What’s at stake?
Contended topics in the 2020 presidential election could help decide students’ futures Official newsmagazine of Southport High School
Volume 98 Issue 3 November 15, 2019
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to Issue 3 of The Journal! It’s been a long (and stressful) road, but we all have immense pride for the work we have produced over the past month. Our staff has tackled some controversial, challenging topics, and they’ve approached them with grace, sensitivity and humanity. I’m excited for you to read through the magazine and, of course, check out more on The Journal “Our staff has Rewired, our official website. For those on the outside, I think it’s tackled some difficult to see the elbow grease that goes controversial, into this publication. Under the threat of challenging Monday production night being canceled topics.” due to snow, the editors worked double time to finish their pages as reporters made last-minute changes to stories. We still managed to have fun despite the pressure and looming deadlines. I couldn’t have been prouder. I can’t go without mentioning our cover piece: an investigation of the subjects students need to be most aware of in the 2020 presidential election. This election will be consequential for everyone, but young people have a lot at stake. No matter who the president will be, he or she will make a major impact on our futures. So, by all means, read on!
Haley Miller, Editor-in-Chief Rachel Bayler, Print Managing Editor Julia Brookshire, Online Managing Editor
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The Journal
971 E. Banta Road Indianapolis, Indiana 46227 Adviser Mike Klopfenstein Principal Brian Knight Business Manager Sherlyn Garcia
Editors Jordin Baker Shelby Denny Brianna Henry Emma Herwehe Marissa Muñoz Russell Peterson-Womack Elizabeth Valadez Jacob Wiese Staff Cartoonist Trinity Trent Graphics Artist Kayla Brown
Reporters Nayeli Ahuatl Thian Awi Eli Beck Kayla Brown Bridget Cagle Amanda Husselman Kelsey Jones Tanny Khun Emma Main David Masengale Phoebe Mawi Sophia McKinney La’Kenzie Parker Shelby Reeves Nathan Smith
Unless otherwise credited, all graphics art in The Journal is produced by Kayla Brown. The entertainment and editorial cartoon are created by Trinity Trent.
CONTENTS The other side, 4 In the books, 6 The Hustle With Russell, 8
Foreign Language Lam Tlawng, 10 Todas las posibilidades, 12
Entertainment Fitting in, 14 Exploring “The Outer Worlds,” 16 Tiptop Trinity, 18
News Future in the making, 20
Features
COVER
Sports
20
His American dream, 26 Reaching new heights, 28 Humans of Southport, 30
Opinion Music ‘n Musings, 32 The road to respect, 33 Painting pixels, 34 Accepting adoption, 35 Journal Address, 36
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Photos Leave it all on the field, 38
ISSUE 2 CORRECTIONS Lauren Cullison was misspelled, and Zam Muan was misidentified.
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Sports
Editor: Russell Peterson-Womack Head girls’ soccer coach and social studies teacher Nicole Duncan sits down with student and player senior Ava Pierle. The Lady Cards finished the season with a final record of 4-12. Photo by David Masengale
The other side SHS coaches help student athletes on and off the field By Eli Beck, Reporter
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t the beginning of the second quarter of the school year, sophomore Charlie Schott realized he was having trouble in his chemistry class, but he knew exactly who to go to. He immediately found himself receiving help from the varsity football offensive line coach, Bryan Elliott. Coaches at SHS spend much of their day making sure their players not only improve physically and athletically, but also as people outside of the sport. “I probably spend as much time with (the players) as I do with my actual family,” head football coach Brandon Winters said. Many coaches do whatever they can in order to try and help their players. Head lacrosse coach Thomas Wright makes sure he gives his players the best opportunity possible to play
the sport they enjoy after high school. According to junior lacrosse player Nick Frank, Wright has helped him and other players sign up for recruiting websites. Wright also encourages his athletes to put as much time as they can into lacrosse outside of playing for the school. According to Wright, they have also participated in a seven-on-seven tournament earlier this year. “Some of the kids have been playing in tournaments outside of the season,” Wright said. Although Wright does a lot for the players involving lacrosse, he also makes sure he is there for his players when they need his support the most. At the beginning of the 2019 lacrosse season, the Cards head coach Brian Thomas passed away. Even with the incident occurring just months before the lacrosse season
Assistant football coach and social studies teacher Gene Lezon lectures his class on the importance of knowing about the dangers when buying a house. With the football season recently ending, coaches like Lezon can only look forward to next season. Photo by David Masengale
How have your former coaches influenced your coaching today?
began, assistant coaches, such as Wright, did what they could to be there for their players in order to prepare them for the season ahead. “(The season) was a little more relaxed,” sophomore Matthew Judd said. According to Judd, Wright was always there for the players after school. Wright offered for players to stay after school as long as they needed for private conversations, and he provided one more person they could rely on. Wright is just one of many coaches at SHS that has consistently been there for his players. Winters has also found ways to help his team through hard times. He makes it known that he is available for his players if they need someone to talk to when they find themselves in a difficult situation. “Every once in a while they’ll need to reach out because they need some help or advice.” Winters said. Sophomore football player Zach Shepherd recently
Head girls’ volleyball coach Chelsea Hoffman
Former assistant baseball coach Brent Bockelman
“My high school basketball and volleyball coaches prepared me to become a leader, independent and organized.”
“(The coaches) I always appreciated were the ones who saw it as more than just a sport and the ones who saw the value in it.”
found himself receiving some advice from Winters during a difficult family situation. Shepherd’s father unexpectedly passed away on the morning of Oct. 13. Shepherd’s family struggled with the situation, but Winters was very willing them through the hard times. “He was just able to comfort me while I was in this situation,” Shepherd said. Given the time commitments of an athletic season, athletes may need additional support from their coaches since they may not have the chance to talk to their family members. Between going to school, staying after in order to practice and being at school all day on a game day, athletes spend most of their time away from home during the season. Coaches provide another person for their players to go to in a time of need. “Them being part of the family that is this team means I want them to reach out if they need help,” Winters said.
Head girls’ cross country coach Nathan Fishel “High expectations of myself and the program, those are things that I think still drive me today and still influence me.”
Sports 5
In the books By David Masengale, Reporter Assistant Athletic Director Brian Murphy says that breaking records plays a big part in the journey of a student athlete. Student athletes are always striving to be better than themselves and other players while making their team stronger. “For the school it means progress,” Murphy said. “It means we’re going to continue to improve.” Often when a record is broken, the student body is not made aware of the accomplishment. All the records that were broken during the season are released in an email by the athletic department at the end of the season. “The student body should take pride in their teams and the accomplishments they make,” Murphy said.
The most “unbreakable” Cameron Perkins .723 batting average
While this record isn’t literally physically impossible to break, the amount of skill this would take is insurmountable. Being able to hit .723 while still having nearly 80 plate appearances is unheard of. Perkins’s record, set in 2008, is also the single season batting average record for the state and is over double the leading batting average at SHS last year.
6 Sports 28 Sports
Eddie Schott 99-yard passing touchdown
In high school football, the ball can’t be placed at the half-yard mark. Ninety nine yards is the farthest touchdown possible in high school football. Schott says it’s pretty cool that he can share this record with his friend and SHS graduate Lucas Willoughby. Schott gives all the credit to Willoughby’s route-running skills.
Recent record-breakers Junior Rachel Campbell
Senior Lauren Cullison
510 digs in a single season
511 kills in a single season
Girls’ volleyball
Girls’ volleyball Photo contributed by Cullison
Photo contributed by Campbell
Photo contributed by Miller
Senior Vanessa Miller
Senior Dawt Thang
907 assists in a single season
30 goals in a single season
Girls’ volleyball
Boys’ soccer Photo contributed by Thang
While many athletes at SHS walk past the east gym and the pool, they look around and admire the many plaques, honoring athletes that have broken records during their time as a Cardinal. SHS graduate, record holder and MLB free agent Cameron Perkins along with senior Josh Moore share what it was like to get their name in the record books. Perkins broke the record for highest batting average in a season in 2008. Perkins hit an astonishing .723 and says he wasn’t really trying to do anything special when it happened. “When I was in high school, we won a couple county tournaments, and that’s honestly what made the record possible,” Perkins said. “Just trying to do everything I could to make the team win.” Perkins says it wasn’t really that important to him then. What mattered was helping his team on the path to victory. “At the moment, that’s not what I thought about,” Perkins said. Similarly, senior Josh Moore wasn’t satisfied with just having his name on a plaque. Moore broke the record last year for single match points in a single season for wrestling. When he first broke the record, Moore says that he didn’t even know it until his coach told him. However, Moore believed there was more he could offer. “I knew that I could do better, and this year I’m going to break it again,” Moore said.
Sports 7
Superteams damage the NBA By Russell Peterson-Womack, Sports Editor
The way professional sports are designed is that teams ideally have to work hard and train to improve in order to give them a better chance of winning a championship. However, I feel that this ancient philosophy has been neglected by the modern NBA. With the NBA’s full-on embrace of superteams, the value of winning a ring has gone down. I would characterize a superteam as a team that has at least two or three superstarlevel athletes who decided to join the same team with the safety net of knowing they would be a top contender for a championship. Anyone who knows anything about the NBA knows that the Golden State Warriors have been an elite superteam over the last few years. Making it to five straight NBA Finals is impressive, but does it deserve all the praise? I’m not saying what they accomplished was meaningless or unimportant, but it was cheap. I’m not upset with the Warriors when they had Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as the “big three.” Those guys were drafted to Golden
Down to the Digits 8 Sports
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The Hustle With Russell State and formed a great team. However, with the addition of players like Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, the Warriors’s inevitable success only left a bitter taste in my mouth. It’s one thing to take young players and mold them into champions, but it’s different to be a superstar yourself and leave your team that was a contender for a championship and join the team that knocked yours out of the running. The Warriors aren’t the only guilty party here. There have been superteams for decades, but I think it’s worse in this generation. A big portion of the blame can be given to the greatest player of all time: Lebron James. Going to eight straight NBA Finals is no small feat, but joining a team he already knew was going to dominate wouldn’t have been as admirable as staying on a weaker team and working to better himself
Sophomore Miranda Deane shot for 75% from the field during the girls’ basketball season opener.
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and his teammates on the path to greatness. As this generation’s most lookedup-to player, James has set a negative example that other players have picked up on. Only hours after joining the Los Angeles Lakers, James was followed by high-profile players such as JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo and Michael Beasley. This exemplifies the mindset that today’s great teams are made by already great players coming together instead of great players pushing their teams to improve and compete against each other to see who truly is the greatest. Watching an NBA where players have no team loyalty and win rings solely for the sake of having a new ring is not the kind of NBA viewers should seek. Perhaps the most exciting thing about the NBA is watching the greatest players of our generation battling against one another -- one team can win one game, but the other team could win the next two. Watching all of the best players in the league playing together against some mediocre team just isn’t what the NBA was designed to be.
The football team defeated Arsenal Tech by one point for their first game of sectionals on Nov. 1.
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The boys’ soccer team finished with 12 more wins than losses.
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The value of winning a ring has gone down.
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Foreign Language Editor: Marissa Muñoz
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hun hleikhat kaimi Keely Sullivan a hmuh mi a mawi a ti tuk ruangah a mit a tthep thei lo. Spain ram ih a laibik mi khua Toledo ah a tlawng, in Europe ah tlawng hmin thawn nuamnak in khual an tlawng. A mawitak mi tlang le minung ttha pawl a ton ruangah Toledo a hngilh thei dahlo ding tiah a ti. Ramdang ih tlawng hi SHS tlawngta pawl an tuah theimi a si. SHS saya/sayama pawl in kumtin deuh thaw an khuakhang mi a si. Sullivan ih khual tlawnnak ah mi ttha le thil mawitak pawl a hmuhmi lawng a mang lo. Miphun dang le minung dang pawl a tonmi pawl tla a hngilh dah lo ding ziangahtile a thu ruah daan an kau ter. “Miphun dangdang le mi an nun daan ka hmu ih cule khua dang pahnih ih thuanthu ka zir thei,” Sullivan in a ti. Phunhra kaimi Isabella Smith tla tlawng thawn khual a tlawng ve ih, a lungkim pi. Smith le Sullivan an feh hmun a bang aw. “Ramdang ih minung pawl ziangtin saw an nun daan ti ka hmu,” Smith in a ti. “America le Europe ram pawl an dang awk daan ka theih thei ngah.” Thil dang tlawngta pawl ih an ngah thei mi cu thil thar duhnak le hmuh le ton mi thar asi. Phun hleihni kaitu Dane Latinovich in Costa Rica veh lai ah thingkung le ramsa tivek a duhnak a hmusuak. Tlangpar ih an 10 Foreign Language
Lam Tlawng
SHS tlawngta pawl ram dang ah tlawng ih tumtah nakin Ngan tu Thian Awi, Reporter
Tlawngta pawl March 2019 Europe ih an feh ah Rome, Italy ah an feh ih The Colleseum titak an tlawng. Zukzuk tu Keely Sullivan
Tlawngtu pawl ih hmuh le tonmi:
“Khual tlawng ka paih tuk ih cule a nuam tak ding a bang ruangah ka feh.” -Senior Dane Latinovich
“Ka tlawng nak ih a makbik ka ti mu mi cu Switzerland kan tlawn ih Alps kan hmu a si ding, a mawituk.” -Senior Tre Morris SHS tlawngta pawl an tlawnpi pawl thawn zuk an zuk. Europe ih an tlawn lai ah Europe ram pawl ih hminthang thlennak ding hmun pawl ah an feh. Zukzuk tu Keely Sullivan
Costa Rica 2021
va laiah macaw in a hnenah a feh ih cumi a ton mi a hrangah a hnglih thei lo mi thil pakhat a si. Ramdang tlawnnak ding caan ttha a um. Tlawng colh March 2021 ah Spanish saya Conner McNeely in Costa Rica ah tlawngta pawl a veihnih nak a tlawn pi ding. Himi a tlawn pi duhnak cu tlawngta pawl ih an thil hmuh daan kauhter nak dingah leh miphun dangdang pawl a hmuh duh ruangah a si. “Himi khualtlawn nak ih ka tumtahmi cu midang ih umdaan le nunphung dangdang an hmu thei nak ding ah asi,” McNeely in a ti. “Southport le Indiana leng ah thil dangdang hmuh ding
a um ti ka hmuh duhnak asi.” Khual tlawng hi thil mankhung le peisa cem tam mi caangvaihnak asi. Asinain, tlawng thawn khual tlawn a si ah cun peisa mal deuh a cem ding. “Hmailam ih khual tlawng hnakin tu ih khualtlawng a man hla sawn,” McNeely in a ti. “Rualpi le saya/sayama pawl thawn na tlawng ding ih na nuam aw sawn ding.” Peisa a mal sawn ding naan, peisa nei tam lo mi pawl hrangah a tam thotho. $3000 tla a si thei. Asinan, peisa ngah daan le khual tlawng nak hrangah peisa mal deuh pek daan a um tiah McNeely in a ti. March 2021 ih tlawng ding
asi naan, McNeely in tu ah tlawngta feh duh dingmi pawl a hawl zo. Tlawngta feh duh tu pawl kha Jones le McNeely biak ding an si. Phun hleihnih kaitu Tre Morris cu hivek feh dah zo tlawng ta asi ve. A khanpi pawl tla ramdang ih tlawng a duhsak. “Paris, Switzerland le Germany ah ka feh,” Morris in a ti. “A nuam tak ih mi dang tla feh hai sehla ka duhsak.”
Foreign language saya Connor McNeely in 2021 ah tlawngta pawl Costa Rica ah a hruai tum. Feh duhmi pawl amah nan biak thei.
To read an English version of this story, scan the QR code. Foreign Language 11
Estudiantes de SHS apoyan a candidatas diferentes para sus vistas distintas. Los candidatos tienen sus propias perspectivas en cuanto a la inmigración. Foto (izquierda) por Marissa Muñoz. Foto (derecha) contribuida por Bianca Foronda.
Todas las posibilidades
El resultado de la elección presidencial puede significar algo diferente para la inmigración Por Nayeli Ahuatl, Periodista
Partidos mayores
Repubicanos problamente son conservativos. En cuanto a la inmigración generalmente están en contra de la amnistía.
Demócratas generalmente son liberades. Problamente son más clemente que los republicanos.
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medida se acercan las elecciones presidenciales de 2020, uno de los temas más discutidos entre los candidatos es el tema de la inmigración. Durante la presidencia de Donald Trump, la inmigración se convirtió en uno de los principales problemas que enfrenta a los Estados Unidos actualmente. Cada candidato presidencial tiene una idea diferente sobre la inmigración y la mejor manera de abordarla del resultado del próximo elección tiene un gran impacto en la política de la inmigración. Las opiniones sobre la inmigración varían en una amplia gama, y los bordes exteriores consisten en la idea de aislacionismo y nacionalismo o elegir abrazar la idea de fronteras abiertas. Según Marjorie Hershey, profesora de
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ciencias políticas en la Universidad de Indiana, ideas de inmigración se basa en la ideología política de los partidas. “Algunas personas sienten que la inmigración es una amenaza, ya sea para los trabajos de algunos estadounidenses o para un cierto sentido de identidad estadounidense, y deberían desanimarse,” Hershey dijo. “Algunas personas sienten que es ideal alentar la inmigración a los Estados Unidos ... (con) la inmigración de personas con ciertas habilidades que son necesarias para que la economía funcione bien.” La postura de cada de los cuatro principales candidatos sobre inmigración difiere. La postura del Presidente Donald Trump republicanos es conservadora. Las democráticas tienen actitudes
diferentes. Senadora de E.E.U.U. Elizabeth Warren quiere buscar la ciudadanía para los inmigrantes. El Vicepresidente Joe Biden tiene una opinión limitada. El senador Bernie Sanders quiere expandir DACA y apoyar la ciudadanía para la mayoría de los inmigrantes. Para la inmigración y muchos otros temas, votar es una de las formas en que las personas dan a conocer sus opiniones. Hershey lo ve como un imperativo para que las personas voten. Explica que las personas más jóvenes tienden a tener tasas de votación más bajas que las personas mayores, lo que hace que los funcionarios públicos ignoren las políticas que son importantes para las personas más jóvenes. “Si desea que se escuche su voz, debe votar,” Hershey dijo.
Candidates e inmigración Joe Biden
Elizabeth Warren Foto de elizabethwarren.com
Calificaciones:
- Senadora por Massachusetts (2013-) - Vicepresidenta del Caucus Demócrata del Senado(2017-) - Asesora especial para la Oficina de Protección Financiera del Consumidor (2010-2011)
Postura en inmigración:
- Esfuerzamente apoya el DREAM act de presidente Obama que trata de encontrar trabajos o educación para inmigrantes - Quiere reducir detencion en la frontera - Planea en fundar ayuda para Centroámerica
To read an English version of this story, scan the QR code
Bernie Sanders
1. Votar Foto de joebiden.com
Calificaciones:
- Vicepresidente de los Estados Unidos (20092017) - Senador por Delaware (1973-2009)
Postura en inmigración:
- Tiene poco comprensión de inmigración en realidad - Cambios al sistema actual de inmigración no son parte de su gran plan para la presedencia - Acuerda que los indocumentados deben quedarse indocumentados
Foto de berniesanders.com
Calificaciones:
- Senador por Vermont (2007-) - Presidente de la Comisión de Asuntos de Veteranos del Senado (2013-2015) - Miembro de la Cámara de Representantes de los Estados Unidos (19912007)
Postura en inmigración:
- Quiere ampliar DACA (acción diferida para los llegados en la infancia) - Apoya amnistad para los indocumentados que ya estan en E.E.U.U. - Quiere permetir resedencias de E.E.U.U. de cinco o mas años ciudadania
Donald Trump
Estudiantes que cumplen 18 años antes de Nov. 3 pueden votar en la elección de presidente de 2020. 2. Communicar con representativas
Calificaciones:
A cada edad puedes hacer oído tus opiniones a los representativas del gobierno para cada locación
Durante su presedencia:
3. Estar educado
- Presidente de E.E.U.U. (2017-)
Foto de whitehouse.gov
¿Cómo puedes asegurarte que tu voz está oído?
- Prometó resolver el problema de inmigracion por hacer un pared entre Mexico y E.E.U.U. - A menos de 815,508 indocumentados fueron deportados en 2019 - Contrató trabajadores para guardar la frontera - Enforzó el departamento de ICE
En el futuro:
- Continuará la strategia de encontrar los indocumentados - No tolerará los indocumentados - Trabajará en ganando ayuda para la pared entre Mexico y E.E.U.U.
Una manera simple de participar y estar respetado es estar educado.
Informacion de usnews.com
Foreign Language 13
Entertainment Editor: Brianna Henry
Fitting in Fall musical ‘You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown’ provides a relatable story for students By Bridget Cagle, Reporter and Haley Miller, Editor-in-Chief
Senior Justin Tidd acts out a scene in the first act, in which he talks about giving a letter to character Lucy van Pelt. Tidd is the lead part, Charlie Brown, in this weekend’s musical. Photo by Kelsey Jones
S
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enior Justin Tidd, playing the part of Charlie Brown, stands in the middle of the stage, his chest puffed out. He sings a few notes of the beginning song, a melody that flows throughout the show. He holds a note, voice unwavering, as his arms shoot up towards the empty auditorium seats. But those seats won’t be empty on Nov. 15, 16 and 17, when the theater department will put on its production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” According to theater teacher and stage director Kimberly Roberts, many students can find something to relate to in the story, especially those who struggle with low self confidence or fitting in.
“I think we can see ourselves in all of these characters,” Roberts said. “So, when I hear someone putting themselves down, it’s Charlie Brown. When I hear someone taking charge and telling everyone what to do, it’s a Lucy moment.” For other high school students, Charlie Brown may be the most relatable character in the show, Tidd says. He has worked with Roberts to help understand Charlie’s perspective and better play his character. “(Roberts) really says how he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t really want to disappoint people,” Tidd said. “He just wants to make others happy. And he is just a very relatable character because we all have our
Lucy, played by senior Lilly Leslie, gets mad at Linus, played by senior Gavin Hensley, for saying she can’t own her own kingdom. Photo by Kelsey Jones
Meet The Cast
slumps sometimes, and obviously he has a lot.” Senior Katie Berry, acting as Snoopy, also believes the musical has a lot of potential to connect with its young audience. She notes that many actors are finding aspects of their characters to empathize with. “I think a lot of our cast members are able to connect with their characters in some way, whether it be like Charlie and trying to fit in or like Lucy realizing how she’s really treating her friends,” Berry said. As Linus, senior Gavin Hensley feels connected with the show as well. Charlie Brown may have the most ties to low self esteem and awkwardness, but Hensley mentions the steady optimism found within his character.
“It’s just every day … having everything (happen) that doesn’t always go the way that we want it to go,” Hensley said, “And being able to see that but also being able to at the end of the day say it was a good day.” Senior Lilly Leslie, playing Lucy, says that the cast being able to personally understand their characters helps them with delivery and their overall performance on stage. Even Lucy, considered the “bully” of the show, has qualities people can recognize whether or not they share them, according to Leslie. “It makes that process (of getting into character) easier by relating yourself to the character,” Leslie said. Above all, Roberts says Charlie Brown provides the relatable feelings
of awkwardness and embarrassment throughout the play. She believes many people can understand what he is going through. “We all relate to this kid because he is awkward and does stupid things and then is like ‘Why did I say that?’” Roberts said. The musical will be performed on Nov. 15, 16 and 17. On Friday and Saturday, the performance will start at 7 p.m. On Sunday it will start at 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be bought in the auditorium for $10 or online.
Charlie Brown
Lucy van Pelt
Justin Tidd
Lilly Leslie
Senior
Senior
Sally Brown
Linus van Pelt
Marsela Riddle
Gavin Hensley
Senior
Senior
Sally Brown is angered about getting a bad grade on her project. Senior Marsela Riddle plays the role of Sally in “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Photo by Kelsey Jones
Snoopy Katie Berry Senior
Schroeder Sam Hansell Senior Entertainment 15
Review
Exploring ‘The Outer Worlds’ New video game offers virtual interplanetary experience
By Jacob Wiese, Opinion Editor
Groundbreaker is a city in the game “The Outer Worlds.” Players can trade equipment gathered from quests. Photo contributed by Jacob Wiese
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T
he video game “The Outer Worlds” is an anomaly in today’s gaming market. A game with no devious ways that the developer tries to squeeze money out of the players even after they have paid the $60 to start playing, which is something rare in today’s new releases Instead, we have something truly unique. “The Outer Worlds” is a space-themed role-playing game made by Obsidian, a developer with a portfolio of many beloved games. Mix a dash of deadly alien creatures with gigantic claws and a pinch of marauders that will stop at nothing to try to kill the player and steal everything he has. Then, finish that off with a healthy serving of space capitalism and out comes “The Outer Worlds.” “The Outer Worlds” does a great job of distinguishing itself from the developer’s previous titles. The best way it does this is with its color palette. Everything is covered in purples, blues, neon greens and deep bloody reds. It doesn’t matter if the player is taking out sentry bots with explosive shock
grenade launchers on the moon in the midst of an asteroid field or trekking through a sunlit valley on a planet overrun with enemies -- the color scheme remains absolutely gorgeous. In the design of all the different planets, Obsidian goes for a look that says, “Let’s make the game look good with a sci-fi flair but still have realism on the back burner.” And when the player first steps foot on a planet, it’s instantly noticeable. “The Outer Worlds” isn’t an open-world game but more of a hub-based world with a movable hub being the player’s ship. Each location the player visits is a fixed set of maps, some smaller and some larger, all of them having hidden areas and long side quests. Interestingly enough, while it’s not open world, the way the game has players traveling between locations in their spaceship as well as how interconnected some of the locations are makes them feel like they have a larger footprint than they actually do. Many locations have multiple ways to reach quest points, secret ways around enemies and a nice, organic feel to them, regardless of the game being more structured than an openworld game would be. When it comes to character design, almost everyone looks unique. For the most part, gone are the days of coming into a town and seeing generic head number two with generic beard number three and a cowboy hat. Most of the NPCs have very unique traits and emotions as the player is working with them, against them or just sending them
Jacob’s
Tips
“The Unreliable” is the ship the player owns in the game. With the ship, the player can travel to different planets. Photo contributed by Jacob Wiese
“please die” messages out of a gun wielded by a drunken party-goer wearing a top hat. The crazy isn’t too crazy but just enough to work well. The game’s design meets at a crossroads where function meets funny, and it’s a reflection of this humor that “The Outer Worlds” exhibits. The armor and helmets are a perfect example. Some are larger with some cooling pipes or accessories hanging off them, and others are just giant plastic moons players can slip onto their noggin whenever they want. The game’s main story has the player play as a person from Earth sent to the Halcyon system in the galaxy’s largest cluster of frozen spacemen and women trying to find a habitable planet. Unfortunately, an accident has occurred and the player and the rest of the ship have sat floating through space while everyone else showed up on time and took advantage of the
resources there. The player is rescued by a mysterious benefactor and shows up 70 years later after all the various corporations have a stranglehold on the planets and moons. Giant, neon colored advertisements with their respective mascot and slogan cover every building, trying to get the player to purchase their brand rather than another. Workers are treated as company property and if they happen to get sick, it’s because they aren’t working hard enough. In fact, a very early side quest involves people having to rent their own grave sites while they’re still alive, and the town had to club together and pay for a gravesite for someone who killed themselves because suicide is considered vandalism. This is one of many ways the game satirizes late-stage space capitalism, which is a huge motif played throughout the game’s story. Not everyone in the world
- Hitting individual body parts can apply various crippling effects based on the targeted area. - A lower intelligence stat can unlock the “Dumb” response in converstaions.
gets along with each other. Alliances are broken, then reborn, then broken again. Enemies become friends and - Players can then enemies once more. All choose to the choices the player makes acquire flaws for extra perk have an impact on the world points at and the people that inhabit the cost of it. For example, a player may gaining some want to get on someone’s negative side good side. This is possible effects. if the player helps them To buy the acquire something or murder game for someone they don’t like. The Xbox One, game is extremely flexible scan the and can bend to how the QR code player wants the story to go. “The Outer Worlds” is below. a delight to play through. Working through the unique locations, meeting new characters and adventuring through their quests is always a pleasure. It’s also enjoyable to level up and All build the player’s character art by the way they see fit. Obsidian Brianna has knocked this one out Henry of the park, and it is well worth the price tag for the experience that is offered to the players. Entertainment 17
Tiptop Trinity
By Trinity Trent, Staff Cartoonist
The Journal search 1 2
Across 3) ...in the making 4) ...las posibilidades
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7) ...the ‘Outer Worlds’
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8) Reaching new... 9) ...of Southport
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18 Entertainment
Down 1) The other... 2) ...in 5) His....dream 6) In the...
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Future in the making With the presidential election just one year away, students will face the effects of today's most prevalent issues By Phoebe Mawi, Reporter
T
he future, an unknown realm, depends on the present to make it a safer, brighter place for everyone. An upcoming event that will shape the lives of all Americans is the 2020 presidential election. This event matters to not only
20 News
those who can vote but also to those who will be affected by the changes it will bring. The path the government chooses to take will have more of an effect on Generation Z and future generations than any other age groups because they will be the
ones to face the results of past generations’ actions. Teens have a significant role to play in easing the consequences of arising problems in the nation today that could potentially threaten their futures. The Journal investigated these problems here.
Climate Change
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Young people have the intellectual capacities to understand the science, but they have the moral persuasion of their young years to convince adults that they have to look at this issue, and they have to support young people in making the right choices. Executive director of Earth Charter Indiana Jim Poyser
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reta Thunberg, a 16-year-old climate and environmental activist from Sweden, tweeted on Oct. 14, “Again and again, the same message. Listen to the scientists, listen to the scientists. Listen to the scientists!” The evidence of rapid climate change can be seen in hundreds of species going extinct and the rise in sea level caused by the melting of glaciers. More evidence suggests climate change has already disrupted important parts of society, such as human health, agriculture and food security. “As Antarctica melts away, it’s going to have a significant impact on the level of our oceans,” said Jesse Kirkham, chair of the Heartland Group, one of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapters, in an interview with The Journal. “There is a lot of population that live right on the edge of the ocean and those places are going to suffer more extreme events. Eventually, it’s all going to get flooded and those people will have to move. Cities will get overpopulated by these people trying to migrate like animals to a better place and hopefully survive.” According to Kirkham, leaders don’t want to acknowledge the changes that need to be made nationwide
Photo by Kelsey Jones
in fear of what others might think or the shutdown of many corporations, which will lead to their unlikely reelection or decreased economic growth. So, he says teens should take action. “(Teens) need to speak out and understand that the goal is to become carbon neutral,” Kirkham said. “It will be very hard to change because so many people’s jobs and lifestyles have depended on this.” Jim Poyser, executive director of Earth Charter Indiana, helped SHS science teacher Amanda Schnepp with a project, in which her students taught preschoolers at PTEC how they can help the environment. Using examples like this, Poyser says many people have the power to spread awareness just from talking about it. “It’s important for teens to get involved because the fact is that young people are having the most powerful role in persuading everyday people in the U.S. to wake up to what’s happening,” Poyser said. “Young people have the intellectual capacities to understand the science, but they have the moral persuasion of their young years to convince adults that they have to look at this issue, and they have to support young people in making the right choices.”
Perspectives: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Reinstate the methane pollution rule to limit existing oil and gas projects from releasing harmful gases Do you think climate change is an important issue? 5%
10% 85%
Do you think the government should take measures to respond to climate change? 17% 10% 73%
Yes
No
No opinion
125 students were surveyed during iPass on Nov. 8. News 21
National Debt
Perspectives Mayor Pete Buttigieg Public college debt-free for low-income students Apply strict standards to for-profit colleges Create a state-federal partnership
President Donald Trump Achieve 4% growth with tax cuts “Eliminate waste and redundancy in federal spending”
22 News
D
espite the natural skepticism about the American economy, statistics show that it has been doing extremely well over the last couple years. According to the Financial Times, the country’s GDP has grown 1.9% this year, consumer inflation in September was 1.7%, and as of October, the unemployment rate had decreased to 3.6%. Despite these percentages, the national debt has grown to a little over $23 trillion and shows no sign of stopping. National debt is debt owed by the federal government, and it is composed of two main parts. Public debt is what the government owes to its citizens, international investors and foreign governments. Intragovernmental debt is what the federal government owes to other government departments, which funds programs like U.S. Social Security and Medicaid. “The problem of it is now our debt is growing faster than us being able to pay our interest on our debt,” economics teacher Gene Lezon said. “We are not raising enough tax revenues to pay off the number of programs that we consistently add more to. Therefore, our debt is growing faster than it should.” According to Lezon, the rise of the national debt will affect students in terms of the increasing amount of college
tuition and student loans. “College tuitions have gone up thousands of percent because states are no longer paying (the colleges) as much money as the federal grants were getting decreases…,” Lezon said. “On top of that, they've also taken away and raised the percentages on the student loans.” According to Federal Reserve, the current average of student loan is $32,731 as of early 2019. With the interest rates of student loans rising as well, future generations will be stuck paying for both the national and student loan debt. To compensate for the debt, the government must choose which programs, like Social Security programs and disability pensions, healthcare programs or Defense budget expenses, to cut from, or they must raise taxes. The problem with these solutions, Lezon says, are that both will slow the growth of the U.S. economy and affect many people benefiting from these programs. Future generations will be left to pay for the debt accumulated by government overspending without benefiting from programs themselves. “Our unwillingness to pay off our debt and to pay off our interest rate is going to put your generation into huge financial problems in the future,” Lezon said.
Photo by Kelsey Jones
Did you know? - The federal government’s total debt stands at $22.023 trillion. - The nation’s debt is now bigger than its gross domestic product. - 26.5% of the debt is owed to another arm of the federal government itself. - Interest rates on federal debt have begun rising again. Source: Pew Research Center
I
n the age of technology, big tech companies are gaining more power to change the aspect of privacy. These companies, such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple dominate the modern world with products and services that have become prominent in customers’ lives. According to eMarketer, Google and Facebook together controlled 60% of mobile ad revenue and 51% of digital ad revenue globally in 2018. In the U.S., Apple has about 45% of the smartphone market, and about 47% of all U.S. e-commerce sales go through Amazon. "Some people have expressed concern over a potential monopoly issue, and they are questioning if we need to break up some of these companies…,” social studies teacher Daniel Jones said. “Are we in an era where tech is becoming too big?” For many teenagers, social media is an outlet to express how they feel and to promote their ideas. But when social media platforms choose to take down posts they deem as unacceptable, there is a First Amendment argument. “Some are asking if it is a problem that we are allowing social media platforms to ban speech they disagree with," Jones said. “Or do they have the right and the responsibility to suppress speech they find offensive?” Furthermore, big tech companies could have the power to influence the political process. In July, researcher Dr. Robert Epstein testified before Congress regarding his research on Google’s search engine manipulation effect. He found that Google’s
Big Tech search engine results have the capability to affect the results of an election. “Research has shown that by manipulating search suggestions, a search engine company can turn a 50-50 split among undecided voters into a 90-10 split with no one knowing they have been manipulated,” Epstein said in his testimony. His research made him concerned that a company like Google could use this method in the 2020 election to promote the candidate it supports without leaving a trace of evidence. According to Epstein, this threatens the very democractic values the U.S. stands for. Big tech companies’ goals are to make a lot of things in life more convenient, but Jones is worried that if these conveniencies are taken for granted, companies with the power to destroy privacy and democracy could get away with these actions. “If this is going to be part of our culture, young people need to take a role in being informed, active citizens and know how we want to use these platforms moving forward,” Jones said. “We need to know how are we going to alleviate some of the concerns in terms of individual privacy and their own civil liberty.”
Photo by Kelsey Jones
Perspectives
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If this is going to be part of our culture, young people need to take a role in being informed, active citizens and know how we want to use these platforms moving forward. Social studies teacher Daniel Jones
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Entrepreneur Andrew Yang
Improve current antitrust framework
Silencing OPPOSITION Twitter has decided to ban all political ads as a result of the Facebook controversy surrounding its policy on politicians lying in their advertisements. With the debate centered around freedom of speech on social media, the CEOs of both companies have spoken out about the issue. News 23
Gun Control Photo by Jordin Baker
Did you know? - Protection is the top reason why gun owners have a gun. - 2017 saw more gun deaths in the U.S. than any other year in decades. - 30% of American adults say they personally own a gun. Source: Pew Research Center
24 News
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n 2017, only three people were killed in shooting incidents in Japan, while 39,773 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S. Japan is known for its strict firearms legislation. The U.S. has a Constitutional amendment defending its citizens’ right to bear arms. Gun violence has increased over the past couple of decades in the U.S. Following the Columbine school shooting 20 years ago, gun laws have shown little to no change. “We’ve seen a failure to act on policies that largely have bipartisan support,” said Hayden Redelman, High School Council Chair of We LIVE, Inc. “And sure, we’ve seen assault weapon bans, but we haven’t seen universal background checks. In (Indiana), we haven’t seen regulations on handguns or a state government that’s willing to let municipalities decide what’s best for their communities.” We LIVE, Inc. is a non-profit gun control activist group based in Indiana. They are a youth-led organization that
focuses on preventing youth violence. The organization was started by a group of students in Warren Central High School after they lost two of their fellow classmates to gun violence in May 2017. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been over 33,700 gunrelated deaths and over 90 school shootings this year. Redelman says that the cities that have faced these events have reformed their gun laws. However, the cities that don’t have these issues pay no attention to changing their laws because they can’t imagine these events ever happening in their communities. In order to see real progress, Redelman believes neighborhoods across the country need to take action. “We have to take a twoprong approach to fixing the gun violence epidemic,” Redelman said. “First thing is reducing the number of guns we have on the streets. Another part of that is building a culture that is sensitive to gun violence, that doesn’t glorify violence
or devalues connection and community because it is a lot harder to hurt someone that you know or care about. This issue is going to become increasingly worse the longer we refuse to take action.” Across the nation, many organizations have formed for teenagers fearing for their safety in schools. These organizations have focused on raising gun control awareness and convincing legislatures to take their side in preventing potential school shootings and creating a safe environment for future generations. “I think we’ve gotten in this pattern of something terrible happening, a tragedy will happen, and then we start talking about it again, but then it fizzles out,” Redelman said. “We are finally at a point where it’s remaining the national priority, and we need to get people in office who are going to act.”
Perspectives Former Vice President Joe Biden Buyback program for guns Restrictions on gun access Assault rifle ban
Other issues
EDUCATION
Other issues for consideration Government funding Standardized testing Teacher salaries School safety Disciplinary policies
EQUAL RIGHTS
Racial justice Women’s rights LGBTQ+ discrimination Disability discrimination
IMMIGRATION
Weight bias
Border wall Muslim immigrants Immigration ban Immigration healthcare Citizenship requirements
News 25
Features
Editor: Elizabeth Valadez
His American dream After escaping violence in Syria, senior works his way up to McDonald’s management to further his goals By Sophia McKinney, Reporter
J
ust three months after arriving in America in December of 2016, Mahmoud Saeed applied for a job at McDonald’s on South East Street. He was a good employee, and he worked his way into a promotion in about a year and a half. “I believe that I’m a hard worker, and when the staff saw that, they made me manager,” Saeed said. As a Chef Manager, Saeed, a senior at SHS, is responsible for making sure the staff in the kitchen are performing their assigned duties, and he sometimes helps with customer service. These McDonald’s tasks have helped Saeed grow as a person and discover what his aspirations for the future are. Despite his current success, Saeed came from a rough past in Syria, a nation that has been in an ongoing civil war since 2011. “When I came to America it seemed safer, and I could see life and freedom all around me, unlike Syria,” Saeed said. There’s one particular experience that occured in Syria that Saeed says has been engraved in his
26 Features
The effects of the Syrian Civil War - More than 5.5 million Syrian refugees cannot leave Syria. - Most Syrian refugees are experiencing poverty. In Lebanon, 60% of refugee families live on less than $3 daily. - One in four Syrian schools has been damaged in some way or converted to an emergency shelter. - Almost 55% of all Syrian refugees have fled to Turkey. Source: The UN Refugee Agency
memory forever. The sounds of rapid gunshots, bombs going off and screams of terror were only 20 feet away from the house Saeed was staying in back in Khartiah, Syria. Inside the house were 25 of his family members who all had different reactions to the events going on outside. Saeed says his heart broke the most when witnessing his mother and sister in a state of fear. They had to stay in one room for 24 hours. Those hours consisted of no sleep, tears and a gut-wrenching feeling of anxiety. “It was probably the worst day of my life,” Saeed said. Since that day, Saeed knew he had to take full control of his future. He was determined to work hard in order to achieve the successful life he dreamed of. “Everybody in America has to work to make their future better,” Saeed said. Along with his growing career, Saeed has to manage all of his academic responsibilities. He began attending SHS as a freshman barely knowing any english. As time went on, he says he
began taking an interest in engineering, construction and management. His strong suit is math and Saeed feels that it was wise to go into a field where it was used a lot. “I’m really good at math and I just decided to do something that works best with my skills,” Saeed said. EL teacher Amy Peddie has known him since he first arrived at SHS. She admires him for his desire to help others and his self-motivation. “One of the things that impresses me most about him is that even though he works full time, he always has time to help other people,” Peddie said. “Especially if they’re from another country, he’ll help translate for them.” Mahomad Oyoun, Saeed’s friend, who is also a manager at McDonald’s, finds it beneficial to work with a friend who came from the same background. “I like having a friend around because we can speak the same language and can help each other out,” Oyoun said. Saeed is using his senior year to prepare him for his desired career. He’s taking classes such as economics and
Saeed works on the fryer on Nov. 5. He started working at McDonald’s only three months after fleeing Syria and is now a manager at his store. Photo by Jordin Baker
and environmental science. Saeed also goes to a career center, C-9, every school day to practice and study construction, which is a big part of his preparation for his dream. “After graduating college
I would like to open my own construction company,” Saeed said. Despite his rough past in Syria, Saeed has built a foundation for success in America. Saeed feels the future holds an endless
amount of possibilities. He stays true to his belief that consistently working hard will take him anywhere he wants in life. “You can reach any goal if you try your best and work hard for it,” Saeed said.
Features 27
Reaching new heights Junior achieves musical success by staying true to himself By La’Kenzie Parker, Reporter
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Doane performs at the Hoosier Dome, a performance venue, on Oct. 18. He started working towards his dream of music in seventh grade. Photo contributed by Cooper Heaton 4 Features 28 Features
he first time he stepped on the stage, junior Jackson Doane felt that he wasn’t as nervous as he should have been. He had finally accomplished his dream even though his peers told him that he’d never make it anywhere. “When I first started off, I was made fun of a lot,” Doane said. “You know, it’s such a far-fetched dream to want to be a musician or a famous rapper or something like that, so I was put down for it a lot.” Not tied down by others’ opinions or any labels except for his stage name, Capital, Doane says he aspires to be as far from the norm as possible, all while making music and becoming successful with his music. Doane started his path to becoming an artist when he was in seventh grade and first hoped to make it to the stage one day. Inspiration struck when Doane stumbled upon a YouTube series by G-Eazy called “The Rise.” The series consisted of G-Eazy on tour, playing shows and working on an album at the time. One video in the series that
seemed to strike an interest in him was a video of G-Eazy performing on stage in front of his fans. “(Seeing) the videos and stuff of him playing on stage, I was like that looks really cool, and I would like to do that someday,” Doane said. According to Doane, his idol’s performance prompted him to start practicing and working towards his dream. Doane says he began performing in front of the mirror as practice. At first, he started to record his music only using an Xbox and an iPad. He later upgraded to professional equipment and began to make higher quality music. Doane is self taught when it comes to mixing and mastering his music. As the quality of the music improved, people began to take Doane seriously and started to support him. Doane performed at school Coffee Houses which, after hard work and determination, soon became the Hoosier Dome and Irving Theater. He says his lyrics are typically based off of his
Doane edits his music in his at-home studio on Nov. 7. His studio is echo and soundproof. Photo by Kelsey Jones
Capital’s most popular songs on SoundCloud
Smokey Joe’s Part 2
unique life experiences. On top of this, Doane feels his ADHD is a positive thing for his writing process because he constantly has ideas popping into his head. For inspiration for his upcoming album, Doane began to write in a journal every day since August of 2018, recording what happened on these days and the emotions he was feeling, and then he incorporated those experiences into his lyrics. This album based on his journal is planned to be released in December. On July 25 of this year Doane opened for Ethan MacCowan, a local artist, at the Hoosier Dome, a live music venue in Indianapolis. MacCowan says that it was the best decision he’s made. He was more than glad to give Doane the opportunity to perform before him and share his uniqueness with the audience. “He is himself on stage in a way that no else dares to be,” MacCowan said. When performing, Doane says he likes to woo the crowd with his wacky personality, high spirit and an energy
that’s easy to vibe with. He inspires many with the way he doesn’t let his flaws define him and high-spirited performances. According to Daniel Stephens, a fellow Souncloud musician, Doane is an overall inspirational person. “He inspires me with his imperfections with the way he dusts them off of his shoulder and keeps the show rolling on and off the stage,” Stephens said. Doane strives for success, so he tries to keep potential competition out of his mind. He says that focusing
on competition would be nothing but a distraction for him, especially when he wants to be his own person and prefers not to be tied to one specific genre. Doane says that he likes for his style to fluctuate and that it can range from anything from hip-hop to rock ‘n’ roll, all just depending on his mood and the vibe he feels while writing. “I don’t really consider myself to have a specific genre just because I feel like that’s putting myself in a box and limiting my creativity,” Doane said.
Doane will be performing with fellow SoundCloud artist Ethan MacCowan on Nov. 22 at the Hoosier Dome. Doane has performed there twice before. Photo contributed by Jackson Doane
Rewind
No Cap ft. Ethan MacCowan and WTFDanimal
To listen to Capital’s top three songs, scan the QR code below.
Features 29
Humans of Southport “A student was delivering a pass to room 205 and said, ‘Oh no, what happened to Ms. Powell?’ Well, I’m still here, just with a new name. I got married on Oct. 4, so I am now Mrs. Posadas. We had a private ceremony at our church, and then we spent our honeymoon in Chicago. I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband.”
- Foreign language teacher Christine Posadas
Photos by Kelsey Jones
30Features
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News 5
Opinion
Editor: Jacob Wiese
Anyone’s voice can be heard Column by Rachel Bayler, Print Managing Editor
A year from today, we as a nation will have already elected a new president into office. The 2016 presidential election was full of large amounts of animosity, mistrust and polarization, and it is naive to think that the 2020 election won’t be similar. In fact, it’s already gearing up to be. The various important political issues present in this upcoming election, including gun control, women’s and LGBTQ rights, healthcare and immigration, come with a lot of controversy, and they continue to be extremely hot topics. I have always considered myself to be politically active. I don’t claim to be an expert on anything by any means, but I do my best to stay up to date on our current political state. Not everyone chooses to be active in politics, which is their right, but I am a believer that choosing to ignore political issues can lead to ignorance and a toxic state of government. Without the voice of an informed public to check politicians, the government can quickly move to take
Music ‘n Musings advantage of the masses. A song that really resonates with my belief in activism is “Nina Cried Power” by Hozier, featuring civil rights activist Mavis Staples. In it Hozier and Staples praise various political activists both past and present, including Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, John Lennon and Billie Holliday. All of these famous figures “cried power” and called attention to the various issues they saw in the world around them, whether it was race, war, poverty or the environment. Using the power of their voices, they brought about change and helped bring about a better world. But just because the figures listed in the song are famous figures doesn’t mean their voices carry any more weight than the average
person. Anyone can “cry power,” bringing attention to the issue they care deeply about. It isn’t enough to simply know about an issue. To bring about true change, one has to raise their voice and make their opinion known. “It’s not the song, it is the singing,” that matters most. As the election approaches, stay up to date with politics, the candidates and their respective platforms. Almost a third of the students at SHS will be able to vote in November 2020, so staying educated about the various issues present in the election will help create a pool of informed, effective voters. I am a firm believer that it is never too late to become more active in the pursuit of the change that our country needs. It doesn’t matter what the issue is, or what stance is taken. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But don’t let the easier route of apathy take control. “Cry power,” and know that even the smallest of voices can be heard when joined by people speaking in unison.
“
Using the power of their voices, they brought about change and helped bring about a better world.
”
Scan here to listen to Hozier’s “Nina Cried Power”
“OK, Boomer”
Icy roads
New season of “Rick and Morty”
Not delaying school
Fall musical
Waiting for unassigned door
Thanksgiving break
Too many streaming services
32 Opinion
The road to respect
Young people should learn the meaning of consent By Shelby Reeves, Reporter
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, every 73 seconds someone gets sexually assaulted. That’s a minute and 13 seconds. Now, this doesn’t always mean rape. This could mean being touched in places that shouldn’t be touched without consent from the partner. Looking at the situation at hand, I see the largest problem is that teens today do not know what consent truly is. Sexual consent defined by Planned Parenthood is when someone agrees to do something sexual with another person. Romantic consent is more of the spectrum of giving hugs or holding hands. Both of these versions are very important to maintain a healthy relationship. I personally feel like students today think they know their partners like the back of their hand, but in reality, they don’t. My parents have been married for almost 25 years and they’re still growing closer every day. People should not assume that they understand their partners so well that they would know how their partner would react in almost every situation. What happens when there are no boundaries set or consent is made? Besides sexual assault, rape could occur. Rape is described by Merriam-Webster as unlawful sexual activity and usually, sexual intercourse
carried out forcibly under threat of injury against a person’s will. If one were to go into a passionate situation without consent or communication, it’s clear it could hurt the other person physically, emotionally and mentally. According to The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, there are two phases of recovering rape trauma: the acute phase and the reorganization phase. The acute phase is when the victim will recall what happened right after and several days after the assault happened. The victim may feel shock, confusion and denial that the incident ever happened. Physical symptoms may include disruption in sleeping and eating, soreness, bruises and fatigue. The reorganizing phase is when the victim would have to accept the reality of the assault and, hopefully, seek help. Long-term problems, if left unaddressed, could be depression, anger issues and rape-related PTSD. Since the gruesome truth of rape and the life-altering trauma is starting to become more prominent in society, many people are slowly seeing the need for consent and the how it could change a relationship for the better. However, these same people almost ignore the idea of romantic consent. This could be as simple as asking to hold
Did you know? 82% of all sexual assalt victims under 18 are female. Source: RAINN
the other’s hand or before kissing them. But why is consent so important? To put it simply, respect. Asking for consent from a partner before engaging in anything physical will set and reinforce boundaries in the relationship and even create a deeper connection rooted in mutual respect. Asking before anything intimate or passionate shows a high level of respect and romantic connection.
Fast Facts
8
ONLY
STATES
require sex education classes to mention consent
16
The legal age of consent is
in Indiana
When intoxicated, an individual cannot legally consent to sexual activity. Source: RAINN
Opinion 33
Painting pixels Traditional art is on par with digital art By Kayla Brown, Graphics Artist and Reporter
Art comes in many styles, sizes and costs, but one of the most controversial topics in the art community is whether digital and traditional art is better than the other. I’m an artist and have been for years now, and I believe I can throw out some input, having dabbled in both of these different ways of communicating creatively. I think that, although traditional is my favorite, both are acceptable and amazing forms of art and are unique in their own ways. Art in general is difficult to learn and master. I’ve been drawing traditionally with pencil on paper since I was in third grade, and I know I’m not even halfway towards mastering it. I’ve found a style, a coloring technique and ways to come up with my own designs that have come through years of trial and error. Traditional art is difficult. Artists can’t just draw a pictureperfect straight line without a ruler like with digital art. However, traditional feels more pure, more original. It has a burning feel of nostalgia, for me at least. It’s easily erasable and artists don’t have to worry about having the wrong brushes because they’re working with stuff they’ve been working with. There’s so many different kinds of markers, charcoal, paper, pencils. The possibilities are endless. On the other side of the 34 Opinion
spectrum, I’ve only been drawing digitally for about a year and a half. Digital art is beautiful. Artists can create glows of neon or the tiniest details that people couldn’t even imagine putting on paper. It usually turns out smooth and well lit. Plus, aspiring artists can get programs for free. Brushes in programs come in all different forms, and sometimes people can even make their own. One aspect of digital art is drawing on different layers. Layers are a godsend, and I personally use them in every digital piece I do. Traditional drawing may be, well, traditional, but digital artistry is messing with a whole new environment. However, digital drawing has some downsides. There’s nothing more painful to me than sketching out a design and then doing the line art, only to find out I accidentally did them on the same layer. In fact, I did that the other night and almost cried. It’s an awful experience and has cost me many artworks that I ended up trashing. Digital art is also a risky business. If a drawing isn’t saved and the computer resets or shuts down, it’s gone, possibly forever. It’s happened to me and it sucks. Some programs autosave. FireAlpaca, the one I use, autosaves any drawings. While digital art may be easier, it’s nothing like the feeling of a pencil on paper
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Traditional art just has that spark an artist can’t get from drawing on a computer.
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and the sound of sketching a real drawing. The feeling of nostalgia from drawing on paper is a beautiful feeling to bask in. It feels like how it was when I started back in third grade: magical. It’s my passion, and digital art has never owned up to that same feeling. Traditional art just has that spark an artist can’t get from drawing on a computer. Even though digital art has its benefits, traditional drawings will always have a special place in my heart.
Accepting adoption Family goes deeper than blood By Sophia McKinney, Reporter The second my mom held me for the first time at the orphanage in Fuling, China, she promised me a life full of acceptance and value. Little did she know, many people in the future were going to try to take my value away. My experiences being an adopted child have torn parts of me, but they have ultimately made me a stronger person today. Adoption should be viewed in a positive light, not in a negative lens. Elementary school was a struggle especially with my mom being the art teacher at the school I went to. I was one of the few Asians who attended that school. Kids were young and didn’t quite understand the concept of adoption like I did. Questions I would often get were “You’re not her real daughter. Can she even love you the same?” and ”Why didn’t she just have a baby
Did you know? 135,000 children are adopted each year in the United States Source: Adoption Network
instead?” Younger me was very conflicted and began to question my mom and myself. I often wondered why my peers perceived adoption as a pity party or something to be ashamed of. I even received comments like “You were a backup plan because your mom couldn’t have a baby,” “I’m sorry, it must suck for your real parents not to want you” and “I feel bad that you don’t know your real parents.” Those comments left a huge scar on my heart throughout my elementary school years. Instead of coming home to my mom and telling her about the new things I learned, tears would flood my eyes from the constant questioning and comments from my peers. As I transitioned into middle school, the majority of my peers started to understand the concept of adoption. The questions and comments began to lose their intensity and turned into plain fascination and interest. The questions changed to “How do you and your mom get along?” and “Would you ever be interested in meeting your biological
parents?” Those kinds of questions not only helped me feel more accepted, but they also encouraged me to explore my heritage and identity more openly. Before, I wouldn’t want my mom to celebrate Chinese New Year and make Chinese food at home. After knowing that my peers were more aware of my cultural identity, I began to welcome my heritage more into my everyday life. Today, I’ve noticed that my peers have become more accepting of my adoption, but I’ll still get the same pity comments that make me feel less of what I truly am. I’ll also hear adoption being thrown around as an insult through social media and around school. I’ll listen to people in the hallway playfully joking and then I hear “Well, you’re adopted” as a comeback. It is not a joke, a pity party or something to be ashamed of. Adoption should be more spoken of and accepted in a beautiful way, not a tragic way. I’ve learned to see my adoption as a light in my life that just keeps getting brighter and more vibrant. It’s a part of me and so many others. According to Adoption Network, there are about 135,000 adopted in the United States per year. Being able to be view adoption as a positive change will help those who have been adopted to increase the love and value within themselves and relationships with others. Opinion 35
Journal Address
SHS is more than the actions of a few
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It’s easy to see a rough patch of students and think that this represents SHS as a whole, but anyone that’s in this building daily could attest to the fact that the good apples, by far, outweigh the bad.
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36 Opinion
The video that we saw surface across different media platforms and news outlets on last Friday was horrid. People were mad when they saw a boy cornered in one of our school’s bathrooms with three boys towering over him and attacking him. But the thing that the general public isn’t aware of is that, as far as adminstration knows, the cornered student agreed to meet up with three other students in the school bathroom to potentially fight. And once administration was made aware of the incident, they continued to hold fast to the one and done policy. They are following through with expulsion and not condoning any sort of fighting or violence at SHS, unlike the picture that many people have painted. We, The Journal, know that this violent video doesn’t represent SHS. It doesn’t represent the six core values in our mission statement or the inclusion that we try so hard to enforce at this school. Obviously the incident is
not something to be taken lightly. What happened was unnecessary, inexcusable and wrong. However, we can not let this be a defining part of our school. It’s true that sometimes a few bad apples can ruin the bunch, but that does not have to hold true here. What we should be paying attention to is what the ripe and fresh apples do for the bunch. It’s easy to see a rough patch of students and think that this represents our student body as a whole, but anyone that’s in this building daily could attest to the fact that the good apples, by far, outweigh the bad. We have so many amazing clubs and teams at this school and dedicated sponsors and coaches. On Nov. 11, Perry Township held a celebration to congratulate all of the township’s hardworking students and coaches, which included many people from SHS. Our Spell Bowl team is heading to State tomorrow, the football team went to Sectionals, students from publications like The Journal
Cartoon by Trinity Trent JOURNAL ADDRESS
This is the opinion of the editorial board of The Journal and The Anchor have won state and national awards for their work, and there’s so much more. The hard work of these staff and students doesn’t go unnoticed, even when the bad apples distort the view. The administration tries their hardest to ensure a positive learning environment at SHS, but we, along with administration, feel that it’s more dependent on the students to make this ideal environment a reality. As one of our core values states, we are responsible for our personal growth and learning. If we continue to be bystanders and let potential bad apples get through the bunch, nothing will improve. Our great administration will try as hard as they can and get their job done day in and day out, but at the end of the day, it’s on the students to make SHS the great place that it is. We always hear to not make assumptions, but this is especially true at our school. We are a diverse school that has a lot to offer, and we cannot let the bad apples outweigh the good.
Media feature The Journal talks to junior Eli Gregory about his rise to social media fame
Q&A
Junior Eli Gregory
Follow Eli on Instagram @itseligreyy
By Shelby Denny, Social Media Editor
What is the story behind your social media fame? “I posted a video on TikTok, and then it blew up, and since then I’ve gained a lot of following.”
How many people have your videos reached, and have you experienced any international support? “My videos have reached about 5 or 6 million people, and a lot of that is international. I get a lot of people on Instagram that are from other countries: Lithuania, Belgium, France and Spain.”
How has this impacted/changed your life?
Follow Eli on Tiktok @eligreyy
“It’s opened up some opportunities in my life, and I’ve had some friends leave because of it. Other than that, my life is the same.”
Do you think this could be something bigger than a little social media fame, and if so, could you see this as a career? “I feel like if I continue making videos, and if I keep making funny videos, that I could gain enough followers to turn it into a career.”
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Photos
Leave it all on the field Editor: Jordin Baker
The Cards end their season, seniors finish their career in tough sectional championship loss at Ben Davis
(Above) Senior LaMarco Yates cries while hugging his stepfather after losing his last high school football game. “I was thinking that my high school football career was over, and now I have to get ready for the next chapter,” Yates said. (Left) Junior Turk Faitele squats and thinks about the game. “The things running through my mind was a lot, but the main thing was to maintain the good leadership skills and carry the team to our best,” Faitele said. Photos by Kelsey Jones 38 Photos
Photos
Leave it all on the field Editor: Jordin Baker
The Cards end their season, seniors finish their career in tough sectional championship loss at Ben Davis
(Above) Senior LaMarco Yates cries while hugging his father after losing his last high school football game. “I was thinking that my high school football career was over, and now I have to get ready for the next chapter,” Yates said. (Left) Junior Turk Faitele squats and thinks about the game. “The things running through my mind was a lot, but the main thing was to maintain the good leadership skills and carry the team to our best,” Faitele said. Photos by Kelsey Jones 38 Photos
(Right) Senior Ryan Lezon jumps over his opponent while running the ball. “I started to lose faith towards the end of the game, but I was just trying to enjoy my last few moments,” Lezon said. Photo by Kelsey Jones
(Left) Sophomore Nolan Hall tackles a Ben Davis wide receiver with help from sophomore Mitchell Unversaw. Photo by Jordin Baker
To see more photos of the sectional championship game, scan the QR code below.
(Above) Senior Jordan Tweedy attempts to get past Ben Davis jammer Cade Thompson. “I felt sad knowing it was my last game because of all the brotherhoods and bonds I’ve made. It sucked seeing all that and my hard work since freshman year come to an end,” Tweedy said. “It was also sad that I will never play alongside my two best friends ever again. I can be proud that it was a great ride and I gave it everything I had.” (Left) Junior Damien Stewart pushes Ben Davis wide receiver Cade Thompson out of Photos 39 bounds. Photos by Jordin Baker
The age of esports
By Nathan Smith, Reporter As students enter room 115, the Smartboard is lit up while two competitors battle against each other in Super Smash Bros. Behind the competitors are other students sitting at monitors or personal gaming devices, smiling and laughing as they wait their turn to take the controls at the front of the room. “To me esports is a community where people can go to have fun and compete against each other to see who is the better player,” junior Jason Black said. As technology continues to evolve, so has competition. People are eager to dive into the world of esports according to Miami University in Ohio professor Glenn Platt. Schools like SHS have followed the trend by deciding to bring their very own competitive esports team to the table...
Want to finish reading this story about the esports team that started at SHS? Scan the QR to continue “The age of esports,” The Journal’s second online in-depth piece of the year.