a breaking point.

IN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Fan

Managing editors of magazine

Anika Krishnaswamy Kelly Liu

Managing editors OF PRODUCTION Surya Sethi Aayushi Wadhawan

Managing editors OF WEB Lance Locker Vivian Zhu

Managing editors OF DESIGN

Huang Shannon Moser

Look around your classrooms, your clubs, your social circles. Who do you see? Who’s missing?

In this issue, we explore the disparities deeply rooted in our education system. From the cost of private tutoring and STEM achievement gaps to Afrmative Action in higher education, we call into question the barriers that hold us apart and examine how to break through them. Let’s follow the trajectory of academic achieve ment—is there success for every student?

Shannon moser

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Yuan

Guo

Winber

Zhang

Corso

Roberts

COPy editors

Sriya Mamidanna

Yao

IN-depth Coordinator Helen Oriatti-Bruns

Multimedia director Gaurish Lakhanpal

Adviser Dean Bradshaw

staff reporters

Marketing director Kyla Smith Saanvi Adusumalli Simran Agarwal Ansh Aggarwal Yumna Ali-Khan Eshaam Bhattad Rachel Bui Timothy Bui Brayden Caldwell Jonah Cooper Katya Dubinin Adi Jaiswal

Fiona Jin Tej Kosaraju Nicole Lee Samantha Lerner Kashvi Nagpal Jacob Silverman Rajan Sukhatme Aaroh Tak Ananya Tak Camden Wright Alexander Xie Lillian Zhou

Credit: Elan Gurevich

community news

the forum

Saanvi Adusumalli, Jennifer Huang, Adi Jaiswal, Ava Winber

Around the world

Students are beginning to de sign booths representing their country and practice their per formances for World’s Fair, which is taking place on Oct. 2223. A collaborative event involv ing the eforts of multiple cul tural clubs and afnity groups ranging from Key Club to Club Israel, World’s Fair ofers an op portunity to experience oth er world cultures and cuisines through a diverse variety of ac tivities and performances.

Visitors will be able to vis it the booths of participating clubs in the Point and Wood Commons from 11-3 p.m. and then watch performances in the Performing Arts Center from 3-5 p.m. The event will be open to Stevenson students and other members of the community.

“The biggest part [of World’s Fair] is that not only is it a place for students to come and inter act and see their peers’ cultures

and the diversity in our school, but it’s also accessible to anyone,” Kaitlyn Mathews ’23, Diversity Council co-president, said.

As part of their efort to in troduce fairgoers to the arts and traditions of various cultures, Diversity Council also encour ages them to perform songs and dances onstage. Reshma Rajesh ’24, a performer representing India, is choreographing a group dance with her friends, making sure to incorporate a medley of songs that represent both North and South India.

“When representing our country, we wanted to show that there’s diversity,” Rajesh said. “Rather than dancing to one lan guage over the other, we want to use all of them together. India [has various] cultures and we want to show as much [of that] as we can at World’s Fair.”

As clubs and performers work hard to get ready for the event, Diversity Council prompts stu dents to support their peers on stage. Mathews hopes that the experience will encourage stu dents to connect with each oth er and in turn help spread social awareness.

“We wanted one big event that can bring our community to gether,” Mathews said. “We have diferent cultures that are cele brated around the world, but by bringing these cultures together, our community can be one.”

Chinese Club begun its preparations for this year’s World’s Fair by making posters and to decorate their booth. Like many other clubs, Chinese Club hopes to introduce students to a new country and culture.

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

Students celebrate Indian holiday with traditional dance at Garba Night

The Indian Student Associa tion (ISA) held its annual Garba Night at Stevenson on Oct. 8. The event took place at the Pool Patio where ISA invited stu dents to experience a celebration of Indian culture.

Students from ISA provid ed cultural snacks, played tra ditional music and performed Garba—a classical Gujrathi dance done during the nine days of Navratri, which celebrates the victory of good over evil. Lead ing up to the day of the event, ISA sought to involve both its members and the local commu nity in its preparations.

“We cater food from restau rants and local businesses for our events,” ISA president Sohi Shah ’23 said. “For the music, we encouraged students to give us their input and created a playlist of popularly mentioned songs for the day of the event.”

In addition to curating food and music, planning activities and designing fyers, ISA of fered other opportunities for

members to get involved. Na than Huang ’25, who is Chi nese-American, served as a vol unteer during the event, giving out food and ensuring that the dance ran smoothly.

“I feel like it’s important to add diversity to ISA,” Huang said. “Although you might be from a diferent background, it’s an opportunity to learn about another culture.”

For students seeking to fur ther embrace their culture or those hoping to introduce them selves to a new culture, Shah agrees that Garba Night is a valuable learning experience. Regardless of ethnic or cultural background, ISA hopes that its future events will continue to facilitate connections between Stevenson students.

“[Stevenson] is like a melting pot of ideas that come together,” Huang said. “Garba might be a holiday that originates from In dia, but it can also be celebrated by all people.”

World’s Fair encourages students to explore countries, cultures within Stevenson

Dressed in traditonal Indian clothing, Ananya Balu ’25, Aania Gill ’25, and Manasa Gogula ’25 were among the many students who danced at Garba Night.

taking on civic responsibility

Stevenson students work as election judges

On Nov. 8, students above the age of 16 who are U.S. citizens have the opportunity to serve as an election judge, supervising the election process and making sure that the democratic process of electing a govern ment ofcial stays regulated. Students who choose to participate as an election judge have to give a great deal of dedication to the cause, waking up at 4 a.m. to set up tables and supervising voters starting at 6 a.m.

Students working as election judges give up one of their late arrival days to go through a training led by the Lake County’s Clerk’s ofce to help prepare them for elec tion day. AP U.S. Government teacher An drew Conneen connects students with these opportunities.

“In a democracy, there is a need for the widespread perception that the results of the election are legitimate,” Conneen said. “As a civics teacher, it’s a powerful moment when I can turn to a student who has done the job of election judging and ask them what their experience was like on election day so they can pass on their experience to their peers in class.”

TALE AS OLD AS TIME

Stevenson’s fall musical, Beauty and the Beast, is set to debut on Fri day, Nov. 18. The Patriot Theater Company’s production, starring Justin Katin ’23 as The Beast and Lily James ’23 as Belle, will be held in the Performing Arts Center (PAC).

Performers are aided by a crew of students and staf members. For example, crew members and stage managers behind the scenes are tasked with managing lights, mu sical cues and designing sets in or der to create a magical experience for viewers.

“As a stage manager, communi cation with the entire company is key,” said Alexis Alanis ’24, one of the current stage managers. “I also talk with actors during rehearsals [and ask] if they have any ques tions about their lines or move ments.”

In addition to managing pro duction behind the scenes, stage

Although the experience might be grati fying for many, election judges also face hos tility. Hannah Yu ’23, who has served as an election judge in the past, recounts the dif ferent ways that people have expressed their political views to election judges.

“There is some level of harassment that happens to election judges doing their jobs,” Yu said. “It’s hard because that makes people not want to be poll workers anymore. Peo ple were yelling and getting in our faces.”

Being an election judge allows students to learn frsthand about the complexities of an election process and how vital it is to follow rules if they are ever thinking about running for ofce successfully. The learning experi ences that election judges gain helps them with their interests and brings awareness to the rigor in regulations of elections.

“I would recommend election judging to anyone who’s interested in politics or the government,” Yu said. “It’s important to be involved in the political process to the ex tent that it’s possible.”

Lake county student election judge qualifications

1. Be a junior or senior in good standing enrolled in a public or private secondary school.

2. Provide written permission from a parent or guardian

3. Have a cumulative grade point average equivalent to at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale

4. Declare afliation to a major political party

5. Complete Basic Training

managers also carry further re sponsibilities ofstage such as sending out emails to cast mem bers, sending scheduling remind ers and summarizing rehearsals for members when they are absent. From coordinating with perform ers and their guardians to manag ing the performance, Joseph Chan ’24, who plays a wolf and is a part of the village ensemble, believes that collaboration between both the cast and crew is essential to having a successful show.

“We constantly work with other cast members; in fact, we actually have days dedicated just to bond ing,” Chan said. “By connecting with each other, we can make the chemistry in our scenes smoother.”

According to Chan, this con nection was crucial to the success of past productions such as the 2020 production of Newsies, where constant communication was re quired to coordinate actors during

the beginning of COVID-19 pan demic. Despite several challenges, the extra efort allowed students to continue to pursue their passions.

Regardless of audience atten dance, the theater program is ex cited for audience members to be able to experience the show live.

“The musical is going to be a blast due to [the amount of] work and the amount of people coming together to make it the best it can possibly be,” Chan said.

Costume manager Alexia Rutherford examines a petticoat for the fall musical, Beauty and the Beast.

An inside look at Stevenson’s upcoming fall musical

Latinx Heritage Month Latinx Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month occurs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 to celebrate the culture of Latin American countries

Eshaam Bhattad, Sriya Mamidanna

SNAPSHOT

Latinx Heritage Month was frst established nationally in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week, and then changed to His panic Heritage Month in 1988. It was then later renamed to “Latinx Heritage Month” to be more inclusive of the cul tures, countries and identities throughout Latin America.

The purpose of the month was to commemorate the cultural legacy and deep traditions of Spanish-speaking countries.

EXCERPTS

“[LASO] just hosted an event with Friends International… where we did a celebration for Mexican Independence. All these [events] play an important role in bringing students together and allowing them to experience the amazing cultures in Stevenson.”

Stacy Frazer Spanish Teacher

“One of our biggest events for Hispanic Heritage Month is collabing with [Black Student Union] for an event called AfroLASO. We’re talking about Afro-Latinos, and how [it’s] really tough being an Afro-Latino in the Latino community because you have colorism and racism and hate towards each other.”

Although World’s Fair happens after the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, it features booths that represent various Latinx coun tries including Mexico, Hondu ras, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Peru and Guatemala. Latin American Student Organization (LASO) members will be running these booths and promoting the diver sity of cultures in the Latinx and Hispanic community.

Pat Riot and LASO members were promoting the club at Streetfest. Find more pictures of Streetfest and other events at @laso.shs.

Latin American Student Organization President

“We create posters, try cool foods and play fun games as a big group of people. Usually you don’t feel really connected to others at school, but going to these clubs and having these meetings—it’s one big group of people learning about diferent cultures.”

Julia Rafa ’24 LASO Member

Keyla Moreno ‘24

Transferring to the New School Year

Transfer students refect on challenges, benefts of moving to Stevenson

Rachel Bui, Helen Oriatti-Bruns

O n Aug. 9, Stevenson welcomed new sophomore, junior and senior students to its annual transfer student orien tation. These students received their schedules and met with their Transfer Buddies, student volunteers who help transfers adapt to their new school.

In addition to orientation, transfer students attend luncheons in the frst nine weeks of school. In these luncheons, transfer students are provided with a free lunch and a presentation about various aspects of Stevenson life.

Students can also meet with their Transfer Buddies during the frst weeks of school for tours, lunch and tips about Stevenson. For Alisha Machano ’25, who transferred from Massachusetts, the size of the Stevenson community initially made adapting harder but she was gradually able to make friends.

“Stevenson’ is a very big school, so it’s kind of hard to notice when there’s new students around, but gradually people started to talk to me,” Machano said. “Any random conversation helped me make friends.”

Stevenson’s large size means that it has over 140 clubs as well as 35 sports teams, in which many students make friends—93% of students participate in at least one co-curricular activity. De spite Stevenson’s opportunities, for students like Ella Berg ’23, who transferred in 2019, the academic culture of Stevenson can be in timidating.

“The school is so intense academically, but I would say it’s more open-minded,” Berg said. “On one hand it’s more toxic but on the other hand it’s easier to ft in because of the diversity.”

Many transfer students must adapt to Stevenson’s grading sys tem, Evidence-Based Reporting (EBR), while they adjust to the school’s rigorous academics. For some transfer students like Seo hyun Lee ’24, EBR is very diferent from their previous school’s grading system.

“My old Korean high school used a comparative grading scale, so only the top 10 people could get an A and the next 10 people could get a B,” Lee said. “But in Stevenson, if you meet expectations you get a three on the EBR scale.”

According to Stevenson’s website, EBR is designed to promote a growth mindset by grading students based on profciency, which some transfer students helps them earn better grades. Along with adjusting to a new grading system in their frst months, students must also work with the school to determine what course levels they should take.

“Transfer students may be asked to take a placement test in a particular subject in order to help ensure appropriate class place ment here at Stevenson,” said Raymundo Tad-y, a Stevenson coun selor and Transfer Buddies Sponsor.

While some students like Machano believe their course place

ment was “pretty fair,” others like Berg feel that specifc placement tests did not accurately refect their academic capabilities. As a freshman, Berg was initially placed in a college prep math class, not her correct level, but successfully moved up a level sophomore year.

Along with taking placement tests, many transfer students also work with their counselors to receive credit for courses they took at their old schools.

“I took World History at my previous middle school, but Ste venson said the course wasn’t transcribable, so I almost had to take another semester of it,” Lee said. “I emailed my old school and counselors to get credit for it.”

Although many students face challenges transferring course credit, some of those challenges are due to inconsistencies in cur ricula between states and countries. Once the students are placed in their proper course, their classmates often help them adapt to Stevenson’s culture. Ultimately, many transfer students believe Stevenson’s unique community provides resources for them that allow them to integrate with the school’s population quickly.

“Stevenson is defnitely more diverse than my old school,” Machano said. “There are a lot of people that are willing to help you as well as activities to join to make new friends.”

Alisha Machano ’25 stands outside of the Point. Machano had to adapt to Stevenson’s size when she transferred in 2021.

Paying the Price Paying the Price Paid education disparities require systematic, individual solutions

Lance locker, elizabeth yuan

When climbing up the rungs of education, the next step often takes a leap, not a reach. With each new milestone, the distance between footholds in the ladder only grows as students face new academic challenges. In theory, students should face rel atively equal difculty when moving up rungs compared to their peers. However, even in a country that takes pride in providing equal access to free education, some students are able to pay for an exclusive harness pulling them to the top.

While it’s not wrong for students to use their available resources to pay for an advantage like tutoring to better their education, students with out such access face unjust constraints to their academic growth. It’s no secret that private tutoring can be a valuable and expensive asset to a student’s education. While group learn ing ofered in public schools provides a crucial baseline ed ucation, one-on-one teaching sessions like private tutoring services, lessons with music teachers and online courses for standardized tests like the SAT are often more impactful. Accord ing to the National Bureau of Economic Research, tutoring programs by teachers and paraprofessionals “yield consistent and substantial positive impacts on learning outcomes,” especially among earlier grade levels.

The association between socioeconomic status and education is further exemplifed by the correlation between family income and SAT scores. The College Board’s 2021 Total Group SAT Suite of Assessments An nual Report published data that demonstrated a strong association between the highest level of parental educa tion—which tends to refect family income—and SAT test scores. On average, students whose parents had no high school diploma scored 30% lower than students whose parents had a graduate degree.

While students that pay for better education have an unfair advantage, the solution to the disparity is not to restrict those individuals from bettering themselves, as this inevitably leads to more students unable to reach their highest academic potentials. Instead, reducing the disparity in education requires systemic change to nip the problem in the bud.

School funding is one area that requires large-scale action. With ample funding, Stevenson is able to ofer several options for students to get help in their classes. The ILC and ELC tutors, along with the many teachers that have ofce hours, grant students from varying back grounds a chance to better their learning—something that students of all districts should be able to count on.

One initiative from Chicago Public Schools (CPS) attempting to create systemic change is the CPS Tutor Corps, a collection of teachers and tutors paid by CPS to ofer free tutoring to Chicago students. This program is an example of the importance of states sufciently fund ing their schools in an efort to reduce educational dis parities.

Individual actions from students—especially those with a paid education—can also help reduce the dispari ty. Stevenson’s National Honor Society has practiced the virtue of paying education forward through the Jack Lon don Middle School tutoring program held last year. Sev en Stevenson students ofered to travel to the less afuent district to ofer their support to students from diferent backgrounds. In fact, some students have taken action into their own hands. The Stevenson student-founded non-proft Math-Aid Tutoring has also worked to pro vide hundreds of hours of free private tutoring to young er students with access to fewer resources.

The ladder of education presents an intimidating chal lenge to students that aren’t able to receive help as they climb higher. The burden of change required to reduce income-based educational disparities largely relies on the funding that schools receive. But, for students with enough resources to reach the upper rungs of the ladder: pitch in by ofering a hand to peers looking to reach the same heights as you.

In A rmation

Statesman supports Afrmative Action, diversity for societalgrowth

Y our mouse hovers over the check box.

Please indicate how you identify yourself. (Select one or more) Thoughts run about leaving it blank—will the admissions ofcers have prejudices if I specify my race? But they’ll probably already assume the worst if I don’t answer, right? Any chance at getting a leg up feels tempting.

While lying on college applications isn’t a punishable crime, se vere disciplinary actions have been enacted by schools across the country. The recent Varsity Blues case, where scandal leader William “Rick” Singer encouraged non-minorities to identify as minorities, cheat on standardized testing and bribe various admission ofcers, has exposed the high-stakes, cutthroat process of college admissions in America. As applications are becoming more competitive, each part of the process is under even more scrutiny. The presence of Afrmative Action spurs us to evaluate the importance of diversity on college campuses.

Statesman encourages people to value diversity brought by Afr mative Action and to think of its impacts beyond the college admis sions process in order to rectify systemic discrimination.

Afrmative Action is a means for institutions to address injustice in society. Its roots date back to the Civil Rights Movement when universities began implementing Afrmative Action procedures in the 1960s but not without pushback.

In landmark Supreme Court cases like Fisher v. University of Texas (2016) and Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), stu dents have sued schools with varying degrees of success to eliminate the Afrmative Action process. Recently, in the case Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (2020) and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina (UNC) (2021), questions were raised about the risk of academ ic quality over student body diversity. Both the Harvard and UNC cases are set to be retried again in November of 2022.

Each of the Supreme Court’s past verdicts have continually redefned the processes of Afrmative Action. On one hand, schools can’t have racial quotas; on the other, schools can be race-conscious. Schools can’t give racial bonuses; schools can set diversity “goals.” Afrmative Action has now become a buzzword for an ambiguous notion of equity. Its original meaning has morphed away from what many believe Afrma tive Action is, which makes open debate difcult.

Since our interpretations of Afrmative Action are so di verse, our expectations for the magnitude of its impact are equally diferent. Statesman believes that regardless of the exact defnition of Afrmative Action, its overarching goal of diversifying campuses is essential for societal growth. Forbes

reports more diverse teams are more innovative by a factor of 1.7 and are better at making decisions than non-diverse counterparts 87 percent of the time. As the next generation enters the workforce, we’re left with several substantial crises to solve so diverse collabo ration is critical.

Colleges themselves, therefore, also have a duty to expose stu dents to diversity. As hubs of the world’s aspiring leaders, the variety of life experiences one acquires carries more value in admissions than scores on standardized tests.

When applicants are under a holistic review process, factors oth er than race are considered. Certainly, race isn’t and shouldn’t be the sole reason for admission. Regardless, minority students are often ostracized as “diversity admits” even though they’re adequately qual ifed. Critics of Afrmative Action believe their spot was “stolen” from them by minority students, which is not the case as many pro grams do not use a one-in-one-out approach for admissions. To day, the hyper-competitive atmosphere in high school has created a characterization of Afrmative Action as not a policy to increase diversity but rather a tool used to gain an advantage in admissions, which we must redress.

Even though recent conversations about diversity are race-cen tric, we must also be cognizant that discrimination is prevalent in

Statesmanstressesthe importanceofvaluingothers fortheirindividualities ratherthanbuyinginto racialstereotypes.

gender, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, disability and much more. Intersectionality shapes us but the extent to which it defnes us is left to ourselves and not an admissions ofcer.

Yet, completely ignoring race leaves the puzzle of identity incom plete. Nine states, including California and Michigan, have banned Afrmative Action, instead opting for a “color blind” process. How ever, since passing this proposition in California, underrepresent ed minority (URM) degree attainment has declined overall but es pecially in STEM felds as found in a 2020 study conducted by the University of California (UC), Berkeley. The proposition also has deterred thousands of qualifed URM students from applying to any UC campus. Without race-based Afrmative Action, educational institutions take a major loss in student body diversity, reversing decades of progress.

With such a drastic setback once Afrmative Action is taken away, we must create a safety net of alternative solutions to com bat systemic discrimination. Currently, conversations about diver sity are uncomfortable but that only necessitates further work to ward understanding diferent viewpoints. In the face of discomfort,

Statesman stresses the importance of valuing others for their indi vidualities rather than buying into racial stereotypes.

Stevenson’s own diversity goals include statements such as being “relentless in removing barriers to full equity, access and inclusivi ty” but are certainly not tangible without support and collaboration within the student body. We must be perceptive towards difering values and tackle the problem from its roots in order to normalize diversity.

Moreover, students can research schools and companies that em phasize diversity. Institutions often provide race and gender ratios of classes, lists of student organizations and mission statements that students can explore. By seeking opportunities to immerse oneself in a fourishing culture, we can begin to understand the diferent educational experiences that Afrmative Action upholds.

While it is our hope institutions become naturally diverse and we no longer need Afrmative Action, we may still be decades away from it. Until our colleges and universities are truly representative of the American experience, we must actively work to foster diverse environments and continue to fght the impending prejudices.

Cartoon By Nicole Yao

Stafers review Halloween movies for upcoming the spooky season

Kashvi Nagpal, Camden Wright

Some movies are considered “clas sics” for a reason. An ’80s block buster about a group of reject scientists turned ghost hunters probably wouldn’t blow the tops of box ofce sales or food the streets with eager audiences nowadays, but that’s why Ghostbusters is the epitome of classic movie perfection. It contains all the memorable and nos talgic moments synonymous with classic movies while also retaining its entertain ment value for modern audiences. Being one of the original, cheesy Halloween movies, it won’t wow you with its cin ematography or special efects nor will it make you cry with its heart-wrench ing storyline, but for a movie released in 1984, it’s defnitely worth seeking out in your “nearest parallel dimension.”

In a fctional New York City plagued by the supernatural, enter the name sake group to banish the blight. The Ghostbusters, composed of discredited scientists Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), emerge at the perfect time to fll the role of occult exterminators. As a new found paranormal presence rises, the Ghostbusters, subsequently joined by newcomer Winston Zeddeman (Ernie Hudson), rush toward certain doom. They fght unfathomable horrors and a disgruntled Environmental Protection Agency employee (William Atherton) along the way, fnally facing their great est challenge yet at an end of the world showdown as everyone’s soft and tasty friend, the Stay Puft marshmallow man, becomes the vessel of their demise.

Championed by titles such as Robo Cop, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and ET, the ’80s have a plethora of movie options for classically inclined connois

seurs or family movie nights. Despite the popularity of such titles, Ghostbusters quickly emerged as a stand-out favorite upon release, breaking records as the highest-grossing comedy of all time until the acclaimed Home Alone in 1990.

It must be said that, like most clas sics, Ghostbusters does have its fair share of pain points for modern audiences. The humor is often outdated: the pop culture references to work-out videos, Poison and the like aren’t exactly “in” anymore, and to say that the CGI and special efects are a relic of their time would be an understatement; the bring er of destruction guard dogs are sig nifcantly less scary when they bounce around with the animation quality of the DVD loading screen. Howev er, if you can get past some of the vi sual struggles the movie is genuinely a joy to watch. It’s not gut-wrenching nor thrilling, but it doesn’t have to be!

The often ad-libbed lines from the former Second City Stars are endlessly hilarious despite be ing a little behind the times, and the constant fow of pseudosci ence and history they push with full confdence about ghosts and ancient gods only adds to the experience.

If you’re looking for a masterclass on modern movie writ ing and cinematog raphy, skip this one. However, if you’re looking for a fun movie night for the whole family during the Halloween sea son, why not enjoy

Read another review for the acclaimed Hotel Transylvania on the Statesman website!

some good old-fashioned Ghostbusters? If you still have any doubts, take a page out of Dr. Venkman’s book and ask, “why worry.” It’s monsters and unlicensed nu clear reactors, how could it not be fun?

ëñgïñëërïñg çhåñgë

Students,

Fiona Jin Anika Krishnaswamy Kelly Liu

Shannon Moser Aaroh Tak

discuss

r ylie Pryor ’24 takes a deep breath before entering her Geometry Honors class, preparing herself for fve hours of Stevenson’s only Hon ors-level summer course. Pryor decided to take Geometry Honors over the sum mer and move directly from Biology Ac celerated to AP Physics 1—forgoing the traditional intermediary of Chemistry Accelerated—to take the advanced sci ence and math courses she needs as an aspiring engineer. Unfortunately, level changes haven’t come without stress.

As a mixed-race Black woman, Pryor faces numerous barriers in science, tech nology, engineering and math (STEM). Pew Research Center reports that 50 percent of women in STEM careers ex perience gender-based workplace dis crimination versus just 19 percent of male STEM workers. Pryor believes that even at Stevenson, male students receive a level of acceptance in STEM classes that most women do not.

“If you fail, everyone knows and it’s over,” Pryor said. “A big reason that a lot of girls won’t even attempt entering STEM is because everyone fails, but if a woman fails, everyone expects it and

and race-based disparities in STEM education

they’re doing exactly what people think.”

For Pryor, these expectations are re afrmed by the demographics of her Engineering Design and Development Honors class, where she is one of only six female students in a class of 26. Math Team Ofcer Katherine Li ’23 had simi lar experiences during her time in Calcu lus 3 and AP Physics C, describing these disparities as common in upper-level STEM classes as well as extracurriculars.

“There’s this competition called M3 Math Modeling, and last year the team was all male,” Li said. “For me, I felt I wouldn’t be qualifed enough, so I didn’t apply for it, and other people might feel that way as well—it’s always all males in big competitions, so female students might think they don’t have a chance.”

Li believes that the tendency students have to group with peers of the same gender results in a sense of isolation for the already small number of female stu dents in difcult STEM programs, often leading to a lack of confdence. These disparities continue on into the work force. In 2019, MIT Women in Mathe matics reported that women comprise just 25.5 percent of those employed in

“Computer and Mathematical Occupa tions” despite making up 46.8 percent of the United States workforce. In addi tion to isolation, Li says that women in STEM in the Stevenson community also grapple with microaggressions from their mostly male peer group.

“Some of my male friends will some times imply that since I’m a girl, it’s eas ier to get into certain programs, which sometimes does make me feel a little worse about my accomplishments,” Li said. “In order to close the gender gap, females are often given more opportuni ties, and sometimes males perceive that as us having an advantage over them.”

According to Li, larger academic competitions that have separate girls’ and boys’ teams, like the International Olympiad in Informatics, can also con tribute to the devaluing of female com petitors. However, she maintains that much of the blame still goes to the lack of female representation in these felds.

To combat gender inequities within Stevenson, Aayush Kashyap ’23, Com puter Science Club Co-President, has been working with other student orga nizations to expand the female member

ship of the otherwsie male-dominated club.

“We’ve talked a little bit about how to incorporate more girls [into Computer Science Club],” Kashyap said. “We have collaborated more with Girls in STEAM for the [annual] Hackathon to plan the whole thing and execute it, and so far we defnitely have a lot more female in volvement.”

For longer-lasting change, Kashyap emphasizes encouraging girls to enter STEM early on as an important step to ward bridging education disparities. Ac cording to the MIT Science Policy Re view, the Girls Who Code organization found that by ofering a constant fow of enrichment opportunities for girls as young as six, the proportion of partici pants studying computer science in col lege was 15 to 16 times the national av erage. Pryor agrees with this, saying that growing up so close to the engineering industry through her father, as well as support from her family, have been piv otal towards her pursuits in STEM.

“My parents have always been the ones backing me up to take the harder classes, especially my dad,” Pryor said. “I wanted to take something else, but my dad was like, ‘Maybe you should take an engineering class,’ so I have him to thank for that.”

Despite her parents’ consistent sup port, Pryor feels discouraged when she thinks her teachers fail to realize their unconscious biases. To combat this, Ryan Fedewa, an AP Physics C teacher, recommends constant encouragement of students’ abilities as an important step toward resolving the disparities in STEM education.

“Starting in junior high, our soci ety seems to devalue the mathematical abilities and participation of women in math-based sciences,” Fedewa said. “That sense of belonging, the under standing that success is not linear and that every single student has their own journey to get to success, has been some thing that we’re really trying to make sure every student knows when they’re

coming into AP Physics 1, Physics 2 and Physics C.”

In the short-term, Fedewa advocates that teachers should highlight the acces sibility of Stevenson’s tutoring program resources to all students to help close the gap in “belonging.” On a larger scale, he explains that Stevenson and many other schools have been trying to bridge the gap in representation with the demo graphics of faculty, noting that both of his colleagues in the Physics C depart ment are women.

According to Fedewa, the adminis tration’s hope is that students will feel more comfortable if they see themselves refected in their teachers. However, according to career database Zippia, as of 2019 only 17.8 percent of all sci ence teachers nationwide were Black or Hispanic.

Stevenson’s current science depart ment faculty has zero teachers who iden tify as either Black or Hispanic, a fact that Erik Rodriguez ’25 says has been very discouraging. Rodriguez is a sec ond-generation Mexican-American and frst-generation college student current ly applying for an internship at North western’s Lake Forest Hospital, with the goal to eventually become a healthcare professional. While exploring his inter ests, however, Rodriguez feels that some teachers may be unaware of their own unconscious racial biases.

“[It’s only] when I start doing well in their class, and I would consider myself pretty smart, [that] they start actually treating me like an adult or someone my age,” Rodriguez said.

www.statesmanshs.org

/* everyone fails, but if a woman fails, it’s expected. she’s just doing exactly what people think. */

rylie pryor ’24 aspiring aerospace engineer

on back

Rodriguez adds that several of his fellow Hispanic peers have had similar experi ences with teachers or peers underes timating their capabilities, attributing some of the microaggressions at Steven son to its limited diversity. According to the Illinois Report Card, Black and Hispanic students constitute 16.6 and 27 percent of the Illinois student body, respectively, whereas 1.9 percent of Ste venson students identify as Black and 8.1 percent as Hispanic.

Although Rodriguez does not fault Stevenson for its demographics, he nev ertheless feels that the school should be doing more to cater toward its under represented minority population. Fede wa explains that although Stevenson has ways to support all its students, in his experience minority students often have more difculty accessing them.

“There is a feeling that for underrep resented students, learning has to be in dependent; it has to be their efort, and if there’s something that doesn’t go well, that failure is 100 percent refected upon them,” Fedewa said. “Whereas, coming

from a place of privilege, I never had to work to fnd a support system.”

While some teachers may be aware of the discouragement faced by underrep resented students in STEM, Pryor also acknowledges the discouragement she has faced from people of her own racial background. Pryor admits that she feels deterred from achieving her goals by her experiences with both the Stevenson and Black communities.

“There have been expectations by Black people on Black people, like ‘You’re not going to do anything special,’ or ‘You’re going to be just like us because you take from the community and you give back to it—you’re not going to ex ceed or do anything that’s been diferent or bigger than anyone else,’” Pryor said.

Rodriguez has also experienced reac tions of surprise from his peers, explain ing that even his friends of similar eth nic background are sometimes shocked by his ambitions. Excelencia in Educa tion reports that 44 percent of Hispanic students do not have a family member with a college degree, the most of any

racial or ethnic group, and only 16 per cent will major in STEM.

“All we (Hispanic children of immi grants at Stevenson) know is our par ents worked in small villages, in farms and ranches—at least where I’m from, and where a lot of my Hispanic friends come from,” Rodriguez said. “It is shock ing to people when all they know about their family is farm work and labor, and then a second-generation kid like me is working toward a STEM career.”

In the battle against stereotypes, Ro driguez stresses the importance of op portunities like the Stevenson to Col lege program, which helps minority and frst-generation college students navi gate the admissions process by ofering resources such as scholarships to help level the playing feld. Fedewa adds that the administration has recently been discussing new ways to minimize ineq uities through increasing the accessibili ty of STEM classes.

“The administration is trying to re structure how students take core science classes, and then look at making courses available to students more quickly,” Fed ewa said. “We want teachers and coun selors making sure students know what their options are when choosing their courses and encouraging them to try to look for courses more in line with their interests and future career goals.”

Though the administration is work ing to promote the availability of STEM course oferings, minority students emphasize the need for students to be motivated to take those classes in the frst place. Students like Pryor and Ro driguez advocate for representation in leadership positions as a way to help bridge both gender and race disparities in STEM. They emphasize that break ing down barriers to STEM must be gin during childhood, when students can explore their interests with support from peers, family and teachers.

“My hope is that younger genera tions will have role models that look like them, and they will be able to look up to those kinds of people and realize that they can make their dreams come true,” Rodriguez said.

/* my hope is that younger generations will have role models that look like them so they realize their dreams can come true.

rodriguez ’25

healthcare professional

Nick Corso

Roberts

Aayushi Wadhawan

A s Emily Aguirre ’23 discussed her future plans with her white neigh bor, she was taken aback by a be littling comment. Despite the hard work Aguirre puts into school by maintaining good grades and taking AP classes, her neighbor assumed she would be admitted to a good college simply because she is a Latina woman.

This assumption was a result of Afrma tive Action, a race-conscious efort intend ed to give underrepresented minorities more equitable opportunities and to build diverse student bodies. However, Afrma tive Action has been a source of contro versy for many years, especially in college admissions.

Supporters of Afrmative Action argue it is essential to fx the long-lasting racial inequity in the educational system, while opponents argue individuals should be evaluated solely on merit. While Aguirre acknowledges there are faws, she believes that Afrmative Action benefts marginal ized groups who don’t have equal access to resources.

“I feel like Afrmative Action will in crease your chances of [having] equal [op portunities in education],” Aguirre said. “Luckily, I’m in a place like Stevenson where I have access to [opportunities], but some minority groups tend to not have as many equal opportunities such as a better education.”

Though Afrmative Action is meant to provide support for marginalized groups, some believe that it creates an unfair ad vantage. On Oct. 31, the Supreme Court will review two lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) made by Students for Fair Admissions, an anti-Afrmative Action group.

The case against Harvard argues that the university discriminates against Asian-American students by assigning them lower ratings on subjective standards such as likeability and leadership, while automatically giving preference to Black and Hispanic applicants. Similarly, the case against UNC argues that the university gives admission preference to Black, His panic and Native Americans while discrim inating against White and Asian applicants. Although the idea of whether Afrmative

Action provides an unfair advantage to certain groups is debated, Aguirre believes that the purpose of Afrmative Action is misunderstood.

“I feel like Afrmative Action is set to level the playing feld, but people act like it’s implemented to give [certain groups] a higher ground,” Aguirre said.

Despite the eforts to make the educa tional system equal, there are still gaps be tween how applicants are viewed by higher institutions. Asian-American student Sean Kingston ’23* acknowledges that Afrma tive Action can make college admissions more challenging for Asian-Americans, but he maintains that the academic efort he has made in high school will hold more value in applications than his race.

“[As an Asian-American], the college process is designed against you, and I don’t think that’s necessarily an incorrect state ment,” Kingston said. “At the end of the day, [though], it just comes down to what you’ve been able to accomplish as a high school student. I think the competition [to perform well academically] pushes me to keep up with my peers rather than the stress of what my race means in the admis sions process.”

can Psychological Association, although 51 percent of students of low socioeconom ic statuses are enrolling in postsecondary institutions, only 25 percent graduate, in contrast to 90 percent of students in higher socioeconomic statuses.

Kingston believes that making Afrma tive Action based on socioeconomic status allows race to be eliminated as an admis sion factor, improving equity between rac es to sustain a competitive, yet balanced process. Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Dr. LeViis Haney, agrees with Kingston that Afrmative Action policies often fail to efectively remediate past and current discrimination.

“I understand the intention of Afrma tive Action, and I am glad for those who are able to take advantage of it, but I never re ally liked it as a blanket solution to remedy past wrongs,” Haney said. “Instead, we need to focus on how we prepare our spaces for true inclusion. We’re at the point where we are the most diverse we’ve ever been in the entire history of our country, and that is going to continue to be a reality.”

Aguirre agrees with Haney’s sentiment on the value of diversity for all institutions, regardless of whether Afrmative Action is needed to achieve it. Haney believes that increasing diversity is the responsibility of both public ofcials and members in the community.

Kingston understands the benefts of Af frmative Action for disadvantaged groups, but he believes that Afrmative Action policies need to be refned. He believes that other factors of an individual’s background should be considered rather than their ra cial identity.

“Afrmative Action shouldn’t necessari ly be based on race,” Kingston said. “Obvi ously, there is systemic racism in America, and we should try and address it, but I think in the case of Afrmative Action, it should be based on socioeconomic status. [It is] the biggest limiting factor in terms of what people [can] achieve and what resources people have access to.”

Socioeconomic status can prove to be a barrier for students pursuing educational opportunities. According to the Ameri

“Leaders should have a series of con versations on how we should remedy past wrongs so that there’s true equity in our country, especially with all the diverse groups we have,” Haney said. “It’s going to take more education in order for people to have the opportunity to learn from each other and to understand that there are dif ferences in each culture.”

With a more conscious efort to learn from one another, recognize biases and ac knowlede past wrongs, Haney is confdent that society will be closer to true equity. Aguirre agrees that increased diversity in institutions often provides students with more opportunities to enrich their learn ing experience by interacting with others of diferent backgrounds.

“You might have a diferent perspective than me, but together we can learn from each other and about our diferent beliefs,” Aguirre said. “Having these conversations are necessary and they will help with diver sity.”

*Name changed to protect anonymity

“I understand the intention of AffIrmAtive action but I never really liked it as a blanket solution to remedy past wrongs.”

Dr. LeViis Haney

Afrmative

LANGUAGES of SUCCESS

Students adapt to new learning environment through English Language Development program

TEj kosaraju, jacob silverman, vivian zhu

Tucked in a corner of the QLC, Esther Perez ’23 re views for her AP classes, feeling the pressure that comes with a demanding schedule. She anticipates a long night ahead, especially since she will need to spend more time reading and comprehending her work than other students.

Just before her freshman year, Perez immigrated to the United States from Mexico and entered an unfamiliar educa tion system with minimal fuency in English. Perez was part of the current 4 percent of students considered multilingual learners at Stevenson. Many are recent immigrants and take supplemental English classes under the English Language Development (ELD) program to navigate cultural and lan guage-based obstacles.

Since most courses at Stevenson are taught in English, many multilingual learners encounter communication bar riers when listening to lectures and completing homework. Difering educational environments also pose a problem.

“Back in Mexico, I didn’t feel any academic pressure at all, but when I got here, I realized that everyone is trying their best to stand out, and I need to catch up,” Perez said.

In order to facilitate students’ transition to Stevenson, the ELD program provides students with “push-in” tutors who specialize in explaining content to non-native English speakers. According to Director of Multilingual Learning Justin Fisk, tutors collaborate with around six ELD students in each class and communicate with teachers to address any gaps in students’ knowledge.

The knowledge and resourcefulness of tutors helped Perez overcome communication divides in certain classes. However, since the ELD program must accommodate stu dents’ academic abilities, the availability of tutors depends on a course’s difculty and popularity.

“During my freshman year, there were push-in tutors in my biology class, and they were helpful because they walked me through each problem, but I already knew the content so I was reviewing,” Perez said. “On the other hand, not many ELD students take business classes their frst year, so there were no push-in tutors in Intro to Business. I had to brace myself, and it was like, ‘I’m a little lost here.’”

The challenges Perez experienced in her frst business class were magnifed when she started taking AP classes. ELD students are nearly half as likely to take an AP class in comparison to non-ELD students.

In addition to the language barriers an ELD student may face while taking advanced courses, Perez said that some ELD students do not take AP courses in high school because they are planning to return to their home country where college credit earned through the AP system may not apply.

Additionally, Perez’s experiences in her frst AP class

initially discouraged her from pursuing similar courses.

“It felt like everyone already knew the topics I was learning for the very frst time,” Perez said. “There are no ELD tutors in AP classes so I had to visit the school tutors and my teacher frequently outside of class.”

In a school where approximately 55 percent of students are taking college-level classes—consisting of AP, dual credit and honors courses— both Perez and Yimi Liu ’23 felt pressured to distinguish themselves in a competitive atmosphere. Liu, who transferred to Stevenson during the end of her sophomore year, found it difcult to adjust to a new academic environ ment without a tutor who spoke the same language.

“When I frst moved here and I was still in the ELD pro gram, I felt like having a Mandarin speaker to help me trans late would have been really helpful, especially in history or En glish classes when I didn’t always understand what the teacher was saying,” Liu said.

Students in the ELD program speak over 20 diferent lan guages. While tutors work individually with students in order to explain class material, Fisk acknowledges that they lack tu tors that can communicate in some of these languages.

“We don’t currently have a tutor for all the languages that we want to support,” Fisk said. “Many of our tutors speak Spanish, but we defnitely want to target other languages as well.”

Although Liu did not have access to a tutor who spoke Man darin, she and Perez both attribute their eventual success in rigorous courses to the sense of community the ELD program fosters, which enabled them to adapt more quickly to student life at Stevenson. Perez’s experiences eventually led her to ex pand Friends International, a club composed of multicultural students, in order to create a more inclusive environment for ELD and non-ELD students alike.

“Friends International was founded many years before I got to high school, but it wasn’t well-known because it was tar geted to ELD students,” Perez said. “Last year, as president, I wanted more people to know about this club so we could make more connections between ELD and other students.”

Friends International was originally created to polish ELD students’ interpersonal and communication skills. By expand ing the club to include a greater variety of students, Perez continues to support multicultural collaboration in order to facilitate ELD students’ transition to Stevenson.

“The ELD program really helped me connect with other students that are going through the same situation,” Perez said. “Before I went into ELD, I never met any people that were not my ethnicity or culture. The ELD program helped us communicate and form bonds.”

by the numbers

31% 55%

of current ELD students take college-level courses of all students take college-level courses

of students are in the ELD program

of students in Illinois take an ELD program

passing rate from ELD program

languages spoken at Stevenson

ESTHER PEREZ ’23 PRESIDENT OF FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL

The ELD program really helped me connect with other students that are going through the same situation.

“

FRESH ON THE FIELD

Freshmen share their experience on varsity teams

A s freshmen made their way up the bleachers on Sept. 30 to watch their frst Homecoming football game, one player on the feld stood out from the rest. Caden An ’26, the only freshman on the varsity team, warmed up on the feld, surrounded by athletes older than him.

Only a handful of Stevenson fresh men are selected to participate at the varsity level each athletic season. In or der to qualify, they are expected to bal ance both developed physical skills and a strong mentality.

Due to these high expectations, many freshmen fnd it difcult to adjust to being the youngest player on the team. However, An fnds that the supportive nature of the team helps foster men torship between the older and younger players.

“Even if I mess up in practice, they’re always supportive,” An said. “After a loss, they ask, ‘what can we do better?’ They’re never negative; they never hang their heads.”

Similarly, Nisha Musunuri ’25, who played on the varsity girls’ basketball team as a freshman, adds that the men torship she received from older players as a freshman has developed into gen uine bonds with her teammates. As the season progressed, she found that the shared experiences connected the team.

“We’ve gotten a lot closer,” Musunuri

said. “I feel like last year everyone was in their own little circles, but now ev eryone’s more unifed. Competing at the state level brought us all together.”

Musunuri expands that the upper classmen on her team would often check in with her after games and practices to ofer encouragement. While Musunuri has only experienced playing on the var sity basketball team, An notes the difer ences between the freshman and varsity football teams as a kicker on both.

“The team dynamic is diferent be cause the freshmen players are younger and less mature,” An said. “I think being on a team with older players and being on both teams is a good balance.”

An observes that the diference in team dynamic is also created through diferent levels of maturity and unique mentalities between teams. When she frst began playing on varsity, Musunuri had to work on building her confdence as a player to prevent a negative mind set from getting in the way of her per formance. Ashley Graham, the varsity girls’ basketball coach, considers mental strength to be one of the most important factors in determining whether or not a player is ft to be on varsity.

“You have to see, talk and get to know [the players] throughout summer bas ketball and preseason to see if they have that mental fortitude,” Graham said. “We don’t just look at the physical skills, but if mentally they can handle a varsity sport.”

Graham believes that with the dif ferent, and often higher, expectations put on varsity athletes, they must be able to balance pressure from coaches, teammates, parents and spectators on the court. In An’s experience as the sole kicker on the team, he feels there is more responsibility put on him as a player to meet his and his team’s expectations.

“Because I am a freshman on the team, people think I’m some superstar,” An said. “So I have to show up, especially in my position because it’s just me.”

Photo courtesy of Elan Gurevich ’24

Surya Sethi, Ananya Tak

“When you get to the varsity level, you can’t let [the pressure] get to you because there’s no time for that. When you’re playing on the court, you have to be conFfIdent.”

Nisha Musunuri

Athletes see coaches’ mentorship extended beyond sports

Timothy Bui, Katya Dubinin, Collin Fan

Varsity girls’ volleyball team captain Abby Minin ’23 glances at the score board: 25-24. The pressure is on—a two-point advantage will determine the winner of this match. In order to get his players in the zone, head coach Timothy Crow blows his whistle for a timeout.

In the span of 30 seconds, Crow re evaluates the team’s plays and commu nication, reminding his players to em brace the moment with confdence as they head back to the court. As the ball sails over the net onto her team’s side, Minin is confdent her team will walk away from the court with victory in their hands.

From sophomore to senior year, Minin has played on the volleyball team under Crow’s mentorship. Like other athletes, her coach’s advice during prac tices and games has carried over into her life both inside and out of the volleyball court.

“Something that really stuck with me that Crow said is the idea that wheth er it’s the playofs or just a conference

COACHING OFF-COURT sports

game, pressure is a privilege,” Minin said. “I think I’ve carried a little bit of that with me into everything I do, such as standardized testing, which is a really high stakes moment for a lot of us.”

Along with giving advice on topics from academics to socialization, coaches play a role in encour aging wellness practices in an athlete’s daily life. With a busy game schedule this season, Crow has set practices to end earlier so that players have time to stretch and decompress—a decision Minin believes has helped to in still self-care habits in life of the court.

“This season, Crow has really checked in with us about how we’re doing,” Minin said. “The coaches show that they want us to take care of ourselves even if it’s not part of our routine on our own.”

Minin says her connection with Crow has strengthened over her years on the

Coach Timothy Crow and the varsity girls’ volleyball team do their team chant at the end of a timeout. By expressing a composed attitude, Crow keeps his team calm and focused during games.

Varsity football head coach

Brent Becker meets with his team during a game. Becker communicates with his large team by relaying feedback and advice through student leaders.

team. Now as a senior and captain, she works closely with him to relay expec tations and values to younger players. Underclassmen like Anastasia Bunescu ’25—who plays on the sophomore vol leyball team under head coach Sydney Hendricks—also believes coaches teach lessons applicable to both the sport and to daily life.

“Hendricks was trying to teach us that a lot of the time you ha e to break stuf down in order to fnally et it ri ht in the end,” Bunescu said. “We’ve done dif ferent drills for smaller parts of certain things that we need to do.”

By playing on a relatively small team, Bunescu has more interactions with her head coach than do athletes in larger teams, who often work with trainingspecifc coaches. arsity football team “huddle leader” Remy Herrejon ’23 meets often with head coach Brent Becker to relay goals to other players, but he explains that many younger athletes often end up closer to their trainingspecifc coach instead of ecker.

“At least for football, there’s so many players that it’s so hard for one coach to personally have a good bond with all of these guys,” Herrejon said. “For most of the guys on the team, their relation ship with Becker is not as prominent.”

Becker explains that his close bonds with the “huddle leaders” were built up from years of daily interactions— connections that are less prominent with the underclassmen on his team. With 92 out of 213 coaches fully employed as teachers and staf at te enson coaches

like Becker, who teaches in the physical education department, often strengthen their bonds with athletes in classes or in the hallways.

“If you spend time with a student all year long, you can really get to know them,” Becker said. “They can get to know us and know what we’re all about, and we’ll try to be the right role model for them.”

After their athletes graduate, coaches often share their contact information and occasionally meet up with their for mer athletes to stay connected. Becker enjoys following his athletes’ progress as they move on to college athletics and beyond.

“I have former athletes and players that I coached in 1999 that I still stay in touch with on a pretty regular basis,” Becker said. “If you’re really good at what you do, and you develop relation ships with students, you get to see how they grow up.”

According to Becker, building trust through creating personal connections with players re ects in better perfor mance on the feld. Minin adds that an encouraging community helps ensure each player has a contributing role to the team’s success—a principle she always strives to maintain.

“It’s leadership positions in clubs or extracurriculars, or even just in the classroom setting, that should make everyone feel like they have something to brin to the table Minin said. try to carry that into other aspects of my life just fndin ways to make every individual feel valued, while also promoting a culture that really celebrates community.”

If you spend time with a student all year long, you can really get to know them.

Varsity football coach Brent Becker

Club SportS:

Pain or gain?

Samantha Lerner, Lillian Zhou

After a long day of school and hours of grueling practice, the immense amount of schoolwork waiting for an athlete hits hard. Despite the huge commitment, many student athletes still choose to play club sports of-season, which requires continuous sacrifce in terms of time, money and mental well-be ing.

One major struggle for athletes in club sports is the demand ing schedule and time commitment. Club sports require multiple practices per week and games in diferent states, with some tour naments even causing students to miss school. This detracts from the time students have to be with friends, pursue other passions, complete schoolwork and even sleep.

Additionally, club sports are often very competitive, which can lead to toxicity within the team. Many athletes play of-season in hopes of receiving recruitment ofers from colleges; yet, according to the NCAA, only seven percent of high school athletes continue to play in college. Because of this, many students feel the need to outperform their teammates, impacting the way the team func tions.

Expenses are another discouraging factor of playing club sports. Many clubs cost thousands of dollars each season—a big concern for some athletes and their families. For example, Sports Performance Volleyball, a highly ranked and competitive club, costs upwards of $12,000 per season, not including jerseys, equip ment or travel expenses per a current member.

Rather than committing so much time and efort toward a sin gle club sport, some coaches suggest alternatives such as going to the gym and eating healthy, since playing of-season doesn’t nec essarily guarantee a spot on the sports team.

The time and fnancial commitments of club sports place a lot of unnecessary pressure on student athletes to do well at games for college scouts on top of academics. Having to allocate time for ev erything while staying physically and mentally ft is overwhelm ing and not worth the cost.

Average chance of NCAA recruitment

All athletes know the pride, joy and sense of accomplishment that comes after making a great pass to a teammate or scoring the game-winning point. The exhilarating feeling of stepping onto the court, surrounded by people you trust and playing a sport you love is unlike any other. Playing a club sport can help form important friendships, improve skills and fuel an athlete’s passion for their sport.

Through participating in club sports, athletes form strong rela tionships with their teammates and coaches during the countless hours they spend together. Playing together to accomplish some thing—like winning a championship—helps athletes form bonds with each other.

Club sports also expose athletes to many useful skills that they can apply to other aspects of their lives such as leadership, people-skills and time-management. Playing on a team means working with dif ferent types of people and learning how to motivate them. Athletes need to dedicate a signifcant amount of time to club sports, but it also teaches them how to balance a heavy workload.

During the high school season, athletes have practice everyday and play games throughout the week. Once that ends, students don’t have a chance to build their skills until the next season. By choosing to play during the of season, athletes gain extra practice and game experience.

Staying adept during the of season pays of, playing a club sport can also heighten an athlete’s chances at playing in college. According to the NCAA, 90 percent of student athletes who compete at a college level played for a club team during the recruiting process.

Time, dedication and repetition are necessary for athletes to improve. Rather than staying home and watching Netfix, dedicated athletes that play club sports are staying active and refning their skills. As an athlete consistently devotes their time to a sport, their passion for the sport also grows, which in the end is what really matters.

I started playing club soccer because my dad wanted me to, but as I played more and more I realized I wasn’t doing it for my dad and that I actually really liked the sport.

Zuppardo

coach Christopher Mural speaks with Andrew Chamkin ’23 as he sets up his

rod while Lucas Basczek ’23 handles bait and tackle. Teams often spend time before the tournament preparing and checking equipment.

team waves as

drive their boat into Fox Lake at

Lakes tournament.

members

Stevenson’s bass

team won

place with

catch

pounds

8 ounces.

captain Michael Berger and Baszeck (left to right) ensure that their boat is properly backed into Fox Lake at the start of the Chain O’ Lakes tournament. The tournament saw over 61 teams participate.

John Wall ’24 shows of his catches after practice. The bass fshing team practices at the Chain O’ Lakes State Park and the Stevenson pond to prepare for tournaments.

of the bass fshing team carry fshing rods to their boats. Mural’s coaching led the team to become second place team of the year in the llinois Coaches and Student State Tournament series.

Gaurish Lakhanpal Brayden Caldwell