Issue 5 2020-21

THE

PROSPECTOR

801 WEST KENSINGTON ROAD, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS 60056

THE VOICE OF PROSPECT HIGH SCHOOL SINCE 1959

VOLUME 60, ISSUE 5

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2021

options out of reach Contraceptive access discussion unfolds amid high unprotected teenage sex rates BRENDAN BURKE Associate Editor-in-Chief *name changed for confidentiality “

Y

ou’re a dirty slut who needs to burn in hell.”

These were the words screamed at senior *Juliet Rockwell as she nervously waited outside a free clinic, a facility where one can get an abortion, contraceptives and other services, during her junior year. The man who screamed at her was wearing a shirt that read, “Abortion is murder done by slutty whores,” and Rockwell says that she will forever remember this as the scariest moment in her life. Not only was she getting her “first and only abortion” that day, she also feared for her life due to the eight protesters standing outside the clinic: two of them armed with handguns holstered at their sides.

As she walked into the facility, Rockwell could not feel worse about the procedure that she was about to undergo.

While she is pro-choice politically when it comes to the abortion debate, Rockwell says that getting an abortion is not a procedure one should be excited about.

“The biggest misconception [of the pro-choice argument] is that we’re all baby killers that enjoy abortions,” Rockwell said.

“No sane person wants abortions to happen.

The hard truth is that many times they are the best way for women to deal with an unwanted pregnancy.”

55.0%

55.3% of prospect students are sexually active

of high school students are sexually active *information courtesy of the CDC Rockwell became pregnant after becoming sexually active with her boyfriend, and while she was well aware that sex could lead to pregnancy, she believed that her boyfriend using a condom would be enough protection. Rockwell was not on birth control because her parents’ strong Roman Catholic faith influenced their decisions in not taking her to a doctor to get the prescription for it. Furthermore, she has a phone that is tracked with the app Life360 and no driver’s license — meaning that she could not get to a free clinic that would provide it either.

Because of the difficulty in accessing birth control that teens in Rockwell’s situation can experience, she and pro-life junior James Pomian both agree that public high schools should go to greater lengths of providing contraceptives to teenagers if they seek it. Considering that Rockwell’s abortion “nearly destroyed her mentally” and Pomian is a person who wants all abortions to end due to his pro-life beliefs, they both agree that this is a common sense reform.

“I know that people are [having sex] because that’s part of teenage life in America and in the world these days,” Pomian said. “The result of [sex] is pregnancy, and so I’m pro-protection because … [pregnancy is] the obvious result of sex.”

While Rockwell and Pomian both think that expanding contraceptive access is the clear solution, they are both cognizant of the fact that there is strong opposition to the use of birth control due to the various religious ideals.

As previously stated, Rockwell’s family members are devout Roman Catholics and because of their church’s stance of calling contraception “intrinsically evil,” her par-

ents refused to allow her to use birth control.

“My family is very, very Catholic,” Rockwell said. “Asking to be put on birth control was scary because it goes against our [religious] faith entirely. Saying that to my mom was the equivalent of asking a vegetarian to eat a Big Mac.” However, Pomian is Pentecostal, and his faith deems the use of birth control a “moral choice,” according to the Center for American Progress. Because of the different stances within the sects of Christianity, Rockwell views the idea of increasing contraceptive access to teenagers as “a touchy subject that takes civil discussion to get anything done.”

This civil discussion would include people from both sides of the contraception argument, and according to Prospect parent *Martin Welsh, teenagers using contraceptives are morally wrong. Welsh believes this for not only his personal beliefs, but also his religious beliefs as a Roman Catholic.

“Teenagers shouldn’t be having sex,” W e l s h said. “I get the whole, ‘If they’re going to do it, they might as well have protection’ thing, but they just shouldn’t be having sex to begin with. We shouldn’t be teaching our kids to have sex; we should be teaching them to abstain.”

While Pomian agrees with Welsh’s belief of abstaining from sex until marriage, he still belives that public high schools should do anything they can to prevent unwanted pregnancies that could lead to abortions.

Illinois state Sen. Ann Gillespie also agrees with Pomian’s viewpoint and references the data that was seen after the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010.

Gillespie mentions the ACA because, according to the Center for American Progress, the ACA’s contraceptive mandate saved women $1.4 billion in out-of-pocket insurance costs after it was passed.

“The lesson that the Affordable Care Act shows us [is that] the rate of abortion went down after [its] implementation,” Gillespie said in an interview with The Prospector.

“People had access to coverage for contraceptives that they had not had before.”

75.8%

of sexually active students do not use protection

SEE PROTECTION, page 2.

*information courtesy of a Prospector survey of 255 students

photo illustration by Mara Nicolaie

2 NEWS

prospectornow.com

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

PROTECTION: Discussing ethical, moral solutions

= Yes = no

ARE YOU COMFORTABLE ASKING YOUR PARENTS FOR CONTRACEPTIVES?

28.6%

*information courtesy of a Prospector survey of 255 students

should prospect provide contraceptives to students?

CONTINUED from front page Despite these statistics, Rockwell explains that receiving the benefits of free contraceptives as a teenager is only possible if a student can get to a free clinic by themselves and know of a safe place to go to. As a junior in high school she knew where to go because of the information that was given to her during the sex education unit in Health Education, but she had no way to get to a free clinic that was 10 miles away or a Planned Parenthood facility.

Although she was never able to access the local clinics where she could get birth control for free, Rockwell feels very fortunate for the extensive sex education unit because of how informative it truly was. She was expecting an entire lecture about how abstinence is the only way, but her teacher gave a very in-depth lesson that discussed how and where students can get contraceptives in the event that they are sexually active while also thoroughly covering the risks of sex.

Rockwell describes this as a “safe sex” unit, but Health Education teacher Aaron Marnstein states that “safe sex” is actually a misleading term due to the fact that any sex — no matter what protection is used — can result in pregnancy or the transmission of STIs. Marnstein also likes to clarify that the sex education unit does not promote students being sexually active; it simply gives students all the information to protect themselves.

“What the crux of teaching about contraception ends up being is teaching students to make their own decisions,” Marnstein said. “[They need] to make the decision that is best for them, and everybody makes different decisions [and] decides to do different things at different times.”

One of the ways Marnstein and the other Health Education teachers give students resources is by listing locations where free contraceptives are available in the local area.

However, parents like Welsh do not like the fact that educators are teaching about contraceptives and where to access them.

However, he understands that a public high school has every right to provide this sort of education — hence why he has never objected to this unit but made sure his children were not present in the classroom when this unit was taught.

According to Marnstein, if a parent does not wish to have their student learn the sex education unit from the Prospect teachers like Welsh did, they can inform the teacher and the student will be removed from the classroom and given a different health assignment to complete.

However, Rockwell found these resources helpful and wrote them down for reference, but she also found that Planned Parenthood is another great organization to turn to.

Rockwell likes to emphasize that Planned Parenthood offers more than abortion services, and is a crucial health care location for free contraceptives and other major medical examinations. “[Planned Parenthood] should be praised for their work,” Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in a statement to The Prospector. “[They are responsible for] providing hundreds of thousands of cervical and breast cancer screenings, performing over 4.2 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections and providing education and outreach to 1.5 million young people and adults each year.”

While Pomian firmly opposes the abortion services that Planned Parenthood offers, he still supports some of their other policies.

In particular, he is happy that they provide free or low-cost birth control to people who are uninsured or underinsured by their health care provider. Because of their desire for teens to have easier contraceptive access, Pomian and Rockwell believe that having Prospect provide contraceptives to their students if they ask for it is another good way to allow students to be safe when they are sexually active. In addition, a Prospector survey of 255 students shows that 82.1% of students also believe that Prospect should provide

contraceptives to students.

With 55.3% of students being sexually active and only 24.2% of those sexually active students using contraceptives, according to the Prospector survey, Pomian and Rockwell not only deem providing students with contraceptives at school a good idea — they deem it a necessary one. Prospect parent *Becky Wheeler is also a supporter of having the school provide contraceptives because as a pro-life person, she does not want stories similar to Rockwell’s to become a norm.

“I’m pro-life, and I mean that,” Wheeler said. “Because of my beliefs, I give my own children contraceptives. I don’t want them going around and having sex, but if they do, I don’t want an unwanted pregnancy on my family’s hands. Parents need to protect their kids, and encouraging safe, protected sex is the way to do that.”

According to District 214 Superintendent David Schuler, systems like the one being suggested by Pomian, Rockwell and Wheeler are typically referred to as condom availability programs (CAPs) or IUD availability programs and are run through a health clinic that is affiliated with the school. If one of these programs were to ever be implemented at a D214 school, these services would be available through the nurse’s office.

Furthermore, Schuler talks about how a program such as this would require the school nurse to give the students asking for contraceptives a more in-depth abstinence education and STI education than they receive in their Health Education course as of now. In order to ensure that this education was given, the school nurse would have to track which students ask for contraceptives and it could not be an “off the books” thing, according to Schuler.

Moreover, Schuler says that programs such as these could become problematic because the school would need to find a secure, confidential location to track students which could lead students to feel that their privacy is being violated. As Schuler puts it, the chances of a student being comfortable with asking their school nurse for contraceptives and then having to sit through abstinence education are slim and is a major reason as to why a program like this has never been

77.3%

71.4%

instituted.

In fact, this idea is not a new one, and Schuler states that the district did vet a possibility of these programs about eight years ago, but at the time the district decided against its implementation. While this issue never directly went to a board meeting vote, Schuler does say that the conversation was a thorough and well-researched one.

“There was a huge concern [eight years ago] that we were starting to turn the nurse’s office into more of a health clinic versus providing resources for students who are in our buildings based on their need,” Schuler said.

“Then the question went, ‘Well if you start to open that door, then what comes next from a health clinic perspective?”

After this, the district decided that the resources provided through outside free clinics were adequate, and the talks of a CAP being instituted within D214 ended. Wheeler says that while this may have been true eight years ago, she thinks that the district should come back to this issue and consider the possibility of the schools providing contraceptives.

In fact, Wheeler takes it even further than schools and to the law in general and firmly believes that teenagers should start making decisions for themselves; she finds that parental consent and notification barriers to abortion and contraceptive access are detrimental to teenage well-being. She says this because she finds that teens will be scared off if they need to confront their parents about this extremely personal part of their lives.

With Rockwell’s story and the fact that 77.3% of Prospect students said they are unwilling to speak with their parents about

of students say they are not comfortable discussing sexual activity with their parents

7 in10 female students Do not know where to get contraceptives

66.7%

82.1%

of students have not had “the talk” with their parents

17.9% being sexually active, Wheeler finds that with adequate education on the topic, they need to have “full range over the personal decisions that they make in regards to sexual activity.” Wheeler likes to mention that the age of consent in the state of Illinois is 17 years old, so the fact that “juniors can say yes to sex but struggle to get protection” is in her mind backwards thinking.

“Parental notification is a problem for very close families,” Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, the Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect representative, said in an interview with The Prospector. “The young person would not want to disappoint their parents, get into a situation of conflict or even be thrown out of the house. Because of this, I don’t think that minors should have really difficult barriers to cross in order to have an abortion or contraceptive access.”

At the end of the day, Rockwell, Pomian and Wheeler all agree that abortion is not something that should be common and that it should be up to the government to make contraceptives easier for teenage access, in terms of both price and physical access, everywhere. Rockwell likes to also emphasize that she now gets her birth control from a website called Nurx and wishes that more female students were aware of this service.

Nurx is a website that allows people to get a birth control prescription online and have it sent to their house without any parental notification or consent.

Although she is fortunate enough to use this website, Rockwell is aware that those who do not have the monetary means to afford birth control “deserve access to the same products” and finds that this financial inequality can be solved by having public schools provide the products.

On the other hand, Welsh still argues that students should not be having sex at such a young age and that “parents and teachers alike should be pushing abstinence over birth control.” Welsh does acknowledge the immense data that shows that increased contraceptive access does lead to lower rates of unwanted pregnancies, but his worry is not pregnancy, but rather young teenagers having sex at a time where “they should be focused on their education and the activities they’re in.”

After her experience with the abortion, Rockwell “definitely understands” what Welsh is arguing and feels that many students should in fact listen to what he says about abstinence and focusing on school.

She also likes to add on to Welsh’s words by saying that while birth control is not one hundred percent effective, data shows that it is immensely helpful towards lowering pregnancy rates. However, Rockwell does not discourage students from making their own personal decisions in regards to their sexual lives — as long as they do it in a safe way, so a story like hers does not have a sequel.

“The abortion destroyed me emotionally,” Rockwell said. “It took months for me to be able to look in the mirror and be proud of the person I saw … With the help of [my friend], I understood that my story is one that ... has a simple solution. I wanted birth control, but I couldn’t get it.”

prospectornow.com

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

NEWS 3

Remembering Sean Community mourns loss of kindhearted student, friend ELIZABETH KEANE Editor-in-Chief

E

nglish teacher Nicole Stoltz will never forget the joy of the 2018 Best Friends Club holiday dinner. All club members pitched in to cook the meal and set up the placemats, and just as they were sitting down to eat, a voice arose from across the room.

“Everyone should go around the room and say what they’re thankful for.”

That voice belonged to PHS alum Sean Reilly, and, according to Stoltz, he was no stranger to initiating kind practices such as this one on that evening. Reilly went on to say that he was thankful for the beautiful meal, for all of his friends in the club and for getting to attend a school as awesome as Prospect.

“He was … one of those people that brought a smile to everybody’s face,” Stoltz said. “You just felt better being in his presence.”

Reilly was born with Prader-Willi syndrome. When he was born, his sister Anna Davito said that the doctors told their mom that Reilly would never be able to walk or talk. Over the years, he made huge strides to become high-functioning and became their “miracle baby.”

Reilly passed away in his sleep on Jan. 3 at age 21. His impact on the Prospect community quickly became evident with the amount of social media posts, donations to a fundraiser started by Davito and memories shared by his friends.

2017 Prospect graduate Sarah Greising was one of these friends, and she was shocked and heartbroken by the news of Reilly’s passing.

Currently a senior at Illinois State University (ISU), Greising decided to major in special education because of Reilly. She will never forget the day during her junior year of high school when she was moved to pursue this career path. “[Reilly] grabbed my hand, and he told me that I made Prospect a better place for him, and that just always stuck with me,” Greising said. “[Special education] became my life’s path and what I wanted to do for [kids] like Sean.”

In fact, to Greising’s knowledge, there are currently three students studying special education at ISU that would not be there if they hadn’t met Reilly: herself and 2017 Prospect graduates Joe Doyle and Aileen White.

Greising and Doyle became friends with Reilly on the playground at Dryden Elemen-

tary School. They both remembered laughing and having the best time with Reilly as kids, and his humorous personality never faltered throughout high school. “[Reilly had] an infectious positive energy … He was always up, smiling, laughing, making the most out of every moment,” Doyle said.

Once in high school, Greising and Reilly joined the Best Friends Club together.

This club, a smaller-scale version of Best Buddies, made its way to Prospect when 2016 Prospect graduate Molly Keane wanted to give other students the opportunity to connect with the students of the special education program and form friendships that weren’t stemmed from pity.

Keane has also known Reilly since childhood, and whenever their paths would cross walking down the halls or at the pool in the summer, he would ask how she was and “really wanted to know.” According to Keane, if she ever said she was having a bad day, he would not stop talking to her until they could get to the root of it together.

“There are so many material things you can leave in the world like money and power — all of the stuff that we’re so consumed by,” Keane said. “But Sean was so priceless as a person that he has made a lasting impact on a community he has been a part of, so I felt very grateful … I am a better person because of him.”

Keane is now a kindergarten teacher in the Bronx, N.Y., so even though she is far from Prospect now, Reilly’s impact still resonates in her day-to-day life.

“He did not have a bad bone in his body,” Keane said. “I can really only hope to be a shadow of the kindness that he gave to everyone, and I think that’s all anyone can hope for.”

In addition to being a part of Best Friends Club, Davito said that her brother always had a passion for music. This led Reilly to join the guitar club at Prospect, and Davito remembers seeing him “playing his little heart out” on the risers and beaming with happiness. Outside of Prospect, he was in the choir at First United Methodist Church.

Not only did he have an affinity for the arts, but Keane added that Reilly was “a fish out of water” and absolutely loved swimming. Another sport he loved was baseball, and he played on a Buddy baseball team for years.

Above all, Davito emphasized that Reilly loved spending time with his family and friends most. Greising will never forget Reilly’s kindness and their stellar conversations.

“He had this way of making you feel like the most important person in the world when you were talking to him,” Greising said.

According to Greising and Doyle, Reilly had the most amazing dance moves. Greising said he was “in his element” at Homecoming, and Doyle’s favorite memory with

[Sean] gave an unapolgetic, wide-open version of himself all of the time. I think he was honest, open and real ... He was a one-of-a-kind.”

- Joe Doyle, 2017 Prospect graduate

BELOVED KNIGHT: Former Prospect student Sean Reilly passed away at age 21 on Jan. 3. Reilly had a profound impact on students and staff alike. “He did not have a bad bone in his body,” 2016 graduate Molly Keane said. “I can really only hope to be a shadow of the kindness that he gave to everyone, and I think that’s all anyone can hope for.” (photo courtesy of Anna Davito) Reilly was going to Senior Prom together and “cutting up the dance floor.”

“He gave an unapologetic, wide-open version of himself all of the time. I think he was honest, open and real,” Doyle said. “... He was a one-of-a-kind.”

Doyle added that Reilly taught him how to stay true to himself and to never change for anyone. At Prospect, Stoltz remembered seeing Reilly walk through the halls and give fist bumps to everyone he passed; “everybody loved him.”

Because Reilly had such a strong sense of pride for Prospect, he always wanted to show his support for fellow students.

Stoltz recalled a specific time when Reilly encouraged everyone in the Best Friends Club to go to the girls’ basketball game because he noticed they didn’t get as many fans as the boys’ team.

“It was just fun to sit in the bleachers with him and cheer on our team with him,” Stoltz said. “[I saw] how happy he was to bring joy to other people.”

Special Education Instructional Assistant John Meyers also noticed the sense of pride that Reilly felt for Prospect. Even after he left Prospect, Reilly still kept up with the staff members and sent them messages asking how they were doing.

“He loved to go to football games, even after he graduated,” Meyers said. “… When he would send [people] messages and stuff, he would always sign off with a blue heart [for] Prospect blue.”

According to Davito, Reilly’s favorite color as a child was always orange until his first day of freshman year. After that, he fell in love with Columbia blue. In fact, for Christmas this past year, Reilly asked for all of his presents to come in Columbia blue:

ALWAYS DANCING: On left, 2017 graduates Sarah Greising (middle) and Joe Doyle (right) are pictured at Homecoming with Sean Reilly. One of Doyle’s favorite memories with Reilly was when they attended Senior Prom together (on right). “[Reilly had] an infectious positive energy ... He was always up, smiling, laughing, making the most of every moment,” Doyle said. (photos courtesy of Sarah Greising and Joe Doyle)

a new backpack, t-shirt, headphones and phone case.

Meyers and Reilly sat at a lunch table together for years, and Meyers said that Reilly taught him to really appreciate the simple aspects of life like having a job and a loving family.

Meyers further added that Reilly never acknowledged social differences in his peers; he would strike up a conversation with anyone.

“He was a big personality,” Meyers said.

“He was the grand marshall of his own parade, and everybody got swept up into it.”

According to Stoltz, Reilly’s hopeful attitude was refreshing, especially considering that his day-to-day life wasn’t easy living with special needs. Davito added that even though his special needs posed challenges for him, he never let it diminish his love for life or for the people around him.

“For anybody who came in contact with [Reilly, he] is a simple reminder that, no matter what is going on in your life, kindness matters, and finding some joy in what is going right is really important,” Stoltz said.

Keane feels the same way about the mark that Reilly left on the world.

“I think he naturally causes people to see things from a really innocent and childlike perspective — in [a non]-judgemental lens,” Keane said. “[If] you look at the world through his eyes, you are going to see good.”

Stoltz will miss Reilly’s giggles the most as well as seeing him turn the corner of the empty school hallway to shout “Stoltzy!” whenever he saw her.

“I know 20 years from now, he’s someone that I’ll be able to remember and tell my kids about like, ‘This is the kind of person that I hope you can be,’” Keane said.

4 NEWS

prospectornow.com

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Progress in COVID-19 vaccine rollout

MARINA MAKROPOULOS Executive News Editor *name changed for confidentiality

S

enior Adam Valentini received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 15 working as a waiter at The Moorings, a retirement community in Arlington Heights. The Moorings organized a mass vaccination for all staff who chose to participate.

Valentini had to fill out a consent form a few weeks before taking the vaccine and also received a safety packet that helped reassure his parents that everything would be as safe as possible.

When Valentini first learned that he would be taking the vaccine, he had two feelings. The first was a sense of relief because he knew that it would likely inoculate him from the virus, and the other being a concern for possible side effects.

The Pfizer vaccine, the first mRNA vaccine to be used in humans outside of clinical trials, made its way to the United States on Dec. 14, 2020 after being granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA. As of right now, the only two approved companies in the U.S. distributing vaccines are Moderna and Pfizer, who each distribute their own vaccine.

The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been proven safe and have gone through all necessary clinical trials, as said by the CDC. Because the supply is limited and manufacturing very large quantities takes time, the CDC established three phases for the distribution of the vaccine to ensure it is done in an equitable manner.

Labeled by the CDC as Phase 1a, health care workers and Long Term Care Facility Residents (LTCF) were among the first groups of people to receive the vaccine.

“I think that we are doing a really good job of making sure the healthcare workers are getting it first and the senior citizens — the people that need it the most,” Valentini said.

On Monday, Jan. 25, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that the state would progress into the initial stages of Phase 1b of the COVID-19 vaccine administration plan, which includes teachers, after making significant progress during Phase 1a.

Phase 1b, the next available group for the vaccine, is essential workers and people over 75 years old. In Phase 1c, adults with high-risk medical conditions and people of the age of 65 and over will be allowed access to the vaccine.

Neither of the two vaccines available are approved for children under the age of 16; District 214 Superintendent Dr. David R. Schuler says that future studies and the knowledge of public health experts will determine what is to come for future vaccination of faculty and staff.

“I’m hoping that second dose can happen by the end of February or early March for any school personnel who’d like it, and then we’d be in great shape coming back from spring break,” Schuler said.

The federal government does not require vaccination for individuals, according to the CDC, but some healthcare or essential workers might be required to get it depending on state or local government guidelines. Similarly, Schuler would not require anyone in the district to take the COVID-19 vaccine to be allowed to attend in-person school.

Zoi Giannakopoulos, a registered nurse at Lutheran General Children’s Hospital, re-

FACTS ABOUT THE VAX: A frontline worker, teacher and senior citizen stand in front of the stage of vaccine rollout that pertains to them. (cartoon by Grace He) ceived her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 22, 2020 and her second on Jan. 9. Just like Valentini, she was not required to do so.

Giannakopoulos received an email from the CEO of her hospital saying that it was highly recommended for staff to take the vaccine, and she was able to register online.

She estimates that about 60% of her coworkers have taken the vaccine so far.

Valentini is considered a healthcare worker and is therefore classified as a Phase 1a eligible recipient, but the general public may have to wait until late spring to summer of 2021 in order to receive the vaccine, according to Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., in an article for Prevention Magazine.

Over the weekend leading up to Jan. 25, school faculty and staff became eligible to take a vaccine under Phase 1b when Principal Greg Minter stumbled upon some open vaccine appointments online at a Walmart in Chicago. He then texted a link to a bunch of staff members that he had on his phone who were able to sign up for vaccines if they wished to.

He estimates that around 25-30 staff members have been vaccinated, and those numbers are rising every day.

“It’s really wonderful that the vaccines are being given out because I do think it’s giving teachers a little bit more comfort to be in person with kids,” Minter said, “And hopefully this will continue to allow us to open up and welcome more students back.”

On Jan. 21, newly-inaugurated President Joe Biden created a 200-page “National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness” and signed various executive orders that aim to strengthen the production of vaccines. Among the orders include new requirements for masks on domestic ways of transportation like planes, trains and buses and mandatory quarantines for international travelers upon arrival into the United States.

One aspect of this plan that is similar to

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steps taken by the previous Trump Administration is the extension of vaccine eligibility to people 65 and older.

The distribution of the vaccine has been a growing concern, considering that 59% of the roughly 50 million doses distributed to the United States have actually been administered, as of Jan. 30.

“The brutal truth is it’s going to take months before we can get the majority of Americans vaccinated,” President Biden said in a speech on Jan. 26.

Within recent months, additional concerns that have come about deal with side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine and how they are handled by the public.

Giannakopoulos had the same bilateral opinions as Valentini on taking the vaccine, being both happy but nervous because it is an mRNA vaccine.

Arlington Heights resident *Peggy Gray says she would not dare to take or expose a COVID-19 vaccine to her kids unless there’s more proof on why it would help society.

“They’re also introducing a brand new technology called mRNA which has never been used on humans before,” Gray said.

“So, do you really want to be the first guinea pig for this?”

Both Giannakopoulos and Valentini had seen cases in the media of people having allergic reactions.

Giannakopoulos has seen the media have a big effect on people’s decisions and a lot of unnecessary concern based on what they don’t know.

She, herself, felt completely fine after taking her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine except for a soreness where the injection site was, which is to be expected from any shot. After Giannakopoulos’s second dose, she had muscle aches and was tired.

A lot of her coworkers felt sick after the second dose with fevers and really bad body aches, and some even had to leave in the middle of their shifts; however, these only

lasted for 24 hours and are expected symptomes to come with the vaccine.

Valentini describes taking the vaccine as being nonchalant; he had a little bit of a fever and discomfort in his chest after but thinks that it might’ve been all in his head since these symptoms were along the lines of what he was expecting to feel like after.

Information about the safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for people who have weakened immune systems has yet to be published by the CDC (right now there are considerations) which is why Valentini and Giannakopoulos were asked if they had ever had an allergy to a flu vaccine.

According to the American Lung Association, it is estimated that between 70-90% of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity.

At the moment, the CDC says they have inadequate evidence to know what percentage of people would need to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity — or when enough people in a community have already been vaccinated or gotten a disease, which therefore makes a disease hard to spread from person to person.

Glancing ahead into the future, Schuler has heard from some teachers in the district who are looking to start or expand a family and are nervous about taking the vaccine because of long term effects on children.

Schuler wants to support every adult making that decision based on what’s in the best interest of them and their families.

Giannakopoulos wishes for others to listen to people that have actually gotten a vaccine, rather than base their knowledge off of what they see in the media.

“Healthcare workers are trying to spread the word that it really isn’t that bad by posting on social media,” Giannakopoulos said.

“So, we’re trying to put the word out there for people to feel more comfortable going to get it.”

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staff EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Elizabeth Keane Rick Lytle ASSOCIATE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Brendan Burke Mara Nicolaie COPY EDITORS Alyssa Schulz Olivia Kim NEWS EDITORS Charlie Dahlgren Marina Makropoulos OPINION EDITOR Genevieve Karutz FEATURES EDITORS Rachel Zurbuch Kailie Foley ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Joey Delahunty Kevin Lynch SPORTS EDITORS Cameron Sullivan ONLINE SPORTS EDITOR Aidan Murray SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Abby McKenna VISUALS EDITORS Alexis Esparza Grace He ADVISER Jason Block

MISSION STATEMENT The primary purpose of the Prospect High School Prospector is to report news and explain its meaning and significance to our readers and the community. We, The Prospector, hope to inform, entertain and provide an unrestricted exchange of ideas and opinions. The Prospector is published by students in Journalistic Writing courses.

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OPINION 5

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Difficult talks should happen in classes Staff Editorial On Jan. 6, AP U.S. History and American Studies teacher Brad Rathe watched the events at the Capitol unfold in disbelief like many others in the nation.

“It certainly becomes an increasingly difficult situation to process, and to ... avoid thinking about it becomes difficult ... [I started wondering], ‘What could happen in the future?’” Rathe said.

Rathe later chose to discuss this stressful event in all of his classes because he wanted to ensure there was no misinformation or misunderstandings being circulated among his students.

Rathe made sure not to teach about the politics of it, but he wanted students to be aware of what happened as a current event — one that he imagines he will be teaching about as an American history teacher in the future.

“What they take away from [these discussions in my class] is ultimately up to them, but being informed of things that are happening around you … is an important thing so we don’t lose sight of what we’re about as a country,” Rathe said.

We, The Prospector, believe that it was necessary for teachers to address the events of Jan. 6 in the classroom. Students need to be given the opportunity to have these conversations — no matter how controversial — in a safe and controlled environment in order to bridge the intense political divide.

Not only is it important to address the possible stress caused by the events, but it is also essential that students learn how to engage in difficult conversations with open ears. Our generation is criticized for being intolerant and only using social media as a medium to communicate, but this will not improve if these topics are treated as taboo within the learning environment.

Rathe understands why other teachers may have chosen not to talk about the Capitol riots; he said that they might have felt unprepared to teach in an unbiased way or unequipped to answer questions students might have.

Junior Renee Bhanvadia recalls being in two classes where her teachers checked in with them about their mental health following the event.

She found this beneficial because the fact that her teachers at least acknowledged the event put her more at ease. In her eyes, not mentioning it downplayed its importance.

OPEN CONVERSATION: Two students share a civil discussion about a controversial topic. Addressing current events can be challenging, but these discussions are necessary in classroom settings. (photo illustration by Elizabeth Keane) Bhanvadia also sees why teachers may engage in conversations through a speech have strayed from talking about this subject elective he used to teach. He created a lesson to their classes as it can be an emotional topabout communication in which he emphaic, and if there were open discussions about sized that it is two ways. the politics of it, it could also make some stuMorton taught about the importance of dents feel unsafe or uncomfortable for sharhaving a sender and receiver, otherwise the ing their views. communication will fail.

According to Fine Arts Coordinator and “You have to be present,” Morton said.

College Speech teacher Jeremy Morton, this “You cannot be thinking about something is exactly why classroom discussions must else; you cannot be looking at your phone … have a definitive goal rather than just being All of these barriers are going to destroy any an opportunity for students to vent or argue communication.” with each other.

In today’s society, so many barriers exIn his College Speech classes, Morton ist through social media; Morton said that shows his students vidusing Snapchat, Twitter and eos from Julian Treatexting are all examples of onesure. way messages because there He has a series that is no ability to recognize nontalks about five different verbal communication such as ways to practice listenbody language or tone of voice. ing, and he also uses the He emphasized that empaacronym RASA. thy is also lacking within a lot This stands for reof people — genuinely listening ceiving the message, to the other person and trying appreciating it — even to understand even when they Voting results of The if the person does not don’t agree.

Prospector staff in agree with it — summaMorton added that it’s OK regards to this editorial. to be curious and ask questions rizing the message, and then coming up with an as long as you are keeping calm ask, or a question. during the conversation.

Morton believes that teachers and par“When you receive the message, you have ents have the responsibility to show their to be able to actually listen to it,” Morton children how to communicate in every social said. “There are a lot of people who immeinteraction. In the classroom, teachers have diately are thinking about what they want to to set norms when discussing difficult topics say, and they don’t actually listen to the full such as requiring each student to be kind, message because they need to attack back open and calm. with their message … You have to learn to Morton answered the question of how to be silent.”

0

Against

17

For

Performative activism diminishes genuine issues

E

ight minutes and 46 seconds. That is the time that passed until George Floyd died at the hands of white police officers. I remember being struck with panic and shielding my eyes when I saw the video.

I couldn’t even watch it all the way through without crying. Outrage spread across the world, and rightfully so.

There were many after effects from Floyd’s horrifying death, one of which was a sharp rise in the number of people involved in activism.

This activism initially appeared to be the silver linGENEVIEVE ing to me. People KARUTZ began to attend Executive Opinion protests, sign petitions and donate Editor money to various organizations.

It was incredible to watch people stand up for what they believed in and use their voices. Sadly, I was naive to the fact that this activism wasn’t really activism at all.

There was an illusory, ingenuine side of activism that I noted. Some celebrities, like Madison Beer, treated serious protests like a photo opportunity.

Furthermore, other celebrities posted Instagram stories reading: “repost if you care,” as if that’s the best way they could possibly show their support as multi-millionaires.

I thought the appeal of chain mail stopped in fourth grade. And it was ironic that a bunch of celebrities were saying “repost if you care” when they were the ones who probably couldn’t care less.

Besides celebrities, pictures of black squares for #blackouttuesday went viral across social media platforms, and many people who were previously silent about social justice topics became activists overnight.

Though some of these individuals continued their involvement in activism (and I applaud them for it), many seemed to lose interest after a few weeks.

It’s nine months after Floyd’s death, and all I have seen is activism dwindle. Why? Because most of these people weren’t activists at all.

Performative activism is surface-level.

This “activism” consists of easy actions, like Instagram posts, that do little to further a cause. Performative activism is associated with many causes such as police brutality, the environment and LGBT rights.

These topics trend on social media, and people feel they must post about them although they have no real interest or devotion to the causes.

For example, during the summer of 2019, “saving the turtles” became a trending topic on social media.

I remember watching my friends signal that they supported the Save the Turtles movement by using reusable straws and Hydro Flasks.

Was I guilty of this performative activism too? Of course!

It is uncomfortable to admit this because it makes me sound like a terrible person, but

BREAK A LEG: A girl carries a sign while protesting on a stage. Although promoting causes online has become much more popular, there is a lack of sincerity present. (cartoon by Grace He) I became more interested in the trends of the movement than the movement itself.

The whole reusable straw trend was mostly promoted because it was a part of the “VSCO girl” aesthetic which became very popular the summer of 2019.

No matter if we have made...

SEE ADVICE, page 5.

6 OPINION

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

prospectornow.com

A real Republican In Name Only: Trump I

“

f we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…...and we will deserve it.”

That was the tweet South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham sent on May 3, 2016, as it was becoming more and more clear that President Donald Trump would become the Republican nominee for President of the United States. Graham’s prediction for what would happen to the Republican Party under Trump has turned out to be all too accurate.

When Trump entered office, Republicans controlled the House of Representatives, the Senate and the presidency. Now they control none of those.

My hope is that this is a wake-up call for the Republican Party. I supported Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and would have voted for him if I had turned 18 a month earlier. After talking with other seniors for my article last issue, RICK LYTLE I am confident that Editor-in-Chief there are a lot of other young people like me; people who side with the Republicans on fiscal issues, are moderate on social issues and, most importantly, find it nearly impossible to support a Republican Party led by Trump.

In fact, I argue that Trump is hardly even a Republican. Trump’s favorite acronym is RINO, which stands for Republican In Name Only. This has long been a phrase hurled at moderate Republicans who are actually willing to reach across the aisle and get bipartisan legislation passed. It has now turned into a word Trump uses against any Republican who he sees as not loyal enough to him and the idea of Trumpism.

However, in reality, there is one Republican who stands out as a true RINO. This person has little loyalty to any ideals of the Republican Party and has no one’s best interest in mind except for his own. That true RINO is Donald Trump.

Trump’s undermining of the American electoral process goes against everything the Republican Party claims to stand for.

“We believe in American exceptionalism” is the first line in the Preamble from the 2016 Republican Party platform. That exceptionalism stems from America’s nearly 250-year tradition of a free and fair election followed by an orderly and peaceful transfer of power.

This year, through pure lies and misinformation, Trump undermined this American process because he couldn’t accept the fact that he simply lost.

The blunt truth is that there was no election fraud on any scale nearly enough to even tip the results of one state. Trump and his associates lost north of 60 court cases regarding election fraud. Trump was able to (prior to being banned on Jan. 8) peddle his lies on Twitter all he wanted, but the reality is that when those election fraud claims have gone to court, he has lost every single time.

Period.

Trump-appointed judges, Republican governors and even Trump’s own Department of Justice have consistently found no meaningful election fraud. That isn’t a point of debate or an opinion; it is simply a fact.

However, Trump, as someone who knows he has a following of dedicated supporters, has abused that platform and continued to

spread this election misinformation. His lies Let’s compare this language to how lieve in this umbrella of conspiracies that resulted in a mob of seditionists storming Trump described a number of despicable people like Greene, who vocally support the Capitol building and has left a large pordictators from around the world. Trump said these absurd conspiracies, are able to get tion of Americans believing elections in this he “fell in love” with the Supreme Leader of elected to the House. Greene has continued country are fraudulent.

North Korea Kim Jong-un, called Chinese to have serious allegations come to light: in I don’t know about you, but “American President Xi Jingping “a very, very good 2019, she liked a Facebook comment calling exceptionalism” wasn’t the first phrase that man” and described Vladimir Putin as “very for a “bullet to the head” of House Speaker came to mind as I saw the Confederate flag smart.”

Nancy Pelosi and in 2018, she agreed with a being paraded through the sacred halls of Praising American foes and degrading commenter on Facebook that the shooting at the Capitol building on Jan. 6. This campaign American war heroes, is that the future of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was of undermining American elections and inthe Republican Party? I sure hope not. Once a “false flag” attack. stitutions has been the latest in a long list of again, I have one word to describe Trump’s There is another direction the party can Trump’s RINO tendencies. actions: RINO. go. Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger is a RepubliIn fact, this isn’t even the only example There are two simple things that will can representing Illinois’ 14th Congressional of Trump being a RINO since the 2020 elecmatter for the future of the Republican ParDistrict who has been willing to put country tion. When Trump lost the presidential electy: the people who are leading the party and over party. Throughout Trump’s four years, tion, he could have turned his efforts to the what they are saying. he has not been afraid of opposing Trump. two Senate runoff elections in Georgia that First, let’s look at the people. There are But, most importantly, he has been avid in would decide the balance of the Senate for two main directions the Republican Party debunking the post-election conspiracies the next two years. That’s what any person can go. One direction — the dangerous one and attempts to overturn the election. with the best interest of the Republican Par— is the direction of the likes of Georgia I use Greene and Kinzinger as my two ty in mind would do. Instead, he showed up Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Florida examples because they are both young. Both at Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loefller’s Rep. Matt Gaetz. They have both dabbled could potentially one day be the face of the campaign rallies and ranted about how the in the conspiracies of QAnon, a group that Republican Party, but those would be two enelection was stolen and fraudulent. believes “that the world is run by a cabal of tirely different Republican parties.

Well, when you tell a bunch of RepubliSatan-worshiping pedophiles As I said, what Republicans are saying to can voters that elections are fraudulent and who are plotting against the people is what also matters. that the Democrats steal the elections, do Mr. Trump while oper“The best way we can show respect you think they’re going to be very excited to ating a global child to the voters who were upset is by tellvote? And, we saw the result of that when the sex-trafficking ing them the truth,” Utah Sen. Mitt Democrats won both seats and control of the ring.”

Romney, a Republican, said as ConSenate. Granted, Georgia clearly is no longer Yes, you read gress certified President Joe Biden’s the Republican stronghold it once was, but that right. election victory on Jan. 6. “The truth it is hard to dispute that telling Republicans Enough of the is that President-elect Biden won the that elections are fraudulent will decrease voters in some election; President Trump lost.”

Republican voter turnout. areas of the Romney himself knows what losThis pattern of Trump acting as a RINO country being is like: he lost the 2012 presidential is hardly something that was hard to see election. But instead of undermining the coming. democratic process, he accepted defeat, Former Arizona Sen. John just as every president before him did.

McCain was a true Republican Republicans can continue down the danwho was willing to put coungerous populist path of Trump, or they can try over party when he felt face reality. The reality is that voters have it was right. His lifetime convincingly rejected Trumpism, not only of service to Ameriwith a sound electoral defeat of 306-232, ca began during the but by giving the Democrats control Vietnam War. Afof both the House and the Senate ter being taken during Trump’s four years. prisoner when Jan. 6 can be a turning his plane was point for the Republican Parshot out of ty, or it can be the start of the sky, he something even more sinise n d u re d ter. It is not too late to return insufto the party of John McCain ferable — a true patriot who was condiwilling to put country tions. over party — but it will W h e n be a long, difficult jourhis Vietney to get there. If the namese party is led by the Romcaptors offered him early reneys and the Kinzingers lease because his father was of the political world, the named commander of all U.S. Republican Party can forces in the Vietnam theatre, shift towards the center McCain refused the preferential of the political spectrum treatment and instead chose to and claim Gen Z conserremain in captivity where he vatives that are the future was “bound and beaten every of the party. If the Republitwo hours.” cans continue to be led by What did then-candidate Trumpism, the party will Trump have to say of Mcstruggle to win elections.

Cain in 2015?

The four years of After calling McCain a Trump are finally over “loser,” Trump was pressed (for now), and despite on the fact that McCain was Trump’s best efforts, a war hero.

American democracy PATRIOT: The late Sen. John McCain is depicted giving his famous thumbs “He’s not a war hero. down vote against the “skinny repeal” of Obamacare. This vote was just one held. The question now: He’s a war hero because he will the Republican example in McCain’s long history of putting country over party when he saw fit. Party be able to say the was captured. I like people that weren’t captured,” Similarly, this “thumbs down” opinion is how I believe McCain would feel about same? the current state of the Republican Party. (illustration by Mara Nicolaie) Trump said.

ADVICE: Social pressures spur ingenuine activism CONTINUED from page five

mistakes with performative or ingenuine activism in the past, we can all change our ways and educate ourselves about real activism. We need to accept that most online activism is not grounded in passion like it should be. However, we can also have open minds and know that activism is not gatekept, and anyone can get involved whenever they want.

According to Melanie Bordon, a junior at DePaul University and a former Prospect student, people should always think critically and support issues they think are right.

Being an activist for a multitude of causes including environmentalism, anti-racism and LGBT rights, Bordon has noticed that many performative activists simply post about activism to make themselves look principled and virtuous. However, at DePaul, Bordon has noticed that people are more outspoken about activism.

While I have noticed that as well, people

sometimes feel guilty or pressured into posting about activism when they don’t know much about the subject at hand. For example, Charli D’Amelio, who has over 100 million followers on TikTok, has experienced pressure in the past to speak on certain topics like Black Lives Matter (BLM).

At first, I was proud of the young influencer for standing up for a topic that she believed in. She changed her profile picture on TikTok to read “Black Lives Matter,” and made a few videos discussing police brutality and BLM. But after a few weeks, D’Amelio did virtually nothing with her platform to help this cause she claimed to support. It made me question how much of her intentions to promote support for BLM actually came from outside pressures from fans and people online.

In this situation, there were two wrongs.

One, she should not have been pressured into having a certain profile picture or pressured

to be an activist. She felt afraid that she would fall into the deep dark hole of “cancel culture” if she did not say she supported the BLM movement. Two, she should not have said she supported BLM just to barely speak about it weeks later to her over 100 million followers.

Activism is not something a person can turn on like a light bulb. It should be a passionate flame within oneself that you couldn’t tame even if you tried.

Not everyone needs to be an activist, but everyone should try to find an issue they want to fight for. According to Bordon, activism is looking within your own self and within others and trying to make a change in the world.

On the other hand, performative activism is like cheating. Yes, you might have gotten the answer right, but you did it the wrong way. For the most part, performative activists are trying to be good people.

Bordon believes that although it’s better to be a performative activist then to not be an activist at all, performative activism is still shallow and manipulative at times.

As a student journalist, I stress that others stay informed in all situations. Whether it’s reading reliable news sources, being a critical thinker or observing the world around you, it’s important to be independent with your thoughts and to find what you care about.

American novelist Alice Walker once wrote: “Activism is the rent I pay for living on this planet.”

If this is the case, I can be the first to admit that I have not been paying my rent as often as I should. But if anything, learning about performative activism has inspired me to explore what I am passionate about and has motivated me to do my part to change the world for the better.

One nation,

7 OPINION

Disinformation leads to seperate perceptions of state

O

ne of the most disgusting things I have witnessed on TV was the scene of former President Donald Trump openly mocking a reporter with a disability by flailing his arms and using fragmented speech in his 2015 campaign. I’m sure you remember the clip. At least I do; as a person who has a younger sister with a cognitive delay who has been placed in special education, this disgusting, insensitive rhetoric shook me to my very core.

This feeling was confirmed when I went to the park down the street from my home to teach her how to ride a bike and two little boys started teasing her for being much older than them and still to use trainOLIVIA KIM having ing wheels.

My heart tightCopy Editor ened as my sister looked at me with confusion and helplessness unfairly trapped on her face. But I was helpless too. Even if I yelled at them, how could I undo that absolute hatred in them — something that I would have to assume exists in their parents, their family, their neighbors, their community, our community, our nation.

It tears apart my heart and stifles my breath even thinking about it now: that people so hurtful and unaware of others are people near my own home. Even though I am close geographically with that family, there could be no greater divide. The reality that I live in is that I am a straight, middle class student receiving a great education at my high school. I am surrounded by people with similar descriptions, but many of my peers do not see the same things that I do.

The fact that I live in a different world couldn’t be more clear when I saw how Trump’s supporters lived in their own bubble completely separate from my own. But that’s just my problem. How can all of America look at the same situations with such different reactions?

Another point in my life when I felt my world crumbling more was just that next year in 2016 amidst the heat of the upcoming election. I heard Trump brag about being able to sexually harass women, even saying, “[W]hen you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” In the wake of the #MeToo movement, and, as a middle school student going through puberty, I felt for the first time, uncomfortable as a woman.

To be taught that your body, no matter how you dress, or how you act, will be looked at like an opportunity or an object made me and many women disheartened and tortured.

Trump went on to become the person sitting in the highest political office, and he not only perpetuated these disgusting beliefs, but he got away with it, too. Everyday I tell myself that I am lucky. Lucky for only having been catcalled and not getting sexually assaulted especially when the number of rape cases increased dramatically from 2015 to 2018.

During Trump’s first year in office, my Korean father explained his intense fears he had for our safety after seeing so many hate crimes on the news along with the Trump administration showing a distaste towards non-white people. These mixed feelings weren’t new to him as he grew up in Chicago, and later Des Plaines, in the 1970s and experienced acts of hate and violence under the proposition of his race.

I, thankfully, have not experienced such violent instances; I’ve only received verbal attacks like being called “coronavirus” while walking down the stairs at Prospect.

I wouldn’t say that I am worried for myself as much as I am for others of often persecuted groups like the Black, Latinx, Jewish, Muslim and other communities. Since when should anyone from a very young age step outside and fear for their lives?

These fears grew for more people amidst the death of George Floyd, awakening America to the injustices that are faced on a large scale. Not only was this an emotional movement, but the pandemic and mass unemployment brought their own disparities as well.

This was a time of not only great heartache, but also great change — especially for 2017

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

prospectornow.com

two realities

FACT OR FICTION? A girl views the stark division between two groups, mainly guided by hate and false claims made by social media and political figures. Even though we are all witnessing the same events, it seems as if people refuse to open their eyes to the truth, promoting separation. (painting by Ondine Cella) Wheeling High School alum Joshua Stoken.

Growing up in a proudly conservative and Republican family, Stoken drew most of his information on politics from his parents, which they mostly received from Fox News, and he never questioned it. He voted for Trump in 2016 and considered himself to shadow his family’s political beliefs. It wasn’t until the spring of 2020 when his political views dramatically changed.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Stoken was working at a retirement home, where the virus hit hard.

“I kid you not, for two weeks straight, everytime I went on lunch-break, there would be an ambulance pulling in and out of the retirement home, and they would be consistently pulling people out on stretchers,” Stoken said.

Emotionally, working at that establishment became unbearable seeing that many deaths happen at once amidst vast fear and unknowns about the virus. However, his family showed a great contrast in their views of the pandemic early on.

They claimed that COVID-19 was a hoax staged by the Democratic Party based on what Trump explicitly said, even though it was only an outrageous conspiracy theory with no evidence to back it up.

Because Stoken had first hand experience with the virus and even goes as far as to think that there were more deaths due to the virus than reported early on based on what he saw at his job, he refused to believe that his family’s claims were valid. Even though Stoken tried to dispel their fraudulent beliefs, his family refused to understand him or even listen.

“Most of the time, [my family] is not listening to the full story,” Stoken said.

“They’re listening to a version that they want to hear.”

Stoken was seeing a drastically different reality than what his conservative family was envisioning, a vision guided mainly by their consumption of right leaning media and social media-based conspiracy theories.

At this point in history, it is the unfortunate truth that what is reality cannot be agreed on or even reasoned with. In a way, the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 was poetic. When I thought that maybe things would start to get better, they only got worse.

“I think the bigger problem with [the Jan. 6 Captiol riots was that] for four years of his

presidency, Donald Trump has labeled anything that would contradict his views, his beliefs, his ideas, his values, [as] just simply fake news,” AP World History teacher David Schnell said. “Everything got tagged as fake.

So I think it became harder to disassociate the real from falsehood.”

I am a full believer in questioning things around you whether it is people, systems, beliefs or ideas. To be cynical can sometimes mean to be critically thinking about problems to find accurate solutions, however, just to question the validity of a pandemic, the Electoral College or just facts themselves because someone of high political office told people to do so is not what it means to be analytical.

“We’re at this interesting time in history where you’ve got some of the population saying, ‘Oh, well, the president is not someone who we can trust on this …’” said Nicole Burke, 2011 Prospect alum and PhD Candidate in Developmental Psychology from the University of Chicago. “[There are also] these other people who are believing him at face value. This is a really important reason why the person who holds the highest office in the country shouldn’t be a liar.”

This pattern of people, notably Trump supporters, making the argument that evidence they don’t agree with is “fake” is the most utterly idiotic thing I have ever heard. It’s ridiculous to me that people will just eat up this fake news phenomenon because Trump said they should, and they don’t look outside their environment.

It’s especially important that people seek viable research and diverse sources in this digital age where it has been proven that social media feeds allow for Americans to become more divided. This phenomenon leads Americans to “live in their own information echo chambers,” according to CBS News.

Burke states that social media is a huge contributor to polarization and the beliefs that we carry today — especially having examined research on how the spread of conspiracy theories on social media is so impactful in our beliefs. Burke also spoke to studies concluding that those who have less analytical skills are more susceptible to these conspiracy theories.

It was hard for Stoken to break from the world he lived in where he, like everyone else, is a product of their environment.

Burke speculated that Stoken, like nearly all children, was more inclined to listen to his parents from a young age and believe them without much question because of that care-

At this point in history, it is the unfortunate truth that what is reality cannot be agreed on or even reasoned with.”

giver relationship. When you have grown up relying on your parents financially, emotionally and more, it’s easy to keep practicing that, Burke said.

Currently, Stoken calls people who often make baseless claims “brainwashed.” He even admits that he would consider himself brainwashed before he began researching more and solely believed what his parents told him to.

I refuse to believe that someone could just be hypnotized to think a certain way, however, there is no easy explanation for why people would defend what those terrorists were doing at the Capitol. Why can’t people just face the truth and wake up?

Schnell notes that disinformation, whether spread through social media or through beliefs a community holds, will always be present in society and has been throughout history in cases like the Lost Cause after the end of the Civil War. “I think that we’re always going to deal with [that] disadvantage [of dealing with lies], because [they’re] always going to exist, there’s always going to be somebody who’s going to be able to try to twist information for their own political, personal [or] economic benefit,” Schnell said. “And that’s the problem; you need an educated populace to understand how it works.”

Not only was it excruciatingly painful to see people galavanting around with the Confederate flag and other white supremacy symbols at the Capitol, but the fact that they did so with such pride because Trump glorified those actions and beliefs hurt more. In addition, these people storming the Capitol were doing so based on a lie that was told to them by their falsely-acknowledged saviour Trump.

While unity is indisputably the end goal that America can simply not seem to reach, the tools to get there are complicated. Schnell feels that nationalism and globalization are always in a big tug-of-war with each other and that while nationalism has the power to bring us together, it also begs the question, “What does it mean to be an American?”

From my understanding, being an American means embracing people, not despite, but for their cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, etc. In elementary school, we were all assigned to present about a part of our family’s culture for a “salad bowl analogy” of the U.S. I was excited to bring a piece of my hanbok, a traditional Korean outfit, to the classroom. My presentation was well-received and so was everyone else’s. However, when self-described white supremacists intruded into the Capitol seeking to overturn our democracy in the name of protecting American rights, I was appalled.

I have been taught to fight for America from my veteran and immigrant father, but when the clarity of what it means to be American is fading, sometimes it’s hard for me to say what I am standing for.

8 IN-DEPTH

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

prospectornow.com

mindset matters as Self-love yields life progress KAILIE FOLEY

strong and was not “fat.”

“Obviously that kind of … brought me down,” Monnich said. ”I think we can talk about … always staying positive, but Features Editor in moments like that, you are going to break down.”

The next summer, Monnich participated in a dance inten*name changed for confidentiality sive at Duke University. Multiple teachers there suggested dance companies that she would fit into, and they guaranteed ophomore Maria Anzalotti stood in the middle of her her that there was a place for her in the dance world. room with the blue beaded dress and white coat Monnich prioritizes teaching about self-love she would have worn for the show choir seabecause she knows that dancing can be detrison during her freshman year. As soon as she put mental for a person; staring at themself in the the dress over her body, she felt ashamed looking mirror can cause them to nitpick their at her reflection from the vanity mirror in her appearance. She tries to create an room. Her mind told her it was her fault that environment in the dance room the dress did not fit, and that where people can have fun and thought grew louder inside not focus so much on the perfect of her mind. technique of their dance “I think coming to moves. terms with the word ‘fat’ Choir Teacher Jen and … realizing that Troiano loves that she is even if it is a word that able to see many of can be used to describe her students grow my body in some sensovertime. She is es, that doesn’t change aware of the fact that my body is how vulwhat I live in,” Anzalotnerable it ti said. “It enables me to do these is to be a singer, and she likes to teach students that incredible things, and I’m starting to realize it is beauit is important to love themselves despite what they tiful the way it is.” sound like and allow space for growth and mistakes.

Anzalotti is now a part of the “curvygirlcommunity” Tik“All of this is malleable and workable, and there is no nail Tok and Instagram page which helps mid-sized and plus-sized [in] the coffin so to speak,” Troiano said. “Like life can always curvy women feel appreciated and love what they see in the change, and you can always change, but you have to choose it.” mirror. Anzalotti has learned to love her body through obAdditionally, Troiano thinks it is important for people to serving the stories of women who are c a p a b l e of not be so hard on themselves for their shortcomings. living amazing lives while look“The moment that you’re in it, it seems like it’s so importing like she does. ant, but it’s just a blip of time,” Troiano said. “And the quality “Being flawed is in itof the journey is better than the [quality] of the feeling that self beautiful,” Anzalotti you feel at that time.” said. “And [my freshTroiano noticed the concept of self-love in fifth grade men year self] is good when the people around her started to find friend groups. enough by virtue of Often feeling like the odd person being. That’s not someout in life, she would often start to thing that she has to doubt herself if she was judged earachieve.” ly in life.

Self-love is often She felt like she was a leader defined as regard for but never was picked to lead during one’s own well-being and youth group. She saw the passion happiness. School psychologist she had for music, but did not make Dr. Jay Kyp-Johnson views selfit into a singing group that all of love as self-esteem, self-worth her friends were in. Seeing people and self-image. Kyp-Johnson not recognize her potential caused describes self-esteem as a proher to tell herself she was not lov- ACCEPTANCE BLOOMS: A body crosses the border of ragi cess; it’s not something a perable or capable and believe those son has or doesn’t have — it’s positive and negative feelings inside of a person’s mind. Joy oft ideas. something a person has to work on constantly When Troiano went to middle tance and growth. Without acknowledging negative thoughts, t through their life. school at Creative Children’s guessed everything that I did — from the way fe In a Prospector survey out of 548 students, Academy, she learned that that I stood to … the way that I danced,” Da57.5% shared that they have struggled with selfit was okay to be who she truly was. There was no vidson said. to love. judgement; the academy prioritized meeting stuDavidson has also noticed that the mea “Society has things to say [about you],” Kyp-Johnson said. dents where they stood at a learning level and dia affected his perception of th “But from an individual point of view, you really have to make growing from there. how his body should look. si an assessment of ‘Well, what’s true and what’s not true?’”

Troiano had a teacher named He often sees a theme of However, Kyp-Johnson has noticed that even the people Gayel Meskimen in middle who seem to be doing well and have good self-image can easily “[To me, self love is] embracing every muscular people being fa school who was the first considered more be affected negatively or put down by the words and feedback part of yourself –– including what you teacher she felt a manly in the meth from others. true connecdia.

This a Dance teacher Melanie Monnich also notices this. Monnich want to hide.” tion with and made him E learned early on that when she is facing a difficulty in life, she who made her feel feel like w must accept how she feels and think about how to move forseen. Feeling empowered by he wasn’t m ward without dwelling in a negative headspace. Self-love and another female in a learning place made her realenough of th self-confidence is what she believes has gotten her to where ize that there was a place for her. a man, and he so she is today.

“She just taught me that being a female wasn’t a disease struggled seeing himself as valid in that aspect.

Monnich thinks it is important to know who you are and and that I could do more with my life,” Troiano said. “And she Being involved with performing arts, he struggled with to hold onto who you are no matter what the outside challenged me to be present and to have an opinion.” not having the confidence needed to perform. This started to b world says around you. Growing up as a dancer, Troiano has noticed that she thrives most when people change when he did a musical theater workshop in Chicago. za Monnich had many challenges thrown her way doubt her. When people gaze over her worth, she is When Davidson danced, the instructors applauded his height n that tested her self-love. able to say that she loves herself better than that, she and figure as a tool for dance. m Monnich was a sophomore at Illinois State is better than that and she has something to “It really helped me just to see beauty in ... the length University when she did a offer to the world. of my limbs and everything,” Davidson said. “I six-week-long dance inten“Yes, The Breakfast Club Troiano still continues to work on self-love remember just that whole experience being super sive in Chicago that she had [helps me love myself more] to this day. A very important part of her life is liberating.” to audition to get into. The seeing how she can grow as a person conAs high school went on, he felt more reasnutritionist at the dance because it makes me realize tinuously. She believes that self-love is a sured and comfortable in his own intensive was a retired that despite all of our flaws, we process, and, like a plant, it has to skin, and he thanks his best dancer who mirrored the grow over time or else it dies. friends for helping perfect “dancer’s body.” can all connect in some way.”

Senior *Ray Davidson him love himself In Monnich’s eyes, the “It’s taking me a while to thinks that he has also more. nutritionist was beautian answer to this questi come a long way with self“Throughout all ful, tall, skinny and strong. love since he first started high school and is now a lot more my struggles with Monnich has never been the typical build for a haps [what I love about forgiving of himself and his flaws. body insecuridancer — she was a bit shorter and more muscular — so three my] perseverance. It’s so Davidson doesn’t see body insecurity discussed a lot in high ty, like being weeks into the seminar, she asked the nutritionist for advice school, especially with boys.

He has had a naturally thin body tling to realize that simp queer all of that, on what she could do to achieve this ideal body. since middle school. When growing up, people would make performance The nutritionist told her that all she could do was “problike these are catching m comments about his body which resulted in him feeling insehas always sort ably just stop dancing.” She further voiced that if Monnich cure about the way that he looked. This caused him to distance and forcing me to rea of been the one was trying to stay in the Chicago dance scene, no matter how himself from the world and fear what others thought of him. thing that I’ve good she became, she would not fit into any of the categories.

“I was so scared of everything and everyone and second always been able to The nutritionist added that Monnich looked great, was super

S

The clouds scattered throughout this spread represent responses from an anonymous Prospector survey of 570 students.

It takes some getting to know yourself in order to really take care of yourself, and that, again, is a journey.”

- Dr. Jay Kyp-Johnson, school psychologist

prospectornow.com

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

IN-DEPTH 9

growth continues

iing storms accompanied by thorns and a garden of yellow flowers with a bright sky. Both of these settings mirror the ten comes hand in hand with sorrow. Negative thoughts and insecurties cloud the mind from self-love, self-acceptoxic positivity can lead to a false idea of happiness in life.(painting by Ondine Cella)

eel adequate in,” Davidson said. flaws and my struggles turn into something beautiful and arAnzalotti also found an outlet through performance in life tistic is really healing,” Davidson said. o help her love herself despite how people with her body type Monnich and Kyp-Johnson recognize that having an are portrayed in the media. For example, she has noticed outlet and routine of self-maintenance and self-care hat people with her body type are often in movies as is essential to improve a person’s self-love and menide characters or for comic relief. tal health. Monnich advises people struggling with “In every movie ever, the fat girl is just … the self-love to find two activities that make them at girl,” Anzalotti said. happy and do them everyday.

Anzalotti has observed Anzalotti thinks that self-love hat a lot of the world has starts with recognizing that you are caa one-size-fits-all standard.

“When I was in middle school a pable of loving yourself, being heard, Even as progress is made being seen and being valued. With that lot of people bullied me for being with the body positivity first step, the mountain of growing movement, she knows to love yourself becomes easier to too skinny, even my family hat she does not fit into climb. members, which made me really ociety’s mold.

“Once you realize you’re “The world was trying capable of doing someinsecure.” o make sure I was a circle, thing, you don’t but I was a square,” Anhave to fly the alotti said. “And I could first time you not do it, so [I thought], ‘Okay, I have to sand down take your feet off the ground,” Anzalotti said. “You can my [corners] until I’m a circle.’” jump first, you can run first and you can start by crawling.”

Davidson also felt as if he had to shape himself to fit Then, Anazlotti thinks that if you look in the mirror and society’s standards growing up. allow your reflection to exist before hating what you see, that is “When I was younger I just didn’t know a lot of another step taken. Anzalotti believes that it is easier to climb people who were openly [queer],” Davidson said. the mountain after that step and look up at the view of what “So I definitely did feel very alone in that aspect.” you have accomplished and say, “It is a part of me, and thereAlthough the media has also caused Davidson fore it is good.” to have a low self image, he has found A deep hole in the ground of self-loathing is far from the top people who tell their stories over the in- of a mountain, but step by step, the journey is possible.

“It takes some getting to know yourself in order to really o think about ternet who are also queer and confident in their identity. Them “being loud and take care of yourself,” Kyp-Johnson said. “And that again is ion, but per- proud” has helped Davidson not feel so a journey.” alone about being queer.

Kyp-Johnson thinks that people have to be willing to open who I am is Davidson feels a strength- up and re-evaluate without incantations and ideas they’ve ort of unsetened sense of self-love when he been told are good and right. Instead of focusing on what they ple questions writes songs and po- have been told to be like, he thinks it’s important for each indietry as an emotional vidual to ask themself who they truly are. me off guard outlet.

“If you can find one thing that you know you love about ally think.”

“Something yourself — ‘cause even if you don’t think you do, there’s always about just one thing — if you can find it, and you can hold onto it,” Monseeing my nich said. “You are going to crawl yourself out of that hole.”

Both positivity, negativity bring a balanced mindset and healthy attitude in life As I sit at home at my desk for what is the fourth hour in a row, my head spins as the same questions run through my head.

Why am I so upset about school? Why is everything so boring?

Why am I constantly feeling frustrated and irritated on Zoom?

It’s no secret that the Class of ‘21 isn’t having a senior year.

We never got to have our senior homecoming, dress up in senior orange, be with all our classmates one last time at the football games or plan a prom.

Like many of my peers, I’ve tried to cope with this new reality. Even though I’ve been told by many of my teachers and relatives that we’re “going to get through this,” it doesn’t make the process easier. It doesn’t make learning via Zoom, or even the adapted version of in-person learning, any easier.

I know that I can’t forget the experiences that I missed, and my peers won’t either. And it sucks. It makes having a positive attitude even harder, and it’s easy to let the negativity, false positivity RACHEL and doubt creep in.

ZURBUCH In life, I was always told that the number one goal was to “be happy” — that Executive you can’t really find worthwhile success Features Editor in life without having happiness. And while it is a universal goal, the first step to truly having an optimistic outlook is realizing that positivity and negativity go hand in hand throughout your life.

For a long time, I tried to tell myself that “being happy” was a mindset, no matter what else was going on in my life at the time.

But that’s a mistake. If you try to be happy all the time, you’re going to end up with a false sense of positivity called toxic positivity.

Toxic positivity is defined as the excessive and ineffective overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic state across all situations.

This can result in denying your emotions and invalidating the authentic human emotional experience. This means that something is becoming a toxic positivity or “overly positive” when you are suppressing your feelings so much that it affects you. This can be through guilt, shame, anger, etc.

It’s easy to fall victim to toxic positivity; I often find myself saying “It is what it is” whenever something bad happens in my life. Or, I think back to people who don’t let negative energy into their life by saying “Good vibes only” or “Don’t worry; be happy.”

There are thousands of home decor signs that say “Positive energy” and “No negativity” to put around homes. It’s not that these signs aren’t good-hearted; they are, but they’re not truly accurate to life. Because the truth is we’re not always light-hearted.

Psychologist Carl Jung once said “I’d rather be whole than good.” This quote resonates with me because being bitterly “happy” never solves anything. When I’m feeling upset about something, I will never solve the problem by telling myself “It’s going to be OK, Rachel,” “You won’t remember this in a year” or “Everything happens for a reason.” Working through something with my negative emotions –– whether it’s anger, sadness or frustration –– is the only way I’m truly going to move on. This is something I’ve had to think about a lot throughout this year. I know that I’m upset, but I also know that openly being upset is the only way I will move forward.

School psychologist Dr. Jay Kyp-Johnson agrees that society places a big influence on positivity no matter what and believes the commercials on TV that show people as “happy” and “energized” all the time are not the reality. He thinks that embracing a culture of constant positivity can cause problems later in life such as a fake sense of happiness.

“There’s this sort of cultural use of excitement and faux happiness that’s used to manipulate people,” Kyp-Johnson said.

Kyp-Johnson believes that society needs to strive for a “sense of wellness” rather than a constant positivity. He explains that as humans, we have a natural driving force to do well and a natural desire to do away with things that aren’t useful or important to us. The positive framework in your life makes you want to do well and increase your ability to feel good. On the other hand, the negative framework is also there.

This doesn’t mean it’s OK to be negative all the time; it doesn’t mean people can sulk and deteriorate 24/7. When appropriate, being positive can bring many good things into your life. There are numerous benefits to having a more optimistic and positive attitude. A group of scientists performed a study that found that the “most optimistic” people lived an average of 11 to 15% longer than their peers. Studies have found that people are less likely to experience things such as depression, denial, or stress when optimistic.

Positivity doesn’t equal happiness. You can have a positive outlook on life and still be unhappy. Being upset, grieving, feeling sad –– it’s all something that optimistic people do. And while I hate that I’m going to never walk the halls of high school the same again, I know that acceptance is going to make me a more optimistic person.

I may not be able to change this year, but I can accept the situation –– both the negative and the positive –– and use it to become a better person.

10 FEATURES

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

prospectornow.com

Block scheduling gains new acceptance KEVIN LYNCH Entertainment Editor

W

hen junior Lucas Greazel first started attending Rolling Meadows High School (RMHS) as a freshman, he felt like he had been tossed into the water without knowing how to swim.

He was accustomed to the eight-period daily schedule used at South Middle School, but at RMHS, the schedule differed greatly.

RMHS has used a block schedule since 1999 with four 90-minute classes per day, eight total, split up over “Purple” and “Gold” days that alternate each day.

Greazel felt like lessened intensity of work and a short amount of homework took the form of a “life preserver” for him on the first few days, but, as soon as it came, the “life preserver” drifted away. Luckily, Greazel’s older brother, who had already attended RMHS, helped him learn how to manage his homework load in such a different learning environment so that he could eventually swim on his own.

For Greazel, planning and managing his time under a block schedule soon became second nature as he started to see the positives of having the block schedule.

Every sixth block is a Seminar class which students can use to do homework or ask teachers for help. The longer classes, which had originally seemed to drag on, also brought their own advantages for Greazel.

“Even though … the blocks are longer than the periods, I think it’s fine because we have more stuff that we can do in class,” Greazel said. “We can do a presentation and then an activity pertaining to that presentation and have longer to do it, so then we can ask more questions during class.”

While RMHS students and staff were used to the ins and outs of the block schedule, the rest of the district was propelled unexpectedly into using one this fall when the COVID-19 pandemic pushed schools nationwide into a remote learning environment.

“It was something that was decided as a way to be able to … be prepared for students to be in school in person,” Doctor

Lazaro Lopez, the District 214 Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, said. “What I would say is, the fact that we had a school that had already experienced these extended time periods and the alternating blocks was certainly helpful to the other schools … in making the modifications to curriculum and how to approach class time differently.”

Continuing into this school year, a modified schedule with four 70-minute blocks per day rotating every other day was implemented. Seventy minutes was chosen to give more time before school for students and staff due to the unusual circumstances. Now, after several months spent under the new schedule, the district is considering using the block schedule again next school year, regardless of the COVID-19 situation.

Block scheduling is hardly a new phenomenon; it was created and took hold in the late 1980s as experts began to delve more into the developmental needs of students.

The schedule typically comes in two forms, one being the A/B block schedule, which D214 schools are currently employing. Another popular form is the 4/4 schedule, where four courses are taken per semester instead of eight over the span of two semesters like at D214 schools. However, the 4/4 schedule makes classes longer, allowing for a year-long course to be squeezed into one semester.

Lopez said the schedule was switched primarily for the purpose of decreasing student traffic in the hallways, specifically

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during passing periods. However, the schedule also came with added benefits for both students and staff outside of safety precautions.

“Students really appreciated [the later start], and the science is behind it [showing] that a later start makes sense … developmentally for students that are in their teenage years,” Lopez said. “ … Staff were starting to recognize how much value there was in having a consistent time to be able to plan and meet with colleagues and to provide additional support to students in the morning.”

AP Physics teacher Mark Welter says that the schedule has been especially helpful by allowing him to plan for each course more efficiently because his junior and senior courses are on different days. Research also suggests that the benefits of block scheduling reach past students and teachers by making school a more productive place.

For example, responses from administrators in a study by Old Dominion University of four schools with block scheduling indicated strongly that block scheduling reduced disciplinary referrals while in turn increasing academic success among students.

This study is hardly alone, with many teaching and instructional institutions touting the benefits the schedule has on test scores and students’ mental health.

However, block scheduling has its opposition as well. One downside is that in the event of an absence from one class, more material is lost. Additionally, other drawbacks

include lower AP test scores for certain students in 4/4 schedule-schools, and, in the current situation, less instructional time for teachers.

Under the regular PHS bell schedule, students would spend 480 minutes in each class over a two week span. With the current block schedule, students only learn for 350 minutes over those two weeks: roughly 73% of the previous amount. However, it is also worth mentioning that with 90-minute blocks, the time spent in class would go up to 93.75% of the class time afforded in the original PHS schedule.

“Just by going slower, we were maybe a whole chapter behind, if you want to call it behind, compared to last year by Thanksgiving,” Welter said. “And so, that was three and a half weeks of material, so it was easy to see we weren’t quite progressing [normally].”

Despite the lost time, Welter isn’t concerned for his students’ performance on their AP exams because the tests for his students have been modified, by removing three units from the test, which means Welter won’t have to try to cram material second semester.

Additionally, Lopez states that if a block schedule were to be re-implemented next year, depending on COVID-19, it would more closely resemble RMHS’ normal schedule with 90-minute blocks and an earlier start that would almost completely fix the issue of lost time.

Currently, Lopez said the district has been sending out surveys to students, staff and parents gauging interest in the idea of continuing the schedule in future school years. He is encouraged by the success of the schedule thus far, both this year and at RMHS, and he does not appear to be alone.

According to a Prospector survey of 558 Prospect students, 77.4% said that they preferred to keep using the block schedule next school year, even without remote learning.

“The fact that we do have that expertise [from RMHS] and the experience that teachers have had is what has us considering, ‘Is this a schedule that has enough benefits that we can continue?’” Lopez said.

prospectornow.com

FEATURES 11

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Party don’t stop for TikTok in pandemic Influencers receive backlash after disregard for COVID ALYSSA SCHULZ Copy Editor

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urquoise waves lapped against white sand on the shores of Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, ICU bed availability decreased to under 25% when the city reached a record of 7,854 coronavirus cases in just one day.

Despite this, Charli D’amelio, a TikToker with over 100 million followers, and many other TikTok influencers, traveled from their residence in Los Angeles to the Bahamas during the beginning of January.

After the vacation, many fans were unhappy with these actions which resulted in an argument about whether or not these influencers should be more conscientious of the world around them— especially considering the rising number of coronavirus cases in the TikTokers’ area.

Because of this, many fans have taken to social media to express their opinions, some even saying that these influencers should be canceled for their actions.

Cancel culture, a term that has gained popularity in the past few years, refers to the practice of withdrawing support for public figures after they have done or said something considered offensive.

It was found that 24.2% of Prospect students* believe that influencers should be “canceled” if they aren’t following pandemic guidelines.

Contrastingly, senior Grace Ko thinks that the media is being too harsh on TikTokers and that they should not have their platforms taken away for their traveles to the Bahamas.

“A lot of times, regular people do something wrong, but they wouldn’t get canceled because they’re not famous,” Ko said. “A lot of my friends have gone on vacation, but they aren’t facing [repercussions] because they don’t have a fan base.”

Although Ko does not support traveling during the pandemic, she does not think it is a reason to stop sup-

90.5% K

of students* have noticed celebrities not following guidlines

o Wh ws o n

TWO WORLDS: An influencer dances on a beach without masks or social distancing while a healthcare worker stands dejectedly after his long shift. During the pandemic, many influencers have continued to ignore guidelines despite the rising number of coronavirus cases around the country. (cartoon by Grace He) porting celebrities. Ko is not alone in this thinking as 58% of Prospect students* believe that influencers should be held to the same standards as people who are not famous.

However, sophomore Isabel McIntosh does feel that influencers should be held to a higher standard because, in her opinion, if someone has a fan base, they are responsible to be a role model for their followers.

“No one wants to be inside; no one wants to be staying at home,” McIntosh said. “But, when we see people that we generally look up to and praise [disregard guidelines], it makes it even more difficult to follow [guidelines].”

Additionally, Mclntosh thinks that these influencers should have expected a negative response from the media, especially since many of them have traveled during the pandemic, even after they told their followers to be safe and stay home.

Although Ko doesn’t feel that celebrities should be held to the same standards as McIntosh, she does believe that celebrities’

Junior Matt Wojtowicz The Boyfriend

Junior Ola Jurczenia The Sub Subject ject

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actions during the pandemic may be harmful due to the fact that many of their followers are mostly children. “[The] TikTokers received their fan base from young viewers, so I feel that they should be using that … [platform] with [their] young fan base in mind,” Ko said.

According to Ko, this doesn’t mean that celebrities are required to set a good example for their fans all the time. However, because the pandemic can be deadly if not taken seriously, Ko does understand why many fans are upset.

Additionally, Ko and McIntosh both believe that the TikTokers should have responded to the backlash from their trip in a better and more mature way than they did.

After the TikTokers were exposed by fans, Noah Beck, a TikToker with nearly 25 million followers that was also on the vacation, responded to his followers stating that, “Especially in the business that we’re in … you need some time to kind of disconnect for a little… That’s what that was meant for. A little trip to get away.”

Blue raspberry

P Favorite Most used jolly rancher emoji? flavor?

Blue raspberry

Blue Junior raspberry Emilia Warzecha The Best Friend

Proud of myself emoji

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Mildly laughing emoji

Slapping face emoji

Ko does recognize where Beck is coming from; she believes that TikTokers and other influencers may be “stressed out from constantly being followed by paparazzi” and from being held to such a high standard.

“I understand his point of view that he wanted a break from the social media aspect,” Ko said. “But he is a large influencer, and he has a big fan base — a lot of which are younger kids — so he needs to be careful.”

However, many fans were enraged by his response, as they believed that Beck’s words reflected his privilege and overall disregard for the essential workers that are currently risking their lives for those in need.

Other TikTokers, such as D’Amelio, did not respond to the hate at all, which likewise caused an uproar amoung her fans.

“It’s good to address [criticisms] like [Beck] did because a lot of [TikTokers] just tried to blow it off or act like it didn’t happen,” McIntosh said. “But, it is generally irresponsible to come up with an excuse as to why [Beck was] doing such outrageous things during a pandemic.”

Despite this, McIntosh thinks that the amount of hate that these influencers have received on multiple social media platforms have crossed a line and that “people shouldn’t make [influencers] so sad that their mental health goes down the drain.”

Additionally, Ko believes that in general, hating or canceling someone is never a good way to actually solve the problem at hand.

The only thing it succeeds in doing, as McIntosh said, is making the influencer feel bad about themselves.

Ko thinks that instead, the media should learn to forgive influencers over time for their actions during the pandemic — if they have proven that they have learned from their mistakes.

“If we educate them, then maybe next time [these TikTokers] can [behave] in a more responsible way by social distancing and wearing masks,” Ko said.

However, since the vast majority of influencers that went on the trip have yet apologized, she recognizes the unfortunate unlikeliness of this happening. “[Influencers] should be using their fan base for educating and not setting a bad example for their fans because that can be really dangerous in the time that we are in,” Ko said.

*information courtesy of a Prospector survey of 566 Prospect students

31.8% of students* have stopped supporting celebrities because of their actions

Yes

Chick-fil-A

P

P

P

Favorite artist?

None

Has she broken a bone?

Yes

Favorite fast food place?

Chick-fil-A

Ed Sheeran

No

Chick-fil-A

None

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W I N N E R

X

12 ENTERTAINMENT

prospectornow.com

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Cinema shutdown bad for businesses CHARLIE DAHLGREN Executive News Editor

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rowing up, junior Josh DiLuia could remember his older sister telling tales of the “legendary experience” of going downtown after a long day at South Middle School.

The idea of getting food, shopping and at the end of it all, enjoying a movie with your closest friends, all while untethered from the shackles of parental supervision, seemed completely foreign to DiLuia’s sixth grade mind.

So with high expectations, DiLuia, along with five friends, walked the six blocks after school to see their first movie as a group: “Captain America: Civil War.” DiLuia bought popcorn and a large Dr. Pepper and settled in for his turn to experience first hand what he had heard about since he was young.

This activity became ritualistic as DiLuia and his friends never wanted to miss a big movie premiere. He considers this a “revolutionary transition” for him and his friends as their independence began to grow on the foundation of their local theater of choice.

That theater, most recently operated by CMX Cinemas, is now closing after three years of operation, following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by their parent company.

In five years, the theater is just one of seven storefront closures within the Arlington Town Square which leaves many local residents concerned about the future of entertainment and shopping in downtown Arlington Heights.

Before the pandemic, CMX seemed to have a lot going for it. Being a newly renovated building with high public awareness and close proximity to towering apartment complexes all worked to build a prominent Arlington Heights business.

Its closeness to South Middle School also made it a haven for young teens looking to relax after school. On any given Friday

afternoon, weather permitting, flocks of students would walk to CMX and its surrounding businesses to patronize their favorite local shops.

Although AMC Randhurst 12 is now DiLuia and his friends’ theater of choice, they still returned to CMX from time to time to bathe in nostalgia and enjoy the change of scenery from international chains like AMC. “[I liked] the atmosphere and the uniqueness of it,” DiLuia said. “You can go to any AMC across the country and they usually have the same build and stuff ... so it was a refreshing experience. It’s the same kind of difference as a small business compared to a large company.”

Unfortunately, those large companies are likely what drove CMX towards its demise.

According to a survey of 561 Prospect students, only 12.4% of students consider CMX to be their go-to theater, opting mostly for AMC Randhurst 12 and AMC Streets of Woodfield 20.

Despite this, Business Development Coordinator for Arlington Heights Michael Mertes considered CMX to be a viable business before the pandemic. They seemed to bring in enough locals to keep their head above water in an industry so heavily saturated by AMC. The true downfall of the theater started in March when the pandemic hit. Only 8.1% of Prospect students have seen a movie in theaters since March, and that’s simply not enough people to keep a theater alive; no matter how successful they have been in the past.

Although Mertes considers the COVID-19 crisis the biggest challenge local businesses have faced since he’s worked in Arlington Heights, Mertes wouldn’t necessarily describe himself as “concerned” about the future of consumerism in Arlington Heights.

“Now, small boutique shops are competing with warehouses like Amazon that basically offer everything,” Mertes said.

“I would call it more of a call for action for the people of Arlington Heights to support your local businesses. Are you willing to

ROLL CREDITS: The CMX Cinemas in Arlington Heights recently shut down, leading locals to worry about the future of business in the area. The theater marks the seventh closure in the downtown area in five years. (photo by Charlie Dahlgren) spend maybe a couple dollars extra to make sure that the business continues to grow and thrive and keep the downtown retail atmosphere?”

That atmosphere relies heavily on anchor businesses like CMX and the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre to attract large crowds to the downtown area and local shops, so with the closure of CMX, local businesses are at the mercy of whoever the future tenants will be.

Mertes has little insight into who the next operator may be or even what kind of business they will run. In all likelihood, it will be yet another movie theater, but he can’t rule out another form of business or entertainment.

The commercial brokers are undoubtedly having conversations with potential businesses for the spaces, but those discussions are normally confidential and out of earshot from the Village.

According to Mertes, the development needs to be able to draw in large crowds to the square, yet not compete directly with other anchor locations like the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, which is why movie

theaters have been in that location.

“When things open up, going to a movie in a theater is an experience people enjoy,” Mertes said. “I think there is still an opportunity to have a cinema in that location but I’ll never say never that it couldn’t be something else.”

Unbeknown to DiLuia, he and his friends made their last ever trip to CMX Cinemas in early March last year to see “Onward;” one of the last shows the theater ran before the pandemic.

The theater had everything it always did: friends, food and of course, the movie, but DiLuia couldn’t help the feeling that something was missing.

The theater had lost the magic that it once captured in DiLuia and his friends when they made their first trek to it in sixth grade, but it will still be a significant loss.

“There are always times where AMC doesn’t have certain movies so you want to go to CMX,” DiLuia said. “It’s always another option so it’s disappointing to not have that and we’ll definitely go down there less just because the times we would go, it was because of the theater.”

‘The Great Gatsby’ enters public domain, more to come JOEY DELAHUNTY Executive Entertainment Editor Around the end of World War I, a deadly flu pandemic began to spread across the world. Despite the technological and economic advancements that the country attained during the war, mass quarantine covered the United States from 1918 to 1919. Much like today, fights over mask mandates and lockdown orders filled the news.

So the next year, when the pandemic finally ended, the wealthy partied. Wartime wealth, tumultuous social politics and a newfound hatred of isolation combined into what we now know as the Roaring ‘20s. In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald published perhaps the most famous depiction of the era, and now, even 96 years later, “The Great Gatsby” is more relevant than ever.

On Jan. 1, nearly all works from 1925 became public domain in the U.S., meaning anyone can use them in any way they want, without the need for permission or royalties.

The actual laws are fairly complex, but in the case of works from 1925, they maintain copyright for 95 years after publication and then become public domain.

Alongside “Gatsby” in its recent release are Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” and the original German version of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial,” along with many other less famous works. The rights to “The Great Gatsby” were previously owned by the Fitzgerald Estate, but now adaptations, spin-offs and full reprintings are allowed by anyone who feels compelled to do so.

According to AP English Language and Composition teacher Elizabeth Joiner, who teaches “The Great Gatsby” to her juniors each year, the public domain is

2021

2022

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia, Amazon, and IMDb

necessary because it allows works of cultural importance to be available to everyone.

“I really think it gives access to everyone for these pieces of art,” Joiner said. “I love that you can just go find Shakespeare online, or you can look up some old book and get the whole PDF of it.”

While libraries provide free access to many books and other resources, they don’t provide the same immediate access and reinterpretation that the public domain offers, especially with the works’ availability online.

According to technology news site Ars Technica, the internet is also one of the major reasons works were allowed to enter the public domain in 2019 for the first time in decades, while in the past it had been delayed several times.

Public domain allows everyone to publish and profit off of the transformative works that are ever so common online, so anything seeking to stop that would likely face massive backlash.

As “Gatsby” adaptations and spin-offs are now allowed to exist, many are already being discussed or even released. Joiner has been excited to read Micheal Farris Smith’s recently released book “Nick,” a backstory of the original novel’s protagonist Nick Carraway.

Although she recognizes its unpopularity, Joiner is also a fan of Baz Lurhmann’s 2013 film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” which stars Leonardo DeCaprio, and is looking forward to more modern takes on the classic. Before the story was public domain, the film rights bounced around different studios after Fitzgerald sold them in 1926 for $16,666.

“There are so many themes to examine in that book, from racism to social class, that are so relevant,” Joiner said.

“Anything that hones in on some of those topics and explores it in a different way, I think that’ll be interesting.”

Other than Joiner, many people online have also been wanting to see other adaptations of the novel. A half-joking campaign to make a Muppets version has been gaining steam and already has a full fan-written script. There’s already a stage show and multiple graphic novels, both fairly well received, but there’s bound to be more versions without the need for licensing.

While public domain laws are complicated and have frequently changed throughout history, the current law is that a work enters public domain 70 years after the author’s death, or 95 years from publication if a work is of corporate authorship. However, works released from 1923 to 1977 will be public domain 95 years after publication regardless of authorship, so most works we’ll be seeing anytime soon fall under that law.

However, that wasn’t always the case.

Before 1998, those were 50 and 75 years, respectively. The problem with that, though, was that Mickey Mouse first appeared in 1928, leaving the original version of the character to enter public domain in 2004.

So in 1998, due largely to lobbying from Disney, the Copyright Term Extension Act was passed, meaning the public domain was functionally “frozen” for 20 years for works published between 1923 and 1977.

While public domain activists have enjoyed a recent slew of releases since 2019, the fact that Mickey is now set to be public in 2024 has some worried that we’re going to see a repeat of 1998 in the near future.

That fight notably didn’t happen in 2019 though, and Ars Technica reports that the internet has allowed for the creation of a large movement counter to it. On the other hand, Disney didn’t have any stake in the 2019 releases, and they are an even larger media empire now than they were in 1998.

Regardless of what happens in the future, though, Joiner enjoys seeing classic works become more accessible, and would rather see that time limit be shortened.

One of the reasons that Joiner is glad “Gatsby” has entered the public domain is because, like many notable works of art, it’s still important today.

“It was a book that was written after a pandemic, after major bad things happening in the world, and I feel like we’re kind of going through it [right now],” Joiner said. “I think there’s been a renewed interest in Gatsby, regardless, but anytime you dig those up and ... people are talking about it, it becomes more popular.”

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prospectornow.com

SPORTS 13

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

The disappearance of sports, it’s effects I

was excited to begin my second season of volleyball at Prospect, and had just finished tryouts on March 12, 2020. We knew about the coronavirus, but I wasn’t all that worried. It’s kind of funny how much things can change in a matter of 24 hours.

The next day, I was sitting in AP World History when we found out that we were going to have an “extended spring break.” I was surprised, confused and so naive all at once.

It didn’t seem like such a big deal; we got two weeks off. What could go wrong?

When I saw my friends at lunch that day, I heard that a ton of college basketball conference tournaments were getting canceled, which led to the inevitable cancellation of the NCAA tournament. That’s when the reality of just CAMERON how bad this could SULLIVAN be started to sink Executive Sports in.

I went up to my Editor volleyball coach after lunch to ask him about the future of the season as worries and doubts started to circulate, and he assured me that we would be competing per usual when we got back from break.

I thought to myself: “This is fine; it’s just going to be a shortened season. At least I’ll have some part of a JV season.”

I never got that JV season.

Not having that season worries me for the fact that I hope to play varsity this season. If I do make varsity, it’ll be a big jump.

I’ll just have to prepare extra hard for it, whether that’s working out more or spending more time outside of school sharpening up my volleyball skills.

Not only has COVID-19 affected the athlete in me, but I also felt the pain as a fan and sports writer.

Athlete

As an athlete, the past 10 or so months have really been draining. I’ve missed having sports. For many athletes, including myself, sports are a place for us to enjoy ourselves and relieve stress. Due to COVID-19, I haven’t had that. I’ve had to find new ways to diminish anxieties.

I wouldn’t say my mental health has been damaged too much from the lack of sports, but this has definitely thrown me for a loop.

I have been playing sports — specifically competitive sports — my whole life. I can’t remember if there even was a time that I wasn’t competing with a team. I tried many alternative stress-relieving activities like talking with friends and getting any sort of physical activity I could while cooped up in my house, but neither have the same effect.

Working out with friends or playing sports with a team is almost an indescrib-

THREE OF A KIND: Prospector editor Cameron Sullivan demonstrates his three sides as a fan, athlete and sports writer.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many people in many different ways and sports were tremndously damged because of it. (photo illustration by Mara Nicolaie and Alexis Esparza)

able feeling. I get to make memories unlike any other.

One of my strongest memories in particular was freshman year at a volleyball tournament when we had a really back and forth game. The limit that could be scored was 31 due to it being a tournament, and the score was already passed 25-25. It was back and forth until it was 30-30, and I had the opportunity to send the other team home. I got a perfect set, good timed jump, nice swing and the rest was history. We won and my team all ran to me as we cheered.

Having teammates is a great experience — they are people who will always have your back no matter what. Special bonds are built with teammates that aren’t achievable anywhere else.

I got the opportunity to play with my teammates during the volleyball contact days, where we were able to have roughly 15 contact days from October to November before everything was shut down again. This included a scrimmage underneath the lights on the football field.

I even had somewhat of a baseball season through Arlington Heights Youth Athletic Association, but it really has been different.

We had to fit about 16 games into a four week time period, so that consisted of about two to three games a week and at those games we had to be socially distanced on the benches and fans had to be a certain distance away from the field.

Prospect sports are what I’ve really been missing. It’s such a different environment getting to play for your school’s team; all the games seem so much more meaningful because you feel as if you are defending your team and your school’s honor.

Getting to hear your name called out because you just made a really nice play is one of the best feelings out there.

I am not — by a long shot — the only athlete who has been affected by the lack of sports. In a survey of 37,000 student-athletes done by the NCAA, one in 12 athletes report-

ed that they have been feeling so depressed that it is hard to function, and over one-third of them have had trouble sleeping. I haven’t had these specific problems, but clearly the lack of sports impacts everyone differently.

single playoff appearance and had an overall record of 355-454.

The Cubs had a major overhaul so far this offseason, which could potentially end their five-year success window that included an overall 471-339 record, five playoff appearances, a pennant win and a 2016 World Series Championship.

Just like the White Sox, the Cubs had to face a major rebuild after they made the playoffs in 2008. From 2010 to 2014, they had an overall record of 346 wins and 464 losses with no division wins or playoff appearances.

The Cubs went through many phases of their rebuild phase, from trading big stars such as Ryan Dempster and Alfonso Soriano to drafting young talent such as Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber. Through numerous strategies made by then Cubs’ general manager Theo Epstein, they were able to flip things around in just a few years.

The White Sox turned to the rebuild after numerous losing seasons with what they thought to be decent teams. They made key moves to start off by sending away Chris Sale for the young prospects Michael Kopech and Yoan Moncada.

Although the White Sox were getting young talent that would benefit them in the future, some fans found it disheartening to lose some of their big-name players.

“I found it very hard to be patient with the White Sox during the rebuilding stag-

es,” sophomore White Sox fan Anna Washco said. “Watching them trade their best players for prospects was difficult to watch.

During the whole process, fans had to trust in Rick Hahn and believe he was making the right decisions.”

The rebuild process can last for very long periods of time, and many seasons go to waste, something that happened for teams such as the Miami Marlins that had losing seasons from 2010-2019. However, this process often pays off for teams like the White Sox and Cubs.

With the recent moves the Cubs made — including trading away Yu Darvish and losing Jon Lester and Schwarber to free agency — it appears their time period of major dominance in the National League is coming to an end.

“I am very sad [that] some of our best players [have left],” Junior Cubs fan Ivan Mitkov said. “Especially the ones on our championship team, but I hope they do well.”

The White Sox are on a completely different path as they seem as ready as ever to produce winning seasons — especially with the recent additions of veteran pitching by sign-

Writer

The absence of sports has probably been the most difficult for me as a writer. This is my first year as Executive Sports Editor of The Prospector — without any actual sports to write about. It’s like McDonald’s trying to sell cheeseburgers without any meat. It is extremely difficult to come up with stories, and I constantly fear that the sports section is lacking. It’s really unfortunate because journalism is a potential career track for me, and I’m missing a lot of learning opportunities.

Another thing I miss is getting to go to all the basketball and football games and getting to cover them. It is so much fun to watch an insane game and interview the coach and players right after with their reactions.

But in a way, it’s also been good. I’ve learned to come up with stories out of nothing. I’ve even gotten to write stories I might not have during a normal sports year — like one I did about a Prospect alum who is playing football at the University of Illinois.

As well as writing for The Prospector, I typically call the football and basketball games for KnightTV. Doing that is some of the most fun I’ve ever had, especially when I got to call the final play after the football team won their playoff game against Dekalb.

It is an experience like no other, and I have truly missed it. Getting to watch the time run out on the clock and screaming, “Prospect has won their first playoff game since 2012!” while the whole booth erupted in cheers and seeing how electric the atmosphere was simply unreal.

Fan

With being a sports writer and athlete, I have really craved watching sports games.

Something like March Madness being omitted from my life was a horrible feeling — something I was so invested in just absent. It

felt as if a piece of me was missing.

At the start of the season, I made an effort to be more prepared when it came to making my bracket, so I tried to watch as many games as possible. Every night before I went to bed, I watched an NCAA game leading up to the tournament, and when I heard the news of its cancellation, I was truly devastated.

I remember hiding my iPad as I tried to watch the games in school my freshman year, my friends and I getting into debates about which team was going to win and, of course, always having the winning bracket.

That last part may have been a slight lie, but just picking a bracket is a great feeling based on the sheer hope and excitement of the possibility it yields.

Thankfully, the MLB had a partial season. I share season tickets with a lot of my extended family, and we always go to Cubs games together. Not being able to go was really depressing; it was the first year since 2014 that I haven’t gone to at least one game.

My dad and I were even scheduled to go see the opening day game that never even happened.

Being at games is a different vibe than watching them from home. Being in the scorching heat with the sun glaring down on you while getting to watch your favorite players crush home runs and then listening to “Go Cubs Go” after a victory is a top 10 all time feeling for me. This was just one of many traditions COVID-19 has sabotaged.

Even with the lack of professional sports, I did have something to watch. When the MLB came back and the NBA bubble started, I just watched any game I could. It was so refreshing.

Now sports are back with IHSA’s newly released schedule. Practices are starting back up, and games are starting up around early March. It almost feels normal. As long as all goes well, I will get my volleyball season this time. Better late than never, right?

White Sox, Cubs, similar situations just at different times Being a fan of a team in any sport will come with its disappointing years; it is practically inevitable. However, in baseball, fans are used to having more bad years from their team than good ones.

AIDAN This is often due to the fact MURRAY that these teams Executive Online must go through a rebuild era Sports Editor and start their rosters from scratch. This rings especially true for White Sox and Cubs fans alike.

The rebuilding era is a time period where the team has usually around three to six years of winning — sometimes called the success window. The process brings winning seasons to teams most of the time, but it can take up to 10 years.

The White Sox and the Cubs are at polar opposite ends right now. The White Sox are about ready to compete, coming out of the fifth and final year of a major rebuild.

During the prime of the White Sox’s reconstruction from 2014 to 2019, they did not see a

ing relief pitcher Liam Hendricks and trading for starting pitcher Lance Lynn.

Through all of the struggle it takes to build a team, it is essential for fanbases to stay calm and rely on their front offices to take over and build a new team that will bring them much success within 5-10 years.

“It feels very good knowing the White Sox have a chance to be competitors and make a run for a World Series ...” Washco said. “...

After so many losing seasons and having to stay positive about the future, I am extremely happy that [in] this upcoming season, the players on the White Sox who have worked hard to improve for their team will finally reach success.”

FINALLY! Chicago Cubs firstbasemen Anthony Rizzo celebrates after catching the final out in the 2016 World Series.

The Cubs had to face an 108 year drought, followed by countless rebuilds in order to get there. (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

14 New ihsa calendar adds

SPORTS

The latest from Prospect Sports Weekly...

Executive Producer Jacob Siciliano and Executive Sports Editor Cameron Sullivan sit down with All-Area running-back Luke Zardzin and Head Coach Dan DeBoeuf to discuss Prospect’s upcoming football season. Click the logo to listen.

to Whirlwind sports year RICK LYTLE & CAMERON SULLIVAN

Editor-in-Chief & Executive Sports Editor The day high school IHSA suspends sports stopped spring sports Less than 48 hours after the Prospect boys’ through April 30 basketball team played in a Sectional Semi-final at Jean Walker Fieldhouse in front of a packed crowd, District 214 Superintendent Dr. David R. Schuler announced that all co-curricular activities would be shut down through the end of spring break. Then, later that night, the IHSA announced that the rest of the boys’ basketball state tournament would be canceled due to COVID-19. Despite optimism for a spring sports season at the time, sports didn’t return for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

March 12, 2020

Official cancellation of the 2020 spring season

Adhering to the closure of Illinois high schools through April 30, the IHSA announced that there would be no practices or competitions for high school sports during this time. The IHSA remained hopeful for a May 1 return date for high school sports, but there was no guarantee of this return date.

Just four days after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all Illinois schools would remain remote for the remainder of the school year, the IHSA announced its decision to cancel all spring state tournaments. “As disappointing as it may be for students, it is the right decision for their health and safety, as well as for the health and safety of the general public, as we cope with this unprecedented pandemic,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said.

March 22, 2020

WARMUP: Boys’ basketball practices on Jan. 27. The team is scheduled to play their first Mid-Suburban League game on Feb. 6 against the Elk Grove Grenadiers. (photo by Alexis Espar-

Jan. 22, 2021 IHSA announces new sports calendar

The IHSA adjusted the original four-season schedule announced in July and restarted winter sports competitions. Click the link below to be taken to a story on ProspectorNow about how the IHSA plans to fit 25 sports in the next four to five months.

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

O

n Jan. 15, amid improving Covid-19 metrics, the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker updated sports guidelines and gave an avenue for the return of high school sports. Since then, two things have happened. First, Illinois regions have rapidly advanced through the Covid-19 levels, with most now in Phase 4. Second, to respond to the renewed optimism, the IHSA released a new sports calendar to accommodate a season for all remaining sports.

Begin of Phase 3 Return to Play Guidelines

As the state slowly began to reopen, the IHSA announced that IHSA schools would be allowed to conduct strength and conditioning sessions. Sport-specific drills were not permitted, and groups were limited to 10 or less. This was the first time high school athletes were able to return to some type of practice since sports were shut down in March.

Begin of Phase 4 Return to Play Guidelines

The IHSA and IDPH developed guidelines allowing for expanded practices in Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan. These guidelines allowed for 20 contact days between June 30 and August 9, but no contact drills were allowed. Prospect began these summer camps on July 13. “We appreciate the collaborative efforts of the SMAC and IDPH in recognizing the physical, mental, and emotional benefits for our student-athletes and coaches as they progress into training in a more traditional practice setting,” Anderson said.

June 6, 2020

April 21, 2020

TAP IN: Boys’ golf was one of the lowrisk sports that had a season in the fall.

The other sports were boys’ and girls’ cross country, girls’ golf, girls’ tennis and girls’ swimming and diving. (photo

by Alexis Esparza)

TWO-HAND TOUCH: Football conducts one of their fall contact days on Sept. 17. Practices are set to begin again on March 3 with the first game on March 19. The season lasts until April 24. (photo by Abby McKenna)

Jan. 15, 2021 IHSA responds to new IDPH sports guidance

The IDPH and Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that some Illinois health regions were moving from Tier 3 to Tiers 1 and 2, and sports in those regions would be able to start-up again. The IHSA responded by allowing winter sports to begin practicing at varying levels.

Nov. 19, 2020 IHSA shuts down all winter sports

The day before Illinois was set to move to significantly more stringent Tier 3 mitigations, the IHSA announced that all high school sports would be on pause.

This came just three days after the winter sports season had begun on Nov. 16.

July 5, 2020

Sept. 7-Oct. 31, 2020 Prospect conducts contact days for off-season sports

Prospect athletes were able to return to the field as part of the IHSA fall contact days. As part of the July decision to move to a four-season sports schedule, the IHSA alloted all teams not in-season 20 contact days during the fall. This came as low-risk fall sports were conducting a successful season.

July 29, 2020 IHSA announces four season sports calendar

To adapt to the unique circumstances of the 2020-21 school year, the IHSA switched to a four-season sports schedule. This moved football, boys soccer and girls volleyball to the spring, and moved some sports traditionally in the spring into the newly created summer season.

Mapping out the remaining sports seasons January

February

March

Boys’/Girls’ Basketball Boys’ swim and dive dance cheerleading girls’ bowling girls’ gymnastics girls’ badminton Currently from Knight Media...

Click the IHSA logo to read about IHSA’s new calendar for the rest of the 2020-21 school year.

Click the basketball to listen to a podcast with Associate Principal Frank Mirandola discussing what the return of sports will look like at Prospect.

April

MAY

baseball boys’/girls’ lacrosse girls’ soccer softball boys’ tennis boys’/girls’ track and field boys’ volleyball wrestling

Boys’ soccer football girls’ volleyball boys’ gymnastics boys’/girls’ water polo

JUNE