october 2015 Volume 86 Issue 2
3400 Rose Street
More Make a Difference:
Franklin Park, IL 60131 Photos by Piotr Morawiec
East Leyden High School
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Annual day of giving back sees participation increase
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Piotr Morawiec
s part of Make A Difference Day, students volunteered for different projects, such as creating dog toys for homeless canines, crafting cards for ill children, and a lot of other projects. Make a difference day is all about giving back to the community. It is done annually, with a growing number of students who participate in it. “Make a difference day is an annual event that Leyden does to reach out to the six communities that feed into Leyden. Typically we have 20-25 different projects that we work on. Some are on campus, some are off campus, and we split up usually based upon our teams or sponsors,” Student Activities and Community Outreach Director Mr. Tony Pecucci said. “It’s been growing and growing every year, and it’s been a really good event, ” he added. And there’s a reason for that, the experience itself. It is a fun way to hang out with friends, and also have the satisfaction that you are doing something positive. One of these experiences is the Veteran Stand Down, which is where students “basically put together
amenity kits and then...deliver them to homeless veterans,” Mr.Peccucci said. In the kits, veterans find basics needs: toothpaste, deodorant, clothes, etc. “I decided to volunteer because I’m part of a big community, and in our community we have a lot of homeless people. We got a lot of people who need help, and [we’re] helping those people a little bit more than usual,” said Jennifer Parker. Some groups worked very rapidly and achieved their goal very quickly. The Veteran Standdown Group was one of the groups that worked so quickly that they transferred the volunteers to other projects such as the Cards for Hospitalized Kids. At the Cards for Hospitalized Kids Project, volunteers were “making some cheerful message cards for children who are in hospitals...many of whom have terminal diseases,” according to Ms. Therese Landschoot. “We just want to pass along some cheerful and encouraging songs and tell them that we are thinking of them.” Students also helped out at Elmwood Care where they played bingo with residents, and a fun game that included throwing bean bags, or any kind of ball, into a
(Left) Volunteers pack supplies for veterans and write cards for chilren who need a boost.
series of targets. The latter was focused on seniors with alzheimer’s and dementia. “I love helping people, and it’s great to know that you made a difference in someone’s life,” Elizabeth Shelton, one of the volunteers, said. Genine, a resident, said “This is a real treat for me.” She interacted with a lot of students and played the game with them.
Think Pink but remember other causes too reast cancer is well known internationally, but the question is why? October is well known for being Breast Cancer Awareness month but there are other illnesses we should be aware of as well. As a nation, we have National Down Syndrome Awareness, SIDS Awareness, Domestic Violence Awareness, Pregnancy Loss and Infant Loss Awareness all in October. How is it that the pink ribbon is the main focus around the globe? For starters breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime according to nationalbrestcancer.org. Every year it is estimated that over 220,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die. With that being said breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women. Briana Greco’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when Briana was 12. Briana and her younger brother, Gregory, were affected by this unexpected event. “We were worried about our mother; we spent nights at our grandma’s and cousin’s house while my mom was at the hospital, [and we] missed days of school” After two rough years, Briana and Gregory’s mother was free of cancer. In October, they’re happy to celebrate their mother’s recovery and those who were not as fortunate. Senior Ashley Fiala has a special connection to this month, too. But hers is less publicized. Fiala’s little brother, Dylan, was born with Down Syndrome. She said, “Dylan is about to be 7 this month.” Fiala says that, “More people should recognize Down Syndrome Awareness month because [...] it affects people for their life. It’s not something that could possi-
bly go away or get cured like breast cancer.” According to NDSS, “Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring chromosomal condition. One in every 691 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome – about 6,000 Ashley’s family needs good vibes in each year.” October as well. Not many people are fully aware of DS because they don’t know anyone who has the syndrome or they’re just not informed with it. Both breast cancer and down syndrome present struggles to individuals and families. Everyone should be aware of both. The way to do this is by spreading the awareness for both causes. Next time you wear pink in October, also remember to spread the word to end the r-word and think about other causes as well. Photo courtesy of Ashley Fiala
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Leslie Corea and Tania Trejo
Jasmina Abdic A student at Umpqua Community College in Oregon walked into his English classroom on October 1 smiling and wearing a black T-shirt and a bulletproof vest. As the students walked in, he ordered everyone to get on the floor, and that’s when the tragedy started. He demanded that Sarena Dawn Moore, another student, return to her wheelchair from the floor. The man in the black T-shirt shot her instantly when she followed his orders. He then made the professor of the class, Lawrence Levine, rise from the class and proceeded to shoot him. The shooter continued making students stand up from the floor. He would ask them a question at one point asking one victim, “What is your religion, do you believe in--are you a Christian?” If a person said “Yes, I’m a Christian. I believe in God,” he responded, “Good. I’m going to send you to God. You’re going to see God.” And then he’d shoot them. At some point, the shooter handed a package to 18-year-old Matthew Downing and instructed him to deliver it to the police. He told Downing to tell the police everything that happened and that Downing was free to go. After a brief shootout with police, the murderer took his own life. He had killed nine other people. Following the shooting, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin refused to say the name of the shooter while working with the press, citing his belief that it would only “glorify his horrific actions and serve to inspire future shooters,” according to a Huffington Post article. In that same spirit, we here remember the names of the victims: Lucero Alcaraz, 19, Rebecka Ann Carnes, 18, Quinn Cooper, 18, Treven Taylor Anspach, 20, Sarena Dawn Moore, 44; Bottom row from left to right: Professor Lawrence Levine, 67, Lucas Eibel, 18, Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, 59, and Jason Dale Johnson, 34.