Hawkeye 10-2021

HOW CHANGES IN SCHEDULES HAVE IMPACTED STUDENTS SINCE SCHOOL BEGAN

10

THE LIFE OF A HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE AND NATIONAL ARCHERY CHAMPION

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MOUNTLAKE TERRACE HIGH SCHOOL | 21801 44TH AVE. W MOUNTLAKE TERRACE WA 98043

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OCTOBER 2021 | VOLUME 37 | ISSUE 2

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FIRSTHAND TIPS ON HOW TO BE A BETTER ALLY TO YOUR LGBTQIA+ PEERS

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School spirit back in session13

2 | OCTOBER 2021

Hawkeye

10/2021 Vol. 37, Issue 2

IN THIS ISSUE…

04

Terrace Events Calendar

05

News Update

06

OP/ED: Life in the Pacific

07

Altering lunch, altering lives

08

OP/ED: Too little distancing?

09

Controversial conversion

10

OP/ED: Strife with gender

12

Overcrowding post-COVID

13

The return to school tradition

14

What’s after high school?

Stay current with school and community events in October and November.

Our staff picks for what you need to know in the world, nation and state.

Op/Ed Editor Rachel Davis shares her knowledge about the creatures inhabiting the Pacific Ocean.

Lunch overcrowding has changed students daily social routines and schedules.

Are the measures being taken by the school to maintain social distancing working?

A challenge to the Washington State conversion therapy ban gets people talking.

Co-Editor-in-Chief Nico Francois details their struggles with gender dysphoria.

The return to in-person school has presented unforeseen challenges for all.

MTHS brings back age-old homecoming traditions with a bit of post-COVID flare.

As college application season is beginning, high school seniors are debating on what to do once they graduate.

15

Life as a national champion

16

Fall sports return to normalcy

National archery champion Tsu Sasai recounts her archery journey.

Fall sports athletes once again begin playing games in front of an audience.

17

Fall Sports Schedule

18

Creative writing contribution

19

Daily dose of thought

C 02

Fall sports makes a comeback after over a year of shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The creative writing club features their best work through a compilation of two short stories.

Do you have what it takes? Solve this logic puzzle to find out.

ON THE COVER

Cheerleader Mckenna Gifford helps lead the crowd during the freshman homecoming pep assembly in the Terraceum.

Bringing the good noise

The Pep Band played music to hype students up at each of the homecoming assemblies.

PHOTOS BY CAROLINE SHYNSHYN | HAWKEYE

OP/ED

Hawkeye

OCTOBER 2021 | 3

Letter from the Editor

The HAWKEYE

INCLUSION MUST BE THE NORM H

ello there, MTHS. It’s Ritika, and for this issue, we’re talking about self-awareness. But, before we go any further on the topic, I should mention that, just in case I haven’t made it blatantly obvious to everyone within a one-mile radius of me by smacking them with my cane as I walk down the hallway, I am blind. I don’t mean the “I have bad vision that is fixed by glasses” kind of blind. No, I’m talking about the “we don’t have a Ritika Khanal cure for you so you’re stuck seeing CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF exclusively light and shadow” kind of blind.

Some might be wondering what my vision issues have to do with the MTHS community. Well, first of all, to steal the sentiment from a comedian by the name of Lost Voice Guy, if there is ever a fire drill and you want to get out without any bruised shins from being whacked by my cane, it might be a good idea to not be anywhere near me as you rush out.

More importantly though, living with a visual impairment has taught me a thing or two about what it feels like to not be accepted or included, and how advocating can make all the difference. It’s taught me how the little things we do and say to another person can make a world of difference, and thanks to this paper, I get to share my thoughts and experiences.

As our society experiences constant change and continues to diversify, we all have a lot to learn about being more inclusive in everything we do. There will be situations that will be easier for some to adapt to more than others. Our personal experiences fuel how we handle situations, and sometimes, it can be hard to understand where others are coming from.

For example, I don’t expect anyone who has been sighted all their life to understand all the struggles of being blind.

Most people just haven’t experienced what it’s like, and have never had to think about the challenges that come with living without sight. For me, basic navigation from one location to another has always been challenging, and if I ever want to go somewhere, there is always a huge weight of anxiety looming on my shoulders.

“Oh no, there isn’t anyone I can ask for help to get to the next location. What do I do now? Would I be bothering this person if I asked them to help get me somewhere?”

To some degree, most people can understand this struggle, especially if they’ve had to ask for a ride from someone else when they’re unable to drive. However, navigating from one room of the building to another seems to come pretty naturally to most people, making it difficult to grasp my particular situation completely. However, I’ve had people in my life who have shown me that, even if we don’t understand each other’s situations exactly, we can always find the things we have in common, learn about what we don’t understand and be the best ally possible.

Throughout my educational career, I’ve always been told

“we’re here for you and we will work with you.” While it’s nice to hear that, the countless number of uncompromising situations I’ve been placed in has made me hesitant to believe those words. However, during my first two years of high school, I had an opportunity to work with two particularly fantastic teachers who changed my perspective.

Despite being expected to work with over 160 students every day, both of them took the time to learn about what I needed to thrive in the classroom environment. Then, without any prompting, they did everything in their power to make sure that I had everything I needed for their respective classes.

The sentiment was never, “What are you going to do to make this class work for you?” Rather, it was, “What are we going to do to make this work?”

They both told me they would be there for me and would work with me, but even better than that, they proved it time and again through their actions, and still do. Did they fully grasp the challenges I was facing? I could be wrong, but I don’t think either of them regularly walk around with their eyes shut and use robotic screen readers every day, so no, they probably couldn’t grasp my situation completely. That didn’t matter though, because they took the time to learn what they could and adapted in every way possible to make sure I was included and a part of their class. My experience with them made me more confident in my other classes. They showed me what true inclusion could look like, and I was able to go into all of my other classes with an idea of what to look for.

Now, even though I’ve had my fair share of unique experiences, struggling with gender identity is something I can’t fully understand, because I’ve never had that experience. Yet, in the past few years, I’ve had two close friends go through struggles concerning their gender, leading to several conversations about how I can be a better ally to them.

In having these conversations, I’ve been reminded that we don’t have to fully understand each other’s struggles. In fact, that’s impossible, because we are all different people with different backgrounds, experiences and identities. However, what we can do is learn as much as we can about each other’s struggles, and do our best to accept and include everyone. I may not fully understand my friend’s gender identity struggles, but I can listen to their experiences, learn about what they’re going through and accept them for who they are, just as so many have done for me.

Only we can make this world more inclusive. Taking the time to be aware of the those around us and our own inclusive actions can make all the difference.

Claiming that we support the LGBTQIA+ community exclusively during pride month isn’t enough. Teaching kids about different kinds of disabilities and discussing how to create a more inclusive community just during disability awareness month isn’t enough. We must advocate for inclusion and acceptance every single day, and take it upon ourselves to be there for the community around us, even when it doesn’t impact us directly. H

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The Hawkeye’s mission is to provide the MTHS community with quality, thought-provoking student produced publications. Since September 1960, we have faithfully served our audience and community as a designated open public forum where student editors make all decisions.

In policy and in practice, the Hawkeye will always be a designated open forum publication.

Co-Editors-in-Chief

Nico Francois & Ritika Khanal

Editorial

News Editors: Nathaniel Reyes & Karen Ghobrial Sports Editor: Cecilia Negash Op/Ed Editor: Rachel Davis Lifestyle Editors: Maggie O’Hara & Isabelle Froyalde Data Manager: Lin Miyamoto

Business

General Manager: Phuong Lam Travel & Event Coordinator: Denise Muñoz Distribution Manager: To be named Outreach Manager: To be named

Visual

Graphics Editor: Nico Francois Photo Editors: Caroline Shynshyn & Hunter Michaelson Design Editor: Sovanrom Sot

Online/Digital

Online Manager: Justin Barsness

Contributing Staff

Khe Bach, Rod Budden, Katrina Bushman, Casey Carpenter, Terina Papatu, Tsu Sasai, Kim Bahn, Annabelle Westby, Robert Mize, Kaylee Miyamoto, Jakob Nacanaynay, Camryn Thornton, Theresa Van, Savanah Coco-Barrett, Arabella Devera Jaimee Wacker, Cleo Williams, Anabelle Sumera-Decoret, Penelope Goodwin, Kimberly Nguyen, Virginia AlseptBeaty, Kit Blake, Sean Brouwer, Seras Bryner, Ezra Fenwick, Jonah Paulsene, Maria Gaviola, Sarvinoz Rakhmatova, Aiden Gilchrist, Elio Isley, Nicholas Iwuoha Name in bold indicates staff member of the month as selected by the Editorial Board.

Support

Adviser: Vincent F. DeMiero, CTE, CJE Journalist-in-Residence: Samantha Pak Teacher Candidate: Carrie Lee FANs Coordinators: To be named Printer: Pacific Publishing Member of: MTHS ASB, JEA/WJEA, NSPA, SPLC, ESD CTE, FAPFA

Policies

Editorial Policy The editorial section of the Hawkeye, including editorial cartoons, serves as a forum for well-written, thoughtful, longer forms of expression. Signed editorials represent the opinions of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Hawkeye Editorial Board. Views printed herein are meant to be opinionated and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Hawkeye staff, student body, faculty, administration or school board.

The Hawkeye will print submitted guest editorials as space allows and requests that all contributors include their name, signature and position relative to the editorial. The Hawkeye will edit all submissions for accuracy, spelling and grammar. We reserve the right to refuse to print any submission.

Letters to the Editor Policy Readers are encouraged to voice their opinions in the Opinion section, a public forum for the expression of varying viewpoints on relevant topics. The Hawkeye will print as many letters as space allows. Letters must include the author’s name, signature and class or position relative to the letter. E-mailed, typed or legible, hand written letters are acceptable, but should not exceed 200 words. The Hawkeye will edit all letters for accuracy, spelling and grammar.

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The Hawkeye reserves the right to refuse any advertising, solicited or unsolicited. Advertisements do not necessarily reflect the views or endorsements of the Hawkeye staff, student body, faculty, administration or school board.

Complete policies are available at www.thehawkeye.org/about-2/mission-policies/

Cover photo by Caroline Shynshyn © 2021 HAWKEYE | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

2021

REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED.

IN THE KNOW

4 | OCTOBER 2021

Hawkeye

COMING UP: October & November

By Nico Francois

CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & GRAPHICS EDITOR

DATE

EVENT

Saturday, Oct. 16 Homecoming Social Friday, Oct. 22 NO SCHOOL Tuesday, Oct. 26 Girls varsity soccer

TIME/PLACE 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., MTHS Off campus 6 p.m., Archbishop Murphy HS

Thursday, Oct. 28 FCCLA Region 5 leadership conference

8:20 a.m. to noon, Career center

Thursday, Oct. 28 Girls varsity volleyball

5:15 p.m., Edmonds Woodway HS

Monday, Nov. 01 Food donation drive

All day, HUB

Friday, Nov. 05 End of first quarter

1:50 p.m., MTHS

Friday, Nov. 05 Improv night

7 p.m., Theater

EZRA FENWICK | HAWKEYE

SPOTLIGHT

Wednesday, Nov. 10 STEM perspective student night Wednesday, Nov. 10 Veterans day assembly

All day, Theater 9:01 a.m. to 10:01 a.m., Terraceum

16

HOMECOMING SOCIAL

OCT.

Students dress to impress to dance the night away.

01

FOOD DONATION DRIVE

NOV. A thrilling food collecting

Thursday, Nov. 11 Veterans day - NO SCHOOL Friday, Nov. 12 NO SCHOOL Tuesday, Nov. 23 JAM SESSION XXVII (Tentative)

competition between schools.

Off campus Off campus 5:30 - 9 p.m., Terraceum

Wednesday, Nov. 24 NO SCHOOL

Off campus

Thursday, Nov. 25 Thanksgiving

Off campus

05

END OF FIRST QUARTER

NOV. Students grind to improve grades before the quarter ends.

05

IMPROV NIGHT

NOV. The Improv Team prepares for a postCOVID performance.

25

THANKSGIVING

NOV. Terrace students celebrate the long weekend with family and friends.

EDITORS’ NOTE: The information in this calendar is taken in part from the calendar published on the MTHS webpage. Information may change.

For further information on an event, contact the organizing party. For corrections, contact editor@thehawkeye.org or visit us in Room 130.

Hawkeye

IN THE KNOW

Oil spill causes state of emergency

By Nico Francois

CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & GRAPHICS EDITOR

As the November election for the Mayor and City Attorney General of Seattle fast approaches, candidates are preparing to garner as many votes as possible within the coming weeks. The two candidates running for city of Seattle Mayor are former Council President Bruce Harrell and current Council President Lorena González, whose distinct core political views have revealed themselves in the heat of the election. Harrell, who is currently in the lead, is opposed to defunding the police, hoping to hire more police officers but reform the way in which they are trained. González has used her platform to strongly advocate for increased labor protection and immigrant families. As the time leading up to the election comes to a close, political divisions between the two candidates have NICO FRANCOIS | HAWKEYE become increasingly visible.

Meanwhile, running for the City Attorney General position are Anne Davison and Nicole Thomas Kennedy. While Davison previously ran for the city council and lieutenant governor positions, and Kennedy worked as a public defender for King County, but it would be the first time for both candidates in the city attorney position if elected. Throughout their campaign process, both candidates have emphasized their interest in improving public safety. Davison would like to focus on providing interventions for suspects who have cycled through the justice system repeatedly. She hopes that, with the right kind of support, those in the justice system can transition into everyday life as efficiently as possible. On the other hand, Kennedy is known as an abolitionist, and wants to focus on changing the criminal justice system on a fundamental level. However, in recent months, KOMO News unearthed multiple social media posts from Kennedy that some say might make her unfit for the job. H

More money for struggling schools

COMPILED BY NICO FRANCOIS

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts in Washington state have received a record amount of funds in order to support students returning to school. The U.S. department of education has issued roughly $2.6 billion worth of aid to the state of Washington, with funds intended to be spent on educational items such as student laptops, as well as expenditures involving the hiring of more nurses and school counselors. Although school districts are given a certain amount of leeway in terms of how they wish to spend their aid money, state officials have suggested that districts purchase items that will grant students immediNICO FRANCOIS | HAWKEYE ate aid instead of investing in long-term projects such as the construction of new school buildings. Despite the amount of money that has already been allocated to schools for COVID-19 relief funds, many districts have expressed concern that the funds given will not be enough to carry students and schools throughout the full remainder of the pandemic. As a result of this, the U.S. Department of Education has set aside additional money in order to aid schools within the state, but has held back in hopes that districts will provide more transparent plans to the public concerning the plans for how the relief funds will be spent. While plans from most schools are still vague, a majority of the districts in the state have expressed that their top priority during the pandemic is to aid all students living in poverty. H

OCTOBER 2021 | 5

• the update •

A lot happens in a month. From fashion to finance, we are constantly bombarded by headlines from around the world.

Here are the Hawkeye’s picks for what you need to know. stories by nico francois graphics by nico francois

Taliban begins re-issuing passports

International

The Taliban has announced that the issuing of passports and national identification cards to citizens within Afghanistan is set to continue, after two months of suspension when the capital of Kabul was taken control of during August. Hundreds gathered at the Kabul passport office after this announcement, hoping to leave the country after failed attempts to flee initially in the summer. Thousands of passports are set to be issued each day as over 100,000 identification applications are currently pending, with the Taliban employing women to process travel documents for any female wishing to receive a passport, further enforcing based on biological sex. H

Indonesia opens plastic museum

International

To highlight the ongoing aquatic environmental crisis across the globe, activists in Indonesia have created a museum within the country entirely made of plastic. The museum, set up within the city of Grelk and composed of over 10,000 items of plastic waste collected from polluted waters, was designed to spread a message to the public about the damages caused by single-use plastic products. The issue with the usage and dumping of single-use plastics into the ocean is largely prevalent in Indonesia, as the country is one of the four countries responsible for roughly half of the plastic found within the oceans, along with China, Vietnam and the Philippines. H

Oil spill causes state of emergency

National

In response to a major oil spill close to Huntington Beach on Oct. 2, California has declared a state of emergency for Orange County after over 125,000 gallons of oil spilled and spread into the Pacific Ocean. Through further investigation, it was discovered that the oil spill was caused by a torn underwater pipeline, and although the exact cause had yet to be confirmed, the damage is suspected to have been dealt by a ship’s anchor hitting the pipe.

The spill was not reported until nearly after it had occurred, leaving authorities scrambling to clean up the oil posing a serious public health threat, as well as endangering the biodiversity of the water. H

Ferry trips cut due to staff shortages

State

The Washington state ferry system is facing historic staffing shortages as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to mass cancelations in ferries, impacting the lives of Washington civilians. The mass staff shortage has come as a result of crew members either contracting COVID-19 and quarantining, or receiving vaccinations, which all state ferry employees are required to do

by Oct. 18, as per Gov. Jay Inslee’s statewide vaccination mandate. With only about 600 out of 1,800 crew members having submitted vaccination verification as of Sept. 16, the state ferry system is in danger of losing even more employees, and with increased difficulty training new staff due to the pandemic, and Washington ferry riders can expect increased travel delays in the coming months. H

Downtown buses now head to trains

Local

With the recent opening of the Northgate Link light rail to riders on Oct. 2, King County Metro is altering bus routes in order to better meet the needs of passengers while simultaneously accommodating for the opening of the new light rail stations in Northgate, Roosevelt and the University District. King County Metro has made smooth and convenient transfers their top priority while altering routes, and 27 bus routes have been changed in order to better assist passengers in accessing medical centers and offices within Seattle. As a result of these changes, 18 King County bus routes will be abolished and replaced with six new routes, many of which involve transfers at one of the new light rail stations. H

6 | OCTOBER 2021

OP/ED

Hawkeye

ROD BUDDEN | HAWKEYE

MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING ARE HERE

BUT ARE THEY WORKING?

By Rachel Davis and Maggie O’Hara HAWKEYE STAFF

A

llowing all students back into the building and slowing the spread of COVID-19 are the top priorities at MTHS. With the return of all students and staff to the building, this is now quite the challenge.

Over the summer, the Edmonds School District and MTHS staff worked to ensure a safe learning environment, but whether or not the social distancing measurements are good enough to prevent spread of COVID-19 is up for debate.

On the first day back in school, the hallways were shockingly crowded.

While it was great to be back, it felt like the start of another regular year with almost no social distancing at all.

After a year and a half of being advised to stay at least six feet away from other people, walking through crowded halls to get from class to class was alarming to say the least.

Senior Ainsley Ward, class of 2022 Vice President, shared a similar sentiment. Ward is one of the many students impacted by the pandemic.

She was one of the many students impacted by classes being shut down after three positive COVID-19 cases were identified in the first week of school.

“I was affected by one of the six classrooms. I was in Dremousis’ first period AP Government class,” Ward said. “The

class at the time had about 47 kids in more, rather strangely open and quiet. it, and for the first week or so, we were Even George Dremousis, the AP cramped into his classroom with kids sit- Government, U.S. History and Senior ting along the walls and standing in the Social Studies teacher, felt uneasy in his hallway while he spoke.” first few days of teaching. With his small Multiple classes faced the issue of classroom hidden in a tight corner on overcrowding, but AP Government and the first floor, attempting to shove more Politics was one of the worst examples. students into the room than could fit In only the proved to be “When news came out that I was first week of disastrous. exposed, I was fuming. I had thought school, all 47 “When I the school district didn’t do enough to students in had a class protect the students, especially ours the AP Gov with 30 with as big as it is.” class, as well physical seats as students and 40 plus Ainsley Ward CLASS OF 2022 ASB VP in five other students classes, were enrolled and sent into another with quarantine with almost no notice. The 38 students, I did not feel that there was event was sudden and no one knew what a safe working atmosphere,” Dremousis the future of being in-person would hold. said. “That being said, I did make repeat“When news came out that I was ed requests to make the size of those two exposed, I was fuming,” Ward said. “I classes smaller.” had thought the school district didn’t do Communication was extremely unclear enough to protect the students, especial- to all students, including those quaranly [the ones in that class] with [it being] tined. Those quarantined didn’t know as big as it is.” when they could return, and those still The news about the class closures in-person didn’t know what to expect wasn’t surprising at first. With the school moving forward. building reopening, students getting Eventually, things were starting to look COVID and having to quarantine was up. Students were told that with a vacinevitable. Still, six classes and over 140 cine card and a negative test result, they students home on only the fourth day could return the following day. showed a grim reality about the effects of “Luckily we soon figured out that if we COVID-19. reported our vaccination status, a negaIt was eerie coming into school on Sept. tive COVID test and presented with no 13. The hallways weren’t crowded anysymptoms, we could get back into the

building very quickly,” Ward said.

It was relieving to have people back in from the closure, and in the aftermath of this event, guidelines and restrictions changed. Teachers were required to enforce strict seating charts, ensuring students exposed to COVID could be tracked and quarantined with contact tracing. As of Sept. 27, the school also split the two pre-existing lunches into three: one before fourth, one in the middle and one after. Also, only two to three students are permitted to move from one advisory class to another, with extra emphasis on contact tracing.

While a lot of the measures in place are working, there are still problematic situations across the school. During nutrition break after first period, for example, it’s almost impossible to walk past the HUB with all of the students congregating to get snacks. The halls, especially the intersection at the top of the main stairway, are also packed as students leave after school.

A lot of changes have already been made to make MTHS safer since the first day of school, and more changes are sure to come. Going into the school year, many students’ outlook on staying inperson wasn’t optimistic.

After experiencing the social distancing measures firsthand, however, there’s more hope that the actions being taken to minimize the spread of COVID will be enough to keep us in-person and maintain some level of normalcy. H

Hawkeye

OP/ED

OCTOBER 2021 | 7

A practice banned here still impacts American teens

By Maria Gaviola

They found that rates of attempted suicide by minors of the LGBTQIA+ community whose parents tried to change It has been more than three years since the Washington their sexual orientation were more than 50 percent to 48 State Legislature banned conversion therapy on anyone percent, while the rate of LGBTQIA+ adults who reported under the age of 18, but the impact of this once accepted no conversion experiences said only 22 percent of them practice is still being felt among teens in more than half of attempted suicide. Also, the suicide attempts nearly tripled the country. for LGBTQIA+ minors who reported both home-based and Conversion therapy is a practice that goes back centuout-of-home efforts to change their sexual orientation. High ries, with the goal of converting those who identify as levels of depression more than doubled for LGBTQIA+ LGBTQIA+ to what society views minors whose parents tried to “There’s no way that you can be as a “normal” sexuality or gender change their sexual orientation as converted. It’s not a choice. The identity. S.B. 5722 was written with opposed to those who reported only thing conversion therapy the intent of banning therapists from no conversion experiences, jumpwould do is scare someone into performing conversion therapy on ing from 16 percent to 33 percent. pretending to be cis[gender] again. anyone under the age of 18 regardless The number more than tripled to Most of the actions that they take to convert someone can be of their sexuality or gender identity.

52 percent for LGBTQIA+ minors borderline abuse if not just genuine Still, conversion therapy on minors who reported both home-based and abuse in general.” remains legal in 26 states, more and out-of-home efforts to change their more of them have been banning the sexual orientation.

Soot Pederson SOPHOMORE practice. Since 2016, 97 individual “That [conversion therapy on cities have outlawed it as well as two U.S. territories and one minors] is even worse. I’m assuming it’s most likely going to school district. be parents or guardians that are going to be sending them, An early record of the practice of conversion therapy came which means you are essentially breaking your child’s trust from 1899, when a German scientist claimed that he “cured” by forcing them to be something they aren’t,” Pederson said. a gay man. At that point in time, homosexuality was viewed Then came S.B. 5722, which was introduced to the as a mental illness. Since then, many peoples’ views have Washington State Legislature on Feb. 6, 2017. S.B. 5722 changed, but unfortunately, there are still those who believe was written in hopes of restricting the practice of conversion this practice to be acceptable. This is why it has taken so long therapy on minors. Even though it took over a year, it was to get it banned. passed with 32 yeas and 16 nays on March 28, 2018 after a The practice of conversion therapy ranges from simple third reading. concepts like talking to a therapist or praying in a church to While both Pederson and Morrison agree that this law is more extreme practices such as electroshock therapy. Though important and a step in the right direction, they wish that electroshock therapy seems more harmful in the immediate it could have happened sooner so that more kids would be sense, they are actually both very harmful in their own way. protected from the lifelong effects of conversion therapy “I really don’t like it when parents don’t give support to and people forcing heterosexuality and cisgender ideas onto their kids, and then you know they [the parents] are saying them. it’s a phase or are trying to change them, especially if they are trying to use physical ways to try and change them,” MTHS sophomore Atlis Morrison said. “It might scar you and traumatize you for the rest of your life.”

While everyone’s experience with conversion therapy is different, many of the people who have undergone conversion therapy tend to have high levels of guilt, shame and hopelessness. They are also more likely to have depression, increased chances of substance abuse and thoughts of suicide. Research done at San Francisco State University on the effect of familial acceptance found that LGBTQIA+ youth who were rejected by their families because of their identity or were subjected to conversion therapy were more likely than their LGBTQIA+ peers who were not rejected or only mildly rejected by their families to attempt suicide, report high levels of depression or use illegal drugs.

“There’s no way that you can be converted. It’s not a choice.

The only thing conversion therapy would do is scare someone into pretending to be cis[gender] again. Most of the actions that they take to convert someone can be borderline abuse if not just genuine abuse in general,” MTHS sophomore Soot Pederson, a member of the MTHS GSA, said.

An organization focused on helping those facing conversion therapy is The Trevor Project, a national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning under the age of 25. The Trevor Project did a study on the mental health habits of minors who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community after going through conversion therapy as a minor compared to the mental health of LGBTQIA+ who had not.

HAWKEYE STAFF

However, since the passage of the bill in 2018, there has been some pushback against this law from those who still don’t accept LGBTQIA+ rights, or those who are driven by the money to be made from conversion therapy. On May 14, 2021, Brian Tingley, who was represented by the antiLGBTQIA+ advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a lawsuit trying to overturn the ban. He claimed that the law passed in 2018 that banned the practice of applying conversion therapy techniques on minors was a violation of his First Amendment rights.

The First Amendment prohibits any law limiting freedom with respect to religion, expression, peaceful assembly or the right of citizens to petition the government. According to Tingley, the ban on conversion therapy suppressed his freedom to practice his religion.

When brought in front of the court, Judge Robert J. Bryan of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington rejected Tingley’s claims alleging that the state’s conversion therapy ban is unconstitutional. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson added that the research is clear: conversion therapy does not work and can be particularly harmful to minors.

While this is one of the many court cases that has arisen regarding the ban of conversion therapy, Morrison said they feel that times are changing, and people are becoming more accepting.

“Times have changed. Even Christian religions are changing to be more accepting. I have also done research of my own, and actually, being gay or trans[gender] was actually never a sin, it was just misinterpreted. I know some priests and stuff who are gay, and I think people are just kind of making up excuses at this point to just get rid of the gays,” they said.

However, Morrison and Pederson both know there is still a lot more change that needs to take place, and they hope that it will happen soon. H

ROD BUDDEN | HAWKEYE

OP/ED

8 | OCTOBER 2021

Commentary

Hawkeye

A word from the principal

Two local iconic animals are favorites There’s much to celebrate at

W

henever my parents drive us near the Puget Sound I push my face up to the window and look for orca fins.

I’ve only ever seen a full orca on a TV screen, but spotting the top of an orca’s fin is fairly common.

I used to stare Rachel Davis OP-ED EDITOR at the water for hours trying to picture an orca jumping cleanly out, but alas, that day has yet to come. I love a lot of different sea creatures, but some I especially love are sea otters and orcas.

Most people who live in Washington can identify these two easily; some may have even seen them in the wild before.

In this edition of Rachel freaks out over the sea, I’ll be dishing out some fun facts about my favorite commonly known sea creatures.

Let’s start with some sea otter facts. The Enhydra Lutris, or what we call the sea otter, is native to the north and east Pacific Ocean.

While similar to the Lontra Canadensis, or river otter, there are some key differences.

For starters, the sea otter primarily lives in the water. They sleep floating on the surface wrapped in kelp, relying on their thick fur coat of one million hairs per square inch instead of blubber fat to stay warm.

For comparison, a snow leopard has 26,000 hairs per square inch. They are also fantastic swimmers. Mothers will typically wrap their babies in kelp to keep them attached as they

dip under the waves for a meal, which consist of sea urchins, crabs, clams, snails and other invertebrates.

The sea otter is a very fascinating creature, but I think a big part of my fondness for them comes from their adorableness.

Now, it may sound like I only like cute animals with big eyes and fuzzy fur, but other creatures catch my interest as well.

For example, the killer whale, commonly known as the orca, is one of the most famous sea mammals in the Pacific Northwest.

Orcas are associated with Indigenous communities around Washington, symbolizing good luck and compassion and being rumored to guide people back to their homeland after a tiring journey.

The male orca grows to about 32 feet in length while the females go up to about 28 feet, and both weigh up to 400 pounds.

Along with their physical traits, the way orcas communicate with each other is also very interesting. Typically, adult orcas will whistle or make their fins pulsate to send noise through the water.

Sometimes, they also do what is considered a “pec slap” where they slap their fins against the water to send signals to their calves or other adult orcas. While I love other sea creatures as well, the orca and the sea otter have become my favorites.

The creatures that live in the sea are some of the most genetically interesting living things to me. The way a fish works is completely different from a mammal, and it’s fascinating to learn more about the differences and similarities between them. H

as we wind down 1st quarter I

’d like to take a moment to talk about how amazing Homecoming Week was at MTHS. It felt just right to have the level of Homecoming energy that we had on campus – a full two years since our previous HC week. We were able to use Greg Schellenberg our brand new PRINCIPAL bleachers for the first time for assemblies. We have had our beautiful, black bleachers for nearly a year.

They were used for sports last spring, but this is the first time for an assembly. Junior and senior students should remember the previous set of old, grey bleachers – and the upgrade is astounding.

Regarding assemblies, I’d like to thank the ASB Big 6, Jeannie Brzovic, our cheerleaders, pep band, Darin Faul, Coach Malloy, students and staff for the energy and Hawk spirit. Stephanie Collins in the ASB office sold more than 650 tickets for the social, with long lines! Many people pitched in and contributed to a wonderful experience last week.

The homecoming football game and social event were fun, positive successes. Our team gave a valiant effort Friday night in pursuit of a win. The crowd was packed,

energetic, and in full support of our Terrace team. Saturday’s social event was terrific.

The weather cooperated with 60+ degrees and not a drop of rain. Students looked fantastic, dressed up and ready to have fun.

The mood on Saturday matched the rest of homecoming week – high energy, positivity, and Hawk Pride. Overall, homecoming spirit week, and the events last week, were a reminder of the privilege of being back to in person learning and how great it is to be able to do this again.

As we approach the end of quarter one, it is important to recognize that not everything may be going perfectly. As a school, we still are responding to students and families when help is necessary – everything from flexibility on homework assignments to financial resources for families, we are poised and ready to help out.

If you are in need, please communicate that to your teachers, counselors or a trusted adult at school. We want to be of service to you and we can begin that when we know how to help.

Thank you again for a terrific Homecoming Week. MTHS is truly a special place to be! Go Hawks! H EDITORS’ NOTE: The Hawkeye provides space on its Op/Ed

pages to many groups and individuals – including school officials - as part of our mission as a designated open public forum. We encourage all of our readers to submit letters to the editor and other forms of commentary. For more information, please see our policies either online or in the staff box on page 3

A word from the ASB

UNUSUAL? YES. BUT THAT WAS A HOMECOMING FOR THE AGES

By Kerensa Suzara BIG 6 PRESIDENT

H

ello everyone! It’s your Big Six President, Kerensa. I hope school is going well now that we have all settled into a routine. However, since this is the first school year back from a pandemic, we are limited on what we can do.

Despite that, we’re trying to make sure that we can all come together and follow some of the traditions that are most sacred to MTHS while also keeping everyone safe.

Despite all the restrictions we faced as a result of COVID, I’m so pleased that we were able to keep most of the homecoming traditions, with a few alterations, of course.

First of all, the hallways were decorated, the seniors with ‘90s, juniors with ‘70s, sophomores with the Roaring ‘20s, and the freshmen with Y2K. After spending so long in isolation and without the ability to follow those basic traditions, it was nice to see everyone enjoying the decorations and showing their creativity for each of the respective classes.

Another thing that was super refreshing to see was the participation during spirit days. Last year, since we were all learning from home, participation in spirit weeks was extremely difficult. Though we tried to get something going by asking students to send in pictures to the official Terrace Instagram page, since we weren’t able to be together, we couldn’t do as much as we hoped.

This year though, we got to be together, and I loved seeing all the participation in our spirit days. From monochrome vs.

“Homecoming 2021 was a success, and if anything, homecoming week has shown me that we can pull anything off if we put our minds to it.”

tie-dye to the class colors, it seemed like lots of people were participating, and that’s always super cool to see.

Now, we know that homecoming assemblies have been a huge part of Terrace tradition for a long time, and it was tricky for us as organizers to figure out how we were going to keep the tradition alive, while also following safety guidelines. Instead of abandoning the tradition completely, we decided to hold a separate assembly for each class so that the crowds would be smaller and we could all stay spirited while spread out in the gym.

We did our best to make sure that we kept our Terrace traditions alive at all of the assemblies, including the fight song, “Supersonic,” and “Ice Cream & Cake.”

Coronation was also a little different this year. Usually, we crown our homecoming royalty at an all-school assembly, but since we couldn’t do that this year, we had to find ways to compensate so we announced the coronation during halftime of the homecoming football game.

Although it isn’t how our typical assemblies go, I’m glad we were able to gather the classes individually and still have

fun. We hope that we were able to give everyone a somewhat normal experience.

If we thought the assemblies were tricky to organize, it was nothing in comparison to figuring out how to organize a fun yet safe homecoming dance. In the end, we decided that, to ensure the safety of our community while also maintaining an important Terrace tradition, we would hold a homecoming social outdoors, not as a dance, but rather a social event for people to mingle. We had music, food and a photobooth set up by HSM. Overall, I would say that Homecoming 2021 was a success, and if anything, homecoming week has shown me that we can pull anything off if we put our minds to it. Despite all the limitations we had to face, we were able to keep the most important Terrace traditions alive, and I hope that everyone felt connected to our amazing community that we have at Terrace. All the things that we once took for granted, such as spirit weeks and school dances, are now some of the most important things to our community, and I’m so grateful for everyone who helped keep some sense of normalcy going.

Also, ASB is always looking for feedback, so if you have any ideas for future spirit days or just want to share your thoughts with us, we’re always around, and we are here for you. Our goal is to serve all of our students, and if there’s anything we can do to make school more enjoyable for you, we want to do all we can to make that happen. H

NEWS

Hawkeye

OCTOBER 2021 | 9

ADDING A THIRD LUNCH TAKES A OUT OF 4TH PERIOD CLASSES

By Terina Papatu HAWKEYE STAFF

Since the beginning of the school year, officials at MTHS have made several changes to ensure the safety of students and staff.

One way this was done was through the change of the entire bell schedule in order to lessen the crowds in the hallways.

Originally, the MTHS schedule consisted of two lunches, with one before fourth period and the other after. In an attempt to follow social distancing measures, MTHS staff decided to add a third lunch to the schedule, one of them being halfway through fourth period in addition to the two from before.

The new schedule changed the class times as well, taking five minutes off of most classes. The change has affected everyone in very different ways, some losing friends and others needing help finding their lunches, especially when the new schedule was first announced.

For example, freshman Jenna Oh’s schedule was changed to a second lunch.

“I guess I’ve just lost a lot of people. I don’t care much other than the fact you have to leave fourth period and then come back,” Oh said. “At least you can walk around the HUB without a backpack now.”

Junior Sierra Sonko shared a similar sentiment.

However, while she wasn’t thrilled with losing friends, she has embraced the opportunity to make new ones.

“My best friends, they’re not in my lunch anymore, but I’ve made more friends,” Sonko said.

Some students, including freshman Jade Lim, had a hard time adjusting to the longer time between meals.

“I was used to having first lunch but now I have third, so I’m hungry in fourth period,” Lim said.

Changing the schedule is nothing new, but changes are usually made before the school year starts. All students and staff understand that COVID safety and protocols are important, but many believe that it would have been easier to adjust to the changes if it were earlier rather than nearly a month after the start of the school year.

“They should’ve changed it at the beginning of the year,” Sonko said.

Junior Elise Colvin agreed.

“It was a necessary change, but I didn’t like how they did it in the middle of September,” Colvin said.

According to Principal Greg Schellenberg, another one of the reasons for the change was the weather, since

As a result, less and less people are motivated to eat outside as temperatures begin to fall. With more people eating inside with masks off, changes were necessary.

“There’s not a lot of kids at lunch anymore, even when basically everyone is just inside now,” Argueta said.

With the third lunch in place, fewer students congregate at once, limiting contact and making lunches much safer. While the change seemed sudden, most students seem to feel that it was necessary.

Another part of the schedule that changed along with the lunches was the days of the week ROD BUDDEN | HAWKEYE in which students have an advisory period. With the new bell schedule, students have advisory every single day instead of three days a week.

While the students attend advisory every day, the length has been shortened, from about 40 minutes to 20.

“The one thing I don’t like is the PASS classes, [and] how short they are now,” Colvin said.

Colvin also noticed that leaders throughout the school, such as ASB and Connect Crew, have found it difficult to plan and prepare for activities with the limited time provided by the advisory period.

With the new schedule, every class begins and ends at a time that ends with a “0” or a “5” making class times much easier to remember.

With this change, and only having one schedule for a regular five-day week, most students have found the schedule has been easier to adapt to.

However, some students had their entire schedule changed and found out only after showing up to their classes.

“They switched my schedule on Wednesday, and they only told me I had a new schedule while I was in PE, and I didn’t enjoy that,” Argueta said.

However, she didn’t mind it after the first day of the The (schedule) change has affected change. everyone in very different ways, some With all of the constant changes in students’ schedlosing friends and others needing help ules and the addition of another lunch, most students finding their lunches, especially when the agree that it’s a great benefit to be able to remember new schedule was first announced. when classes start and begin. Until now, MTHS students and staff have commented about having to fall has begun and temperatures are dropping. Prior to remember the different schedules for different days. the changing of the schedule, some students were eating There were countless remarks about the classes ending outside to limit the number of people in the lunchroom. at odd times, like first period being over at 8:13 a.m. on “Washington is basically made for rain,” freshman non-advisory days and 8:06 a.m. on the days with an Sophia Argueta said. advisory period in the schedule. H

OP/ED

10 | OCTOBER 2021

Hawkeye

What I’ve learned o G

ender was a foreign concept to me as a child, something I never paid much attention to until crisis came and smacked me in the face. Like most of my peers at the time, my biggest concern was waking up early enough on Saturday mornings to catch old Pokémon reruns, but unlike a lot of my peers, I felt Nico Francois overly self-conscious CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF about my gender and how I was perceived.

Growing up in a cisnormative society was a lot for my walnut-sized child brain. The gender binary was everywhere, from unnecessarily gendered products like gardening tools to frequent offhand comments from adults telling me that the way I sat “wasn’t very lady-like” or that my male friend “threw like a girl.”

I could never fully comprehend any of it. Did the way in which I sat in a chair or my clothing choices really dictate my gender? It was a confusing topic for me, and I only knew that I wanted to fit in, so I mimicked the behavior and style choices of those around me despite how uncomfortable it made me feel. I continuously hoped that this “gender” thing the adults seemed to care so much about would make sense sooner or later.

Sooner then became later, and later then became never as I hit my teenage years. The discomfort I had felt as a child was enhanced tenfold by the time I hit puberty, and all I felt was constant frustration with myself for not feeling comfortable in my own skin.

I constantly questioned why it was that whenever I saw women draped in elegant dresses and gleaming jewels, I thought they were stunning, but whenever I saw myself donned in anything similar, it just didn’t feel right, I didn’t feel like “me.”

I tried my best to brush off any discomfort, because for the longest time I thought, “Ah, yes, this is just teenage insecurity, the type that every girl in those cheesy coming-of-age movies feels. I’ll have some weird epiphany and poof, it will vanish.”

The one functioning brain cell I had left failed me once again in this regard, as the “coming-ofage” realization I had was not one in which all of my insecurities disappeared and were replaced with unwavering confidence, but one in which I had realized, “Oh, refusing to look at myself in the mirror and hating being treated like a girl maybe isn’t normal… Hmm, weird.”

I wouldn’t have come to this realization without the help of my consistent and trusty friend, a friend who had never failed me once before.

Well, I guess it did tell me on occasion that I had some incurable disease or something, but other

GENDER DY

than that, this friend, by the name of Google, had always come through for me, and this was no exception.

I spent hours typing symptoms into the search bar and clicking on the corresponding articles, and finally, at 2 a.m. I connected the dots and realized that what I had been consistently feeling was gender dysphoria. The bold black definition on the National Health Service website was as clear as day.

“Gender dysphoria is a term that describes a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity.

This sense of unease or dissatisfaction may be so intense it can lead to depression and anxiety and have a harmful impact on daily life.”

Although further research solidified the fact that trans people don’t need to experience gender dysphoria to be trans, I found the symptoms of gender dysphoria relatable to my personal experience.

Having a label for the feelings I had been experiencing was nothing short of exhilarating, and in the coming weeks, I formed a stronger bond with Google than ever before. I found myself spending night after night researching and reading through various articles and posts, hungry for more information to explain how I was feeling.

Finally, after many articles and much thinking, I realized that I was comfortable and somewhat confident in labeling myself as nonbinary and using they/them pronouns. Unfortunately, I was only comfortable using my preferred name and pronouns in the comfort of my own mind and closet, as coming out wasn’t an easy task for my interaction-fearing self.

After months of constantly bickering with myself, I came to the conclusion that I should

NICO FRANCOIS | HAWKEYE

Hawkeye

OP/ED

OCTOBER 2021 | 11

on my journey with

DYSPHORIA come out, at least to one person, because I thought, “I can’t bottle everything up forever, what do I even have to lose anyway?”

I decided to dump my secret onto the only person I knew who could handle any information I threw at them and be immediately willing to adapt to my changing situation. This person is my partner, Mo, who I’d known for over 10 years at the time, and who I knew would accept me even if I was secretly a deep sea lizard creature. I had casually come out to them during an unrelated conversation, and was immediately bombarded with caring questions that gave me a little bit more confidence in myself and my identity.

“Do you want me to correct other people? Do you just prefer they/them, or other pronouns too?” they asked.

What happened from there was like a domino effect. I came out to my partner, they accepted me and adapted, which then gave me the confidence to come out to my close friends, who accepted me. This gave me the courage to try and jump over a large mental hurdle as the 2021 school year approached: come out to my teachers.

I had always seen teachers as superior beings, and frankly, I was too scared to talk to most of them up until that point out of fear that I would be bugging them with unimportant nonsense. But, thanks to a few close friends, I gathered up the courage to hit the “send”

button on six different emails, one to each of my teachers, explaining my situation and how I would like to be referred to in order to help make the classroom environment a better place for me.

Most responded to my emails, assuring me that they would do their best to make sure I felt as comfortable as possible in their classes, and this is when I realized the importance of communication, especially for a hermit such as myself. I had previously flexed my communication muscles when coming out to my friends, and again when coming out to my teachers. Although I had laid out my preferred name and pronouns to those around me, I knew that for many, it would be a bit of an adjustment.

So, here are a few tips to make environments more comfortable. These are tips that I personally find helpful to give others, but remember, everyone is different.

Everyone is unique, and their preferences might be different from mine. This is where that handy dandy thing known as communication comes in. Don’t be afraid to ask others clarifying questions, it will help down the road, because in terms of how you refer to someone, word choice could potentially ruin, or brighten, someone’s day.

My first tip, always ask someone their preferred name and pronouns. To follow up this question, ask when, where and in front of whom it’s okay to use said name and pronouns.

If someone responds with, “Only use this set of pronouns in a school environment” then only use it in a school environment.

If someone says, “Feel free to use these pronouns in front of anyone” then feel free to do so. It’s all about communication, boundaries and respect.

My next tip: practice using others’ names and pronouns when alone. When having a passing thought about the person, adjust your brain to using the correct pronouns. Whether it’s spoken externally or thought internally, practice makes perfect. Soon enough, almost flawless correct pronoun usage will become a reality and someone’s day could be saved.

Although messing up is almost inevitable, what’s most important is to try to adapt, and when slip-ups happen, correct yourself nonchalantly and move on with the conversation.

My final tip, correct others who are deadnamed or misgendered if given permission by the person to do so.

Personally, I’ve found it difficult to advocate for myself at times, and correcting others about my pronouns can put me in an uncomfortable situation. But when my friends correct others for me, either when I am or am not there, I personally feel at ease that someone else is advocating for me when I’m unable to do so, and it’s helped me to feel more accepted within the school community.

What my experience coming out has shown me is that everyone is more than capable of adapting. It may be difficult at times, but there’s nothing that a little communication and determination can’t do, especially when you have the power to make someone’s day just a bit brighter. H

NICO FRANCOIS | HAWKEYE

EZRA FENWICK | HAWKEYE

12 | OCTOBER 2021

COVID Coverage

NEWS

Hawkeye

Class sizes a challenge to the safe return to school

By Jonah Paulsene

“Overall, there were a lot of issues, not responsibility placed on students to maintain just with big classes, but classes not being their education. balanced,” Assink said. “They ended up putThe return to in-person school this year “In math, we know that Mathway [a mathting 20 kids in my class and 36 in Mrs. Leehad many students hesitantly optimistic. For solving website] was the number one student Henning’s class.” more than half the students in the school, last year,” Assink said.

These problems surrounding class balancit would be their first step in the halls of As a result of the lack of a baseline for variing are due to the pandemic and how it MTHS. Even the returning junior class ous classes, many teachers have started the hindered the typical process that the adminhad only spent a little over half a year in school year slower than previous years in an istration and counselors use to organize the the building before the pandemic began in attempt to make the return more manageschedules and meet the needs of the roughly March of 2020. Students were eager to walk able for students.

1400 students who attend MTHS. the halls with their friends and seemed conThe transition back to in-person school In a normal school year, a master schedule tent with never logging into another Zoom has been inevitably difficult for everyone at is made in June, and the counselors have call again.

MTHS and required a tremendous amount time during the end of the previous school However, the first day of school was much of effort from the administration and staff to year and in August to make final adjustmore hectic and confusing than anticipated. try and reopen school safely under the guidements and clean up Teachers had classes that were packed with lines of Gov. Jay Inslee.

“We have been focusing way any rough spots they students. Some students even had classes Despite all of the too much on the academic side may find. However, the with no teachers. These problems, along with complications involved of school. But school is not just pandemic delayed the the fact that many were walking the halls of with going in-person, about learning academics. We creation of a master MTHS for the first time, led to a stressful many are enjoying this need to encourage students to schedule until August, first day. year significantly more have fun again at school.” leaving a tight window The AP U.S. Government and Politics than last year’s distance David Assink to finalize classes and class was the most severe case of overcrowdlearning.

MATH DEPARTMENT CHAIR get schedules to stued classrooms. Despite having 30 physical Ignoring the anxiety dents by Sept. 7. seats, the class was enrolled with 46 students involved with contact tracing and the spread “We didn’t have that grace period this on the first day of school. This led to many of the virus, the return to in-person school school year. It was a scramble to make things has been beneficial for students and teachstudents being forced to stand or sit on the work,” Bradley Serka, one of the counselors, floor, with some even being outside of the ers. Not only are students more engaged in said. classroom. learning again, but this year has also shown The unpredictable nature of the pandemic George Dremousis, the AP U.S. everyone just how isolated they’ve all been in caused a lack of knowledge on what this Government teacher, was stressed about the past year and a half. Most students also school year would even look like or how squeezing so many students into the small seem to be appreciating the social aspect of many students would be attending in person school as well, especially being able to hang if possible, consequently making scheduling out with friends in-person again. for the 2021-2022 school year especially difThis negligence to the social aspect of ficult for the counselors. school as highlighted by the pandemic has “The counselors worked very, very hard to made students and staff reconsider the funcbalance classes out. They did an amazing tions of school in addition to passing on the job,” Principal Greg Schellenberg said. academics.

Due to the lack of knowledge on how “We have been focusing way too much on to return to in-person school safely, some the academic side of school,” Assink said. scheduling changes were made after the “But school is not just about learning acastart of the school year once teachers and demics. We need to encourage students to administration were able to observe conflicts have fun again at school.” with the original model and make necesWhile the return to in-person school has sary adjustments. The most major of these been stressful, students and staff alike have adjustments was the shift to a three lunch found that some changes brought forth by schedule. the pandemic have proved beneficial. For “We had 100 to 150 students eating outexample, the use of digital hall passes has side, but with cold and wet weather commade many students and staff wonder why ing we knew moving all those students it was ever a physical item everyone had to inside wasn’t going to be very feasible,” touch. The revised schedule is much easier to Schellenberg said. remember now and includes advisory every While the adaptation is necessary for the day as a period for help, or simply just work safety of everyone in the building, the decitime. sion occurred a few weeks into the school The improved sanitation in classrooms is year had a negative impact on many students. beneficial for everyone in the building. These “The addition of a third lunch time frame improvements not only help reduce spread of in late September has disrupted this time for the virus, but contribute to a better school many students and lost some of their social experience for the school community. connections,” Serka said.

Overall, while there is still a palpable From a teacher’s perspective, there are amount of anxiety and stress being in school additional issues that originate from the with over 1400 individuals during a panindependence of the isolated learning of last demic, there is also a bittersweet relief in its year. Teachers must take into account that own way. some students are at different levels than “Any day that we have that is not in remote George Dremousis taught one of his history classes outside in the amphitheater to accommodate others depending on their work and the large learning is a good day,” Schellenberg said. H all 46 students earlier this year. The class now meets in the theater. CAROLINE SHYNSHYN | HAWKEYE HAWKEYE STAFF

room and decided to take his class to a bigger area.

“After a couple days of that nonsense we decided to take them outside of the counseling office in that outdoor amphitheater,” Dremousis said. “It was okay, but it wasn’t a perfect solution.”

The fresh air was a nice change from the crowded classroom, but anticipating the cold and harsh weather of the fall, Dremousis knew he couldn’t teach in the amphitheater forever and later requested to teach the class inside the school theater.

“I just said I’ll just volunteer to teach it in the theater,” Dremousis said. “We do a lot of lecture style teaching anyhow, so for me it’s not that big of a change.”

Now, Dremousis teaches AP Government in the theater, similar to a small college class, with the current enrollment of 42 students.

In spite of the frustrating first few days, Dremousis still commends the administration for their hard work.

“I think the administration has done a good job,” Dremousis said. “There’s no perfect playbook for handling a pandemic, so they’ve done the best they can.”

David Assink, the Math Department chair, said he believes that scheduling issues are not simply about classes with too many students, but classes that have too few students as well.

Hawkeye

LIFESTYLE

OCTOBER 2021 | 13

HOMECOMING 2021

CELEBRATION BRINGS MUCH NEEDED JOY

By Kaylee Miyamoto HAWKEYE STAFF

For many years, MTHS has held a Homecoming dance, but this year’s homecoming events were different.

In September, elected ASB and Big Six met together to decide what will be of this year’s homecoming plans. ASB hoped for this year’s events to show that the school’s community would not give up despite restrictions.

“Homecoming is a huge community-building event. Homecoming is what brings us together,” ASB adviser Jeannie Brzovic said.

The week was planned in hopes of bringing the school together despite the pandemic, and Principal Greg Schellenberg said he appreciated seeing the work the ASB put into making the best out of a suboptimal situation.

“I appreciate the Big Six effort in coordinating homecoming traditions and events,” he said.

While Schellenberg understood that Homecoming wouldn’t be like previous years, his hope was that the communitybuilding aspect of it would remain.

Traditions such as a coronation, hallway decorating and the Homecoming football game were kept, while the dance and an all-school assembly were pulled out due to COVID restrictions. The school theme this year was “going through time,” and class themes were centered around different eras.

The senior theme was a throwback to retro pop culture, aiming for a broad and ambiguous atmosphere for senior students to enjoy.

While the juniors entered a disco wonderland, sophomores danced their way into the Roaring ‘20s and freshmen settled into the Y2K era.

Instead of a traditional homecoming dance, the ASB decided to host a ‘’Homecoming Social under the stars.” In an effort to follow COVID protocols, the event was held outside, in the MTHS courtyard. To account for the cold autumn weather, space heaters were strategically placed throughout the courtyard, and from 8 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16, the courtyard was lit up and filled with music and food. As it turned out, there was no rain and temperatures hovered in the low 60s.

While the dress code was formal, many brought jackets as it was late in the night and cold, and just as with previous events, certain COVID protocols remained in place.

Just like the many homecoming events in the past, students needed to get a ticket beforehand to enter. While many students were concerned that a vaccine card would be required to buy tickets for the event and

HOMECOMING ‘21 COURT

Freshman Court: Quinn Harmon, Kaylee Miyamoto, Max Young Freshman Royalty: Kim Banh, Billy Pham, Jeslyn Vuong Sophomore Court: Arian Motaghedi, Natalie Cardin, Natalie Streuli Sophomore Royalty: Sean Brouwer, Dani Cortezzo, Adam Wallis Junior Court: Seth Meyers, Ishah Musa, Mya Sheffield Junior Royalty: Mason Cutler, Auvae Levao, Laraine Sims Senior Court: Matthew Choi, Malia Dominique, Kerensa Suzara Senior Royalty: Matthew Gesese, Lindsey Ho, Damaris Ibrahim

attend, this was not the case.

Within two days of being available, homecoming tickets sold out. According to Brzovic, ASB sold twice the amount of tickets as anticipated.

Tickets were $10 each, but for one day, they were sold for $5 with an ASB card as a special sale. Many students got their tickets as soon as they could, and they also secured guest passes, which were available as long as the guest was a student in the Edmonds School District.

Some students were concerned that, since the event was held outside, the weather would ruin the day. In order to account for that, tents lined with string lights were placed over the courtyard.

In order to follow all CDC guidelines, students were originally required to reserve tables, with only six students to each one.

However, due to the volume of ticket sales, the ASB decided to make it an open seating system while still limiting the number of students allowed per table. Students were required to sign their names after choosing tables so that contact tracing could be done in case a student tested positive for COVID. A big concern surrounding the Homecoming Social was the safety of the event in terms of COVID. Since students were not required to get tested or vaccinated prior to the event, extra precautions were necessary. However, Schellenberg said that if a student tests positive for COVID-19, contact tracing will be performed, just like it would on a regular school day.

“The entire school will not be shut down, and we will just perform contact tracing for those who identify as close contacts,” he said.

Another tradition that had to be slightly altered was the coronation of the Homecoming Court. Traditionally, winners would be announced during an assembly, but as a result of the need to follow social distancing measures, the assembly occurred

The freshman hallway focused on the grungy style of the early 2000s music, culture and street art. SOVANROM | HAWKEYE

The senior hallway evoked the strange, nostalgic designs of the 1990s by plastering the walls with bright colors from the era along with pop culture references. SOVANROM | HAWKEYE across several days and was split up by class.

Since the ASB couldn’t announce the results to the entire school on the same day, things were a little different this school year.

The homecoming election is a tradition in which the school votes for three royals and three for the court of each class, adding up to 12 royals and 12 for the court in total.

Just like many years before, teachers, as well as clubs, nominated two students per grade.

These students were reduced down to a list through teacher voting, and eventually, students received a ballot to vote for their Homecoming Court.

Voting took place the week before homecoming week, and royalty was decided by Oct. 11. Instead of announcing the results at the homecoming assembly as they normally would, ASB announced them at the Homecoming game, the day before the social.

The Homecoming football game against Lynnwood had an amazing student turnout to watch the Hawks play against Lynnwood High School. The Homecoming royalty was announced during half-time and the pep band showed up to play during the game.

The tradition of the Spirit Drum was kept this year as well. The Spirit Drum is coordinated by MTHS’s Band Director Darin Faul, in which different student volunteers

continuously hit a bass drum for 24 hours before the Homecoming game, from eight p.m. the night before until kickoff.

Spirit day themes were also decided among the Big Six, and posters were up by early October. Monday, Oct. 11, was monochrome vs. tie-dye, Tuesday was matching in pairs or even groups of students, and Wednesday was a battle of emo or grunge against soft aesthetic fashion. With the school theme, Thursday was the “going through time” era by class day, and lastly, on Friday, the theme was class colors.

Class Hall decorations were, as tradition, judged by people of Schellenberg’s choice.

The class with the best decor based on the theme won $500 in funding for their class prom. Seniors hoped for a “very broad” and “ambiguous” theme, with retro posters and references to music and pop culture from back in the ’80s and ’90s. Juniors went for a very bright and colorful display, groovy decor, and posters. Sophomores decorated with bunches of gold and black to go with the iconic themes of the Roaring ‘20s. Lastly, freshmen brought back icons from the Y2K era like Mariah Carey and Destiny’s Child. The winners were announced at the Homecoming football game to be the senior class, getting $500 more for their prom later this year. H

14 | OCTOBER 2021

LIFESTYLE

Hawkeye

THE FUTURE FOR THE CLASS OF 2022

Life after high school is coming: So, what should seniors be doing?

By Ritika Khanal CO-EDIOTR-IN-CHIEF

T

he 2020-2021 school year is well underway, and for seniors, so is the quest to figure out what to do after graduating high school.

Under normal circumstances, seniors would have heard all about their options from various sources, from trade schools, to community colleges, to four year institutions. However, as a result of the pandemic and the closure of schools for a year and a half, instead of being guided by the school, students had to do the research themselves.

For those who planned to apply to go to college, the question of the SAT emerged.

For years, the SAT had served as the college admissions test, with every student being required to take it if they wished to get into college.

“I took that SAT as a junior, and so much has changed since then,” counselor Amy Wiskerchen said.

As a result of the pandemic, many students were unable to access the SAT their junior year, as they would have normally done.

With the inequities this created, many colleges made the decision to make the SAT optional, and some, like the University of Washington, (UW) chose to become “SAT blind.”

“When reading your application, the reviewers will not see your test scores if provided,” the UW website stated.

While most institutions have gone for “test optional,” this can mean different things for each one. In the case of UW, for example, the scores are not considered at all in the application process even if submitted, hence the term “SAT blind.” However, in the case of institutions such as Harvard, if a student submits an SAT score, that score will be considered but is not required in order to get into the school.

“Students should really be looking at the websites of the colleges they are thinking about going to,” counselor Brad Serka said. “Every school is different, and especially now, it’s important that you do your research.”

Throughout the month of October, the four MTHS counselors have made visits to each senior English class with a presentation to help guide seniors. Attending this presentation is mandatory for every senior and counts as one of their Naviance tasks.

Those without an English class, or those who were not in attendance on the day of the presentation will be contacted by counselors to receive the information from the presentation at a later date.

Each year, apply to.

“We recommend that students print this students have Secondly, if a sheet out and give it to their teachers when completed student wishes they ask for a letter of recommendation.” various tasks to apply to a priAllison Hong on Naviance, vate school such COUNSELOR meeting as UC Berkeley, graduation Harvard, or requirements in the process. However, Gonzaga University, those schools typically Naviance also serves as the connection require a letter of recommendation from a between students and colleges. teacher or counselor, and regardless of what “The process is a little weird, but Common school a student applies to, transcripts and App makes it relatively easy for us,” Serka other information will be called for. said. “You have to match your Common App “Also, students can request their letters of application to Naviance, and that way, we recommendation directly through Naviance, [the counselors] can see what information and when that Common App application is needs to be submitted to each school and matched to Naviance, the teacher can submit what the deadlines are and everything.” their letter of recommendation right in there Common App is one of the programs coland it makes it nice and easy,” counselor leges use for their application process. While Rebecca Brennan said. it is the most well known program and is When it comes to letters of recommendaused by most colleges, some use other protions, all four counselors advised that stugrams or have applications of their own. For dents should request early. example, in order to fill out the application “Don’t ask us for a letter of rec the week for UW, students must use a program called before its due, and take into account the holCoalition. idays,” Serka said. “I’ve had students ask me According to all four counselors, the the day before it’s due, and I do it because Common App is the easiest application to I’m a nice guy, but they probably wished they fill out for a variety of reasons. Firstly, if a hadn’t asked me since I didn’t have time to student wants to apply to five colleges, and put my best work into it.” all are on the Common App, they can fill out In order to receive a letter of recommendathe application once and send it to all five. tion from an MTHS teacher or counselor, However, with colleges that have their own students are asked to fill out a brag sheet application process, the steps aren’t quite so prior to asking for a letter. As the name sugsimple, and a student might have to fill out gests, a brag sheet allows students to “brag” a different application for every college they about themselves and list their best quali-

NICO FRANCOIS | HAWKEYE

ties, activities they are involved in in and out of school and anything else that they think could help their teachers or counselors write the best letter possible. This sheet can be found under the counselor section on the MTHS website.

Each college has an application fee when applying, and for some students, this can be a serious financial barrier. However, if the student is on free and reduced lunch, most colleges have an option to waive that fee.

“If it’s through Common App, I’ll have something where I can just approve that you’re on free and reduced lunch and the application fee can just get waived,” Brennan said.

In addition, once accepted into a college, tuition, books and housing can get extremely expensive. As a result, scholarships and the Free Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) are here to help.

The FAFSA is an application that all current college students and incoming college students across the United States can fill out to find out their eligibility for financial aid.

Based on family income, students may be eligible for some or all of their college tuition to be paid for.

“The sooner you get the FAFSA in, the better,” Serka said.

In addition to the FAFSA, students can apply for a variety of scholarships. On the counselor section of the MTHS website, an MTHS scholarship application can be found.

“Once you fill that out, we can match scholarships to your needs and you’re eligible for a bunch of scholarships,” Hong said.

Along with this application, there are many websites that offer a multitude of scholarships.

“You just have to be careful of scholarship scams. If they’re telling you have to pay money to apply, that’s a scam,” Serka said.

“But there are so many scholarships out there. You could literally get one for being left-handed. It’s just a matter of applying.”

Normally, MTHS has a career specialist that can help students with the FAFSA, scholarships and college applications.

However, this year, MTHS is still trying to hire someone to take this position on.

“We usually have a career specialist that helps out with all the scholarships and stuff like that, so we’re trying to hire for that position right now,” Brennan said.

“Once we get that person hired, they’ll be able to answer all the scholarship questions and help students out with whatever they need. In the meantime, we’re doing what we can.”H

Hawkeye

SPORTS

OCTOBER 2021 | 15

FEATURE

STUDENT BY DAY, CHAMPION ARCHER BY NIGHT

By Nico Francois CO-EDIOTR-IN-CHIEF

I

f it weren’t for her father’s overwhelming sense of boredom and the presence of her newborn baby sister, sophomore Gabrielle Sasai may have never picked up archery, the sport that has led her to make her mark on the state, the nation and the world.

Sasai’s archery journey began at the young age of six, with her father’s interest in taking archery courses to spend time away from her infant sister. While Sasai was reluctant at first to join her father in the sport, claiming that archery was a “boy’s sport,” one particular experience at the shooting range was enough to change her mind.

“All of a sudden this group of immaculate teenage girls in blue shirts walked in, and I was like, woah, I guess I am intrigued,” Sasai said.

Sasai’s encounter with women in archery ignited a passion in her that never dwindled, despite the common misconceptions about being a talented young athlete in the sport.

“People say a lot, ‘You’re so good for your age.’ I think that is not what we should be saying,” Sasai said. “What you should be saying is, ‘You are good.’ You are not good for your age, you are just a good athlete.”

Sasai may detest statements that correlate age with athletic skill, but on top of being a young athlete in archery, she is also a female in a predominantly male sport, which has led to a variety of misunderstandings and stereotypes.

“A misconception about women in sports is that we need to be handicapped,” Sasai said. “I think the conception that the sport needs to be slightly modified for us is not the case.

I think that we could compete with men in an open category and that could honestly benefit the sport in a sense because it would greatly broaden the competition field.”

Despite the frequent misconceptions about women in sports, archery included, Sasai praises archery for being one of the sports that attempts to put men and women on a more equal playing field. This is often achieved through mixed team rounds, where one male and one female compete together in order to gain the winning title.

“We have to see each other as equals, and almost everywhere it’s done really well. There’s almost no imbalance in how you’re treated among your athletes,” Sasai said.

Equal treatment from fellow athletes has driven Sasai forward during her competitions, and getting to mingle and compete with fellow archers has given her invaluable life lessons to take with her on her journey.

“Very big moments of self discovery for me happened at archery, whether it be applying a philosophy I learned in archery to my regular life or the people that I met because they’re not just athletes,” Sasai said, “They’re people too.”

Along with the lessons learned through archery and various competitions, Sasai has also experienced great successes that only fuel her athletic passions.

The first of her major successes came with the first time Sasai won a national competition, the indoor U.S. National Archery Championship.

“I think I was nine or 10, one of those two. That was the first time I won nationals,” Sasai said. “The year after, so [age] 10 or 11, is when I got my first national record. Then I think a year and a half or two years after that, I made my first U.S. national team, when I was 12 going on 13.”

Although Sasai has accomplished much within the world of archery, no success comes without challenges and a lot of hard work. Through her years of archery, Sasai has hit countless bumps in the road, but overcoming those bumps is what led her from being a decent athlete to being a phenomenal one, capable of setting national records.

“The biggest challenge I had was going from good to great, and that is a sort of jump that everyone in a sport has to make when you’re just on the brink of reaching the next level,” Sasai said. “I tried to overcome that by just sitting down, reflecting and just looking at myself from an outsider perspective, whether that be actually watching myself shoot or listening to other people’s perspectives.”

While working towards improving herself and her skills, Sasai has centered herself around one main goal; to see how far archery can take her, where she can travel, what opportunities she can seize and how far she can go before her life as a professional athlete is over.

“If anything, no good things last forever, and you have to move on eventually from it,” Sasai said. “I just wanna see how long I can stay on this crazy journey in life.”

Outside of traveling for archery competitions, Sasai is a full time high school student, balancing her school, home and sports life. When she isn’t studying or shooting arrows, Sasai loves indulging in various hobbies, such as playing video games, learning various instruments and kickboxing.

“I use this strategy called compartmentalization, which I highly advocate for any very active student athletes, which is where school is at school, home is at home and sport is at sport. When you’re at home, you are relaxing, you are winding down, you are not thinking of the other two,” Sasai said.

Although Sasai has already accomplished extraordinary feats at her age, her skill didn’t come without hard work and a constant drive to do better. Her diligence, along with the support of her parents, has carried her a long way.

Throughout Sasai’s archery journey, her dad has always been her biggest supporter, always cheering her on, whether it be next to her or from the sidelines.

“He was always with me through the successes and through the hard times. When I needed things, he made sure I got them. If I wanted something to try, he’d make sure I’d be able to try it. To this day, he still tries his best to make sure everything happens for me,” Sasai said.

While Sasai has had a great network of friends and family to help support her career throughout the years, what has really made her stand out from young athletes is her willingness to go above and beyond, something she thinks that all young athletes wanting to achieve something bigger should do.

“Do what others will not do. That means communicating, making connections, so people can tell you what they’re doing so you can apply it to yourself and see if it works for you,” Sasai said. “It means putting in that extra effort that you might feel isn’t necessary at the time, but later you might think that could have been it. Those little things add up, it may take time, but they do add up.”

While not everyone may be very skilled in a sport yet, or even participating in a sport, experience is key to expertise within any area of interest, and anyone is capable of pursuing their passions.

“I think that anyone and everyone can do whatever they put their mind to as long as they have the drive,” Sasai said.

“And they don’t just say that they do, they show it in their actions.”H

One of the top archers in the United States, sophomore Tsu Sasai recently began a new chapter in her archery journey as she joined the Hoyt Team. Sasai recommends that student athletes learn how to compartmentalize their lives in order to focus and be successful. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY TSU SASAI

16 | OCTOBER 2021

SPORTS

Hawkeye

COVID Coverage

Sports and COVID – a tough mix

By Terina Papatu HAWKEYE STAFF

Over these past two years, everyone’s life has been heavily impacted by the pandemic.

One concern at the school is how the sports teams will proceed during the school year.

As a result of COVID-19, adjustments have had to be made.

Now that football, tennis, volleyball, women’s soccer and other sports have returned, many are confused about sports, game schedules and how they’re impacted.

One of the first changes impacting all athletes has been their practices. Safety precautions in football, for example, have changed since last year. Last year, athletes played with masks and followed social distancing guidelines as much as possible. During games, fans weren’t allowed for most of the season, and eventually, crowds were limited.

“This year we don’t have to wear masks under our helmets,” senior Landon Woolley, varsity wide receiver, said.

Heather Kerns, middle player for C-team volleyball, revealed that last year, the volleyball players had to wear two masks and wipe down the volleyballs after using them during practice.

When it comes to outside sports, the players don’t have to wear masks, which makes practice much easier for them.

“It’s nice to be able to practice without wearing masks,” junior Jasmyn Wacker, midfielder for women’s JV soccer, said.

Fortunately, this year athletes don’t have to wear more than one mask, which makes it slightly easier to run.

Sara Hall, the JV volleyball coach, said that having more people trying out and joining the team is “helpful for team bonding” even though it’s tough with all of the restrictions due to COVID. Many of the changes affecting the sports teams are more directed towards the people on or in charge of the team and the way they play. The volleyball team decided to pull out of tournaments that didn’t require masks, not wanting to put players at risk of getting COVID. Everyone has their fair share of anxiety and excitement around this time of year, especially when coming back after missing out on so much since early 2020.

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking playing now because we went so long without playing,” Tiffany Ford, outside hitter for C-team volleyball, said.

Others felt the same excitement, eager to be back.

“I’m just happy to be back playing,” senior Matthew Gesese, varsity running back, said.

“We’ve all gotten stronger since our sophomore year, so we’ve improved in the game.”

During last year’s football season, no crowds were allowed, which proved to be a slight setback for the energy during the

games. Luckily, this year ward on the JV women’s “I’m just happy to be back crowds are allowed, and soccer team, quoted playing. We’ve all gotten stronger since our sophomore the excitement is back. her coach, Coach Scott year, so we’ve improved in the “More people are Andrews, when referring game.” excited to come to watch,” to his response to homeMatthew Gesese senior Cole Waldrop, work pile-up.

VARSITY RUNNING BACK varsity quarterback, said.

“You don’t want to be on “There’s no other feeling your homework, you want like playing high school football.” to be before your homework,” she said.

Every team is handling the crowds difChen also said that when it comes to ferently. Across everything though, the doing her homework, she does it the second returning support from students has been the teacher publishes it to get it out of the consistent. way on the days she doesn’t have practice.

“Spectators make a huge difference,” volley- Wacker observed that when she does stay to ball coach Sharalee Mathews-Malloy said. watch the women’s varsity soccer team play, it’s always fun.

Since the C-team and JV volleyball teams “They’re so aggressive and so good,” she are inside and play right before varsity, they said. watch the varsity game before they go home.

Something quite exciting for athletes this The fun of playing and watching were both year is that so many people have tried out intensely impacted by COVID. already for just the fall sports. This year, Fortunately, the crowds, cheerleaders and there are only about 13 seniors on the varsity pep band are all allowed back. football team, the rest of the team being With this expectation of staying for all made up of mostly sophomores and freshthe games however, some students found it challenging to balance the time commitment men.

“We know how to calm down the younger with their academic responsibilities. guys on the team,” Gesese said, especially “It’s kind of difficult to stay until nine p.m. because I have homework,” freshman Hurley being one of the older role models on the team. “Their performance and enjoyment Schmidt and defensive specialist said. playing is a lot deeper than just a scoreSenior Sophina Chen, substitute and for-

board.”

Woolley said that more freshmen being on the team has definitely been a change since he remembered being one of the younger players.

“I got put in this position to teach them how to take a loss,” he said.

A shared sentiment across all the teams was that even if they lose a game, as long as they had fun and did their best, then it’s better than not having fun while playing.

“If we play our best, then we have more fun,” Wacker said.

The girls from the JV soccer team also mentioned a highlight from their teammate Serena Ahlskog. Their first goal of the year was scored by Ahlskog, which Chen said was amazing. Since many of our Terrace athletes are seniors and graduating this year, all of them have expressed that they’ll miss playing on their teams and with their friends who they’ve bonded with over the years.

This school year is going to be all over the place, whether it’s on the field, in the Terraceum or in the hallways.

Athletes are hopeful that the safety measures being taken will be effective, and that things will be slightly more under control by next fall.

“Go Hawks!” Waldrop said. H

The Hawks football team made it through the majority of its season without any significant issues due to COVID-19. However, not all schools in the area were as fortunate with several games being canceled or rescheduled. HUNTER MICHAELSON | HAWKEYE

SPORTS

Hawkeye

OCTOBER 2021 | 17

OCTOBER 2021 VARSITY SPORTS CALENDAR Info complied and graphics by Linaly Miyamoto

VOLLEYBALL

DATA MANAGER

October, the spooky season, is one of the biggest months for students especially with the homecoming football game against rival Lynnwood High School on the 15th. It is also the time where athletes for the winter sport season start to train in the gym after school. But as always, we wish the athletes the best of luck and play hard. H

10/18/21 @ 7 p.m.

Lynnwood H.S. @ The Terraceum

10/20/21 @ 7 p.m.

Shorewood H.S. @ Shorewood H.S. 10/26/21 @ 7 p.m.

Archbishop Murphy H.S. @ The Terraceum

CROSS COUNTRY

10/06/21 @ 3:30 p.m. @ Shorewood, Glacier Peak

10/28/21 @ 7 p.m.

Edmonds Woodway H.S. @ EWHS

10/13/21 @3:30 p.m. @Edmonds School District Meet

11/3/21 @ 7 p.m.

Cedarcrest H.S. @ Cedarcrest H.S.

10/23/21 @ 10:00 a.m. @ WesCo Championships

FOOTBALL

10/22/21 @5:00 p.m.

Edmonds Woodway @ Edmonds Stadium 10/29/21 @ TBD Possible Cross-Over Game TBD

WOMEN’S SWIMMING

MEN’S TENNIS

10/19/21 @ 2:45 p.m.

Meadowdale H.S. @ Lynnwood Pool

10/15/21 @3:30 p.m.

Meadowdale @ Meadowdale H.S.

10/23/21 @ 2:45 p.m.

Edmonds District Meet @ Lynnwood Pool

10/19/21 @1:00 p.m.

WesCo League Tennis Championships @ Jackson H.S. 10/20/21 @1:00 p.m.

WesCo League Tennis Championships @ Jackson H.S. 10/26/21 @1:00 p.m.

WesCo League Tennis Championships @ Jackson H.S. 10/27/21 @1:00 p.m.

WesCo League Tennis Championships @ Jackson H.S.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

10/19/21 @ 7:30 p.m.

Lynnwood H.S. @ Lynnwood H.S. 10/21/21 @ 7:30 p.m.

Shorewood H.S. @ Lynnwood H.S.

10/26/21 @ 6:00 p.m.

Archbishop Murphy H.S. @ AMHS Post-Season TBD

18 | OCTOBER 2021

CREATIVE CORNER

Short Fiction

LONG LOST BROTHER Contributed by the Creative Writing Club

F

rom a young age, I’ve heard my mother say that I would find my long-lost twin some day, but over a while I came to regard it as fiction. A tall tale, designed to entertain but not to give the truth.

Yet here I am, 28 years of age, standing next to him, with the sound of machines surrounding me, lulling me into silence. Certainly not fiction, he is a familiar face, my boss, yet newly recognizable.

What happened to break him apart from our family?

Why had he waited so long to contact me?

As if he could hear me, Mr. Stubbsley responds to my unspoken questions. “I know there must be a lot on your mind, Egbert. Come, let us leave the floor and discuss it.” I know not whether to trust this man, but I comply.

Mr. Stubbsley, or Michael, as he’s asked I call him, was born 28 years ago as well, but separated from his birth parents, my own parents, at three months old. He was brought to London from his home city of Liverpool - mine as well - and educated in an upper class family which Michael said were: “the Tudors, who, despite not being considered royalty much as of late, were very influential and regularly held conferences with members of the government.”

The parents who adopted him soon realized they held a precocious youth in their hands, and exactly 13 years after he was seized from his mother, Michael Stubbsley graduated valedictorian of Oxford.

From there, Michael became associated with a shipping association, where he amassed his fortune and began assembling an industrial empire under his belt. By the time he was 28 - the current year - he was the seventh wealthiest man in England. A far cry from my own fortunes, I thought!

“But Michael,” I asked, with more questions running through my mind than before, “why would the Tudors have an interest in you? In us?”

Michael’s face suddenly fell. “Egbert… there’s a foul plot afoot, and I’m here to help you. I ask for your unwavering trust in me, even though this all must come as a shock to you.

Time is of the essence.”

“The workers here must know of the great Accident of ‘87, right?”

To which I responded, “Yes, I’m sure. 114 dead, such a tragedy rarely goes unnoticed.”

Michael leaned in towards me, and I could feel my pulse quicken.

“There are people after us who would have us dead, Egbert, and that is what they plan on doing today. In exactly 23 minutes and 17 seconds, this factory too will suffer an accident.”

Michael stood up, offering his right hand to me.

“Come with me if you want to live.”

JOIN THE CREATIVE WRITING CLUB The stories on this page were written by members of the Creative Writing Club. If you’re interested in joining the club, it meets twice a week at 2 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays in Room 110. For more information, talk to any member of the club or speak to the club’s adviser, Christina Lewis.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Hawkeye is working cooperatively with the Creative Writing Club this year to bring student literacy works to the forefront. Ultimately, the goal is to eventually produce a literacy magazine as part of the student media at Mountlake Terrace High School. If you’re interested in contributing to this effort, please contact members of the Creative Writing Club or its adviser, Christina Lewis.

Hawkeye

Short Fiction

THE PECULIAR TALE OF SIR EDGAR AND HIS WIFE Contributed by the Creative Writing Club

A

s any old spy would do, they would always report their finding to the head of the board.

In this case, that would be the monarchy.

As always, under the conditions of having the spy, they must have their entire life story submitted to the archives. This includes both the miserable queen and king trying to do everything in their power to find a way to destroy each other.

This known fact led to the queen and king searching the archives, at different times of course, which led to the findings of a being, Edgar, who must eat a person every fifth meal.

Since this is a must for the being to live, society can’t call the action of eating a person murder. In turn, Edgar won’t be forced to go to jail and can have his meal of a human in peace.

Edgar was then used to depose the Queen of Switzerland, and there was much rejoicing. She was not very cool.

Then, he struck a deal with the Swiss government: he would get knighted as Sir Edgar and gain a spot on a pee wee field hockey team of his choice. In turn, Edgar must never eat a Swiss citizen, and must also never return to Switzerland as a precaution.

He chose to move to the only U.S. state whose name he knew: Ohio. A tragic decision.

This is where we meet him, 17 years later…

Sir Edgar woke up on October 1st, 2021 feeling sad. He missed showers, even though he prized his withered hands. He craved them, actually. At night he would lie in his bed, imagining the warm water and soap bubbles cleansing him of his 60-year-old grime.

His most recent wife, Lady Meredith Evans XVI, had very clean hands. Sir Edgar was envious. She took showers every day; she was the cleanest woman he had ever laid his eyes on. Why should she be able to bathe, and he cannot?

“He missed showers, even though he prized his withered hands. He craved them, actually. At night he would lie in his bed, imagining the warm water and soap bubbles cleansing him of his 60-year-old grime.”

Perhaps it was time to think of something else. Get his mind off Lady Meredith Evans XVI. His stomach then growled very loudly.

Ah yes, that.

He waited for so long, too long, about three years now, to eat again.

He tried to prolong his fifth meal as long as he could, but to no avail. He was hungry and he felt it rumbling within the pits of his stomach.

The closest person he can even think about eating was- ah, but he liked Lady Meredith Evans XVI. How could he eat her? She too had small feet and big shoes. She too filed her teeth into points. They were the perfect match. But he was so very hungry.

He took out his best friend, the pole who he had named Alice so many years ago, from the big shoe it resided in. The two considered each other, admiring each other’s grime for a moment before he sighed deeply.

“What should I do, best friend?” he asked mournfully.

His beloved Alice said nothing, but his stomach groaned in response. He was then startled out of his ravenous thoughts by a knock at his study’s door.

Lady Meredith Evans XVI was standing in the doorway, looking concerned.

“Dear, why do you insist that this disgusting, rusty pole is sentient?”

She said, “I worry about you sometimes.”

“Dearest Lady Meredith Evans XVI you know this is no ordinary pole. This is Alice. We’ve been over this many a time, yet you always seem to forget.” At this moment, Lady Meredith Evans XVI was looking increasingly tasty to Sir Edgar.

Why have a wife when he could have Alice? Alice did not judge him. How could it? Alice had no mouth. As he was thinking this, an idea suddenly occurred to him.

What if he found Alice a mouth?

He could make it talk! He could finally have a two-sided conversation with his best friend. How he’d yearned for that over the years…

Being able to ask about Alice’s favorite things to do, hobbies, its dreams…

Sir Edgar began preparations for his quest to find Alice a mouth. He had read Frankenstein. He knew it would work. He looked at Lady Meredith Evans XVI and realized that finding a mouth might not be so difficult. After all, she did have the perfect lips for Alice. She had the pointy teeth. How Sir Edgar loved pointy teeth.

“My dearest Lady Meredith Evans XVI, why don’t you come here? Let me have a look at you.”

Sir Edgar beckoned his wife closer.

She scuttled across the room and stopped 3.157 feet away from him.

What a woman. What a delectable woman. He licked his lips. He was so, so hungry. It was time to feast.

He slowly tightened his grip on Alice, preparing himself for the awful thing that he had to do.

“Goodbye, my dearest. Your mouth will look lovely on Alice.” ___ Afterwards, Sir Edgar stared down at his beloved wife. All that was left of her was her mouth. A mouth that would soon belong to Alice.

He took out a roll of Scotch Tape and stuck the mouth to its base, smiling back at it.

“Sir Edgar,” Alice croaked in a voice that sounded just like his recently deceased wife. “Why would you end your wife in such a way?”

Alice then used its pole body to strike Sir Edgar violently upon the head. Sir Edgar never tasted flesh again.

Or anything, for that matter.

The end.

PUZZLE PAGE

Hawkeye

OCTOBER LOGIC PUZZLE Bonus Challenge

Created by Jakob Nacanaynay HAWKEYE STAFF

Four of the clues are unnecessary. Which ones?

Notes

The Setup I have a standard 52-card deck. 13 cards were randomly selected from the deck. Here are some facts about the 13 cards: 1.There is exactly one 3-of-a-kind. Their product is 9.

2.None of them are diamonds.

3.There are no jacks.

4.Straights are impossible.

5.There are two spades, five hearts, four diamonds, and two clubs. Their sums are 7, 28, 30, and 13 respectively.

Refer to note 1 on how cards are counted.

5.There is only one flush combination.

6.Only three of the numbered cards are even. They are unique and their sum is 22.

7.All the numbered hearts are odd.

8.There are four combinations of pairs.

9.There is a red king and a black queen.

10.One of the cards is a 10 of diamonds.

All numbered cards are worth their number, aces are worth 1, and face cards are worth 10. Aces and face cards are not considered “numbered”.

Suits are the 4 symbols (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs). Spades and clubs are black while hearts and diamonds are red. Ranks are the numbers or faces (ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king).

The terms straights and flush refer to the poker hands.

Having a straight means having 5 cards all in order with no gaps. Ex: 7, 8, 9, 10, jack. An ace may act as the card before 2 or after the king. Having a flush means having 5 cards all of the same suit.

Submit your Entry!

Bring your completed puzzle answers to Room 130 with your name clearly written on the page. We’ll randomly select one of the correct entries for a special HSM swag prize and announce the winner in next month’s page.

The Challenge

Word Search

What are the 13 cards?

OCTOBER WORD SEARCH CHALLENGE U D W A R

R

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O R

O V

X

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E W D V

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G U M B O A M E

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C W D

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Q R

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Y O R M W

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N A C K

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D C O P

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S I

M W T

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D A R W A

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H O D T

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A C D U

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D K

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A O P

R W L

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F

Z M L

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N A R

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A D G E

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S W C W R A G O

B

K O C O E

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K

A O S O E

S G Z

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B O S

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F G V O O

H W O J

E M

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T W O D

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F

L M W S

R

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W E

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E C C O S

N C D

Y

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K

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D N A

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P O

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W W Y

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T

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C K

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D X

Z O X

P

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C X C N

S Q J

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R O

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A N D

Find the following words in the puzzle.

Words are hidden and ALDERWOOD BASEBALL BASKETBALL BRIER BRIER TERRACE BULLDOGS CEDAR WAY CHAMBER WINDS

L

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C O K C A R

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Q Y

R D

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E C E

S O C R N

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COLLEGE PLACE CONCERT BAND CROSS COUNTRY EDMONDS WOODWAY FOOTBALL HAWKS HAZELWOOD HILLTOP

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T L

I D I

A

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B O

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HOMECOMING JAZZ BAND LYNNWOOD MAPLEWOOD MAVERICKS MEADOWDALE ORCHESTRA ROYALS

SOCCER SOFTBALL STEM SWIMMING TENNIS TERRACE TRACK VOLLEYBALL

WARRIORS WRESTLING

K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A

OCTOBER 2021 | 19

20 | OCTOBER 2021

Hawkeye

HEY, SENIORS! Get your senior portrait taken for FREE

by Tempo/Hawkeye photographers!

That’s right, the photo sitting is FREE!

Book a session with one of our photographers and we’ll shoot the photos right here at Terrace after school. You review the photos and select the one you want in the 2022 Tempo yearbook.

Then, you may order prints or other photo gifts and memorabilia at exclusive, low prices online.

NOTE:

The FREE photo sittings end on Dec 3. 2021 and booking dates and times are limited!

We’re writing a book about you.*

BOOK YOUR FREE PHOTO SESSION TODAY AT: https://thehawkeye.org/category/tempo-yearbook/

FREE Senior Portraits!

Just go to

Important Due Dates

• 12/3/21 – Senior Photos

or just scan the QR code below

Senior Special

• 12/3/21 – Tribute Ad Payment

MTHSHawkeye.Zenfolio.com

• 12/3/21 – Tribute Ad Content

to book an appointment or come to Room 130 after 2 p.m. for more information.

• 1/28/22 – Books are $65 • 1/29/22 – Books are $75

*Okay, and about 1430 of your closest friends. And no, that isn’t the cover of this year’s yearbook. We’re a little more creative than that.

The Tempo yearbook is a student publication of HSM – Hawks Student Media.

Questions? Call 425.431.5067 or email us at photo@thehawkeye.org or see us in Room 130 after school

It’s on its way…

The book that almost didn’t exist about the year that almost wasn’t.

Seasons

of

Change

The 2021 Tempo yearbook

Update: Due to delays in global shipping, the book will now be available in January. Exceedingly limited edition! Some books may be available after distribution. More info to come!

The Tempo is one of the publications produced by the journalism students in HSM – Hawks Student Media.

Questions? See us in Room 130 | Tempo@theHawkeye.org