Issue 8 2019-20

THE

PROSPECTOR

801 WEST KENSINGTON ROAD, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS 60056

THE VOICE OF PROSPECT HIGH SCHOOL SINCE 1959

VOLUME 59, ISSUE 8

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2020

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HEART OF ITALY: A collage of various pictures shows Italian teacher Lyn Scolaro’s close bonds with a multitude of students throughout the years. Her extensive work both in the Italian program and in student activities will leave a lasting impact on Prospect. (photos courtesy of Lyn Scolaro and Prospect alumni Alyssa O’Connell, Molly McDermott, Sam Lupo and Sarah Greising)

Revered teacher retires, leaves legacy of passion ELIZABETH KEANE Editor-in-Chief

F

ollowing her knee surgery in the summer of 2019, Italian teacher Lyn Scolaro had just finished climbing the stairs for the first time in physical therapy when her phone rang. The consul general was on the line, telling her that she may want to sit down for the news she was about to receive — she was to be knighted by the Italian government.

Scolaro was flooded with congratulatory messages from people she didn’t even know and met with much excitement from her family. She felt honored to receive the title of “Cavaliere Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella,” or Official Knight of the Order of the Star, along with a medal and a special mark in her passport from the president of Italy; this means that she is regarded as a distinguished representative of Italian and American culture.

“I’ve been recognized for many things over the years, and every time someone tells me that I’m being recognized, my question is always ‘Why?’ … I just do what I think is best for kids; I want kids to be happy,” Scolaro said.

Nearing the end of her 29th year at Prospect and 38th in education, Scolaro will be retiring at the end of this school year, but her various contributions to the school will not go unnoticed. From acting as the chief adviser of Student Council to organizing prom and graduation, Scolaro has

touched the lives of many.

Additionally, at various times throughout her time at Prospect, Scolaro has run the Variety Show, acted as the Tech Director for various shows, been the head cheerleading coach — the first in Prospect’s history to bring co-ed cheer to competition — coached speech and been a new teacher mentor to welcome new staff members to the school.

Scolaro’s desire to become involved in so many activities came from the fact that she wasn’t as involved as she would have liked in high school; she got her first job her freshman year and, therefore, could only be in Student Council and Italian club. So, while Italian is her first passion, student activities are her second with the goal of giving all students a well-rounded education.

And she has been successful.

When Scolaro first came to Prospect, the Italian program had a total of 42 students. Today, there are 130 students, and, though there have been a few other teachers that have come in throughout the years, the former Division Head of Social Science and Foreign Language Gary Judson said that Scolaro has been the longest-working Italian teacher in Prospect history. “[I had to make] Italian something special that kids wanted to take because there were so many kids who were taking Spanish or French,” Scolaro said. “[The Italian program] has evolved in many different ways, and I think the key was giving kids a lot of cultural opportunities.”

These cultural opportunities include cooking, virtual tours and bringing in guest speakers to fully immerse students into Italian culture. Scolaro has always embraced all of her students as Italian, whether or not they are by blood; she calls the doorway to her classroom the “porta magica,” or magic door, that transports them to Italy. She recreates

the country’s atmosphere by adorning her classroom with cultural items and murals of Italian cities.

Scolaro has been to Italy a total of 44 times in her life, and her trips started when she was a child visiting her family in northern Italy, specifically the Veneto region. Even so, she only picked up a handful of Italian words as her parents both spoke Italian, but English was Scolaro’s first language.

Because of this, she is able to relate to her students’ struggles and knows exactly how it feels to sit in a starting level Italian class.

According to Scolaro, she was taught Italian primarily through memorization, so she wanted to make things easier on her students by finding connections in the two languages through prefixes, suffixes and cognates. However, an experience that changed her perspective on the language was when she studied abroad in Italy for six months during her junior year of college. “[Studying abroad] was the first time for me to really see all of Italy, and everything I was learning about art and culture and the language really hit home … I thought, ‘When I teach, I need to teach more than the language,’” Scolaro said.

Therefore, Scolaro knows how life-changing it can be for a student to travel. She has taken her students on a total of 13 exchange trips over the years, and she certainly knows her way around Italy.

“The exchange really brought the classroom experience home to the kids … [It showed them] what we’ve talked about in class, what it means to be Italian, what it means to understand the culture and the language,” Scolaro said.

SEE CULTURE, page 2.

2 NEWS

prospectornow.com

MAY 8, 2020

CULTURE: Establishing new traditions CONTINUED from front page Scolaro was always proud on the exchanges when people approached her to say how impressed they were with her students’ abilities to speak Italian. One moment Scolaro will never forget was when a group of her students were walking in the streets of Verona and talking; a little old lady linked arms with the group and “just didn’t want to let them go.” “[I enjoyed watching] how everybody fit into Italy,” Scolaro said. “They just became citizens of that town and members of those families; it was just beautiful to watch [every] time.”

Class of 2018 alumnus Alyssa O’Connell was fortunate enough to go on the exchange, an experience that gave her the foundation to improve upon her studies as well as friends in Italy that she can reconnect with every time she goes back.

For example, O’Connell had the opportunity to return to Verona for two weeks in the summer following her senior year for an internship with Redoro, an olive oil company.

This company gave Prospect’s Italian program $100,000 to give away in scholarships over the 2017-19 school years. In 2018, the internships were awarded to O’Connell, Stephanie Chengary and Nicky Cima.

“I feel like Verona is my second home … I go back and have this plethora of people that are excited to see me and that I can go with around the city,” O’Connell said.

During the internship, they worked hands-on with the company on designs and discussed how to bring the products to the U.S. They also had a hand in preparing for a bruschetteria — a restaurant specializing in slices of toasted bread seasoned with oil and garlic — that was to open in Verona the following year.

Italian is still present in O’Connell’s life today; she is an Italian minor at Vanderbilt University and is also working to start an Italian club there. In fact, Scolaro called her in the middle of her freshman year of college with another internship opportunity — this one was with L’arena di Verona and was a month long.

And, because Scolaro taught O’Connell to seize every opportunity, she did. O’Connell traveled to Verona again and even got to eat at the bruschetteria she had worked on the year before. “[Scolaro] is constantly on the look-out for her students and constantly trying to access ways for us to grow,” O’Connell said. “She does love us like her own kids, and I don’t think I realized that until I got a call [from Scolaro] in the middle of my freshman year [about the second internship].”

Cima, another recipient of the scholarship, loved that the experience was tailored to their career interests. Initially, he presented on the different benefits of olive oil being used in cosmetics and conducted surveys and samplings around Prospect. Once he went to Italy, he had the opportunity to work with the education branch through Redoro.

“That was really amazing considering my major now at Illinois State University; I’m a special education major,” Cima said. “I had the opportunity in Italy to teach Italian students some English as well as some of the benefits of olive oil and what the production season looks like for olive trees.”

Judson, who spent 22 years as Scolaro’s division head and

EXPLORING: (From left to right) Class of 2018 alumni Alyssa O’Connell, Stephanie Chengary and Nicky Cima were all selected for an internship with Redoro, an olive oil company. This internship program has given Italian students the opportunity to travel to Italy in the summer following their senior year and gain experience for their intended careers. (photo courtesy of Alyssa O’Connell)

CURRENTLY on pROSPECTORNOW.COM...

Check out a profile of the new Italian teacher Natalie Del Pecio.

SPOOKY: (From left to right) Christie Sylvester, Lyn Scolaro and Kristen Ray pose at Haunted High School. This is one of the traditions chief adviser of Student Council Scolaro has created in her 29 years at Prospect — an event that yields donations for the food pantry as well as entertainment for local families to celebrate the holiday.

“She wants everyone to feel a part of the building, a part of school,” assistant adviser Sylvester said. “She truly and deeply cares for everybody, no matter if they’re a staff member or a student.” (photo courtesy of Lyn Scolaro) retired two years ago, got to go on the Italian exchange in 2018 with O’Connell and Cima.

“Whenever you can have that personal experience and travel overseas and understand the culture, that just brings the language alive,” Judson said.

Italian 4 senior Sam Grana unfortunately had his exchange trip to Italy canceled due to COVID-19, but he still got to meet the Italian students when they came to visit in September 2019. He feels that in the week his exchange students were here, he improved a lot because he was able to speak with people outside of the classroom that were able to correct him.

“We got over the awkward hurdle really quickly, and we connected super quickly … Everything we did was so fun,” Grana said.

Other highlights for Grana in his four years having Scolaro as a teacher include “focaccia fridays.” Every Friday, she would bring in focaccia bread, and the students would play an Italian card game called Scopa while doing speaking exercises with their partners. “[Scolaro] is super caring, and she puts the class above [herself] sometimes,” Grana said.

Judson took note of Scolaro’s dedication to the language in her work on the AP exam. When he first started teaching 34 years ago, AP foreign language tests did not exist, and Scolaro helped create the AP Italian exam from the ground up. Her passion for the language extends to national borders; she is involved in a multitude of organizations that work to improve Italian education for students (see edge).

Her work as an educator does not stop there. Scolaro was the assistant adviser of Student Council for her first three years at Prospect and has spent the last 26 as chief adviser.

Lizzy Farrar, AP Italian senior and Student Council president, believes that Scolaro will leave behind a legacy with all of the traditions she has started.

Assistant adviser Christie Sylvester agrees, noting that Scolaro has made a lot of successful revisions to existing events as well as added her own over the years. For example, she added the lounge to Homecoming three years ago, brought games and food trucks to the Backyard Bash and created hot cocoa Fridays in December.

Another tradition that Scolaro created was Haunted High School, an event where children come in to trick-or-treat and do crafts in the classrooms. According to Sylvester, this idea was an “immediate success,” and she estimates that about 700 families come through every year to bring donations for the food drive and celebrate Halloween.

“I appreciate how genuinely thoughtful she is about student experience and making sure that students are in the best place,” Farrar said.

Farrar has worked closely with Scolaro on projects like Homecoming and those in Italian class, and she said that Scolaro treats her students with a lot of respect and is always open to suggestions or constructive criticism. Sylvester agrees, saying that Scolaro wants every student to succeed and have the tools they need to become a leader.

Around the clock A list of Lyn Scolaro’s current involvements in various organizations • • • •

• • • •

four-year member of the AP development committee for the Italian Language and Culture exam Vice President representing K-12 in the American Association of Teachers of Italian of North America for six years co-president of the Italian Teacher Association in the Midwest Chapter for the past 12 years Ente Gestore, or President, of Italidea Midwest — an association that works with the Italian ministry of education to get funding for middle school Italian programs in the Midwest board member of the Illinois Directors of Student Activities for the past 15 years was knighted by the Italian government in December 2019, now has title of “Cavaliere Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella” board member of the Osservatorio della Lingua Italiana-Consolato di Chicago writes a blog for the Italian Language Foundation

“She wants everyone to feel a part of the building, a part of school,” Sylvester said. “She truly and deeply cares for everybody, no matter if they’re a staff member or a student.”

While Sylvester has had a multitude of great memories with Scolaro, one that stuck out was when Scolaro asked her to be the chaperone on the 2019 Italian exchange trip.

According to Sylvester, traveling to Italy with Scolaro made her see the country in a different light because of how much knowledge she has.

“There are too many memories to count … Every time with her brings a smile to my face, laughter [and] fun,” Sylvester said.

Though the future of Student Council looks different, Scolaro knows that she is leaving the program in good hands with Spanish teacher Chris Cirrincione and social science teacher Kristen Ray and can’t wait to come back to see what they do.

“I’m retiring from Prospect, but I’m not retiring from the profession,” Scolaro said. “I still want to be involved as much as I am able or as much as anyone wishes me to be involved.

We’ll see where it goes; I’m open to all kinds of things.”

Scolaro has had a few offers from community colleges and private institutions to teach Italian or to train interns, but she is not exactly sure where her retirement will take her.

Nevertheless, she will not forget the supportive staff, students, parents and friends she has met at Prospect.

“I just want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for accepting all my crazy ideas [and] giving me the best 29 years of my life,” Scolaro said. “I couldn’t have been more blessed to have the bluest blood around.”

Read about the Associate Student Body, a new organization that will be taking the place of Student Council and other activities next year.

prospectornow.com

NEWS 3

MAY 8, 2020

Essential workers proceed amid worry Students evaluate concerns, responsibilty to keep working RICK LYTLE Editor-in-Chief

“

Have you or your family been exposed to COVID-19?”

“Have you traveled in the past 14 days?” “Do you have any symptoms of COVID-19?” After filling out a sheet of these and other similar questions, senior Dominic O’Connell went to get his temperature taken by a forehead scanner. If he had a temperature of 99 degrees or above, he would have had to go get his oral temperature taken. If not, he would put on hand sanitizer and a reusable mask and head into work at The Moorings of Arlington Heights, a retirement community.

On March 20, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order that included the closure of all “non-essential” businesses.

Many of the businesses that are considered essential and remain open — grocery stores, restaurants using drive-thru or curbside pickup only, etc. — provide the lowpaying jobs that many high school students do. As a result, many Prospect students are still going to work in settings where they could be exposed to the coronavirus.

O’Connell works at a retirement community with both assisted and unassisted living. Because he works with a vulnerable population, the safety measures, as mentioned previously, are more extreme than the average workplace. But, since the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the U.S., these once unheard of safety measures for these part-time employees at work are now becoming commonplace.

So, while a majority of Americans work from home, many Prospect students are still heading into work. They choose to continue to work for a variety of reasons.

“It’s nice to have the money and be able to help out around the

house still,” junior Rex Jones said.

Jones is a meat clerk at Mariano’s in Arlington Heights and feels an obligation to continue work.

“It’s also good to help people who still need their groceries,” Jones said.

Since the coronavirus has started and the phrase “essential workers” has been introduced, there has been much debate around the pay of these essential workers.

One U.S. Senate bill even proposed a $25,000 annual pay increase for full-time essential workers.

Both Jones and O’Connell have received a $2 an hour pay increase at work. O’Connell says some people have actually been working more, not less, since the coronavirus pandemic started because of the pay raise incentive.

However, they acknowledge that continuing to work doesn’t come without risks. Jones took two weeks off in mid-April “following the dramatic spike in the number of cases.” His step-mom works in the ER and Jones and his two brothers, who work at Costco and UPS and are deemed essential workers, were worried about possibly passing something onto their step-mom and into the ER. Since returning to work, he still exhibits a high degree of caution when he comes home.

“Anytime I come home from work I wash my hands, I go shower and separate myself from my family for a bit of time … There’s certainly a worry about that,” Jones said.

O’Connell has a different dynamic: worry about bringing something to work.

“I feel like a lot of [employees] are worried about not knowing that they have [the coronavirus] …

It is really scary because you might not show symptoms until a week or two after [contracting the virus],” O’Connell said.

These businesses have put in

RISKY BUSINESS: Many Prospect students employed at essential businesses keep working despite worries of spreading and receiving COVID-19. Most staff follow policies implemented, like wearing masks, to keep people safe, but some customers refuse to do the same. (cartoon by Mara Nicolaie) place policies to keep both the customers and staff safe.

According to O’Connell, at The Moorings, employees are screened every time they clock in at work.

Additionally, they are provided masks that they are required to wear at all times when working. To keep residents safe, only unassisted living patients are allowed to leave their residence, and when they do, they have a restriction on how far they can travel and for how long.

Also, all food is delivered to rooms to discourage the congregation of groups, and the food delivered is left outside of residents’ rooms so there is no person-to-person contact.

At Mariano’s, masks have been a bit harder to come by. According to Jones, a first shipment of masks for employees quickly ran out. A second shipment of reusable masks has arrived since and starting on May 1, workers are required to

wear them at all times.

Even before May 1, most employees did wear masks, according to Jones. Mariano’s wasn’t available to comment on their policy of not requiring employees to wear masks in April.

Both O’Connell and Jones agreed that employees were following rules put into place, but at Mariano’s, customers have been somewhat of a struggle for employees to deal with.

At Mariano’s, certain doors have been designated as exits and some as entrances to try and reduce the number of customers walking towards each other and facing each other. Also, there are markings on the floor where customers are supposed to stand in line, but that is similarly hard to implement.

“It’s really hard to enforce [the rules],” Jones said. “So, there are the ones that follow the rules and then there are always ones who

don’t … On average, about 20% of our customers will try to go in through the wrong door or get up really close to the counter and not separate themselves from other customers.”

The struggles of these workers haven’t gone unrecognized. Jones feels like throughout this crisis, there has been an increase in respect for lower-paid workers.

“There’s a huge increase … in customers being like ‘Thank you for being here; you’re doing so much for the community,’” Jones said.

He hopes the increased respect for lower-paid workers will continue even once the coronavirus crisis has subsided.

With rising support from both sides of the political aisle for some type of compensation, essential workers are starting to get more of the respect that they feel like they have earned.

Funerals undergo changes, still carry same importance OLIVIA KIM Copy Editor Hank Freidrichs, President of Friedrichs Funeral Home in Mount Prospect, spent his morning on April 17 on the phone speaking to his former high school football coach about arrangements for the funeral of his coach’s father. While this situation may be seemingly uncomfortable for many, it is actually rewarding to Friedrich that he is able to help someone he knows during a difficult time in their life.

“When we got done with the conversation, he told me it was great talking to me and that we made that hard time easier and more comfortable,” Friedrichs said. “[I felt] instant gratification from that because he truly meant it.”

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, funeral homes have needed to make changes to meet the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and state safety guidelines and to still be able to celebrate the lives of those who have died.

The first major change that funeral homes have seen is the increased usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves and gowns.

While Friedrichs hasn’t knowingly had a funeral for someone who had COVID-19 — which could be due to a lack of testing — he still takes “universal precautions.” This means that his staff must wear a mask and pair

SAYING GOODBYE: Following Center for Disease and Prevention and state safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, funeral homes adjusted their proceedings. One of the biggest changes has been to reduce the number of atendees to funerals to 10. (cartoon by Grace He) of gloves for transportation, a N95 respirator mask, face shield, disposable gloves and disposable shoe covers for preparing the body.

The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) has advocated at the national level for funeral homes that are in need of more PPE, according to Gail Marquardt, Vice President of Communications at the NFDA. On top of that, Marquardt said that the organization has also been working with vendors with manufacturing equipment for the PPE. “Funeral homes are a small business. So if things do get bad, it could get overwhelming quickly, but we are hoping that it doesn’t go that way,” Friedrichs said. “And with good planning, if things do go

like that, then we hope everything goes very smoothly.”

To ensure more safety for staff and clients, state and CDC guidelines limit the number of people at a gathering to be no more than 10 people, so Friedrichs has implemented the option of live streaming one’s funeral so that more people can take part in the funeral while still being safe.

At Friedrichs Funeral Home, the body of the one that died is typically brought to the establishment, and preparation work is done, such as embalming or cremation.

Family and friends have a one-day visitation which is usually a six hour time frame. Then, the next day, there is a service honoring the family member.

Now, the majority of people come in for an hour in the morning and then have some sort of service: either a religious service, eulogies at the home or in cemeteries. Some families are choosing to have the deceased person be brought directly from the funeral home to the cemetery and only having a service there.

“The part [of a funeral] where friends and family can get together and tell stories and reminisce ... really can’t happen right now, and that’s kind of sad because that’s a really important part of the grieving process,” Friedrichs said.

Even though this is a time of uncertainty, and safety guidelines alter funerals proceedings, both

Friedrichs and Marquardt think that it’s still important to hold funerals in order to begin the grieving process.

“Every individual deserves to have their life honored and recognized after death,” Marquardt said. “It’s important [to celebrate the life of an individual who has passed] regardless, and [it’s] just as important now.”

This pandemic has also shown people how selfless the funeral profession is, according to Marquardt.

The NFDA has called on 600 volunteers to go and help out in New York City where circumstances are severe with morgue spaces running low.

This has led to the setting up of 45 mobile morgues and increased burials at Hart Island — the largest mass grave in the U.S. — according to The New York Times.

“It feels wonderful to see everyone [in the funeral industry] come together to help this common cause,” Marquardt said.

While the funeral business has been in Friedrichs’s family for over a century, he wasn’t sure that he wanted it to be his career at first.

However, he soon came to realize that the profession allows him to help others and feels the gratification of being able to help families “all the time,” firsthand. “[Throughout this pandemic], we have been learning that funeral directors are incredibly generous and selfless,” Marquardt said.

“They have not missed a beat in helping families.”

4 NEWS

MAY 8, 2020

prospectornow.com

Senior selected as state’s top journalist CHARLIE DAHLGREN Executive News Editor

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eb. 26 had been a regular Wednesday for senior Ryan Kupperman as he walked down the hallway towards room 216 — the journalism room.

Kupperman, one of The Prospector’s two Editors-in-Chief, was preparing to lead the class when journalism adviser Jason Block sat him down in the room next door and explained that there was a huge problem with the front page.

Kupperman went right into work mode.

The slew of errors plastered across Block’s computer would all appear on the front page of The Prospector in a matter of days if he didn’t do anything, but Kupperman had a class to lead, so he gathered his things and followed Block back into room 216.

Walking behind Block, Kupperman was already brainstorming ways to fix the front page when his thoughts were interrupted by the roar of his classmate’s screams and the sign being held in front of him reading “Congrats Kup!! 2020 Illinois Journalist of the Year!”

“It’s two completely different mental modes for me,” said Kupperman, who later found out there was actually nothing wrong with the front page. It was just another part of Block’s plan to surprise him. “I walk in the classroom and was bombarded with shouting. I didn’t know what was going on.

I saw the sign first, and then I knew. I was shocked, to say the least, and then numb and shaky.”

Kupperman is the 31st winner of the annual Illinois Journalism Education Association (IJEA) Illinois Journalist of the Year award since the competition started in 1989. IJEA awards the winner with $300 in prize money and entrance to be the Illinois state representative in the Journalism Education Association’s National Journalist of the Year competition where they can win up to $3,000 in scholarship funds.

Kupperman had applied for the

SIGN OF SUCCESS: Brenda Field (left), Ryan Kupperman (middle) and Jason Block (right) pose for a picture in room 212 after suprising Kupperman with the Illinois Journalist of the Year award. (photo courtesy of Scott McDermott) prestigious IJEA Illinois Journalist of the Year award back in February, but never once expected to win due to his surely fierce competition. The application requirements are so thorough and time-consuming that they whittle total applicants down to around a half dozen per year, according to IJEA State Director Brenda Field. Applicants must submit a portfolio of their work, full student transcript, a captioned picture, three letters of recommendation, a personal resume and a self-analytical essay all by a strict Feb 15 deadline.

As a dedicated wrestler, Kupperman’s schedule was jam-packed in the weeks approaching the due date with both sectional and state tournaments approaching. For three weeks, Kupperman pushed his limits working before and after school, during lunch, at home and during wrestling — even

writing his entire self-analytical essay in the bleachers during individual sectionals at Barrington High School.

The Prospector staff, along with Kupperman’s parents and Brenda Field, celebrated Kupperman’s win on Feb 26.

Students helped themselves to cake while Kupperman happily snacked on his favorite ham and pineapple pizza that Field had surprised him with.

It’s these parties that remind Field of what she loves so much about her job. “[Journalists] don’t get the same kind of fanfare or praise that you would on an athletic team,” Field said. “[The award] is just there to recognize, celebrate and provide an opportunity to showcase the incredible work that is already being done.”

As a ‘91 Prospect graduate herself, Field was excited to learn that she would again be

returning to Prospect for the second time in two years following Prospect alumnus Ayse Eldes’ win in 2019. Prospect is one of only four schools in the state to ever produce back-to-back Illinois Journalist of the Year award winners due to a dedicated staff and an extraordinary adviser, according to Field.

Block cites his recent staff’s fearlessness in reporting and tackling big stories as the reason they have been so successful in recent years. For Block, Kupperman started to show this extreme maturity as a journalist when he went after race, prejudice and equity issues that face Prospect in his front page article titled “Disrupting Injustice, Exposing Indifference.”

“How fitting a finish this was for Ryan’s journalistic career at Prospect,” Block said.

“Perfect recognition for four years of growth and hard work, and I think that’s why the tears came to my eyes when I got that call.”

Kupperman is extremely thankful for the support that Block and the rest of The Prospector staff have given him throughout his journalism career.

“They are like my family,” Kupperman said. “I spend a heck of a lot of time with them and I loved every second of working on pages, conferencing about stories and just being able to help people in a field I was passionate about.”

Kupperman always loved writing, but found that the people in the Prospect journalism program brought him to another level where he found his passion for writing and leading.

“It didn’t matter what kind of mood I was in when I came to sixth period,” Kupperman said. “My mood always got elevated. I don’t really know how it would have turned out for me if I was just doing it because I liked writing. It’s really the staff that pushed me forward but kept my head above water.”

For now, Kupperman is focused on what his future holds in journalism. He plans to attend University of Southern California to study journalism and he hopes that he can leave Prospect as an example of a great writer, leader and friend.

prospectornow.com

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 Jake Terpins Billy Buelow ONLINE SPORTS EDITOR Aidan Murray SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Abby McKenna BROADCAST EDITOR Grace Baldino VISUALS EDITORS Alexis Esparza Grace He BUSINESS MANAGER Olivia Laskarin 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.

Some material is courtesy of MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service.

ADVERTISING For ad rates, call (847) 718 5376 (ask for Jason Block), email or write the Prospector, 801 West Kensington Rd., Mount Prospect, IL, 60056, prospectornow@gmail. com.

Generous community provides donations *name changed for confidentiality $30,000. That is how much the Prospect community has donated for food-insecure Prospect families during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s awesome,” Associate Principal Kara Kendrick said. “This is my fourth school district I’ve worked in, [and] I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

On March 13, District 214 Superintendent Dr. David Schuler announced schools would be closed the following week of March 16-20. Later that day, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker closed Illinois schools through the end of March.

That’s when the Prospect community stepped up.

According to Kendrick, about 170 students rely on free or reduced meals at Prospect. While there is a plan in place in D214 for those students to continue to receive help, Prospect wanted to do even more.

On March 13, the last day in school, Prospect teachers alone collected $3,000.

On March 16, a window was set up from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. where families could donate grocery store gift cards to be given to members of the Prospect community who were struggling to consistently put food on the table. In total, almost $15,000 was collected that day and within days, $18,000 had been donated to families in the Prospect community.

*Patricia Smith, who has had three kids go to Prospect, was one of the people who donated on March 16. She purchased a number of gift cards from Jewel worth $25 each and brought them to Prospect.

“We have the means to help others …

We’re in a very good, stable environment here, so I’m able to help,” Smith said. “I just want to make sure that if I can help, I’m helping.”

The generosity didn’t stop there.

Although gift cards can no longer be collected in person because of the stayat-home order from Pritzker, this hasn’t stopped donations from rolling in.

Kendrick recommended to families who wanted to continue to donate to buy Jewel gift cards on Amazon and have them mailed to Prospect High School.

The gift cards are then mailed out to families who need it. With this method, the donation total has continued to climb.

To receive the donations, students must fill out the weekly check-in sent out by counselors over email. In the check-in, students are asked if they have enough food. Those that don’t have enough food at home are mailed the gift cards.

We, The Prospector, commend the Prospect community for banding together during a difficult time. We would like to recognize the administrative team for

setting up the collection and the Prospect families who were willing to donate during these uncertain times. The Prospector would also like to recognize the families struggling right now that were willing to accept help from the Prospect community.

“This is the way the world is supposed to work, but it doesn’t always play out this way,” Kendrick said. “This has been really fun to watch because our community is very, very generous.”

Due to the current economic situation, the number of families experiencing food insecurity is rising.

Some economists have estimated that unemployment in the U.S. may reach 20%, nearing Great Depression levels. To put that into perspective, the unemployment rate in the U.S. hasn’t been higher than 11% since 1940.

Despite these staggering numbers, the Prospect community has continued to unify. The donations likely won’t last until the end of the school year, so more donations will be needed, but for now, the work done by Prospect staff, students and families should be celebrated.

“We have a strong community, and in times of need, it’s nice to know we’re there,” Smith said. “Right now I’m lucky, but I’m not always going to be. We’re going to need help, everybody is. Emotional, monetary, whatever it may be; we are there as a community for one another.”

Staff Editorial

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Drop off letters to The Prospector in the box in the library, in room 216 or email letters to prospectornow@ gmail.com. All letters must be signed. Limit letters to 400 words.

The Prospector reserves the right to edit for style and length.

OPINION 5

MAY 8, 2020

Social isolation worsens phone addiction

I

am experiencing shaky hands, restlessness, irritability and difficulty concentrating. It may sound as if I am suffering withdrawal symptoms from a drug addiction, but my symptoms are actually from a phone addiction. 50% of teenagers admit to having the same dependency, according to a study done by Common Sense Media.

Ever since I began self-isolating with my family on March 13, I have spent around 10 hours every day on my phone.

As a result, I have felt myself not only losing touch with people I used to see every day, but also feeling detached from myself. Doing nothing remotely productive or fun on a daily basis has led to me feeling like a zombie — quite fitting in the times of a global pandemic.

And as much as I hate hearing boomers rant that cell phones destroy the minds of Gen Zs and millennials, after being in quarantine GENEVIEVE for two months, I KARUTZ can’t help but wonder: is my excessive Executive amount of screen Opinion Editor time destroying mine?

I decided that enough was enough — no more wasting my day watching stupid TikToks and reading the news every five minutes. I resolved that I would work to bring down my screen time to see how it would affect me.

I believe the reason I craved my cell phone so much more during quarantine was because I had less homework and much more time doing nothing.

However, school psychologist Dr. Jay Kyp-Johnson believes that there is another reason for my increased cell phone usage during quarantine.

Kyp-Johnson explained how quarantine has led to a drop in human interaction, and because of this, teenagers use their phones much more frequently. He said that mammalian sociobiology supports the fact that humans are social beings which helps further explain why I keep checking my Snapchat and texting my friends nonstop.

“Mammals create a social network, and it’s a requirement of our physical and mental health just as a species,” Kyp-Johnson said.

But as much as I try to replace my normal everyday interaction with FaceTiming and texting people close to me, it doesn’t feel as real, and it is in no way a replacement for in-person interaction.

Leaving Zoom classes makes me feel lonely, like I’m so far away from the normal world we lived in just a couple months ago.

I am not used to being alone so much.

With each passing day in quarantine, I am sinking deeper and deeper into my own sadness. I feel trapped inside my home and

RUNNING FROM MY PROBLEMS: Karutz tries to escape her phone addiction, but the apps won’t leave her alone. Quarantine has led to many people developing phone addictions from lack of social interaction. (photo illustration by Mara Nicolaie) trapped inside myself.

Kyp-Johnson believes that many people are afraid of being by themselves.

Additionally, he believes that because humans have become digitally connected, we use our phones as a coping mechanism during times like these; we have lost the ability to entertain ourselves.

But clearly, this coping mechanism is destroying my mental health.

My goal isn’t to eliminate screen time entirely, but to keep it to a maximum of five hours a day — half the time I usually spend — to see if I can feel better about myself and the whole quarantine situation.

The first several days were very, very hard. In fact, it basically was a failure. My screen time was significantly higher than my goal was, and I felt powerless.

I decided that, instead of accepting my ridiculously high screen time, I was going to work on some new ways to distract myself from phone use for the days to follow.

I picked up some new hobbies. I tried painting ugly abstract pictures and wrote in my diary. I engaged with my parents, played with my cats and worked out. But no matter how long I spent away from my phone, the social cravings to text or Snapchat people were always in the back of my mind.

I will admit, after reducing screen time , I have been able to work much more effectively on school assignments, and I am happier because I am not constantly comparing myself to others on social media.

Watching TikToks and seeing photos of girls with perfect bodies, going on vacations and living their best lives made me feel even more insecure and self-deprecating while sitting at home in my bed doing nothing.

However, there remains this weird, indescribable feeling I get every time I pick up my phone. It seems like whenever I check my phone, I’m releasing some tension from my body — a feeling of relaxation washes over me. It’s like the feeling of going up for air

after being submerged underwater or eating ice cream after chasing the truck down the street.

What I originally assumed was some sort of phone addiction seems to be more of a social addiction instead.

Being an extroverted person, I wonder whether I deal with the lockdown differently than those who are less social than me.

Kyp-Johnson believes that introverts may deal with the lockdown better since they have a skill set in avoiding social contact.

But, whether an introvert or an extrovert, I don’t think most people would ever prefer quarantine to the real world.

Throughout lockdown, I have learned that socializing with a variety of people everyday is something I took for granted before the coronavirus.

Since I can’t fulfill my social needs by sitting at my house or walking around the block, social media provides the connection and interaction with others I need to feel better. So by reducing my screen time, it has made me feel more distant from my friends than I originally felt.

I felt stuck. I could relapse back into my bad habits of overusing my phone, or I could push through with overcoming my addiction.

Then boom, it came to me like a lightbulb over my head. I was cleaning out my desk drawer and found a disturbing amount of Hello Kitty postcards that I bought at age six.

I decided that, with the stickers and pens I found, I would write letters to people to try and fill my social need without using the internet.

It was weird how all it took was a little nostalgia to remind me that I lived before having a phone, and that if I needed to, I could live without it now.

Humans crave attention and social interaction, so being socially isolated will challenge everyone. But if we work to pick up new hobbies like writing letters and going for walks six feet apart, we can get through this together.

6 FEATURES

MAY 8, 2020

prospectornow.com

Quarantine fears petrify dreamers early on, and he had many worries going into that process. He was deeply worried for his brother and the possibility of it spreadFeatures Editor ing to the rest of his family..

Statistically, the virus spreading to Garkunior Felix Garkisch drifted in and isch would likely have had more of a negaout of consciousness as his alarm tive effect on him than most people due to desperately rang to wake him up.

His body and mind had other plans for him, Gakisch’s lung complications. The Centers keeping him submerged in a dreaming state for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as he dreamt of his own death. Garkisch’s reported that people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions are unconsciousness replaced the bed he laid likely at higher risk for severe symptoms of in with a field, and he felt everything slowly coronavirus. fade away from his vision.

Additionally, before Garkisch had his The comfort and acceptance of death dream, he worried about the possibility of which his own mind presented for himself his 91-year-old grandma catching the virus was what petrified him the most. For Garkafter finding out there were cases of coronaisch, this dream put into perspective how fragile life is while the coronavirus pandem- virus in the building where she lives.

Considering that people of older age are ic is happening.

“Something that is my nightmare is some also at a greater risk as stated by the CDC, Garkisch thinks this may have been why he people’s reality [right now],” Garkisch said.

In the late 1700s, a nightmare was de- had the dream.

“The fact that there’s a worldwide crisis fined as “a disease when a man in his sleep going on outside of our windows right now supposes he has a great weight laying upon that we can’t even see — it’s terrifying in a him,” according to ScienceDaily.

With the effects of the coronavirus pan- sense that there’s very little we can do individually to stop it,” Garkisch said. demic weighing on many at this time, it is no Garkisch’s emotions from the day prior surprise that people like Garkisch have been having an effect on his dreams are one of the experiencing nightmares centered around many themes and theories within psycholthemes like death.

A reason for this could also be that Gark- ogy dream work. On the authority of frontiers in psychology in the early 20th century, isch’s brother had to get tested for the virus Sigmund Freud presented the theory of “day Students dream of worries residue” — dreams being connected to waking life.

According to school psychologist Dr. Jay “My dreams have been very vivid. They have also Kyp-Johnson, relating to the theory of day residue, the cognitive content is not as imbeen very eerily perportant as the emotional content. The brain sonal — like about stuff I haven’t [fully] healed stores memories of situations or ideas peofrom.” ple may need to emotionally defend themselves from in the limbic system.

“All my family died During dreams, the mind replays the [in my dream.]” emotional content from the day. According *information courtesy of a Pros- to Kyp-Johnson, even if a person may have pector survey of 105 students

KAILIE FOLEY

J

DREAMING OF DEATH: Junior Felix Garkisch dreams of dying while in a field during quarantine. This reflects his inner fears regarding the coronavirus pandemic. (photo illustration by Mara Nicolaie) not realized something was triggered deep down inside of them, their unconscious mind prepares the conscious mind for those situations to actually happen.

Kyp-Johnson said that anything from a simple conversation to watching TV could cause the unconscious mind to process a situation or idea further during sleep.

According to Rosalind Cartwright, one of the leading sleep researchers in the world, this is because feelings that are not processed during the day or within REM sleep — the stage of sleep where the most dreaming occurs — could possibly linger and disrupt one’s moods and behaviors the next day.

According to Kyp-Johnson, REM sleep is a part of staying healthy, and the body relies on REM sleep to process and organize information. When people do not take time to process what they are feeling, this could result in the mind doing so itself during REM sleep.

This could be the case with coronavirus, considering there is a lot unknown about what is happening outside of homes that could cause stress.

“Not only are dreams meaningful, but

there’s also a process to them along the way,” Kyp-Johnson said.

Kyp-Johnson believes dreams that have an emotional connection to a situation in a person’s life can tell you a lot about who another person is.

“Dreams are kind of like the book of you,” Kyp-Johnson said.

The pandemic may be a scary chapter in some people’s books, but, according to Kyp-Johnson, all emotions — even fear or sadness — must be felt and not pushed away, not even during dreams.

105 students participated in sharing their dreams in a Prospector survey; most of the dreams related to themes of stress centered around quarantine, including death or missing friends.

Other dreams included family members disappearing and getting back together with friends only to realize they have grown to be middle-aged.

“The only way that we can heal ourselves is if we recognize that this grief is happening, and we accept what is given to us,” Garkisch said.

prospectornow.com

MAY 8, 2020

FEATURES 7

Shaffer leaves lasting positivity mark in art KAILIE FOLEY Features Editor

A

small school system in Lancaster County, Virginia on the Northern Neck Peninsula was where art teacher Barbara Shaffer first started her teaching career. During her four years teaching there, she lived across a soybean field, and the location was an hour and a half away from any chance of seeing a movie. Her students lived at a very low economic level in the middle of nowhere — some even living in homes without clean drinking water. Their motivation to come to school every day and simply wake up inspired her greatly.

Shaffer learned from the experience that if she gave her students respect, they would do the same for her and that it doesn’t hurt to reach out and find out what is going on in somebody’s life whether they are a teacher, a student or a principal.

Shaffer has taught for 33 years and is retiring at the end of the 201920 school year. She Barbara teaches all levels of 2D art.

Shaffer While first teaching in Virginia, Shaffer never felt like she knew enough. She always longed to learn more, calling herself a “perpetual student.” This caused her to make a decision which she now calls “the best present” she ever gave herself. Shaffer decided to go to Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) because of their reputation as an art school. Growing up in Maryland, she was very familiar with the area and took MICA’s summer program for four years.

This made it easy for her to balance being a teacher, being an artist and going to graduate school all at the same time. After the program ended, Shaffer earned her master’s degree in Fine Arts, which is the highest degree in her profession.

After graduate school, Shaffer used her degree to continue to teach students about her passion, always intrigued by ideas her student brought to the table.

“Kids have different ideas everyday,” Shaffer said. ”It pushes me to be a better artist, frankly.”

Her students working hard and being involved inspires her to do the same, constantly keeping her interested.

“Even when I was in high school, I wanted a job where I would never be bored. And, boy, did I get one,” Shaffer said.

Whether students want to continue art as a profession or a hobby, she makes it clear that doing both is possible and helps them

REMEMBERING EACH DAY: Art teacher Barbara Shaffer is retiring at the end of the 2019-20 school year after 33 years of teaching. Shaffer teaches all levels of 2D art. Pictured here is some art by Shaffer’s students over the past few years. get there along the way. Shaffer informs students about scholarships, takes students on the AP district trip to the River North art galleries, talks to parents about art as a profession and lets colleges that care about students’ strengths visit. She shares student

CURRENTLY ON KNIGHTTV...

WATCH A VIDEO FROM STAFF AND STUDENTS ABOUT THEIR MEMORIES OF ART TEACHER BARBARA SHAFFER.

art with the public by hosting an art show at Harper College and submitting students for the Scholastic Awards — a national award that has been around for almost 100 years.

One of the many students Shaffer has submitted artwork for is junior Emily Laffey.

“She sees value in what we are doing, and she is very passionate about showing off her students,” Laffey said.

Li Christoffersen, Shaffer’s colleague and friend who teaches 3D art, admires her hard work and dedication that she puts toward her students’ education and well-being.

“She is a fierce defender and advocate for her students in art,” Christoffersen said.

Christoffersen appreciates that Shaffer does what she thinks is best for students.

Shaffer also makes sure her students are aware of their voice.

“She isn’t afraid to assert herself … It’s pretty cool to see an art teacher do that,” Laffey said.

Shaffer cares about helping her students’ voices be heard through their art in order to continue their passion in the future. She wants them to know the have a voice.

“I want to make sure that I’m helping them get to the place where they want to be, whether it’s just making art because they love art or whether they have career goals after high school in art,” Shaffer said.

She does not only help students with art but with their personal lives too. Laffey experienced this on her first day of freshman year, which started off with a pounding

migraine. Her seventh period teacher had not let her leave class, but as every minute ticked away on the clock, she only felt more nauseous. After the bell rang, Laffey walked to eighth period art with Shaffer.

Relating to the pain of chronic migraines herself, Shaffer allowed Laffey to leave class.

After that day, Shaffer continued to support Laffey during her high school experience.

“I have not had the best high school life, and whenever I go to her class, it’s just really a time for me to relax and reconnect with what’s important to me,” Laffey said.

Because of this, Laffey views her art class as a family.

“To me, she is kind of like a parent figure,” Laffey said. “She always checks in on us and makes sure we’re doing OK.” In the process of helping students, Shaffer shares her art style with the class but helps each person figure out what style they want.

Shaffer has loved painting from the moment her mom handed her a paintbrush. She remembers painting even before kindergarten when her dad made an easel for her and her siblings to use. Shaffer continues to express herself through art in her studio located in Chicago and paints abstract landscapes from her own unique perspective.

Christoffersen not only admires Shaffer as an artist but as a person.

“I will miss her everyday,” Christoffersen said. “It’s unique to find somebody who shares your vision of what the job is all about.”

Christoffersen and Shaffer both love art for its acceptance in which no point of view or art piece is the same as another.

Shaffer plans to keep interpreting art in her own way after retirement, handing off her position to Christoffersen.

“We will not see [another] Barbara Shaffer again,” Christoffersen said. “She is a unique individual, and she has spent her entire life passing down the legacy of art.”

Starting this new chapter, Shaffer plans to focus on her passion for art by painting in her studio and holding galleries for her art.

Along with focusing on her art, she plans to travel to national parks and is thinking about signing up to be a resident artist for a four to six week paid program. In the program, artists come to the park and stay in housing on the grounds where they do art, talk to the tourists that come through and eventually donate an art piece to the park.

Another travel destination Shaffer really wants to visit is France when the lavender flowers bloom. Shaffer grows lavender flowers in her own backyard.

Most importantly, she plans to keep using art as a form of expression and to use her voice as an artist to stand up for what she believes in.

“I’m not done with being an artist or an advocate … I’ll be an advocate forever,” Schaffer said.

Acevedo wraps up final year, recounts happy memories RACHEL ZURBUCH Executive Features Editor When Student Council advisor Lyn Scolaro wanted Prospect’s Homecoming coronation decoration theme of the circus to have a big top like seen in a real circus, Building and Grounds supervisor Oscar Acevedo was up to the task.

Scolaro showed Acevedo what her vision was, and he and his team made it happen. They worked together putting everything together and making it turn out. Scolaro, among many others, was really happy Oscar with the result.

“I had a lot of craAcevedo zy ideas,” Scolaro said, “and he and his team always made it come to life.”

Acevedo has spent 37 years working in District 214, with 30 years at Prospect. At first, he was in the maintenance department as a general custodian, and then in 2001, he became the Building and Grounds supervisor.

On the daily, Acevedo coordinates all the operations for the school. He does set-ups for all the athletic events at Prospect and all the other events that happen throughout the day

–– clubs, committees, etc. On Mondays, he has meetings with the administration to talk about projects.

He also oversees the Maintenance Department, which works on a number of things for the school; they do the heating and cooling of the building, any specific projects that the teachers want, make sure the rooms around the building are all clean and more projects.

One of Acevedo’s favorite projects of all time was when he converted the library on the second floor into classrooms and moved the library to where it is currently. They also turned the space that was formerly used as classrooms right by the library into the labs.

Scolaro also worked with Acevedo a lot when Prospect still did variety shows; he helped her with a bunch of different themes they did over the years.

“How about everything?” Scolaro said when asked about what Acevedo has helped her with over the years. “From the minute I walked into Prospect 29 years ago … [until now] he’s still looking out for me and for everyone. What he does for me, he has done for everyone. If there was something we needed or wanted, or an idea [we had], [Acevedo] would move mountains to make sure that we had whatever we needed for the kids.”

She always appreciated that he did what she asked of him, along with many other organizations at Prospect, and still did whatever he had to do that day in addition to it.

“You can always see the custodians doing ... [what] the kids could never see,” Scolaro said. “ … they allow our building to run, and with their talent … they never let us know

what they’re doing.”

She also enjoys seeing him at football and basketball games just checking in even after his day is technically over.

“He’s a real personable guy and has a heart of gold,” Scolaro said.

Over the years, Acevedo says that he’s learned so much from working at Prospect and other places in the district.

“When I first started in the district, I was kind of real raw with fixing things and how things work, so in my years I’ve learned … pretty much anything related to construction,” Acevedo said.

Now, as his last day looms, he works with his staff for the final few months in his last construction project here.

During his retirement, he will be doing some work around his house like renovating the kitchen and bathrooms. Then, he will continue to do his handy-man service that remodels basements, kitchens, bathrooms, etc. He has done this the past few years but will now do it more full time.

He also wants to relax more, too, by doing things like spending time with his dogs and family but still keeping busy as well.

But, during his retirement, he’ll miss working with the staff so closely and the environment Prospect brings. “[I will miss] the energy that’s in the hallways when the students are here,” Acevedo said. “I’m going to miss all of that. Being a part of everyday life here at Prospect … football games, basketball games, soccer games.”

CURRENTLY ON PROSPECTORNOW.COM...

TWO MORE RETIREES TALK ABOUT THEIR FUTURE PLANS AND FAVORITE MEMORIES AT PROSPECT. RETIREE KATHERINE WILK WAS A HEALTH CLERK AT PROSPECT FOR 17 YEARS.

RETIREE SANDY GHILARDUCCI WAS AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSITANT AT PROSPECT FOR 26 YEARS.

8 FEATURES

prospectornow.com

MAY 8, 2020

BRENDAN BURKE

(photo courtesy of John Camardella)

4

5 words.

45 words is what set the standard for how American citizens have been able to express themselves for the past 228 years.

The First Amendment famously protects the freedoms of speech, religion, press, peaceful assembly and government petition and has been the basis for some of the most historic Supreme Court cases.

After its ratification in 1791, the

United States became a truly free society.

Prospect students use the rights granted by the First Amendment every day through the clothes that they wear, the opinions they share on social media, the religions they choose to follow or not, the news they read and the political gatherings and protests they attend. This story is an in-depth look into the First Amendment from voices of the Prospect community.

Religious freedom crucial to society, no establishment needed *name changed for confidentiality One of the first ideas World Religions teacher John Camardella covers in his class is breaking down the complex, 45word First Amendment into four important words. He states that the phrase “no establishment” represents his role as a teacher of religion, and “free exercise” defines the students’ religious rights.

Since he teaches in a public high school and is a government employee in the eyes of the law, Camardella cannot endorse one religious belief over another and is unable to share his opinions with students — hence “no establishment.” On the other hand, students have the right of free exercise to follow whatever religion they desire or no religion at all. Whether they choose to identify as Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, athiest, agnostic or any other faith, Camardella emphasizes that the First Amendment allows them to do so.

Camardella states that while the First Amendment is widely known for the freedom of speech, the longest clause and the one the amendment starts with is actually the one that grants American citizens the right to follow any religion and declares a separation between church and state. Separating church and state means that no law can be created based on religious views or beliefs, and the government cannot arrest someone on the basis of the religion they practice.

When it comes down to the purpose as to why the Founding Fathers wanted American citizens to have the freedom of religion, Camardella describes that the predominantly Christian men were highly concerned about one Christian denomination being able to dominate over the others.

Because of these worries, the freedom was instituted to show that religion can be practiced by anyone in any way and that religion has no say over how the government runs. “[The Founding Fathers] were far more concerned with the sectarian issues of who was in control,” Camardella said. “Were the Anglicans, were the Congregationalists, were the Baptists, God forbid, at the time, were the Catholics [in control of the government]? These are the issues they worried about.”

As a teacher of World Religions, Camar-

della finds this constitutional freedom highly important because it gives people in the U.S. the right to believe in what they want to and allows for interesting conversations between different faith followers — such as the ones that occur in Camardella’s classroom. Since students at Prospect are of diverse religious backgrounds, he witnesses firsthand how Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and atheists can discuss the diverse topics. “[All of the diverse groups are] a beautiful Kumbaya where they know they have free exercise of religion, and I don’t,” Camardella said. “It allows for great class discussion.”

Besides having these conversations of differing opinions, Camardella builds onto the purpose of preserving religious freedom by starting the class off with the story of Roger Williams — the 17th century theologian who founded Rhode Island and is one of the largest advocates of religious freedom. According to Camardella, despite Williams being a devout Christian, he understood the importance of religious tolerance and acceptance in a truly free society.

Sophomore *Amelia Thompson agrees with the message of having religious tolerance spread by Williams because she was raised in a Roman Catholic household but now identifies as agnostic. Thompson has yet to tell her parents about her change of heart because it is not a major concern for herself to be vocal about her beliefs. Instead, she is grateful for the freedom she has to not follow a specific faith in a developing society. “[Having religious freedom is important] because some people absolutely will either use religion to get their way or do the exact opposite,” Thompson said. “[Emphasizing one religion could make people] be like, ‘Well you know what; if you’re Muslim, you don’t deserve to be here.’ We need something that protects everyone.”

While Thompson’s religious rights were always protected in her personal life, Camardella emphasizes that defining religious rights in schools has been a decades long journey in the United States.

One of the most important instances of religious freedom in schools that Camardella mentions in his classes is the landmark Supreme Court case of Abington School District v. Schempp. In this case, the

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First Amendment creates free society, impacts students’ daily lives Court decided 8-1 in Schempp’s favor of stating that school-sponsored Bible reading is unconstitutional. Ever since the verdict of this case in 1963, Camardella states that the definition of how religion is handled in a public school has become much clearer.

For example, he is the head coach of the boys’ basketball team, and during the 2016 season, five or six players that came to Prospect from St. Raymond School would have a prayer before each game. Because of the outcome of Abington v. Schempp, Camardella is unable to join or lead this prayer, and he finds that this distinction of “no establishment” is vital to religious freedom.

Even though Camardella understands that separating church and state is the most important method of allowing free exercise, he believes that many states fail to obey the law to this day. He brings up the 2015 issue

of Kim Davis — a clerk from Rowan County, Ky. who refused to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple due to her religious beliefs. Camardella said that it was in Davis’s constitutional rights to not hand the license over herself, but she cannot bar the county office from issuing it — something that she was guilty of. The reason this story gained national attention at the time was because Davis was disobeying the 2015 Supreme Court order of Obergefell v. Hodges that decided in a 5-4 vote to legalize same-sex marriage.

“Students know walking out of my class how the First Amendment and the Constitution works in public arenas because of its importance to religious freedom,” Camardella said. “If that’s the only thing they remember when they leave my class, then good; our country will be better for it.”

Taking pride in peaceful assembly, political gatherings leads to cultural acceptance, protests Senior Michael Fergus first attended the Chicago Pride Parade back in June 2018 and was happy to be in a community where he would not be judged for being openly gay.

The most remarkable feeling that came from him throughout his attendance of the parade was the fact that he was in a gathering that would not have been safe until recently in history.

Fergus understands that something like the Pride Parade is only possible from the First Amendment’s clause that allows for people to peaceably assemble. He understands the feeling of being lost and left out but loves that the parade allows for immense numbers of people with similar political beliefs in LGBT rights to assemble and share their opinions.

On Fergus’s second trip to the Pride Parade in 2019, the biggest change that he

noticed and was the happiest to see was the large amount of churches and religious groups in attendance to show their support.

He is well aware that most religious organizations are against homosexuality and the LGBT community in general, so seeing this was equally a surprise and a feeling of joy for him.

“The energy at the parade is something I’ve never experienced before,” Fergus said.

“It’s something I really loved and always will love being a part of.”

However, Fergus is conscious of the fact that his constitutional right to assemble at the Pride Parade is a right shared with the anti-LGBT community to protest the event itself. He makes sure to avoid the group while he is in the city and does everything in his power to not approach the group and speak his mind.

While it is in his constitutional right to engage in political discourse with another individual, he feels that approaching the opposing group does nothing for his cause and feels that a conversation is only helpful when it is civil. Even though these groups are exercising the same right as Fergus, it does not mean he needs to be supportive of their cause.

AP U.S. History teacher Michael Sebestyen brings up the same viewpoint when he discusses the recent protests and gatherings that have begun to grow across the country in recent weeks regarding the stayat-home orders in many states.

For instance, hundreds of people across Michigan have come out of their homes in protest of the coronavirus orders demanding the reopening of the state and have been supported in tweets by President Donald

Trump.

Sebestyen appreciated the response Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave to the protesters by telling them that they were protected by the Constitution to assemble but were not being the smartest of citizens for doing so during a pandemic.

Despite the protesters that Fergus does not agree with, he continues to find the importance in being able to peacefully assemble because he has seen firsthand how many people have come out of their shells to be a part of a community of acceptance.

“The ability to come down and see that you’re not alone — especially for a lot of people who live in a small town and don’t experience a lot of other gay people in their community [is special],” Fergus said. “I think that coming together really makes you feel like you belong.”

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MAY 8, 2020

(photo by Brendan Burke)

Free speech not always correct, requires logic, reasoning

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(photo by Olivia Kim)

Petitioning government spreads awareness, causes discussions for change “Oh are we going to make toilet paper free next?” This is one of the multiple aggressive comments left on the Instagram account for the Chicago rally on period poverty that took place on Oct. 19, 2019. Juniors Vani Sharma and Mary Catherine Hanafee LaPlante, the logistics coordinator and the head rally organizer respectively, dispelled comments such as these because the rally was meant for bringing awareness and donations to the poverty of women around the world that have to choose between buying food and period products; they were fighting for the cause of making all genders equal.

By partnering with PERIOD, a non-profit organization that works towards guaranteeing menstrual products to those that cannot access them, Sharma and Hanafee LaPlante were exercising the First Amendment right to not only peaceably assemble, but to also petition the government by demanding change on particular legislation. Gathering peacefully was a key to the success of the protest, and Hanafee LaPlante feels that responding to some of the nasty comments calmly was difficult yet necessary.

“You don’t fight fire with fire,” Hanafee LaPlante said. “It’s important to not just let [aggressive responses] go because if other people come through with the same questions and they are looking through the comments [and see] inaccurate statements, then our job of spreading awareness failed.”

This was not the only time Hanafee LaPlante was involved in a situation such as this; she is also an active member for the Illinois Youth Climate Movement and works with teens and

FEATURES 9

professionals across the state to bring awareness and change to the issue of climate change. Sharma and Hanafee LaPlante both agree with the notion that having protests and rallies is a phenomenal method for fighting for a cause because of the conversations that it can start and the new people who will take notice. For instance, they described that the period poverty rally received some more attendees throughout the day because of people who walked by, agreed with the cause and then decided to join in. However, catching the attention of people who are physically in the city is not enough for spreading awareness and the movement requires the word to get out via news platforms.

“People think that [making] change is immediately going directly to the government and demanding policy change, but it really starts from the little things,” Sharma said. “Just getting awareness, reaching out to media, starting a social media platform and growing your cause from there [is how to spread awareness].”

Sharma and Hanafee LaPlante describe that an article in the Chicago Tribune and even the coverage of The Prospector through a broadcast and an article allowed for students and members of the community to learn more about their cause.

“Nothing ever happened from staying back,” Hanafee LaPlante said. “No change ever came about from just saying, ‘Oh, somebody else will do it’ …

You have to find your voice because if you don’t have a place in the world where you can express your opinions, then you’re not living life as fully as you could be.”

Sophomore Luiza Zanon was in middle school when she decided to make the topic of her social studies research project about the wage gap between men and women throughout the United States.

Considering that this was a very controversial topic in 2018 and had plenty of news coverage, Zanon put together what she described as a “well-researched and balanced” project about the inequity. After finishing her presentation, the only comment her male teacher had to offer was “nice job, it’s not real.”

This incident was not foreign to Zanon because she can recall another instance earlier in the year when the classroom was having a socratic seminar on hot button political issues, and her topic was abortion. By having a pro-choice view on abortion, Zanon’s seemingly pro-life teacher began to question every last statement she made.

When his first question for her was asking if killing the fetus as it is coming out of the birth canal was okay, Zanon believed that no matter how much data she presented, she would not be able to sway his opinion to show her moral argument.

She understands that situations such as these are what cause many people to go silent about their beliefs, but she feels that scrutiny should only make the opinion louder. “[That situation] never made me feel silenced,” Zanon said. “I always knew that I have to believe in what I believe … [not] what this man told me I should believe.”

According to Zanon, an opinion without a factual basis is not one to speak up about because of the importance of true claims. AP U.S. History teacher Michael Sebestyen agrees with this notion because, while the First Amendment does allow American citizens to say whatever they want, “not sounding like an idiot” is a ma-

jor factor to consider.

“The biggest thing with freedom of speech is people — especially in today’s social media society — just think ‘Oh I’m going to say this; who cares? It doesn’t mean anything,’” Sebestyen said. “Words have weight, and it’s dangerous when we use words and make commentary where we demonstrate we don’t understand our society as a whole. [That’s] why you have to hold people accountable to their words even though they do have their freedom of speech … [Then] you’ll end up with authoritarian societies where they say what you’re going to do.”

Sebestyen states that individuals being held accountable for their words are becoming increasingly common in today’s society with the rise of social media. While Zanon does agree that social media is a great platform for sharing opinions, she despises when she views the constant posts on TikTok that state inaccuracies around abortion and spread opinions not entirely based on fact.

She typically has an urge to respond to the pro-life posts out of anger but finds that being aggressive and telling off on an individual only weakens her argument. She says it is the best to just respond calmly with data to support your claims.

Zanon refuses to “duet” people on TikTok by responding to their post with another post and finds it better to leave a comment of why she disagrees. By making another post responding to inaccurate statements, Zanon states that more people are going to see what she believes are phony claims and cause more damage. “[Freedom of speech] is important because I just think that being able to have a community that you can share your opinions to is really powerful, especially when you are able to [call] people out on their BS when they’re being ignorant,” Zanon said.

Opinion news dangerous, government intervention in free press even worse Adviser of The Prospector Jason Block teaches an entire unit on the First Amendment freedoms of public school students in his Journalistic Writing courses. The purpose for this is to teach his journalism students what they can lawfully report on in their newspaper and how they can professionally report on heavy topics. Of the multiple Supreme Court cases that Block teaches, one stands out above all the others: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District.

The 7-2 verdict of this landmark 1969 case was that Mary Beth and John Tinker were being violated of their rights to the freedom of expression by being suspended from school for wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. While it seems as though the case has nothing to do with a free press, Block states that the decision allows any story to run in a high school newspaper if it does not disrupt the educational process.

Essentially, this means that a student’s right to free speech or free press is protected as long as a student’s right to an education remains untouched.

“To have a teenager take their administration to court because they felt their rights were being violated and to have a bunch of ... old white guys side with teenagers in their battle against other old white guys is a pretty huge step in student free speech rights and free press rights,” Block said.

When it comes to topics such as the Tinker case, Block teaches with enthusiasm because of his personal connection to a free press as a newspaper adviser and his desire to teach students about what a free press truly is. Since he is also a Media Analysis teacher, he teaches those students about being stuck in “echo chambers” of media where a person has their beliefs enhanced and supported by a closed system of news sources.

As he describes, the dangers of being in an echo chamber include not truly receiving all of the facts about a particular

issue and never hearing an opposing belief’s reasoning. Current Prospect students live in a society with total free press, but there was once a time where opinion news was in fact illegal in the United States.

Back in the 1980s, if a news source such as the Huffington Post or Fox News existed, it would be in violation of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Fairness Doctrine.

This law required that all holders of broadcast licenses present controversial issues in an “honest, equitable, and balanced” manner in order to have centered news.

However, the doctrine became overturned in 1987 after the FCC declared that the law was unconstitutional of the American people’s right to a free press.

John Lampinen, Senior Vice President and Editor of the Daily Herald, and Block agree with the revocation of this document because they both feel that if the government has a say over what the press can and cannot lawfully report on, there is no longer a free press.

Former Editor-in-Chief of The Prospector and 2019 Illinois Journalist of the Year Ayse Eldes shares Block and Lampinen’s belief of a free press without intervention due to the press having the job of informing the people of the government’s actions.

“The standards of journalistic integrity are the same standards of any profession,” Eldes said. “It’s that things need to be done without discrimination, without bias, and it’s present in any business as it is in the press. The reason I think [the doctrine] should stay overturned is because I don’t think the government can have a say in something that influences its power. The press is supposed to be a check on the government. If the government all of a sudden decides to be the check on the press, then this constricts the press’ mission to enforce government transparency.”

10 IN-DEPTH

MAY 8, 2020

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Productivity looks different on everyone T

here’s no better feeling than opening your phone in the midst of a global pandemic to this threatening message being plastered all over your social media: “If you don’t come out of this quarantine with a new skill, your side hustle started, [and] more knowledge, you never lacked time, you lacked discipline,” @TheJeremyHaynes posted to Twitter.

Contrastingly, as Connie Wang wrote in an article from Refinery 29, “Boredom is a privilege. Don’t waste it by trying to be productive.” From a young age, she was taught to fear being “wuliao,” which translates from Chinese and generally means “too bored.” Wang continues on to describe her childhood that was over-abundant with activities and rigorous academics — all with the looming pressure of not being wuliao.

My parents were never the ones to be checking my grades every week or knowing when I had a test coming up; my desire to be successful in school is self-driven. However, in a time like this, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find the motivation to do homework or be active — to do anything besides go on TikTok, basically.

With my average screen time on TikTok approaching three hours a day, I’ve noticed a trend present in the vidELIZABETH eos that pop up in my feed. It’s an ironic combination of cookie recipes, daily KEANE workout routines and girls saying how they are of gaining weight in Editor-in-Chief afraid quarantine.

Additionally, whether or not they’re jokes, these posts often talk about not eating throughout the day, which is an extremely harmful idea to promote. In a time as stressful as this, restricting your body of the calories it needs is not the solution. One of my favorite Instagram accounts @feminist posted, “It’s okay if your body changes because your routine has.”

I am fully aware that this idea is hard to come around to.

A study by Glamour reported that 97% of women admitted to experiencing at least one moment where they hated their bodies, and I’m not pretending that I don’t also fall into that percentage. Nevertheless, I’ve recently decided that during quarantine, I will be treating my body in a way that makes me feel my physical best.

I did feel an immense amount of pressure to work out every day, especially before remote instruction started, in order to feel “productive.” Working out is by no means the enemy, but it is if done for the wrong reasons. Just because we’re all stuck at home doesn’t mean we need to lose weight.

I do my Chloe Ting workout videos following a 28-day challenge every day, and I’ve enjoyed it because of the way it makes me feel afterward. Some days I go on my stationary bike or for a walk with my dog. Having this routine done before my first 10 a.m. Zoom gives me a sense of normalcy, a taste of the life I was living at the beginning of March.

Counselor Lauren Collins has also recognized the pressure that comes from bloggers posting extensive workout routines, but she said that we don’t need to give into it. Instead, Collins said that the most important thing to do right now is to simply move your body and get some fresh air.

“Nobody should feel like they should have to be doing anything, but I think there are basics to [the bloggers’] messages …

You don’t have to do an hour and a half online yoga class to check off the list of being active; you could just go for a walk or ride your bike around your neighborhood,” Collins said.

I have not been perfect. There have been days where I felt like all I ate was junk food or didn’t have

CURRENTLY on pROSPECTORNOW.COM...

Read about the effects that remote learning instruction will have on students going back to school in the fall.

enough motivation to work out, but instead of beating myself up about it, I noted the difference in how I felt on those days.

Comfort food is great, but not when it gives me a stomach ache and significantly lower energy; it’s all about balance and finding the routine that works for you.

It’s important to note that this routine looks different for every person. For some, as Collins said, all they can do is stay sane. Keeping up with basic hygiene may seem like a harder task than ever for people struggling with mental health issues at this time.

Because we don’t have our normal coping mechanisms available to us right now, there are bound to be heightened feelings of anxiety, fear and loneliness; that is OK. “Recognizing [feelings of depression or low energy] and acknowledging them is the first, most important step — just feeling aware of where you’re at,” Collins said.

Once those feelings are recognized, Collins encourages students to reach out to a trusted adult, teacher, counselor or friend to discuss them.

For example, counselors have been sending out a weekly check-in to their students. According to Collins, the counselors check the spreadsheet of responses every day to see who may need an individual Zoom call with their counselor or another form of additional support.

“Obviously, as a school, we’re always focused on academics, but in this situation … [the] number one [priority] is our health,” Collins said.

“We can’t do anything in life if we don’t have our health.”

Collins, who is currently working from home as a mom of a toddler, understands the extra responsibilities students are facing at this time. According to her, there are students who have to take care of younger siblings, tend to sick family members or work their part-time jobs as their family’s primary source of income.

“We have the understanding that this is really hard; we’re not on a vacation,” Collins said. “We’re not on summer break; we’re not doing this for fun. [Staying home] is a necessary part of our life right now, and with that comes extra burdens.”

This is, according to Collins, part of the reason that our learning is enrichment and not for a grade — to be mindful of all of the anxieties students are facing while also following the remote instruction protocol that pertains to Illinois schools who may not be as fortunate as District 214 in terms of technology.

There are some days where I attend my Zoom meetings at my desk, ready to actively converse with my teachers. Even so, there are times

when I just need to have my camera and microphone off and listen to others speak. Either way, attending Zoom meetings is an important step in retaining that sense of normalcy.

“To try and be productive in the face of this means expecting to win a sword fight with a sourdough starter,” Wang wrote in her article. “Suffering through these real tragedies while feeling guilty that you haven’t started a side business is not only silly, it’s pernicious.”

So no, you don’t have to do 10 refrigerator push-ups every time you get a snack or learn how to knit — unless you want to, of course. It’s not a crime to give yourself a break.

ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL: Depictions o people resemble the idea that everyone has a different way of being productive. While there pressure on social media to be overly-product with the extra time that comes with quarantine people have various methods of coping with t coronavirus pandemic. (cartoons by Mara Nic

Top 10 Netflix shows Prospect Students iN

of a is tive e, the colaie)

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IN-DEPTH 11

MAY 8, 2020

62.2%

What "silver lining" have you found during this pandemic?

of Prospect students say

they have picked up a new hobby during quarantine *information courtesy of a Prospector survey of 286 students

[I have enjoyed] eating dinner every night as a family. With so many activities that my kids are in, we rarely get to do that during the school year. My kids are also taking nights to cook dinners. It has been yummy!

What are Prospect Students doing the most with their time?

Cooking Playing video games

Working out

10.5% 13.6% 7.6%

Watching T.V.

JOYCE KIM

14.5%

I listened to a podcast this morning, and it said, “All the good things will last. They will bubble up.” I see that silver lining. Things that have bubbled up for me are family time — that it is sweet and precious.

Reading

6.1%

14.2%

CHERYL BERGQUIST

15.9%

What TV show would you recommend for students?

Spending time with family

17.6%

Going for walks On phone

Locke & Key (Netflix): It’s a supernatural mystery series based on a graphic novel written by Stephen King’s son. It’s based on three siblings who move into a creepy ancestral home and find keys that unlock otherworldly powers and places.

Last Dance (ESPN): It is fun to watch the behind the scenes footage of the Bulls dynasty and to see the personalities on the team.

*information courtesy of a Prospector survey of 286 students

1. Tiger King

6. Ozark

2. All American

7. Extraction

s watched by 3. Outer Banks N quarantine 4. Money Heist

8. #BlackAF 9. Chris D’Elia

5. Too Hot to Handle 10. Code 8 *information courtesy of a Prospector survey of 286 students

SCOTT MCDERMOTT

FRANK MIRANDOLA

What is your favorite pastime for relaxing IN QUARANTINE? Hiking because I get to go outside, explore and see what animals I can find. I usually listen to favorite songs or an audiobook while taking new trails. I bought a jigsaw puzzle, but I was overly ambitious and it’s not going well!

KATHLEEN BREJ

I read a lot and have played Animal Crossing. I also have listened to about 350 hours of podcasts in April alone while taking walks or organizing in the house.

JON KAMINSKY

12 ENTERTAINMENT

MAY 8, 2020

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the fallen kingdom

DETHRONED: Two tigers mockingly view Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin in cages as revenge is served. The new “Tiger King” Netflix series exposed a national issue of animal abuse and mistreatment within the United States and requires the attention of all viewers. “Joe Exotic had what is called a roadside menagerie,” said Bill Zeigler, the Senior Vice President of the Chicago Zoological Society at Brookfield Zoo. “That man was not running anything close to a zoo, at least not an ethical one.” (cartoon by Mara Nicolaie)

“Tiger King” stars perpetrate animal abuse; big cats deserve freedom

A

few weeks ago, I had this crazy dream that there was a show about big cats, a murder-for-hire plot and a conspiracy of a wife feeding her millionaire husband to a tiger. Then I realized that I was not dreaming; I was watching the new Netflix docuseries “Tiger King.”

For anyone that has not had the chance to view this series, they now have something to fill seven hours of their day in quarantine with. “Tiger King” follows the story of Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and Doc Antle, eccentric big cat owners from across the United States, and how their ownership of big cats led to a years-long feud that ended with a m u r d e r- f o r- h i r e plot.

While proving to your family that Baskin fed her husband to a tiger and discussing the m u r d e r- f o r- h i r e plot is exciting, the larger issue of animal abuse and hypocrisy that the BRENDAN series is littered BURKE with should raise a national conversaAssociate on what ethical Editor-in-Chief tion animal ownership looks like.

Exotic and Antle claim all throughout the show that what they do for big cats is give them a home and protect the endangered animals. While I cannot speak for everyone, the fact that Exotic feeds his animals expired meat from a Walmart truck and both of the men allow people to touch and play with the small tigers — even though the cubs are too young to do so — displays that they are nothing but egotistical maniacs.

Calling someone a maniac is a harsh choice of words, but for Exotic, that is sugarcoating it. The series itself is literally called “Tiger King” because that is the name Exotic calls himself after his never released, unnamed reality TV series. He deems himself a king because of how he runs his own little kingdom in the middle of Oklahoma where he makes the rules and proves his domi-

nance by abusing and malnourishing tigers. low because these animals are required to I am not writing all of this to make viewlive in an independent setting. He emphasizers of the series feel bad about themselves; I es the inadequate ownership that Exotic disam writing this article to show the violence played and that the series is not a good repand terror that was exposed but shielded by resentation of how big cats are truly treated the oddity of Exotic and the incredulous stoin zoos and could cause harm to how people ry that the show told. Exotic never ran a zoo, view the zoo industry. but instead ran an unkept prison of trapped “Joe Exotic had what is called a roadside animals who were abused each and every menagerie,” Zeigler said. “That man was not day they suffered at the Greater Wynnewood running anything close to a zoo, at least not Exotic Animal Park (G.W. Zoo). an ethical one.”

As previously stated, the G.W. Zoo was In a series, there is always a protagonist not able to afford the high price of feeding big and an antagonist, and some may argue that cats such as lions and tigers and resorted to the protagonist is Baskin, an “animal rights” taking expired meat off of a Walmart truck activist who runs the Big Cat Rescue. The and finding dead cow carcasses in feedlots mission statement of Big Cat Rescue is to to give to the end the prianimals. To vate ownermake it even ship of big worse, Exotic cats and end only paid his the animal workers $150 abuse that a week for takes place.

12-hour work Sounds days, due great, right? to many of The sad them being truth is e x - c o nv i c t s that Baskin and having is nothing nowhere else more than to turn for a a hypocrite job. who owns The workbig cats ers themherself and selves would keeps them *information courtesy of “Tiger King” also eat the in cages the expired meat exact same off the truck. Not only was this man a terriway Exotic does. Just because she is a chamble boss, he can go down as one of the worst pion advocate for the Big Cat Public Safety animal owners in the history of the United Act does not mean that she can consider herStates. self an animal rights champion.

According to Bill Zeigler, the Senior Vice The Big Cat Public Safety Act is a piece President of the Chicago Zoological Society of legislation in Congress that “prohibits at Brookfield Zoo, feeding one tiger can cost the possession of lions, tigers, leopards, between $15,000-$20,000 a year; they are sup- cheetahs, jaguars, cougars or any hybrid of posed to be eating beef, horse meat, certain these species by individuals who types of animal bones and greens — almost are not licensed by the US Denone of which is seen in “Tiger King” but partment of Agriculture.” This can be seen every day at Brookfield Zoo. bill is supported by Zeigler and After viewing the series himself, Zeigler sophomore Noah Pirsch, an avid said that the biggest shock as a zoological animal rights activist, but has professional was not just the food Exotic yet to be passed by either house fed his animals, but also the cages he kept of Congress because it has been them in. According to Zeigler, tigers are an in the House Natural Resources independent animal species that are never Committee as of Feb. 26, 2019 supposed to be kept in cages with multiple and is not prepared for a full tigers. In the show, Exotic will keep 15-20 ti- House vote. gers in a single cage and force them to fight The bill was introduced by one another for bigger rations of food.

Democratic Illinois Rep. Mike At Brookfield Zoo, they currently only Quigley and already has 229 cohave one tiger and they keep that number sponsors from both Democrats

5,000-10,000 tigers live in captivity in the U.S. Fewer than 4,000 tigers remain in the wild

and Republicans. While it does seem that this bill has a high chance of becoming law once it passes through the congressional process, Pirsch states that abolishing the private ownership of big cats is not enough for animal rights, but is helping raise awareness. However, “Tiger King” did help the animal rights cause by bringing awareness to this once hidden major issue. Pirsch was a vegetarian for six years and has been a vegan for the past four months because he has been an advocate for animal rights since a young age.

He is highly critical of Baskin and the other owners in “Tiger King” because he is an adamant believer that true animal rights activists are only such if they refuse to consume all animal products.

Even though some companies claim to be treating animals ethically, Pirsch feels that nothing is ethical about eating deceased, innocent creatures.

“Every burger you eat and every glass of milk you drink all comes from abuse,” Pirsch said. “It’s great that people are upset about ‘Tiger King’ and want to end tiger abuse, but they have to realize that the meat industry has become industrialized and much of the abuse the tigers face in that show is exactly the same as cow and pig abuse, and the cows and pigs have it worse.”

“Tiger King” is not a funny series about how crazy Exotic and Baskin are; it is a glimpse into how evil and vile our country’s animal rights issues truly are. The final episode of the series ends off with a statistic that states “5,000-10,000 tigers live in captivity in the U.S. Fewer than 4,000 tigers remain in the wild.” That number is far too high and a disturbing reflection on our current society.

“Tiger King” did not expose the humor of eccentric big cat owners. “Tiger King” did not expose how cool it is to have a tiger. “Tiger King” exposed that the wrong individuals are locked in cages.

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MAY 8, 2020

Cartoons entertain all ages, not just kids I

am not a particularly mature person, so it probably wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me that I’ve spent the past few weeks watching cartoons. Recently I rewatched all of the Disney show “Gravity Falls.”

However, despite my personal lack of maturity, “Gravity Falls,” like many other cartoons, is a legitimately well-written show that has gained itself quite the following from teens and young adults.

Even though plenty of cartoons have well-written stories, likable characters and cool concepts, a lot of people seem to still think that cartoons are a genre specifically for kids. In reality, it’s a medium.

One that needs to be used more often.

JOEY Even among those DELAHUNTY who realize there can be adult cartoons, Executive there seems to be a Entertainment belief that unless a show is inappropri-

Editor

photo courtesy of Netflix

ate for kids, it is exclusively for them. If a cartoon isn’t full of dark comedy and swearing, it is still seen by many as just for kids.

It’s a stigma that live action shows don’t carry. “The Flash,” for example, is rated TV-PG, but is still a perfectly good show for adults due to it being live action.

“Adventure Time,” however, which is also a TVPG cartoon, is relegated to the realm of children’s TV. According to Cartoon Club member and junior Jacob Perez, the idea that animation is strictly for kids was really solidified by shows from the ‘80s that were made just to sell toys like “Transformers” and “My Little Pony.” In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, some creators wanted to make cartoons for adults. This led to the creation of cartoons like “South Park,” which couldn’t possibly be shown to kids because it is inappropriate for someone their age.

You can find a lot of people who enjoy adult animation like “South Park” or “Family Guy,” shows that I would argue have a more immature sense of humor than most kid’s cartoons. There’s nothing wrong with immature humor, but there’s no reason it should be seen as more suited for adults than other styles of comedy.

However, there are some upsides to cartoons being specifically for adults. Cartoons that are designated as being “for adults” have more freedom and less censorship, while kids cartoons face more censorship from their networks due to attempts to keep them “kid friendly.”

For example, both “Adventure Time” and “Legend of Korra” had creators that wanted to include LGBT representation but had to be somewhat sneaky about it because of their networks not wanting to start controversy.

“Adventure Time” was at least able to confirm an LGBT relationship in their final episode.

“Legend of Korra” had to be more ambiguous about it, leaving it to the creators to confirm it outside of the show.

Less censorship is a worthwhile goal, but I think that non-kids networks need to be more open to adult animation that isn’t full of nihilism and dark comedy if we want this to happen. There are some of these, most notably Netflix’s “Bojack Horseman,” but they are overwhelmingly outnumbered by the kind that are all dark comedy.

Other than the actual plot, several other things are important for quality animation. Personality in design and how smooth the animations looks are among the traits Perez listed. It’s also important to make good use of what animation as a medium can do. Some adult animation intentionally shirks this to mimic “South

photo courtesy of The Verge

Park,” one of the first examples of adult animation, but recently, they usually adopt more quality standards.

“It depends on the story. If it’s more surreal … that can be better for animation [than live action],” Perez said.

There is plenty of animation that is high quality, but a large amount of it is ignored by anyone who thinks of themselves as mature. There’s no reason for people to cut themselves off from well-written stories because they think they aren’t aimed at their age group.

It’s wild to have a stigma against an entire form of storytelling, and if you’re not considering all the great cartoons that are out there, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Cartoons are a wonderful medium with lots of cool stories to tell, so the next time you’ve got nothing to do during quarantine, consider trying some cartoons.

photo courtesy of Amazon

Video games allow for interactivity during quarantine KEVIN LYNCH Entertainment Editor When a student learns of several teachers getting together outside of school, there are several natural assumptions that could come to mind.

The easy explanation would be that they are working on lesson plans or maybe swapping stories.

But in the case of this group of Prospect teachers, they are playing “Call of Duty.”

The teachers, with a mainstay group of Michael Riedy, David Schnell, Kurt Trenkle and Nick DelBoccio have been playing together for so long that they remember when they were forced to pay for voice chat up until 2010.

Now, they mainly play first-person shooters such as “Call of Duty” and “Tom Clancy’s The Division 2.”

According to DelBoccio, the teachers have a running joke of making fun of Riedy’s lack of skill at these types of games.

“It’s something that I enjoy [doing] and … it’s a time to sit down, relax, and have some fun with friends,” biology teacher DelBoccio said.

Now, the novel coronavirus has forced people around the globe to stay indoors with little means for communication.

This has caused many people to turn to video games during this uncertain time to spend time with their friends virtually. This may come as a surprise to some people, as video games have sometimes been blamed for making children

violent and antisocial by reputable news and research sites.

In an article on news site Gadgets Now, counselor Meera Ravi supports these claims.

“Getting the highest score on a game has become more important than sharing real quality time,” Ravi said. “[Players] tend to get so involved in the game and often neglect or ignore the people around them.”

However, sophomore and avid video game player Kevin Klister argues that while stuck at home, video games allow for more interactivity between friends than the much-touted video-conference platforms Zoom and FaceTime.

“When you’re playing with [friends], you’re doing something together,” Klister said. “It’s not the same as real life, but you’re still doing something together, even if it’s in a game.”

The thing that separates video games from other social platforms like FaceTime is that video games are more interactive and allow for a more competitive or cooperative atmosphere, something that can’t be done over the phone, according to Klister.

“I’ve worked at Prospect for 25 years, and I can tell you that there’s a difference in the general atmosphere of things now from then, and one of those things is that now, video games are all over the place,” video game club sponsor John Meyers said. “People aren’t bored and looking for ways to get their aggression out in unhealthy ways.”

Meyers, while not very fond of playing online, recognizes that it can be an important social tool.

CO-OP: Two students play “Call of Duty” online together. During quarantine, video games have been an interactive way for friends to connect. (cartoon by Grace He) His son recently celebrated his birthday with friends over “Minecraft,” and according to Meyers, his son looked happier than he had for a while.

Additionally, Meyers and Klister aren’t the only ones who think this way.

According to Hideaki Ryugen of news site Nikkei Asian Review, average playtime has shot up by 45% in the U.S. At-home gaming has become incredibly popular, according to Ryugen, and the newest consoles and games are very sought-after as stores and suppliers struggle to fill the growing demand.

The high demand is explained

by Matt Piscatella, an analyst at N.P.D. Group, which tracks the sales of video games.

Piscatella told the New York Times, “Gaming is one of those areas that people are diverting to from other activities that they would have done in a normal world … The game sales that are coming out are breaking franchise records.”

The article also points out two games in particular: “Doom Eternal,” a first-person shooter, and “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” a popular simulation game, which were both released on March 20.

The two games have been used

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Check out this list and analysis of five movies with incredible cinematography.

as shining examples of the quarantine video game craze, as “Doom” had the best sales weekend in its franchise, and “Animal Crossing” has had the third best launch month of any Nintendo game in the U.S. According to Klister, the true power of video games during this worrisome time is to allow the player to forget about the stress and hardship of real life and give them an outlet to have a good time with friends.

“It’s an easy platform. [Video games are] something fun you can do that’s social,” DelBoccio said.

“It might be virtually social, but it’s still social.”

14 SPORTS

prospectornow.com

MAY 8, 2020

Quarantine survival guide: sports edition E

AIDAN MURRAY Executive Online Sports Editor

ver since the suspension of all professional sports on March 13 and 14 amid the COVID-19 outbreak, many sports fans have been desperate for their favorite sport to return. While there are some things that have been able to keep us busy, there are only so many video games and TV shows you can watch. So for all sports fans, here are some of my favorite things to watch instead of each sport that would be in season during these times.

All pro sports leagues and certain networks have resorted to a schedule of past games to keep fans entertained. However, these aren’t on all the time, so I have come up with a list of more movies and documentaries for sports—along with where you can find old games.

During these unprecedented times in which we are not sure when sports will return, hopefully these lists will buy you time before the seasons start back up again.

MLB uses YouTube and MLB the Show 20 to keep fans engaged

For many baseball fans, there are plenty of options to choose from as the MLB has provided a variety of different games. On their YouTube channel, they have frequently posted “MLB at home” games. Games such as Max Scherzer’s 20 strikeout game, past home run derbies and numerous past all-star games have all been featured.

To keep things modern as well, the MLB has created a players’ tournament on MLB the Show 20, which can also be found on their YouTube channel. One player per MLB team plays to repreAidan’s Baseball Movie sent their own team. This series includes players Recommendations such as Joey Gallo, Blake Snell and Hunter Pence.

“It shows you [that] if you’re able to overcome adversity, then you can control your future.”

Prospect baseball player Ryan Traviolia’s movie reccomendation: 42 photo courtesy of Ryan Traviolia

“The Last Dance” allows fans to “Survive and Advance” through quarantine When it has come to the NBA during this hiatus, Michael Jordan has been the guy to rewatch. The main thing I recommend for basketball fans is “The Last Dance:” the documentary on the final season of the Chicago Bulls ‘90s dynasty. This documentary strongly highlights Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. It is a 10 episode event with two episodes being aired on ESPN every Sunday night until May 17.

To keep us busy waiting for the next episode of the “The Last Dance,” the NBA has been putting up old Michael Jordan games and highlights. Along with this, they have released “NBA Together Live Classic Games,” on their YouTube channel.

photo

by Alexis Esparza

“It digs deep into the story of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry starting when the NBA first began. I didn’t get to live through it so it’s cool to see what [the NBA] was like and how intense it was.”

Prospect basketball player Chase Larsen’s movie reccomendation: Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies

For fans looking for a quarantine “Miracle” The NHL has also followed the NBA and MLB in frequently posting classic games for their fans. These games are being posted every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 7 p.m.

“The movie ‘Miracle’ [is] based off a true story regarding the USA hockey team beating the Russians in a historic matchup; just the underdog factor and of course the fact that team USA won makes it such a good film. All the good quotes and inspirational side of things made the story more enjoyable.”

Aidan’s Basketball Movie Recommendations -Hoosiers -Michael Jordan to the Max -Space Jam -Survive and Advance -The Fab Five -The Last Dance -The Way Back -Thunderstruck

- Catching Hell - Fever Pitch -Major League -Major League II -Moneyball -The Dynasty That Almost Was -The Natural -Trouble With the Curve -42 -61*

photo courtesy of Casey Trebswether

PREP hockey player Casey Trebswether’s movie reccomendation: Miracle

Aidan’s Hockey Movie Recommendations -Becoming Sidney Crosby -Miracle -Of Miracles and Men -The Mighty Ducks

New girls’ water polo coach misses out on debut season Coronavirus played spoiler for Prospect grad Meg Dix ALYSSA SCHULZ Copy Editor When Meg Dix stepped on the Prospect pool deck for the first time as girls’ water polo coach, she was nervous. Sure, she had coached pre-teen water polo, but she hadn’t coached — or really even interacted with — teenagers in a long time and “had forgot[ten] how high schoolers are.”

“Any new job is always a little nerve-wracking, but the girls on the team were so inviting and really eager to learn what I had to teach them,” Dix said.

Dix was set to have her first season coaching this spring, but the coronavirus pandemic cut her debut season short.

Despite this setback, she was still able to spend a short amount of time with the girls, and she enjoyed learning each of their personalities. She also appreciated coming back to her old high school: Prospect.

During her time at Prospect, Dix, a class of 2011 alumnus, played water polo all four years. She also has three older sisters who all were a part of the swimming and diving team at Prospect.

Dix decided against pursuing swimming, though, because it didn’t have enough of a “team aspect” for her. However, since she liked the exercise of swimming, she decided to join the water polo team so she could have the best of both worlds.

Aside from this, Dix also loves water polo because of how different of a sport it is. According to her, it is a unique mix of sports such as soccer, swimming and wrestling.

Dix’s enjoyment of water polo led her to gaining a lot of experience with the sport, even after high school. She played water polo for a junior college — Golden West in Huntington Beach, Calif. — and was coached there by retired Olympic water polo coaches Kyle Kopp, Mark Schubert and Bernie

FOCUS: The girls’ water polo team reviews the extensive playbook that head coach Meg Dix put together for the season. The team was 10-9 last year. (photo courtesy of Meg Dix) O’Connor.

On top of that, Dix holds multiple Prospect girls’ water polo records, such as most goals scored in a game, most goals scored in a season and most goals scored in a career.

According to junior water polo player Jackie Vierneisel, in the short time Dix had with the team, they focused mainly on fundamentals.

“She gave us a 40-page playbook and for at least 40 minutes everyday ... We would just work on fundamentals and what to do in any situation of the game,” Vierneisel said.

For Dix, it is necessary to start the varsity season this way because she wanted to make sure that all of her athletes knew the basics of water polo.

“It’s high school water polo, so it’s kids from every range of just getting in the water to kids playing even before high school started,” Dix said.

Another element that Dix focuses on when coaching water polo is endurance. During the time she had with her team, Dix made sure that they were in good shape.

“If we have a fast team that can swim up and down the

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pool 100 times without getting tired, they’re going to win the game,” Dix said.

Dix’s hope for the spring season was to bring California style water polo to Prospect. California style water polo is a zone whereas Midwest style water polo is man to man. By playing California water polo in the Midwest, Prospect’s opponents would be unfamiliar with the system.

Besides changing the style of water polo at Prospect, Dix also made sure that she was connected with her team.

“She came to the water polo pasta parties, which was really cool because I never had a coach do that,” Vierneisel said.

“It really showed me that she was devoted and dedicated to coaching us.”

Despite the fact that girls’ water polo won’t have a season, Dix and Vierneisel believe that with the work the team has already done this year, they will be in great shape to play water polo in 2021.

“They are a bunch of goofs which I love, but they also work really hard and take [water polo] really seriously,” Dix said.

“I just can’t wait to get back on the pool deck with them.”

SPORTS MAY 8, 2020

Currently on Prospect Sports Weekly...

In the 2019-2020 season finale, host Ryan Barich addresses the IHSA’s recent decision to cancel all spring sports due to the coronavirus pandemic. Click on the Prospect logo to go and listen.

15

The Leg, the Feet, the Wolf CAMERON SULLIVAN Executive Sports Editor

F

or the first edition of the Prospector Person of the Year award, there wasn’t just one single winner.

Selected in vote of staff and students, the co-winners were junior football, basketball and track star Luke Zardzin and ITCCCA Hall of Fame cross country coach and special education teacher Mike Stokes.

“It’s always fun to win an award, especially sharing it with [Stokes who is] such a prestigious man at Prospect,” Zardzin said.

Zardzin, whose main sport is football, has earned other accomplishments such as all-conference (twice), all-area and all-state honorable mention. During the football season, Zardzin accumulated 1,900 yards and 21 touchdowns. It is safe to say that Zardzin played his role on the football field this season and then some. However, according to Zardzin, none of those are his biggest accomplishments in his mind.

Zardzin says that his best personal achievement was being captain of the football team and winning the regional championship this year with the basketball team.

“I think his football [skill] speaks for itself, but [what] I thought was more impressive was how he embraced his role in the basketball season,” head football coach Dan Deboeuf said.

Zardzin had to fill in for senior Matt McAleer after he sustained an injury. Prior to this, Zardzin hadn’t played many minutes in any important games. His first official start came in the regional semifinal game against Barrington.

In Prospect’s 48-35 upset win over Barrington, Zardzin was able to hold their leading scorer for the season, Damian Zivak, to zero points. Then, in their 45-26 regional championship win against Buffalo Grove, Zardzin came in and held their second leading scorer, Nate Cole, to zero points. In Buffalo Grove and Prospect’s previous matchup, on Feb. 14, Cole scored 18 points. “[Zardzin] made us look like idiots,” boys’ basketball head coach John Camardella said. “We were the fools for not considering his larger role earlier in the year.”

What helped Zardzin fill into his postseason role was his strong work ethic. Zardzin works out multiple times a day, does yoga and runs around the neighborhood. These runs can be anywhere from one to eight miles long.

Zardzin also has a

Junior Luke Zardzin’s high work ethic and success led him to be the recipient of the first annual Prospector Person of the Year award alongside co-winner boys’ cross country coach Mike Stokes “I was just grateful, [winning was] humbling, once it’s online [winning is] a rough thing to do against kids.” - Mike Stokes, boys’ cross country coach

saying defining his work ethic that goes, “the leg, the feet, the wolf.” When he said this in the middle of basketball practice one day, Camardella had to stop the whole practice because he had never heard that quote referred to in a basketball sense.

The meaning of it is that the more you go perform and practice, the stronger you’ll get. When a wolf runs, it allows them to be able to get more food, and that’s how they get stronger. As a result, the quote kind of became the team’s motto throughout the playoff run.

Deboeuf and senior Adam Mekky also added that he always gives 100%, especially when Zardzin and Mekky lift or run hills.

“It’s second to none … his work ethic shows he’s going to do exactly what he needs to do no matter what the circumstance is,” Deboeuf said.

With this work ethic, Zardzin is always a competitor no matter what the situation is. It could be a state playoff game or just a driveway basketball game; Zardzin hates to lose.

“All you need to do is come to one practice and watch one sprint; he is literally just blowing guys away,”

DOMINANT: Junior Luke Zardzin stands on the sideline waiting to go in against Buffalo Grove on Oct. 18, 2019. Zardzin was a beast on the football field as he gained 1,900 yards and 21 touchdowns this past season. (photo by Grace Baldino)

Camardella said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the beginning, middle or end of practice … the competitive drive is innate in him.”

Deboeuf also noticed his competitiveness, saying that’s what gives him the edge.

“What was cool about that is that [Zardzin] is competitive with himself,” Deboeuf said. “He doesn’t necessarily worry about outside factors or outside circumstances; he just wants to compete with himself to be the best that he can.”

Mekky can also attest to Zardzin’s drive.

According to Mekky, even if they are just lifting or practicing, Zardzin is always there to win.

“He is a whole different person when offense and defense are going at it … he’s one of the most competitive guys on the field,” Mekky said.

Mekky said that Zardzin was always super focused in football drills and they constantly met each other in the hole. According to Mekky, it would sometimes get heated and competitive between Zardzin and Mekky during the play.

“After each play ended, it didn’t matter how hard of a hit [Zardzin] took, he would always get right up, which always amazed me,” Mekky said.

Zardzin says that his competitive drive comes from playing sports after school with his friends while he was in middle school.

“We wouldn’t joke around, and we would take it very seriously. I think that kind of built my competitiveness,” Zardzin said.

Zardzin said that in some cases they would have big altercations when the game got serious. This would even lead to some fights, but at the end of the day, they wouldn’t hold grudges. Instead, they would just play again.

Deboeuf mentioned that just having Zardzin around holds people accountable and makes others around him work harder.

“A lot of people look to him in difficult times,” Debouef said. “Whether it’s in a game or even a difficult time like we are going through right now, I know a lot of his teammates are leaning on him for guidance.”

Mekky also agreed with this as he said that Zardzin is always there to lift people up.

Zardzin says the best way to be a teammate or team player is to be respectful and become friends with your teammates as it will help in the long run. According to Zardzin, if you don’t have respect for your teammates then it will be harder to win.

Zardzin also said how his teammates have helped him by pushing him to be the best he can be. One thing Mekky has done to help Zardzin is teaching him to focus on himself but to always help out his teammates as well. Mekky said that this needs to happen because football is a team sport and you can’t win on your own.

Zardzin being respectful to his teammates has made an impact, according to Camardella. Whenever Zardzin walks into a room, people pay attention.

According to Deboeuf, Camardella and Mekky, Zardzin is a great leader and role model. Camardella even brings him up in

ONE LAST HURRAH: Head boys’ cross country coach Mike Stokes gets his team ready for the Busse Woods Sectional. This is Stokes’ final year coaching and being a teacher at Prospect. (photo courtesy of Mike Stokes)

front of his own kids.

“I would always tell [my daughter], just watch [Zardzin], watch how he goes about his business,” Camardella said.

Not only is Zardzin a role model to Camardella’s kids, he is also a role model to the kids at the Prospect football summer camp.

“It’s really cool to see him interact with [the younger kids],” Deboeuf said. “He’s a pretty great player, so they look up to him, and he always holds himself to a high standard.”

Deboeuf also added on how Zardzin helps a lot in the community. Whenever the football team has a service event, he is always one of the first to sign up.

Aside from being a good role model, Zardzin has one of his own who has inspired him to become one. Growing up, he always loved Pat Tillman; he was his favorite football player. He admired him because of his work ethic and how he realised there was more to life than just football by serving in the military. He also enjoyed how passionate Tillman was when he played, and, recently on April 22, it was the 16th anniversary of Tillman’s death in Afghanistan, where he served in the military.

From looking up to his role models, Zardzin has been able to teach many people, so they can teach him. There is one thing specific Camardella did to help him. According to Camardella, the smartest thing he could do is set the right atmosphere for Zardzin to discover his abilities.

“The best thing I could do is stay the hell out of [Zardzin’s] way,” Camardella said.

BOX-OUT: Junior Luke Zardzin backs into his defender looking to get the rebound against Mundelein. Prospect lost 46-42 in the Sectional Semifinal. (photo by Alexis Esparza)