The Birds and the Bees - Eagle Eye News - Volume 9, Number 2 - December 2023

DESIGN BY Julia Landy

The Birds the Bees

and

In this Issue...

08

18

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY Spanish Club hosts 14th annual multicultural showcase

UP ALL NIGHT Most MSD students suffer from sleep deprivation

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UNWRAPPING THE HOLIDAYS Students share the unique traditions behind their holiday celebrations

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School December 2023 • Volume 9 • Number 2

FEATURE • Local Farms 01

DESIGN BY Rayne Welser

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

5901 Pine Island Road Parkland, Florida 33076

Quarter Two 2023 • Volume 9, Number 2 EagleEye.News

@HumansofMSD @MSDEagleEye

@MSDEagleEye

@MSDEagleEyeNews

News

in Brief 04 MSD New developments occur at MSD

La Culture 07 Viva Welcome to America Club hosts first annual Universal Festival

the Night Away 08 Dance Spanish Club hosts 14th annual multicultural showcase

Feature of MSD 11 Pets Pets and service animals assist MSD students and staff emotionally through their unique personalitites

Meet Michelle Smith

13 Campus Monitor Michelle Smith works to keep students and staff on campus safe

Birds and The Bees 14-17 The Teens search for other ways to learn sex-ed in its absence from school curriculum

All Night 21 Up Sleep deprivation negatively affects students

Sports of the Norm 27 Out Students particpate in non-traditional sports after outside of school Executive Editor-in-Chief Rayne Welser Associate Editor-in-Chief Jessie Gesund Alison LaTorre Brynn Schwartz Photo Editors Chelsea Townsend Glory Lee Carolina Ochoa

Section Editors Ryan Shimony Lyla Sachs Andie Korenge Aisha Hashmi Andres Fuenmayor Jasmine Bhogaita Grace Brill Anna Horowitz Dhaanya Balaji Victoria Damaso Ava Thomas

Opinion

Student 24 Compromised Safety

Global conflicts should not affect the safety of students

Nuances 25 Neglecting TV shows and films fail to accurately portray teenage characters

Arts & Leisure

Season of Giving 21 The Students can celebrate the

holidays in ways other than gift-giving

23 Students share unique

Unwrapping the Holidays

Cover

DESIGN BY Rayne Welser

holidays and their traditions

Podcast Editor Javier Otero Social Media Editors Ashveen Saini Yusra Khairi Staff Reygan McIntosh Natalia Dzielnicka Rio Rice

Publication Policies Eagle Eye News is an open forum for student expression created by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students. Eagle Eye News does not represent the views of of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School or Broward County Public Schools.

Eagle Eye News seeks to recognize the individuals, events and ideas relevant to readers. Our organization is committed to fair reporting, providing a platform for student voices and equitable coverage.

To read our complete set of policies and editorial procedures, please visit us at www.eagleeye.news The publication is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association.

If you would like to advertise please call (754) 322-2150 or email MSDEagleEyeNews@gmail.com

DESIGN BY Rayne Welser

to the

Letters Editor Bathrooms Stalled Dear Editor, In school, there needs to be more rules and restrictions about vaping, especially in the bathrooms. There are only 3 stalls in most of the girls bathrooms and they are usually hogged by people vaping. There’s no point in bothering to wait because they won’t come out anytime soon, so you’ll end up being late to class. There would be a line of seven people waiting to actually use the bathroom while there are 4 people vaping in each stall. Not to mention the smell and very audible conversations about the latest vape flavor. It would be nice to have bathrooms where people use it for what it’s actually for.

GABRIELLA CASTELLANOS, 9

Crowded Craze Dear Editor, I think we’re all just a little bit tired of the cramped hallways. There are simply way too many people at this school and getting through an intersection between classes should never be this difficult.

On top of that, people need to stop clogging the hallways for absolutely no reason. If you need to stop and chat with your ginormous group of friends, do it on the side of the hallways, not directly in the center. I don’t think that to be a difficult concept but other people seem to.

Our hallways are busy enough without people just standing in the middle of nowhere like we all don’t have someplace to be. (I also hate those of you who walk slow, but I guess I’ll choose my battles) Please, people of MSD, stop standing like a herd of witless cows, and get out of the way. Maybe you don’t have places to be, but I promise, the rest of us do.

MACKENZIE ALLEN, 10

Web of Lies Dear Editor, Misinformation has become more noticeable to me recently than ever before.

Multiple occasions my friends sent me, or I saw, something from social media that was completely wrong or twisted in a way to make you see their way instead of the factual one. Whether it was about our government, governor, medical illnesses/issues, and even our staff, there was totally wrong information on these individuals or groups of people that were being spread throughout the school, but was even half of it true?

On a personal note, I am neutral on politics. I never see one side over the other without seeing both facts. Recently, I have been constantly looking at news sources and verified sources about issues. One example was the recent nickname policy that was put into place here. Before we even got our schedules, my friends and I saw multiple posts about it, but what were the facts? I remember seeing things completely wrong or had nothing to do with it. It was just to make people angrier than me, and other classmates already were.

Misinformation has always been a massive issue in history, however, why hasn’t anyone tried to fix it?

KALLI WHEELER, 12

Scarce Courses Dear Editor There are many electives that are offered at MSD. Many of these options are not available to new coming freshmen at the school. This needs to change for multiple reasons. One of these is to excite the brand new high schoolers for the upcoming school year and the following. Another benefit of this change would be the access to higher levels

Communication Breakdown

of these electives earlier on in the high school career for whoever takes the classes.

This would allow students to advance quicker on pace with their own schedule.

Eliminating the boundary for electives could advance the student with even further knowledge and talent, while also letting said student enjoy the classes.

AJ DE MEO, 9

Managing Morale Dear Editor, Students are so overworked and stressed from school, there should be some sort of activity that the school sponsors to lift morale and give something for students to look forward to. It doesn’t have to be an everyday activity; it can be every other day or even once a week. The activity can be something simple like a craft or something like a fun run.

This would boost student morale and

mood and even might increase attendance because it gives students an opportunity to destress and spend some time with their friends.

Students wouldn’t be forced, rather they would be given an option to participate in the activities with possible outcomes of gaining service hours or being entered into a raffle from participating in these activities.

MYLIE MAYBERRY, 10

test or an assignment.

In addition, when students don’t cheat, they generally will not actually absorb the information either. They will memorize the information necessary for the day of the test and forget it afterwards. There must be a change in the way that classes are structured so that students’ learning is prioritized, not their grades.

MIA IUSIM-SILER , 10

Empty Education Dear Editor, I fear for the future stability of our country’s educational system. I sympathize with both the students and educators who are rapidly burning out. It is an altruistic decision to devote your entire profession to teaching the current generation, yet our society fails to see the value in teachers. In classrooms at every level, the lively energy required to fuel learning has dissipated.

I observe the grave concern felt by the educators in my family as they stress over their students’ success and their own financial security. As more teachers leave the field in search of better opportunities, the students are left in crammed classrooms. I hope those supervising our educational system can unveil the sheer fabric over their eyes and realize the importance of teachers.

Matea Cohen, 11

Minimize Midterms

LIA SCHWARTZ, 10

Three to a Seat

Send Us a Letter Have something to say about the school? Have something to say about a local, national or global issue? Have something to say about this issue of the Eagle Eye? We want to hear your opinions.

Email submission to: MSDEagleEyeNews@gmail.com Submissions must be between 100-200 words

AVA BUNKER, 12

Dear Editor, I believe the midterms should be discussed more. I agree that students who are failing should have another chance for redemption, but I don’t think it should be forced. Students who have a C or lower should still be able to exempt the midterm. Chances are--if they are failing the class--they will also fail the midterm.

This could potentially bring their grade down, rather than up. Plus, there are some students with a 78 or 79 who have worked hard and deserve to exempt, but instead they must take it.

Also, AP students should be eligible to exempt. They have spent all semester taking college-level tests, so they should be able to relax before break. Many juniors and seniors have 3+ AP classes, making the last few weeks before break unnecessarily stressful. I know that this is supposed to help prepare for the AP exams, but I don’t see how one midterm is different from the many tests students take throughout the year; except being cumulative of all chapters/modules.

Risk for Reward

Dear Editor, I feel as if school has turned into less of a place of learning and more into a place of passing. There is less of a priority for students to actually understand the material they learn.

Instead, students are simply determined to do well in their classes. They will do this by any means necessary, whether it be ethically or by cheating. Students would rather damage their academic integrity than risk doing poorly on a

Dear Editor, One thing I think that should be more focused on is the schools wifi. The school blocks out certain apps and other important things that students should be able to access. It also makes me wonder what the point of even having my phone is, when trying to contact somebody, especially when the topic is urgent, and none of my texts or calls will go through. I know many students who experience the same frustration and annoyance with the situation. I think that this is an issue that is kind of ignored but is very important, especially when our phone are taken during instructional periods anyways, better wifi would only be used when it is allowed.

Students sole purpose for having phones at school is to be able to contact people quick and effectively which is very hard to do, when not a single text will send.

Dear Editor, Overall, my experience riding the school bus has been pretty enjoyable. However, every year, there is always the problem of overcrowding on my bus, a problem that I wish was taken more seriously. This year, the problem got more severe because another stop was added to my route, making the ride home from school both longer and more uncomfortable. Most of the rows on my bus were filled three to a seat with the person at the window squished against the wall while the person at the aisle clinging for dear life not to fall. Some people even tried to just stand or sit on the floor of the bus rather than squish together like sardines in a can. This problem usually calms down further into the school year.

Still, I wish we had more buses available. Or even just larger buses to accommodate to all the students.

ALANA KARAM, 11

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 03

MSD

DESIGN BY Alison LaTorre

in brief

New developments occur at MSD

for your information

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY. MSD’s women’s cross country team qualified for the state championship on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Senior Ella Schwartz placed first for MSD with a time of 21:23:25. Also competing were senior Esther Bang, freshman Caroline Schwartz, juniors Mikayla Ryan and Morgan Melchiorri and sophomores Olympic Koumoutsakis and Sparta Koumoutsakis.

normal on Friday, Nov. 18, and school closed the next week for Thanksgiving break.

MULTICULTURAL SHOW. MSD’s Spanish Club put on their annual Multicultural Show on Friday, Dec. 1, with multiple cultural clubs. Students performed during first and second period, as well as a show in the evening at 7 p.m.

CAMBRIDGE NIGHT. MSD’s guidance department held Cambridge Night on Tuesday, Nov. 28 for current eighth graders, freshmen, sophomores and juniors to give a presentation on new accelerated courses that will be offered during the 2024-2025 school year. Most notably, MSD will be offering Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education courses, which will give current and incoming freshmen the

BLACK HISTORY MONTH AUDITIONS. Black Student Union held auditions for their annual Black History Month show that will take place on Feb. 23, 2024. Auditions were held by seniors Eleasha Augustin, Aisha Yacoob and the BSU.

CANCELED SCHOOL. Broward County Public Schools canceled school on Thursday, Nov. 17 due to inclement weather. It reopened as

CAUGHT IN THE HERD. On the streets of New York City Melody Lynton, Dylan Morales, Esther Bang, Jonathan Kokulyansky, Nicolas Guadagno, and Josiah Jimenez march the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade on Nov. 23. The band followed this year’s theme, “Polar Express,” by creating their uniforms to resemble the outfits worn in the movie. PHOTO BY Caitlin Wong

welcome to new york

Eagle Regiment performs in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

T

he Eagle Regiment performed in the nationally televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 23 in New York City. The Eagle Regiment was one of 10 bands selected to perform in the parade, and the

04 NEWS • Briefs

entire program—160 students—participated in the performance.

The Eagle Regiment is the first band ever selected from Broward County Public Schools to participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and represented Florida’s high school

opportunity to receive a Cambridge AICE diploma.

MEN’S GOLF. MSD men’s golf team placed second at districts, with a combined score of 304, qualifying for the regional championship on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The team placed seventh out of 16 teams, with a team score of 316. Seniors Ryan Shimony and Jayden Thuraisingham, juniors Evan Mazanec and Carson Meredith and sophomore Josh Lieberman competed in the events.

FRENCH WEEK. MSD’s French Club celebrated French Week the week of Nov. 1 to Nov. 8. They played traditional French music over the announcements, did daily French trivia and hosted activities in the courtyard during lunch.

WOMEN’S GOLF. MSD women’s golf team qualified for the state

bands.

The band has known about their invitation to perform in the parade since 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they had not been able to attend until this year. The students practiced intently and excitedly with new routines that followed the theme of the year, Polar Express.

This is not the first nationally televised event the band has been invited to, as they performed in the London New Year’s Day Parade on Jan. 1, 2023. They have had their routine prepared since their London performance, but began rehearsing it at the beginning of this year.

“Being able to perform in front of millions of spectators was exciting,” librarian Esther Bang said. “Though the London Parade was an unforgettable experience, this was much larger than anything we have ever done before. The audience was worldwide. To be prepared for this unique opportunity, the Eagle Regiment practiced with much intent to wow the crowd.”

The band rehearsed weekly after school and

championship on Monday, Oct. 30 after placing second at districts and fourth in at regionals. At districts, the team shot a 343 and a 340 in regionals.

Despite placing fourth, the team qualified for the state championship with an at-large bid. In the 36-hole event, the team shot a combined score of 730, placing 15th. Seniors Cassidy Charles and Ella Mamane, sop sophomore Sophie Alcala Marks and freshman Sutton Oosterhuis and Ella Thompson played in the three tournaments.

SIGNING DAY. MSD held their national signing day on Wednesday, Nov. 15 in the media center. In all, 15 student-athletes participated and signed on continue their athletic and academic career at a post-secondary school.

REPORTING BY Brynn Schwartz, Carolina Ochoa and Ryan Shimony

on the weekends.

The student work that went into the rehearsal process was a group effort and included picking the music, creating visual effects and deciding on the performance’s choreography.

“Our goal was to put out a performance unlike no other; we wanted to be able to showcase the talent in Stoneman Douglas High School and the extreme talent from this organization,” sophomore Adam Rivero said.

The theme sparked excitement and nostalgia from participants, as well as inspiring the band to bring the theme into their performance.

The band premiered their performance during a send-off event in Cumber Stadium on Nov. 17 to student, teacher and parent spectators.

Their Thanksgiving Day performance only lasted a couple of minutes, but they created train props to carry around, designed their uniforms to resemble the uniforms from the “Polar Express” movie and chose music inspired by the movie and the holiday spirit.

“There’s just not as much pressure behind the performance in London as it is in New York; the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is regarded as the biggest parade every year,” Band Director Steve Rivero said. “And it was amazing, I think we accomplished the goal of being memorable.”

STORY BY Lyla Sachs

PAINTING FACES. Before the ColorRun, sophomore Jordan Tessler paints a butterfly on senior Jenny Baksh’s face.. Dance Marathon, which was hosting the event, offered face paintings as an additional fundraiser. PHOTO

BY Reygan McIntosh

taste the rainbow

Dance Marathon hosts third annual Color Run at Parkland Equestrian Center on Dec. 2

T

he Color Run serves as a fundraiser that contributes to MSD’s annual Dance Marathon event, which raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network and also benefits the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, a non-profit organization, in Miami.

“Everything in excess, like the decorations, our DJ and our stage goes directly to ‘DonorDrive’, which benefits the Children’s Hospital,” Dance Marathon sponsor Coral Bachen said.

The turnout for the Color Run event increased this year, and the Dance Marathon Club exceeded their goal to sell 100 tickets to the event.

“Our maximum number of tickets was capped at 100,” Dance Marathon Vice President Meagan McGinty said. “We had people afterwards asking if they could buy more, so we sold over our target amount.”

The club sold an additional 40 tickets. With each $35 ticket purchase, participants received a t-shirt, food, water and color packets for the run.

Ahead of the race, Dance Marathon offered other activities for entertainment. Attendees could pay for face painting, friendship bracelet kits and fortune telling while waiting for the main event-the color run itself-to begin.

Morale Captains, who are student leaders, danced in order to keep spirits motivated and energized for the race.

English teachers Chelsea Briggs and Coral Bachen co-sponsor the Dance Marathon Club.

Bachen enjoys working and coordinating these events and watching over them.

“I love it. It’s really fun because it is not serious, and it is something people can do on a day with nice weather,” Bachen said. “The kids can run around and get messy with their friends.”

At around 2:30 p.m., the student contestants gathered at the starting line. They were given packets of colored powder to throw at the beginning of the race, and they had a choice to either throw it into the air or at someone for a head start in the race.

Briggs gave a countdown starting from three, and when she hit one, the colors were in the air and the racers were off.

Senior Darren Edenbaum won the race, followed by junior Miguel Martinez and senior Seth Goldstein. Each received a medal.

“I participated in the Color Run for all the kids with cancer and for Mrs. Briggs,” Edenbaum said.

Friends and other attendees congratulated them, and after that, the Third Annual Dance Marathon Color Run was over.

In total, the event raised $4,000, a $1,000 increase from last year. Those funds will go towards this year’s fundraising goal of $20,000.

So far, the club has raised $8,476.

In the spring, the club will host its main Dance Marathon dance and will reveal the total raised for the year. Last year, the club raised $14,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network.

STORY BY Alison LaTorre

COVERED IN COLOR. Surrounded by friends, Senior Seth Goldstein celebrates his third place victory.

The color run was hosted by Dance Marathon in hopes to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network. PHOTO BY Reygan McIntosh

stockings for smiles F Latinos in Action hosted stocking activity for Joe DiMaggio hospital or the holiday season, the Latinos in Action class organized a stocking project for the Joe DiMaggio children’s hospital on Wednesday, Nov. 29. During both periods of Latinos in Action, President Valeria Anzures and Spanish teacher Rebecca Hernandez set up supplies and assembly lines for students and other officers to create their own donated stockings.

“I love the fact that I can join a class where we become better people through helping others,” senior Ronel Chery said. “I think these stockings will make the kids at the hospital so happy since it is a gift they were not expecting.”

Latinos in Action works to empower Latino youth to be college and career ready through culture, service, leadership and education. In the past, the class, which is also a club, has held different events like writing letters for cancer patients, donations for a food drive at St. Elizabeth Church, tutoring students at Riverglades Elementary School and participation in a costume drive at Parkside Elementary School.

All the events the class hosts and participates in aims to give back to the community and those that are less fortunate.

“I joined Latinos in Action because not only did I hear it was a fun class from my friends, but they also learn about leadership skills and tutor elementary kids,” senior Ximena Alvarez. “I got really interested because I wanted to support and help my community more.”

For this project in particular, the class came together and stuffed stockings with different candies, toys and stickers for the patients at the children’s hospital. Handwritten cards wishing the children a happy holiday season were also included in the stockings.

“The stocking stuffers will have an enormous impact because I believe that any act of kindness is a big act of kindness,” senior Thierry Denis said. “The stockings filled with toys are being sent to sick children in the hospital who do not have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas, so a gesture of kindness and holiday spirit can go a very long way.”

The approximately 60 students in the two periods of Latinos in Action made 64 stockings for boys and 48 stockings for girls, which were all sent out on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

“I originally came from Coconut Creek High School where we had a pretty decent sized program, and when I came here two

STOCKING STUFFERS. Sophomores Anna Bezzie, Santi Rincelin and Angel Rodriguez write heartfelt letters to put in stockings for patients at Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital. Their letters were put in one of the 112 stockings filled with gifts that were made by Latinos in Action members. “Letters to the children will be inside the stockings, as well as toys collected from the class,” Hernandez said. PHOTO BY Natalia Dzielnicka

years ago to MSD, it was new to the school, so I brought it with me,” Hernandez said. “It was a challenge getting the kids involved, but since then I think we have built what we call a pretty strong familia.”

For the month of December, Latinos in Action also hosted a holiday clothing drive on Friday, Dec. 8 in partnership with Boca Raton

Community Church . The club accepted new, as well as gently used clothes for donations to families in less fortunate communities, particularly for families with single mothers.

Latinos in Action plans to continue more projects throughout the year to continue to aid their local community.

STORY BY Alison LaTorre

NEWS • Briefs 05

DESIGN BY Dhaanya Balaji

Dr. Scott Lieberman PULMONARY & CRITICAL CARE PHYSICIAN

Sub-Specialities: Critical Care Medicine & Pleural Disease Experience: 11-20 years Speciality: Pulmonology Northwest Medical Center 2825 State Road Suit 305 Margate, FL 33063

BrowardPulm@gmail.com Office Number: 754-702-3247

Simon C Wong DO, MM, MBA INTERNAL MEDICINE

9750 NW 33rd St Suite 206 Coral Springs, FL 33065 T: 954-603-5508 F: 954-603-1038 www.WellCareMedicalClinic.com

06 ADVERTISEMENTS

ENTERING NEW LANDS. The Welcome to America Club sets up signs in the main courtyard during both lunches to represent the diversity of cultures at MSD. The signs were part of the Universal Festival, which aimed to increase cultural unity among the student population.

PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini FESTIVE FLAGS. Senior Lucia Giraldo paints a Dominican flag on senior Khanisha Cileus’s cheek. WTA had club members paint flags of students home countries on their faces during lunch to promote pride in their homeland. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini SPINNING UNDER THE SUN. Senior Paola Ulli dances in the courtyard while wearing a traditional Mexican skirt. She performed a choreographed dance to Mexican music that she later performed on stage for the multicultural show on Dec. 1. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini

SPINNING UNDER THE SUN

FESTIVE FLAGS

SYNCHRONIZED STEPS

ENTERING NEW LANDS

SYNCHRONIZED STEPS. Sophomore Christian Ramirez and junior Sara Lopez dance together to hispanic rhythms Groups of students gathered to dance to the beat after engaging with other activites offered by the WTA Club. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini

CHEERING ON OUR NATIONS. Junior Sara Calderon and senior Paola Ulli excidedly sing along to the latin music playing during lunch.

The WTA club played music from a playlist that was carefully curated to represent over 150 students home countries. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini CHEERING ON OUR NATIONS

Viva La Welcome to America Club hosts first annual Universal Festival

T

Culture

he Welcome to America Club held its first annual Universal Festival in the courtyard during both lunches on Wednesday, Nov. 29 to celebrate and share the different cultures and nationalities of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

“There are a lot of people that you see [at MSD], but you don’t know where they’re from,” WTA President Mariana Mateus said.

“You don’t always think that there are that many cultures here, but there are actually a lot.”

At the festival, students made posters sharing the history and culture of their countries, wore team jerseys or traditional clothing from their countries, played music from a playlist cre-

ated by members of the club showcasing music that represents each country, painted flags onto students’ faces, drew flags around the courtyard using chalk and performed choreographed dances representing countries like Russia, Ukraine, Italy and more.

In order to hold the festival, officers of the club needed to obtain approvals for the location and event.

The festival was set up by most of the 150 club members. They designed and displayed posters advertising the festival, choreographed dances to perform and purchased the face paint used.

“For me, the festival meant an opportunity for everyone to meet people from our countries and learn about other continents,” WTA Vice

President Ivanna Bohorquez said. “With the festival, everyone learned about different cultures with music and fun.”

The club was created last year with the goal of making all students at MSD, regardless of their nationality, feel welcome at school. It is sponsored by AP Spanish Literature teacher Luz Aguirre.

They hold meetings twice a month in room 908, where they play Kahoots, show informative presentations on classes and dual enrollment, make arts and crafts and play games outside. “...in our club, it doesn’t matter who you are, and this is a place to celebrate and to make everyone welcome,” Mateus said. “It’s a space we share, where we can make friends and form

a family.”

The club provides a safe haven for students who have recently moved to the United States and helps aid in the transition by teaching them about the American education system.

Along with this, it allows them to meet other students experiencing something similar and educates them on other countries and cultures in hopes of creating a more tolerant student body.

WTA plans to hold its second Universal Festival next school year and invites all students and staff at MSD to learn about the different countries and cultures students come from by joining the club.

STORY BY Yusra Khairi DESIGN BY Aisha Hashmi

NEWS • Universal Festival 07

DESIGN BY Ashveen Saini PHOTOS BY Andres Fuenmayor, Glory Lee, Alison LaTorre and Ashveen Saini

Dance the

Night Away Spanish Club hosts 14th annual multicultural showcase

spanning two acts and featured a variety of dances and additional musical performances. lot of preparation, such as choosing In early September, the club organized a series of auditions for the show’s dances. The Spanish and teaching the dances, choosing Club sponsored popular styles such as Salsa, choreographers, and writing Bachata, Reggaeton, Hip-Hop and Jazz. the script went into making the Other performances included LED Dance Multicultural Showcase possible. Spanish Club, Step Team, Bollywood and Indian Kuthu, Club officers, especially Show Director Paola both sponsored by the Indian Student AssociaGutierrez who was elected last May, and tion. Additionally, the Asian Student Association Sponsor Maria Garcia, played a key role in featured Traditional Chinese and K-Pop dances. organizing and coordinating the event.

This show excited not only the members of “Being director this year has been one of the most determining things I have dedicated to this the Spanish Club and the dancers, but also the year: choosing choreographers, choosing dances, student body as a whole.

“I love the Multicultural Show because it’s so attending practices to see improvement, writing the script, creating the theme for the show, etc.,” interesting to see the different cultures and how they live and dance and seeing the differences Gutierrez said. “This has been one of the best experiences I have been and am currently living between them,” senior Angelina Bisono said. “I can also see the joy on the students’ faces when in.”

This year’s show consisted of over 17 dances they dance, and they seem so passionate about

A

OLÉ. Junior Luis Silva looks off into the crowd while performing. Silva danced with a sombrero on to represent the diverse Mexican culture. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini

OLÉ

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

IN THE SPOTLIGHT. Freshman Nandini Nagaraj energetically performs the Indian Kuthu along with her other members during Act II. This was one of the two dances sponsored by the Indian Student Association. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini

SUPER SHY

SUPER SHY. K-Pop choreographer Jennifer Guo enjoys her moment on stage. Guo, as well as all other choreographers have been practicing for over two months prior to the show. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini

08 NEWS • Multicultural Showcase

it.”

Leading up to the event, participants practiced weekly from Nov. 27-30. During this time, all the dances were rehearsed in the auditorium, under the guidance of the MSD Drama Tech department.

“Due to the amount of planning and organization the show requires, we tend to start working on the show before the school year starts considering the small amount of time we have,” Spanish Club President Valeria Anzures said. “We have been closely working with the choreographers and Ms. Garcia to make sure we have a great event.”

Tickets for the show cost $7 and went on sale Monday, Nov. 27 on the Seat Yourself website.

Ticket sales and consession sales collected $5,467.45. After expenses, the Spanish Club made a $4,156.81 profit.

STORY BY Carolina Ochoa

STARTING OFF. Twirling in her dress, sophomore Valeria Gutierrez dances on stage during zapateado tradicional.

This dance originates from Mexico which consists of a flamenco dance with rhythmic stamping of the feet. PHOTO

BY Andres Fuenmayor

LAST DANCE

SHAKE IT OFF

BEGINNING BOWS LAST DANCE. Senior Ronel Chery and senior Solae Campbell preform together. Chery and Campbell danced Merengue as partners in their last year at MSD. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini SHAKE IT OFF. During Reggaeton dance, senior Elissa Fermin takes the spotlight. Not only did she perform in this dance she also took the stage in LED dance. PHOTO BY Ashveen Saini BEGGINING BOWS. Seniors Chris Salazar, Lily Fang, and Jaison Harvey take a bow after performing their Spoken Word poems. The poems represented cultural stereotypes and overcoming them by appreciating cultures around the world. PHOTO BY Alison LaTorre

NEWS • Multicultural Showcase 09

DESIGN BY Dhaanya Balaji

10 ADVERTISEMENTS

Pets of Pets and service animals assist MSD students and staff emotionally through their unique personalities

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REPORTING AND DESIGN BY Victoria Damaso

MSD

River

n June 2018, Media Specialist Diana Haneski adopted 3-month-old River as a therapy dog for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. She offers support and community building to students and staff with her services.

River can sense panic attacks and anxiety symptoms through facial expressions, posture and tone of voice. In response, she is trained to hug or offer to be petted. Her playful personality is known to reduce the anxiety of students and staff.

River not only volunteers at the school library, but at hospitals as well. She occasionally visits classrooms to provide emotional assistance to students. Her favorite things to do are to be petted, chased or given a Bully Stick.

Ashley Kurth, Culinary Teacher

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W

Kodo

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fter receiving a grant to own classroom pets, Holly VanTassel wanted to own a bearded dragon because they are friendly and convenient for students with allergies. She rescued Kodo, her bearded dragon, from abandonment at a drug recovery center in 2022. VanTassel worked with Kodo until he would not bite from the previous stress he had endured.

“He is so easy to work with,” VanTassel said. “He’s not violent in any way…he’s just chill, and he’s very cool and he kinda just sits on you.”

Kodo is best described as a relaxed pet. He loves to eat mealworms or vegetables and rest in his tank.

Occasionally, he will run around. Although Kodo initially received mixed reactions from students, they eventually grew accustomed to his calm personality.

C

Cutter

utter, a 2-year-old English cream golden retriever, is both a service and therapy dog for guidance counselor Jerry Turmaine. Turmaine had been looking for an English cream golden retriever to bring to school, and Cutter’s playful personality was the perfect fit. He was adopted by breeders in Georgia in 2021.

Turmaine describes Cutter as a “people person” because of his open friendliness towards people and animals he meets.

“He’s friendly with everybody,” Turmaine said. “He’s just happy to be around.”

Cutter enjoys playing, chasing a ball and most of all, swimming. When Cutter was a puppy, Turmaine took him on his scuba diving charter boat, on which he swam and relaxed.

Ash

n response to the shooting at MSD on Feb. 14, 2018, physical education teacher Lauren Rubenstein concluded that a service dog would best help her navigate through her PTSD. In April 2021, she went through a service dog selection process with the Steadfast Service Dogs organization and adopted Ash, a female German shepherd, because of their evident bond.

Ash is specifically trained for blocking, a procedure in which she will block an individual from being too close to Rubenstein, creating natural space. She is currently in the training process for deep pressure therapy, which will allow her to alleviate anxiety by leaning or lying down on the handler.

Apart from providing service to Rubenstein, Ash also helps students and staff reduce anxiety levels by lying by their feet or offering to be petted.

Daisy & Petunia

hen English teacher Holly VanTassel could not find rescued guinea pigs, she adopted Daisy and Petunia from her local pet store in the spring of 2021. VanTassel chose Daisy for her mohawk and Petunia for her charm.

The guinea pigs love to play by chasing each other or climbing on top of each other. They are extremely vocal, especially when they are aware a student has their favorite treat: apples.

“When they smell apples or they know somebody has them, they’re going to be squeaking at the top of their lungs until somebody gives it to them,” VanTassel said.

VanTassel believes it is important to have an emotional break during a busy day, such as petting her guinea pigs. Her favorite memory with Daisy and Petunia was finding them on Instagram after a student made a video of them dancing.

“

I think just in general for students to be around living creatures that provide a form of comfort or some form of companionship just makes it a little easier to deal with daily stress of life.

Gidget

I

n Jan. 2019, culinary teacher Ashley Kurth adopted Gidget, a Pembroke Welsh corgi specialized to respond to dissociative and anxiety response disorders. Gidget is trained to respond to anxiety and dissociative spell symptoms through pressure therapy and touch alert.

“When I am on the verge of either having a panic attack or a dissociative spell related to my PTSD, she usually will indicate me with my leg before I have it,” Kurth said. “It’s an indicator of either sit and pet her or, typically speaking, when I’m at home, I’ll actually lay down and she provides pressure across my chest area. She’s like a walking blanket.”

Kurth’s favorite thing about Gidget is her sassy personality.

Whenever Gidget wants to play, she will carry a toy to someone and sit directly on them. The corgi loves tennis balls, blueberries, cuddling and chasing squeaky objects. Gidget can be found in the culinary classroom on professional study days.

A

Atticus

fter English teacher Felicia Burgin endured a stressful lockdown on Jan. 20, 2023 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,–two weeks before the anniversary of Feb. 14–she became certain she wanted to own a service dog. On the same day as the lockdown, Atticus, a loving German shepherd was born.

Burgin adopted Atticus in April 2023 from the Steadfast Service Dog organization to aid her in coping with her PTSD from the shooting in 2018. He is trained in pressure therapy and tactile stimulation to reduce anxiety and promote grounding. If Burgin notices an upset student, with their permission, she will command Attie to give them a hug.

“Whatever Atti is doing for me, I am more than willing to share him with the kids…If somebody is feeling bad, he will be right there,” Burgin said.

Burgin describes Atticus as a friendly, energetic and happy animal. His favorite activities are fetching or snuggling with Burgin.

FEATURE • MSD Pets 11

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12 ADVERTISEMENTS

Q &A

DESIGN BY Grace Brill and Jasmine Bhogaita GRAPHICS BY Grace Brill

Campus Monitor

Michelle Smith

What does your job as a campus monitor entail?

Campus Monitor Michelle Smith works to keep students and staff on campus safe.

kosher restaurant in Boca [Raton] as an acting manager.

My job is to be very vigilant. Being aware of your surroundings and just building a connection What attracted you to this with the students and trying to keep the students job?

I’m a people’s person. I love working with safe. I do bathroom checks, because bathrooms can be a real hot spot for high schoolers. So I try students and with children. This job lets me to do bathroom checks throughout the day. I try work with all age groups, which is what really to walk around just to make sure the majority of attracted me to it. students are inside their classrooms. And then if What is your favorite thing students are outside of their classrooms, I make about your job? sure that they have a pass.

My favorite thing about my job is working with my team, like working with my security How many years have you team. Coach Carter is a really great asset and a been working at MSD and what were you doing prior to really great leader. So working with her honestly, it makes my day. this job?

This will be my second year working at What is your best memory Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as a working at MSD? security guard. Before this, I was working at a

My best memory was one afternoon after all the kids left. It was just staff left, and we were having a barbecue party. Honestly, I felt like that was a really good vibe. It was just the staff and we were all together, having fun talking and just getting to know each other, because not all of us know each other, especially outside of school.

That was a really fun and great memory for me here at MSD.

What do you love about MSD?

day to day Campus Monitor Michelle Smith shares her day to day routine while working at MSD

Smith arrives at school at 7 a.m. and clocks into dispatch. Then she prepares for student arrival at 7:10 a.m.

I am basically responsible for watching students and making sure all is as it should be.

So, for example, in the morning, I am walking around the courtyard and watching students and then I check the bathrooms. I also try to assist with the elevator because some days I will have a handicapped student, and I’ll assist them upstairs.

[During the day] my job depends on what my boss wants and where she would like me to be because everybody is in a different post, and they rotate.

The things that I love about MSD would be the activities. There is always something going How can you interact with the here, it’s never a dull moment. There are always other staff members at MSD clubs, or events or a game; it’s a high school to help run our school and do culture thing and I love that about MSD. I feel your job? like I am a part of it because once we get those I just try to be friendly. I believe first emails stating what the students have planned impressions are very important. I deal with all throughout the day, it’s exciting. It keeps the different types of personalities. I just try to get to students engaged, and does not make school know everyone and see how I can help. feel boring. Even though you guys are here for education, there’s things that you guys can do for What are some things that fun here at MSD. you feel are important for

What are some things you would like to see improved at MSD?

ON THE JOB. As part of her duties as Campus Monitor Michelle Smith checks the girls’ restroom before school begins. Smith’s responsibilities include frequent bathroom checks to ensure students are respecting school rules. “Overall, I just make sure everyone on campus is safe,” Smith said. PHOTO BY Jasmine Bhogaita

monitor?

As far as our school atmosphere goes, I wish kids would listen better to others when they talk and overall have better behavior. It’s not something that is a problem with everyone, but I think it is something that can be improved on.

Speaking from a security standpoint, I would love to see better equipment for the security team. Things like golf carts, walkie talkies, fans keys. Those basic things would be great and really help us out.

What are some of your responsibilities as a campus

During classes and lunch, Smith watches students at her post assigned to her at the beginning of the day. She also listens to her walkie for instructions from other campus monitors or administrators.

students to know about you?

I want students to know how much I value kindness. I feel like kindness and having manners can take you a long way. Don’t be mean, don’t be a bully, don’t be rude. I’m respectful, and I’ll give you respect back. Respect is something that is earned. Other than that, be happy, and be proud to be an Eagle. I love working here, and I just hope to further my position here at MSD.

Outside of school, how do you enjoy spending your time?

I like to read, watch movies, especially scary movies and just spend time with my friends and my family.

REPORTING BY Jasmine Bhogaita

Before dismissal, Smith lets the parents of ESE students into the bus loop for pickup. Once students are dismissed at 2:40 p.m. she helps with bus dismissal.

Smith clocks out and goes home at 3 p.m.

FEATURE • Security Guard 13

DESIGN BY Andie Korenge and Brynn Schwartz

The Birds the Bees

and

BCPS passes new sex education curriculum

14 FEATURE • Sex Education

“

*Names indicated were changed to protect students’ anonymity

At your age, you’re going to Leonardi said at the meeting.

Florida is an abstinence-only Sex-ed is typically taught to BCPS students have a lot of urges,” Coach sex-ed state, meaning that Carr said in his iconic line in in April or May, so school board members hoped a curriculum that teaches “Mean Girls,” while teaching the issues regarding the curriculum would be abstinence is the expected standard for all sex education. “You’re going to want to take off resolved in time for it to be taught before the students. HB 1069 established strict guidelines your clothes, and touch each other. But if you do school year ended. However, the issues were not for sex-ed taught within the state. resolved, and as a result, no students were taught touch each other, you will get chlamydia. And It instructs teachers to “teach abstinence sex-ed last year. die.” from sexual activity outside of marriage as Disagreement on how sex-ed should look Misinformation about sex, such as that the expected standard for school-age students and be taught extended from last year into this spread through media like “Mean Girls,” is while teaching the benefits of monogamous year, ending in the Oct. 17 meeting, in which constantly broadcasted to teens. Therefore, it heterosexual marriage.” The law expects one woman was arrested for allegedly assaulting teachers to emphasize that abstinence is the most is necessary that they get accurate information, a police officer when she was escorted out of the certain way to avoid STDs and pregnancy. a responsibility that most often falls upon their meeting. schools. In Broward County Public Schools, Abstinence-only sex-ed is a controversial Meeting attendees and speakers were at odds policy, as its critics believe that it ignores the however, there have been complications on what is appropriate for different grade levels, reality that teenagers do and will have sex regarding teaching sex-ed to students.

In an meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 17, Broward if appropriate at all. One speaker claimed the regardless of what they are taught and thus, new curriculum was teaching “3 and 4-year-olds inadequately prepares them for when they do County Public Schools approved a new sex about masturbation” and another claimed that it choose to have sex. education curriculum for grades K-12 with was “teaching sixth graders about anal sex.” a 5-4 vote. This curriculum is now awaiting “I feel as if students deserve refreshers on While the first claim is unfounded, as sex-ed what safe sex means, especially as we get further the approval of the Florida Department of is not offered to BCPS pre-kindergarten students, into high school,” junior Ayla Keshavarzi said.

Education. the sixth grade curriculum was a topic of debate. “We’ve learned about reproductive systems and The controversy surrounding BCPS’ sex education curriculum began last year, when the county failed to offer any sex-ed instruction to the 251,106 students in the district. This was the result of the initial rewrite of the county’s curriculum to align it more with changes in Florida’s state laws.

County officials attempted to align the curriculum with the state’s more conservative stance on issues related to sex, gender and LGBTQ+ topics. The rewrite occurred due to doubts about whether the curriculum BCPS had been using followed state laws. The laws in Allen Zeman, school board member question are HB 1557 and HB 1069, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” and “Don’t Say Anal, vaginal and oral sex are mentioned in the They” laws, respectively. how they operate, but I still feel as if kids need curriculum, though the focus is shifted more HB 1577 banned instruction on gender reminders about avoiding STDs and infections to abstaining from it as well as the benefits of identity and sexual orientation in grades K-3, without being told to simply abstain… I don’t abstinence. which was then expanded by HB 1069, now even think I remember us ever talking about Other parents and attendees were adamant applying to grades pre-K through 8. things like yeast infections.” about passing a cumulative sex-ed curriculum BCPS previously used “FLASH,” a A 2007 congressionally-mandated study by comprehensive sex-ed curriculum developed by that day, since students already missed an entire Mathematica Research found that students in Public Health Seattle King-County, which covers year of instruction. federally funded abstinence-only programs were The divide on the sex-ed curriculum was not just as likely to have sex by 16, and tended to topics of abstinence, birth control methods, only represented by the speakers at the Oct. 17 consent, condoms, STD/STI prevention, have as many sexual partners in comparison to puberty, sexual orientation, gender identity and meeting, but also the vote that followed, which students not in an abstinence-only course. approved the new curriculum with a single vote sexual violence prevention.

Despite mandated abstinence-only sex-ed, margin. SBBC members Torey Alston, Brenda Criticism over the FLASH curriculum was there is a lesson in the new BCPS curriculum, compounded by BCPS Interim Superintendent Fam and Daniel Foganholi, as well as Board seemingly aimed at eighth graders, that teaches Chair Lori Alhadeff, voted no on the curriculum. all high schoolers about various methods of Earlean Smiley’s statement at a board meeting Alhadeff was specifically concerned about a alleging that the curriculum may never have birth control: abstinence, external condoms, been approved by the School Board of Broward lesson on consent that included a discussion on pills/patches/rings, IUDs/shots/implants, when students might be ready for sex. Fellow County. Smiley, whose tenure as interim withdrawal, emergency contraception and dual SBBC member Allen Zeman pushed back on superintendent ended in early July, believed protection. this. that the school board had approved a sexual While the lesson emphasizes abstinence as “The statistics don’t lie,” Zeman said at the health policy in 2014 that included many of the the number one method of birth control, it topics discussed in the curriculum, but never the meeting. “Kids, even though they’re having describes other methods of preventing less sex in high school than they did in the past, curriculum itself. pregnancy. Some methods are they’re still having a lot of sex. They’re making Smiley and other school administrators, more well-known: 91% of critical decisions, and those decisions are crucial MSD students are familiar presented a redacted version of the “FLASH” to their livelihood and health.” curriculum to the school board on March 28, with and understand the basic In a survey of 327 MSD students, 24% proposing that these changes adjusted the concept of condoms, and reported having had sex. curriculum so that it abided by the changes 90% are familiar with and made in state law. However, SBBC members understand the basic concept believed that the rewrite went farther than what New Curriculum of birth control pills.

The new sex-ed curriculum for middle was necessary and requested it be rewritten IUDs and abstinence schools and high schools is 720 pages long, again. were at the lowest end of the “Why are we making these changes? To send and topics range from gender identity, sexual spectrum, at 41% and 46% a message to the state? Are we truly willing to orientation, condoms and STD prevention respectively. put children in danger to make a political to abstinence, dating violence, pregnancy Of the 24% of MSD prevention and abusive relationships. statement?” SBBC member Sarah students that have had

“

“The statistics don’t lie. Kids, even though they’re having less sex in high school than they did in the past, they’re still having a lot of sex. They’re making critical decisions, and those decisions are crucial to their livelihood and health.”

sex before, 28% either had or their partner had a pregnancy scare that ultimately turned out to be false. Another 9% had or their partner had a pregnancy scare that turned out to be a real pregnancy.

As described in the lesson, birth control pills serve more purposes than contraception, as they can shorten periods or lighten periods, regulate hormones due to a health issue, reduce acne, regulate a menstrual cycle and decrease menstrual cramping.

The curriculum calls for all high schoolers to be taught the “They Love Me… They Love Me Not…” lesson about abusive relationships and another related to communicating about sex.

There are also lessons about STDs, their symptoms, cures and how they are transmitted for grades 9-12.

Additionally, one ninth grade assignment aims to help teenagers differentiate between reliable and unreliable sex-ed on the internet In a survey, 64% of MSD students listed the internet as one of their primary sources of sexed, and one survey by UK sex education charity Fumble, found that 79% of young people aged 11-25 do not know what online sex-ed websites to trust.

All lessons suggest instructors use scientific terms to describe body parts for all grades in the “ground rules” for each lesson. While this was always intended to be implemented in higher grade levels, there was a debate over its inclusion in younger grades.

The SBBC ultimately decided to require scientific terms for lower grades as well, rather than terms like “parts under a bathing suit.”

One of the reasons for inclusion is that scientific terms are universal. If someone must see a doctor in a foreign, non-English speaking country, the doctor will understand the scientific terms for a body part but may not understand localized slang terms.

Additionally, scientific terms provide students with the vocabulary to express their boundaries, desires and concerns. One of the primary Story continued on page 16

FEATURE • Sex Education 15

Story continued from page 15 factors that led to the debated implementation of scientific terms for elementary schoolers was in the context of childhood sexual abuse: students would be better able to articulate where someone is inappropriately touching them if they know what the parts are called.

While scientific terminology was included in BCPS’ previous sex-ed curriculum, 21% of MSD students admitted to not knowing the difference between a vagina, labia and vulva and another 15% were unsure if they knew the difference.

BCPS does not require integrated, mixed-sex sex-ed, but requires that “all students should receive puberty lesson[s] for both boys and girls, even if the class is separated by sex.”

Separating students by gender to learn sex-ed is a common practice, as many believe it allows students to feel more comfortable learning about their body and asking questions. This is primarily a tactic used when teaching students about puberty, as it causes different effects depending on the sex of the person.

Many who support integrated sex-ed contend that segregated sex-ed leads to ignorance about the body of someone of another sex. For example, 53% of MSD’s self-identified male students incorrectly believe that urine comes out of the vagina, compared to 32% MSD’s selfidentified female students.

A study by the University of Auckland found that 65% of students actually prefer integrated, mixed-sex instruction.

“Students, male, female or otherwise, should be taught about menstruation and the many methods of birth control, as well as safe sex habits,” senior Marco Johnson* said. “If they don’t go through menstruation that’s fine, but then they’ll know how to support those around them that do and they’ll have a more nuanced perspective of how it could impact someone’s life.”

Curriculum Implimentation The new sex-ed curriculum will be officially established in BCPS when and if it gains approval from the FLDOE. However, there is no designated time for students to learn sex-ed at school outside of specific courses that include instruction in them.

Eagle Eye News reached out to the BCPS Department of Equity, Diversity and School Climate for verification on how and where the county expects the curriculum to be implemented in high school and have not yet received a response.

MSD’s Personal Fitness and Lifestyle Design

class, which any student can take to fulfill their physical education graduation requirement, is the only class that has sex-ed content in its curriculum. Although this class is offered to all students, it is primarily taken by freshmen, as students try to earn their P.E. credit early on in their high school careers.

“Out of the four years I’ve been in Douglas, only during freshman year I got sex-ed, and it was during [physical education],” senior Ashley Brown* said. “After that, I just never got taught anything about sex-ed, and everything I learned, I learned it in middle school.”

In the curriculum that the class uses, there are specific units dedicated to teaching sex-ed, as well as sex-ed topics that are discussed in lessons throughout the year.

“It [sex-ed] is meant to be built-in all year, through different lessons and different things that are discussed,” Personal Fitness and Lifestyle Design teacher Lauren Rubenstein said. “It’s not necessarily just like the couple units that we do, or the way I modeled it that I would do in the spring. In years past, I’ve done my sex-ed unit… in like April-May time, when they’re a little bit more mature to take on the information.”

Rubenstein believes in the importance of students receiving this information.

“For some students, I’m the only exposure to the [sex-ed] information,” Rubenstein said.

“I know the curriculum that we had before went through having condom demonstrations and different things, where that is something that I thought was important, that I was more comfortable with.”

Last school year, when controversy arose surrounding BCPS’ sex-ed curriculum, Rubenstein made the decision not to teach the sex-ed aspects of the class, something that remains the case this year as the curriculum has not received approval from the FLDOE yet.

“There was never a full directive saying do not teach it, but when everything was coming down and changes were being made and nothing was clear as to what to or what not to, I just didn’t go to it,” Rubenstein said. “It was kind of in limbo, so while we were never said specifically at the high school level to not teach it—because there were so many questions around it—I just didn’t.”

Currently, 159 MSD students are enrolled in the Personal Fitness and Lifestyle Design class: 125 freshmen, 12 sophomores, 7 juniors and 15 seniors. If that number is consistent from year to year, only 4.78% of students receive sex education at MSD each year.

This is because most students choose to earn their physical education credit by taking Health Opportunities Through Physical Education online and through Florida Virtual School.

FLVS does not abide by BCPS standards though, as they have their own curriculum: HOPE. The HOPE curriculum does offer general sex-ed in one module in the second

semester of the course, but it is not as detailed as BCPS’ current proposal. It teaches abstinence as the only way to truly prevent STD contraction, charts the symptoms and risks of various STDs and explains the harms of teen pregnancy, including postpartum depression.

The HOPE curriculum does not go without criticism. One main critique is that it lacks inclusivity and appears outdated. The course does not mention LGBTQ+ people in its discussions of sex-ed and uses sources from 2011 when providing statistics about teen pregnancy.

Other people might expect sex-ed to be taught to students in either their biology or anatomy and physiology courses. However, anatomy and physiology does not provide sex-ed outside of information on anatomical structures and functions.

“In anatomy, I [teach] the structures but I don’t do traditional sex-ed curriculum,” Anatomy and Physiology teacher Jay Stobinsky said. “There usually is some kind of health

U.S., as almost 90% of people have sex before they marry, according to a survey by the Institute of Family Studies.

Given this statistic, it is unlikely that teens will abstain from sex until marriage and will consequently, need to rely on other forms of birth control and HIV/STI prevention.

This information is provided to teens in comprehensive sex-ed curriculums, but often left out in abstinence-only ones.

“Comprehensive sex education is more beneficial,” Johnson* said. “Comprehensive sexed is needed so when students grow up they can make educated decisions regarding sex. Even if they choose to stay abstaining, they at least have the information just in case.”

The Guttmacher Institute has found that abstinence-only sex-ed is ineffective in reducing teen pregnancy and STIs, as well as lacks representation of LGBTQ+ individuals.

Mississippi, where an abstinence-only curriculum is required, had the third highest

“

Schools should at least point students in the right direction about the psychological aspects of sex and not just physical.

Ayla Keshavarzi, 11 teen pregnancy rate in 2016. New Hampshire on the other hand, where a comprehensive sexed curriculum is required, had the lowest teen pregnancy rate.

Inadequate sex-ed in schools can also come in the form of false information, as only 18 states in the U.S. require their sex-ed courses be medically accurate. Florida is not one of those states.

Teens are finding alternative ways to learn sex-ed, including social media platforms..

Medical professionals post on YouTube and TikTok in order to provide reliable and scientifically factual sex-ed to teens.

The National Library of Medicine found that general discussion on X, formerly known as Twitter, increased young people’s condom usage and knowledge of STIs. British TikToker Hayley Morris, who has over two million Instagram followers, around 1.5 million YouTube subscribers and 4.5 million TikTok followers creates humorous sketches Alternative Sources of herself in various costumes as different When teens are taught inadequate sex-ed body parts to convey her experiences of being or no sex-ed at all, they turn elsewhere for the biologically female. On her account, she jokes information. As of August of this year, over half about periods, hormones, sex and frustration of the states in the U.S. require that sex-ed is with men’s lack of knowledge about the female taught through an abstinence-only curriculum. body.

Abstinence-only curriculums emphasize that “Hayley’s videos are so funny,” junior Olivia the expected standard of behavior when it comes Smith* said. “They’re so relatable for me, to sex is to abstain until marriage. However, especially the videos about periods and sex. I abstinence until marriage is uncommon in the think, even if she doesn’t realize it, she’s really component… that’s done by other teachers… where they’re trying to educate children about reproduction in general. I cover more of the medical aspect of it, so they’re two totally different things.”

Regular and Honors Biology students do not learn sex-ed; these students learn the structure and function of reproductive systems. AP Biology does not cover sex-ed either.

Even if sex-ed was taught in biology courses, many students choose to take the course in eighth grade, meaning they would not be exposed to high school related sex ed topics anyway.

The absense of a designated time to learn yearly sex-ed curriculum for high school students could be considered a cause for concern, as according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children should learn sex-ed, “beginning at early ages and continuing throughout childhood and adolescence.”

true or false?

*Survey reveals MSD students’ sex education knowledge

*348 students responded to the survey

Drunk people cannot consent.

TRUE

M

ost MSD students correctly answered that drunk people cannot consent to sexual behaviors, as 79% selected true to this question.

Alcohol can lower inhibitions and impair judgment, which means drunk people cannot give consent according to the FRIES model used

by Planned Parenthood.

16 FEATURE • Sex Education

Urine comes out of the vagina.

FALSE

A

common misconception, persists among MSD students; 39% incorrectly selected true to this question and 61% correctly selected false.

People assigned female at birth have two holes in their vulva: the urethra and the vagina. Urine comes out of the urethra, which connects to the bladder.

You can contract HIV/AIDS from closed-mouth kissing.

FALSE

N

early half–43%–of MSD students incorrectly believe it is possible to contract HIV/AIDS from closedmouth kissing. HIV cannot be contracted from closed-mouth kissing and rarely occurs with open-mouth kissing, only when both partners have sores or bleeding gums.

An erection is consent.

FALSE

A

nswered correctly by nearly all MSD students, 88% of MSD students selected the correct answer, which is false. An erection is a biological response that typically occurs as a result of sexual arousal. However, consent is given with words, not body parts.

An erection is involuntary and consent is given by choice.

DESIGN BY Andie Korenge and Brynn Schwartz helping normalize talking about sex and puberty from the female perspective because TikToks are exactly the way to communicate to a younger audience.”

Still, using social media to obtain information about sex does not come without risks. Misinformation is common on these platforms and videos regarding this topic do not have to be factual in order to become popular. Credibility is not a requirement when posting sex-ed related content and teens are left susceptible to false and potentially harmful information as a result.

“Social media can be an effective tool for getting sexual education as long as it’s from trusted medical sources and accounts,” Johnson* said. “Caution should be exercised though because a lot of facts are overgeneralized and oversimplified for the sake of easy digestibility with the rise of short form content.”

A lack of trigger warning requirements on social media platforms or lax community guidelines can also leave teens susceptible to viewing content that promotes sexual assault, domestic violence and other sensitive content.

This content has the potential to give teens an unhealthy view of what sex and relationships should look like.

“I think students should at least have some sort of access to resources [provided by school] explaining the expectations and realities of sex if it’s not taught in school,” Keshavarzi said.

“Schools should at least point students in the right direction about the psychological aspects of sex and not just physical.”

Another way in which teens may attempt to learn sex-ed is through pornography or otherwise explicit content. A report from Common Sense Media found that 54% of children had viewed online pornography by the age of 13. At MSD, 29% of students consider explicit content, including pornography and explicit literature, to be one of their primary sources of sex-ed While pornography can provide teens with a visual display of what sex looks like, the display is not always a realistic or accurate depiction of sex. Specifically, it sets up unrealistic sexual expectations for both themselves and their partners based on common sexual fantasies that may not actually occur in real life. However, for teens with little to no sexual experience to compare this to, this can appear to reflect reality.

A study in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality compared pornography usage to expectations during sex and found that viewing video pornography caused both unrealistic sexual and body expectations.

However, as explained by Medical News Today, pornography has also been found to destigmatize sex, empower teens sexually and help teens better understand what sex entails.

Another benefit of pornography comes in the form of increased access to diverse sexual

Pulling out is a completely effective contraceptive method.

FALSE

L

argely correct on this question, 79% of MSD students selected the correct answer: false. In reality, withdrawal only works about 80% of the time, according to Cleveland Clinic. This means that 1 in 5 people who use withdrawal exclusively as a mode of contraception become pregnant.

content, displaying to teens the different ways in which sex can look, outside of what is traditional.

This may include the acting out of sexual desires that stray from what is normalized, in addition to sex between non-heterosexual couples. Sex-ed curriculums across the nation tend to overlook LGBTQ+ individuals; only nine states have queer-inclusive sex-ed policies.

Florida is not one of these states, but is rather one of six states that requires their sex-ed lessons to teach “the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage.” When sex-ed disregards educating LGBTQ+ individuals on how to safely engage in sex, those individuals in particular, will resort to learning it online.

For LGBTQ+ youth, inclusive online communities provide them a space in which they can learn about sex in a way that they cannot in school. Such communities may provide validation and even the potential for anonymity, which may grant LGBTQ+ teens more comfortability in asking sex-related questions.

Many students also learn about sex via their friends, who may or may not be accurate sources. In fact, 56% of MSD students considered friends or peers to be one of their primary sources of sex-ed. While friends can

excellent education

G

Go Ask Alice!

o Ask Alice! is a resource run

by Columbia University health promotion specialists, healthcare providers, health professionals and information and research specialists. It focused on any health information topic, including sex.

W

Bedsider

hile Bedsider focuses primarily on birth control and access to birth control, it can be a resource for teens and young adults about many sex-related issues. It explains options for birth control, sex, relationships, dating, hookups, pregnancy, vaginal health, periods, sexual health and wellness and STDs with FAQs on each topic.

A

Sex, Etc.

ccessible via sexetc.org, this is another sex education-focused website that helps teens learn via articles or frequently asked questions about a variety of sex-ed topics. The FAQs help debunk popular myths among teens.

REPORTING BY Brynn Schwartz

Any gender or sex can be a victim of relationship abuse.

TRUE

A

share their personal experiences, sometimes their recount of an experience can be biased or overexaggerated.

“The information from my friends were from their experiences,” Brown* said. “I have had sex before, and… I did feel like my education [from friends and the internet] about sex prepared me well enough.”

Another expected source of sex-ed for students is their parents, with “the birds and the bees” talk, a conversation that parents are expected to have with their children. However, some parents shy away from it altogether, while others limit the topic to a single conversation.

According to the New York Post, 20% of the adults in the U.S. do not intend to have a sex conversation with their children.

The National Library of Medicine found that 63% of teen boys and 44% of teen girls were never taught about contraceptives by their parents.

“I was never taught about contraceptives,” sophomore Kaila Stephens said. “I do not blame my parents, but I do believe it is good information to learn when you are young. Young teenagers are always getting themselves into trouble, so the knowledge that contraceptives prevent pregnancy is important to know since

n overwhelming majority of MSD students–98%– selected the correct answer: true. Abuse of any kind in a relationship is the result of the abuser feeling entitled to power and control over their partner.

The victim’s gender and sex have nothing to do with being a victim of abuse.

Conclusion For the past two years, the overwhelming majority of MSD students have not been receiving sex education in school. This begs the question—after BCPS’ new sex-ed curriculum is approved—where, when and how will it be implemented at MSD? Without it, students will continue turning elsewhere for sex-related information.

STORY BY Andie Korenge and Brynn Schwartz

Teens search for other ways to learn sex-ed in its absence from school curriculum

Hayley Morris

Planned Parenthood

A

ccessible at planned parenthood. org, this is an accurate resource for teenagers seeking to learn about sex. Planned Parenthood has a specific section geared toward teens with articles about sex, sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, pregnancy, puberty, doctors visits, relationships, bullying, LGBTQ+ topics, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation and help finding birth control.

People can use a confidential live chat feature to ask anything related to sexual health and speak to either a 24/7 chatbot or a health educator.

Our Bodies Ourselves

O

ur Bodies Ourselves helps teach inclusive sex-ed to people across the globe in various languages.

The main subject areas they focus on are contraception, gender-based violence, growing older, heart health, menstruation through menopause, mental health, pregnancy and childbirth, sexual anatomy and sexuality; however, they also offer topic-based articles on health-focused issues.

The sole purpose of condoms is to prevent pregnancy.

FALSE

S

many girls go through teen pregnancy because some teens aren’t cautious about having sex.

Plus, contraceptives are safe to ensure you don’t have teenage pregnancy, but they do also have health effects.”

The nationwide trend of parents inadequately instructing their children on sex-ed is consistent with the findings at MSD. Only 51% of MSD students cited their parents or guardians as a primary source of sex-ed.

tudents were split on this question, as 46% selected true.

The correct answer is false, as condoms serve multiple purposes outside of preventing pregnancy. For example, condoms help to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

A

ccessible on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, content creator Hayley Morris (@hayleygeorgiamorris on TikTok, @hayleymorris3 on Instagram, @ hayleymorris on YouTube) is teaching sex-ed through short-form comedy videos. Her videos feature Morris in different costumes acting as various body parts in different scenarios, primarily focused on common experiences of women that may not be as commonly spoken about.

F

Scarleteen

ounded in 1998, Scarleteen is an educational website for teens and young adults that provides inclusive and comprehensive sex-ed.

The website offers articles on topics including the human body, gender, sexual identity, relationships, sex, sexual health, pregnancy, parenting, abuse, disability and sexual politics. Teens can also ask questions on the website, post on message boards or chat and/or text with Scarleteen experts regarding sex.

Males and females both have testosterone and estrogen.

TRUE

T

he majority of MSD students– 74%– answered this correctly, selecting true.

Despite the fact that testosterone is known as the male sex hormone and estrogen as the female sex hormone, women and men have both testosterone and estrogen, just in different proportions.

FEATURE • Sex Education 17

H

Sleep deprivation negatively affects students

Up all Night

is eyes start to close, and his head When this effect combines with he biological slowly lowers onto his desk. He shift in melatonin that teens are already drifts off to sleep, dreaming of his experiencing, their bedtimes shift even later. bed at home. Yesterday after the Many students have very high levels of school bell rang, he rushed to work a five-hour screen time, from staring at a computer screen shift at his job. Once he got home, he helped his all day at school to using their phones when they parents with chores around the house, and then get home. remembered he had a mountain of homework “Most nights I end up not being able to fall to get through: math problems, science notes and asleep, so I end up going on my phone. Then, an essay for English. By the time he finished, it the more I’m on my phone, the more I end up was already 2 a.m. The buzz of his alarm went not being able to sleep,” senior Ethan Leavy said. off at 6 a.m., signaling that it was time to go “No matter how tired I am, from the school day, to school. Like most teens, he does not get the my band practices, or any other circumstances, recommended amount of sleep. this cycle of staying up late and playing on my Many high school students suffer from sleep phone continues.” deprivation as a result of lack of sleep or poor Forty-one percent of MSD students quality sleep on a regular basis. The causes expressed that their lack of sleep is partly due for sleep deprivation vary, but common causes to social media and television. Apps like TikTok include stress, school or job commitments and and even FaceTime, in addition to TV shows poor sleep habits. and movies, distract teens and cause them to stay The American Academy of Sleep Medicine up later. recommends that teenagersbetween the ages of “I feel like the time I spend on social media 13-18 should regularly sleep 8-10 hours every leads to me taking longer to finish my work and day. thus going to sleep later,” junior Xyen Walker A 2015 CDC study found that73% of said. “Not only does this affect how much sleep I high school students across 30 states do not get get in, but in turn it also affects my ability to pay enough sleep, which increased 4% from the attention and work during the school day. The previous study in 2009. The range of missed cycle just continues.” sleep varied by state, but the rates of shortened sleep was highest for females, Asian and Black Health Problems students.

The negative effects of sleep deprivation A sleep habit survey of 348 Marjory affect each teen in different ways. According Stoneman Douglas High School students to the CDC, adolescents who do not receive revealed only 35% of the student body receives enough sleep are at a higher risk of having the recommended amount of sleep. health problems, including obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Causes of Sleep While we sleep, our bodies are repairing themselves and working to keep us healthy.

Deprivation Though sleep deprivation can be influenced According to News in Health, a newsletter from by lifestyle choices, the biology of the body also the National Institutes of Health, our bodies plays a large role. release hormones to repair cells and control As reported by the CDC, adolescents energy use while sleeping. Additionally, heart experience a shift in the sleep hormone rate and blood pressure rise and fall, which have melatonin during puberty, which results in been proven to be important to cardiovascular teenagers feeling tired later at night and needing health. to sleep later in the morning.

“During sleep your body increases the The combination of these biological shifts production and release of something called with poor sleep habits like irregular bedtimes, cytokines,” pediatrician Alan Cotler said. “These the presence of electronics in the bedroom and cytokines are protective proteins that help fight overscheduling often leads to sleep deprivation infection and reduce inflammation and even in teens. lower stress. Numerous studies show that people According to the Child Mind Institute, it is who do not get adequate sleep are more likely not just distractions like social media keeping to catch a virus and then take longer to recover teenagers up later, but the electronics they when they do get sick.” use emit a blue light with a specific frequency Students facing chronic sleep deprivation not that sends a signal to the brain that suppresses only have an increased risk of physical health melatonin production. problems, but also have an increased risk of

sleep debt

Lack of sleep leads to negative outcomes

attention and behavioral issues. While most teens are sluggish and unresponsive when tired, some begin to produce symptoms of hyperactivity.

“Due to my heavy workload, I realize that throughout the week, I become more and more tired,” senior Ryan Rowe said. “I stay up late every night, which honestly makes it really hard to find the energy to wake up for school each day and do even more work than the night before.

The negative impacts do not stop at behavior and physical wellbeing; they extend to problems pertaining to mental health and memory. As stated in an article published by Columbia University, people feel better after a good night’s sleep and more irritable or groggy after a poor night’s sleep. Low amounts of sleep have been found to increase negative emotional responses to stressors and decrease positive emotions.

Sleep helps people maintain cognitive skills, which include memory, attention span, learning and more. When students lack sleep, they are more likely to have trouble retaining the information they learned in class that day.

Additionally, students have trouble completing their homework because they spent class falling in and out of sleep and are having trouble

“

I feel much more stressed when I have less sleep. When I am running on 3-4 hours of sleep, I work at a much slower pace, making me get behind on all my work.

Abby DaGrosa, 11 remembering or teaching themselves the work that night.

Aside from cognitive problems, students also face the risk of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

“I feel much more stressed when I have less sleep,” junior Abby Dagrosasaid. “When I am running on 3-4 hours of sleep, I work at a much slower pace, making me get behind on all my work.”

While a lack of sleep can worsen an already existing mental health disorder, it can also cause one. According to The Cleveland Clinic, a large loss of sleep, especially over extended periods of time, can cause major disruptions to someone’s mental health.

Time Changes The American Academy of Pediatrics

Do you feel the new law sleepy changing school start times stats to later is beneficial?

Memory Problems

*Results from a survey of 352 MSD students

26% No

Loss of energy

Mood Shifts

suggests that middle and high schools should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., giving students the opportunity to get an adequate amount of rest for the school day and any extracurriculars after.

In the state of Florida, about 48% of all high schools start before 7:30 a.m based on data from the Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountibility.

In Broward County, Coconut Creek High School starts the earliest at 6:50 a.m., while Nova High School starts the latest at 9:30 a.m. Most high schools in the county, including MSD, start at 7:40 a.m.

In 2016, Seattle Public Schools shifted their middle and high school start times 55 minutes later. The findings, published in the Science Advances journal, showed a median increase of 34 minutes of sleep for teens in the district.

Taking research into account, the Florida Legislature addressed teen sleep deprivation in 2023 with a bill that requires school districts to push back middle and high school start times by the 2026-2027 school year. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 33 into law on May 5, 2023.

As a result of the new law, middle schools

will not be able to start earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools will not be able to start earlier than 8:30 a.m. The purpose of the legislation is to ensure that all students receive more sleep each night.

“Coming from someone who is in classes with a heavy workload I find myself staying up late almost every night,” senior Connor Benson said. “After a long night of work the hardest thing to do is find at least two hours of rest so when I wake up before 6 [ a.m.] I am somewhat awake. By starting schools later it is going to be a lot easier for students to feel energized and ready for the long school day ahead of them.”

Not everyone supports the time change.

“I understand why they are changing the times,” AP Government teacher Jeffrey Foster said. “There have been numerous studies supporting the decision. I don’t love it. I prefer to start early and get out early. Kids doze off during

How many hours of sleep do you get each night?

74+26 30+5+41348 74% Yes

48%

5-6 hours

13%

3-4 hours

30%

7-8 hours

5%

9-10 hours

4%

1-2 hours

DESIGN BY Alison LaTorre GRAPHICS BY Dhaanya Balaji and Grace Brill

all periods of the day. I do not think the start time has anything to do with it.”

“This would definitely increase transportation costs: it would mean more routes and more drivers,” district spokesman John Implications Sullivan said in the Sept. 5 Sun Sentinel article.

Broward County Public Schools has not Additionally, the district has been announced its plans for changing school start experiencing a bus driver shortage for the last times. As discussed in a Sept. 5 Sun-Sentinel few years. article, district officials plan to lobby in The later high school start times would mean Tallahassee for legislators to introduce a new elementary and middle school times would need bill that would allow local school districts to to be changed as well. Earlier ending times for determine their own start times and have already younger students mean that parents who work contracted with a lobbying firm to take up their full time might have to arrange before or after cause. school supervision for their student depending BCPS is reluctant to change to later start on the start time changes. times, as county buses are already scheduled For example, if a student needs to wait around the staggered school start times. until 5 p.m. for their parents to pick them up At MSD, buses arrive at school around 7 after work, aftercare coverage would need to be a.m. Then, the buses go to pick up elementary adjusted to fit these times. This could require school students in the area, whose start times are additional costs from the parents, as well as between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. This leaves time adjustments made by the school to ensure the for buses to drop off middle school students to necessary staff and resources are available at the school by 9 a.m. appropriate times.

Rerouting the bus routes would mean that For high school students, later start times this system of organization would have to be could give the benefit of more sleep, but could completely redone, requiring extensive effort impact after school activities. from district officials to implement.

Changing MSD’s start time to 8:30 a.m.

tips for better sleep

A

lan Cotler, MD has been a general pediatrician in Coral Springs at Pediatric Associates for nearly 30 years. Read his tips for acheiving better sleep.

Ensure you have a comfortable mattress and pillow

Eat a proper diet- too many carbs can disrupt sleep

would mean school would end at 3:30 p.m. instead of 2:40 p.m. pushing back club meetings and athletic practices and games to later in the afternoon.

“I don’t like the fact that school start times will be scheduled later because I have a lot to do after school that takes up a lot of time,” sophomore Breanna McWilliams said. “With the early start time for high school, I have more flexibility in my schedule, and I’m willing to wake up this early to do so.”

exposure to blue light and helps signal to your body that it’s time to sleep.

“Trying to improve your sleep routine and habits can help you be successful at improving your sleep, “ Dr. Cotler said. “This includes putting away electronic devices for at least 30 minutes prior to bed. Staring at screens decreases natural melatonin production in your body, and the countless ‘rabbit holes’ and videos you watch keeps your brain too stimulated to relax.”

It could even help to sleep with your phone outside the bedroom, charging elsewhere.

Solutions Additionally, companies have created While changing school times has the apps that provide different ways for people to potential to help reduce sleep deprivation among maintain a better sleep schedule and receive teens, there are also individual steps students can better quality sleep overall. There are apps that take to help improve their sleep habits. track your sleep habits. Apple has implemented The CDC recommends setting regular screen time schedules for iPhone users, which bedtimes and wake times and sticking to them, allow people to turn off certain apps at night and even on the weekends. Creating a consistent keep them off until the morning. sleep schedule will improve one’s circadian It remains to be seen how the new legislation rhythm overtime, which will make a healthy will impact MSD students. With three years left cycle of sleep. until BCPS must implement these changes, it is The CDC also recommends dimming room up to students to balance their time to get the lighting as bedtime approaches and setting adequate amount of sleep.

STORY BY Alison LaTorre a media curfew for technology. This reduces

Keep your room cool, dark and quiet

If you “crash” after school, try to limit that nap to no more than an hour

Budget a consistent 8 hours of sleep

Avoid caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, sodas and energy drinks) especially after noon

Keep to a sleep schedule on both weekdays and weekends; a consistent pre-bed routine can promote relaxation

FEATURE • Sleep Deprivation 19

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The Season of

cheers for charity Students can participate in charitable activities to give back during holiday season

Donating Food and Clothing

D

uring the holidays many people donate their time and money to organizations and charities to help out people who are less fortunate. Some may donate food or clothing to drives as well as gifts to specific charities for others to receive.

Adopt a Family

A

dopt a Family is a charitable event run by different foundations where one can support a family in need. Participants, or adopters, provide assistance by fulfilling the family’s wishlist, which can include buying toys, groceries or basic hygiene products.

D

Giving Students can celebrate holidays in ways other than gift giving

The holiday giving season is filled with people searching for the perfect gift to give to their loved ones. While this is a popular form of giving to some, others prefer making the holiday season a time to give back to their communities. This is often done through homemade gifts, charity donations and volunteering activities. Though

Buy the Numbers

$875

4.6 million

T

oys for Tots is a charity program run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve that collects and distributes unopened toys for less fortunate children. To get involved, donate toys at a local collection drive or give money on the Toys for Tots website.

pounds of wrapping paper are produced in the U.S. every year

Data taken from the National Retail Federation, Brightly and the SEI organization

Holiday Cards

M

Consumerism in the U.S. is big around the holidays

Americans spend on average on gifts, decorations, food and other seasonal items

Toys for Tots

any people make holiday cards for their teachers, friends and people in hospitals or retirement homes.

The gift provides a simple way to show appreciation for whoever they are giving it to.

these do not reflect the only ways to spend the holiday season, they can offer other ways to celebrate. The spirit of the holidays can serve as a reminder that there are other ways to celebrate the holidays that do not revolve on a consumer driven market.

REPORTING AND DESIGN BY Jasmine Bhogaita and Grace Brill

“

Holiday lights were found to produce enough energy to power

400,000 homes for a year

Through my church, we do annual Christmas toy drives for children in need. It’s always one of the highlights of the holiday season to know that I am helping kids that are less fortunate than me.”

Isabella John, 10

Step by step

Students can create their own festive DIY gifts HOMEMADE SNOWGLOBE

1. Find a small mason jar and fill it almost all the way with water.

2. Add glitter or small confetti pieces to the water as the “snow.”

3. Hot glue a mini figurine, such as a snowman, to the inside of the lid.

4. Secure the lid tightly to the mason jar and hot glue for extra protection.

“

I volunteer at soup kitchens and donate warm clothes to people in need. I do it because I like helping poeple and it makes me feel good to know I can help contribute.”

Elana Kurman, 9

HOT CHOCOLATE BOMBS

1. Get two semi-sphere molds, hot cocoa mix and chocolate and add-ins of your choosing.

2. Coat molds with a layer of melted chocolate and place molds in the freezer for 10 minutes to set.

3. Take molds out of the freezer and carefully pop the chocolate.

4. Fill one semi-sphere three-fourths of the way with hot cocoa mix and add-ins.

5. Attach the empty half to the full one to form a sphere by heating the edge of one of the halves.

6. Decorate the outside as you wish.

To enjoy: place bombs in warm milk.

HOMEMADE ORNAMENTS

1. Buy clear ornaments at your local store.

2. Take the metal top off and fill with materials of your choice. (ex. confetti, glitter, charms (optional).

3. Get markers or paint pens and draw the design you wish to make.

Search online for other creative ornament ideas!

ARTS & LEISURE • Holiday Consumerism 21

DESIGN BY Rayne Welser

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Unwrapping the

Students share the unique traditions behind their holiday celebrations

“My family from all over the country flies in for a week during Chinese New Year to celebrate with us. Everyone gathers at my aunt’s house and hangs up decorations like lanterns, paper cuttings of chinese characters, and firecrackers. We hang “fu”upside down to usher in fortune and good luck, and we also eat oranges to welcome wealth and prosperity. Lastly, we wear red and greet our grandparents to wish them good health and long life.”

“A Christmas custom that is significant to me and my family is participating in religious traditions at church and traditions brought from my parent’s home in Kerala, India.

For church traditions, we have perennials, which are parades and celebrations in Malayalam, the language of Kerala. We have the biggest perennials when Christmas rolls around. The outside and inside of the church are decorated colorfully. We then go around the church holding candles, stopping every so often to pray the Glorious Mysteries. After that, the atmosphere is filled with holy music and everyone is served food.”

I always enjoy spending Christmas with my friends and family. The most important thing to me during the holidays is making sure I am with family and spending time with them because school and other activities take up most of my time.

Rather than going to church and celebrating Christmas less religiously, by putting up a tree, which my dad brings and decorating the house. We also exchange gifts with one another and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation every Christmas

REPORTING AND DESIGN BY Ashveen Saini

Holidays “In preparation for Hanukkah, we do not do many decorations; however, my family always puts out the menorah and the mensch on the bench. He is like the Hanukkah version of the Christmas Elf on the Shelf. I usually get together with my family to celebrate the holiday, and we always have a big party at the end and eat together. My favorite dishes I eat during Hannukah are potato latkes or potato pancakes; they are amazing.”

Karen Liu, 12

Aubrey Kase, 9

Chinese New Year

Hanukkah

Stan Scaria, 10

Isabel Lopez, 11

Christmas

Three Kings Day

Madison Eckler, 10

Ronel Chery, 12

Christmas

New Year’s & Haitian Independence Day

“One custom that we practice on Three Kings Day is that we wake up early in the morning and read the letter that the three kings left us. We then open the presents that the kings have gifted us. One way that we prepare for Three Kings Day, which is unique from other holidays, is that we take a shoebox, cut some grass and put it in the box the night before. This is supposed to be for the camels of the three kings as they come and eat our grass.”

I celebrate Haitian Independence Day along New Year’s with a Haitian delicacy called Soup Joumou. It is a soup that the French would eat during times of slavery and when the slaves broke free they started eating it themselves. Soup Joumou is a stew made up of squash, beef and vegetables. It’s often served with toast and butter. The holiday is important to me because it was a turning point for not only Haiti, but for slavery worldwide.

The Haitian Revolution inspired slaves in many other countries to do the same.

ARTS & LEISURE • Holiday Traditions 23

Compromised

Global conflicts should not affect the safety of students

Student Safety

A

s the war in the Gaza Strip continues between the Israeli Defense Force and the Islamic Resistance Movement, better known as Hamas, the world looks on in terror. Since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a near chronic state of war.

However, the war extends far beyond the Gaza Strip, having divided people across the globe and compelled some to lash out against undeserving Jews and Muslims.

Among obvious foreign policy impacts, the war has prompted a spike in antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric and hate crimes in places everywhere, including the U.S. Young people have virtually no control or say over the actions of their countries’ leaders and yet, the decisions others make–including those regarding the Israel-Palestine war–pervade their lives and affect them in brutal ways.

In Illinois, for instance, a 6-year-old Palestinian boy was brutally murdered for being Muslim only seven days after the Oct. 7 attack.

The rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia has also been clearly demonstrated on social media platforms, which are spaces in which young people are heavily present and are thus heavily exposed to hateful rhetoric.

According to the New York Times, in the month following the Oct. 7 attack, the hashtag “#HitlerWasRight” was used on over 46,000 X posts. NYT also reported that the hashtag “#DeathtoMuslims” has been shared tens of thousands of times.

Thriving Muslim and Jewish communities exist in Broward County, and the hateful actions the war has elicited have hit extremely close to

home for many of the students who are a part of these communities.

Thus, this hate has affected MSD students, inciting fear in their communities and forcing them to worry about something that they should never have to: being the target of hate crimes on the basis of something completely out of their control.

According to a study by Dr. Ira M. Sheskin of the University of Miami, Broward remains the largest Jewish stronghold in Florida. The county is home to 149,000 Jewish people as of 2016, with 55% of that population being “extremely or very attached to Israel.”

Similarly, the Muslim Federation of South Florida reports an estimate of over 75,000 Muslims living in Broward County, with roughly one third of that number being students.

On Oct. 29, teens yelled hateful messages such as “kill the Jews” at the members of a Parkland synagogue.

Teens do not just fall victim to hate crimes and their impacts but also to believing the hateful rhetoric spread by others. Students are, after all, at a point in their lives in which they are more fallible to believing misinformation, including that about people of a certain religion or ethnicity.

Muslims in South Florida have also been on the receiving end of hate crimes following the Oct. 7 attack. On Nov. 8, roughly a week after the synagogue incident, a Muslim woman was assaulted in the Ft. Lauderdale area, and the male attacker ripped off her hijab.

Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protestors have clashed across Broward County, and both communities have been on guard since the

24 OPINION • Student Safety

attack. Broward County Public Schools and South Florida residents were “on high alert” after a former Hamas official had called for a “day of rage” on Friday, Oct. 13. While BCPS had determined there to be “no credible threat” locally, many were still wary of attending school.

No one, particularly students, should be made to feel unsafe because of factors entirely out of their control. The war is a product of the actions of others who do not necessarily represent their beliefs and are certainly not making decisions on students’ behalf.

Therefore, to victimize uninvolved Jewish or Muslim students in the U.S. simply because of their ethnicity or religion is disgusting and a complete misplacement of the anger one may feel toward the war.

To imply in any way that students are somehow deserving of hate or retribution as a result of the decisions of a select group of people is ridiculous. However, it is not the first time that this has occurred.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in hate crimes, conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric against Asian people and Asian students around the world.

Former President Donald Trump nicknamed COVID-19 the “Chinese virus,” and Brazilian education minister Abraham Weintraub suggested that the pandemic was planned by the Chinese government in their quest for “world domination.”

As world leaders began insinuating that Asian Americans were responsible for the pandemic, Asian Americans were taunted and even physically assaulted, sending fear throughout Asian communities.

Once again, students became the targets of hate crimes and were subject to brutality over the actions of people on the other side of the word, solely for the reason that they happen to be of the same ethnicity as said people.

One of many examples of this, as reported by the New York Times, occurred when a group of teenagers attacked a 13-year-old boy, throwing basketballs at his head and yelling obscenities, including “go back to China.”

To combat hatred perpetrated local community members need to take both active and preventative measures.

When someone sees something in their community, they need to say something. Hate crimes go significantly underreported in the U.S., and before community leaders and local governments cannot address them, without knowing that they are occurring.

Individuals also need to get involved in their local communities. Meeting and engaging with others, especially others different from oneself, is imperative. Multiple studies have found that connecting with one’s community and exposing oneself to diverse groups of people lowers crime rates and decreases negative demographic-based sentiments.

Standing up against individual instances of bigoted and hateful behavior whenever it is seen, no matter how small, is yet another thing individuals can do to combat such behavior.

Fighting against hate cannot be done with sweeping changes but rather with individuals making decisions that work to prevent hate crimes and keep students safe.

EDITORIAL BY Eagle Eye News Editorial Board

Neglecting the Nuances

S

hows and films are continuously created for teenage audiences and while they are meant to resonate with teens, they fail to portray them with accuracy. Instead of depicting teenage characters in a nuanced and relatable manner, the media prefers to focus on generating compelling storylines without considering how poorly they are portraying their teenage audience watching at home.

It seems almost typical of the media to misconstrue teenage life. While all teenagers by no means have the same experiences, the teenage experience as a whole generally encompasses the same basic activities of going to school, spending time at home, hanging out with friends and participating in extracurriculars.

While teenagers do experiment with sex, drugs and alcohol, the extremes to which this is taken in the media are entirely unrealistic. For instance, the HBO show “Euphoria” portrays prominent teenage struggles, including drug use and abuse. Unfortunately, in its depiction of these topics, the characters’ struggles are so dramatized and amplified that any relatability they may have possessed is no longer existent.

Teenagers do not spend their weekdays partying like they do in “Euphoria” or solving mysteries like they do in “Outer Banks.”

Obviously, these elements are what make the shows interesting and provide a plot; however, the shows exclusively focus on drugs, alcohol and mystery and forget to make their teenage

characters seem genuine.

Instead of attending class, doing homework or going through the stressful process of applying to college, teenage characters are too busy being blackmailed after a friend’s disappearance, like in “Pretty Little Liars,” or taking methamphetamines to win a singing competition, like in “Glee.” This is concerning, as struggles like those first mentioned are almost universal and experienced by the majority of teens, yet are continuously missing from the depiction of teenage life in the media in favor of portraying the latter struggles, which rarely occur in reality.

Instead of solely focusing on the plot, media involving teenage characters should place a greater emphasis on depicting universal teenage experiences. The media needs to balance portraying teenagers’ desire to have fun, experiment and live life to the fullest while simultaneously attempting to get good grades. This more realistic portrayal of teens can be seen in shows such as “Sex Education” and “Never Have I Ever,” in which the character’s are seen having fun and behaving recklessly while also focusing on academics.

Still, shows like “Never Have I Ever” have flaws, namely in the casting of actors much too old for their teenage roles. The most significant example of this is Darren Barnet, who, at the age of 29, played high schooler Paxton Hall-Yoshida in the show. This situation is not exclusive to this show, but rather a trend within the media that makes teen representation ex-

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order to commit various crimes, such as fraud and identity theft. Impersonation affects not only the people who interact with the imposter, but also the victim of the impersonation. The events that transpire online appear to be the victim’s fault as a result.

Anonymity also allows for the spread of misinformation. As more people receive news on their phones, non-credible online sources lead to the spread of false information..

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, fake news spread around the COVID-19 pandemic falsely claimed that holding your breath for ten seconds is a valid COVID-19 test and that the disease can be cured by eating boiled garlic and drinking chlorine dioxide, an industrial bleach.

This type of false information causes harm to susceptible users who take in the information and believe that it is an irrefutable truth. The BBC reported that 800 people died around the world because of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 in the first three months of 2020.

Fake news is especially dangerous for impressionable kids and teens, who may believe the advice they view online and attempt it themselves.

The lack of media literacy among younger generations has caused at least 18 state legislatures to take action by implementing lessons into schools, such as the recent bill in California proposed by California State Assembly member Marc Berman. Berman cites a study from Stanford University, claiming that 82% of middle schoolers in the study could not tell the difference between ads and new stories. The bill aims to incorporate media literacy as a part of the state’s

TV shows and films fail to accurately portray teenage characters

tremely inaccurate.

These actors are in no way representative of what teens actually look like. In high school, teens are still developing, whereas the actors playing teenage characters are not, often being well into their twenties when they portray them.

In the media, high schoolers never have acne, braces or any of the other appearance related insecurities common among teens. Thus, unrealistic beauty standards are being set for teens that are nearly impossible for them to achieve at their age.

Going forward, it is vital for the media to

Nameless and Faceless he internet allows people to interact with others from across the world, yet you never truly know who they are talking to. Internet users have the ability to create new identities for themselves on multiple social media platforms. Online anonymity allows users to commit harmful acts without consequences, exposing users to hateful actions and false information.

Anonymity causes users to feel they can post whatever they want without repercussions.

Name-calling, false rumors, explicit images and threats are all examples of the type of cyberbullying and harassment users experience on the internet. The Pew Research Center found that 46% of teens had experienced bullying and harassment in online spaces in 2022.

Anonymity protects those that cyber bully and harass others online, as their posts cannot be traced back to a real identity. These perpetrators are allowed to dehumanize other users, often berating those with opposing views with insults, slurs and threats.

Doxxing is another consequence of online anonymity. This practice, where one user releases another user’s private information to the public, puts people at risk of stalking and physical harm.

Not only does anonymity allow a person to choose a fake identity for themselves, but it also allows them the opportunity to use someone else’s identity as their own. The Federal Trade Commission found that imposter scams through social media and phone calls were the number one cause of fraud in 2022.

Online anonymity allows criminals to trick people into thinking they are someone else in

DESIGN AND GRAPHICS BY Grace Brill

portray their teenage audience with greater accuracy. It is harmful and disheartening when the producers of shows and movies that focus on teens do not even take the time to make their characters seem genuine. Representation is important and in order for teens to continue engaging with media, they must be able to see themselves reflected in the characters they are watching on television. This can be achieved in shows and films by casting younger actors, incorporating realistic storylines and involving teenagers in the script and story writing process.

OPINION BY Andie Korenge

Internet users abuse anonymity to perfom harmful acts

standards for core subjects taught in schools.

Solutions to this problem start with media literacy. California’s media literacy bill should be the standard for schools across the country.

Incorporating media literacy into the curriculum can prevent students from believing false information and allows them to become more aware of what they may encounter online.

Social Media apps need to take responsibility for their contribution to the anonymity crisis. People are able to hide their true identities because the platforms allow it. If all platforms

required people to use their real names, people wouldn’t have the option to hide their real identity.

Users also need to remember that when they are online, there is a person on the other end of the screen. This requires everyone to remember that their actions in online spaces affect people the same way they would in real life. With these steps, individuals, companies and lawmakers can come together to be a part of the solution, instead of part of the problem.

OPINION BY Grace Brill

OPINION • Teen Media Representation & Online Anonymity 25

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26 ADVERTISEMENTS

Ditching the Norm

REPORTING AND DESIGN BY Anna Horowitz

skating to success Senior Frederique Faucher shares her ice skating experience

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enior Frederique Faucher has found a way to overcome the natural boundaries of Florida’s hot weather: indoor ice skating.

Faucher and her family used to live in Canada, where the weather was always cold and ice skating and hockey were common. She grew up learning the basics of figure skating and soon found herself skating whenever she had the time.

“It takes a lot of balance and a lot of practice,” Faucher said. “You fall a lot, and you must get used to it. It’s going to hurt sometimes, falling on the hard ice, but once you get used to it it’s simple.”

Faucher moved back to Florida when she was 5-years-old, and her parents placed her in a figure skating program right away.

She participated in the skating program from age 5 to 12, when other activities and events led her to take a break from skating. However, she got back into it at 15 years old . When she returned to skating, she still had all of the basic skills, so she was able to continue building on those skills and improve.

“Some of my most memorable memories were my ice skating shows and competitions with my friends that I’ve grown up with and just falling back into ice skating after I stopped,” Faucher said. “One thing I enjoy most about ice skating is the fact that if I mess up, I’m not letting a team down or anything, and it’s something that I can build on by myself, and I can practice by myself and improve.”

Students participate in non-traditional sports outside of school

horsing around Senior Ella Kalvaitis shares her riding and horse care experience

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orseback riding requires passion, skills and an appreciation for the animal the rider is riding. Ever since she was 8-years-old, senior Ella Kalvaitis has been riding horses in her yard and neighborhood, building a deep love for the sport.

“I enjoy how freeing it makes me feel,” Kalvaitis said. “Whenever I’m in a bad mood or I’m stressed, I go out and I ride my horse, and they relax me.”

Kalvaitis learned to ride from her mother, who grew up riding horses. After a few initial lessons, Kalvatis began taking double lessons.

Her parents invested in a horse for her so that she could master the dressage, hunter jumper and saddle seat riding styles.

In addition to those, she improved her jumping skills; going from just jumping poles to jumping approximately 4 feet.

Kalvaitis’ newfound passion encouraged her family to participate in the sport with her, re-involving her mother and introducing her sister to it. Now, Kalvaitis trains alongside her sister, each with

their own horses.

“I’d say it’s pretty difficult; it requires many years of practice,” Kalvaitis said.

“You can’t just get on and know what you’re talking about, a lot of people think that it’s just the rider sitting on top of the horse doing nothing, but it requires a lot of muscle and skill for it. You really need to know what you’re doing; you can’t just hop on and have no clue and think you’re going to win a prize.”

Kalvaitis has years of experience under her belt and the freedom to ride whenever she pleases, allowing her to be in constant connection to the sport and her family.

straight to the point

blades to wheels

said. “I was very proud of myself and how I Freshman Nicholas Perez shares his uncommon passion was able to prove that I was good at what I do. I’ve progressed a lot because there were of fencing

school bracket, and the Pirates won the Freshman Carter Alonso shares his hockey and inline championship game with 7 goals; Alonso scored 4 of the goals and was named the hockey experience

F

encing is a unique sport that requires focus, precision and accuracy.

Freshman Nicholas Perez discovered an interest in the sport a year ago and it’s now how he finds himself spending most of his free time.

“I started fencing because I always liked the idea of swordsmanship and how it was used in ancient times,” Perez said. “I think fencing is very difficult because you have to think quickly and be fast when making decisions.”

Perez has found joy in the fact that he was able to take part in something that sets him apart from others.

“My best moment while fencing was when I participated in my first local tournament and I got third place,” Perez

many opponents that I wasn’t able to defeat when I first started, but I worked hard and now I am able to easily defeat them.”

Perez finds that fencing is a challenging sport that helps improve his fitness, coordination, confidence and creativity, as well as fosters friendships and respect. Whenever he has the time, Perez practices his skills and strategies to maximize his ability to win each time he enters a match.

“I enjoy the fast paced movements and the adrenaline rush that you get when you’re trying to beat your opponent,” Perez said. “Fencing helps improve your agility and self awareness and helps me improve in many other areas in my life.”

M

any sports players at MSD switch sports between seasons during the school year, but freshman Carter Alonso plays two sports year round: hockey and inline hockey.

These are two similar yet different sports. Inline hockey, also called roller hockey, has the same rules as ice hockey, but no ice and wheels instead of blades.

Alonso began practicing inline skating on his street in 2021, before transitioning to playing indoors with rubber wheels during the summer. At the same time, Alonso joined the 14AA Junior Panthers ice hockey team and later befriended a teammate who invited him to play for a competitive inline hockey team.

“It’s just fun, you know no one really tries, so that’s fun,” Alonso said. “You get to do your own moves and you don’t really have that pressure from travel hockey and everything.”

During the summer, Alonso played for a recreational inline hockey league with the Saucy Sloths team; his most recent game was in Fort Myers in September.

On May 18, Alonso flew to Georgia and played in an East Coast Hockey Organization inline hockey tournament for the Pirates. As an incoming freshman, Alonso was in the high

player of the tournament.

“The boys had a ton of energy and the crowd was pretty big,” Alonso said. “It was a little weird playing for kids that are bigger than me and older, but I still played well. We could feel the energy running through the building.”

Alonso also plays as a defenseman on the MSD varsity ice hockey team organized by the Florida Panthers Scholastic Hockey League, as well as the Florida Junior Panthers hockey travel team.

After the school year and ice hockey season ends, the inline hockey season begins in summer 2024, and Alonso plans to play again.

“I’m just gonna go out there and do my thing, regardless if we win or lose,” Alonso said.

SPORTS • Non-Traditional Sports 27

DESIGN BY Julia Landy

28 FEATURE • Local Farms