alex Fuchs, Delaney Green, Oliver Conboy ? Smith, Lily Didcock, Blake Haubeil, Lauren Michels, Ryan Brown, Katie Springborn, Jett Wright, Mary Humphreys, Andrew C |P P | Wolf, Nick Lewis, Ashley Ohara, Bryan Boehl (Swing), and Amelia Aitken (Swing).

REDIT

LATEAU

ORTRAITS

The Junior Varsity team includes, Justin Braza, Maddie Bender, Liam Edwards, Sarah Leach, Eduardo Graglia, Margo Schreck, Kieran Hofman, Tori Ludwig, Aidan Lalime, Angel Lin, Michael Sentman, Stephanie Hernandez, Josh Oamil, Sarah Troy, Spencer Hunt, Emily Griffin, Matt Cochran, Blake Rogalski, Blake Harder, and Madeline Kerbs For more info and updates for the tennis season you can visit the EC Tennis Website: eastsidecatholic.wixsite.com/cr utennis

Girl's Lacrosse Looking For a Three-Peat Lauren Michels Insider Staff

The 2018 girls Senior lacrosse captains are Mariana Steiner, Lauren Banks, Maddie McMaster and Kylie Ramos. These young women are looking forward to a great season.

On Saturday March 10th, Eastside?s two-time reigning Washington State girls lacrosse champions kicked off their season with a home match against Oregon?s reigning state champions, Lake Oswego.

While they took a small loss, their coach, Alex Foreman said they had learned a lot about what they needed to work on as a team to improve for their upcoming games.

As a team the girls came up with several goals; to have fifty percent of their scored goals to be assisted, to win all 50/50 ground balls, to work and grow as a team and win in the playoffs. And of course, to win state for the third time in a row!

The girls say that before their games they like to listen to music. At their homes games, they get dressed in the girl?s locker room and play their music on one of the speakers and they all dance. At away games, they try their best to do this as well, but usually bring headphones instead.

Their coach talks to them before every game to give the girls something to focus on. Junior Alexa Steffens said, ?She always gives us a new team mantra that we are supposed to think about during that specific game. These really help me to stay focused and keep my mind on my goals?.

One of their team mantras that Alexa has really liked in the past was, ?We are ready-

war." It is the little things like this that their coach does to keep the girls on track and headed towards their state title.

Junior Bella Sasso said she is most looking forward to the upcoming games in the season as they start to get more challenging. She said, ?the best games are the ones where we have the best competition. The closer the score of the game, the more exciting it is and more relieving when you win because you know you?ve tried your best?. Another Junior Alexa Steffens, who plays attack said, her personal goal is to score as many goals as possible in every game, and she tries to set up plays on the offensive end as much as possible. Every girl on the team said they were extremely excited to be going after the Washington State title for the third year in a row.

The girl?s lacrosse season is only starting and they are only going to continue to get better from here!

PHOTO CREDIT |

For the entire schedule of girls LAX games visit: eastsidecatholic.or g/athletics/ teams/gir ls-lacrosse

PHOTO CREDIT | EC ATHLETICS SMUGMUG|

Issue 7

Personal Interest

Page 8

Evan's Magical Adventure Evan Greve

We had two weeks before our first game and I was scared because I still did not know what I was doing.

Coach Chuck took the extra time to help me understand the concepts of defense and transitions. Mike Morgan also attempted to explain it, but it didn?t go as well.

Insider Staff I had a very interesting intro into lacrosse. I played for about four weeks in sixth grade, but we didn?t have enough players to field a team and my lacrosse career seemed to be over. Baseball was what I filled my spring time with for every year after that.

In the past three years at EC, I have become friends with junior Eric Prologo. Eric is known for being one of the best lacrosse players in Washington and even throughout the West Coast. I started lacrosse at the end of last year, playing with him every once and a while. Then I decided to play again. I had to borrow almost all the equipment that I use and asked Eric to teach me how to play.

Starting in the summer I would finish my ACT prep, then go to EC and play wall-ball for an hour or two. Than fall came around, football ramped up and my practice for lacrosse slowed. In November, our football season ended abruptly, so, I was onto the next sport, lacrosse.

Every math period, Nick Morgan would ask if I was going to practice, even if there was no practice. I really had no idea how actual drills or games went because I had only played wallball and practiced shooting. Once

Two weeks later, we had our first game on a Saturday night against Mercer Island, one of the best teams in the state. The team was hyped and ecstatic to play, but once we got on the field we lost it. Our heads weren?t PHOTO CREDIT | EC ATHLETICS SMUGMUG | in it and there weren?t enough subs to keep fresh legs on the field. In turn, practices started, the coach would casually we struggled to keep up and by the end of it. name a drill and then I would have to sit out We were dragging our bodies off the field. for a little bit and watch. Weeks went by of watching and learning. The team was extremely helpful and took the time to try and teach me. Emphasis on try, most the time I still don?t know what I am doing.

On the first day, it had snowed so the field was frozen over. The team played in the gym, but we still had fun, at least until the conditioning came around. We had to run gassers which is running back and forth between each line of a basketball court. The Chipotle Eric and I had was not feeling too good in our stomachs. As we kept moving through try-outs, things went well and the team came together well.

Our next game was on a Tuesday and the outcome was much better. We played Eastlake and we started flat. In my head during warm-ups I was thinking ?oh no, here we go again? until we went off. The excitement and energy form both teams made it one of the most competitive games I have ever been a part of. There were some big hits and lots of heckling, but in the end we stayed cool and pulled the win out. At the end, the team was so excited and bouncing off the walls. At that moment, I realized that we had won as a team, we had not only won the game but came together to have one of the best times

together, as a team.

Fortnite: Here to Stay?

Garrett Wallace

The only way for you to win a match is to know when to create defenses, when to hide and when to strike. The only way to learn is from experience and getting good at the game takes patience, repetition and experimentation.

Insider Staff A new trend is on the rise and has taken over the World; Fortnite. The fun and challenging game, has proven itself to be the most popular video game to be released in recent years. Fortnite is an arena style shooter where 100 players enter the game and only one wins. Because of the fun and challenging game play and the massive number of players from the availability and price, it has taken off towards the top of the list of popular video games to play.

Since Fortnite?s release on July 25, 2017 it has continuously grown in popularity and players. One reason so many people play Fortnite today is because it is free to play, and easy to get. Anyone who wants to play it can download and play it without having to worry about money. The game itself is also very addicting, the pressure builds throughout the game as you get closer and closer to the end.

Being one of the last people alive in a round and having to fight to get a win against other people is very adrenaline inducing and gives people either a sense of accomplishment if they win or disappointment if they came so far and lost.

You can choose to brave the dangers of Fortnite as one of four different character

classes: Soldier, Constructor, Outlander and Ninja. The soldiers are the battle-ready class, the Constructors are the better builders, the Outlanders are the survival type and the Ninjas are the silent and fast class. During the game, players are surrounded by a storm and must stay inside the eye of the storm to survive.

The game keeps pushing you to want to win so you force yourself to keep trying over and over to win. Most people who play Fortnite will know the feeling of getting second in a round and knowing that they came so close just to get killed by the last person after fighting through 100 people. Fortnite is unique in the fact that it has a building feature.

You can gather materials from buildings and cars and use the materials you gather to build your own defense to keep yourself alive longer.

The popularity of Fortnite is unrivaled by anything else as it has soared to be the most popular game. It has PHOTO CREDIT | EPICGAMES | recently become the most watched game on websites such as Twitch and You Tube. This makes it popular to the players and to people who want to watch the game being played.

You can find kids at EC watching Fortnite or even playing Fortnite in class, much to the chagrin of their teachers. Because of the increase in fans and players, the creators of the game have released that they have started making the game available on phones so people can have Fortnite wherever they go.

This is currently not released yet but they have sent out sign-ups for people to be the first to have Fortnite on their phones. The game has only increased in popularity since its release and shows no signs of something else taking its place.