MINI IMMERSIONS

SYD TIMME AND CHRSITINA ORTIZ LED A GROUP OF 16 SENIORS THROUGH A FULL DAY OF HANDSON, NITTY GRITTY WORK IN WHICH WE RECONNECTED WITH NATURE DURING

In the afternoon the group met up with The Greenway Foundation for a river clean up at Sanderson Gulch.

Students heard from local organizers who taught our students how to cultivate and sustain fertile land, clean air, and clean water.

THE MINI IMMERSION EXPERIENCE WAS A GREAT WAY TO LEARN, GROW, AND UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEMS IN OUR WORLD THAT EFFECT LARGE GROUPS OF PEOPLE.

The group met at Union Station early morning and spent the day on foot learning about and encountering our neighbors who suffer from homelessness and poverty. I’ve spoken to several participants today, all who mentioned that they will never look at another city the same way. Later in the day they heard from Denver PD, including mental health experts who have recently been hired to accompany officers on calls and who work to bring compassion into law enforcement encounters with the unhoused.

Students and teachers gathered at the Geo ICE Detention Center in Aurora for a prayer vigil. At Geo ICE, asylum-seekers are detained awaiting their asylum claims. Students spent the day hearing personal stories of migration and watching the “Crossing Borders” original RJ Media documentary.

SERVICE/ARRUPE

FINDING WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN A PANDEMIC ARRUPE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

ELEVATE: HOW HAS ARRUPE CHANGED IN THE PAST YEAR DUE TO COVID? CARA: A lot of the populations that we typically work with are vulnerable to COVID, so it has become more difficult to actually interact with the people we are serving. We have had to find less traditional ways of serving that still make an impact, like writing cards to seniors or becoming pen pals with a detained immigrant. We have done a lot of work with the Food Bank of the Rockies, and we just (on Feb 14th) had a car parade for the residents at Chelsea Place Memory Care. The ways in which we do service have changed because opportunities are more difficult to find, but we have tried our best to make sure that we are still serving the communities around us. ELEVATE: WHAT KIND OF SERVICE DOES ARRUPE DO? CARA: Arrupe tends to do hands-on service, meaning working directly with the people in our communities. This could be serving a meal at Ronald McDonald house, helping with a Christ in the City lunch, or hosting a craft session at the Tennyson Center. A lot of this has not been available this year, but in general, we focus on giving the club members opportunities to interact with the populations we are serving. S: TO SOMEONE WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT IT, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CLUB? C: Arrupe is a club for people who love service. We organize opportunities to serve different populations all around Denver, and we put together collection drives at school. Our club is open to anyone who wants to get involved in our wider communities, and we want to help the student body see the importance of serving others. S: WHAT IS A PERSONAL FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THE CLUB? C: One of my favorite memories with Arrupe was singing carols for families standing in line for a Christmas meal in downtown Denver during my freshman year. I loved interacting with the people waiting and seeing how a small effort on our part brought a lot of joy, especially to the kids. Some people were singing along, and I hope that our caroling brought a brighter spirit to their day. I also really loved the Valentine’s Day Parade that we just held for the seniors at Chelsea Place. The parade was open to the whole school, and it was incredible to see so many students come with decorations all over their cars to bring joy to the residents. The seniors absolutely loved it, especially because many of them have not been able to see their families during the pandemic, and it was great to see the RJ community come together as well. S:HOW CAN STUDENTS GET INVOLVED? C: They can contact one of the leaders (Olivia Baptiste, Kaylee Miller, or I) or Deacon Ferraro.

BY SABRINA VIZURAGGA PHOTOS BY AUDREY HARMAN & REILLY WIBLE

1. THE VARSITY FIELD hockey team gathers around the state championship banner, holding up number ones, while students cheer behind. 2. SENIOR TAYLOR TRUITT pulls past a Creek defender, helping advance the ball towards the goal. 3. PLAYERS LEAP from the sidelines, hair swinging after the first goal of the State Championship game against Cherry Creek. Photos by Audrey Harman

ELEVATE: WHEN YOU STARTED THE SEASON, WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS AS A TEAM? ANNIE TARTELL: We started the season with the intention and goal of going to state. On the first day of practice for the season, I remember Coach telling us that today was day one of preparing for state; I honestly think that sent the tone for the whole season. Our goal was to play our game this season. We recognized our strengths and weaknesses and made sure we used each players strengths to the best of their ability.

ELEVATE: HOW DID COVID EFFECT YOUR SEASON? TARTELL: COVID definitely made the season unique as we didn’t play many of the teams we usually do. They broke the regular season up into 3 brackets and we only played within our bracket until semis and the championship. It also affected us as the team had to quarantine for a week, so we couldn’t practice and had to miss some of our regular season games. Luckily the coaches were able to move games, so we had four games a week when we returned. But a positive from COVID was getting to practice longer (18 months since the last championship game) and having a mini fall ball season just within the Regis program.

ELEVATE: WHAT DROVE THE TEAM THIS YEAR? GRACE WEIGAND: The team was really driven by the opportunity we had to play. We knew that nothing was going to be given to us and were excited to just be back on a field again. We wanted to give our all because we were so grateful to be out there and excited to be given the opportunity to play!

ELEVATE: WHAT WERE YOU FEELING WHEN YOU WENT INTO THE SECOND OVERTIME FOR THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME? HOW DID THE TEAM COME TOGETHER FOR THE WIN, & HOW DID IT FEEL LIKE WHEN THE FANS RUSHED THE FIELD AFTER THE BIG WIN? TARTELL: Going into the second overtime I knew the game wasn’t over yet and I had faith that we could do it, as we have practiced the overtime and the 7v7 before. Our offense has always been our strong suit, especially the speed in it. Coach says all it takes is 2 or 3 right decisions and executions in a game to score a goal and I knew Cate and Ellie could do that. It was honestly one of the best feelings having the student section there with that many people supporting us and believing in our team. I was overwhelmed with joy when they rushed the field! It is something I am never going to forget! One of the highlights of my time at Regis because that support and community we felt is what makes Regis who we are. WEIGAND: I was really excited when we went into the second overtime. I was grateful to be given extra time out there with my friends and to have just a little more time on the field! I was confident in the 7 we put out there and I knew how skilled our front line was! It was so much fun when everyone stormed the field! I was so excited that we won but I was even more happy that all the kids were enjoying themselves! It was one of the first times it felt like high school in over a year since COVID started! It was so much fun, and it was amazing to celebrate with the whole school and the best team.

ELEVATE OPINIONS OPINION

We encourage student voices submit your opinion piece or letter to the editor for our next issue at rjmedia@regisjesuit.com

BY NOEMI E VITOUN ‘21

Black youth, from the moment they are able to maneuver society independently, are taught by their parents and community the danger that is linked with their melanin. Dark skin is beautiful, but its beauty is misinterpreted by racist systems and institutions, as menacing. Black youth are especially taught to be cautious of police. This country’s monstrous history with slavery and the continuous criminalization of Black bodies means that racism is present in all aspects of life, policing being one of them. Police are initially presented to children as heroes, but with age, reality becomes apparent. And CAN HUMANITY UNITE AS this heroic

A SPECIES IN ORDER perspective only TO HELP EVERYBODY, OR applies to white WILL WE ALL JUST.. individuals, PERISH DIVIDED? whose skin color will never be the reason for their oppression. On the other hand, an encounter with the police for a Black individual, could mean— has meant death. From its commencement, policing has been racially abusive. America’s racist form of police originated in the South during the 1700s. Of course, the South was severely anti-Black due to the regular sub humanization of Black bodies via slavery, which meant policing was strictly established to control and criminalize

Black people. The Southern police, better known as “slave patrols”, specifically took upon the responsibility of capturing escaped enslaved people and preventing the “threat” of any sort of organized resistance. Enslaved Black people who were trying to escape their oppression, were reprimanded by slave patrols, who encouraged the silencing of Black people. This cruel foundation of policing communicated that Black people had to be controlled, which further criminalized them, all the while completely excusing and normalizing white wickedness. This perpetuated dangerous Black stereotypes and reinforced the idea that white people were in need of protection from Blackness, and the protectors in this case were slave patrols.

After traditional American slavery was abolished in 1865, the allowance of punishment for crime continued and led to organized police forces. This was a loophole in the 13th amendment, as it still allowed the oppression of Black bodies to operate in society. These police forces were created to hinder Black freedom. White people could accuse any Black person of a crime and that Black person would be harshly reprimanded by police. Police officers played significant roles in the systemic engagement of racial bias, where Black people were assigned labels of criminality because of the color of their skin.

Modern policing (policing of this century that is) is a product of what policing once was; nothing has really changed, except for the fact that policing has technologically advanced. Last year, we witnessed the painful sounds of a Black man wailing for his mom and begging for his life while a police officer forced his knee into his neck, ignoring his humanity and cries for help. This will forever be imprinted into my mind. Of course, this was an individual act of racism, but it is a single act that is a part of a system that was built on the dehumanization of Black people. History has taught those who participate in society as police officers that when they engage in the brutalization of a Black person, they are simply doing their job. George Floyd’s brutal death sparked nationwide outrage. This national outrage has made way for the reintroduction of the phrase “ACAB”, which stands for “All Cops are Bastards/Bad”. ACAB has been extremely controversial, as members of the police system and their families have found the phrase offensive. Why say “ACAB” when people know police officers who are not bad? Despite its definition, ACAB does not really mean all cops are bad, it simply means that the system of policing is painfully flawed and needs reformation. Whether good or bad, all police officers are complacent in a system that does not value Black life. ACAB is a cry for aid from Black people who have been plagued with centuries of generational trauma at the hands of police violence.

A system built on white supremacy and Black hatred cannot simply disappear. It took a plethora of years to establish the system of policing present in society today, and it will take plenty more years to fix it. The first step is for police officers to acknowledge the issues that exist within the system. It takes accountability and self awareness for progress to be made. Police officers who have caused great amounts of pain through their racism, must be held responsible. This includes justice for people and families who have lost loved ones due to racially motivated police murders. This means police officers need to address their racism, whether it is implicit or explicit. The ingrained idea that Black people are threatening needs to be dismantled. Police need to regain the trust of the Black community. The system of policing needs to be grabbed from its racist roots and radically transformed.

BEHIND CLOSED BY MARITZA RAMIREZ ‘23

DOORS DEMANDING FULL INVESTIGATION INTO ICE FACILITIES

The Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances of our American government are not being upheld; several ICE guards are seemingly above the law. Many officials commit crimes of sexual assault that are not criminally investigated. Despite there being more than 14,700 sexual assault complaints filed by immigrants in 2016, this problem is still very much dominant in certain places of the world.

With an obvious power dynamic between ICE guards and the immigrants being detained at these facilities, immigrants are struggling to find a solution to this ongoing issue. Guards and officials for ICE have the ultimate power over the immigrants suffering the abuse. To fully protect both parties involved (the immigrants and the accused ICE guards), full investigations need to take place to determine if a criminal trial in a court of law is a necessary following action. The very clear power dynamic is one of the main reasons for further investigation into every claim of sexual assault made. Allegations from many immigrants convey a story in which the guard threatens them with deportation and claims that “no one would believe them.” This creates a toxic and dangerous atmosphere for abused immigrants and everyone else working within the ICE facilities. In many previous cases, the immigrant is misrepresented in trial or is conveniently deported during the trial, creating a questionable case for many ICE officials. For example, a thirty-five-year-old women filed a complaint against an ICE guard; three days later, the Department of Homeland Security deported her. The frustration in this case was due to the fact that the government “allowed their most powerful witness to be deported.” This is completely unfair; it is clear the immigrants are not being treated humanely or justly in the American court of law. ICE is not fully taking these claims seriously and not fully investigating them. Of the 33,000 cases reported between 2010 and 2016, less than 1 percent have been fully investigated by the Department of Homeland Security. It is not a political issue concerning who is a citizen and who isn’t: it involves a larger cause. This treatment is a human rights issue: immigrants from other countries are being abused at government facilities and ignored when fighting for a change. This is an issue that has been at hand for so long and victimizes many immigrants. It is now more than ever extremely necessary to begin investigations and trials to stop the sexual assault by ICE guards. Some may say that the claims against some of the ICE guards are causing a bad representation of the other innocent guards. This is partially true, but at the same time this is not an issue of popularity; human beings are being sexually assaulted in their facilities. All guards should be under the same scrutiny until they are able to completely prove their innocence. Even though some ICE guards are corrupt with their power, it doesn’t necessarily mean all ICE officials act in this manner. The simple fix is more investigation and punishment for the officers who act in this brutal and abusive way. Immigrants are already suffering in the brutal conditions of ICE facilities, and the sexual assault they are experiencing only worsens their terrible situation. Complaints of assault are not being taken seriously and the power dynamic is silencing many immigrants from speaking up with the threat of deportation. Such factors are contributing to more and more victims of sexual assault in ICE facilities, it is becoming easier to take advantage of these people as they grow more powerless. The immigrants who suffered this abuse will remain scarred. The number of immigrants who haven’t reported any assault out of fear is unimaginable. The number of immigrants who could be suffering because of this issue right now is devastating. If we rose up as a community and began to demand the conduct of full investigations and criminal trials, we could help put an end to this extensive, horrific sexual abuse of immigrants inside seemingly ordinary ICE facilities.

As politics across America become more contentious, political discourse can be a minefield. Politically, the US has not been as hatefully divided as it is now since the civil war. This has caused the topic of politics to become a highly delicate matter. When brought up in a class setting, politics can cause verbal chaos, something I have experienced first-hand. Because of this contentiousness, political discourse, for the time being, should be heavily limited in the classroom.

In the modern classroom, especially during this pandemic, it can be difficult to focus. This can be compounded when a classmate brings up politics. Soon after the issue is mentioned, the whole class is engrossed in an unproductive, distracting, and non-persuasive political discussion. This kind of argument wastes time that, especially during the current pandemic, is valuable and a key to a student’s success. A Kaplan study on the desire or humans to accept convenient lies for political loyalty found that it is difficult to change someone’s mind on politics; They also found that standard debate tactics like using facts and numbers to blow up your opponent’s claims do little to alter their stance or find common ground. Now return to the modern classroom. Even if students prepare beforehand with information and facts, the Kaplan study suggests no common ground will be reached. Students on both sides of the political spectrum simply become further entrenched in their stances; the authority of a teacher can be undermined if he or she interjects his or her controversial personal feelings.

Today’s world is also filled with widespread misinformation legitimized by social media and cable news platforms. In the classroom, it is likely that at least someone, if not many, will be misinformed. While this may be a good opportunity for the teacher to correct the student, there is the chance that the teacher is also misinformed or doesn’t know the difference between misinformation and factual information. The lack of a challenge can then be seen as an affirmation of the student’s false declaration and can further spread disinformation.

One of the most common reasons friends and families growing distant from one another is because of politics; this can occur in a classroom, too, damaging friendships and the community built. One student can dominate the conversation, only making it more difficult to have an actual exchange of ideas or for everyone’s beliefs to be represented equally.

Most people say that restricting political discourse in the classroom violates the First Amendment. A private school like Regis Jesuit, while committed to an open forum in its media department, does not have any such restrictions placed on it by the First Amendment. Still, others believe political discourse in the classroom can be helpful and educational. However, with politics in its chaotic, hateful state, unregulated political discussions in the classroom will not be productive and will instead result in a shouting match. As a standard though, I recommend all schools ban all nonteacher-directed and prompted political discourse in the classroom for the near future.

The impacts of political discourse being allowed in that classroom affect the ability of the teacher to teach the curriculum and for the students to focus during class. It’s not worth the chaos to have political discourse in the classroom.

ELEVATE OPINIONS OPINION

We encourage student voices submit your opinion piece or letter to the editor for our next issue at rjmedia@regisjesuit.com

BY SERENA NGUYEN ‘22

matter if I actually had the COVID-19 because that’s what people labeled me as. And whenever I would stand up for myself, I would be told to calm down, that it was only a “joke.” But these “jokes” weren’t OK when I was first two weeks of launching. younger, and they are definitely not These reports included incidents okay now. where Asians were being As people grow up and mature, harassed and attacked by they should learn that making jokes strangers, being blamed and about someone’s physical features yelled at for “bringing COVID-19 and saying that they are a carrier to America.” Similarly, to how The coronavirus that has been of the coronavirus simply because African Americans are being plaguing our world for 13 months of their race isn’t OK. They should harassed and killed by police, now; it is very serious and something recognize that what they are doing is Asian Americans are being that shouldn’t be taken lightly. In our racist. harassed and killed by people in nation alone there are 2,000+ daily This racism is felt by many Asians deaths from Coronavirus. Something and there are a few that have else has also been on the rise since experienced it in our Regis Jesuit the pandemic began: racism towards community. Some of these incidents

Asians. happened during the pandemic and When news that the coronavirus some before. Both illustrate the had started in Wuhan, China, many point that racism towards Asians has

Americans used this as an excuse to been long-lasting and will continue harass Asians. Racism toward Asians to happen. From the Instagram is nothing new, it has been going on Page “blackatregsijesuit” there were for years and years, and it’s been several anonymous quotes left by extremely people that have experienced racism normalized. within our community.

“MY FRESHMAN YEAR, Growing “My freshman year, my biology

MY BIOLOGY TEACHER up, I was teacher sat all the East Asian SAT ALL THE EAST ASIAN constantly students in one corner of the room. STUDENTS IN ONE bullied for the Then, frequently mixed us up and their own community. CORNER OF THE ROOM.” shape of my called us by the wrong name, though These deaths and murders eyes – mocked none of us looked anything alike and aren’t covered by the news, for something we’re different ethnicities (Japanese, and especially with Black that I simply Chinese, Korean, mixed race, etc).” Lives Matter happening there could not change. It was only meant In this situation the teacher were more “important” things to be a “joke,” not something to take contributed to the idea that all people to cover. And although BLM to heart. But I knew it was wrong, of one race are the same, stripping is important and the racism even if I was young, I knew that their them of their identity and individuality. against African Americans is

“joke” wasn’t OK. And looking back And this is something felt within all important it should not be the they may have been ignorant kids races, but it’s most commonly ignored only racism recognized in the who didn’t know what they were doing when it happens to Asians because country. was wrong, but now, especially during most people see it as a practical joke. the pandemic, these racist “jokes” However, some people have taken began to happen more and more. it farther than just joking around. The For simply being Asian, I became a Stop AAPI (Asian American and Pacific

“carrier” of the coronavirus. It didn’t Islander) Hate had received more than 2,500 reports nationwide within the

RALLY GOERS TAKE A MOMENT of silence for the Atlanta shooting and Boulder shooting victims at the Stop Asian Hate rally at the Spirit Plaza in downtown Detroit, Saturday, March 27, 2021.

JUSTICE SERVED BY GRANT BARNES ‘23

Relief.

In response to the guilty verdict President Biden said, “For so many, it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver a just-- just basic accountability.”

It was this same “basic accountability” that so many, including myself would not believe until we saw it. The same “basic accountability” we expected from the judicial system for decades, but it had never delivered. The entire world watched the painful 9 minutes and 29 seconds of George Floyd’s murder, and still, we doubted the justice system and expected Chauvin would walk away free. I have been doubting the system my whole life, my father has, and everyone before him.

May 25, 2020, “shocked” the nation creating protests and angry outcry, but this was anything but new in America’s history of systemic racism and police brutality. I wish I could say I was shocked. Yes,

I was sad and angry, but not shocked. Even though

“Say His Name,” “I Can’t Breathe,” and “Black Lives

Matters” were shouted repeatedly, it was hard for me to see if anyone was listening. On social media, in the news, and even in politics including the (former) President of the United States, people were saying “No.”

We would shout “Say His Name” They would look the other way.

We would shout “I Can’t Breathe” They would say

“No”. We would shout “Black Lives Matter.” They would reply “That’s a racist terrorist organization. No, you do not get to bring us down. He was a criminal.” With every “No” and disregard of the fact that black lives do matter, all I heard was them telling me that my life does not matter. I could see them staring me in my eyes trying to convince me that my father’s life, my families, my neighbors, my friend’s lives do not matter because of the color of their skin. A human rights issue quickly became a political issue. It was labeled a “far-left liberal movement” meant to dismantle our democracy. And this was coming from the President of the United States. So when I heard the guilty verdict it was like I can finally breathe, it was a relief. But soon after that relief turned into shock, something I wish I felt earlier. Think about this. What does it say that I was shocked that a man who was filmed in broad daylight murdering George Floyd was finally found guilty, but not shocked how George Floyd died? What does it say about our country that we were nervous, we were expecting the worst, but we ended up celebrating and dancing in the streets? Thank God for Darnella Frazier, the teenager who was able to capture Chauvin’s knee pinned on Floyd, because if there were no video evidence odds are he would have walked away free.

At first, I thought we should not be celebrating the fact that the judicial system did its job. We should not be celebrating because George Floyd was still dead, and so many other black people before him, and now after since his death. But what else could we do? We waited a year for justice, proof that George Floyd’s life had value. Waiting an entire year, listening repeatedly to Floyd calling for his late mother, shouting “I can’t breathe”, and re-watching the life escape from his body. We waited for proof that George Floyd, a father, a brother, a friend, a human being was taken away too soon. Benjamin Crump, the attorney for George Floyd’s family has made his name well known nationwide. His work to bring justice for George Floyd and now many more victims of this same fate has marked a step in the right direction for the United States. But we have a lot more work to do. There is more we can all do. We need to start by having uncomfortable conversations. We need to try to understand what others are going through and how we can help. Try to understand each of our privileges and disadvantages. Try to hear each other with more than our ears, but with our hearts. And know that for all lives to matter, Black lives need to matter too.

Individuals from all over the world make up the United States, including both native peoples and immigrants. Because of this diversity, I believe the education system should incorporate the curriculum of these distinct cultures into modern-day teaching. The education system has been present and evolving for so long. While some may think it’s been working so far, it is clear that it comes from one very specific perspective. The current education system was created to educate a certain group of people, mainly the rich, white men in our country. The general curriculum, in most schools, demonstrates this. It is all too noticeable that pieces of this curriculum have a direct and targeted audience. There aren’t a variety of classes in most schools that attempt to include any cultures outside of their own. This is something that needs to change.

Ms. Christina Vela, director of equity and inclusion at Regis Jesuit says, “The history we’ve learned is from a very particular perspective, we’re not getting a full picture of what happened in our history.”

By including other perspectives, we are open to truly understanding the good and the bad events in our history, not explained through a biased source. This goes for the education system, similarly we must include more cultures to fully enrich our learning. There is so much diversity in the American population, and because of this, educators must be sensitive to the cultural elements that could affect students’ performance and self-esteem. “Teachers need to do the best that they can to educate themselves outside of the classroom,” Vela says. In order to educate students on diversity, our teachers must be educated first. The student body could benefit a lot from this type of education because it could help us to understand the fine line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.

“When it comes to cultural appropriation, people don’t understand,” Vela says. “There’s a confusion between appropriation and appreciation.”

Education on this topic is the small help our community needs to grow from the hostility between all of the cultures present in America.

Regis Jesuit, in particular, works towards creating an environment where we can incorporate more cultures in our curriculum. Vela explained that the school works with individual departments trying to incorporate this type of education. For example, the English department created courses that strive to educate people and create dialogue about our cultural differences. “The way that we teach has to incorporate the cultures of our students but every student is going to be different as well, and we must keep that in mind when teaching,” Vela says. Individuals can’t be understood unless they are seen in contrast to the cultural history from which they come from.