Panorama Feb. 2022

PANORAMA

LADUE HORTON WATKINS HIGH SCHOOL 1201 S. WARSON RD. ST. LOUIS, MO 63124 FEBRUARY 2022 VOL. 70 ISSUE 6

02 | TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY SOPHIA LIU

TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS

ILLUMINATING LOVE

Spotless Time To Train Ask Me Another

5 6-7 8

Learning Through Language STL’s Toughest Critic Collins On-Call

9 10-11 12-13

The Legacy of Black History

14-15

Checkmate

16-17

Illuminating Love

18-23

Editorial: Pano Perspective The Reality of College Board Ready For Prime Time Failing Success New Lies, Old Story

24 25 26 27 28-29

Heart To Heart Month of Love Cookie Chemistry

30-31 32-33 34

Road To The Wick King Of The Hill Culture That Cures Sign Me Up

35 36-37 38 39

FEATURES

INFOGRAPHIC PHOTO

IN-DEPTH

OPINIONS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HEALTH & SPORTS

Pages 18-23 | In-Depth

A look into the different factors that play into a relationship

SPOTLESS

COLLINS ON-CALL

NEW LIES, OLD STORY

HEART TO HEART

ROAD TO THE WICK

Pages 5 | News

Pages 12-13 | Features

Page!28-29!|!Opinions

Pages!30-31!|!A&E

Pages 35 | Sports

St. Louis sewage project cuts through Ladue High School parking lot

An inside look into Sarah Collin’s life and experience as a substitute teacher

Modern propaganda seeks to subvert the efforts of Black leaders

Endearing and embarrassing stories from anonymous students

Ladue varsity hockey enters postseason following a championship season

TABLE OF CONTENTS | 03

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

PANORAMA STAFF EDITORS IN CHIEF

FEATURES EDITOR

Domenic Fenoglio Sophia Liu Marissa Mathieson Rhea Patney

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

OPINIONS EDITORS

Clayton Coughlin Lucy Lochmoeller Oviya Srihari

Caroline Edgar Tariq Lashley

ART EDITOR Danielle Zhang

PHOTO EDITOR Ginger Schulte

WEB EDITOR IN CHIEF Annie Pan

NEWS EDITOR

Mika Kipnis

Olivia Chen Richie Jiang

HEALTH & SPORTS STAFF

IN-DEPTH EDITOR

FEATURES STAFF

Max Eastman Luke Lochmoeller

Joanne Sung

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Olivia Hu

HEALTH & SPORTS EDITOR Ryan Tung

NEWS STAFF

Emmi Walker Mimi Zhou

PHOTOGRAPHERS

IN-DEPTH STAFF Mac Huffman Annie Zhao

Sydney Collinger Jack Reeves

STAFF WRITERS

OPINIONS STAFF Pranavi Chintha Carly Woodhill

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT STAFF Riley Coates Sophia Hillman

Matthew Kweon Kanishk Shanmugam Kiran Varadachari

ARTISTS Tarek Al Husseini Nicole Gorrell Erica Shi Max Yang

ADVISER

Avery Anderson

Allen You

Sarah Kirksey

EDITOR’S NOTE There’s nothing quite like high school relationships.

We’re caught in a time where we can drive, but live with our parents; where we talk to someone all night on the phone, but ignore each other the next day at school; and where hormones and teenage ignorance can lead to terrible decisions. With that in mind, and the season of love around us, Panorama chose to focus this month’s in-depth on relationships. There is nothing more important than one’s self worth, and we sought to highlight the negative effects of toxic relationships that damage a person’s image of themselves.

With this spirit of love in mind, we also reached out to students for their stories of relationship highs and lows. In addition, our editorial discusses the importance of being complimented — and how toxic masculinity often damages a man’s ability to appreciate a compliment. Whether you are with someone or not this Valentine’s Day, take some time to appreciate yourself and everything you have accomplished throughout your life.

Another major topic in the month of February is Black History Month. In addition to an infographic detailing the history of this celebration, we cover teachers attending diversity seminars and one of our talented columnists gives his opinion on the ways in which false ideas about Black activists are spread. Diversity is in every aspect of Ladue, from the hallways to our course offerings, so we hoped to

Marissa Mathieson

Domenic Fenoglio

Sophia Liu

Rhea Patney

reflect this diversity in our publication.

Elsewhere in this issue, we feature a student who created his own food review system and talented female chess players. We offer a guide to baking the perfect cookie, with common mistakes and pictures included. In the news, we cover the reason hundreds of juniors are going to lose their parking spots in the near future. We hope readers enjoy this issue, and make sure to keep an eye out for next month’s speciality issue…

04 | TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY RHEA PATNEY | ALLEN YOU

PANORAMA POLICY Panorama is a monthly newspaper that strives to inform and entertain students, staff and community members and to uphold professional standards of accuracy and fairness.

The publication hopes to engage the student body by eliciting dialogue among students. It aims to reflect the diversity of the population it serves and to observe the journalistic principle of doing no harm.

Panorama is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and

Journalism Educators Association. All surveys are completely anonymous and the results cannot be used against respondents.

Panorama is produced by the newspaper class of Ladue Horton Watkins High School at 1201 S. Warson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63124. The publication lab is located in room 1311, (314)-993-6447 ext. 5844. Read more stories online at laduepublications.com. Follow @laduepublications on Instagram.

EIC photo by Sydney Collinger. Front and back cover art by Joanne Sung. Front and back cover design by Sophia Liu.

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SPOTLESS

NEWS | 05

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

St. Louis sewage project cuts through Ladue High School parking lot

(photo by Sydney Collinger) news staff

T

he Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will begin construction on both high school parking lots in midMarch as a part of its ongoing initiative, Project Clear.

Due to construction, about half of the current parking spots will no longer be accessible until the project’s expected completion in May. Project Clear is a two-decade long effort by the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District to update St. Louis’ legacy wastewater system and improve water quality. These improvements often require construction in and around buildings such as Ladue High School.

“On March 1, they’re going to come onto our campus and identify on our parking lot the areas that are going to be impacted,” Principal Brad Griffith said. “Once we get there, then we’ll know exactly what we’re talking about in terms of level of impact.”

For some, the loss of a parking spot is a simple inconvenience. However, for others, it will be a major complication for their transillustration by | ALLEN YOU portation to and from school.

This may negatively impact students educationally. Tardies and absences may rise. Some teachers, like math and computer science teacher Genie Hong, have started to consider this.

“Second hour, I do have some juniors, so I can foresee that [losing their spots] will be a problem,” Hong said. “I’d have to work with each individual student to see what their case is.”

However, this shouldn’t be a problem for current seniors.

Their parking spots “have been assigned to places that we

100% knew weren’t going to be taken from us,” according to Griffith, allowing the remaining spaces to be guaranteed for senior usage. This policy extends into the 2022-23 school year, which means that if the project lasts longer than its expected three-month duration, rising juniors may experience what current juniors are expected to experience this semester. This and much else (for example, the effects it will have on neighboring communities and parking for school events) has caused concern among the Ladue community.

“There’s probably going to be a lot more traffic to get to school because everyone’s parents are going to have to send them,” junior Mila Winkelmann said. “A lot of people don’t have parents to take them to school, and some people arestimated removed area en’t in the district, where they can take the bus.” remaining parking area The district and MSD have agreed to ensure that construction vehicles will not block streets during the arrival and dismissal of students.

However, because construcNO tion is cleared to continue at other times, students may exRT H perience slight noise disrupLO tions throughout the day.

T “We’re going to have to be mindful about what’s happening in May during testing,” Griffith said. “Bottom line is that we’ll communicate plans in whatever medium that we have available based upon whatever the issue that may occur as a result of the construction.”

Uncertain of what lies ahead, the district and its students will have to cope with and manage the rippling effects of the lack of reliable transportation.

“I think it’s going to be a big challenge for me to get to and from school because I do sports,” Winkelmann said. “My mom is not available every day.” P WARSON RD

RICHIE JIANG

TIME TO TRAIN

06 | NEWS

SPREAD DESIGN BY LUCY LOCHMOELLER & AVERY ANDERSON

Teachers complete a five month diversity training seminar to better inclusivity AVERY ANDERSON news staff

I

“

ntense.” That’s the one word Black studies teacher Brandon Murray used to describe Ladue’s latest diversity initiative.

Along with Murray, Black studies co-teacher Ashley Lock and math teacher Micheal Farrell attended an online diversity training seminar through the National Conference for Community and Justice. Beginning in September, the training was held two days a month until January. Then, it concluded with a three day long seminar through Capstone.

“In January, we had the Capstone retreat,” Murray said. “That involved us completing and executing sessions that we created to help others explore the issues that we discussed.”

The issues in question pertain to race, gender, sexual orientation and religion as well as how these fall into the matrix of identities. The hope is that these issues will come to light in the classroom, helping teachers and students feel comfortable tackling sensitive topics such as race.

“It’s how we describe, identify and examine gender and racial identities, such as who falls into what we call ‘agent groups’ and ‘target groups,’” Lock said. “Some people are oppressed and some have privileges, some are somewhere in the middle, and these people fall into ‘order groups.’ It’s all new vocabulary and ideas to us.”

One of the biggest privileges certain racial, religious and gender groups get is having a voice in history, specifically within education. This is the only time these specific groups get put under the spotlight, and even then the information taught might still be biased.

“I still hear some teachers use some language that might be harmful towards a certain group,” junior Kathy Bian said. “Teachers could benefit from

this [training] because then they would asking, ‘x, y, z happened in our classunderstand students better, and through room today and I’m not sure if I hanunderstanding, you can build empathy dled it correctly, or if I should have and from there a relationship.” gone about it in a different way.’ Before Bian is a student activist who raises this training, it was hard to tell them awareness for movements such as Stop what they should do, but now we’re Asian Hate by organizing protests and finding tangible, concrete approaches posting on social media. to solving these issues with teachers, The first four days of the training inand that was the hope.” volved every participant examining their It is through the new Diversity, Eqprivilege, oppression and personal idenuity and Inclusion (DEI) workshops tities. This laid the foundation for Murthat these three teachers will transfer ray and Lock to their findings determine their and ideas from individual views the NCCJ semon privilege and We’re just hoping to pass on inar to the rest oppression as of the Ladue factools for people to explore well as better ulty. This group their own identities and see allows teachers prepare them for future teaching. their own privilege and learn.” to discuss once “Because we a month about ASHLEY LOCK | TEACHER how the curricteach Black studies, people might ulum can be imview us as experts in content and our proved through richer conversations. comfort level in this content,” Lock said.

“We’ve been working on a district “But it’s all just a journey. We’re all dislevel to share this information with covering what we don’t know.” staff,” Lock said. “We’ve been using surMurray explained that the main goal veys after each professional developof the training was to help inform them ment meeting to gauge how our teachon how to teach such topics and the imers are feeling. The big goal is to have portance of understanding different identhis trickle down to the entire district tities within school. so people have a better comfortability “We work with a lot of passionate, level when talking about these subjects thoughtful [and] incredibly talented indiwith their students, [and] so they have viduals,” Murray said. “We just have had a desire to build a better community access to training that they haven’t. We and make their classrooms inclusive.” know that between our training and their Monthly meetings for the DEI trainthoughtfulness and intelligence, we can ing will begin in February and will be really change things within the district.” available for all Ladue faculty to attend.

Lock hopes that eventually, all teachTopics such as the “table of oppression” ers in the building will be comfortable will be the main focus as well as priviwith topics pertaining to race and identilege, inequality and how to have richer ty. All three teachers want to build a more conversations about diversity within tolerant community and feel strongly the classroom. about encouraging equality in all forms.

“The biggest thing about talking She also wants a change in teacher attiabout these issues is that students feel tudes towards sensitive topics, and hopes comfortable in their classrooms,” Bian to improve classroom environments. said. “When we have these talks, it “We’ve heard a lot of stuff from colbuilds empathy and a sense of welcomleagues,” Murray said. “They come to us ing for all students.” P

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NEWS | 07

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

LEFT: Micheal Farrell lectures his AP statistics class. Farrell decided to join the seminar because he hopes to transfer these conversations of diversity into classes such as math, rather than solely the humanities. “The perspective of Farrell has been great,” Lock said. “He wanted to learn more.” (Photo by Ginger Schulte) BOTTOM LEFT: Brandon Murray talks with senior William Park.

Murray and Lock are currently teaching Black studies II, which is a continuation of the timeline of Black history started in Black studies I. “We work with a lot of passionate and intelligent individuals,” Murray said. “They just haven’t had the access to the training we’ve had.” (Photo by Lucy Lochmoeller) RIGHT: Ashley Lock laughs with senior Emma Smith. This is Lock’s fifth year teaching Black studies and Murray’s third. “Our hope is that by starting at the staff level, our students will also learn some of these tips and tools,” Lock said. (Photo by Lucy Lochmoeller)

WITHIN THE WORKSHOP A closer look into what Lock, Murray and Farrell did during the program SEPTEMBER 2021: Program begins with a four day “Identity Institute” training, where participants explore personal identities and power dynamics

NC CJ

NATIONAL

CONFERENCE

FOR COMMUNITY

AND JUSTICE

100

JANUARY 2021: Program ends with a three day long Capstone retreat to test out everything they learned

OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2021: Two workshops each month, consisting various seminars, speakers, and homework

13 DAYS

HOURS

Source: nccj.org

MISSION STATEMENT

“The National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) is a human relations organization that promotes inclusion and acceptance by providing education and advocacy while building communities that are respectful and just for all.”

illustration by | LUCY LOCHMOELLER

08 | NEWS

SPREAD DESIGN BY ALLEN YOU | MIMI ZHOU

RIGHT: Seniors Adi Kondepudi and Maria Dolan introduce Allan Siegel. Siegel was the author of “Essential Neuroscience,” a major textbook in the field. “[My favorite topic] is probably neuropathology,” Kondepudi said.

BOTTOM: Seniors Adi Kondepudi and Maria Dolan introduce the Brain Bee. Kondepudi has lectured several times before for the club. “I do have to review a little bit before Club Neuro meetings, especially lecture-based meetings,” Kondepudi said. (photos by Jack Reeves)

ASK ME ANOTHER

Club Neuro students prepare for St. Louis Area Brain Bee OLIVIA CHEN news staff

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lub Neuro, Ladue’s chapter of the International Youth Neuroscience Association, is preparing for the upcoming annual St. Louis Area Brain Bee (SLABB) Feb. 26.

Brain Bee participants aren’t required to be a part of Club Neuro, but most students are. However, resources and help from other members can be acquired by joining Club Neuro, which meets biweekly on Wednesdays in Mrs. Kaupp’s room (2127). During meetings, a variety of activities are planned such as case studies, lectures, journal reviews and discussions revolving around the neuroscience field.

“We might have a lecture or guest speaker, which is always great fun,” sophomore Emily Yang said. “It’s really interesting to learn about what all the different professionals do in their respective fields and can give a glimpse into what life [as] a scientist or doctor might look like.”

Due to the pandemic, the SLABB will be held via Zoom from 12:30 to 4:00 p.m.

According to their website, there will be a written quiz, panel discussion, oral competition and awards ceremony.

“Virtual is obviously a lot less exciting and a lot of fun activities had to be removed,” senior and co-president of Club

Neuro Adi Kondepudi said. “There are some guest speakers with interesting topics, but I much prefer the in-person Brain Bee. The actual competition format hasn’t changed, but because it’s online there’s going to be a big difference.”

In the past, in-person competitions consisted of a simple test, as well as various hands-on activities that allowed participants to get to know each other. The winner of the SLABB will receive a summer research internship and go on to participate in the virtual U.S. National Brain Bee competition. There will also be prizes for the top 10 finishers. This year is Yang’s second year participating.

“I like studying alone because I can control what I work on,” Yang said. “If I need to spend a little more or a little less time on something, I have the flexibility to do so.”

The questions in the Brain Bee come from a book called “Brain Facts” produced by the Society for Neuroscience.

This can be accessed through purchasing the book or accessing the free PDF version online. Kondepudi normally relies on prior knowledge for the competition.

Having participated in the Brain Bee since his freshman year, he has some tips for studying neuroscience.

“I guess it’s a bit difficult to explain but imagine you have to speak a new language

and all you have is a dictionary,” Kondepudi said. “Sure, you know what each separate word means, but you don’t know how all the words tie together to form a sentence. Memorizing is like having the dictionary, and actually understanding is like actually understanding the language [itself].”

The competitive aspect is one reason why people attend the Brain Bee, but certainly not the only reason. Those interested in neuroscience or medicine in general are also recommended to try it out.

“I chose to participate in the Brain Bee because I wanted to see how the whole process would be as well as participate in the actual bee to see what would happen — just for fun, basically,” junior and Club Neuro officer Ria Rohatgi said.

Though the Brain Bee has been met with many changes since the beginning of the pandemic, the original purpose remains. This educational experience allows high schoolers, college students and faculty to share their love for neuroscience while engaging in healthy competition.

“Sometimes [I get nervous], but I treat it like stage fright,” Yang said. “I’m nervous ultimately because I know something big is coming up, but I use that energy for good. I’ve done all my preparation ahead of time, so what I can do now is to try my best and have fun.” P

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

FEATURES | 09

LEARNING THROUGH LANGUAGE Senior David Sachs familiarizes with culture through language and food KIRAN VARADACHARI

wanted to get the Vietnamese perspective on the Vietnam War, you would have to learn Vietnamese to understand articles.” ountless cutting boards and Sachs’ devotion has inspired his peers dirty pans stack as high as the in a multitude of ways. Over the years, his eye can see throughout senior dedication to bettering his craft has been David Sachs’ home kitchen. To some, it essential to exploring many creations. may seem like an ordinary room with “He just always seems to be learning normal kitchen apmore,” senior Bronpliances and utensils. te King-Levine, However, this kitcha close friend of If you want to interact en, which is no more Sachs, said. “For with people who have than a skinny hallcooking, you can different perspectives way, holds the largest see his continuous and experiences, you place in his heart. exploration just by need to use language to Sachs’ two greatgoing over to his communicate.” est passions are house for dinner. cooking and studyYou can tell he has DAVID SACHS | SENIOR ing world languages. really taken the Throughout his life, he has spent hours time to understand not only the upon hours mastering the world’s finrecipes, but also [their] culturest recipes and most complex languagal history and origin.” es in the confines of his kitchen. While Sachs’s focus is not only these two may seem unrelated, Sachs on basic world languages, but combines them into a complex study of ancient languages as well. By human interactions and relationships. studying a wide variety of lan“I was originally applying to cuguages, he is able to deepen linary school, but now I’m going [to his understanding on the study] linguistics because they’re so origin of language. closely tied in understanding different “I have kind of broken cultures,” Sachs said. “They’re just difdown ancient Greek grammar ferent sides of the same coin because into a few tables, so ancient one is how you describe making a reciGreek is my focus,” Sachs pe, and the other one is the recipe that said. “I’m taking French [at you’re actually making. If you want school], and I speak English. I to understand culture as a whole, you can read around 20 writing syshave to learn both.” tems, which I find to be more useful Language is often described as the because it allows you to chief unifier between people across learn how to pronounce the world. However, many people are things correctly.” often familiar with only one language While his studies take and therefore cannot effectively comup the vast majority of his municate with people of different cultime, Sachs takes every optures. Through his studies, Sachs takes portunity available to better his craft. pride in being able to see how different Each hour he spends is filled with entercultures communicate. tainment and comfort.

“If you want to fully expose your“David’s motivations for both cooking self to the most unbiased and varied and the learning of languages seem to be sources that you can, you have to learn to purely bring himself joy,” senior Kian other languages,” Sachs said. “If you Howe, another close friend of Sachs, said. staff writer

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“He doesn’t do either to seek attention or garner recognition, rather he has fun with it and shares his passion with those who are curious.”

In the future, Sachs hopes the world will place a greater emphasis on learning about other cultures. He believes that this will allow people to better understand each other and will help to influence future generations.

“I think that society would be much more willing to compromise,” Sachs said. “If you have that understanding of another culture and different perspective, you’re able to figure out different stances that other people can take and deeply understand the senses. I feel like if everyone spoke multiple languages, we wouldn’t fight, and we would be in a more connected world.” P photo illustration by | SYDNEY COLLINGER & MIMI ZHOU

10 | FEATURES

SPREAD DESIGN BY MIKA KIPNIS & EMMI WALKER

STL’S TOUGHEST CRITIC Junior Sam Deutsch reviews restaurants for his Instagram page MIMI ZHOU features staff

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rom street tacos in the Lake of the Ozarks to a grill in Hawaii to Lester’s on Clayton Road, food critic and junior Sam Deutsch reviews it all. Because of his passion for food, Deutsch runs an Instagram account dedicated to rating different restaurants across the country. The page, @supereatssam, posts regular food reviews using a special six point ranking scale.

“My scale is out of six, I don’t know why,” Deutsch said. “It’s mysterious, but people like it. The ‘Sam Scale’ doesn’t actually have an equation to it. It’s basically a comparison to other restaurants that I’ve rated.”

Deutsch doesn’t have a rigorous grading scale when it comes to reviewing food. Instead, he has a few qualities he looks for and weighs his points differently from there.

“Obviously good food is the first Olive Garden in Chesterfield,” Deutsch and most important thing,” Deutsch said. “I don’t know what I expected out said. “Service, ambience [and] price of the Olive Garden. [It] got a three per quality pay into it. So, if I’m paying out of six, which is basically average. $25 for a burger, that better be the best The next day, they commented on my burger I’ve ever had in my life.” post. They said, ‘We’re sorry to hear Food is one of Deutsch’s passions, you were disappointed. Can you please which many of his classmates and send us a DM so we can connect?’ And teachers noticed so I did and they as they spent time sent me a $30 gift with Deutsch. The card to come back idea to start up an and retry.”

It’s great to go out and Instagram account While Deutsch eat and explore new to review food and has yet to go back types of foods I’ve never to Olive Garden, restaurants all began one day last year in he commends had before.” teacher Stephanie them for their SAM DEUTSCH | JUNIOR Bellville’s AP world prompt customer history class. service. In addition “I can distinctly remember the postto being recognized by this larger AP [test] discussion when we were company, Deutsch is also a familiar discussing everybody’s favorite St. face in smaller local restaurants around Louis restaurants, and Sam had a lot to the St. Louis area. say,” Bellville said. “His passion for food “My favorite place to go is Thai was very evident, and I thought his Nivas Cafe,” Deutsch said. “It has great reviews could help a lot of people figure service, and it’s a family run business out where to eat. I think I wrote down off of Olive and Graeser. They have about 15 restaurants he recommended called me ‘Sushi Boy Sam’ for about that day.” five years. Sometimes when I bring my A friend of many years, junior Chase friends, they’ll give me free stuff for our Linden was another student in Deutsch’s table because I bring them business.”

AP world history class. Linden played a Deutsch’s account has not only had large role in the creation of Deutsch’s a positive impact on his community, but food account. also on his own life as well. Maintaining “He wanted to make an Instagram, a food review account has helped him but he needed to gain some followers,” develop practical skills.

Linden said. “So, I helped promote “It’s made me a much better writer,” his account and helped him get it Deutsch said. “I’ve started using words going.” that I never had in my vocabulary.”

Since his account was set up Having proficient writing skills in May 2021, it has amassed is one of the most important parts of more than 300 followers.

Deutsch’s account. It plays a large With an increasing amount role in creating content for posts — a of eyes on him, Deutsch process divided into multiple steps. has started to receive some “[First] I’ll go to the place and I’ll attention from notable order,” Deutsch said. “If I’ve never been restaurants, both local to the place before, I take the waitress’ and national. or waiter’s recommendation. I take “My worst review was some pictures [and] then I’ll write the

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FEATURES | 11

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022 review the next day. [Then] I post it, and I’ll probably repost it on my primary page. Some of my friends will repost it and sometimes the restaurant will like or comment or repost it.”

Running a food critiquing account is not a one-man job. It requires a fair amount of work, so Deutsch often enlists friends for help. One particular instance was at The Foundry, a cafeteria market located downtown.

“I got to enjoy that meal with him and some other friends,” Linden said. “Being in person for his critique was fun because

it, especially when he gets to do it with his friends.

“To say the least, I’ve always loved going out to eat,” Deutsch said. “It’s great to go out and eat and just explore new types of foods I’ve never had before. And on this food journey, I’ve gone to places I would have probably not gone to. I don’t really know what the purpose, the end goal for this is.

Maybe it will be something real one day, but maybe it won’t be. I’m just kind of along for the ride and we’ll see where it goes.” P

he cares and puts effort into his posts.

All the while he does what he loves: eating.”

Sam’s passion for food is an important segment of his life, and being able to share it with his friends makes it even more special. His love for food is a large part of who he is, so having an Instagram food review account has not only been an entertaining aspect of his life, but important to him as well. While the future of the account is uncertain, Deutsch has enjoyed his time running

INSTAGRAM INSIDE SCOOP

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Sam Scale: from the lowest 3 to the highest 6 rating

(photo courtesy of Sam Deutsch)

@brioitaliangrille

Nothing truly popped out on the menu except for the ceaser salad that I topped with salmon.”

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I enjoyed some delicious all you can eat sushi! I got crispy shrimp which I think could’ve had a little more shrimp.”

4

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I ordered the Poorman’s Surf n’ Turn Burger.

The patty meat was delicious and great quality!”

6 @junctionhousestl

5

“ @sushiaiclayton

@mamasfishhouse

For the Kanpachi, which is a flaky fish, the stuffing inside mixed with the macademia crust made every bite of the fish tasty and crunchy!”

illustration by | MIKA KIPNIS

12 | FEATURES

SPREAD DESIGN BY MIKA KIPNIS

RIGHT: Sarah Collins sits at teacher Molly Beck’s desk and prepares for her day of substitute teaching. She goes through the lesson plans that the teacher has laid out for her.

“When the teacher plans are set forth, it’s much easier on the sub as well as the student,” Collins said. (Photo by Sydney Collinger)

COLLINS ON-CALL An inside look into the past and present of substitute teacher Sarah Collins MIKA KIPNIS features editor

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rom woodworking and auto mechanics to calculus and history, Sarah Collins has been a substitute teacher for practically every teacher and subject within the walls of Ladue Horton Watkins High School.

With over 10 years of substituting in the Ladue district under her belt, Collins has not only grown a personal family of her own with five children, but a bigger family comprised of generations of Ladue students and staff.

It isn’t always easy to put a smile on your face and walk into the unknown, but Collins believes that when it comes to substitute teaching, you have to “go with what you got.” While some may think that one of the hardest things about substitute teaching would be a chaotic student or an unclear lesson plan, for Collins, it’s just the fact that you have to walk into a new environment or a brand new subject every day.

“I’ve been doing it for a while, so

[I don’t get as] nervous or anxious as I and then got into public relations at might have a few years ago, [when] I’d Monsanto company and was a PR disay ‘Yikes, I’m walking into an AP govrector [there].” ernment class [and] I haven’t studied the When Collins decided to stop workConstitution in a while,’” Collins said. “For ing full time at Monsanto and become a some of the classes, substitute, she apyou just have to feel preciated that one comfortable with the of the many perks fact that you don’t When I saw Mrs. Collins that came with know it. You can’t was going to be the sub, substitute teaching feel ignorant. No was the “flexibility I knew it was going to be of it and control one can be expected a good day.” to know everything.” over [her] day-toCollins hasn’t alday schedule.” This LEO DENMAN | FRESHMAN ways been a substimeans that not tute teacher. In fact, only can Collins being in the realm of education has been pick and choose the days she wants to fairly new for her. Collins first got her dework, but the schedule enables her to gree in journalism from the University of continue to do her personal freelance Missouri in 1975, at which point she bePR projects in her spare time. gan to work as a public affairs officer in “It’s the best of both worlds,” Collins the military. said. “Even though I started concentrat“My primary duty was being the editor ing [on] doing sub work, I also still, and of a community newspaper on a military even to this day, continue to do freepost in Fort Riley, Kansas,” Collins said. lance public affairs projects.”

“Then, I worked for [International BusiOver the course of her substitute ness Machines Corporation] in marketing teaching career, Collins has created a

“

FEATURES | 13

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022 reputation for herself. Not only do students and teachers recognize the hard work, dedication and care Collins puts into her work every day, but administrators, such as Mike Tarpey, notice it even if they are “not in the classroom with her.”

“I’ve known Mrs. Collins for a long time — I’ve actually taught her boys — so she’s a proud Ladue mom,” Tarpey said. “I think that’s something that she brings with her every day. I think she just likes to give back, and we’re really grateful and appreciative for what she’s done over the years.”

Most of the time, Collins will get a heads up for her next substitute teaching position anywhere between 24 hours to as much as three months in advance. However, emergencies and last-minute absences occur, especially with the recent Omicron COVID-19

variant which took place throughout the beginning of January.

“I’m thankful she’s able to be there for us,” junior Shauna Prasad said. “Mr. White, my math analysis teacher, was out for an entire week because his whole family had Covid. Mrs. Collins was there so I’m really thankful that even though other teachers are out, she was there for the entire week.”

Currently, Ladue uses the Kelly Educational Staffing System that efficiently and uniformly connects and notifies teachers and substitutes about absences.

This means that when it comes down to those “last-minute, emergency situations,” Collins, and other substitutes within the district, can get notified about an opening as early as 5:30 a.m. to as late as 7:00 a.m. on the day of. At this point, whoever accepts first gets the job.

“Every once in a while [I accept those

5:30 a.m. calls],” Collins said. “The latest something has come in was literally at 7 o’clock in the morning. I don’t live that far away, so it just depends. But yes, I have truly taken the last minute [calls], as I think most subs do.”

While the job comes with quite a few hardships, the overall benefits outweigh the isolating or difficult moments and days. Getting to connect and leave an impact on students from a wide array of classes makes the job worth it.

Freshman Leo Denman remembers that “when [he] saw Mrs. Collins was going to be the sub that day, [he] knew it was going to be a good day.”

“I think for any sub, it’s nice to have a student recognize you and say ‘Hi Mrs. or Mr. so and so,’” Collins said. “It doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does, it just makes it feel like you’ve made a connection with a student.” P

CONNECTIONS WITH COLLINS

Administrators, teachers and students discuss the impact Collins has left on them

“

It’s great to have someone who knows the culture of the school.”

“

Mrs. Collins is not only reliable, but she also cares greatly about the students themselves.”

“

Mrs. Collins is a good sub because she’s good with keeping us on task.”

14 | INFOGRAPHIC

SPREAD DESIGN BY SOPHIA LIU

THE LEGACY OF BLACK HISTORY

UNEARTHING THE UNTOLD Dive into lesser known stories in Black history Lincoln University welcomes its first cohort of students.

The school is the first historically Black university to grant degrees in the U.S.

1854

1870

1892 1892

BL

A

C

Explore various facts and statistics in celebration of Black History Month

Hiram Rhodes Revels is the first Black person elected to the U.S. Senate. Revels was a senator for Mississippi until 1871

FIRST OF ALL

Ida B. Wells’ anti-lynching pamphlets gives rise to a new form of journalism: yellow press.

This pioneers a generation of investigative muckrackers in the journalism field

1909

K

HISTORY M O NT H

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is founded. Over 400 chapters are formed by 1921

1917

The Harlem Hellfighters, a regiment of Black soldiers, is sent to fight alongside France. France recognized their service 90 years before the U.S. did in 2019

1939

The 6888th Battalion — an all-Black, all-female military unit — delivers mail to World War II troops, avoiding enemy crafts and marching in war zones

1950

1955

1963

Ralph Bunche becomes the first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

He played a major role in negotiaing the 1949 Armistice Agreements

Bessie Coleman

Benjamin O. Davis

First Black person to become First Black general to serve a licensed pilot (1921) in the U.S. military (1940)

White supremacists bomb a church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four Black girls. The bombing marks a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement

Three civil rights workers in Mississippi are kidnapped and killed. The “Freedom Summer murders” becomes one of the FBI’s largest investigations at the time

Gwendolyn Brooks

Carole Gist

First Black author to win a Pulitzer Prize (1950)

First Black woman to win Miss USA (1984)

INVENTIVE ITEMS

Daily items invented by Black people

The ban on interracial marriage is reversed because one couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, fight their way up the local, state and Supreme Court

HI A

Potato Chip: Invented by George Crum (1853)

Ironing Board: Invented by Sarah Boone (1892)

SO P

Representative Shirley Chisholm runs for president, the first female presidential candidate and the first major party African American candidate. There are three attempted assassinations during her campaign

st

Hundreds of thousands of Black men unite in Washington D.C. for the Million Man March to bring forth solidarity and try to disprove negative stereotypes

illu

1995

ra t

io n

by |

1972

Oscar Micheaux First Black film director, producing 44+ films (1919)

Nine months before Rosa Parks is arrested, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refuses to give up her bus seat to white passengers

LIU

1967

Alain Locke First Black Rhodes Scholar (1907)

Hattie McDaniel is barred from attending the “Gone With The Wind” national premiere, despite winning an Oscar for her role in the movie

1945

1964

Historical firsts in the Black community

Traffic Light: Invented by Garrett Morgan (1922)

Blood Bank: Invented by Dr. Charles Drew (1940)

Security Camera: Invented

by Marie Brown (1966)

INFOGRAPHIC | 15

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

ONE DEGREE AT A TIME

THROUGH THE DECADES How Black History Month was established

Percentage of Black U.S. adults ages 25 and older with degrees

23%

Master’s Degree and higher

21%

Bachelor’s Degree

18%

15% 6%

6%

5%

2000

2006

2010

2015

STATE THE FACTS

States with the largest Black population

, 9 97 p e o

p

3, 32

ORGIA

0,513 peop

FLORIDA

3, 2

p 46 ,381 peo

le

52

le

3, 5

GE

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1960’s

Many colleges across the U.S., such as Kent State University and Texas A&M University, extend Negro History Week into Black History Month

1964

Author James Baldwin expresses concerns that American history curriculum fails to properly recognize the validity of Black history

1976

President Gerald Ford issues a decree to make Black History Month a national observance, marking the 50th anniversary of the first celebration

2022

The 2022 Black History Month theme, which the ASALH selects each year, is established as “Black Health and Wellness”

14%

13%

12%

11%

10%

1926

Carter Woodson and the ASALH found “Negro History Week” in the second week of February, when Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln both have birthdays

9%

8%

2019 Sources: Explore The Archive, Oprah Daily, Black Past, Biography.com, History. com, Time, Census.gov, Pew Research Center

W YOR K NE

2,

98

6,172 peop

l

e

17%

1915

Baldwin and Jesse E. Moorland found the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) to amplify Black history

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

Why is Black History Month important to you and how do you celebrate?

“

“

“

“

ADAM ESAYAS | FRESHMAN

SABA FAJORS | JUNIOR

JADA SMITH | SENIOR

BRANDON MURRAY | TEACHER

It gives us a chance to recognize what our ancestors did in the past and the mistakes that other people made to make us what we are.”

It’s a reminder of the significance of Black people and the impact and contributions they make to society.”

I like to learn about my Black ancestors because America was made of slavery. We really need to learn how it impacts Americans today.”

It’s a personal reminder to me to continue to press the point that Black history is American history from a perspective that’s often ignored.”

CHECK MATE 16 | PHOTO

Two women of Ladue’s chess club express their passion

RIGHT: Freshman Vishmi Rajapaksha searches the board in front of her for her next move. Rajapaksha pays attention to the whole board, advice she’s been given over the years. “[My words to people that want to start chess are that] no one starts perfect, I didn’t,” Rajapaksha said. “You get better at chess with experience, dedication and determination.”

BELOW: Senior Iris Zhou stares intently at her opponent thinking of the next move she can make. What goes through Zhou’s mind during a game ranges from calculating variations to thoughts about how the game has progressed from the start. “If I still have a lot of time on my clock and or it’s my opponent’s turn, I sometimes take a mental break and zone out for a bit,” Zhou said. “I also don’t really have any room for distractions while I’m trying not to get checkmated.”(photos by Sydney Collinger)

SPREAD DESIGN BY SYDNEY COLLINGER

PHOTO | 17

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

“

The best players never get too fixated, and they’re always looking for new ideas.”

IRIS ZHOU | SENIOR

“

“

[Chess] might not need a lot of physical activity, but it needs a lot of brain power.”

The queen is my favorite piece because it’s the most powerful.”

VISHMI RAJAPAKSHA | FRESHMAN

VISHMI RAJAPAKSHA | FRESHMAN

“

[The bishop is my favorite] because when they get unleashed, it’s much cooler [than the knight.]”

IRIS ZHOU | SENIOR

18 | IN-DEPTH

SPREAD DESIGN BY ANNIE ZHAO

ILLUMINATING LOVE

A look into the different factors that play into a relationship ANNIE ZHAO in-depth staff

I

t’s whispered lovingly from the lips of a mother to her child; it’s also what allows people to pass their fiftieth wedding anniversary together.

Love. The emotion is powerful, overwhelming and complex. Love morphs into what an individual makes of it — for there is no right or wrong definition to experience it.

“We don’t really have great definitions of love, and often we think of love as something that is so specific,” therapist Katie Killeen at Terrace House said.

“We define love and romantic relationships as a spark, an infatuation feeling.

There’s an author, M. Scott Peck, and his definition of love is a mutual invest-

ment in someone else’s spiritual growth.

So, a relationship is an investment into a person to become the best version of themselves and then also [for] you become the best version of yourself.”

MEDIA

As our society has become more technologically oriented, social media has started to dictate what love is supposed to be. Many people base their love on a perfect Instagram couple or starstruck lovers from a comfort movie, thus romanticizing being in a relationship. Society consumes media that contains a multitude of romantic portrayals, in forms of social media posts, books and movies.

“Love becomes exaggerated in books to draw the reader in, like they broke up in the rain while they were under an

umbrella,” senior Kat Watkins said. “[But] that doesn’t actually happen.

If it does, it’s very rare. Issues, like certain breakup stages, don’t play out the same as in books. People who do read books have this expectation of ‘oh, he’s gonna propose to me, or he’s gonna ask me to be his Valentines.’”

These fictional depictions tend to affect expectations of love and lead to unrealistic beliefs of how relationships are supposed to be. While not necessarily intended, it’s the inherent nature of certain media that make romanticizing relationships inevitable.

With the scripted-out portrayals of romance, the harmful sides of the media become evident.

“Media is persuasive,” Destiny Green, Safe Connections Prevention

IN-DEPTH | 19

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

Education Manager, said. “Whatever we see in the media, those are the ideas we believe are normal and are likely to be allowed in relationships.

[For example], we see a common narrative for cisgender relationships, where the boy likes the girl and then the boy keeps trying, over and over again. A lot of us now think this is normal, but an alternative is to respect someone’s ‘no’ and making it safe for females or cisgender girls to accept people if they are not interested in them. So, we need to unpack what the media shows us, so everyone can have media literacy.”

Within media representations of love, common themes exist throughout. In an anonymous survey Panorama conducted, Ladue’s favorite trope is enemies to lovers, second is friends to lovers followed by right person, wrong time. However, this presents a problem as young people are often prone to the fantasy love story that tends to fall short with what reality is.

“Media portrays relationships with all different types of tropes,” junior Kaden Missey said. “There are enemies-to-lovers tropes, and all these different fiction tropes aren’t realistic in real life. There’s a 1% chance to get

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a relationship that is as good as the books and, even then, I normally start to get skeptical if I start to feel like this is too good to be true. When I was with someone, he was super amazing and perfect. At first, it was perfect, like I was in a movie from the way he made me feel. Then, within a month, we had broken up.”

POWER

During relationships, people willingly drown in infatuation and attraction, rather than wear their heart on their sleeve and talk about the problems of the relationship. While interests or activities could change over time, core beliefs stand. Thus, communication between partners is essential to maintain a loving, understanding and overall helathy relationship.

“Trust in a relationship is definitely the most important thing to me,” Missey said. “I want to be able to trust you to not cheat and not lie to me. Also, I want to be respected. I don’t want to be seen as just an object, I don’t want to be seen

as just something that you have. I want to be seen as a person that you like.”

Too often, unequal power in a relationship goes unnoticed, but positive power is essential to continue a healthy relationship. Power is a person’s ability to have control in a relationship. When a “shared power” is reached, it is known as a balance of power, where both partners can share their perspectives and are respected. However, when an individual exceeds the limit of the amount of power they have, creates an imbalance, and continues to exploit their control over their partner, abuse and violence occur.

“A lot of people have been stuck in abusive relationships and there’s an increase from the pandemic,” Killeen said.

20 | IN-DEPTH “Power dynamics show up in relationships as narratives about who has power or who should have power. Patriarchy, white supremacy and other systems define who does or doesn’t have power. When there’s a difference in power in a relationship, it’s often because the patriarchy is

SPREAD DESIGN BY MAC HUFFMAN showing up strong and there’s one partner believing that they should have power, so the other partner thinks, ‘I get protection by being with someone who is powerful’ which is a stuck pattern that can be hard to get out of.”

Unhealthy relationships stem from deep-rooted problems that should be addressed and not ignored, whether it be from a fear of being alone or having low self-esteem. Toxicity stains relationships, warping the relationship as one not based on love, but a need

to simply be one. But, the new generation begins to distance themselves from this narrative, believing jealousy is a factor to work on. “In an unhealthy relationship, jealousy and possessiveness are emotions that a lot of people think

IN-DEPTH | 21

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

is an indicator of care and love,” Green said.

“But, in the last five years, more young people look at that with disdain, which I love to hear and see. Things like ‘this person cares about me because they will get jealous’ have been very normalized. Control contributes to stalking and being coercive — forcing people to say yes to you, guilt-tripping or manipulating them.”

In terms of a relationship, 18 is adulthood; in terms of everything else, 18 is not. The day separating 17 and 18 changes everything in terms of whether someone is a coerced minor or whether someone is a full-fledged adult who will be

blamed for not knowing better. Thus, functionally the difference in between serves not a genuine warning, but rather a line to toe, a cheat code and a way to insert moral gray areas.

“I’ve seen relationships where someone over 18 was dating a freshman,” Watkins said. “The older person would have power over the younger person and he was almost pressuring her to do things, and she would become stuck because she couldn’t go to anyone and try to get help.”

GENDER ROLES

Gender can affect someone’s role in a relationship, as throughout history, women typically stayed home and took care of kids, while men took on a job and other responsibilities outside of the home. Thus, our society has prewritten out stereotypes.

As such, these standardized thoughts affect every person as they either reject the notion of gender roles entirely or begin to get influenced by them. These gender roles guide individuals’ opinions of only being used to the heteronormative community over other identities, creating a lack of understanding and empathy.

“The dominant narrative is definitely still very heteronormative,” Killeen said.

“It is such a negative impact when you feel like how you experience pleasure and connect such a negative impact when you

22 | IN-DEPTH feel like how you experience pleasure and connection isn’t a common story.

Stories of shame and not belonging come in. [But], we need to understand what internalized homophobia or internalized heteronormative expectations stem from, and how that shows up in relationships. Most of what we believe isn’t planted by us, but planted by our society. Thus, [people] should know their roots, and then decide if they want to uproot them and plant

SPREAD DESIGN BY JOANNE SUNG something else.”

Gender identity is something that expands and changes, differing for everyone at any given moment. For some, gender alludes to a growing factor in their life, while for others, gender could be a static variable of their identity. Killen implores that being curious about oneself is a gift, but through support from others, is when one can truly explore and flourish.

“Since I’m kind of tall and [I] dress more like boys would, people just naturally think, ‘oh, she’s a lesbian’ or ‘she dated girls,’” Watkins said. “Even today, somebody said it and it hurt my feelings. At first, I thought, ‘I’m straight.’ But then, as soon as I

got into high school, I started experimenting more and I thought, ‘maybe, I’m not straight.’ How I dress and however people decide to portray me as — that’s their opinion. I know deep down inside what I am and how I am as a person.”

In a relationship, external and internal pressures immensely affects those who are in it. Whether that be the individual’s own self-esteem or a parent’s thoughts, the pressures can pose a threat in deciding to start a relationship. Ultimately, there’s no magical formula to fall in love and no magical number for when to start dating.

“Take your time in the relationship and with learning yourself,” Green said. “We need to have self awareness

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022 with our boundaries and expectations, taking time to lay that out first. [Lastly], prioritize a healthy relationship with yourself to know your needs and do your best to meet those needs.”

Thus, actual healthy relationships are a lot more complex than what the media shows. Narratives cannot be the true extent of what defines love.

“There is this decentralization of romantic relationships, which means people aren’t putting up with partners,” Killeen said. “People instead choose others that they really feel like they can trust and grow with. [So], you should find someone you have fun with and someone who you feel really respected by. When you’re with them, you feel as if you expand — get bigger, not smaller.” P

IN-DEPTH | 23

24 | EDITORIAL

SPREAD DESIGN BY CAROLINE EDGAR | CLAYTON COUGHLIN

illustration by | DANIELLE ZHANG

PANO PERSPECTIVE The Ladue community needs to start complimenting men more 28 out of 28 Panorama staff members agree

I

“ love your outfit, it’s so cute!”

“Aww, thank you so much! You look cute too!”

When you imagine someone saying those words — complimenting their peer — what kind of scene comes to mind? In this situation, one probably does not envision a man complimenting a man, but instead, two women. Maybe it’s rooted in the notion that men aren’t expected to be pretty. Or maybe, it’s the fact that the hyper-masculine culture in America influences the act of complimenting men, or rather, lack thereof.

This idea stems from the fact that everything we say, compliments or not, is at the fingertips of our peers to judge. Despite compliments serving an immense role in our lives in terms of human connection, self-security and esteem, for some men, compliments can come across as ingenuine, and have the opposite effect. In some cases, men may believe they are being made fun of, teased or mocked. This is because complimenting men is not normalized, while making fun of each other is.

In order to follow through on the idea that we should normalize complimenting men, we must first understand the greater extent of it — the fight against hyper-masculinity and the breakdown of the gender binary.

This comes down to men not wanting to be seen as “vulnerable” or “weak” and as a result, expressing admiration towards

one another is completely off-limits. Or, if it’s “on limits,” it’s only if they back up their intent with that common and problematic phrase we’ve all heard: “no homo though bro.”

In addition, women don’t want to come off as being too nice or flirtatious with men. If they do, they fear they might fall into that never ending cycle of perceived talking stages and men believing they have been lead on.

And that’s why, as we go about the idea of normalizing complimenting, it’s also important to understand and distinguish the difference between flirting and complimenting.

There is nothing flirtatious about a casual “you look great today.” Since it is so abnormal to compliment a man, a simple acknowledgment of someone’s appearance may come across as flirting. But, it shouldn’t. When done in a respectable manner, it can have monumental impacts on men that will not only break the stereotypes, but invite everyone to freely compliment men in platonic ways.

All of this comes to say that giving out genuine compliments to men should become normalized and have the same effects on men as they do for women. Hopefully, in doing so, it will be a step towards rewriting societal norms, breaking down the barriers associated with the hyper-masculine culture and erasing the gender aspect associated with compliments. P

Editorial Note: Each editorial, Panorama selects an issue that the staff thinks is important to address and expresses a view that belongs to the majority of the staff. Panorama welcomes the opinions of its readers, and encourages letters to the editors. Please bring signed letters to room 1311 or email Panorama at publications01@ladueschools.net. Panorama reserves the right to revise submissions for length as long as original intent remains unaltered.

OPINIONS | 25

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

THE REALITY OF COLLEGE BOARD Exploring reasons why the College Board doesn’t serve students ethically KANISHK SHANMUGAM staff writer

T

he College Board is scary. AP tests and rumors about College Board spies trying to weed out test discussion showed up in many students’ nightmares in 2020 and 2021.

It’s a no-brainer that the College Board is not well regarded among students.

Even though so many feel this way, we still continue to take AP courses and toil over the SAT. This love-hate relationship only proves that the College Board is an unfair corporation that preys on students wanting to achieve academic success.

There are many reasons to despise the College Board, but one to laugh at is their certification as a nonprofit. The College Board is classified as a 501(c) (3); this title allows the organization to remain exempt from federal income taxes. Though at first glance, this seems normal for an organization devoted to standardized educational and college readiness, it proves contradictory after looking at their activity. After all, they function as a corporation would.

According to a 2020 Forbes investigation, the College Board’s tests “fuel more than $1 billion in annual revenue and $100 million in untaxed surplus.” A more recent 2021 Forbes

article notes that the group’s investments in “hedge funds and partnerships with anonymous investors quintupled to $675 million over four years.” According to the article, the president, David Coleman, made a total compensation of around $1.8 million in 2018. No wonder Google brands him as a businessman rather than the director of a nonprofit!

On top of this, OpenSecrets, an organization that tracks money in politics, reports the College Board spent $135,000 on lobbying in 2021 and around $4,946,000 influencing policy since 2004.

Through their efforts, the SAT is now required to be taken by high school juniors in eight states. Although these tests are free to students, the contracts upon which they lie are ultimately paid by the public.

It is already clear to most students that the College Board’s “non-profit operations” are more than satisfied by their products and exploitive prices.

The SAT with the essay portion costs $64.50, and before SAT subject tests were canceled, one paid a baseline fee of $26 plus $22 for each test. AP exams cost $94 to $142, with an additional $40 for orders after November. Late fees are ridiculous, considering that many students aren’t sure if they want to take the test less than halfway through the school year.

FOUNDING THE EXAMS

The creation and reasoning behind AP Tests 1954

1955

The Fund for the Advancement of Education (FAE) was created in response to the Cold War. It was believed that smart students were integral to victory.

The FAE introduced universal introductory college-level curriculum for high school students. 27 schools administered the first AP exams.

Management of the AP program was passed off to The College Board. At this point, no exams were more than three hours and 10 exams were offered.

PRICE EVOLUTION

How AP Exam prices have changed from 2007-2022 100

Price

1951

Personally, I would have loved to know that something called harmonic motion would be on the AP physics: mechanics test before I registered to take it. The College Board definitely knew what it was doing when they forced students to decide whether they were taking the test early in the year.

Although the College Board makes a large amount of money, they are also embarrassingly prone to unfair policies.

Many remember the outrage over the College Board’s online AP exams in 2020, where international students tested at outrageous times. Then again, who in Japan and Korea wouldn’t want to take AP tests at 3 a.m. during a raging pandemic? Or, that time when some June 6th SAT test-takers got extra time on their exams due to a printing error, and results were still delivered after minor changes, instead of a full reschedule of the test.

The College Board is not optimal in many aspects, but it is still relevant. It operates as one of only two standardized testing organizations and wields significant influence in educational systems. The College Board shows that standardized testing needs immediate reform; until then, these “non-profits” will continue to exploit the students they are meant to serve. P

illustration by | SOPHIA LIU

80

Time

Sources: Prep Scholar, totalregistration

26 | OPINIONS

SPREAD DESIGN BY CLAYTON COUGHLIN | PRANAVI CHINTHA

READY FOR PRIME TIME? Amazon Prime is the only streaming service worth your money CLAYTON COUGHLIN associate editor

C

able TV packages will soon become a thing of the past. With little to no ability to choose what to watch and forced to keep “the best thing that’s on” playing, streaming services will soon be our primary source for TV shows and movies. But with so many companies creating their own streaming services and flooding the market, it can be difficult to choose the best option. As much as it pains me to say, the best course of action is to hand over more money to Mr. Bezos and get an Amazon Prime subscription.

Amazon Prime costs a few extra dollars compared to other streaming services.

But when you buy a subscription, it is not just for access to movies and shows.

Shipping benefits, exclusive offers on Amazon and deals that other companies make with Amazon are some of the things that come with a slight increase in price. I think that the benefit of free shipping is worth the extra cost.

There are many shticks when it comes to these streaming packages.

Advertisements, limiting the number of simultaneous streams and original content are a few of them. A great advantage of Amazon is that it does not limit itself to one thing. When you first log on to Prime, there is a row of original content like “The Boys” or “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (to name some of my favorites). That’s it. They do not try to bombard you with Amazon originals the way Netflix does with Netflix Originals.

On Netflix, it seems that almost every other thing has that red N in the top left corner of its thumbnail. Then Netflix has that “Only on Netflix’” category that when highlighted, blows up to populate your entire screen. On Prime, it’s just one normal sized row.

Many services make you pay monthly fees and then force you to watch commercials to consume their content.

No commercials is a big reason why I like streaming services. Companies like HBO Max and Hulu leverage ad-free content to charge more. This is preposterous.

BREAKING DOWN THE BASICS illustration by | CLAYTON COUGHLIN

But sure, you can pay more for the true streaming service experience if you want to. But Clayton, what about the Amazon Prime? Doesn’t it have ads? It is true that there is a section of Prime that contains advertisements. Subscribers get access to IMDb TV content as well on Prime but have to watch a few ads. With Prime, ads are limited to a small strata of its content and are not an overall theme.

However, I do have one qualm with Amazon Prime. Prime has an a la carte system where movies or shows in high demand cost extra. This paywall makes sense for movies that were just released but when you search up a movie that is older and it fails to read “included with Prime,” it really grinds my gears.

When it comes down to it, Amazon Prime holds its own on original content and selection. Its price is understandable due to all of the perks that come with being an Amazon Prime subscriber. So stop changing channels on your TV, give your money to a company valued at 1.65 trillion dollars and relish in getting the best bang for your buck. P

Quick facts about the top five streaming services

Source: business insider

Streaming service

Price per month $

$

$

Simultaneous streams

=$5

$

Frequency of ads Only on IMDb Content

$

None

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

4 min per None hour

$

10 min per None hour

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

None

OPINIONS | 27

illustration by | PRANAVI CHINTHA

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

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FAILING SUCCESS

Academic achievements should not define one’s self-worth PRANAVI CHINTHA

opinions staff

S

chool is great. Really, there is nothing more fun than getting new assignments, struggling to stay awake, attending extracurricular activities and going home to spend three hours preparing for the next day. And do not get me started on my favorite part, having my AP biology test and math analysis test right after each other. It’s as if all the planets align for one beautiful crossover. However, in order to get ready for that magnificent event, I must ask everyone who’s already taken the test to tell me everything they remember.

Then, I need to frantically crunch numbers into a grade calculator and cry for 20 minutes when I see that I need a 109% to get an A in that class. Finally, once I’ve taken both tests, it’s time for me to start frantically reloading Infinite Campus, only to feel a pit in my stomach when I see my grade.

The truth is, I love academic validation. I love telling people about my academic achievements to get a pat on the back of approval, telling my parents and them having a little less disappoint in me and feeling like I have some value after all. I also love how I’m always unmotivated, how I struggle to keep up with assignments and how I have to stay up late every night to finish homework, because this is what the high school experience is, right?

It’s not easy to say that grades don’t determine your selfworth when we’ve been taught otherwise almost our entire lives. How my parents assumed I was going to go to Harvard when I was only 3 years old, I have no idea. Coming from im-

migrant parents creates an extra layer of pressure that, while I can’t necessarily blame them for it, makes it so that I don’t necessarily have the privilege of tossing my grades out the window and living my life with no care in the world. But, it’s also an understatement to say that grades aren’t everything.

Now this isn’t a revolutionary new take, but for all the times we nod our heads in agreement, how many times are we actually listening? Believe me, I’m writing this and I don’t think I’m even listening.

There’s a certain culture within Ladue that pressures students to be the best, whether that be with sports, academics or arts. Mixing that with the expectations held against me in my personal life, it is hard to feel as if I can ever be successful when I see so many others being more “successful” than I am. But our definition of success is inaccurate, if not completely wrong.

If there’s one thing I learned about myself from the last three years of being a student at this school, it’s that I have limitations. As easy as it is to blame falling grades and my lack of motivation on one’s own personal failings, the truth is that the higher we set our expectations, the harder it’s going to be to get there. In contrast to most inspirational posters you might’ve seen in your teacher’s classrooms, the solution isn’t always to “keep trying even if all the odds are stacked against you,” but alternatively, it’s to take another route. You’re not helping yourself by taking those extra AP classes, loading on extracurricular activities and stressing yourself out about your future. The best way to actually help yourself is to know what your capabilities are as a student and not letting your grades define who you are, but instead defining yourself. P

28 | OPINIONS

SPREAD DESIGN BY CAROLINE EDGAR & TARIQ LASHLEY

NEW LIES, OLD STORY

Modern propaganda seeks to subvert the efforts of Black leaders TARIQ LASHLEY opinions editor

I

t isn’t controversial anymore to say the Black Panthers “weren’t the bad guys.” It isn’t controversial anymore to say the FBI manipulated our nation’s perceptions of any Black radical group to diminish their effectiveness. It isn’t controversial anymore to like Malcolm X more than the nigh-sainted Martin Luther King — we are not restricted to parroting what we once heard in our youths.

In the digital era, it isn’t hard to find oneself in a shifted landscape from the frankly ridiculous tales spun once before. In decades previous, the truth of these movements were only revealed through study with academic resources often limited until one reached college. Now, anyone can read a Wikipedia article to radicalize themselves.

But in this transformative world, political machines and government think tanks have transformed themselves in tandem.

No longer do we have the blatant vilification of popular movements, but a more modern, insidious manipulation.

The propaganda machine has two paints they might apply to any radical in recent history: one of demonization and the other of whitewashing. Both serve to break down the fundamentals of our heroes without declaring them as pure danger and evil.

Nowadays, the more common of the two is the gentrification of our figures, warping them into something more palatable for a white majority. To white America, Dr. King is a man of peace — nonviolent and one with a dream of racial unity by white and Black people working together. They’ll spin you a fairy tale: “oh, when the nation heard King march, and when the nation saw what King wanted to show, the nation listened and responded with the change that has made our world a better place. Even with his death, King’s legacy strummed on as the country and people completed his dream.”

Yeah. Doesn’t take a genius to see the cracks in this story. Of course, he wasn’t always painted with this unhistorical deific brush; before his death, MLK — a known communist — had a disapproval rate of 75%. To many, this isn’t a surprise. While many see the story as an obvious ruse, it’s true enough to be

BLACK HISTORY BREAKDOWN

Common misconceptions about Black history and the Civil Rights Movements

31

% of Americans in 1968 believed MLK

DESERVED

to be assassinated

The Black Panthers fed

20,000 children free breakfast

EVERY MORNING Sources: The Smithsonian, Black Past, Gallup

5

% of Americans were

ANGRY at MLK’s death

The Black Panthers fed

MORE children than the

NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

illustration by | CAROLINE EDGAR

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022 retold without guilt and while “simplified from the truth,” it is a tale that inspires “good” in others. Why? Why would the tides of public opinion change that quickly, that fast once the good doctor passed? Was it to help and serve the legacy of Martin Luther King, or was it to construct a false effigy to rally America instead of those more “extreme political opinions?”

On the topic of effigies and well-spun lies, it is important to note the influence American media has on the nature of the American construation. I am not going to make the claim that the government is quietly manipulating every piece of art you consume. What I am going to say is that popular films, televisions, books, etc. in American culture often reflect trends of political action and influence. Think back: within the last 10 years, how many antagonists in popular media have reflected the archetype of “The Good Radical Gone Too Far?” The number of these depictions has spiked within recent times, and on many occasions, these groups have striking similarities with groups akin to the Black Panthers.

These stories all follow a similar pattern; the main character will usually realize there’s a part of the villain’s ideology that is right, though because of either a random heel turn of violence or some ideological fracture where they go too far, the radical must be taken out. With the original activist dead or placed out of the story, said “radical” ideology is thus then reshaped to be compatible with the liberal status-quo in a way that is present-

OPINIONS | 29 ed as progress. I can’t be the only one who sees the disturbing similarities with today’s political trends, right?

These characters do not exist upon their own — they are created, made and written by people. Sure, there might be an in-universe reason for these radicals to suddenly commit some mass act of violence in the end of the second act, but those reasons are written, not discovered. Parallels, either intentionally or not drawn from these ideas planted by our modern propaganda machine, grow into thick, convoluted forests that obscure the original intent of the revolutionaries they are based on in the first place.

The propaganda of America is in every bolt and every gear, a cryptid of a beast. The reason why MLK and radicals like him are whitewashed is not as simple as making white Americans feel better about themselves — it is because they need to be right. America needs to be wrong, but only the ways that America wants to be wrong. Everyone knows the government isn’t infallible, and the government knows that we know.

Thus within our system-in-decay, a revolutionary must somewhere be right. They must be raised up, parts of their ideology stressed and parts thrown to the wayside, all to be consumed into the hegemony of the Current.

To recognize this, and the system it is built upon it is the job of every would-be-activist, lest one might find themselves in the same situations as those revolutionaries previous. P

CROOKED COMPARISONS

In my mind, almost no media compares to capturing the American psyche and mind like the modern superhero story, and almost every superhero story needs its supervillain. Enter, Magneto. Within classic X-Men, the parallels between Professor X and MLK have been commented on by fans and critics alike, and thus of course a parallel is drawn between Magneto and Malcolm X. It’s honestly quite disgusting and revealing how a lot of modern media portrays Malcolm X as genocidal warlord, and Dr. King as a figure who would kowtow to his oppressors and care more about his people “making themselves look bad” than striving for any actual change. To compare Malcolm and Magneto in any way other than them being drawn as the “radical” revolutionary is an insult to both the historical figure and character. For people to theorize that Magneto’s modern incarnation within the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be a Black Panther-like radical is an insult beyond measure.

The line between race and class conflicts within the Civil Rights movement was a thin one — usually an activist of one was an activist of both. Malcolm X, MLK, Angela Davis, Fred Hampton and Huey Newton: all leftists of some sort, most of which were stripped of their economic ideology once reaching the mainstream. The modern American and the foundations of American society could exist within a post-racial world — there is no world post-capitalism that America exists in its current state. Thus, while the racial activists are allowed, the secondary truths which they spout are pushed into the background. In my youth, from not a single Black History Month did I hear a single anti-capitalist thought. We can afford to live within our bubble of Black struggles, but once radicals push past them to the root of many such problems, those thoughts are shut down and ignored as the tides of time and purpose erode the truth.

s llu

i

RED REMOVAL

by | ERICA SH tion a r I t

30 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SPREAD DESIGN BY OLIVIA HU

HEART TO HEART Endearing and embarrassing stories from anonymous students illustration by | OLIVIA HU

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | 31

MONTH OF LOVE

32 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SPREAD DESIGN BY OVIYA SRIHARI

A comprehensive guide to all things Valentines’ Day OVIYA SRIHARI

5.0

Average spending per person in 2022

TRENDING SPENDING

40% of single people not celebrating

Total money spent on gifts over the years

4.0

KEY

3.0

60% of single people celebrating clothing

jewelry

1.0

an evening out candy 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Source: National Retail Foundation YEAR

ROM-COMS,

RANKED

2022

1

A top three list from cult-classics to new movies “THE HALF OF IT”

Chaos ensues when jock Paul Munsky enlists shy, linguistically-gifted Ellie Chu to write love letters to his crush. You have rom, you have com, you have heartwarming friendship, you have weird John-Green-esque life ponderings by teenagers...and it’s perfectly sweet, complex, satisfying and heart-wrenching all at once without in-your-face romance.

3

“THE PRINCESS BRIDE”

“MAMMA MIA”

“13 GOING ON 30”

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

projected in 2022

how people are CELEBRATING WHILE SINGLE

greeting card

5%

22%

“An

Tre Ge ti-V t to at y al get our her giftentin s e lf es” s

“10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU”

I couldn’t give “The Half of It” first place because it doesn’t fully belong to the rom-com genre, but this movie is a classic so beloved it needs no further description. Kat’s outfits? Pre-Joker Heath Ledger? The poem? It’s all cringey, Kat is relatably stubborn but far from perfect and there is a LOT of secondhand embarrassment involved when watching. But when I think rom-com, this is exactly what comes to mind.

“CRAZY RICH ASIANS” Main characters Nick and Rachel are already in love — now it’s up to them to convince his crazy demanding (and crazy rich) family the same. Everything about the music, the filming and even the side characters’ subplots are thoughtfully written, but there’s still more than enough fun to create a satisfyingly sappy rom-com experience.

illustration by | NICOLE GORRELL

2

Total spending

29%

flowers

2.0

$23.9B

“TO ALL THE BOYS I LOVED BEFORE”

MONEY SPENT (billions)

6.0

$175.41

this year

Valentines’ Day facts and statistics

no, not celebrating

celebrating

THE

BY

NUMBERS

53%

yes, celebrating

associate editor

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | 33

REVIEWING A look back at our favorite elementary school tradition

SNACK CORNER

Panorama reviews different Valentines’ foods ICE CREAM

VALENTINES

THE

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

I “RUFF” U I’d rate this Valentine 2/10 for nostalgia but an 11/10 in cuteness.

best for: crying over a breakup

STAR WARS

B E N & J E R RY ’ S BROW N IE C O R E

I don’t really know the difference between “Star Trek” and “Star Wars,” but if you did, this would be 8.5/10 nostalgic. 0/10 cute regardless.

& JERRY’S BEN IX & CHILL L F T ’D NE

TALENTI RASPBERRY best for: single & thriving

H A AG E N DA Z S S T R AW B E R RY

best for: people in healthy relationships

CUPCAKES ART HE

best for: the sappy couple

best for: nothing

best for: elementary school Valentines’ parties

CAKE

YOU COLOR MY WORLD

CH

CANDY

It’s fun, maybe a 4/10 level nostalgic, 5/10 cute?

Nothing amazing.

PAW PATROL I wasn’t the Paw Patrol type as a child, but these are definitely 7.5/10 cute and 6/10 nostalgic.

best for: these will never NOT be good.

O C O L AT E C A K E

STARBURST YBEAN HEART L L S JE

COOK

ETHEAR SWE HEA TS Y RT S CAND

best for: romantic overachievers

F E RR ERO R O C H E R B OX O F C H O C O L AT E

best for: telling someone you don’t actually care about them

IE C A K E

best for: classic candy on a budget

LOVE AT LADUE JIM GO

NATA LIE C

SE L

“Oh no! I forgot my phone number... Can I have yours instead?”

SSER | WA T D L

ER CH EA

Eptaquo berum re quiatur “Are you from Tennessee? sin remporyou’re sequothe imperat Because only ectium10 eum, earchitia si I see!”

A

SAKI | J MA U OR NI

“Are you in the coal industry? Because I want to make you mine!”

YBAUGH | F LA

MAN SH RE

SILVER | SE N A

OR NI

RY

The Ladue community shares their best pick-up lines

“Your feet must be tired, because you’ve been running through my mind!”

34 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SPREAD DESIGN BY SOPHIA HILLMAN | RYAN TUNG

COOKIE

A look at the role ingredients play in a cookie recipe

Flour: Flour controls how much a cookie rises and provides it with its structure.

If you use too little flour, your cookie won’t keep its shape. If you use too much, you’ll end up with a thick, tasteless cookie.

Fat:

Fat determines how crunchy or chewy a cookie will be.

More fat makes for a chewier cookie, and less fat leads to a crunchier cookie. Common examples are butter, margarine, coconut oil and shortening.

Binding Agent:

The binding agents in a recipe hold the cookies together.

The most commonly used agent in baking is eggs, but other binding agents include applesauce, fruit juice and honey.

Leavening Agent:

Baking powder will give you a puffier cookie. Baking soda increases browning and spreading, resulting in a flatter cookie. If you use baking soda, you need to add an acid, such as buttermilk and lemon juice, as well.

Sugar: Sugar sweetens cookies and controls how much a cookie spreads. If you use only white sugar, it makes the cookies thin and flat, which adds a crispy texture. If you use brown sugar, it makes the cookie chewier.

By following a few tips and tricks, you can make the perfect cookie. Follow this QR code to learn more and to get the recipe for the perfect cookie.

HEALTH & SPORTS | 35

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022 RIGHT: Ladue varsity hockey team celebrates a goal against Parkway West Oct. 5. The team won 17 games in the 2022 regular season. “We’re just really open to each other and we try to make each other better, instead of [the] individual aspect of things,” junior Ryan Acree said. “We really want to focus on being a team.” (photo

by Mac Huffman)

ROAD TO THE WICK Ladue varsity hockey enters postseason following a championship season MATTHEW KWEON staff writer

S

aturday night, March 6, 2021.

Ladue was on its way to make history in the Centene Ice Center. Tied late in the third period, Ladue and Francis Howell Central battled back and forth in a relatively low scoring game. However, with merely 3:28 left on the clock, junior Jack Deutsch found the net and scored, leading the Ladue Rams to their first Wickenheiser Cup trophy.

Winning the championship is a moment the Rams are trying to recreate. Currently, the team holds a 17-4-2 record and is competing in the state quarterfinals Feb. 12 through 14.

“The goal is to win state again, back to back,” junior and assistant captain Dylan Brosseau said. “I don’t think Ladue is really recognized as a hockey school, but I think our program has definitely dominated our conference for years. [Despite] winning last year, people say ‘oh it was a fluke,’ so I’d love to win again this year. I think we’re very capable of it.”

Like many championship runs, the 2021 Wickenheiser Cup title was more than just a year’s worth of effort. Af-

ter only graduating three seniors after the Winning another Wickenheiser Cup 2019-2020 season (allowing two years to will be a challenge with teams from St. develop the team), the Ladue Rams gradLouis Priory School to Lafeyette High uated seven seniors after their championSchool excelling in the regular season. ship run. This year, they have six seniors Although the Rams have their share of on the team. weaknesses, tack“We had a good ling those chalcore group but lenges is simply We have that same adding on underthe next step in mindset of helping each classmen and new the process. players was hard,” “We’re a pretty other out and winning as Brosseau said. “Still, immature team,” a team, not an individual.”

I think we did a resenior and assisally good job of getRYAN ACREE | JUNIOR tant captain Mike ting everyone toGakhutishvilli gether. [Captain Kiran Varadachari] had said. “It’s fun, but sometimes it hurts a tough turnaround this year with all the us. After our Priory loss, everyone got new guys, but he adjusted to that really an understanding of what we needed to well.” do to win and how we needed to play.

Through many get-togethers, team During playoffs, you hit a different dinners and goal-setting meetings gear, a different mindset, because it’s throughout the season, the team not only do or die now.” feels much more close and comfortable As the 2022 playoffs begins, that with each other, but also more focused mindset is central. Each player seeks to and motivated to win. recreate last year’s success.

“We’ve just been really caring,” junior “I [want to] share this feeling with and left wing Ryan Acree said. “We’re reall the guys last year when we won ally open to each other and try to make the Wick,” Gakhutishvilli said. “We can each other better, instead of [focusing share that feeling and that bond, and on] individual aspects of things. We don’t we know what we can do to help the have the same skill as last year, but we do guys who haven’t had that feeling to be have that same want to win this year.” able to get that feeling.” P

“

36 | HEALTH & SPORTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY LUCY LOCHMOELLER & LUKE LOCHMOELLER

KING OF THE HILL A ranking and review of the best physical education games at Ladue LUKE LOCHMOELLER health & sports staff

1. FLOOR HOCKEY Floor Hockey was the long awaited winter P.E. unit, where the hockey players would show off their skills, embarrassing the other players after curving the plastic sticks making them look like a deformed C. Once getting the five minute “keep your sticks below the waist talk,” the ball was dropped and the game began. After the hockey players got their share of goals, stickhandling through half the class and taking the will to play from a chunk of the kids, the game would deteriorate into everyone swinging at the ball in an attempt to steal it, while trying to avoid a follow through to the face in the process.

2. PIN GUARD Pin Guard was a somewhat rare occurrence. It would take place in P.E. class, sometimes as a warmup game or the entire class. I believe this game to be very hit-or-miss. When it was a hit, games would be long and the pins would be protected by diligent pin guards. It would also be a fun dodgeball game for the attackers as they tried to knock over the opponents pin. Although it is inevitable that someone will stumble along and knock over the last pin with his foot and then just like that, times up and it is time to clean up.

The games would also sometimes never come to an end, and eventually each team gets down to just a couple players.

Even just one person standing in front of the pin would be enough to block all of the balls coming their way with just a ball in their hand, resulting in the coaches calling a jailbreak. Aside from trying to knock the pin down, being able to throw a ball full speed at someone to get them out is relieving and also very enjoyable.

Also working as a team to get as many people out as possible while staying alive is an essential part.

HEALTH & SPORTS | 37

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

3. GAGA BALL

illustration by | MAX YANG

Gaga ball was a recess game, and if you weren't one of the first people outside, you would be last in the line wrapping all the way around the pit. This meant that the first game was always with the kids who eat, sleep and breathe gaga ball. After the ball ball gets dropped, it's very scary — with so many people still in the pit, you don't know where the ball is flying. What makes this game so fun is when it gets down to the very last people, you have to be strategic with your hits and positioning. If the ball gets out of your view and behind you, it might get hit to your most exposed spot so you constantly need to be watching. Since you are playing the game solo and fending for yourself, it makes it a lot harder to win because you can’t rely on a teammate to back you up (unless you team up). Hitting it as hard as you can, to hit someone else with the ball is very relieving — until you scrape the life out of your knuckles on the hard unforgiving concrete blacktop.

4. NINE SQUARE 9-square was a very fun game for me mostly because of my height. I wasn’t the tallest but I was definetely not the shortest either. So with that, spiking the ball and getting people out was very easy and made the game a lot more fun for me.

One downside is whenever this was played, sometimes people would have no desire to play making the game simply not fun. Once king, if teaming with a friend, this is the place where betrayal happens. If this isn’t the case, then being king is all about not getting spiked on and just staying in the middle soaking up the time of being king and getting to serve the ball. One of the worst things can happen when king is when you serve, only for it to roll around someones square. Then you watch it bounce on multiple beams before hitting the ground, getting you out and sending you to the end of the line.

HONORABLE MENTIONS TOGA BALL

Toga Ball doesn’t really get played often, but when we do play it, it makes you wonder why it’s not a regular occurance. Being sort of a free for all game, Toga is very fun and because there are just a few balls to get people out so making sure you have one is imperative.

MAT BALL

Mat Ball was a go-to on rainy days, and if it was played inside, the game would get intense.

Hitting the upper back of the wall of the gym meant a homerun, so everyone was swinging for the fences. You had to be careful not to hurt yourself, though, because injuries were common.

38 | HEALTH & SPORTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY RYAN TUNG

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health & sports editor

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HEALTH & SPORTS | 39

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | FEBRUARY 2022

Seniors sign athletic letters of intent to play collegiate sports

JOELLE ALEXANDER

MCKAYLEY HOPKINS

CHARLES KRASNOFF

MARC LEVIN

Volleyball

Basketball

Track & XC

Soccer

Lynn University

Concordia University

University of Tulsa

Colorado School of Mines

JARED RHODES

DESTINI ROGERS

CAROLINE SCHULDT

GINGER SCHULTE

Football

Basketball

Rowing

Track

University of Pennsylvania

Washington University in St. Louis

Lindenwood University

Culver-Stockton College

(photos by Fiona Ferguson & Mac Huffman)

CADE SEABAUGH

ANDREW SMOCK

Baseball

Track & XC

Hope College

University of Missouri