Lance Issue 7

April 10, 2015 IN-DEPTH Check out our coverage of the abolishment of senior project in our satire in-depth page 7.

the 8701 Pacific St. Omaha, NE 68114 Volume 59 Issue 7

Lance

A SHORTFALL

Budget forces district to make tough decisions AREN RENDELL

WMG Coordinator For English instructor Eric Sayre, 30 extra students in one semester means 10 extra hours of grading per essay. 30 extra students means his desk arrangement in room 130, a circle of 22 desks meant to enhance his discussion-focused classes, might not work as his per-class average hits 22 students.

“It won’t look like what it’s been looking like in my class, which I think is an inviting environment that welcomes thoughtful discussion and where kids, I think, flourish,” Sayre said. “It will be very different.”

Science instructor Micala Donnelly’s classroom will look even more different. It won’t even be in Westside; she’s accepted a job at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs.

Spanish instructor Trevor Crowell will see the same difference. He’s looking for a teaching position in California, where his girlfriend will be studying for her PhD at Stanford.

Sayre, the most-tenured teacher in the English department with 17 years of teaching in the district, has seen this happen before. With stagnant or shrinking revenue, rising costs, shifting demographics or a combination of the three, District 66, like other districts in the Omaha Metro, has found itself forced to make changes to its spending.

In recent years, this has meant, at worst, decreasing teacher numbers via attrition.

This time around, it means English instructors will be taking on increased numbers of students as two teachers, Chanel Colt and Elizabeth Leach, take one-year leaves of absence without replacement; the science department will see a teacher position switched from the high school to the middle school; Crowell, who was hired to replace another Spanish teacher on a leave of absence, will not be coming back to the district and District 66 will have to absorb a $2.5 to $3 million shortfall.

It’s a multi-faceted problem for the district, its teachers, its students and its homeowners. Revenue for the district is tied to a number of uncertain and often unpredictable sources like the Nebraska state legislature, district property values and federal aid. Expenses, meanwhile, rise constantly; teacher salaries have to increase, costs for employee healthcare packages are rising at a faster pace — 6 percent last school year — than the overall cost of living and buildings need to be updated and repaired.

As Sayre puts it, he is not necessarily mad at the district. Neither is Crowell. Neither is Donnelly.

For Sayre, Crowell, Donnelly, Colt and many other teachers, the worries and frustration mostly revolve around one thing: students. The uncertainty with the district’s budget, teaching positions and more are requiring choices with uncertain consequences.

Last school year, 77 percent of the district’s budget went to salaries and benefits, and trimming from the largest part of the budget is one of the main ways the district is looking to limit its shortfall.

“Staffing — that’s where most of your money goes,” Westside High School Principal Maryanne Ricketts said. “Not just here, but at all of our schools, [if] there’s a way we can absorb teachers that are leaving for retirement or changing jobs, that’s what we’re looking at, at this point.”

This is where Crowell, Donnelly, Colt, Leach, Sayre and many other teachers are affected.

Crowell and Donnelly will be leaving Westside. Colt and Leach will be taking leaves of absence and won’t have their spots filled for the year (and might not have jobs at the high school when they return). Sayre and the other English teachers will be taking on significantly increased student loads. Science teachers, too, will have increased student numbers.

Media Department instructors will be taking on senior project teaching responsibilities.

In addition, Intro to Speech will become a first semester-only class, creative writing will be offered second semester only and regular debate will be combined with advanced debate.

Donnelly, the least-tenured teacher in the science department, will see her time at Westside end after two years. According to Donnelly, because she has been at Westside the fewest years of all the science teachers, when a science department position was cut she was the one to go. She was offered a job at the middle school, but ultimately elected to leave the district to continue teaching high school.

Donnelly said the way she found out about her position being cut was less than ideal. In March, Donnelly was called to a meeting with Ricketts and science department head Brenda Zabel. She was told her position was being cut, something she didn’t know was a possibility, and that she had 24 hours to decide whether to stay in the district or leave.

“This was a huge shock,” Donnelly said. “I had no idea that my job was being taken away from me, and so I needed to think about this, and I needed to talk with my husband.”

The district ultimately “backed off,” as Donnelly said, and gave her more time to decide. Within five days, she found her future job at Abraham Lincoln, where she had student taught. She said the district was sincere and wanted to keep her in the district. Regardless, Donnelly would have liked “a bigger heads up.”

“I think other teachers will understand [that] most often for teachers to get hired — to apply to another school, to go through that process, to get a call back to interview — it could potentially take a month,” Donnelly said. “To think that I had this choice to make in 24 hours, or even a week, that’s ridiculous… Obviously they knew budget cuts were going to happen. They could have maybe made this clear to all new teachers that this could potentially happen to them so that I could have been looking for other options.”

Ricketts said the district does not comment on specific personnel cases, but said the administration has never really had to make cuts like it has this year. She added that these decisions are emotional for the administration, too.

Crowell, meanwhile, was hired for this school year to replace Spanish instructor Amanda Freitag while she took a one-year leave of absence, something the district allows teachers to do with the guarantee of a job within the district upon return.

When hired, Crowell was guaranteed a teaching spot within the district beyond his first continued on page 2

2

NEWS

BUDGET: other schools face similar situation continued from page 1 year. However, that spot turned out to be either a middle school or non-Spanish high school position, things Crowell wasn’t interested in taking.

“It’s disappointing for sure, but I’m not bitter towards Westside or the administration,” Crowell said. “It’s just an unfortunate situation. I don’t regret coming to Westside.”

Crowell praised the administration’s handling of his case, saying they offered him different options and were “very empathetic.”

Donnelly and Crowell were offered jobs at the middle school because, according to District 66 Superintendent Blane McCann, the middle school is understaffed. McCann said the shifting of positions was not, in fact, caused solely by budget changes.

“Usually in a middle school, a group of four teachers will serve approximately 125 to 135 students,” McCann said. “Ours are serving 166. Consequently, we perceive ourselves as being a little bit understaffed… It just made sense to look at shifting some folks from the high school to the middle school to really achieve [the] middle school philosophy [of having small learning communities].”

Of course, Donnelly and Crowell understand why the district wants to move positions to the middle school. However, they are both worried about possible effects of non-continuity in teachers for students and of increasing class sizes. Donnelly said she was most emotional when telling her homeroom students, with whom she has developed strong relationships.

While Donnelly and Crowell are worried about effects on students caused by departure, Sayre and other teachers are worried about the effects on those that are staying.

“I have four kids, and [I’ve been] married going on 17 years, and my family deserves to have a dad who’s around to do some of those nice things,” Sayre said. “When I put my kids to bed, usually at 8 o’clock, that’s when I go grade papers.”

With those 30 more papers to grade, Sayre sees either time with his family or class rigor diminishing. For the first time in his teaching career, he is considering adding page limits to essays. He and other English teachers have also

discussed turning summer writing assignments into summer reading assignments.

“The thought of 30 more papers and how I can fit those in, it seems like an impossibility,” Sayre said. “…I don’t feel like those are good things, and I don’t feel good about that as a teacher, but I also feel like we’ve been pushed up against a wall, and there’s no choice but to come up with some way to maintain our sanity and still give the kids the best experience they can…Things will change, and they won’t be for the better.”

Colt, who will be using her leave of absence to spend time with her son while attempting to grow her online baby clothes sales business, did not know she and Leach would not be replaced until, according to her, the week she had to confirm that she would be taking a leave of absence.

“Obviously, that’s a lot of pressure on me,” Colt said. “…

It’s just an unfortunate situation that, really, I didn’t know about until I decided to take the year.”

She, like Sayre, is worried about the effects of having no replacement during her leave.

“I’m more concerned with the class numbers [than if I’ll be teaching high school or middle school when I return],” English InStructor Colt said. “The fact that they’re not replacing me is more stress on the teachers, less time to plan, more students at their desks during open mods.”

McCann and Ricketts both said the district has done its best to keep cuts from affecting classrooms. They are confident, as well, that teachers will be able to adapt to all of the changes.

“It’s going to be a little bit different for the teachers, but I think our teachers are very capable here,” Ricketts said.

“They’re good with instruction, and we’re not planning on seeing any significant changes in the classroom.”

It’s hard to gauge what the immediate impact trimming expenses will have on students in District 66. But one thing is clear: this isn’t a Westside-only problem, and Westside appears to be weathering the storm better than many.

According to the Omaha World-Herald, at its March 16 school board meeting, Millard Public Schools board members discussed proposals to cut entire programs, including its Japanese program and culinary-skills academy, to trim

Things will change, and they won’t be for the better.

eric Sayre

its budget.

Bellevue Public Schools, the hardest hit of the districts as it is preparing to lose significant federal aid because of a decreasing percentage of children of military families, is looking to cut expenses by $4.5 million, according to the Omaha World-Herald. As many as 38 positions in the district could be eliminated.

“If you read the news, every school district is looking at, ‘What can we do to work our budgets, stay in our budgets, [and] provide good education?’” Ricketts said. “This is not just Westside Community Schools that’s going through this right now. We’ve just got to make the [state senators] in Lincoln say, ‘Schools need bigger budgets to work on.’”

Whether Westside will get that bigger budget or not is hard to tell. State aid varies based off of the state legislature, which can be unpredictable. McCann said the district might be getting a smaller chunk of state aid for certain parts of the budget next year, but other parts might see increased funding. In reality, state aid is unsure.

Property values are updated at the beginning of every school year, but McCann said estimates look like Westside could see a 4.5 percent increase in property valuation.

That, of course, would provide a significant revenue boost.

Zagozda said the district is also seeking out more grants to supplement revenue. The district won the Youth Career Connect Grant, which Zagozda said boosts revenue by just under $1 million per year.

On the spending side, the proposed $79.9 million bond issue, which is going to voters at the end of April, would help the school reduce energy, water and building maintenance costs over time if passed. Energy savings alone could be as much as $100,000 per year.

In addition, the district is continually rebidding its contracts for transportation and other services in order to save money.

The bottom line is this: there is still much hope in Westside. A touch of good fortune and some educationfunding legislation could turn things around as far as budgets. Administrators and teachers alike think District 66 still has a significant draw for young teachers looking for a job, people looking to move into a neighborhood with steady property values and families looking for the best education.

“I still think Westside has a draw,” Sayre said. “I’m worried that three, four years, five years from now, maybe we’ll lose that, maybe it’ll slip. I still think Westside’s a desirable place to teach.”

Check out westsidewired.org for an extended version of this story

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OPINION THE

LANCE

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The Lance staff recognizes that the administration of Westside Community Schools controls the curriculum and, thus, sets the parameters of the production process of school publications. The Lance staff also recognizes its own responsibilities to inform, enlighten and entertain its readers in a way that reflects high standards of journalism, morals and ethics.

Editors-in-Chief Estella Fox, Nata Ward; Managing Editors Grace Fogland, Jace Wieseler; Copy Editors Lia Hagen, Libby Seline; Design Editor Allie Laing; News Editor Connor Flairty; Opinion Editors Sarah Hermann, Eva Wetzel; Feature Editor Celena Shepherd; Sports Editors James Buckley, Jack Cohen; Arts & Entertainment Editor Elise Tucker; Staff Writers Abby Lang, Alexis Bergin, Audrey McMullen, Bella Radler, Connor Castleman, Nicole Degand, Kayla Kyle, Connor Tucker; Staff Designers Casey Arritt, Jenna Hynek; Photo Editor Mitch Francis; Photo Staff Jakob Phillips, Taylor Schendt; Media Coordinator Aren Rendell; WMG Photo Coordinator Sarah Lemke; Advis0r Jerred Zegelis.

Illustration by Kirsten McCormack

Editorial

Unnecessary class wastes time, effort As much as we hate to sound like the typical “whiny” senior student, something really needs to be done about the Senior Project class. It’s not about the strenuous amount of busy work or the long hours into the night that each kid at Westside spends on the class during their final year; it’s simply a question of efficiency and pragmatism.

One of the top concerns that the class raises is in regards to the staff. Senior Project currently has two English instructors assigned; two instructors that will be swamped with frantic seniors trying to desperately meet deadlines during open mods, which means minimal time to invest in students from other classes.

It’s also problematic considering that the ratio of English teachers to students is predicted to be much higher next year than it currently is, making it that much more difficult to field the inquiries of every kid.

Teaching an English course is already time-consuming, considering that a large amount of classwork involves writing that requites personal and intensive grading. Senior Project may prove to be overwhelming for staff members who have an assortment of other obligations on top of it. Given the English Department’s limited capacity to guarantee individualized learning time, it might be wiser to cut out the curriculum entirely in order to make way for other English courses to thrive.

Of course, the other variable to consider in this equation would be us, the student body. The most common argument for keeping Senior Project is that

it mirrors a collegiate-level workload and its expectations, which therefore gives us more enhanced writing abilities going into college. This does not, however, take into account the classes’ senior twin, Composition. If a senior was unfortunate enough to take Composition second semester, the Big Academic Research Paper (BARP) deadlines mesh horrifically with Senior Project’s. If the goal of the BARP is to prepare kids for college, which alumni feedback has repeatedly confirmed, then the double-whammy of Senior Project becomes moot.

Regardless of whether or not it provides a degree of college preparation, a vast majority of seniors simply resent the task of putting together a large-scale project and meeting arbitrary paper deadlines that can put our Commended diploma status on the line, which can mean all the difference on a transcript to a selective and highly competitive college.

For some of us, it provides us the time and opportunity to pursue a passion or long-term project that we had never gotten around to due to busy scheduling. Yet for those of us who still have no real clue what we’re truly interested in, it forces us to choose a topic that will most likely bore us to death or over-complicate the entire process. Instead of being excited about what we’re learning, it becomes a chore that’s akin to pulling teeth – we think that both students and teachers can agree that education shouldn’t be a traumatic experience.

Instead of being excited about what we’re learning, it becomes a chore that’s akin to pulling teeth.

WARRIOR VOICE Do you think senior project is valuable? Why or why not?

JUNIOR

SOPHOMORE

SENIOR

FRESHMAN

EDMON AD AMS

SEQUYAH GARVAIS

LOGAN BELL

SYDNEY BARTON

“I think all it does is add on unneeded stress to seniors.”

“I think so because you learn from it.”

“Very valuable because it allows us to see how we can impact our community.”

“It’s a good opportunity for the seniors to give back to the community.”

an e M Th ite eory h W Th

At every single practice, my volleyball coach emphasizes that with every ball we touch, we’ll become better players. While practice doesn’t guarantee perfection, it only makes sense that the more practice time an athlete has, the better they are going to become.

Throughout the past two years that I’ve been lucky enough to play club volleyball, I’ve seen this come true. However, many people don’t have access to this same opportunity. With year-round practice nearly becoming a reABBY LANG quirement to continue STAFF WRITER playing beyond middle school, athletes from low-income backgrounds are being shut out of team sports.

According to Jordan Metzl, the medical director of the Sports Medicine Institute for Young Athletes in New York City, youth sports have become more competitive than ever. It’s becoming more difficult every year for student-athletes to have enough practice to have what it takes to make a team beyond middle school. In order to become stronger and more talented in a certain sport, several athletes join select teams to play for during off-season. Participation in selective club teams is becoming more common among athletes, particularly in team sports.

One of several volleyball clubs in Omaha is Nebraska Impact Volleyball. The club season runs from November until April and throughout those six months, parents can expect to spend $1,300 for the season, not including travel costs. Select teams for other sports in the city are no different. Parents are expected to spend over $1,000 annually so their children may gain the skill necessary to continue playing. While some teams offer fundraisers to help offset the costs, financial aid is not always available. Since the cost to play is continually rising and limited financial help is available, a significant amount of low-income athletes are shut out of sports. They simply can’t afford it. A national poll of Children’s Health conducted by the University of Michigan reported that nearly 20 percent of low-income athletes are taken out of a sport due to financial reasons. This results in all sorts of negative consequences for both the athlete and community.

Statistics show that teenagers involved in athletics are less likely to become involved with an array of negative behaviors. The Kids Play USA foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping low-income athletes involved in sports, reports that female student-athletes are 92 percent less likely to get involved with drugs and 80 percent less likely to get pregnant. Since 3-6 p.m. are the peak hours for crime, student-athletes aren’t at the same level of risk as other students to be involved with criminal activity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has made it clear that low-class teenagers are already at a significantly increased risk for involvement in crime. When these athletes are cut from sports, it’s only making it harder for the community to fight crime.

Not only does low-income athletes being taken out of sports hurt the community, but it also leaves a negative physical effect on the teen. Students involved in sports develop lifelong habits for good heath. With America being at an all-time high for obesity rates, it’s vital for teens to learn right now the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. When exercise is a normal part of a teenager’s life, they’re less likely to be overweight or have other health issues that can result in low self-esteem.

Studies make it clear that athletes are overall more confident and successful people. That being said, the gap between low-income students and sports still continues to grow. The opportunity to develop as athletes and have the possibility to earn athletic scholarships seems limited to athletes who have the financial means to pay for club sports.

In order to stop athletes from being sidelined due to money, select leagues need to strive towards making their programs more affordable, giving every talented athlete the chance to play.

If athletes are able to afford playing year-round, the chances of being cut from a team is dramatically reduced and with that comes stronger, more talented teams.

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The Wrong Shade of Blue: Diversity in the Suburbs The Story of a WhiteMan in the Woods Graphic by Jenna Hynek

UNIVERSAL

Curriculum is whitewashed, harmful

The first time I learned Oscar Wilde was a member of the LGBT community, I was shocked. Now, if you’ve actually read any of his work, this should seem silly to you. He is one of the most obviously LGBT writers from his time period; his novel, the Portrait of Dorian Gray, is so full of homoerotic subtext it was actually used as evidence in his trial for sododmy. But for me, a freshman who had only heard of Oscar Wilde as some abstract, genius poet, it was surprising. I’d never thought about LGBT people influencing history or being writers. It’d never even seemed possible.

There’s a widespread perception in America that marginalized LIA HAGEN groups didn’t exist until the twentiCOPY EDITOR eth century. We learn about historical eras like the Middle Ages as though Europe’s history defines the entire world, ignoring the amazing civilizations that were thriving in places like Asia, Africa, and even the Americas. We act like the suffragette movement was the first time women could speak or influence politics — as though women haven’t been a vital part of the world’s history since… well, forever.

And it’s not just history. It’s science, when we focus on the discoveries of white male inventors, even when those discoveries are stolen or miscredited. It’s government, when we undervalue the perspectives and theories of those not in the American mainstream. It’s language classes that don’t portray the true diversity and complexity of cultures. It’s everywhere.

Even in literature classes, we tend to focus on books written by white men. This is often true despite the fact that books by marginalized people exist from the same time period with similar messages. There’s a general consensus that these perspectives are “universal,” as if Salinger or Hemingway have any more right to speak on the American experience than Cather or Morrison. They’re seen as the default, and anyone else is “different.” A book written by women is a book for women and a book by a person of color is a book for people of color, but a book written by a straight, white, cis male is a book anyone can relate to.

It’s ridiculous, and it has real consequences. Representation in classrooms and in media shapes our perceptions of ourselves and others. When we’re raised to think of marginal-

PowerGrade

ized groups as the “other,” it allows us to justify violence against them. It allows us to ignore the homeless person starving on the street, the black students protesting in our town. They’re not our people; they’re not our problems. They’re different, therefore they’re not important.

It also influences the way we think about ourselves. According to a study published in Communication Research by Indiana University professors, representation has severe effects on the self esteem of children. This study found that exposure to television lowered the self esteem of white and black girls as well as black boys, while white boys’ self esteem increased. This was caused by a lack of representation. The white boys were able to see themselves and their stories shared frequently, but the other participants found they were missing from the virtual world. Because they didn’t have role models, they couldn’t see themselves as role models for others.

And let’s not kid ourselves — we’re not too old for these effects. Whether you realize it or not, what you have been exposed to has shaped you. It doesn’t matter if it’s a literature class or a television show; not seeing yourself as a successful person in the world hurts. It’s hard. And all it does is create a perpetual cycle. Women don’t see other women in male-dominated professions, so they don’t enter male-dominated professions, so other women don’t see women in male-dominated professions. LGBT people don’t see their stories being portrayed as acceptable or valuable, so they don’t share their stories, so other LGBT people don’t see their stories being portrayed as acceptable or valuable.

It just goes on and on.

This is why what we choose to exclude from our curriculum is not a neutral decision. It’s a decision that can maintain and often feed real systems of power and inequality. When teachers select which materials to cover in a class, they are deciding what they feel is worth knowing. Literature teachers who aim to cover the “classics” become the people defining the classics for a generation of Westsiders. Then those Westsiders go on to define the classics for their children, their students, their friends. It has a ripple effect. And that ripple effect leads only to more inequality.

We have to stop throwing stones and let the pond settle. It’s time to have a more diverse curriculum at Westside. To value the stories and the accomplishments of marginalized groups as much as we do those of the majority. In the meantime, I recommend students do their own research. Find their own books.

You have more at your fingertips than any other generation has — take advantage of it. Open your search engine, and find a little empathy.

A+

To Westside’s slam poetry team for their powerful performances at Louder than a Bomb Great Plains, an annual poetry festival here in Omaha. Clips from the performances can be found on the YouTube channel LtaBOmaha.

C

To NeSA testing. It’s a necessary evil, but they’re all scheduled around the same time — right when juniors are at their most stressed. Also, DRC Insight, the testing software, still looks and functions like it was designed in 2003.

F

To Skutt Catholic. Allegedly firing a teacher for being in a committed same-sex relationship is awful and only teaches their students intolerance. And while they are free to practice their religion, we’re also free to criticize them.

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(REPER)CUSSIONS

FEATURE

Student struggles with effects of head trauma NATA

WAR D

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Junior Julia Clements doesn’t remember much of the first night.

A CT scan was performed in the emergency room to check for hemorrhaging in her brain. The doctors hooked her up to an IV line. Her body temperature was out of control, so they tried to cover her with blankets. She was so cold. That’s what she remembers: the cold.

Earlier that day, she had gotten kneed in the head at soccer practice. Three hours later, she was at the hospital. It was her first documented concussion.

“It didn’t hurt after the first hour or two, but you could feel it was wrong,” Julia said. “And because it didn’t hurt, that’s why I was so afraid.”

Julia has had six suspected concussions, all of them sports-related. Only two of these have been officially diagnosed. The fifth incident was the most severe.

“When you tear your ACL, you wear a brace, you don’t run as much, and you get better,” Julia said. “But when you damage your brain, your brain is used for everything. You can’t go to school and not use your brain. You can’t breathe without using your brain. You can’t be awake and not use your brain.”

Julia suffers from a range of different symptoms due to her head injuries, from migraines to heartburn. After the fifth concussion, she started suffering from vomiting spells, where she would throw up until she passed out on her bathroom floor. These happened every few days, and could last anywhere from two to seven hours.

“If my mom’s home, she’ll usually [check in on me],” Julia said. “Since I like pass out, it’s like dangerous because I could hit my head. So they put pillows in the bathroom…No one goes upstairs. The best parts are when I pass out, and if someone comes up, I’m so sensitive I’ll hear them and immediately start throwing up. So I’ll lay on my memory foam next to the toilet [and wait].”

Julia is now on Nortriptyline and Periactin, both migraine medications, to prevent any further episodes. Although, these medicines have side effects of their own, including extreme nausea and a reduced appetite. However, Julia says that she would choose these over the vomiting spells any day.

“I would rather cut off my foot than go through that one more time,” Julia said.

After the fifth concussion, Julia was forced to drop down in many of her classes. She no longer

took honors courses and had to go back a level in French. She worries about getting into college because her grades suffered after the concussion.

Everything is different now, especially at school.

“I am almost never on my phone or on my laptop, unless I’m working, because screens still affect me,” Julia said. “If I’m on them for more than a certain time, I’ll start [getting a] headache. I print out a lot of my schoolwork. I’m good at managing my time...I feel like I’m probably a regular student now that I’m in not honors classes.”

Julia continued to play sports, even through the symptoms. She says that the risk of a concussion is everywhere, she could fall down the stairs or get in a car accident, and so she might as well do something she loves. However, the sport has changed for her after the concussions. Some people did not accept the full ramifications of Julia’s injuries and pressured her to have the same lifestyle as before. “[A teacher] told me I was faking it and [that] you couldn’t get concussions from soccer and that I had to take a test [anyways],” Julia said. “…I left and went to the nurses office and cried.”

Another player told her that she could still play even if she had symptoms. For a while, it was the same: her injuries weren’t JUNIOR serious, and she was “just looking for attention.” So she played in a soccer game.

And then she passed out in the car on the way home.

There is a nationwide rising awareness about concussions in sports. Gradually, concussions are being taking more serious and being addressed sooner rather than later. At Westside, students with concussions have to ease back into sports over a span of five days after symptoms stop.

Baselines tests, which test brain function prior to a concussion for comparison, are conducted to all players in contact sports to try to help with diagnosis.

Julia and her family are watching Julia’s health closely. She has passed all the concussion tests and as long as she takes precautions, including wearing headgear during play, her family allows Julia to continue playing.

“If she feels at all like she’s [banged her head], or anything [concussion-related], the coach will sit her down,” said Julia’s father, David Clements. “…That’s the condition of the claims. If it hurts, sit down, take a rest. If it’s anything close to [a concussion], make sure you’re alright before you go back in.”

Her family has discussed the dangers of playing soccer again, and found the benefits outweigh

[The concussions] create a lot of questions in [my] life...Would I feel this way if I didn’t have a concussion?

JULIA CLEMENTS

the risks. This year, Julia made the Westside JV team and is well into the season.

“She should stop when it’s no longer fun,” David said. “And she should stop if there’s another concussion or any other injury...We’ve discussed this…We take it seriously. [But there’s] also a risk in life. Right now, we decided it’s not a serious enough risk to stop her from doing soccer. We keep a very close eye on [her symptoms].”

As for Julia, she “can’t imagine life before soccer.” She doesn’t see herself stopping anytime soon. However, when she is alone, she can’t help but wishing none of it ever happened.

“It creates a lot of questions in your life,” Julia said. “Would I have done this before? Would I have felt this way before? Do I feel this way because of the concussions? Would I feel this way if I didn’t have a concussion? Is what I’m feeling logical? It made my life blurry.”

Since the concussion, she has been forced to stop playing her favorite position, center midfielder, because she can no longer head the ball.

She sees things in her left eye like dancing lights, and her nose bleeds irregularly. Her parents won’t let her get a driver’s license or go to concerts. “[Soccer] used to be my passion,” Julia said.

“Now, I have no idea. I think about college and there’s a lot less time for happy things, and more time for studying for the ACT and AP tests, and getting good grades so I can get into a good college.

I still love it, it’s just not like a passion anymore...I don’t have any passions anymore…My concussion stole them from me. Robbed me. I don’t go a day without thinking about it.”

zupa’s

Junior Julia Clements passes to a teammate during soccer practice Tuesday, March 24 on Sunset field. Clements has been concussed multiple times while playing soccer. Photo

by Estella Fox

7

IN-DEPTH

the SWORD Westside’s Finest News Source THIS IS A SATIRICAL IN-DEPTH. UNLESS DIRECTLY CITED, ALL INFORMATION IS FALSIFIED.

WESTSIDE’S TAKE ON ‘THE ONION’

INSIDE TOP-NOTCH STUDENT SECTION The wild success of sports teams is due in part by small student sections.

on page 8

MEAN PEOPLE IN SCHOOL IMC’S

lance comes out, record low people offended Student body shocked at normal news

Record high number of students kicked out of the Math IMC for loud noises, including sneezing. on page 9

HIGHLIGHTS

NEW CLASS REPLACES SENIOR PROJECT

ESTELLA FOX EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

on page 8

WHAT ELSE EXTREME Food Rules Cheating No One Offended by Lance

After another left-wing, radical issue of the Lance came out last week, a record low of three people posted on social media after being offended by the contents inside.

The Lance, known for its disguising and hard-to-read stories, has gained attention after every new issue for its blatant offensiveness to those who read it. Westside students are typically sure to find tweets about how a story located in the opinion section has too much opinion in it; however, after the most recent issue was published, many students found the lack of tweets unsettling.

“I just didn’t know what to say,” Junior Jane Doe said, an avid user of Twitter. “I was uncomfortable all day. Where were the tweets bashing the content? What was I supposed to do, read it?”

Even one of the most active Lance haters, Senior John Smith, reported that he had no agency to post how he felt.

“After I read it, I closed the Lance and had no urge to pull out my phone,” Smith said. “It was kind of surreal. I didn’t even deface the pictures on the front and leave it on the ground.”

In the beginning of the day, Smith reported to have felt the same excitement that he usually does on the day of the Lance distribution. But

on this day, he noted that the passion quickly died out after flipping through the pages.

“Usually, I’ll go right to Twitter to let all my followers know that this one opinion didn’t align with mine, but I didn’t see the point this time,” Smith said. “I don’t know what has gotten in me.”

This change of pace could be due to the difference in content from each other issue.

In a survey conducted on 643 members of the student body, 87 percent reported that this issue was “pretty chill” compared to the last few, which had featured a critique on Mr. WHS and and article about the destigmatization of periods. In the same survey, 91 percent of students agreed with most of the articles in the opinion section saying the articles were “not too opinion-y.” Of the students surveyed, only 13 percent read the Lance issue they were surveyed about, a drastic drop from the last issue, which was 66 percent.

One of the mere three students who posted a complaint on Twitter, sophomore Johnny White, complained that there wasn’t enough to complain about.

“After a typical issue, I could go on and on about how they are trying to shove their opinion down my throat,” White said. “I scoured the pages looking for something that could be considered controversial, but I couldn’t find anything. It just wasn’t exciting enough.”

Sophomore Mason Kueny sits in the math IMC enjoying an issue of the Lance Tuesday, March 17. Keuny said reading the school newspaper is his favorite pastime. Photo by Jakob Phillips

8

IN-DEPTH

THIS IS A SATIRICAL IN-DEPTH. UNLESS DIRECTLY CITED, ALL INFORMATION IS FALSIFIED.

NO PAIN, NO GRADUATION New torture curriculum replaces senior project class, succeeds CONNOR F L AI R TY NEWS EDITOR Senior project, the word itself can bring even the toughest of seniors to breakdown. The class has been described as one of the most torturous at Westside. Some students walk in and never return the same after the long nine month process of reflection after reflection. Common side effects can include student’s waking up to cold sweat and nightmares and the infamous senior project thousand yard stare.

However student’s of the class of 2016 and below will never have to know these tortures because senior project will be stricken off of the required course load for 12th graders. However in its place to fill the senior pain proficiency is a new, more innovative and direct course: Senior Physical and Mental Torture 101.

The class, which is pass/fail and has one small group per week, covers topics like Chinese Water Torture and Lashing, with hands-on, classic torture methods like the Iron Maiden.

For current Senior Project instructor April Lambert, the new class offers a great opportunity for students to not have to take Senior Project, but for her to still be able inflict horrible pain upon her student’s.

“Every day during class, I kept hearing the same complaints. No one seemed to use the class to it’s full potential, so I knew we needed a change.” Lambert said. “With this new torture class plan, student’s don’t have to work on a project all year, and I still get to watch the light drain out of their eyes as I inflict a ridiculous amount of pain on them.”

Senior Physical and Mental Torture 101 has already been proven successful in other high school environments. John Stamos Senior High of San Francisco, California implemented the system and found it to be a great substitute for senior project.

“We experienced it first hand we visited [John Stamos Senior High], and while many of the teachers were skeptical, we realized just how much bet-

ter the class is,” Lambert said. “While the whipping unit of the class might be tough, in the long run it was a much more humane class, there is no messing around, we get right to the pain.”

In fact at John Stamos Senior High has reported a higher student happiness rate with the new course.

“Sure, lash wounds, student drown rates, and even rope burns are all up, but what is also up is student satisfaction,” Lambert said.

To accomadate the new class Westside has hired professional architects who are planning the rearrangement of the new senior torture classroom.

Architect David Coulier sees lot’s of opportunity for Westside’s Senior Project classroom making it’s transition to Senior Torture.

“This space gives us a lot of things to work with when we‘re making this transition,” Coulier said.

“The massive windows and the fact that it overlooks the most populated area in the school make it optimal to remind kid’s the torture all student’s must receive.”

Coulier states that with Westside’s innovative use of technology, there are even more opportunity.

“At a school like Westside, everything is state of the art, and they have the same standard for Senior Torture,” Coulier said. “The school has already purchased a set of Pepsi™whipping post and an apple™ iron maiden which I plan to place right by the windows so we can get good splatter for all those who pass.”

The Senior Torture classes will begin at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, and school officials are currently training teachers to be fully ready for the course, a rigorous process including learning whipping techniques, how to deal with electrical cables and how to smell fear of 17 year olds.

Some students may be intimidated by the idea of being tortured once a week, but at least underclassmen can rest easy knowing that they’ll never have to know the pain of a Research summary. Because for many, this is a far worse sentence.

Photo illustration by Sarah Lemke

RED SHIELD 2.0 Student section takes on unique form of cheering JAMES

B UCKL EY

SPORTS EDITOR

Sophomore Armani Henderson creates a huge distraction for the opposing baseball team in the JV game Monday, March 24. All by herself Armani set a student section record of 78 decibels. Photo by Taylor Schendt.

As spring sports start up and winter sports wind down, it’s time to look back and analyze the year in Westside athletics.

Through the hard work and dedication of fall and winter sports, Westside has amassed one state championship this year: a girl’s basketball title won this March. Considering last year’s teams didn’t have any until the spring, this is a huge step forward.

Usually, the success would be attributed to the players. This year, though, athletic director Tom Kerkman believes this wild success is because of the student section.

“You know, when it all comes down to it, the three or four rows of students that show up really impact the games,” Kerkman said. “All the offbeat cheers and lackluster effort creates a really chaotic environment for the opposing teams.”

Kerkman was deeply impressed by the students attending road games. Though the numbers vary, the decibel levels usually stay at a slightly noisy 75 decibels. To know what 75 decibels sounds like, imagine a toilet flushing in front of you.

To players like sophomore basketball player Anthony Bratton, the student section’s lack of distraction is a huge factor in games.

“Every time the student section would cheer and quickly fade away, the opposing teams got distracted and rattled because they expected it to be loud like every other student section,” Bratton said. “Since we’re used to it, we just kept playing

and scored easy baskets.”

Although some critics would say a loud student section is a better strategy, head football coach Brett Froendt loves how the student section operates.

“When it’s quiet, it gives us coaches a chance to think and talk to our players calmly,” Froendt said. “It’s definitely easier than having hundreds of students cheering loudly like we’ve had in the past.”

The cause of this change started with the club Red Shield last year. The club started as a Marketing Two project, aimed at creating the best student section possible.

This year, the presidents of the club--seniors Tyler Schneiderman and Reece Watanabe--improved on the student section standards from last year.

“Our goal was to have a smaller, quieter student section which would create a better atmosphere at games,” Schneiderman said. “We wanted to be loud enough for players to hear us, but not loud enough to be rude. Our hope for next year’s class is to have everyone sit down and be comfy at games instead of standing.”

The key to success, according to Schneiderman and Watanabe , is to make sure the underclassmen cheer late, so the volume stays low. That way, opposing teams can’t understand what the student section is saying and become distracted.

With continued improvements, Schneiderman and Ruff hope the Red Shield can be the smallest, quietest student section in the state years to come.

9

IN-DEPTH

THIS IS A SATIRICAL IN-DEPTH. UNLESS DIRECTLY CITED, INFORMATION IS FALSIFIED.

meaN Teachers CONTROL IMCS

CELENA S HEPHER D FEATURE EDITOR

A shocking 50 students were kicked out of the Math IMC on March 26. It was later discovered that this set a new record at Westside High School.

Before this event, the maximum amount of students who had been sent out of the math IMC in one day was 25. Their transgressions were generally related to obscene volume levels. Students were cited for coughing, sniffling and, in one case, even sneezing.

Sophomore Elise Paulsen was one of the students asked to leave and has retained deep feelings of remorse ever since the incident.

She was sitting at one of the tables, doing her homework, when math instructor Jonathan Tigani told everyone they needed to leave for breathing.

“I feel so awful,” Paulsen said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I can’t even imagine how to make this up to my teachers.”

Tigani was appalled by the amount of disrespect the students displayed by not following the IMC rules.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Tigani said. “It’s mind boggling to me how naïve these students were acting. They knew what they were doing wrong. You don’t just sit in here and breathe.”

The school expectation, no breathing in the math IMC, is announced every morning on the intercom for all students to hear.

Tigani was on IMC supervision, when the transgressions began. The sight of the students’ chests rising and falling was overwhelming. He was obligated to ask them to stop.

“I said ‘If you guys want to breathe, you can go to the courtyard,’” Tigani said. “I had no choice.

Hopefully their dismissal will teach them a valuable lesson.”

Sophomore Grace Yohannes describes her devastation after being banished to the infamous courtyard.

“The courtyard is total anarchy compared to the math IMC,” Yohannes said. “I thought I was in some awful nightmare. I mean, they allow actual food and students to play games on their computers.”

Yohannes appreciates the structure that the math IMC provides, but unfortunately due to her breathing violation, has been kicked out for all of eternity.

“I’m very emotional,” Yohannes said. “I don’t know how I will survive the courtyard. I feel so guilty. I need to make it right.”

Another math instructor, Beth Peitzmeier was at her desk during this event and strongly agrees with the actions taken.

“It’s not okay for students to be disturbing and obnoxious while in the math IMC,” Peitzmeier said. “I applaud Mr. Tigani.”

It is the hope of all teachers in the math IMC that students will remember this occurrence when considering breathing.

“I take my job very seriously and it’s not too much to ask for students to follow the rules,” Tigani said. “I will kick out any students who continue to breathe in the IMC.” At the end of this situation, Paulsen and Yohannes both agree with the math instructors, and only want students to learn from their mistakes.

“Don’t breathe,” Paulsen said. “Trust me you don’t want to feel like I do. I’m so ashamed.”

Photo by Mitch Francis

TRASH ATTACK

Instructors destroy litterbugs’ homes EVA WETZEL OPINION EDITOR As part of an entirely new empathy-based disciplinary method, high school staff members will be appointed to enter the homes of littering students, linger a while and leave garbage behind. According to new disciplinary coordinator Amanda Greenwater*, teachers hope that the program will alleviate Westside’s litter problem. It began on March 9, 2015.

“For years, administrators have tried to solve this issue,” Greenwater said. “Although it’s an unfortunate reality of maintaining such a large building with so many students, trash in the hallways can cause major problems. It attracts rodents, for example.”

Greenwater also stated that although she is confident in this experimental approach, it might not be a permanent fix.

“Westside has tried everything: banning students from eating in the hallways and banning fast food. Nothing has solved the problem,” Greenwater said. “This is just a new avenue for us. We’re going to see just how much litterbugs enjoy having to clean up after someone else.”

From now on, if a litterer is apprehended by a staff member, they will be forcibly enrolled in the program. Senior Janet DeJoren* was one of the first students to be subject to this new disciplinary method. She came home to find three teachers socializing in her house.

“Please help,” DeJoren said. “I left some orange peels in the hallway, that I admit. I was being lazy, OK? I made a bad choice.

But they’ve been coming for days. They talk loudly about taxes and stocks and stuff, and then they eat salads in my room, and I have to clean it up or else my mom gets mad. I want them to leave.”

Teachers are far more optimistic about the program than students. Theater department director Jeremy Stoll has his approach memorized.

“I usually bring along my troupe, have a nice luncheon and practice some Shakespeare,” Stoll said. “Try as I may, though, I’ll never be able to replicate the level of drama … that occurs within the span of an average lunch mod.”

Meanwhile, English instructor Deborah Wilkes* has been reported to be one of the campaign’s most enthusiastic participants.

“I sit down near where the student is working on their laptop,” Wilkes said. “I start eating from a bag of Sun Chips as loudly as possible, you know, spilling crumbs everywhere. Then I throw the bag on the floor and walk away. You should see the look on their faces — especially my student Jacory. Do you understand now, Jacory, why you can’t eat Sun Chips in the English IMC while I’m trying to grade essays? Do you, Jacory?”

Wilkes added that she hopes this will teach students a hard lesson.

“How the tables have turned,” Wilkes said. “Oh, how they’ve turned.”

Despite these praises, the program is not without problems. English instructor Jeff Grinvalds found difficulty connecting with his assigned student.

“I planned to enter their room with a masDISCIPLINARY COORDINATOR sive bag full of kettle corn, and to eat it messily while watching some ‘Parks and Rec’ on my iPad,” Grinvalds said. “But the area was already decimated.

You couldn’t see the floor under all the errantly strewn clothes and Monster cans; you couldn’t even see the bed … you had to wade in there. Not only that, but they were wearing headphones and listening to screamo. I must have left about a pound of popcorn kernels, but I don’t think that [the student] noticed anything at all.”

Because of these obstacles, Grinvalds had to be creative in how he caught the student’s attention.

“I actually spent a couple of hours cleaning and organizing the room,” Grinvalds said. “It was the only thing I could think to do.”

Although it is yet to be seen whether this new approach reduces hallway littering, administrators report a significant positive effect on teacher morale – especially among those that have cafeteria duty.

This is just a new avenue for us. We’re going to see just how much litterbugs enjoy having to clean up after someone else.

AMANDA GREENWATER

*This is a fictional character made to enhance the story.

In-depth

10

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A SATIRICAL IN-DEPTH. UNLESS DIRECTLY CITED, INFORMATION IS FALSIFIED.

NERD ALERT Senior doesn’t cheat the system, inexplicably succeeds Lia Hagen Copy editor Junior Mark Jacobs’ favorite thing about his Calculus class is the homework.

It’s a familiar routine, a simple pattern. Drive home, get a snack, sit down at his wellorganized desk. Every day, he pulls out his notebook and textbook and carefully runs his finger down the row of equations until he finds the first problem. Then he gets to work.

The math starts to blend together after a while, but Mark finishes it all slowly and carefully. Though the answers are at the back of the book, he never looks. When he needs help, he marks the problem carefully and goes into his teacher the next day. When his friends ask for assistance, he carefully points them in the same direction.

On test days, Mark is calm. He already knows he’s prepared. After all, just like his teacher says, you can find all the answers in the homework.

“Tests are pretty easy when you do what you’re supposed to do,” Mark said. “All you need to do is give up all your free time and personal passions, and it will fall into place.”

Mark has been a model student since elementary school. While other kids finger-painted and played games at recess, he got a head start on his work. Of course, for an elementary school student, homework mostly consisted of bringing home papers for your parents to sign, but he never forged the signature. He brought it carefully home to his mother, grabbed a pen for her, and brought it back to his teacher the next day.

“Mark’s always been kind of a suck-up,” said Becky Jacobs, Mark’s mother. “It’s strange because his father and I were such rebels in our time. If my high school friends knew I had such a nerd for a son, I’d be in for the swirlie of a lifetime.”

Recently, however, Mark’s extreme nerdiness has been a cause for pride. This year, Mark was awarded a gold medal for being the only student at Westside High School to have never cheated on a test.

“Honestly, I just expect my students to cheat at this point,” said Evan Doe, a math instructor at the high school. “How else could they get hours worth of homework and studying done per night? Actually, I’m still not sure Mark’s not just pulling a fast one on us. Are we sure he’s never cheated?”

But Mark swears it’s true.

“I’ve never done it,” he said. “Instead, I put my blood, sweat and tears into school. Like, literally blood, sweat and tears. I’m pretty sure I’ve cried in every bathroom at least twice.”

Now, this isn’t hard for anyone to believe. According to the American Psychological Association, 31 percent of teenagers often feel overwhelmed and stressed. In fact, the same study found that these days, teens tend to be more stressed than their parents. No one knows this better than Becky.

“To be completely real with you, I basically do nothing once I get off work,” she said.

“My job takes eight hours of sitting at a desk, being miserable and crunching numbers, and then I go home and watch Netflix until it’s time to get up the next morning. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to go to school, then go home and constantly work on homework or check my email for random notes from teachers. I’d probably be a nerd too. Ew.” Becky has seen the consequences of this workload in her son. For years, she was forced to watch as her worst fears came true, and her handsome, vaguely athletic son became an academically driven, dorky young man. She has been by his side (er, figuratively) as he stayed after school for extra-curriculars almost every day and spent at least six hours every night working on homework.

“It’s really not that much,” Mark said. “All of my teachers give me a perfectly reasonable hours’ worth of homework a night. True, when you have to take at least an hour for each class, it becomes a crushing burden of exhaustion and misery, but they’re just preparing me for the real world!”

As he applied for colleges, Mark saw how important these lessons were. According to the Atlantic, getting into colleges is growing more and more difficult as increasingly qualified applicants enter the field. It’s also getting harder to pay for, with one New York Times article naming our total national student debt as $1 trillion. For a student like Mark, who will rely on scholarships in order to attend college, it was important to stay ahead.

“Yeah, I have a 4.0, and I got a 36 on my ACT, and I lead five clubs,” he said. “But I still

THE FACTS*

99.99% of Westside students have cheated on at least one test.

55% of students said they cheated because they “were being crushed under the weight of high expectations and an ineffective educational system.”

42% of students said they cheated because they “wanted to sleep this month.”

3% said they cheated because “I don’t know, man. What’s good and bad, anyway? Isn’t everything just kinda shades of grey?” *These facts are not true. didn’t get into an Ivy League. Being sleep deprived and constantly miserable obviously wasn’t enough. If I could do high school again, I think I’d skip meals this time too.”

In his mother’s eyes, however, Mark’s academic successes have been significant.

“He’s smart I guess,” she said. “Teachers are always telling me how great he is and how much homework he does. The fact that he does it without cheating, though, is a continual source of embarrassment to our family.”

Mark’s friends share that embarrassment.

“Mark’s the only person I know who doesn’t have to work outside the system just to survive it,” said one senior, who chose to remain anonymous rather than have anyone know she was friends with a dork like Mark. “Sometimes I admire him, and sometimes I’m just furious he won’t share his homework with me.”

In college, Mark plans to continue this no-cheating policy. He also hopes to find a way to completely remove his desire for human connection as well as food in order to complete his classes more efficiently. Without a semblance of a social life or normal human needs, he should be ready to tackle that fast-paced college lifestyle. Then all he has left to deal with is our crumbling economy.

“Honestly, it’s just a race against the unemployment rates at this point,” Mark said.

“Hopefully, with some luck, my degree will help me get a really good position at McDonald’s.” *This is a fictional character.

PowerGrade A+

To the senior class finally leaving the high school. It’s been four years of watching them wander aimlessly through the hallways, and their senioritis is starting to affect their personal hygeine. Needless to say, juniors, sophomores and freshmen are excited to finally be out of their presence.

C+

To Zayn Malik announcing he is leaving One Direction. Although this was a disapointment, the louds sobs from One Direction fans that echoed throughout the building were unnecessary and frightening. After all, we still have his solo career to look forward to. Here’s hoping he’s the Beyoncé to One Direction’s Destiny’s Child.

F

To vacation homework. Assigning worksheets over spring break was cruel and unusual punishment. Students were forced to slave away at their desks while birds chirped outside and families frolicked on the beach. Actually, who are we kidding — we all know we did it Sunday night anyway.

FEATURE

11

Different way of communication provides unique opportunities Audrey M cM u l l en

Staff Writer The smell of hot coffee from sophomore Søren Johnson’s thermos wafts through the air and catches the attention of some half -asleep homeroom students with doughnuts in hand. Their eyes and ears perk up as they notice him unzipping his backpack and pulling out what looks to be a walkie talkie. A large antenna wavers as he brings the gadget to life. The machine makes a buzzing noise, and Johnson immediately speaks into the microphone.

Johnson and his friends, sophomores Daniel Guo and David AtriSchuller, all communicate using Ham Radios.

This sparked from an idea they had to make a Morse Code transmitter and receiver called a CW transceiver.

“We could tap out messages to each other during class,” Johnson said.

They later found out that in order to do this, they would need a Ham Radio license. They had to take a test administered by people with licenses. Two out of the three friends were issued their licenses. Although each of the boys have cell phones, they prefer this method of correspondence because of the possibilities and the free communication. There is no limit of people you can talk to.

“If the [weather] conditions are right you can be talking to some guy who is sitting in Beijing.”

Guo said.

However, there are some drawbacks. They obviously aren’t able to communicate with people who don’t have Ham Radios, and weather conditions aren’t always prime.

“You can’t just pick it up and dial it and always be connected,” Guo said.

They use specific frequencies to communicate.

Radio waves that are given off all have different frequencies. By changing the frequency set on their radios, they can pick up different signals. Otherwise, the r a d i o s themselves wouldn’t be able to reach far away distances.

If they call in to a device called a repeater, it can transmit their SOPHOMORE signal even longer distances.

There is one located a quarter mile from Westside High School. Everything they say can be heard by anyone on a specific frequency. At school, they contact each other’s radios individually. However, there can be a lot of static. The signal can have trouble traveling through walls.

“We found out we can’t talk to each other from one end of the school to the other,” Johnson said.

While they are useful in aiding Johnson and his friends’ communication, these radios can also be helpful in times of trouble. During Hurricane Sandy and Katrina, people would use different amateur radio stations to aid in emergency operations.

One time while listening to music on the radio, the

If the [weather] conditions are right, you can be talking to some guy...in Beijing.

Daniel Guo

boys got quite a scare. They were listening to the radio and heard a plead for help.

“David and I were going crazy,” Johnson said.

“We thought it was [a person] on the radio, but it was actually a commercial.”

As the bell rings, Johnson concludes the conversation over the radio. He pushes the switch and the bright screen fades. He gets up, pushes his chair in and leaves the room thinking of the new possibilities his radio might bring.

Sophomores Daniel Guo and Søren Johnson work with a CV radio after school in the Engineering and Technology IMC Tuesday, March 24. The two communicate with these instead of phones.

Photo by Mitch Francis

sports

12

CHOSEN ONE

Sophomore soccer player accepts new role JACK COHEN

SPORTS editor The players filed out one by one. Michael G. Morrison stadium held a massive student section full of vacation-themed Westside students. Baldheaded, wide-eyed freshman Hunter Kruse was preparing to start the state soccer championship in his first year of high school soccer. Although the Warriors fell to Lincoln Southwest 1-0, Kruse’s soccer journey was just beginning.

In a roster full of seniors with a lifetime of experience playing together, Kruse, now a sophomore, found a role. Starting the state final game as a freshman is no small accomplishment, yet Kruse knew his growth in the sport was far from over.

Kruse began his soccer play career at a young age. “[Soccer] started to get competitive when I was nine or ten,” Kruse said. “That’s when we started traveling and winning a lot of games.”

That team was the Gladiator U-10 team, featuring other Westside varsity players junior Joe Fehr and sophomore Jack Finocchiaro Even back then, head varsity soccer coach John Brian had seen a lot of Kruse.

“I’ve known Hunter since he was two years old,” Brian said. “I’ve watched him since he could walk.”

From these early years, Kruse’s love for soccer was obvious.

“He’s always been a total soccer-head and a student of the game,” Brian said. “He understands what it takes to play the game.”

Kruse has already seen the familiarity of both the sport and how some of his teammates benefit the team.

“We’ve already been playing for like ten years together,” Kruse said. “I think it kind of has an effect on the team.

This effect can be seen in their teamwork.

“When people see others cooperating well it spreads to other players, and they start realizing what the team is all about.” Kruse said.

Last year’s senior class had also been playing together for years. The lessons learned from that year are benefiting Kruse in his second season.

“When I first came in with those guys I was nervous,” Kruse said. “You’re a 15-year-old play-

ing against 18- year-olds.”

For Kruse, what caused trepidation quickly turned into a source of strength. As he continued playing, he realized his age shouldn’t hold him back.

“I realized there are people on my team that age too,” Kruse said. “Once I got on the field, I played and forgot about all that.”

Brian noticed the improvement throughout his debut season.

“When he finally came to the high school as a freshman, he needed maturity level as far as varsity playing against 18-year-olds and 19-yearolds, but he adapted very quickly,” Brian said..

Now, one year removed from that disappointing 1-0 loss to Lincoln Southwest in last season’s final, Kruse looks to improve as a player. Brian thinks he already has.

“He’s outstanding,” Brian said. “He’s a high D-1 product, and he has a gift: his ability to play at a high level. He can make a ball do things that physics doesn’t generally allow.”

After his first season, Kruse understands this gift better.

“Last year, I felt like I was just joining the team and was beginning to be a part of something,” Kruse said. “I think my role will be a lot more important as my high school career goes on.”

Kruse is commonly referred to by his teammates as “The Chosen One.” Although individual performance isn’t the most important to Kruse, finishing what last year’s seniors nearly did is his ultimate goal. He wants to win a state championship.

Brian thinks Hunter’s abilities have grown since last season.

“Hunter as a sophomore has a presence that most players don’t develop until they get to their senior year,” Bryan said.

Despite the hype and expectations surrounding Kruse and the Warriors this season, the end result remains the focus.

“It’s very important to me to make it to state and win it this year because our team has put a lot of work in since losing last time,” Kruse said.

This year, Kruse is more than prepared to stand on Michael Morrison Field once again.

Amazingly, he still has three more opportunities to do so.

Top: Sophomore Hunter Kruse gets around a Skutt Skyhawk player Saturday, March 21. Kruse has been on varsity since his freshman year. Left: Kruse throws the ball in at the Skutt game.

Westside lost to Skutt 1-0. Photos by Sarah Lemke

Librarian prepares to compete in marathon Connor Castleman STAFF WRITER

Head Librarian Theresa Gosnell ties her shoes in preparation for a morning run on Tuesday, March 24. Gosnell is training for the Boston Marathon in April.

Photo by Mitch Francis

For librarian Theresa Gosnell, it is an honor to have the opportunity to participate in the Boston Marathon.

Growing up, Gosnell ran track. She started in middle school and competed in hurdles and the long jump. Track kept her interest throughout her high school career, and it wasn’t until her senior year of high school that she started cross-country.

“I liked track more because it was easier for me to track how I was doing,” Gosnell said. “With cross-country, it was harder to keep track of how I was doing because I could only do that every mile.”

Although Gosnell found track easier because it allowed her to see improvement, cross-country helped her stay in shape and improve in both of her sports.

In high school, Gosnell made many different friends by participating in cross-country and track.

“I was able to run faster and work harder because I wanted to do good — not only for myself but for my teammates,” Gosnell said.

As a senior, Gosnell excelled at both track and cross country. This landed her a scholarship to the University of Nebraska.

Even today, Gosnell consistently runs on the weekends. She does this to prepare for upcoming cross-country events in the Omaha area.

When Gosnell trains, she works out during weekdays so she can still have enough time to work at school. It’s on the weekends when she runs long miles. Gosnell wakes up early in morn-

ings to run them.

“The longest I’ve ran so far is 22 miles,” Gosnell said.

Gosnell’s hard work has allowed her to have the opportunity of participating in the Boston Marathon. The Boston Marathon is the most popular marathon in the country. With nearly 40,000 people participating in the event, Gosnell found the challenge she was looking for. With the marathon starting on April 20, Gosnell has less than one month to complete her training.

“I’m going for a time of around three hours,” Gosnell said. “I’m not trying to win, I’m just trying to enjoy the opportunity.”

Sometimes, the hardest thing for Gosnell is getting over being tired.

“When I get tired, the main thing I try to do is catch someone,” Gosnell said. “Passing someone makes me want to keep them from passing me back up, so I push myself harder.”

Gosnell also thinks that observers of the marathon could help her stay motivated.

“I think observers of the marathon might help,” Gosnell said. “Their constant cheering and yelling is another motivator to push me thought the race.”

Every few miles, Gosnell takes a little packet known as gu energy gels. This gives her energy throughout the race, so she has the opportunity to keep competing with the other runners in the Boston marathon. This gu is taken by most runners and is composed of carbohydrates that are absorbed into the runner’s blood stream, keeping their energy levels high.

Gosnell hopes that her training and game plan for the big race will pay off on April 20 when she begins the 26.2-mile race against 40,000 others.

SPORTS

STROKES OF FAITH

13

Mother supports swimmer from young age JACE WIESELER

MANAGING EDITOR Junior Elizabeth Amato-Hanner has a routine every time she steps on the starting block.

She swings her arms and jumps up and down.

She clears her mind to get mentally prepared for the race.

Elizabeth bends over, waiting for the beep.

She’s been doing this for over a decade.

Elizabeth’s mother, Stephenie AmatoHanner, would take a one-yearold Elizabeth to the pool everyday MOTHER during the summer.

Elizabeth couldn’t get enough of it.

So she started out swimming on a team for a summer recreation league at the age of six.

“As a six year old [she] had the only ‘legal’ butterfly [stroke] on the team,” Stephenie said. “She was a natural.”

One reason Elizabeth got into swimming was because of Stephenie’s influence, who swam all throughout college. But while she had a little influence on Elizabeth, Stephenie thinks she hasn’t really followed in her footsteps.

“She is so talented and leagues ahead of where I was at her age,” Stephenie said. “Her work ethic and drive are so strong. I always wanted my children to be strong swimmers. It is such an important life skill.”

That work ethic is shown not just through high school swimming, but through club season, too.

When she was nine, Elizabeth started swimming

for a more competitive club team. During club season, Elizabeth spends around 16 hours a week training, with two morning practices a week and a few hours every day after school.

“Club is more individual,” Elizabeth said. “Of course you’re still on a team, but it’s more about you dropping time rather than the team working toward a championship.”

A state championship is what Westside’s girls swimming team strived to do at the state swimming meet Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28. The team placed fifth overall while Elizabeth set a new state record and won a state title.

Elizabeth holds the state record for 100-yard backstroke. She broke the 56.27-second record by almost a whole second with a time of 55.7 seconds.

Since Elizabeth had missed the mark by fourtenths of a second last year during high school season in the same event, she worked extra hard over club season.

She got under that time during club season last year but since it wasn’t a high school sanction meet, it didn’t count as a state record.

Elizabeth says that she jokes with her mother about their times, but as a swimmer, Stephenie understands that it is impossible to do your absolute best every time you compete.

“As long as I put in my best effort, she’s proud of me,” Elizabeth said. “My mom has always been super supportive of my swimming. She never put pressure on me to perform well, but

I think the sky is Elizabeth’s limit... I couldn’t be more proud of her.

STEPHENIE AMAT O-HANNER

instead encourages me to do the best I can in the race at the time.”

Stephenie swam in some of the same events as Elizabeth, but the one difference Stephenie does see between the two of them is commitment.

“She is a very hard worker and very rarely misses practice where I cannot say I was quite as dedicated, unfortunately,” Stephenie said. “I think the sky is Elizabeth’s limit. She will go as far as she wants to in swimming. She has some big goals and I know she will achieve all of them… I couldn’t be more proud of [her].”

Junior Elizabeth Amato-Hanner competes at the swim meet against Burke high school Thursday, Jan. 15. Amato-Hanner will be trying out for the 2016 Olympics. Photo

by Sarah Lemke

14 ction Produ R ECTO DIR

Scene Date

Take

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Omaha Film Festival ELISE TUCKER A&E EDITOR

As I sit back in my cushion chair, I’m surrounded by people who know more about movies than I do. At the Omaha Film Festival in Village Point, indie films can be showcased from the comfort of a theater chair. The event was on March 10 through the 15, and it’s an amazing festival to go to if you are a movie lover.

Night 1: 3/10/15:

“Slow West” is about a boy who tries to find his “true” love, a girl he was friends with a couple years ago. The movie depicted the passion the characters had for each other. I loved how the main character was so involved in love.

When the movie ended, I sat back in complete awe. It made me think about why you shouldn’t take people for granted.

Night 2: 3/11/15:

“The Philosopher King” was up next, and I really didn’t know what I was getting into. I’m not much of an art film person, so I was surprised by the quality of the film.

“The Philosopher King” was a beautiful art film set in Sweden. The movie is about two brothers trying to find a common activity to do.

The movie’s scenery and character dynamic really tied it all together in this beautiful art film. It made me feel more connected with my family and myself.

After the movie, the producer of the movie came up and did a question and answer session. He made a true connection with us. He made us feel like we were his friends instead of just the audience.

Night 3: 3/12/15:

When my friend called me up to say she couldn’t make it to Horror Night at the film festival, I knew I was in trouble. Personally, I hate scary movies, and I was not going to be caught dead watching one alone. Still, I felt compelled to at least try it.

“They Look Like People” is about a man who thinks his friends and wife are shape-shifters who take over your body. It was okay from what parts I saw and it made me uncomfortable in my seat because the audio was so loud.

Night 4: 3/13/15:

As I arrived with my mom to the festival, I felt like we both knew that this movie would hit us hard. “Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World” is a documentary about a little boy who had leukemia. He made a

wish through the charity Make A Wish he wanted to be his favorite superhero: Batman.

The movie was very cool because it showed that humanity isn’t hopeless, and I felt like I had a new perspective on life after.

Day 5: 3/14/15:

Saturday was the biggest day of the festival because there are a lot of panels and movies. First, I attended the Writer’s Theatre-Shorts where local actors performed screenplays that didn’t make it to the big screen.

After the scripts, it was time for “Setting the Clock Back: Reflections on Nine Seasons of 24,” where James Morrison, who was in “24,” and David Fury, the writer of some episodes of “24,” talked about their experiences on the set. “24” is about an agent named Jack Bauer who fights the bad guys in the world. The two were quite funny and joked around through discussions.

It was amazing how they got to know the viewers of the show during the panel so well. I enjoyed the little comments Morrison and Fury would make to each other.

“A Sort of Homecoming” starring Laura Marano was up next and I was excited. I love her acting work and the movie, in general, just drew me in because of my Speech and Debate background.

The movie was absolutely amazing. From the dynamics between the characters, to the breathtaking location of Louisiana, the indie movie had it all.

Day 6: 3/15/15:

The final day of the Omaha Film Festival had arrived, and I was not ready for it. I started out at the Filmmaker Panel where writers, producers and directors from some of the films answered questions from the audience.

After the panel, two friends joined me for “Wet Bum,” a movie about a girl who is insecure about her body because some girls at her pool think she’s “underdeveloped.”

The awards followed afterwards. Some of the main winners were “Batkid” for the Audience Choice Documentary and “Tattoo” for winning best short script, but all of the festival movies did amazing.

“Cut Bank” was the closing night movie and I was very excited to see this because Liam Hemsworth’s is the main character. I’m a big Hunger Games fan and just to see Hemsworth in a different project was interesting. The movie is about Liam’s character Dwayne who films a murder when he is out with his girlfriend Cassandra (Teresa Palmer).

The movie was your traditional slasher film. It didn’t really surprise me, but I did like the fact that Hemsworth was in it.

The Omaha Film Festival was a true success in all aspects. From the films to the friendships, the festival brought movie-lovers together for one purpose: film appreciation.

T H E facts 97 The number of movies in the festival

12 The number of countries that have a movie shown in the festival

10

The amount of years the annual film festival has been in Omaha

Writer molds school experiences into movie ELISE TU CK ER A&E EDITOR Lynn Reed, writer of the movie “A Sort of Homecoming,” wanted to make this movie special, not only for the audience, but for herself. She imagined her high school speech and debate experience on screen, with just a sprinkle of “movie drama” for the viewers.

“A Sort of Homecoming” is about a woman named Amy (Michelle Clunie) who returns to her hometown to compete in a “highly cometitive national debate circut” with her debate partner.

The younger version of Amy was played by Laura Marano.

Reed mentioned that she wasn’t always interested in writing.

“I was in politics after I graduated college, just working on campaigns and internet strategy,” Reed said. “I have always wanted to write, but it was in the background.”

She then decided to write the script because she had a lot of life experience from Speech and Debate.

“I decided to fictionalize the elements of my high school Debate experience that I had always wanted to write about,” Reed said.

The movie was shot in Louisiana, two days in New Orleans and 17 days in Lafayette.

“We had such a great response from the community in Lafayette,” Reed said. “All of the extras worked for free and they would even want to come back at night for airport scenes we needed to shoot.”

For Reed, there were a lot of obstacles that the cast and crew needed to overcome.

“We shot the movie in February, so the weather wasn’t great,” Reed said. “Then we had to work around Laura’s schedule, so sometimes she couldn’t make it to the set because she had other professional obligations. We needed to do other scenes, which were hard to schedule.”

On set, it was mostly all work, but the cast and crew had fun during the production process.

“There were times were we weren’t going to use the audio and the director Maria wanted to have a close up on their mouths,” Reed said. “Well Laura, being a huge Harry Potter fan, whenever she didn’t have actual lines but we needed to see her mouth moving, would talk about Harry Potter.”

Reed also exWRITER plains that the movie didn’t have a lot of money to begin with compared to studio movies, so the distribution of the film will be small.

“We hope to see it on TV or on iTunes and Netflix, but right now it’s a huge feat for us to do all of that,” Reed said.

Even though Lynn Reed is finished with this project, she has another idea in mind.

“I would like to do a TV show that would be set in our time, but the draft would be reinstated,” Reed said. “It would be an alternate history where young people would have to face moral questions about serving in the military and how that would affect their normal lives.”

From the beautiful scenes, to the amazing work the cast and crew did, “A Sort of Homecoming” carries the message of following one’s dreams. Audiences can see it on April 18 in Houston, Texas and in Boston, Mass. on April 19, but Lynn hopes the movie will be picked up for more dates across America.

I have always wanted to write, but it was in the background.

LYNN REED

15

A&E

Hippy-Hop artist stumbles through old hits Bella R ad l er STAFF WRITER Eight days ago, I ventured into the artist Mod Sun’s made up world of “Paradisity.” However, it wasn’t the vacation it was made out to be. Taken directly from this song, which he led with, I sure wanted to “get away” from this concert.

I’d seen Mod Sun at a concert before, but he was just the opening act. I can’t quite remember him performing, which shows how little I enjoyed his music. He refers to his genre as “hippy-hop,” which seems to consist of annoyingly slow rapping, repetitive lines and multiple “catchy” choruses. Seeing that he was now the main event, I assumed he had climbed the ladder and become someone to be opened for.

I tried to be excited and dance to his songs, but instead I found myself pausing to laugh at his lyrics. “Tell the DJ drop my song, I’m bouta hit the floor, turn the music up,” is especially funny to me because if a DJ were to “drop” a Mod Sun song, I would be so quick to leave the function.

In order to enjoy the songs, I had to use all of my energy to blur his words together. Fortunately, he eventually started doing this without my assistance. With every shot and beer he threw down during his performance, his words became less clear and his lyrics reached their ideal state – illegibility.

His performance just kept getting sloppier throughout the concert. Near the beginning, he had a huge Jack Daniels bottle, and within a few minutes, it had been tossed back on stage for everyone to witness. I didn’t think much of this when it was happening because I’m used to seeing artists on stage holding a joint or bottle to “look cool” to the crowd, but as the show went on, it seemed like more than just an impression he was giving off.

Around halfway through the show, he decided to “take the crowd on a field trip.” This field trip consisted of him stumbling off stage to the

bar for another drink. Needless to say, it was life changing. At least, it should’ve been – for him.

Such mounting evidence of alcoholism should be considered anyone’s rock bottom. However, I did manage to take this chance to squeeze my way to a front row spot. I was hoping I’d have more fun if I were surrounded by enthusiastic, dancing fans.

But by the time he came back to the stage, he was a complete mess. He even asked the opening act, Black Bear, to come sing the first half of his song so he could chug a beer before joining.

The highlight, however, has to be his attempt at crowd surfing. He fell every which way before being pulled back onto the stage by his ankles by a concerned DJ. To me, it seemed like a 28-year-old man’s sad attempt to be relatable to angsty teens. In the end, though, he just ended up looking like an unhappy drunk. By the time he proudly sang “I will never quit smoking,” I had retired to a booth.

Throughout his drunken mess, though, he did have some notable things to say. His music didn’t make me feel much, but he often interrupted songs with heartfelt speeches. He gave the crowd words of encouragement and built them up. The quote he repeatedly most often was “happiness is currency, therefore I’m rich.” It was nice of him to try and relate to the crowd, but his attempts were clashing with his inability to be a role model.

If you can blur your mind as well as I blurred his lyrics and he blurred his vision, you may be able to overlook the clumsy mess he made of himself and see someone who just wants to become closer to everyone around him. I’m sure it’s difficult to find yourself on stage, alone in a crowd.

Still, this is a concert review, not a soap opera. His music was bad. Being an artist is not just throwing together three minutes of random repeating and rhyming lines. It also entails being a role model. Many people define themselves by the artists they listen to and love, and unless your goal is to be drunk in a mid-life crisis, Mod Sun is not the artist to be looking up to.

Lead singer of Mod Sun, Derek Smith, performs at The Waiting Room Lounge on March 15. He says his stage name is an acronym for “Movement On Dreams Stand Under None.” Photo by Bella Radler

A&E

16

NETFLIX KAYLA KYL E

STAFF WRITER

SARAH H E R M ANN OPINION EDITOR

reviews

D ESIGN BY ALLIE LAING

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt The “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” went to Netflix March 6 and immediately gained attention thanks to Tina Fey producing it and Ellie Kemper from The Office playing the lead role.

The show follows Kimmy Schmidt, a woman discovering life again after being held hostage in an underground bunker for the past fifteen years. But don’t be fooled by the dramatic-sounding description: this show is 100% comedy.

The first thing that captured our attention was the setting. The story takes place in New York, a city that’s known for being busy, diverse and always entertaining. This location fits well with the equally interesting characters.

Because of her fifteen years of captivity, Kimmy Schmidt (Kemper), has the mindset of a 13-year-old despite being 29. The contrast between the adult situations happening in her life and her innocent mind makes for a very interesting character.

The comedic dialogue is the cherry-on-top of this hit Netflix original show. Fey once again brings her unique sense of humor to

Derek

The show “Derek,” starring comedian Richard Gervais, came to Netflix about two years ago. It slipped under the media’s radar and didn’t gain popularity like other Netflix shows such as “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards.” This causes the show to be a hidden gem.

Derek is filmed in the style of a documentary, following Derek (Gervais), a happy-go-lucky caretaker for a nursing home. It tracks the life stories of other workers and patients, as well as following the economic state of the nursing home.

The show started off with Derek introducing the minor characters and the main room of the nursing home. Immediately after, they went right into the main conflicts of the season. By doing this, they failed in giving us any background information whatsoever, which left us puzzled.

Unfortunately, because of the slow-paced nature, viewers can become easily distracted and disinterested. The dialogue in “Derek” feels very realistic and familiar to us, which can act as a negative. We see

the table by incorporating her witty use of dialogue. This is only heightened by the exaggerated and wildly different characters, which range from a roommate desperately tring to make it to Broadway to an excessively rich woman struggling to find her place. The outrageous situations that occur in the show could only be created in the humorous mind of Fey. The only complaint we have with the show is the lack of immediate background description. We were confused during the pilot, as they didn’t take time to go into detail about what had happened to Kimmy and the rest of the hostages. It was mentioned later on, but the knowledge would have been useful for us to have once the series kicked off.

Overall, we recommend this show for someone who is looking for a good laugh. Fey brings a fresh take on comedy that we haven’t seen on television before. The show’s modern and unique take on the classic storyline of people discovering New York is sure to become a hit among comedy TV shows.

these situations every day and it can be easy to get bored with them.

That being said, the realistic scenarios in “Derek” are also what makes the show so personal to viewers. There are already enough shows out there throwing out comedic one-liners every 10 seconds, so it is a relief to find a comedy that’s relatable for once.

Derek is an incredibly individual character, who has a sense of innocence and blind happiness. It is debated as to whether he has a mental disability, but it’s never directly stated. He’s a multifaceted character that brings heart and soul to the television community.

We very rarely see qualities of an actual person in a fictional character, so seeing this character is heartwarming.

It’s hard to get into “Derek,” but once you do, you will learn to appreciate the small things the show has to offer. We recommend this to people willing to see a different, but challenging side of comedy. Anyone who watches this program will be relieved to see characters that they can see themselves in and situations that they can relate to.

Happy Valley “Happy Valley” first went onto Netflix in April of last year and aired as a mini-series, only available in the UK. The British drama follows Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), a police sergeant that is unknowingly involved in a kidnapping case with the man who drove her daughter to commit suicide.

The first thing that captured our attention was the dramatic performances by the actors. It is difficult to pull off heavy scenes, but the casting in the show was well thought out and gives the show the dramatic effect that the plot needs.

In the pilot of “Happy Valley,” Lancashire’s character details her past troubles to her son’s teacher. While she is doing this, she recounts events that led to her daughter’s suicide. This scene could have easily been over the top and unbelievable, but Lancashire brought a very realistic and sympathetic feeling to the scene.

The typical crime drama usually has the same plot layout: someone gets killed within the first 30 seconds, and they spend the rest of the episode tracking down and catching the culprit. This series allows the viewers to become more attached the characters, because the show follows the same crime throughout all the episodes. The cop

has a motive beyond wanting to catch a criminal. He is the one who led her daughter to suicide. This makes the show that much more personal.

To add on to the unique effects that “Happy Valley” gives its viewers, the show circles around a woman cop. It is rare that we see a woman cop in a television crime series, so it is refreshing to see a cop portrayed by a female.

Although the things previously stated positively affect the series, there are still some negative aspects. The slow-paced buildup of the show failed to capture our attention and we quickly became distracted, which isn’t a good quality for a pilot to have. As the episode went on, things picked up, but this wasn’t until a good thirty minutes in. It is important to capture a viewer’s attention from the start and this is something that the show failed to do.

“Happy Valley” has a lot to offer once you get past the slow pacing of the show. We recommend this show to anyone looking for an original crime show and a story that they can get lost in.

The new and unique twist on a cop show is one that shouldn’t go unnoticed.