Issue 3, Dec. 8

STAFF LIST

Editors-in-chief: Elena Ortiz Fishman, Katie Nelson

Photo editors: Mya Stanberry, Halima Bigirindavyi, Jacob Perszyk

Copy editors: Johanna Kaplan, Alex Geretz, Ivan Zank News editor: Abby Keller

Features editor: Abby Bartleson

In-Depth editor: Alicia Mainjeni Sports Editor: Maren Wilsey Opinion editor: Anya Panday Entertainment editor: Modesty Manion

Web editor: Char Priadka

Staff: Rachel Arkis, Cianny Belen, Sergei Bovee, Cole Denham, Crystal Diaz, Eliah Fink, Alexander Geretz, Jamar Hester, John Hunter, Lex Lee, Noah Leventhal, Ari Lissauer, Jacob Martenson, Ena Mekic, Maya Nieves, Sarah Peterson, Scott Schmidt, Aidan Shafton, Taylor Voigt, Roberto Alvarez, Yesseiri Belen, Charlotte Cox, Lilly Fandel Thompson, Jana Faust, Dahlia Herman, Cece Jensen, Leo Justesen, Anisa Kahin, Nafisa Kahin, Sarah Kluckhohn, Owen McColgan, Abby Meisler, Ashley Reyes Castillo, Cole Taylor, Anna Williams, Liz Williams, Ivan Zank, Zoe Ziessman.

Principal: LaNisha Paddock Printer: North Star Media Adviser: Andrew Wilkes

Awards:

NSPA Hall of Fame member; 20062007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 NSPA Print Pacemaker Finalist; 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021 National Print Pacemaker Award recipient; 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 Online Pacemaker Finalist: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2020 CSPA Gold Crown: 2015, 2020, 2022 CSPA Hybrid Gold Crown: 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 CSPA Silver

Crown: JEM

All State Gold Award print and online.

Table of CONTENTS NEWS

3

fashion’s impact on environment FEATURES

Editors NOTE

Happy December! After taking a brief break from watching the World Cup and playing Shark Tank in class, we pulled together as a team to tackle the third edition of Echo.

As our second full-year back from hybrid learning reaches its midway point, we decided to focus on the impacts that COVID-19 had on learning on pages 6-7. Along with this, the removal of pass/fail grading is explained on page 3, with accompanying opinion pieces on page 10. Winter sports are now in full swing, and we are welcoming the newest addition of the Alpine ski team on page 8 along with a recap of the boys’ hockey game on page 9. While students anxiously count down these next couple weeks awaiting winter break, there have been two recurring topics on students’ minds. First, the newly enforced bathroom rules — both a detailed ranking as well as a piece on bathroom inclusivity can be read on page 11. Second, is the latest pop culture craze, and Netflix adaptation of Wednesday Addams on page 12. As we close out 2022 with our final edition of the year, we look forward to what’s ahead in 2023. We hope you enjoy!

The Bandshell: Senior Editors in-Chiefs Elena Ortiz- Fishman and Katie Nelson pose at the Lake Harriet Bandshell Oct. 8. The homecoming dance was held in the fieldhouse.

Photo by Maren Wilsey

Web Preview

Fast fashion’s impact on environment Good ways to shop sustainably

Online shopping at stores like Shein and Romwe has skyrocketed since the beginning of the pandemic.

Eligible voters went to local voting sites to cast their ballots on Election Day, Nov. 8. The people in district 66a — which consists of the cities St. Paul, Lauderdale, Falcon Heights and Roseville — elected Leigh Finke. The votes were counted and the majority of people voted for Leigh Finke, the first openly transgender female to serve as a Minnesota legislator.

As the holidays come up, mwany people turn to online shopping to get affordable and fast presents. This makes Shein and other online stores’ orders skyrocket. This causes damage to the environment.

Co-president of the Environmental club and sophomore Abigail Oppegaard said she is very passionate about the environmental impact of fast fashion.

“Fast fashion is really awful for the environment because the clothes are all made of synthetic materials which are not biodegradable. They release microplastics every time they’re washed,” Oppegaard said. “They are made to last as long as the trend lasts, which in our day and age is a week to a month at max. When people are done with the clothes they’re not good enough to give them away or keep wearing them because they’ve already fallen apart.”

Sophomore Catie Miller said the products Shein uses to manufacture their clothes will rarely decompose.

“Many companies that contribute to fast fashion make their fabrics out of plastic which don’t decompose, so they’re sitting on the earth forever,” Miller said.

Standardized test scores lowest in years

In the past few years, Parks standardized test scores have decreased by a noticeable amount. Many such as Parks testing coordinator and students such as Coco Bruin suspect this is a result of COVID-19 and a result of the recent “opt out” option for these tests. With learning back in person, the scores are expected to go up again in the next few years.

Oppegard said some of the reasons fast fashion use skyrockets during the holidays is easy access and plentiful options.

“There’s some places like Shein and Romwe (which) have so many options, so anything you’re looking for you find,” Oppegaard said. “You don’t have to go through the trouble of searching through stores and trying things on, and everything is just so cheap. It’s very disposable, so people don’t feel like they have to worry about something not fitting or not being perfect because it’s not expensive.”

According to Miller, although fast fashion is a growing problem in the world, there are ways you get the most out of

your clothes. Miller said the newest trend is thrifting, which not only helps the environment but can help you create a personal style that makes you feel confident in your own skin — something every teenager needs to experience.

“Thrifting clothing is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to shop, and being able to repurpose clothing is good for the environment,” Miller said. “Being able to not only help the environment by making sure clothes don’t go into landfills but also feeling confident and happy in yourself (is important).”

Former Intro to Fashion Marketing teacher, Nick Hayes, said fast fashion is unfortunately becoming a trend in the fashion world.

“It seems like it’s growing by the day and by the year,” Hayes said. “You see more and more companies taking that approach to create clothing and then get it out as fast as they can.”

According to Oppegaard, it’s important to know that even though you are only one person, students can still make a difference and impact the environment positively.

“We all perpetuate and contribute to the ideas of society and whether or not throw-away-societies are okay, we should all do our part to stop being a part of that. Shop sustainably if you can,” Oppegaard said.

According to Hayes, fast fashion companies are very similar to sweatshops which abuse their employees for less money, longer hours and awful conditions.

“There are a lot of correlations between (sweatshops and fast fashion). Companies (are) outsourcing (how they make) their products. So in smaller less developed countries where employees need jobs and these companies are taking advantage of their need for jobs by paying them well below what would be considered minimum wage in America.”

Sickness spreads around school

As illness has spread throughout Park postThanksgiving break, students have had trouble with their school work, feeling a range of cold-like symptoms to some contracting the flu. School nurse Suzanne Otos said not only students are heavily affected, but staff as well.

Minnesota’s first openly transgender legislator elected

Photo by: Jesse Belen

Photo by: Lex Lee

Photo illustration by Ari Lissaeur DESIGN

Infographics by Abby Keller

So many people talk about Shein and Romwe when we should be talking about Nike which is 100% worst on child labor.”

Ruby Penna, junior

Ivan Zack

Park said it: no more pass/no credit

Park removes option to take a pass

Noah Leventhal

During the pandemic, if a student received a grade they didn’t like, they could opt for a pass grade to replace the unwanted letter grade.

is was useful for students who got mostly A’s or B’s, but had one worse grade that would lower their GPA. ough the class grade would have no e ect on the student’s GPA, their transcript would display the grade as a P. As the pandemic winds down, though, the option to get pass/no credit has been removed for core classes.

Assistant Principal Alyssa Gardner said one of Park’s reasons for the change is the importance of core class grades.

“We decided, rst of all, that if it’s a core requirement for graduation, that has to be a letter grade,” Gardner said. “And then for electives, if students

Park has four gender neutral bathrooms, two of which sit in the At Large Lab on the second oor of the C hallway. Formerly, students could enter the At Large Lab with a code distributed from student to student. Recently, the code was removed by administration, making it accessible only by key. Students who need to use the bathroom must be escorted by a teacher or Academic Support Coordinator (ASC).

According to ASC Derek Wennerberg, the code was changed to the At Large Lab because the space was being misused.

e code for the lab has been the same for many years and it’s just been kind of disseminated out to sta ,” Wennerberg said. “ at’s an unsupervised space and students have been getting in there and messing around.”

Max Waritay, junior

LetterGradePass/NoCredit

wanted to take it, we were going to limit it to two per year or roughly one per semester so that students still have it as an option.”

Gardner said students were misled to believe P’s bene ted their grades, and it ended up having negative e ects on their transcripts in the long run.

“One really important thing to note is that we found the NCAA, when they’re calculating GPA’s for athletes that are looking to receive scholarships, they calculate a pass as a D-,” Gardner said. “ e way it’s actually calculated by percent probably has a signicantly more negative impact than they were expecting, and that’s di cult.”

Junior Jonah Kaufman said the change may promote students to work harder.

“Maybe it’ll convince more students to work for their grade more, but it might also just not work,” Kaufman said.

Chemistry teacher Alexander Polk said the change will depict a more accurate measure of a student’s GPA.

A freshman student said that students whose needs are accommodated by binary bathrooms take advantage of the space.

“People de nitely misuse those bathrooms, they use them to be with their friends, or just skip,” the student said.

Assistant principal Alyssa Gardner says limiting the At Large Lab’s accessibility will x the issue of abuse, while not interfering seriously with transgender student’s ability to use them.

“We know that it does limit student options, so we have gender-inclusive bathrooms in the Student Services area as well,” Gardner said. “Many of our counseling and social work sta are also connected with students who feel most comfortable in gender-inclusive bathrooms. We’ve been working through them and having conversations with their students about making sure that they have the access that they need and feel comfortable.”

A sophomore student said the At Large Lab bathrooms are a convenient location compared to the other gender neutral bathrooms.

“ e gender neutral bathrooms in the C hallway are really helpful, but they’re not accessible anymore unless you have an adult with you and that’s really di cult,” the student said. “ e bathrooms in student services are much farther away — I can’t get there, use the bathroom and get to my class on time. It’s just not possible.”

e student said that an adult being there isn’t the only issue — they think students will be reluctant to ask for an ASC or teacher escort.

“It’s way too excessive to have to get an escort just to go to the bathroom, that’s not something I would do willingly,” the student said. “It’s not something I think anyone would do willingly.”

Art by: Abby Keller

“It’s a stronger indicator of who really got certain GPA’s, versus having this thing that bumped it up,” Polk said.

According to Polk, there was a “grade in ation” before the change, so this will even out students’ GPA’s.

Gardner said Park made sure the new pass/no credit rules won’t enable students to slack o on important schoolwork.

“ ere are reasons to use it,” Gardner said, “But we really wanted to get a better handle on it and make sure it was kind of being used for the appropriate reasons,” Gardner said.

Polk said that although this change could be dicult for some students, it is Park’s best option.

“Even though it might make it a little bit rough at the beginning with people getting used to it again. Ultimately, it is the move that is more bene cial in the long run,” Polk said.

Gotta go: Ivan Zank opens the doors to the At-Large Lab. The At-Large Lab room was usually open for all students, but recently the policy was changed to only allow teachers and staf access.

According to a student, locking the bathrooms isn’t the only option to x the issue and it is harmful, speci cally towards transgender students.

“Admininstators could put someone there that could talk to people and nd out why they are missing class, instead of inadvertently hurting transgender people because other people are missing class,” the student said. “ ey could have a keycard or people could get a personal one from student services.”

Photo illistration by: Halima Bigirindayvi

Sarah Kluckhohn

Birdfeeder back in action

Class aims to fill more food requests

Rachel Arkis

After a slow start nearly two months into the school year, the Birdfeeder, Park’s student run food shelf, is back up and running. According to Birdfeeder advisor Abby Lugo, customization is going to be an important aspect of this year’s program.

“This year, we’re really trying to figure out what the students actually need,” Lugo said. “We don’t want to have to assume what kind of food our students will request, and instead we want them to be able to choose so that we don’t end up giving away food that isn’t wanted.”

For senior Hawa Mohamed, joining the Birdfeeder has given her a chance to help out the Park community and participate in something bigger.

“The Birdfeeder is an organization that helps people in need and that’s important,” Mohamed said. “For the students that need food, we can provide it. I like knowing that by participating, I’m helping keep it running.”

According to Lugo, despite a decline in food requests over the past couple of years, the Birdfeeder is preparing for an increased number this year.

“About 40% of students at Park qualify for a free and reduced lunch, and because of COVID-19 the government was paying for these meals but now they aren’t this year,” Lugo said. “Because of this, we did see our need decline slightly over the last couple of years because students and their families were getting supplemented in other places. Now we think that the requests will come back and that we can serve our student population even better.”

According to senior Ella Wasvick, working for the Birdfeeder has been a valuable learning experience.

“I knew I wanted to learn more about it, so I joined,” Wasvick said. “This year, (I’m looking forward to) making a change

for the better.”

Lugo said that due to the accessibility of the food shelf, it makes it easier to fulfill requests for both students and their families.

“The fact that we can serve students on site is what makes (the Birdfeeder) so special, you don’t have to go anywhere extra besides school and it’s not limited to just students,” Lugo said.

Food request forms can be found in room B226, student services office and online. For more information regarding the Birdfeeder, stop by room B226.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Helping clean-up devestation after Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwestern Florida as a Category Four hurricane Sept. 28. The overwhelming devastation extended from islands and into the mainland. Over the news, the nation watched as residents of Florida sought rescue from flooding, power outages, debris-filled streets and a mass destruction of their cities. The trip I had planned to Sanibel Island for MEA weekend became non-existent and was put on hold, until our plans were changed to accommodate the destruction and help a family that was in need.

It had been one month since the storm, and though many areas were starting to be cleaned up, debris still littered the streets. Pieces of houses had settled into the branches of trees and the damages to people’s homes left them in desperate need of repair. Because of this, we decided to fly down to Florida and help our friends’ relative re-shingle his roof and fix other parts of his home.

On our flight to Florida, I met people who were traveling to help families, document the devastation and aid in residents’ recovery from the storm. Speaking with so many people who came from different places, backgrounds and perspectives was eye-opening. Despite their differences, they were all coming together to support other people and tackle the damage of the storm, which restored my faith in the goodness of people. With all of the division in our world today, it was nice to see peoples’ willingness to help each other.

After arriving in Florida, my family, friends and I saw the damage that their relative’s home had; their roof had shingles missing, metal dangling from it, and the screen on the side of their house was ripped. It was a hard sight to see, especially knowing that there were others that were worse off. Nevertheless, my friend’s parents assessed the roof and made a plan to fix it and the next day, we got to work.

Being up on the roof made me gain a new perspective both literally and figuratively. I could see so much more of the ruined city and just how many lives were affected by this destructive storm. However, I also had been given the opportunity to realize how I could make an impact on peoples’ lives — even if just a small impact — and how fortunate I was to be in a position where I could help. I felt so blessed to have all of my possessions and for my home to be a safe place to come back to.

The job I was tasked to do was destroying the remaining shingles, which was very labor-intensive but gratifying work. It took us four hours of constant physical labor to complete but it was all worth it because after our first day, we had the opportunity to meet other people who were actually in the storm. One person was on Sanibel Island when the hurricane hit. The flooding came quickly and as the water started rushing into his house, he held onto his refrigerator and put his dog on his couch. The water kept rising, and he broke the window to climb onto his roof to wait for rescue. Hearing these stories of real people and not just news headlines really put into perspective the severity of the storm.

This experience is something I am so grateful for and am blessed to have been a part of. It inspired me to serve my community and see my responsibility to help others — to meet new people, expose myself to the different lifestyles and struggles. I’ve found that you never know the profound impact it will have on your own life.

Design by Abby Bartleson

“It’s a great idea because having a safe space to ask for help anonymously is important. It shouldn’t be something students are embarrassed about”

Nina Miller, junior

Photo by: Charlotte Cox

Food for Thought: Senior Jaxson Kropelnicki stocks the Birdfeeder food closet. Members pack food for students every Tuesday in a backpack.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Trip to Florida brings new appreciation

Anna Williams

Infographic by: Abby Bartleson Source:

Classrooms after COVID

As the pandemic spiked in 2020, schools were forced to pack up and shi to online learning. With a return to in-person learning, Minnesota has seen record-low test scores since COVID-19 began. e pandemic has shi ed education fundamentally — particularly with academic performance and non-traditional schooling options.

Pandemic brings lower test scores

According to sophomore Ryan Steinberg, lower test scores could be attributed to students re-adjusting a er COVID-19.

“With COVID-19, a lot of kids were at home for a long time,” Steinberg said. “(COVID-19) made a lot of students forget what it’s like to be in a classroom and what it’s like to have a lot of assignments that made it challenging for kids to get their assignments in, more so than before COVID-19. “

Science teacher Patrick Hartman said that test scores may have declined over COVID-19 as students committed less to studying.

“When I was teaching distance (learning), I never knew how long it was going to last, so I didn’t devote myself 100% to it,” Hartman said. “My AP test scores went down that year. ey were better last year and I hope that they continue to rise.”

According to testing coordinator Teresa Petta, test scores have been negatively a ected by higher opt-out rates.

“When a student decides to optout, they’re still counted in test score data,” Petta said. “When you have people opting out, it’s hurting our scores. If you took out the opt-out numbers out of the data, our scores look very good. ey’re much better than some other schools in the state. When you opt out at testing, you’re hurting yourself, but you’re also hurting your school district because they lose funding based on those test scores.”

Senior Fiona Long said testing scores may be faltering due to a lack of desire to take standardized tests a er COVID-19.

“A lot of colleges are going testoptional and so people don’t feel like they’re required to take standardized tests like the ACT or SAT,” Long said. “A lot of people got used to not doing work during COVID-19, so many students are behind in English and math skills that help with these tests.”

Commissioner of Education Heather Mueller said schools should focus on

learning from data to improve as a response to lower test scores.

“We saw a year where there were no tests given and where there were more opt outs,” Mueller said. “It is still important data, but it is not an indication of what a student’s outcome will truly be. e test scores are not that surprising in context and we shouldn’t dwell on the data. What we should do is look at the data, analyze it and learn from it and then take action to improve the data.”

Spike in PSEO (Post Secondary Enrollment Options) students

Assistant Principal Alyssa Gardner said that the experience gained during the pandemic may have pushed more students towards Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO).

“Coming back from the pandemic, students have experienced so much,” Gardner said. “Some students are excited to come back to Park and others were like, ‘I’m over it.’ ( ey) know how to learn in di erent ways now — (they) know how to be independent,” Gardner said. “What we’ve been talking about with the counseling department is how to ensure students know all of the options, so that they can know what’s going to be best for them. ere’s not one traditional style of learning that is going to be best for everybody.”

Assistant principal Derek Wennerberg said the administration is focusing on encouraging students to use outside resources.

“As administrators, (we) need to be able to say, ‘how can we help facilitate those resources?’ Whether it’s within the walls through our DP program, our AP courses or PSEO courses, we need to grow,” Wennerberg said. “ rough the pandemic, there are all these resources that are out there now at our ngertips.”

Long said online learning during the pandemic gave her the skills necessary to try asynchronous PSEO.

“I chose to do (PSEO) because I felt that I could handle college classes,” Long said. “ e credits transfer pretty easily and will either let me graduate early from college or get me generally ahead in my credits. I do fully

I’ve gotten better at taking standardized tests because when we do things online, its a similar format.”

Evelyn Bot, sophomore

Alicia Mainjeni

Sarah Kluckhon

asynchronous PSEO and without COVID-19 I wouldn’t have considered myself as capable of time management.”

Counselor Barb Nelson said that COVID-19 brought an online aspect to PSEO that made it more accessible.

“Part of our teamwork is that we’re going to focus on PSEO, solely because students are able to do more asynchronous classes. Before COVID-19, most of the time (in) a PSEO class you had to (be) on-site,” Nelson said. “With people getting more comfortable with online classes and PSEO o ering those classes, it makes it super accessible to students who previously didn’t have transportation. We’ve had higher and higher numbers of kids who are interested and want to do PSEO.”

Junior Maggie Magdziarz-Rainey said she felt COVID-19 may have discouraged people from trying PSEO, despite the good opportunities.

“Many people didn’t want to go straight into college a er the pandemic, especially with it being fully online,” Magdziarz-Rainey said. “People join (PSEO) once they learn about how much credit you can get from it. If they’re trying to do more advanced classes, it is a great opportunity.”

Finding a new normal

Wennerberg said the Pass/No credit system was important over COVID-19, but has been altered as Park tries to obtain a new normal following the pandemic.

“As we transition back, it’s never going to be the same. It’s a new normal. We should always be striving to do better for our students.

ere were more grading options because we were in a weird transition (and looking for) what’s best for students,” Wennerberg said. “We want to make sure that we’re giving all students the best opportunity as they transition to their next step in their careers. Pass/Fail grades can give a glimpse of something that’s not accurate on transcripts (anymore).”

Steinberg said that he saw attendance shi over COVID-19, and that Park’s steps toward raising attendance are essential to mitigating the changes during COVID-19.

“Attendance has changed the most (over COVID-19). It seems like kids aren’t attending class as much because they fell into a habit of not signing in during online classes,” Steinberg said. “(Park) has already taken some steps toward trying to get attendance up.”

Petta said that focusing on the root cause of decreased attendance will aid Park in re-engaging kids in learning.

“We’re trying to take a look at if students don’t want to be here, or if they’re here but not going to class. You have to get to the root. You can’t penalize them because they’re not doing what we expect them to do, there’s always a reason behind it,” Petta said.

Mueller said that schools need to emphasize the mental health of students and look at them as individual people.

“We need to focus on the safety, health, well-being and mental health of our students. Schools and the state need to have proactive methods in-place before and a er school. ere has been a real focus on meeting the needs of every student, including academic learning, nutrition, physical care and mental health,” Mueller said. “We are trying to look at students and where they are to move them to where they need to be to meet grade standards.”

Petta said the pandemic helped people realize what changes need to be made and that those reforms will take time.

“We all have to realize that we went through something historical, not just with COVID-19 but with all the civil unrest and the veil has been pulled back. Many of us are just realizing now all the things that need to happen to make everything more comfortable, including education,” Petta said. “It’s going to take some time, but I look at our youth and I’m so impressed because they’re teaching us and showing us the way. I hope that most of (adults)

open to what they have to o er.”

Source Higher Ed Dive

Infographic by Alicia Mainjeni

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Discs in the dome

My experience with St. Louis Park Ultimate Frisbee began this year. I had played other sports as a freshman and sophomore, but this year I decided to try something new. The first thing I noticed was how welcoming the community is. Everyone encourages new players in a way different to any other sport I have played.

Frisbee can be as intense as the player makes it, be it through the fall or spring league. The spring league is much more competitive, whereas the fall league doesn’t split up into multiple teams and only has games on Saturdays. Commitment to the fall league is encouraged but not required, so it is very easy to try the sport without having to fully commit right away. This makes it easy for new players to get involved with the team and see if they like Ultimate before making a full commitment.

Ultimate, despite having its many benefits, has a very notable downside: it is limited to only the fall and spring seasons. A large problem that arises is what athletes can do once the season is over. In most sports, this problem is left up to the individual players to solve. During the offseason, it is a must for many to figure out a way to keep playing or training for their sports. Continuing to be active and improve during the offseason gives any athlete a huge advantage. The problem is, winter activities for a summer or spring sport are especially hard to find as you need to find a large enough space inside, away from the cold.

New Alpine team races onto

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Fortunately for Park Frisbee players, a Park Ultimate team parent, Jim Shope, created a solution. Shope, a notable member of the Ultimate community and coach of the Park middle school team, sponsors “Friday Frisbee” weekly in the indoor dome at Champions Hall in Chanhassen. Students and others (of a wide range of ages) can show up to play in the turf-covered dome each Friday.

While the games are kept competitive, there are multiple levels of play for new and experienced players alike. Many bring or borrow Frisbees and take several minutes at the beginning to warm up. Then, at some point, players get into teams and begin scrimmaging. The scrimmaging is split up into two games, one more competitive than the other, but generally anyone is free to try playing in either. If someone is struggling, there is always someone to give tips, without judgement, of course.

Not only is “Friday Frisbee” a convenient opportunity for players to keep playing over the winter, but it’s also a fun activity to socialize and exercise on a Friday night. Anyone can come with friends, or just come and meet new people. There is always a carpool available for those without a ride. Shope requires a safety waiver from all participants before they can play and requests $10 each Friday from everyone who shows up and participates to help cover the cost of rental. In my experience playing “Friday Frisbee,” I have both grown as a player and forged many friendships throwing discs in the dome.

Maren Wilsey DESIGN BY

Park has many winter sports but downhill skiing, also known as Alpine skiing, was not previously on the list. This winter, Park is partnering with Eden Prairie highschool to bring in a new Alpine ski team.

According to athletic director Andrew Ewald, the start of the new sport was entirely student and parentinitiated.

“There were families and students that were extremely interested and passionate about (Alpine skiing),” Ewald said. “They made the decision that they would financially take all responsibility for us to have an Alpine team, because we didn’t have the budget capacity to add it ourselves.”

According to sophomore Louisa Augustine, many students are excited to turn a hobby into a

Where to ski in the Metro Area

school sport while meeting other people with similar interests. Augustine said this is exactly what she is doing.

“I have been skiing my whole life and was hoping that my high school had a ski team,” Augustine said.

Ewald said partnering with another school isn’t a new concept at Park, but is still quite unusual.

“(Eden Prairie) is basically going to run the program with their coaches coaching our kids, but it’s not a co-op,” Ewald said. “It’s Park kids skiing for Saint Louis Park, but they’re practicing, being taught and coached by Eden Prairie.”

Sophomore Adam Rosvald said he encourages all prospective skiers to join.

“It’s a lot of fun, you get to meet a lot of new people, improve your skiing abilities, make new friends and be able to bond on a really fun sport outside, on the mountain or hill,” Rosvald said.

By adding a new team to Park, Ewald said this can have a big impact and change school athletics.

“Adding a new ski team will not only give Park students another afterschool vent but also affect Parks athletics,” Ewald said.

Ewald said the addition of a new team will ideally bring new students to athletic programs.

“Hopefully some kids that aren’t involved in any of our other sports get involved,” Ewald said. “Or if it’s a kid who’s already doing sports, it’s just another outlet for them.”

The new ski team is good, and it will give students a new way to try a sport.

Anna Turcotte, junior

Eliah Fink

Frisbee takes it indoors for the winter

Dahlia Herman

gates 7 p.m. Nov. 28. Park is able to join with Eden Prairie for Alpine skiing.

Photo by: Mya Stanberry

Infographic by Maren Wilsey Source Google Maps

Puck ‘er up buttercup

Orioles lose 6-1 at first home game

Anya Panday Alicia Mainjeni Maya Nieves

Parks Orioles squared up against Chaskas Hawks on the ice Dec. 1 and took a 6-1 loss at their first home game of the regular season. The Orioles engaged their supporters with many activities to celebrate the occasion, including “Chuck the Puck” and recognizing youth hockey players on the rink.

In spite of the loss, sophomore Trey Janssen said conquering victory is a goal for the team this season.

“Competing is a big thing (this season). We (are focusing) on winning,” Janssen said.

According to head coach Tyler Brodersen, the team prepares for their games in various ways while obtaining positive energy.

“Our preparation this week is trying to get in practice, trying to do flow drills, get up and down the ice,” Brodersen said. “Then have fun too, so they can be in a good mood and be upbeat with energy going into (the game).”

Senior Mason Amelse said the team looked well at the beginning, despite the final score.

“The team was the strongest, especially in the first two periods,” Amelse said. “Our physicality was the

Learn some hockey terms

Apple: an assist

Bender: player whose ankles bend while skating

Biscuit: the puck

Beauty: player with good skills and personality

Bucket: helmet

SPORTRAIT

Lilly Fandel-Thompson

How long have you been skiing and what got you into it?

It’s my fifth year. What got me into it was I just decided to sign up in seventh grade.

What is your favorite part of skiing?

The people you meet and that I am able to ski and train in so many different places.

What are your goals for the team this season?

Chirp: to trash talk the opposing team

Dangle: when a player is a decoy to fake out an opponent

Duster: a benchwarmer who “collects dust on the bench”

Flow: long hair that sticks out of the helmet

Gino: a goal that’s been scored

My goals for the team this season are to bring the girls team to state again, win another section and conference championship for the girls, get top five for the guys (and) have some good individual performances for the team.

What are your personal goals for this season and beyond?

My personal goals would probably be to see visible improvement in my skiing throughout the years and have a chance at beating some of the top people.

What is one piece of advice you would give to an upcoming skier?

Don’t give up. Work hard. Some days are going to

be worse than others. You (have) got to stick with it because you’ll become better.

What is your favorite Nordic memory?

My favorite memory is training with the whole team. I love getting close with everyone and watching everyone improve and succeed.

What is one lesson you’ve learned since you started skiing?

One lesson I learned is that you can’t give up, you have to stick with it. You have to be a hard worker and I think that applies to the regular world and talking to other people and building your social skills. It’s cold out there, you got to stick with it.

Icy fresh: Senior Mason Amelse skates down the rink at the hockey game Dec. 1. The Orioles lost their first home game 1-6 against Chaska.

Photo by: Lilly Fandel-Thompson

Infographic by: Maren Wilsey Source: NCAA

Nolan Crump Junior, nordic

2022

(The student section) isn’t that good compared to last year. I think next year is going to be better.”

Josh Wickberg, junior

WHAT’S THE POINT

Anti-semitism in media rises

Anisa Kahin

Social media is a place where people voice their opinions, but it can cause more harm than good. Anti-Semitism has been one of the many negative things displayed on social media. With students being influenced by things they see on social media, Park needs to talk about it.

Rapper Kanye West has been one influencer who has used their voice to cause harm. His anti-Semitic remarks on Twitter have caused more people to openly say things that harm the Jewish community. With such easy access to the internet, people can create troll accounts, which are used for the sole purpose of spreading hate. After West’s comments were made, Los Angeles received a rise in antiSemitic hate. On a 405 freeway overpass, a hate group gave Nazi salutes beside a banner that read “Kanye was right about the Jews.”

Elon Musk’s new ownership of Twitter is furthering this issue. He is now allowing hate speech to be tolerated under the false narrative of it being free speech.

Hate speech causes harm to people while free speech has no violent implications. Social media has always been a significant contributor to hate speech, since people can stay anonymous, which allows hate to be poured freely. Park has a large Jewish community and teenagers are extremely vulnerable on social media. Park has one of the largest Jewish communities in the state, so what can we do to make sure that such incidents like the one in Los Angeles don’t happen here? Teenagers are an extremely vulnerable group especially to the influence of social media so a way that Park can prevent these potential issues from happening is by educating students. Teachers can explain the impact that these hateful comments have on minority groups, such as the Jewish community. Almost two-thirds of young adults in America didn’t know that the Holocaust is real according to The Guardian. Without the needed knowledge, history can and will repeat itself. Park can also work to make sure that anti-Semitism won’t continue being on the rise by amplifying Jewish voices and speaking up against what they see. Being silent on an issue is being a part of it.

POINT COUNTERPOINT

New rules bring mixed reactions Reforms to the Pass/No credit system

P/NC is crucial, helpful

The Pass/No credit system is a big issue when it comes to kids and how their grades can be determined. There’s a lot of talk about if it should be removed completely from the way we grade. Park should keep the Pass/No credit system for many reasons. For one, it helps kids who struggle with certain classes determine their Grade Point Average (GPA).

Pass/No credit is something all schools should use. It shows that the school cares about academics and wants students to succeed. If we give a student a failing grade, it can ruin their chances of being able to succeed in their education when it comes to a GPA. It’s like a crutch you can use to help your GPA. Same with the pass part of the rule, it gives kids who had a C the chance to use the pass credit to protect their GPA.

People might think that giving out a No Credit (NC) to kids to keep a good and balanced GPA is cheating out of what their actual GPA was. However, it gives kids who really struggle a “Get out of Jail Free card” and helps them maintain a certain GPA. Because they might have all A’s in a certain class and one F, that F would lower the GPA. With the NC class option it gives kids the GPA they deserve with the classes they did succeed in.

This rule also helps benefit students who are struggling in a class. This is a great benefit for kids who are struggling and are generally good students.

This rule gives a form of sustainability to kids who struggle in school and need a little extra help. This rule is won’t be a perfect solution but when you don’t see your GPA going a certain way and don’t have the time to change it, this rule helps. It’s a nice little add on, and should not be used all the time but for last resort resources for these kids as it is very beneficial.

STUDENT VOICES

TRAILS

P/NC is inaccurate

For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, students at Park are only allowed to take a Pass/No Credit grade in two elective classes this year. As students, we have grown accustomed to taking a pass or a ‘P’ rather than a letter grade that would negatively affect our GPA, but this new system will encourage us to put in the extra effort needed to get good grades as well as the help we need to succeed.

Because the Pass/No Credit grading system has no effect on GPA, someone who got a D and opted for a P instead would have the same GPA as someone who scored all A’s. This is not only unfair to the students who earned their GPA without any ‘P’ grades, but will end up hurting the student who took P’s.

Although I tend not to think of a P as a low grade, most colleges and universities view it as somewhere between a C and a D- on a transcript, which could hurt the student’s prospects more than their original grade would have. This assumption about grades could prevent a school from giving scholarships to a student, making it a lot harder to go to college.

Now that school is in-person and has been for over a year, we have better resources to help us succeed, whether that be the ability to work one-on-one with a teacher before or after school or the ability to work in the Learning Lab. When we need help, all we need to do is ask.

As a junior, though I have had the option to take a ‘P’ for every class in high school, I haven’t. I don’t have perfect grades, but I would rather my grades reflect my ability, as well as the effort I put in, than an assumption someone might make because of a ‘P’ in my transcript.

I’m motivated primarily by grades, so this new system will push me to ask for help more when I am struggling, instead of relying on a ‘P.’ I see this change in policy as an extra reason to make sure we are doing our best.

“I got a P last year, and it was super helpful to my grades. Usually the difference between a ‘P’ and a low grade isn’t huge.”

What’s the POINT?

Spike in antiSemitism is concering

Roberto Alvarez

Abby Keller

Antonio Brayboy, sophomore

“ It’s good that people can’t coast through classes

with a P, but there’s people

who work hard and need a P to

help their GPA.”

Jeremy Eichten, sophomore

“If you do bad on a test, that’s your fault. You should be able to catch up. ‘P’s’ make things easier, but we don’t need them.”

Will Gohman, junior

PARK

Modesty Manion and Alex Geretz

freshman

TAKE A LEAK IN LUXURY:

The bathrooms at Park are a utility that are frequently used and depended upon as they are feared, loathed and despised. In this article, we attempt to rank them.

Location: A3 wing

At the bottom is the bathroom in the A-3 hallway. The experience of using this bathroom is nothing short of harrowing. Upon entry students will find the door propped open with a bright orange safety cone, a warning of what’s to come. Once they enter the threshold, a chill will run down their spine. The bathroom is freezing. The stalls are illuminated by a single window, where the sun never seems to shine. Look to the last stall from the door and you may see a puff of smoke rising out of the top.

Location: B2 wing

MEDIA POLICIES

Tied for third place are the bathrooms located in B-3, A-2 and C-3. These bathrooms embody the very concept of mediocrity: poorly heated and marked with ugly, emo graffiti, paper towels strewn across the floor, all while being home to full length mirrors, a rarity at Park. The mirrors are perhaps these bathrooms only redeeming quality.

WHAT’S THE POINT

College representative visits prove extremely informational

Modesty Manion

As a junior, I’ve been looking at colleges. I’ve researched the acceptance rates, major and minor offerings, tuition fees, graduation rates and other data of colleges. Despite my website scouring and Google searches, I’m still left with questions. With such a large list of schools, I realized that I couldn’t attend college visits for every one of my questions to get answered. I tried emailing people from the schools, but they weren’t helpful. This left me with a lot of questions and no way to get them answered.

My mom told me about the college representative visits that Park is offering through Naviance. I realized some of my top schools were sending representatives, so I signed up. I went straight from my second period class to Student Services, where I met the representative. No one else had signed up for the meeting, so it was just me and her. She gave me materials about the school and described life on campus. I asked all of my questions. Although I was talking directly with a representative of the college, the meeting was very casual.

What’s the POINT? Meeting college reps gives insight

After the meeting, I signed up for three more. They all proved very beneficial, letting me have a more personalized glimpse at each school. I was surprised by the lack of other students attending these meetings. Most of my meetings were one-on-one, with only one in which I was accompanied by another student. Considering how helpful I found these meetings, the fact that none of my friends had even heard about these opportunities baffled me.

C-1 has a charm to it that saves it from the mediocrity of third place. While it doesn’t have a full length mirror, it does have a long, face level mirror that can serve about four people at once, as opposed to just one. If a student is late for school, C-1 is the perfect place to fix up their makeup before class. The mirror even has an Instagram account dedicated to it, @c1bathroomselfies, where students can post mirror selfies.

Anyone interested in attending college should attend college representative meetings. You get to learn more about colleges and oftentimes receive free swag. Even if there are no schools that you are interested in attending that have meetings, going to a meeting with any school can help you figure out what you’re looking for. Additionally, when you attend an in-school representative visit, you are put in the school’s system, so you can be sent more information. Once you are on the school’s radar, you are more likely to be accepted and receive more aid money.

The nurse’s office isnt as a popular pick among the students because of how far it is from many of the classrooms, however this bathroom was actually our favorite. When first walking into this private, single bathroom, we were pleasantly surprised at how clean, new and shiny it was. There are no wet and dirty floors and no stench of illegal substances or really any smells at all. The bathroom is also home to wonderful baby wipes and as said before is private, which makes it a perfect spot. In addition if you’re having a bad day, the affirmation decals on the mirror are a wonderful pick-me-up to make an ugly mood fly away.

Publications are designated public forums for student expression in which students make all decisions of content without prior review from school officials or the public. The adviser will not act as a censor, but will advise students. Students have the final decision on all content.

Prior review does not teach students how to produce higher quality journalism. The only way to teach students to take responsibility for their decisions is to empower them to make those decisions freely.

Content represents views of the student and not school officials. The publications will work to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and cowntent meaningful and interesting to all our readers. In order to strive for objectivity, jour-

nalists should avoid covering stories of which they are involved. Journalists should avoid a real or perceived conflict of interest as well.

The publications will not shy away from covering newsworthy controversial issues of importance to students. We will make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo or invasions of privacy.

The publications will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph unless clearly labeled as a photo illustration. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or administration as a whole.

The publications welcome reader input. Letters must be signed and should be no longer than 250

The college representative visits offered through Naviance are incredibly worthwhile, as they provide information and a connection that could turn out to be instrumental in your college application and selection process.

Signing up for a college representative visit is super easy. All you have to do is log in to your Naviance Student account, click on “Colleges,” then “College Visits” and sign up for the college you’d like to meet with. Make sure to make note of the date and time of the meeting and what class you’ll be missing. When the time comes for your meeting, you can go straight to Student Services.

words and may be e-mailed or submitted in room C275. Anonymous letters wherein the publication name does not know the identity of the writer will not be printed.

In the event of an error being reported by reawders or noticed by staffers, students should first check to see if the information is erroneous. If students deem the material to be incorrect, they should alter any online content to reflect the correction and then print a correction in the next edition.

In regard to material appearing on the websites, nothing will be taken down unless it’s proven factually false or otherwise legally deficient as of the time it was published.

DESIGN BY Anya Panday

Elliot Netoff,

“

I don’t really use the bathrooms because I don’t like peeing in them and there’s not many gender neutral bathrooms for me. When I have to, I opt for ones in less densely populated areas.”

Sarah Kluckhohn and Dahlia Herman Photos by Anya Panday

“Wednesday” proves wicked, woeful A

kooky, spooky

take on a classic

Abby Bartleson

After watching countless movies from director Tim Burton, I have grown to love his oddball, gothic film style and Netflix’s “Wednesday” executed this flawlessly. Released Nov. 23 (which was conveniently on a Wednesday), the Addams Family is back in a modern era, filled with gore and teenage drama.

Set in New England, Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) is shipped off by her mother, Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and father, Gomez (Luis Guzmán), to Nevermore Academy — a boarding school which was founded in 1791 whose purpose is to educate and “nurture outcasts, freaks and monsters.”

After arriving, filled with darkness and wit, Wednesday shows little interest in her peers and she schemes to escape, but she soon realizes there is much more to the school than it appears. With her emerging psychic abilities, she begins to unravel an

Modesty Manion

Fair use from Dominic Fike, 20th Century Studios, Weezer, Loppet Foundation

Design by Modesty Manion, Katie Nelson

unsolved mystery from 25 years prior. Without hesitation, I knew I would like this show. Ortega rocked her role and I enjoyed the modernity of the setting — making it non Gen-Z specific, (please stop referencing Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok). Ortega’s chemistry with her castmates worked perfectly, even with her deadpan deliverance of lines and no-nonsense mindset as Wednesday.

Along with the current-day storyline, costume designer Colleen Atwood did an exceptional job at articulating each character’s aesthetic and distinct quirks through their clothing in a contemporary fashion. I especially enjoyed Wednesday’s roommate Edin Sinclair (Emma Myers) poking at her to break her out of her shell and you can visually see it through her wardrobe choices as the story progresses.

A fun directing choice was including the original 1991 Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci) cast as the Nevermore herbology professor. Her appearance in the show made it much more enticing to watch because of the nostalgia factor.

The only real critique I have for the show is that some of the CGI looked very unrealistic and made me giggle about the quality because of the immersive feel of the production. Other than that minor detail, I thoroughly enjoyed this haunting show.

If you’re looking for a hair-raising but humorous show loaded with dark twists and turns, I recommend checking out “Wednesday” on Netflix.

Dec. 11 Dec. 16

Dominic Fike, the popular alternative hip hop artist featured in “Euphoria” is coming to the Fillmore Dec. 11 as a part of his “Out of Order” tour. The show is ages 15+, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and the concert starting at 8 p.m.

Over a decade after the first movie, “Avatar: The Way of Water” will hit theaters Dec. 16. The sequel is directed by James Cameron and the cast includes notable names, such as Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet and Vin Diesel.

Jan. 15 Dec. 21

“SZNS: Winter” will be the last of Weezer’s 4-album “SZNZ” project. Because the EPs have been released on the coinciding seasons’ solstice or equinox, the winter installation will be released Dec. 21 on the winter solstice.

The Loppet Foundation will be hosting their Pre-Loppet nordic ski and fat tire bike races Jan. 15 at Theodore Wirth Park. The event will offer many different race options in preparation for the City of Lakes Loppet Winter Festival.

I always have loved everything involving the Addams family.

I think it’s pretty funny and I like getting to see Wednesdays point of view.”

Malcolm Drumbeater, junior

Source Imdb.com

Infographic by Modesty Manion