TALISMAN VOLUME 102 ISSUE 3
JANUARY 24, 2020
ballardtalisman.org
‘HOW’S SCHOOL?’ Students and faculty review BHS p.10
JAM THE DAM p. 7
STUDENT CLOTHING BRAND p. 13
DON’T WATCH CATS p. 15
02 EDITORIAL
ballardtally@gmail.com
Mission Statement
The Ballard Talisman is an open public forum for student expression, and exists to give a student perspective on issues relating to the Ballard student body and community. Please send signed letters with author’s name, class or position (e.g. parent, student, teacher, etc.) to the editor.
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
THE PRICE OF PARTICIPATION
Advertising Policy
The Ballard Talisman reserves the right to refuse any advertisement deemed unacceptable for publication. The Talisman does not run illegal, libelous, or otherwise inappropriate advertisements. If you are interested in placing an ad, e-mail us at ballardtally@gmail.com.
Letters to the Editor
Letters submitted must be signed. Though, in some cases, the author’s name may not have to be printed. There is a 500 word maximum. Anything longer may be submitted as a guest article, subject to being edited for length. Letter will appear on the editorial page.
Editorials
Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the staff editorial board.
Disclaimer
The staff reserves the right to refuse or edit editorials and letters for libelous content, obscenity or material considered inappropriate for publication. The Talisman staff is aware of sound journalistic practice found in the ‘Code of Ethics,’ as part of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Corrections
A photo of TuesD Chambers on page 6 was miscredited to Skye McDonald. Zev GoldenZagorski took the photo.
Style Deviation
Contrary to the AP Stylebook, the Talisman editorial board has decided to capitalize Black, Brown and White.
Cover art by Ian Davino
I
n a school where the student body is as affluent as our own, the average student won’t stop to ponder the everyday costs associated with participation. Our school is more privileged than we often care to admit and it’s evident in the nonchalance with which we regard student financial strain. Consider, for example, the upcoming Winter Ball, students across the board are encouraged to participate, yet tickets can run up to $35 per person. School dances are intended to be celebrations that bring the student body together, but the high price alienates key demographics. Even more so than dances, students are encouraged to attend sports games and cheer on the athletes, but the price tag still stands in the way. One football ticket costs $6 — hard to elicit a vexed reaction from this price, but for students trying to be as spirited as possible, the numbers start to add up. Of course, there are opportunities for price reductions in the form of an ASB card, but these are tagged at $35 and are a mandatory expense for anyone seeking to take part in sports or music programs at school. The high price tag limits people from participating in all that our school has to offer. For a school that’s identity is based in its community, our failure to include all students aside from socioeconomic status represents a failure of much more. The schism that forms as a result of this socioeconomic divide perpetuates much deeper divides within our community
that draws from typically affluent areas. another capitalist industry. Corporations Centering pricing decisions around like Herff Jones have traded the legitimate the students that are more “well-off” sentimentality of this life change away in financially may seem reflective of our favor of marketing big celebrations and majority population but it ignores the nostalgic trinkets. needs of other students who fall by the Though it is possible for students wayside. to get scholarships to cover the cost of The issue of high costs involves much graduation materials, the opportunities are more than just dances and games: there few and far between and are by no means is an inherent problem with graduation advertised at a high enough rate. and all that encompasses. Seniors each But these scholarships are beside year have to pay exorbitant amounts of the point, graduation and any other money to walk across the podium clad school participation ought not to be in red gowns, and those who can’t pay cost-prohibitive, it alienates members are prevented from participating in the of our community that are already too graduation ceremony. oft forgot, and it destroys the unification The “complete package” that Herff of the community on which our school Jones offers for graduation — which supposedly stands. includes the cap, gown, graduation announcement, and other assorted memorabilia — costs $279, and the “essential package” is priced just $72 cheaper at $206.95. Editors-in-Chief Staff To get only the Ian Davino Editor-in-Chief Sam Rainville Staff Artist cap and gown with Piper Sloan Editor-in-Chief Peter Brown Staff Reporter nothing else it costs Eli Campbell Staff Reporter $49.95, add to Adria Cooper Staff Reporter Editorial Board Frances Kleinsmith Staff Reporter that sales tax and Tess Petrillo News Editor handling fees and Alex Montes Staff Reporter Paige Anderson Sports Editor Christian Moran Staff Reporter the cheapest option Samantha Swainson Features Editor Lukas Ramakrishnan Staff Reporter is still over $64. Elliot Armitage A&E Editor Brett Richter Staff Reporter Idealistic Dhani Srinivasan Opinions Editor Will Shepard Staff Reporter perceptions Hannah Weaver Copy Editor Zev Golden-Zagorski Staff Photographer Skye McDonald Photo Editor of graduation Lila Gill Business Manager ceremonies Adviser have turned this Michael Smith milestone into yet
03
NEWS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtally@gmail.com
Iran and other buzz words Death of Iranian general sparks conflict Piper Sloan Co-Editor-in-Chief
U.S. President Donald J. Trump
O
n Jan. 3 of this year, US military forces assassinated Iran’s top security and intelligence commander General Qasem Soleimani, quickly escalating the conflict between the two nations. Although it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact start date of the conflict between these two nations, tension has existed for well over 60 years. While early conflict is often attributed to foreign occupation and competition over resources, recent issues have been much more centered around
competing nuclear arsenals and military capacity. Over the past two years, both countries have reduced their commitments to the UN Nuclear Deal — President Trump having quit the deal entirely — and each tied the other to terrorism in one form or another. With tensions already high, the decision to assassinate Soleimani marked an unprecedented spike in conflict. The drone strike, which killed several Iraqi military officials alongside Soleimani, elicited a violent response from Iran, which took shape of firing missiles at Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops. Although nobody was killed in this attack, (an intentional move by Iranian forces) it brought about notions of an impending war. The conflict has since de-escalated, though tensions remain high, and the two countries have pulled back from the brink of war, but that hasn’t slowed the outpour of memes joking about an impending WWIII and U.S. draft. The widespread circulation of these memes, hyperbolic and factually inaccurate by nature, has somewhat overshadowed the discussion and legitimate details of the conflict, leaving a wake of
confusion and uncertainty behind them. So what actually happened? And where do we really stand?
Iranian General Quasem Soleimani
Jan. 2020 timeline of American-Irianian conflict JAN.
3
JAN.
7
Assassination of General Qasem Soleimani
Iran bombing of US Iraqi bases in retaliation
resident Trump ordered a drone missile strike on General Qasem Soleimani. The top Iranian general was assassinated alongside several Iraqi military officials outside the Baghdad International Airport, a move that was previously avoided by former presidents for fear that it was too provocative. Trump proclaimed that this attack was necessary to prevent “imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel” that Soleimani was reportedly plotting. The attack outraged Iranian officials, who vowed retaliation against U.S. forces. Major General Hossein Dehghan, the military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, was quoted in a CNN interview telling reporters that they planned to retaliate directly against U.S. “military sites.”
ltimately, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at Iraqi bases currently being used to house American troops. Although the attack reportedly involved over 20 ballistic missiles there were no American or Iraqi casualties. General Amir Hatami, Iranian defense minister, explained in a statement given to the press that “the [U.S.] knew our revenge was coming, so they had made some preparations.” These preparations prevented any lives from being lost, but the attack still stands as a symbol of revenge from Iranian forces. Despite this retaliation, Trump maintained in an address to the nation that “Iran appears to be standing down,” indicating a halt in conflict escalation between the two nations.
P
U
JAN.
8
Trump imposes additional economic sanctions on Iran
F
ollowing the Iran attack on U.S.-Iraqi bases, Trump addressed the nation promising to impose “punishing” economic sanctions against Iran. Prior to the Iranian retaliation, Trump announced his plan to raise sanctions if Iranian forces sought revenge, but administration officials revealed that they had no specific plan to do so. Although these sanctions could be considered further retaliation, the decision to respond to Iran’s action diplomatically, as opposed to using more military force, represents a step back from the brink of war. Trump emphasized this point by announcing that the U.S. was “ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.” Though this marked a rapid de-escalation of conflict between the two nations, there remains significant tension.
JAN.
11
Iran shoots down Ukranian passenger jet
U
kraine International Flight 752 crashed on Jan. 7 just seven minutes after taking off from Iran, killing all 176 passengers on board. The circumstances of the crash were originally unclear, with some theorizing that it was to do with technical issues on the Boeing 737-800. Despite initially denying any involvement, Iran admitted on Jan. 11 that they had mistakenly fired the two missiles that brought down the passenger jet. The Iranian military stated that their mistake was due to human error and attributed their misjudgement to the plane’s sharp and unexpected turn toward a sensitive military base, especially at a moment of heightened tensions.
04 NEWS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtally@gmail.com
Program gives every student college opportunity
Seattle Promise provides Seattle Public Schools students with complete financial aid for all Seattle Community Colleges
Tess Petrillo News Editor
T
he Seattle Promise program was created in 2018 to give every Seattle Public Schools graduate an opportunity to receive higher education. The financial aid can be provided to any graduate without consideration of GPA or income. The program provides financial support for tuition, supplies and housing as well as personal guidance throughout the first two years of the student’s college career. Students can do so either at Seattle Central College, North Seattle College or South Seattle College. The financial factor of the program is usually what draws students. Senior Jasmin Garcia Cruz signed up for the program in hopes to prepare herself for future plans in education. “It would give me time to save up money for college and also because I want to go to nursing school, most schools don’t have prenursing programs but through Seattle Promise I could get that pre-nursing opportunity,” she said. Also attracted by the financial benefits, senior Colbert Sandlin saw the program as an opportunity to test out college rather than rushing into it and then regretting his decision. “I signed up because I wanted to use my first two years of college to see if they were right for me, without having to waste money,” he said.
In addition to financial help, Seattle Promise staff will also check in with students who are a part of the program to help in guiding them through their college experience. They will assist in formulating a plan of where and how a student can further their education goals after two-year college. Another part of Seattle Promise is the Summer Bridge Program, which aids in learning about the college campuses and resources so students feel prepared when they begin taking their classes. Before attending this event, students must also fill out an application on the Seattle Promise website, and recieve an official admission to one of the three available colleges. “It was definitely easier than applying to other colleges because it was just a quick form to fill out rather than having to complete a whole essay in addition to an application,” Sandlin said. Overall, students find the program to be a great tool to have whether they use it or not. “It’s definitely for you if you’re not sure of what you want to do in the future,” Garcia Cruz said. “I just think it is good for anyone to apply for it because even if you know what you want to do, this could be another opportunity for the worst case scenario that you don’t get into any of the schools you apply for.”
Application Process Step One: Financial Aid Apply to recieve Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Washington Student Aid (WAFSA) by April 15, 2020 and have your financial aid file ready by June 1 Step Two: Seattle Promise Program Apply to the Seattle Promise scholarship program on Seattle Promise wedbsite by Feb. 15, 2020
Step Three: College Admissions Apply to your choice Seattle College (North, Central or South)
Step Four: Paricipate in Events Participate in the Readiness Academy oneday event of Spring 2020 and the Summer Bridge Program two day event of Summer 2020 Step Five: Attend Enroll full time and recieve quarterly checkins with Seattle Promise conseulor
Assembly honors Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy
N
earing the end of the assembly, club representatives spoke on behalf of Black Student Union (BSU), Latinx Student Union (LSU), Students and Teachers Against Racism (STAR), Asian Student Union (ASU), Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Multi-Cultural Club. Each student highlighted the point that everyone was welcome to their club if they wanted to be a part of it. The representatives want their clubs to be a space to form communities among students in school, no matter who the student is. (Left to rightjunior Sophia Colemeni, senior Erros Oseguera, senior Floyd MacMurchie, senior Lucie Blažejová, sophomore Isra Ismail and junior Julia Milam).
P
B
anelists answered questions about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s impact and racial injustice within the school. Ybarra spoke about Dr. King’s impact on the homeless community when discussing his legacy, while Parhar and Salazar touched on the topic of how implicit bias plays a large role in racial discrimination. (Left to rightjunior Diego Salazar, senior Erros Oseguera, sophomore Rhea Cron, English Harpreet Parhar, history teacher Alonzo Ybarra, junior Sophia Calomeni and English teacher April McKenna.
SU member Sophia Calomeni ended the assembly with a reading of her untitled poem about standing up against racial discrimination and racial injustice. Calomeni speaks about her purpose of wanting to inspire students to impact the world in the way that Dr. King did. “I wanted people to realize that it didn’t have to end with Martin Luther King Jr. I want people to realize that they could become the next wave of change,” she said. Connecting her poem to Dr. King, Calomeni concluded the piece with the phrase “It’s my message to you because I have a dream to,” in reference to Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Photos by Peter Brown
Juniors Ava Pappas and Nora Bunnel posing with medallions after winning first place. (Courtesey of Ava Pappas)
DECA participants celebrate victories in Area Competition
O
n Thursday, Jan. 9, students in DECA competed in the Area Competition in hopes of moving onto the State Competition. In a successful turnout, 52 students placed high enough to move on. The State competition will take place in early March. If competitors do well enough, they will get a chance to attend the International career development Conference in Nashville, Tennessee later this year. First winners of the Area Competition included Ava Pappas and Norah Bunnell in Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan, Javi Martinez and Perrin Meyerson in Entrepreneurship Team, Clayton Seibel and Roan Gerrald in Marketing Management Team, and Max Sikora and Asa Grote in Financial Services Team.
NEWS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
SPS implements new vaccination policy
ballardtalisman.com
05
Students are now required to have their MMR vaccine to attend school Adria Cooper amd Sam Rainville Staff Reporters
the two doses can be given three months apart. Both public and private schools need to abide by the new bill, and students are required to prove their immunization status. Students cannot return to school until immunization record compliance is met. This means students need to be either fully vaccinated, have an appointment to do so, immune to the disease with lab work to prove it or have a signed Certificate of Exemption due to medical or religious reasons. If students are absent due to being unvaccinated, Seattle The Teen Health Center offers free vaccinations for students who are not able Public Schools will count this as to receive them outside of school. (Skye McDonald) an unexcused absence. However, Seattle Public Schools put effort into preventing this tarting on Jan. 8 2020, students in by offering four free immunization clinics. The Washington state without the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) are not allowed Health Clinics in school are also able to help with vaccinations. to attend school. School nurse Annette Cologna and the Teen This development is due to a bill passed by the Health Center staff are able to assist students. “The Washington Legislature in May 2019 that removes Teen Health Center at Ballard High School can the personal and philosophical option to exempt administer most vaccinations, except Varicella, free students from the vaccination, leaving religious of charge with parent consent and permission to and medical exemptions as the only acceptable vaccinate forms,” Cologna said. exemptions for students in Washington who lack Although this new vaccination requirement the MMR vaccine. seems to have come about quickly, it has actually The MMR vaccine offers protection against been in the works for years. The new bill came three diseases: measles, mumps and rubella. The into effect following a record number of measles Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cases in 2019. According to the Washington State recommends that children get the first dose of the Department of Health, there were 87 reported vaccine between the ages of 12 and 15 months and measles cases in Washington in 2019, the most the second dose between the ages of four and six cases in the state since 1990. years. For those who have missed this window,
S
The MMR vaccine is especially important in school environments, because the dense population is more at risk to the highly contagious viruses the vaccine protects against. According to the CDC, measles can remain airborne for up to two hours after an infected person has coughed or sneezed, allowing for a long period of potential infection. Another important aspect of this issue is that places like schools rely on herd immunity — sometimes referred to as community immunity — the idea that a population has more resistance to a contagious disease if a high percentage of the population is vaccinated against it. Herd immunity allows for people who are unable to get vaccinated (immunodeficient people, people allergic to vaccines, etc.) to be protected from preventable diseases. It can only be maintained if everyone without these medical exemptions gets vaccinated. More importantly, preventable diseases can be wiped out if a high enough percentage of the population is vaccinated against them. “I can’t tell you the exact number of students out of compliance but I can tell you that our numbers have reduced from ten percent to two percent since October 2019,” Cologna said of the immunization status for our students. Pushback has been subtle at school. “The resistance is more in the form that I have not received documentation [of child’s immunization] or any communication from some parents,” Cologna said. Despite the pushback from concerned parents, Seattle Public Schools and Washington as a whole are following through on the new vaccination requirements.
Congress passes the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act Rise in suicide rates prompts creation of three digit emergency number for crisis center hotlines
Samantha Swainson Features Editor
A
s of December 2019, Congress broke conventional party lines and passed the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act with bipartisan support. As of next summer, the Federal Communications Committee will have implemented a three-digit number for mental health support nationally. Currently the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline uses a twelve digit number (1-800-273TALK) that reroutes the caller to one of the 170 call centers in the United States, where counselors spoke to 2.2 million callers in 2018. Over the next 18 months, all cell phone providers will have accommodated 988 as the official number for mental health support. Senior Ava Lim advocates for the destigmatization of mental health support, and has been following the progression of the bill through Congress. “The idea is to reduce the stigma around calling for mental health support and increase the number of people helped as suicide rates continue to rise,” Lim said. “Just like kids are taught that if there is an emergency to call 911, 988 will create a standardized and de-stigmatized way to reach mental health help in an emergency.” The number will not direct people to a new resource center, rather it is an easy to remember
number to replace the previous twelve digits. The new plan is looking to increase the number of calls to the crisis centers and reduce the amount of people fatally affected. Dwight Holten, the former Oregon U.S. Attorney, is the current CEO of Lines for Life, a non-profit advocating for suicide and substance abuse prevention. In a public appearance, Holten was quoted saying: “The three-digit number is really going to be a breakthrough in terms of reaching people in a crisis. No one is embarrassed to call 911 for a fire or an emergency. No one should be embarrassed to call 988 for a mental health emergency. Since 2005, the number of calls to the NSPL has risen by more than 12 million calls a year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in people ages 10 to 24, something that has increased by 54 percent since 2007, and in 2017 alone there were over 1.4 million attempts of adult suicide. With the increased calls to crisis centers around the nation, the costs of handling this new number will increase drastically. The FCC has estimated that the first year will cost $570 million dollars, while the second year will boil down to $175 million. Around $300 million of the money will come from replacing equipment to handle the 988 code, even still, calls
save lives.
Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741. National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
06 NEWS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtalisman.com
Physics and Chemistry become combined
New class integrates subjects to aid students in gaining a broader understanding
Adria Cooper Staff Reporter
F
or this year’s tenth graders, they took Biology freshman year (unless they completed it already in middle school) and are currently taking a Physics A/Chemistry A class. After that, they have a choice of going into the combination class Physics B/ Chemistry B, a full year of Chemistry, a full year of Physics, or some of the science AP classes. This curriculum is a divergence from years past. Up until last year, the path that students took in science did not require them to take Physics. Many students would take Physical Science, then biology and then they could choose from Chemistry, Physics, a science AP class or other specialized sciences. Teacher Kaija Reinelt has taught chemistry in the past but now teaches the Chemistry/Physics split. “I like the way that this new sequence puts chemistry and physics into the same class because I think that students can then make connections between those two subjects more easily than they could have than if they were taking them in separate years,” Reinelt said. This change is not unique to the school as it was a district level decision. This type of curriculum is common around the world. “If you look at models of science education abroad in Europe and other places, a lot of international models have students taking Biology, Chemistry and Physics every year,” Reinelt said. In the old curriculum, neither Physics or Chemistry were required so this new way allows everyone to have some exposure to those topics. While Reinelt enjoys mixing together different science subjects, some
students were concerned with the shift. Senior Ellis Stock is in the Biotech Academy and invested in her science education. Though she has not had to take the new class, she feels that it isn’t a wise choice. “I feel like it prevents students from learning what they could be learning and dragging out a topic that doesn’t need to be dragged out,” Stock said. Sophomore Serafina Smith who is currently enrolled in Physics A/ Chemistry A is troubled by the science model. “I feel like they are kind of trying to teach for a test,” Smith said. This test that is mentioned by Smith is called the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science. As of now, it is a graduation requirement. The test is one of the reasons the change was made. “It’s multiple things. Part of it is the test, part of it is the changes that have been made in the standards over the last few years, and part of it too is getting more of an integrated understanding of science,” Reinelt said. The new science plan may have some valuable aspects but it was sprung on students quickly. “I’m pretty sure that everyone in my class signed up for normal chemistry and thought that’s what we would be taking. We were shocked when we got put in Physics/ Chemistry at the beginning of this year,” Smith said. Reinelt acknowledges the perceived suddenness of the change. “Anything that would have felt sudden would have just been a lapse in communication because it’s been going on at the district level for a couple years.”
Talisman surveyed the student body to see if the community agreed with the decision to change the science curriculum and thought that it benefited the students. The majority of the student body disagreed with the decision and did not think it benefited the students.
Language Arts teacher Kristina Katrel was the only staff member to attend the meeting on the controversey of the new schedule. (Cartoon by Sam Rainville)
Schedule problems force debate among staff
Teachers feel their issues with the new schedule are unheard by administration Will Shepard Staff Reporter
O
ne of the most controversial additions to the 2019-2020 school year has been the new schedule. With four different bell schedules spanning five days, a complete shift from what staff and administrators knew from last year, the new schedule feels to most as though the negatives outweigh the positives. The schedule was created by a group of students and administrators, known as the Continuous Permit Plan School Committee. For the schedule to be approved, it was voted upon by all of the staff and administrators in the building, and they approved the new schedule. However, now that the schedule is in place and its issues have been thoroughly identified, it feels to teachers as if they’re concerns are falling upon deaf ears. Before the break their was supposed to be a meeting held by staff to discuss the many issues of the new schedule, yet Kristina Katrel, an LA teacher, was the only staff member there. “We had a meeting scheduled before break, where people were supposed to talk about this,” said Katrel. “I was the only one that attended that meeting. There’s not a proper forum dedicated to talking about [the schedule], and its seen as an issue that staff should not be involved with.” It is also seen that teachers, who spend more time with their students, have concerns that go unnoticed by the administration. “I know I’ve heard from other staff that it’s enormously
uncomfortable for them to switch gears from talking about numbers to then talking about a drug usage problem,” said Katrel. “[The teachers] get zero training for any of these discussions held in ABC (Advancing Ballard Community) time and it feels very sage on the stage to be talking to students about a very personal issue.” The administration has taken that piece of feedback from the teachers, and resolved to make changes. “We’ve already been working on redesigning the [teachers’] schedules, so that there will be built in time for training, specifically around the conversations of race and equity,” said Wynkoop. Another large issue that both teacher and the administration find concerning is the lack of students in the classroom when ABS (Advancing Ballard Scholarship) and ABC time occur. A large amount of students simply wander the halls, or head outside school boundaries to grab a coffee or a muffin. “I know for a fact that [the administration] is not checking where they are going, so I see kids wandering the hallways all the time,” said Katrel. “And then I feel vaguely responsible for them. If I know that they are going to the bathroom to do something illegal, it feels like I’m responsible for that behavior.” The administration is very aware of this issue and Wynkoop acknowledges its prevalence and the drawbacks it has on ABS and ABC time, undermining the productive environment they try to create.
SPORTS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtalisman.org
07
JAM THE
DAM
Adria Cooper Staff Reporter
J
am the Dam is an ASB-sponsored event where students are encouraged to attend as many sporting events they can. This year, games were scheduled between Jan. 7 and Jan. 22. ASB Vice President Kaya Edwards, helps plan and organize the school events, including Jam the Dam. “Jam the Dam is important because we get more participation for all of our sport events, not just basketball games or football games which usually draw the crowds,” Edwards said. “It’s basically just to draw attention to wrestling, gymnastics and boys swim.” This year, Jam the Dam featured ten events including boys, girls and unified basketball, wrestling, gymnastics and boys swim and dive. Students that attended five games out of the ten won a 2020 Jam the Dam T-shirt.
Senior Clayton Seibel (Skye McDonald)
Junior Justin Burceag (Zev Golden-Zagorski)
Sophomore Peter Golden (Skye McDonald)
Boys Basketball The boys basketball team kicked off Jam the Dam on Jan. 7 with a 5640 win over Lakeside. Junior Justin Burceag’s successful game included a dunk. The team played again on Jan. 17 and beat Bainbridge 46-35. Then, the team played Ingraham on Jan. 20. They may have lost 59-46 but they had the support of the school behind them. “I noticed more people came, maybe because it was a rivalry game,” Bureceag said. “Both crowds got into it.”
Junior Anjulie Habegger taking a shot at the unified basketball game. (Skye McDonald)
Gymnastics
Girls Basketball
On Jan. 8, girls basketball lost against Lakeside 36-33. Despite the loss, senior Jessica Coacher remained positive about the attention that Jam the Dam brought. “My team was talking about how we were happy that there was more of a crowd,” Coacher said. “Usually not a lot of people come out for the girls basketball games.” While the girls game against Ingraham was rescheduled to Feb. 3, the team played against Bainbridge on Jan. 7. Although they lost 57-52, they were happy to have the crowd once again. “I think we all play better when there is more energy and we feel like there are more people supporting us,” Coacher said.
Senior Maddy Angelos (Zev GoldenZagorski)
Junior Megan Bowles (Skye McDonald)
Wrestling
Wrestling won their match against Garfield and Franklin on Jan 9. Junior Hugo Swangstu won his match which contributed to the team’s overall win. Swangstu was not aware that Jam the Dam was happening and when asked if there were any extra students there he replied, “not that I could tell.” Fans made up for the lack of attendance at the next meet on Jan. 16 which was against Rainier Beach and Cleveland. Although the team didn’t win, they had their schools support. This match was not only a Jam The Dam event but also senior night. “There were definitely more people there than usual,” Swangstu said.
On Friday, Jan. 10, Gymnastics won at their meet against Roosevelt, Chief Sealth, Franklin and Garfield. Junior Grace Jackson is no stranger to what Jam the Dam provides as this is her third year on the team. “There were definitely more people than there are sometimes but it was also our first meet of the season,” Jackson said.
Boys Swim
The swim meet on Jan. 19 against Nathan Hale was very successful according to senior Shivam Bakshi. “[Jam the Dam] has brought more students to watch the sport and be introduced to it,” Bakshi said. “People are used to seeing basketball and other sports so it can peak peoples interests and can increase the amount of people who try out for swim.”
Unified Basketball To finish off Jam the Dam, unified basketball played against Roosevelt on Jan. 22. It was a very exciting game with the presence of the cheer team, band and the University of Washinton women’s basketball team. Sophomore Olivia Henderson, who is new to the team, was excited to see the support of the school at the game. “There were a lot more people supporting the team at this game,” Henderson said. “It impacted the spirit of the team and we were all really happy to see so many people in the stands.” A win for the unified team was the best way to end Jam the Dam 2020.
08 SPORTS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtally@gmail.com
Ballard Pool closed for renovations all winter
Swimmers have to commute to the Queen Anne Pool during their season Paige Anderson Sports Editor
T
he boys swim team is used to having their morning practice just a few feet away from school, but now that the Ballard Pool is closed for the entire season, the swimmers have been greatly impacted. The pool has been closed for renovations since Dec. 2 and won’t be open for at least two and a half months. Without the Ballard Pool available, the team has to commute to Queen Anne for practice. Although it may seem like an easy 15 or so minute drive to Queen Anne instead of Ballard, senior Clayton Seibel shared that those 15 minutes matter and make a difference. “The pool being closed has definitely affected us,” Seibel said. “It cuts 15 minutes into our practice time every morning since we have to factor in [time for] transportation.” The team also has had to adapt to sharing the pool with other people and schools while still trying to have eventful and efficient practices. “A team of 30 with only four or five lanes can be difficult,” Seibel said. “We usually have about four to six people per lane and we stagger them by speed so it ends up not being that bad.”
Freshman Leonard Paya swims during a meet against Nathan Hale on Jan. 19 at Evans Pool. (Skye McDonald)
The Ballard Pool closed just before their season to resurface the deck and redo the liner of the pool. Upperclassmen, such as senior Rylan Harwood, helped with the transportation issue by driving two to three other swimmers to school. This new adjustment has allowed the team to become closer but issues still arise. “Those who can’t drive have to carpool,” Harwood said. “Since it’s over double the distance for a lot of us, gas costs are also an issue.” The team practices in the morning and despite the early morning wake up, there were some positives. Now that they can’t practice at school,
those benefits are gone. “We tend to get to school close to the bell and get parking farther away compared to getting the best parking spots at six a.m. last year,” Harwood said. History teacher and head swim coach, Kyle Morean, and weight room coach Colin Matthiesen have made this adjustment easier by ensuring that the team focuses on bettering themselves during practice and in the weight room. Even with all the new adjustments, the team continues motivating each other and giving their all throughout the season.
Girls basketball takes a stand against sexual assault
Student- athletes work with local program to educate themselves and others Hannah Weaver Copy Editor
T
his season, the girls basketball team is taking on a new opponent — gender stereotypes. Earlier this year, Team Up Washington reached out to athletic director, Eric Ensign, to see if any sports teams were interested in taking part in their program. Their programs — one for boys teams and another for girls teams — work to “prevent sexual assault and dating abuse in local high schools,” as stated on their website. Girls basketball was the only team to accept the offer, and they are now over halfway through the ten-week program. Discussions are facilitated by head coach Brad Baker, who chose to attend the program’s training because of the feedback he received from veteran players when asking them what they wanted the mantra to be for the season. They chose the slogan “bigger than basketball,” which Baker felt connected to the goals of the Team Up program. “We’re obviously here to play basketball, and we all have a love for that game, but we also understand that not every single one of us aren’t going to go on and play college basketball,” Baker said. “This will be the last time we play organized basketball, so it’s really more about the lessons that we’ve learned and the relationships that we’ve gained.” In a relatively short amount of time, Baker is proud to see the team learning meaningful lessons from the discussions they’ve had so far.
“We’ve already seen our players standing up and speaking out against gender inequity or gender biases or stereotypes,” Baker said. For senior and captain Maisie Clark, there have been advantages both on and off of the court. “[The program] provides a bonding experience that’s way deeper and more meaningful than a lot of other silly team bonding games that people normally play,” Clark said. “I think that it’s [also] made me a lot more aware both of the privilege that I have, and the discrepancies in the treatment of boys and girls sports here.” This is an issue that’s not only “bigger than basketball,” but also bigger than our single community. Domestic violence is a nationwide problem. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reported that one in four women have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. However, one in seven men have also been victims of the same kind of violence.
Baker, Clark and captain Maddy Angelos all agree that more teams need to step in. “Hopefully after this season of the girls doing it the boys [will] pick it up as well,” Angelos said. The problem is not women’s alone to solve, it will take everyone’s efforts to reverse centuries of systemic abuse. “It’s really for this group of student-athletes to understand the power that they have within their community, within their school, and then also going forward to create the type of world that they want,” Baker said. Head coach Brad Baker in a huddle with the girls basketball team against Nathan Hale on Dec. 6. The Beavers lost 45-31. (Zev GoldenZagorski)
FEATURES
January 24, 2020
2019-20 school year marks introduction of decolonized history classes Centering marginalized people’s stories in the classroom
Dhani Srinivasan Opinion Editor
I
n response to a growing demand for ethnic studies curriculum within our district, this school year a handful of teachers have piloted a decolonized U.S. history course. The class moves away from the “mainstream” method of teaching U.S. history through a White colonial lens and instead focuses on the representation of marginalized people’s stories. Over the summer, history teacher Robin Dowdy attended a two week ethnic studies program offered to Seattle Public Schools teachers. She, along with fellow history teachers Kyle Morean and Shawn Lee, paired this training with curriculum piloted by the Bellevue district in the 2018-2019 school year to form the decolonized U.S. history course. “It’s kind of the obvious time to do this where there’s a lot of political unrest and activism amongst young people in particular,” Morean said. Although the course does not rest on the frameworks of ethnic studies, the decolonized U.S. history curriculum is a step towards centering marginalized voices in the classroom. Currently, only a very small group of schools in the district offer a class on ethnic studies as it has not been made a requirement by the district. “Over the past decade, social studies departments, curriculum providers and teachers have been trying to improve the representation of who is in the books, who is in the curriculum and who we talk about,” Dowdy said. Dowdy says it has been a little awkward for some students to move away from a White-centered history course especially in a predominantly White school. “Usually [the course] defines what American history is and this is how different groups have experienced it,” Dowdy said. “Now, we are not doing this is what [American history] is, but just highlighting different experiences.”
T
Thematic history
he new curriculum delves into historical themes rather than a chronological succession of history. Bellevue’s curriculum offered units on identity, displacement and migration, power and politics, the marketplace, resistance or U.S. in the world and global values. Dowdy, Morean and Lee later added in units on media literacy to help students with research skills and democratic elections to go along with the school’s mock election. Thematic teaching acts as a disruption to the typical retelling of chronological White history by delving into the stories of marginalized people. Additionally, for SPS student’s, it disrupts concepts that were repeatedly ingrained in them in other years. “There’s a flaw in the design of U.S. history in terms of the major stories that we reiterate in 5th grade and then again in 8th grade,” Morean said. “Getting to challenge the master narrative and stories of what American success looks like, who we should applaud and what values are American.” However, many students have felt unmoored by not learning in the chronological fashion that is typical in history classes.
09
ballardtalisman.org
Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
“I did have one student ask me, ‘what are we missing out on?’” Dowdy said. “We need to do a better job of getting students to understand that this is U.S. history. This isn’t the study of a special group of people. Every single one of these people were Americans and this is the history of how the United States has acted.”
W
Into the curriculum
alking into Ms. Dowdy or Mr. Morean’s classroom, one can see that the walls are lined with diagrams of individual student’s identity. “All the work that we did around identity at the beginning of the school year was a huge way to entreat students that they have history and that they have perspective,” Morean said. “A big part of learning to expand the narrative and the influence of history is validating individual stories. So that was a great way to get students to consider history differently.” From the starting point of identity, students learned to unpack overarching concepts of the master narrative and dominant stories that they have been told. For instance, in a content retainment lecture students pulled apart examples of conventional U.S. history in order to put into conversation values like capitalism vs. communism.
T
Interdisciplinary perspectives
his year, the staff formed teams to create equity action plans to bring new ideas into practice within the school. The team that Dowdy is on includes teachers across different subjects to address ethnic studies and challenge the master narrative beyond history classrooms. “There’s a district somewhere in the country where they are piloting a science curriculum based on race,” Dowdy said. “Some science teachers are worried about it but others say if you’re not talking about it then you are pretending that race is [biologically] real when it’s really a social construct.” Teachers on the team have been committed to the idea of expanding critical lenses in interdisciplinary subject matter. Dowdy noted that several math teachers have been challenging the idea of who higher math benefits and who it leaves out. Ultimately, the decolonized U.S. history course offers great motivation to those teaching it this year. “I just got such a glossed over version of U.S. history when I was your age” said Morean. “I’m just trying to make up for lost time a little bit. “My high school history teachers were coaches that needed a day job so I’m continually trying to do better and do by young people that can and will be motivated by our country’s history the good the bad and the ugly.”
10FOCUS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtally@gmail.com
UNDER THE LOOKING GLASS By Ian Davino & Piper Sloan Co-Editors-in-Chief
W
alking through the hallways, it’s easy to get lost in the overwhelmingly pessimistic air that seems to hang over all high school students. We have a tendency to complain above all else, without actually stopping to weigh both the pros and cons of the community we make up. Even though we’re all in the same building, we all have drastically different experiences. Some people will paint their entire bodies in the name of school spirit, while others will begrudgingly drag themselves to class each morning. Despite the wide range of experiences, people will always lean toward generalizations. Any given
school can and will be known for single sentence summaries, no matter how accurate. Of course, the feat of getting a full picture of any school from hundreds of students is nearly impossible. Different experiences in and out of school will shape the way people look at our school. In an attempt to gain a quick insight into the way people view our school, we asked students, teachers and staff to rate the school — in broad terms, from 1-10, with a brief explanation why. Some chose to remain anonymous.
Talisman reporters asked students, teachers and other staff members to rate the school on a scale from 1-10 and logged their responses. Responders were asked to weigh multiple aspects of the school but ideas were centered around social environment. (Graphic by Ian Davino)
Senior Ella Kirwan - 5
“
I feel like the message is that we’re all a community and we’re all together but I feel like there’s not that much action actually taken for it. Like there are small attempts like Link Crew and stuff but there are still kids that get dropped off. There’s also a lot of obvious social stratification based on socioeconomic status. . . Pretty much all the ‘popular’ kids are ‘popular’ because they’re White Magnolia kids.”
freshman collin waggoner - 4.6
“
Academically really low, but socially higher like five or so. . . . I think there’s too many boomer teachers. I vibe with the younger teachers but the older teachers I don’t get along with so much.”
senior sam gunsolus - 9
“
Hands down a high rating. There’s a great atmosphere and a lot of great, just really fun people. I guess one thing that could be better is that it’s kinda crowded”
FOCUS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
junior reyna orm - 6
“
There is some questionable stuff that goes down here, like some racist stuff, that I definitely do not approve of at all. I think problems could be fixed very easily but aren’t. All people do is talk there’s no action. But as far as the student body, it’s not cliquey from what I’ve seen, like at all.”
ballardtalisman.org
11
Other notable responses 7: “We have a lot of cool clubs... we have a lot of really good resources and classes that a lot of other schools don’t have” - senior Julia Quinn 8: “I came from Whitman so I have low standards” - freshman Sofia Angel 8: “It has a lot of good teachers, and people are pretty united” - junior Holly Peterson
security guard soodjai kutrakun - 8
“
I live here, I’ve worked here for many years, this is my building. Other schools may be like a six or seven but at our school I can see more community, we’re much more together. By working here for so long I’ve come to know every single family. A lot of the people who live in the Ballard area still say ‘hi.’ So the new generation that comes to Ballard, I pretty much know them already.”
freshman tarquin mayhew - 2.5
“
I’ve had teachers lose my assignments and they don’t know how to use technology. Also, projects are terrible and I feel like there are a lot of non-relatable teachers, who don’t really give any thought to the actual student.”
6: “We’ve had two pedo teachers but the peple are pretty nice” - senior Noah Gebler 6: “Academics and social aspects kind of balance each other out but teachers are helpful and always supportive of students” - freshman Fiona Carroll
6: “There are limited courses available and I wish there were some more” - senior Emily Mills 6: “It’s a good school but I think there are just a lot of unresolved social issues that they could be doing more to fix” - anonymous 5: “There’s more creativity and complexity in our community than we are taking advantage of” - anonymous
12 FEATURES
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtally@gmail.com
Environmental activists educate students about plastic pollution in the ocean Community learns about the effects of single use plastic and how to reduce their intake Paige Anderson and Tess Petrillo Sports Editor and News Editor
N
ewly partnered with Parley for the Oceans, a company that works with large corporations to eliminate plastic waste, Nick and Hans Schippers came to educate students. Their goal is to educate students about the detrimental effects of plastic in the oceans, something they have been doing for numerous years. Last year, the brothers took a refurbished blue bus down the West Coast teaching thousands of students along the way about the plastic that pollutes our oceans. Hans received his undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaii and went on to get a degree in political science and a master’s in environmental public policy from the University of Washington. His younger brother Nick also went to the University of Washington and received a degree in environmental studies and environmental policy.
H
It’s About Education
ans’ exposure to the environmentalist action in Hawaii is what inspired the brothers to take their first educational tour. “The model of the tour was from Hawaii’s teaching of 10,000 students every year about plastic pollution,” Hans said. “Nick and I see that there is a gap in education now and we need to create a directional change, and that starts with empowering our youth. If we can give you guys the tools to begin to build a community, we can begin to solve some of the issues.”
T
The Problem
he issues Hans is referring to are those caused by plastic pollution. Single-use plastics create a surplus of waste that has nowhere to go, and take about 1,000 years to fully decompose. When landfills run out of space, waste ends up in our oceans. When plastic ends up in the ocean, sunlight photodegrades it into small pieces. These small pieces can then be mistaken by aquatic life and birds as food. Ingested plastic damages the internal organs of fish which raises the question about the safety of our seafood. The Schippers brothers want to resolve this issue with empowering and educating youth to take action. How did they know that empowering students would resolve the issue? Because it already has. Hawaii’s dedication to the education of students on plastic pollution has caused the state to have legislative results. “Hawaii recently passed the 4-40 bill that bans single-use plastic, the only reason it was passed is because of a massive turnout of youth activists that showed up to the legislative meetings and made their voices heard,” Hans said. “If we could get something like that to take place all over the country, then we could slow down plastic production.” The brothers began working with Parley after their education tour. Parley had been working primarily with larger corporations to increase sustainability economically such as partnering with Adidas to create a program where shoes can be given to the store after they had been used to be remade into new shoes. “We decided to switch roles and work for Parley for the Oceans,” Hans said. “That kind of led us to wrap up our education tour last year and continued onto Canada to work with Parley and began hosting cleanups around the country.”
H
Their Goal
ans and Nick want students to be involved in fighting for sustainability and waste elimination as well, not just large corporations. So they began giving education tours for Parley to help in expanding their audience. In addition to educating about the effects of plastic pollution on the environment, Hans and Nick try to introduce ways of resolving the issue in an economic or societal way, as well as a few personal ones.
Partnered with Parley for the Oceans, Nick and Hans Schipper travel the West Coast in their blue school bus teaching students about the dangers of plastic pollution. (Photo courtesy of Nick and Hans Schippers)
The brothers discussed the use of compostable plastic, the kind that makes up our lunchroom utensils, and how it is only beneficial to the environment if they can be processed through the correct facilities. “Compostable plastics are only taken by facilities that can process the plastics,” Hans explained. “In Hawaii, they are trying to work on making sure that every facility can compost the corn-based plastics. If we get our youth educated about that and get them to show up at their legislative house and ask to invest in those facilities, it could cause a beneficial change.” Hans and Nick plan to continue their tour this year as well as preparing other educators to go on similar tours in years to come. Within the next five years, the brothers plan to have educated 500,000 students nationwide.
S
How to Make an Impact
olving an issue as big as the estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic trash that ends up in the oceans every year, may seem like an unmanageable task but Parley has designed a simple method that can make an impact. “We need a material revolution, we need a new material that can replace the single-use plastic.” The strategy is called AIR and it stands for avoid, intercept and redesign. The first step is to reduce plastic intake and find a replacement for it such as reusable water bottles, shopping at farmers markets, using metal straws, the little things make an impact. Intercept means to retrieve and recycle — locate the single-use plastic and dispose of it properly. The last step is to redesign the material — find new ways to reuse single-use plastic so it’s not as detrimental to the environment. “The little things really do add up,” Hans said. “If somebody is taking action on this you should support them to keep going or be that person to take action in your community.”
FEATURES
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtalisman.org
School is ‘Supplied’
13
Senior starts clothing brand to emphasize high-quality products Brett Richter Staff Reporter
A
n online website, 4,412 followers on Instagram and products ranging from beanies to sweats. The best part — it was all started by a student. Senior Owen Coutts created the clothing brand “Supplied” in the spring of 2018. By that fall, after six months of hard work, the brand was ready to sell online. “I had the idea with one of my friends about two years ago. We originally wanted to open a store to resell clothing, then it turned into, ‘let’s do our own stuff.’ I ended up running with it and coming out with a full product line,” Coutts said. It wasn’t easy. Going into it, the only thing Coutts had was an idea. He still had to find a way to design, create, fund and establish the product. “I taught myself all of the design work, which was the steepest [learning] curve from having really no experience in graphic design to having to create the images and set them up in a way that they could eventually end up on a T-shirt and hopefully be something people would want to buy,” Coutts said. After some hard work during summer vacation, the first “Supplied” Tees were released. A big achievement, even now after expanding into all sorts of clothes. The pieces are made in photoshop and illustrator. Though Coutts used to digitize his own embroidery, now he outsources it. Coutts puts a lot of thought into his work, which he describes as minimalistic. The graphics on the pieces are fun, but not flashy. The clothes resemble streetwear or a skater-esque style with small, simple designs.
Senior Owen Coutts started his clothing line ‘Supplied’ in 2018 and emphasizes quality over quantity. (Skye McDonald)
All of the products are made in the United States and Coutts tries to work with local Seattle companies. Coutts wants his brand to be known for more than the style, he wants the quality to speak for itself. “You are ‘Supplied” with our products — it’s literal in the sense that when you are wearing our clothing you are “Supplied.” We try to imply quality and we want our brand name to speak to quality,” Coutts said. The decision to make the clothes so durable follows the company’s mission, to provide high-quality clothing at a comparatively lower price, which helps the brand be more sustainable. Instead of wearing the pieces once, they can be worn again and again. In addition to starting a brand, keeping up with schoolwork and training for track, Coutts also helps local businesses with client work. “I think a lot of people have heard of the clothing brand, but that’s mostly my passion project. What I do for a job is merchandising for a local business here,” Coutts said. “We pretty much use the same philosophy, that’s all based on the quality of the product, and we provide those services to local businesses, so we do an all encompassed package with design, sourcing, and production.” Graphic design is only a part of running “Supplied,” however. There’s also the business side of the company. Coutts had to gain a following to sell his products. He started by “gauging initial interest,” and when he knew people were interested he started to run advertisements on Instagram to bring more attention to the brand. “Supplied” also offers a brand ambassador program for anyone who can make high-quality media for the brand. As for expanding, Coutts isn’t quite sure what the future will hold. “I would like to do retail, but it gets tricky with retail margins and I would have to raise my pricing considerably in order to be able to see wholesale. I don’t know. Maybe in the future.”
The group traveled to Doris Lake (left) to fix up the trails and did the same at Pasayten Alpine Wilderness (right) and spent a full week working together on creating hiker utopias. (Photos courtesy of John Lochner)
Washington Trails Association
WTA member talks about his experiences on the trail and encourages others to join John Lochner Guest Reporter
W
ashington Trails Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to building trails and fostering interests in hiking and the outdoors. They do everything from environmental budget lobbying to trail reports and youth volunteer trips. Two years ago, I went on my first WTA youth volunteer trip to the Pasayten Alpine Wilderness, more than 7,500 ft above sea level. The group of 10 high schoolers and one trail leader were all from various parts of Washington and hiking backgrounds — some even being out for their first time. Senior Will Meade is an environmentalist and outdoor enthusiast that joined the group, “WTA trips were not only an opportunity for me to explore one of the most beautiful places in the great northwest, but also a chance for me to meet and work with some incredible like-minded people who share my love for the outdoors,” Meade said. “I met all kinds of amazing, funny and unique people, including a senior who arrived in 90-degree summer heat with a thermal insulated
ski jacket.” Being out in the woods for a week is a stress free escape from the 30 daily college emails most of us get. Sophomore Caroline Lochneris an ambassador for WTA, “my summer was very hectic, and having a week away from all of the stress was a great way to clear my head,” Lochner said. When starting a hike, we know nothing about the trail other than where the problem area is. Volunteers work as a team to come up with creative and elegant solutions to complex problems. My last trip involved fixing a badly eroded trail that had injured some stock animals. On this trip, aside from the end goal of fixing the trail, we had a lot of freedom in designing our solution, and this freedom allowed us to build a hiking enthusiast utopia. The impact a team can make on a trail in one week is huge, it’s amazing to have a lasting testament to the trip and a very real and positive impact on the trail. Additionally, high schoolers can earn 56 of the required 60 service hours in one week! If you want to get involved with environmental advocacy, youth outreach or give back even further, apply to be a Youth Ambassador. As senior Jackson Fasser put it, “ If you have the opportunity to go on one of these outings, you should definitely take it.” The opportunities to give back to nature and our trails are endless.
In the Pasayten Alpine Wilderness the group earned 56 of the required service hours clearing the trail and helping injured animals. (Photo courtesy of John Lochner)
14 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtally@gmail.com
Why the gender gap in music is finally shrinking Women are finally receiving the critical acclaim they have always deserved. Why now?
Elliot Armitage A&E Editor
A
t the end of each year, there’s a lot to look forward to. Most people have just received a swath of presents, everyone is reflecting on the past year and a few are seriously committing to New Year’s resolutions. There’s always one thing I look forward to in particular, though — year-end music lists. Every respectable outlet rushes to publish a “best of” list at the end of each year. I’ll read them over and mentally tally up how much I agree with the placement, but I don’t usually think much of them beyond the individual albums. However, last year something caught my attention. More than other years, I was struck by the number of albums by women or female-fronted bands. Women seemed to absolutely dominate 2019. But was that true, or was I clouded by the fact that most of my favorite albums of the year were by women? Did women really receive more critical acclaim this year, or has it always been this way? And most of all, if women are achieving more critical success, why?
I
Part 1: A lot of numbers
n recent years, the internet has allowed for more critics and publications to be heard than ever before. This must be kept in mind when analyzing year-end album rankings. In 2019, most newspapers published year-end album rankings, and many notable online music publications did as well. I chose eight of the most well-known and/or reputable outlets to analyze. Each album on a list can be sorted into one of two categories: male-fronted or female-fronted. None of the lists I surveyed contained albums by non-binary or genderfluid artists. The results were surprising. In both The Guardian and Rolling Stone’s lists, exactly 25 of 50 albums were male-fronted, and 25 female-fronted. Pitchfork named 26 male-fronted and 24 female-fronted albums; Stereogum placed 23 male-fronted and 27 female-fronted albums. Other lists had similar tallies. So while women didn’t dominate, female-fronted albums were rated just as frequently if not more frequently than male-fronted albums, on average. This has not always been the case. In 1980, I could only find two major year-end lists: Rolling Stone and the Village Voice. In Rolling Stone’s top 50 albums of 1980, 47 were male-fronted. Just three were female-fronted. The Village Voice had a similar ratio: 36 were male-fronted and just five were female-fronted. This wasn’t just restricted to 1980, either. In 1985, 45 of Rolling Stone’s top 50 albums were male-
fronted; 35 of the Village Voice’s were. In 1990, Rolling Stone and the Village Voice both named 33 male-fronted and 7 female-fronted albums.
T
Part 2: What the hell
he number of female-fronted albums achieving critical success has skyrocketed. Of course, women have always found commercial success in music, and women have always made great music, so somewhere along the pipeline between the amp and the news press there has been a perpetual leak. Chalking it up to “rock music is masculine” is much too simple. That statement ignores all of the women who made and listened to rock, and still do. What if there was some gem of truth, though? No, the music itself is not inherently masculine, but what if the critics were part of the reason for this gender gap? However, when looking at music critics, it becomes obvious that a great majority are men. Wikipedia lists 321 pages for American music critics and only 44 are women. This list includes critics who published material as far back as the eighteenth century. In 1980, just 14 women were active music critics and were prominent enough to have a Wikipedia page. Interestingly, that number has stayed pretty much the same: in 1985, there were 13 active female music critics; in 1990, still 13, and in 2019, also 13. There doesn’t seem to be an obvious correlation between the gender of critics and critical preference, beyond the fact that there still aren’t enough women in the music journalism field. If not the critics, what about the genre of music?
B
Part 3: Splitting hairs
efore starting, I apologize for grouping such drastically different records together under the labels “rock,” “pop,” “hip hop,” etc., but it must be done in the name of efficiency. In 1980, out of 50 albums that were consistently named to best-of lists, 39 fell under the broad umbrella of rock, nine were pop, and one (Stevie
Wonder’s “Hotter Than July”) was soul. In 2019, just 18 were defined by Wikipedia as rock. The easy conclusion to draw from this is that the decline of rock music has led to more women being recognized. However, seven of the 18 most universally acclaimed rock albums last year were put out by women or femalefronted bands. The rise in critically acclaimed female-fronted albums is more attributable to the “genre explosion” than to the decline of rock. Rock music hasn’t been replaced by one genre in particular. In 2019, 12 albums out of the pool of 50 were pop, 10 were hip-hop, and 11 were anything from electronic to soul to experimental. In 1980, only one album wasn’t easily categorized as pop or rock, and it was one of the poppier albums Stevie Wonder ever put out. But genre still isn’t the reason that women have found more acclaim in recent years.
S
Part 4: The Reckoning
ince 1980, American culture has drastically changed. The modern feminist movement, the LGBTQ+ movement, racial justice movements, and so many more social justice efforts have molded our world and broken down boundaries. Equally transformational is the internet. With it, a new generation of young people have connected with each other and discovered more information than was ever possible before. The same is true for music. The internet has allowed people to listen to whatever they want at any time. Musical artists nowadays can draw upon a gigantic range of influences with minimal effort, which has no doubt led to the drastic expansion of popular music’s palette, and the decline of easily defined, “traditional” rock music. This isn’t the only reason for rock’s decline, as its downward trend dates back to 1980, where the internet was nowhere to be seen. But the internet is arguably the main reason for the increase in experimental albums, and it’s also responsible for female and non-binary musicians receiving greater critical acclaim. In 1980, people learned about new music by word of mouth, from newspapers or magazines, or from advertisements paid for by record companies. Way back when, underground records really were “underground” in the truest sense of the word: you often had to literally dig to find them.
Continued on page 15 Graphic by Lila Gill
15
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
January 24, 2020
ballardtalisman.org
Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
Please don’t watch ‘Cats.’ Please.
An account of a night too traumatic to summarize in a single headline Peter Brown & Lila Gill Staff Reporter & Business Manager
I
Peter’s Arrival
n the first days of the last decade of my life, I found myself speeding in the rain down 3rd Avenue on a Tuesday night, twenty minutes late to a screening of “Cats.” I’d already spent the day in a haze — weeks of not sleeping well catching up to me, on my way to see a movie I thought would be, at least, ironic fun. I pulled over, half in the street, and Lila sprinted out to my car.
P
Lila Emerges
eter seemed disheveled and distracted. I climbed into his Volkswagen and we immediately almost died. I yelled at him that “Cats” isn’t something worth us getting into an accident over, even if we were fifteen minutes late already. We finally pulled up to the theater having taken multiple wrong turns on our long and dangerous journey, despite having been there a thousand times. “Two tickets for ‘Cats,’ please,” I mumbled. The cashier laughed. It was a night of bad omens.
C
The Beginning of the End
ats is a 2019 musical film directed by Tom Hooper, the award-winning filmmaker behind critical hits “The King’s Speech” and “Les Miserables.” This is not one of those movies. The first thing I realized about “Cats” is how
much I hate it. We walked into the middle of the opening number and I immediately felt wrong. The cats themselves were an unrelenting horror, far too human for their feline and overly sexual nature. It’s set in this almost apocalyptic neon London, which is confusingly neither human size nor cat size. The music, with rare exception, was unpleasant. “Because Jellicles are and Jellicles do, Jellicles do and Jellicles would.” I hate the word Jellicle, and they never stop saying it. The best microcosm to describe the offputting nature of cats is the way they wear clothing. Most cats are completely nude, through some wear a fur eerily similar to their own. At one point Rebel Wilson unzips her own skin to reveal a 1980’s style sequined dress. The main villain of the film wears a jacket of his own fur, only to show up at the end in nothing but his thick black fur hanging off his body in the most disturbinglyhuman way.
W
The plotline… I guess
e had no idea what was going on. At first I assumed it was due to our lateness, but I soon discovered that’s just how the whole film is. I would give you a breakdown of the general plot, but there’s no point. The entire one hour and 49 minute runtime consists of each Jellicle cat introducing itself in the form of a lengthy musical number then Idris Elba shows up and abducts them (the worst and most pointless of which is the Railway Cat). All of these introductions lead up to something called “the Jellicle choice”, when the chosen cat is “reborn”, something only vaguely alluded to until the climax of the film, when the projector cut out. It was what I can only call surreal sitting in the unlit theater, “Cats” music blaring through the speakers, and hearing the sound of the eight or nine other audience members slowly start to laugh hysterically. Peter and I exchanged a look and joined the band wagon. Soon it was a madhouse. We talked about what we had just experienced with these various other bodiless voices, and I felt comforted by the fact that we all seemed equally horrified and violated. After a while, we left the theater, the pointlessness of staying set in. We approached the help desk and explained what had happened, and were given free passes to another movie at the theater chain. I didn’t want to see another movie ever again. I just wanted my $14 back.
the cafe. I don’t really remember ordering or paying, but I do remember trying to stab my straw into the cup and subsequently plunging it into the side. I stood in silence as taro milk tea cascaded all over my jacket and onto the floor. The barista immediately started cleaning it up, asking if I was okay. “Yeah, thank you, I’m so sorry, we just saw ‘Cats,’” I mumbled. The only thing we could bear to listen to on the way home was sad songs. We talked about how awful we felt after seeing that film. I still believe there was some sort of satanic, underlying meaning wedged into the dialogue. There is pure evil within that movie and I don’t want to be anywhere near it. Coldplay’s “Fix You” blared as I stumbled out of the car and back into the cold unforgiving world. We agreed to never talk about that night again.
Cats (2019) ¶¶¶¶¶
W
The Aftermath
e stumbled quietly into the night, unsure of how to process what we had just consumed. “Do you want to get bubble tea?” I asked, hoping it would help start the long, hard process of erasing this night from my memory. It felt hazy as we walked into
From top: Francesca Hayward, Taylor Swift and Judi Dench transformed into felines for the 2019 movie “Cats.” The film, directed by Tom Hooper, has received intense backlash from both critics and consumers.
Continued from page 14 Records that weren’t expected to reach a wide audience were pushed aside by labels, and very few artists released music independently. Manufacturing and advertising records cost a significant amount, and those costs come after recording and producing, also an often expensive process. The internet has given all artists a level footing, and they have taken advantage of it. It’s given more artists than ever the chance to make music that doesn’t have to adhere to the by-the-numbers, record-selling formula. It’s also given the women making this kind of music the opportunity to reach a bigger audience than they ever could have.
Equally as important is the internet’s impact on how music is criticized and consumed. Websites like rateyourmusic.com, where millions of users rate and review albums, have allowed normal people to become music critics. YouTube has given independent music critics a platform and an audience, which is evidenced best by Anthony Fantano, who has amassed two million subscribers and who is undoubtedly the most influential voice in the world of music journalist. Albums that Fantano reviews often experience a surge in sales overnight, and a favorable review from Fantano is often better than any marketing
money can buy. Remember when hair metal ruled the airwaves in the 80s? No, you probably weren’t alive, and I wasn’t either, but my mother has told me about it. The balance has since shifted. The modern day partner to hair metal, in my eyes, is the postinternet pop and electronic acts like 100gecs, Sophie, and Slayyyter, who push both masculinity, femininity, and everything in between to their absolute limits. The diversification of the music industry is an overwhelmingly good thing, and a victory not only for social justice, but for art.
16 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ‘Sword’ and ‘Shield:’ a stale refresh of a fun game
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtally@gmail.com
Pokemon slips into the low effort, yearly iterations plaguing gaming industry
Lukas Ramakrishnan Staff Reporter
A
fter 23 years, 807 Pokémon, eight generations and grossing over $90 billion in sales, The Pokémon Company and developer Game Freak released “Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield,” the first main series games for the Nintendo Switch. The game takes place in the Galar region, which is heavily based on the UK. If the rolling hills in the distance and the presence of distinctly English Pokémon like Yamper the corgi didn’t clue you into the setting, then the addition of the word “mate” to the end of every sentence uttered by your rival will. Straight from booting up, you are thrust into a very familiar Pokémon experience. You meet your rival, get a new partner Pokémon and embark on a quest to become the champion of the Pokémon League. The world is populated by 400 unique Pokémon, 80 of which are brand-new, and have never been seen before. The game’s biggest new feature is the Wild Area, a vast, open area where the player can encounter roaming Pokémon and participate in multiplayer, co-op battles against incredibly strong Dynamaxed Pokémon, a new form of Pokémon that grow to massive sizes and are
much more difficult than your run-ofthe-mill encounter. Unfortunately, the best parts of this game isn’t anything new that Game Freak has done. The most fun part of the games in the Pokémon franchise is the core mechanic of battling, collecting and training your own team. Sword and Shield definitely has that, but the additions it makes feel more in line with an incremental upgrade, not a revolutionary new game for the most powerful platform a main-series Pokémon game has ever been on. The game’s graphics are clearly a step up from the 3DS games of years past, but do not chalk up to the beautiful scenery in Nintendo’s other hit Switch game, “The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.” In all honesty, the lack of new additions to core mechanics and mediocre graphics are not the most egregious offense made in the development of this game is that Game Freak removed 407 Pokémon from the game, initially with the excuse that they were improving graphics and animations, but with graphics that are worse than game’s from much smaller franchises, and animations that were discovered to be literally cut and pasted from previous games, Game Freak’s excuse does not
New Pokemon trainer Victor throws a Poké Ball. ‘Pokémon Sword’ and ‘Pokémon Shield’ came out on the Nintendo Switch Nov. 15. (Pokemon Sword and Shield press kit)
hold up. In a franchise whose slogan is “Gotta catch ‘em all,” it is mind boggling how the decision to cut half of all of Pokémon was made. I guess we can now catch half of them instead. “Sword” and “Shield” were always destined to be fun games, as their foundation is built on an inherently fun idea of making a unique adventure via the Pokémon you pickup along the way. However, far too many compromises were made along the way, and the game we got seemed like a rushed, mismanaged effort, not up
to the level fans were expecting from the largest video game franchise in the world. You probably won’t regret buying the game, but lower your expectations. This is not the beautiful, instantclassic that is expected from a first party Nintendo game.
Pokemon: Sword and Shield (2019) ¶¶¶
Winter concert series features ‘Carmina Burana’ Orchestra, band and choir come together for the annual performance Hannah Weaver Copy Editor
O
rchestra, band and choir put on the school’s annual winter concert series on Dec. 17, 18 and 19. The winter concert this
year centered around the musical masterwork “Carmina Burana,” a cantata based on a collection of 24 medieval poems.
It was an interesting experience for many of the musicians, because it was a combined effort between members of choir, orchestra, and band. It was performed after intermission each day of the concert. Michael Murray IV is a senior violist in the Chamber Orchestra who performed all three nights in ‘Carmina Burana.’ He particularly enjoyed the support of outside specialists. “Professional singers came in and had solo parts and they sang,” Murray IV said. At the band concert, they performed the classic Hanukkah song “The Eighth Candle,” which was well-received by audience members
and online viewers alike. Senior Sam Gunsolus played the euphonium in the performance. “The composer reached out and he said that we performed it better than some college bands which was cool to hear, he saw our performance on YouTube,” Gunsolus said. Overall, the three music programs enjoyed being able to work together and create a beautiful, cohesive sound. Junior choir member Jillian Nielson found that the convergence of musicians brought the best out of everybody. “It was fun, we got a whole other sound, it was awesome to be with a lot of talented people,” Nielson said. Choir, orchestra, and band will convene again for the annual Spaghetti Dinner on Feb. 1 to fundraise for their programs. The dinner will run from 5:30 to 8:30.
Band performs during the winter concert series. The shows ran for three days and consisted of performances from choir, band and orchestra. (Ian Anderson)
17 The NFL perpetuates systematic issues in our country OPINIONS
January 24, 2020
ballardtalisman.org
Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
How the most popular sport in the United States panders to conservatives
Will Shephard Staff Reporter
A
s a liberal that enjoys watching the NFL every Sunday, the sport’s conservatism quite often feels a little off. Over time, it has become clear that the NFL is not targeted towards everyone in the United States, but rather one specific viewpoint. From the Redskins to the NFL’s outdated policy on marijuana and its donations to the blacklisting of Colin Kaepernick, the NFL has shown time and time again that it is an organization that upholds systemic divisions in the country. These league behind the most popular sport in America is built for and fueled by mainly conservative viewers. For instance, according to the FEC Donations List, NFL owners donated upwards of $2,000,000 in the last election to Republican candidates, which outspent the amount they spent on Democratic candidates by 40 to one. The league is not in fact “trying to stay out of politics,” as said by commissioner Roger Goodell regardarding the benching of Colin Kaepernick after he protested the killing of unarmed black men.
O
The military and the NFL
ften the pregame in the NFL feels overdone, and for a league that’s supposedly taking politics out of football, they sure are very pro-military. It feels like every game I watch now includes fighter jets that circle over the stadium and marines coated in their dress uniform. Notably, the United States is one of the few countries in the world that plays its national anthem before each professional sports match; most nations only play it for international matches. As a nation and as a league we are incredibly patriotic, to the point where people from all other countries can even find it disgusting. This passionate patriotism resides more often in people with conservative values and it seems that at every point the NFL is attempting to force patriotism down our throat. During the 1960’s, in the heart of the Vietnam war, then NFL commissioner Pete Rozell endorsed the war, even sending NFL superstar players on trips to visit the soldiers in Vietnam. Rozell also introduced new rules surrounding the national anthem, instructing players to stand upright in a straight line with their
helmets at their sides. When Cardinals linebacker David Meggysey protested against the Vietnam war by holding his helmet in front of him and standing in front of the line, it led to him being benched in what would be his last season. Sounds familiar?
W
Kaepernick takes a knee
hen Kaerpernick took a knee during the 2016-2017 NFL season to protest the shooting of unarmed black men, he was blacklisted not only by the NFL but also by its fanbase. Videos of Kaerpernick’s jersey being burned spread like wildfire across social media, and President Trump attacked him viciously. Despite the fact that Kaepernick was kneeling in protest of police killing unarmed Black men and in alliance with the Black Lives Matter movement, he was relentlessly accused of disrespecting the flag, the country and our troops. Even though many soldiers and veterans showed support for Kaerpernick, saying that the protest exemplified the values of freedom that the military fights for, Kaerpernick was benched and ultimately blacklisted from the NFL. Conservatives have refused to acknowledge Kaerpernick’s protest as something more than a protest against our country, and the NFL clearly saw it that way as well. Ultimately, in May 2018, the NFL owners voted unanimously to require players to stand for the national anthem, with a clause allowing players to otherwise stay in the locker room. Flying in the face of overwhelming evidence, the NFL sided, as they always have, with their conservative fanbase.
Flying in the face of overwhelming evidence, the NFL sided, as they always have, with their conservative fanbase.
T
Outdated views
he NFL also holds some outdated and, quite frankly, racist views, which came to light with their complete shutdown of Kaepernick’s free speech. However, solely focusing on Kaepernick distracts from the other blatantly racist and harmful policies that the NFL supports and enforces. Yes, it’s time to talk about the Washington Redskins. It is almost certainly the most racist and bigoted sports mascot in the world, accompanied by the Cleveland Indians, Central Michigan Chippewas and Flordia State Seminoles, just to name a few. The term “redskin” is an offensive slur used by white colonizers to refer to Native Americans. Native Americans from all around the country, and especially in Washington, D.C., have repeatedly attempted to change the name, pointing out its racist name and demeaning image. However, their owner and the league have refused to change the team’s name, using the same defense that conservative white people in the Deep South use to justify the keeping of Confederate statues — that it’s an important part of their “history.” The NFL is also very outdated and racist in their views on drugs such as
Cartoon by Peter Brown
marijuana, holding strong that it is a performance-enhancing drug. This definition of marijuana, however was invented by conservative lawmakers, while refusing to accept it as a recreational drug and its prevalence in modern day. Marijuana wasn’t regulated at all until the 1930’s when lawmakers painted it as a violent drug used by African-Americans and Mexican immigrants, despite being baseless scientific accusations. This criminalization of marijuana was based in racist ideas that are upheld by conservative NFL policies today. These policies are a continuation of the conservatism that the NFL presents to its audience. The NFL clearly shows bias in its company, and should not be treated as an unbiased organization or even just a sports league. It’s necessary today to be an informed viewer, and to understand what exactly your money is going too, and who you are supporting. The deep problems within and perpetuated by the NFL should be understood and acknowledged by those viewing the sport.
Cartoon by Sam Rainville
18 OPINIONS Forget Pennywise: Stephen King was the clown all along
January 24, 2020
ballardtally@gmail.com
Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
The real horror is in the thinly veiled prejudice in the iconic writer’s stories Sam Rainville Staff Reporter
S
tephen King is commonly coined as the “master of horror,” known for writing countless classics that have defined the genre since his publication of “Carrie” in 1974. When most people think of King, the things that come to mind are the vast number of books he published, as well as the many successful film adaptations of his novels. However, in the wake of King’s continued success, it becomes more important to re-examine his novels and the themes within them, as well as the way they relate to our society. Despite his stories focusing on examining societal evils, King ends up perpetuating the stereotypes his stories claim to fight. King’s characters are typically outsiders to society, possessing some kind of unique talent or skill that causes them to be othered by their peers. It is through these characters that King explores societal problems, primarily the fear of the other that causes people to turn against each other and commit evils. At the same time, King manages to perpetuate Cartoon by Sam Rainville many of the problems he’s trying to tackle. There’s a recurring trend throughout his novels of various minority characters existing, but not being allowed to succeed. “It” opens with the murder of Adrian Mellon, a minor character in the scope of the story but one
of the most explicit examples of a gay character in King’s writing. Mellon’s death via hate crime and its ties to Pennywise, the personification of fear and evil, seems to be an attempt to display homophobia as one of the societal fears turned acts of evil present throughout the story. However, in the same book King leaves his other two confirmed gay characters to live the rest of their lives miserable after watching their respective loves of their lives die, which doesn’t exactly line up with King’s critique of homophobia. This isn’t just King’s problem. The trend of “burying your gays,” the trope that requires LGBTQ+ characters to die or meet a similarly unfortunate end, runs rampant throughout Hollywood and other mediums. This trope represents a larger issue; the idea that anyone outside the binary is unable to succeed within our society, fictional or otherwise, and shouldn’t achieve happy endings. King ends up reinforcing this idea with other minority groups in his stories. For instance, King attempts to address segregation in “It” by mentioning how Derry’s Black community is forced to live outside of the main town, but ends up leaving the story’s main Black character to live alone away from his friends in the end. There’s a similar problem in the way King
writes women, who instead of being fully fledged characters tend to have little personality in comparison to their male counterparts and mostly exist to be vague objects of attraction. King’s female characters also tend to follow a trend of being victims of domestic abuse, most notably in “It” and “The Shining,” yet none of their respective novels put any effort into dissecting why this is a problem. Because the analysis of these issues is barely surface-deep, the inclusion of minority characters and complex social issues comes off as King desperately grabbing for diversity points rather than commentary. The central problem with King’s writing is that the inclusion of these storytelling trends undermines his societal commentary. His stories of outsiders fighting against personifications of society’s evils don’t feel as fulfilling when only one kind of outsider gets to win. King is somewhat infamous for including himself in his stories. It’s not exactly a coincidence that his protagonists are typically average men that also happen to be writers down on their luck, and while they may face bullying or exclusion, they’re still safe enough to conform to what our media has decided a hero can be. While these characters are outcasts to the societies they live in, they still aren’t too far away from the kind of person our society deems acceptable. By only letting these kinds of people achieve their goals and aspirations, King reinforces the idea that minorities can’t have what “normal” people can. Reinforcing these ideas is an issue no matter how you split it, but it’s even more problematic in King’s case because his stories orbit around commentary on racism, homophobia, sexism and the other irrational fears within our society. This commentary will only continue to fall flat if his only characters with happy endings are people just like him.
Streaming services straying from their purpose: convenience Paige Andersen Sports Editor
I
n a perfect world, there would be one streaming service that offers TV shows, movies and live TV in one bundle for a reasonable price. But in case you haven’t noticed, that world doesn’t exist. Instead, humans are being cheated by streaming services. With the release of Disney+, numerous Disney shows and movies were removed from Netflix. It’s very common for streaming services to be constantly rotating through movies and TV shows, but these were removed for one reason. Money. Disney knew that with no other services providing their productions, people would have to subscribe to Disney + for a reasonable deal of $6.99 a month. Who could resist?
I’m sure most people have experienced the frustration or disappointment when they see that Netflix, or their main streaming service, is removing their favorite movie or TV show. As content libraries change over time, it’s harder to keep track of what’s being added and removed from each service. Not to mention when they do add more content, it usually means raising prices as well. In 2007, when Netflix first started streaming, it was only $5.99 a month but has escalated to $12.99. Hulu and Amazon Prime Video have followed these trends in increasing monthly prices so it’s no surprise that the cheap monthly rates of Apple TV+ and Disney+ are attractive. But eventually, the new streaming services will start raising the prices once their customers are hooked. Streaming started in 2007 when the now notorious Netflix launched
its service. The company landed tons of older productions, while TV studios and distributors gained a new source of revenue and were able to expand their customer base. TV series benefited from Netflix because a growing number of viewers discovered new shows online and then followed them to live TV. Soon after, Hulu was created to follow this new company plan in 2008. Since then, virtually every premium channel has released its own stand-alone subscription app, including HBO (HBO Now), Showtime (Showtime), Starz (Starz Play) and even CBS (All Access). To insulate itself from this competition and become more selfreliant, Netflix spent close to $13 billion in 2018 to produce original content. This includes shows like “Black Mirror,” “13 Reasons Why,” “Sex Education” and many more that people have binged.
Cartoon by Peter Brown
We continue to eat these services up because $30 a month still beats cable, so paying for three services doesn’t seem too bad. But as entertainment is divided amongst these numerous services, we forget that streaming was created for convenience. With content continually being removed and prices, it is far from fair for people to have to pay so much for streaming services.
OPINIONS
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
The minimalist motto: more is less
ballardtalisman.org
19
Culture attempts to close the door on consumerism, instead bulldozes through Samantha Swainson Features Editor
I
n principle, minimalism should be austere and humble, stripped of superfluous colors and decor; today’s trend is sterile, full of succulents, monochromatic colors and contains little personality. Oddly enough — despite claiming to be achievable for everyone — the minimalist gospel about clearing negative energies from our lives seems to be directed at and attained by the upper class. In 1965, the word minimalism was popularized as an insult meaning “lacking art.” It was a thumbs down to the artists who sold canvases painted black with a single red circle, neon light fixtures protruding from the wall, or multicolored bricks arranged on the floor. This new style was in a different realm from the intricate and lifelike art that otherwise claimed the stage throughout art history. These artists were developing the concept that less is more by stripping away all familiarity of layers and materialist design and leaving only the barebones for the audience to see.
It has become a part of an elitist culture that is convinced that spending more money on fewer things somehow equates to anticonsumerism. Minimalism has evolved into something that is treated as the antidote to the devious and antiquated notions of capitalism and consumerism. For those having latent anxiety about the dangers of the Western world and its love of overindulgence, conforming to a ban on clutter is the next best option. Let’s be real, minimalism is a privilege. The aesthetic of raw materials and aggressively sleek design has become a luxury icon, with designer brands promoting eco-friendly clothing and sustainable household items. The average American cannot afford to drop their car at the impound lot and exclusively use ride share.
ADVICE: DEAR TESS & PAIGE,
David Raskin, a professor of contemporary art at the School of the Art Institute Chicago, has been quoted in numerous papers about his disappointment with the development of minimalism in the modern era. “One of the real problems with design-world minimalism is that it’s just become a signifier of the global elite,” Raskin writes. “The richer you are, the less you have.” To many, it would seem easy for anyone to be a minimalist no matter what socioeconomic class. What they often don’t consider is that clutter can be a necessity for someone on the lower end of the spectrum because they can’t afford to purge their homes of old clothing and clunky technology. Minimalism is often expensive, exclusively branded and made for those who can afford to replace what they have removed. Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus are two self-proclaimed minimalist gurus. Having walked away from their corporate jobs, they make it their life’s mission to spread the minimalist dogma. Their quest to hold the nation hostage with a meaningful lifestyle isn’t free, and they declined to mention their earnings from their book series, podcasts and public appearances, and instead responded that focusing on money derails the idea. A personal favorite quote from Millburn and Nicodemus’ blog: “I’m currently wearing a $100 pair of jeans, and, yes, they are worth $100 of my freedom to me; they are also my only pair of jeans, ergo I get immense value from them since I wear them almost every day.” Minimalism today isn’t just about having less, it’s about having the right brands. Their selfoptimization is guided by futuristic
ear Tess & Paige, D I recently ended a relationship with a toxic friend, but we have mutual friends and she is always trashing me to my face. We were friends for five years and I miss the old her, how do I combat this and be happy? -Distanced and Conflicted DEAR DISTANCED, ending any relationship is hard, but just be thankful for what you gained from it and that you were able to get out of a toxic friendship. Focus on the people who you have kept in your life. If she was trash-talking you it’s because she’s hurt too. You both lost a friendship and you both weren’t right for each other in the end. Instead of acting out of anger or sadness, use this as an opportunity to grow. And if none of that makes you feel better, cut your hair. It helped us. Cartoon by Sam Rainville
Fitbits and the sleek and simplistic design of Apple, because, by ridding themselves of an abundance of objects, they are throwing off the shackles of greed and spitting in the face of capitalistic values. Nevermind that most of these tools of selfrealization are created in sweatshops and continue to facilitate a new brand of excess consumption. In our own community, minimalism has resurged with a vengeance. Polished box homes with limited colors have popped up on every corner, while teens and adults strut in cookie-cutter clothing. Minimalism was created with the good intention that less clutter in our physical life promotes less clutter in our minds, and to encourage healthy relationships with our possessions. Instead, it has become a part of an elitist culture that is convinced that spending more money on fewer things, somehow equates to anticonsumerism. Armed with a sleek MacBook Air, their cream-colored beanie and basic Nike AirMax, the average minimalist is ready to take on the forces of evil and lead the fight, ironically, against the tyranny of capitalism.
Dear Tess & Paige, I’m new to a friend group and super happy to be in it, however, I have a slight crush on a girl in the group. Is it worth risking my friendship with her and my place in the group to pursue a relationship with her? -Not Ready To Risk It All DEAR NOT READY, it completely depends on how you think she will react. Perhaps you should wait a little bit longer to consider telling her because your feelings may fade, especially if it’s just a slight crush. It’s also important to consider how you think the friends will react. Maybe you should ask someone in the group for their opinion. When friends start dating, it can throw off the group dynamic hat can affect your relationship with them. But if all you’re seeing is a green light and there’s no red flags, then go for it. It doesn’t mean your relationship with them cannot continue. Submit questions anonymously through the QR code (right)
20 BEAVERTAIL
January 24, 2020 Ballard High School (Seattle, WA)
ballardtalisman.org
BEAVESDROPPING HEARD IN THE HALLWAYS: WANT IT TO BE FUNNIER? SAY FUNNIER THINGS
Child has been redistributed. Pow!! Into the next dimension If you’re not inciting chaos you’re not living properly Uhhh... Al Pacino could get it She can’t spell? You have to So I put on my mom’s old ghost her choker today because RAWR, you know? PIRATE UV DA CARRIBOON With your invisalign on it feels like you’ve been de-weaponized
OK robotics boy
Earlier today my mom said ‘turn up the U2!’ so that’s how my weekend’s been
I think I got spanked by my cat last night? I’m afraid he can’t survive on his cheeks alone making minecraft villager noises is not a response
I’m tired of chicken strips I want a chicken cube HEY! YOU! FEATURE ME IN BEAVESDROPPING My vegetarian friend bought soy fish because she thought it was he may be principal legally, fish made out of soy but it was but I am spiritually really just fish with soy on it. She started crying.