THE

PROSPECTOR

801 WEST KENSINGTON ROAD, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS 60056

THE VOICE OF PROSPECT HIGH SCHOOL SINCE 1959

VOLUME 57, ISSUE 4

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

RUNNING AFTER SPRINGFIELD PE department impacted by new state laws RYAN KUPPERMAN Copy Editor

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ccording to the Illinois General Assembly, the school code requiring a minimum of three days each week of physical education (P.E.) has been amended. On Nov. 13, the law was changed to require a minimum of 150 minutes of P.E. per week. As this law was put into effect this year, District 214 students carried out their P.E. courses according to the pre-2018 requirements solely because class registration took place in the 2017-2018 school year, which was before the law changed. According to the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act, the reason for changing the statewide P.E. requirements was the Evidence-Based Funding Formula. This new funding plan is dedicated to provide appropriate funding in order to create unique goals and curricula for students. Originally, after the passing of the Evidence-based Funding Formula in late fall of last year, school boards were allowed “to determine the frequency of [physical education] as long as it is a minimum of 3 days per 5-day week (previous statute required daily P.E.).” According to Assistant Principal and Health and Physical Education Division Head Frank Mirandola, because of the increased flexibility in P.E. requirements, District 214 is starting to offer new P.E. courses. For example, starting in the 2019-2020 school year, sophomores will be able to take an in-

AT THE CROSSROADS: A student stands with the option of many different paths for PE. As state mandates concerning physical education change in Springfield, D214 and Illinois schools consider what they mean in their P.E. departments. At Prospect, new classes are available as flexibility in fee waivers also add to student options. (illustration by Mara Nicolaie) tegrated, year-long health class in which they will be in beginners’ weights for three out of five days per week and in health class two out of five days per week. This way, students have the opportunity to be physically active during the course of the year instead of only during one semester, while also fulfilling their health course requirement. Moreover, Prospect is tapping into its aquatic programs by starting an advanced swimming class next year. Mirandola describes the class as very similar to the ad-

vanced weights course, except students will train in the water. Students do not have to be involved in swimming or water polo to take the course. According to varsity softball coach and P.E. teacher Krystina Mackowiak, zero-hour lifting is also growing in popularity as a viable P.E. course. Zero-hour lifting is simply the advanced weights course, which is typically taken by upperclassmen in a varsity sport, that takes place before school from 6:45 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. on Monday,

Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, with Thursday off because the P.E. teachers are in meetings. Students have the same assignments and grading system as the other advanced weights classes. By getting their lifting done before school, students would then have an open study hall 8th period to either do homework or prepare for practice. According to Mackowiak, there are already zero-hour classes being run at most other district schools. Plus, she estimates that she has 35 students in her zero-hour class,

which she says is consistent with her other class sizes during the day. Mackowiak feels that zero-hour lifting is a great option for students, as many studies show that getting a good workout in the morning, before sitting in a desk all day, helps jump start the body and prepare it to tackle the day. She also estimates that zero-hour lifting will be implemented more as it continues to grow in popularity, especially since, in the beginning, kids were unsure of the class expectations, such as how early they would have to come before school. “P.E. has really evolved,” Mirandola said. “It’s not the stereotypical P.E. that people envision in bad high school movies. It’s becoming more comprehensive and more inclusive of all types of students.” Superintendent Dr. David Schuler also says that District 214 is looking at other districts for ideas on how to further develop the P.E. curriculum. District 207 and District 220, for example, give students Fitbits and have a staff member oversee the fitness room. Students then have the opportunity to go in before, during and after school in order to record fitness time. Data is recorded on the Fitbit and sent to the supervising staff member or to the division head. According to Schuler, District 214 is considering this as one possible option out of many. Also according to the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act, under the Evidence-based Funding Formula, districts are also allowed “to exempt [students] on a case-by-case basis 7th – 12th grade students who participate in sports” from P.E., by providing “a streamlined process to request waivers from the Gener-

SEE P.E., page 2

Speech changes leadership GRACE GIVAN Copy Editor While seniors Emmett Knee and Katie Jordan wrote their dramatic duet, they had trouble keeping it concise. Their goal was to cut a 150-page book into a four-page script about how a brother and sister’s relationship evolved over time. In order to shorten the performance, head speech coach Adam Levinson had Knee and Jordan read the performance aloud during an after-school practice. He helped them cut out the unnecessary information that aided in turning the 150-page book into a 10-minute performance. Levinson’s main focus for students is to learn through their struggles in order to become better speech competitors. As this is his first year coaching speech, Levinson wants to set the example for students that he will make mistakes and grow from them. “I want [the students] to be able to learn the idea of what struggle is and be success-

ful through that struggle,” Levinson said. “[I want them] to find [their] best possible skill sets and growing and learning and being coachable. Then, of course, delivering the best possible product for each tournament that they can. … To see the writing transform is amazing.” Senior Caroline Sandberg noted that Levinson improved her writing skills when writing her Original Oratory speech about American culture, which she believed was too apology-seeking. When Sandberg was trying to develop an introduction paragraph for her speech, she struggled with writer’s block. To combat that, Levinson helped spark her creativity by bouncing ideas off each other, which allowed her to develop an anecdotal introduction. “[It] taught me the importance of perseverance,” Sandberg said. “[It taught me] that it’s not a problem to ask for help and that [the coaches] really care and want to see us succeed.” Assistant speech coach Jeremy Morton

SEE SPEECH, page 2

IMPROMPTU: Speech coach Adam Levinson talks to juniors Megan Smejkal and Riley Biondi about a previous performance. This is Levinson’s first year taking over the team. “I want [the students] to be able to learn the idea of what struggle is and be successful through that struggle,” Levinson said. (photo by Grace Givan)

WHAT’S INSIDE?

06 A stroke last year changed the life of sophomore Jack Breitenstein. The key to his recovery? Perseverance, hard work and more.

08 - 09 A path never ends where it starts. Even Prospect teachers have applied their interests to different career paths.

11 To our editor Anthony Romanelli, heroes are overrated. Read to find out what makes villains the ultimate characters.

2 NEWS

prospectornow.com

DECEMBER 7, 2018

FITNESS: PE adapts to Illinois standards participate in sports” from P.E., by providing “a streamlined process to request waivers from the General Assembly from other state mandates.” As a result, underclassmen have had the ability to apply for a P.E. waiver for the first time, starting in fall of last year. According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, students can substitute their physical education credits for any interscholastic sports, marching band or Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC). However, in order to obtain a P.E. waiver, students cannot have an existing study hall. Schuler believes that students can greatly benefit from this, as they often over book their schedules. Students who take band only get one more elective, and if they choose to take a foreign language, then their elective options are maxed out for the year. “[There are] so many high achieving students at Prospect who want to take every class and not even have a lunch,” Schuler said. “[Waivers] could be an opportunity for them to … have a lunch.” However, according to Mirandola, freshmen and transfer students have to have tried out and be on the active roster for the team in order to qualify for a waiver so that the school knows that they are committed to the sport, and, thus, require a waiver for practical reasons. According to Schuler, every couple years the state changes something involving P.E., including either expanding or restricting waiver requirements. Each time, he says, a belief follows that these changes will have a major impact

on P.E. enrollment percentages – atively impact the health of our stumeaning more students are expectdents –– both physically and mened to either waiver out of or enroll tally, and then also emotionally?’” in P.E. courses. However, Schuler Reibel said. “It’s not a fear for us, says the district simply has not as much as it is a fear for our sociseen this, having only slight fluctuety in the obesity epidemic [and] in ations every once in a while. the mental health epidemic [when] Consequently, Schuler doesn’t taking away physical education.” believe that P.E. teacher staffing As a coach, Reibel says that he will be affected as a result of havis already encouraging all of his ing large quantities of students opt upperclassmen to take Advanced out of P.E. In fact, Mirandola points or Beginning Weights. Howevout that Prospect P.E. staffing went er, he, along with other coaches, up 0.1 percent last year. Mirandola would like to see more freshmen believes this is because Prospect is and sophomores take advantage of offering more focused the increasing P.E. P.E. courses in which opportunities, as athletes specifically see it will teach them the value in physical edthe foundations ucation instead of opting of how to adout. vance athletiAccording cally. to sophomore basketball and frosh-soph baseball coach Bob Reibel, many coaches see the benefit in the various physical education courses offered In adwhen it comes dition, by taking to athletes’ perthe P.E. courses formances. Coroffered at Pros- Frank Miranrespondingly, pect, Mirandola dola, Assistant points coaches, such as Reibel, out that Principal develop specific workmany athletes are outs including able to get their lifts or workouts done condiduring the schooltionings day as opposed for their athletes to during pracduring the day. tice or not get“Our discussion around ting them in at w a i v e r s hasn’t been, ‘How is all. it going to impact our department?’ Accordbut [rather], ‘How is it going to neging to

“[Diversifying P.E. is] about giving students what they need when they need it.”

LEVINSON: learning through experience has observed this effect on stuson to the 3 events in debate. dents as well. He believes that this contrib“[Levinson] is a passionate, utes to a larger learning curve strong leader and a very talented in excelling at coaching speech, man, so when he works with [the which he estimates will take five students] they are going to keep years or longer to truly understand improving,” Morton said. its in-depth components. Levinson was the head coach “I’m just trying to learn. I’m for the debate team for 14 years and talking with the other coaches, now must learn a completely new [and] I’m learning more from them skillset in order to coach speech. [than] anything else,” Levinson “[Debate and speech are] noth- said. “My varsity kids are teaching alike: they are two completeing me immense volumes; they’re ly different animals altogether,” amazing. … I’m taking it all in.” Levison said. “I would say debate Towards the beginning of the is more the brawn and speech is season, according to Sandberg, more of the brain, the beauty [and] the students taught Levinson little the essence of combining acting things, such as whether a speech is [and] theatre.” too informal, the typical speech’s However, Levinson has carried length and whether a source is reover his coaching skills in research liable according to speech’s stantechniques from dards. the debate team Levinson is Bringing home the to the speech gathering inforbacon team. mation about According to Here are the speech team’s the essence of Levinson, the placements at the Elk Grove acting: he is obmain thing de- Invitational, which took place on serving what hubate and speech Dec. 1: mor looks like in have in common speeches, what is research. He • Junior Julia Holzl and sophosomething seemphasizes dourious looks like more Erin McDermott placed ble-checking for and how to massecond in Humorous Duet accuracy, makter delivery. Acting ing sure sources “I’m loving •Sophomore Felix Garkisch are credible and it; I’m learning,” placed second in Impromptu looking at all Levinson said. Speaking sides of an issue. “Like anything Levinson be- •Junior Brianna Rider-Liner else, when you placed third in Radio Speaking lieves that these learn something, techniques proyou’re going to mote rational make mistakes thinking, compassion and a great- and grow from it. I’m [setting] a er understanding of both sides of a good example for the kids, espesituation. According to Sandberg, cially the novice kids, that this is this has enhanced her own credi- new and [I] will make mistakes bility in speeches, improving their and [I’m] going to grow from it. overall quality. And [the team members] are going Contrary to debate, Levinson to make mistakes, and they will has been learning to coach 14 dif- grow from it as well. I think that’s ferent speech events in compariimportant.”

Reibel, amongst both of the basketball and baseball teams he coaches, there are only two or three athletes, out of an estimated 120, who waive out of P.E. Reibel believes there are certain, rare situations where students should need to waiver out. The most common of which are with student-athletes who are taking multiple AP classes and have one or more jobs on top of being involved in a sport. Anytime one of his athletes wants to waive out, Reibel has a conversation in order to establish that they are waiving out for the right reasons. As a former student-athlete at Prospect who took multiple AP classes, Reibel feels that the need to waiver out of P.E. mainly falls under time management issues. In addition, he feels that a large majority of students and student-athletes do not need a waiver, as there are minimal benefits of waiving out. According to Mirandola and the American Psychological Association, people that work out during the day have lower levels of anxiety and depression. They are also more likely to increase their academic performance –– specifically in math and reading areas. In addition, it triggers a physiological and chemical response in the brain that allows people to handle stressful or depressive situations more efficiently. As a result, the body is more receptive to learning and being productive. “More and more students are starting to see the benefit of the idea of working out or getting some sort of physical activity during the course of the day because it is really beneficial,” Mirandola said. “Being physically active … definitely has benefits beyond phys-

ical well-being, [such as] mental well-being.” Looking towards the future of P.E., students and teachers are seeing a greater emphasis on overall wellness and well-rounded fitness. At Prospect, for example, the Lifestyles curriculum focuses on things such as yoga and mindfulness. Mirandola points out that this shows that physical education doesn’t always have to be so much about fitness. “I think we are seeing … in our world today that wellness is a multi-faceted approach,” Mirandola said. “It’s [about] physical wellness, … mental wellness, … spiritual wellness [and] emotional wellness.” According to Reibel, the increase in P.E. awareness is directly related to how the district has been promoting health, as well as the amount of students interested in health services. “Physical education and all the different courses we offer, allows students to not only learn about wellness, … but it also puts them in a situation that a lot of our students going into health services are going to have dealings with [in that profession],” Reibel said. Although adhering to push for district-wide career pathway orientations, preparing students for a career in health services is only a small part in the expanding physical education concept. “[Diversifying P.E. is] about giving students what they need and when they need it,” Mirandola said. “I’m really excited that our P.E. staff is thinking outside the box and really trying to create those opportunities for our students.”

CURRENTLY ON

Prospectornow.com ... FRENCH WEEK LEAVES MARK ON PROSPECT: Students partake in activities to celebrate French Week.

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IMPORTANT DATES FOR SENIORS: Check out this infographic to see all of the due dates for college.

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SCRUBS CLUB HOSTS FIRST GUEST SPEAKER: Read to find out the details for Dr. Hannah Graham’s visit to Prospect.

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COURSE SELECTION Q&A WITH ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL KARA KENDRICK: Read this and learn about class options for 2019-2020.

prospectornow.com

staff ASSOCIATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Connor Graver COPY EDITORS Grace Givan Ryan Kupperman Danny Ryerson ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kate Hyland ASSOCIATE ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Wyatt Dojutrek NEWS EDITORS Blanca Estrada Grace Baldino OPINION EDITOR Anthony Romanelli ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Jenna Koch Angelina Jasinski FEATURES EDITORS Mackenzie Noelle Elizabeth Keane Manisha Panthee SPORTS EDITORS Anthony Santangelo Rick Lytle VISUALS EDITORS Erik Velazquez Mara Nicolaie Maddy Lee 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 Ayse Eldes or Amanda Stickels), fax (847) 718 5306, email or write the Prospector, 801 West Kensington Rd., Mount Prospect, IL, 60056, prospectornow@gmail.com. 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 3

Grading policy in need of reevaluation When junior Isabelle Huerta was a Although the concern behind knowfreshman, she had a borderline grade in ing one’s grade is most prevalent when one of her classes going into final exam entering finals week, general ambiguity week, that is, until the day before that around non-updated grades cause unnecspecific final. She got a notification from essary stress among students throughout Infinite Campus that her teacher put in the semester. Undoubtedly, the phenomfour quiz grades. enal teachers of this school and district Being absent on the days of these strive to bring grades up to date as rouquizzes, she made them up on a later tinely as possible. This responsibility also date; however, they were still marked as has its challenges. missing before heading into finals week. “Sometimes it’s very time-consuming Because Infinite Campus is locked during to grade,” English teacher Karen Kruse finals, Huerta could not see her new quiz said. “If I’m grading, then I’m not prepscores or gauge the imping. I’m not getting pact on her grade. materials ready. … Because Huerta It’s hard to do both of wasn’t sure how the those things at once.” quizzes had affected her Especially with grade, she spent much large assignments like time studying for this essays, Kruse said it final to ensure that she may take up to three could maintain an A in weeks to grade. This the class. Although those is an understandable four quiz grades ultimatechallenge and unly brought her grade up, avoidable reality for Voting results of the she says that not knowing teachers who require what her grade was going a longer time-frame Prospector staff in into the final caused her a to grade lengthy asregards to this editorial. lot of stress. signments. However, “Studying for final exams is difficult to according to Principal Greg Minter, there do when you don’t know how much you is no district-wide policy regarding the need to study because if you have a 98 the frequency of mandatory grade updates on week before the final, you’re like, ‘I don’t Infinite Campus. There is also no policy need to study,’ but then they put in four ensuring a student knows his or her grade grades and [it drops your grade] to a 92 going into a final exam. and you think, ‘Now I have to study, but I Without such policies in place, incondon’t have enough time to study as much sistencies with grade book updates causes as I need to,’” Huerta said. ambiguity and uncertainty among stu-

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dents regarding their performance in a class. We, the Prospector, propose the adoption of a district-wide or school-wide policy which not only ensures students a routine grade update but also allows teachers an adequate amount of time to adhere to this policy. In addition, we believe a student’s grade should be finalized as soon as Infinite Campus is locked for students during finals week. With these suggestions in mind, we believe teachers should have adequate time to grade lengthier assignments or assessments. Therefore, the obligated frequency to update grades should be at least every two to three weeks. Any assignments that will be entered during the previous week before finals should also be created on Infinite Campus so students can foresee upcoming assignments before finals. Grading is neither an easy task for teachers nor only their responsibility. Students carry just as much accountability with staying up-to-date on absent work and requesting finished work to be entered in their grade books. A drop in performance will be quickly detected with a policy that ensures regular updates, allowing students to adjust their work ethic and seek needed help. Such policies will allow students to have accurate insight into how they are performing in a course throughout the semester, seeking the ultimate goal of gaining as much insight and knowledge they can from their coursework throughout high school.

Staff Editorial

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ayse Eldes Amanda Stickels

DECEMBER 7, 2018

More than what meets the eye

Having Latino roots doesn’t come easy for student editor

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hen my mother told me we were going to spend summer vacation in the Florida Keys, I had certain expectations. I planned to tan by the ocean, drink a non-alcoholic piña colada while watching the sunset and meet a cute boy. However, I experienced something completely different. On the fourth day, my brother, Christopher, my cousin, Mara, and I decided to play volleyball in the pool. Although we were having fun, I could feel a woman and a girl throwing death glares at us for several minINSULTS: Senior Blanca Estrada stands in the center while Donald Trump and other utes. individuals say nasty things. Estrada is accustomed to individuals saying mean things Whenever the volleyball landed by them, since Trump appeared on television and denounced Latinos. (illustration by Mara the women would stare at it and turn to look Nicolaie) back at us. They never passed the ball back, and my brother had to get out of the pool sevAt that moment, I wanted to jump from Additionally, once I started middle school eral times to get it. my seat and scold the man. Although we are at Friendship Junior High, I started teachAlthough their attitude towards us baffrom Latino descent, my family can speak ing myself grammar by checking out books fled me, what perplexed me the most was English fluently. Nonetheless, the man made from the Mount Prospect Public Library. I how the woman’s husband acted towards us. assumptions without asking first. In the remember working through “English GramHe was talking and having drinks with my end, that was the last time we went to an En- mar for Dummies” and “Basic Grammar for uncle, Jimmy. The husband never suspected Dummies.” In the end, it all paid off when I that Jimmy came with us on the trip. Never- glish-speaking restaurant, and we ended up eating in Cuban restaurants the got moved into Advanced Language Arts and theless, when my aunt, Laura, whole week. Wow, talk about culAdvanced Social Studies in eighth grade. walked towards my uncle, the turally-embedded segregation. Although it was a challenge to learn Enman looked disgusted and ended I honestly believed that peoglish, my family knew that if I learned the up walking away. ple in Florida would be used to language, I would receive opportunities that As I walked back to my hoSpanish-speakers because 1.53 weren’t available for them in Mexico. tel room, I couldn’t figure out million Cubans live in the state. My parents never got the chance to have why they acted like that. I then For God’s sake, I even thought the education I’m getting at Prospect, and looked at my uncle, and he was they were going to be more aceven if they had, my grandparents didn’t something I wasn’t. He was cepting of different groups of peo- have the money to pay for it. white. ple, but I was utterly wrong. Also, not every Latino is uneducated and I shouldn’t have been so surBLANCA While Florida is the perfect performs manual labor jobs. This should be prised. In a time where being place to direct my frustration, I obvious, but it didn’t stop Andrew Anglin, ESTRADA Latino defines me, I always have can’t deny similar experiences at the alt-right leader of The Daily Stormer, to to escape the misconceptions Executive News home. When I walked into soph- say, “Non-whites are genetically inferior, that people have toward that omore year Honors World Lit- and thus when our people breed with them Editor piece of my identity. erature and Composition, I was it is a serious form of dysgenics, lowering the Although our country has startled by that same look I received from the average IQ, making people less physically atnever been immune to racism, it seems like it family that day in our Florida hotel. It was tractive and less moral.” I was ready to throw has become more acceptable recently. When the same look of skepticism, a look that unmy laptop against the wall after reading his I was on the airplane back to Mount Prospect, statement. I understood that people may have been more knowingly asks, “What is she doing here?” These looks aren’t always intentional, but People don’t understand that when our comfortable treating my family like outsiders because it’s an attitude evidently adopted they reflect discomfort, and they definitely president says offensive things about Laticause it too. nos, it impacts that community in ways we by our political leaders. Comments from our It shouldn’t be a surprise when I walk into overlook. I’ve never received more hateful own president Donald J. Trump and other inan honors English course. People don’t uncomments, death stares and threats than foldividuals have reinforced numerous misconderstand that from a young age, my parents lowing his speech where he called Latinos ceptions about Latinos. “rapists,” “drug dealers” and “terrorists.” I want to make it clear that I don’t only started teaching me English. Although my first language at home is Spanish, I’ve lived People have literally said, “Go back to your speak Spanish. I shouldn’t have to make this in an English-speaking country my whole country” to my parents’ faces. clear, but after Florida, it seems obligatory. life. When people cross the border, they cross When I was eating at Florida Keys Steak and My parents bought me English books, put for the same reason this country’s ancestors Lobster House, a man asked my uncle what did. We envision the same dream they did. we wanted to eat. However, he never asked English cartoons on and listened to English music in order for me to become acclimated I am more than what Trump or anyone else my aunt, cousin, mom, brother or me. to the language. says. I am an American.

4 FEATURES

prospectornow.com

DECEMBER 7, 2018

Students reflect on lives prior to U.S. MANISHA PANTHEE Features Editor

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hen junior Maria Lleni arrived in Arlington Heights at 10 years old, she was taken aback by something most locals are used to: trees. This was a far stretch from her hometown, Mexicali, a town in Mexico surrounded by deserts. Lleni moved here due to her mother’s work, but previous visits to Arlington Heights made the transition easier. Lleni had also visited San Diego multiple times on visits to her dad’s family. Lleni is one of 135 students at Prospect that were not born in the U.S., according to the Student Services Office, and they all have stories of their own. Lleni had learned minimal English in elementary school, but it was not enough to catch up to other native born speakers. In fifth grade, she took an English Language Learner (ELL) course with a teacher who helped her read. After a year of ELL, she wasn’t quite fluent but could hold a conversation with little difficulty. “At [that] moment, I felt really behind,” Lleni said. “Now that I think about [how quickly I learned English] it’s kind of impressive.” In middle school, she was very nervous for read-alouds where the other kids chose who read next. Despite her fluency in English, reading in front of her classmates still makes Lleni nervous today. “I’m insecure about my accent. I just want to pronounce things normally,” Lleni said. “I avoid saying certain words because of it,

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DIVA: Junior Maria Lleni stands in her traditional Mexican dress. Lleni moved to the U.S when she was 10. (photo courtesy of Maria Lleni)

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although [the accent] is slowly fading.” Senior Subash Bhusal was also in ELL during his late elementary and early middle school years. He moved from Nepal to Chicago when he was 11. Like many other Nepalese families, Bhusal and his family wanted a better life and more opportunities. After two years, his parents decided to move to Mt. Prospect for the good school districts. Contrary to Lleni, he doesn’t feel self-conscious about his accent. “You need challenges,” Bhusal said. “You’re not going to get everything and I knew this.” Despite this, it was difficult for him to communicate with others. They didn’t understand him well and vice versa. Lleni and Bhusal both agree that the curriculum in the U.S. is different than the curriculum in their respective countries. According to Bhusal, the curriculum in Nepal is more memorization-based with a focus on studying from textbooks, whereas his experience with American curriculum is more practical, such as lab work in science classes. He doesn’t recall much of that type of learning in Nepal and prefers the system here. Bhusal also acknowledged that the homework load in Nepal is much heavier, as well as pressure from parents. “My parents motivate me,” Bhusal said. “My parents gave me this life by coming from Nepal, and so more motivation comes from my parents than anything else.” Although he doesn’t know if the practice still holds, Bhusal remembers that corporal punishment (physical punishment intended to cause pain) was common in Nepal. Bhusal doesn’t have too much experience with this practice, but saw plenty of it occur in his school. He recalls that although they didn’t have detention, the punishment for not doing home or class work would incur a harsh slap. Due to being raised in Nepalese society, Bhusal said “it’s not necessarily bad, but there’s a level where you should really stop.” Another big difference in Nepal is the

time that students go to school. Although his primary school was close by, Bhusal walked half an hour through “crappy, dangerous roads” to his secondary school. Many villages didn’t and still don’t have school buses or cars. Therefore, many village schools start around 10 a.m. and end around 4 p.m. so students have enough time to go to school and return home to do homework or help out their parents. Although Bhusal was too young at the time to work, his older brother often cut grass for the animals, made food and cut wood. The two brothers also occasionally worked in their family’s crop fields. Bhusal and Lleni have seen that life in the U.S. offers many advantages that their home countries do not. According to College Board, Nepal has exactly one school that offers AP classes, and Mexico has 21. In the U.S., more than 20,000 schools offer AP classes. “People should appreciate having the opportunities they have here and take advantage of how you can try out a lot of things during high school,” Lleni said. Junior Virginia Florianowicz has lived in multiple countries. Although she was born here, she has spent years in England, Canada, and Poland and came back to Arlington Heights in July. With experience in multiple countries, she feels it is easier to acclimate to a busy school lifestyle here and stay on top of things. In Poland, she had longer school hours and was introduced to school material earlier, which created a tougher learning environment. Another factor that added to this were the strict teacher — student relationships in Poland. In Canada and the U.S., Florianowicz has experienced more casual and friendly teachers. Although she sees positives to both situations, it’s easier to ask help from teachers here. It’s also easier for teachers to get to know their students and be better educators because of it. Looking ahead, Florianowicz would like to stay in the U.S., as the colleges she is looking at are located here, as well as her family. She hopes to use her experience with traveling in other parts of her life. “I’d like to think that I’ve learned to accommodate to different situations fast and improve my social skills,” Florianowicz said. “I think [my experience with moving] gave me an advantage for learning new things and new cultures, and I really like that.” Although Bhusal loves his home country, he also plans to stay in the US post-high school. Adjusting back to a Nepali life again would be difficult, especially as he has become used to a comfortable

Sophomore Claire Carmody The Girlfriend

Senior Rebecca Fayhee The Subject

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Senior Kathleen Gault The Best Friend

Kate McKinnon

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READY FOR SCHOOL: Senior Subash Bhusal (left) and his brother (right) pose for a picture in their school uniforms. Bhusal moved to the U.S. when be was 11. (photo courtesy of Subash Bhusal)

Poland (17) Bulgaria (13) India (10) Ukraine, Nepal and China (7) Russia, Turkey and Philippines (6)

Top foreign countries which Prospect students were born

*Information courtesy of Student Services Office lifestyle. Lleni doesn’t plan to stay in Mexico or the US, but rather hopes traveling is in her future. “Moving as a kid definitely made me realize I shouldn’t be

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scared to go somewhere new,” Lleni said. “I just want to get out of my comfort zone. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen in the future.”

Percy Jackson

Reality TV

Gym

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Celebrity crush?

Diet or Regular?

Favorite book?

Guilty pleasure?

8th period class?

Kate McKinnon

Regular

Percy Jackson

Trashy TV

Weights

Diet

The Hate You Give

Food

AP Gov

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

W I N N E R

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prospectornow.com

FEATURES 5

DECEMBER 7, 2018

Hearing loss speaks volumes ANGELINA JASINSKI Entertainment Editor

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oming out of the pit from a Fall Out Boy concert, senior Tia Sadlon could immediately feel the effect that it had on her hearing. With other concerts it wasn’t as bad; with this concert, her hearing was worse since she had been closer to the speakers than any other concert she had attended before. Listening to music and going to concerts are common pastimes for students. However, if their music is too loud, it might lead to longterm hearing consequences. Although Sadlon realizes that there can be repercussions for going to loud concerts, she notes that they are always good experiences, even if she can tell that her hearing is a little off afterward. According to psychology teacher Daria Schaffeld, sound goes through your auditory canal and strikes the eardrum, which is responsible for amplifying sound. The eardrum takes the sound wave and passes it into three bones in your middle ear which continues to amplify the sound. After it passes through the three bones, they send the sound wave into a structure in the ear called the cochlea, a bony structure that is shaped like a snail. In the cochlea, there are

sensitive hair cells, called cilia, which interpret sound waves and regulate balance. These cilia, however, can be damaged by listening to loud sounds. Schaffeld explains that once these hair cells are damaged they die and cannot be replaced. After a constant barrage of loud sounds, such as from concerts, the hair cells die, causing hearing loss. Even though one might associate hearing loss with intense music, such as metal or hip-hop, that isn’t the case. Dr. Julie Sweeney-Grana, an audiologist with the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL) explains that genre has nothing to do with hearing loss. “It doesn’t matter if you’re listening to Bon Jovi, loud jazz, rock, or classical,” Sweeney-Grana said. “It’s just loud, which is the problem.” Sweeney-Grana also explains how there is a rule called the “80 dB doubling rule,” which means you can listen to something that is at about 80 decibels for eight hours, 85 decibels for four hours, and so on. For each increase of about five decibels, you should cut the time of listening in half. She also mentions that typical concert levels are around 100 to 120 decibels in volume and, although it may only be a one-time event, the minute you walk out of a concert,

TURN IT DOWN: Concerts and listening to music with earbuds are common pastimes for students; however, these activities may have unintended concequences. “If [students] listen to their music at the highest volume they could listen to, they will definitely have hearing loss in their future,” Sweeney-Grana said. (photo illustration by Mara Nicolaie) you will have some noise-induced hearing loss. What people typically experience will be a ringing or a buzzing in their ear, which is called tinnitus. While this should go away after a few hours or a couple of days, there can occasionally be some permanent effects. “It doesn’t really matter where you are in the concert hall, it’s just how the volume is getting in your ear,” Sweeney-Grana said. The effects of concert noise levels can have effects that differ in severity from person to person. As Sweeney-Grana explains, some people can go to a concert one time and experience hearing loss. Others can attend concert after concert and won’t experience any repercussions. However, for a typical person, if exposed too many times, there can be permanent hearingloss. According to Sweeney-Grana, with earbuds, the amount of damage that you can cause to your ears may be different depending on

what kind of earbuds you use. The deeper it is, the more damaging it may be since there is no way for the music to come out of the ear. She mentions that using headphones that go over the ear are better since possibly-damaging sound waves can leak out and they won’t be as harmful. Furthermore, it is important to avoid listening to music at full volume and to limit time when listening to music through earbuds. To further emphasize this concern, noise-induced hearing loss is on the rise among young adults and teenagers. According to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), one in five teens will experience some form of hearing loss, which is an increase of 30 percent from 20 years ago. Although hearing loss can be caused by playing loud music with earbuds in, for senior Matt Bielawski, he uses his earbuds as a method to pay more attention to what he’s doing and to focus.

Occasionally, when teachers don’t allow their students to listen to music, Bielawski finds that he is distracted far easier. However, when he has a teacher who allows him to listen to music, he finds that it helps him to zone in and focus on what he’s doing with ease. On the other hand, Schaffeld, who doesn’t allow music in class, explains that this policy is because listening to music can be distracting and the ability to multitask has not been proven by science. In addition, Schaffeld doesn’t know what students are listening to. Occasionally she puts on instrumental music since she believes it’s beneficial to not have to sit in a quiet environment; however, anything that students would want to sing along to can be distracting, in her opinion. As Sweeney-Grana also noted, if students aren’t careful with the volume on their earbuds, there may be life-long consequences for their hearing.

Lets’ talk sex ... education OLIVIA KIM Staff Writer Most upperclassmen remember their sex ed curriculum as an uncomfortable unit of awkward silences, detailed diagrams of human genitalia, and depending on the teacher, unintentional innuendo. But regardless of their experience, every grauduting senior at Prospect has to have taken one semester of health class, one unit of which is dedicated to sex education. The choice to have sex or not to have sex are the equally important factors of psychology and biology. These factors should be understood by all before engaging in sexual activity, which is where sex education plays an important role. “If you don’t understand the possible consequences of sexual activity, those consequences can affect you for the rest of your life,” parent Lara Solonickne said. A University of Washington study found that teenagers who took comprehensive sex ed were 60% less likely to get pregnant than teens who were taught an abstinence-only curriculum. Illinois does not require schools to teach sex education; however, it’s required that information must be medically accurate if taught, and there must be information on both abstinence and contraception methods. District 214 teaches “Abstinence-Plus Education”, which is a compromise between abstinence-only education and comprehensive education. Parents reserve the right to remove their child from the classroom for this unit; however, this is rare. In Michele Burnett’s 19 years as a health teacher, only two students chose not to participate in the course. The importance of sex education is clearly understood by students, parents, and teachers. “I 100% think that [sex education] is important,” Burnett said. “I would say out of all the units that we talk about in health, this is the one where the most questions come.” This is because health class is one of the only commonly accepted places to talk about sex. As a teacher, Burnett wishes that she had more time to teach this unit just so there can be more room for discussion. Because school is the primary educational source of information for most students on this topic, they rely heavily on the course’s information and want it to cover as much as possible, as bluntly as possible. “Those classes need to be honest and they need to be practical,” an anonymous Prospect

senior said. “And they need to be taught, [especially] with the spread of things on the internet. Kids are going to learn about all these things either way. They can’t just teach what they want to teach, they have to teach the truth, they have to teach what’s actually going on.” According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, over 75 percent of prime-time programs contain sexual content while only 14 percent of those shows address responsibilities and risks of sexual activity. Even with the sexualization of the media and people being more open about their sexuality, some teens may find it awkward and uncomfortable to talk about sex. While teens are constantly taught how to study or function in a job or workplace, sex education may be de-emphasized despite its relevance. “The age of fifteen to eighteen is seen as not adult yet, but we’re not children, and we’re in that awkward phase of not totally puberty, but it’s still awkward,” senior Molly Ruhl said. “I think that most people find this very uncomfortable because they don’t consider themselves adults, so talking about [sex] is not acceptable to [most].” Parents may also find it awkward to discuss this topic. According to the Journal of Sex Research, 30 percent of teens report that their parents have never spoken to them about sex, while at the same time, 40 percent of high schoolers have had sex. One Prospect parent, Agnes Polinska, however, has a different view about having “the talk” and feels comfortable talking about sex with her child. “I want [people] to know this topic is natural, but I also want them to know the safety [precautions] and dangers of sexual intercourse,” Polinska said. Most parents see the benefit of conversations about sex with their teens in addition to participating in formal sex education programs. “I think ideally they should learn [about sex] in both places [at home and in school],” Solonickne said. For teens and parents alike, talking about sex is not easy. Burnett knows this, and tries to make the classroom environment as comfortable as possible to allow discussion. “A lot of my friends will laugh that I teach sex ed,” Burnett said. “And they’ll [say], ‘Oh my gosh, that has to be awful,’ or, ‘Isn’t that awkward?’ And every single time I tell them that it’s my favorite unit to teach in health, because of how much discussion gets done and how much we have students asking honest questions.”

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6 FEATURES

DECEMBER 7, 2018

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Overcoming a urveball Sophomore embraces life following stroke AYSE ELDES Editor-in-Chief “

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xcellent,” sophomore Jack Breitenstein said. Although he has trouble articulating full sentences, Breitenstein made no hesitation to state how he feels to return back to school. Suffering a stroke in September last year, Breitenstein resumed full-time attendance at Prospect this semester after briefly returning in May. The day of his Stroke, Jack had just come home from a soccer game with a headache and a fever. While standing in his mom’s room, he suddenly collapsed and was found by his grandmother. He awoke from a coma 3 weeks and four days later. According to Breitenstein’s mother, Laurie, his stroke was the byproduct of a condition he already had. Arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, usually in the brain or spine, is rare and may have no symptoms like in Jack’s situation. According to Laurie, Jack’s doctors predict he’s had AVM since birth. Jack spoke his first words seven days after he awoke in Lutheran General Hospital. From that point forward, the recovery process began. Before returning home last Christmas, Jack spent eight weeks at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in North East Chicago, which US News named as the No.1 stroke rehabilitation center in the world this year. There, as Jack worked on speech and physical rehabilitation, one day, he was able to ditch his wheelchair and climb onto a treadmill. “I couldn’t believe it,” Laurie said. “They got him up and on a treadmill that was holding him so that he wouldn’t fall like on his third day there.” According to Verywell Health, approximately six in 100,000 children will suffer a stroke at some point between birth and adulthood, with 60 percent of cases affecting boys. Jack’s stroke was a life-altering experience. Previously an athlete playing soccer and baseball at Prospect, he also competed in travel soccer through Green White Soccer Club. For Jack, however, having the stroke didn’t mean saying goodbye to sports. At the end of this past summer, a family friend who works

at Wrigley Field reached out to Laurie and invited Jack to throw the first pitch at Wrigley Field. As his physical and speech therapists from Shirley Ryan cheered him on, Jack stepped onto the mound and did what he had practiced so many times during therapy. Except this time, he was throwing the ball to Cubs pitcher James Norwood. “I would be scared,” Laurie said. “I would be scared to walk out to the mound and throw [the ball] 60 feet in front of 45,000 people with my offhand, but he just waved to the crowd ... he’s just — the core of him has not changed. So he remains happy.” That moment, for Laurie, symbolized Jack’s determination through his recovery process. “He is not afraid or embarrassed or anything about these changes,” Laurie said. “It’s just, it’s what happened to him and he is going to live a full life and be happy no matter what. I was really impressed with him.” Although Jack may not be able to return to compete in athletics, he still stays involved in his previous programs. As a travel soccer and Prospect baseball player, sports played a big role in his life up to freshman year. This year, Jack is the manager of the JV boys’ soccer team. Laurie feels that sometimes it’s hard

BRINGING THE HEAT: Sophomore Jack Breitenstein throws the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field over the summer. A family friend who works there reached out to Breitenstein’s family to celebrate his continued recovery from a stroke in September 2017. “I would be scared to walk out to the mound and throw [the ball] 60 feet in front of 45,000 people with my offhand, but he just waved to the crowd,” Jack’s mother Laurie Breitenstein said. (photo courtesy of Laurie Breiteinstein)

feel bad for him.” Although Jack is no longer able to play baseball, he was the manager of Prospect’s freshman soccer team this year. Kaempfer is still trying to get used to the field without Jack, but new memories take place of the ones for which he reminisces. During a get-together with friends, the group spent an hour listening to Jack’s excitement about a new bird he was getting. Gemma, an African grey parrot, is one of the smartest of its species and has become a close friend and obsession for Jack. “He was in [his room] today teaching call and responses, you know, like playing peekaboo with her, and she answers them,” Laurie said. “He’ll say, “Hi Gemma,” and she’ll say, “Hi Jack,” and -Laurie Breitenstein, things like that. It’s pretty cool, and it gets him talking, too.” parent Although Gemma has a tendency to bite others, she and Jack cudfor Jack to see his brother, who dle and talk often. Other pastimes plays football, wrestling and basefor Jack include playing video ball, go to practices. games, spending time on Youtube “I think it’s hard for him to and flying drones in school psysee that, but Jack just has like an chologist Selby Roth’s office. Roth amazingly positive — he doesn’t describes Jack as a resilient stufocus on what he can’t do. To him, dent and observes that pursuing he’s just, he’s his interest himself,” Laurie contribute to said. his recovery Sophomore process. Sean Kaempfer, “I think The cause of sophomore Jack Brewho is a close with any peritenstein’s stroke was arteriovenous friend of Jack’s, son, finding malformation (AVM). played soccer things you’re with him since interested in What is AVM? second grade. will excite An abnormal connection between “He was pretyou,” Roth arteries and veins, usually in the ty quiet [during said. soccer], which brain or spine. Roth is was weird for one of several him, but he was Who does it affect? staff memthe one person AVM is usually present at birth. bers Jack who you could alworks with at ways trust when school. After How common is it? the ball was comspending the Fewer than 200,000 U.S. cases/year ing near him,” morning at Kaempfer said. Shirley Ryan *info courtesy of the Mayo Clinic “His whole life for physical was baseball and therapy, Jack soccer. It was his has a late arfavorite thing to do and anytime I rival at school. His school day consee him there, I just think of how sists of core courses in addition to much he loves what he did, and I sessions where he works on reading and writing strategies. Speech and language pathologist Sarah Russell works with Jack twice a week at school to aid with speaking. His positivity, Russell stated, is what makes him stand out as a student. “There’s an impact of a person’s attitude. He has a positive attitude and really tries his hardest,” Russell said. “It makes a difference for

It’s just what happened to him and he’s going to live a full life and be happy no matter what.

Stroke science

FLY THE ‘W’: Sophomore Jack Breitenstein poses with speech and physical therapists from Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. The group came to cheer as Breitenstein threw the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field and celebrated Breitenstein’s continued recovery from a stroke last year. (photo courtesy of Laurie Breitenstein) people working with him. It makes it enjoyable for us and excites us, too.” As the semester nears an end, this Christmas will mark the oneyear anniversary of Jack’s return home after his stroke. On that day, he remembers crying of happiness. His family members celebrated with cake, and he received kisses from his two cats and dog. “That was an emotional day. … He was really happy to come home and see his dog and his cat,” Laurie said. “I think he just felt like a sigh of relief, you know, sort of like an exhale like, “OK, it’s going to be OK, back to normal.” I mean obviously everything wasn’t the same, but his life was back to normal. He was home with his family.” Looking forward, Jack’s goals

for this year are strengthening his arm and leg movements. Speech is the biggest challenge for him, but he wants people to know that his stroke is not an impairment of his intelligence. Eventually, Jack can recover to the point where those speaking to him may not notice any speaking or physical challenges, but the remaining effect of aphasia will continue internally. “He’s intrepid is the word I would use for him,” Laurie said. “He just says, ‘This is me, and I’m just as happy as I want.’ I think this shows that happiness is from the inside, you know, it’s not what you can do physically or any other way. It’s like he’s a happy person; you know him, and he’s got a great outlook on it.”

CURRENTLY ON... PROSPECTORNOW.COM Sophomore Jack Breitenstein volunteers at TopSoccer’s fall program to play soccer with disabled students. Check out a video of Breitenstein’s ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field!

prospectornow.com

DECEMBER 7, 2018

FEATURES 7

Balancing act: stress, sickness, schoolwork Students weigh health vs. school TOMMY CARRICO

Even if I don’t feel great, I’ll still try and go [to school]. I’d rather be there than miss a ton of stuff.”

Staff Writer

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or many students, missing two days of school is far from ideal. However, when Cole Guagliardo and about two hundred other band students hit the road to Atlanta on Wednesday, October 24, missing the next Thursday and Friday for a Bands of America Regional competition was inevitable. This was only the beginning for Guagliardo. After a sickness prevented him from making it to class on Thursday and Friday of the following week, he felt that the time he spent catching up quickly went to waste. “It felt like [I wasn’t] in the know,” Guagliardo said. “I didn’t really know what was going on.” Guagliardo isn’t the only one who has felt the weight of returning to class after multiple absences. According to Dean Mark Taylor, there are about one hundred school trips and in-school guest speaker events every year at Prospect. “Even a person who misses two or three days, depending on what classes they’re in, can be terribly behind,” said school psychologist Dr. Jay Kyp-Johnson. “We have very busy days here, so the question is, where do I go for help on things that I missed?” Even Kyp-Johnson admits that adults, including himself, “absolutely” and “constantly” feel the stress of missing work. “I always tell my class that I have to be really sick to take a day off because it’s actually more work to figure out [the plan],” said English teacher Karen Kruse. “So when I’m taking a day off it’s because I’m really, actually sick.” According to Kyp-Johnson, while it may seem like the determination to make it to

- Cole Guagliardo, junior

UNDER THE WEATHER: A student attends class, despite feeling sick. Difficult workloads often make students feel as though they must come to class no matter how difficult illness can make getting through the day. (cartoon by Maddy Lee) school or work is a good demonstration of a strong work ethic, it can be problematic. “Even if I don’t feel great, I’ll still try and go [to school],” Guagliardo said. “I’d rather be there than miss a ton of stuff.” However, physical health isn’t all that’s at stake. “Probably the worst part of [making up work] is just the stress building up to it,”

Kyp-Johnson said. “An anticipatory anxiety of having to get back into the rush of school and homework.” “It can be a problem,” Kruse said. “I do think that [for] some students in particular, it causes them more anxiety while absent, so they push themselves to come, and that’s not good for your health.” While many agree that the stress related to

missing school is an issue, finding a solution isn’t quite as simple. Guagliardo believes that much of his stress could be aided by more teachers posting “the class agenda on a calendar on Schoology.” “Depending on how long they’ve been gone, sometimes I’ll tell the kids, ‘Hey, don’t worry about doing that, it’s not critical,” Kruse said. “At the end of the day, it’s not that big of a deal.” “When a student has missed for whatever reason, everybody needs to just take a step back [and] get a little distance,” said Kyp-Johnson. “You have to be aware [that] the psychology of the whole thing is, how do we get people back online and feeling comfortable rather than just demanding and demanding.” If there’s one thing that many believe is a key aspect in minimizing stress after missing school, it’s communication. “Students need to understand that even though a teacher may sometimes not look like they want to accommodate, you need to ask, and you need to discuss,” Kyp-Johnson said. “Most of our teachers here at Prospect are very accommodating, and they’re plenty willing to help students get back on track with their classes.”

Seniors face college application peer pressure online Social challenges abound for gradsto-be on Instagram and other media

always are looking at what everyone else is doing,” Bourn said. “It is really easy to be on this rollercoaster of ups and downs with ‘Oh, they got in, I didn’t,’ so you constantly say, ‘They have heard from these schools, I haven’t. I must not be as attractive as a candidate that I did not get word back yet.’” Social media is not the only significant college-related stressor: cultural pressure is also a MARISSA PROVENZALE big contributor. Societal forces such as family expectations and the media have conditioned Staff Writer today’s teens to view schools like Harvard and Yale as dream schools, when they may not truly Her finger reached for the colorful camera be a perfect fit. icon, and Instagram filled the smart phone’s One student who found his perfect fit in screen. Delia Langefeld carefully scrolled an Ivy League is sophomore Daniel Chapin. through the app, liking and commenting on the Chapin already has his “heart set on” going seemingly never-ending stream of posts: Picto Massachusetts Institute of Technology tures of pets, friends hanging out, celebrities (MIT) due to its strong programming courses. and, newest to her feed, peers’ college decision Chapin has even started preparing to apply by announcements. building a portfolio of programming projects “There seem to be more and more,” Langeto demonstrate his longtime interest and pracfeld said. tices on Khan Academy for an hour Delia Langefeld is just one of many every quarter. “What [stuseniors who survived the early dents] deal with a lot of action deadline and is now times is their peers or watching on the sidelines family members sayas her peers commit to ing, ‘You’re going to go different schools and there? I think you can post pictures of their do better than that,’” acceptance letters. Bourn said. “It is really However, despite the a shame to have those sigh of relief that getkinds of comments beting accepted often ing placed on you when is, it’s not all fun and you’ve done the work.” games. College-related “I think [seeing comparison extends peers post about their beyond the application college decisions] is a process. Many parents or little bit stressful,” Langestudents contact Bourn affeld said. “I didn’t know ter graduation worried that where I wanted to go for the their child or they themlongest time, and there are selves have made the wrong always people who are like ‘I school choice, a worry which want to go to this [college], I wanted to go there forever,’ - Delia Langefeld, senior is worsened by the perception that everyone else is and I still didn’t know, but I having more fun and getting a better education. thought it all kind of came together.” She says it is important to remember that Today, kids are bombarded by college adpeople tend to only post their good experiences, vertisements on the web as social media’s role which, as a result, paints an unrealistic picture in the culture of student stress continues to of what it is like to transition into college. grow. “You see it in high school too, but definitely During the holidays, it is not uncommon to at college you only get to see what people are see seniors sharing on Snapchat and Instagram doing through social media, and it feels like a where they will be attending college. While competition to prove that you are doing stuff,” these posts may seem harmless, they do have Class of ‘18 grad Sydney Hoelter said. consequences, according to College and Career The graduating class of 2018 applied to 365 Counselor Diane Bourn. different schools with a wide variety of qual“It all ties into the whole comparison, you

I think [seeing peers post about their college decisions] is a little bit stressful. I didn’t know where I wanted to go for the longest time.”

COMMITTED: A student browses the PHS 2019 Commits Twitter, which announces college commitments by Prospect seniors. (photo illustration by Connor Graver) ities. Additionally, 166 seniors applied to Harper College, which goes to show that even if social media makes it appear as if many people are leaving this area for “better opportunities,” the local option is still a popular one. As this year’s juniors start thinking about where they are going to attend college in 2020, it is important to remember to get started early and ask for help when it’s needed. English teacher Matthew Love is just one of many teachers in the building that are willing to help edit college or scholarship essays to be the strongest they can be. “I like working with students on their writing,” said Love. “I like helping people with application essays, it’s a fun process for me.” Next year, in addition to Tuesday morning college application help sessions and seminars from application experts, Bourn plans to get an Apple TV in the College and Career Center so Common Application demonstrations can be held Bourn encourages students to stop in the CCC to speak with her about starting new programs which they think would be helpful to the application process. “Tell us what will work for you, what you need, and we will be happy to arrange it,” Bourn said.

8 IN-DEPTH

DECEMBER 7, 2018

prospectornow.com

What do you want to

Ahead of schedule

Students balance requirements and career classes in the school day AMANDA STICKELS Editor-in-Chief

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ince she was a sophomore, senior Asia Ekiert knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. About every year, her family travels to Europe to visit family and explore the continent. As an architect, Ekiert’s father always commented on the structure of different buildings. Eventually, she was the one making those comments instead of him. Unlike her father, what stood out most to Ekiert were bridges. “You see a bridge that doesn’t have any metal supports. It’s literally just all cut stone and rock, and you see it standing up,” Ekiert said. “It’s amazing because it’s been there for hundreds of years, and it’s still here and still being used. … I want to make something that lasts but looks pretty and can sustain in today’s world.” Because of this passion, she decided on civil engineering. “Architecture is everything that goes up, and civil engineering is everything that goes across,” Ekiert said. “I’ve always really liked bridges because I think they’re really cool, and I don’t care how lame that sounds.” Throughout high school, Ekiert took advantage of the engineering classes that Prospect has to offer, which includes Computer Aided Design (CAD) 1, CAD 2 and the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) courses. According to District 214 Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Dr. Lazaro Lopez, the career pathway program started about four years ago when the national and state government started pushing for this program with the purpose of getting students to explore different careers they may be interested in. “The idea is then when you sit with your counselor, the counselor will encourage you and help you understand all the opportunities [in order] to fully invest yourself in that career cluster,” Lopez said. “Not with the idea that that is all you are going to do, but that you are going to experience that.” However, as Ekiert has always made it a priority to fit engineering classes into her schedule, she says she has “gone down to the wire” with her graduation requirements by fulfilling her consumer education requirement the second semester of her senior year. “I don’t want to take these requirement classes [while] there’s these other classes that I’m really interested in that I want to continue taking,” Ekiert said. According to Principal Greg Minter, graduation requirements come from both the district and state levels with the purpose of creating a well-rounded and educated population that can make informed decisions. As a result, Minter says they are the basis of public education (see "Required Classes"). Lopez agrees, adding that fulfilling some of these requirements, such as completing four years of math, might give a student a more competitive edge for college applications. However, Ekiert finds it difficult to find

room for both required and desired classes in about two years ago with the idea of giving her schedule, saying that she has had to meet students more of a college experience. Curwith her counselor many times to figure out rently, Buffalo Grove has 11 blended classes which classes she could fit in her day and in which students are given “flex days” to which classes she had to give up. work on homework in the designated areas With only two elective periods her fresh- in the school, such as the library, and get man and sophomore years, Ekiert took Span- help from teachers instead of being in class. ish both years because she believed that Although schools in the district, such as colleges wanted students to take three years Buffalo Grove and Prospect, are making an of a foreign language, one of which she al- effort to free up students’ schedules, Lopez, ready completed in middle school. This left Minter and Olson say that required classes her with one period left to take a class of her are still important to have. choosing. Freshman year she chose to take “I think that a lot of jobs that this genart to fulfill the fine arts requirement, also eration is going to have don’t exist yet, so because she simply enjoys art class. SophoI think it’s good to have that well-rounded more year she took CAD 1 first semester and approach,” Olson said. “The ability to think Woods second semester. Although she found and learn, which [develops] in a lot of Enmore freedom in her schedule junior year, glish, science [and] social studies classes … Ekiert was so fascinated by other engineer- can apply to a variety of fields,” Olson said. ing courses that her consumer ed requireArt teacher Barbara Shaffer gets many ment fell by the wayside. students in her Intro to 3-D Art and PhotogOn top of these decisions, some of the enraphy 1 classes who simply want to complete gineering classes cannot run if there are not their fine arts requirement. enough students enrolled in them. Therefore, While Shaffer understands why students Ekiert also had to weigh in do this, as she said she the possibility of a certain would do the same in high class not being available school, she notes that there Required classes in the upcoming years. are many skills in art that For example, her CAD 2 are useful in people’s evD214 and State Requirements class didn’t have enough 4 years of language arts eryday life, such as probstudent interest during 3 years of math lem solving. her sophomore year, so “When you make a mis2 years of science she couldn’t take it until take [in art], you might see PE at least 150 minutes a week her junior year. a better solution, and [this Unlike Ekiert, junior teaches kids], ‘You know Pearl Nanda doesn’t know Differences between requirements: what? This mistake I can what she wants to do as a The district requires 3 years of social work with, and I can make career, so she took most studies, while the state requires 2. this accident turn around of her required classes The state requires 1 year chosen and be a positive thing,’ during freshman and from the following: art, music, and that’s something that sophomore year. Tak- foreign language or vocational eda lot of students don’t have ing some of these classes ucation, while the district requires 1 a lot of experience with,” gave her an idea of what semester of fine arts ,1 semester of Shaffer said. she didn’t want to do. For consumer ed and 1 year of a World Although the district example, her Personal Fiis working to make more Language or CTE class. nance class, while helpful, room in schedules, Mintmade her realize that she er stresses that this isn’t wasn’t interested in business. necessarily so that students can take more While she was an underclassman, Nanda classes. By having an extra period in the day, feels that she had enough room in her schedhe hopes that students decide to take a study ule, but as she was making her senior year hall in order to relieve the stress that many schedule, she wished she could take more face today. classes, as she believes that there are more “Our district was really on this hellbent available electives for upperclassmen. path of building up AP … which is not necesIn response to this, counselor Nick Olson sarily a bad thing, but we may have overdone believes that District 214 is very supportive it because now our whole community and of students pursuing their passion and prokids are thinking ‘I have to take as many AP vides many opportunities for this outside classes [as] I can,’ rather than thinking, ‘I’m of the classroom. He cites that the district’s going to take AP or Honors classes in things internship program and summer career-fothat I like and that I’m good at, and then cused classes are widely available to stutake [another class] and I’m going to have a dents. great experience that’s really interesting and In addition, Lopez mentions that this fun,’” Minter said. year's summer school will offer introductory Olson agrees saying that the fact that classes in different career clusters, such as students don’t have enough room in their Introduction to Business. schedules shows how good of a school ProsMinter also notes that administration is pect is. However, having so many opportuniworking toward freeing up space in students’ ties forces students to manage their choices schedules by blending classes. For examand remind themselves that they don’t want ple, next year, Prospect will have a blended to overdo it. Health Education and P.E. class. Since P.E. “Maybe taking a step back and thinking, is only required 150 minutes a week, students I don’t have to take all of these things. I can can go to P.E. three times per week and then do a couple and find a valuable experience Health class the other two days. and stick with that,” Olson said. “You don’t This is possible because Health is origihave to do everything to get into college, to nally a semester-long course, but, by having get a great job, to be happy in life. [I would the class for three days each week, it stretch- like to see] our students step back a little bit es out to a full-year course. and have time to enjoy high school, enjoy the Buffalo Grove High School’s Associate things they’re doing and not have to take on Principal for Instruction Dr. Jill Maraldo everything.” spearheaded the blended learning movement

photo by Erik Velazquez

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IN-DEPTH 9

DECEMBER 7, 2018

be when you grow up?

From interests, careers teachers reflect on how they came to be MACKENZIE NOELLE Executive Features Editor AP Physics 1 and AP Physics C teacher Mark Welter grew up drawing. He says he has always liked how people can “have different notions of what beautiful art is” and how he tends “to look more at the technical detail of how someone was able to represent something in reality in a way that’s not real.” After attending the American Academy of Art (AAA) in Chicago for three semesters, Welter realized how busy the life of a commercial artist could be and that he would be “burnt out” from producing a large AP Physics 1 and AP quantity of art in a short Physics C teacher Mark amount of time. After leaving AAA, Welter Welter worked at his local Walmart before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to major in Math Education and minor in Physics Education. The decision of switching majors came from the inspiration his high school geometry teacher had given him. “He said ‘I think you’ll like it and you’ll also have an easier time finding a job because you’ll be certified in two different subjects,” Welter said. During his high school years, Welter had struggled with the subject he now devotes himself to teaching: math. However, if it hadn’t been for having to take algebra twice, Welter says he might not have the same admiration of math and teaching as he does today. It wasn’t until Welter’s sophomore year of high school, when he was learning proofs in geometry, that he really took the time to examine what he was doing and why he was using the formulas that he was. By taking the time and critically thinking, Welter had discovered a love of explaining why people are using certain formulas and why they work. “Every year, even though I might be teaching the same subject, I have a whole new set of students, which is always enjoyable,” Welter said. “It feels new every year because of [them].” Welter believees he was fortunate to have a job lined up at Prospect before he even left Whitewater. He has been teaching at Prospect ever since, currently going on 22 years and still incorporating his love of art through his stick-figure-man drawing: Joe Physics. First used by a former teacher and Welter’s mentor, Dr. Bruce Illingworth, the name ‘Joe Physics’ was a name Illingworth used for a character to further explain physics problems. Around eight or nine years ago, Welter started using the character in his lessons, adding a drawing of Joe Physics that Illingworth never did. “Like I approached art, there is always a problem to be solved,” Welter said. “There is something I was trying to get with a certain look in a picture, drawing or painting, and I was always trying to get there. It’s the same as physics problems: the end result should be goals to solve for something and getting that result.” Although Welter somewhat continued to pursue his interest of art through Joe Physics, the physics education career pathway wouldn’t have been an option if he didn’t keep an open mind. “There’s a lot out there, so if you just go one track, maybe you’d miss something you’d really enjoy,” Welter said.

Ever since he was a kid in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Michael Grasse loved to write. “[With writing] you get to do whatever you want,” Grasse said, who now teaches AP Physics 1, AP Calculus AB and College Algebra. “The only thing you’re constrained by is trying to be interesting, and that’s it.” In high school, Grasse enjoyed physics and math classes, but, in his mind, they had been overruled by writing and English. However, when Grasse was placed into what seemed like a graduate-level English class during his first semester at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the difficulty of the AP Physics 1, AP class had him second Calculus AB and College guessing his intend- Algebra teacher Michael ed major. Within a Grasse week, Grasse was expected to read around seven books, all of which he had never read. The gratification Grasse received from his high school physics teacher also eventually motivated him to switch majors. “I never went to school thinking about what I would do afterwards,” Grasse said. “I went to school for my interests.” Once he got his physics degree, Grasse decided that he would teach for a little while before going into a different position, as he believed there was nothing else for him to go into. Now, going into his 10th year at Prospect after 23 years at Elk Grove High School, he knew that it was a passion he had to pursue. “30 years later, I’m still here,” Grasse said. “Everything else seemed like it was a job: [Like] okay, I will sacrifice this amount of time for the money that you’ll give me … But [now] I would teach for free … it’s really rewarding.” Grasse continued to write after college, having wrote parts of two math books and dozens of articles published throughout the Journal of Handheld Computing, the HP Calculator Magazine and the research journal PRIMUS. He got these opportunities from the National Science Foundation Grant in 1989 with Oregon State University. The grant was looking for a new way to teach calculus using dozens of authors and writers. With a few of the authors and writers, Grasse had formed a writing group with them, in which everyone got various things published. He is also continuing his appreciation of English by trying to read a work of poetry every night. According to Grasse, no amount of bliss he acquired from the publications of his writings could ever live up to the pleasure he finds from being in a classroom today. “[My favorite part about teaching] is listening to students talk about math with each other,” Grasse said. “I love eavesdropping and hearing students try and figure out the world around them.”

From waiting tables, being on Loyola’s college radio station WLUW, working in sales for seven years, substitute teaching in Chicago for one year, teaching at St. Patrick High School for a year and teaching at Buffalo Grove High School for seven years, English teacher Tim McDermott has now been teaching at Prospect for 11 years. “No matter what job I had, somehow I always worked it into some sort of teaching gig,” McDermott said. “And then finally somebody said Contemporary ‘maybe you Literature, American should just Literature and Composigo into teachtion and World Literature ing.'’’ Originally, and Composition teacher M c D e r m o t t Tim McDermott planned on entering college as a pre-dentistry major. When taking required classes at Truman College, his English teacher pulled him aside to discuss McDermott’s future. Looking at McDermott’s excelling grades in English and history and his struggling grades in his science and math classes, McDermott’s teacher asked him something no one else had: why he had decided to major in pre-dentistry. With no answer to give his teacher, McDermott had a lightbulb moment, went home to reflect on what he was told and decided to switch majors. After Truman College, McDermott attended Loyola University as an undergraduate before getting his master’s degree in education with an emphasis on English at Aquinas College in Michigan after working in sales for seven years. After subbing for a teacher who was out on a maternity leave for a semester, McDermott got offered a job at the school he student-taught at. However, at the same time, McDermott’s wife informed him that everyone in her job was being relocated to Chicago. McDermott taught at several different schools before coming here, but nonetheless, his favorite part about teaching wherever he is “working with kids who genuinely struggle to get them over the hump to that lightbulb moment.” He now teaches Contemporary Literature, American Literature and Composition and World Literature and Composition. “It was such an impactful moment for me when that English teacher pulled me aside and said ‘What are you doing in pre-dentistry?’” McDermott said. “And bringing real world experiences into the classroom [is another thing I love about teaching]; the one thing my students always say is ‘You’re a great storyteller. You have a million stories because you haven’t been in education your entire life. You offer a different perspective of the real world.’”

Go to prospectornow.com to see Mark Welter's artwork!

In a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 33 percent of students in bachelor's degree programs and 28 percent in associate's degree programs have changed their declared major at least once within their first three years in college.

10 ENTERTAINMENT

DECEMBER 7, 2018

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Villains need more attention, variety T

wo of the most ambitious superhea hero, but with her out of the villain’s chair, ro movies ever made, DC’s Justice there is no true antagonistic presence in the League and Marvel’s Avengers: film. Any conflict feels bland and without Infinity War. The large disparity in ratings any stake, as there’s no one to root for –– between the two movies serve as a reminder and worse, there’s no one to root against. An of the importance of a well-written villain. antihero is often a great character, but they Marvel’s Thanos has been built up as the cannot stand alone. ultimate bad guy from the first Avengers To create really memorable villains, writmovie to Infinity War. He shows emotion, ers have to make them human. Not literally, he has conflicting feelings, and he can justi- of course; demons, robots and bug-people are fy his cause to himself. Then there’s Justice always welcome, but they must have some League’s Steppenwolf. I saw that movie and degree of humanity. A great example of this even I had to Google his name. This gener- can be found in the golden age of Disney ic giant shows up out of nowhere and starts movies. “The Lion King’s” Scar is a lion, but collecting generic doomsday artifacts until he displays the very human flaw of envy. He the heroes stop him. He has no agency, no feels disenfranchised and powerless to the compelling traits or dialogue, and point of madness, and enlists even the movie treats him as filler the equally fed-up hyenas on his until the franchise can get its act quest to power. Maniacal laughtogether. ter aside, Scar thinks of himself A proper antagonist can make as the hero, reclaiming what is or break a story. Entertainment rightfully his. media such as books, video games Good villains always see and movies have long had a comthemselves as heroes. No plex villain shortage, but thankwell-written villain becomes a fully have started creating more villain just because they could. intricate and sympathetic antagEven the Joker, who is usually onists. While this is a commendportrayed as the exception, has ANTHONY able effort and a step in the right a point to his villainy. In both ROMANELLI The Killing Joke comic and The direction, it’s only half the battle. To create a truly impactful vilDark Knight movie, the Joker’s Executive lain, writers must take great care purpose is to prove to Batman in developing the motives and Opinion Editor that, with the right push, even character of their antagonist. the most moral and principled Whether they’re making a point men can turn to madness and deor just making money, a villain must be pravity. That motive is much scarier than more than a cardboard cutout. As our cul“wants to watch the world burn”. ture evolves, our standards have changed. Above all, the most powerful and the most The evil person who does evil just because culturally important villains are those that he’s evil is dead. More nuance and thought serve as mirrors. These mirrors can reflect is required. It’s time to give our despised vilthe hero, the audience, our values as a cullains the same, if not better, character develture, or the state and condition of our world. opment as our beloved heroes. Despite his unpredictability, Joker is a very Sympathetic villains are often confused motivated and purposeful villain, and he with antiheroes, but there’s a huge differalso serves as an antithesis to Batman and ence. In order to be a villain, the character everything he stands for. The Joker is wild, must actually be an antagonist. An immorchaotic, murderous and always plotting al character who serves as protagonist is with henchman and partners, while Batman an antihero. What separates villains from is stern, principled, doesn’t kill and lives a antiheroes is that, with antiheroes, we ac- mostly solitary life. Even the black and grey tively support their goal. Walter White from theme of Batman’s suit and gear is chalBreaking Bad is a great example of an antilenged by the Joker’s riot of color. The Joker hero. He’s a criminal and all-round terrible is a reflection of what Gotham will become person, but he embarks on his life of crime without a Batman, and, in this way, his evil to support himself and his family. deeds mirror Batman’s efforts to stop them. Villains, no matter how relatable they When a villain reflects a society, it makes are treated as wrong and recognized to be us feel more conflicted and adds more to a misguided, so we root for the hero to stop wider discussion about social issues, and them. The live-action Disney movie “Malef- how to address them. When Black Panther icent” has its eponymous character recast as came out in theaters, I saw it in the opening

OUR TURN: Movie villains attempt to take dominance over heroes while antiheroes look on. For too long, heroes have been emphasized over villains. A well-written villain, with tangible goals, emotions and relatable qualities, is the most important part of any story. (cartoon by Mara Nicolaie) week. The movie was decent, but the handsdown best part of the film was Michael B. Jordan’s stellar performance as antagonist Erik Killmonger. Killmonger is portrayed in the movie as a black man who has seen racism firsthand, and decided that there is no peaceful way to end discrimination. He sees the death and the poverty in his own country and the apathy that the nation of Wakanda shows to its kinsmen. Killmonger decides to take action, planning to wipe out the other races and establish a world ruled by and for black people. He even manages to change the protagonist’s mind, just not in the way he hoped. T’challa (played by Chadwick Boseman) recognizes the injustice done by his father for refusing to help even as he opposes Killmonger’s clearly evil solution. What makes Killmonger such a great villain is his believability. While he is clearly wrong and his plan is indefensible, he has every right to be angry at his country and the world for marginalization, and anyone in his position might feel the same way. Killmonger is portrayed as a symptom of a broken system of race relations in the United States. He’s a great villain because he has

a point, however mangled his solution may be. Several people leaving the theater felt uncomfortable, and rightfully so. The best movies are those who ask the audience questions, and those questions are all the more poignant when we see the villain remind us what we could become. The key to any villain is to think of them as what they are: people. Developed villains should have goals, conflicting emotions and personal struggles just like the rest of us. Of course, not all villains in a story have to be developed; we don’t need to hear the sob story of every stormtrooper in the Galactic Empire. However, it’s important to have three-dimensional characters in general, and villains especially. It’s the antagonists who define the story, creating the conflict and presenting an obstacle for heroes to overcome. Think of heroes as mountaineers, and villains as mountains. A mountaineer doesn’t earn his title by walking flat plains; he must scale a great mountain. Villains must be held to a high standard in our entertainment, as, without them, we are stuck in a flat, boring land indeed.

Movies lack originality, fans should ask for more “The Fault in our Stars,” “Me & Earl & The Dying Girl,” “Me Before You,” “P.S. I Love You” and “50/50.” All of these movies were released sometime in the past ten years, and at least one of the main characters in each of these movies has a potentially fatal medical condition. This “cancer-love story” is not the only recurring theme I’ve noticed in Hollywood recently. In fact, I went to the movie theater last night to see that trailer after trailer displayed an upcoming remake of classic stories like “Mary Poppins Returns,” “The Sword in the Stone” and ELIZABETH “Spider-Man: Into KEANE the Spider-Verse.” According to Features School Psychologist Editor and Film Club Sponsor Dr.Jay Kyp-Johnson, people often make reboots of original movies because film nerds especially enjoy seeing different perspectives of how people envision a story. Kyp-Johnson notes that adaptations can vary from one another based

TRASH IN THE WRONG BIN : A collection of movies make their way to a recycling bin, only to emerge as newly titled (but similar) films. Hollywood’s remakes and reboots hurt the quality of filmmaking. (photo illustration by Erik Velazquez) on the endless possibilities of options that can be taken regarding the music or camera angle used. “When [the movie or show] is really well done, you almost feel like you’re investigating the mind of the creator,” Kyp-Johnson said. Now, of course there are going to be some of the same ideas found in Hollywood films. At what point can we call it a coincidence, or are production companies copying ideas on purpose? According to the website Twisted Sifter, competing studios will find out that the other is writing a script similar to theirs and race to see who can release the movie fastest. This results in a series of “twin movies.” “Mirror Mirror” and “Snow White & The Huntsman,” both films which are based on Snow White, were released within two

months of each other in 2012. The classic animated film “Finding Nemo” was released in 2003, only to have another fish-related children’s movie “Shark Tale” released a year later. The easily confusable movies “Antz” and “A Bug’s Life” were released within a month of each other in 1998. These “twin movies” can be just as successful as each other because people are often more attached to familiar characters and characters that possess relatable qualities. Kyp-Johnson believes that people are always struggling with the same personal issues which results in common themes, especially when it comes to the ever-changing evolution of human relationships. I see this most in the recently popular Netflix movies such as “The Kissing Booth,” “Sierra Burgess is a Loser” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” All of these movies are more or less

about an insecure girl who falls in love with a gorgeous boy. Groundbreaking. Nevertheless, we are able to find a relatable quality within these movies, whether it be in the cute relationship moments or empathizing with the lonely, single sidekick. “The nice thing about movies is that it gives people a distance from their own lives,” Kyp-Johnson said. “You’re able to sit outside yourself and your problems, which could be a total mood change.” According to Kyp-Johnson, production companies will use popular actors to make the most money off of their movies. When the movie “The Kissing Booth” was released six months ago, girls were fawning over Jacob Elordi, the actor who fulfilled the “gorgeous boy” aspect of this movie. However, two of the three aforementioned Netflix films feature Noah Centineo, an actor who soon replaced Elordi on social media and blew up after his appearance in “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” It took months for the edits of Centineo and clips of his iconic “hand in the back-pocket” scene to disappear from my Instagram and VSCO feed. “It’s unfortunate because people think of great movies or movie ideas,” Kyp-Johnson said. “But [the movie companies] see it as reaching the demographic that will make them the most money.”

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DECEMBER 7, 2018

ENTERTAINMENT 11

Bethesda feels fallout from 76’s failure B

ethesda Studios, developer of “Skyrim” and “Fallout 4,” released their most recent title, “Fallout 76,” on Nov. 14 to scathing criticism from both reviewers and fans. From reviews by DANNY the Financial Post to IGN Entertainment, RYERSON the report is the Copy Editor same: it’s a buggy, unfinished, mess of a game that came out of the oven barely half-baked. But Fallout 76 is just a symptom of a larger problem. It and dozens of other games have released to the public months away from a complete state, their publishers banking on making a quick buck off of a brand name or marketing campaign with no regard to whether the game is finished or not, let alone fun to play. Bethesda is somewhat infamous for a lack of polish on its games. Even today, after years of patches, additional content releases and fan fixes, Skyrim is still sometimes a barely-functioning game. Floating horses and non-player characters clipping through the terrain can be standard fare. This lack of polish was dramatically worsened in Fallout 76. Basic functions of gameplay –– like items loading properly –– are absent. Players on all platforms find the game crashing every hour, and whether or not the audio works is a roll of the dice. In a nutshell, Fallout 76 isn’t finished. It appears as though the game is a get-richquick scheme, using the Fallout franchise’s name and the success of 2015’s “Fallout 4” –– which sold 12 million copies in one day –– to make easy money off of players. The game’s prestigious heritage yet poor reception are reminiscent of the controversy surrounding 2016’s “No Man’s Sky,” which in lieu of franchise loyalty used a massive marketing campaign to generate hype. The game’s director, Sean Murray, even made an

ASH AND DUST: A power-armored warrior gazes into the wasteland of “Fallout 76,” contemplating the game’s empty promises. (photo courtesy of Bethesda Studios) appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” showing a demo of the game plastered with Colbert’s face. Yet, despite all the hype it generated, No Man’s Sky was riddled with bugs and critically panned, just like Fallout 76. The marketing campaign –– built on smoke, mirrors and outright lies –– seemed to have been a ploy by publisher Sony to make boatloads of money by making No Man’s Sky seem more impressive than it really turned out to be. This raises a worrying question: is it more commercially viable to publish an unfinished, buggy game than a finished one? The answer is unclear. According to Playstation Lifestyle, Fallout 76’s sales are down by 82 percent in the U.K. compared to Fallout 4’s, but from a financial standpoint, No

Man’s Sky was a success. According to analytics service Steam Spy, No Man’s Sky grossed over $43 million during 2016 on Steam, a popular digital storefront. In addition, Valve, Steam’s parent company, reported that the game was among their top 12 highest-revenue titles on the platform in 2016. The problem is further muddied when one considers how indie game development is often built around releasing unfinished titles. Even “Minecraft,” one of the most famous games of all time, was initially sold in an early alpha version, massively incomplete compared to the game it is today. This method of development –– often known as “early access” –– is sometimes necessary for small developers in order to get

their games off the ground. With it, they can show a proof-of-concept and make money off of sales in order to fund development until a full release can be made. Some games, however, abuse early access in order to skimp on creating a polished experience and push a product with empty promises of future fixes and additional content. An infamous example of this is the zombie survival simulator “DayZ,” which has been in early access since 2009 with no full release in sight. Despite the short-term gains that unfinished games can make, the best source of dependable profit doesn’t seem to be shoveling barely-functional titles onto the market, it’s creating a franchise. “Pókemon,” the world’s highest-grossing video game franchise, is proof of this. The $70 billion it’s made, according to The Pókemon Company, far outpaces the small profits from putting out an unfinished game. Publishing incomplete titles also isn’t a viable long-term business plan due to community pushback, a powerful force that can easily destroy otherwise-promising games. Take “The Culling,” for example. In a time where “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG) and “Fortnite” dominated the battle royale genre, it offered a fresh combat system based around strategic melee fighting. However, after the disastrous release of “The Culling 2,” community support tanked and the series all but died. Instead of the interesting take on the genre that the original game promised, The Culling 2 seemed to be a rushed, horrendously glitchy rip-off of PUBG, abandoning melee duels in favor of overdone firearm combat. To this day, The Culling 2 has a dismal three out of 10 rating on Steam. Succeeding on the backs of empty promises isn’t a strategy that scummy developers can rely on for long. The risk simply isn’t worth the reward –– Sean Murray continues to receive death threats from enraged fans –– and the real money lies in establishing something that will last.

DECEMBER 7, 2018

Rick’s proposed bracket applied to this season.

Levi Stadium (background) is home to the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2019.

Power Five Conferences: Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC, ACC Group of Five Conferences: MAC. Mountain West, Sun Belt, AAC, Conference USA

Football playoff needs an expansion Six-team bracket improves CFP

S

itting on my couch after the full day of conference championships last Saturday, I was listening to the Fox analysts talk about who should be in the college football playoff. Should it be Ohio State, Oklahoma or even a two loss Georgia? They weren’t even mentioning the University of Central Florida (UCF), who had just won their 25th straight game earlier that day. 25 Division I FBS football games in a row. This was also the third straight year that the second best conference in college football (the Big Ten) has had their champion denied from the playoff. College football fans can’t agree on much, but there is one thing we can all agree on: The college football playoff needs more teams. Now as much as I would love a 64team tournament, something like RICK LYTLE that isn’t anywhere Sports Editor near realistic. A six-team college football playoff would be a good first step towards more expansion and would be fairly easy to implement. The college football playoff started in 2014. It is a four-team playoff for Division I FBS football, the highest level of college football. There is a 13-member committee that decides on the rankings. Ever since the playoff started, fans have wanted to expand it. Now in its fifth year, the CFP is finally ready for an expansion. Football head coach Dan DeBoeuf would also like to see a six team playoff. “With the success of Clemson and Alabama you kind of expect to see them in there,

Q A Q A Q A

but it would be nice to have a couple more wouldn’t have much competition for views teams in there to make it more exciting,” Debecause the NFL is on Sundays, and the othBoeuf said. er major leagues are in their regular season. My proposal to start expansion is a sixAnd what do sports fans like more than tourteam playoff. All five of the Power Five connaments and underdogs? ference champions get an automatic bid. With the current format, the Group of Those conferences are the Big Ten, SEC, Big Five teams realistically don’t get to con12, Pac 12 and the ACC. They play their ninetend for a national championship. Without game conference schedule, and then the conplaying an unheard of pre-season schedule, ference championship on December 1. teams don’t have a chance to prove themAnd the sixth team? One selves in the regular of the Group of Five teams. season. For the second In FBS football, there are ten straight year, UCF has conferences. The Power Five gone undefeated, but are superior, but the other five still weren’t in any constill deserve a chance. In toversation for the college day’s four-team playoff, these football playoff. teams don’t have a chance to DeBoeuf likes the play for the national champiidea of more teams getonship. We’ve all seen March ting a chance, but thinks Madness, and we know the that UCF’s conference kind of run an underdog can OUT OF LUCK: With my needs to be considered make. So to get the sixth spot, new playoff, independents when looking at their the Group of Five would have like Notre Dame would have success. a tournament throughout No- to join a conference to qualify. “By expanding the vember to earn the spot. field to six teams you Instead of picking their own This is what it would could get some of those look like. The five lower con- schedule, they would play in a [smaller] teams in, but ferences: Conference USA, conference like everyone else. with that being said if Mid-American Conference, (Photo illustration by Rick Lytle) you take a team like the Mountain West, the Sun UCF and put them in Belt and the American Athletic Conference, the SEC or the Big 10 they’re probably not have a total of 10 divisions. If the divisions undefeated any- more,” DeBoeuf said. all evened out, they would have six teams And finally, to dispel the argument that each. Even with a pre-season, each division it would be too much on the players’ bodies. could crown a champion by the end of OcDivision I FCS (the lower level of Division tober. The 10 remaining teams could play I) has a 24-team tournament. Division two a tournament throughout November, and has a 28-team tournament, and those in the everyone else could continue playing their championship play 15 straight weekends. conference schedule. My format would be asking Division I playEven if it isn’t reasonable for the domi- ers to play the same regular season they do nant Power Five conferences to completely now, which is 12 weeks long, then the three change their schedule to adopt a massive rounds of playoff games are all separated by tournament, something like this could give two weeks. publicity to the smaller conferences and As for Notre Dame, if you want to be in, bring in revenue if a big television compa- go join the ACC. Clemson could use some ny picked up the tournament. They also competition.

What are you trying to accomplish this season? “As a team, we are trying to accomplish making it down to state and getting a state trophy. Personally, I am trying to get 30 wins and make it down to individual state.” How have you been preparing for the season? “I have been preparing by going hard every day in practice and making my teammates go hard with me in order to accomplish our goals.” Do you think you will wrestle in college? “I have been looking at wrestling at Whitewater. It is a Division III school in Wisconsin. I talked to the coach on a visit, and they are open to anyone trying to join the team.”

Athlete: Joe caringella Year: Senior Sport: Varsity Wrestling WEIght class: 170lbs

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Multi-sport athletes have advantage Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders are some of the greatest athletes to walk the Earth. Both had professional careers in the NFL and MLB, which not many people can say about themselves. Jackson played in the Pro Bowl and the All-Star Game, while Sanders became the only player in modern history to score a touchdown and hit a home run in the same week. There is a fine line between being more athletic and being more talented, but athletes who play multiple sports year-round will find themselves becoming more athletic TONY SANTANGELO than any athlete who specializes in Sports Editor one sport. “[In basketball] You are doing the same movements whether it’s elbow, shoulder [or] back: a shot,” varsity football coach and boys’ track and field throws coach Tim Beishir said. “[In] soccer, the same muscles, ligaments [and] tendons are being worked on 12 months a year, and that creates, I think, big time wear and tear injuries and the potential for serious injury.” In high school, not many athletes are going to be like Mike Trout or Michael Jordan because of their rare talent. In high school, great athleticism is all you need to be an outstanding basketball player or tennis player. Obtaining great skill and talent within a sport occurs over years of playing, and having that type of talent in high school is incredibly rare. “I think playing multiple sports allows you to develop different skills and athletic abilities and not be so concentrated on one thing mentally and physically,” senior Helen Siavelis said. “It helps you in both ways because it gives you a break from both sports.” Siavelis plays soccer and basketball and is hoping to commit to MIT or Cal Tech for soccer. I do believe that there are some justifiable reasons for pursuing only one sport in high school. If an athlete desires to play in college, he or she may decide that dropping their other sports is their best option for future success. Senior Ethan Burgh decided that dropping basketball and football was his best option because he hopes to have a baseball future in college. “I thought if I were focused on one [sport], I would be stronger and better at one,” Burgh said. “I would rather be good at one sport and focus on one [skillset] than be okay at three sports.” Burgh is currently looking to possibly commit to Illinois Wesleyan or be a preferred DI walk-on at Indiana University or Purdue University. Anyone who puts forth hard work and dedication to a sport is destined for greatness, so if you do only play one sport, make the most of every practice and repetition to solidify future success.

Water Break

12 SPORTS

prospectornow.com

DECEMBER 7, 2018

The legacy of a head coach Camardella continues legacy, while Miller looks to start one CONNOR GRAVER Associate Editor-in-Chief

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oaches are one of the most important members of a team. The faces of programs serve as leaders both on and off the field. Coaches can come into programs and deliver championships, creating lasting legacies. High school coaches are invaluable because of the lessons they teach and the age

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF: Girls’ basketball head coach Marie Miller coaches on Nov. 30 against Wheeling. The Knights won 53-42, led by senior Helen Siavelis with 14 points. (photo by Erik Velazquez)

of the athletes that they work with. Boys’ basketball head coach John Camardella is entering his 12th year as head coach and 16th year in the program. Already, he has had a storybook career, highlighted by MSL Championships in 2011 and 2018. Camardella will be joined this season by girls’ basketball head coach Marie Miller. Miller is a Prospect basketball alum and is entering her first season as a full-time head coach. She is looking to create a similar legacy to Camardella. Camardella has established a creative coaching style, along with assistant coach Brad Rathe. Camardella coaches the offensive aspects of the game and Rathe runs the defense. Camardella is also known for his helpfulness and positivity. “You can’t say enough wonderful things about Camardella,” Miller said. “Since the second I showed interest it’s been, ‘Whatever you need, I’m here.’” Miller has had experience has head coach before. She was interim head coach of the program last season but was hired full time in February. She described her team as motivated and hungry to win an MSL East Championship. Miller also mentioned how important teamwork is to the team. She keeps the mentality of team first with everything else secondary. “We’re very team-oriented,” senior Abbey Danciu said. “It’s to be more than just a team but very good friends.” Over the years, Camardella has learned plenty of lessons and changed his style. He noted how he’s given players more of a voice because they can add insight that he can’t. “He puts a lot of trust in his players,” senior Ben Miller said. “He lets the players give input and trusts us to make the right decisions.” Both Marie Miller and Camardella are focused on the character of the players during their basketball ca- Ben reer and beyond. They see coaching as an opportunity to change their athletes lives. “I’ve seen myself as a placeholder,” Camardella said. “I’ve had a sincere apprecia-

FRONT LINES: Boys’ basketball head coach John Camardella coaches the Knights on Nov. 30 against Wheeling High School. Prospect won 64-35. (photo by Erik Velazquez) tion of people who have come before me and I’ve wanted to advance what came before me.” This season, both coaches have been successful with their coaching styles, leading to the boys’ 64-35 and girls’ 53-42 victories over Wheeling on Nov. 30. “It’s been great,” Danciu said. “We’re soaking up everything she’s teaching us, and it’s worked really well.” Both coaches will continue the tradition Miller, senior of Prospect basketball and bring home more MSL Championships for years to come. “[Camardella] will be one of the greatest teachers and coaches ever,” senior Michael Slupski said. “He’ll leave a great legacy.”

[Camardella] puts a lot of trust in his players. He lets the players give input and trusts us to make the right decisions.”

Girls’ golf sends athlete to play at Oakland Emily Fleming will continue career at Division I college RICK LYTLE Sports Editor Senior Emily Fleming signed her letter of intent with Oakland University on Dec. 3. She became the 36th girl from Prospect, since 2005, to continue playing golf in college. Fleming went to state with the team during her sophomore year and individually as a senior. She has helped the Knights win the MSL East the last two years. Oakland is one of the top programs in the Horizon League, finishing second the last two seasons. Fleming says that the recruitment process heated up the summer going into senior year, which is when she started to have serious talks with Oakland. That summer, she went on a tour of Oakland’s facilities and school. She noted their two on-campus golf courses and the ability to practice indoors as some big factors that pulled her to the school, along with her desired major, Human Resource and Development. With the success that Prospect has had in sending athletes to play in college, there is a formula behind it. According to girls’ golf head coach James Hamann, he will often have a meeting with his players interested in pursuing an option to play in college. Together, they develop a plan for each individual player, along with a list of target schools. This list gets narrowed down as the process goes along. Hamann often fields and sends out emails to prospective colleges, but a lot is also done by the players themselves.

BIRDIE: Senior Emily Fleming signing her letter of intent to play Division I golf at Oakland University, located in Rochester, Michigan, on Dec. 3. They are one of the top girls’ golf programs in the Horizon League. (photo courtesy of Emily Fleming) “All the girls know I’ll do whatever it takes to help them achieve their goals,” says Hamann. In fact, some recent graduates have gone to have successful Division I careers. Most notable have been Karly Grouwinkel, Kiley Walsh and Ally Scaccia. Grouwinkel received All-Conference honors in the Big Ten, and Walsh and Scaccia were both two-time All-Conference players in the Missouri Valley Conference. Junior Kelly Kavanagh would like to join the list of successful Prospect golfers who have gone on to play in college. Kavanagh has been playing on varsity since she was a freshman. She started talking to colleges on Sept. 1 of this year, the first day she is allowed according to the NCAA rules. Ka-

vanagh has had conversations with about 25 different schools. She recently went on a visit to Clemson, which Hamann helped set up. Most visits will follow roughly the same pattern, including a visit and tour of the school, along with her playing in a local tournament in front of the coaches, which she did at her visit to Clemson. Between winning seven of the last 14 conference championships, two state championships in the last seven years and sending athletes off to highly successful college careers, the program has made quite the name for itself. “I think the reputation of Prospect girls’ golf is well-known, and I attribute that to all the girls,” says Hamann.

SPORTS 13

What people have wrong about Barstool The phrase ‘Saturdays Are For The Boys’ is as popular with teenagers and college students as ‘Rally The Troops’ is at Prospect football games. The phrase which can be shortened to ‘SAFTB’ was created by the media company Barstool Sports when they burst into the national spotlight in late 2016. All of the media and content Barstool produces is anchored by the idea that it’s told sitting CONNOR GRAVER on a barstool. The company Associate follows the Editor-in-Chief motto that their content is produced by the common man, for the common man. This style is why they have been so successful so quickly. This style is why no one can compete with Barstool. Companies like ESPN or Bleacher Report are very reliable sources when it comes to reporting on sports news. Their statistics are accurate and quick, and their features and profiles are interesting to their fanbase. Barstool takes an unconventional approach. They cover the news like ESPN and Bleacher Report will, but add a unique and hilarious angle that instantly draws their fanbase in. For example, take the debate between Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson. ESPN and Bleacher Report will produce an analytical debate between which quarterback fits the system better, who has the better future, who can help win blah blah blah. While interesting and helpful, that approach gets boring quick. On the other hand, Barstool would post a meme claiming ‘Joe Flacco Is Elite’ in support of Flacco. Hate to break it, but he’s not. Jackson is the future of that team. This approach is what sets Barstool apart. The meme is a fun way to engage with their audience. They don’t have guidelines to follow or rules to adhere to so they’re free to use as much profanity and humor as they want. Their only limitation is how creative they can be. ESPN and Bleacher Report simply don’t have this luxury. Back in March, the Virginia Cavaliers lost to UMBC in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Virginia was the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed in the history of the tournament. ESPN posted a video referencing Fortnite and Virginia ‘Taking the L.’ It was heavily criticized by ESPN’s followers. People commented on how ESPN tampered their reputation and acted unprofessionally. Barstool wouldn’t receive this backlash since a meme referencing Fortnite is common on their social media pages. Not only will Barstool not have criticism, but they also will never have any competition in the way they produce content. When ESPN tries the same tactics such as incorporating video games like Barstool into their content they lose credibility. Barstool doesn’t need to worry about losing credibility because that is their credibility. The content that makes ESPN lose popularity is exactly what makes Barstool gain popularity. Barstool is known for getting the main idea of breaking news and adding the creative and mostly profane style that draws myself and so many other young adults to them. Other groups and companies can try to copy Barstool’s style, but it’s too little too late. Barstool has a monopoly on this style of reporting and will continue to own this style for as long as they want. Barstool mixes reporting news with fun content. They take risks with new technology such as streaming videos related to the NFL and NCAA from their headquarters in New York City drawing millions of fans in. So before you judge someone for supporting Barstool, know that they’re on the verge of the future of how sports news and media is shared.

14

Currently on prospectornow.com ... Prospect Basketball Weekly kicked off its third season with interviews with girls’ and boys’ varsity head coaches John Camardella and Marie Miller, hosted by Sports Editors Wyatt Dojutrek and Connor Graver.

CHAMPION: Senior Ashley Adams poses after a tournament in middle school. Adams played for St. Paul and won MVP of the 2015 Illinois Lutheran Tournament of Champions. (photo courtesy of Ashley Adams)

TEAMWORK: Adams (white jersey) hugs her teammates after scoring a point in a volleyball match. Adams has played volleyball all four years of high school. (photo courtesy of Ashley Adams)

BLANCA ESTRADA

to play basketball for the Mount Prospect Park District. “My family has always loved basketball,” Adams said. “So that’s the sport they wanted to put me into.” Adams’ parents played basketball when they were young. Her mom played during her freshman year at Forest View High School and her dad played two years at Beloit College. If it weren’t for them, she wouldn’t have such a passion for basketball. “My parents - Marie Miller, definitely had an influence on me playing basketball. They have been my number one supporters my entire life and always encourage me to keep going,” Adams said. “They taught me that even in rough patches, I have to continue to push and work my hardest so that I can be the best player and person possible.” She ultimately transitioned into playing for St. Paul Lutheran School in Mount Prospect from fourth to eighth grade. Around this time, she also began playing volleyball at St. Paul and feeder basketball for Prospect, which is a basketball program for elementary and middle school students

SPORTS DECEMBER 7, 2018

STRIKE: Adams inbounds the ball during a soccer match. Adams is a three sport athlete, playing volleyball, basketball, and soccer. (photo courtesy of Ashley Adams)

DEFENSE: Adams guards a Buffalo Grove forward in a game. “Trying different activities in high school makes the experience so much more fun,” Adams said. (photo courtesy of Ashley Adams)

Senior athlete balances active lifestyle Executive News Editor

I

t was the first time the varsity girls’ basketball team was going on a retreat. For the team, it was an opportunity to get to know each other more before the start of the season and what head coach Marie Miller calls a “team-building experience.” The girls spent one night in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. While they were there, they did a variety of team activities, such as getting everyone from one platform to another with a rope and moving people around different tree stumps with two planks. After dinner and a bonfire, the girls went to coach Miller’s cabin. Miller handed them a piece of paper and assigned them the task of illustrating their life story, while including five things that have been significant in making them who they are. The first person to share was senior Ashley Adams. Adams shared a personal story about the challenging times she encountered and how she became stronger from those experiences. For her, it was easy to tell her story because she’s been playing basketball with some of the girls since fourth grade. “It’s crazy how far we’ve come,” Adams said. “Everyone on this team is ready to give it all they’ve got and support each other through it, and I think that is something really special.” Adams began playing sports when she was young. She started playing soccer in first grade, but her parents then enrolled her

that will eventually attend Prospect. has a different outlook. As Adams transitioned into high school, “It’s the type of pressure that helps her she knew that she wanted to continue playperform well in school and sports,” said ing basketball. Although she didn’t make Siavelis. varsity her freshman year, she was able to For Adams, junior year was the most make the roster her sophomore year. challenging year. With almost all AP classes Additionally, she joined the soccer and being a three-sport varsity athlete, “she and volleyball teams during her freshdoesn’t know how she made it out alive.” man year. Nonetheless, Miller was not worried about T h e Adams. m a i n “I think Ashley is a very mature student reason and a dedicated student-athlete,” Miller Adams said. “She wants to do the best in both of her decided worlds, but she knows her limits.” to try out However, Adams mentions that senior for variyear isn’t too far behind. ous sports On top of her homework, Adams was was bebombarded with college applications this c a u s e year. There have been times were Adams she loves asks herself, “How am I going to get all of the comthis done?” But because of her work ethic, petition she’s been able to do it. and the This year, Miller has supported Adams girls’ basketball coach teamwork on and off the court. Additionally, Miller aspect asis sure that everyone wants Adams to have sociated with all three sports and wanted to success but to enjoy the road. become more involved at Prospect. “[She’s a] great individual to have,” Mill“The people I’ve met in my sports have er said. “She works so hard we never have to become some of my closest friends,” Adams worry about her work ethic, and she’s coachsaid. “Trying different activities in high able, which makes our jobs easier.” school makes the experience so much more Miller met Adams during her sophomore fun.” year. Throughout the three years she’s been During basketball season, Adams menon varsity, she has seen her develop in nutions that it’s difficult, at times, to balance merous ways. after-school practice and her academics. “I’ve seen her become more composed “You obviously want to get all of your and able to be her own best friend at times homework done, but you also want to go to instead of being overly critical of herself,” bed at a decent time,” Adams said. “SomeMiller said. “She’s able to reflect more postimes you have to itively.” choose between what As Adams heads Trophy Case you want to do.” into the next chapter in Since starting high life, she’s still deciding school, Adams has on which college to atAshley Adams has had an impressive been in all honors and tend. Her top choices at career. Here are some of her biggest AP classes and has the moment are Northawards: gotten straight A’s. western University, She also received a 36 Vanderbilt University - 2017 MSL All Conference Team on her ACT and was and the University of - 2017 All Area Girls’ Basketball Team named a National MerIowa. - Illinois Lutheran All Tournament Team it Semi-Finalist this Although Adams - 2015 Illinois Lutheran Tournament of year. loves to play basketChampions MVP In addition to sports ball, she does not plan - Green and White Soccer Club 2018 and academics, she’s to continue playing National President’s Cup Champions involved in the Green in college. She plans White Youth Soccer to study neuroscience - 2018 President’s Cup all tournament Club, Knights’ Way, and psychology on the ‘Best 11’ team LINK, KLC Tutor, pre-med track, so she’s Peer Mentor, Peppers, aware that it wouldn’t Senior Class Board, Peer Jury and The U. be in her best interest to continue playing. However, Adams makes sure she has time However, she is contemplating playing club for herself every day, whether it’s spending or intramural. time with friends and family, reading or just “I love basketball so much that there’s relaxing. never been a time where I was like, ‘I don’t Nonetheless, senior and teammate Tia want to do basketball,’” Adams said. Sadlon thinks that Adams stresses herself, while senior and teammate Helen Siavelis

[She’s a] great individual to have. She works so hard we never have to worry about her work ethic, and she’s coachable, which makes our jobs easier.”

#1 FAN: Senior Ashley Adams poses with her parents, Mark and Judy after being named to the Girls’ Basketball MSL All Conference Team last season. “[My parents] have been my number one supporters my entire life and always encourage me to keep going,” Adams said. (photo courtesy of Ashley Adams)