West Crosswalk

WEST CROSSWALK VOL 1 - ISSUE 1 - MAY 25, 2018 - WEST HIGH SCHOOL - 2901 MELROSE AVE

A WALK ACROSS THE DIVIDE

ART BY ANGELA ZIRBES

FEATURED PHOTO

BY WIMAR WIDIATMO

Behind the walls of every theater lies a team of producers, artists, and builders.

A mural of handprints lies prominently on the interior wall of the shop, where diversity and talent come together.

PHOTOS BY WIMAR WIDIATMO

DESIGNS BY SIMON JONES

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SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES

A prolific actor, student and person, Senior Paige Harken shares her story.

COMPUTER WIZ’

Sophomore Yegor Kuznetsov excels in both math and computer science, and shares his hopes for the future

A CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Hosting a foreign exchange student is an unforgettable experience, and being hosted is even more memorable.

CLUB CONNECTION: SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

Science Olympiad is a staple part of West High; here’s an inside perspective of one of West’s top academic clubs.

PARIS

Three years ago, the nations of the world finally agreed on a directive to curb climate change, but will it be enough?

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR(S) Ah, the feeling of freedom, the hot sun shining all day long, waking up at noon, pool days and days spent with friends and family are almost upon us. But this whole month, we were all hard at work, studying for finals and AP tests, and most importantly, putting together our own newspaper. We all put in our blood, sweat and tears (jk, but we did work super hard), to ensure that this is our best work yet, so thank you so much for taking the time to read it. Warm regards, and enjoy your last couple of school days before freedom. It’s the final countdown! NANANA NAAAA, NANA NA NA NA. (ok, we’ll stop.)

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-Simon Jones, Chief Designer -Lily Meng, Chief Writer -Wimar Widiatmo, Chief Artist

SENIOR PRANKS

Senior pranks are an integral part of any end of the school year, and their history is diverse and wacky.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS Got an interview coming up? Here are some helpful fashion tips to nail that interview and impress your soon-to-be employer.

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OUR RAP ALBUM COVER

MAKE YOUR MELON Four tasty watermelon-based recipes to help you relax through the heat this summer

DEADLY CONSPIRACIES

As conspiracies become ever more outlandish, so too do their reactions grow ever more dangerous.

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EVERY DROP MATTERS

Access to fresh drinking water at any time is a norm in the US, but people don’t realize just how lucky they are.

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PROFILES MAY 25, 2018

SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES

PAIGE HARKEN ’18 IS TRANSPORTED INTO AN ALTERNATE REALITY AND BECOMES SOMEONE ELSE WHEN SHE ACTS. ACTING HAS BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF HER LIFE AND IS WHY SHE WILL CONTINUE TO PURSUE IT IN THE FUTURE. Only one boy in the musical “West Side Story” was actually a girl. That’s right, that girl was Paige Harken ’18.

If you watched “West Side Story” earlier this year, you probably witnessed this phenomena.

Harken started acting in 2009 when she signed up for a summer acting camp.

“We put together a [musical] in a week. It was just really fun, and I was like, ‘Oh this is kind of cool,’” Harken said.

After her first exposure to acting, she continued on to audition for a show with City Circle Acting Company, a community theater, and had the chance to act in “A Christmas Carol.” Her first official show helped solidify and grow her love for acting.

Harken didn’t stop there. When she started high school, she joined Student Produced Innovative Theater (SPIT), and has been a part of Theatre West for the past two years.

“I totally wish I would’ve started [Theatre West] sooner, but it’s been super fun, and community theater and high school theater and all the different kinds I’ve participated in are different in their own ways, but they all have their own sense of community.”

Harken has had many memorable opportunities in both school and community theater. She landed one of her dream roles this past summer as Molly in the play “Peter and the Starcatcher” with her community theater. She thinks that Molly was one of her favorite roles she has ever

SH E I S DE F I N ITE LY O N E O F TH E HAR DEST WO R K E RS I K N OW, AN D SH E WI LL ALWAYS G IVE 10 0% TO ACH I EVE WHAT SH E WANTS TO ACH I EVE .”

was one of her favorite roles she has ever played, because it was a culmination of all her hard work. “[Molly is] very spunky and very earnest, and wants to do the right thing. I definitely saw a lot of myself in her, so it was really fun to embody that role, and she’s a total tomboy, so just getting to traipse around on stage in clunky boots and running all over [was fun].”

Getting to play Baby John in “West Side Story” was one of Harken’s other favorite roles. She was a little taken aback at first because she was the only girl that played a boy.

“That was kind of a surprise, but a good one. All the Jet guys really made me feel like one of the boys, and it was super fun to get to work with them,” she said.

Theatre West Director, Katy Nahra, cast Harken as a boy to show off her talent.

“We had parts that really required great character acting and unique skill set, and Paige fit that, so we tried not to worry about gender too much.

We tried to do gender reversals to show the talent of our students and that they fit the role best.”

After acting in these two roles and many others, Harken has learned how to be a more empathetic person by putting herself in other people’s shoes. “[Acting] allows you to take on personas and characteristics of someone who you are not. I don’t think of myself as a mean person or anything, but it can kind of be fun to step into somebody else’s shoes and see things from their perspective, and see the world from a different angle. Each character has a different backstory and gone through different trials and tribulations.”

One of her favorite moments in her acting career happened in the musical “West Side Story.” Harken’s brother, Sean Harken ’21, took part in the musical alongside her.

“We had a little scene that was just the two of us. It was very emotional because a bunch of gang stuff just happened and people died, and we found each other in this alleyway, and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, are you ok?’

That part was really fun. Doing the

BY LILY MENG entire show with him and doing other shows with him has been super fun too, but that scene, it was just us two, and that was really cool and special for me as an older sister.”

Sean Harken felt the same way as his sister did.

“Our characters have never had this close of interaction in any show we’ve done so it was a lot of fun to directly work with her onstage.”

Harken says that her family members are some of her biggest supporters and have given her countless opportunities.

One of the biggest opportunities she has gotten is the chance to participate in the Northwestern University Cherubs program, a selective summer program with only 130 participants from all over the world. They also push her to keep on doing what she loves.

“They come to everything I do, which is really cool, and have supported me.

Definitely my mom is my biggest supporter. She’s got a good mix of ‘Good job Paige,’ but ‘Keep working hard and keep pushing forward for what you want.’”

Her family members and fellow actors have also noticed her work ethic, drive and determination in theater.

Sean Harken said, “She is a very organized person, and knows how to prioritize really well. She is definitely one of the hardest workers I know, and she will always give 100% to achieve what she wants to achieve.”

Nahra added, “She is Miss Dependable, [has] great leadership. She shows up for us at times when she’s not even asked to to help with different things. She works hard, is determined and mature.”

All of the shows she has participated in and the opportunities she has gotten over the years has convinced her that theater is something she wants to pursue in the future. She will be going to Drake University next year to study acting in their Bachelor of Fine Arts program. To get accepted into the competitive program, she had to go through a rigorous audition process. She plans on studying at Drake for the next four years, and hopes to do shows throughout the summers. High school theater has given Harken numerous opportunities, but she is finally ready to turn the paige and start a new chapter of her life.

DESIGN BY SIMON JONES PHOTOS BY WIMAR WIDIATMO

COMPUTER WIZ’

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PROFILES

MAY 25, 2018

BY SIMON JONES DESIGN BY SIMON JONES

YEGOR KUZNETSOV ’20 HAS A LONG HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTING WITH PROGRAMMING, AND NOW IT MIGHT BECOME ONE OF THE CORE TENETS IN HIS LIFE. A sizable majority of the world is in agreement: Coding is the future, whether we like it or not. The future will need quality coders and many have already started at a young age, whether it’s participating in The Hour of Code program or taking advanced computer science curriculums. These people hope to immerse themselves in the coding world and become the next generation of talented coders. One of these hopefuls is prolific coder Yegor Kuznetsov ’20.

Kuznetsov hasn’t always been the ‘computer wizard’ most know him by today. When he first picked up a programming book around the age of 10, he was initially perplexed.

“First or second grade, that’s when I actually first started [programming], that’s when I first starting looking at programming books.

encompass his primary focus in life.

“It’s really interesting and I enjoy it; of course that’s the most generic answer I know, but I have to say it because that’s true.” said Kuznetsov.

He joined the West Robotics FTC team, and helped bring the team all the way to the state championships.

“I am the main programmer for FTC Robotics, not FRC. We won the programming award for state last year.” Kuznetsov said.

Kuznetsov primarily chose FTC over FRC for an opportunity to better influence the team. Other members of the team can profess Kuznetsov’s innate coding ability and his team spirit. “[Yegor] is really good at his job and probably the only reason we’ve gone to any good IT ’S R EALLY competitions the whole season,” said one FTC I NTE R ESTI N G AN D I team member, “He’s really, really good at his E NJ OY IT; O F COU RSE job.”

Some of Kuznetsov’s THAT ’S TH E M OST other achievements include getting second G E N E RI C AN SWE R I place in a University of

K N OW, BUT I HAVE

TO SAY IT B ECAU SE THAT ’S TRU E .

Except, I was a first grader, and that stuff was difficult.”

Time would prove Kuznetsov wrong though, as his interest gradually grew over time. He reignited his intense interest in programming when he returned to the very books that intimidated him years before.

“I actually stopped doing programming until like fourth or fifth grade, and then everything made complete sense. I mean, they were really simple books, but I was interested.”

This interest would soon blossom into one of Kuznetsov’s primary hobbies, and soon come to

Iowa programming competition as well as getting a perfect score on the 2017 AP Computer Science exam. Life isn’t all Java and HTML though, and behind the endless lines of code lies a quirky, soft-spoken, good friend.

“Yegor is a cool guy. Coding genius. I’m gonna miss having him on the robotics team next year,” said Logan Pfannebecker ’19 After the end of his sophomore year, Kuznetsov and his family will move from Iowa City to Seattle. While it’s sad to say goodbye to his friends and the community, there is a silver lining.

In Seattle, Kuznetsov wishes to continue coding and furthering his career choices by meeting new people and pursuing new internship opportunities. The city is more established in coding and coding culture, and he can’t wait for all of the new paths that might present themselves.

PHOTOS BY WIMAR WIDIATMO

QA Simon Jones: What are some of the craziest things you’ve created with your code?

Yegor Kuznetsov: Going by

most interesting for me at least, it’s all the machine learning stuff that I’ve been working on kind of like passively. I’ve been learning about various systems from machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Simon Jones: What are some

of your primary career choices in coding?

Yegor Kuznetsov: I would prob-

ably try to go into machine learning and artificial intelligence. I’ve seen Google and other companies that are messing with it, and they have a lot of high paying jobs for people that are going to do that.

Yegor Kuznetsov ‘20 works on one of his many programming side-projects

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A CULTURAL EXCHANGE

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Unbreakable bonds can form between foreign exchange students and their host families. Madeline Ohl ’19 and Carla Ruel ’20 have a friendship that stretches across oceans.

BY LILY MENG

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ne of junior Madeline Ohl’s best friends lives 4,176 miles away from her, doesn’t speak the same first language as she does, but looks almost exactly the same as she does. This friend is Carla Ruel ’20, Ohl’s foreign exchange student from France.

Ohl decided to host a foreign exchange student because it is something that her family has always been involved with. Both of her parents hosted foreign exchange students in high school, and wanted Ohl to do the same. She also thought it was a unique way to meet people from France if she didn’t have the opportunity to actually travel there in the future.

Ruel decided to join the foreign exchange program for a variety of reasons.

“I went to [the] USA to perfect my English, make friends and discover a new culture,” she said.

Their friendship blossomed before Ruel even came to America. They had plenty to talk about over text message and social media, because they both enjoyed the same things.

“We’re both on the swim team, both of us are really into being outdoors and we bonded over the fact that we both liked similar TV shows and so we were able to talk about that, and it provided a very natural way to get to know her,” Ohl said.

Besides being interested in the same things, the two also look alike. Their hair is the same length and color, and they are about the same height. Even Ohl’s parents had trouble telling them apart if they saw the two from behind.

To many, their friendship seems like it was meant to be.

Ohl’s friend, Sophia Chen ’19, thought this was true.

“Even though Carla is a year younger than her, you wouldn’t be able to tell from their interactions. They were really comfortable with each other and got really close really quickly,” Chen said.

When Ruel arrived in America, she got the first-hand experience to see how different it was from her own county. Ohl took her to many different places, like the mall.

They enjoyed looking at different American stores, looking especially for a Levi denim jacket for Ruel.

They also went to a college women’s basketball game, which was a very different experience for her as well.

“They don’t really have college sports in France the same way we do here, so I think it was a totally different experience for her to see everyone getting so hyped up around a game that students play. So she thought that was really fun,” Ohl said.

Ruel also got the chance to try American French fries and learn about American slang, but most importantly, she got to experience the everyday life of a student in the United States. She went to school with Ohl everyday for two weeks.

“She had a lot of fun talking to the other kids in French class, and she helped me with my French homework,” Ohl said, when asked about her experience going to school with Ruel.

“I really loved [going] to the American school because it is so different [from] the French school,” Ruel said. “The teacher[s] are more strict in France. There [is] more work and hours of class; we have one or two hours to [eat] lunch.”

Ruel and Ohl also had the chance to make many long-lasting and funny memories together. Ruel brought a workbook about American schools and culture with her, and there were several pages about American slang.

“We had a lot of fun trying to figure out what the slang was, and usually my mom knew it better than I did, because it was things like ‘Can you nuke the dinner?’ and I was like, is that violent? It means to put it in the microwave, but I was trying to explain nuclear war in English. But we had a lot of good moments like that,” Ohl said, laughing.

The two still talk, but not as much as they would like because of the huge time difference between the two countries, and because they are both busy with school.

Even still, it is clear that the two have created a lifetime bond that will be hard to break.

Left: Madeline Ohl '19 and Carla Ruel '20 smile at Ruel's first college women's basketball game.

DESIGN BY LILY MENG PHOTO CREDITS: MADELINE OHL

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Pedro Marra ‘20 and Tanim Haque ‘20 look over notes for next year’s events.

CLUB CONNECTION: SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

BY LILY MENG

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group of students dressed in matching gray t-shirts eagerly march across the hallway. Some are clutching delicately glued wooden helicopters, others are shuffling through binders stuffed with color-coded note sheets and several more are sporting lab coats and goggles. No, they’re not doctors or researchers. They’re the West High Science Olympiad team.

The Science Olympians are a diverse group of around 20 students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, chemists to biologists to physicists, and people with a general interest in science to people wanting to major in science in the future.

Carolyn Walling, the club’s advisor, encourages this diversity within the club. “It’s never too early to sign up for Science Olympiad. You can sign up now, and everyone is welcome.”

Several members joined the club in the hopes of meeting all kinds of new people, since members can work with partners for certain events, creating a bond between two people with similar interests.

“When I was a freshman, I didn’t know that many people. [My favorite part about Science Olympiad] is all the nice people that you meet there. They’re really helpful and encouraging,” said Tanim Haque ’20, a member of the club.

met.” with Haque.

“I love meeting new people and getting to work Although meeting new people is something with them. I’ve met a lot of friends in Science that many Science Olympians value, the most Olympiad that I might have otherwise never important part of the club are the actual science-related events. There are two different categories of events: engineering and paper tests. In

BY THE engineering events, competitors work ahead of time to build towers, vehicles and helicopters out of various materials. In the paper tests, competitors compile notes and learn about information pertaining to their event, then take a test on the day of the competition. “[In] the engineering [events], [students declub meetings every month, sign] something totally different than what they but one or more meetings normally would do. The paper tests, it’s different with a partner every week. than normal school, because you’re not taught something and then you take a test about it, but different events offered it’s more that you have to gain all the knowledge and then try,” said Walling. “It’s learning things in Science Olympiad. that you don’t normally learn in school, and studying things that are of interest to you.”

Besides allowing students to explore topics they otherwise wouldn’t have learned in school, teams there are several events that also allow members compete to showcase skills that they otherwise wouldn’t annually in be able to in school. the US. “[My favorite event was] probably Game On, which was an event where we had to program a

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Science Olympiad is one of West High’s many academic clubs focused on science. After their spring competition, the team hopes to engage current members with different events and get new members to join. game in an allotted time, because it allowed for a lot of creativity for the event,” said Lem Elliot ’20, who competed in Game On with Adam Conrad ’18.

Yang has explored many different events, but his favorites were the engineering events.

“In [the engineering events], my partners and I get hands-on [experience] with the building, planning and the testing process. It really is like the [real] engineering process.”

Yang also thinks that Science Olympiad has allowed him to attain organizational skills. With monthly meetups with the whole club to weekly meetups with partners, the club allows him to keep track of his schedule and manage his time well.

All of the members’ efforts lead up to the annual Iowa Science Olympiad competition in April. This is a huge event for the club, as it is a culmination of all the hard work, time and effort put into preparing for the competition. In the months leading up to the competition, the team is hard at work, preparing for their different events, ranging from Mousetrap Vehicle to Herpetology to Write It Do It. There are about 20 different events offered in Science Olympiad, and every member of the team plays an integral role. To determine the

winning team, points are added up from every single event, so members try to take on as many events as possible and score as many points for their team.

This year, the Science Olympiad team placed sixth in the state, with members earning medals in individual events as well. In total, the team earned one gold medal, one silver medal and

“I’ VE ME T A LOT OF FRIENDS IN SCIENCE OLYMPIAD THAT I MIGHT HAVE OTHERWISE NE VER ME T.” - K E VIN YANG ‘20 and four bronze medals.

Pedro Marra ’20 was a gold medalist in the event Anatomy and Physiology, a test based event that focused on the human body and its functions.

“I felt really surprised because I didn’t think I could actually win a medal. In the end I actually won it so I was surprised and relieved,” he said.

Left: The Science Olympiad meets one more time during the 2017-2018 school year to choose next year’s team captains. Right: The team poses at Coe College on April 7 during the annual Iowa Sicence Olympiad competition.

DESIGN BY LILY MENG PHOTOS BY WIMAR WIDIATMO

Almost every member has found several events that they are passionate about and excel in. Yang, a Mousetrap Vehicle competitor, is excited about what Science Olympiad has in store for him. He hopes to become one of the captains of the team next year.

“My motivation is mainly to make the club more involved with the community. I want to make [Science Olympiad] a more fun club, where members are more involved.”

The team has several goals for next year. One of them is getting more members to join, because one of the biggest challenges the team has faced is a lack of members and participation. There weren’t enough people to fill up all the events, which hurt the team’s success at the competition.

“I hope that past members get lots of new members to join next year, because I think that we can really do well if we get more people involved,” said Walling.

Overall, the team is proud of how they performed this year, and members are excited to pick new events and keep on immersing themselves in what they are passionate about.

FOR MORE COVERAGE, GO TO WSSPAPER.COM

PA R I S CLIMATE CHANGE IS POISED TO BECOME THE BIGGEST THREAT TO HUMAN CIVILIZATION IN THE COMING CENTURIES, AND THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY HAS COME TOGETHER TO STOP IT. YET, IT’S NOT ENOUGH.

BY SIMON JONES

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In December of 1997, nations from across the globe finally agreed upon actions to take against the looming threat of Climate Change.

These efforts came to fruition in the Kyoto Protocol, sometimes known as the Kyoto Climate Treaty. Out of the gates after 5 years of intense debate and discussion, the agreement was very optimistic and laid out emission plans for the next two decades.

Two decades later, the Kyoto Protocol has largely faded into irrelevance. In fact, the agreement would not have made a measurable difference in global emissions at all.

Firstly, the United States never ratified the treaty, exempting them from obligations.

Secondly, China was specified as a developing nation and was not given any obligations, even though at the time China was the second largest polluter on the planet. All of this ensured that no discernable action would be taken to combat climate change.

Now, the world has the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (Also known as COP21, the Paris Climate Accord, etc.). Signed by 195 countries, and ratified by 173, its scale is unprecedented and includes hopeful climate goals,

TH E PARI S AG R E E M E NT COU LD E N D U P LI K E TH E K YOTO PROTOCO L , AN D A H UG E PO RTIO N O F TH E SCI E NTI F I C CO M M U N IT Y I S U N DE RSTAN DAB LY WO RRI E D. such as limiting global temperature increases to two degrees celsius. It encourages global cooperation to prop up renewable energy sources and reach peak emission levels sooner rather than later. That’s the thing, though, it encourages it.

The Paris Agreement could end up like the Kyoto Protocol, and a huge portion of the scientific community is understandably worried. The lax rules and regulations placed upon the agreement have been decried by scientists for not doing nearly enough to curb the dangers of climate change. One of these scientists, and a vocal supporter of climate action, is former NASA scientist

James Hansen. Hansen argues that the Paris Agreement is too full of empty promises, and prefers stricter enforcement and harsher punishment to force countries to curb their emissions.

Hansen first rose to relevance in 1988, back when NASA presented their findings on the Greenhouse effect to the Government. However, most of his criticisms of policy were suppressed as ‘unscientific and political.’ He’s also been arrested numerous times for protesting.

Think about that, a celebrated NASA Scientist being arrested because he knows what’s wrong with Climate Policy and vehemently voiced his findings.

Hansen suggests that a carbon tax, something that the Paris Agreement did not include, would help flatten emissions quickly enough to make a difference. He argues that the only way to save our planet is to curb emissions, hard. A paper released by Hansen’s international team of scientists concluded that curbing emissions will allow humanity to have some breathing room (and quite literally at that).

“This would reduce the risk of climate change running out of humanity’s control and provide time to assess the climate response, develop relevant technologies, and consider further purposeful actions to limit and/or adapt to climate change,” said Hansen.

F E AT U R E

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MAY 25, 2018

DO I N G N EAR LY E N OUG H TO SAVE H U N DR E DS O F M I LLIO N S O F PEO PLE F RO M A M I SE R AB LE F UTU R E …

TH I S I S U NACCE PTAB LE .

Similarly, Erik Solheim, Executive Director of UNEP (UN Environment Programme) said in a statement to the press that humanity must take climate action by investing in green tech immediately, or face dire consequences.

“One year after the Paris Agreement entered into force, we still find ourselves in a situation where we are not doing nearly enough to save hundreds of millions of people from a miserable future… This is unacceptable. If we invest in the right technologies, ensuring that the private sector is involved, we can still

PA R I S

AT A GLANCE

195 173

countries are Signatories to the Agreement countries are Parties to the Agreement

Signatories observe, Parties are legally bound

M E M B E R EXPECTATIO N S

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eep temp rise under 2 degrees C

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each peak emission levels ASAP

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nternational Mutual Support for clean energy

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oluntary cooperation of participants

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meet the promise we made to our children to protect their future. But we have to get on the case now,” the report said.

The fight to lead the world in clean energies is currently ongoing primarily between the European Union and China. Although their investments are significantly smaller than the trillions of Euros and Yuan needed, both are making strides. The EU is growing ever more efficient with renewables and phasing out emissions, and China plans to invest 2.5 trillion

IT ’S R EALLY D I SH EARTE N I N G TO LOO K AT A MAP O F G LO BAL COO PE R ATIO N AN D SE E TH E U N ITE D STATES ABSE NT. yuan ($367 billion) and create 6.5 million new jobs in the renewable energy market.

The United States, on the other hand, has sunk into climate denial. Under the terms of the Paris Agreement, no nation was able to depart until November 4, 2019, or three years after the agreement came into effect. The United States announced its departure on June 1, 2017, well before the accepted date. It’s really disheartening to look at a map of global cooperation and see the US absent. Despite the Paris Agreement not doing nearly enough to curb the effects of climate change, US withdrawal certainly doesn’t help.

A primary reason the United States cited for

leaving was the mandates placed upon other countries and the expectations of the United States. President Trump has blamed the agreement’s lax obligations for the European Union and China and believes that participation in the Paris Agreement would be devastating to the US Economy, particularly jobs in the “Clean Coal” industry. Not only is clean coal a complete myth, US gambling on climate is more than dangerous; it threatens our society and endangers our very existence.

The United States’ decision is extreme-

change will have. Humanity needs definitive action now, and current goals as well as the Paris Agreement do not do nearly enough. Hopefully, and that’s a big ‘hopefully,’ countries listen to the scientific community at COP23, the next UN meeting on climate change, that occurs in Poland at the end of this year.

IT ’S R EALLY D I SH EARTE N I N G TO LOO K AT A MAP O F G LO BAL COO PE R ATI O N AN D SE E TH E U N ITE D STATES ABSE NT.

ly uncooperative, and based upon unscientific to outright wrong beliefs. For example, Representative Mo Brooks (R-ALA) believes that erosion, more specifically “rocks falling into the sea,” causes sea level rise. Brooks also happens to be on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Good job, America.

Scientific denial in the United States is at an all time high, and not even attempting to recognize the dangers presented by climate change is absurd. If this behavior continues for 6 more years, the planet might see irreversible damage, and it will be our fault.

Even as countries set stricter goals to limit emissions, it may not be enough to fully mitigate the environmental cataclysms that climate

2°C 4°C

PARIS AGREEMENT TEMPERATURE INCREASE GOAL

PROJECTED TEMPERATURE INCREASE

DESIGN BY SIMON JONES ART BY SIMON JONES

Senior pranks

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MAY 25, 2018

Wimar Widiatmo

Senior pranks are a part of high school traditions; they’re a way for seniors to give back to the school in a comedic and fun way. The students plan the prank months prior, gather the necessary items for the prank, prank the school and then everyone gets a good laugh from the fun and creative prank. But the people of West have very different opinions about pranks.

Imagine that you’re walking down the hallway to your next period when suddenly you spot something out of the corner of your eye: a lamp. Suddenly, people carrying lamps start to stand out against the tide. A little more tame than the alarm prank, that year seniors were seen carrying around lamps with them. When asked what the lamps were for, they would simply say “It’s Lit,” and walk away. Most senior pranks are funny and clever; they leave behind a memory that everyone will remember. But for Caleb Brandauer ’19, this senior prank wasn’t very enjoyable. “I like [senior pranks] if they’re well thought out, but most of the ones I’ve seen aren’t. Last year’s prank wasn’t very well thought out, and I didn’t really like it. A prank should be an actual prank.

If we can’t do a normal prank, then we should name it something else.”

WAKE UP CALL 2016-2017

At the end of 2017 school year, seniors stashed a bunch of alarms around the school and used their phones’ alarms in a coordinated effort to ‘wake up’ the entire school. The point of the prank was to disrupt class, and disrupt class they did. Teachers stopped teaching in an attempt to figure out where the noise was coming from, and after the alarms stopped or were found, students pulled out their phones to record the fiasco. Spanish Teacher Amy Seidel explains how her class tried to find where the alarm was coming from. “There was one [alarm] that was up in my ceiling tiles. We tried to locate it but we never did because it stopped going off. As far as I know, it’s still living up there. I thought it was pretty creative though.”

It’s a normal day in the library. Students studying, some chatting, crickets hopping around. Well, everything except for that last part. In 1995 a student released a box of crickets all over the library, causing panic and disgust. Denise Rehmke, a former West High librarian, remembers this day vividly. “I remember seeing a couple of crickets at first and thought to myself, ‘Ew bugs, where did they come from?’ But then out nowhere, a whole bunch of crickets started jumping around! The sight of them made me jump.” The clean up was surprisingly quick and easy, but the school still had to make sure they were all gone. “We got the custodians to vacuum the crickets, [but then] we got pest control to clean up the weekend afterwards just to make sure.” They never caught the prankster, but they got an eventful day instead.

DESIGN BY WIMAR WIDIATMO

IT’S LIT 2015-2016

PANIC IN THE LIBRARY 1994-1995

14

E N T E R TA I N M E N T MAY 28, 2018

BY SIMON JONES

DRESS

IMPRESS TO Interviews can be daunting endeavor. “What do I say? What will they say?

What will I wear?” Hold on to that last question for a moment and read this article, because if you look great, you’ll feel great.

General Advice: Do Your Homework You should know what kind of dress the company you’re applying for finds appropriate.

Try to get a general gauge of what to not wear, and how ‘professional’ the company is.

Less is More This is a job interview after all, so don’t go crazy with tuxedos or poofy dresses. Dress down, think ‘business casual.’ Go easy on accessories, too.

Pay Attention to the Little Things Don’t drown yourself in perfume or cologne, comb your hair, be clean.

FOR WOMEN Solid color, conservative Dress pants or skirt Tan or light pantyhose (if applicable) Coordinated blouse Moderate shoes Limited jewelry Neat, professional hairstyle Sparse makeup and perfume

FOR MEN

Wear dress pants or slacks.

Solid color, conservative Long sleeve shirt or polo Tie if applicable Dark socks, professional shoes Very limited jewelry Neat, professional hairstyle Neatly trimmed nails

DESIGN BY SIMON JONES

15

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

MAKE YOUR MELON

MAY 25, 2018

Ah, summer is finally here. No homework, no teachers, no stress and no tests. What better way to destress than by enjoying these delicious watermelon based ice cream, popsicles and drinks! These recipes are easy to make and are guaranteed to refresh you on a hot, summer day.

BY WIMAR WIDIATMO

Wa ter me

lon

INGREDIENTS: -2 c. cubed seedless watermelon -2 c. whole milk -2 tbsp. sugar -1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Put ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth 2. Place blended ingredients into a pan 3. Place pan into freezer for three hours 4. Next, scoop the mixture into the blender 5. Blend again 6. Place mixture back into pan and freeze for one hour 7. Enjoy your frozen treat

Wa ter me

lon

Ice

INGREDIENTS: -3 c. cubed watermelon -1/2 c. Greek yogurt -1/4 c. granulated sugar -Popsicle sticks -Ice tray or popsicle mold INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Blend the watermelon, yogurt, and sugar 2. Pour into popsicle mold and insert popsicle sticks 3. Freeze for 4 hours

DESIGN BY WIMAR WIDIATMO

Yo g

Cr ea

urt

m

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icle s p n Po

lo INGREDIENTS: e m -3 c. watermelon ter a -A few popsicle sticks W -Popsicle mold or ice tray -2 tsp. sugar INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Puree the watermelon with sugar until smooth 2. Fill the liquid into the mold (insert popsicle sticks if mold doesn’t have handles) 3. Freeze for 3 hours 4. Take out of the freezer and enjoy

Pop

ade n o em L n elo INGREDIENTS: m r -7 tbsp. white sugar e -4 c. cubed seedless watermelon Wat

-3 c. water -1/2 c. lemon juice INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Place watermelon and water into blender to blend 2. Add sugar and lemon juice while the watermelon purees 3. Place ice cubes into cup and savor your refreshing drink

16

OPINION MAY. 25, 2018

DEADLY CONSPIRACIES

As the modern world begins to grow increasingly advanced and transparent, people continue to shelter their outdated beliefs and attitudes.

BY SIMON JONES

R

oughly seven percent of Americans currently believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Out of all of us, that’s about 16.4 million ill-informed Americans. Although this statistic is relatively harmless, if not eye-rolling, there are countless others that deteriorate and warp the mindsets of Americans. Not bizzaro beliefs such as believing lizard people secretly control every aspect of society (shhh, you didn’t hear that from me), but more harmful issues like believing a former presidential candidate runs a child-sex ring out of a pizza joint.

Before the 2016 presidential elections, a rumor started to circulate across the internet that the Clinton Campaign, more specifically campaign manager John Podesta, endorsed a child-sex ring under ‘Comet Ping-Pong.’ The effects of ‘PizzaGate’, as it has since been dubbed, spilled over to other businesses and to other innocent people. Locations all over the area received dozens of hateful calls and death threats, not to mention the nut-job who decided to do a little ‘vigilante justice’ and arrive with

“ U N SU PPO RTE D ACCU SATI O N S, AN D TH E CO N F U S IO N THAT FO LLOWS, HAVE CRI PPLE D TH E PO LITI CAL D I SCOU RSE I N TH I S COU NTRY.” - S I M O N J O N ES ‘19

“ TH I S B LI N D ACCE PTAN CE , I S D I SG R ACE F U L AN D DAN G E ROU S.” - S I M O N J O N ES ‘19 justice’ and arrive with an assault rifle.

People nearly died because of some bizarro-theory against a political opponent.

In fact, violence between political factions, whether verbal or nonverbal, have intensified over the the past few decades.

Unsupported accusations, and the confusion that follows, have crippled the political discourse in this country.

People’s outlandish beliefs don’t stop at political means either, and have a potential to a lot more harm in the long run. Let me rant for a hot second: people who don’t believe in the wonders of modern medicine are woefully incompetent. Humanity has eradicated serious diseases such as polio and measles, extended the average lifespan and made treatments and cures for countless ailments from broken limbs to cancer, and people still reject it. It’s amazing how much we have has accomplished in the past two hundred years, but all of it is worth nothing if the public won’t let go of their pseudo-sciences.

In 1998, a fraudulent scientific paper was published in The Lancet that cited a link between the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) Vaccine and autism. Not only is this completely false, it’s absurd to believe that immunization somehow modi-

fies someone’s genetics to appear autistic.

That’s not how this works; that’s not how any of this works. People died or were left with serious disabilities, and I can’t even begin to say how stupid, short-sighted and dangerous it is that parents do not immunize their children because of some baseless hoax.

Speaking of baseless hoaxes, people seem to believe that overwhelming, well reviewed and documented scientific data is all part of some grand conspiracy to cripple the US Economy, cripple US influence, or whatever crisis can be invented on a whim.

The truth is that doing nothing will cripple the US. If we allow climate change to continue unhindered, millions of Americans will be displaced, food shortages will grow, and society will break under the weight of the consequences. This would-be hell is not isolated to the United States, 2 billion people will be made refugees and famines might sweep the globe. Nearly every other country on the planet has acknowledged the dangers posed by unhindered climate change, and have started to take action against it. Global warming will tear the world apart, sure, but boy do we need those coal jobs. That was sarcasm, but our president believes this. Our president, the ‘leader’ of the developed world, refuses to see that the wool has been pulled over his eyes by a doubtful population and a greedy corporate conglomeration. This kind of behavior, this blind acceptance, is disgraceful and dangerous.

Conspiracy theories used to be tamer, simpler. Is Elvis really dead? Probably. Do people use their stupid beliefs to justify their stupid actions? Definitely. Whether the consequences are immediate or in the future, people resorting to violence or dangerous actions based upon unsupported outlandish claims is not only dangerous, but it eats away at the moral integrity of humanity.

17

OPINION

EVERY DROP MATTERS

MAY. 25, 2018

Educating students about water privilege will help them grasp how lucky they truly are.

BY LILY MENG

T

he gym was deadly silent, except for the sound of impatient children moving about. Ten seconds.

There was a cough, quickly followed by several muffled giggles. Thirty seconds.

“Shhh!” one of the nearby teachers fervently whispered, casting a warning glance in the kids’ direction. Fifty seconds. The clock made its constant, rhythmic ticking sound. Sixty seconds. The gym stayed silent, every kid in the vicinity thinking about what had just happened in that minute. This was a spring day at Lincoln Elementary School in 2013. Linda Sue Park, an author famous for her book “A Long Walk to Water,” had come to talk to all the students about water privilege.

“Every 60 seconds, a newborn dies from infection caused by contaminated drinking water and an unclean environment,” Park said.

How lucky are we? How lucky are we to be able to turn on the faucet and instantly get fresh, clean water? How lucky are we to be able to attend school and fill our brains with knowledge, and not have to worry about walking miles to collect water instead? How lucky are we that we live in clean environments with clean water and not have to worry about getting infections through dirty and poor conditions?

I’ve never understood those who keep the faucet running while brushing their teeth, who take hour long showers and who carelessly take water for granted. Why? There are so many people in the world who don’t have access to what we have.

But this realization didn’t come easy to me either. In elementary school, our teachers wanted us to know just how lucky we were. They planned a water walk, where we all put a bucket of water on our heads and walked around a few blocks under the hot, blistering sun. About 10 minutes into the walk, people were panting, sweat dripping down their faces, arms sore and red.

lieve that some kids had to do this everyday for hours on end. After the walk, we all raced to the water fountain, where the streaming water cooled us all down. But other kids in African countries walked so far just to get water. Not even clean water.

Water filled with disease-causing bacteria and other particles, stuff many would never, ever touch.

Once we were all aware of how privileged we were, we held a fundraiser to raise money for a water well in Sudan. The goal was to provide fresh water to a village so the children there could have the chance to get an education and have easy access to water. The whole school got together to paint greeting cards focused on the theme of water. We sold bundles of cards with lakes, oceans and wells painted on

“ TH E R E AR E SO MANY PEO PLE I N TH E WO R LD WH O DO N ’T HAVE ACCESS TO WHAT WE HAVE .”

- LI LY M E N G ‘19 cardstock, tied together with gold ribbons. It warmed my heart to see that I got the chance to participate in a life-changing fundraiser. It also brought the whole school together to tackle a huge problem that didn’t seem so big anymore with everyone contributing.

After the fundraiser and the water walk, I had a better grasp on the concept of privilege. From then on out, I appreciated the simplest things in life, like water, realizing that not everyone could have access to it.

I started to take shorter showers, turned off the tap when I didn’t use it, and most

importantly, spread the word about our privilege.

After the experience I had in elementary school, I realized that to educate is to empower. By educating all of us about water privilege, we truly grasped this serious issue and came out of the experience knowing not to take anything for granted. These activities and opportunities helped many students realize their privilege, and was more effective than just telling them, “You are so lucky.” After these activities, many students walked away with newfound knowledge and experiences, knowing that this opportunity would stick with them in the future.

To build a more understanding generation, the change should start at school. It is the teachers’ jobs to inspire students, and the principals’ jobs to give students unique opportunities. I hope my elementary school will continue to teach its students about water privilege in the future, educating future generations. I also hope it will inspire other schools, both elementary and high schools, to allow their students to experience activities like water walks for themselves, and bring in engaging guest speakers who will help them realize their privilege. Hands-on and action-oriented activities are more effective than uninspiring, dull lectures and passive learning.

With these activities come the chances to step into someone else’s shoes and bond with others on a global issue.

Hopefully, then, more people will realize just how lucky they are. After all, every drop matters.

DESIGN BY LILY MENG PHOTOS BY WIMAR WIDIATMO