Winter Issue by The Shield (Saint Thomas Aquinas High School)

The Shield Winter Issue

going for the layup Garett Alejos goes up for the shot during practice before a basketball game. Picture by Hannah Koepp.

Volume 33 2020 Staff Members

Volume 32 l Januar y Issue

The Shield Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

Adviser I Matt Hallauer

MISSION STATEMENT

Editor-in-Chief I Moorea Gailloux

The Shield is a voice for students of Saint Thomas Aquinas High School.

Social Media Manager I Hailey Krumm Senior Reporter I Anabelle Goone Senior Reporter I Maria Palazuelos Senior Reporter I Noah Faddis Junior Reporter I Cameron Elias Junior Reporter l Ethan Young

It is published by students in our Shield class for the whole Aquinas community to serve as a source of information and a spark for productive change. The Shield staff is responsible for the content published, striving to share information accurately, objectively, and completely for all members of the Saint Thomas Aquinas High School community.

The Shield Social Media

stashield aquinasgameday Saint Thomas Aquinas Shield stashield

ADV ERT ISING The Shield sells advertisements to help with publication costs. All ads will be subject to the same scrutiny as stories. The Shield will not print any obscenities or any ads promoting products illegal to those under the age of 18. For advertising, please call (913) 319-2418, send an email to mhallauer@stasaints.net, or visit www.stasaints.net/shield. S UB SC R IP T IO NS Subscriptions to The Shield are $3 per issue. Subscriptions can be sent to Saint Thomas Aquinas High School c/o Matt Hallauer. Digital subscriptions are free and sent via email monthly. Orders can be sent to mhallauer@stasaints.net. L ETTER S P O LIC Y Letters may be accepted by The Shield, provided that they are signed and do not contain libelous statements. The Shield reserves the right to edit the letters for grammar, obscenity, or space consideration, and also reserves the right to not print a letter.

Contents

A New Year, A Fresh Start :

midst all the chaos the previous year has brought, 2021 is finally here with a new beginning to the choas. Anabelle Goone highlights the “meaning of dreams” which may predict what is to come in your future. Large issues such as climate change and fast fashion are being battled, and are guaranteed to be mentioned as our new president takes over office. With the new times changing, the Pope has come out with more declarations which Maria Palazuelos covers in her article. In addition, mental health has had its ups and downs with the pandemic, but a light is shown on seeking professional help for those in need, which Cameron Elias writes

Letter from the Editor

on this issue. Finally, Saint Thomas Aquinas as a whole has successfully completed a full semester through a global pandemic. Erika Moll’s “Love Conquers All” describes the strong community building which has taken part here. Hailey Krumm takes all readers on a behind-the-scenes look of the HALO announcement team. Finally, Connor Klocke reviews the meatless burger to see how realistic the burger actually tastes. Stay strong Saints!

Moorea gailloux Editor-In-Chief

Dreams How dreams can increase creativity while decreasing stress and anxiety

The Shield

or around two hours a night we dream about things that for the most part we have no control of. We dream of certain people, fears, and experiences. Many people wonder what the dreams we get at night mean. Scientists believe that we have certain dreams because our brains are trying to invoke an emotion we have buried deep down. In our dream stories our brains essentially strip the emotion we have felt in our everyday lives by creating a memory of it. This allows us to really process our fears and emotions that we don’t want to deal with. In an article from Scientific American called, “The Science Behind Dreaming,” Sander van der Linden, a doctoral researcher in social experimental psychology tells us that. “This mechanism fulfils an important role because when we don’t process our emotions, especially negative ones, this increases personal worry and anxiety.” When we dream it is a form of psychotherapy for ourselves. Our bodies are trying to get us to deal with feelings that we store away. It is pretty common for high school students to experience an increasing amount of stress and anxiety that really take a toll on our sleep. With anxiety and worry comes a lack of sleep which in return

creates a lack of dreams. People need to dream to deal with their feelings and emotions that they can’t tackle throughout the day. That’s why it is so important for people to get the recommended sleep- which for teenagers is 8-10 hours. Dreams allow us to visualize stories allowing our creativity to go wild. Many famous songs, movies, and books have been created while asleep. Getting a good amount of sleep is not only important for our creativity and anxiety but it is also important for our mental health. It is found that the less we sleep/dream is increasingly correlated to the development of mental disorders. Mental health has become an increasingly more talked about topic because of the importance of it. A good night’s sleep is the first step in preventing and treating mental illness. Dreaming and getting enough amount of sleep is crucial. Especially in high school where there is an increased amount of stress, anxiety and a tough workload along with sports and activities. While students tackle these 4 years, they tend to get less and less sleep. It’s important to remeber to take a personal day once in awhile when school is getting to be too much. Remeber that it’s okay to catch up on sleep instead of staying up all night to do homework. School is

very important, but so is your mental wellbeing. It’s also crazy to think about how common certain dreams Some dreams everyone experiences in some way. Mostly because we have similar anxieties and feelings as others. Some dreams however are totally different and unique to our personal feelings. When we get strange dreams that we aren’t sure the meaning of, it is often traced back to stress from movies, news, or even books. But weird dreams can also occur when there is an environment change occurring such as disruption in normal daily activities, exercise routine, eating habits and sleep pattern. To dive deeper into figuring out the meaning behind dreams, you can write them down in a dream journal. By doing this you can look back on past dreams or even look up what they might mean.

Anabelle Goone Reporter

Winter Issue

The Shield

Winter Issue

DEATH BY CLOTHES The dooming downsides to fast fashion is becoming a growing fear which is no longer on the front page

SEEN WITH STYLE

Brooke Park and Hailey Krumm pose to show off their Christmas PJ Day outfits. Photo by Moorea Gailloux.

The Shield

DROWING IN GARMENTS

A hand reaches through a pile of t-shirts, jeans, and any other type of clothing. It shows as a society how we overbuy and how we may find ourselves being swarmed by the result of fast fashion. Photo by Eliza Sheff, an independent journalist.

ften times, you may hear global warming or pollution brought up in the news, but the sources of which those issues arise from are not being discussed. Garment production, specifically “fast fashion,” feeds into the second largest cause for global warming itself.

“The idea is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible, so shoppers can snap them up while they are still at the height of their popularity, and then, sadly, discard them after a few wears.” Good Year

A company who speaks out against Fast Fashion issues

Fast fashion is when companies manufacture clothing based on a current style or deal. It uses an immense amount of resources for 85% of the United States’ textiles to end up in landfills. With the quality of these garments going down, prices are decreasing too, but the garment factories are being impacted even worse. They are forced to make changes dependent upon the price decrease. For example, reported by Jim Yardley for the New York Times in 2013, the Bangladesh government inspector recognized cracks in the company’s building walls and warned of the safe conditions. As a result, the companies have had to disregard safety measures and cut corners to make up for their losses. Yet, the management “compelled employees to return to work” in order to fulfill orders and gain income. The building later collapsed, killing more 1,127 people, and the company continued to earn the most money

it had all year afterwards. As a result, this event’s outcome furthered big international companies to ignore safety measures since they got the biggest profit. The United States additionally chose to not take part in the safety plan for Bangladesh so our retailers could not be sued further. It horribly affecting the health of those working in sweatshops, but improving their living conditions outside of work. Not only is fast fashion detrimental to them, but it is impacting the planet and us as well. Since it includes use of cheap, toxic textile dye, the fashion industry has become the second largest polluter of clean water globally after agriculture. Not just that, over 70 percent of our clothes have become synthetic, derived from fossil fuels, so if (and when) our clothing ends up in a landfill, it will not decay.

January Issue

about 81 LBS. are thrown away by each person

40% of our closet is barely worn

washing clothes

synthetic fibers

microplastics in our foods

microplastics in water

microplastics get into animals

FAST FACTS

As our clothes go through a cycle, the result ends in our food, contaminating our bodies and animals’ with microplastics. Graphics by Moorea Gailloux.

“Future archaeologists may look at landfills taken over by nature and discover evidence of stores like Forever 21 or Zara.” Tatiana Schlossberg New York Times

The Shield

This statement also applies to the clothing that ends up in the ocean. Finally, fast fashion impacts consumers themselves, encouraging the “throw-away” culture because of the speed at which trends are produced and how they are designed to disappear.

Fast fashion makes us believe we need to shop more and more to stay on top of trends, creating a constant sense of need and ultimate dissatisfaction. You can do your part by buying researching ethical and sustainable brands, buying second hand clothing, or thrifting.

Juniors Sarah Gay and Lydia Saunders have taken to thrift stores as a fun way to make income and clothes personal to their style. Over quarantine in March, they began by cleaning out their closets and selling second-hand pieces on Instagram. Not only does this save the environment, but the clothes which are being sold are in the current trends for each season and in a reasonable price range. It truly is the best of both worlds. Feel free to check them out at 9teenthreadz and loveclubclothes on Instagram! Their clothes sell fast, so give them a follow to get items when they are posted.

top thrifting locatioNS based on results of the Shield survey

SAVERS ON 95TH STREET

TURNSTYLES

CITY THRIFT

DITTO

BLESSINGS ABOUND

GOODWILL OUTLET IN KCMO

Moorea gailloux Editor-in-Chief

January Issue

The Shield

PANDEMIC pSYCHE A terrible pandemic, a weird school year, and a new “normal” is causing some distress.

t is what it is. A phrase that is used to characterize a frustrating or challenging situation in which a person believes cannot be changed and must be accepted has been expressed, verbally or via behavior, by some people in response to the suffering caused by the pandemic. Within the first two weeks of December, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a total of over 15 million coronavirus cases and over 295 thousand deaths from COVID-19 in the United States alone with some days reaching close to 3,000 or more deaths. Hearing many lives lost to the coronavirus every day, hearing some people refusing to wear masks, hearing health officials constantly telling people to take the pandemic seriously, and listening to civil contempt has become normal. The pandemic has persisted for several months, taking its toll on a lot of people. An article in The New York Times (published in mid-November) described a recent research study of 3,300 high school students where it was found that nearly one-third of its participants reported feeling unhappy or depressed in recent months. According to the study conducted by the Center for Promise at America’s Promise Alliance, the participants also stated that, even though they had accessibility to social media, they still felt disconnected to teachers and friends. Some teenagers in the article confessed to feeling sad, lonely, or a loss of purpose and drive during their virtual learning and the pandemic. Depending on the person, Dr. Cora Breuner, a pediatrician and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said, “Individuation and development of independence is

thwarted or slowed way down when [teenagers are] sitting at home all day with parents in the next room.” Stress, fear, anxiety, and depression have all surfaced from the uncertainty of the pandemic that has been found in various age groups, but some people have found a new sense of strength and resilience during the pandemic, too. It is understandable to feel worried, it is understandable to feel stressed, it is understandable to feel depressed, and it is understandable to want to reject coronavirus’s grip on our lives. We all want the pandemic to be over. Since the pandemic has been hard on a lot of people’s mental health, it is important that we understand how the pandemic is affecting the mental health of the students and faculty here at Saint Thomas Aquinas. How are some teachers doing?

It takes strength to be a teacher. There is no doubt that the teachers of Saint Thomas Aquinas have strenuously used so much of their time, dedication, and grit to make the school year easier for us students. Providing new ways for us students to learn and thrive during the coronavirus pandemic, they have certainly taken care of us students as best as they can. One might wonder, however, that when everything is said and done, who is there to take care of the teachers? Who is there to pick them up from their feet? Who is

“I have never have enough time to meet everyone’s needs.” Allie Sabata

there to reassure them that everything will be okay like they have for the students? Teachers have adjusted to a new school year, and they have to jumble teaching kids in quarantine and those at home, possibly limiting how much can be done in the classroom. Some teachers may have found a sense of relief with the new schedules or stress. The uncertainty of who is or who is not in school the next day could possibly strain the mindset of some teachers and his or her busy schedules. English teacher Allie Sabata said juggling online with in person teaching has been incredibly difficult. She feels terrible for the kids in quarantine because she physically cannot devote enough time to them or grade easily. Sabata relies on those in quarantine to email or set up a time to meet virtually when they’re confused or need assistance, but some are struggling to get “caught up with their work for a variety of reasons, and that can be disheartening because I feel as if I’m putting in three times the work.” Sabata said her patience and flexibility have been tested due to the uncertainty of the pandemic and the school year. In regard to what the Aquinas administration can do for the teachers in this unprecedented school year, she said “it would be nice to have more available resources.” Other ideas Sabata has to help teachers is to maybe have a teacher or one from every department to voluntarily dedicate themselves solely to teaching those in quarantine because they’re immunosuppressed, and the Aquinas administration “making sure that students know the expectations of them while in quarantine versus showing COVID symptoms and having support when teachers have to enforce the consequences of poor

January Issue

The Shield

decisions.” How are the students doing? The stress to handle the

pandemic, juggle school work, and maintain friendships has been hard for students alike to adjust to. It must be hard for some of you to keep it together, work hard, and be strong all at once. The Shield has conducted two surveys by email: one anonymous (chart on left) and one public. The Shield encourages all participants suffering from depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts to seek advice and help from Aquinas’s counselors Laura Cline and Matt Hallauer or another trusted adult. After the public survey was completed, there was a differentiation among the answers. Out of the 33 people that answered the public survey on how the pandemic affected their mental health, 30% reported having good mental health from the pandemic whose reasons ranged from having more appreciation for what they have, being in school, or experiencing greater mental health now than previous to the pandemic since it is allowing

“Quarantine allowed me to focus less on other people and more on myself, which has helped my mental health a lot.” Charlotte O’Keefe time for them to learn more about themselves. 24% reported a shift in a good and bad mental health throughout the pandemic or a minimal change in their mental health from the pandemic altogether. 45% reported having bad mental health due to sadness, being in school, anxiety, stress, lack of motivation, or loneliness. Dealing with anxiety, depression, loneliness can be super overwhelming and can lead to some people feeling hopeless and despair.

Shielding children from pain in the belief that they cannot handle it is similar to not teaching a child fire safety protocol. By not teaching the child what to do in the event of a fire, the child would possibly suffocate to death because the child would not know how to keep himself or herself safe from the burning flames should they occur. Having or not having suicidal thoughts is not determined by one’s location. Committing suicide is like a firefighter hastily throwing dynamite into a burning building in order to stop the fire. Suicide only ignites more pain. How is Aquinas going to address mental health? With some students feeling

stressed or despondent, it is important to discover how the Aquinas administration is going to combat mental distress. Paul Fallon, the President of Saint Thomas Aquinas, has dealt with mental health issues first hand in teenagers as a young substance abuse counselor. He is keenly aware of the issues that affect students, and he states there is a larger school plan to combat acute mental health issues like thoughts of suicide, addiction, or violence where “students experiencing these often temporary crisis moments would be referred, through their parents, to a variety of resources that should be able to help.” Fallon acknowledges that people try to hide their problems and purposely isolate themselves in order to spare others from their pain, but he advises that a student needs to be open to help if the resources available are going to be beneficial and root out behavior that would promote issues like addiction or violence in you. For what are considered less acute mental health issues that might be lingering for a while, such as feeling uncomfortable about one’s appearance, heightened stress that interferes with sleeping or eating, lots of anger, being irritable, taking on an “I don’t care” attitude, “feeling not good enough,” trying to handle parent pressure, relationship issues, or worrying about COVID’s

threat, or “stuff” that you never worried about before, Fallon said the Aquinas administration can try to help at school. Fallon said talking to someone you trust about your mental health is a good choice, but he advises to heed advice and help wisely from multiple reliable sources--not social media. Fallon believes stress and anxiety will either control you or you will control it. Fallon’s advice to cope in this time is summed up in Winston Churchill’s quote: “Whenever you are going through tough times, don’t stop and get stuck in it. Keep going.” Counselor Laura Cline said that perhaps the biggest reason Aquinas came back in person quickly is because the Aquinas administration believed it was good “for our students’ mental health.” Cline said Aquinas gave a waiver to use on any grade in order to alleviate some stress for the students. Aquinas sent out goodie bags to help students relax before finals. Cline understands the stress from the pandemic has affected both teachers and students, and “the counseling staff is always available, and our office provides a safe place for students to decompress even if they only need a few quiet moments.” Both Cline and Fallon said Aquinas is constantly reaching out to those who are in quarantine, and they would like students to still play their part in working hard while they are out of the classroom. CAMERON ELIAS

Reporter

January Issue

Social

The Shield

Spread Follow us on social media for more!

@stashield

@stashield Open House Issue

survey spread FAVORITE WINTER MOVIE:

: s n o i t c i d e r P 1 202 ” “Ro b ot Ta ke over

(Addie D reiling)

Fa ddis) “W W II I” (No ah

The Shield

“U h alien s???” A rroyo)

(Q uin

g to b e “T hat I am goin bu tton a u si ng th e block h er son lot” Ja mya McP

favorite snow day activity: Binging TV 15.2%

Sleeping In 44.1%

Building A Snowman 4.8%

Going Sledding 35.9%

DOes the weather affect your mood?

Yes-56.9% Sometimes-36.8% Not At All-6.3% based on the Shield survey responses January Issue

"Amor Vincit Omnia,

Mantaining an atmosphere of positivity during trying times.

Love will Conquer all."" all. Erika Moll Reporter

f one thing’s for certain, it’s that this past year has given us a seemingly infinite list of things to complain about. 2020 left us with confusion and uncertainty, but it also left us with an extra store of strength and perseverance we didn’t know we had. When it feels like the world we’ve known is falling apart, it can be difficult to keep a positive outlook on our daily lives. However, according to science, positivity is just the thing we need right now. A recent study by Johns Hopkins University concluded that

The Shield

that positive thinking can positively impact one’s health. The results found that those with a family history of heart disease were one-third as likely to have a cardiovascular episode if they simply kept a positive attitude about their lives and circumstances. While it may be difficult at first, remaining positive is good for you--both mentally and physically, and can be contagious to those around you, lifting up others who are in desperate need of a ray of hope.

What do you like to do to uplift others?

“Giving someone a smile or just a small compliment because those will go a long way to someone sometimes.” Quin Arroyo, senior

“I just like to smile at everyone. You never know what someone is going through so smiling to them might just brighten their day.” Kirsten Staus, freshman

“[I] keep a positive mind myself and I try to do little things for people like holding the door open because you never know how much that can brighten someone’s mood.” Callan Rysavy, senior

what can Aquinas do to better spread positivity?

“Do more Christmas stuff.” Ryan Beck, freshman “Have more dance parties at lunch” Marie Thomas, sophomore “Put more spotlight on suicide prevention club. I think it’s one of the most important clubs at our school! Addie Dreiling, junior “More community days where we all serve each together.” Joseph Vance, junior “Decorations, fun uniting things.” Rylee Best, junior

“I try to talk to lots of different people and make them laugh.” Ashley Bendorf, sophomore

“Longer passing periods” Graham Spiess, freshman

“Play music and have dance parties.” Maria Thomas, sophomore

“Have fun things around the school or maybe a dress down day every week.” Colin Allen, freshman Winter Issue

Positive psycology A 2016 study held at King’s College in London determined that practicing positive thinking and visualising a bright future led to a significant decrease in stress and worry among those with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

In recent research conducted by Stanford University, it was determined that the brain directly associates a positive attitude with success. The children who participated in the study increased their scores on math tests after forming an optomistic mindset about the subject.

After experimentation, the University of California concluded that one’s happiness is dependent on the happiness of those around them. This further highlights the importance of spreading kindness and positivity.

uplifting the aquinas community “Hadley Loewen is very posi“Stella Kneidel is great at tive. Mr. Carlisle is very showing student leadership and positive.” is always smiling and sharing Mia Ciocca her positivity with others” “Kaylien Do! She’s always in sophomore Lucy Harrison, such a good mood and sophomore brightens my day!” Ann Cole, “Mrs. Cloues, Mrs. Ingram, Ms. Ojile, and Mrs. Schoneman always seem to be really positive.” Jack Stoerman, senior

The Shield

junior

“Mr. Heidesch does a great job of trying to make sure all his students are doing well in school, but also mentally. ” Addie Dreiling, junior

“Hannah Koepp and Mrs. Andrews do a great job of spreading positivity around Aquinas!” Ava Roscoe junior

toxic positivity Believe it or not, there is such a thing as being too positive. “Toxic positivity” is when one uses a “happy” or “optimistic” state of mind to supress negative feelings and emotions. Optimism is a great thing to have, but it’s also important to allow yourself to feel negative emotions when you need to. Developing toxic positivity can lead to isolation, shame, and suppressed emotions.

Signs of Toxic Positivity: - Hiding your feelings from others. - Feeling guilty for feeling negative or sad. - Refusing to validate others’ experiences and feelings. - “Brushing things off” too often. While a positive attitude is great, you should never be afriad or embarrassed to feeling negative emotions, or talk to others about your true feelings.

How to remain hopeful and optimistic Practice gratitude on a daily basis.

Listen to some upbeat music Smile!

Get moving and exercise. Get enough sleep.

Pour yourself into hobbies that spark joy.

Allow yourself to take time off and rest.

Spend time with friends and family.

Learn to take criticism in a healthy way.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and support.

Spend time with God and pray.

If these things are difficult at first, take your time. Just a few minutes per day will make a big difference in your life!

Relieve yourself of the pressure to be perfect.

Winter Issue

The Church: the temple of God on Earth

Photo by Alberico Bartoccini

In the world today, we are met by controversial topics daily. Each individual has their own personal opinion and stance on most of these topics, if not all. The Church has publicy stated her own opinions on several issues that are widely discussed today. *These stances are not personal opinions. They are what the Church has publicly stated and were taken directly from the Catholic Catechism, the Vatican, or the word of the Pope.* Racism “Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity. The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it: Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design.” (Catholic Catechism 1934-1935) “There exist also sinful inequalities that affect millions of men and women. These are in open contradiction of the Gospel: Their equal dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international peace.” (Catholic Catechism 1938) Immigration “The political community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it, and to ensure especially: the right to private property, to free enterprise, to obtain work and housing, and the right to emigrate; the protection of security and health, with respect to dangers like drugs, pornography, alcoholism, etc.” (Catholic Catechism 2211) “The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of

origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him. Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.” (Catholic Catechism 2241) Homosexuality “Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to

unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.” (Catholic Catechism 23572359) In October 2020, a documentary entitled “Francesco” was released. Directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, this film tells the story of Pope Francis and it features a lot of interviews that cover main themes of his papacy. The documentary uses a previously unaired clip of an interview with Mexico’s Televisa in May 2019, in which Pope Francis said, “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it. What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.” However, there has been much debate about what Pope Francis means by “civil union law.” Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston and an adviser to the pope, said in a statement, “The Pope’s endorsement of civil unions is not an endorsement of homosexual activity. Just as the Church does not campaign against civil laws that allow for common-law marriage or second marriages that are not sacramental, even though such arrangements can be in violation of the laws of the Church, the Holy Father recognizes that in civil society there can be cogent reasons to enact such laws providing for civil unions which are not the same as the institution of marriage.”

Winter Issue

Transgenders In June of 2019, the Vatican released “Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education,” its first extensive statement on transgender identity. It includes a call for love and respect, but the document rejects the idea that gender is distinct from biological sex. A transgender identity, the document asserts, seeks to “annihilate the concept of nature.” The document argues that identifying outside of a gender binary is “nothing more than a confused concept of freedom in the realm of feelings and wants.” This argument insinuates that non-binary and transgender individuals are acting on impulses that should instead be perceived as challenges to “overcome” and it defines transgender identity as a “theory.” Death Penalty “Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good. Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes.

In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption. Consequently, the Church teaches that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person’, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.” (Catholic Catechism 2267) Gun Control / Violence "[W]e know that this ‘piecemeal’ violence, of different kinds and levels, causes great suffering: wars in different countries and continents; terrorism, organized crime and unforeseen acts of violence; the abuses suffered by migrants and victims of human trafficking; and the devastation of the environment. Violence is not the cure for our broken world. Countering violence with violence leads at best to forced migrations and enormous suffering, because vast amounts of resources are diverted to military ends and away from the everyday needs of young people, families experiencing hardship, the elderly, the infirm and the

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It sums up, in book form, the beliefs of the Catholic faithful. Photo courtesy of Today’s Catholic.

The Shield

great majority of people in our world. At worst, it can lead to the death, physical and spiritual, of many people, if not of all." (Pope Francis, Message for the World Day of Peace, January 1, 2017) Climate Change In his “Laudato Si'”, Pope Francis declared that the science of climate change is clear and that the Catholic Church views climate change as a moral issue that must be addressed in order to protect the Earth and everyone on it. He urges the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics to take action against the injustice of climate change. It calls for care of our common home, Earth, and to protect the poor and future generations. He also writes, “We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil-fuels needs to be progressively replaced without delay.” Cloning “I am speaking of a tragic spiral of death which includes murder, suicide, abortion, euthanasia.... To this list we must add practices of genetic engineering, such as the cloning and use of human embryos for research, which are justified by an appeal to freedom, to cultural progress, to the advancement of mankind. When the weakest and most vulnerable members of society are subjected to such atrocities, the very idea of the human family is dangerously eroded. A civilization based on love and peace must oppose these experiments.” (Pope John Paul II, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace 2001) “In any event, methods that fail to respect the dignity and value of the person must always be avoided. Techniques that involve the manipulation and destruction of human embryos are not morally acceptable, even if their goal is good in itself. There are other forms of therapeutic intervention which would not involve cloning or the use of embryonic cells, such as stem cells taken from adults. This is the direction that research must follow if it wishes to respect the dignity of each and every human being, even at the embryonic stage.” (Pope John Paul II, Address to the 18th International Congress of the Transplantation Society 2000)

Every War is a form of FRatricide.

This was Pope Francis’ Message for the 53rd World Day of Peace. He described peace as a journey of hope and advocated agaist using any form of violence. Photo courtesy of Vatican News.

The Vatican

The Vatican is is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s authority extends over Catholics throughout the world. Photo by Renan Greca.

Maria Palazuelos Reporter

Winter Issue

Behind the Scenes of:

Halo

Good morning STA! Our Halo morning show greets us every day with school news, fun facts and important information. Though we watch Halo every morning, how much do we know about what the people of Halo actually do? The Halo morning show first made its debut in 2018. Senior of the class of 18, Will Strout, wanted to stream the morning announcements. He recruited now senior, Michael Payne, to help with the setup. The boys talked to technology teacher Al Miner and went to the administration to pitch the idea. The administration confirmed and Halo was created. Before they had an official studio, the Halo team was set up in one of the storage rooms with a green screen. Payne remembers that “[the] whole setup was super messy and nothing ever really worked.” But with a little time, patience and hard work, Michael, Will and the rest of the Halo team were continuously streaming Halo shows successfully. Today, the team consists of Michael Payne, Scotty Strout, Ian Prange, Charlie Luther, Timmy Novacek,

The Shield

Elizabeth Morrissey, and Emma Thomas. Each person has their own job which all come together to make Halo what it is today. Elizabeth and Emma are the main announcement anchors. Michael runs the majority of the production in the mornings, with the help of Scotty and Ian who direct the anchors. Along with the help of Miner, those five run the show every morning. Charlie helps make specialized videos like HaloWeen, along with junior Jon Arth. The Halo show doesn’t just bring us our morning announcements, they are also in charge of filming and announcing during all of the sports events. Timmy Novacek is the color commentator for football and volleyball games, while Scotty and Ian do play-byplays. Senior Joey LaBella also helps announce at soccer and volleyball games. I decided to take a deeper look

into Halo and go behind the scenes one morning to see what all goes on that we may not know about. Michael is the first one to arrive at the studio every morning to start preparing everything for the show. Ian and Scotty arrived shortly after. Emma was the announcer of the day and showed up ready to go. The team let me look around the studio a little bit and I got to see some things that I didn’t even know they had. Michael sits in front of two big computer screens; one with the daily scripts and one with the broadcast on it. Michael is in charge of running the

graphics and playing different videos during the show. When I walked into the studio, a green screen surrounded me. There’s a window on the wall between Michael and Emma that you can see through. Emma stands at a table that we all see and reads from a computer behind the camera. What you may not know about the Halo studio is that there’s actually a recording booth right off of the studio

room. The Halo team rarely uses it but in the past, it has been used for homecoming audios and similar things. When the crew officially started filming, everyone became silent. There’s an “On Air” sign that you can see light up outside the studio. Ian and Scotty go into the studio room and help direct Emma through the show. I was so impressed with how smoothly and fast the crew was able to get the show shot. The Halo team has actually

won some awards from the Journalism Educators of Metropolitan Kansas City. In 2019, they won first place for the broadcast announcement contest. In 2020, they were awarded with an honorable mention for broadcast announcements. We watch Halo every day, but do we really know how much they do for the school? The crew works so hard to bring us daily news and fun content.

Good morning Halo!

Emma Thomas hosts the Halo morning show, doing prayer, announcements and Saint of the Day. Photo by Alexa Gomez

Hailey Krumm Reporter

Winter Issue

Food Review

To beef or not to beef? Burger King said its Impossible Whopper would be the beefiest beef-alternative.

n July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong did what many thought was impossible when he became the first man to set foot on a certain desolate rock 238,900 miles from earth. He inspired a generation of Americans, and more importantly, beat those darn Soviets. Many groundbreaking events have occurred in the time between then and

The Shield

now, but nothing nearly as bold was attempted until August 8th, 2019, when Burger King did something even bolder than sending men hurtling through space: they released The Impossible Whopper™. Produced from genetically engineered isolated plant proteins specifically curated to replicate the experience of real meat, the Impossible

Whopper isn’t your typical “veggie burger.” The Impossible Whopper was one of the first widely-available fast food items containing an unsettlingly realistic plant-based meat analogue. Seeing as there were no known reports of consumers growing third eyes or extra toes after consuming this artificial creation of man, I decided I would finally try it out.

IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL? The Impossible Burger tries to impersonate beef with pinkness, juiciness, smokiness, and a charred crust that most veggie burgers can’t replicate. Photo by Connor Klocke.

The Impossible Whopper, as its name suggests, does the Impossible. It takes away that which many might say is the heart and soul of the Whopper, and replaces it with something seemingly anti-Whopper, yet manages to stay a Whopper in the process. I would be lying if I told you that the patty on the Impossible Whopper tastes exactly the same as a real Whopper patty; that would (probably) be impossible. It did, however, exceed my expectations in terms of quality and flavor. With the exception of some subtle flavor undertones, a bite of a fully dressed Impossible Whopper is appallingly similar to a fully dressed standard Whopper. Tasting the two in succession made me realise that a good portion of what makes the Whopper so great isn’t meat at all. The mayo, ketchup, pickles, onions, lettuce, and bun converge in perfect harmony to

“The mayo, ketchup, pickles, onion, lettuce, and bun converge in perfect harmony to elevate the otherwise unremarkable beef or beef analogue patty.” elevate the otherwise unremarkable beef or beef analogue patty. My experience with faux meats is not particularly extensive, but I believe what sets Impossible meat apart from other faux meats is texture. Impossible “beef” doesn’t have the rubbery or grainy texture that typical faux meats have because of the way it’s produced. Rather throwing a hodgepodge of

bunch of beans, tofu, or other assorted non meat proteins into a blender and producing a grimy vat of vegan mystery meat, the masterminds behind Impossible beef intentionally selected and modified their ingredients to make a convincing meatlike masterpiece. The flavor of Impossible beef isn’t quite the same as a real beef patty, but I’ve never been fully convinced that standard Whoppers are 100% real beef either, so it does the job just fine in the case of the Impossible Whopper. The Impossible Whopper wasn’t half bad. As someone who eats meat, I won’t be rushing back to get one any time soon, but if (god forbid) I ever decided to give up meat, it’s nice to know that I have options.

Connor klocke Freelance Reporter

Winter Issue

Last look Photo by Emma Photo byBrooks Ellie Ward (Medallion yearbook staff) (Medallion Yearbook Staff)

Photo by Olivia White by Sarah Anliker (Medallion YearbookPhoto Staff)

Photo by Michele Gress

(Medallion yearbook staff)

Photo by Aubrey Berger (Medallion Yearbook Staff)

Photo by Sarah Anliker

Photo by Hannah Koepp (Medallion Yearbook Staff)