Rolla High School

Rolla High School - 900 Bulldog Run - Rolla, Missouri 65401- Volume 68 - Issue - 6 January 27, 2017 - www.rhsecho.com

The Mission Expands:

Serving Rolla Citizens Since 2009

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UCA Cheer in London pg 4 Courtwarming 2017 Overview pg 8 Youth Culture pg 21

In this issue...

Abusive Relationships................................................................6

Wrestling Team ..............................................................14 Artist/Athlete of the Month............................................16 TV Recommendations....................................................20

Letter from the Editor

Courtwarming is just around the corner and by around the corner I mean like next week. As a lover of all things school dances, I’m pretty pumped. And even though I am probably the worst and the most awkward dancer RHS has ever seen, I will be flaunting those moves out on that dance floor proudly. So, with that being said, feel free to join me in all the fun. Because that’s what dances should be all about; having fun.

Now a days, there are a lot of hidden expectations behind school dances. From the dress, to the flowers, to the shoes, to the pictures, everyone has the idea that the night must be absolutely perfect. But, if I’m being honest, perfect doesn’t really exist, especially at a high school dance. I’m not saying lower your expectations of how a school dance should go, I’m just saying to stop caring about those expectations all together.

Dan Collier, Agent One of my biggest pet peeves is when people willingly want to miss Get your license out on fun, wholesome memories while they’re in high just because Get a car they can’t get over the fact that those memories aren’t going to play Call Dan Collier for a out exactly like they imagined they would. Don’t have that $400 great rate Sherri Hill dress? Who cares. Don’t have the professional hairstyle look you found on Pinterest? Oh well. Don’t have a date? No biggie, find a group of your bestest buds to go with instead because dances are supposed to be -say it with me- FUN! Throw out all those expectations you have built up in your mind and go to that dance with every intention to have the best time with the best people.

So, with that being said, I hope to see you all at the dance, doing the Sprinkler or the Shopping Cart or whatever the cool kids are doing now a days.

1100 North Rolla Street Rolla, MO 65401

Office: 573-364-4133 Fax: 573-364-2531 Office Hours Mon-Fri 8:30am to 5:00pm After Hours by Appointment

ECHO Magazine Staff ECHO is an open forum for student expression. All letters to the editor must include the writer’s name, signature and class or position. Anonymous letters will not be published. ECHO reserves the right to reject any letters. Letters should be sent to ECHO, Rolla High School, 900 Bulldog Run, Rolla, MO 65401.

Editor In Chief - Celia Parsons, Copy Editors -Adrienne Pyeatt & Connor Wilson, Webmaster - Ashanti Owusu-Brafi Staff Writers - Sophia Gesualdi, Nalani Massaro, Maia Bond, Diya Allada, Brandon Kirchner, Caroline Adams, Lydia Giesey, Theresa Lauer, Bailey Allison, and Lorren Black Adviser - Mary Gillis

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RHS ACADEMIC TEAM b y

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The academic team members are the unsung heroes of RHS activities. Maybe that’s an extreme title for a group, but if there were any throwing of objects or a rowdy fanbase involved, we wouldn’t be having this discussion, would we? With a record of 30-2 upon publishing, the academic team brings Rolla a reputation of intellectual achievement. Yet the majority of our students here have no idea that academic team even exists.

Senior Jesse Liu is the captain of the team, and gave a basic definition of just what academic team is.

“Academic team is a scholastic competition that is generally competed with two teams of four on either side, and it’s split into four quarters. Every tournament is a different style, but the main purpose of it is to basically gauge each team’s knowledge and the depth of their knowledge in a variety of topics,” Liu said.

The format of each round is anything but typical. Often, local tournaments deviate from the norm and add their own types of twists to the format. However, coach Lisa McCarthy explained how rounds work with the MSHAA sanctioned format.

“We play four quarters; first and third quarters are identical, and second and fourth quarters are set up identically. During first quarter, we have fifteen questions called toss-ups. The moderator reads the question, and you have about five seconds to answer after buzzing in. If you’re correct, your team gets ten points. During this, you’re not allowed to confer with each other-it has to be all from you. Then second quarter, there are ten toss-ups, but if you’re correct on one of these toss-ups, then your team will get two bonus questions. On bonus questions, you’ll have a little extra time to confer with

each other and then the captain will give the answer after that,” McCarthy said.

The questions come from a broad spectrum; mostly relating to academia, but a multitude of other topics can be asked just to spice things up. McCarthy disclosed the sort of questions one can expect.

“It’s kind of like trivia questions on steroids. We answer questions from not just the categories that you learn in school like math, science, english and history, but anything else that might occur like pop culture, television and movies, biblical questions, anything someone could know is fair game,” McCarthy said.

The team has a mix of Sophomores through Seniors on the team, and with the Freshman coming over it should only grow. Liu himself joined early on in his high school career after being encouraged to give it a try.

“I joined actually in my Sophomore year, because Mrs. McCarthy and my mother both said it’d be a good idea.

I’m a massive mama’s boy, so I listened to my mom and I decided to go to practices. I really loved it, and just kept doing it since then, and I’ve been a baller since,” Liu said.

The academic team is also still open for members. An obligation-free trial is offered for those still on the fence, and no hard feelings if it’s not your cup of tea.

“I would say that a lot of people don’t join because they don’t really know what it is. Just come for one practice and give it a try, there’s no commitment needed. If you like it, stay! You don’t need to feel like you have to be the all-star who answers all the questions, either. There’s a little bit of something for everyone, so just come in if you enjoy it,” Liu said.

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UCA

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The Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) was founded in the 70’s. Each year they offer summer camps and clinics for both college and high school cheerleaders to attend. This past winter break four of our own cheerleaders traveled to London to participate in one of the most popular UCA events.

“Over the summer the senior cheerleaders from RHS went to the All- American tryouts which consisted of a dance, a cheer, and a jump. If they picked you, you got the opportunity to travel to London and cheer in the New Year’s Day Parade. ,” senior Taylor Stevens said.

“About 10,000 girls try out every year but maybe only 10% of those girls are chosen,” senior Kaley Burgess said.

The trip was focused on cheer, however the girls were given a lot of time to tour the famous sites of London.

“While we were there we practiced the dance we’d be performing on one day and then toured London for the rest of the trip,” Stevens said.

“We saw Windsor Castle, Tower of London, the London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Tower Bridge, and Abbey Road,” senior Rylie Veik said.

“When we went to Abbey Road (where the famous Beatles picture was taken) we kept taking the wrong train so we would start walking and Abbey Road was nowhere to be found. When we returned back to the train station there was this big sign that had the picture of the Beatles and said ‘If you’re looking for this Abbey Road you’re in the wrong place’. It was funny that we missed the huge sign,” Burgess said.

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While seeing the sites was a good experience, all of the girls would agree that the food was nothing to write home about.

“I’m going to have to say the worst part of the trip was the food. Don’t go to England for their cuisine,” senior Breanna Alexander said.

“It was really cool seeing how different England is compared to the USA but the food was probably the worst part; you can’t beat good, greasy American food,” Stevens said.

“I was gone for a week and starved for a week,” Burgess said.

Terrible food set aside, the trip was well worth it.

“The best part of the trip was getting to travel with my close friends,” Stevens said.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to cheer in the parade,” Alexander said.

“The best part about going to London was experiencing a new place and culture. I am so thankful I get to travel out of the country at my age and see things I’ve never seen before. It really reminds you that the world is so big and there are many places to explore. I definitely want to keep traveling in the future,” Veik said.

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Abusive Relationships b y

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One in three adolescents in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional, sexual and or verbal abuse from a dating partner. One in ten high school students has been physically hit, slapped, or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Abusive relationships have always been an issue in society, but only 33% of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse. Statistics like these are frightening and help raise awareness to the growing numbers of abusive relationships. But it does not make abusive relationships less unhealthy. Samantha Kaysinger, Rolla High School Sociology teacher and Randi Turntine, counselor at Rolla Russell House, are two women who have personal stories and advice to give to others to help prevent abusive relationships.

“As any individual, the long term effects of an abusive or unhealthy relationship, are very profound. I would say the biggest impact is the emotional impact. And it is to varying degrees, depending on the person and circumstances of course. But it tends to be a situation where those who have experienced that, the emotion trigger and scars are the most long lasting. There will be things later on in their life that will occur, if they have a very strong self awareness, they can relate back to that abusive relationship. Sometimes we do things that we can’t necessarily explain further self reflection. Its stemming from that experience,” Kaysinger said.

Girls and young women between the ages of 18-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence. The Rolla Russell House provides shelter, counseling, and support groups for any woman varying in ages.

“Statically, the age you are more likely to be abused is 18-24. At the Russell House we do tend to see the lower age range. But we have had younger, like our youngest person was 17 and our oldest person was 82. The age range really varies, its not like we have one specific demographic that we serve. 18-30 is our biggest but that doesn’t mean that your categorically in that area,” Turntine said.

Nearly half of all women and men in the United States have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime, meaning the stereotype behind women only being affected by abusive relationships is false, men are just as affected.

“Absolutely both, on so many levels. I think that is a problem in our society is that it is only a woman issue. It is not. Many women are engaging, and they are doing the same thing to the men in their lives.

You also look if guys are seeing this. If this is what they have grown up with they are more likely to engage in those behaviors. What we find in an abusive [relationship], is it is not a one time event; it is a cycle. I think it is a societal problem, not just a girl or guy problem,” Kaysinger said.

The Russell House may only house women in their facility, but they still provide services to men in surrounding communities.

“We see women in our facility. Occasionally we have men come in for counseling, we are able to do that. But we don’t house men at the Russell House just because we can’t have a person who has been sexually assaulted in one room and a man next to their room. There are shelters that do help men, so we can refer them to one. Now we are not going to say ‘sorry it’s the middle of the night we can’t help you’, we can provide protection elsewhere. We have the resources to help women and men we just don’t house them here. But for counseling, we do help them with that. Since I have been at the Russell House [since 2014] we have seen three men for counseling and other

What you can do: 1. If you are in danger, reach out and use the national hot line (1800-799-7233) or call the police.

2. Regonize the warning signs that signal abuse.

3. Don’t underestimate the harm of emotional abuse.

4. Learn about and recognize the cycle of violence.

5. Recognize the red flags that tell you others are being abused 6. Learn more by reading and educating yourself to recognize the signs of abuse.

services,” Turntine said.

Someone staying with their abuser is not unheard of. Reasoning behind it all is different for every person, but they still need help and support.

“If they have children then that is always a huge reason. No one wants to displace their kids, just because they are abusive to the mother doesn’t mean they are abusive to the kids. Financially, some people can’t make it on their own and they depend on that. Sometimes men will even be jealous of a woman who is working because he thinks she is working around other men, and they may not let the woman work to where she can’t afford to leave and she feels like she is stuck in that situation. Everybody has their highs and lows, they can be still attached and love that person. Then they fall into that chain where they say, ‘if I do this then he will change’ or maybe ‘if he makes better money he won’t be so stressed out’. They never seem to get better. So everybody has a different reason for staying, they just have to have the support to leave,” Turntine said.

The question always asked is how to handle the situation if you are in an abusive relationship. Places like the Russell house provide protection and guidance. Taking the first step and reaching out for help is always the hardest.

“It’s probably the hardest for others around you. Even though you see it and the people around you see it, it is very unlikely that any significant change occurs until you are ready to make that change. I know of someone who bought a couch, and realized that they didn’t want to put that couch in that house with that person. So therefore they were ready to be done. And as silly as that sounds, and for some it’s a more tragic situation, that person just has to be done, and feel that they have the resources or support to be able to escape that situation,” Kaysinger said.

Watching and knowing a close friend or family member who is in an abusive relationship, is very difficult. When that person does not want help, you have to stand by their decision until they are ready to leave.

“If you know someone in abusive relationship, often those ties with you will break at some point. That is a manipulative tactic. But you just have to maintain your support for that person. In a sense it is easy to condemn the person doing this, if you will. But it is important to say, ‘I am here for you and whatever you need. And whenever you are ready I will help you’. Even when it is difficult to stand by and see this happening. If it is a younger individual, then I always suggest to tell an adult in some way, so that they can offer that support. Sometimes people are just looking for somebody to listen. They feel so isolated at this point they don’t know where to turn, its a good idea to engage adults and those who care and always pledge your support to them,”

Statistics: * Girls and young women between the ages of 16-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence, almost triple the national average. * Violent behavior typically begins between the ages of 12 and 18. * 81% percent of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue. * 58% of parents could not correctly identify all the warning signs of abuse in a childs relationship. risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence. page 7

Courtwarming

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Each year, the Rolla High School Key Club hosts a winter dance that students know as Courtwarming. Inspired by the comic book character Sadie Hawkins, Courtwarming is the only dance at Rolla High with the tradition of girls asking boys to go with them to the dance.

“It’s only been called Courtwarming for two years. It used to be called Sweetheart, but [Key Club] changed the name so it wouldn't be such a ‘coupley’ dance,” Senior Lacy Hance said.

Key Club has been working since the beginning of the school year to gather funds for the dance.

“The cost of the dance comes out of the Key Club budget. The various service projects we do increase our budget. For example, we sell raffle tickets for the local Kiwanis club and get a percent of the profit,” Senior Alec Falkenhain said.

The cost of the dance also depends on the complexity of the theme.

“The theme is a night in the secret garden. It is a combination of a nighttime theme and a garden theme. Some of the main props we are

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using are flowers and lights,” Falkenhain said.

Key Club then determines the decorations that must be made in order to give the dance a thematic atmosphere.

“We’ve been painting a lot and working on a cobblestone wall that will go where the stairs are that lead to the upper commons. It looks good, but it takes a while to paint it. Last year we had the garage area by the wrestling room, but this year we don’t have that, so we have to decorate in Mrs. Green’s room,” Hance said.

School dances can get pricy, but students who plan on going to Courtwarming should focus less on what to wear and more on enjoying the event.

“Courtwarming tends to be a more laid back fun dance. It is also held at the high school, which is unique. The king and queen candidates are voted on by Key Club, then voting is open to the whole school to select king and queen,” Falkenhain said.

While we are on the topic, in the spirt of Sadie Hawkins, will Dawson Satterfield go to Courtwarming with Adrienne Pyeatt?

A Night in the Secret Garden FEBRUARY 4TH $15 PER TICKET

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A place for people in need to have access to free laundry, showers, meals, and a safe place just to belong was something the Rolla Community lacked. With the closest homeless shelter 100 miles away, The Vineyard church saw this hole in the community and decided to take action. The Mission is a charity in the heart of Rolla, Missouri providing the less fortunate people in the community a safe space and providing many resources they otherwise wouldn’t have. Marie Allen, one of the many people in charge of running The Mission, shares some insight on how this charity became what it is now.

“Vineyard church moved into this building in about 2004 after a fire in another facility. Our pastor was really interested in figuring out a way to use this space to help the community that was unique, that wasn’t something someone else was doing. So, somehow, some creative way, he came up with the idea for a free laundromat and in 2009, the laundry room opened. At first, that was all The Mission was, just free laundry, because that’s something that can be really expensive for families that don’t have access to a washer or dryer. So, that was a big deal for people to be able to come in and wash their clothes. We would open up a couple of days a week to the community and people would hear about it or call and that’s how it started. In about

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2012 we had a college-aged man in the church [who] asked if he could open the laundry room on a day that it wasn’t normally open; he wanted to cook lunch for the people that came. So, he came and did that for several years just out of his own pocket, just out of his heart to help take care of people. He called it ‘Lunch and Laundry,’ and that when on for several years after that. Then, 2014 is when The Mission opened. We saw more and more people start to come and we recognized that there was just really a lot of need in the community for more than what we currently were providing. So in 2014 we decided to incorporate The Mission as its own charity. We separated it out from the church, made its own. It’s called a 5C301 charity, which means it’s tax exempted, it’s not a part of the church, it’s just a charity to help the poor. And we’ve continued to grow and increase our hours and increase our services. In one week currently, about 150 loads of laundry get done here. We have probably about 25 showers [taken a week] give or take, and then right around 325 individual meals. I would say in a typical day, there’s between 40 and 50 people that come through here and access one or more services. We just do the best we can to serve whoever comes through the door, and as it grows, we’ll just try to grow with it,” Allen said.

Funding is always a big part of every charity. Luckily, The Mission has many people and organizations that are more than happy to help out.

“The church has continued to support The Mission by not charging rent or utilities at this point and then the food and cash to supplement come from donations from the community. We have individuals that give to us financially, and we have a couple of local connections for actual food. A lot of our meals come from Grace and one of the local grocery stores that wants to stay anonymous brings quite a bit of meat so that I haven’t really had to spend that much cash money a week on what we’re doing; because a lot of the things we have on our shelves are donated. And of course, this year the big car dealerships, Sakelaris, Ford, and Fairground Chevrolet, did a couple of food drives and they shared some of what they collected with us. Then just random people will come in and say ‘Oh, I was driving by and I think you help people so can you use two bags of groceries’ or ‘Here’s some shampoo, I picked up a couple of extra bottles,’” Allen said.

Just like most charities in the local community, The Mission relies on volunteers and their hearts to help others to keep the place running smoothly.

“We are completely 100% volunteer run. My husband serves as the executive director and he and I both work full time jobs at other places and keep up with what’s going on here, [so] we couldn’t do that without the

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regular weekly volunteers we have here. We have about 22 to 24 people that come in each week and do different things. Some people just come in to make coffee in the morning and some people will actually cook the meals.

There’s also a volunteer application on the website but it’s really pretty simple. My process is to just get to know people and have them kind of shadow me or another of our regular volunteers to find out what their interests are and what their skills are and what they’re interested in doing,” Allen said.

Along with regular volunteers, Allen is more than happy to find help for any high schoolers looking for volunteer hours.

“We have lots and lots of things a high schooler could do to help. We always need extra pairs of hands to help with meal prep or cleaning or even just to come and hangout and be with people because that’s really what we’ve created, a safe place to belong so people can just come and hangout. Even if they don’t need to laundry or if they don’t need a shower, we have lots of people come in everyday just because their friends are here and it’s become kind of a little community. So just hanging out with people is an important thing to do. If somebody wanted to serve, I’m sure I can find them a place to help,” Allen said.

Spreading the word of a place like The Mission to everyone in need is a major part on how The Mission gets all of the visitors that they do.

“We do have a Facebook page that people can follow and then our website. There are also many agencies that do a lot for people who are in crisis and so we try to make sure they know about what we do so that when someone comes to them, they can refer them to here. So the police office knows about us, the hospital knows about us, pathways knows about us, and Grace knows about us so that way, word of mouth from other agencies gets people into our building,” Allen said.

With all of the services that The Mission already provides, Allen felt like they needed to fill yet another gap in the community as the weather got colder.

“I’m really excited that actually this winter, we have been able to stay open overnight. We don’t have beds, but people during the day will take naps on the sofa or the recliners, so we just communicated with the city and found out what all of the regulations were but we

just open over night and people come in to crash on the couch. Three to five people have spent the night each night since December 12. We knew that some of the people that we were serving regularly were living in cars or some people were actually camping out in the woods and as it got colder and colder, it’s just really upsetting to think about people you care about and you see day in and day out to know that they’re out there and they’re not safe. So, it was kind of a huge step organizationally to do this but it’s worked out, really well and we have that staffed every night and people will come and spend the night incase of emergencies. It’s been an incredible experience to be able to provide for them because there’s no open shelter. We have the Russell House for domestic violence victims, but that’s limited to women and children. [There’s] nothing like a shelter for 100 miles. So, to have some place where someone can just come in out of the cold, I’m just really thankful we were able to do that this winter,” Allen said.

As for this upcoming year, Allen has multiple new big plans for The Mission.

“This year one of our big goals is to increase our fundraising. We’ve recently signed a contract with a freelance grant writer so grant money comes from private foundations and some from the government and it’s funding that comes from places other than just individuals that would help us to do more to help more of the community. So, fundraising and pursuing other streams of income for us would allow us to see what the next step looks like for The Mission [as well as doing] what we’re doing now and making it better. We’re looking to increase our volunteer base as well because we’re stretched pretty thin even with the wonderful crew we have now. So, we’re looking for extra pairs of hands and more money to do what we’re doing just doing it even better,” Allen said.

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The Rolla Wrestling Team has had tremendous success over the past few years. For the wrestlers placing in state qualifiers is a huge moment in their career.

Tristan Barr is a Senior on the wrestling team who placed 2nd two seasons ago in state qualifiers.

“It felt great to be the #2 kid in the state, but breaking my shoulder last year took me out. So coming back this season being ranked #1, you’ve got a target on your back so you just gotta keep fighting,” Barr said.

Wrestling is a difficult sport to compete in, there is a lot more to the sport than just going out onto the mat and performing your best. There is a whole mental aspect to it.

“I think it is one of the hardest things you can do because, you have to deal with all the mental side of it, and there is a team aspect of it but once you step out there on the line it’s just you and the other person and if you mess up it’s all on you,” junior Coleman Brainard said.

Wrestling in general is an extremely difficult sport to compete in and to compete at a state level requires a lot more than just going to the usual practice.

Gage Maxwell is a Senior on the wrestling team who placed 4th in state last season in state qualifiers.

“You have more to do than practice. sometimes you

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have to stay late, and other times you have to go on days you don’t even have a practice scheduled,” Maxwell said.

Some wrestlers even go above and beyond in the offseason and visit a club coach.

“I lift in the morning with my coach; I did that throughout the summer and I did camps and went to a club coach. Just a lot of extra things, to help maintain where I am and get even better than I was,” Brainard said.

Wrestling is a tough sport to compete in, and compared to other sports it shows just how simple wrestling can be.

“I think that wrestling is better than football or baseball, because Im probably the funkiest wrestler out there and I just go out there on the mat and do what I need to do to win,” Barr said.

At the end of the day these wrestlers have represented the Rolla athletics program well, placing in state qualifiers, and putting in the extra work shows how they got there.

Placing in state is a huge accomplishment and at the end of the day everyone is going for that #1 place.

“All I’ve got to say is that it’s my senior year here and I hope I leave my mark well here,” Barr said.

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Athletes of The

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seth Veatch “I’ve been wrestling for twelve years, mostly because it is fun and I put a large amount of commitment to it, so I just don’t want to throw it away. I am on varsity and I am on the 170 spot on the team,” Veatch said.

What is your favorite memory?

“That year at wrestling camp in the summer when me and Tyler were sitting in the dorm room waiting for practice to start and we heard a big thud and everyone in the room went “ohhh” and it was Taylor Lauer tackling Jo leach,” Veatch said.

What other sport would you do?

“I would play football, just because I think I would be really good at it and I used to be,” Veatch said.

Delaney Fields “I started archery in the seventh grade, my history teacher started the program back in Edgar [Springs] and I took the papers back to my mom who encouraged it because she did archery when she was younger. The first day I went over I didn’t know what I was doing, but ever since then I’ve been hooked on it. I like it because you have to have some skill to it but then you just work on it and practice and get really good at it. At least that is how I did it. It is so much fun just to have the bow and feel the arrow releasing and seeing it hit its mark. It is very exciting.”

What is your favorite memory?

“My favorite memory is the first time I got a fifty on the target. It’s the highest on the ten.”

What inspires you?

“I love hearing stories of other people’s achievements and how they got started in archery. I met a guy in the Show-Me State Games and he was in the olympics and he told me about how hard his training was.”

What other sport would you do?

“Well I did play volleyball and I did like that, so I would probably do volleyball again,” Fields said.

Artists of The

MONTH Brooke gillman “I have been doing art since I was a little kid, just like random scribbles and coloring. I like to draw and paint in acrylic mostly.

When I was young in school people used to ask me “How are you doing that?” and I started to realize that I’m kind of good at it and I really enjoyed it and now it’s a big part of my life. Art helps me relax and have control and the freedom of creating whatever I want helps me wind down and it makes me feel purposeful. I am creating something and benefiting in some way,” Gillman said.

What inspires you?

“I follow a lot of artists on social media and just mostly things that I see I get ideas from and inspire me,” Gillman said.

What other art form would you be interested in?

“I love videography. I took video production and that was one of my favorite classes. So definitely like movie making and stuff like that,” Gillman said.

noah lewis-Daly “I play saxophone, I’ve played since seventh grade so six years I’ve been playing. And I’ve been playing ukulele for over a year now and i write songs with that. I’ve always like listening to music but I realized I wanted to play saxophone when the band came to play for all the sixth graders. And I started getting into ukelele two years ago. The first song I wrote was for Mrs. Hargis’s creative writing class. So I wrote a song and that is when I started. I don’t want to sound egotistical but a lot of people know my song “High School” because I performed it at the poetry jam. It kind of talks about high school in a sadistic way,” Lewis-Daly said.

What inspires you?

“Mostly when I create music and songs especially it is usually about a theme I see going on, like either something I want to sadistically point out or make fun of. Artist wise my inspirations are Bo Burnham and John Mayer,” Lewis-Daly said.

What other art form would you be interested in?

“It would probably be grafitti art, I really like seeing big spray painted artwork,” Lewis-Daly said.

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Questions For Vegetarians

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It’s not common to meet someone who is a vegetarian at Rolla High. Nalani Massaro, who has been a vegetarian for over a year now, answered question fellow students had about o r r e n

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How do you transtition from eating meat and not eating meat?

Does your mouth water when you mow the lawn?

I basically quit eating meat completely when I decided to go vegetarian. I stopped eating meat right after Christmas 2015 and I haven’t eaten any kind of meat since. It is definitely hard to go from being able to go grab a burger at a fast food restaurant to not having any op-

Do you have to eat your body weight in tofu?

Yes, since becoming a vegetarian I am now 65% tofu instead of water.

Why would you eat fake meat if you don’t want to eat real meat?

I personally like the vegetarian options, because honestly it takes work to make a protein filled meal without meat. The substitues are an easy meal and I like the way the soy products

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How do you feel about eating dirt every day for the rest of your life?

Yes, everyday I struggle with walking across my lawn without getting the urge to dig in, get it?

From my experience Miracle-Gro adds a lot of flavor to it.

What is a good substitute for meat? are you the only vegetarConsuming protein is a must when ian in your family? forming meatless meal plans. I like to eat eggs, quinoa, TONS of hummus, and I love falafels.

Do you receive negativity for being a vegetarian?

I continue to receive hate for my choice to not eat meat. I don’t judge others for their choice to eat meat. It doesn’t affect me in any way, what you decide to eat is your decision. I’m not going to treat you differently based on what you eat. What you eat is your decision and it is my decision to

Yes, I am the only one in my family. Usually there is a vegetarian option, but my parents let me know if I need to prepare something for myself if needed.

What is fake meat made out of?

Soybeans, textured vegetable protein, and wheat.

Adventures of your Average, Anxious Teenage Girl

Welcome to the first edition of Adventures of your Average, Anxious Teenage Girl! This column will mostly consist of stories of how I am somehow surviving high school, and not doing so bad at it, and how you can too.

Lately it seems like everything has been stressing me out, and I’m sure most people can relate. January isn’t a fun month: going back to school or work after Christmas break, it’s usually dark and cloudy out most of the time, and, for me anyway, January is usually when I let all of my stress build up.

January is also when I begin to stress out and become anxious over every little thing in my life. I’ve decided that for this edition of this column, I would like to rant about all of these and how I deal with the abundant amount of stress.

So let’s begin with a rhetorical question: what is something that is constantly on my mind and always stressing me out even though I shouldn’t be too concerned about it at this moment of time? The answer is college. The thought of suddenly moving out, living on my own, and becoming an adult at the age of eighteen is terrifying, and sadly, two years away. I know exactly what career and degrees I want to pursue and what college I want to go to, but I still have to manage to get accepted to said college and get enough scholarships to pay for an

out-of-state, private college. As a sophomore in high school, the thought of everything and anything college is horrible, but yet, I think about it entirely too often.

School is also stressful, obviously. After finals and over winter break I managed to forget everything I learned first semester and becoming a larger procrastinator than I ever have been. The snow days have definitely thrown me off track and have made me wake up hoping for a snow day everyday.

Besides an abundance of homework every night, I also have a job. I’ve been working as a hostess at a restaurant for about three months now, but I still struggle with managing my time. I actually really like my job, it’s just difficult to balance work and homework sometimes.The snow days have definitely thrown me off track and have made me wake up hoping for a snow day everyday.

Besides an abundance of homework every night, I also have a job. I’ve been working as a hostess at a restaurant for about three months now, but I still struggle with managing my time. I actually really like my job, it’s just difficult to balance work and homework

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sometimes. Sometimes when I am not in the mood to go to work, I jsut think to myself how broke I am and then I finally (sometimes) get the motivation to to get myself to work.

Something else that stresses me out? The fact that we’ve already chosen our classes for next school year. I’m taking so many AP classes and duel enrollement classes and that is kind of freaking me out right now. I cried for hours because I could not decide on a few classes and ended up chaning a couple of classes last minute, which is crazy stressful, but I’m trying not to be too stressed over it at the moment. I’m just not too used to the fact that next year is my second-to-last year of high school because I sometimes still believe I’m twelve years old.

Since this column has pretty much turned into me venting about things that stress me out (actually everything stresses me out if we’re being honest), I think I’ll conclude here before I begin to stress about all of my stress.

Fashion Bashin’ b y

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Clothing is an essential need and can be for material flare or for comfort. What a person wear says a lot about who they are and how a person feels on a given day. When someone comes to school wearing sweatpants and uggs, it says they are going for a casual image. Sometimes, you need to make a more stunning impression and fashion can do that. You never know who you may run into so you want to be looking your best. You don’t want to be caught in some fashion fad that is a thing of the past.

Chacos were the fad of the summer and even in early fall and hopefully they don’t come back after the winter season is over.

They are rubber sandals that cost $100. Some may say they are comfortable, but Crocs were also super comfortable. I hope your hike through school really puts those so-called shoes to work.

Now that winter season is among us, Uggs have started being worn as a casual fashion. Uggs are probably the shoe you would wear when you want to take a casual trip to the store, or slippers you use to let your dog out of the house during the winter. They are easy slip on and extremely comfy, but the real question is should they be worn in public? Ugg-ly or Ugg-chic?

Sports clothing is the thing people wear when they are athletic, or lazy… the best of both worlds. It is comfortable and extremely casual. But sports clothing comes in all sorts of colors and brands and designs, so the thing you don’t want to do is combine your neon pink Nike ‘Just do it’ shirt with those neon green and black striped Adidas shorts. I mean if you are that deep in the hole, you might as well add some long orange socks with your sneakers. While we are talking about sneakers and athletic wear, please never wear jeans with them, just don’t. Something I see constantly is the all-black Under Armour long-sleeve shirts accompanied by those jeans. Bootcut or flare jeans are the way to go if you want to join the chaco, ugg, crowd.

You also cannot ignore how people wear too short of shorts.

Even though it is winter, when we start to remember the sun and how much we have missed the warmer weather we will want to show skin. But constantly it is the daisy duke shorts that are just barely there. I am surprised our school dress code hasn’t restricted the booty-hugging ensembles.

Another thing is those hypebeasts that buy into the most expensive things. Normally you would think that with an expensive price, you are getting high quality material, but frankly you aren’t. The Yeezys have no desirable color ways and are priced at $300, and you will get them for that if you camp out. Online they can reach anywhere to $1000.

So basically, hypebeasts are similar to those people who buy ugly christmas sweaters at full original price and they don’t think they are ugly.

Overall RHS has a wide variety of clothing and some can be admired and some may not care. Hopefully this article brings light to the importance of clothing choice and now you will be more conscious about these fashion choices.

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“Parks and Recreation because this character named Andy is kind of like me. It’s about people who work in the parks and department in a city and I think it’s really funny,” sophmore Devin Green said.

“Keeping Up with the Kardashians because I love their drama, I love drama in general, and it’s really like a fix for me. It’s about a bunch of garbage that I wish I was involved in because they have such a sweet life. My favorite characters are definitely Scott and Kylie,” senior Elizabeth O’Neill said.

“I like the Wonder Years because it’s relatable. It’s about this little boy and his story through junior high and the story of him growing up,” sophmore Carson Arnold said.

“I like the Walking Dead because it’s really action-packed. It also has some drama, romance, and comedy. It’s about the zombie apocalyspe and basically people trying to survive,” junior Lexi Turner said.

“I like Grimm because it has a lot of action. This guy can see monsters and other people can’t, so he has to stop those monsters from killing people,” senior Adrien Snyder said.

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Phrases such as “do me a solid” and “psyche” were very popular in the 1960s and 70s and still are today; yet phrases we used in the last couple of years are obsolete and are frowned upon if used. These words include, but are not limited to, “swag”, “YOLO”, and “yas”. Slang is continuously changing nowadays and the internet is speeding up the process. So many people are exposed to slang due to social media, making the terms overused and stale. The average lifetime for slang is about three months. However, a lot of slang words come back from the dead by people using them ironically. Take the term, “winning”, for example. The word was very popular in 2011 but quickly died like most slang terms until recently, because people have been using the word to make fun of people who used it before. Every slang word goes through a cycle.

It all begins when the word is born. It’s brand new and amazing because it’s almost like a secret word that only the creators know. They then sprinkle it into their conversations with other people. Those people find the word clever and hysterical, so they start posting it on Twitter and other social medias. The word lives a wondrous life being used by more and more teens around the world. Eventually, it gets tired. Too many people are using it too often. Next thing the word knows, it’s in a Justin Bieber song. By the time it gets featured on Ellen and is posted on every middle-aged woman’s Facebook wall, it understands its inevitable fate. RIP.

Some slang words never actually die, and become a part of the common language, such as, “same”, “dude”, and “selfie”. Let’s just hope “lit” doesn’t become a part of this list. This happened because the words stuck. A word needs someone influential to push it along. Kim Kardashian and the Chainsmokers made the word “selfie” huge. The word “fetch” from Mean Girls didn’t stick because Regina George, an extremely influential person, said it wouldn’t happen. There are also certain words that are used specifically for jokes. “Triggered” is a great example of this. No one has ever said the words “triggered” or “shook” without laughing afterwards. It just doesn’t work like that.

Slang can be very complicated. Some words are meant for jokes, others are obsolete, and the rest are just cringe-tastic. Slang changes so fast that it’s hard to stay woke.

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Breaking The Habit: Coffee

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Along with the new year, there are always new resolutions to start being more healthy, productive, and breaking all those bad habits. So this past week I decided to break my worst habit, drinking coffee, with possibly the worst method: c=ompletely cutting it out for one week and documenting my withdrawals. It seemed like a fairly easy habit to overcome, and if it weren’t for the thermos of it I drink in the morning and the two cups I drink in the evening each day, I might have been right.

My first day was a blur of headaches and two minute power naps between classes. As expected, I was much more tired than usual and I couldn’t focus as well. Other than that, the day went by quickly with only a minor headache and was much easier than I expected. I managed to get my homework done without my regular coffee after school and I figured it would only go up from there, but that’s not exactly how it went.

The second day proved to be more difficult when I woke up with a pulsing headache. I read that I would be more irritable and annoyed, and I the second day was really when that symptom hit. I found myself having to hold back from snapping at friends and family over noticeably small details. I had suddenly lost all patience and couldn’t focus on what was supposed to be getting done. I was experiencing none of the good symptoms yet and wondering when or if they would affect me in the week.

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By Wednesday I was still experiencing no positive effects and found myself getting hungry earlier in the day.

I was eating more not only because I was more stressed and irritated, but because I was completely cutting out a regular source of calories. The combination of a headache, being hungry and irritated,just resulted in a bad unproductive day. The rest of the school week was equally as bad, if not worse, and only started to look up on Friday when we had a snow day.

Coffee is very acidic and can cause imbalances in hormones resulting in acne. Since I wasn’t drinking any, I noticed my skin cleared up. I was also less tired because I got more sleep and didn’t have to go to school. Saturday and Sunday were productive and I seemed to be getting used to the lack of caffeine. I had replaced drinking coffee with drinking water and that may have contributed to my recovery.

I also noticed that when I finally got to drink coffee again I was more jittery and it took less coffee than usual to wake me up. I was fidgety and way more awake than I usually am even with coffee.

Because my body had gone without caffeine for even just a week, drinking it again effected me more because I wasn’t used to it.

Overall, if you’re scared of not drinking coffee, the first couple days are hard but the last two days I felt awake and focused again and I didn’t need to be so dependent upon coffee. It was a good way to detox and find alternative ways of getting energy.

Rumor has it... that New Year’s resolutions have some Rolla High School students feeling hopeful, while others prefer not to make one at all. work. I’d like more sleep because it’s good for my health. To get B

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This year, it seems as if the students of Rolla High disagree on the effectiveness of New Year’s resolutions. Few students have chosen to make a resolution.

“New Year’s resolutions don’t work because people don’t just reset along with a new calendar. People grow and change over time.

I try and critique myself every night to determine for myself how I have improved and how I want to improve. I prefer small daily resolutions to yearly ones,” junior Isaac Stormes said.

Although there are few of them, the students who have New Year’s resolutions are determined to stick to them.

“My New Year’s resolution is to get more sleep. I don’t get enough sleep right now because I’m busy with clubs and home-

more sleep I plan to take easier classes compared to the ones I took last year,” junior Thomas Booker said.

Common resolutions are to stay fit and healthy, enjoy life to the fullest, and spend more time with family and friends.

“My New Year’s resolution is to focus on building myself up without letting other people’s opinions affect me. I’m going to try to surround myself with the people and things that make me happy, rather than going along with social norms,” junior Arianna Stanislawski said.

Whether a student chooses to have a New Year’s resolution or not, they can decide to make a change to better themselves at any time. Many New Year’s resolutions are broken quickly after being made as a result of a lack of continuous motivation. Setting an easier, more realistic goal at the beginning of the year may attribute to a smoother transition into a larger goal.

Just to further drive the point home, suicide rates are down globally, the Ozone layer is repairing itself, America and China had their most generous year in history in terms of charity and aid, and without a doubt the most important bit of good news: giant pandas are no longer endangered. These are some major advances toWelcome to this month’s installment of Completely Credible, the column where I state wards science, humanity, and the survival my opinion on things that I know too much about, all while not providing a single source of our planet as a whole. Despite all of to back it up. Essentially, a typical news column. The subject of each column is bound to these things though, most seem convinced to believe that 2016 was terrible. be different, and this will more or less be about whatever happens to catch my attention at the time. While reading be sure to keep in mind this is purely my opinion on something Now don’t be mistaken, there were absolute tragedies that took place this year, as that probably doesn’t matter. minute, and the next: nothing. Well, well as numerous celebrity deaths, and this

B y C o n n o r W i ls o n Ebola’s story became nothing because a isn’t even mentioning the election. These Staff Writer vaccine was developed. The medical field things are always tragic, and as nice as it has advanced so far along that a vaccine would be if they never happened again, managed to be developed for this plague that seems very unlikely. With a pessimisIn this month of Completely Credible, that has been loitering in the world for tic attitude, anything can seem terrible for January I feel like I missed something countless years. Just when it seemed like it or unrecoverable, and in this current age important in not covering the whole “2016 was gaining traction, it was gone. of social media, locking ourselves into sucked” trend that overtook the world.

Next, the ice bucket challenge. As it turns echo-chambers of like-minded people to It seemed like according to most people, out, all those viral videos paid off and the further create a divide between each other, 2016 was the worst year in a while, which gene which causes ALS was discovered. it’s easier than ever to be hateful and is actually really odd considering all the Another major medical issue suddenly extremely pessimistic. Yet despite all the great things that that year brought to us, progressed quite rapidly. There were even hate and what the overall consensus seems so maybe it’s time to dispel some of those bigger medical advances too, as now there to be, the good is still out there, and it may pessimistic attitudes. actually exists robotic arms that can be be surprising to find just how much good First things first: Ebola. The world was controlled by someone’s brain alone. in the world there really is. slowly becoming gripped with fear one

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Join the RHS ECHO Magazine Staff !

Sign up for the intro class:

Journalism Composition

Two ways to take Journalism Composition 1) Traditional Face to Face Class (in the school schedule) 2) Online (done entirely outside of school hours on own time) The curriculum is the same, the method of delivery is different. Both are ½ unit of English. Both meet the prerequisite for being on ECHO or Growler.

If you enroll for online, you will just enter that separately in your IC portal.

Going Places On the ECHO staff, you have multiple opportunites to travel all across the country for the Journalism Education Assocaition National Convetnion. These conventions take place anywhere from Seattle and Washington D.C and everywhere in between.

While there, you learn about all aspects of journalism from some of the top journalists in the country!

Meeting People

In room 302, you will meet more people than you thought you could in high school. From baseball players, to artists, to FCCLA officers, to expert L.A.R.P.ers and everyone in between. Joining the ECHO staff is a great way to get to know people from your high school you normally wouldn’t have any interaction with. It’s a great way to make new friends and new relationships that could last a life time.

Awards Every year, the ECHO staff participates in MIZZOU’s Journalism Day. J-Day is a full day filled with speakers, break-out sessons, and award ceremonies. We, as a staff, send in our layouts and stories throughout the year to be judged at J-Day for awards and recognition. If you are on staff for a year or more, you could also recieve a cord for graduation!

Skills Being a part of the ECHO staff advances your knowledge in all aspects of journalism. You’ll take part in the entire process.From interviews, to writing the story, editing, layout, and exportation, you’ll be a part of it all in room 302.

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Contact RHS ECHO Magzine

Staff members, Adrienne Pyeatt, Theresa Lauer, Celia Parsons, Lorren Black, and adviser, Mary Gillis pose for a selfie while ringing bells outside of Price Chopper for the Salvation Army.

Mary Gillis, Adviser mgillis@rolla.k12.mo.us (573)-458-0101 ext. 14302 Room 302