$35 million for colorado school safety savanah howard
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olorado lawmakers are finally discussing the first steps to safer schools, but unsurprisingly cannot find a solution to be agreed upon. On March 28 the House agreed to spend $35 million on police officers and security upgrades in schools for the 2018-19 school year. Republicans originally proposed a plan approaching $50 million for school safety measures alone. “School site safety is more important than roads and bridges, and more important than, wait for it, full-day kindergarten,” State Rep. James Wilson, Salida Republican, said. Wilson proposed the $35 million amendment claiming no amount of money was worth the life of a child. $35 million marked a compromise after Democrats voted down th $50 million request. The amendment is aimed at hiring and training more school resource officers (SRO) and pay for security cameras, controlled access and other security upgrades on campuses. This does not outline the allowed uses of the money or how they plan to distribute it. This bill was quickly slowed by Senate Republicans. Many question were raised
“Colorado Capitol Hill” by Chris Gonzales licensed under CC BY 2.0
surrounding mental health training and the sense in more police presence in communities of color. “That affects students of color first,” State Rep. Joe Salazar, Thornton Democrat said. “Ultimately, we’re the ones who get shot first. Without having these discussions with us, this is not a solution.” On April 4 the Colorado Senate voted to pass the bill allowing $35 million to be put in the budget for school resource officers and building security upgrades. This came after the initial version of the bill was shot down. The House version pulls money from the general fund while the Senate version draws from state education and public school funds. Democrats also proposed that schools should be able to apply for grants that would fund counselors, school psychologists, conflict resolution training, and other mental health options on top of SRO’s and school upgrades. Now it is up to the Joint Budget Committe to reconcile the differnces betweeen the House and the Senate and form a final bill.
“Flag of Colorado” by Andrew Johnson licensed under CC BY 2.0
chsaa approves three pilot seasons michael place
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the CHSAA Board of Directors approved pilot seasons for boys’ volleyball, girls’ wrestling, and co-ed Unified bowling in late February. This move comes after a new bylaw, which passed in January, required all new sports to have at least one pilot season. A pilot season is the first step toward a sport becoming officially sanctioned by CHSAA. Over recent years, each of these three sports have shown increased participation across the state, leading CHSAA to make the move. The decision allows CHSAA to support state tournaments for these sports, instead of separate associations creating
their own. According to CHSAA, 650 athletes currently participate in the Colorado Boys High School Volleyball Association (CBHSVA). Now, these athletes are likely to play in CHSAA events. Mountain Vista’s mens’ volleyball team already has started its pilot season this spring. Last year, the team played as a club with athletes from surrounding high schools. “[Approving] boy’s volleyball is perfect,” Mountain Vista Athletic Director Shawn Terry said. “I think it’ll take off. [Games] will go late at night and that’s perfect. It works for [referee’s] schedules and it works for the kids. If they stay with that it’ll do just fine here.” Girls wrestling and Unified bowling will begin their seasons under CHSAA in the 2018-19 school year. This year, there were 235 female wrestlers
who competed alongside male wrestlers. Even more female wrestlers competed in female-only tournaments. Terry said he hopes the new pilot wrestling program can grow like Vista’s hockey program did. “What I hope they do with wrestling is instead of having Vista just have one or two girls and Highlands Ranch [High School] having one or two girls, we’d have one school with each weight class and it’ll grow that way,” Terry said. As for Unified bowling, Terry said he is wary about the timing of the season in winter. “Hopefully, it works out smoothly, but the time of the year will be interesting of when [Unified bowling] is. Hopefully, it doesn’t conflict with basketball and be more of a spring sport.” Terry said with the support from Vista and other CHSAA schools that he expects easy approval for each of the three sports to become officially sanctioned.
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basketball playoffs story by mikayla olave photos by michael place
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he mens’ and womens’ varsity teams worked tirelessly during their seasons to make it to the playoffs. Both teams ended up losing in the Sweet Sixteen, but did not go down without a fight. The mens’ varsity team, coached by Bob Wood, lost to Chaparral High School 92-83. The team played together as one until the very last minute, but it was not enough for them to continue through the playoffs. “We played hard in every game and gave it our all,” senior Aaron Albrechtsen said. “I think we were strong as a team. It was an experience I will never forget.” The womens’ varsity team, coached by Mike Willahan, lost to Fossil Ridge High School 50-39. The girls’ team gave it their all, and even though their season was cut short, the girls said they were proud of how they played. “We [had] each other’s backs and that was really evident on the court with the chemistry we had playing together,” senior Dani Mills said. ”Everyone worked really hard everyday in practice, so I’m proud of what we achieved this year.” Even though both the men and womens’ varsity basketball teams came up short in the playoffs, their tireless work showed during games. “To make it to the playoffs, we worked hard during practice and played as a team every game,” senior Sydney Trichler said. “What worked was having full focus in practice and mental strength in the games.”
gabby throws the first pitch addisyn hartman & molly phelan
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arsity baseball had its first game March 8 against Arvada West and left the field with a 8-3 victory. As of April 6, CHSAA RPI rankings have the team sitting at first in the state for 5A. At the game, the 2017 and 2018 Wish Kids, Kenyan and Gabby, made an appearance and spent time with the students. On the sidelines, Gabby was playing fetch with one of the therapy dogs, Roo, while students gathered around to watch and cheer her on. “My favorite part of coming back was being able to see all of you guys,” Gabby said. She spent time talking to all of the students and helping the junior varsity players put pine tar on their bats while they practiced hitting. “It was a really cool experience to see Gabby come back and be involved in our community,” junior Drew Stahl said.
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don’t bite the bait that leads to hate a personal narrative by madison paul
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n English II Honors, the first unit back from Winter Break was entitled the “Hell Unit” where students learn about spiritual, emotional and physical hell. After a few weeks of learning about spiritual and emotional hell in class, classes were introduced to the physical hell of the Holocaust. Holocaust survivor Jack Adler came to talk to all of the students so they could better understand what grueling atrocities he experienced. “I am an eyewitness to one of the darkest pages in human history,” Alder said. “I could never imagine what was in store for the people with my faith.” Adler’s body language and tone in voice, told another story on top of the one he was sharing. But for you, the reader, to understand, one would have to start from the beginning. Adler said without any hesitation that religion is only a small piece of a person and it should not be used to cut anyone down. He has a strong hate for Hitler, but the reality is, any Jewish person from the Holocaust would. “People that use religion to justify a person as evil, no matter their title,” Adler said. When Adler was 16, hell was finally over and when he was taken to the hospital, he weighed 65 pounds. Alder was the only one in his biological family to survive. After he his health improved, he
moved to Chicago where he joined what he calls his “miracle family.” He went on to finish high school and college. After he decided that he needed to tell his story, his perspective was that not many are able to express their experiences, so he must. So in 2012 his book “Y” was published and he started speaking to readers around the country about his experience. “I lived. I experienced. I witnessed. I survived,” Adler said. After hearing a story like that, it allows one to think about history and what people today need to do to to make sure nothing like that will ever happen again. It allows you to to think about what those people went through and how you could never bare it. Another point Adler touched on was that everyone is equal. It doesn’t matter your race, religion, or gender. “All seven billion of us belong to one race, that is [the] human race,” Adler said. As an eyewitness of Adler’s speech, when I looked into his eyes as he said told his story, I could see passion and anger. Anger due to the fact that people can be mean and cruel. Passion because I knew we wanted change — change for the better of all seven billion people on this earth. “We all must adhere by The Golden Rule: treat others as we ourselves want to
be treated,” Adler said with what looked like tears building in his eyes. Adler’s final message was that a title does not make a person. Personality, hobbies, and passions make up who someone is. “A man can have a title but that title does not make a man,” he said. Adler was weak but became strong. He was young but matured faster than anyone should have to at the age of ten. Adler was lost but somehow found his way and shows it today through his story.
let’s taco ’bout it? mindy herrod
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he Theatre IV class worked hours upon hours to perfect “30 Salsas for Taco Tuesdays, an hour-long play. The scenes were presented in the order audience members yelled. Additionally, the actors would attempt to perform 30 scenes in just one hour, and if they failed, the audience would receive a prize at the end. The play was filled with laughs, awkwardness, sadness, big messes and lots of audience interaction. “I think it was a good play to show at Vista especially with the cast we had, because we are all good at pulling things together at the last minute,” senior Benny Bohman said. “It was definitely a really rough process but because of the talent of the kids at this school, we were able to pull it off and make a pretty good show.” The play was heavy on audience interactions with the actors talking to
the member or getting up-close and personal by going and sitting with him or her. The students also chose a lucky audience member to participate in some of the scenes, like junior Nate Cushing’s “Don’t Think, React!” “The entire show was pushed toward an audience-involved show, but ‘Don’t Think, React!’ was the only moment where we saw a one-on-one situation of audience and performer,” Cushing said. Other scenes pointed out a member of the audience and actors would occasionally throw something into the audience in order to make viewers uncomfortable or laugh. Without a doubt, audience members had a unique experience.
vista goes raving mad F gabe barnard
riday, Feb. 9 was no ordinary day for students at the school, but rather the culmination of a week packed to the brim with energy and support for a single cause. It was Wish Week, a time when the school adopts a child from the Make-A-Wish Foundation and grants any wish they ask through fundraising, events and creativity. This year, Gabby was selected as the school’s Wish Kid, and many organizations worked to put together an experience that would last her a lifetime. Student Leadership, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Be a Good Person (BAGP) brand partnered to grant Gabby’s wish to be famous by setting up a full-scale rave in the main gym. Before the rave could get underway, however, Gabby needed to appear on the “Vista Live” talk show set to introduce herself and her family to the student body. The hosts, seniors Val Urquhart and Alex Leavy, warmed up the audience for the superstar’s presence by first interviewing representatives from BAGP and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Leavy and Urquhart entertained the audience with jokes and encouraged each of their guests to leave with a spray of silly string. “It was a great opportunity for me to be a part of how we made Gabby’s wish come true,” Urquhart
the day in photos
said. “It really showed me what us coming together as a full school can mean for one person.” When it came time for Gabby to appear in front of her fans, a red carpet was rolled across the gym to clear her a path to the stage. She answered a few questions before being hoisted onto her father’s shoulders and carried around the gym for the students to meet her in person. As the Wish Kid was escorted around the gym, students waved glow sticks and cheered. Finally, Gabby and her entourage made it back to the stage, where the party commenced. DJ Austin Pawelka, a.k.a. Paws the Music, led the rave with his mix of beats and included blasts of smoke and confetti to complete the experience for Gabby and the students. Most meaningful throughout the morning though was the unified mindset of the students. The focus was on Gabby and the rave and making her wish come true. The combined effort of the entire school would eventually lead to a fundraising total of $158,024 and the wishes of 21 children granted. “It’s really inspiring for me,” Urquhart said. “Hearing about it is one thing, and then seeing Gabby and being able to interact with this person who has leukemia was eye-opening. It was a great experience.”
Amidst the confetti showers and fog blasts of the rave, senior Savannah Mills raises her cell phone to take a selfie.
Gabby’s personal assistant, senior Rickey Cooper, has his shirt autographed by the star prior to the assembly.
FRIDAY, FEB. 9