Lakota East Spark 2016-17 Issue 3

Spark Lakota East High School lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 20, 2017 $5 Newsstand

ATTACK AT OSU The aftermath of the attack at The Ohio State University

PRESIDENTIAL PLAYBOOK How domestic and foreign issues may be impacted by Trump’s administration

ELECTORAL COLLEGE Students debate the use of the electoral college

PE WAIVER Dance cannot contribute toward Lakota students’ PE waivers

MAKING IT Former East student Alli Simms recently produced her first single while trying to break into the music industry.

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CONTENTS January 2017 | Issue #173

NEWS 6 Superintendent Lakota is currently in the process of selecting a new superintendent.

8 OSU Attack How the November attack impacted East alumni on campus.

FEATURE 18 Severns East teacher impacts his students.

20 Art feature

20

Jenny Park expresses her art interest.

PACKAGE 25 Economic Policy Trump’s economic policies.

34 Hate Crimes The increase of hate crimes after the election.

36 Reproductive Rights How the availability of contraception may be impacted by Trump’s policies.

CULTURE 38 Localmotive 42 Reviews 44 Heart and Sole Spark editor Lauren Wilson writes about her shoe sculpture.

SPORTS 49 Swimming An East student explains why he quit club swimming.

56 Family Match

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49

East wrestler John Spaulding’s family supports his wrestling successes.

OPINION 64 Head to Head Students debate the use of the electoral college.

66 Editorial Cartoon

Spark 2016-2017 STAFF

Editor-in-Chiefs Erinn Aulfinger Michelle Chu Emma Stiefel Lauren Wilson Design Coordinator Julia Sanders Photography Manager Maya Wells Photography Editor Richard Giang News Managing Editors Sophia Spivey Emma Stiefel News Editors Julianne Ford Lina Kaval Culture Managing Editor Lauren Wilson Culture Editors Noor Ghuniem Richard Giang Feature Managing Editor Alyssa Hetterich Feature Editors Dani Dudash Lexy Harrison Karmi White Package Managing Editors Erinn Aulfinger Cristina Francisco Package Editors Michelle Chu Sidney Li Sports Managing Editor Allie Church Sports Editor Dustin Horter Opinion Managing Editors Victoria Negron Cara Satullo Opinion Editors Vivian Kolks Charis Williams Art Managing Editor Sarah Aftab Art Editor Tyler Bonawitz Graphics Managing Editors Sophia Chryssovergis Cassia Chryssovergis Graphics Editor Michael Croy Business Director Sarah Mullins Public Relations Director Cara Satullo Public Relations Assistant Victoria Negron Webmaster Michelle Chu Broadcast Manager Emma Stiefel

Advisor Dean Hume 2 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Spark encourages letters to the editor. Letters can be sent to the publication at lakotaeastspark17@gmail.com or delivered to room 118 at the Lakota East High School main campus. Letters must be signed, and the staff reserves the right to edit the letters for length, grammar, invasion of privacy, obscenity or potential libel. The opinion editors will contact writers for confirmation.

SPONSORS & PATRONS Patrons Lori Aulfinger, Amy Stiefel, Robert Zelina Sponsors Carolyn Landers, Wendy Mayo, Sara Humphrey

ON THE COVER

photography cara satullo

Spark speaks with former East student Alli Simms about her emerging music career and the trials and tribulations of reaching stardom. After releasing her first single “Alive,� Simms has gained a small taste of the music industry as she travels across the country. She is currently working with up and coming producers to make more music.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA @lakotaeastspark @lakotaeastspark lehsspark lakotaeastspark17@gmail.com

SPARK POLICY Spark is a publication that is produced at Lakota East High School. The magazine is completely non-profit and student-generated through the efforts of the Journalism I, Journalism II and Journalism III-Honors classes.

The publication material may not always reflect the views of the Lakota Local School District or the publication as a whole. Content is controlled and edited by the staff editors. The staff will publish only legally protected speech adhering to the legal definitions of libel, obscenity and invasions of privacy. The publication is produced every five weeks on recycled paper.

Production costs are recovered through advertising, subscription sales and fundraisers. The purpose of Spark is to inform the students, faculty, and community members of news, information and issues that may influence or affect them.

SPARK ONLINE A HOME IN HOMAGE story alyssa hetterich | photography emma stiefel | video michelle chu and emma stiefel Nestled proudly in the Liberty Center Mall, Homage brings vintage pieces of Ohio-inspired sport and collegiate wear to the Cincinnati area.

What began as a proposal to The Ohio State University... continued on lakotaeastsparkonline.com

Go to www.lakotaeastsparkonline. com to keep up with the latest school, district and community news, learn more about in-depth topics covered by the Spark staff, and read reviews and fashion stories.

THUNDERHAWK OF THE MONTH: SECRET HUGHES interview allie church | photography sophia spivey Allie Church: What sport do you play?

Secret Hughes: Girls basketball. AC: What grade are you in? SH: I’m in 11th grade. AC: When did... continued on lakotaeastsparkonline.com

REVIEW: COLLATERAL BEAUTY REVIEW: THE 1975 FALL TOUR story sophia spivey | photography fair use

story and photography karmi white

Originally never thought that I would see this movie, because the previews looked bad and the last few movies I saw starring Will Smith ended up being complete disasters, but after I received... continued on lakotaeastsparkonline.com

Th e iconic illuminated rectangle appears on the stage as the static sound grows louder and fills the room. Immediately the crowd goes wild, their minds racing as they think of all the things the.. continued on lakotaeastsparkonline.com

REVIEW: POST MALONE’S STONEY

HOT CHOCOLATE SNOWMAN DIY

story victoria negron | photgraphy fair use Post Malone’s debut album Stoney was one of 2016’s most anticipated albums.

This is credited to his popular breakthrough single “White Inversion” released in 2015. The song... continued on lakotaeastsparkonline.com

video sarah mullins Watch to learn how to make a cute snowman container filled with hot chocolate mix!

Music:* Tidings of Comfort (Instrumental) by Tidings of Comfort: http:// freemusicarchive.org/ music/Tid… Edited for volume and length... continued on lakotaeastsparkonline.com

January 2017 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 3

opinion | chief column

FUTURE FIRST LADY

MICHELLE CHU

I

photography cara satullo

n the early hours of Nov. 9 media sources began to report that Donald Trump had won the 2016 Presidential Election and was set to become the 45th President of the United States. In the midst of the aftermath, confusion and celebration throughout the country, I wondered who would take on the role of the First Lady of the United States.

It would seem obvious that the position would fall to Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, as tradition often holds, according to the New York Post.

But she is currently set on remaining in New York with her youngest son Barron Trump as he finishes school, according to the New York Post.

Despite Melania’s calls for a project against cyberbullying, her eldest stepdaughter Ivanka Trump seems to be the most likely candidate for First Lady due to her heavy presence and involvement in Trump’s campaign compared to Melania’s.

For a high-profile position in D.C. to be based off of marriage is an outdated tradition. And for the job to consist of long hours, public scrutiny and be unpaid is a strange way of honoring the powerful and gracious women like Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy and Michelle Obama who act as both the nation’s mother and cool friend.

In the past, the First Lady has not always been the spouse of the president, including during the presidencies of bachelor James Buchanan and widower Andrew Jackson. But in recent years, the wife of the president always took on the role. While Melania is neither divorced nor dead, saying openly that she will not be living in the White House for at least the next few months is unusual. Perhaps Ivanka, who seems more at ease with public speaking and working alongside her father than her stepmother, will be a better fit for the job.

It is time for the First Lady’s role to be revolutionized, beginning with Ivanka Trump. Selecting the person best suited for and most interested in being the official White House hostess or host, bipartisan project manager and occasional substitute envoy would shift the presidency in a new direction.

This shift would recognize that White House gatherings are imperative for a presidential administration, whether it be with foreign diplomats, celebrities or ordinary Americans. Currently, the obligation to play hostess unpaid and based on marriage sends a message that the First Lady’s job isn’t really work. Allowing the President to select someone interested in these things and then paying them would send the message that this is real work.

Many were anticipating Bill Clinton reinventing the role of first spouse, but maybe Ivanka will redefine what a First Lady is and who is qualified for that position. I think it should be someone who chooses the duty and opportunity of First Lady.

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online series | news

THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:

PATRIOTISM VS. PROTEST Many people now sit during the recitation of the Pledge, claiming that refusing to stand allows them to protest American injustices; others, however, assert that doing so is simply disrespectful.

story vivian kolks and sarah yanzsa | infographic sophia chryssovergis

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or a student attending Lakota East, each morning is almost identical. The bell rings, class begins, the intercom crackles as thousands of students prepare for the American Pledge of Allegiance. Depending on the individual student, this can mean either sitting or standing.

“Overwhelmingly kids stand, and overwhelmingly when kids stand, they are not thinking about the Pledge of Allegiance,” Advanced Placement Human Geography and College Prep U.S. History teacher Matt Newell said. “They think that it is just a routine part of their day.”

This is a routine that, according to East Principal Suzanna Davis, students can choose not to participate in.

“We invite people to stand, as is customary for the Pledge of Allegiance, but if they choose not to, then that is their choice,” Davis said.

“It’s their decision for whatever reason and we don’t question that choice.”

The debate about remaining seated for the Pledge and other patriotic rituals achieved recent notoriety when NFL player Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49er’s controversially refused to stand for the National Anthem in September. In response, reports of students being punished for protesting the Pledge began circulating around the country.

The controversy has made its way to East in the form of student debates. Newell, who is also the advisor for the East Chapter of Junior Statesmen of America (JSA), moderated

The Pledge of Allegiance Over the Years The Pledge of Allegiance has been a hot topic throughout history, leading to many court cases. source cnn.com

a debate earlier in the year on standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

“You heard a lot of students who are very vocal about [standing for the Pledge],” Newell said. “But you also had the viewpoint of ‘listen, that’s what the flag means to you, but the flag does not mean the same thing to me when I look at it.’”

At a JSA meeting two years ago, students debated whether or not schools should require students to stand for the Pledge. After this, then East freshman John Smith* started...

SPARK ONLINE: Go to www.lakotaeastsparkonline. com to read more about East students’ opinions on the Pledge.

1892 The pledge is published for the first time in the “The Youth’s Companion,” a juvenile magazine.

1924 The words “the flag of the United States of America” replace the original words “my Flag.”

1942 The pledge is recognized by the United States government.

1943 The Supreme Court rules that requiring a person to recite the pledge violates the first and fourteenth amendments.

1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower requests that the phrase “under God” is added to the pledge. Congress adds it.

1998 Dr. Michael Newdow files suit against the Broward County school board to get the phrase “under God” removed.

2002 The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules that reciting the pledge in public schools is an “endorsement of religion.”

2004 Newdow argues his case before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismisses his challenge to the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance. It was decided Newdow didn’t have legal standing.

2005 U.S. District judge Lawrence Karlton of the U.S. District Court in the Easter District of California rules that reciting the pledge in schools is unconstitutional due to the phrase “under God.” 2009 The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issues a ruling stating under a written request from parents, a school can excuse a student from saying the pledge regardless of the student’s beliefs.

2010 The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a lower court ruling that a New Hampshire law that requires schools to recite the pledge is not unconstitutional.

2012 Rick Snyder, State of Michigan Governor, signs legislation that grants all Michigan students the freedom of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in class.

2014 The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts rules that the Pledge of Allegiance does not discriminate against atheists, saying the phrase “under God” represent a patriotic, not a religious exercise.

January 2017 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 5

news | district

SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH The Lakota Board of Education is currently in the process of searching for the district’s next superintendent. The board has worked with a consulting group to develop a profile of an ideal candidate for the district.

story julianne ford infographic cassia chryssovergis art sarah aftab

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akota is currently in the process of selecting a new superintendent due to former superintendent Dr. Karen Mantia’s contract expiring on July 31. The Board of Education has developed a specific profile for the new superintendent based on different criteria.

Board of Education President Lynda O’Connor has directly been involved with the search and hopes that the board’s efforts will lead to the most appropriate candidate.

“For the board, community engagement is a critical step in this whole process,” O’Connor told Spark in a written response. “We are working with a professional search firm to develop a candidate profile that is developed in part by the input we receive from parents, students, staff, business leaders and residents.”

To produce the most accurate profile

possible, the board hosted community input sessions with different groups in the district, circulated a questionnaire that anyone could complete, and worked with K-12 Consulting.

The company, according to its website, is a program dedicated to providing school clients with personal service customized to meet their individual district needs. The district consulted with them to create a profile for the next superintendent. Lakota paid K-12 Consulting $17,900 in total; the district spent $42,267 in total on the last superintendent search.

The profile produced by K-12 Consulting was published on the Lakota website on Nov. 21, 2016. It included a most and least important characteristic section, a superintendent

For the board, community engagement is a critical step in this whole process.

– Lynda O’Connor, Board of Education President

6 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

characteristic system, and an in-depth section on what Lakota wants the superintendent to do in the school district.

“In the end, we hope to have hundreds of perspectives,” O’Connor wrote. “[The perspectives will] help us identify the values, skills and experience this whole community wants in the next leader of our schools.”

According to the profile, the number one characteristic desired in a new superintendent is the “ability and willingness to deal fairly with faculty, staff, parents, and students.” The least important characteristic for the superintendent is “fiscal management expertise.”

The district hosted community input sessions and stakeholder groups. The stakeholder groups were composed of many different demographics in the district. Lakota President Council Chair Kathy Cook took part in a club president focus group. Cook saw first hand that the community started to form an opinion on what the next superintendent should look like.

“The board and those present [club presidents] were honestly looking for an opinion of what the superintendent should look like,” Cook said. “What their values would look like, what they would present to the community, district, staff, parents and students.”

Ranked Superintendent Characteristics

Effective at creating and implementing a vision for the district Expertise in design and implementation of instruction and curriculum Effective with both written and verbal communication Successful experience as a superintendent Experience with socially and economically diverse student populations Fiscal management expertise Effective organizational and management skills Personal involvement and interest in the community A leader with strong interpersonal and public relations skills

sources lakotaonline.com

Sta ff Pa ren Co t mm s an un d ity Hi g Stu h Sc de hoo nts l

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Ability and willingness to deal fairly with faculty, staff, students and parents

Bo

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This information from the Superintendent Search Profile Report shows how certain characteristics of a superintendent were ranked by six different of people. most important least important

One focus group consisted of students in Lakota East, which East junior Weston Lindner participated in. At the focus group, he said that he wants Lakota to hire “a superintendent with a personal interest in the community.”

“I don’t want the superintendent to treat the job of Lakota Superintendent as a stepping stone to being hired for a more prestigious or higher-paying superintendent position in another district,” Lindner said. “I want them to be with Lakota because Lakota is where they want to be, and because they truly care about what happens to our community.”

East senior Sarah Strack participated in the same student focus group.

“I want to see [a superintendent] who isn’t afraid to make the bold moves that are needed in our district,” Strack said. “Someone who can really connect on a student level and is concerned for the majority of the population.”

According to Citizens for Civic Renewal Executive Director Jeffrey Stec, who led many meetings that helped contribute to the profile for the new superintendent, it is unclear if the board prefers a candidate from inside or outside the district. It is, however, clear that they want someone who has experience as a superintendent and is familiar with Lakota. “[The Board of Education members] have not indicated their preference either way [toward an inside or outside candidate],” Stec said. “Parents and staff, however, have said that they want someone who understands Lakota history, culture and values so that the new superintendent can build on the great things already happening rather than chart a whole new course.”

Three administrators in Lakota currently have their superintendent licenses: Lakota West Principal Gary Card, Independence Principal Greg Finke and Acting Superintendent Robb Vogelmann. Both Card and Finke told Spark that they are not interested applying at this time, but Spark confirmed that Vogelmann has submitted an application.

According to the Lakota website, the application will be open from Nov. 28 to Jan. 13. The final decision will be made by March 2017 and the new superintendent will start at the conclusion of Mantia’s contract in August 2017. The new superintendent will be paid $155,000-$180,000, depending on their qualifications.

Ultimately, O’Connor hopes that with the help of the superintendent profile Lakota will find the most suitable candidate for the position.

“From building instructional excellence and community trust to regaining financial stability, Lakota has made a lot of progress on many fronts in the last several years,” O’Connor wrote. “It is critical we do our due diligence as a board in finding a leader who has the values, skills and experience to continue that momentum and keep us grounded i n our priorities.”

CLOSE TO HOME The Nov. 28 attack at Watts Hall, shown above, on The Ohio State University’s campus directly impacted East alumni attending the college and shed light on changing campus safety measures.

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osu attack | news

AFTERMATH OF THE ATTACK The recent attack at The Ohio State University resulted in a variety of reactions from students, including several East alumni. story samadhi marapane art sarah aftab

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he anxiously sat on the floor of her dorm as students around her yelled bits and pieces of rumors they had heard through various group chats.

Lakota East alum and The Ohio State University (OSU) freshman Kelly Krajewski waited with her friends for instructions about a lockdown on Nov. 28 in response to an attack at OSU, one of the country’s largest campuses with 59,482 registered students according to the OSU website.

On the opposite side of campus, at about 9:52 a.m., Abdul Razak Ali Artan drove a car over a curb and proceeded to attack people with a knife near Watts Hall, a Materials Science and Engineering building.

“We get these alerts on our phone called ‘Buckeye Alerts,’” Krajewski said. “So we got the alert that there was an attacker on campus and campus was locked down. You weren’t allowed outside.”

The Buckeye Alert was sent at 9:55 a.m.

OSU Emergency Management had tweeted: “Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus.

Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.”

Krajewski learned more about the attack from a girl who lived on her floor.

“She said that her class let out, and she was trying to get out of the building, and when she tried to open the door, she was pushed back inside by campus security staff,” Krajewski said.

“Everybody on campus was locked down.”

According to Krajewski, the actual attack lasted five minutes. After the attack had occurred and classes were canceled for the rest of the day, the situation became a major conversation starter around the entire campus.

The attack received national attention, and OSU’s active shooter training and campus alert system was largely praised.

“Yesterday was one of those days you’re grateful for great people across the board,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther tweeted.

Ohio Governor John Kasich also spoke on Fox News to credit the speed of the response to the attack.

“Today shows the importance of training for potential threats,” Kasich tweeted that day.

“All types of organizations can prepare for what we all hope never happens.”

Lakota East alum and OSU sophomore Sara

Liang was in the Fisher College of Business on the North side of campus, directly diagonal from the attack.

Liang remembered feeling “like a sitting duck,” but she was glad to have done previous Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Evacuate (ALICE) active shooter training at East.

According to East Principal Suzanna Davis, the attack directly affected East because of the number of students who know others attending OSU, and many at East began tweeting and texting to find answers when they heard about the attack. Of 262 East students surveyed, 70 percent know a student or faculty member currently at the college, and 54 percent of 282 East students surveyed paid very close or close attention to the attack.

“I think the broader response was just that every time there’s anything like [the attack], people start to go to the ‘what happens if,’” Davis said. “This is where we think about that ALICE training and why it becomes such a priority for our district and school.”

As Krajewski waited for things to feel safe on campus, she started having the same discussion with her friends “All of us who had done ALICE, we talked about if something were to happen in our building, how would we react,” she said. “Then there were other students who hadn’t done ALICE and were like, ‘we don’t know. We were just told to sit and wait.’”

Lakota East alumni and OSU freshman Nicole Whitty, who liked ALICE as well, was in the library at the time of the campus lockdown.

“I definitely felt safer because of the training I had at East,” Whitty said. “And I thought OSU handled the situation very well and did an awesome job keeping everyone safe and handling the situation.”

During a news conference, OSU President

Dr. Michael Drake addressed concerns about the attack but avoided calling the incident “terror-related;” he cautioned the public not to jump to conclusions.

The question of whether or not the attacker was connected to any terror groups has become a controversy both off and on campus.

“Looks like Radical Islamic terror came to my alma mater today. So sad what happened at OSU,” Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel tweeted on the day of the attack. “We must remain vigilant against Radical Islam.”

Though officials think Artan was inspired

by ISIS, the attack has been viewed as an act of “lone-wolf terrorism.”

As Mandel continued to tweet his views on the attack, students and faculty members shared their own opinions.

On Dec. 1, OSU Assistant Director of Student Life Stephanie Clemons Thompson made a Facebook post praying for people to find compassion for Artan’s life, calling him a member of the Buckeye family and adding in “#BuckeyeStrong,” “#BlackLivesMatter,” and “#SayHisName.”

The post generated a massive response from students. Some began to accuse her of “justifying and defending the horrific act of terror against dozens, potentially hundreds and thousands, of innocent Buckeye students and staff,” as written on the petition started to have her terminated from her position.

The petition has already gained over 4,000 signatures of the 5,000 signature goal and will be delivered to OSU and Drake.

The attack had a variety of effects on the OSU community, as Krajewski observed.

“Campus was really sullen after the attack and we didn’t quite know how to react,” Krajewski said. “You never think it’s going to happen until it does.”

Every time there’s anything like [the attack], people start to go to the “what happens if.”

– Suzanna Davis, East Principal

January 2017 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 9

ADDRESSING THE THREAT As active shooter events and other attacks become more common, colleges are working to train both law enforcement officers and students to respond to these situations. story gabbie behrmann | infographic dani dudash art sarah aftab

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car was driven into a group of students and several were stabbed in an attack that occurred at The Ohio State University’s (OSU) Watts Hall around 9:52 a.m. on Nov. 28.

The attacker was shot and killed by OSU’s first responding police officer. Thirteen people were hospitalized for their injuries after the attack.

Many colleges have been working hard to prevent such attacks and to prepare officers to respond when they can’t be stopped. OSU Director of Public Safety Monica Moll was ready to react with the training she had received.

“Public Safety personnel prepare for the worst case scenario through constant training,”

Moll, who has been a sworn law enforcement officer for 20 years, said. “We get out into the community to provide as much training to students, faculty and staff as we can so they are ready as well.”

OSU’s Department of Public Safety is made up of five different safety-related divisions: the University Police, Emergency Management and Fire Prevention, Central Campus Security, Communications and Security Technology, and Medical Center Security. All five have to work together to maintain a safe environment on campus, and on Nov. 28, they did.

“I was in my office in a meeting with an

Public Safety personnel prepare for the worst case scenario through constant training.

– Monica Moll, OSU Director of Public Safety 10 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

administrator from another department on campus when the attack occurred,” Moll said.

“My first reaction was to cancel my meeting and go to the communications center elsewhere in the building where our dispatchers were receiving the initial information about what was going on.”

Moll was proud of how the students and staff at OSU responded in such a calm and collected manner to the attack.

“The students and community reacted well for the most part,” Moll said. “Many had been exposed to training on how to respond to a violent intruder and reacted according to their training. Even so, it was unsettling for the whole community, and it will take some time to heal and get over the anxiety an incident like this causes.”

East Principal Suzanna Davis agrees with Moll about the value of preparing for attacks and supports Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Evacuate (ALICE) training in Lakota schools.

“Unfortunately, I think these attacks are part of today’s society,” Davis said. “We take every precaution to prepare ourselves for these types of things. That is our commitment to ALICE training.”

Out of 261 East students, 167 of them felt that ALICE training has made them more prepared to respond to an active shooter event.

When the attack on OSU occurred, the

osu attack | news OSU Emergency Management sent out a tweet alerting students to the threat. “Buckeye Alert: Active shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight.

Watts Hall. 19th and College,” the tweet said.

The “Run Hide Fight” concept is a part of the Ready Houston program.

Not only did OSU prepare law enforcement for the possibility of an attack, but the university also prepared students and staff by training them with a step by step video made by the university police, displaying “Run Hide Fight” concepts.

In June 2008, Ready Houston, a regional disaster preparedness program, was developed, which includes a website with many different videos on how to deal with catastrophes.

The Run Hide Fight program, which shows different strategies on how to deal with active shooters, is one of them.

“The Run Hide Fight video isn’t specific to students,” City of Houston’s Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security Preparedness Programs Manager Jackie Miller said. “It was produced for anyone that might find themselves in this situation and not know how to respond.”

Miller said that OSU developed their own active shooter training using the Run Hide Fight concepts with permission from the City of Houston’s Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security.

The “Run” means that people need to get out. “Students and staff should quickly and safely evacuate the area,” the video said. If people are unable to do that, the next resort is to “Hide.” People should lock doors, barricade entry points, turn off the lights and silence cell phones. The idea is for someone to make it as hard as possible for the attacker to get

to them. The very last resort is to “Fight” by finding anything to use as a weapon, such as fire extinguishers, desks and chairs.

University of Toledo Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Jeff Newton uses some “Run Hide Fight” techniques in the ALICE training taught to officers, students and staff on his campus. The training program, according to Newton, “dives deeper” into a student’s options for survival.

“ALICE training provides you with more directions in these types of situations, such as how to better secure the room you’re in,” Newton said. “The door may not lock from the inside, but you can improvise, using things such as belts and chairs, anything that makes it more difficult for the shooter to gain entry to the room.”

The University of Toledo Police Department is not the only college police department that uses ALICE. Bowling Green University Interim Police Chief Mike Campbell also endorses the program.

“I think that you will see most colleges are very similar in Ohio,” Campbell said. “There is a strong collaboration amongst the colleges.

This allows us to share best practices and continue to fine tune our safety procedures.”

The students aren’t the only people to be trained; law enforcement officers are too, and their training has evolved greatly since the 1999 attack on Columbine High School, which resulted in 13 people dying and 21 others being injured. When that incident occurred, law enforcement set up a perimeter around the scene and waited for a tactical team to show up, a method that resulted in many people losing their lives. The current training that most law enforcement officers use is called RAIDER.

“RAIDER training instructs the first officer on the scene to go in and confront the threat, without waiting for backup,” Newton said.

“RAIDER compliments ALICE well because ALICE provided you skills and options that will buy you time and RAIDER gets the officer to address the threat as quickly as possible.”

There are numerous programs that train police officers on how to deal with active shooters. The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program, located in San Marcos, Texas, is one of them.

It was started in 2002 in response to incidents such as 9/11 and high profile active shooter events like the Columbine attack.

“ALERRT is a research-based, data-driven organization,” Program Manager and Hay’s County Sheriff ’s Office Deputy David Austin said. “The principles and concepts we teach are based on data from events that have occurred over the last couple of decades and research that we conducted on various strategies for responding to active shooter events.”

Their training programs focus on preparing law enforcement officers and their communities to respond to attacks. Their basic active shooter class covers the program’s principles and concepts, law enforcement’s primary responsibilities, and the tactics for accomplishing that goal. The other courses build on that initial training and go more indepth about real active shooter events.

“When you train, plan and script for critical incident scenarios like an active shooter event, you are better prepared to control the effects of stress on the body and mind,” Austin said.

“If the goal of law enforcement is to isolate, distract or neutralize an attacker in order to save lives, then training is a must.”

Attack Timeline A minute-by-minute breakdown of the attack on the Ohio State University on Nov. 28.

Abdul Razak Ali Artan, the attacker, drove his car over a curb and into a group of people outside of Watts Hall. When the car was stopped he got out and stabbed several people with a butcher knife.

9:21 a.m.

9:50 a.m.

A gas alarm was reported in campus building 105 W. Woodruff Ave. Students inside Watts Hall evacuated outside while waiting for firefighters to investigate.

9:51 a.m.

Officer Horujko called in Artan’s car and a few seconds later called in again to say that he engaged with Artan.

Ohio State lifted the alert and notified the community that the danger was over and that classes for that day were canceled.

Ohio State issued an alert that there was an active shooter on campus.

Officer Horujko called in a third time to say that he shot and killed Artan.

9:53 a.m.

9:55 a.m.

Ohio State issued out a “Buckeye alert” warning all the students and teachers about danger.

9:56 a.m.

10:02 a.m.

11:14 a.m.

Ohio State issued another alert to continue avoiding College Road.

sources dispatch.com, cnn.com, mobile.nytimes.com

news | district

LAKOTA TREASURER GIVEN STATE AWARD Lakota Treasurer Jenni Logan was named the 2016 Outstanding Treasurer/CFO of the Year by the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. story melanie cain | art mckenna lewis

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he Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) named Lakota Treasurer Jenni Logan the 2016 Outstanding Treasurer/CFO of the Year in November. The process for receiving the award began with a nomination by a staff member and then a compilation of letters from the Lakota Board of Education and staff were submitted to a committee for consideration.

Each year, OASBO honors four Ohio school business leaders, and Jenni Logan is the third Lakota representative in the past five years following Chief Operations Officer Chris Passarge as the 2011 Business Operations Manager of the Year and Director of Wellness and Child Nutrition Chris Burkhardt as the 2015 Food Service Director of the Year.

“I did not expect to be nominated,” Logan told Spark. “I was shocked when Chris approached me.”

Passarge nominated Logan because of how much the district’s finances have improved since the time she joined the staff in 2011 and was surprised that Logan had never received the award before.

Passarge and other Lakota officials declined to comment on Logan’s award and instead referred Spark to their nomination letters.

“I was on the OASBO website earlier this month, and I was browsing through past winners of the Foundation Awards. I was curious to see when Jenni Logan won for Treasurer of the Year,” Passarge wrote in his nomination letter to OASBO. “As I scrolled

through the names, I was shocked that she had not won in the past.”

The nomination was followed by several letters from board members, the superintendent and other school staff members. Logan received letters of support from Passarge, Board of Education President Lynda O’Connor, Acting Superintendent Robb Vogelmann, Director of Human Resources Diane Brunsman and Chief Technology Officer Todd Wesley.

The letters each provided a glowing review of Logan’s history as treasurer for Lakota, a district with, according to the Lakota website, almost 18,000 students and a $145.8 million budget in 2014.

“Ms. Logan is a first class example of financial leadership and innovative progress,” O’Connor wrote in her nomination letter.

“The financial health of our district today stands in stark contrast to the financial crisis we faced at the time of Ms. Logan’s arrival.”

Before the levy passed the district was making large cuts to many areas, such as teachers and classroom supplies, and raising fees for athletics and extracurriculars that led to outcry from many taxpayers.

“In our situation, we cut out $20 million [in expenses],” Logan said. “You can’t cut 20 million without impacting kids.”

Logan’s most outstanding accomplishment as treasurer was the passing of a levy after three failed attempts in 2013. “[The cuts] were heavily impacting our district, and there were no sacred cows,” Logan

Ms. Logan is a first class example of financial leadership and innovative progress.

– Lynda O’Connor, Board of Education President

12 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

said. “If I never have to deal with a levy again, it’ll be too soon.”

One of the most difficult things about being treasurer is “political pressure,” according to Logan, particularly during times where a levy is on the ballot.

“There area lot of political pressures associated with this job and a lot of difficult decisions,” Logan said. “Sometimes you become very unpopular.”

Logan also almost tripled the amount of money left in reserve for Lakota, which is the amount of money left over at the end of the school year that could keep the district running with no income.

“When Jenni started, we had less than 55 days of cash in our reserve, and now we have over 150 days,” Passarge wrote in his nomination letter. “During this time, we have maintained our educational excellence, reduced fees for families, increased opportunities for students beyond the classroom and increased transportation services.”

Logan was president of OASBO from 2005 to 2006 and had helped select previous winners of the Treasurer of the Year award and other prestigious awards, and is occasionally asked to consult with new presidents. While she is no longer president due to believing she had the chance to do it and “everyone else deserves the opportunity to serve,” she has mentored administrators in Lakota and other districts and is still on OASBO state committees such as the Educational Finance Committee.

“I believe [I will be mentoring] until I finish myself.” Logan said. “I want to do what I can for those that see the field as something they might be interested so in that I can help them figure out if it’s a career that might make sense for them.”

Logan originally became a treasurer due to her mother being one before her, and took her mother’s position at the same school after she had retired.

“This profession is in my blood,” Logan said. “Just as my mother before me, I am proud to be serving in this role and believe it is an honorable profession.”

East senior Bemni Amsalu cuts out a star wheel at an Astronomy Club meeting.

BLASTIN’ OFF A new student-led club about astronomy starts running this year at East. story sidney li photography maya wells

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ith a passion for stars, Astronomy Club has taken root this year under the lead of Lakota East senior Club Co-President Cara Satullo and East junior Club Co-President Richard Giang.

“A lot of people find astronomy interesting with the whole idea of looking up at the stars and contemplating life,” Satullo said. “So I made a Twitter poll [asking if people would participate in an astronomy club] and got a lot of responses saying it was a good idea.”

Astronomy Club is student led with Advanced Placement (AP) Language and Advanced Composition teacher Kathleen Foldy as the adviser.

“I know other clubs talk about current events and things of that nature. But some of [Astronomy Club’s] discussions are off the wall,” Foldy said. “We have had the possibility to talk about topics that push the boundaries of traditional academia. It provides a space for students to explore ideas that don’t get spoken about in school.”

According to Satullo, approximately 60 students were at the first few meetings and now 15 to 20 regular students attend almost every meeting, proving “how captivating space is to the student body.” Astronomy Club meets every other Thursday and any student is allowed to attend, even if they don’t have a club card. In an East survey, 32 students out of 249 said they are a member of Astronomy Club or are considering joining this year.

East senior Bemni Amsalu joined

Astronomy Club because she has always had an interest in space.

“I chose to join because I have a genuine interest in Astronomy Club,” Amsalu said. “A lot of people [that] I knew were in the club so it seemed like a good time.”

Some of the meetings this year have had discussion topics such as constellations and the Fermi Paradox, and others have incorporated activities such as making bottle nebulas and galaxy slime. In the future, meetings will include crafts and discussions about topics such as the moon landing and alternate universes.

Unlike most clubs at East, the students attending pitch in space-related topics and vote for what they believe should be the central idea for the upcoming meeting.

East juniors Malcolm King and Alexis Laude attend almost every meeting because they enjoy them and gain knowledge from being there.

“This club is very different as it is purely student led; the way the meetings are formatted [are] more like a group discussion than a classroom,” Laude said. “The club leaders really made it seem interesting when they were talking, and now I’m actually considering a career in aerospace and space.”

The unconventional format for the club’s meetings provides more freedom and adds a more lenient atmosphere for members.

Also, King “likes hearing people’s different perspectives on various topics [as he] expected it to be really factual but it’s actually fun and we

still learn.”

Alongside Satullo and Giang, East senior and club officer Victoria Negron also takes the lead in some of the club’s meetings.

The club had its first outside school event at Negron’s house. Anyone from the club was invited to watch “Interstellar” and bond with other club members in attendance. Due to its success, both Satullo and Giang plan on having more outside of school activities in the upcoming year.

“The movie night at my house was unlike anything other clubs at East would do,” Negron said. “It brought like-minded people together in an out-of-class setting and let us express ourselves freely without constraint.”

East Principal Suzanna Davis was pleased that student-run clubs exist in the school and is excited about the future of Astronomy Club. “[These clubs] give people the opportunity to find a group of people to share their passion with,” Davis said. “Anytime we have a studentrun club, it shows that there is a passion for it.

I’m excited that we are able to have the venue for those people to connect with one another.”

At the end of the day, Astronomy Club provides a more open and comfortable space for East students to relax and spend time with their friends.

“Honestly anyone can join Astronomy Club, whether you have an interest or not,” Giang said. “It’s a club that isn’t tightly structured and you can still enjoy at least one aspect of it, even if it’s the food, people or topic.”

We have had the possibility to talk about topics that push the boundaries of traditional academia. It provides a space for students to explore ideas that don’t get spoken about in school.

– Kathleen Foldy, Advanced Placement Language, Advanced Composition teacher and Astronomy Club Advisor

An East student uses the distracted driving simulator, part of East senior Sarah Strack’s safe driving week.

HAWKS DRIVE TO STAY ALIVE After her uncle was killed in an accident caused by a distracted driver, East senior Sarah Strack established a campaign to advocate against distracted driving, a cause she brought to East for a week in November.

story lauren shaw | photography julianne ford | infographic bryn mangold

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ou hear about car accidents everyday. Most of the time the only way they impact you is complaining that you’re stuck in traffic. At 9:20 this morning, as we were all going about our regular routines, there was a horrific car accident on I-71 South.

After school I pulled into my driveway to find my dad’s car home; he’s never home at this time. As I walked into the house I saw my mom’s face. It was red and blotchy and I could tell she had been crying.

Immediately I knew something was up. I heard my mom say, “sit down, we need to talk.” I had never been more scared in my life.

Those tremendous words that will never be undone came out of my mom’s mouth: “Uncle Mark died in a car accident this morning.”

Instantly I collapsed to the floor and started

screaming and crying.

He was hit by a semi truck head-on. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

This accident has really hit me hard as dealing with the first close death in my family. As I sit here today living and breathing trying to keep myself together I want to take a moment to say each day isn’t promised.

When I woke up this morning the last thing that would have crossed my mind would have been my uncle dying in an accident.

Make sure you tell those you love that you love them.

You never know what’s in store.

I love you Mark and I know that you’re in a better place now.

Lakota East senior Sarah Strack wrote this

14 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

Facebook post on Jan. 29, 2015 after learning that her uncle Mark Sevilla was killed in a car accident; that May she learned that the driver of the semi-truck that crashed into him had been texting.

Strack’s grief over her uncle’s death has led her to advocate against distracted driving.

She established 2eyes. justdrive., a campaign to promote safe driving in memory of Sevilla, in January 2016.

The campaign has spread throughout the country and has also reached Europe and South Africa via its Facebook page, but that isn’t what matters to Strack. Instead, she wants “to do everything I can to prevent people from dying because of irresponsible drivers.”

“2eyes. justdrive. is important to me because it spreads awareness of the epidemic in our society that is distracted driving,” Strack said. “It also helps me to be a voice for my Uncle Mark.”

Distracted driving kills 11 teenagers a day, according to an American Automobile Association study. While 94 percent of teens said they realize the dangers of texting and driving, 35 percent admitted to doing it anyways.

As part of 2eyes. justdrive., Strack organized a safe driving week at East from Nov.14-18, which 35 percent of 242 East students surveyed said that they participated in. She began by posting facts and statistics about distracted driving on lockers for students to see when they walked into school at the beginning of the week.

During Extra Help on Nov. 16 and 17, Sarah and her mother Kathy Strack held an assembly to educate East students on the effects of distracted driving. The assembly included a presentation with the story of Sarah’s uncle, Mark Sevilla who was killed due to distracted driving and a video about the accident.

“My mom and I sharing our story with the East population was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done,” Strack wrote in a Facebook post after the assembly. “For me, sharing it with my graduating class was especially hard. Thanks again to everyone and I hope you learn from our story and be responsible behind the wheel.”

Volunteers also ran a distracted driving simulator outside of the cafeteria during lunch for the entire week. Students using the device, which was provided by the Ohio Department of Transportation, had to answer calls, send texts and listen to conversations while attempting to “drive” a simulated car.

On Friday, Nov. 18 Sarah asked students to wear blue to raise awareness about distracted driving and sign a banner as a pledge to stay focused on the road and ban distracted driving from their cars. The banner, which read “Hawks drive to stay alive,” was eventually covered with signatures from hundreds of students, including East junior Katie Haberthier.

“Safe driving is very important to me,” Haberthier said. “You never know what people around you are doing and staying focused on the road is more important than a text. A text is not worth your life.”

Kathy, who witnessed the effect Sarah’s efforts to promote safe driving had on East students and the broader community, said that she is “extremely proud of Sarah for her work with 2eyes. justdrive.”

“I have seen the effects of distracted driving first hand,” Kathy said.

“It is not easy to deal with loss like this and it is even harder for young people. However, Sarah has found the strength within her to take this

tragedy and do something positive with it.”

On Nov. 18, after the safe driving week had ended, Sarah wrote another message on Facebook from the 2eyes. justdrive. account: This week at East has been amazing. I was blessed with an opportunity to put on a distracted driving week at school.

I would do anything to bring Mark Sevilla back, but I’m glad God chose my family. It has given me the strength and courage to advocate for distracted driving.

This week certainly hasn’t been easy, especially sharing my personal story with the class of 2017, but it’s all worth it.

Don’t Be Driven to Distraction

Driver Cellphone Bans

Each day in the United States, over 8 people are killed and 1,161 are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.

The use of cellphones by novice drivers is restricted in 37 out of 50 states and D.C..

Come relax while browsing for a great read or bring in used books to sell!

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ban

no ban

looking in the mirror

eating

reading

talking on the phone

watching videos

changing the radio station DISTRACTIONS

texting

source cdc.gov

using a gps

source: iihs.org

BEST PHO IN WEST CHESTER 7844 Kingland Dr. Suite E, West Chester, OH 45069 513-779-8448 www.pho96.com Like us on facebook: facebook/pho96

QUANTUM TEACHING East teacher Dr. John Severns uses his friendly demeanor and kind personality to help his students discover the fun side of science. story ruth elendu | photography hailey combs East teacher Dr. John Severns stands teaching during a lesson.

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aught in between time and space, this eccentric and kind-hearted physics teacher was out to save the galaxy from a man selfishly abusing the hands of time. Though the science fiction thriller never made it to the silver screen, this physics guru now guides students in need of a moral compass along the right path of science and learning.

Lakota East College Prep (CP) Chemistry and Advanced Placement (AP) Physics teacher John Severns’ passion for science stemmed from his own high school chemistry teacher who inspired him to not only pursue chemistry as a career, but to put good into society.

After high school, Severns knew he wanted to pursue science education at Purdue University and Arizona State University, where he spent nine years obtaining his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry. He then worked for Procter & Gamble (P&G) for the next ten years before deciding to become a teacher.

“Working [at] P&G was great because I got to work on a lot of different projects and work with different people and see the world, but I didn’t feel like I was really contributing anything to society,” explains Severns. “So after about ten years I thought, ‘You know what, I think I’m going to do the whole teaching thing,’ and here I am.”

Severns is best known for his relationships with his students and how he works to help them succeed.

“You have to engage with students to get the best work out of them,” says Severns. “[The students] have to see you as a genuine human being who wants [to see them] be successful.”

His role as a teacher and friend to students

is also seen by his colleagues. East Science Department Head and Honors Anatomy and Physiology and Honors Zoology teacher Julie Deak, who believes that this enables him to get the best out of his students.

“I think the biggest reason why [Severns’] students feel so close to him is because his enthusiasm is infectious,” says Deak. “You like being around people who like what they do and he invests a lot of time in making sure his lessons are going to resonate with his students.”

One of Severns’ notable qualities is that he is a great team player and is helpful to everyone.

He welcomes any students to his room if they need help on something or just a space to work during Extra Help or before and after school.

Severns became the new AP Physics teacher after his predecessor left for another school, although it had been a while since he dealt with the subject. “[Severns] is willing to step up and take care of things that need to be taken care of,” says Deak. “[He is] willing to go out there and invest more time and energy in what it is that [his students] do.”

Severns is more than willing to step up and take care of things that need to be taken care of and invest his efforts in everything he does.

“Part of my personality is that I see stuff that needs to get done and just do it,” says Severns. “Whether it’s mowing the lawn or teaching physics or chemistry, you should just always do the best you’re capable of doing.”

Because of his desire to always help others, Severns mentored CP and Honors Physics teacher Brandon Bright when he started teaching at East. Bright says Severns helped him

18 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

figure out what was going on and eventually became his mentor for student teaching. “[Severns] is a very genuine person and is also very committed to his craft, both content and professionally,” says Bright.

When he is not in his classroom, Severns enjoys taking time out of his day to enjoy what nature has to offer. Moreover, his introverted personality and endless array of questions poise him to be quite an avid reader.

“I love to read all kinds of stuff,” says Severns. “I like reading different opinions on things. Some of them might make me mad and some of them I’ll agree with, but whether I agree with it or not, I’ve learned something.”

He wants his students to do the same whenever they enter his class. However, instead of getting them to learn simply from reading words in a textbook, Severns helps his students to fully grasp the difficult concepts through his patient demeanor.

“He would be the big brother bear that takes care of everyone and makes sure everyone knows what they’re doing and has a place,” says East senior and AP Physics student Lexie Adams.

Severns’ main goal is to ensure that who he is and what he believes in translates well to his students through a good character and a perseverance in learning.

“I think chemistry is the coolest thing ever [and] I want my classroom to be a place where people can make mistakes and not feel judged,” says Severns. “If I can convince one or two other people out there that [chemistry is] a cool thing that you can study and do with your life [then that’s] good.”

cool place | feature

TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES Here for the holidays, this pop up shop brought fair trade and unique products to the Liberty Center Mall. story megan finke photography kayleigh bearden

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alking into Ten Thousand Villages, the shopper feels a sense of curiosity and appreciation while learning that each piece of work is special. Each glance leads to new discoveries of hand-crafted clay dishes, soaps made with olive oil and mud from the Dead Sea, and malachite stone necklaces. Whether it be a specific country or type of art that a customer is searching for, something unexpected and unique can always catch the eye while walking through the shop.

Known as the founder of fair trade in North America and a temporary addition to the Liberty Center mall, Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade pop-up shop. It provided numerous unique gift ideas during the holiday season but left the mall on Jan. 7. Despite being at the Liberty Center mall for a short amount of time, other nearby locations include Harper’s Point and O’Bryonville.

Fair trade is a social movement in which artisans from developing countries collaborate with organizations like Ten Thousand Villages to give themselves a stable income, create equality within trading systems and work to relieve poverty.

“The fair trade movement is important to creating greater equality in the international trading system,” says Fair Trade Federation Engagement Manager Rachel Spence. “As an approach to business that is based on dialogue, transparency and respect, it empowers those producing our products to grow their businesses and strengthen their communities.”

Edna Byler founded Ten Thousand Villages in 1946 when she started selling textiles out of the back of her car to help a Puerto Rican woman struggling to feed her family who she and her husband had met Byler.

She did this not only because she was interested in the textiles but also because she knew the importance of dignity. From simple intentions of helping out a friend, Ten Thousand Villages blossomed into the worldwide fair trade organization it is today.

Each piece of art, ranging from jewelry to home decor, that has been received, sold or looked at was crafted with natural and recycled materials, allowing it to have its own unique story.

According to the Ten Thousand Villages website, “every handmade object has a life of meaning behind it; we offer a way for you to become part of the story, to shop your values and give gifts with meaning.”

Those involved strive to create opportunities for artists to earn an income to support themselves and their families. According to the Ten Thousand Villages website, approximately $140 million has been earned by the creators, who have either been unemployed or underemployed, since 1946.

Every purchase runs like a two-way street. The buyer gets a unique piece of art while the creators get a fair, agreed upon percentage of the money to help them do things like put food on the table, send their to children to school, maintain a warm and safe home, and keep their family healthy. A representative, or buyer, from Ten Thousand Villages will travel to developing countries and establish relationships with the creators. This results in an agreed upon price between the two, typically based on the materials used in a piece and the time spent creating it.

Along with the discussion of price points, the buyers brainstorm ideas with the creators to develop a sense of what they will be receiving.

During the process of connecting with the buyer, half of the agreed upon price is paid up front to the artisans and the rest is paid as soon as

the art is complete. Cincinnati Ten Thousand Villages Executive Director Darlene Rohrer-Meck says that most of the time the organization raises the price because the creator underestimates what they should be paid.

Coordination between buyer and creator is vital for building strong business partnerships and establishing similarities among fair trade organizations throughout the world.

Multiple partnerships have formed between Ten Thousand Villages and other fair trade organizations, including Level Ground Trading.

The relationship between the two is very unique because Ten Thousand Villages was their first customer in 1997, and the purchase was based off of the quality of the coffee, according to Level Ground Trading CoFounder and Communication Catalyst Stacey Towes. Since then, they have been establishing a strong partnership.

“Ten Thousand Villages and Level Ground Trading have very much a shared heart and a shared set of values,” says Towes. “So we see it as a really awesome collaboration.”

Ten Thousand Villages not only provides jobs for people in developing countries, but also people in developed countries, whether it be in a Ten Thousand Villages shop or partner companies like Level Ground Trading. Working at any Ten Thousand Villages location is unique because the job offers exposure to different pieces of art that provide inspiration for a good cause. “[I] love getting to know the products,” says Ten Thousand Villages staff member Rachel Hershberger. “[I really enjoy] educating people about them.”

In total, 20,000 artists and 30 developing countries are impacted by the organization, which gives them a chance to express themselves and provide for their family. In addition, through the efforts of artists and buyers alike, a sense of global consciousness is brought to the Tri-State.

“Anywhere that Ten Thousand Villages lands,” explains Towes, “They start to create a new awareness around justice issues and how things come to us that maybe [are] not typically on customers’ radars when they are going through their everyday lives shopping.”

Jenny Park surrounds herself with her art while working on her new piece.

ART OF EXPRESSION Ever since she was young, East senior Jenny Park has found a way to express her feelings and emotions through her art. story sidney li | photography maya wells

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ombining the elements of a girl and bees is unconventional; however, through the intricate strokes of her black pen, the image solidifies. She morphs her drawing of a girl’s head into a beehive. In delicate strokes, realistic black and white bees float alongside the profile of her muse’s face. The black ink seeps into the paper and perfects the intricate details of the insects and flower petals.

The creation of people from her mind allows for a plethora of freedom and uniqueness. The girl looks like a mythical being with a connection to her bee and floral surroundings, while the blank facial expression displays a sense of euphoria. For East senior Jenny Park, art has become a passion and her

own creative way of self-expression.

“Ever since I was young, the only thing I would do is draw,” says Park. “Whenever I was in a class I didn’t really like, I would doodle all over the assignments and [on] my hand. I would just do it subconsciously and space out, thinking about all these ideas [of] what I should draw next.”

When Park was in third grade, her art teacher placed her dinosaur drawing into the schoolwide art show. The continuous compliments encouraged Park to persevere in refining her drawing skills. This sparked an interest in her as she wished to be enraptured in the feeling of drawing and a sense of accomplishment.

Throughout her high school career, Park

20 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

signed up for Fine Art, Drawing and Painting, Photography, and Advanced Placement (AP) Art at East. Her hobby transformed into a passion as her artistic style became known.

Now, East AP Art and Drawing and Painting teacher Linda Augutis allows Park to convey herself freely.

“Jenny is able to express herself with her artwork in her imagination and individuality,” says Augutis. “For as long as I’ve known her, she has always been highly interested in art. It’s something she crucially values for her interests and well-being.”

Just like many art students who have role models they look up to, Park admires famous realistic artist Kehinde Wiley. He utilizes every

student | feature inch of the space on the canvas, fabricating a Renaissance mood in his paintings. Park aspires to achieve the ideal balance between realism and imagination in her own works.

“I have come across so many incredible people who have encouraged me to keep drawing and improve,” says Park. “I’ve always wanted to draw people to let them see what I saw through my eyes. I’m fascinated by paintings that look abnormal from one’s imagination, so I wanted to go in that direction.”

After exploring world-renowned paintings and modern art pieces, Park brainstorms ideas with images she prefers to draw. With these ideas, she generates odd concepts that add a dreamy aspect to her upcoming works.

Even though Park creates fictional human muses, she also finds inspiration in her friends and family. One of the biggest supporters of her art is her twin, East senior Minnie Park.

“She combines multiple elements of art to create a masterpiece,” says Minnie. “My favorite piece is called ‘Dreamer;’ something about [the painting] pulls me towards it. The figure is drawn realistically, but the color she used makes it abstract and unordinary.”

Unlike Jenny, Minnie is more logical and enjoys math and science. But even if their interests are different, both sisters plan to continue to guide each other as they both applied to California State University, Sacramento; California State University,

Park’s piece, “Sour Apple.”

Fresno; and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Jenny’s artwork not only captivates her family but her peers and friends as well. Through the fantasy themes sprawled throughout her pieces, Jenny has inspired many others.

In their eighth grade math class, East senior Sondos Hasan bonded with Jenny over her constant sketching. It started with online messaging, until Jenny approached Hasan in class and the friendship blossomed. They passed time by drawing doodles on each other’s arms, which developed into a friendship with art benefits.

“There are things that you would never hear of, or even think about, but Jenny would,” says Hasan. “She has ideas that are witty and unconventional. Jenny practically lives in her own little world as she thinks about the expansive topics of life and astrology along with the simplistic things that she combines in her art.”

Another one of Jenny’s friends is East senior Celina Huynh. Both Hasan and Huynh agree that Jenny is one of the most optimistic people in their lives. She views the as glass half full when others see it as half empty. Her sanguine personality reflects onto her brightly colored art pieces.

“Her art pieces have a very whimsical, yet relatable feel,” says Huynh. “When you’re a child, you have these crazy imaginations, and

Jenny would interpret her artwork like that. Her positive personality and outlook can definitely be seen in her art. Her mindset of life overall is uniquely interpreted in her own style of art.”

As artists critique their peers’ works, Jenny, Huynh and Hasan share their own art pieces amongst each other for the sake of improvement and ideas. Their own creative styles resonate off of each others’.

“Jenny is very skillful when it comes to working on faces of people,” says Hasan. “But their bodies aren’t always expressed as much, which I wish to see more of. However, she makes up for it with her very detailed work on the surroundings of her subject. Her art style is to have different objects around the face of a girl.”

However, as there are ups and downs in life, art has some conflicts alongside it too. Art has also created highly stressful situations for Jenny. Though she enjoys art, she occasionally has issues with the proportions of her human figures in her work. Ever since she was younger, she has been detail-oriented with her pieces.

Thus, she spent days and even weeks on her art in order to achieve her level of perfection.

Consequently, that work consumed time otherwise spent on sleeping, socializing and even academics.

“Even though I love to draw people, I have trouble with proportions,” says Jenny.

“I remember when I was working on an art project, I could not get the eyes to look a certain way. It made me question everything I was doing; is this not good enough? Does this look bad? It made my confidence drop because I couldn’t make it the way I wanted it.”

In the beginning of Jenny’s pursuit of art, her parents were against the unconventional job field. However, Jenny’s mom Su Jeong Kim is more accepting now that she notices Jenny’s potential and wants her to do something she enjoys in the future. “[Jenny] focuses on her art more than her academics. She’s very serious about art, and whenever she has the time, she sketches out ideas,” says Kim. “She’s committed to her drawings and can’t stop until she’s finished, [so] I had this feeling her drawings were special and could become something bigger.”

Once she graduates high school, Jenny plans on majoring in graphic design. At the same time, she intends to continue improving her skills because she believes art takes patience, practice and dedication to see the results impact herself and others.

“Art is everything to me because I want to capture a certain moment or create something that is hard to explain but if the viewer saw it, [they] would understand,” says Jenny. “I think it’s really amazing how people can relate to a painting because of a specific feeling or memory. Art is supposed to make somebody feel something, get a reaction, instead of creating it without a purpose.”

ALIVE Aspiring singer Alli Simms released her first single this year, kicking off her career in the music industry. story and photography cara satullo

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he grabbed a paintbrush and carefully dipped it in blue paint. Instead of applying the soft bristles to a blank canvas, she brushed them against her face, then her neck, and soon her body was covered. Wearing nothing but this blue hue, she struck a dramatic pose and with the click of her friend’s camera, the cover for her first single “Alive” was a step closer to completion.

Upcoming singer and songwriter Alli Simms produced this pop single after leaving East. She decided to take her senior year classes online so she could focus on pursuing her passion for singing, and this was the jump that pushed her to complete “Alive.” While many of her friends, family and social media followers listened to this single, few are familiar with the story behind the song.

“I had to release it unfinished which is a

bad idea because you should always release something when it’s 100 percent finished,” says Simms. “Then I realized that YouTube doesn’t take MP3 so it muffled the sound a bit, and so that’s all I have right now.”

Simms hopes to release a finished version in the future, but she currently can’t afford any more studio time. However, the less polished form that she uploaded to YouTube along with her modeling and song covers have already caught the attention of others in the industry.

She connected to producer James Dapper after he encountered her on Instagram, and the two have been working together on new projects since then.

“The first time I saw [Alli] sing I was actually just looking for models for my album cover,” says Dapper. “And then I saw her do a Mariah Carey cover and just thought ‘man, I

22 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

could probably do something with this.’”

Dapper is also a singer and songwriter and is newer to the industry like Simms. Despite their differences in musical taste and style, the pair has developed a strong working relationship.

“Alli doesn’t always like my ideas, and I don’t always like her ideas, so that clash, while most people probably wouldn’t like it, I really like it,” says Dapper. “I’m probably going to try things I normally wouldn’t try, play keys I normally wouldn’t play, and do things I normally wouldn’t do, and she’s going to have to do the same thing. I think that’s going to make for better music in general.”

The two of them use his studio to generate new song ideas and lyrics, and their main project right now is finishing Simms’ extended play (EP), which is a collection of songs that is more than a single but not quite a full album.

community | feature

I’m either going to do this, or I’m going to spend my whole life trying to do this. “[Dapper] is a musical genius,” says Simms.

“He’s helping me create this ballad; we’re making it from scratch. We’re producing it ourselves, just the two of us. That will come out probably in like February, March, sometime around there. The EP will be next and that’s just a collection of all the songs that we’re going to put on iTunes.”

Simms has connected to other people through her social media as well, and these connections have provided a number of opportunities she otherwise wouldn’t have. One of these opportunities was being flown out to Hawaii by videographer Christian Longnecker to create a music video for “Alive,” which is still being finalized. She also visited LA to work with entrepreneur and author Tai Lopez.

Some other places she’s been to since October include Las Vegas, South Carolina and Tennessee. Often times she’s flown to these places by the people she’s working with who tend to have airline miles saved up, making her tickets much cheaper. While she is already fairly well traveled, she has many more destinations in mind that may have to wait.

“I have a ton of people from different places who have a decent following that want to do a cover with me, and I also reach out to people because it’s always good to network,” says Simms. “I can’t travel to all of these places right now and work with all of them, but I plan on working with a ton of people in the future once I’m able to travel more.”

As she continues down her path in the music industry, Simms wants to portray a positive image that inspires young audiences to pursue their dreams. When asked what genre of music she plans to produce, she described it as “electronic dance/tropical house/pop/ tribal/everything,” which she laughingly dubbed as “Alli’s tropical happy vibes.” She then described it in simpler terms by saying, “if it’s upbeat, it’s me.” Simms’ enthusiasm for her career is evident to anyone who has ever had a conversation with her, but she wasn’t always this optimistic.

“High school is when people started getting to me saying that I couldn’t do it,” says Simms.

“For a couple months after I decided to do online school, I was like ‘dang, I’m giving up

– Alli Simms, former East student

my school; everyone says you need to go to college; and I can’t do that if I go to online school,’ and so the biggest hurdle was probably knowing for a fact I made the right decision.”

While Simms has had her doubts, she is more comfortable with her decision now because her love for singing stems from a long time ago. She says she’s been singing since she was five, and this is a gift that her parents recognized from an early age.

“When she sang Rolling in the Deep [for Hopewell’s talent show in seventh grade], she really got into the chorus of it, and I was surprised by her voice: it was amazing,” says Alli’s mom Nancy Simms. “The couples in front of us had that look of surprise like ‘where did that voice come from?’ And then you could see them focusing on her, and it was really cool.”

Alli’s parents are cautiously supportive of her goals, recognizing both that she has a gift, but also that the music industry is incredibly difficult for newcomers to navigate. They don’t always agree with her decisions, such as traveling independently or taking online school, but they recognize her right to make these decisions as a young adult. They want to provide guidance in any way they can, so they contacted an entertainment lawyer and offered to pay for voice lessons.

“It seems like she wants to hurry, but we’re trying to slow her down and take it step by step because we don’t know what the best path is right now,” says Nancy. “We

The “Alive” cover that Simms modeled for and designed.

think she has a real talent there so we’re doing what we can to help. I’m just worried about her getting hurt because she’s trying to rush.”

While Alli is much more adamant about moving forward quickly, she recognizes some of the concerns her parents have. She knows of the scams and corruption that exist within the industry so she keeps these realities in the back of her mind as she makes decisions.

“I think I have enough people by my side, and I’m strong enough to realize if it’s a scam and stay away,” says Alli. “But it is a concern especially if you’re just starting out, companies and labels will try to take advantage of you.”

Despite any concerns, Alli has immense faith in her ability to succeed, and the people she meets tend to have just as much faith in her as she does in herself. Dapper described her as “the future” saying he’s positive that “she’s going to be way bigger than Taylor Swift,” and Nancy says “she has a beautiful voice and I think she can go really far with it.” Alli is willing to put everything on the line to make this work, and said “it’s basically like I’m either going to do this, or I’m going to spend my whole life trying to do this.”

package | presidential playbook

President Donald Trump campaigned on his America-first policy, and he hopes to enact legislation that may affect the economy and social policy throughout the U.S. In Lakota East’s mock presidential election, Trump won with 41 percent of the vote, followed by 34 percent for Clinton, 15 percent for Gary Johnson, and 10 percent for Jill Stein. We spoke to several East students and members of the community concerning how they believe they and the nation will be affected in the next four years.

24 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

COMMANDER OF THE ECONOMY President Trump promotes his economic policies to help improve the growing economy. story and infographic cristina francisco photography used with permission by tom farrell art sarah aftab

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inter of 1991.

It was the season of giving and holiday spirits. Tom Farrell had reached his goal of becoming a vice president of a company in corporate America. Along with his responsibilities came tough choices as the recession hit in 1991. While his region of the company was performing well, the company was making cuts across the board. Corporate asked him to lay off three specific individuals. However, Farrell could not do it. He was in his current position because of these three people, and because he didn’t want to lay them off, he simply resigned and started his own business in the same year.

Farrell’s business, Alternative Computer Technology (ACT), is a computer store that provides data security protection. While the business started in the basement of his new home and Farrell never had the intention to become the “next Microsoft,” his business was successful.

According to the company’s website, ACT is “one of the largest North American resellers for Sophos Anti-Virus protection,” and is based in West Chester, Ohio. Not only is he one of many business owners in the Liberty Township and West Chester area, but he is also the President of the Liberty Township Trustees.

“My business is like one of my children,” Farrell tells Spark. “It grew over the years, and although it was often a rocky road, I was always proud of what it has grown up to be. The first couple of

years were exciting but stressful. I took the attitude that if I took care of the customers, profits will follow, and they did.”

Farrell acknowledges that technology is always changing, and because of this, he makes sure his customer’s technology is equipped for their future needs and that most importantly “their computers [are] running and productive.”

As Farrell continued to work as a local trustee and a business owner, he became aware of President Donald Trump’s policies for businesses.

Farrell was excited when he heard about them because he saw how some of Trump’s policies could help small businesses keep more cash to invest and grow.

Trump’s campaign ran on promises such as reducing taxes and bringing back American jobs. In the National Association for Business Economics’ 2016 December outlook report,40.4 percent of the panel agreed that “the most important thing the next U.S. president and Congress can do to boost economic growth in the next four years is to increase infrastructure spending.”

However, economists and political analysts continue to debate the outcomes and attainability of Trump’s policies to shape the economy.

The current economy that Trump is will receive is increasingly doing better than in recent years. According to Miami University economics professor James Brock, unemployment has fallen below 5 percent and according to the Bureau Labor of Statistics, the rate is 4.9 percent as of June 2016.

“The economy is doing much better across the board,” Brock says.

“Retails sales are recovering, people are going out to eat more often. We are also producing more oil and natural gas than we have in about 50

The experts do not elect our president, the people do. And through this election I think people spoke out; the message is very clear, [the American people] want action and they don’t want to talk anymore.

– Tom Farrell, President of the Liberty Township Trustees and owner of Alternative Computer Technology

package | economy years. Trump is inheriting an economy that is doing better.”

In Liberty Township, according to the 2010 Census, 73.8 percent of the population ages 16 and above are in the labor force. Farrell says that the Liberty Township area is doing well. This can be attributed to its location near Interstate 75. Liberty Township and West Chester have also held their own during the recession and continue to perform well, according to Farrell.

“Now that the recession has started to pull out, the economy is what I would call booming in our area right now,” Farrell says. “In Liberty alone, along Liberty Way we have over a billion dollars in new investments. West Chester and Liberty combined is very close to two billion and that is a large amount of economic stimulation for a relatively small geographical area. Liberty Township has also actually led the county the last five years in housing development.”

The area continues to attract new businesses such as the Liberty Center Mall, which may start to be in favor of Trump’s plan to reduce business taxes from 35 to 15 percent.

Farrell has been running ACT for 25 years to support his family. His business allowed him to be near his family and watch his children grow up.

“I just wanted to raise a family and be there as they grew up,” Farrell says. “I had decided that I was no longer going to live to work, but work to live. My family was my number one priority, not money.”

Because Farrell’s family was his main reason for running his business, he says that it was “very, very frustrating” that almost 35 percent of every dollar he would make returned to the government. However, with Trump’s policy, the 20 percent that Farrell will get back, if the plan is enacted, is “huge” because he could now invest that 20 percent into his business to grow it.

“More people will get involved and start companies or expand existing businesses if they have more money.” Farrell says. “You can only get more money by selling more, [and you sell more] by doing better with your product.

Getting another 20 percent back just in taxes that you can reinvest will give small, medium and large businesses a better opportunity to grow.”

Farrell says that he would have run the business differently and believes that it would have grown faster if he had the 20 percent to reinvest. He says that the biggest problem in running a small business is cash flow.

“It is hard to keep the [cash] consistent, and bills will not wait,” Farrell says. “When we would have a good year, we would spend the money and often not leave enough for a rainy day. The reason we would spend it is if we did not, we were hit with large taxes on our profit, and then we were left with much less money to invest into the business.”

Even with tax cuts, Farrell’s “biggest problem” with Trump’s economic policies

sources www.donaldjtrump.com, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Treasury

26 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

is that he has yet to fully define his them.

Farrell says he remains cautiously optimistic about Trump’s business sense relating to the American economy. However, he sees how Trump has run many “successful businesses” and that Trump knows what “business environments need to look like for businesses to invest here in the U.S..”

“From the beginning all the experts said he wouldn’t win the nomination and that he had no chance against Hillary and he still won.” Farrell says. “The experts do not elect our president, the people do. And through this election I think people spoke out; the message is very clear, [the American people] want action and they don’t want to talk anymore.”

While the 20 percent may seem like a drastic change, Brock says that the reduction is still feasible and the only problem would be gaining support from Congress. But if taxes are lowered, the question becomes one of how to deal with a government spending deficit.

Brock says that Trump argues that lower taxes will produce more economic growth and more tax revenue to pay for it, but that this hasn’t happened yet. While everybody is for lower taxes, says Brock, “no one wants the deficit that seems to come from it.”

The other issue that rises with tax breaks is the question of fairness and equity of the taxes; in other words, who benefits the most or if the cuts are equal. University of Cincinnati economics professor David Brasington

Trump’s Economy

US vs global business tax rates

35%

United States

30%

15%

Mexico

75,000 to 225,000

sources donaldjtrump.com, u.s. bureau of labor statistics, us department of treasury

Germany

Brackets and Rate for Married- Joint filers less than 75,000

Among his other plans for the U.S. economy, Donald Trump plans to reduce the business tax rates to 15 percent and create 25 million new jobs in one decade.

Jobs created under presidents

more than 225,000

8.2 million 12% rate

25% rate

explains that half of Americans pay no federal income tax so, by definition, any tax break that will happen is going to “disproportionately benefit the top and the middle, not the poor.”

Farrell says that those with more money have more disposable cash, and although this helps the government balance their budget, “if one continues to tax the rich they are not going to reinvest.” There is also concern that middle class will be excluded from the tax benefits, but Trump understands that the middle class helped elect him because of his promise to bring back overseas jobs, says Farrell.

“If I own a small business and I make $100,000 a year and I’m giving $20,000 back to the government, yes, I am going to grow.

But how much is that going to really impact the area?” Farrell says. “[Trump’s] companies went overseas, and he knows why they went so he should be able to figure out a way to fix that and bring the jobs back here.”

Businesses go overseas for two key reasons, according to Brock: low production costs and access to foreign markets. However, he says American companies have already started coming back because while labor wages may be low in foreign countries, other costs are higher than they would be in the U.S..

Trade agreements are also being taken into consideration in order to bring companies back and to help seal the promise of making America the number one country in terms of manufacturing and production. Trump supports pulling the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement and not participating in the Trans-Pacific Pact.

Brock says that China “needs us as much if not more than we need them” and that the U.S. is its biggest buyer. As of October 2016, China holds $1.12 trillion of U.S. debt, but is surpassed by Japan with a $1.13 trillion,

15.1 million

33% rate

George W. Bush

Barack Obama

according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

While China’s debt is reaching an all time low, Brasington provides insight as to why Trump may want to negotiate.

“We let everything in from China at a reduced tax and tariff rate,” Brasington says.

“China doesn’t have such a free policy on us so it’s harder for American companies to do business in China. If [Trump] is successful, it will help American businesses a lot. The danger is that in trying to negotiate, it creates a trade war.”

East junior Ryan Ackerman believes that Trump’s policy on China is what seemed most appealing to voters. He says that the economy of the U.S. and China is “so intertwined [that] a blow to them would be a blow to us as well.” Ackerman plans to major in economics, and taking Advanced Placement economics has allowed him to note the importance of understanding the economy.

“I think that the way money makes its way through the economy is interesting and useful,” Ackerman says. “I also think it’s interesting how something that is entirely human created runs so much of our lives. Teenagers seem to act like this kind of thing doesn’t affect them but it does. A downturn in the economy [and] affects everyone in it.”

On Trump’s website, he outlines an “America’s Infrastructure First” policy that “supports investments in transportation, clean water, a modern and reliable electricity grid, telecommunications, security infrastructure, and other pressing domestic infrastructure needs.” Brock however, warns that this may “overheat” the economy because the economy is in better shape and says that infrastructure work was needed four years ago.

While his policies may raise questions, the repercussions or benefits have yet to be

seen. Meanwhile, Farrell remains “cautiously optimistic” that they could help the economy specifically in Liberty.

“If the policies that he has put on paper are enacted I am certain that it will change our economy,” Farrell says. “I can see that some of his policies will encourage business development, but encouraging business development is not enough to stabilize an economy. Only time will tell us if he can deliver on his promises. If in politics, like in business, you surround yourself with good strong people, your chances of succeeding increase.

We can only hope that he surrounds himself with very strong people.”

FIGHT TO BEAR ARMS Following the rise of Americans that support gun rights, Donald Trump promises to expand upon the right to own and publicly carry a weapon. story vivian kolks | photo illustration cara satullo infographic sophia chryssovergis | art sarah aftab

T

he room echoed with shrieks of joy as children giggled, wrestled and played. They enjoyed simple games like tag and hide-andgo-seek. Whenever East junior Bailee Boland babysits or plays with the children in her mother’s daycare, she makes sure that they are engaging in games that are completely gun free.

The children are not allowed to bring toy guns, make them out of Legos, or talk about them in any way.

“I was reading an article one day about a kid that was killed because he and his brother were playing around with their parent’s gun,” Boland says. “All I could think about was that happening to my mom’s daycare kids.”

This has given Boland a strong opinion on the effects of widespread gun availability,

which she cautions against.

“Being surrounded by children in my dayto-day life, imagining one of them getting ahold of [a gun] and hurting someone is just unfathomable to me,” Boland says.

According to President Donald Trump’s website, his belief is that gun and magazine bans in the U.S. are a “total failure.”

According to a 2016 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 52 percent of Americans support total gun rights, while 46 percent support total gun control. The percentage of Americans supporting gun control has fallen slightly since a 2015 Pew Research Center study, when 50 percent of Americans supported gun control and a subsequent 47 percent believed in gun rights.

Boland is part of the percentage of Americans that is a firm supporter of gun control due to the influx of school and campus shootings and the rising number of accidental gun injuries.

“There’s such a big stigma around guns, and there are people that say ‘oh, it’s not guns that kill people, it’s people who kill people,’” Boland tells Spark. “Guns are the tools that we use for that. It seems like common sense for me to be against something that is capable of causing so much harm.”

In a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2013, 52 percent of gun owners who prioritized gun rights said that they would not vote for a candidate that disagreed with them on the issue. While, 33 percent of non-gun

Donald Trump on Gun Control Donald Trump has spoken many times about the different aspects of gun control.

AGAINST GUN CONTROL Overall, Donald Trump does not believe in gun control.

Trump believes guns save lives and there should be no limits on guns.

Jan 2016 He said gun ownership makes the U.S. safe, not dangerous.

Oct 2015 He believes gun violence is inevitable; regulations won’t fix this.

Oct 2015

ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH Trump believes addressing mental health is important.

He said mass shootings are due to a mental health problem.

Jan 2016 He believes addressing mental health is more important than gun control.

Oct 2015

28 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

PROTECT THE SECOND AMENDMENT Trump believes in the protection of the Second Amendment He said he wanted a Supreme Court that would stand up for the Second Amendment. Oct 2016 He believes the most important aspect of selecting a Supreme Court justice is ensuring they will respect the Second Amendment. Oct 2016 He has defined himself as “a very strong person on the Second Amendment.” June 2015

EXCEPTIONS There are some exceptions of gun control Trump has addressed He believes people on terrorist watch-lists should be restricted from guns. Sep 2016 He said the U.S. should keep guns away from enemies of the state. Nov 2015 He said the U.S. should make concealed-carry permits valid across all states.

Nov 2015 sources ontheissues.org

owners said that they wouldn’t vote for a candidate that had an opposing gun control stance. The National Rifle Association declined to comment on the issue.

Attorney and frequent gun control and gun rights blogger David Kopel, says Trump’s approach to the Second Amendment was a distinct way of respecting both the unique and traditional aspects of American culture. “[Data from prior elections show] the voters who chose Trump specifically because of the gun issue [are] mainly composed of male gun owners, predominantly working class,” Kopel tells Spark.

While Trump’s position on gun control stems from acknowledging that voters want protection for their gun rights, it also comes from former President Barack Obama’s struggle with implementing gun control laws, one of the “biggest frustrations of his administration,” according to an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Kopel says Obama failed in his attempts to push for gun control due to “the Newtown murders as the launching pad for a major gun control push, [but] the specific controls he favored had almost nothing to do with preventing crimes, such as Newtown.”

The Newtown shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012 caused the deaths of 20 children and six adults. According to a Pew Research Center study conducted a week after the event, 49 percent of Americans believed that it was more important to control gun ownership than protect the right of Americans to own guns, while 42 percent of Americans said the opposite was true.

One of the main components of Trump’s stance during his campaign for president was the need for increased mental health and background checks on those looking to purchase a gun.

“What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended,” Trump’s official statement says. “What we don’t need to do is expand a broken system.”

Attorney and frequent writer on the Second Amendment Joseph Greenlee says Trump plans to increase mental health screening and increased access to mental health treatment as a response to “the role mental illness plays in mass-shootings.”

East senior Art White says Trump should make an effort to make it harder for mentallyhandicapped people and criminals to get weapons. According to White, this should happen while restricting the availability of guns.

“I think you can have gun control in moderation. No one can walk into a gun store and buy an AK-47,” White says. “So you should have to pass a psychological test and prove that you’re mentally able to own a weapon like that.”

Currently, 18 states require a background check to buy a gun from any seller. As of now, Ohio is not one of them. Greenlee says the confirmation of the right to bear arms in 2008

East Junior Bailee Boland holds chained gun to demonstrate her views on gun control.

allowed anti-gun states to start “relentlessly testing the limits of exactly how severely they can restrict the right without violating the Constitution,” and will continue beyond Trump’s presidency.

“In states with a more favorable view of the right to keep and bear arms, permitless carry will continue to gain popularity, and selfdefense laws will be strengthened,” Greenlee says.

Greenlee says Trump also advocates to get rid of gun-free zones, appointing proSecond Amendment Supreme Court justices, and allowing for concealed carry reciprocity, “[treating] concealed carry permits like driver’s licenses and requiring states to recognize permits issued by other states.”

Trump plans to allow this system of concealed carry reciprocity throughout the U.S.. He says that along with “tens of millions of Americans” he personally has a concealed carry permit and also believes that such a permit should be valid in all 50 states.

White stated that if he were to carry a

weapon in public he “wouldn’t make it known that I had one concealed on me,” but is still a firm believer in concealed carry.

“I’m very strong on that because I believe that a lot of crimes could have been prevented by people who were knowledgeable about what they were doing,” White says.

Boland believes that a person needs a legitimate reason to have a gun in day-to-day life, not just because of fear.

“I mean everyone is scared at some point,” Boland says. “[A gun] would help you defend yourself, but there are other ways to do that.”

Boland can’t ever imagine [the children] being hurt, “much less by something that can definitely be controlled and limited.”

“There are a lot of rumors and not a lot straightforward facts surrounding what Trump plans on doing with guns and gun control and that in itself makes me fear for what the future holds,” Boland says. “There’s a swirl of emotions surrounding the topic for me, [but mainly] fear, anger and anxiety.”

package | immigration

LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

Promising to deport two to three million illegal immigrants, President Trump’s policies causes concern for undocumented immigrants and naturalized citizens such as East sophomore Khuslen Erdenebat. story kyra johnson | photography aidan hutt | infographic cara satullo

S

ome kids are scared of the dark and some are scared of ghosts, but the monster East sophomore Khuslen Erdenebat faced in 2009, when she was only eight years old, was far more real: deportation.

She feared the immigration officers who ordered her parents to give up on America, pack their bags and return to Mongolia, leaving Erdenebat’s younger American-born brother behind.

Though the family never left the U.S., the event would leave a lasting impression on Erdenebat, who says her family was trying their hardest to make a permanent home in America after leaving Mongolia when she was only four.

“I felt very unwanted [after the incident with the officers], and it made me feel as if I [did] something wrong,” Erdenebat says,“which I found out later wasn’t the case.”

According to National Public Radio (NPR), as of November 2016, President Donald Trump promised to deport two to three million people who were in the country illegally. The deportations are part of an effort to establish new immigration controls that would increase wages and reserve open jobs for American citizens first.

“It’s our right as a sovereign nation to choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us,”

Trump told NPR. Deportation as a practice began in the U.S. with the passing of the Alien Act in 1793, which allowed the President to deport any immigrant who was thought to pose a threat to the country and its citizens. Nativism, or the preference for protecting the interests of the native born against those of immigrants, was a leading factor in the anti-immigration legislation passed during the time period.

By the 1920s, the U.S. was operating under the Quota Acts, which created a system to limit the amount of immigrants based on their country of origin. In 1965, the Immigration Act abolished the original numerical quota system and replaced it with a system that favored immigrants based on their skill set and familial ties to citizen within the country.

Today, according to the Census Bureau, 42.2 million immigrants live in the U.S. and, according to the Department of Homeland Security, 11.4 million of those individuals are unauthorized. 71 percent of immigrants come from Central America, six percent are from South America and Asia, and 13 percent are from Mongolia, the country from which the Erdenebat family emigrated in 2005.

In 1924, Mongolia became the second communist country in the world and remained a satellite country of the Union of Soviet

30 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

Socialist Republics for the next 70 years. Later, a peaceful revolution transitioned the country from a communist regime to a democratic republic with a capitalist economic system.

With this change would come hardships, including a recession in 1995, prompting the Erdenebat’s emigration.

“It was hard. Life was hard,” Erdenebat says. “[We immigrated here because] they were converting from communism to capitalism.

It was difficult so [my parents] thought they should go to America and find a better life for us.”

Erdenebat says her family was “doing whatever they could to get their paperwork through,” following advice from a lawyer.

Unfortunately, that lawyer would fail to carry out the task, creating problems and the need to spend more money At this point, deportation was offered as an option to run away from the current obstacle the family was being faced with.

In Ohio, immigrants can be deported for an array of crimes including: expired visa, aggravated felony, drug conviction, murder, rape, domestic abuse, firearm conviction, espionage, sabotage and treason.

However, an immigrant that has undergone the naturalization process is considered a citizen of the U.S. and thus cannot be deported.

East sophomore Khuslen Erdenebat holds native flag of her country Mongolia.

Y According to the Department of Homeland Security, naturalization can be broken down into ten steps. One must first determine their eligibility to become naturalized. Five years is the minimum one must live in the country, or three years if that person is married to a citizen.

This process involves filling out a N-400 Form which is an application for naturalization, fingerprinting, an interview, and an English and

Civics test.

Once the application has been submitted and the appointments attended the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Officer will grant or deny naturalization. If denied, a N-336, or a request for a hearing on the final decision, must be filed within 30 days. If accepted, a notice to take the Oath of Allegiance is provided.

“Completing [the naturalization process] was pretty cool,” Erdenebat says. “You would stand up in a [courtroom], there’d be a bunch of other people from other countries, you would raise your hand and say a pledge and then you would state, what country you were from.”

Immigrants may choose to not undergo the naturalization process in order to remain

package | immigration a citizen of their native country. Certain countries, however, such as Canada, will allow dual citizenship. For the Erdenebat family, this process took 13 years.

An alternative to the naturalization process is Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA). This program was implemented in 2014 during former President Barack Obama’s administration and has remained fairly popular as an alternative to immigration legislation.

DAPA gives deferred action status to the parents of children that are citizens of the U.S. or legal permanent residents. Deferred action status is granted by the executive branch and allows them to delay their deportation indefinitely. However, these individuals do not achieve legal citizenship.

Erdenebat admits to choosing her words very carefully during her interview. She is worried she might offend someone. She is “scared of all political people, both Democrats and Republicans” because of how quick they are to argue.

Erdenebat’s parents participate in the American economy by not only providing their skills as workers but also by paying taxes and fees.

Ashland University Professor of economics Robert Rogers says that the economy is reliant

on career-driven immigrants.

“We need more immigrants,” Rogers says. “I would give a green card to everyone graduating from engineering. The economy is dependent [on] necessary skills from immigrants.”

According to University of Cincinnati Professor of law Jack Chin, the decision to restrict immigration is based on economic insecurities and how immigrants affect the wealth of a nation.

Immigrants provide a certain amount of money to the economy which is distributed in various ways and allows for a positive net gain. However, the distribution of wealth is not always equal.

According to the University of Michigan, undocumented immigrants stimulate the economy not just by accepting lower wages and thus cutting down the price of production, but also because they tend to spend money in the U.S..

Undocumented workers raised America’s Gross Domestic Product from $395 billion to $472 billion, according to a report released by the Center of Immigration Studies in April 2013. This increases the surplus and the profit of the businesses that hire undocumented workers by $437 billion.

“A vote to reduce immigration, in particular

legal immigration,” Chin says, “is a vote to be a poorer country.”

According to the American Immigration Council, illegal immigrants pay billions in sales taxes, property taxes, income taxes and tax deductions from their paychecks. If these undocumented immigrants were legalized, the tax revenue would increase and benefit the economy.

“My parents pay their taxes,” Erdenebat says. “[Politicians] are going on and on how most immigrants don’t pay their taxes. I do know some immigrants who don’t pay their taxes, but they need to understand that there are some, like my parents, who do.”

Chin says the fear which results in the decision to limit immigration is “xenophobia coupled with economic anxiety.” “[There is] a certain kind of resentment about immigrants,” Chin says, “because these people are getting ahead [and] making money.”

Erdenebat, an artist and future neurologist, hopes Trump will not perpetuate xenophobia and “cause America to go back to a time of prejudice.”

“Most immigrants are doing the work that most citizens don’t want to do, not the other way around,” Erdenebat says. “They don’t come here to have a easy life, but rather a better life.”

Naturalization and Trump’s Wall Step Five

Throughout his campaign for the presidency, President Donald Trump made immigration issues a huge talking point. He plans to build a wall on the U.S./ Mexico border to stop illegal immigration, but has said this wall will include a “big beautiful door” for legal immigrants. These are the steps for naturalization that someone seeking U.S. citizenship must take.

Take the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony, and then receive a Certificate of Naturalization.

Step Four The USCIS will issue an official notice of their decision. If it is yes, continue on to step five.

Step Three Report to the USCIS office for a scheduled interview with the appointment notice at hand.

Step Two Get fingerprinted so the Federal Bureau of Investigation can conduct a criminal background check.

Step One Submit Form N-400, which is on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website.

32 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

Details on Trump’s Wall Trump plans to “begin working on an impenetrable physical wall on the southern border on day one” of his presidency. He also plans to have Mexico pay for the wall. Since the Mexican government is likely to protest this request, Trump plans to use tactics such as trade tariffs and canceling visas to get leverage in negotiating payment. On top of this, he plans to increase visa fees in order to help pay for the wall. source donaldjtrump.com, uscis.gov

Trump’s Game Plan These are Donald Trump’s picks for his cabinet. infographic cassia chryssovergis Kellyanne Conway

Peter Navarro

Counselor

Director of Trade and Industrial Policy

Special Adviser on Regulatory Reform

is a pollster and was the previous spokesperson and campaign manager for Donald Trump

is a professor of economics and public policy at the University of California and a critic of Chinese economic policies.

was an economic advisor during the campaign and is a friend of Donald Trump. He is a business shareholder and an activist.

Andrew F. Puzder

Linda McMahon

Scott Pruitt

John F. Kelly

James N. Mattis

Energy Secretary

Labor Secretary

Homeland Security Secretary

Defense Secretary

is the chief executive of CKE Restaurants and has previously condemned the labor policies of the Obama administration.

Small Business Administration

E.P.A. Administrator

was the 47th Governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. In 2011, he suggested getting rid of the Energy Department.

Rick Perry

Carl Icahn

was a donor for Donald Trump’s campaign and is a professional wrestling magnate.

Sean Spicer

Rex W. Tillerson

Ryan Zinke

Press Secretary and Special Assistant to the President

Secretary of State

Interior Secretary

is the chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil.

He has ties with Vladimir Putin.

is the communications director of the Republican National Committee and chief strategist.

is an American lawyer and Republican politician from Oklahoma. He is also an ally of the fossil fuel industry.

is a retired United States Marine Corps general and the former commander of United States Southern Command.

is a former Navy Seal and is the U.S. representative for Montana’s at-large congressional district.

was the leader of the United States Central Command from 2010-13.

Steven Mnuchin

Elaine L. Chao

Tom Price

Donald F. McGahn II

Wilbur Ross

Betsy DeVos

Nikki R. Haley

Treasury Secretary

Transportation Secretary

Health and Human Services Secretary

White House Counsel

Commerce Secretary

Education Secretary

U.N. Ambassador

was the labor secretary under President George W. Bush.

is a six-term Republican congressman from Georgia. He has disapproved of the Affordable Care Act.

was the general counsel for Donald Trump’s campaign and has served on the Federal Election Commission for five years.

is an investor who has threatened to inflict excessive tariffs on China.

served as Donald Trump’s campaign finance chairman. He has no government experience but deep roots in Hollywood.

Ben Carson

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is a former neurosurgeon and presidential candidate.

source nytimes.com

Mike Pompeo

Jeff Sessions

is an education activist who believes in school choice and used to be chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party.

is the governor of South Carolina who has previously been a critic of Donald Trump.

Michael T. Flynn

Reince Priebus

Stephen K. Bannon

White House Chief of Staff

Chief Strategist

C.I.A. Director

Attorney General

National Security Adviser

is a Kansas state representative, a member of the House Intelligence Committee and a former Army officer.

is the Senator of Alabama and an advocate of strict immigration enforcement, reduced spending and toughon-crime measures.

is the former director of the Defense Intelligence and a retired Army lieutenant general

is the chairman of the Republican National Committee.

was the chairman of Donald Trump’s campaign and is a right-wing media executive

Hijran Jasim worries about her future for the Donald Trump presidency.

THE CLIMB IN HATE CRIMES Trump’s commentary on minorities during his campaign correlates with the increase of hate crimes in the U.S. story sidney li photography maya wells infographic sophia spivey

A

fter a day of classes in the crisp spring weather, she was walking to her car on the University of Cincinnati’s campus.

With every step she took down the crosswalk, she kept her eyes focused on the descending seconds on the pedestrian timer.

A man yelled “Trump is going to deport you” through his rolled down window. He continued to cuss and make comments about her hijab. The car furiously roared as the male driver thrusted it forward in attempt to run her over. However, fellow students pushed her before anyone was harmed. This was one of the first instances Haneen Jasim experienced hate crimes.

According to a 2015 report by the California State University San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, there was a 78 percent increase from 2014 in hate crimes against Muslims in the 20 states surveyed, including California, Ohio, and Texas.

Along with the protests against President Donald Trump, protests and hate crimes have occurred against certain races and religions as well. However, Springdale, Ohio Assistant Police Chief Thomas Wells has not noticed an “increase in hate crimes in the area.”

“When one candidate wins, the other party’s fringe element, such as the extreme liberals, tend to be more active in protesting and violence [against] right wingers,” Wells says. “I have not seen any evidence, even in the area I work in, that would indicate there being hate crimes because Donald Trump got elected.”

The Ohio State University Associate Professor of criminology Ryan King has an interest in law and society. King believes there have been periods of increased hate crimes, such as the terror attacks in San Bernardino

34 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

and 9/11.

“Many hate crimes are committed in response to something that stirs a lot of anger against another group,” King says. “For instance, anti-Muslim hate crimes increase after terrorist attacks. The political environment matters too. If leaders demonize a group, then that group is more vulnerable.”

A couple months later, when former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Trump’s year of campaigning were ending; in Walgreens, a girl stood behind the cash register and peeked at her phone. Her fingers quickly scroll through the live coverage of the polls.

Shoving her phone back into her jean pocket as a customer walked up, she returned to work.

But the thought of the presidential election and the event with Haneen still lingered in East junior Hijran Jasim’s head.

Keeping up with the current popular voting results on Snapchat, another girl relaxed in her bedroom. Swiping left, North and South Dakota’s current popular voting results revealed Trump was in the lead. In contrast to her friend Hijran’s political stance, East junior Maggie Smith was ecstatic at the lead Trump had over Clinton.

Once Trump won presidency, substantial protests emerged across major cities in the United States. Some people who had participated in these protests were part of the groups that Trump targeted in his campaigning. “[The protests] were very immature as media used it as propaganda,” Smith says. “For people to burn the American flag, destroy their cities, [and murder] police because they didn’t get their way, is disgracefully un-American.”

Hijran was disappointed when she heard the results of the election. As she comes from a Muslim background, she fears for the next four years in U.S. “The fact that Trump made comments against other races was a joke. America is a melting pot with most being immigrants besides Native Americans,” Hijran says. “I think the United States will be looked down by other countries so we won’t be seen as the strong nation that people say we are.”

Hijran was in downtown Cincinnati with her family when she noticed a protest forming against Trump post-election. Hijran and her sister decided to join as the variety in races present in the group was inviting. The bold printed words on the posters they held were seen and garnered attention from bystanders.

Walking through the streets and captivating spectators’ attention made Hijran feel empowered. According to Hijran, the rush of adrenaline electrified her as she understood the importance of the constitution’s protection of freedom of speech and protest.

“It was great that people came together,” Hijran says. “They have the right of fighting and not letting this affect them in the worst way. These protests have united Americans together, which is great about our country.”

hate crimes | package Smith’s mom Amanda Earls also noticed the increase in hate crimes in the U.S. but against Trump supporters. Originally a Ben Carson supporter, she now supports Trump as he “is a citizen of the United States, seeing the issues this country [has]. He is not a politically paid puppet.”

“We stand for our country and rights. The only hate crimes [people] committed [are] by the ones who go out and attack innocent people because of their beliefs,” Earls says.

“Don’t scream ‘hate crimes’ when you’re the one doing the hate.”

Under Section 249 of Title 18 of the United States Code, any person who attempts to inflict injuries on another because of their actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability will face serious charges. Sentences can range from a couple years to more than 10 depending on the circumstances.

University of Memphis Associate Professor of history Dennis Laumann says the increase in hate crimes is directly correlated with the rhetoric of Trump.

“Political leaders have significant influence on the morality and ethics of society,” Laumann says. “When a presidential candidate uses derogatory words to describe women, mocks a disabled person, depicts Mexicans offensively, stereotypes Muslims, and welcomes support from white supremacists, he sends a message that it’s acceptable to express hate.”

Hijran’s dad Muayed Jasim says he believes politics plays a role in the hate crimes by bringing negativity to the public. Muayed says “politics is definitely a cause [of] crimes that have occurred today; even if they are out of hate or not.”

However, Smith does not believe that there is a correlation between Trump and the hate crimes and protests. Smith says, “giving information is a form of propaganda by turning them against Trump [as] they only see one side, but they need to see both.”

One of the policies Smith opposes is allowing transgender people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.

She was delighted to hear that Trump is against the laws during his campaign and wanted to repeal them.

Smith understands that transgender people have the right to protest to repeal laws allowing them to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. But when others become raucous in hate against transgender people through crimes, Smith says “there isn’t any discrimination [but] racism and sexism always exists. No president is getting rid of it as they cannot tell people to change their views.”

California State University Professor of criminal justice Phyllis Gerstenfeld wrote some books to bring awareness to hate crimes and the criminal justice system. Gerstenfeld says “either there are more reports of hate crimes with the media or there really are more hate

Hate Crimes Continue Over 500 hate crimes have occurred since Donald Trump was elected in the 2016 presidential election.

Hate Crimes After Trump was Elected Anti-Woman (36) Anti-Muslim (51) Antiimmigrant (206)

Swastika vandalism (60)

584 total Anti-LGBT (80)

Anti

Anti-black (151)

Where the Hate Crimes Occurred Driving (42) Private Property (72)

K-12 schools (149)

588 total Street (82))

Universities/ colleges (114)

Businesses (129)

source splcenter.org

crimes. We cannot be sure, but there is an issue floating around.”

“People may feel more open in their hatred because they felt the election reinforced that,” Gerstenfeld says. “Groups like the Klu Klux Klan can indirectly influence by spreading a message that inspires or gives people the impression that it is okay to pick on groups.”

According to the FBI’s annual Hate Crimes Statistics report in 2015, there were 5,818 single-bias incidents; 59.2 percent of those crimes were due to race; 19.7 percent because of religion; 17.7 percent because of sexual orientation; 1.7 percent because of gender identity; 1.2 percent were to disabilities; and 0.4 percent were to gender.

University of Pittsburgh Professor of law Lu-in Wang has published several works on the many forms of discrimination. Wang says there are numerous motives though “we often

assume it’s animus towards the group that the victim belongs to.”

“The perpetrator [can] choose a victim from a certain group because the group is socially vulnerable, meaning society regards that group as targets,” Wang says. “There could be opportunistic or self-interested reasons for picking on [them].”

Despite their differences, Hijran and Smith sometimes talk about their political views with each other. Their strong opinions heavily differ from each other and will always defend their views. However, their conversations end before any heated arguments strain their friendship.

“Don’t let Trump influence your views as your views are created and owned by you alone,” Hijran says. “Don’t let some person, even if it is the president or a friend, influence what you think, change your thoughts, and mind because of any sort of stigma in society.”

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS President Donald Trump plans to make changes to services like ObamaCare which could impact access to reproductive services. story erinn aulfinger | photo illustration cara satullo infographic alyssa hetterich *denotes name change

T

here is no room for error. The minutes count down on the hands of the clock, every second a lifetime. 4:57 p.m.. Time seems to tremor in anticipation. 4:59 p.m. 5:00 p.m.

For East senior Angela Stewart*, the act of taking her daily dose of birth control before going into work at 5:00 p.m. is like clockwork.

Stewart started taking birth control in 2013 under the advisement of her doctor to help her cope with debilitating menstrual cycle symptoms including blood loss and cramping.

According to Stewart, the alarm that goes off on her phone every day at 5:00 p.m. is a reminder that she no longer has to deal with that suffering.

After starting to menstruate at age 12, Stewart says she did not initially have painful periods, but by age 15 she was missing school and was sometimes bedridden for days due to her symptoms. At that point, her mother Rebecca Stewart* began to worry about blood loss, anemia and her daughter’s academics, so they went to a gynecologist who prescribed birth control to prevent Angela’s pain.

Rebecca says that although she was initially hesitant for her daughter to begin using contraceptives for moral and religious reasons,

“the cramping and multiple heavy periods per month were too disruptive” and Angela began taking the pill. She tried three different options before settling on Loestrin FETM, which she has been using for the past two and a half years.

In 2010, former President Barack Obama established the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as ObamaCare, a federal health care reform that allows private health insurance plans to offer reproductive services such as birth control without deductibles or copays.

However, President Donald Trump, according to the official healthcare reform statement found on his website, plans to ask Congress to fully repeal ObamaCare.

“It is not enough to simply repeal this terrible legislation,” the statement reads. “We will work with Congress to make sure we have a series of reforms ready for implementation that follow free market principles and that will restore economic freedom and certainty to everyone in this country.”

Uncertainty on the specifics of these health care reforms, especially surrounding women’s reproductive health services such as birth control, abortion, and preventative services, has caused public confusion surrounding the

36 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

future of the issue.

University of California at Los Angeles’ Women’s Studies Professor Carole Browner says that although the term “reproductive rights” originated in the U.S. during the 1970s, the idea that “women must be free to make their own reproductive decisions” was established in the 1830s.

This idea of self-determination, she says, was spearheaded by activists, including Margaret Sanger who was “the head of this movement.” In Browner’s paper, “The Politics of Reproduction: From Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice,” she writes that by the 1920s, Sanger compromised with the conservative medical field to change the issue of birth control from an expression of women’s rights to “be contained within the clinical desexualizalized rubric of ‘family planning.’”

According to Browner, the 1960s was a period of civil rights movements for women as they discovered they were still not equal with men, especially in areas of reproductive health, and public opinion came to reflect a belief that women should have the right to an abortion.

“By 1973, the battle appeared won when the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade ruled favorably on women’s right to abortion,” Browner tells Spark. “[However], since Roe v. Wade, increasingly restrictive state laws have eroded women’s right to reproductive freedom.”

Roe v. Wade defended the idea that a woman’s right to an abortion is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment and defined the level of a state involvement in late term abortions.

According to a 2016 study by the Pew Research Center, 62 percent of Americans know Roe v. Wade was a decision about abortion, while only 44 percent of adults under 30 years old know that fact. Older adults are more likely to view abortion as an important issue, with 62 percent of younger Americans aged 18 to 29 saying it is “not that important” compared to other issues, compared to 53 percent of adults overall.

During one of the three presidential debates, Trump said that, if he was elected, Roe v. Wade would “automatically” be overturned. In a later interview with 60 Minutes, Trump said that he planned to appoint a pro-life Supreme Court justice to the open seat on the Supreme Court and that, if Roe v. Wade was overturned, the responsibility for determining reproductive health would “go back to the states.”

Partner at Dinsmore & Shohl law firm and Chair of the firm’s Appellate Group Michael Abate says Trump’s plan to overturn the Supreme Court decision of “milestone” court case Roe v. Wade is feasible under several circumstances.

“It depends on the number of [Supreme Court] appointments the next president gets,” Abate tells Spark. “At present, there is

reproductive rights | package a 4-4 split. If only one justice changes, you wouldn’t necessarily expect Roe [v. Wade] to be overturned immediately, but if President Trump gets two or three appointments to the Supreme Court, depending on which justices he replaces, it is possible that Roe v. Wade could be back in play.”

Although Abate says this decision is dependent on how many new justices are appointed and their political views, he doesn’t believe the Roe v. Wade court decision is in any immediate danger in the next year.

While Trump told the National Broadcasting Company in 1999 that he was “very prochoice” in regards to abortion services, he has since changed his stance on the issue, labeling himself “pro-life” in 2011 and “pro-life” with the exceptions of rape, incest or risk to the life of the mother in 2015.

While health insurance companies have the option to cover some or all elective abortions, under the ACA, they can use federal money to cover these costs.

According to University of Redlands Professor and Director of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program Jennifer Nelson, although the program is dependent on Congress, the repeal of the ACA could “have an immediate impact on poor women who depend on the government subsidies to access health care.”

The ACA provides services such as

gestational diabetes screening; domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling; FDA-approved contraceptive methods and contraceptive education and counseling; breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling; sexually transmitted infections counseling; HIV screening and counseling; mammograms and colonoscopies.

The ACA gives 47 million women access to guaranteed preventive women’s health services, according to ObamaCare facts.

Nelson also believes that the Republican Majority in Congress will cut funding for Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health services both in the United States and globally.

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards said in a 2017 Cable News Network (CNN) interview that the demand for IntraUterine Devices, a method of birth control, from this organization’s consumers increased 900 percent on the days after Trump’s election due to concern about the availability of these devices after the potential repeal of the ACA. Despite these concerns, services such as contraceptives could possibly be made more accessible under the Trump presidency according to a 2016 September interview with television personality Dr. Oz. Trump said he would prefer if birth control could be used without a prescription.

In addition to his support for contraceptive-

usage, Trump also supports several other programs that would enable women who chose to have babies.

On his official website, Trump has proposed a six week paid maternity leave for mothers who have just given birth. Mothers would receive unemployment pay, less than their normal salary, with funding for this program covered by the elimination of fraud in unemployment insurance, according to Business Insider. Obama had also proposed this six week maternity leave during his time in office, but the plan was never accepted by Congress.

“Government policies are stuck in the past, and make already difficult choices regarding care arrangements even more difficult,” Trump’s campaign site says. “Outdated policies in many cases cause women to make choices that are not the best for either their families or the economy.”

Angela says that she is worried about the future of abortion and women’s rights including birth control when Trump is in office, and how they will affect her career. She plans to go into the military and worries that “[Trump] will make poor choices when it comes to women who want to serve.”

“I think rights are going to be minimized in the name of good and that’s my biggest worry,” Angela says. “[I fear] that the progress women have made over the past few years will cease.”

Public Opinion on Roe v. Wade According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, the majority of Americans are against completely overturning the Roe v. Wade decision constituting a woman’s right to an abortion.

16 62% of Americans were against overturning Roe v. Wade in 2003.

31

69% of Americans are against overturning Roe v. Wade in 2016

7

62

28 72% of women are against overturning Roe v. Wade in 2016

28

In 2016, 84% of Democrats are against overturning the ruling.

3

69

67

67% of men against overturning Roe v. Wade in 2016

84

30 47 3

53% of Republicans are against overturning Roe v. Wade in 2016

53

72 source pewresearch.org

LOCALMOTIVE Right: Melissa Lieb felt that the Cincinnati area was lacking privately owned lingerie stores, so three months ago she opened her own boutique, Swoon. All the designers she sells are independent female owned brands that use ethical manufacturing. “My favorite brand I carry right now is Marieyet,” says Lieb. “The material is knit in rounds so there are no side seams, and it’s made out of ribbed cotton so it’s super cozy.”

Slone

Swoon

Above: Slone is a modern boutique where locals are able to buy clothes from markets in New York, including from major labels and up-and-coming designers. One month ago, Slone Baby was launched in the store to encompass an even larger clientele. “For the concept of Slone,” says employee Laura Hughes, “the owner named it after Slone Square in London, which is the fashion Mecca of London.”

Frameri

Left: What started as an e-commerce business three years ago has flourished into a favorite eyeglass shop in Over the Rhine.

Frameri sells eyeglasses that are designed in Cincinnati; the frames are made out of mazzucchelli acetate from Italy, and the lenses are made

by Goyo Optical. “The store has a wall of fame featuring Polaroid pictures of people from events in really cool glasses,” employee Jemma Kusiak says. “We’re trying to get a representation of our community here on our wall.”

Below: Almost two years ago, University of Cincinnati DAAP graduate Erica Leighton-Spredlan opened her own clothing, accessories and art store Continuum. All of the clothing she sells is ethically produced; nothing is manufactured in China. She finds unique designers and artists from countries like Japan, Vietnam, Barcelona, Canada and the U.S.. “My products are for the person who isn’t afraid to explore different styles,” says Leighton-Spredlan of the products in her store.

Continuum

From old posters shops to new eccentric clothing stores, Vine Street in downtown Cincinnati has become the new hotspot for locally owned businesses to flourish. story lauren wilson, gabbie behrmann, caroline bumgarner photography cara satullo

jack Wood Gallery

Right: When Elm and Iron Cincinnati first opened on Vine Street two years ago, there was not enough room in the store to sell both furniture and decor. Then a building went up for sale right across the street, the owner knew that it was the perfect fit for a sister store, Elm and Iron Loft. The Loft, which has been open for close to six months now, sells authentic vintage pieces collected from around Ohio. Employee Thomas Lee loves the layout of the building. “The building itself is just awesome,” says Lee. “The cutout glass ceiling (also used as the floor on the second story) really brings it all together.”

Vine Street, Over the Rhine

Elm and Iron Loft

Above: Jack Wood began collecting vintage posters while living abroad back in the early 90s. Now he owns Jack Wood Gallery on Vine Street where he shares his collection with the people of Cincinnati.

“What keeps it interesting for me is when people come in and ask do you have anything that has to deal with, ‘fill in the blank,’” says Wood. “When they ask for something specific I try not to be stumped.”

Right: On top of selling and delivering fresh all-natural dog food directly to your door, Pet Wants provides tasty treats along with toys and any other pet necessities.

“I get to bring my dog into work,” says employee Jenna Jones. “That is a first-hand experience for how our food has affected dogs.

Other people bring their dogs in too; it’s really fun and it’s a great environment!”

ringho

Pet Wants

Above: Righno was created in 2014 in order to bring new fashion trends to the Midwest. The store’s location in Over the Rhine opened last March, bringing the Californian cool, European edge and New York street styles to downtown Cincinnati. “I like educating people on different trends,” says employee Francisco Ramirez. “It’s fun to share new clothing and tell people what’s in style.”

culture | fashion

INSTANT SUPERMODELS In recent years, the modeling industry has become strongly influenced by social media. The use of social media platforms allows agencies to discover new models and allows the models to promote themselves.

story noor ghuniem | photos used with permission from kylie schorr

E

very little girl’s modeling dream that seemed so out of reach may not be so hard to achieve in the current social media-driven world. In recent years it has become much easier for models to promote themselves to companies through their social media profiles.

“Now you can contact modeling agencies over social media. It’s also easier to model independently without an agency. You can take your own photos and then get signed by an agency just from popularity,” says Kylie Schorr, a Lakota East junior who models with New View Management Modeling Company.

“There are tons of people who have been discovered by social media just from a photo other people have taken.”

Modeling agencies use sites such as Instagram to scout out new models. For example, IMG modeling launched a talent scouting profile that finds aspiring models through the hashtag #WLYG, which has been used over 75,000 times.

“I think social media has created a global output for models to be found from all around the world. I’m not saying it’s easy to be a model now, but I do believe it has become easier for them to be found by agencies and go after that job,” says Nahla Alhinai, a University of Cincinnati student who modeled with the UC Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) program.

According to ClickZ, over 75 percent of users on Instagram come from outside of the United States, allowing modeling agencies to reach a more global demographic.

Additionally, Instagram’s monthly user base has grown from 90 million in January 2013 to 400 million in September 2015, and monthly US Instagram users are expected to reach 111.6 million by 2019. With the number of Instagram users rising at an extremely fast pace, it is easier for modeling agencies to find fresh new faces.

Many of today’s famous models have found their greatest popularity gains through social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and other sites. According to Forbes Magazine, Kendall Jenner has earned $10 million within the past year and

gained over 64.5 million Instagram followers.

Gigi Hadid has earned $9 million and 22.1 million Instagram followers, and Cara Delevingne has earned $8.5 million and 33.2 million Instagram followers.

“I definitely think the reason Kendall and Gigi have blown up so much has a lot to do with social media,” says Alhinai. ”The models can create a certain profile for themselves that makes them look perfect and they gain admiration from people all around the world.

It’s easier to promote themselves.”

Hadid received the Model of the Year

by sharing the item they are attempting to sell on their social media profiles. This method of promotion is used by many high profile models, including Jenner and Hadid.

Followers continue to admire the public figures and buy the product because they have become attached to the models’ lifestyles.

“You can decide how you are shown to other people and can become big by gaining followers,” says Schorr. ”On social media the pictures are less about the clothes and more about the person. The reason people like those models better are because they feel

I definitely think the reason Kendall and Gigi have blown up so much has a lot to do with social media. The models can create a certain profile for themselves that makes them look perfect and they gain admiration from people all around the world.

– Nahla Alhinai, DAAP Model

award from models.com in 2016, although she did less modeling than others in the industry.

Throughout fashion week, she walked only eight shows, whereas models such as Alexandra Elizabeth walked up to 67. Even though it’s been argued that Hadid received the award due soley to her social media popularity, that may not necessarily be true.

“There are a thousand reasons why a model will or will not work for specific clients.

When you are a supermodel, your career must be carefully planned and executed,” New View Modeling Agency owner Joe Guerrera says. ”It’s more about quality than quantity. Gigi probably earned more than Alexandra doing just eight shows.”

In addition to promotion for themselves, the models endorse products and companies that allow them to gain even more popularity.

They are paid by brands to sponsor products

40 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

they can relate to them and can see what’s happening in their life.”

On the contrary, some find that social media can have harmful impacts on the profiles of the models. “Social media can hurt a model’s career if the content is poor,” says Guerrera. ”Agents choose very specific photos for very specific reasons when assembling a model’s book. Social media can kill those efforts with one bad photo.”

Whether helping or hurting careers, social media has had a substantially large impact on the modeling industry, allowing an easier method for models to find agencies, and agencies to find models.

“Social media should be crafted as a tool to market the person for whatever their future goals are,” says Guerrera. “When you are a supermodel your career must be carefully planned and executed.”

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culture | reviews

REVIEWS: MUSIC THROWBACK: ABBEY ROAD ARTIST: THE BEATLES RELEASE DATE: JAN. 4, 1967

No matter how much one works “Eight Days A Week” or calls out for “Help!” or wishes for “Yesterday,” there is always time for taking a stroll down memory lane over that iconic white crosswalk with John, Paul, George and Ringo and discovering why “Abbey Road” is still hailed as one of The Beatles’ finest albums. While it was released in 1969, a good five years after “Beatlemania” hit the modern world, it is still the epitome of professionalism in the recording studio and pure talent, despite the fact that “Abbey Road” remains the final Beatles album ever recorded.

Part of the album’s charm also comes from eccentric songs like “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and “Octopus’ Garden.” Unique can’t even begin to describe the folksy and light-hearted tone of compositions with lyrics like “Bang!

Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer came down upon her head” and “I’d like to be under the sea in an octopus’ garden in the shade,” respectively.

This musical approach was criticized at the time of its original release as “gimmicky” and “inauthentic” but now seems like an example

LAYING IN THE SAND ARTIST: PUZZLE “Laying In The Sand” is the newest release from the Golden Coast solo band, Puzzle. Creator Fletcher Shears has succeeded in developing his own sound a few years after the debut of The Garden, a mysterious and new-genre punk band created by Fletcher and his twin brother. The confusing mix of hip-hop and video game soundtrack fuzz generates a ‘90s time warp feel that can be detected throughout the album.

Lyrically, Fletcher appears to be ranting about issues such as being a youth living in poverty, unknown horizons and misunderstood humans.

Rapping, singing and even occasionally yelling are all methods utilized by the musician to translate his message. However, it oddly works in harmony with the mesmerizing array of background effects.

Even though Fletcher maintains a nostalgic feel in each song, “Beyond Fond (Of Her)” is a ghostly track that repeats the same words and seems to be more of an intermission between the upbeat songs around it. On the other hand, “Pull ^ Ur Peers” is a stunningly unique tune that works cohesively with the mellow instrumentals that echo Fletcher’s slow rapping. Attention to detail, such as the scratchy reverb of a crackling record player, adds a distinctive touch.

From start to finish, “Laying In The Sand” proves itself as being a hidden gem among many emerging artists. With Fletcher’s high level of originality, there is no doubt that the twins’ inventive genre of music will continue to gain popularity. – Maya Wells

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photography fair use

of harmless innovation in a time where musical experimentation was the key to success.

That being said the album still manages to pay homage to their original rock-and-roll style, the genre that originally boosted them to notoriety.

According to original member George Harrison, in order to overcome tensions, effort was made to return to the early recording methods used

by The Beatles. He recollected that, “we actually played like musicians again.” The ballad “I Want You So Bad (She’s So Heavy)” proves this while the popular and nostalgic “Here Comes The Sun” can’t help but evoke a smile when heard.

In hindsight, over 40 years later, there is a melancholy note to “Abbey Road” that is missing from their earlier work. As the very last album The Beatles ever made together, it already stands as a sad point in their narrative. In fact, founding member John Lennon had already privately left the group at the time of the original recording.

However, the sound of the album still represents what The Beatles sought to accomplish from day one, the creation of something new, interesting and wholly unique. – Vivian Kolks

ZOOEY ARTIST: THE DRIFTERS In a sea of depressing, violent and vulgar music The Drifters carry a light of happiness and good vibes in the form of their new album “Zooey”. Throughout the entire album the mix of both lead female and male singers’ voices creates a feel-good mood that is light and “groovy”.

When I say “groovy” I mean that this album is reminiscent of music from the 70s and 80s. The distinct voices of the lead singers sound similar to folk singers of the late 1900s.

On the other hand, the reason this album and band can be deemed “Alternative” and not “Folk” is their unique instrumentals. Utilizing guitar, piano, keyboard, flute and a soundboard they’re able to create a unique combination of sounds that give them their cohesive band sound.

This album is meant to be listened to with earphones as they utilize the ability of music to drift from one ear to the next quite a lot in songs such as “When the Morning Comes” and “Long Gone”. This effect creates an immersive experience for the listener that they’re sure to remember. The raw sounds of the album are what give it a folk accent that is unique to the band’s style.

The Drifters certainly picked a name that reflects their music style as the entire time throughout the album it sounds as if a single sound drifts from song to song in a sort of floating motif. Overall, the album fosters a calming sound that will soothe the ears of any alternative music fan. – Richard Giang

REVIEWS: MOVIES Although it’s intended to be a romantic comedy, “13 Going on 30” makes a bigger impact, causing the viewer to delve more deeply into the trials and triumphs of one’s teenage years, and their longer-term consequences.

In 1987, Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) is going through her pre-teen life trying to be included into the exclusive popular girl clique, the “Six Chicks,” even offering to do their homework in order to be graced with their presence at her upcoming thirteenth birthday party. After a combination of unlucky timing and mean girl scheming, Jenna ends up in her basement closet for “seven minutes in heaven” with her childhood bestie, Matty Flamhaff (Mark Ruffalo), instead of her popular crush. In a fit of teenage angst, she locks herself in the closet, throwing herself against its walls, allowing the wishing dust from the dream house gift Matty gave her to sprinkle down from above as she wishes to be “thirty, flirty, and thriving.”

The next morning, Jenna awakens to realize the magic dust has granted her wish, and she now must explore her life as a successful thirty year

THROWBACK: 13 GOING ON 30 DIRECTOR: GARY WINICK RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2007

old, discovering that she’s lost a few things along the way. The movie follows Jenna’s journey to rediscover what makes a person truly happy and the importance of popularity.

Jennifer Garner is outstanding in this film. I was entranced by the childlike wonder with which she approached every scene. The romance is light and cheerful, satisfying the “chick flick” genre requirements for an easy Friday-night viewing, but the deeper plotlines of how today’s decisions impact tomorrow make this film an onion, with many more layers than expected.

A stellar soundtrack, strong actors, and a layered storyline make this film a must-watch for all teen girls struggling with identity at this confusing age. – Erinn Aulfinger

LA LA LAND DIRECTOR: DAMIEN CHAZELLE

FENCES DIRECTOR: DENZEL WASHINGTON

With the raving reviews from Hollywood and the anticipation of the film receiving an Oscar, I couldn’t not go see “La La Land.”

But after watching the film, I am a firm believer in the placebo effect. Since everyone says it’s good it must be good, but it wasn’t.

The movie opens with a cliché over-the-top dance number on cars in a traffic jam on a Los Angeles freeway. Moving into the city, the musical focuses on struggling actress Mia (Emma Stone) and jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). The two are destined to fall in love, but career obstacles take a toll on their relationship, setting an unclear path for the couple’s future, I grew to appreciate the spontaneous dance numbers; they were charming and well executed. The soundtrack was fantastic, no doubt, with an old-school jazz influence and catchy melodies I have yet to get out of my head. Also, the all-star cast was no doubt engaging, and dedicating two hours of time to watching Ryan Gosling on-screen was definitely not hard to do.

Everything was perfect, from the sets, to the costume design. I was falling in love with the movie, but then the ending ruined it all. I strongly suggest leaving the theater when it feels as if the movie should be over (this is approximately three minutes before it ends). Then, this magical recreation of a old Hollywood movie in modern times could be forever cherished and not distorted by a poor plotline choice. – Lauren Wilson

Usually when I go to the theater, I’m looking for something a little more action packed. However, I found myself completely engrossed in a drama, of all things, the entire time that it was on screen.

“Fences” is a fantastic drama with deep and realistic characters.

The plot follows Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) as he discovers what it means to be a better father to his sons Cory and Lyons, a better husband to his wife Rose, and a better leader of those around him. “Fences” excels at allowing its actors to play the part in which they are comfortable. This is most evident when Washington is on screen, as he seems to live in his character’s shoes.

Because “Fences” is a drama, the focus of the film is on dialogue, something that the movie absolutely nails. The conversations between characters are so engaging that they keep the movie from becoming boring even though some scenes seem to drag on for longer than they should.

Even though the plot was stretched out at some points, it gave the viewer more time to establish deeper connections with the characters. Although it wasn’t action packed, the believable recreation of a man’s life story a lot of soul to the movie. While it’s not something that I would watch with my friends, it’s a thoughtprovoking movie and it’s well worth it to go and see. – Michael Croy

HEART AND SOLE

culture | personal narrative

It’s often hard to imagine what a mile in someone else’s shoes would be like. Spark Editor and East senior Lauren Wilson walked 49 miles in different shoes in order to gain new perspectives. story lauren wilson | photography maya wells

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eople always say that in order to get to know someone “you should walk a mile in their shoes.” It’s a simple figure of speech that I took a little too literally.

I started playing around with the idea that we all leave a footprint on the earth earlier this year. In my Advanced Placement Art class, I had an assignment to paint a landmark. Painting a building didn’t interest me, so I decided that I, or rather my feet, were a landmark since they leave a footprint, and painted them instead.

Then I got to thinking about everyone else’s footprint and journey through life. I wondered what it would really be like to walk in someone else’s shoes. And I don’t mean borrowing a friend’s heels for prom. No, I wanted to figuratively walk in the shoes of random strangers on the street. The only way I knew how to do this was to interview them.

Since I’ve been a writer for Spark the past three years, I’ve talked to a fair share of strangers. But this was different. Usually when I find a source for a story, I’m seeking them out based on their knowledge on a particular subject. This time, however, I wasn’t seeking people out based on their background; instead I was picking people in order to learn their background.

When I set out to actually talk to people, I was shooting to interview 40 people that I didn’t know. I wanted to get pictures of everyone’s shoes to go along with their answers, and I also wanted some company so I had my fellow editor Emma Stiefel tag along.

The two of us drove down to Findlay Market. We laughed about the number of times our parents told us not to talk to strangers while growing up. They also always said not to judge a book by its cover, but they never said not to judge a person by their shoes.

We scouted out shoes of all shapes and sizes in order to find people to talk to. After we picked a person and got their permission to interview them, I asked them an ever so simple question: “If someone were to walk a mile in your shoes, what would the journey be like?”

Only a few people didn’t have to stop to think about their answer.

Almost every time the first response was “that’s a deep question” or “that’s such a hard question.” And it was a hard question: I was asking people to share their life story, in a matter of seconds, with a stranger.

After people got over the enormity of the question, the answers they gave were entirely unique. Some people answered with a word, others a story, and some answers led to deep conversations about the world in general.

I think the one that made me laugh the most was when I asked a younger child what a mile in his shoes would be like and he said,“comfortable.” His mother proceeded to explain that’s not what I meant by my question, but it still was one of my favorite answers.

Another person that really stuck out from the crowd came from a woman wearing sneakers with pink and black striped laces. When

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Wilson collected 68 pairs of shoes to create her foot sculpture.

asked what someone’s mile in her shoes would be like, Rebecca told us, “I have recently been in recovery from depression, so they would be doing a lot of healing work and actually walking a lot of miles in shoes because exercise is a very powerful antidepressant, so their feet might get tired.”

It was inspiring to hear someone working hard to make her life better. In the few minutes that I spent talking to her, I never would have known she had been suffering from depression.

She told us she was a writer so she was excited to see people going out to hear other people’s stories. Her encouragement and positivity amazed me.

The answer I was most surprised by came from a man in a tattered old pair of white sneakers. When asked what a mile in his shoes would be like Edgar answered, “Blessed, just blessed. Blessed to still be alive.”

I thought about his answer, and it made me wish I had come up with something that smart. It’s true that death is inevitable, but for someone’s first instinct to be to realize how lucky they are to be living was refreshing, and it made me feel blessed, too.

My favorite response would have to be from my new Facebook friend Eric. I have never met another human who questions the world as much as I do. When I asked him what a mile in his really cool gray Adidas Swingblades would be like, he answered, “Everything we’ve ever been taught is wrong. We’re still asleep, and we believe it’s 2016. For some reason we believe that we live on a giant ball spinning at 11,000 miles per hour. It’s crazy.”

This then led into a long conversation about the creation of man, why he sun gazes, and why it’s weird that we drink milk from cows. Talking to Eric was thoroughly enjoyable, because it’s not every day that I meet someone with such a unique perspective on the world.

On the Spark website there is a picture of each pair of shoes on the individuals interviewed that, when clicked on, plays their response to my question. Since it was a more personal topic I wanted the results to be displayed in a personal way. I didn’t want everyone’s answers to show up on this page in print. I wanted people to hear the voice behind

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the responses and see the shoes that were walked in.

But as an artist, this wasn’t enough: I wanted something concrete for people to interact with.

I did a little thrift shopping and collected 68 pairs of shoes. I had my dad help me build a base out of styrofoam and wood and then used hot glue to assemble a foot out of all the shoes.

From there, I wrote down each response from my interviews on a separate piece of paper to be placed in the shoes on the sculpture.

In the future, if I were given the honor of having my “foot” exhibited in a museum, visitors would be able to pull out the cards and read them in order to figuratively walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. They would then have the option to keep or return the card. If they chose to take it, they would have to leave a note about a mile in their shoes in its place.

But as for now I’m content with leaving my giant foot in my garage (since it wouldn’t fit through the front door.) It’s nice to just go out there and take a moment out of my day to reread some of the responses. Some make me laugh, some make me feel comforted knowing I’m not the only one that’s stressed out, and others inspire me to continue making the most of my own journey.

For me this project was about seeing different perspectives. I wanted to see what people thought about life, and their purpose in the world. It was sad to hear how many people said life was rough, or stressful. But the optimism from people who said they were just living life in the moment and enjoying it was reassuring.

From a simple idiom I created a piece with a lot of soul, or rather a lot of sole. In total I interviewed 49 people from various places around Cincinnati including: Findlay Market, Vine Street, Liberty Center Mall, and Lakota East high school. This process has opened my mind to learning more about people, and I plan on continuing to walk many more miles in strangers’ shoes by interviewing them.

As for a mile in my shoes, you would contemplate the world, question society and worry about time. But you would realize that a mile is a short walk, so you might as well take the scenic route.

in-depth | culture

East junior Keith Enrico swims during meet.

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scouting report | sports

CHANGING LANES

story samadhi marapane | photography richard giang

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en years. Countless practices, hours of harsh workouts and so many meets that they all began to blur together. To Lakota East junior Keith Enrico, swimming for the USA Swim League was arguably one of the most important aspects of his life.

Going into his junior swim season, however, he made the decision to completely shift his focus from his club team to high school swimming.

According to Enrico, deciding to discontinue his club swimming career was his best option.

“During spring, summer and winter breaks, we would have two practices a day, and it just got to be too much for me,” Enrico says. “I just got burnt out.”

According to Enrico, swimming for East is less physically taxing than swimming for his club team but still requires extensive effort. When he felt that he had to chose between the two, he picked swimming for East.

“On an average school day, it’d be you go to school, you go to practice, you’re tired, it takes up time, and then you go home, and after you do homework,” Enrico says. “I didn’t have enough time with school and work to do both club and high school swimming.”

All his practice, ranging from two to three hours a day, enabled him to improve his times this season on the 100 breaststroke. During an invitational at Canton, Ohio, Enrico placed 12th in the 100 fly, 10th in the 100 breast, and eighth in the 400 free stroke relay with teammates Jacob McDonald, Alex Devine and Alec Gayer.

According to East head swim coach Dennis Beck, the effort that Enrico has put into improving his skills has helped him to become one of the team’s leaders.

“Keith has been working hard and has had some best times already this season,” Beck says. “[He] is leading the lane at practice and helps set the pace and work of our team. He is becoming a team leader.”

Since ending his career on his club team and switching to swimming for his high school team only, Enrico says his performance has been better than he expected. According to teammate and East junior Alec Gayer, Enrico’s shift in focus has proven effective.

“He has trained very hard to get to where he is, and it’s shown through him being on a relay that qualified for state,” Gayer, who also ended his club swimming career after nine years, says. “He continues to be the best at what he does.”

Beck says that each individual athlete must make decisions to better his or her own careers, and he supports Enrico’s decision to swim solely for East.

“Every athlete has to make a training decision that best suits them,” Beck says. “We are very supportive of Keith’s decision, and as long as he continues working as hard as he is, he should be successful at the end of the season.”

As he continues through this year’s season, Enrico would like to improve his times in as many events as possible, focusing on the 100 fly, 100 freestroke and 50 free stroke the most. He also will be working to help the team get a relay to win at state this year.

“With high school swimming, I can do the sport I love while doing other things on the side,” Enrico says. “It’s much more convenient and a better fit for me.”

January 2017 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 49

sports | spaulding wrestling

A FAMILY MATCH

Not only is East senior Jon Spaulding ranked nationally as one of the best wrestlers in the country, but also he has a whole team—his family—supporting him every match. story and photography sophia spivey

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s the referee flips the coin, his heart starts to race. He stares directly into his opponent’s eyes and knows it’s game time. He takes a deep breath and flawlessly pins down his opponent. Even with all of the wins under his belt, he feels he has room for improvement. To him it isn’t the rank that matters, but the fun of the sport.

Lakota East senior Jon Spaulding became a nationally ranked wrestler in the summer of 2016 as a part of the 285-pound weight class.

He is currently ranked 18th in the nation and second in the state of Ohio. He has traveled

all over the United States wrestling and has learned the amount of work it takes to be the best wrestler possible along the way. “[Being nationally ranked] does not mean very much to me, because I know that with hard work comes success,” Spaulding says. “I will never be content with where I am. Even if I’m ranked first in the country, I would never stop trying to improve.”

Spaulding was introduced to wrestling after his third grade football coach suggested that he give it a shot, and he instantly fell in love with the sport. Since then, he has not only dedicated

time to football, but to wrestling as well.

“I have played football since third grade and was one of the captains on the football team this year, [but] the reason I chose wrestling as my number one sport was because you get out of it what you put in,” Spaulding says. “I enjoy working hard, and with wrestling being one of the hardest sports there is, I really get to push myself both physically and mentally.”

Having to push his body and mind to the limit was something that Spaulding welcomed.

In order to achieve what he has so far, Spaulding says he has dedicated his entire summers and

Senior Jon Spaulding wrestling in the South West Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association Coaches Classic.

time everyday to bettering himself.

“You have to be a bit crazy in a way to wrestle and be successful at it,” Spaulding says. “You have to be willing to push yourself to your breaking point on a daily basis and be willing to come back and do it again. You have to be willing to keep going even if your body is giving up on you telling you that you can’t. No matter what sport I participate in, I will give it my all.”

According to East Wrestling coach Jim Lehman, wrestling is a difficult sport that only special people can succeed in, and Spaulding is one of those special people. Lehman says that Spaulding has grown a lot since his freshman year and is a passionate and dedicated young man that understands sacrifice.

“I can’t begin to describe the growth that Jon has made in the sport of wrestling,” Lehman says. “To put it in perspective, Jon was not varsity his freshman year. He was only entered in the varsity lineup for the Sectional Championships that year. He did not start out as a phenom. He is now ranked nationally.”

Besides being ranked 18th in the nation, Spaulding is also leading the 285 Greater Miami Conference (GMC). This season, Jon placed seventh in the Walsh Ironman Invitational, first in the South West Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association (SWOWCA) Coaches Classic, and second in the Brecksville Invitational.

Spaulding’s accomplishments and humility have not gone unnoticed by coaches outside of East. His work ethic and positive mindset has caught the attention of many people, including Fairfield head wrestling coach Jason Laflin.

“Jon has done really well for East over the last four years,” Laflin says. “[He] seems to be up for a challenge. I recently watched him wrestle the number one ranked kid in Ohio from Elyria High School. On paper, I would have considered him the underdog going into the match. As the match happened, I quickly saw that Jon did not view himself as the underdog. He ended up losing the match in overtime, but I was impressed with his heart and work ethic.”

Spaulding isn’t the only person in his family involved in wrestling. As a triplet, he and his siblings all have a connection to wrestling in some way with their mother Becki Spaulding as their main support system. His brother and East senior Matt Spaulding, who was introduced to wrestling at the same time as Jon, is on the wrestling team alongside him, and his sister and East senior Liz Spaulding used to help manage the team.

“Wrestling means a lot to myself and my family, because it brings us together and allows us to spend time with each other,” Jon says.

“My mom has supported me the whole way.

She always stays positive and helps me stay positive when I am down. I owe my success to my mother and my coaches. They have helped me to get where I am and they have taught me

[Being nationally ranked] does not mean very much to me, because I know that with hard work comes success. I will never be content with where I am.

Even if I’m ranked first in the country, I would never stop trying to improve.

– East senior and wrestler Jon Spaulding

the importance of hard work.”

Liz started managing the wrestling team in eighth grade, spending four years scoring matches, cleaning mats and working on scoreboards. According to Liz, even though the work was strenuous and time-consuming, it was worth it in the end because of all the time she got to spend with her brothers.

“Wrestling has brought my family together due to how much it matters to all of us,” Liz says. “From the start, I began to look forward to those long Saturdays—and sometimes Sundays—where I got to sit in the stands with my mom for hours upon hours watching my brothers so that later that night, I could contribute to my family’s dinner conversations about it, because that’s pretty much always what we talk about even up to this day.”

As a manager, Liz says she has witnessed firsthand the improvements that Jon has made throughout his wrestling career. His love for the sport, she says, has motivated him to work as hard as he can.

“It’s so important to me that he knows how proud of him I am,” Liz says. “After being a manager, I got to see him work to get where he is today. How much he’s improved throughout the years is incredible, and all of his success can be credited to how much love he has for the sport and how hard he’s worked for it. That sport is where his heart lies, and it’s impossible to not be proud of him.”

Along with Liz, Becki has supported both of her son’s wrestling careers from the beginning.

According to Lehman, her commitment to helping them reach their goals has been crucial in their improvements throughout their careers.

“Jon’s mom has committed a ton of time and money to seeing Jon pursue his dreams,” Lehman says. “I think that is awesome. She is at almost every event regardless of where it is.

I think it is imperative for a young athlete to have a very strong support system in place. It is a real asset to their success.”

According to Becki, Jon does whatever it takes to be the best wrestler he can be. She says that in order to focus on wrestling, he has had to put regular teenage activities, like learning to drive and attending prom, aside, because he “values wrestling more than anything [besides] his family.”

“The dedication it has taken for Jon to accomplish what he has astounds me,” Becki says. “He is my hero. The three of my children are nothing alike, but they all seem to have the common bond of loving the sport.”

This bond, according to Becki, has extended far further than simply wrestling for East. Matt recently lost over 50 pounds in order to join the 195-pound weight class so he could wrestle in college “right there with his brother,” a feat that Becki is more than proud of. He traveled around the country wrestling alongside Jon during the summer of 2016. Jon, Becki says, has already been offered a wrestling scholarship for wrestling, and other colleges have begun to contact him as well.

According to Matt, wrestling alongside his brother is better than he could have imagined.

Jon, he says, is a partner he can count on who is more than willing to fight for every last point until the very last second.

“Me and Jon both support each other fully, and when he is having success, then we know we have to drill even harder, because with Jon, his hunger for success never stops,” Matt says.

“When the rankings came out, and we found out that Jon was finally nationally ranked in the top 20, everyone knew that out of everyone in the wrestling room, he had earned that title and that all his hard work in the off season paid off.

It made me so honored to be his brother.”

January 2017 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 51

BEYOND THE ROUTINE Lakota’s dance teams are not interscholastic sports, and therefore cannot contribute toward the PE Waiver. story allie church | photography richard giang | infographic bryn mangold

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very home basketball game she stands on the sidelines, rhythmically moving her body to the beat of the music. Every halftime she joins 20 other girls in the center of the gym and performs for the crowd. Every pep rally she does the same. For three years, Lakota East senior Sierra Watson has participated on East’s dance team; yet, within those three years, she has had to obtain a gym credit without the use of a Physical Education (PE) Waiver.

In order to graduate, Ohio Department of Education (ODE) requirements state that a student must have a one-half unit of PE. This credit, however, can be obtained a number of ways. As stated by the ODE, “school districts may adopt a policy that would exempt

students who, during high school, participate in interscholastic athletics, band or cheerleading for two full seasons.” A one-half unit is required to be completed in another course of study. This exemption is used in Lakota as the PE Waiver.

In Lakota, dance is ineligible to contribute toward obtaining a PE Waiver. According to Watson, who also dances competitively at Star Dance Studio, due to the nature of the sport itself and the nature of East’s dance team, this doesn’t come as a surprise.

“Dance is such a gray area with sports,” Watson says. “It is a lot more intense at Star, because we compete. There’s a lot more pressure and more of a drive to be perfect

52 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

and successful, whereas for East, we still have to look good, so we have to know what we’re doing enough for that, but it’s nice because we just get to dance in front of our peers and have fun, and we don’t really get to do that as much when we’re at competitions.”

According to dance team head coach Amy Goldberg, the main purpose of the team is to provide the dancers with an opportunity to get involved in the school while promoting school spirit. Because most of the athletes also compete for their respective studios, Goldberg says, East dance is designed to allow them to do both simultaneously. For this reason, they practice once a week from August until the end of February, pay a one-time fee of $450, and

don’t participate in any fundraising events or dance competitions.

“We do try to keep it low key, and that’s probably one of the reasons why it’s not considered [an interscholastic] sport,” Goldberg says. “We only practice one time a week so that they can do other things. The reason we don’t do competitions is because 95 percent of our team compete with their studios and probably couldn’t do both. They’re still dancing four or five days a week, [so] this is like their fun thing.”

Another reason that Goldberg attributes to dance not being considered a school-sponsored sport is that the dance team is a relatively new addition to Lakota. It was formed in 2007, after a parent approached Goldberg to request that

a dance team be created at East. Due to its new and somewhat inconsistent presence, Goldberg says, the dance team may be considered only a club sport.

“Dance wasn’t always something that was here,” Goldberg says. “We took a hiatus for four years and started again three years ago.

It wasn’t something we’ve always had. We’ve always had cheerleaders. We’ve always had each sport. Dance wasn’t as consistent.”

Dance is not present within every Ohio school district because it is not an Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA)approved interscholastic sport. Therefore, according to East principal Suzanna Davis, deciding whether it is considered an

interscholastic sport—and eligible toward a PE Waiver—is up to each district’s interpretation of the sport.

“The [ODE] has not definitively stated that dance is included in [contributing to the PE Waiver], so I think it’s an interpretation from different districts,” Davis says. “It states OHSAA approved athletics and marching band, and our interpretation is that at this time, the OHSAA does not determine that dance is an OHSAA approved sport. Therefore, it would not fall under the guideline.”

For some athletes at East, including junior Celeste Joseph, who dances for Mason Dance Center (MDC), dance not being eligible toward the PE Waiver has kept them from participating

sports | dance on the team. To Joseph, the athletic ability and effort required to dance should be taken into consideration while determining PE Waiver stipulations.

“I don’t dance for East, because it doesn’t count for the PE Waiver,” Joseph says. “I dance six days a week for more than two hours at a time for the whole school year, and then I still dance over the summer as well. Gym is to get students to be more active, but when you are constantly being active, [I think that] schools should be able to give you the credit so those students can get other classes in.”

Because both Watson and Joseph are not receiving the PE Waiver, they must obtain credit by some other means. In Lakota, multiple alternatives are provided to students in place of a traditional PE course. These alternatives are part of Lakota’s Credit Flexibility options.

For PE and other areas of study, students can take courses online, prove mastery of course content through assessments, or develop an individual plan.

Joseph, who received a quarter credit from her eighth grade PE course, debated between taking a $200 summer school course or a $140 online course, which considers logged dance hours for credit. She chose the online course and has not yet started it. Watson, however, completed a summer school course between her eighth grade and freshman school years.

Not all school districts recognize dance as only a club sport. At Mason, for example, dance is considered an interscholastic sport and therefore counts toward the PE Waiver.

According to Mason principal Dave Hyatt, their dance team meets required PE Waiver stipulations, including competition against other schools, school sponsorship and approval by the Board of Education as a PE Waiver activity.

“The determination of which activities meet the PE Waiver criteria is a local decision,” Hyatt says. “It sounds like Lakota, as many other schools, use the ‘OHSAA approved sport’ as its criteria. Based on how we operate our dance program, we have approved it as an activity that meets the PE Waiver standard.”

Mason’s dance team, unlike East’s, practices three to four times a week and takes part in two competitions, along with Regional and State competitions. According to Mason junior and dancer Jenna Crass, who dances for MDC as well, Mason’s dance team is highly competitive. “[Mason high school dance] is way more competitive than MDC,” Crass says. “We practice to win, and we strive to win. At MDC, it’s more of [a mindset in which] it’s nice to win, but more for fun. At high school, we yell and push everyone to get things done, and if we don’t, we push even more. At MDC, you make a dance to [the dancers’] abilities.”

Because of the effort and competitive nature of Mason’s dance team, Crass says that receiving credit toward the PE Waiver makes

Non-Sport vs Sport Dance is not considered an Ohio High School Athletic Association approved sport, but Mason City Schools and Lakota Local Schools have decided differently on whether dance is considered an interscholastic sport for their High Schools.

East Dance Team

- Dance is ineligible to contribute toward obtaining a PE Waiver - Follows “OHSAA approved sport” criteria - Dance team practice one day a week -Takes part in no competitions during the season

Mason Dance Team

- Dance is considered an interscholastic sport and counts toward the PE Waiver - Meets required PE Waiver provisions - Dance team practices three to four times a week and takes part in Regional and State competitions

sources ohio department of education, lakota east dance coach amy goldberg, mason high school principal dave hyatt, lakotaonline.com

dancing for Mason a positive experience.

“I got my credit done last year, and because it’s something I love, it wasn’t physical education; it’s just dance,” Crass says. “I’d rather do something I love to do instead of having to try to play [another sport].”

Like Lakota, Mason also offers Credit Flexibility as an alternative approach to obtaining PE credit. Mason sophomore Megan Smith, who participated on Mason’s dance team in junior high school, is gaining PE credit through MDC using her Credit Flexibility plan.

“I enjoyed [Mason’s dance team] while I was on it, but I wanted to get more involved with Mason Dance Center,” Smith says. “I have to do a couple of assignments, I wrote a paper about dance, and I have to log my hours and turn it into one of the principals, and that counts for my gym credit.”

The concept of Lakota’s dance teams being considered club sports, not interscholastic

54 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

varsity sports, hasn’t gone unnoticed. On Dec. 14, 2015, a group of Lakota West parents and students brought the issue to the attention of the Lakota Board of Education at the bimonthly meeting. Each person, including West junior Megan Jablonka and her mother Tricia Jablonka, argued multiple points as to why they believed dance should be a varsity sport in Lakota.

While at the meeting, Megan stated that the dance team “fits better under the athletics department than it does as a club,” due to its competitive tryouts, skill-based placement rather than general acceptance of everyone interested, elevated effort and athletic merit.

Tricia presented four main points to the board, which included that Lakota does not offer enough gym classes to obtain credit without taking a PE course over the summer and that Credit Flexibility is impractical for students who participate in extracurricular

activities. She also argued that the district states it will develop curricular and extracurricular programs to meet needs of the students as a part of its Strategic Plan, and she felt that making the dance team a varsity sport was a needed change. Her final point referenced Lakota’s Vision of “instilling pride, igniting passion, and infinite possibilities.” She stated that “making the dance team a varsity sport is a perfect way to live out in action several pieces of our vision and beliefs.”

Along with Megan’s and Tricia’s arguments, other parents and students mentioned the length of the dance season as a contributing factor to its required effort and dedication, stated that making dance an interscholastic varsity sport increased its appeal for college consideration, and argued that because it’s only a club sport, the Athletic Boosters are unable to offer financial support as they are able to do for other school sports.

According to Tricia, it was important for her to bring the concept of dance being considered strictly a club sport, and therefore being ineligible to contribute toward the PE Waiver, because she believed that the effort put forth by each athlete deserved recognition.

“We just felt that they work so hard,” Tricia says. “We didn’t feel like it was a club, because they have to try out, and if you say something is a club, then there shouldn’t be three days of tryouts where you have to learn dances and come back. If you say something’s a club, then everyone should be able to join. People get cut.

It’s not a club.”

In response to their presentation, Lakota Board of Education President Lynda O’Connor stated on behalf of the board that dance “is not a topic that the board has had the opportunity to discuss.” She also said that the board would look further into OHSAA recognition, financial implications, and policy and guidelines involved in moving a sport from the club level to official district recognition as a varsity sport.

According to Lakota Executive Director of Media and Community Relations Lauren Boettcher, at the time of the meeting, “there was no consistent procedure in place for reviewing and either approving or denying such requests.” The establishment of an administrative guideline, Boettcher says, was requested by the Board in order to aid the district in such considerations. It was presented to the policy committee in November of 2016.

The guideline, which provides a layout of events leading up to an activity being officially recognized by the district as an interscholastic sport, initially requires a submitted application by the requestor. The application includes participation information, a plan of operation, an explanation of budget and finances, personnel details, and a purpose and rationale statement.

Since the establishment of the guideline, Lakota’s dance teams have remained club sports, according to Boettcher, because an application has not been submitted. Both Tricia and Megan, along with the rest of the group that presented to the Board, say that they were not knowledgeable of the new administrative guideline, and therefore have not submitted an application.

“No official request has been submitted at this point, following the requirements of the guideline, which is why it’s not been considered for the designation as an official sport,” Boettcher says. “According to the Ohio Department of Education, only teams recognized as interscholastic athletics can be considered for the PE waiver.”

Despite the fact that dance remains a club sport in Lakota, both East and West dance teams are valued by administration members, including East athletic director Richard Bryant.

“I will allow the process [by the Board] to move forward and will support both sides as necessary,” Bryant says. “At this point, I value the student athletes and coaches that make up our dance team. If you have not had the chance

to see them perform, they are amazing.”

For some dancers like Megan, however, the frustration of not being recognized from the district standpoint for her work made her decision to not return to the dance team necessary.

“There were so many hours put into it, and it’s like we got nothing for it, which was kind of upsetting,” Megan says. “The varsity sports are all recognized and everything is a big thing, but no one really cared about dance team. We were always working. I think we did more activities than some other sports do, but they’re being counted and dance isn’t.”

West’s dance team, says Tricia, participates in activities that all other school sports participate in, including a fundraising event through volunteer work at multiple Cincinnati Bengals games, practicing numerous times a week for more than two hours at a time, and dancing through an extended season, from July to February. They also have to pay a fee for paying out of fundraising shifts, for costumes, and for summer camps, amounting to nearly $1,000, says Tricia. Due to this, like Megan, she too is frustrated.

“I don’t think this is fair,” Tricia says. “There is no other sport that you have to pay $1,000 to be in a club sport. It’s also hard to build a team from the ground up and keep it consistent when we’re constantly adding people in. They come in after they get their gym credit, because no one wants to give that up. We have kids that are active. They should be given credit.”

Although dance’s standing as a Lakota sport has not been changed, and dancers like Watson can’t receive a PE Waiver for their participation on Lakota’s dance teams, she continues to return each year to dance in front of her peers for her pure love of the sport, something that she says couldn’t be taken away by the lack of gaining credit toward a PE Waiver.

“I always returned because I love dancing in front of people,” Watson says. “That’s really all there is to it.”

Dance is such a gray area with sports. It’s a lot more intense at Star, because we compete... whereas at East...we just get to dance in front of our peers and have fun.

– Sierra Watson, East senior

REACHING NEW LEVELS story stephen mckay photography garrison grasty

East senior and gymnast Kylie Lovejoy competes on a beam.

H

e was breathing heavily, her hands were sweating, and her fingers were trembling, but all that didn’t matter to her. This was the state all-around competition and it was her time to shine.

East senior and gymnast Kylie Lovejoy has been able to look back at her experiences on the gymnastics team. Lovejoy made it to the state meet her junior and sophomore years.

As a sophomore, she competed in the bars competition despite suffering an ankle injury that required surgery a week after the state meet. During her junior season she qualified for the state all-around competition.

“The feeling that I got to represent my school and my team, made me feel like I accomplished something for the school and got noticed for once,” Lovejoy says.

East gymnastics coach Mardi Dagley has been coaching Lovejoy since she was in junior high, and she knew that, as long as she had confidence in herself, Lovejoy had the skills to succeed at the high school level at the rate she has been.

“The biggest challenge with Kylie is getting her to believe in herself and believe that she can do it,” Dagley says. “She doubts herself a lot but that’s one of the more fun things to watch, her kind of growing into her gymnastics.”

Not only has Dagley been a huge supporter of Lovejoy as a coach, but, according to

Lovejoy, her teammates have always been right by her side through the meets and competition in her career.

“They cheer me on, and knowing all of my teammates, we have such a good bond. They’re all like my sisters and not some random girls from high school,” Lovejoy says. “We all have a special bond that helps everyone connect and it motivates me.”

Dagley also says that the togetherness and the bond that the gymnastics team shares makes them more like a family than teammates.

“This team gets along great. There’s no drama; they accept anybody new,” Dagley says. “We had a new girl come in and they just welcomed her; there’s no jealousy.”

Lovejoy’s teammate and sophomore Lindsey Kleusener agrees that the team has bonded together and believes Lovejoy is a reason for that. “[Lovejoy is] super nice to everybody.

She’s easy to get along with; she’s energetic,” Kleusener says. “She always has something nice to say about everybody, and she brings positive energy to the team.”

This year, the team hopes to make it to state for the first time in ten years, and Lovejoy is hoping that she will be able to lead her team to that meet.

Lovejoy also says that she wants to make it back to state in the all-around competition this

season. Accomplishing this, she says, is going to require her to have strong performances in all events, even events she doesn’t like, including bars.

“Bars [are the most challenging] because it is hard to do something when it is not your favorite thing to do, and you have to keep telling yourself to push through it and push through it,” Lovejoy says. “You just have to do well.”

However, Lovejoy has no problem competing in floor. “I feel like I excel most in that event and you have such a wide variety of skills that you can do rather than in other events like vault or bars,” she says.

Kluesener also says that Lovejoy’s best event is floor. At the beginning of her senior season, Lovejoy scored a 9.25 in floor and won the all-around with a 35.75.

“I think that’s just because she’s built for it,” Kluesener says. “Her body type is definitely built for floor and she has super powerful tumbling which helps a lot.”

Lovejoy is hoping that her past experiences and successes will help guide her team to the state meet and make her last year with the entire team a special one that they will always be able to remember together.

“Our goal is always to make it to the state meet,” Dagley says. “That’s our big goal as a team and other goals are to just to do the best gymnastics that we can do.”

January 2017 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 3

sports | waller wrestling

PINNING AGAINST THE ODDS Junior Emily Waller, East’s first female wrestler in years, is a member of the wrestling team, although an injury is currently preventing her from wrestling. story lauren maier | photography maya wells

T

he opponents stare at one another from across the mat. Their bodies move back and forth as each searches for the best approach.

They make contact. The match is on. But one opponent is a different gender than the other.

She usually gets some looks, but she’s used to it by now.

Starting her first junior varsity season as part of the 170-pound weight class, Lakota East junior Emily Waller is the first female wrestler at East in years, although an injury is preventing her from wrestling currently.

“I started wrestling this year,” Waller says.

“I started sports in Oregon when I was ten. I did Greco in Oregon, [but] I never competed.”

Greco is a wrestling organization that offers novice wrestlers the opportunity to further their athletic abilities. It was there that she decided that she truly liked the sport. What began as wrestling her brothers for fun turned into inspiration to wrestle competitively.

“I have three brothers,” Waller says. “I am the only girl, and I had the urge to wrestle, but they never let me.”

Initially, Waller’s father was hesitant about her decision to begin wrestling, but upon moving to Ohio, her mother allowed her to begin her wrestling career at East.

Waller is now one of 5.1 percent of females wrestling at the high school level, compared to 94.9 percent male wrestlers, according to

Emily Waller trains on a treadmill due to an injury, which has restricted her from currently wrestling.

the National Federation of State High School Associations’ 2015-16 survey. The amount of female wrestlers has risen 3.8 percent in the past 13 years. East had a female wrestler previously just a few years ago. “[At first, my parents] thought I was going to get hurt,” Waller says. “They also thought it was going to be inappropriate for the boys to be on me and wrestle with me, so they just didn’t let me wrestle. But when I came here, my mom let me.”

Waller says that while she enjoys being the only girl on the team, there have been problems since she has started. The boys, she says, are stronger and harder to wrestle.

The uniforms are also an obstacle that she has had to overcome. Waller says that she wears a T-shirt under the singlet if it is too low.

The most taxing difficulty she has had to overcome, however, was an injury she suffered at the beginning of the season, which has restricted her from being able to compete.

“I was wrestling as someone was trying to pin me,” Waller says. “I was resisting and stretched a left rib and bruised it. I have inflamed tissue in my ribs, [and] I have a gap between my ribs and sternum.”

Despite these difficulties, Waller says, while training and working out she is with the guys and does everything the same, and she competed at a wrestling tournament this year.

The only aspect of her season that is different, she says, is that she does not practice fullcontact wrestling.

East wrestling assistant coach Jim Williams says that although this is his first time coaching a girl, there is no difference in athletic ability.

“She’s an athlete just like all the other guys,” Williams says. “It’s a little bit different because of the sport. The sport involves contact. It’s very physical and hands on. That makes it a

little more of a challenge.”

“I haven’t noticed [Waller being treated differently],” Williams says. “Western Brown [High School] came in at our home match, and they had two girls on the team. So I guess it is becoming more common.”

According to East Athletic Director Richard Bryant, there are no legality issues concerning female wrestlers, as it’s not a new concept in the sport of wrestling.

“I am not aware of any concerns by the athlete or the parent,” Bryant says. “Female wrestlers are not a new thing for the sport. From my perspective, I admire her for participating a very mentally and physically challenging sport.”

East isn’t the only school with female wrestlers. According to Mason Middle School head wrestling coach Matt Hornung, they have a female wrestler this year as well. Just like Waller, Hornung says, she works hard and competes with the guys.

At meets, she competes against male wrestlers, and he has ensured that there aren’t issues with people not wanting to wrestle her.

“I have had guys and parents on my team say they don’t want to wrestle her,” Hornung says. “I pretty much told them ‘well, you are or aren’t going to be competing,’ that sort of thing. Any girls on my team have the same amount of rights as anybody else. They have every right to be here.”

Both Williams and Hornung say that the girls both face some struggles making it onto the mat, but they both persevere and strive to be the best they can be. Despite being set back this season by her injuries, Waller continues to enjoy being apart of East’s wrestling team.

“I like being the only girl,” Waller says. “I feel like [my teammates] are my brothers. I don’t see it as if I am treated differently. They treat me the same as I am.”

From my perspective, I admire her for participating a very mentally and physically challenging sport.

– Richard Bryant, East Athletic Director

columns | opinion

RELIGIOUSLY SCIENTIFIC SARAH MULLINS art julia sanders

I

was sitting at the same table I always do, with the same people I always do. I figured it would be okay to talk about my religion, because it is a big part of my life, and I knew they wouldn’t judge me. I don’t remember how we got on the topic, but when I mentioned going to church every Sunday, I was not expecting a lot of fanfare.

It surprised me when one of them said, “I didn’t know you were religious. I thought you were one of the smart sciencey kids.” I’m flattered that they thought I was smart, but that does not mean I can’t be religious and believe in God too.

I plan on studying speech and hearing sciences, so it seems incomprehensible for some people that I have faith in a greater being out there that created the world. Most people believe when it comes to the beginning of time and the existence of Earth, it’s either creationism or evolutionism, science or religion, facts or faith. However, one can believe in evolution and still have faith that there is a God out there who created the world and every person in it. That theory is called theistic evolution.

Nothing can be proven about the creation of the world, seeing as no one was there, but typical human nature causes much debate around it. It is a possibility that there is something out there, that the creation of life was not a coincidence, but that doesn’t mean that science is not true or that we can’t believe in what we see just because we have faith in what we can’t. Geneticist and Director of the Human Genome project Francis Collins has supported the balance of science and religion in his book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, which is about theistic evolution. He says, “Theistic evolution is the dominant position of serious biologists who are also serious believers.”

The creation story taught in Sunday school is that God made the world in six days and that on the seventh day he rested. As the story goes, he said ‘let there be light“ and there was. Then he created the sun, the earth and the moon, and every plant and animal with love. In fact he loved

them so much that he created man to look after them. Every religion has its own version of the creation story, but the overall goal is the same: to explain how everything originated.

The other kind of origin story is taught in science classes: the theory of evolution developed in Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” which says that organisms change over time and adapt to their environment to survive. The theory of evolution expands on the book, saying that life was created from single celled organisms multiplying and evolving to create every species

on the page are a man’s interpretation of God’s will. Maybe God did just decide one day he was going to make an entire universe, so over time he did. One day for God does not have to be the 24 hours we have defined as a day. A being of that magnitude is not constrained by such mundane ideas.

If there is a greater being out there then it is probably beyond our comprehension; we can’t define what that deity is capable of with just words. Whatever did create the world and everything in it must have created all of the

that exists today. There is no definite proof that all living things came to exist because of an evolving single cell, but it has been proven that species evolve and adapt over time. It doesn’t take a big leap to get from there to evolutionism.

One of the discrepancies between creationism and the theory of evolution is the time span over which they took place. Evolution takes millions of years, whereas a literal translation of the Bible says the creation of the world happened in six days. Some denominations of Christianity do call for a very literal translation of the Bible, but that is not true for all sects including Methodists.

To many people, the Bible or other religious texts don’t have to be taken literally because to them, they are symbolic stories that are a dramatization of real events. An important thing to remember about religious documents is that they are thousands of years old and the words

science that we know today too, including the theory of evolution.

For a long time I didn’t know what to believe in. I wanted to believe in God because I grew up in a religious family, but I also grew up with a mom who is a biochemist and a dad who has an engineering degree. I was stuck between science and religion. Science was something tangible that I had been taught my entire life, so it was easy to understand, but religion gave me a purpose.

Theistic evolution was what I had been looking for and it gave me something to believe in.

Whatever did create the world and everything in it must have created all of the science that we know today too, including the theory of evolution.

January 2017 lakotaeastsparkonline.com 59

opinion | columns

ATTENTION RETENTION

CAITLYN DOHERTY art julia sanders

I

f a character from a movie could play me in real life, I think it’d be Dug. He’s the adorable golden retriever from the movie “Up” that accompanies characters Russell and Carl on their adventure, and he’s also notorious for getting easily distracted by squirrels.

I’m not usually distracted by squirrels—though it does occasionally occur—but I still share a couple of remarkably similar characteristics with Dug. First, we’re both blonde. And second, we’re both sidetracked by the smallest things.

For example, while attempting to do a homework assignment a few days ago, I noticed

according to the U.S. Census Bureau. On top of this, it is misdiagnosed or undiagnosed frequently according to Child Mind Institute, showing just how misunderstood the disorder is.

I and others with ADHD are sometimes described as being scatter-brained or forgetful, and this is true. Instructions have a tendency to go in through one ear and out the other without my brain actually processing them. I’ll stare out the window daydreaming or trying to come up with impossible questions that will leave my mind scrambling. A favorite of mine is “What happens when Pinocchio says ‘I’m lying?’” What

I have become a master procrastinator. I must take part of the blame for this fact, but, at the very least, I can point fingers at a disorder that I share with millions of other people throughout the world. It’s your fault, ADHD. that my dresser was looking a little messy. I abandoned my homework and cleaned the dresser.

And then I was distracted by the fact that several of my books were no longer in their correct place and instead were scattered throughout the room.

Multiple other things proceeded to grab my attention, and by the time I finally returned to my homework, it’d been a few hours.

I have become a master procrastinator. I must take part of the blame for this fact, but, at the very least, I can point fingers at a disorder that I share with millions of other people throughout the world. It’s your fault, ADHD. ADHD, also known as attention deficit/ hyperactive disorder, is characterized by inattentiveness and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 11 percent of kids ages four to 17 have ADHD. As three to five percent of the U.S. population has ADHD, that means almost 13 million Americans have the disorder,

may seem like minutes for me could actually be hours. Homework will remain in my backpack or locker due to the fact that I completely forget about it. And don’t even get me started on my organization—or lack thereof.

I’m not a dumb kid. In fact, tests I’ve taken via orders of psychologists and counselors have all showed that I’m intelligent. My grades, on the other hand, make me appear average at best. I neglect to do my homework or leave it at home by accident; I forget about an upcoming test and, consequently, do pretty terribly; classwork and homework that I do manage to complete are often sparse in information and don’t show a lot of thought due to the fact that I was distracted multiple times while attempting to complete it and ran out of time.

While there may be multiple downsides to having ADHD, it isn’t all bad. It is commonly associated with creativity. While working on a problem, when I get distracted, I have a tendency

60 lakotaeastsparkonline.com January 2017

to start looking at things in a different way, and by approaching the task from a different angle, I can come up with a variety of solutions.

In addition to this, people with the disorder sometimes have the strange ability to hyperfocus. I imagine the experience to be very similar to that of a horse with blinders on: only being able to focus on what’s directly ahead—everything outside of that may as well not even exist.

For example, when I was younger, I got it in my head that I wanted to be a geologist.

This dream lasted all the way up until the sixth grade, spanning somewhere around five or six years. I had a rock collection and multiple books on geology. Vacations, no matter where, were opportunities for me to collect more rocks to add to my collection and identify. I made sure that I knew almost everything there was to know on geology. And then, abruptly, in true ADHD fashion, I changed my mind and moved onto a different dream job.

There are, thankfully, ways to treat the disorder.

I myself have had two different medications: Concerta and Vyvanse, or methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine, respectively. The medications help me concentrate, which is a relief for everyone around me since I can finally get stuff done.

Yes, ADHD can be a pain to live with.

However, it can also provide a rewarding unique experience. That fidgety kid across the classroom that always blurts things out like “Squirrel!”, or that student that stares into space the entire class period may or may not have ADHD. And if they do, imagine the things they are capable of. Ignore the hyperness and the absentmindedness. They can accomplish some pretty great things if they set their minds to it.

That is, assuming they can remember to do it.

THE “R” WORD RENOUNCED

CAROLINE BUMGARNER art julia sanders

G

rowing up, I had a friend who always referred to things as “retarded.” One day in fourth grade she said this word in front of my mom. It didn’t go well. My friend left and my very enraged mother sat me down for a serious talk. After reminding me that she was becoming a special education teacher, my mom told me to never say what she refers to as the “r-word,” which is to her just as bad as the “n-word.”

She explained that the “r-word” should be used as a technical word without negative connotations, but is more commonly used as an insult. Due to this, the medical term was officially changed from mental retardation to intellectual disability in 2013 so it could be discussed without this harsh stigma attached.

While I listened to my mom, my naive mind had no real knowledge of what it meant to have an intellectual disability. As I grew older, I became aware that the criteria for having an intellectual disability is having an IQ below 7075 that is manifested before the age of eighteen, according to the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

While it may accompany other disabilities, it can also stand alone. Many people have no idea that this is a single condition, and this can lead to misconceptions of the disability. Although there is a legitimate definition, Americans have generalized the disability into something it’s not.

“A lot of the problem has to do with low expectations,” said National Council on Disability member Lynnae Ruttledge. “School teachers don’t have high expectations, and parents tend to be very protective of their children.”

One of the major results of this stereotype is the lack of jobs for those with intellectual disabilities. In October 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued the Salvation Army on behalf of a man with an intellectual disability who applied to be a donation attendant at Salvation Army’s thrift store in Wasilla, Alaska in 2014. He was very qualified, having finished high school, a job-

readiness program, three internships and a part time job at Wasilla church.

“Based on the strength of his initial job interview, EEOC found that the Salvation Army store manager actually recommended hiring the applicant,” commission officials wrote.

“However, the Salvation Army requested a highly unusual second interview, and EEOC charges that the organization ultimately rejected this applicant due to stereotypes about his ability to interact with the public.”

Situations like these have lead to the disappointing fact that 66 percent of people with intellectual disabilities are unemployed and only 26 percent of those employed have full time jobs, according to the Center for Social Development

know that it hurts to be left out here, alone.”

This isn’t something that society can ignore, especially since there are programs in our own community that awareness can be raised for.

For example, Butler Tech has three programs, Project LIFE 101, 201, and Project SEARCH, to help young adults with intellectual disabilities succeed. If a student has graduated from high school and is between the ages of 18 and 21, then they are eligible to apply for Project LIFE, a program that helps young adults learn skills such as personal financial literacy, employment skills and functional independence in the community.

Butler Tech has been seeking to promote Project LIFE throughout the country by sharing information about the program at a variety of

and Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The limited integration reflects more than just a separation; it exemplifies the feelings and emotions of those being excluded.

Author Joseph Franklin Stephens, a man with Down Syndrome, spoke on how to deal with the individuals in the world who still don’t acknowledge the severity of the “r-word” in a Huffington Post article called “What’s Wrong With ‘Retard’?”

“What’s wrong with ‘retard?’ I can only tell you what it means to me and people like me when we hear it. It means that the rest of you are excluding us from your group. We are something that is not like you and something that none of you would ever want to be,” said Stephens. “We are something outside the ‘in’ group. We are someone that is not your kind. I want you to

national conferences to further spread its benefits.

The end goal shouldn’t be limited to improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities; it should reach further to end the stigma surrounding the disability. People need to be considerate and compassionate towards those with the disability in order to break down the wall separating people with intellectual disabilities from the work force. Just like my mother taught me, this is a legitimate disability that needs to be accepted, not used as slander.

The “r-word” should be used as a technical word without negative connotations, but is more commonly used as an insult.

opinion | columns

MOOTHANE LEAH BOEHNER

art julia sanders

I

n Cincinnati beef is a staple and chili is practically its own food group. Most Cincy natives are crazy for Skyline chili, a childhood comfort food. Strangely, chili was never for me.

Growing up, Disney’s character Abigail the Cow from “The Fox and the Hound” was one of my favorites. After driving past a field of cows with a “Fresh Beef For Sale” sign, there was no way I would ever be able to eat someone like my idol Abigail. As I grew older, my views became more veritable. Now, I have a more significant reason to exclude beef from my diet: the future of the planet.

While a burger or bowl of chili sometimes seems like the best meal possible, beef is detrimental to the environment. Cows require an enormous amount of land to feed and house. Producing one pound of meat requires 2,000 gallons of water. Similarly, eating one hamburger is equivalent to showering for three months.

As a whole, cow grazing land is 30 percent of agricultural land in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This enormous amount of land, close to 530 million acres, is now devoid of trees. Without trees, our planet is in jeopardy.

Forests are vital to the health of our planet.

They take in carbon and produce oxygen, but also do much more. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), trees also prevent soil erosion, regulate the hydrologic cycle and act as the world’s giant air conditioning unit. Economically, they provide life-saving medicine and lumber. By sequestering carbon, trees suck greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap radiation from the sun that warms the earth. By minimizing cattle grazing land and its effects, heat trapped by greenhouse gases can escape, allowing the climate to regulate itself naturally. This way, Abigail can lead a much more comfortable life.

As well as contributing to deforestation,

cattle introduce the largest amount of methane gas to the atmosphere, at four tons of methane per year, whereas cars only produce 2.7 tons, according to Time Magazine. Methane has a carbon base. When paired with four hydrogen molecules, carbon becomes methane.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, over a 100-year period, methane becomes 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Over the past 150 years, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has exponentially grown, leading to slowly rising temperatures.

While a burger or bowl of chili sometimes seems like the best meal possible, beef is detrimental to the environment.

The way cows produce this enormous amount of methane is surprising: burps. Excuse you, Abigail! To consume the amount of food needed daily to survive, which is four percent of their body weight, cows eat constantly. As they eat, they burp. A single cow requires 1.8 acres of land just to feed. With close to 30.5 million cows, 54.9 million acres of land is used up. Their flatulence consists of large amounts of methane and hydrogen. This contributes to 26 percent of methane production in the U.S., according to National Geographic.

In an attempt to reduce the amount of methane produced, experiments in Queensland,

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Australia are being conducted to measure the effects of seaweed in the diet of cattle. By adding a small of amount of red seaweed, Asparagopsis taxiformis, methane production can be slashed 99 percent. While this is highly effective and an amazing discovery, this project is still in the works. The trials, being conducted

by Commonwealth Scientific and the Industrial Research Organisation, are expected to last many more years. To get desired results, 1.5 to two percent of cows’ dietary intake must be red seaweed. The largest barriers are access to enough seaweed and the resulting cost, which is too high for most countries in the world.

Also, removing this much red seaweed from the environment would dramatically influence the aquatic food chain.

An easy and effective solution is simply reducing the amount of beef in one’s diet.

Instead of going for a hamburger, go for a turkey burger or a vegan soybean-based product. Smaller animals such as chicken or turkey use much less land and produce much less methane. These foods have a much smaller impact on the environment but contain comparable amounts of protein. Beef contains about 22 grams, turkey has around 18, and a soy-based product contains about 15 grams of hearty protein.

Cutting the amount of beef in one’s diet by just one third can make a dramatic difference, according to Research Professor of Environmental Science at Bard College Gidon Eschel. Another option is boycotting beef all together. Beef-less restaurants are paving the way to making beef-free diets more accessible.

Abigail is a big fan of Chick-fil-A and agrees that everyone should “eat more chikin.”

EARTHLY MORTALITY

LEXY HARRISON

art julia sanders

I

grew up in an American household that never recycled nor did anything to promote the health and well-being of the natural world. My family and I never took a second glance at the earth around me falling to pieces in the hands of mankind.

When I was in third grade, I found out that human interference was causing animals to die, so I found a cardboard box and taped on a sign that read “recycle” in my eight-year-old handwriting. No one recycled their trash and my piece of recyclable material was once again stuffed into the garbage can.

However, my eyes weren’t completely opened until I took an environmental science class as a sophomore, which taught me about everything from the human impact on the environment and our ecological footprint to our incorrect disposal of everyday trash such as plastic and paper.

On a day-to-day basis I see people at my school constantly tossing their half-empty water bottles into a trash can instead of a recycling bin because it’s simply closer to them.

Witnessing this, I’ve come to learn that most teenagers don’t seem to particularly care about saving the rapidly deteriorating environment.

I wonder if these students are aware of the increasing dolphin mortality rate along the East Coast or that, according to NASA, sea levels rose twice as much in the last decade as they did in the last century. I wonder if these students are aware that in the past five years alone, 30 percent of the national bee population has disappeared and nearly a third of all bee colonies in the U.S. have perished, according to Global Research. I wonder if these students are aware that temperatures are the highest they have ever been since temperature data collection began in 1880, according to NASA. The average American household throws away 13,000 recyclable pieces of paper each year, most of which is packaging and junk mail, according to Brigham Young University. In

total, the U.S. only recycles about 32 percent of its waste. This information did not come as a surprise to me since I have seen so many statistics like these from sources ranging from Greenpeace commercials to Bill Nye episodes from third grade.

According to the Pew Research Center, 33 percent of Americans don’t recycle. 54 percent of 260 students surveyed at East recycle at home and the main reason for the students who don’t recycle is that it costs too much. Similar to this, in America, 25 percent of people say it’s inconvenient or not accessible where they live, which is primarily a problem in the south; 10 percent say it takes up too much time or

has decided to reroute the $3.7 billion Dakota Access Pipeline that would have transported 470,000 barrels of oil across four states into Illinois. The pipeline could have contaminated drinking water and would have disturbed Native Americans’ sacred burial grounds and ancestral sites. With this new route, people won’t be faced with the fear of not having safe drinking water and no land will be destroyed.

Needless to say, there needs to be a change in our attitude toward the environment and everyone needs to be a participant. The rerouting of the pipeline is a start to this solution and in order to make change, people don’t have to march in a protest and risk arrest.

On a day-to-day basis I see people at my school constantly tossing their half-empty water bottles into a trash can instead of a recycling bin because it’s simply closer to them. Witnessing this, I’ve come to learn that most teenagers don’t seem to particularly care about saving the rapidly deteriorating environment. they always forget; and 8 percent say cost is the primary reason for not recycling, according to a Huffington Post study.

Ever since my eyes have been opened to this issue, I have realized how much damage is being done daily just around me, from throwing away a stack of old notes to construction sites tearing down entire zones of trees to widen roads. It’s happening everywhere and it seems that people care about it less with each year that passes.

Despite the growing lack of concern for the environment, tribes in North Dakota are celebrating that the Army Corps of Engineers

All it takes is for everyone to start recycling their paper and plastic instead of tossing it into the trash, reusing shopping bags, buying cleaning supplies that are better for the environment, or having a compost pile. Small efforts such as these go a long way and can potentially save our environment from disaster.

HEAD TO HEAD ELECTORAL COLLEGE H

undreds of people were gathered in front of the Indianapolis Statehouse bearing signs with phrases such as “Dump the Donald” and “Love trumps hate.” Counter-protesters circled the area in a military grade vehicle with Donald Trump signs plastered on both sides.

Eventually the protesters moved to the streets and sidewalks and began to circle the city expressing their anger with the U.S. voters. All of this happened just three days after results of the 2016 presidential election.

These results called into question the effectiveness of the electoral system, creating unrest across the

country. This has been brought to light by the fact that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over 2.8 million votes, but Trump surpassed the 270 electoral vote minimum to become president with 279 votes.

The Electoral College system contributes to the unification of the country by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president. Without such a mechanism the election would be dominated by large populous regions. As things stand now, no one region contains the absolute majority of 270 electoral votes required to elect a president. Because of this, there is an incentive for presidential candidates to pull together coalitions of states and regions rather than to amplify regional differences.

The value of requiring a distribution of popular support outweighs the value of obtaining a bare majority of popular support.

The Electoral College system is designed to work through a rational series of defaults. If a candidate receives a majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is almost certain to win enough electoral votes to be elected president.

In the event that the popular vote is extremely close, the election defaults to the candidate with the best distribution of popular votes.

In the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral votes, then the choice of president defaults to the state representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives. One way or another, the winning candidate must have both popular support as well as a distribution of that support. This system has been in place since the creation of the Constitution and has worked all but five times, proving itself effective.

In addition, the Electoral College actually enhances the strength of minority votes. Voters of small minorities in a state may make the difference between winning all of that state’s electoral votes or none of them.

Ethnic minority groups in the United States tend to concentrate in those states with the most electoral votes. Those with Mexican ancestry are most common along the Southwestern border of the United States and have the greatest presence in cities like Los Angeles, Houston and San Antonio. Because of this, minorities hold an

importance to presidential candidates well out of proportion to their number.

The same principle applies to other special interest groups such as labor unions, farmers and environmentalists. Because of this, the presidency tends to be more sensitive to ethnic minorities and other special interest groups than Congress. Changing to a direct election system, in which the presidency is determined by the popular vote, would actually damage minority interests since their votes would be overwhelmed by the votes of the majority.

The Electoral College also strengthens the stability of the government by encouraging a two-party system. The current system makes it extremely difficult for a minor party to win enough popular votes in enough states to have a chance of winning the presidency.

This pushes third party movements into one of the two major political parties. The major parties absorb minor party movements in an attempt to win popular majorities in the states.

Third party movements are then obliged to compromise their more radical views if they hope to attain any of their more generally accepted objectives.

This assimilation results in two large political parties which tend to be at the center of public opinion rather than dozens of smaller ones catering to less generally accepted views.

This organization of political debate prevents the instability that would come with a direct election process. A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect, creating a more unstable political system with a myriad of political parties, creating more harsh political divisions throughout the country.

All in all, the current election system of the United States is not perfect. There have been times that the system has not worked in favor of the popular vote. However, this system has kept our country in political balance for the past 230 years and has strengthened voices that might not be heard otherwise.

The value of requiring a distribution of popular support outweighs the value of obtaining a bare majority of popular support.

The results of the 2016 presidential election have sparked country-wide debate over the benefits and downfalls of the current electoral college system. columns victoria negron, karmiela white art julia sanders

T

he world was taken by surprise when George W. Bush won the 2001 presidential election but not the popular vote, which had only happened four times before. In this case, the popular vote was won by his opponent Al Gore, who received 543,895 more votes than Bush. Fast forward 15 years and America is faced with the same scenario.

President-elect Donald Trump not winning the popular vote by 3.6 million votes has sparked debate about whether or not the Electoral College is beneficial to democracy.

Although this system has been around since the birth of the American government, the basic human privileges it strips society of can not be ignored. The idea of one person, one vote is a concept that is foreign and difficult for the American people to grasp.

The Electoral College was relevant in 1787 when it was made to accommodate voter ignorance and losses to slave interests.

However, these concerns hold no importance in the 21st century; in order for the national election system to keep up with modern society, the U.S. needs to rethink its use of the Electoral College.

If the government took away the Electoral College system, it would not be the first time the nation has altered something in the Constitution. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote and the 15th did the same for African Americans. Both were a major step for the U.S. While sometimes changes like these are necessary, those two amendments did not come about easily as most Americans are resistant to change.

“The Electoral College was cobbled together nearly at the last minute and adopted not because the framers believed it would work, but because it was less objectionable than two more obvious alternatives: election of the president by the people or by Congress,” said American historian, author, Stanford

The act of taking away the Electoral College would not aim to show disrespect but an act of progress for generations to come.

University professor and Pulitzer Prize winner Jack Rakove. “It had no positive advantages of its own.”

This idea still stands to this day. The Electoral College still serves no actual purpose aside from taking away the voice of the American people.

Though the Electoral College is not meant to be anything but a guide to lead voters down the “right” road of the presidential selection, when looking at it now, one can’t help but see the obvious distrust the government has in the people. Voters now have more access to the information that helps them learn more about the candidates, which influences their vote.

Some of those opposed to the removal of the Electoral College may argue that it essentially unites the country through the requirement of a consensus of voters across the nation. However, it also splits the country in certain cases as it has with the most recent presidential election.

Instead of electing presidents that may or may not lean the same way as the people, the middleman should be cut out of the equation so that at the end of the day each person will have an equal vote.

The Electoral College system does not pay the slightest bit of attention to all the non-swing states, but the voices in Arkansas should matter just as much as the ones in Ohio. The attention from the candidates should be spread out across the country as they will be affecting the lives in Arkansas just as much as those in Ohio. There is a certain connection people make with a candidate when they see them speak on a certain topic and their mannerisms and all. That human connection is important when deciding who to vote in as president and should be spread out equally across the country.

Those opposed to dismissing the Electoral College might say that if America did go through with that action, the government would essentially be taking away a part of history and in turn we would view all parts of history as having the potential to be edited or even completely taken away. However, in order for us to move

forward and continue to make progress, there are things that need to change as ideals do.

The act of taking away the Electoral College would not aim to show disrespect but an act of progress for generations to come.

In this day and age, things are constantly changing and progressing and the government should be no exception. If we had a system where one vote truly meant one vote, it would drive more people to get out to the polls and fulfill their duty as a citizen because then they would know that each and every vote really does count.

The American people would feel entitled and they would feel like their voices were being heard.

opinion | columns

FRIGHTENING FREEDOM ALLY BUTTERFIELD art julia sanders

I “

tried to hide in a house, and suddenly, I saw my arm being torn away from the rest of my body. My friends used wire to tie the wound of my amputated arm to stop hemorrhage. I took my arm on the bus. I was hoping I could have it reattached through surgery.”

After losing his right arm and left eye due to a shelling, Marwan and two of his friends decided to swim from Turkey to Greece to seek asylum and proper medical attention. With the Aleppo hospitals bombed, survivors of bomb attacks like Marwan’s have nowhere to go and no one to help them. Safe countries refuse to help them escape the horror, and label them as “terrorists,” yet they are no different than anyone else.

Shellings happen often in the Middle East.

Refugees seek protection from ISIS and from the constant bombings, done to fight ISIS and the Syrian dictator, Assad. Refugees deserve the human rights of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Under Middle Eastern rule, however, they are oppressed and denied freedoms. They are bombed, murdered and starved. Help should be provided to those seeking to escape oppressive regimes because nobody deserves to live in suffering. America is “the home of the brave,” and now we must be brave for those who have lost everything.

With the recent attack at OSU by a Somali refugee, fear has caused people to place blame on all refugees. After the attack, President-elect Donald Trump tweeted, “ISIS is taking credit for the terrible stabbing attack at Ohio State University by a Somali refugee who should not have been in our country.” This was one person among the almost 40,000 Somali immigrants and refugees living in Columbus according to the Somali Community Association of Ohio.

When the Ku Klux Klan commits acts of terrorism, people don’t blame all Christians and threaten to deport everyone practicing the religion, as Trump has done with Muslims.

Many Muslims fear practicing their

GUEST COLUMN religion because of false accusations and prejudice. A Muslim woman was victim of a hate crime when she was hospitalized after being dragged along pavement by her hijab in London. Sometimes this hate manifests in politics. Many republicans who cherish the Second Amendment are willing to denounce the First by supporting Trump’s threat to ban and deport an entire religion. Americans celebrate the founding fathers’ separation from an oppressive monarchy, yet are apprehensive about helping people flee from oppression in their countries.

The application process for refugees is long, tedious, and undergoes more scrutiny than any

Help should be provided to those seeking to escape oppressive regimes because nobody deserves to live in suffering.

other immigration process. On average, the process takes 18-24 months according to the U.S. Department of State. Applicants must first be referred after thorough background checks, then apply with proper identification. Less than one percent of the global refugee population have a strong enough case to be considered for resettlement. Security checks are carried out by several US security agencies including the National Counterterrorism Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

If no flags are raised after the many interviews, applicants have their fingerprints ran in FBI, DHS, and Department of Defense databases as a biometric security check. Applicants then undergo medical screening, and once this is passed, they take cultural orientation classes and are matched to a resettlement location. Travel to the U.S. includes more screenings, and required green cards trigger another set of governmental security measures. Throughout these processes, pending applicants continue to be checked against terrorist databases. If there is any doubt about whether an applicant poses a security risk, they will not be admitted.

This is not only a waste of tax dollars, but can also deter those who seek freedom from getting into the country. They may be tempted to join groups like ISIS for protection rather than go through the applications. Terrorist groups looking to enter the U.S. won’t be deterred by the intensive screening, but will find other means to get into our country. The application process has no need to be as long and tedious as it is, and should be shortened in order to save more people.

Kindergarteners are taught to love one another and to treat each other with respect, yet now war and hate ravage the world. They are taught that “sharing is caring” while adults refuse to share the country’s wealth with those who are suffering. They are taught the golden rule, “treat others the way you want to be treated,” while adults allow innocent people be bombed and refuse to help. These kindergarten ideals of treating everyone with respect should be used to truly make America great-- a country of freedom, acceptance, and equality for everyone.

EDITORIAL CARTOON

“Science: A Useless Study” - Sarah Aftab

FREE SPIRIT

EMMA STIEFEL photography cara satullo

F

or one week this summer I attended the 2016 Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference along with 50 other students, one from each state and Washington, D.C.. We listened to accomplished journalists (the editor-in-chief of National Geographic, a Pulitzer Prize winner, a photographer who had covered presidents for years, and a Wall Street Journal reporter who had written a book, among others) and learned about subjects ranging from using Snapchat for journalism to the dangers of reporting from war zones. We watched a live broadcast of “Meet the Press,” visited the USA Today newsroom, and went inside the press galleries in the House and Senate chambers.

The lessons I learned in these sessions will definitely help me become a better reporter, but what inspired me the most was meeting the other participants. Being surrounded by 50 other journalism nerds was awesome.

We shared tips about voice recorders and exchanged stories about the articles we’d written.

All of us had already accomplished great things as high school journalists. One boy had interned at his town’s Gannett newspaper, and one of his articles would be picked up by USA Today; another girl covered education for her town’s paper; one had covered a huge scandal with his district’s school board; another took amazing photographs; and nearly everyone else had done something similar.

Many of the other scholars didn’t share my sense of apprehension around becoming a reporter. They came from communities and social circles that, unlike mine, weren’t surrounded by major engineering companies and the expectation that all bright high schoolers pick a STEM career. For the first time I was surrounded by people who shared my ambitions, who responded to me telling them I want to be a journalist by saying “me too!” instead of “why not science?” I left there more confident in my career choice than I had ever been.

Being surrounded by such incredibly talented and passionate young reporters for a week renewed my optimism for journalism as a whole as well as for me personally. How could an industry whose future would be shaped by all of us possibly have a bleak future?

On the last night, while we were all in our rooms packing our bags and feeling depressed about leaving, we started talking in the groupchat we all shared about what it would be like to run a paper together. People were volunteering to be sports and news editors, and there was a lengthy discussion about what it would be called; I think one of the most popular options was “Freedom 51.”

The reality of schoolwork, college applications and running our own publications forced us to abandon our plans once we arrived back home, but the tantalizing possibilities of what we could accomplish together in a few years once we were out of school remained.

Whether we do end up running a media company together or end up scattered across the globe working on our own assignments, I know that whatever we do will be great. Every one of us has the potential to revolutionize journalism; in a decade or so we could be the Pulitzer Prize winners and editors-in-chief awing a new generation of aspiring reporters.

I won’t stop believing in the hope the 50 fellow participants represent.

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