Onwards

ONWARDS VOL. 1, ISSUE 1

WEST HIGH BEST HIGH? A look into the pressures of being #1

CONTENTS

4 6 8

HEATH AND SCIENCE NATIVE AMERICANS OF IOWA

FEATURE APPLE JUICE VS ORANGE JUICE

OPINION THE CASE FOR JOHNNY DEPP

10

COVER WEST HIGH BEST HIGH?

Hello!

Welcome to Onwards. On page 4, you’ll find a fascinating article on the history of Native Americans in Iowa. Thirsty? Are you going for apple juice or orange juice? Turn to page 6 for a discussion on the contreversies of beverages. Further on, you can look to page 8 for an article on a court case that has captured the public eye. The cover story begins on page 10, and discusses the effects of being the best. Finally, if you’re searching for summer fun, flip to the back cover for an enjoying summer word scramble. This publication was awesome to be able to work on, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together!

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VERA TANAS

Best wishes, Vera Tanas

ONWARDS Scan here for mental health resources

Bralyn Bigley Chloe Albright Eli Maze Nora Daly Vera Tanas

NATIVE AMERICANS of Iowa

BY ELI MAZE

F

or as long as you have lived in Iowa, tural society. They cultivated crops local to the have you ever been taught anything area, such as corn, beans, and squash. Women about the way of life of the indigenous were in charge of farming while men hunted and tribes of Iowa that once lived here long created tools. The people of the Ioway tribe were before the colonization of the new world? subsistence farmers, meaning that they only Most of the information regarding the Na- grew enough food for their family to survive tive Americans who originally inhabited the throughout the year. area that has now become the state of Iowa has The Ioway people were in no way nomadic, been largely erased from history and isn’t taught in curriculum.

In courses focused on teaching American history, even in AP US History, Native American history pre-Columbus is just out of scope.

Unlike curriculums in other states, such as California, Iowa does not require the teaching of the history of the state before it was settled. I still remember from when I lived in Los Angeles the great emphasis that was put on learning about the way of life and the history of indigenous peoples in the area. The elementary school curriculum taught not just about general Native American history, but about the history of the natives peoples that lived throughout the state. In fourth grade, I even went on a three-day overnight field trip with the class to a reservation and historical preservation area, where we learned about how Native Americans lived in the area.

This included things like learning how to catch and skin an animal or grinding up grains with a mortar and pestle to cook traditional dishes.

The state of Iowa itself is very new and was only settled around 200 years ago during the early-19th century. Although the exact period of time is unknown, indigenous peoples inhabited and cultivated the area that is now known as Iowa Buffalo hide Tipi used on hunting expeditions, Living History Farms for many thousands of years. Although two centuries may seem like an eternity, which was often used as justification for kicking it’s just a blink of an eye compared to how long Natives off of their lands since they could just natives inhabited present-day Iowa. change their grazing grounds. The tribe had setSeveral tribes existed in Iowa before its land tlements and did not move around from place was settled a couple hundred years ago. Out of to place, although men would go on frequent all of them, the most well-known and prevalent hunting expeditions that would last for weeks. tribe is the Ioway tribe, which the state of Iowa During the winter, the tribe lived in mat-houses is named after. Ioway is an exonym borrowed made from layers of sewn cattail leaves which from the Dakota language and the tribe actually protected the Ioway from harsh winter weather refers to itself as Báxoje. They speak the Chiwere which would consistently go below freezing. language of the Siouan language family, a vast Around the time of the Indian Removal Act of group of Native American languages spanning 1830, the tribe was forced into ceding their lands much of north-central United States. due to the encroachment of white settlers from The Ioway were once a Woodland hunter-gath- the east. They were a proud and powerful tribe, erer culture. Their migration from the Great but not even they could withstand the wrath Lakes area to present day Iowa, they began prac- of colonialism. The tribe was pushed south by ticing elements of the plains culture and there- the federal government and was given reservafore they transitioned into being a semi-agricul- tions in Kansas and Oklahoma, where they have

continued to live up until present day. No tribal members were able to stay in Iowa following the cession of their lands, and so the history of the Ioway peoples and their traditional way of life before the settlement of Iowa was largely forgotten.

In both reservations of the Ioway tribe, most of their revenue is generated from various casinos that are operated on their lands. All were introduced after the Reagean era in which a Supreme Court case said that the federal government could not regulate gambling on Native American reservations. In the present-day, almost all reservations have casinos because the tribes don’t have many other ways to generate income. Although tribal land is rich in natural resources and is estimated to contain over $1.5 trillion in natural resources, they are not able to extract most of it. This is due to the strict land-use regulations that the federal government imposes on reservations in an effort to preserve the environment. However, tribal societies don’t have enough businesses, resources, or entrepreneurs to be fully functional. Tribes don’t practice their traditional way of life, or at least they have been modernized into contemporary society to some extent. The federal land-use regulations were put in place when Natives were still largely traditional, family-based societies, however the times have changed. In order for reservations to be economically successful, these outdated regulations need to be changed.

Currently, there is only one Native American settlement in Iowa, the Meskwaki Settlement. They are not officially considered a reservation, as the 8,000 acres of land that they have jurisdiction over is owned privately by the tribal government. The Meskwaki tribe is not originally endemic to Iowa. They were forced to migrate after they were pushed from their lands in Wisconsin due to instability following the settlement of their former land by white colonists during the Westward Expansion. However, they still think of Iowa as their home.

Over the course of history, many different tribes have graced Iowa’s soils. Native Americans had many communities with complex societies in the area in which we now live today. However, the story of these people doesn’t have a happy ending. Most of their people were killed, their land was stolen from them through unfair treaties, and they were forced to march to their newly allotted land in the south. All that most of us can do is to remember the hardships that these people went through and understand that Iowa did not always belong to us.

FOR MORE COVERAGE, GO TO WSSPAPER.COM

03 HEALTH & SCIENCE OCT. 3, 2019

APPLE JUICE VERSUS

FEATURE MAY 25, 22

06

ORANGE JUICE

EXPLORING THE CONTREVERSIES OF JUICE ALL CONTENT BY VERA TANAS

Politics, your relationships, and… juice preferences? One of these things may feel a bit out of place from the others, but as students and teachers at West have shown, the debate against whether apple juice or orange juice is better is a highly controversial topic.

Quite a few people were inducted into the discourse with a fight. “I said apple juice was not better, and people started fighting with me.”

Owen Knight ‘25 said. Jinnan AbuDagga ‘25, said something similar, remarking, “My friend asked me a question and I answered truthfully, and we argued about it for a good ten minutes, and I still believe orange juice is the best.” Friends seem to be a common entryway into the debate, with many first hearing about it there.

The main thing that these two divided groups seem to share is their intense feelings on the subject. Katie Nodia ‘25, described the debate between her and her friends as “...a battle, a war.” AbuDagga expressed similarly strong emotions. “Orange juice is superior, and people disagree with me, I have to, you know, step in.”

When asked about why they thought people cared so much about a drink choice, juice drinkers from either side shared similar theories. Kina Nguyen ‘25, an apple juice fan, said how “...it’s something to argue about when you’re bored.”

AbuDagga, despite being an orange juice lover, said “I feel like people

other dish.” Apple juice lovers point towards the adaptability of apple juice for a fresh beverage any time of the day. “Orange juice you can only have in the morning, and it’s not even good then. Apple juice is a much more versatile juice.” said Maddy Grueter ‘23.

Lexie Vogt ‘24, was one of many who brought up the pulp in orange juice, saying, “Apple juice is way better because you don’t have to worry about pulp…” Pulp is something apple juice devotees seem to see as another major negative about the other side, with Nguyen saying that “There’s a no-pulp option [apple juice], but people choose the pulp in orange juice for fun.”

But what about orange juice?

Orange juice affiliates mentioned the taste of orange juice, with one saying it was “fresh, cold and sour”, and another referring to it as “tangy”. The novelty of orange juice as a breakfast beverage appeared to be another key point among those -J I N NAN ABU DAGGA ‘25 allied with the juice.

A couple of orange juice fans talkOne frequent point brought up by ed about how they felt apple juice apple juice fanatics was how orange was too sweet, made them feel sick, juice’s taste was affected after brush- or reminded them of…other liqing your teeth, as well as it mainly uids. “Apple juice kind of looks like only being a morning drink. Ashley urine.” said Mr. Nasafi, an English Niemiec ‘25, said that “You can’t 9 and African American Literature brush your teeth after you drink teacher here at West. orange juice, you can’t have like any need something to disagree about, cause you know, it’s the world.”

Some parties fight not out of love for their chosen drink but out of hate for the opposing side.

“I don’t really like apple juice at all, I just don’t like orange juice,” said Tyler Frank ‘25. “It just has such a sheer taste.” Knight is in a similar spot, but on the other side of the divide. “I hate apple juice.

Orange juice is not the best drink, but it is better than apple juice.”

“ I FE E L LI KE PEOPLE N E E D SOM ETH I NG TO DI SAG R E E ABOUT, CAUSE , YOU KNOW, IT’S TH E WOR LD.”

07 FEATURE MAY 25, 22.

OPINION MAY 25 , 22.

08

WEST HIGH

BEST HIGH?

Can carrying the number one spot be a burden to students and teachers alike at school? Is there pressure present, and does a culture form around success? How do you not only survive, but thrive in such an environment? West was recently ranked the number one best highschool in the state once again, and after that distinction, we talked to three students and a teacher about how they felt about the title, and the shadow it could cast.

Brad Wymer, a teacher of Biology and AP Environmental Science here at West, believes that performing the best you can is essential no matter what. “I think that for me personally, doing what you do

at the highest level you can do is important no matter what external pressures might be there.”

There were many things to say about the culture present here at West. When asked about if he thought the culture at West has changed as time went on, Wymer mentioned that he felt that a couple things have altered while he’s been here. “I’ve feel that in recent years, there has been a gradual shift, and I’ve tried to put my finger on the causes of the shift or if it was just me getting old and cynical… visiting with other teachers that have been here for a while and seen transitions happen, I found that it wasn’t just me.” However, he doesn’t

think we can point the finger at any one thing in particular. “Yeah I think there’s been a shift, some of that tradition is slipping some, and is there one thing to blame? No. I think there’s a multitude of different things.”

“I felt like the fact that West High was has been ranked number one throughout history, we’ve had the best ACT scores, we’ve had state championships after state championship in all the disciplines, in the performing arts, and debate, and math, and on the athletic field,” Wymer explained, “That this standard of excellence from the educators has been there, that the educators have portrayed that, I

think that a lot of the students have fallen in line with that.” Wymer also brought up the fact that West is located in a university town.

“Being in the community that we’re in, a university community with three hospitals in town, we’ve got an educated community that values education.”

Meanwhile, Raina Pfefier, ‘22, mentioned the dual nature of West’s environment. “It can be kind of cutthroat but it’s also encouraging…it lights a little fire under you to get going. She also brought up how this can affect the mental health of students. “I’m surrounded by people who have the same drive, which I think is really cool and really beneficial.

“ IT CAN BE KI N D OF CUTTH ROAT BUT IT’S ALSO E NCOU R AG I NG ... IT LIG HTS A LITTLE FI R E U N DE R YOU TO G ET GOI NG” - RAI NA PFEFI ER ‘22

But at the same, there’s always that level of stress that comes with that, and that definitely shows up in the mental health realm…[administration] has made plenty of resources, which I really appreciate, and I think that’s really awesome, that they’ve instated those. But also, if you want to solve that problem, you kind of have to loosen the reins a little bit with the academic pressure. So it’s kind of a hard balance,

because you can’t just be like, “Oh, don’t worry about it as much!” because that’s not gonna work.”

Evan Zukin ‘22 believes that it brings us all together. “I think whether that culture is we are successful, or whether that culture is we could be successful. I think there’s a lot of motivation behind and there’s a lot of motivation to be successful. And some of that can be negative pressure when we aren’t always successful. But I feel like it’s more of a rallying call to be like, ‘Hey, this is what we can be. So let’s all work towards being this.’ And so I definitely think there’s a culture of wanting to be the best. I think that kind of brings us together a little bit because it’s like, we could be the best.”

Bivan Shrestha ‘22 brought up that sense of community as well, saying, “A lot of my friends are kind of just supportive of each other and stuff like that. And I think that even though like we do, like hard classes and stuff like that, it helps that we’re not really cutthroat about it, we definitely try and help each other out. Like how sometimes we have study sessions where we get a bunch of labs for AP Chem done or like, study for tests and stuff like that. So I feel like that’s definitely something I’m pretty grateful for.”

He also touched on whether we have a culture built around success, saying, “I think there’s definitely a little bit of it there. I mean, a lot of people go to good colleges and do big things every single year. So when people do that, I feel like it kind of sets the bar to also kind of do that sort of stuff. Because every single year there’s always people going to like top colleges, and so then people are like, “Oh, if they could do it, I can also do it” and they

kind of like carry on and try and do what they did and stuff like that. So I feel like kind of it’s a good and a bad thing I guess, because obviously you should be inspired by other people, and you should strive to be the best version of you possible. But you should also do it in a healthy way that doesn’t impede upon your own mental health and like your own life and stuff like that.”

“...YOU SHOU LD STR IVE TO BE TH E BEST VE RSION OF YOU POSSI BLE .

BUT YOU SHOU LD ALSO DO IT I N A H EALTHY WAY...”

- BIVAN SH RESTHA ‘22

Pointing further towards focusing on mental health, Pfeifer talked about how she believes that students themselves could help the culture here at West. “I think that at this point, it’s not an administration thing that they can do or like a teacher thing. It’s more of just like students need to take it on themselves to be kinder about it, kinder to others and kinder on themselves.

Academics aren’t the end all be all.

After high school, it’s not gonna matter what you got sophomore year in chemistry. No one cares if you fail a test, it’s not as deep as people make it seem.”

Clearly, West has a lot going for it. But could it do better? Zukin believed that West could do bet-

ter on getting students to want to be successful. “I think that what West High could do better is to get more kids onto the ‘‘wanting to be successful’ area. But it’s sectioned off like, there’s parts of the student body at West High that are the leading and all their things and there are those that aren’t. I think we can get more people onto that side of leading academics or doing the hard classes that make West High great. Joining athletics and being part of and I think it could be a larger sum of the student body at West High that could be a part of that success and what makes West so great.”

There also seems to be at least some pressure on students to succeed.

Shrestha talked about feeling pressure, saying, “I feel like it was a lot more prevalent for me in the beginning, like the first few years, and I think part of the reason is because like everyone’s like kind of grinding for college [applications] and stuff like that you know. I’m getting those extracurriculars and taking the harder classes, and kind of worrying about AP tests and stuff like that a lot.”

“TH E R E I S THAT EVE RYLOOM I NG PR ESE NCE , LI KE “OH YOU N E E D TO BE TH E BEST” - RAI NA PFEFI ER ‘22

Pfeifer also touched on this, saying, “I think that there is that, especially with being the top school in the

state now. There is that ever-looming presence, like “Oh, you need to be the best.”

“I feel like there’s definitely pressure here to succeed a lot. I feel like there’s a lot of students that represent the school academically very well and I know it’s definitely competitive, like everyone wants to be really good and be really smart and get all the good grades.” Zukin said, similar to the other students.

It’s not just students, teachers can feel it too, but in different ways.

Wymer talked about potential pressure on himself, mentioning “So that first year, I established a routine and a level of expectation for myself, that I didn’t want to let my students, or the athletes I work with, down, and so over the years, I’ve never really felt like there was a pressure.”

But does West High deserve the number one spot? Wymer expressed his feelings on this as well.

“West High, I think, as a school, has done a great job of communicating what our deficits are and trying to work hard, as a group, as an administration, as a staff, to try to improve upon the things that need to be improved upon. So do I think we deserve it? Well, someone else thinks we deserve it. So yeah, I’ll take it.” he responded, additionally saying, “ I think anytime an external organization says “Hey, you’re you’re the best school” than that wasn’t us patting ourselves on the back. That was someone saying, “Hey, you’re doing a good job.””

Another thing Wymer touched upon about how the ranking was just an effect of how we operate at West. “The ranking has never really, I’ve felt, put pressure on anyone in the system, it’s just sort of a consequence of doing things the right

way.”

Pfeifer also felt that West deserved the distinction of number one, pointing towards how “we have a very hard working culture here, with academics, with athletics, we have a ton of National Merit Finalists, our tests scores are really good, overall we have so much.

“ I TH I N K THAT TH E ARTS PROG R AM H E R E AT WEST, LI KE CHOI R AN D BAN D, ORCH ESTR A AN D TH EATE R , I S DE FI N ETLY ON E OF TH E N U M BE R ON E I N TH E STATE”” - EVAN ZU KI N ‘22

Zukin is very involved in the performing arts program here at West High and believes that West deserves to be ranked number 1 in performing arts. “I don’t do sports here. I think the arts program here at West, like choir and band, orchestra and theater, is definitely one of the number one in the state.

And I think we definitely deserve that…””... Our arts program definitely thrives here. And so I think that definitely puts us ahead of a lot of other schools and that definitely comes from support from administration,” Zukin says.

Shrestha talked how he personally

felt like it was deserved, saying, “I mean, when I think about the people in our class, it’s definitely full of really bright and like really amazing people who like, I mean, not even just like academically we have people who are good at music, and just like a really wide variety of things.”

“... I TH I N K IT R EQU I R ES MOR E ORGAN IZATION , DI SI PLI N E AN D FOLLOWTH ROUG H .”

- BRAD WYM ER

Many students here at West are active in athletics, music programs, or other extracurriculars. When it comes to what it takes to be one of these students, Wymer had his views on that too, saying “I think it requires more organization, discipline, and follow-through. Now, you could say the same thing for the person who’s in debate and show choir, someone who’s got a job outside of the normal school day, you know, all of those people that have extra demands on their time. It’s more difficult for them.”

He further brought up his feelings on when only student athletes are recognized as having a heavier workload. “I get a little bit disgruntled when people single out athletes on that because I was in two musicals when I was in school, I was an athlete at the same time, and I did a job after track practice in the spring and after wrestling practice in the winter. I used to have those demands on my time.”

When it comes to extracurriculars,

Shrestha himself carries a lot. After being asked whether it added an extra burden, he said, “I think sometimes it definitely has, but for me at least, when I keep busy it helps me get stuff done, at least personally if I have like nothing to do in the day, it was like okay, I can always do later.

But if I know I have something coming up then I know I have to do my work at some time because I won’t be able to do it later because I already have commitments and time constraints and stuff like that.”

Wymer also had thoughts on the extra work that comes with extracurricular activities, saying, “Yeah, it’s more difficult but you know, the big things that allow those people to be excellent, the ones that are, cause they’re not all, is they’re persistent, they’re organized, and they’re disciplined.”

At the end of the day, all three students had advice to give to West’s student body. Zukin believed that doing your best and not getting drowned in work is the key. “I think the key to my success here, West High has been to try your hardest, do your best, but when it doesn’t work out, don’t beat yourself up about it. As long as you know you’re trying. Even if you’re not getting 100% all the time, or like doing all the millions of different activities that you think you should be doing…” ”...Also like it’s high school, enjoy it. Like, like try to fight hard.

Do your stuff be good, but also like, enjoy it and don’t let yourself get drowned in pressure,” Zukin says.

Pfeifer passed on knowledge to present and future students at West, saying, “Put time into the things that you like doing, and don’t worry about the things that you don’t. Just kind of get by in those and then find people you can rely on…hav-

ing a network is very beneficial.”

Pfeifer additionally encouraged exploring new activities and extracurriculars, mentioning her own experience with soccer. “If there’s something that you see that you think sounds fun and you haven’t tried it before, why not? I joined soccer my senior year cause it looked fun.”

Shrestha’s advice for future and present students here at West included a reflection of his own time spent at this school. “I think one thing that I wish I did was branch out a little bit…I feel like for me, I was, originally thinking [of] sticking to this clear cut path, of like, only doing I guess the more academics clubs or whatever, like speech and debate and math club, stuff like that. But I really wish I was more involved in things like theater, because I did pit orchestra this year…I really wish I branched out a little bit more compared to what I originally did, because I feel like this year I’ve definitely met a lot of new people and seen a lot of new cool things from doing these new clubs and stuff like that, and I wish I just had done that sooner.”

Is West High truly the “best high”?

The pressure to be the best can have mental and physical effects on the students and teachers here at West, but it also seems to create bonds and community. Though some things could change, it really does seem like we deserve the title of number one.

BY VERA TANAS AND CHLOE ALBRIGHT ART AND DESIGN BY VERA TANAS

KEIB

Summer Summer Word Scramble Scramble

ATHE MEUSRM EHCBA TOSSRH LOPO ELKA

why does ice cream always get invited to the party?