Jesuit Chronicle 2019 October Issue

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The Jesuit Chronicle

OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIlI

LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

The Slacktivist challenges barriers to activism BY SHAWNA MUCKLE, ’20

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ast June, senior Sudeeksha Yadav and her brother created @theslacktivists, an Instagram page dedicated to “slacktivism”. The page, in conjunction with its corresponding website and Twitter page, provides concise informational articles about injustices on the international, national, and local levels, as well as suggestions and resources for getting involved. “Slacktivism”, used as a derogatory term by the activist community, refers primarily to social media activism, where many activism-dedicated accounts post about social justice and others simply absorb information from other people’s feeds. Because social media enables a lack of time-consuming involvement in activist causes, some traditional activists view it as a lazy, halfbaked form of activism—cue the term “slacktivist”. Yadav took issue with the scorn activism on social media typically receives, even writing her junior research paper about the importance of social media activism. She and her brother, Utkarsh Yadav, a graduate of the class of 2016, created @theslacktivists (found at the URL theslacktivist.co) as a rebuke against the philosophy of indignant “conventional” activists. Yadav describes conventional activism as the high-profile activities typically associated with exercising one’s constitutional and democratic rights: protests, marches, voting, and attending town halls. However, all of those activities involve taking time off work or school and require the ability to transport oneself to a designated location. “Conventional activism excludes a lot of people, so that’s why when I was doing research about social media activism I thought that it was a lot more inclusive,” Yadav said. “If you look at just Jesuit, you have at least 75% of the student body being excluded from conventional activism just because they can’t

CENTER

vote. I saw an entire generation of potential activists who feel disenfranchised by the type of activism they’re exposed to.” Yadav emphasizes that while the actions associated with “slacktivism”—reading about issues on social media, changing a profile picture, sharing information to one’s following base—may appear “easier”, their ability to catalyze change should not be disregarded. Mass education about crises and injustices creates a domino effect: Internet campaigns gain enough traction to emphasize an issue in traditional media, nonprofits receive an influx of donations, and community and world leaders are prompted

to put pressure on perpetrators of injustice or reform their own institutions. While the influence of a single social media activist may be small relative to traditional activism, Yadav saw the creation of The Slacktivist as a way to contribute to social media’s domino effect by maximizing awareness and finding accessible methods of activism for young people. Driven by a desire to objectively convey information while also personalizing major issues and encouraging high schoolers to get involved themselves, Yadav’s process for choosing what to write about is twofold. While she consults traditional news sources like The New York Times,

she also consults Twitter. Twitter often contains personal perspectives from those witnessing injustices and allows her to broadcast issues that aren’t emphasized by major media outlets. “The way news is presented makes issues feel even farther away than they are,” Yadav said. “I’m looking for personal voices from people who are actually there. They do have their own biases because they’re there, but it’s different because they have their own individual experiences as opposed to news companies with an agenda.” The Slacktivist website is organized so readers can easily access information on global or local social justice issues. Lo-

Yadav uses The Slacktivist to broadcast both traditional reporting and personal perspectives on social justice.

WHAT ALLEVIATES PLASTIC WASTE? Wondering how the metal straw fad is helping eliminate plastic waste in oceans and landfills? Read our analysis on the impact individual “anti-plastic” efforts have in decreasing plastic use. pg. 6

SPORTS I

MICK ABEL, BASEBALL STAR: Senior Mick Abel spent his summer participating in a national program for top high school baseball players and competed internationally for team USA. Learn more about Mick’s successes. pg. 8

ARTS

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: ANNE FLYNN Art IV senior Anne Flynn has been drawing since age 10. Read about her journey over the last seven years to refine her style and contribute her artistic talents to the Arts Department. pg. 10

PAGE EDITOR: Shawna Muckle

cal articles include information on ICE raids, protests, and other significant events in the Portland area. Global articles emphasize unjust situations in various countries, such as protests in Hong Kong or the takeover of Kashmir by the Indian government. Meanwhile, Instagram and Twitter often serve as a forum to provide succinct versions of and links to their informational articles and op-eds. Yadav and her brother also take advantage of retweeting and post sharing to highlight breaking news for their followers. With its emphasis on local and global issues, The Slacktivist has gained traction not only among Jesuit students, but among other Portland-area high schoolers as well. Many have responded positively to the accessibility that the Instagram page offers for gaining nuanced and factual insight into social justice. “I think it’s really cool that [longer articles] can come to a platform that I myself use a lot,” senior Julie Nguyen said. “You can’t always be trustful of things on social media, but I know Sudeeksha and I’m sure that her and her brother are researching as much as they can.” The Slacktivist garnered additional publicity when activist and actress Jameela Jamil retweeted one of The Slacktivist’s articles on the crisis in Kashmir, praising The Slacktivist for its unbiased reporting and calling Yadav “a brilliant young woman”. Though The Slacktivist serves primarily as an outlet to become informed on social justice issues, it still embraces other forms of activism. Yadav frequently writes about easy and accessible ways for teenagers to become more involved activists. “The Slacktivist posted about ways to help children suffering at the border, and there were tips to call your representatives, post on social media, donate, and things like that, so I called my representatives,” senior Ria Debnath said. “Little things like that can actually have an effect.”

LIFESTYLE

WHAT’S UP WITH TIKTOK? Teenagers know all about the latest social media sensation, TikTok, which allows users to share short, music-accompanied videos. Our reporter investigates what makes TikTok so popular. pg. 11


NEWS I

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OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIlI

LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

New changes to vice principal structure BY MICHAEL LANG ’20

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esuit has implemented a new system for Vice Principals this year to offer better opportunities for students to access the Vice Principals. Mr. Powers, the former Director of Christian Service for the past 14 years, has transitioned to being one of three Vice Principals of Academics and Student Life alongside Mr. Maxie and Mrs. Hagelgans. Each Vice Principal is now responsible for one-third of the student body at Jesuit, and acts as a “go-to” Vice Principal for students and staff for various purposes. In addition, students are now assigned to one of the three Vice Principals according to the alphabetized organization of students’ last names. Mrs. Hagelgans oversees students with last names A-G; Mr. Maxie manages students with last names H-N; Mr. Powers supervises stu-

dents with last names O-Z. While students might not immediately notice the impact of the change, the goal is to offer a more individual connection between the Vice Principals and student body by implementing this new structure. However, this new format doesn’t merely add another Vice Principal; instead, it was restructured to allow students to become more

Mr. Powers

familiar with their Vice Principal, and to give students easier access to them when necessary. Thus, the studentto-Vice Principal ratio significantly shrank with the split roles. “Now we have three Vice Principals who are [each] focusing on 425 students for their academic and student life,” Mr. Powers said. “I’m

Mr. Maxie

getting to know kids in my alphabet in a way that, if I had every kid, I might not be able to do.” Many students also see this update as a benefit to the student body. Senior Jack Casey agrees with the positives of breaking down the large number of students into three individual Vice Principal assignments. “It’s good to be able to have fewer students per

Mrs. Hagelgans

Vice Principal,” Casey said. “You get the chance to form more of a connection with [the administrators].” The breakdown of focuses and roles for the Vice Principals also allows for specific attention to different aspects of Jesuit. Senior Cameron Lyke, a current student of Mr. Powers, notices the benefits in this type of system. “I think it was a good move. It lessens the stress on the other [Vice Principals] to manage students,” Lyke said. Mr. Powers has adapted to his role change, too. “I’m getting to see all the different parts of the school that - maybe in my former role - I knew what was going on, but now I’m hopefully being someone who can help make things work better and more efficiently,” Mr. Powers said.

Library and lanyards: things have changed BY ROSA MADDEN, ’21

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hanges regarding lanyards and the use of the library during lunch seek to create a safer and more productive environment for all students and staff. Jesuit students were required to wear their lanyards

everyday through the 201819 school year. The administration’s goal was to enforce security on campus as well as easily identify Jesuit students. “It was really for identifying our students; there have been times where a former student was on campus COURTESY OF JESUIT PHOTOGRAPHY

Nathan Gewant ’20 reading the updated school rules in the library

and not everybody knows that they’re no longer a student. It’s an opportunity to say: these are our students, these are our guests, visitors, etc.” Vice Principal of Academics and Student Life Mrs. Hagelgans said. However, this new policy frustrated many students, who felt burdened with the daily task of remembering to bring their lanyard to school. Students began to acquire more JUGs due to forgetting their lanyard. The Jesuit administration recognized the inefficiency of this new requirement. Many students saw this too, and they thought the task of remembering their lanyards everyday overshadowed the increased security on campus.

“I don’t think they were effective, because they just caused too much trouble than they were worth,” junior Lane Laurent said. The administration, tired of the unnecessary, sometimes negative, interactions with students regarding lanyards, ultimately decided to cut this policy completely. “Students would receive a JUG, and do things they wouldn’t normally do, like [claim] it’s in their bag, or they’d take one of their friend’s lanyards. It created things where now students are dishonest for just not bringing an ID, and it [just] created more issues,” Mr. Maxie explains, Vice Principal of Academics and Student Life. Not only did the rules

change around lanyards, but the library rules were also changed. Last year, the rules around when students had access to the library changed multiple times, and the librarians and administration finally settled on one policy this year. Students are free to use the library during lunchtime on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesday and Thursday, the library will be closed for the entire lunch period. The days students aren’t allowed to come in to the library allows teachers with a 4th period to fully utilize the library without having students from lunch interfere with their lessons. “We hope that this model will be helpful for the classroom teacher as well as students at lunch time,” librarian Mr. Lum said.

Haugen protects and serves campus

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BY JJ GRAY, ’22

esuit now has a dedicated Beaverton police officer on campus, Officer Haugen. Jesuit has always had a Beaverton police officer assigned to Jesuit, but this year the Beaverton police department had enough police officers to allow Jesuit to have their own officer. Officer Haugen has been a School Resource Officer for four months and Jesuit is the first high school where he has worked. “Prior to becoming a police officer I was a middle school special ed teacher and I got to know the school

resource officer,” Officer Haugen said. “I went on some ride alongs and I thought, ‘this is a fun job.’” While Officer Haugen is at Jesuit to protect, it’s natural that some students have anxiety when they see Police. Sophomore Asher Pelaez says in public he feels “nervous” when seeing a police officer. When in dangerous situations, it can be nice to have a police officer to protect faculty and students. Having a police officer around can also make students and faculty feel more comfortable and relaxed. “Having a police officer on Jesuit’s campus makes me feel more comfortable and

safe when there is something or someone that is dangerous on campus,” said sophomore John Holman. Officer Haugen doesn’t want the students to be scared to him in any way. He wants all the students to come talk to him, most of the time he has the Hi-Chews candy with him. “I don’t want a presence of someone with a uniform to cause anxiety”, Chief Security Officer Mrs. Kent says. Mrs. Kent says he wants to “be the police officer that comes up and shakes your hand and says, ‘How’s your day?’” Officer Haugen works Tuesday through Friday and tries to come to Jesuit every-

day that he works. The max- COURTESY OF JESUIT PHOTOGRAPHY imum time for an officer to work at a school is six years. Both Jesuit’s administration and Officer Haugen want him to be here for all six years so he can get to know the traditions at Jesuit and connect with the students. During the day, Officer Haugen is normally roaming around the school, in the lunchroom or the security office in the Knight Lobby. To contact Officer Haugen, his email is jhaugen@BeavertonOregon.gov, or you can get in contact with Mrs. Kent to find Officer Haugen. Officer Haugen at spirit assembly

PAGE EDITORS: Rosa Madden and Scout Jacobs


NEWS II

3 OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIlI

LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

AP Psychology: elective with a prep period? ROSA MADDEN, ’21

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ith the AP Psychology class at a staggering 57 students, this new class has an odd schedule, creating unique lesson oppor tunities, adjustments to frequently using online resources, and utilizing two prep periods a week. Because AP Psych is so large, it is split into two sections: A and B. The A section meets Monday and Thursday, while the B section meets Wednesday and Friday. On the off days, the section is given a prep period, where students can work on homework either from other classes or the AP Psych class. Even though the class time is reduced compared to a regular class, AP Psychology teacher Ms. Bernards fully utilizes these free periods to create more in-depth and complex activities such as group projects, watching videos, and even oppor tunities to observe psychology in the real world. Later in the year,

Bernards plans to take her class to a preschool to study developmental psychology. “The hybrid model really allows for us to do things like that, because it then gives students time to go to other activities, sometimes out in the community that they wouldn’t necessarily be able to do because we have so much class time,” Bernards said. Students also take advantage of these extra free periods throughout the week to get a head star t on homework or to finish assignments from other classes. “I like having a prep because I get to do my homework in other classes, and I have practice after school so I don’t always finish my homework,” junior Lily Cansdale said. Despite the luxuries of two free periods a week, Bernards discusses some drawbacks of this split system. On each class’ off day, their homework is posted to canvas, pushing half of the student-teacher interaction

solely online. “Psychology is a ver y personal study, and it’s really impor tant I build trust with students for this class. [It’s critical] they feel like they can be open with me, and that’s more challenging in an online inter face,” Bernards said.

Because of the split schedule, homework can also be challenging. Sometimes assignments are posted or due on a day the class has a prep period, so students have to be vigilant about checking canvas. “Homework isn’t that

bad, it’s just knowing when to turn stuff in. I remember my past off day we got an assignment on Monday, and it was due the next day (Tuesday), [but] I had an off day on Wednesday,” senior Moises Barajas said.

COURTESY OF ANNIE LANDGRAF ’21

Due to the big class size of AP Psychology, the class is divided into two sections during the year: Class A & Class B.

“Hybrid Council” highlights neurodiversity BY STEELE CLEVENGER, ’21

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he relationship between Jesuit and Edison High Schools recently blossomed due to the creation of a “Hybrid Council,” where students attending both schools, referred to as “hybrids,”will meet regularly to discuss their experience and how it can be improved. Already, juniors Jordan Pope, Julia Braun, Hugh Gilroy, and seniors Kyndall Kirkland, Heidi Heitkemper, Jaxen Wigger, and Kyle Kneefel have participated in council activities. Their goals: improving the Jesuit/Edison relationship and educating students about learning differences. “I feel like a lot of kids that only go to Jesuit don’t really know what Edison actually is,” junior Jordan Pope said. “[The goal is] to bridge the two schools together.” Director of Learning Support Colleen O’Mahony is one of the adults advising the “Hybrid Council,” although she emphasizes that the council is based on student needs and ideas. “Jordan Pope originally came to me and said, ‘I wish that there were ambassadors for both schools,’” O’Mahony recalls. “That was something we had informally done in the past, but not on a large scale and not offering [it] to the general community.” Edison High School En-

glish Teacher Mary Kate Fellows Russell is also an advisor for the Hybrid Council, and she agrees that it is very student driven. “The goals come from the students. I think kids like Jordan and Jaxen and Heidi and Julia have a lot of great ideas,” says Fellows Russell. “I think the adults’ role in organizations is to support [the students’] visions and then execute them.” Although meetings have not yet begun, the Hybrid Council has already brainstormed ideas for how to improve the experience for hybrid students. “One thing that we’re trying to do is [start] a hybrid student shadow day,” says Pope. “When I was shadowing, I just shadowed at Jesuit because I didn’t know that I could shadow someone that was a hybrid student.” Another idea that has already become a reality is “Hybrid Freshmen Orientation Day.” Hybrid students like Pope served as an ambassador for freshmen beginning Jesuit and Edison that day. “Julia Braun, Hugh Gilroy, Kyle Kneefel and Jaxen Wigger put on a student panel for our new hybrid students, and they led tours, and it was really successful. All the students universally said that was the best part of the orientation,” O’Mahony said. “[The freshmen hybrids] felt really included and a lot of their fears were allayed.” O’Mahony says that for incoming freshmen, having a

hybrid student to talk to about their experience is imperative to making sure students are comfortable at their new schools. “Starting two schools on the same day is not easy,” she said. “Anything we can do to make that easier is the essence of being people for others.” Wigger says that his experience with both schools has been great, but for some of his friends who take classes at Edison, their experiences have not been as enjoyable. “Some kids don’t enjoy the Edison experience as much as I have,” says Wigger. “I [joined the “Hybrid Council”] because I really wanted to help other kids who were like me and did not know where to go to get to Satellite, which is the classrooms right by the Starbucks or were worried about their schedules.” O’Mahony says another council goal is to create an understanding between the two schools in order to strengthen their relationship. “The other goal is to continue to make sure that both communities understand the other community—that we’re able to understand that students at Edison are not stupid, and students at Jesuit are not stuck up,” she said. “We have so much more in common than divides us.” “We want to keep improving the user experience of both schools so we have more of a unified voice.”

PAGE EDITORS: Annie Landgraf


FEATURES l

4 LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIlI

School dress codes continue to evolve BY VIRGINIA LARNER, ’20

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ecently, Central Catholic High School made substantial changes to their dress code, almost completely eliminating any restrictions. While remaining true to character, Catholic schools continue to revise their dress codes with students in mind as modern trends evolve. Jesuit has relaxed some policies over the past few years, including the ability to wear jeans with fray on the bottom, Birkenstocks, and one item of camo. “The changes have made shopping and finding clothes easier, but our rules still feel really restrictive,” se-

nior Emma Crate said. With the goal of creating “critical thinkers,” Central has put more power in the hands of their students by allowing them to make personal choices regarding clothing in the school setting. Through a series of reflective questions, the school emphasizes decision making on appropriate attire in circumstance. “One of the rumors on the road is that Central Catholic ‘got rid of their dress code’,” Principal of Central Catholic Danyelle Ramsey said. “I want to be really clear that we do still have a dress code. Our goal is for parents and students to engage in critical thinking as students make decisions about

what to wear to school.” While the Central Catholic handbook lists a series of reflective questions, there are no listed restrictions on student’s attire. “It’s been easier to get dressed in the morning,” Central Catholic junior Shea O’Rourke said. “It has taken the stress out of avoiding faculty because you’re worried about your outfit.” Though not as drastic as Central, Jesuit continues to make changes to the dress code each year. Though these may seem small, the dress code used to be much more restrictive on students’ attire. “Before I got here you weren’t allowed to show

collarbone,” Vice Principal of Academics and Student Life, Khalid Maxie said. “It continues to evolve, and I think it will continue.” In addition to specific rules being changed, the Vice Principals also consider the language used in the handbook. The word choice attempts to diffuse any gender specific rules, and focuses on respect. The rules of dress are explicitly defined in the handbook to avoid any possible confusion. According to the student handbook, “The intent of the Jesuit High School dress code is to instill an understanding of the expectations of

appropriate attire in different contexts.” Both Maxie and Hagelgans noted that the dress code is in place in order to set standards for appropriate dress in a given context. In preparing students for their futures, Jesuit aims to enable an understanding of acceptable attire for future engagements students will face. It is often pointed out that many job settings also have implemented dress codes. Of the other four Catholic Portland-area high schools, St. Mary’s, Valley Catholic, De La Salle North, and La Salle, most have certain restrictions and guidelines regarding students’ attire.

New teacher Q&A: the tough questions

Kim Bastable

Lauren Blumhardt

Sara Holman

Questions

Answers

1. Would you rather only eat pineapple pizza forever or pistachio flavored ice cream forever? 2. Would rather fight a chicken sized horse or 100 horse sized chickens? 3. If you could make a mix of any politician and food, what would you do? 4. Would you rather be able to read minds or fly? 5. Is a hotdog a sandwich? 6. If you could make a mix of any natural disaster and politician, what would it be? 7. Would you rather have super strength or be able to fly? 8. If you could make a mix of any animal and food, what would you do? 9. Would you rather have spoons for arms or forks for legs? 10. Would you rather have hands for feet or feet for hands? 11. What are you the most excited about this year?

1. Kim Bastable: Ice cream forever! 2. Terry Moore: One chicken-sized horse is the way to go. Michele Hoover

3. Francisco Hernandez: I think I would take Pete Buttigieg and a burrito. I don’t really know why but I feel that he has something about him that makes me think that would be a good combination. 4. Teri Calcagno: I would rather fly! 5. Michele Hoover: I think a hotdog is a sandwich. 6. Wally Waibel: I don’t like politicians.... So I guess I will lump them all into one group and call them a plague. 7. Sara Holman: I’d rather fly so that I could travel quickly

Teri Calcagno

and easily to see places and people I love. 8. Lauren Blumhardt: I would mix a puff Cheeto and a giraffe. So a life-size puff Cheeto in the shape of a giraffe. 9. Kirk Soulé: I would rather have forks for legs…as long as they were “full sized” ones and NOT salad forks! 10. Austin Salzwedel: I would rather have hands for feet. 11. Wesley Hueston: Getting to spend every day here!

Want more? Visit www.jesuitnews.com

Austin Salzwedel

Kirk Soulé

Francisco Hernandez

Terry Moore

Wesley Hueston PAGE EDITOR: Virginia Larner

Wally Waibel


OPINION

5 October 2019, EDITION LXIlI

LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

Education on addiction treatment is needed BY SHAWNA MUCKLE ’20

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UUL usage among high school students has inspired concern about the reemergence of nicotine addiction. With this increased concern comes a need to examine the defects of current addiction education and stigma—defects that Jesuit is by no means immune to. Many high schools, including Jesuit, offer widespread preventative education for addiction. Preventative education teaches students about the addictive properties and harmful physical, mental and emotional effects of various substances. While understanding the science behind addiction remains a crucial deterrent for teenagers considering experimentation with substances, it does little to help kids already struggling with addiction, where symptoms are beyond their control. The other side of addiction education is treatment education: education that focuses on assessing treatment and rehabilitation options for existing addictions. Treatment education provides important information to the entire school community. It confronts stigma and misinformation surrounding people suffering from addiction, and it helps students feel safe coming forward about potentially addictive behaviors in themselves or their peers, rather than leaving addiction assessments to

adults on campus. On-campus drug usage, although a serious breach of school rules, is one of the few methods the administration has to identify struggling students. “If a student is doing these things frequently on campus, it leads me to believe they have a problem,” said Mr. Maxie, Vice Principal for Academics and Student Life. “I am first and foremost concerned about their health and well-being. I want you to get the help that you need, which means I’m going to connect you with your counselor and hopefully together we’ll be able to find out if there’s a true issue there.” On-campus drug usage typically involves suspension, and in most circumstances students are still allowed to be part of the community. However, the administration addresses drug use on a case-by-case basis, depending on a student’s prior discipline record. Mr. Maxie also stresses that the administration prioritizes directing students they know are struggling with substance abuse towards their counselors to develop a treatment plan that is effective for them, whether that’s rehabilitation, counseling, or other methods to treat addiction. School counselors are not considered mandatory re-

porters regarding illegal substance abuse, and students can come forward about problems with drug abuse without necessarily having those issues referred back to the administration or to law enforcement. Counselors also serve as the primary contact between outside psychiatrists and rehabilitation centers for a variety of mental illnesses, including addiction. Among the student body, however, rumors and a lack of clarification by the administration have led students to believe the protocol for substance abuse is entirely centered around consequences. No class emphasizes information on any of the resources Jesuit has to help students caught using substances--leaving many to assume those resources don’t exist at all. “I do think when there’s actual instances of drug addiction or nicotine usage in the Jesuit community that we fail to address the issue, which is the addiction itself and not the fact that rules were broken,” junior Lucy Keane said. “I think it’s centered around consequences like suspension. I think it would be more beneficial if rehabilitation resources and resources that would support the student in overcoming this challenge they are facing were more available.”

The misinformation that surrounds Jesuit’s role in treatment assistance also helps explain the minimal amount of students who reach out about addiction-related problems. “We have not had many students or families contact us looking for resources to help deal with addiction of any kind, partly because of the stigma [around addiction] and they don’t want the school to know, but hopefully because they are actively seeking their own programs,” Principal Paul Hogan said. The stigma that prevents students from coming forward links back to the flawed standards for addiction education. No state or schoolwide curriculum addresses possible treatments or the specific consequences school has in place for substance abuse. Without education on Jesuit’s efforts to treat addiction, students are unlikely to assume they will be cared for by their counselors or the administration if they are caught with substances or come forward on their own. While Jesuit may only rarely have administration-involved incidents with students experiencing addiction, of the 20% of high school students who vape on a regular basis (Washington Post), many may

be developing a dangerous dependence. Jesuit students have received enough education recognize that dependence, but few have learned how to combat it. Some likely have yet to come forward or seek help. Treatment education should become an emphasized aspect of the health curriculum and a central component of Jesuit’s efforts to improve addiction education. Students should know much more about the resources available to them in the counseling department for dealing with addiction and other mental illnesses, and the consequences of substance use should be honestly portrayed to students. A straightforward explanation about how addiction can be treated, and in cases of on-campus drug usage, what both the punishments and treatments offered to students are, by no means encourages more students to abuse substances. Having a clear picture of the realities of having an addiction, namely treatment, will enable students to self-assess their behaviors and choose appropriate, evidence-based treatment. Being informed on their available resources at Jesuit will empower students whose symptoms and usage are “undetectable“, particularly common among e-cigarette users, to come forward with less shame or uncertainty. As for the students who aren’t currently struggling with substances, understanding that addiction treatments exist even within our school, even for high schoolers, will help eliminate addiction’s reputation as an ugly, incurable disease, eliminating some of the addiction stigma that has been impressed upon many high school students.

Do before school activities benefit health? BY SCOUT JACOBS ’21

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esuit has adopted a program of working to improve numerous aspects of the school, focusing on the “Health and Wellness” of students and faculty, as well as “Culturally Responsive Teaching.” This program, known as School Improvement Plans (SIP), strives to raise awareness towards students’ “self-aware-

ness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making,” as well as maintain the overall well-being of students and staff. One aspect of selfmanagement is sleep. Teenagers are recommended to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night (National Sleep Foundation). Teens’ biological clock shifts later during adolescence, making it extremely common for many teens to struggle to fall asleep before 11pm. At the same time, Jesuit currently offers various activities and classes before school, some starting as early as 6am, including math classes, NHS meetings, test-prep classes, and sports practices.

This poses the question: if Jesuit will be striving to maintain the health and wellness of students, should classes and activities continue to be offered so early? Providing classes early in the morning--well before school starts--hinders students from likely obtaining the 8-10 hours of sleep needed to fully function correctly. Early classes not only interfere with sleep schedules, but the lack of sleep students accumulate can flow into other areas of their lives, such as their mental health. A study conducted at the University of Minnesota surveyed 9,000 students in eight different high schools, with start times ranging from 7:35a.m. to 8:55a.m.

The study found that with each additional hour of sleep students reported, there was a 28% decrease in students’ feelings of sadness and depression (University of Minnesota). While early-morning activities may interfere with the sleep and mental health of students, the activities offered are optional, so students make a decision to participate. The motivation for taking a class or sport before school can be a range of reasons according to the individual, and they are fully informed of the commitment. Despite this, a reason for taking so many classes or extracurriculars for many students is their desire to achieve high-set goals. As a college

preparatory institution, high expectations at Jesuit are common and often motivating, but the pressure of these expectations can drive students to take advanced or additional courses. This can create a domino effect, with the pressures of success leading to the decision to participate in before-school activities, potentially hindering the amount of sleep obtained by the student if they are unable to fall asleep, as noted by the National Sleep Foundation. When a school has a culture of success and students strive to do well in all things, does offering before-school activities best serve the health and well-being of Jesuit students?

*These are excerpts from larger articles. The full-length articles can be accessed at jesuitnews.com. PAGE EDITORS: James Martini and Annie Landgraf


Is Single-Use Plastic Destroying Our Planet?

One m and by 205 illion plastic bottles a re purchas 0 it is estim ed every m ate our oceans inute will outweig d that the amount of plastic was , h the amou impact on te in of sin Recently, Jesuit has nt of fish. P our environ ev gle-use pla la m stic’s nega been left to ent cannot stics. The s olved to better addre tive organ be overloo our genera c s hool partn iza ked, and it ers with Te s issues While som tion to enact change has to eff tion which deals wit rr a . e C h e ycle, an m c hard-to-rec tively recyc ay feel tha there are p y le c t the issue le ersonal ch p la w s a e ti s li c te m w inated acc oice is out of re of our Eart ess to plas aste. This year, the c in effort ach, depa h. In Lauda s we can all make to afeteri ti c rt straws, the to Si’, Pope m b collective e science an a has Francis em etter the state are e ents use refillable ffort of ma d English ph expo-mark as n ers, recyc “We have to y individuals can hav asizes how the reus ily accessible aroun li n d e g a a large imp c ble utensil thin spaces can chang s and plate ampus, the faculty act. e in our live k outside the box ab c o lo d s e u , s n o th s g to u , e e has t one thing and if every ally adds u be scanne athletic de d rather th p to be a lo we Admis o p n a e rt m d o e e n s th an printing one thing it t,” s s of ecologic out team ro as QR actu- adv ions Director Mrs. De al justice a aid Jennifer Kuenz, a s e k te rt lo n s is rs, and tz s d ing for pros ociate dire global netw hands out Currently, s c p to s e o il r c rk ic ti in o v e n g e . s tudents. straws as ociety is se “As a scho ing single-u eing a large ol, I think se plastics in g p u a s n w h d . e have do towards re dealing wit “I feel like w ne a good duc- teac h plastic w her Kathry e are takin jo a s te senior Ella th a t n w g e do create b limitgood steps Mahoney s Howe said a to ,” id w science . “A lot of re . ards a chan getting rid staurants a ge,” ence Currently, one of th of plastic s n e s d tr fo fo a b w u u r Jesuits is it does hav r universa e a great im s, which seems like a sinesses are calls J l apostolic esuits to fo “caring for our comm prefersmall thing pact on the c o u , n home.” T s on our en but ation Earth.” . vironment his goal and protec t God’s cre “We’re a m aterialistic society, bu t as a Jesu it school

BURN

KEEP

THE SEA

PLASTIC FREE

PAGE EDITORS: Scout Jacobs and Jayla Lowery

to fair trade products. erything from recyclable products d. sai enz Ku s elimial,” we continue to take steps toward we are called to be counter cultur ugh Tho ue, iss the with issues remain a large While Jesuit is taking initiative ing plastic waste, environmental nat sh tra the In e. don be there is always more that could teenagers lives. est waste con- stressor in larg the of “We are preparone ts, den stu by e audits don “I’m pretty scared,” Howe said. jor ma r the Ano of food. that doesn’t exist.” tributors was plastic packaging . Purchasing ing for a future nts eve increased ool sch is ste wa stic pla producer of no secret that plastic usage has is It the for ce r convenien h the Pacific Garplastic goods for events may offe time without effective recycling, wit r ove e pric the at es com ce lion kilometers in our purchaser; however, this convenien bage Patch taking up over 1.6 mil of our environment’s health. doesn’t have ocean. of “Whoever produces [plastic goods] the beach and there are little bits to go u “Yo ey t there,” sumer does,” Mahon sand...when I was a kid that wasn’ to deal with the trash, the con the in stic pla at .wh er.. on the produc said. “The cost of the waste is not Mahoney said. can all” personal choices everyone “sm if we changed that?” me So the at d falls e: using a reMuch of what needs to be change eliminate plastic waste includ to ke ma a ain rem ues e, iss mental instead of buying a plastic on ttle bo hands of political will, and environ ter wa ble filla the rent election. While rs, switchlarge topic of discussion in the cur ch items in reusable containe lun ng cki pa e hav do we can’t vote, esting in reusable majority of high school students out bottled soaps for bars, inv ing of ds kin at wh and ney duce bag, purchasing power over how we spend our mo straws, having a reusable pro stic waste is goods we purchase. bulk, and ensuring that any pla in ms ite gen a g atin cre A goal of Kuenz’s for this year is recycled. school will bring properly the at only aware, wh r ove ct effe in be to eral policy ur generation needs to be not “Yo ool sch a as tate what we is one thing, on campus. This policy would dic ,” Mahoney said. “Awareness ive act t bu eve lud inc ld cou It . ing are committed to buying or not buy - Virginia Larner ‘20


Is Single-Use Plastic Destroying Our Planet?

One m and by 205 illion plastic bottles a re purchas 0 it is estim ed every m ate our oceans inute will outweig d that the amount of plastic was , h the amou impact on te in of sin Recently, Jesuit has nt of fish. P our environ ev gle-use pla la m stic’s nega been left to ent cannot stics. The s olved to better addre tive organ be overloo our genera c s hool partn iza ked, and it ers with Te s issues While som tion to enact change has to eff tion which deals wit rr a . e C h e ycle, an m c hard-to-rec tively recyc ay feel tha there are p y le c t the issue le ersonal ch p la w s a e ti s li c te m w inated acc oice is out of re of our Eart ess to plas aste. This year, the c in effort ach, depa h. In Lauda s we can all make to afeteri ti c rt straws, the to Si’, Pope m b collective e science an a has Francis em etter the state are e ents use refillable ffort of ma d English ph expo-mark as n ers, recyc “We have to y individuals can hav asizes how the reus ily accessible aroun li n d e g a a large imp c ble utensil thin spaces can chang s and plate ampus, the faculty act. e in our live k outside the box ab c o lo d s e u , s n o th s g to u , e e has t one thing and if every ally adds u be scanne athletic de d rather th p to be a lo we Admis o p n a e rt m d o e e n s th an printing one thing it t,” s s of ecologic out team ro as QR actu- adv ions Director Mrs. De al justice a aid Jennifer Kuenz, a s e k te rt lo n s is rs, and tz s d ing for pros ociate dire global netw hands out Currently, s c p to s e o il r c rk ic ti in o v e n g e . s tudents. straws as ociety is se “As a scho ing single-u eing a large ol, I think se plastics in g p u a s n w h d . e have do towards re dealing wit “I feel like w ne a good duc- teac h plastic w her Kathry e are takin jo a s te senior Ella th a t n w g e do create b limitgood steps Mahoney s Howe said a to ,” id w science . “A lot of re . ards a chan getting rid staurants a ge,” ence Currently, one of th of plastic s n e s d tr fo fo a b w u u r Jesuits is it does hav r universa e a great im s, which seems like a sinesses are calls J l apostolic esuits to fo “caring for our comm prefersmall thing pact on the c o u , n home.” T s on our en but ation Earth.” . vironment his goal and protec t God’s cre “We’re a m aterialistic society, bu t as a Jesu it school

BURN

KEEP

THE SEA

PLASTIC FREE

PAGE EDITORS: Scout Jacobs and Jayla Lowery

to fair trade products. erything from recyclable products d. sai enz Ku s elimial,” we continue to take steps toward we are called to be counter cultur ugh Tho ue, iss the with issues remain a large While Jesuit is taking initiative ing plastic waste, environmental nat sh tra the In e. don be there is always more that could teenagers lives. est waste con- stressor in larg the of “We are preparone ts, den stu by e audits don “I’m pretty scared,” Howe said. jor ma r the Ano of food. that doesn’t exist.” tributors was plastic packaging . Purchasing ing for a future nts eve increased ool sch is ste wa stic pla producer of no secret that plastic usage has is It the for ce r convenien h the Pacific Garplastic goods for events may offe time without effective recycling, wit r ove e pric the at es com ce lion kilometers in our purchaser; however, this convenien bage Patch taking up over 1.6 mil of our environment’s health. doesn’t have ocean. of “Whoever produces [plastic goods] the beach and there are little bits to go u “Yo ey t there,” sumer does,” Mahon sand...when I was a kid that wasn’ to deal with the trash, the con the in stic pla at .wh er.. on the produc said. “The cost of the waste is not Mahoney said. can all” personal choices everyone “sm if we changed that?” me So the at d falls e: using a reMuch of what needs to be change eliminate plastic waste includ to ke ma a ain rem ues e, iss mental instead of buying a plastic on ttle bo hands of political will, and environ ter wa ble filla the rent election. While rs, switchlarge topic of discussion in the cur ch items in reusable containe lun ng cki pa e hav do we can’t vote, esting in reusable majority of high school students out bottled soaps for bars, inv ing of ds kin at wh and ney duce bag, purchasing power over how we spend our mo straws, having a reusable pro stic waste is goods we purchase. bulk, and ensuring that any pla in ms ite gen a g atin cre A goal of Kuenz’s for this year is recycled. school will bring properly the at only aware, wh r ove ct effe in be to eral policy ur generation needs to be not “Yo ool sch a as tate what we is one thing, on campus. This policy would dic ,” Mahoney said. “Awareness ive act t bu eve lud inc ld cou It . ing are committed to buying or not buy - Virginia Larner ‘20


SPORTS I

8

LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIII

Mick Abel represents the US in international play COURTESY OF MICK ABEL

GIJANG CITY, SOUTH KOREA — Senior Mick Abel pitches for the United States in an opening round 18U Baseball World Cup match against Spain, a match the USA went on to win 8-3.

BY GWYNNE OLSON, ’21

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his summer, senior Mick Abel spent his time traveling the United States and the world doing what he does best: play baseball. He played in a variety of different cities, states, and countries competing against the best high school talent on the world. Mick’s travels began last summer when he attended the USA 17U National Team Development Program. From there he was picked to attend the 18U National Training last November and eventually to

the Prospect Development Pipeline. The Prospect Development Pipeline takes the top 80 teens in the country to train together. Mick trained with the best players for three weeks and was picked to be in the top 40 who would compete in the High School All Star Game in Cleveland. From there, Mick had three weeks off before he attended Area Code Baseball in Los Angeles. Area Code Baseball is a five-day showcase where the top kids in the region are picked to play against each other. Mick was on the North-

west Region team, the Royals. The five-day event was cut short for Mick because he was bused down to San Diego for the All American Game. They trained and competed in the San Diego Padres Stadium. After the All American Game, Mick and the same forty kids who made the trip to Cleveland traveled back to Los Angeles for USA trials. Mick trained and played constantly for a week-and-a-half while he was evaluated. “There was a group of four or five guys that knew were going to make it,” Mick said. “But when final cuts came

around everyone’s knees were shaking because, you know, it’s cuts and everyone was nervous.” Mick was selected for Team USA and, with his teammates, trained 4-to-5 more days before training with the Chinese team in Taiwan. In Korea, the first rounds were against South Africa, Taipei, Japan, Spain, and Panama. The team ended the round with a record of 4-to-1. They advanced to the super rounds, or the top division, where they played Canada, Korea, and Australia and won all three.

Their previous wins put them in the Gold Medal Game against Taipei who they had recently defeated 8-to-1. The game resulted in a 2-to-1 loss. “The game was kind of bitter because we had beaten them in every other game we had played against them in Taiwan,” Mick said. As Mick returns to the states and to high school, he is still unsure what his future in baseball entails. He is committed to pitch at Oregon State but there is a chance he will be drafted into the MLB draft.

Fadden wins big at Raquetball Junior Olympics BY JAMES MARTINI, ’20

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n June, senior Connor Fadden placed first in his division at the USA Junior Olympic qualifiers. Connor’s interest in racquetball began five years ago when he joined the Multnomah Athletic Club and began looking for a new sport to play. “I tried playing basketball, didn’t like it, tried track, didn’t like it, and so I was just trying to find a new sport,” Fadden said. Connor found racquetball through one of his current coaches, Hank Marcus, who hosts open court workshops. Last February, he competed in the National High School Racquetball Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. The players are placed into six levels based on skill, with level one being the highest and level six being the lowest. “I play at level one, so that means I technically was in the top division there,” Fadden said. Connor lost to the

competitor who eventually placed second in the country in the first round. In June, Connor competed at the Junior Olympic qualifiers at the MAC to qualify for the USA Junior Olympic Racquetball team. At this event, Connor won first place in the White subdivision of the tournament, one of four divisions for competitors 18 years old and under. The competitors at these qualifiers were also from across the country. “Connor’s intensity and intelligence are his best qualities on the court,” Connor’s racquetball coach, Hank Marcus, wrote in an email. “His intensity & commitment whether practicing, playing, or helping others is impressive.” Connor’s club season began recently and the high school season will begin soon. “Now that the season is starting up again, I’ve been playing a little bit more often,” Connor said. Connor has one club match a week for the intramural league, and is also preparing for the beginning of the

high school league. His first big tournament of the season will be the John Pelham Memorial Tournament of Champions at the MAC in December, where players will come from

across the country to compete. In addition to racquetball, Connor is also the captain of Jesuit’s robotics team. “His determination to succeed

seen in his robotics leadership can easily be applied to the rigor needed to succeed [in racquetball],” senior Jack Milne, another member of the robotics team, said. COURTESY OF CONNOR FADDEN

Last June, Connor Fadden won his division of 18U Boy’s Singles at the National Championships. PAGE EDITOR: Jack Kelley


SPORTS II

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LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIlI

Jesuit named #1 Athletic Program in Nation BY JACK KELLEY, ’20

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or the second time in four years, Jesuit High School was identified as the number one athletic program in the nation by MaxPreps and awarded the MaxPreps Cup. Following 11 state championship titles during the 2018-19 school year, Jesuit beat out Carmel High School in Indiana and became just the third high school to have won the honor twice. In addition to state championship titles, MaxPreps awards points for second place finishes and national rankings in the top 25. The size of a state, the popularity of the sport being played, the school’s playoff classification and the number of teams competing in a playoff classification are all taken into account in the MaxPreps point system. In the fall, Jesuit received points for their state titles in girls soccer, boys soccer and volleyball, and their second place finishes in boys and girls cross country. Additional points were awarded for ranking sec-

ond in the nation in girl’s soccer and ranking eleventh in the nation in women’s cross country. The winter season yielded three additional state championship titles in boys swimming, girls swimming and boy’s basketball. Few will soon forget the boys basketball title run that took place at the Chiles Center in early March, which saw the Crusaders upset #1 ranked Lake Oswego and basketball powerhouse Jefferson in the semi-finals and championship game, respectively. “Going into it, just about no one believed that we had a chance,” current senior guard Matthew Levis said. “It was a surreal moment really, when the final buzzer went off and we beat them by 6 or 7. I was just there sitting on the sidelines in disbelief that we had just won a state championship and I had thirteen of my closest friends to share it with right on the sideline with me and an entire Jesuit student section right above me cheering us on. I’m never going to forget that moment for the rest of my life.” Despite these success-

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he motto of the Jesuit Girl’s Lacrosse team is “Play for someone or something bigger than yourself.” This is exactly what the players and coaches in the program do. In 2016, this motto began to evolve when the team recognized themselves as “playing for Ruby Gray.” As time went on, it became more prevalent to not only play for those they know but those who are strangers to them as well. The team began to play to empower others. “Female empowerment is a big theme in the program,” head coach and freshman history teacher Ms. Blumhardt said. “The best way to empower yourself is to empower others.” The motto further evolved into action: bringing the service aspect into the Jesuit Women’s Lacrosse program. By working with organizations, the girls are empowering themselves by playing for someone or something bigger than themselves. The team is working with organizations such as LLS, CCA and Headstrong. “We have always been a team who has the goal of playing with purpose, but this year we have really grown that goal,” senior Ella Smith said. “With the season not starting until the end of February, we have already started incorpo-

“It’s a wonderful honor that within our state, within our market, we do really well that it is recognized at a national level,” Athletic Director Mike Hughes said. “It’s a compliment to the well roundedness of our school. There are some schools that are known for being a great football school or a great basketball school, but there are few schools that do it in all of their sports programs like we do, so we take pride in that.”

According to Hughes, numerous factors are responsible for Jesuit’s athletic success over the years, including strong parental support and the experience of our coaches. “When you have coaches that have been here for 37 years, Coach Rothenberger, 32 years, [Coach Ken Potter], 31 years, [Coach Gene Potter], you tend to learn a thing or two about how to be successful,” Hughes said.

COURTESY OF MaxPreps

Fall Sports Update

GLAX Service BY GWYNNE OLSON, ’21

es, Jesuit came into the spring season trailing Carmel High School in MaxPreps rankings by over 400 points. However, state championship victories in boy’s tennis, boy’s golf, girl’s golf and baseball gave Jesuit the advantage over Carmel. Points awarded for a national ranking of 18 in boy’s golf and a second place finish in girl’s track put the Crusaders at 2,243 points to finish the 2018-19 school year, 156 points ahead of Carmel.

rating service into our team which not only supports important causes but unites our team even more. We are very excited to continue that service and bond once the season begins.” During the off-season the team participated in the Alzhiemer’s walk and the CCA Walk for Joy. Furthermore, the team plans to donate over one hundred and twenty articles of clothing to Saint Andre’s Church. During the season, service will continue to play a big role in the Jesuit Women’s Lacrosse Program. Instead of typical team bonding, the girls will hold team fundraisers for Headstrong, LLS, etc. and serve at food kitchens. The team will also work hard to raise awareness for the Headstrong fund. Not only will they wear neon green laces and armbands to show support, but they are also participating in a match to raise money for the foundation. The service is not only limited to organizations and donations. The team does smaller things such as make cards for people in the community, put together gift baskets and hold free clinics for those who want to try lacrosse. “We like to reach out to the vulnerable in society and we like to go outside of our team and help bring the margins to the center,” Blumhardt said. PAGE EDITORS: Jack Kelley and JJ Gray

FOOTBALL Record: 2-2 Metro League Ranking: 2 State Ranking: 7

BOY’S CROSS COUNTRY Bill Chapman Inviatational Champions Ash Creek XC Festival Champions Merriweather XC Classic Champions

GIRL’S CROSS COUNTRY Bill Chapman Inviatational Champions Ash Creek XC Festival Champions Merriweather XC Classic Champions

VOLLEYBALL Record: 14-1 Metro League Ranking: 1 State Ranking: 1

BOY’S SOCCER

GIRL’S SOCCER

Record: 6-0-2

Record: 8-0-1

Metro Ranking: 1

Metro League Ranking: 1

State Ranking: 2

State Ranking: 1 Pre-Season Nat’l Ranking: 1


ARTS

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OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIII

LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

Freshman art wheel stops spinning BY JAYLA LOWERY, ’20

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ig changes are in the works for freshman with the removal of the art wheel this year. The wheel, which gave new students the option of having six weeks of art, band and drama respectively, met its end this year in the art department. The class of 2023 is the first not to have the wheel as a first-year elective option. “Now freshman get to choose from a variety of full year classes,” Alyssa Tormala, Vice Principal for Professional Development and Innovation, said. “Those classes include Art 1, [and] our band teacher Mr. Hoffman created a guitar class and a percussion class choir is available, as well as tech theatre.” The elective change

came as a surprise for many at Jesuit, as the long-standing art wheel had become a staple of freshman year at the school. But Fine Arts teachers believe the decision will benefit new students. “For the last several years, we’ve known we wanted to make some changes to [the art wheel],” Fine Arts teacher Jeff Hall said. “There are some colleges who won’t count a survey class as a fine arts credit.” The removal of the art wheel also allows a space for students to learn more deeply about a single subject rather than moving from class to class. “In instrumental music, it was just cramming stuff in instead of actually letting kids learn and explore,” band director Ken Hoffman said. “We wanted to be able to provide a better experience for every-

body.” “You’re in a class with other people who want to be there with you,” Hall said. The Fine Arts wheel was a difficult experience for teachers as well. Participation was low in segments students had no interest in. “For students it felt a little frustrating to have this forced march [from class to class],” Tormala said. “For the teachers, it was really frustrating as well sometimes, because there wasn’t a lot of interest or ownership from some of the students.” Teachers also had to share Powerschool and Canvas responsibilities for all students in the wheel, which got complicated and difficult for the department to manage. Despite the upsides, not everyone fully understands

the mood strikes. “Her sketchbook is full of these delicious morsels. It’s almost like she’s sharing a little blessing when she shows you her sketchbook,” Art teacher Sascha Manning said. “[Flynn] inspires me through her daily sketchbooks to work on my own art a little bit each day.” At present, Flynn is especially interested in cloud formations, and her face lights up whenever the topic is mentioned. “It’s just so interesting. I drive at [6am, 7am] in the morning, and I [thought], ‘Oh, the sky is blue, but it’s not—it’s green and yellow and orange and purple’, and the color catches on the edges of the clouds and makes these highlights that are colors you don’t think you’d see in nature,” Flynn said. Flynn’s art is clearly a highlight of her day, and anyone who knows Flynn can attest to

the happiness art brings her. “She lives and breathes art,” Manning and Knudsen said. Flynn admits, though, that she didn’t really think of art as a serious career until her junior year. “I used to [think] “Ugh, starving artist! You can’t do something with that!” But last year, I [thought], “Wait, you can!” Flynn said. Flynn is now applying to colleges, where she plans to study art. “Anne is always challenging herself,” Knudsen said. “We went to Last Thursday on Albertal, and I gave Anne a ride. After the night, we were walking back to my car, and we encountered a woman who was drawing with her feet! Anne was utterly fascinated. A week later, [Anne] plops these drawings in front of me and she [said] “Look, I drew these with my feet!”

or agrees with the removal. “I liked that the art wheel gave us an opportunity to try things we wouldn’t have otherwise choose,” senior Molly Morris said. “I thought the art wheel was a good idea. A lot of freshmen going into it don’t really know what elective they wanted to take, but then they had a chance to try them all out.” Freshman Nick Miller doesn’t think he would have wanted the option of an art wheel, but did feel slightly rushed into picking an elective. “I felt a little pressured,” Miller said. But Fine Arts teachers are standing by the decision. The combination of college expectations and higher participation levels make full-year electives the best option for students in the eyes of the de-

partment. Nevertheless, Hall sees room for the art wheel to return, though different than it was before. “The wheel could be offered to students, but it shouldn’t be offered as a way to get an arts credit,” Hall said. “There might be a way for it to come back, but it can’t come back in its former form.” For now, future freshman will not have the option of the rotating Fine Arts wheel. But the art department believes its absence is an advantage for future students going through Jesuit. “The biggest benefit is we’ll have more freshmen who will be lifelong participant in whatever their area of art was,” Hoffman noted. “They will have more a lifelong path than they would have had before.”

September Artist of the Month: Anne Flynn BY STEELE CLEVENGER, ’21

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ntrospective. Dedicated. Bubbly. Three words senior Alyssa Knudsen uses to describe friend and fellow artist, senior Anne Flynn. Flynn began drawing at age ten. “You know that imitator anime style that every kid starts out with?” Flynn said. “I never watched anime or manga, but I would try and copy that because I [thought], ‘That looks cool.’” Realizing her innate talent for drawing and impeccable perceptive abilities, Flynn auditioned to be a part of the Art I Class with former Jesuit Art teacher Gail Fleenor. The advice she was given? Draw more. And that’s exactly what she did. Flynn says she has at least three sketchbooks at any one time which she keeps in her backpack to pull out whenever

ARTWORK COURTESY OF ANNE FLYNN ’20

Example artwork by Anne Flynn ’20. For more art, visit jesuitnews.com.

PAGE EDITORS: Michael Lang and Shawna Muckle


LIFESTYLE

11

LIVE NEWS UPDATES @ www.jesuitnews.com

OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIlI COURTESY OF COMMONS.WIKIPEDIA

Tune in to study BY TRISTAN ROBBINS, ’20

A TikTok takes over teens BY JAMES MARTINI, ’20

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ikTok currently stands as the iOS App Store’s fourth top free entertainment app. The app, originally a Chinese app named Douyin, was launched in 2017. The app centers around short-form videos made by users, with the ability for users to lip-sync to popular songs the app has licensed. TikTok’s first major rise to popularity occurred in 2017 when its parent company, ByteDance, acquired another popular Chinese app named Musical.ly, which already had a sizeable following internationally. The two apps were then merged, due to their similar focus on short form video. The main draw of the app is its Duet feature, which allows users to create their own videos in response to other videos, allowing for both videos to play in tandem. One of the biggest gripes many people have with platforms like YouTube and Instagram is that it can be very hard to find content by smaller creators, and only people who

already have millions of followers will appear in your feed. TikTok, however, actually recommended quite a few local creators to me, from Oregon or the Pacific Northwest, many of whom only had a few thousand followers. This is a nice change of pace from many other social media sites. TikTok has drawn many comparisons to Vine, a similar video focused app famous for failing due to its lack of an effective monetization model. TikTok, however, is different, as it has ads and sponsored posts. In the settings menu users are even given the explicit option to enable or disable targeted ads, a feature of many sites that modern users are becoming wary of, due to the large scrutiny they suffered as a result of the impact targeted Facebook ads had on the 2016 election. TikTok has even begun to show signs of use beyond simply brief comedy videos. On Aug. 26th of this year, Gillian Sullivan, a 16-year-old from Las Vegas’ Clark County School District posted a TikTok discussing how the district had promised teachers a raise

in exchange for taking more college classes, but reneged on their offer after many teachers had already completed the necessary courses. Sullivan expressed her anger with the school district over this, and her post ended up being seen by thousands of people across the country, and became national news. Students, using TikTok began to show support for a strike that the teachers had been planning for September 10, and many showed intentions of joining teachers in the strike. This new attention being shed on the issue resulted in the school district rushing to resolve the problem, agreeing to the union’s demands of a 3% pay increase for teachers, a 4% increase in the district contributions to health insurance premiums, and a $5,400 salary raise for teachers who got their new college credits. The use of TikTok to apply public pressure to this situation shows how the app has functionality beyond the comedy videos that its known for. A quality like this is imperative for a social media app’s longevity.

s students get back into their rhythms, they are starting to rediscover their study techniques. A common manner of study is to listen to music while they work on homework or study. But is this method actually viable? A study done by neuroscience professor William Klemm, Ph.D., on the “Mozart Effect” produced examples that, “music people considered pleasurable increased the release of dopamine (the “feel good” neurotransmitter) in the brain. Dopamine promotes learning to approach rewards, while a deficiency of dopamine promotes learning of punishments” (Psychology Today). Studies like these show that students who systematically listen to music as part of their study regimen tend to recall their study materials better. This is because they associate those materials with the success of a good test grade or a reward of sorts. Students may take that information and plead with their teachers that they need to listen to music as they are unable to study quietly. But that decision is all up to their teachers, who ultimately have the power to decide

whether music is a distraction or a tool in their classrooms. “I think it’s a double edged sword, because for some students, it’s a good opportunity to help them focus,” math teacher Mr. Doebler said. “But for other students, I think it’s a distraction. I think it’s very individualized in that regard to students willing to drown out distractions and focus is great, but if they just use it as another tool to kind of distract themselves, it turns out not to be so helpful.” When teachers around campus prohibit their students to listen to music in their classes, students turn to the library to listen to their music and study while in a quiet environment. “It’s easier to work in a library,” senior Kyle Kneefel said. “Listening to music in the library definitely helps me. I put my earbuds in, and I feel like I get more work done. Not only am I less likely to be distracted by talking to others, it kind of lets me hone in on my work.” At times like break and lunch, the library becomes a center of chaos for students to speak with each other at whatever volume they please, so having music as a way out of that chaos helps students get their work done.

COURTESY OF VIRGINIA LARNER ’20

Senior Jaiden McClellan studying hard after school while listening to music.

Guide dog paws his way into our hearts BY ANNIE LANDGRAF, ’21

For the next ten months, Jesuit will have a new member on campus, a yellow lab named Neutrino. Neutrino is a fivemonth old puppy, training to be a guide dog by Martha Cope, the athletic secretary. “I did this years ago with my oldest daughter and we raised eight puppies,” Cope

said. “She went to school here, so her whole junior year she brought her dog to school.” Neutrino will be with Cope until he is about 14-16 months, after which he will then train to become a certified guide dog. “[Neutrino] will go to the guide dog school in Boring, Oregon and get more formal training and that’s where they

COURTESY OF ANNIE LANDGRAF ’21

Neutrino the puppy sitting at his desk during his exclusive interview.

will determine if he actually becomes a guide dog,” Cope said. “Only about 50% of the puppies who start out make it as guide dogs because it is really hard.” Neutrino has been on campus most days. “It works out well in my position because I don’t have any responsibilities for students, especially when he was little I had to take him out a lot, and if I was in a classroom obviously that wouldn’t work out very well,” Cope said. “There are a lot of teachers at other schools that do this, but they usually have someone else start the puppy, is what it’s called, until it’s old enough to be taken to school.” Raising a guide dog is similar to raising a regular puppy. “One of the other parts is that we go on outings with the group to different things that we wouldn’t otherwise do,” Cope said. “Like we went

to the Saturday Night market and took the MAX there, because they have to know how to go on a MAX transit bus. So he’s been on a MAX train, he’s been on a bus, he’ll hopefully go on an airplane. So socializing them and just exposing him to all kinds of things, he goes to restaurants with me, he can go anywhere.” Jesuit is not new to the idea of having dogs on campus before. “We actually have had therapy dogs on campus on a couple of occasions,” principal Paul Hogan said. “We did it a couple times during exams in January and once when he had a death on campus, we had a number of therapy dogs.” As of now, there are no dogs that are at Jesuit full time, whether that is therapy dogs, guide dogs, or security dogs. “What we decided is that there are some people allergic to dogs or some peo-

PAGE EDITORS: Virginia Larner and Tristan Robbins

COURTESY OF ANNIE LANDGRAF ’21

Neutrino’s staff photo I.D. card.

ple that are scared of dogs even if they’re super friendly,” Hogan said. “We decided on an unwritten policy a number of years ago, to allow dogs on leashes outdoors at ball games, particularly at baseball or softball, as long as they are on a leash and not barking or pooping on campus, that type of stuff.” Neutrino is on campus for the rest of the year and then will leave in July or August. Make sure you say hi when you have the chance.


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OCTOBER 2019, EDITION LXIII

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Sader on the Street

COURTESY OF STELLE CLEVENGE ’21

What indicates the start of fall for you?

“When school starts”

“When the trees in Mary’s Way turn orange”

Karli Lonnquist ’22

Samantha Le ’21

“Flanels”

“The beginning of the colder weather and the leaves changing colors”

Naomi Fiereck ’20

Ruby Jewett ’23

Staff Box Chief Editors: Virginia Larner, Shawna Muckle Associate Chief Editor: Jack Kelley Managing Editor : Scout Jacobs, Annie Landgraf Social Media Director: Annie Landgraf Assistant Social Media Director: Gwynne Olson Moderator/Teacher: Mr. Dan Falkner

“Changing clothes to longsleeved shirts” Karl Richter ’20

“When the weather guy announces the [fall] equinox” Nathaniel Alloway ’22

Staff Writers: Virginia Larner, Shawna Muckle, Jack Kelley, Scout Jacobs, Annie Landgraf, James Martini, Jayla Lowery, Michael Lang, Gwynne Olson, Tristan Robbins, Rosa Madden, JJ Gray, Steele Clevenger

PAGE EDITORS: Jack Kelley and Steele Clevenger


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