MV Viewer 2017-2018 Issue 9

VOLUME 65 ISSUE 9 | June 1, 2018

THE VIEWER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE NORTH KOREA 03/ SOLUPAL 05/ COFFEE SHOPS 10

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News

Friday, June 1, 2018

The lot fills, but does not grow

by Kaylin Ro staff reporter

Students line up at the front desk, waiting to buy a daily parking pass before first hour starts.

Matt Goldsmith, the front desk administrator, and his teacher’s assistants sign out passes for $2.00 each to the students. One by one, they make their way back outside, into the parking lot, to their car to hang up the parking pass and back into the school to their first class. Not for the past few days, however. A “parking passes sold out for the rest of the week” sign greets students when they arrive at school in the morning.

Such a sign is not uncommon on the front doors of the school. It has occasionally made its way there throughout the school year, appearing and disappearing without warning throughout the weeks. A student relying on daily parking passes might arrive to school on a Monday morning and find themselves unable to obtain a pass. However, as the school year comes to an end, the sign seems to have paused from its vagaries and remains situated on the window of the medial front door.

Students have experienced tighter regulations regarding parking this past winter as well. “Many times the parking lot would be unplowed, making it hard to see the lines, and that caused a lack of spots,” said Bhumi Patel, 12. “That instance led to [me] getting a fine for parking in the teacher parking because there were no spots in the student lot even though that wasn’t necessarily my fault.” Patel told her dean, Mr. Poepard, about her situation; he replied that the administration has little control over the parking system at Mounds View.

Other parking violations include parking without purchasing a parking permit or pass, parking in teacher parking, failing to properly display the parking permit or using fraudulent passes. The

Mounds View Student Handbook warns that students who do not adhere to these rules are “subject to a fine of $2.00 or more.” However, fines can reach up to $25 and even $50.

Obtaining a year-long pass requires submitting an application, which school administrators utilize to determine the students that most require parking, factoring in seniority and special needs like Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO).

These regulations are often unfavorable toward students who are from outside the district. “As an out-of-district student, it is really hard because I need a parking pass to get to school,” says Yoo-Jin Hwang, 12. “When I was a junior, I didn’t even get priority for the parking pass and had to buy a parking permit every day.” When the passes sold out, Hwang resorted to parking half a mile away at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, which made it harder to arrive on time. “It would waste a lot of time that could have been spent in the classroom,” said Hwang.

Naturally, after paying substantial amounts for their parking passes, students raise the question of what their parking money funds. Dan Engebretson, the parking lot administrator, said that the money “goes to general maintenance of the school.” In contrast, Patel says that she would prefer the money go towards providing “a better upkeep of the parking lot during the winters” to make parking easier when it snows.

In the wake of Mounds View’s parking spot shortage, the district is planning a $165 million bond referendum over the next seven years to make room for additional students. The bond consists of improvements across all Mounds View District schools, including additional parking and improvement to the parent drop-off area at Mounds View High School.

The front doors of Mounds View house a sign that lets students know when daily passes run out.

Dan Engebretson checks for parking permits in his Chevrolet Avalanche. photos by Sarah Tang

English teacher looking for change

by Michael Gennaro news editor

Allyson Manns engages in a warm-up discussion with her Honors English 9 class. photo by Sarah Tang

Next school year, Mounds View will greatly miss one of its prominent role models and English teachers, Allyson Manns. At the conclusion of her fifth year of teaching at Mounds View, Manns looks to pursue a new career and mark a new milestone in her life.

It was during high school when Manns was enlightened about the positives of studying literature. “When I was a junior in high school, I had an English teacher who showed me that English was more than just grammar, spelling and vocabulary and was truly a means of discovering who you are,” said Manns. “He ignited a passion for literature, discussions and an exploration of life that can come when studying literature.” Manns later wished to give high school students these same lessons related to literature. To Manns, teaching English allows for discussions of real-life situations that help students decide the path they want to take in their own life. “I like the way that teaching high school English lent itself specifically to have real-life conversations with teenagers at a point in their life where they are discovering who they are, and conversations like these can be very pivotal,” said Manns.

Despite her passion for teaching, Manns never saw teaching as a long-term career path and figured that one day she would make a change.

This year, she realized it was time to change. “I feel strongly about listening to those small tugs on your heart and following your intuition,” said Manns. “My heart is longing for a change, so I’m pursuing one.”

After Manns graduated from Bethel University, she found an opportunity to teach in Guadalajara, Mexico. During her time in Mexico, Manns observed a school culture that she would

later discover notably contrasted with that of the United States. “The focus [in Mexico] was much more on the whole student and supporting them mentally and emotionally and not just academically,” said Manns. After experiencing Mexico’s school culture, Manns tried to apply the same ideas at Mounds View by creating a positive atmosphere for all her students to enjoy. “I have always had a pretty informal classroom and management style. I want my students to feel like I respect them and it’s not my classroom, but it’s our classroom,” said Manns.

Reflecting on her five years at Mounds View, Manns’ favorite part was the relationships she cultivated with many students. “I’ve recognized that the best parts of my day are the times I’m connecting authentically with other people,” said Manns. As the Student Council advisor for the past two years, Manns, affectionately nicknamed “Momma Manns” by its members, has welcomed every member. Manns helped shape all the members into leaders and showed how hard work pays off. “There is no way Student Council could have run without [Manns’] countless hours of devotion, and she has truly shown me what a determined leader is capable of,” said Cadyn Jones, 11. In addition to Student Council, Manns was the former advisor of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, in which she would help students run their club.

After the school year ends, Manns plans to work part time and travel. “I just started a parttime job for Stitch-Fix, which is like a personal styling company. I will be taking the summer to work part time, apply for jobs and also travel, assuming that it’s my last summer off,” said Manns.

While she’s not yet set on a certain career, Manns hopes to obtain a full-time job by the end of September and start a new chapter of her life.

News

friday, june 1, 2018

Science Olympiad scores at nationals

by Alexis Larson staff reporter On May 19, the Mounds View Science Olympiad team competed at the 2018 Science Olympiad National Tournament at Colorado State University, finishing in fifth place overall. The team, consisting of 15 competitors and 11 alternates, committed hundreds of hours of studying and practicing throughout the year to gain a spot at the national competition and achieve their high ranking.

Science Olympiad is a nationwide organization that holds tournaments and other events with a mission to spread a contagious passion and better understanding for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) among students and teachers. For competitions, students select events to participate in among the 23 events that Science Olympiad offers, with many topics such as genetics, chemistry, physics and technology. Mounds View High School’s Science Olympiad team consists of many talented individuals who learn, study and practice throughout the year on their events of interest.

To achieve the success that they did, students on the team invested countless hours into rigorous preparation throughout the year. Aarthi Vijayakumar, 11, who participated in three events — Rocks and Minerals, Forensics, and Remote Sensing — said she spent around 25 to 40 hours each week practicing and studying. “Forensics consisted of several weekly lab practice sessions after school,

where we practiced identifying all the different types of evidence we could be given and did several practice tests where we had to solve crime cases. For rocks, we practiced identifying a list of 100 different rocks and minerals and studied lots of different topics within geology to prepare. Remote sensing consisted of practicing a lot of image analysis and calculations,” said Aarthi Vijayakumar. Others on the team also made similar time commitments devoted to their areas of study so that the team could earn a top spot at nationals.

Although the competitors invested hundreds of hours into preparation for nationals, their events did not always run perfectly. “The setup was really tight so it was easy to knock evidence over. During the start of the competition, I accidentally spilled a whole vial of the evidence and wasn’t able to recover most of it, and I had to dive under the table to recover some of the plastics as well,” said Rebecca Li, 11, who was partners with Aarthi Vijayakumar for the Forensics event. As for the Hovercraft event, team member Eliot Kim, 11, also encountered a bit of difficulty as well. “For the hovercraft, the first run went really badly. It got stuck on the side of the wall, and it was a complete fail. I had to make a really on-the-fly, special adjustment. I had to move something on the hovercraft itself to the side and had within 10 seconds make up a solution. But after I made that switch, it worked perfectly and went really well,”

said Kim. Despite experiencing some minor setbacks in their respective events, Li and Aarthi Vijayakumar placed first for Forensics, and Kim and Abhi Vijayakumar, 11, placed first for Hovercraft.

This season recently finished with the team achieving a great amount of success, but goals for next year have already began to brew within the team.

Students hope to improve from their high results this year in the next season. “Next year I want to, overall, help our team improve at nationals. This year we got fifth; next year hopefully we can get first or second,” said Kim. The current team members also have goals that invest in the underclassmen so that the future of Science Olympiad will have both a strong foundation and a meaningful legacy.

“My main goal for next year is to help the underclassmen improve. Because of the seven senior limit rule, some well-deserving people won’t be able to be on the team next year. Thus, it is even more important that as experienced competitors, we help the underclassmen by sharing techniques or good resources or study tips,” said Li. Likewise, Aarthi Vijayakumar recognizes the importance of mentoring the future competitors. “I know we have a lot of underclassmen who are already rising to the challenge that being a nationally competitive team presents, and I hope I can share my experience so far with them and help them reach their goals as well,” said Aarthi Vijayakumar.

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Left to right: Juniors Rebecca Li, Aarthi Vijayakumar, Michelle Wang, Michelle Sung and Diana Zhu display their medals at nationals.

The 15 varsity team members pose on stage in Moby Arena at Colorado State University. photos courtesy of Diana Zhu

Overall, the Science Olympiad team’s hard work has allowed them to continually achieve success throughout the years, with each year proving to be more victorious than the years past. The team placed fifth this year, seventh in 2017, and tenth the year before. However, in order to maintain this improvement, the team must continue to be determined and

committed to investing more hours of studying, practicing and learning. Although the season is now over, the future of Science Olympiad is bright because of talented and devoted members on the team and their goals to continue to improve.

North Korea open to peace talks

by Shelley Wang staff reporter The prospect of peace with North Korea (D.P.R.K.) looks to be a little closer with recent North Korean participation in global affairs: the Olympics and meetings between fellow world leaders. After 70 years of separation since the Korean War, North and South Korea are bringing speculation as to whether the Koreas will reunify or if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un simply wants publicity.

In April, the two Koreas signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. The document details the end of the war, denuclearization of the peninsula and reconnecting families on separate sides of the border. Andrew Seong, 12, notes that “the most important aspect” is probably reuniting the families divided by the Korean border.

Moreover, in that exchange, South Korean President Moon Jae-In also handed Kim Jong Un a USB containing blueprints of infrastructure plans to potentially connect North Korea with the rest of the world, suggesting to Kim Jong Un to consider the blueprints.

Although the cross-border propa-

ganda has been taken down, time zones have been matched up and celebrity signers have collaborated between the North and the South, Moon’s wishes to help the North may not be so easily granted.

President Donald Trump abruptly canceled plans to meet with Kim Jong Un at a summit in Singapore planned for June 12. However, North Korea’s top official, Kim Yong Chol, is traveling to New York to discuss the revival of the formal summit. Meanwhile, the North and South Korean leaders held a surprise meeting two days after the cancellation of the US-North Korea meeting. “What is unclear to Chairman Kim Jong Un is not the will for denuclearization, but the concern that if (North Korea) denuclearizes, whether the US can end hostile relations and guarantee the security of the (Kim) regime,” said Moon Jae-In according to the Chicago Tribune.

Mounds View students remain skeptical

of North Korea’s intentions. “The U.S. should be realistic about North Korea.

The D.P.R.K. has used the prospect of denuclearization ever since the Clinton Administration to receive things such as nuclear reactors and food aid. Concession of nuclear weapons, especially in light of recent events in Syria and Iran, is almost a zero-probability event,” said Seong. Other students echo this idea.

“North Korea, they do things like this all the time,” said Yejin Sohn, 9. Some students’ parents remain positive. “My dad was skeptical, and my mom was like, ‘At least we’re getting somewhere,’” said Janae Lee, 9. KoreanAmerican students often have extended family living in South Korea, constantly living under a nuclear threat.

These recent progressions may allow these families to rest from the national tensions.

While many KoreanAmerican students remain doubtful, some are hopeful of reunifying

one day. “It’s nice to see that there’s less threat than before,” said Yuha Yoo, 12. “If we do reunify, [South Koreans] will have a lot less to worry about in their daily lives.” However, reunification comes with many citizen-level obstacles. “Because of how long they were divided, there’s a lot of cultural differences, too. So it’ll take time to kind of bridge those gaps and make it all friendly,” said Yoo. While older generations and Korean-Americans seem to recognize this cultural contrast, Sohn said, “I think the current [South Korean] generation thinks that there’s not gonna be a drastic change.”

Whether cultural differences will drastically affect the peninsula, or which country’s customs, culture and politics will overshadow the other, it all comes down to whether or not the D.P.R.K. even plans to cooperate globally. With the the meetings between Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae In and the hope of a summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un, the previously incognito country may finally join its other half of the peninsula and connect with the rest of the world. illustration by Audrey Wu

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features

Friday, JUNE 1, 2018

DECA advances to nationals

by Toni Baraga and Haley Keeney good question editor and editorials editor ’17-’18 This past April, Mounds View DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) sent six students to nationals at Atlanta, Georgia: Hufsa Ahmed, 10; Chihiro Gustafson, 11; Amy Helgeson, 12; Bailey Loge, 10; Justin Reiling, 11; and Alisa Samadani, 12. DECA is a club held in schools around the country whose purpose is to help prepare college and high school students in areas such as marketing, finance, hospitality and management.

DECA’s impact can be seen around the school.

The club has been involved in a plethora of events at Mounds View, including helping with Charity Week in December, running the DECA school store and organizing the DECA club for underclassmen, among other events and various competitions.

According to deca.org, the organization has been making change for over 70 years. Recently at Mounds View, “We got to help create different presentations and brand names and ideas for the Saint Paul Saints last year,” said Aman Rao, 12. Mounds View DECA has also raised $8,000 for five charities during Charity Week and got the DECA store gold-certified on DECA’s SBE (School-Based Enterprises) Chapter Certification program for outstanding growth and achievement.

While they organize various events around the school year round, one of their main focuses is making it to nationals, a goal they usually reach. “Typically we send people to nationals every year,” said Reiling. “As far as MV DECA, we are just as strong as ever but hoping to grow next year.”

For Mounds View DECA, the road to nationals was a long yet enjoyable journey. There are three stages of competition for DECA participants. The first stage is Districts, which typically goes on for two days.

From there, the top four from each event will advance to State. This stage is three days long and consists of testing, preliminary competition and finals. Most of the events during State involve a 100-question test and an oral presentation. To advance to nationals, the competitor must place in the top three or four.

“The whole process is so much more fun than it sounds,” said Reiling. “It feels a lot like a sports season

for a lot of reasons. We all act like a team and work together to help everyone advance as far as possible. The competitions also get significantly harder as you go, so it’s like championship play/season.”

If students are interested in joining, Mounds View offers courses Marketing 1 and Marketing 2, which prepares students for competition and other DECA activities. Taking Business and Marketing classes also makes students eligible to join DECA, but these classes do not specifically train students for competitions.

DECA Club is also popular amongst underclassmen interested in DECA. Upperclassmen continue on to take DECA classes to learn more about marketing.

Ultimately, DECA provides students with the opportunities to pursue their greater goals and leave with a thorough understanding of the comprehensive field of marketing. “The best thing about taking DECA is you get a good real world experience for a business, and you really get to understand how everything in the business world works,” said Josh Bonde, 12.

Left to right: Amy Helgeson, Justin Reiling, Bailey Loge and Hufsa Ahmed.

Left to right: Alisa Samadani, Hufsa Ahmed, Justin Reiling, Bailey Loge and Amy Helgeson.

DECA members pose for a picture during their national competition in Atlanta, Georgia.

all photos courtesy of Rebecca Allard

From passion to business

by Derek Chen staff reporter

Jonah Roesler’s instruments on display, which he uses with his music production software.

photo courtesy of Jonah Roesler

Being a Soundcloud producer is the dream of many young teenagers today. For Jonah Roesler, 11, this dream is a reality.

While Roesler may not be famous worldwide, he produces his own music and has a rather successful business: a standout achievement at the age of 17. Roesler creates original beats, songs and even custom instrumentals inspired by other artists and through his own creativity.

Roesler’s passion for music started from a very young age. He began playing piano in kindergarten and even started creating his own songs in first grade. As he grew up, Roesler learned the guitar and saxophone and was also a part of various musical groups like jazz band. These different experiences inspired the young musician to further pursue his musical career.

“Mr. Gronert, my middle school band director, got me fascinated with creating music online. Listening and learning about how famous producers make their music really inspired me to create my own as well,” said Roesler.

Roesler takes his passion for music beyond simply practicing his instruments at home and playing in band at school; he

turns it into a business. He produces custom beats for individual artists and makes songs as well. After making one of his “products,” those that want to use his beats are able to buy them from Roesler. These leases do not mean exclusive ownership of the beat; Roesler is still able to sell the same beat to others if they are looking to purchase it. If an artist wants unshared rights to a beat, they can purchase a custom instrumental from Roesler, albeit at a higher price.

Although Roesler may be new to the music production scene, his achievements have been impressive so far. “I’ve gotten over 1 million views in 2018 and have gained a lot of business from that,” said Roesler. “It took a while to start gaining online traction since I published my first beat in early 2017, but this year my music has been gaining a lot more attention.”

As the end of the school year approaches, Roesler will soon begin his final high school year as a senior. While he may be busy with college applications, Roesler is determined to continue his music production business. “I hope to keep growing my channel and promoting my music as much as I can,” he said. In the upcoming years, Roesler aims to improve and hopes to get a chance in the larger music industry one day.

Friday, june 1, 2018

Young Entrepreneurs Solupal

by Shannon Haffely and Luka Pejic arts and entertainment editor 17-18 and staff reporter Landfills grow larger by the year, the month, the week. Every time a plastic bag is stuffed full with groceries, clothing or toys, it likely will end up in one of these garbage sites. In fact, plastic accounts for 79 percent of landfill waste. If not landfills, then it heads for the oceans and waterways, polluting the environment. Most of the time, it’s chalked up solely to human carelessness. However, the solution could be closer than many think. Solupal, a JA (Junior Achievement) company started by seven Mounds View High School students, offers a new approach to the issue of plastic bag disposal. Hufsa Ahmed, 10; Michael Cao, 11; Amy Helgeson, 12; Vicky Li, 11; Ivy Yu, 10; and Diana Zhu, 11, wanted to reduce plastic waste produced by shopping bags, starting in the local community (editor’s note: Diana Zhu is a Viewer staff member). “After seeing firsthand how much the plastic waste problem affects our planet, we knew there had to be a better alternative to traditional plastic,” said Li, the design lead.

Currently, plastic bags are not biodegradable, which poses a huge threat to the environment. Solupal is a company that creates water-soluble shopping bags as an alternative to traditional plastic shopping bags.

These bags can be disposed of by tossing them into the

washing machine with newly purchased clothes or simply by throwing them into the trash. In all cases, the dissolvable and biodegradable bag leaves zero waste.

“We aim to reduce the amount of plastic bag clutter in our homes but more importantly, reduce the high levels of pollution that plastic bags create in our natural environments,” said Li. The startup was initiated when one of the team members, Helgeson, noticed the high levels of plastic waste generated in the small clothing boutique she worked in. “It was a team effort in determining what the best course of action was to eliminate this waste.

Originally, we aimed to provide water-soluble packaging plastic, but Solupal has collectively decided to pivot to the clothing retail industry by creating a replacement for plastic shopping bags that is water-soluble and ecofriendly,” said Helgeson.

Solupal has decided to utilize polyvinyl alcohol, a non-toxic material that is typically used in niche markets, and integrate it into the consumer retail market.

“Although our bags won’t be at every popular store in the near future, we hope that our product and the idea that it represents will remind students of just how harmful plastic bags are and inspire them to act on it by using cleaner alternatives and keeping the damage in mind whenever they go shopping,” said Li. As more orders are placed, the company will be able to lower

Solupal poses for a pic ture before MIT Launch in April. Left to right: Diana Zhu, Michael Cao, Vicky Li, Lauren Lee.

photos courtesy of Vicky Li

features

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prices and market to a broader range of stores.

Solupal’s efforts have not gone unnoticed — in April, the team placed first at the Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest Company of the Year Competition, receiving $1,000 per person in post-secondary scholarships and an all-expenses-paid trip to the national competition in June. Later that month, Solupal was among 20 out of over 2,000 companies chosen to attend MIT’s Global Demo Day. “Becoming finalists was a major milestone for us, and during the Global Demo Day, we were able to gain insightful feedback in scaling our business and continuing to grow in the future,” said Cao. Solupal will be competing at the JA National Student Leadership Summit from June 17-21 in Washington D.C. and presenting to a panel of judges. Currently, they are selling their bags to high-end clothing boutiques in the Twin Cities and aim to form three business partnerships by the end of this year. In the long term, they hope to expand their sales to other parts of the state and begin to market Solupal bags to thrift stores as well.

By selling a biodegradable bag that leaves zero waste, Solupal hopes to reduce the harmful effects of plastic all over the world and create a greener tomorrow.

Solupal discussing their potential partnership with Spoils of Wear.

Modus

by Jeffrey He staff reporter Modus is a student-run company that formed last fall through the Junior Achievement (JA) Company program. Through the program, students can become better entrepreneurs by designing and managing businesses. Leon Wang, 10, and Aryan Sehgal, 10, lead the eight students involved in the company.

Modus created a mobile app that records the expiration date of food items the user stores, with the goal to ultimately reduce food waste by helping organize the refrigerator or pantry. “We are planning on partnering with different grocery stores so that [the stores] put a QR code at the bottom of the receipt, which would allow you to scan that QR code, and all the food items would transfer onto your app,” said Neha Sriram, 10.

The app has an automated function for the expiration date; other personal adjustments can be made through manual functions for user convenience.

However, the team faced a few roadblocks while making the app. “We had a lot of trouble finding an app developer because we didn’t have that skill set, but we did create the designs by ourselves and find an app developer,” said Sriram. Members of Modus spend many hours improving their mobile app and creating a reliable and financially secure business with the help of several advisors. From Mounds View, social studies teachers Martha Rush and Aaron Oseland help out by guiding the team with insightful tips to optimize their success. Furthermore, Mounds View alumnus William Tjernlund acts as a mentor for the company with his experience as an entrepreneur.

Modus receving their award after their competition on April 18th.

photos courtesy of Leon Wang

In April, Modus participated in the Minnesota Council on Economic Education (MCEE) Trade Show and the Junior Achievement Upper Midwest Company of the Year (JAUM) competition. At each competition, Modus presented and pitched their company to business leaders. The group placed third in the JAUM Company of the Year competition, receiving $250 per person in post-secondary scholarships.

From the company’s success this year, next year the team plans to continue in the JA Company program, release their app for public use and team up with local grocery stores such as Cub Foods or Target. “The main goal over the summer is to try and partner with a couple local grocery chains and try and get them to sign up on this,” said Sehgal.

Team member, Leon Wang, dicussing his product with the judges.

#MeToo’s relevanc Playing with power

by Jeffrey He staff reporter

This past year, the courage of several women was exemplified when they called out pervasive misconduct in Hollywood, making the women referred to as “Silence Breakers,” worthy of Time’s Person of the Year. One of the most influential harassers, with over 85 accusations, was movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. After Weinstein was fired in October, other harassed women began to reach out for help. Over 70 influential men were fired or forced to resign in November, according to the New York Times. Many of the accusations were made with accounts from the past.

Due to the potentially career-destroying consequences of speaking out against harassment, this issue is frequently swept under the rug. This fear of speaking out is also what makes it difficult to assess how prevalent misconduct is in our society. Victims of harassment often believe that nothing they do will help their situation or that they will face negative consequences if they speak out, allowing the harasser to continue his harassment. A report in June 2016 from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that 75 percent of employees faced retaliation when they spoke out against workplace harassment.

These findings from the EEOC are strengthened by numerous stories of careers being jeopardized after calling out harassment.

Harassment in the workplace is typically ignored or dismissed by employers. Several accounts given by women professionals from a Times article document their predicament: “I was almost immediately fired.”

“I work in Hollywood as a crew member. I have been blacklisted from employment for complaining to human resources for being sexually harassed and assaulted.”

“He will ruin your career.”

“He warned me never to bring up this issue again.”

The power Hollywood producers have is great compared to new and upcoming young actresses. Exposing this dynamic in

Hollywood has made people more aware of misconduct in public and in the workplace. Such awareness has extended to Mounds View High School. While misconduct at Mounds View is not fullfledged assault, the power teachers hold can give rise to some unethical or inappropriate behavior. Teachers determine students’ grades in the classroom, write recommendations and have control over extracurricular activities. The potential repercussions on one’s GPA may be enough to keep students silent. From grabbing shoulders to talking down to students, some teachers have misused their leverage in the eyes of several students.

Students speak up

by Shelley Wang staff reporter

In the age of #MeToo, students have grown wary of harassment; more specifically, of teacher misconduct within Mounds View High School. “As every girl walked in, the coach told them that it was a kid’s birthday and that they should get down on their knees around [the student] and sing to him. He didn’t exactly force [the girls], but it sounded like he really wanted them to do it, so they did. It was awkward. He got really close to us when he was asking, too,” said a student. Occurrences like these, while uncommon, do happen at Mounds View High School, and have been brought forward by several students’ testimonies who wished to remain anonymous.

The most common instances involved a teacher making unwarranted contact with a student. “I’ve had a teacher come up behind me and grab me by the waist or grab my hand, and it’s kind of like ‘Okay, what was that for?’” said one student. Another student recalled a time when “he pretended to choke someone in class.”

While these situations can be easily misunderstood, it happens often enough to make students feel uncomfortable. “I feel like touch is like a normal thing, like you shake peoples’ hands,” said one student. “Shaking people’s hands is different from grabbing somebody by the waist, and I feel like teachers know not to do things.

But also they’re human too, but in people alright.”

In these cases, what sort of te able? “To one person it is a bothe ment, and to another it is nothin Rivers. “If it is harassment in som ment.” This idea coincides with th “Harassment is the violation of the logical boundaries of another pe vary, but if the action makes a pe or intimidated, the conduct could ment is ‘in the eye of the beholde duced to the handbook when the do not recall whether the book w thereafter.

Another concern raised by s sensitivity from teachers. “He was marriages, and it kind of hurt m an arranged marriage,” said one tablished policy against cultural cultural ignorance and stereotyp As of November 2017, minorities View’s student body.

On the same end of the spec distasteful remarks about religiou classmate, “[the teacher] inserted he talked about me hiding stuff in According to Mounds View Publi policy, “Religious harassment con duct which is related to an individ has the purpose or effect of crea offensive working or educational While most teachers adhere to dynamic predominantly rests on t depends a hundred percent on the that power. You do have it. Kids n need the grades and if you are goin said English teacher Gretchen Ne

ce at Mounds View

n a way, it doesn’t make touching

eacher-student contact is accepter, to another person it is harassng,” said Spanish teacher Laura mebody’s eyes, then it is harasshe staff handbook, which states, e reasonable physical or psychoerson. The boundaries of people erson feel oppressed, persecuted be deemed harassment. Harasser.’” Although teachers are introey are first hired, many teachers was ever mentioned in meetings

students is racism or cultural ins kind of flaming down arranged me because my own parents had e girl. There is currently no esinsensitivity, which exacerbates ping in a learning environment. s make up 25 percent of Mounds

ctrum of cultural insensitivity is us practices. While talking to a himself in the conversation, and n my hijab,” said another student. ic Schools’ Bullying/Harassment nsists of physical or verbal condual’s religion when the conduct ating an intimidating, hostile, or environment.” o ethical practices, a classroom’s the respective teacher. “I think it e teacher because you could take need the recommendations, kids ng to be a jerk about it, you can,” esset. “I think that the school has

done a lot in order to help make things equitable, but again, you have human beings involved, and humans can still mess with the system if they want.” With an educational system that can be a used against students, it is important other staff in the institution help prevent abuse of the system.

Deans are the people students are meant to first confide in if a problem ever arises. “I don’t think there is a systematic approach to it, but I hope that [students] know that deans are your one stop if there is an issue,” said dean David Ritter. However, social studies teacher Justin Benolkin said to “start with the teacher” because a simple conversation could resolve misunderstandings. “If [misconduct] happens again, definitely then go to an authority figure,” said Benolkin. If a student is not comfortable with the teacher, or if their concerns aren’t taken seriously, it may be more effective to speak directly to administration “because deans aren’t the administrators of other teachers, they are just deans. So going to the vice principal or the principal is a better route because they are administrators, and they are privy to more information than deans,” said Benolkin. However, it can be challenging for students to come forward with their concerns. “We hope that students feel they have a voice if something like that would happen,” said Ritter.

Moreover, the administration has taken steps to train its staff on personal bias. “I was just asked to take some classes this summer, learning how to hold conversations about some more difficult topics in the building, so we can start talking about some of the things we need to with equity and with fairness across the board,” said Nesset.

Most students come to the consensus that even if one were to have the courage to bring forth their concerns, nothing visible seems to be done and habits remain unchanged in the classroom.

By voicing their concerns, students also risk their relationship with the teacher. “I think most of us don’t voice [our thoughts] because the coaches will enforce some sort of disciplinary action on [us],” said one student. “From what we heard... in the past, it has just resulted in more conflict. Also the coaches have made it very clear that if anybody else in the team gets involved [in a conflict], it may result in a worse situation.” Because a teacher or coach holds discipline power over students, such a threat is eas-

ily enforced. “I think that teachers have a lot of power when it comes to student outcome. I think really an inordinate amount of power when it comes to their word. For example, police officers would be believed far more than other people because they are higher status, and I think when it comes to students, it is the same phenomenon because [teachers] have higher status and authority,” said Benolkin. When facing the threat of punishment from teachers, students can feel powerless. However, there is a process at Mounds View regarding teacher accusations. “We will speak to whoever was involved; we will speak to who is being alleged or accused for a particular behavior. For what happens, that is confidential,” said principal Stephanie Bruggers.

While some might claim students could abuse the system and make false claims under an anonymous title, students disagree.

“Nobody would say anything if it wasn’t anonymous,” said one student. “I don’t think it would be fun to make stuff up.” By staying anonymous, students reduce the risk of facing retaliation from their teachers. Without anonymity, “I think that if teachers read [my quotes], I would have the risk of them treating me differently,” said a student. Some other students simply don’t wish to get teachers in trouble. “Especially with the touching thing, I don’t want a dean asking me who did that because I don’t want to expose anybody,” said another student. Under anonymity, students can rest assured that their concerns will remain confidential unless noted otherwise. “Students and adults are all entitled to data privacy, and it is our place as a school to investigate what things are given to us,” said Bruggers.

Although many students have not experienced any sort of harassment from teachers, mental or physical, there are still students who have. Although Mounds View has made an equity promise, the school community has still not reached complete fairness, at least in one teacher’s mind. “We are not there,” said Nesset, “I am not, and nobody here would say we were, but there is more of an effort than there used to be.”

illustration by Audrey Wu

8

editorials

Friday, June 1, 2018

Mounds View’s parking predicament

by Ben Davis managing editor-online ’17-’18 It’s an annual tradition. The greeter’s desk always gets more and more packed on Mondays as the semester winds to a close, with students desperately trying to get that last parking pass before the daily passes sell out for the week. Unfortunately, for many, these long awaited passes never fall into their hands, and they’re forced to either park on the street half a mile down the road

by St. Johns.

Mounds View’s administration has thought about this problem and is attempting to address it in its future expansion plans, with a proposal to buy or rent land in the bus lot across the road to allow students to park. This plan may not be in full effect next year though, so what can the administration do to alleviate this pain temporarily?

The main reason that Mounds View offers daily passes is to create more revenue than the semester passes. Instead of charging $225 a year for a spot, which works out to be about $1.36 per per day,

the school can add about $119 per spot over the semester in revenue by selling daily passes for $2 instead of the $1.36 price point per day for the semester passes.

This is a necessary evil under the

lot. As a result, the school can use the extra money made from daily passes to make their salaries close to completely independent of the schools tax revenue.

With this in mind, there are two main ways with which the administration

current structure of our parking system, as there are only about 330 parking spots. If they were all sold under semester passes, the school would only make around 75 thousand dollars a year from them. This is simply not enough to support the two greeters who oversee the

could ensure students don’t get “left out in the cold” walking several blocks to get to school.

The first option is to cut or transfer one of the greeters to another department. This would free up enough of the revenue from the lot to ensure that the

one greeter gets a good pay, students know whether they can park on a given day, and passes get cheaper. This money freed up would also allow the school to put a little bit more back into our parking lot renovations, helping the future parking situation.

The second alternative would be to keep the current two lot attendant system and just raise prices on semester passes to compensate for the extra money made by daily passes. This would hit students and their families hard financially, but the added convenience and decreased demand after the price increase could lead to enough profit to pay for everything needed and possibly add to the rent or cost of the lot across the street.

Either of these options would both alleviate costs for the school and allow students to know what they’re doing in terms of parking.

These quick fixes are indeed quick fixes, but they can easily bridge the gap until Mounds View has a substantial amount of parking for students to use.

Flipped classroom is a flop

by Justin Duffy staff reporter Advancements in technology have revolutionized teaching methods. Today, students and teachers have access to variety of tools such as Google Classroom, Moodle and Youtube, tools that were unavailable to previous generations.

Teachers have used these new technologies to modernize teaching styles and lesson plans. However, these new technologies also come with a cost — teachers are sometimes focused too much on instructing in a “progressive” style and lose sight on the main goal of school: effectively teaching the subject matter.

One progressive teaching method that has often fallen flat at Mounds View is flipped classroom.

As the name implies, flipped classroom reverses the traditional classroom dynamic of lecturing and homework.

Instead, instruction is given outside of class, generally through videos or other online means. In class, students are given time to work on activities that would generally be considered “homework,” such as a problem set from a textbook.

Flipped classrooms also revolve around the principles of group discussions and collaborative work directed by the teacher.

Although flipped classroom seems promising in theory, it requires extremely specific conditions in order to succeed and consistently fails when these conditions are not met. First, students need to know that a class will be flipped when signing up for courses. Second, flipped classrooms require a shared knowledge base among all students in the class.

Because direct instruction is limited in flipped classrooms, students need to have strong background knowledge of the topic whereby they can fill in any gaps by themselves.

In an ideal flipped classroom, the teacher helps students with individual questions during class time. However, this system fails when the majority of students have questions — the teacher simply doesn’t have enough time to help everyone individually. The teacher may give a lecture to address all the questions at once, but then why not just give traditional lectures in the first place? Clearly, classes for beginners with no prerequisites (whether Advanced Placement or not) should never be flipped classrooms.

“For a first exposure, I don’t think flipped classroom provides the scaffolding that students need for education because teachers can’t respond in real time to what the students need extra help on,” said Matt Washenberger, physics teacher. “You can have a whole evening with kids watching a video that none of them get and then have to go over it again in school; progress gets stopped.”

Finally, flipped classrooms require extraordinary teachers to succeed. Because much of the learning takes place outside school, teachers in flipped classrooms need to have a mastery of the subject material to efficiently answer students’ questions and recognize if any concepts need reinforcement. They also need an acute awareness of classroom dynamic: the ability to lead effective and engaging group discussions. Unfortunately, lazy teachers can take advantage of flipped classroom under the false pretense of innovative teaching to decrease

their own workload. In flipped classrooms, the “teachers” can set up a class discussion, then address their own personal work and only minimally help the class. Rather than preparing their own lectures, flipped classroom “teachers” often just use YouTube videos as their instruction and don’t provide additional support such as a textbook. This can be problematic if the videos are unclear or not perfectly aligned with the curriculum. “Even though I watched all the videos for the class, I did not feel like I had a strong grasp on these concepts,” said Fisher Chu, 12, who took AP Computer Science A as a flipped classroom. “I did not know how to apply [the concepts] beyond the basics and I was confused most of the class.”

One rare example of a successful flipped classroom is Washenberger’s AP Physics C class. One reason this class works is because there is a prerequisite to the class (AP Physics 1), so all students have a strong physics background.

Additionally, AP Physics C is a hybrid class that only meets twice a week, so kids enter the class with the expectation that they will have to learn at home.

Although there are occasional lectures, it makes sense that most class time is devoted to labs (most of which involve materials like oscilloscopes that students would not have at home). The small class size makes it easy for students to ask Washenberger for extra help during class or on off days. Overall, the class is flipped for the sake of practicality and efficiency — the system wasn’t forced upon the class by a teacher trying to seem progressive for the sake of appearance.

It’s easy to get lost in the myriad of new teaching methods. However, teachers need to remember that the most important aspect of teaching is not the method, but rather the teachers themselves. Many “progressive” teaching methods have arisen out of an irrational fear of lecturing. Critics denounce lectures as boring and passive, but good teachers make lectures interactive, interesting and informative. It’s no wonder that the best college professors are renowned for their lecturing prowess.

“I think I learn better in the classroom instead of learning through videos and other resources,” said Chu. “It’s easier to go through the material together as a class and have questions asked when the teacher is teaching it.” Good teachers also utilize what Washenberger calls “teachable moments.” “Teachable moments are times when topics come up during a lesson and teachers realize that from a question. They can naturally incorporate something new that extends beyond normal class learning,” said Washenberger. “You don’t see that in flipped classroom as much.”

“

[The flipped classroom] has often fallen flat at Mounds View.”

DEBATES

FriDay, June 1, 2018

9

Has #MeToo gone too far?

#MeToo is vital for justice

#MeToo has lost its way

by Derek Zhu staff reporter During these past two years, the #MeToo movement has encouraged women not to be afraid to speak up about their past experiences of sexual assault, and finally, the world is starting to take notice. The movement reveals the true scale of the problem, shows that inappropriate actions have real consequences and gives women both the confidence and the platform to share their stories and give each other support.

The original #MeToo movement was founded in 2006 by Tarana Burke, who was inspired by a young girl who opened up about her stepfather abusing her.

Recently the hashtag was revived by actress Alyssa Milano who, unaware of the original movement, encouraged her followers to speak up by tweeting, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”

While the #MeToo movement started out small, it exploded into a huge campaign to expose the exploits of high level political figures and producers.

Some may point to the sheer scale of this movement and argue that it has gone too far, but in reality it reveals the true extent of the problem. The involvement of such high-profile figures has brought a great deal of media attention to the movement, finally giving many abused women a voice and an audience.

Not only do the resignations of these major figures bring out

by Emma Hoyhya staff reporter The hashtag #MeToo has sparked an uproar in allegations against many big names in Hollywood, the most prominent being film producer Harvey Weinstein, followed by comedian Bill Cosby and news anchor Matt Lauer.

Women participating in the #MeToo movement want to acknowledge and get others to acknowledge the suffering women in business have endured. This movement has done so much to help women and men alike, but something that brought healing to so many has transformed into something harmful for others.

Throughout history, the most prominent claim made against the accusers is that they purely “claim rape.” Some accusers were believed to have fabricated stories with ulterior motives. In Ryan Seacrest’s case, the accuser took it to court, where Seacrest was ultimately found innocent.

Many noted that the accuser was a single mother who worked for Seacrest many years before and that it was possible she was crying wolf.

Due Process, a pillar in a democratic society, is the expectation that the accused is innocent until proven guilty, and many feel that this movement has endangered it as a whole. Paraphrasing New York Magazine

the ubiquity of sexual harassment, they also help discourage future harassment and set a higher public standard for men’s behavior. By publicly discussing the actions of these oncepowerful men on the media, the consequences they face feel more real and thus may prevent future offenses.

Finally, the original purpose of the #MeToo movement was to give confidence to women and create a platform for them to share their stories. This is the most important aspect of #MeToo and is by far what made this campaign so successful. Milano’s tweet went viral. Thousands of people shared their stories online about how they were harassed, and countless more gave emotional support by just replying #MeToo. This simple hashtag showed tens of thousands of other people that they are not alone and established a mutual understanding among those who have been harassed. The volume of support for #MeToo gave emotional support to those who were previously too embarrassed or scared to share their stories and also gives the victims a place to speak up about their harassment.

Looking back, #MeToo has brought to light a massive problem present not only American society but in countries across the world like the United Kingdom, France and India. The movement has given thousands of people the courage to speak up and fight back against the injustices they face every day.

writer, Andrew Sullivan, we have found ourselves in a new age of the Scarlet Letter, letting a series of Instagram posts and tweets accusing men of sexual misconduct jeopardize careers and overall wellbeing. In an age that allows individuals to hide behind the comfort of a screen and keyboard, we have lost the ability to face people we may have simply misunderstood, such as between Aziz Ansari and his date, not applying to cases of full fledged assault. The #MeToo movement has made it far too easy for those making false accusations to harm the lives of others, posting the accusation far and wide, broadcasted for the world to see. When the accused is found innocent, many then jump to attack other women who come forward with real accounts of sexual assault.

Although the #MeToo movement has shed light on a problem long overdue, it has now become something different, something malicious and vindictive. The lack of due process has harmed not only individuals who were deemed guilty by the media without substantial evidence, but has eroded a crucial pillar in our democracy as well. Too many false accusations have led to misery and exploitation of a once virtuous and powerful movement. The #MeToo movement must adapt and realign its original purpose.

“We have found ourselves in a new age of the Scarlet Letter.”

“[#MeToo] helps discourage future harassment and set a higher public standard for men’s behavior.” fair use from pixabay.com

Viewer Staff 2018-2019

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING COPY EDITOR MANAGING DESIGN EDITOR MANAGING ONLINE EDITOR MANAGING ONLINE DESIGN BUSINESS MANAGER FRONT COVER NEWS EDITORS FEATURES EDITORS DEBATES EDITOR

Diana Zhu Michelle Wang Sarah Tang Michelle Wang Leon Wang Diana Zhu Sarah Tang Alec Nelson, Michael Gennaro Sanjana Dutt, Leon Wang Ben Steil

CENTERFOLD EDITORS EDITORIALS EDITOR ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHERS ARTIST ADVISOR PUBLISHER

Sarah Tang, Jenna Stellmack Alec Weber Rachel Ganske Elliot Lee Sarah Tang, Vicky Li Audrey Wu David Ostrom Sauk Centre Publishing

STAFF Toni Baraga, Derek Chen, Ben Davis, Cassandra Downs, Justin Duffy, Shannon Haffely, Jeffrey He, Emma Hoyhtya, Marley Jones, Haley Keeney, Alexis Larson, Jason Lou, Luka Pejic, Kaylin Ro, Kallie Slotvig, Shelley Wang, Derek Zhu

Mounds View High School ‌• 1900 Lake Valentine Rd. Arden Hills, MN 55112 • www.mvviewer.org‌ • @mvviewer • editor@mvviewer.org

10 Arts & entertainment

friday, june 1, 2018

Deadpool 2: taking the world by storm

by Cassandra Downs debates editor ’17-’18 On May 21, Deadpool 2 was released in theaters and took the movie community by storm, grossing an estimated $125 million in the first weekend, according to CNN. Deadpool 2 is rated R, for occasional explicit scenes and vulgar language. With actionfilled scenes, heart wrenching moments and quit-witted humor, it’s hard not to enjoy Deadpool 2.

The story begins with Deadpool, played

by Ryan Reynolds, lying on gallons of gasoline, ready to blow himself up into pieces with the flick of a match. Then the movie rewinds, and we get a look at how it all began: a fight between him and the antagonist of the story, Cable. With this intrusion comes the death of his girlfriend, Vanessa, and Deadpool now feels that he has no reason to live.

After blowing himself up, Deadpool speaks to Vanessa in some kind of afterlife, and she gives him her whimsical advice, saying that it is not his time to go yet. What follows this dream is somewhat expected: Colossus, one of Deadpool’s best friends, comes to the rescue and puts Deadpool back together, asking him to join the X-Men force. At first, Deadpool doesn’t agree to join, but he eventually gives in when Colossus speaks to his heart.

Soon after Deadpool joins the X-Men forces, he gets caught up in rookie mistakes, rash actions and betrayal. Deadpool’s search for family and company relays a deeper meaning in what may seem on the surface like a solely humorous or acton-filled plot.

Although the focus of the movie is solely

on the action, there are numerous moments of incredible cinematography, as a courtesy of Vantage Film and Jonathan Sela, a wellpracticed cinematographer. The two teamed up to produce a hyperrealistic atmosphere, leaving the audience in awe.

The original Deadpool is no match for this sequel. The original was funny as well, but Deadpool 2 is able to effectively present less cheesy and more relatable tall-tale humor. With these humorous scenes present throughout the movie, it is hard for even the most ill-humored of people to not laugh.

However, there are also times of confusion when loved ones die and sorrow fills your heart. If you are looking for a plot twisting, humorous and heartfilled movie, Deadpool 2 is the one to see.

The Verdict Fans of the first Deadpool movie will likely have high expectations for the second, and will not be disappointed.

Dilled with action and breathtaking cinematography, and more humor than any movie yet, even the most critical moviegoers are sure to enjoy this movie.

5/5 photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Summer coffee craze

by Marley Jones features editor ‘17-‘18

photos by Marley Jones

As summer quickly approaches, students will soon find themselves on the hunt for the perfect iced coffee or latte to cool themselves off from the heat. While Starbucks and Caribou are safe bets when it comes to grabbing a energized drink, these franchised stores often lack the charm of a local, unique coffee shop. With Mounds View High School’s close proximity to the Twin Cities, there are many hidden gems that fulfill cravings for the perfect cup of coffee.

One such unique location is Bordertown Coffee. This coffee shop resides in an old, retired fraternity building at the University of Minnesota. For seniors who will be attending the U of M next year, Bordertown Coffee may just be your perfect study location. While residents occupy the upper floors of the large fraternity house, a cozy study area sits below on the ground floor. After you order from an impressive list of specialty coffee or tea drinks, you can either choose to go work on homework in the quiet “library room” or socialize in the main living room, which is furnished with a roaring fireplace and comfortable couches. Bordertown coffee is the perfect place to get school work done or just cuddle up with a latte in an old, historic building.

On the other side of the Twin Cities on Cathedral Hill, St. Paul, sits a popular neighborhood coffee shop called Nina’s. Nina’s is located inside of a red brick building only a few blocks away from the Cathedral of St. Paul and the James J. Hill House. The shop has quirky, mismatched furniture and an extensive bookshelf that spreads across the back wall. Nina’s not only serves classic coffee drinks such as a killer cappuccino, latte and mocha, but is also known for their quick and easy food menu. From vegan quiche to gourmet cinnamon rolls, there is sure to be a food item to satisfy anyone who steps through the doors to Nina’s. This local indie coffee shop is sure to leave you stomach full and taste buds happy.

The final coffee shop that is well known throughout St. Paul, and for good reason, is Cafe Astoria. Inside of this cozy shop on Grand Avenue, baristas serve ornate

lattes and specialty drinks that are fit for the perfect Instagram picture. Some of their famous drinks include the Campfire Latte, a charred marshmallow slowly seeping into sweet coffee, and the 24k Latte, the cafe’s secret menu favorite. The 24k latte has flakes of real gold floating on top and is almost too beautiful to drink. Cafe Astoria also serves sweet or savory crepes and smoothie bowls. While this shop has some of the most gorgeous drinks and foods found in the Twin Cities, the prices tend to be slightly higher than a traditional coffee shop because of the luxury experience. If you are looking for a perfectly concocted coffee creation, head on over to Cafe Astoria for some stunning pictures and delicious treats.

No matter which coffee shop students choose to venture to, branching out from typical franchised coffee shops is always a good idea. There are countless local shops located throughout the Twin Cities, and you never know where you will find your ideal cup of joe.

Campfire latte at Cafe Astoria. photo by Sunny Lim

11

Friday, june 1, 2018

Athlete of the issue

A passion for rugby

by Kallie Slotvig features editor ’17-’18

Cate McNabb Ultimate Frisbee Q: How long have you been playing ultimate frisbee?

A: I’ve been playing since freshman year.

sports

Seventeen players from multiple high schools have joined together to share their love for a sport that involves tackling, endurance and strategy, forming the Mounds View Rugby Club. In rugby, each game lasts for 80 minutes and points are earned by kicking, throwing and running a ball into the opponent’s end zone.

Jack O’Brien, 12, is the co-captain on the team along with his younger brother, Joey O’Brien, 11. Jack O’Brien’s passion for the sport began his freshman year when he discovered the rugby team by chance. “I found out about [the team] since our home pitch is right by my house. The only reason I found out about it was when I was driving by and saw them playing,” said Jack O’Brien.

Joey O’Brien enjoys co-captaining the team with his older brother. “It’s really nice having Jack as the other captain because he and I have been playing sports together since we could walk, and knowing that

there is an unspoken connection makes it easier,” said Joey O’Brien.

Although the team is not yet widely recognized, the O’Briens and their teammates are working hard to bring awareness to the sport. “We have guys here who are always trying to talk about it; we had posters up a while ago, but it’s one of those things where it’s hard because no one’s heard of it,” said Jack O’Brien.

Their efforts to advertise rugby through posters and conversation were not fruitless, however, as many new players have joined this year, including Scott Binder, 12. “The team has been very welcoming to me. Around a third of the team is new this year, so I’m not one of the only rookies.

Plus the captains have made sure to teach all the rules and pull me aside if I’m ever confused,” said Binder.

Despite the addition of multiple players this year, the team still faced shaky numbers with a couple of injured team members. While a regular team has 15 players on a field at a time, the team is playing with

only 13. The lack of numbers is due to the stigma that rugby is overly dangerous and too rough. “When people see rugby, they think of football without pads, and so you get a lot of people who are like, ‘I can’t do that’ or ‘I’ll die.’ It’s scientifically proven to be significantly safer than football,” said Jack O’Brien.

Although rugby’s reputation can be a deterrent, the sport’s roots lie in respect and courtesy. “I like that the team is very tight knit and that the play on the field, while rough, is very gentlemanly. We are expected to show an enormous amount of respect for the ref, and we have dinner with the other team after the game,” said Binder.

Sharing his passion for the sport is Jack O’Brien’s main priority. “My goals are to have fun, play and teach guys about rugby.

It’s a great game — my favorite I’ve ever played — and I want to share it with people and show them how great the game, and the rugby culture as a whole, can be,” said Jack O’Brien.

Q: How did this year’s season go?

A: This year’s season went really well. We made it to conference championships.

Q: How do you prepare for games?

A: I prepare for games by listening to a pump-up playlist and dancing with my team.

Q: What is your greatest accomplishment in uIltimate frisbee?

A: My greatest accomplishment is winning All-State this year.

Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

A: A photographic memory, so I can remember things better.

Q: What was your favorite memory of this season?

A: My favorite memory of this season was the out of town tournament in Madison, Wisconsin because the team was all together, and we made a ton of memories! We also got third in the tournament.

Q: What’s your favorite part about ultimate frisbee?

A: My favorite part about ultimate is that it’s self-officiated, and the biggest part of the game is having a good spirit and making friends with the other team.

Mounds View players chase down their opponents from Minnetonka High School in a home game.

Cisco Lopez, 12, squares up, about to make contact with an opponent from Minnetonka. photos by Sarah Tang

The track to success

by Jason Lou staff reporter

Track and field is a sport that involves many different athletes, from the slim and quick runner who runs until his legs numb to the burly thrower who has trained to lift his own weight. It is a sport where all can find a spot they belong and everyone is welcome.

Led by senior captains Calvin Ciganik, David Dahl, Michael Fahim, Joel Smith, Micah Smith and Jacob Gray, the team holds the mentality of hard work to guide them to victory. “Even if you don’t know how good you are or don’t think you’re talented, it’s all about working hard,” said Lukas Hessini, 11.

The practice plan starts with a full team meeting in the wrestling gym. The team then splits into their respective groups based on their event.

The distance, middle distance, jumps, throws, hurdles, vaulting and sprint groups spread out over the field. Each group then proceeds with the daily warm

up, workout and cooldown.

The daily hard work the athletes put in during has practice paid off: On May 18, the team placed second at the Minnesota State High School League True Team State Meet.

Before True Team, Mounds View also hosted the Pony Relays on May 11, a special relay meet usually hosted by Stillwater. Mounds View won the meet for the sixth consecutive year.

In preparation for the meets, Bobby Moua, 10, said he takes an hour or two before the race to meditate and calm his nerves. Getting a good night’s sleep and eating correctly is important to both the athletes and Coach Ross Fleming.

Fleming, who also teaches health at Mounds View, emphasizes the importance of both a balanced lifestyle and responsibility. Joel Smith cautioned against tardiness. “Don’t show up late to the meetings. It’s 25 pushups per person that is late and the whole team has to do it,” said Joel Smith. Hessini confirms that Fleming can be strict sometimes, but he “lets

us make our own decisions if we’re not feeling great.”

As the season wraps up, some hope to make state and achieve a podium finish. Athletes can qualify for state by getting top two in their section or making a state qualifying mark. Austin Streit, 11, and Hessini both hope to improve their times and place highly in their events. “The 800 is my main event, and I hope to bring my time in that down to around 1:54, and place-wise I will hope to win the section and place highly at state,” said Hessini.

Eric Feng, 9, hopes that everyone on the team performs their best, regardless of their skill level. “Even though the team this year is huge, everybody still knows each other pretty well,” said Feng. “Overall, track is both fun and rewarding.”

Bobby Moua receives a baton from Colby Flanagan, 11, in the 4x100 meter dash (top). Will Sacay, 10, runs the 1600 meter race (bottom). photos by Sarah Tang

12

Friday, June 1, 2018

top 10

Ways to spend your summer in the sun 10 Soak at Lake Harriet Explore Grand Avenue 9 Hit up Cup Cone 8Napand in a hammock 7 Binge watch Netfwith no regrets 6 lixListen to Post Malone 5 Shop at the 4 farmers’ market Try deep fried butter on a stick 3 Procrastinate 2 college apps Wonder where1 summer went Viewer Mission Statement

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The editors of the Viewer welcome and encourage the publication of all viewpoints.

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Gender: Male Breed: Boston Terrier Owner: Grace Sventek, 11 Favorite Food: Eggs Favorite Toy: Frisbee

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