February 2017 issue of the Pepper Box

Staff Editorial

Asking for help is a common action all over the world.

For the Ritenour community and schools worldwide, asking for assistance is very much encouraged. From back-to back assignments to rising mental health issues, both students and faculty deal with many problems that can be resolved with just a little bit of help.

The first step in order to receive help is the asking process.

Although it may be difficult for most, it is the potential beginning and end to a conflict. Whether it is asking a parent, counselor, or other human being, make sure that you trust this person enough to continue an in-depth conversation once the problem is addressed.

People may find it hard to reach out because they are not sure who they can trust in certain situations, but it is important to reach out and find who can help the most during the most stressful times in life.

The second step to get help is to begin the process of eliminating things that may be the cause of the stress. Certain people or things in your life may be the cause or side effect of an issue that is recurring.

By removing these people and things, your help may be received from within. Once you have removed them from your life, your help may have been answered with solution. If not, keep looking for positive results.

Maybe once you have received the help necessary, you will learn from it and never get to the point of asking for help in that specific instance again. Asking for help should never be a problem for one though, it shouldn’t be considered a burden to others either. Asking for help and receiving help are a part of life and they apply to everyone.

PEPPER BOX STAFF

Adviser: Ron Steinschriber Content Editor In Chief: Sarah Barbeau Design Editor In Chief: Sidney Lee News Editor: Alicia Watson Opinion Editor: Royalty Knight Online Editor: Bri’asia Mays Sports Editor: Jenna Hutson Spotlight Editor: Makayla Smith Staff Members: Jordyn Barber, Trystan Bell, Coralis Bobe, Vanessa Delgado, Marissa Driver, Carlotta Erpenbach, Alexandria Eyster-Cool, Nick Flanders, Olivia Hilliard, Lila Irby, Grace Humphres, Shelby Langhorst, Tabitha Peebles, Car’Tayza Shelton, Bailey Stock, Victoria Taylor, Martin Trujillo, Ashley Wright, Editorial Policy: The Pepper Box is designed and created by members of the newspaper staff of Ritenour High School. The purpose of the newspaper is to provide a forum for the students to focus on issues, give opinions, and share information with the Ritenour High School community. The opinions expressed in this paper do not reflect opinions of our faculty or administration.

Letters to the editor are welcome and accepted, but they may not contain profanity, obscenity, or anything inappropriate to school. They may be e-mailed to Ron Steinschriber at steinschriberr@ritenourschools.org, or dropped off in room 240. The staff reserves the right to edit these letters.

Cover art by Shelby Langhorst Special mini-issue cover art by Shelby Langhorst Back cover by Ron Steinschriber, made with easel.ly

Stealing for profit

Cultural appropriation is a problem within society, but celebrities are not being held accountable

The Royal Treatment By: Royalty Knight

We live in a world where we have information readily available to practically everyone. If you have access to the Internet, listen to the radio, watch television, or generally just do not live under a rock, then I am sure you have heard about celebrities like Iggy Azalea being in the news for cultural appropriation.

But what exactly is appropriation?

How can a person take from another culture and just claim it for their own? It is different from appreciation, which includes an understanding of what an item means to a group of people and embracing that philosophy.

Appropriation gets closer to the idea of stealing other people’s cultures and taking them for themselves, specifically for material gain.

There are many instances of this happening, but this is not a problem of black and white.

This is a problem between make believe and actual life, when people take pieces of someone else’s culture because they think it is ‘fashionable.’

This fashionable idea is when there becomes a problem that is offensive to other people.

For example, if a non religious person like me started wearing a hijab because I thought it was cute, not knowing the reason behind why it is worn or what it symbolizes, that would be appropriation.

Kim Kardashian is often looked to as a style guide for many young adults.

Recently, she has been outspoken about “boxer braids,” and while the Kardashian sister was not referring to ‘box braids’ which is a different hairstyle altogether, she was referring to UFC fighters, saying that they were who made the braids popular.

Unfortunately, center part reverse French braids are also known as cornrows, and now they are suddenly ‘trendy’ because a white woman wore them. It is infuriating, considering that a person of color could be discriminated against for wearing/ doing the same thing, but if a noncolored woman does it, it is innovative, new and exciting.

Keeping up with the Kardashians, Kylie Jenner and her entire existence (what she is ‘famous for’) was stolen from other cultures. What people do not understand about fashion and music today is that it was ‘created’ by people who were out window shopping through another group’s culture, stealing it and then selling for themselves as trendy. Then, they market it as something they ‘just came up with one day,’ and that is exactly what Kylie Jenner has done. However, it is not just black culture that she has stolen from (wearing cornrows and dreads, not to mention her body enhancements), there are pictures of her where she proudly displayed a selfie with a bindi. This is a part of the Hindu culture, most commonly to represent a married woman. The bindi is also said to be the third eye in Hindu religion, and it can be used to ward off bad luck. She is not Hindu, nor is she married; she was only wearing it because it is ‘trendy’.

Things such as these can be harmful and sometimes the lines can get fuzzy on what is and what is not okay. In today’s society, where social media dominates the landscape and everyone is looking to get the next trending photo, we need to do something to prevent things like cultural appropriation from happening.

Buy your yearbook before it is too late.

75% of all yearbooks ordered have already been purchased.

For more information come to room 240.

The silent treatment Senior Alicia Watson did an experiment to see the reactions she would get from her peers when she went silent for a day at school

Undercover Sister By: Alicia Watson

Mental health is not a subject to be taken lightly. People over a span of all ages have to deal with a mental illness, but it can be especially difficult for teenagers and their guardians.

Teenagers are already typically moody due to hormones and puberty, so it may be hard to differentiate normal teenage behavior from signs of a mental disorder.

One warning sign of a mental illness

Opinion

is social withdrawal. I’m not usually an extremely talkative or loud person on an everyday basis, but I do talk to my friends regularly and engage in casual conversation. I’m not known to just put my earphones in and ignore my surroundings.

I normally respond if spoken to.

As an experiment, for an entire day I did the complete opposite. For an entire day I was completely silent. I was silent to see if my friends and peers would spot my change in behavior, or even speak up about it.

Going into this experiment I expected my friends to notice that something was off about me and question me about it, but I was surprised when nobody really noticed at first. The biggest reactions I received were in 3rd period and 5th period. In 3rd period we were doing a group exercise which required us to speak, when I was prompted to speak I would just point or motion. At first I did not think anyone noticed, but after Mrs. Garay told the class that I was “taking a vow of silence” the girl next to me said that she was eventually going to ask me what was wrong with me.

In 5th period, my friend Jalynn and I sit right next to each other, so that made staying silent a bit more

challenging. However, I knew that I would get a good reaction from her, and my expectations were met during the class.

As soon as I entered the room she was already attempting to engage in conversation. When she noticed that I wasn’t responding to her she began to ask me what was wrong with me.

Every time she asked I would just shake my head, which resulted in her pressing me even more to tell her what was wrong. After a while she asked me if I wanted to talk about it, to which I shook my head. After that exchange I thought she had given up, but after about 10 seconds she repeated the firing of questions.

These reactions were what I liked to see. I was happy to see that people could tell when I was acting differently and that they could sense my change in behavior. I was happy to see that they knew that something may have been wrong with me, and I was happy to see that they spoke up about it. They acknowledged the fact that something was wrong. I was especially happy with Jalynn’s response. Even though I was ignoring her and pushing her away, she continued to make sure that I was okay. She let me know that she was there for me, and that’s important.

People who are actually dealing with depression and other mental illnesses need to know that they are not alone. This experiment showed me that there are definitely people out there who will step up and help when they see something is going wrong.

Winter Sports Capsules Boys Basketball • Coach Mike Nelke • Record- 16-7 • Key Players- Carl Garmon, Robyion Hughes, Kobe Smith, Demeetrie Beach, Nick Williams • Best Moment- Winning the St. Charles West tournament and playing together as a team.

Junior Kobe Smith goes up for a dunk against Kirkwood High School on December 9, 2016. Photo courtesy of Ritenour Athletics

Wrestling

Senior Brian Chrun wrestles against Kirkwood High School on December 16, 2016. Photo courtesy of Heather Brown

Girls Basketball

• Coach Josh McGrotty • Record- 2-8 • Key Players- Austin Cornell, Ryan Howerton, Brian Chrun • Best Moment- Having two members of our team place in the top three at the All-Suburban Conference Championships.

• Coach Ron Steinschriber • Record- 8-13 • Key Players- Alexis Ramey, Michaela Reed, Nature Frost • Best Moment- Winning second place in our first tournament of the season and seeing people step up into new roles this season.

The girls basketball team tips off against Villa Duschene on January 9, 2017. Photo courtesy of Ritenour Athletics

Girls Swimming

Junior Sam Pullen pushes off the wall for a backstroke race against Timberland on December 13, 2016. Photo courtesy of Brendon Klohr

• Coach Andrea Rivera • Record- 4-7 • Key Players- Emma Stiebel, Samantha Pullen, Leanna Morales, and Izzy Clark •Best Moment- Receiving a special report from MSHAA about the team’s excellent sportsmanship.

Sports

Seniors experience final nights Senior athletes look back on their high school careers as impending senior nights signal the end of their high school athletic careers

Senior Shelby Beile pitches in a game this season. Beile lost her junior season to a torn ACL, so her senior season and senior night were especially meaningful to her. Photo courtesy: Brendon Klohr

By: Ashley Wright Staff Reporter As seasons come to a close, one of the most highly anticipated games for seniors becomes their senior night.

Senior nights take time to celebrate student athletes who have dedicated themselves to becoming great athletes.

At the last home game of the season, seniors often reflect on the sacrifices they have made to commit to their sport for their high school careers.

Several seniors have participated in the last game they will ever play in for their respective sports. However, other seniors look to take their talents to the next level in college.

“I love the game. My passion has grown over my senior year and I

Sports

did not want it to end. Also, the way basketball season has gone so far, it has motivated me more to play a sport in college,” senior JC Biyai said.

For some seniors, participating in sports created many different friendships that may not have existed if they had not played.

“It made it a lot better. It wasn’t all about the popularity of becoming an athlete, it was just about making new friends, and now having people to hang out with,” senior swimmer Lauren Jacobsen said. “I didn’t have that when I first started high school, but when I joined the swim team I made a family.”

Outside of just making friends, playing sports has also had a positive effect on athletes off the field of play.

Senior Madison Stiebel believes that while making friends, she also became a better all-around student by playing sports year-round.

“I think playing a sport in high school has affected my high school experience by helping me be very driven to do well in school so that I can play my sport,” Stiebel said.

“It has helped me create many new friendships.”

Senior Shelby Beile made friends during her time in high school sports, but senior night had a different feel for her than many other athletes. Beile tore her ACL during her junior season and had to miss almost an entire year of softball and soccer.

“My biggest accomplishment is coming back my senior year from tearing my ACL, and being out for a full year and having one of the best seasons of softball I have ever had,” Beile said.

As seniors prepare and leave their team for the last and final season, some prepare themselves for a hard goodbye.

Even though their high school sport career is over, the bonds they have created amongst their teammates will only grow stronger as they take their next step in their life. Senior Morgan Coffey took a look back at all that volleyball has taught her throughout the last four years.

“Playing high school volleyball definitely affected me as a person, and who I chose to be my friends. Pretty much everyone on the team is friends on and off of the court. It gave me a “clique,” but it also made me a stronger person individually,” Coffey said.

Law change forces schools to look at violence policies

A change in Missouri law caused reactions over winter break, but Ritenour already had a plan to address it By: Makayla Smith Spotlight Editor

During Winter break, many media outlets broke a story that teens all over the area have started to call the “fighting law,” but there is some confusion over what this change in the law means and whether it really is a change from the past.

After a few school districts sent messages to parents about the fact that a change in the law could now mean a felony charge, social media started buzzing. The rumor started going around that if students fight on school campus that they are just automatically a felon after that. However, there isn’t necessarily a new law, but an older one that has been around for years that was altered.

According to the Missouri law guide, there are now four different types of assault charges. In the beginning there were only 3.

Assault 1 and 2 are still felonies, but the new part is that assault 3 is now a felony as well. Assault 4 is a new charge which has been added, and it is classified as a misdemeanor.

The “fighting law” nickname has arisen because an act like punching someone and bruising them would allow the person who got attacked to press charges. Fighting is a part of this change in policy, but it’s not the main focus. Assault 4 also covers harassment and bullying. There was never really anything written into law for things of that nature, but with this new category it now exists.

This new law took place on January 1, 2017. When everybody got word about they assumed that they would

In 2009, 63 out of every 1,000 school-aged youth in the United States reported being victims of some sort of school violence.

85% of public schools reported at least one act of violence or crime-related activity during the 2007-2008 school year.

Overall, there some 1.5 million acts of violence related to school campus activity and aimed at school-aged youth, and there were 1.1 million school-aged kids who were victims of violence outside of school.

Statistics from nobullying.org

be a felon for simply fighting on school grounds. However, that part of the law has not changed.

“Fighting in school has always been a felony,” Officer Will Luu said. “The only difference is in order for charges to be pressed it has to be done by the school or the state.”

This is not saying that just because there isn’t a new law relating to fighting in school that students cannot get in trouble with the law.

Ritenour has decided that they will not make any policy changes as far as punishing students and stick to their own rules according to a letter sent out

by Superintendent Dr. Chris Kilbride.

“Our district already has thorough consequences in place regarding all types of behaviors, including fighting.

District practices will not change with regard to the change in this statute.

Students who engage in assault or fighting will be subject to discipline as outlined in our handbook,” Dr. Kilbride said.

The one area that did change after

these new laws were put into effect was how the school was planning to handle any incidents of bullying or harassment.

“Our expanded bullying policy includes designating staff members in each building to address reports of bullying, naming a district-wide anti-bullying coordinator, immediately investigating any reports of bullying within two days of the alleged occurrence, and training and assisting staff about preventing and responding to incidents of bullying,” Dr. Kilbride said.

Dr. Kilbride believes that these changes will help Ritenour not only accommodate to the changes in the law code, but also provide students with a safe learning environment.

“It is important that our school district maintains a positive and supportive learning environment where our students feel secure and have maximum opportunities to learn,” Dr. Kilbride said.

News

Students admitted to elite college Seniors Diana Castellanos and Andrea Gaona-Romero were both admitted to a top 20 university as early admission applicants

acceptances! They are hard working, focused young ladies who deserve this high honor,” College Counselor Julie Kampschroeder said.

Wash U currently has approximately more than 7,000 undergraduate students enrolled in one of their 90 fields of study that they offer on campus. Some of which include archeology, law, pediatrics, architecture and many more.

“I’m really excited to just make new friends and meet new people. Just the experience of the environment.

I’m going to be living there, so it’s not going to be like high school where I go to school, and then come back home,” Castellanos said.

Castellanos and Gaona-Romero Seniors Andrea Gaona-Romero and Diana Castellanos were both admiitted early entry to Wash- decided to apply to Wash U because ington University at St. Louis. Photo courtesy: Ritenour School District of their fondness to their medical program. Wash U is ranked number 12 in medical schools.

By: Vanessa Delgado difficult than the other.

“I went on a tour there and I really Staff Reporter Gaona-Romero wanted her liked the environment there. They application essay to stand out to Wash have what I want to do, since I want Ritenour High school seniors U to truly show who she was as a to go into medical school. I want Diana Castellanos and Andrea Gaona- student and as a person. She didn’t to go to pre-med so I can major in Romero recently found out that they want her essay to sound repetitive or biology and go to medical school, had been admitted to a university that fake. and I can hopefully become a doctor,” is ranked in the top 20 of the entire “It didn’t take that long to finish the Castellanos said. country, the University of Washington- application, but the hardest part was Gaona-Romero is still undecided on Saint Louis (Wash U). the essay. It was hard writing it because her major, but knows that she wants to Wash U is a university based on I had to find a way to represent participate in the medical field. Gaonalearning and research. It was founded myself,” Gaona-Romero said.

Romero hopes that attending Wash in 1853 and their main goal was to aid Wash U’s early admission U will help lead her in the way of her in giving their students confidence, as application deadline was Nov. 15, but choosing her career. their motto states Per Veritatem Vis, or the students wouldn’t find out about “I love learning in new areas that we “strength through truth.” their acceptance for a couple more aren’t exposed, and I originally wanted Both seniors were very anxious weeks. When Castellanos and Gaonato major in nutrition,” Gaona-Romero when they had finally decided to Romero found about their acceptance, said. “Wash U said they would help submit their application. They both they were more than ecstatic to share me choose a major that they offered so described what it felt like to put the the good news to Ritenour students that I could go into medical school.” finishing touches on their applications, and faculty. but for one of the seniors it was more “I was overjoyed with their

News

Fall play goes to State The fall play, “The Women of Lockerbie,” was one of two plays performed at the State Thespian Conference By: Martin Trujillo Staff Reporter Ritenour High School’s fall play, “The Women of Lockerbie” got selected to be performed at the Missouri State Thespian Conference for the first time in school history.

The play follows a mother looking for her son’s remains after a plane crash in Lockerbie, Scotland. She encounters other Scottish women fighting the US government for the clothing of the victims that died on the same plane crash that her son died in.

The cast of this year’s fall play was excited to be chosen as one of the two plays that was allowed to perform at ThesCon, as it is more commonly known by its attendees.

“We are performing at a really top level at Thes-Con, it’s kind of like Comic-Con but for high school thespians around the country,” senior cast member Lexie Sneed said.

Director Greg Jones was happy to see his cast receive recognition for their work in the play.

“I think it is a really big honor to be selected to perform at the conference.

Each year only two schools are picked to perform for the mainstage show,” Jones said.

Outside of performing, the Ritenour drama students believed that going to the conference could help them in the future. This event seeks to help young thespians expand their skills through workshops that cover different acting types and skills.

“There are a ton of workshops. There are a lot of improv type workshops, stage fighting, lighting workshops. I

The cast of “The Women of Lockerbie” perform at the Missouri State Thespian Conference.

Photo courtesy: Collette Love-Hilliard

went to one about singing while acting,” junior Emma Norman said.

To prepare for the actual performance, the cast rehearsed several more times to refresh their memory; they also had to prepare to move the set, set it up, and take it back down.

“We have several ‘pick up’ rehearsals to make sure everyone was still fresh from the fall performances. We have also been working on preparing the set to travel to the conference. We have to unload, set up, have to perform, and then strike, and take down the set all in one day,” Jones said.

Cast members felt nervous performing in front of other thespians.

Norman believed that the other thespians were more likely to catch small mistakes than a casual theatre audience.

“I was very nervous, everybody

there knows what they’re doing with theatre, so they are very judgemental.

If you mess up they will know,” Norman said.

Although junior J’Von Halbert agreed with Norman about the potential for a discriminating audience, he believed that it would ultimately help the performance.

“Performing as theatre people, we know when other theatre people mess up. We all have to stand on our toes and be the best we can be,” Halbert said.

Regardless of the cast’s nervousness, they felt emotions from honor to joy just for having this opportunity.

“We were really looking forward to this. This is the first time Ritenour is performing at state. I felt really proud and excited to perform,” Sneed said.

News

Mental Health Mini Issue

Teenage mental health Ritenour students share some struggles that they have gone through while dealing with mental health issues By: Jordyn Barber Staff Reporter According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org), one in five children ages 13 to 18 have, or will have a serious mental illness.

This fact, while unimaginable for some, is a reality for many. Ritenour students of all grades were asked to anonymously reveal their own stories

Photo illustration by: Ron Steinschriber Photo by: Sidney Lee

Special

of dealing with mental illness through a survey. When asked their specific illness, there were common responses.

Several students answered with Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and/ or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Some students ignored the seriousness of the issue and responded jokingly to the questions asked within the survey. This mindset was actually

referenced by many within the survey.

Participants said that people often made jokes about mental health, or used issues that students struggle with as punchlines, and that seemed to minimize the issues that they deal with on a daily basis.

Those who did understand the importance of the topic helped prove Story continued on next page

mental illness exists within the world.

The survey asked for students to share how their mental state affects their performance in school. While few answered that it did not change their work ethic, many expressed feelings of being overwhelmed.

“I always tend to feel people are making fun of me or that I am not good enough,” an anonymous freshman said.

A student in tenth grade responded that dealing with mental illness can sometimes compound problems as they occur. One small reaction can snowball into something from which it may seem impossible to recover.

“Sometimes I cannot concentrate and have lapses in listening, it also causes me to be paranoid and second guess everything I do or say. It can cause me not to care about the work, so I don’t try as hard as I can.”

When asked how the illness affects those surrounding them, students responses varied. Some shared the loss of friends due to the constant mentality of negativity. Others spoke about the strong support system they hold with their dedicated friendships.

“It affects my friends because some days they do not know which me they will get; the one who is so appreciative and happy, or the me who does not know why they are around and why I am me,” a freshman with Bipolar and Depression said. “It affects my mom because she has the same thing I do.

That is where I got it from and she now sees what it is like for us to watch her go through it by watching me go through it.”

A senior talked about the effects that their mental illness has on their immediate family and loved ones. The effect on family was a common thread discussed throughout the survey.

Often times family tries to help, but is not sure exactly how to help the most.

“It especially takes a toll on my significant other and my family. When my panic attacks occur, they can range from me zoning out, to a full on hysterical panic (which is quite scary to those who see it). I have noticed that it also makes those around me worry a lot for my well-being. They worry that I will not eat, or that I may harm myself, or that I am not taking my meds efficiently.”

The survey also asked how mental health affects their outlooks on the world and overall. This section was where students spoke about how others can sometimes diminish the effects of mental health with their jokes.

Students also mentioned that they might be having a good day, but it can take a quick turn without much more than a small incident.

“I feel like people take mental illness lightly and do not really understand how serious it is, until something serious happens. Mental illness affects my overall mindset because it makes it hard to have a “normal everyday life.” When one minute you can be happy and upbeat, then less than five to ten minutes later your mood just constantly drags down,” a senior shared.

Many of the students mentioned that just because they have a mental illness, it does not prevent them from being happy people.

“I love the world and I love people.

It’s just I can’t seem to get anywhere with my constant anxiety,” an anonymous junior said.

The final question was how students with these mental illnesses believe they can be better supported throughout Ritenour. Some students had never seen a therapist or psychiatrist and suggested that as the first step to healing. Others simply thought weekly check-ins with friends or a support group would be helpful.

“I just need somebody to talk to, just to keep my mind off the bad things. I tend to overthink sometimes which puts me in a very deep trance of numbness and sadness,” an anonymous junior answered.

Another senior noted that there needs to be more awareness at the school, so that students can more appropriately respond to their peers.

“It would be great if kids here at school would change their attitudes towards the illnesses and be more respectful to people,” an anonymous senior says, While teens facing mental illness is obvious, it is also evident that action must be taken to keep our fellow students safe and positive.

Throughout Ritenour, there have been projects in order to promote awareness. When asked their thoughts on whether it’s helpful or hurtful, students and counselors shared an agreement that it was indeed helpful.

Many people mentioned that mental health needs to better represented in our school in general as well as through our words. There are efforts to bring awareness to mental health within the building, and some are happening soon.

The week of February 20 has been designated as awareness week at the high school. On Tuesday, February 21, it is “Ban the R-word” day. On Wednesday, February 22, the school will be focusing on Bullying Awareness Day. On Thursday, February 23, it is Suicide Awareness Day, and on Friday, February 24, it is Unity Day.

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Dealing with mental health issues Ritenour students anonymously answered a survey about how they experience and deal with mental health diagnoses “When I’m in a bad spot and my depression hits me really hard, my school performance drops to a low. It’s hard to get it back up.”

“My bipolar disorder affects my concentration. Sometimes my mood just switches and I cannot control it. Sometimes, I have to stop doing work because I get all shaky and cannot think. I get super stressed. I also get hyper and can not focus on anything.”

“I lose interest in everything when I’m angry or sad, so I never really notice the bright side of the world.”

“Those around me could probably feel my negativity and that’s why it was hard for people to want to talk to me or even work with me. As for my family, I think they could sense how I felt, but they didn’t know what to do so they also felt helpless.”

“I have always had body image issues and a distorted body image. I think a lot of girls go through this phase, because once I open up to people about it, they open up to me and I realize I’m not the only one.”

“I need for people to care, I need for people to TRY to understand manic depression. Yeah, you may see me in school laughing, smiling, whatever. But once I get into my room, alone, I shut down. I wish someone would help me.”

“Mental illness makes me more empathetic to those who suffer from all disabilities. It has made me more aware that most people hide their true selves behind a facade, in order to “protect” the world from themselves. It makes me realize that we really don’t know anyone’s story, and that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

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Sports