Lance Issue Four

December 12, 2014 IN-DEPTH Check out the Lance’s coverage of mental illness on page nine.

the 8701 Pacific St. Omaha, NE 68114 Volume 59 Issue 4

Lance

Sophomore Taylor McBride and junior Chelsey Kolls wrap the gifts they purchased for their “adopted” child in the journalism room during homeroom Tuesday, Dec. 9. Journalism adviser Jerred Zegelis’ homeroom raised $101 worth of gifts for the event. Photo by Sarah Lemke

GIVING BACK

Student’s experience with gift event comes full circle Nata

Ward

Editor-in-chief Every year, junior Chelsey Kolls does everything she can to make Homeroom Adoptions successful. She keeps her homeroom on track, goes shopping for the gifts and even uses her own money to cover the bill when it’s a few dollars over the amount her homeroom raised.

She does everything she can because she knows how good it feels to be on the receiving end.

Five years ago, Kolls was the one who expected very little on Christmas. Her family was going through what could safely be described as a “hard time.” Not long before, their apartment had burned down, and with her mother’s recent breakup, they were on their own. Kohlls struggled to understand her situation. “[Children] don’t know what financial problems are,” Kolls said. “You know that it’s Christmas time, and you’re supposed to be getting presents.”

She had been prepared for one card with her name on it from her grandparents and not much else. So when she saw presents under the tree addressed to her, from WHS students, she began to see past the difficulties in her life.

“I think [receiving the gifts] just made me see the hope, the brighter side of [the world],” Kolls said. “Because, honestly, I was a really depressed kid. [It made me see] that

there were people that were still good…that [there were people that] cared so much, you know, [that] it’s not just all about them.”

Through Homeroom Adoptions, children with financial need can receive gifts for the holidays. A child’s name is submitted through the guidance counselor at their school, and a homeroom at the high school “adopts” them. The homeroom is in charge of raising money, buying and wrapping gifts for the child.

For Kolls, Homeroom Adoptions this year is a chance to return the favor she received. Her homeroom raised a total of $101 to buy a Frozen book, Frozen wrapping paper, boots, pajamas and other gifts. Chelsey hopes the gifts will give the child joy like it did for her.

“I hope to…help [other kids] realize there are people out there that still care, and that the world hasn’t gotten as bad as [it] seems,” Kolls said.

This small gesture of kindness is the idea behind the Homeroom Adoptions event, started by guidance counselor Vicki Londer nearly nine years ago. Londer was inspired by a shoebox project where items were sent to JUNIOR children overseas and saw a need in the Westside district for a similar project.

“I thought it would be amazing to help students in our own district [to] have a great holiday,” Londer said.

This year, 97 children were adopted by homerooms at the high school. The families that have stepped forward to talk to Londer have felt extreme gratitude for the event. continued on page 2

I hope to... help [other kids] realize there are people out there that still care.

Chelsey Kolls

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NEWS

Adoptions: benefits not just for adopted children, homerooms also receive continued from page 1 “They cried, I cried,” Londer said. “It was amazing to see what we did directly benefit a family…They talked about how thankful they were and how these were the only items their children would receive this year. They are always so emotional about how grateful they are.”

Londer runs the event with help from the club she sponsors, Key Club, and its two co-presidents: juniors Amy Conaway and Melissa Loney.

Conaway says there’s a lot of trust given to homerooms that adopt a kid.

“We are basically giving them a list and asking them to provide [a holiday] for a kid,” Conaway said. “[But] no one wants to let someone down on the holidays.”

“Holiday spirit,” as Conaway calls it, is not

the only motivator, however. For the recipients, there are obvious benefits, but the homerooms benefit as well.

“What I think is really special about it [is] a lot of the time…the seniors [in a homeroom] never know the freshmen, or homerooms just never really talk,” Loney said.

“But it is something where the homeroom actually does work together as a whole. And it’s quite nice.”

Kolls believes her homeroom has been brought closer together because of the event, but her favorite part is still being able to help a child JUNIOR in a situation similar to her own. “[Homeroom Adoptions] just [brings] all [the] extra joy that Christmas is supposed to bring for kids,” Kolls said. “[For me,] it brought a lot more.”

A lot of the time... homerooms never really talk. But [the event] is something where the homeroom actually does work together.

Melissa Loney

Senior Sydney Wilson shops for gifts for the child her homeroom “adopted” at the Target on 72 St. Sunday, Dec. 7. The adoption was part of the Homeroom Adoption event which started nine years ago. Photo by Sarah Lemke

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NEWS

3 Senior Reece Watanabe is congratulated by his fellow candidates at the Mr. WHS competition held Thursday, Nov. 20 in the auditorium. Watanabe’s talent was an accoustic rendition of the song “Wagon Wheel,” which ultimately landed him the title of Mr. WHS. Photo by Jakob Philliips

MR. WHS

Westside seniors compete in comedy pageant eva wetzel opinion editor

The stage is engulfed by a flurry of white as paper flies right and left. It’s the Mr. WHS pageant, and the contestants are playing “Hanky Panky” — a short game where they must completely empty a box of 160 tissues. This is done one at a time, in under a minute, with the use of only one hand.

This was but one part of the performance Thursday, Nov. 20 as eight seniors competed for the title of Mr. WHS. The final results: senior Alex Zimmerman took third place, senior Max Petersen took second and senior Reece Watanabe won the Mr. WHS title. Each of these top three finishers received a small cash prize, and in Watanabe’s case, a crown. All additional proceeds went to the Make-A-Wish foundation.

The pageant was broken up into several sections: swimsuit, talent, Q&A, a game and a “singing bee.” All of it was organized by Westside’s Student Advisory Board (SAB). Despite its reliance on improv, the show was still precluded by rehearsal sessions. The emcees, contestants, SAB officiators and tech crew all made sure everything was going to go smoothly onstage by running through an abbreviated version of the pageant.

Additionally, each contestant supplied his own unique, and often comedic, introduction. These blurbs were read aloud by the emcees as the boys first walked onstage.

Prior to the swimwear competition, contestants were warned there was a kill switch capable of shutting off all the lights if anybody got too inappropriate. There was no need to use this particular switch during the final performance, however. All of the contestants still brought something unique to the stage. Watanabe, for example, came out with a bikini top. Other props included flippers and an inflatable shark.

Some time after that came the talent portion, with each contestant showing off a skill or performance, usually to music. Senior Max Slosburg, a tennis player, sported lime green leggings and whacked tennis balls into the audience. Seniors Jacob Andrews and Danny Coyle masqueraded as Troy and Gabriella from High School Musical and lip-synced to “Breaking Free.” They also stayed in character throughout the show, with Andrews wearing a red dress and long black wig.

Each contestant had a different story behind his talent, whether it be the result of months of practicing or a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Zimmerman, who elicited gasps and cheers from the audience as he jumped rope while hopping on a pogo stick, falls into the latter category.

“I actually tried [the jump rope] for the first time during try-outs,” Zimmerman said. “I knew how to pogo stick, but I just found a jump rope and tried it.”

Petersen, on the other hand, got inspiration for his talent from a different source.

“My mother came up with it, actually,” Petersen said. “She’s very creative, and she’s like, you know, it’d be kind of funny if you played badminton against yourself.”

This recommendation resulted in his final routine: dashing from one side of a small net to the other after each strike of the shuttlecock.

Finally, Watanabe had been working on the foundation for his talent — a one-man ukulele rendition of country song “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker — for quite some time.

“Over the summer, I just happened to pick up the ukulele as a hobby, and…it just [came] in handy at the right time,” Watanabe said.

Rehearsed acts made up only a small portion of Mr. WHS, however. Improvisation was a primary component of the show. Audience participation was also encouraged by way of trivia questions about the contestants. These were provided by the night’s emcees, junior Hannah Keator and senior Michaela Mapes.

As the judges — a panel of male teachers — went to convene, the singing bee began. Contestants were challenged to finish the lyrics of songs from Frozen and other pop hits. Then it was time for the crowning, and all the contestants thanked seniors Gabi Christensen and Halie Platt for putting the show together by giving them flowers.

Watanabe gave a victory speech after the announcement of his win, and then it was over.

“It’s quite the honor,” Watanabe said shortly after the show’s conclusion. “I’m [filling] some big shoes here. Not really sure how this happened … I’m still star-struck.”

When asked if there was any message he’d like to convey to Westside, he responded with “shout out to all the pear” — a reference to a viral quote from rapper Rick Ross.

Throughout the show, a donations bowl had been circulating throughout the audience. SAB had organized the event to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Blurbs for Make-AWish were printed on the back of the playbills, telling stories of children whose lives had been changed by the organization’s charity work. It was eventually announced that over 600 dollars in proceeds had been raised at the event.

Senior Hannah Dickson, former co-president of SAB, was another one of the event’s organizers.

“It’s just a really good way to help give back,” Dickson sad.

The contestants stated they were satisfied with the show as well. Zimmerman expressed contentment with his 3rd place finish and reflected on his favorite thing about the show – other than the pizza they had beforehand.

“We spent some quality time with the guys back here,” Zimmerman said. “[It was] some good bonding time.”

Petersen’s feelings were similarly positive.

“You know, I was nervous at first, but it all worked out in the end,” Petersen said. “It was a great time. I had a lot of fun.”

Above: Seniors Jacob Andrews and Danny Coyle perform their cover of High School Musical’s “Breaking Free” at the Mr. WHS Pageant held Thursday, Nov. 20. Left: Senior Alex Zimmerman displays his talent by hopping on a pogo stick without using his hands as he jumped rope. Zimmerman went on to achieve third place overall. Photos by Jakob Philliips

4 THE

OPINION

LANCE

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Phone: (402) 343-2650. The Lance is an in-house publication.

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The Lance editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and grammatical errors.

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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; Sports Editor James Buckley, Jack Cohen; Arts & Entertainment Editor Elise Tucker; Cartoonist Maddie Look; Staff Writers Alexis Bergin, Connor Castleman, Nicole Degand, Kayla Kyle, Celena Shepherd, Connor Tucker; Staff Designers Casey Arritt, Audrey McCann; Photo Editor Mitch Francis; Photo Staff Jakob Phillips, Taylor Schendt; Media Coordinator Aren Rendell; WMG Photo Coordinator Sarah Lemke; Adviser Jerred Zegelis.

Graphic by Sarah Lemke

Editorial: Mr. WHS pageant is sexist, should end Every year, Westside hosts a male pageant called “Mr. WHS.” The senior participants compete in five categories: swimsuit, talent, Q&A, a game, and a “singing bee.” The event, which is supposed to be humorous, raises money for the Make a Wish Foundation. Unfortunately, the benefits of the event are outweighed by the flaws.

Pageants have been a feminine activity since their inception. They were created in the Victorian Era to judge women’s physical appearance, and, despite attempts to make pageants more ‘intellectual,’ that is still their primary purpose. Contestants traipse up and down catwalks in bikinis, smile, wave and are occasionally given 20 seconds to answer a basic question.

This isn’t generally seen as ridiculous. For many people, it’s completely reasonable to judge the value of a woman on superficial traits. Once you decide to judge men on the same categories, however, it becomes hilarious.

Make no mistakes: Mr. WHS is supposed to be funny. When contestants came out in their swimwear, judges were not writing careful comments on the way the suit fit or scrutinizing their appearance. They weren’t supposed to take it seriously. They were supposed to laugh.

This is because men are valued for more than their physical appearance.

It’s silly to imagine men performing for an audience the same way women do because it’s silly to imagine treating men the way we treat women. We can’t imagine scrutinizing a man’s cellulite or carefully tracking their weight because, to many of us, that just doesn’t matter— that is, as long as they’re not a girl.

In all actuality, men doing typically ‘feminine’ things or performing femininity is not funny. It may be different to see a man in a dress or bikini, but making a caricature out of women and reinforcing gender roles is not

WARRIOR VOICE

acceptable. By mocking men who step outside of traditional masculinity, you’re shaming students at our school who don’t fit into their set gender roles, and you’re implying anyone who does act feminine is somehow silly or ridiculous.

This sexist double standard is even more evident when you look at Mr. WHS’ actual events. The pageant was filled with references and jokes inaccessible to women. Perhaps most obvious of all was the swimsuit competition.

While Westside does not have a Mrs. WHS, it’s clear this category could not exist in a high school women’s pageant. Girls aren’t even allowed to show their shoulders in school, let alone stand in front of a crowd in their bikinis. This perpetuates the idea that a woman’s body is inherently sexual, while a man’s is not. It implies that women exist only to be sex objects, but men can exist for their own purposes.

Even if a woman’s pageant could have the category, it would certainly not be treated the same way by the student body. The world feels entitled to criticize the female body, and so any girl brave enough to compete in front of the school would almost certainly be called a slut or whore. Students would debate over her attractiveness level and make inappropriate comments about her. Mr. WHS contestants, on the other hand, appear to have received minimal backlash.

Ultimately, while it’s easy to understand why Mr. WHS is a fun activity for many students, it just isn’t worth it. The concept is, at its core, sexist, and there’s no way for the well-meaning organizers and participants to avoid that. There are other ways to earn money for charity that do not reinforce sexism, and we have other annual activities to keep up school spirit.

What do you think are the reasons kids fight in school?

FRESHMAN

DANIEL AD AMS “They want to be the more powerful one, or they want to be cool.”

SOPHOMORE

SALIK FORD “Some to have fun [because] fighting’s fun sometimes to vent anger.

JUNIOR

SENIOR

SARAH ALE XANDE R “Drama just because they have personal problems.”

KRISTEN YO UN G “They’re here when [conflict] happens, so they’d rather [fight] here.”

OPINION

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Students should become more involved in school

merry christmas

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NICOLE DEGAND STAFF WRITER

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TOO MUCH CHEER

Celebrating early detracts from holidays -

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ALEXIS BERGIN

STAFF WRITER

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Graphic by Sarah Lemke

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OPINION

Lack of financial aid drives students to debt Every month, my family gets together for a family reunion. Chatter about work and school fills the room as everyone eats and catches up. I already know it’s coming. An aunt or cousin ends up sitting next to me, and I hear the all-too familiar question: “So, do you have any plans for college?”

Reluctantly, I used to tell them I hadn’t thought about it because I still had years to decide. Sadly, college is now close enough that I’ve had to KAYLA KYLE make a choice.

STAFF WRITER After I realized this, I signed up for a website titled College Greenlight, which helps you decide what college you want to go to. This website tells you facts such as the price of each university. I was shocked to learn that the cheapest college I was looking at was just under $20,000 a year. Everything else was well into the $30,000-50,000 range per year.

I don’t believe making college cost this much money is fair to students. There are lots of issues with the economy already, including high gas and food prices, along with the unemployment rate. If we want to fix these issues, we can’t force people into debt in their late teenage years. It doesn’t seem right to make students pay $30,000 a year to go to a school that’s supposed to prep them for the real world. Entering the working world won’t be any smoother when you have thousands of dollars to pay off.

I do believe that colleges understand this to an extent. After all, many schools have some sort of financial aid program set up, and there are always scholarships offered. However, they could make these programs more efficient and attainable to students.

In Nebraska alone, there are scholarships offered for service learning, health care, law, and race. To obtain these scholarships, you have to write essays and answer questions, and whether you get it or not ultimately depends on what you’re like as a student.

Sadly, scholarships are sparsely given out. According to America’s Debt Help Organization, the U.S. earns over $46 billion for scholarships and grants and only $5,000-15,000 is given to most schools, meaning they have to be picky when giving scholarships out. This makes earning enough scholarships to pay off college debt incredibly hard.

One solution is to take out loans. Loans can be efficient for students while in college, but the second they graduate they’re forced to work for years to pay off their debt. The Association of College and Research Libraries claim that around 70 percent of college students leave school with an average of $29,400 worth of student loan debt.

I understand that tuition fees are like this because colleges need funding for everything they provide to students. However, there has to be a more efficient way to put students through a college education.

There are ways to relieve some of the students’ grief when it comes to paying colleges, and, while financial aid is incredibly helpful, it’s just not enough.

The solution to all of this isn’t simple. There are a lot of factors that come into play when paying for room and board, textbooks and meal plans, and there will never be a way to make school 100 percent affordable. However, if schools would invest more of their money into scholarships and financial aid, paying for college would be easier.

If colleges can’t change the cost of their tuition, they should at least be investing more of their time and money in helping students afford their school.

Graphic by Casey Arritt

Students need new perspective Like any normal teenager would do on a school night when faced with responsibilities, I decided to check my Twitter feed, eager to see the latest news.

While scrolling through the trending topics of the day, I saw the most talked about topic was something called “Alex from Target.” Out of curiosity, I clicked on it and scrolled through the tweets. The more I scrolled, the more disappointed I became.

“Alex from Target” is a teenage boy who rose to fame after a customer posted a picture of him while he was working. After thousands of retweets and tweets calling him “hot,” the Texan boy recieved over two million Instagram followers and almost one million followers on Twitter.

SARAH HERMANN At first, I wasn’t too surprised OPINION EDITOR at the boy’s sudden rise in fame; things on the Internet spread like wildfire. But when I saw him appear as a guest star on “The Ellen Show,” I became upset.

I’m not necessarily mad at “Alex from Target.” It’s not his fault that many girls around the world find him charming. I am upset with society. We live in a world where one day you can just be bagging groceries, and the next day you can be on one of the most famous talk shows on Earth.

So many people work their hardest to reach the same level of popularity as “Alex from Target” received in a day. There are thousands of people on YouTube who constantly post singing videos, hoping some big manager will come across one of them and give them the recording contract of their life.

There are so many talented, aspiring actors who go to dozens of casting calls, hoping someone will see that special spark in them that others didn’t see. For a random grocery bagger to swoop in and gain all this attention just because he’s “cute” is completely unfair to those who work harder for success.

This isn’t the only example of irrelevant news I’ve encountered lately. While sitting at dinner watching TV, I watched a quite “fascinating” news story about singer-song-

writer Prince’s first Instagram selfie. That’s great for him and all, but what impact does that have on us? Absolutely none.

Useless celebrity stories like these distract us from the information that really matters. I’ve heard more news about Kim Kardashian lately than I’ve heard about anything else.

A probe launched by the European Space Agency just landed on a comet for the first time. Why isn’t anyone talking about that? This event is one of the most important events in history. Because of this probe, scientists are now able to answer important, unanswered questions about the evolution of comets and how they contribute to the evolution of Earth.

There have been many failed attempts to launch a probe like this throughout the years, but it has finally been achieved. If a story like that came out 40 years ago, it would be the one and only thing talked about for a long time.

The first probe landing on a comet hasn’t caused much conversation in our generation because it hasn’t gotten much attention. This is exactly what the issue is: the pointless news is causing more discussion than the news that really matters.

One of the biggest reasons why we are missing the important information the world has to offer is because we are reading our news from the wrong sources. Make a change and try reading information on a different website than you normally do, or try following a new Twitter account to get different updates on your feed. Who knows, maybe you’ll like it better.

The full blame can’t be put on the general public though; the media is mostly at fault. They focus on unimportant news, which causes us to focus on it too. We then use social media to discuss the unimportant news, causing the information to spread everywhere. If the media focused on the issues in our world that really matter, it would shed more light on the problems, thus causing us to act on the real important issues.

I don’t really expect useless news to stop getting talked about; the news will be discussed about either way. What I want to change is how we as a society react to this news, and that begins with students reconsidering what’s important in their lives. I’ll tell you one thing —it’s not Alex from Target.

PowerGrade A+

To the bakery staff for introducing anonymous suggestions. The wonderful result, among other things: red velvet cupcakes.

C

To the winter dress code for not allowing students to wear winter jackets around school. We understand students can conceal weapons in their jackets, but the temperatures around the school fluctuate, and some students don’t use their lockers.

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To bouncers and teachers that force students outside into 34 degree weather.

That’s not cool. Actually, it’s frigid.

FEATURE

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

7

Junior moves to Omaha, still finds ways to help hometown Nata ward

Editor-in-chief When junior Brooke Cirone was in the third grade, she couldn’t read or write in English.

She was nearly two years behind the other kids in her grade, and they didn’t let her forget it. Cirone, the girl who just moved to the United States after living six years abroad in Italy. She was fluent in both English and Italian, but when it came to reading, she was stuck.

Cirone worked hard and eventually she learned to read. She was motivated to achieve and keep her grades up, now she plans to graduate this year early from Westside. But Cirone understands being the underdog, the one that no one expects anything from.

That’s the reason why she feels so strongly about Detroit.

“I think that the reason I am so attached to Detroit isn’t even because I lived there, but I think it’s because I am just so passionate about standing up for the weak link, I guess,” Cirone said.

Cirone lived in Detroit for seven years, the longest she has ever lived any place. Her father’s career as a professional hockey player moved the family around quite a bit.

Cirone’s experiences of being seen as “incompetent” in early grades allow her to relate to Detroit and the negative stereotypes surrounding the city. And just like she learned to read and write, she believes that Detroit can better itself as well.

“I have a lot of faith in the city and how it can rebuild itself,” Cirone said. “I’ve seen where it was and where it’s come from and where it is now. And I can see buildings being remade and artists putting art out everywhere, and people working together to keep Detroit clean.”

Detroit has the highest murder and violent crime rate of any major city in the United States, according to a report released by the FBI in November. There were 316 murders there in the last year.

Despite efforts by public officials to take care of Detroit, problems plague the city, from corruption in the government to bankruptcy. In early December, a city-wide power outage wreaked havoc, endangering lives as hospitals and all other buildings were left without power.

Most people see only death rates and danger when they look at Detroit, but Cirone sees something else. She sees an opportunity.

“I feel like Detroit gives room for me to make a difference,” Cirone said. “Detroit is in a position right now where it is looking for improvement, where it is looking for people who genuinely care about city. And being a Detroiter makes me that much more passionate.”

Cirone sees the negative stereotypes surrounding Detroit and hopes to be part of the reason why those stereotypes change. This is the inspiration for her senior project, which she is completing now as part of the early graduation process.

The project is named “Photography of Detroit.”

One weekend in October, Cirone took photographs of people on the streets of Detroit and asked them what their favorite things were about their city.

These photographs will show at the Pizza Shoppe Collective in Benson Dec. 1 and downtown at Hot Shops Jan. 3.

“Through my photography, I am hoping to show people that there is more to Detroit than crime and murder,” Cirone said.

It was more difficult in the beginning to be away from Detroit for Cirone. She planned on returning to Detroit straight out of high school, but now she is looking to attend college in Omaha and transfer to a school in Detroit after a few years.

“I think even though I’m not in the city, I’m still doing good for it,” Cirone said. “And that’s what’s important to me, it’s that regardless of my location, I can still do good for my hometown.”

In Detroit, whatever community project is taking place, Cirone plans on being “front row.”

While she’s here, however, she plans to focus on changing perspectives. Although at first, it was

hard on Cirone to leave Detroit, she found that Omaha isn’t the worst place to be. “[Omaha is] a place that I have found extreme happiness…” Cirone said. “I was passionate about the city I was living in, so it’s kind of a beautiful thing to see other people just as passionate about their city. Like I’m almost sick of people saying you’re going to love it here.”

Cirone loves the friends she’s made and the experiences that being in Omaha has brought. She describes Omaha as a “new adventure” for her, but the word “home” is reserved for Detroit.

“Home is determined by where you are comfortable with who you are as a human being…”

Cirone said. “[You should feel] comfortable in your own skin but also [have] something there that’s going to push you beyond your limit and make you a better person.”

For Cirone, the challenge that exists in Detroit is rebuilding it. It’s a challenge she is ready to take on.

Junior Brooke Cirone poses in the cafeteria Friday, Nov. 21. Cirone moved to Omaha last summer. Photo by Taylor Schendt

Instructor learns because of son’s diagnosis jace Wieseler

Managing editor

Above: Social studies instructor Nathan Bramley poses with his son Elijah at his desk after school to read emails Tuesday, Dec. 9. Elijah was diagnosed with autism when he was 4. Right: Elijah Bramley smiles for the camera. Elijah, now 6 years old, can name any car, make and model, in the Westside parking lot. Photos by Sarah Lemke

Social studies instructor Nathan Bramley can remember the phone call with his wife that changed his life.

Nathan’s wife, Rachel, had taken their twoyear-old son, Elijah, in for a test. It wasn’t one with right or wrong answers or a final grade. It was a test of behavior skills. A test of signs. A test of reactions.

Nathan and Rachel knew something was wrong. Elijah was two years old and had yet to say his first word. It was not until he had reached the age of four that he could repeat the word ‘dad’.

Nathan remembers his wife crying over the phone, telling him the news, because of the uncertainty of what was to come.

“My son is a great part of my life, but it was a life change from that point on,” Nathan said. “… I told her it would be okay; and that we would just have to take it one step at a time. [...] We knew God would be with us throughout.”

When the results came back, they said Elijah was most likely going to have autism. Because he was young, the doctors didn’t want to diagnose him so early on. Instead, they labeled him as “development delayed.” “[Elijah’s diagnosis] was just a surreal experience,” Nathan said. “It’s not something you think about when you’re younger that that’s going to be a part of your life.”

Although Elijah wasn’t officially diagnosed with autism until the age of four, Nathan and Rachel had been working with him as if he had autism long before.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurosdevelopment disorders. Autism is the most sever form of ASD, distinguished by social impairments, communication difficulties and repetitive patterns of behavior. And while one in every 68 children has ASD, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevent, each case is unique.

Since there isn’t specific treatment for autism, Nathan and Rachel worked hard with him. He was taught sign language, has weekly sessions with occupational therapists and pathologists, and had at home lessons with his teacher to improve his skills.

“His number one challenge with autism is … he has emotions, he has thoughts, he has fears, and he has joy that he can’t express verbally,” Nathan said. “Trying to communicate to us what he’s feeling is really frustrating to him sometimes.”

Learning is a big part of Elijah’s life, but school does present some challenges to him.

“Children don’t understand why he is the way he is,” Nathan said. “They’re confused by him because he’s reading and able to do things that are significantly higher than his peers, but yet can’t carry on a conversation as a first grader should.”

Elijah is improving in school and at home.

Now six years old, he reads at a fourth grade level and speaks very clearly. He has learned to remove himself from situations that get him too stressed out, and he knows how to cope with things such as loud noises, bright lights and over stimulation.

According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), people with ASD can have learning, thinking and problem-solving abilities that can range from gifted to severely challenged. While he has grown since his diagnosis, his memory is something he hasn’t needed much room to improve on and is one of his gifted qualities.

“He can identify any car in the Westside parking lot,” Nathan said. “We can go walk through it and he can tell me the make and model of all the cars. He loves cars.”

Elijah’s diagnosis has been a learning experience for both of them. Even though Nathan is a teacher at school, Elijah is the one teaching Nathan at home.

“It has really helped me as a teacher to be a lot more empathetic of my students that have autism,” Nathan said. “Through my son, I understand their struggles, I understand their pain a lot more clearly and I’m able to help them overcome them here in class.”

8

ACTS OF KINDNESS

FEATURE

Teacher fosters positive student relationships CELENA SHEPHERD FEATURE EDITOR Every dreary Monday it’s the same routine.

Students force themselves out of bed and go to school. For some there is nothing to look forward to, but for sophomore Kristen Day, a simple act of kindness puts a smile on her face.

She leaves homeroom to pick up a note. This isn’t a weekly love letter or the beginning to some scavenger hunt, it is encouragement from social studies instructor Otis Seals.

“I want everyone to feel like they have a place and the notes are just a reminder,” Seals said. “[I tell them] you’re working hard, I see you, and keep at it because life get’s easier and it’s not all bad. That test you’re working on is one small blimp on the radar when it comes to life.”

Seals has been teaching at Westside for almost two years and began writing encouraging notes to Day her freshmen year.

“He really makes an effort to [form] a relationship with students,” Day said. “When a teacher shows they care, it makes you want to learn.”

Seals wants to assist his students any way he can. He understands that high school is difficult and stressful.

“I want to build a supportive environment where students want to take chances, be better and learn on their own, knowing that they always have [me] to support them,” Seals said.

According to the American Psychological Association students with positive teacher-student relationships do better in school.

“When students don’t feel they’re valued they’re less willing to put an effort in your class or even try because they don’t think anyone cares about them, so [they think] why does it matter?”

Seals said.

He thinks that “knowing someone believes in you can make all the difference.” He motivates many students in his notes by telling them how good of a job they are doing in school and that he believes in them and supports them.

Seals thinks when he was in high school his acquaintance, a senior, on the Westside football team would have benefited from someone show-

ing they care about him. “[The student] had something going on so big in his life that he [must’ve] felt the only way to get out of it was to end his own life.” Seals said.

When Seals was a sophomore his teammate died by suicide. He remembered the student seeming 100 percent normal. He never expected what was going to happen.

This memory saddens Seals and he feels as a teacher he can make a difference for students like his high school teammate.

“It keeps things in perspective,” Seals said. “Everybody has issues, everyone carries their own burdens [each] day. It just reminds you that no matter what you think of people, whether somebody is wealthy or poor, wherever they’re from, whatever they do, everybody has something going on in their life.”

There were three suicides at Westside when Seals was in high school and since his graduation, there have been two more.

“I wonder if the [students who died by suicide] had somebody to remind them that [they] matter to someone, would [things] have been different?” Seals said.

Seals strives to bring hope to students whenever he can, so no one will have to feel like his teammate did.

“I like to help students,” Seals said. “That’s why I’m here. I think that’s why all teachers choose to be teachers. They enjoy helping students.”

Seals thinks that not only faculty, but students should encourage and help each other as well.

He thinks that if students and staff showed more compassion to one another the environment at Westside could only get better.

“Everyone has problems and if we could just keep that in mind I think things would be a little bit easier [at Westside],” Seals said. “The climate of student’s achievement would be better because more staff and students would be showing students that they do care about them, so things would [improve].”

Social studies instructor Otis Seals poses for a picture near his desk, Thursday, Nov. 20. “I want to create a supportive environment where students want to take chances,” Seals said. Left: Sophomore Kristen Day recieved this note from Seals after Thanksgiving break.

Seals likes students to know that he supports them. Photo by Taylor Schendt

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8/29/14 4:36 PM

In-Depth

9

Mental Illness in-depth design by

Allie La in g

opinion

stigma with mental illness Estella Fo x Editor-in-chief Although common mental illnesses are being researched with increasing frequency, it’s still one of the most underdeveloped fields of medical science. And with little information comes stigma. Even though it isn’t always overt, it’s always prevalent. Mental illness is a topic many people avoid, and when it is brought up, it’s easily dismissed as “acting” or “just a phase.” This isn’t surprising; people are afraid of what they don’t understand.

This kind of behavior is harmful to people with mental illnesses. They often feel

like outcasts because they are treated as “abnormal” or “weird.” Many people who suffer from mental illness can’t seek treatment or even talk to their friends or family about it for fear of being thought of as weak. This kind of behavior is extremely unfair to those who have no control of their psychological states.

The only cure for this stigma is education.

If people understand what mental illness is, how it affects people and where it stems from, they may realize mental illness is not something to be embarassed about or made fun of. With that in mind, The Lance decided to showcase personal stories and show how people are affected by mental illness.

10

IN-DEPTH tipsy

60

40

buzzed 80

one drink

drunk

20

10 0 wasted

sober km/ h 0

12 0

Dark NIGHTS, FAST CARS

*Claire is an alias to protect the real person’s idenity

Student struggles with father’s alcoholism NATA

WARD

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF When Claire gets into her father’s car, she’s alone. He picks her up from dance practice in a big Dodge truck, around 8 p.m. He’d left home 40 minutes earlier and taken a pile of mini-bottles with him.

This is the first time she’s seen him like this, slurring his words, turning the music up loud and trying to sing along.

Acting, as Claire calls it, “weird.” He swerves then, nearly ramming into a pole on the interstate, but straightens out the truck at the last moment.

Claire can’t let go of the armrest. She’s crying.

The words “alcoholic” and “father” weren’t synonymous before this night.

“The first time…was the worst I’ve ever seen him,” Claire said. “And it continues to be the worst I’ve ever seen him.

[Since then,] he’s never been [that intoxicated] where he can’t stand.”

That night, Claire’s father required Claire’s help to get out of the car and into the house. He sat on the couch in the basement, staring at the wall while Claire cried in her mother’s arms.

“I kept [apologizing], but I didn’t really know what I was sorry for,” Claire said. “My mom kept telling me, ‘You’re not sorry, it’s not your fault,’ but I kept saying I’m sorry.”

After the incident, Claire’s father left for a few days.

“It was a family consensus that it would be best for him to be away for a while,” Claire said. “…We didn’t think it was a one-time deal [however]. My mom knew he drank way before that, but she didn’t think he would drive us like that.”

However, Claire’s father continued to drink and drive.

Claire referred to each time as “an incident.” “[An incident is] just a time where he’s picked me up drunk,” Claire said. “For some reason, when I look back and think about it, [his drinking and driving] always go hand in hand.”

The incidents stem from her father’s alcoholism and his misplaced confidence that he can drink and drive because “he thinks he’s good at it,” according to Claire. Her father doesn’t completely understand the danger that he puts them both in because of this. “[An alcoholic is] someone who loves to drink more than they can control it,” Claire said. “They’ve put [alcohol] above things like their family and their kids.”

Claire’s family could feel themselves gradually losing

their dad, and pushed him to go to family counseling with them and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Therapy ended without much change, and her father stopped going to AA. He denies having a problem.

“He says a lot of stuff like, ‘In the past, yes. Now, no,’” Claire said. “And I’m like ‘Dad, you did this like two weeks ago. So it’s not in the past’…He thinks everything’s just great, but it still happens.”

Claire’s father did have a problem though, as Claire saw time and time. Sometimes an incident would happen twice a month, other times there would be a month or two between. The common thread is that there was always another incident; he said he was better but he kept getting drunk. Usually, Claire can tell he’s intoxicated within a few minutes. She can tell by his voice.

“Now that I’m old enough, if he seems weird, I’ll get [out of the car] and say, ‘Let me drive, let me drive,’” Claire said.

“Even though I know that’s illegal, it’s still better than being in the car and getting stranded because [the incidents] always [happen] at night.”

Claire has adapted to his disease, because she is forced to. This is the continual nature of her father’s illness. They are stuck in a cycle. After Claire’s father drinks and drives, the family will cut ties for a while but somehow they always end up giving him another chance. But he drinks again.

This cycle eventually led to a divorce and Claire’s father moving into his own apartment. This, however, still does not break the cycle, and Claire is still stuck somewhere inbetween.

“I love him when he’s not drinking,” Claire said. “It’s really hard because I love him so much.”

Claire says her father is “just a normal dad” when he is not drinking. Her friends love him. He acts younger than his age, but he is still her father. The alcoholism takes her father away from her.

“I think that the people who don’t think [alcoholism is] a real disease haven’t been impacted by it,” Claire said.

“They haven’t seen how destructive it is. It just makes me laugh when someone doesn’t think it’s a disease. It’s not easily cured, like some people think. It is an addiction, just like being addicted to smoking or any other drug.”

The illness not only does significant damage to her father’s life, but also to their whole family. Claire feels like she is partly at fault for his diagnosis.

“I blame [myself] for like, maybe if I wouldn’t have done something, he wouldn’t have felt like he needs to drink,” Claire said. “…I usually blame myself for my mom being

upset. Because if she didn’t have me or [my brother], she would be able to move away from him and start a new life.

But she has to stay here and be tormented by him…Without us, she has no ties here.”

There have been times during classes or a test when her thoughts have caught up with her and she loses focus, missing parts of lectures or homework assignments. It makes her think less of herself.

“When I think about it, it makes me really upset, like, ‘Oh am I damaged?’ …because I have half his genes,” Claire said.

In the beginning, it was harder for Claire to handle the stress and she had thoughts like this more often, but now Claire says she is just “used to it.”

“Lately — I’m not over it — but it’s just kind of like, what can you do about it?” Claire said. “I kind of just stopped caring. The emotional rollercoaster was just a little too much.”

For now, Claire and her family are struggling with their father’s illness and its ramifications. Her father has been doing better lately, but it does not stop Claire from thinking that it might get worse. Still, Claire looks ahead.

“I can’t wait to start over and not think about it for a while at least,” Claire said. “…Because right now, I am faced with it every day…It’s nice to know that I’m not trapped here forever…I have my whole life to work it out and make my own choices and not be influenced by his.”

While Claire is preparing for college and doing her best in school, she focuses on her music, especially the piano.

There’s something that’s inherently appealing about it to Claire.

“My whole life revolves around music,” Claire said. “…I feel like that’s really helpful for me, especially when I’m playing the piano or whatever, it allows me to escape.

Whenever I feel sad, I go play piano.”

Claire takes piano lessons at her instructor’s apartment, a place that’s warm and cozy, where Claire could see herself living when she grows up. She plays a lot of sad songs, that always seems to make her feel better.

The piano is one of the only places where Claire doesn’t think about her father. The notes are the only things in her head.

Not the divorce.

Not the fact that her father is her ride home.

This moment is about her and her future and the piano that allows her to create something beautiful. She thinks about nothing.

11

in-depth

Tired of hiding

About 200,000 Americans Junior speaks out about Tourrette’s have the most severe form of TS Grace Fo g l and

Managing editor Every Monday afternoon, junior Aliyah Jabenis steps out of the Hyundai onto the dirt road of Sycamore Farms, where she meets Mr. Biggs. When Mr. Biggs, her dapplegrey American-Arabian Saddlebred horse, raises his head and pricks his ears up when he sees her, she smiles. She’s home. Sycamore Farms is one of the only places where she feels like she’s in control of her tics.

Aliyah was 10 years old when she was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. She first started showing signs of Tourette’s in 5th grade when she would uncontrollably shake.

Her mom, Dacia Jabenis, thought she was having seizures or bouts of epilepsy.

They went to Methodist Hospital’s Department of Neurology, where she was put through a series of tests to see if she had any tumors or blood disorders. She had an MRI done, which the neurologist misdiagnosed as a ‘movement disorder,’ which is when the body uncontrollably moves.

He suggested she might have Tourette’s, but didn’t know what to do to help her.

“Because Tourette’s is so uncommon, there aren’t a lot of therapists or psychiatrists or neurologists in Omaha that really understand it,” Dacia said. “It was difficult finding the right medical care and therapeutic care here in Omaha to help her, but we did.”

Taking the doctor’s hesitant verdict, Dacia scheduled an appointment with one of the few doctors in Omaha who specializes in Tourette’s, Dr. Diego Torres. Although his schedule was full, he cleared time to see her. It was then that he diagnosed her with Tourette’s syndrome.

“I didn’t really have a concept of what Tourette’s was so I wasn’t really concerned or anything,” Aliyah said.

The tics started out as physical, with her shaking, and didn’t turn vocal until 7th or 8th grade. They are involuntary, and will come throughout the day, lasting anywhere from a couple of seconds to a couple of minutes. She’ll make noises with her throat, shake and roll her eyes.

“Many people think Tourette Syndrome is just people blurting out cuss words,” Aliyah said. “But it’s not. There are some who do that, but it’s so rare.”

Her worst tics are the ones where she’s shaking so badly, she can’t breathe. She describes the experience as feel-

Clarity

ing like a seizure that seems to last forever.

“My tics are worse now than they were [when I was younger],” Aliyah said. “The stress in high school and the stress of things socially here [has put] a lot of stress on me, so there [are] more tics.”

To calm herself, she usually watches television or listens to music. She loves car rides.

“All of them take my mind off of it,” Aliyah said. “All of them take me into another world.”

In reality, Aliyah faces challenges every single day. In class, she always feels like people are watching her, so she will try to hide her tics by masking them with ‘ordinary’ gestures or sounds, such as coughing.

Aliyah has also dealt with bullying since the time she showed signs of Tourette Syndrome. In the beginning, her tics were very exaggerated and she couldn’t control them very well. She’d have big tics and her friends would make fun of her. Dacia saw her daughter’s struggles, and wanted to help, so she educated both the teachers and the students at Aliyah’s elementary school about Tourette’s.

“I didn’t want [the students] to tease Aliyah or feel uncomfortable about her,” Dacia said. “I am amazed at the strength of my daughter. I am so proud of her all the time...I couldn’t have gone through what she has gone through and come out the way she has come out.”

Yet as Aliyah grew older, it was harder to educate people. At her old school, there was a girl who threatened to cut out her vocal chords to stop her tics. It became even more difficult in high school.

“I don’t have a lot of friends at school,” Aliyah said. “In middle school, there were so many kids who would mimic my tics to me. Before that, I had a lot of friends. I’ve stayed away from having friends now because of people being judgmental.”

But she’s tired of having to hide it.

“I want people to know that I do have it,” Aliyah said.

“I don’t want people to think I’m trying to annoy them [on purpose]. If they see me ticking or hear me ticking, they can acknowledge it, but I don’t want to be made fun of.”

When asked what her biggest challenge was, she responded with, “being normal.”

“I just feel like I’m not [normal],” Aliyah said. “I have medication I have to take. I have a 504 plan, where I have certain privileges to go out of a classroom when I take tests

3-9

Symptoms found at ages 3-9

About 1 in 100 have milder and less complex symptoms stats from NIH

National Insititue of Neurological Disorers and Stroke

or else I’ll tic really bad. I’d give anything to be normal again because people are always wondering ‘why does she get to do things like that?’”

But here, at the Sycamore stables, Aliyah is away from the stress of school and the feeling of being judged all the time. Out here, it’s just her and Mr. Biggs. She brushes the dirt off of the 16.5-hand tall horse before saddling him. After she mounts, she clucks her tongue and leads him to the lake.

The lake is huge, with ducks floating on the surface of the water. It’s enclosed by a long dirt trail winding around it. Trees line the road, and in this picturesque place, she can feel her tics receding.

“I feel calm,” Aliyah said. “Really calm. Like nothing can hurt me, and all my problems are gone.”

Aliyah kicks her horse, and they run.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Aliyah said. “But when I’m [riding], it’s almost like I don’t have Tourette’s because he’s giving me that feeling of being a normal person again.”

Sophomore learns to cope with anxiety Libby Seline COpy Editor It was as if he would wake up each morning with a pair of fogged up goggles covering his eyes.

He couldn’t think clearly.

He had trouble performing everyday tasks.

Sophomore Sam Vazzano felt as if these goggles were jumbling up his thoughts and causing him to not act like himself. These goggles are like his anxiety, which causes him to overthink situations. “[Anxiety disorder] just makes the situations that you’re in and the things that you’re doing just that much more difficult [than] if you didn’t have the ‘goggles’ on,” Vazzano said.

Vazzano was diagnosed with anxiety when he was in fifth grade, and is part of the 8 percent of teenagers that have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder in the United States according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Anxiety is classified as a mental illness, and according to school psychologist Melissa Williams, it occurs when the brain’s neurotransmitter called serotonin is not responding the way it should. When this happens, people may constantly have a nervous feeling. It is also possible that people develop a feeling of anxiety in certain situations.

“We all have [anxiety] to keep us moving, to keep us motivated, to accomplish things that we have that happen everyday in our life,” Williams said. “[Anxiety disorder is] when the anxiety happens over a long period of time and is interfering with something in the person’s life.”

Vazzano believes he has had symptoms of anxiety since kindergarten when he started to have panic attacks that caused shortness of breath. Doctors diagnosed him with asthma at the time. Several years later, he began to notice that his inhaler did not help him.

“I just became aware that these are anxiety attacks,” Vazzano said. “I [was] afraid when these [were] happening, and there [was] usually an underlying reason why this [was] happening.”

He was officially diagnosed with anxiety disorder in fifth grade and started to see a therapist. A psychologist gave him medication to help him cope with his anxiety. However, the original medication did not help him control his nervousness.

“I felt an urgent need to change the medicine because none of it was working,” Vazzano said. “I started getting anxiety over my anxiety medicine because each and every single one that I was getting wasn’t working for me.”

During eighth and ninth grade, Vazzano’s anxiety was at its worst. The summer before freshman year, he went through a three-month period where he thought about philosophical concepts such as afterlife. It was at this time that his anxiety felt like a feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach.

“I was just in a constant state of anxiety,” Vazzano said. “You feel like you’re going crazy almost. It’s scary because you have all of these thoughts going through your mind constantly, you feel like it’s never going to end.”

As he entered freshman year, he began to feel the symptoms of social anxiety as well.

He would keep to himself and didn’t want to talk to a lot of people. He did not talk to his friends from middle school and struggled to talk to his teachers. He still has social anxiety and causes him to be nervous during the day.

“I will feel scared almost as if you’re a little kid and you’re afraid there’s a monster under your bed,” Vazzano said. “I try my best to hide the fear [of social situations], but generally I start to shake, I get nervous [and my] breathing can be slightly off.”

It was also during freshman year that doctors gave Vazzano a medicine to help cope with anxiety.

“The medicine doesn’t help 100 percent, and it’s not supposed to because some of it has to come from yourself or else you’d just kind of be like a robot,” Vazzano said.

Vazzano copes with his anxiety by taking risks. He has taken a risk by reaching out to his friends from middle school again, which proved to be beneficial.

“I would say in February of last year, I couldn’t count my friends on two hands,” Vazzano said. “So, I had maybe five good friends. Now I can’t count them on both hands. I would need a lot of hands. I would need to be an octopus.”

Vazzano also uses coping methods introduced to him by therapists. He has learned strategies such as tensing up his muscles and then relaxing and also has learned to take a deep breath when he feels anxious. In addition to these coping strategies, Vazzano has looked to music to help him cope with his condition. Music allows Vazzano to take his mind off his thoughts. He admires the different emotions a song can elicit “Definitely one of the best things someone with anxiety can do is have something that they love that can get their mind off of their anxiety, something that they can do pretty much on a daily basis,” Vazzano said. “That’s what I did, and music has definitely changed my life.”

Currently, Vazzano has a variety of other activities that make him happy and takes his mind off of his anxiety. He only experiences a little anxiety each day and has learned to convince himself that there is no reason to be afraid.

“I know that what I’m anxious about isn’t anything to be scared about, but my anxiety doesn’t know that,” Vazzano said. “In my head, I know that it is nothing to be afraid of, but I’m still afraid because of my anxiety. As long as I can rationalize [that] there is nothing to be afraid of, I can talk myself down.”

Vazzano has been more open talking to people about his anxiety and feels like his funny, laidback self more often. He claims his anxiety has never been better.

“If you’re in your car [and the front windshield] was covered in ice and hard to see, it’s kind of like throughout the years I’ve taken the scraper for the window and started scraping away at it,” Vazzano said. “It’s not always perfect, but you can at least see.”

IN-DEPTH

12

Body Image

Student attempts to overcome insecurity, bad self esteem Elise Tu cker staff writer Junior Emmalee Shields has been through a lot with her body. She has been beaten down and broken, not by anyone else, but by herself. With depression and her insecurities pulling her down, she struggles to stay positive.

“I get self conscious about my weight because a lot of my friends are smaller,” Shields said. “When I see them, I get jealous because I wish I could be like them.”

Shields has felt like she needs to create a wall for herself, but her friends have found a way to break through it. She has always felt bad about herself.

“I haven’t been diagnosed for having depression, but I just get into one of those funks, and it takes over my body,” Shields said.

Shields has always wanted to be a skinny girl, and the

her insecurities have held her back throughout her life. Her biggest insecurities are her hair and her nose.

“I would change my hair because I can not stand my hair,” Shields said. “If I could, I would shave it off of my head. I get insecure about the size of my nose a lot too.”

She has wanted to change her look since high school has started, but her friends tell her she’s perfect. Her friends have always been by her side.

“My friends have been there for me constantly, like when my parents just don’t really understand what I’m going through,” Shields said.

Junior Olivia Coulter has always been the person Shields goes to in a time of need.

“She was the one who pressured me into doing show choir or theater,” Shield said. “She’s the one who says ‘you need to do this. You have the ability to do this.’”

They’ve been together since second grade, and the two are inseparable. Coulter has been a true friend to Shields.

“Every time she feels bad about herself, I tell her she’s so pretty,” Coulter said. “When I say a compliment, I feel like Emmalee thinks, ‘oh she’s just saying that because she’s my friend,’ but it’s true.”

Coulter has also felt like she’s not good enough for her friends or people in general. Shields and Coulter both have insecurities, so they lean on each other for help.

“Whenever I feel insecure, she tells me that I’m smart and I’m good enough,” Coulter said. “She’s tells me I look beautiful.”

These two girls aren’t the only ones experiencing insecurity in their lives. Many girls and boys experience insecurity and depression everyday.

That’s why, even though Shields has been through difficulties accepting her body, she has some advice for teens today.

“You are beautiful,” Shields said. “And don’t let anyone tell you you’re not.”

Medication is a controversial issue for students connor flairty news editor To be an adolescent with a mental disorder is one of the toughest things a teen can go through. To be the odd one out leaves the patient feeling isolated and alone. To make things worse, these young teens have to live at the base of a debate raging through America.

Medication involved with the treatment of these mental disorders has created a divide of opinion. Is our nation pill happy and dodging the problem, or are we just giving teens a useful tool to help them in their time of despair?

According to Division Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UNMC Jennifer McWilliams, medication is as tricky a subject as it is controversial.

“I wax and wane on medication,” McWilliams said.

“As a country, we have become very dependent, everyone wants a pill to solve everything. However, it can also help tremendously when used in the right situation.”

According to McWilliams many kids go undiagnosed just because of they feel alone or ashamed to use the medication.

“It’s hard to see, especially in depression cases,” McWilliams said. “A lot of these kids see it as a personal failure because they aren’t just ‘snapping out of it,’ and I think that’s really sad because it could really help people who are suffering from these disorders.”

Senior Lizzie West was one teen who was helped by medication. She has dealt with depression for the majority of her life.

“During parts of my childhood, I just kind of got overwhelmed,” West said. “It felt like I was drowning.”

After years of suffering, West was admitted into a hospital in January of 2013. It was during this time West had to make the decision to use the medication. At first, like many others, she didn’t trust the cast that medication provided.

“I refused to take my medication,” West said. “I felt like I should be able to help myself.

Because of that I ended up digging myself deeper, so I suggest if you are prescribed to definitely give the prescription a try.”

In the end, West realized it had been a mistake to deprive herself.

“The medication evened out the playing field for me mentally,” West said. “I still have ups and downs, but instead of mountains and valleys, they’re small bumps.”

West even considers medication to have saved her life.

“When I was not on medication, I did in fact attempt suicide twice and had some self harm habits,” West said. “Medication prevented those horrible lows for me. Medication helped me realize there was nothing wrong with me, and for me, I was really scared peo-

ple would think of me differently because of that mental illness. Medication helped me realize I was still the same person and I could still go on and achieve.”

However, medication is not perfect for every case. These cases include that of senior Matt Ekstrom. Last year, Ekstrom’s depression began affecting his everyday life. After being taken to a doctor and diagnosed with depression, Ekstrom was prescribed antidepressants. But for Ekstrom, relying on the medication was not a permanent solution.

“They make you feel numb, not necessarily better,” Ekstrom said. “You have to change yourself, and you can’t rely on a pill.”

Ekstrom says making more human connections is key.

“For me, talking to someone, walking and laughing, is much better than any pill,” Ekstrom said.

However, Ekstrom doesn’t want to write off medication. While it may not be the answer to everything, it still serves as a good stepping stone on the way to recovery.

“People should use it as training wheels, and then gradually become themselves again.” Ekstrom said.

“Medication just can’t be used as a crutch. You have to learn how to grow out of it.”

However, while medication may not be perfect for everyone, McWilliams reminds us to never rule it out.

“I would encourage anyone who suffers from depression or anxiety to seek treatment,” McWilliams said. “It’s like a cast on a broken leg. While it’s a start to the healsenior ing process, eventually you will have to get up and work those muscles back up in physical therapy.”

For West, that cast was necessary. Her depression made her feel completely excluded and alone. But, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 11% of teens suffer from depressive mental health issues. West wants the adolescents at the center of the medication debate to know they are far from alone.

“It’s such an isolating feeling going through it all, but people have to realize that there are going to be so many people that will be incredibly supportive of you and always love you,” West said. “You just have to find them and be brave enough to open up to them.”

The medication evened out the playing field for me mentally.

lizzie west

FEATURE

13

HEALTHY CURE

Culinary manager finds passion in diagnosis JACE WIESELER

MANAGING EDITOR

Sharon Schaefer, Westside culinary manager, poses for a picture in the cafeteria before school Monday, Dec. 1. Schaefer gets her inspiration from the diet her family abided by as a kid, which contained little to no processed food.

Photo by Mitch Francis

At the age of 9, culinary manager Sharon Schaefer didn’t understand the concept of cancer. She didn’t understand why her grandmother, Dorothy Sohl, had only a few months to live.

Schaefer suspected her grandmother knew something was wrong with her health, but she didn’t understand why it took her so long to do something about it.

To the doctors, it seemed as if it was too late to do anything.

“She was such a strong person in my life,” Schaefer said. “And to be told that somebody so strong doesn’t have control whether they live or die is just a horrible thing for a 9 year-old to understand.”

Sohl was running out of options.

Schaefer’s aunt, a Harvard medical school graduate, did some research on new ways to fight cancer. She found a new diet that would strengthen Sohl not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. She was put on a macrobiotic diet consisting of foods like steamed fish, seaweed, brown rice and fresh vegetables.

“My mom said, ‘If this will save my mother’s life, it will save my daughters’ lives and prevent them from getting breast cancer,’” Schaefer said.

In an attempt to prevent her daughters from getting cancer, Schaefer’s mom took laundry baskets, went through their pantry and got rid of every processed food item in their home.

“I’d sit at the dining room table, and my parents were the typical parents [to say], ‘There [are] children in China starving to death, finish your plate’,” Schaefer said. “And [then] I’m watching those same parents throw food away. It was kind of surreal.”

So out went the processed food, and in came their new way of living.

With this change in diet, Schaefer and her family were considered hippies in their town in northern New Jersey.

Schaefer’s family raised a variety of animals like chickens, cows, pigs and rabbits. They would

eat the meat from the animals after slaughter, the eggs from the chickens and drink the milk from the cows. They harvested their own fresh vegetables, along with owning a beehive to harvest honey. Schaefer’s family even made their own yogurt.

“My mom did a good job at explaining to us that if grandma had to go through these changes, we were all going to do it,” Schaefer said. “And this goes beyond food. It shows strength of [our] family.”

At the time, she didn’t understand why her lifestyle had to change, but today she does. The change had saved her grandmother, so it could quite possibly save her life too.

The treatment worked, and Sohl is still living today, cancer-free. After strengthening her body inside and out with the new lifestyle, the doctors agreed to try and surgically remove the cancer by doing a double mastectomy. The surgery was a success, and a few years later she was recognized as a cancer survivor.

Thirty years later, Schaefer is still living this kind of lifestyle, not just because she fears getting breast cancer, which has been prevalent in every generation of her family, but because of her promise to her older sister.

Every ten years, Schaefer and her older sister make an agreement that they will be healthier in ten years than they are now, and next year, which will be the tenth year, they’re going to make the same commitment again. This is a promise neither of them has broken.

Schaefer doesn’t just like to eat healthy; she loves to cook healthy. Growing up, her parents weren’t very good cooks, but her aunt and uncle knew how to put healthy foods together to make them taste appetizing. Every time she ate their food, she would think to herself, ‘That’s what [good healthy food] is supposed to taste like’.

Schaefer went onto culinary school to teach herself how to make healthy ingredients tasty, and she has her background to thank for that.

“I believe in the philosophy of eating to live rather than living to eat,” Schaefer said. “You only get one body, and it will respond based on how you treat it.”

Instructor’s daughter overcomes recent struggles Libby Seline

Copy editor As she was heading into surgery Oct. 24, 17-month-old Jessa Jurgens looked lifeless.

Her eyes were barely open.

Her skin was sickly pale.

She didn’t have her usual smile on her face.

Her parents, PE instructor Stephanie Jurgens and Kyle Jurgens, looked at her and became nervous. It was difficult for them to see their daughter so lethargic.

“I felt like [the surgery] was something that [had] to be done to change the state she was in,” Stephanie said. “[Her current state] was frightening with seeing how she was and the lack of energy or life she had in her.”

She was taken to the hospital when her temperature increased from 99.5 to 103.5 degrees that morning. Doctors don’t know why she had this spike in temperature, but they thought it was possible her high temperature was a symptom of Meckel-Gruber Syndrome, a disease she was diagnosed with eight to ten weeks after she was born.

According to Jessa’s geneticist, Dr. Lois Starr, Meckel-Gruber Syndrome is a genetic disorder that occurs when both parents are a carrier for a specific trait. This disease has caused Jessa to become blind and has negatively affected her liver and kidneys.

Jessa was also born with a disease called hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus resulted from Meckel-Gruber Syndrome and has caused her to have extra cerebrospinal fluid on her brain. Doctors put in a device called a shunt to stop the fluid before it could cause problems in Jessa’s nervous system. However, there are not many people who have Meckel-Gruber Syndrome because most babies with this syndrome die shortly after birth due to complications in the womb.

“There are very, very, very few survivors of Meckel Gruber Syndrome,” Starr said. “Jessa is

truly a miracle.”

For the first year of her life, Jessa was healthy.

When she went to the hospital Oct. 24, Stephanie started thinking about the reality of this disease.

In Oct., doctors discovered Jessa was having problems with her shunt. It wasn’t draining the fluid from the brain, which was causing it to build up. They attempted to repair Jessa’s shunt, but it stopped working again Oct. 27. She needed a second surgery on her shunt. She seemed better after the surgery, but she still was very tired.

“Over the next couple of weeks, she wasn’t quite back to herself,” Stephanie said. “Her energy level wasn’t quite back. Her talking, smiling, laughing and just playing around wasn’t quite what it used to be.”

Jessa’s lack of energy started to become worse.

Stephanie decided she had to take Jessa back to the hospital Nov. 10 to run more tests and determine what had caused her to become so lethargic. Doctors discovered bacteria in her stomach called clostridium difficile was causing her to be fatigued and to have diarrhea. People are born with this bacteria, but it was causing problems for Jessa because of the amount of medication she had been given recently. Stephanie was relieved and surprised to hear Jessa only had a bacterial infection because Stephanie thought Jessa might have had more problems with her shunt, which frightened her.

Kyle and Stephanie find difficulty in knowing what to do when Jessa is not acting like herself.

There is not a lot of information about this disease, so the parents struggle to realize if Jessa should be taken to the hospital if she’s not acting like herself.

“It’s also really hard watching her go through all of that,” Stephanie said. “She has to get poked over and over by needles…It’s just really hard putting her through that, especially if it’s not necessary. How do we know if it’s necessary or not?

I definitely feel like this last time we did the right thing by taking her there, but it’s just hard.”

However, Kyle and Stephanie wonder whether Jessa’s recent complications have an underlying cause that doctors have not figured out yet.

“With her syndrome, it’s so rare, we don’t know what to expect,” Stephanie said. “So, it could be a very long road, and this could be something that happens more than we’d like, but I’m hoping that’s not the case.”

Although Stephanie wonders about Jessa’s future, she does not like thinking about the unknown. She chooses to think about how Jessa is 18 months old and still alive.

“It’s hard to be negative when she’s such a fighter and a happy baby,” Stephanie said. “She really is mild-tempered and happy and easy to please. She means everything to me, and I feel like she was put in my life for a reason. She’s like the happiest, sweetest, purest thing I’ve ever known. She’s made my life complete in so many ways; I can’t even explain it.”

PE instructor Stephanie Jurgens holds and plays with her daughter, Jessa, outside Thursday, Dec. 4. Jessa suffers from Meckel-Gruber Syndrome. Photo

by Mitch Francis

14 4% 92% 4%

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racism in westside 98%

78%

2%

17%

XC 1% 1% TRACK 1%

feature

81%

14% WRESTLING 2% 6%

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Last issue, the Lance covered racism at Westside in our in-depth. This in-depth was posted and can be viewed on Westside Wired. The purpose of this in-depth was to start a conversation about racism at the school. Feedback was varied and we wish to highlight and address the comments that we have received here.

SOPHOMORE

MYKIAH Nelson

95%

The Lance apologizes for the mistakes made in the race in sports 100% info-graphic relating to the statistics of ethnicities. The coaches of these sports should’ve been contacted for correct informtion.We would like to specify that these stats are for this years varsity sports only.

5% I felt that the wide range of opinions and experiences were very interesting as well as helpful in providing [to] the readers...what [it’s like for] people who regularly face racially based problems.

5% 3% 92% SENIOR

100%

Grace Fogland

QUESTION: What about the racism white people face?

I liked how it got people talking. That being said, I think that many people missed the point of the in-depth, seeing it only as ‘white-people trashing’, which it was not intended to be at all.

The point was to shine awareness on racism at westside (which really does exist) and for people to be understand that it is an issue worth addressing.

ANSWER: “Recognize that racism is not just prejudice, but prejudice plus power. In our society, whites have the vast majority of power in institutions such as schools, courts, and corporations and maintenance of national narratives. Individual people of color may be biased against whites, just as whites may be biased against people of color. But the difference is that whites have institutional power to consistently deny resources and rights to people of color impacting their life choices and life chances; people of color do not have similar power to use their bias that way.”

Source: the Baltimore Racial Justice Action

SENIOR

Cal Caudell I feel like it spurred a lot of conversation about race at Westside, between both students and staff members, which I was really glad to see. What I found unfortunate was that many people felt offended by the articles instead of taking this experience as an opportunity to open their minds and think about race and racism more critically

Letter to the editor...

After reading the race issue of the Lance, my first thought was one of deep sadness. Why, after all years of struggle, education, and legislation, is racism still a factor in society? Haven’t we learned anything over the past 150 years? Then I realized that we really haven’t learned anything from negative behaviors that affect so many. Why do people still drink and drive, risking the lives of innocent people? Why does bullying and cyber-bullying still going on?

Why do people need to feel better about themselves by putting someone else down?

One reason that comes to mind is that people have become so self-absorbed that they can’t see beyond themselves. The prevailing feeling seems to be “it doesn’t matter what’s good for everyone, only what’s good for me.” How sad that our world is quickly becoming one that is lacking in compassion and empathy. Instead of putting someone else down for their differences, try putting yourself in their shoes. Ask a question or two and listen with an open mind.

Learn instead of judge. Before you tweet the picture of a random kid you think is weird, ask yourself why you want to do that to someone else. Everyone has been in that situation when they’re already having a bad day and then someone else makes a comment or does something that just make it worse. We all know how hurtful that is, so why do it to anyone else?

If everyone committed themselves to being less judgemental and more open to learning about each other, we might actually make a difference. I realize how stupidly simple it seems, but the crazy part is that it just might work. We might finally learn from past mistakes and correct them for future good.

INSTRUCTOR

SALLY S H E P H E RD

15

SPORTS

AIR BRATTON

Basketball player returns from summer injury AREN R E N D E L L

MEDIA COORDINATOR Ask sophomore Anthony Bratton if he can dunk a basketball, and he’ll smile. At 6 feet 5 inches with a 6-foot-9-inch wingspan and an athletic build, completing one of the most electrifying and athletically impressive plays in basketball is hardly a physical challenge.

Bratton’s size, athleticism and talent earned him minutes on Westside’s state runner-up basketball team last year, even though he was just a freshman.

With Michael Herrmann, last year’s starting center, and seven other players graduated, Bratton is getting even more playing time this season (he has started Westside’s first three games).

But every time Bratton finds himself alone on a fast break, with an open lane to the basket or simply going for a rebound, the morning of May 24 will be on his mind. That morning is why you’ll see him grab the rim with two hands when, and if, he dunks in games. That morning, basketball brought Bratton to tears.

“I thought my career was over,” Bratton said. “I started crying because I didn’t want that to be the end of my career right there.”

Bratton suffered a fracture of the tibia in his left leg.

During an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) summer league game, he jumped to dunk. But during a play he had made so many times, he heard a pop and felt his leg go numb.

“I couldn’t get up anymore,” Bratton said. “[My leg] was gone. I couldn’t bend my leg, so I just sat there.”

His mind flashed to Westside.

“I was thinking about our team,” Bratton said. “If my career was ended, I didn’t want to let the team down.”

Bratton went through a surgery to put the bone back together. For someone who had played basketball since he was 3 years old, what followed proved to be a mental and physical battle.

“When you play basketball that long…[and] you can’t play the sport you love, it’s kind of hard to let it go, just to sit out that long,” Bratton said. “I was struggling real bad to just sit there.”

The surgery was successful, but the future of his basketball career was still in doubt. According to teammate KaVon Neelon, one of the senior leaders of the varsity basketball team, Bratton was in a dark place.

“He was pretty hurt,” Neelon said. “He didn’t think anyone cared about him.”

Neelon said Bratton is a vocal leader, even though he is still an underclassman. Even so, Bratton occasionally needs a teammate to give him direction and energy.

“Sometimes, if he’s not playing too well, he needs someone to get him going,” Neelon said. “When that happens, then he’ll really come to life.”

During the months where he couldn’t stand on his damaged leg, Bratton needed someone to get him going. Neelon and the rest of his teammates, along with boys varsity basketball head coach Brian Nemecek, were there to get Bratton to come back to life.

Nemecek spoke with Bratton almost weekly, telling him to “stay positive” and that “good things will happen.” In addition, Bratton’s teammates organized a day to go to his house and raise his spirits.

“We just hung out with him for the day,” Neelon said. “Apparently it meant a lot to him because he brings it up all the time.”

With a period of grueling rehabilitation therapy looming, that day with his teammates boosted his spirits.

“That made me feel like I was part of the team still,” Bratton said.

In therapy, Bratton was faced with bending his leg for the first time in months, something that he said “hurt really badly.”

“I pushed through it because I knew that if I didn’t go through that process, I wouldn’t come back,” Bratton said. “I was really scared.”

Bratton was medically cleared to play basketball Sept. 22. That day, basketball made him smile again.

“When [the doctor] told me I could play again, I was so excited,” Bratton said.

Since then, Bratton has been dealing with the fear of suffering another break while preparing to be a leader at the varsity level as a sophomore.

“Every time I jump, I’m scared,” Bratton said. “I don’t really want to jump anymore, but I have to because that’s part of my job.”

Despite that worry, others see Bratton as nearly back to being the player he was before, or better.

“His shooting and dribbling has gotten a lot better,” Neelon said. “He’s a lot more confident, but his injury’s still in the back of his mind, so he’s always a little timid when he’s playing.”

Bratton will be charged with scoring, rebounding and altering opponents’ shots. He should lead or be near the top of those categories for the team. So far, Bratton is averaging 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. The Warriors have fallen to 0-3 in three close games, but Nemecek says Bratton will be an important part of successes throughout the season.

“He’s just one of those pieces of that puzzle that when he plays at his level, we’re going to be pretty good,” Nemecek said.

Westside fans should have two more seasons after this one to watch Bratton play. After that, he hopes to play Division I basketball at Creighton because Doug McDermott, who was his favorite college player, was an All-American at the school before going on to the NBA. Bratton has gotten looks from the school and others, but he thinks his injury hurt his chances to gain more interest in the summer league.

For now, Bratton will be focused on battling against the best big men in the state, some of whom will be two years older than him.

“He loves competition,” Neelon said. “He loves when people tell him that he’s not as good as his [opponent]. He goes out of his way to try and prove them wrong, so I think he’ll be fine.”

The Warriors play at Omaha Northwest in their fourth game of the season tonight at 7:15 p.m.

Sophomore Anthony Bratton lays the ball off of the glass to score during the boys varsity basketball game against unranked Omaha Benson Tuesday, Dec. 9. Westside lost 81-76.

Photo by Sarah Lemke

Sophomore goalie leads team to strong start CONNOR CAS TL E MA N STAFF WRITER

Sophomore goal keeper Owen Morrow blocks a shot from his coach during practice Monday, Nov 24. Morrow is known to play a big role in the success of Westside’s hockey team. Photo by Taylor Schendt

Westside’s hockey team fell apart last year after a crushing loss against Creighton Prep in the first round of the state hockey tournament. The team was looking for a leader to help the team bounce back. Sophomore goalie Owen Morrow took charge.

Now the team is off to a great start this year.

At their first game this year, they played the defending champions and team that knocked them out in last years state championship, Prep. Prep has been known for their outstanding hockey performances the last few years, including being runners up in the 2012 state championship, losing to Millard West. As well as being crowned 2013 state champions.

As Morrow skated back to his goal at the beginning of the game he knew that there would be shots at the net he was defending from all of Prep’s players.

Throughout the game Morrow got ice in his face, hockey sticks into his chest, and pucks shot at him from all over the rink.

“I have to go through a lot each game,” Morrow said. “But after seeing everyone on our team celebrating after each win I realize it’s worth it.”

Morrow allowed one puck by him helping the team beat the state’s defending champions, 3-1. He was named the MVP of the game for his outstanding performance around the goal.

“Owen helps our team a lot,” senior captain Jacob White said. “He is vocal on the ice and of course

stops the puck. He also amazingly hasn’t allowed more than one puck past him in one game.”

“It was an exciting win but with all the seniors lost from Preps state championship winning team last year, we knew this was just the beginning,” Morrow said.

Westside’s next game wasn’t any easier as they faced this season’s projected state champion, Millard West. Morrow knew that it would take another outstanding team performance to be able to compete against them.

“There were many times where we could have lost, but with our teams resilience we kept fighting back throughout the entire game,” Morrow said.

Westside hung with Millard West the entire game and ended up with a 2-2 tie. After fighting two games against some of the best teams in the state, their confidence and team chemistry only continued to grow.

“Owen is a motivator,” White said. “He makes the team laugh when we are having a rough game, keeping morale high.”

Westside followed its tie against Millard West with an impressive 6-0 victory over Millard North.

Morrow attributes Westside’s success to his entire team.

“I’m just the goalie,” Morrow said. “Without the help from my coach and teammates we wouldn’t have our 2-0-1 record.”

Now with Westside playing at a state championship level, Morrow and his teammates are looking to keep pushing each other to new levels in a quest for a state championship.

16

SPORTS

Trainer uses past to educate Westside athletes Jack Cohen

Sports Editor Al Smith finally had his chance. As a sophomore JV basketball player, Smith normally played around six to ten minutes. This day was different.

Smith had been in most of the game, playing 30 minutes of intense and competitive basketball.

The following day, Smith was exhausted at practice. His body was not used to the pain caused by playing the majority of a game. He was sore, but he played on. Towards the end of the practice, Smith went up to dunk. When he came down, he landed awkwardly on his leg, and the amount of activity he had done in the past few days caught up to him. Smith tore his ACL. He would undergo surgery and a 12-week recovery period.

After this passed, Smith attempted a comeback. Due to his lack of knowledge of how tissues heal, Smith came back faster than he should have and repeated his injury, tearing his ACL for the second time.

Now, long out of high school, Smith works to make sure kids don’t suffer from the same situation he did.

Smith graduated from Westside in 2003. He played basketball and baseball, but it was in baseball in which he starred.

“Al is really the only player I’ve had where I was afraid to stand in the third base box if I wasn’t paying attention,” head baseball coach Bob Greco said. “He hit the ball so hard, you always had to be paying attention.”

Smith went to the University of Nebraska Lincoln to play baseball, but the injuries he received in high school and the injuries he would later suffer while in college forced him to quit baseball as a junior.

Although Smith’s injuries derailed his athletic career, they also inspired a drive to understand what happened to him and educate people about sports injuries.

“There isn’t a day that goes by I don’t think about how things would have changed if I stayed healthy,” Smith said. “I channel that into a desire to learn about the body and offer my experiences and what I’ve learned to anyone who wants it.”

Smith does this by being a personal trainer,

and in May, he will also be a physical therapist.

He’ll be able to give people the information he didn’t receive for his own injuries.

Now, 11 years after high school and five years after becoming personal trainer, Smith has found a way to help athletes understand how to recover properly.

“I had the idea of instead of me running preseason training, I’d have Al do it,” Greco said. “He does a much better job than I would, and he has such a passion for it.”

For the past four years, Smith has worked with the girl’s basketball team and the baseball team.

“My whole goal is to provide sports specific pre-season training and injury prevention,” Smith said.

There are over 15 sports at Westside; Smith adds specialization to the ones he works with.

“There are so many athletes at Westside,” Smith said. “It’s difficult to make lifting programs that apply to everyone. That’s what I try to help with.”

Smith has changed how the athletes he works with exercise. He encourages to work smarter: two days of better work instead of five days of harder work.

Everything Smith implements with the athletes has injury prevention in mind.

“In some cases, injuries are unavoidable,” Smith, said. “What I work for and what all the athletes I work with are working for [minimalizing] all the injuries that are avoidable.”

Getting hurt can be extremely frustrating for athletes. High school is the last time most student athletes will be able to play their sport competitively. Smith’s program helps them take advantage of these opportunities and stay in the game.

Smith’s motivation all goes back to his prior experiences.

“I got into it because I made choices in high school,” Smith said. “I think having someone like that in high school, I guess this is my way of giving back.”

Senior Jay Bridgeman is one person who has heavily benefited form working with Smith. As a four-year starter, Bridgeman has struggled with injuries throughout her athletic career.

Bridgeman has had an injury every season she’s

played, and at the beginning of Smith’s workouts this season pulled her hamstring.

Injuries always affect an athlete’s confidence, but having a trainer who understands the situation has helped Bridgeman.

“He has [helped] a lot with the hamstring injury,” Bridgeman said. “He works with me one on one and takes the time to do that when working with all the girls.”

For Bridgeman and many others Smith works with, he continues to be a source of help and advice. Smith has become the presence he didn’t have as a student athlete.

“I have been extremely fortunate to work with some amazing guys and girls,” Smith said. “The enthusiasm they show, the questions they ask and the effort they put into these workouts is so inspiring to me. I consider myself lucky to be able to work with these athletes.”

Strength coach Al Smith instructs a Westside baseball player on proper technique. Smith, a record holder in career hits at Westside, loves to help players prepare during the offseason. Photo by Mitch Francis

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SPORTS

17

Cheer team takes flight to Disney competition JAMES

BUCKLEY

SPORTS EDITOR

Senior Annie Bradford practices the routine for the Disney Christmas Day Parade in the main gym Friday Nov. 14. 12 Westside cheerleaders went to Disney World to perform in the nationally televised parade Dec. 5. Photo by Sarah Lemke

All-American cheerleader tryouts — the nerves are all around before they begin. Many of the Westside cheerleaders are worried about how they’ll do. Senior Annie Bradford is perfectly calm.

“I don’t really get nervous for that stuff… It’d be cool to be an All-American, but it wouldn’t make or break me,” Bradford said.

As these thoughts go through her head, she gets ready to perform. The judges call her group in and the All-American tryout begins.

Once she got in the tryout room, it didn’t feel like she was trying out to be an All-American. She just treated it like another Friday night cheer.

Bradford claimed the tryout was easy. This was the intent of the judges, according to Bradford.

They made it that way so they could see who had the best technique, which is how they picked the All-Americans.

Bradford performed the routine with ease.

However, she was worried about the number of cheerleaders competing for spots.

The tryouts were part of a camp the Westside cheer squad went to over the summer. It was held at the University of Nebraska Wesleyan and squads from across the state participated.

Out of all the teams at the camp most were nominated for the All-American tryouts. After the tryout, only 15 cheerleaders earn a spot to be All-Americans. They were nominated based on how well their jumps, technique or showmanship were.

Westside had all of its juniors and seniors nominated, along with six sophomores. However, Bradford was the only Westside cheer member to make it through the tryout and become an AllAmerican. Though only Bradford is an All-American, everyone nominated to tryout got to perform in the nationally televised Disney Christmas Day Parade Dec. 5.

Westside sent 12 cheerleaders to Disney.

Westside Athletics Club

All family all sport pass - $150 All sport pass - $70 All basketball pass - $45 Swimming pass - $40

The cheerleaders who went were Bradford, seniors Hannah Smith, Morgan Novacek, Sydney Hawekotte, Anna Hoyme, Sidnee Dudley, Maddie Holmes, junior Jasmyn Ross and sophomores Alex Mitchell, Grace Yohannes, Reghan Callahan and Joslyn Frost.

Additionally, Bradford had the opportunity to perform in a New Year’s Day parade in London.

She declined the offer so she could go to Disney and share the experience with her teammates.

“It’s a good opportunity to bond with the girls,” Bradford said. “There’s a large age range. I’m a senior, and there’s four sophomores so it’s fun to get to know them.”

Bradford was especially glad to spend time with the sophomores. Since sophomores can’t be on varsity during sports seasons, events like these and state cheer are the only times they get to be on the same team.

Being a sophomore, Alex Mitchell was thrilled when she learned she could go to Disney and work with the varsity cheerleaders.

“It was amazing performing with them,” Mitchell said. “They made the experience 10 times better and could always make me laugh and smile,” Mitchell said.

When the team got to Disney World, they had to perform a routine in front of judges to determine where everyone will be placed. With over 800 cheerleaders performing, it will be tough for the girls to be seen. To help them have the best chance to be on TV, they practiced Tuesdays and Thursdays after school with the help of University of Nebraska Omaha cheerleader Olivia Kelly, who performed in the parade whens she was in high school.

Though getting good spots in the parade was something the girls wanted, it wasn’t the most important part to Studts.

“It’s an awesome event and opportunity,” Studts said. “What I like is it’s not a huge pressure to win a competition, this is more about them having a fun experience together as a team.”

18

A&E

MOCKINGJAY

Production DIRECTOR Scene

Take

Date

Blockbuster film doesn’t quite hit the target Elise Tucker A&E Editor Twilight has done it, Harry Potter has done it and now the Hunger Games series has broken up its final movie too. All of the franchises have made two parts for the last movies in the series.

Mockingjay Part 1 came out Nov. 21, and fans of the book flocked to see it. In North America, fans spent a total of $123 million opening weekend. The movie is about the districts rising up against the controlling Capitol with the help of Katniss Everdeen. They hope to win the civil war to rid the country of the dictatorship.

The movie has a lot of amazing actors to show us the emotional depth of the movie.

Jennifer Lawrence does a great job of showing the moods of the main character, Katniss, when she returns to her home of District 12 to see what has happened there. In the middle of the emotional moment, Lawrence brought a crazed and depressed version of Katniss to the screen.

The movie was about a propaganda battle between District 13 and the Capital, but that battle brought out the best in the cast. Hutcherson showed so much emotion when he was talking about the war that I was about to cry in the middle of the movie.

The movie also had some funny moments in it, which helped lighten the dark undertones. When Katniss needed to be the Mockingjay, the rebel symbol and had to be in propaganda commercials, she acted like she didn’t know what she was doing, which I thought funny.

That moment really helped the movie gain some laughs from the audience and

lightened the mood of the movie.

The best part about the movie is that it stayed true to the book, which is the best thing that could happen for a reader like me. Most movies don’t reflect the book at all, but this one was different.

Even though the movie had its good moments, it had its downfalls as well.

The movie could have ended in different places. There was one scene where after Peeta and Katniss were fighting, the screen goes black. I thought it would end there, but it just continued with Katniss sleeping.

The movie had impressive dialogue at times, but when Katniss, Madame President (the president of District 13) and Plutarch Heavensbee were talking about how Katniss can be the Mockingjay, it drones on and on. The conversation could have been short and sweet. The whole movie had those long conversations, which made the movie almost boring.

Also I feel like they could have made the movie into one movie. It didn’t have a lot of action scenes, which would have helped the movie along. I just feel like Lionsgate wanted to make a box office sweep and get more money for the trilogy. I wish they would just add more action sequences in the movie.

Overall, the movie was an okay movie. It is a must-see for the fans of the trilogy. If you didn’t watch the first part or read the Mockingjay book, then you will be lost when the next part comes out in the theaters.

Mockingjay Part 1 is out in theaters now and the final movie will come out next year Nov. 21, 2015.

Even though the movie had its good moments, it had its downfalls as well.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence poses as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Game series.

Mockingjay Part 1, the third movie of the series, came out Nov. 21 and racked up $123 million opening weekend. It is still in theaters now.

A&E

19

NANOWRIMO

Westsiders participate in novel writing event Elise Tuck-

A & E E d i to r

Juniors Brennan Malone and Elizabeth Nigro throw their pieces of writing into the air in the journalism room Wednesday, Oct. 26. Malone and Nigro are participating this year in Nanowrimo. Photo by Jakob Phillips

A

November is full of different celebrations such as No-Shave November and Thanksgiving, but National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a unique interest.

NaNoWriMo is a one-month writing event that starts on the first of November, and lasts for the duration of the month. Participates must write 50,000 words in their novel in that time period and submit their word count on the official website. Then, the creators or judges of NaNoWRiMo look through all the beginnings of the novels and then choose the winners.

Some teachers and students are excited for the event and even plan on writing for it.

English instructor Jeff Grinvalds is writing a sci-fi novel for the event. To Grinvalds, writing is a way of expression.

He started his book on Nov. 1 and has written up to 40,000 words as of November 30. His book is about a man who can detect the wishes of other people and fulfill them.

“I found out about NaNoWRiMo about six or seven years ago,” Grinvalds said. “I read about it online and tried it. Every year, I have tried to get back to writing a full novel, but I haven’t gotten the chance to write a full novel until this year.”

Juniors Elizabeth Nigro and Brennan Malone have also decided to write novels this year.

The two girls created their own stories by just coming up with the ideas. They both thought about a fantasy that they could put on a page.

Nigro’s book is about a girl named Beatrice and her experiences with the universe. The universe screwed up and accidentally created its own destruction. The universe chooses Beatrice to help fix the mess it has created.

Her inspiration for this novel is J.R.R. Tolkien,

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author of “The Lord of the Rings” series. Tolkien inspired her plot because he writes more sci-fi or fantasy stories like Nigro does.

“He is a huge influence on my writing,” Nigro said. “I’m just so amazed at how thorough he was.

He even went so far to create multiple languages for his original races.”

Writing is a stress reliever for her, because it creates a world where she can escape.

“I’ve always had a weird imagination, ever since I was a little kid,” Nigro said. “I had a lonely childhood, so I would read constantly to escape from my reality.”

Books like “Eragon,” “The Unicorn Chronicles,” and “Dragon Rider” were influences on how she views fantasy today.

Malone’s book is about people who exist in other people’s dreams. She started the book when she was in sixth grade and has re-written it many times.

“I think it’s so amazing how it started as just an idea and became something so big,” Malone said.

Malone also said that when she writes, she feels a sense of freedom. Malone can write whatever she wants and no one will grade her on her writing. In school, teachers grade papers and critique them to show students’ mistakes.

“When I write I can just place an idea on a page and take it to any direction I want it to go,” Malone said. “Also when I read a good book I get this really good feeling and just become completely invested in the main character’s life. Seeing anyone else do that with my writing would be a dream come true.”

All of the writers have created their own little world they can create and NaNoWriMo has helped them achieve that.

You can participate in National Writing Month next year at nanowrimo.org.

CRA ZE check out issue three on westsidewired.org

A&E

20

JACK and

JACK distance

HONEST MUSIC REVIEWS Estella Fo x Editor-in-chief After Westside graduates Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson became popular on Vine for their humor and defined jaw lines, they took their talents to the studio trying to get traction on the radio. Key word: trying. They have worked with several producers and writers to create songs, which are released every Tuesday. So far, they have released 11. After every

paradise

one is released, there is buzz all over fan accounts dedicated to them, saying how amazing each song is. I decided that it was time to give them some honest reviews, picking a select few to showcase. The rating scale is out of 10, 0 being just plain awful, and 10 being an average pop song that is played on the radio. If you end up loving the music, you can see them live Dec. 20 at the Ralston Arena. Tickets for general admission are $25. Unfortunately for some, VIP tickets are already sold out.

DOING IT RIGHT

released: jan. 28

released: april 9

released: july 1

rating:

rating:

rating:

“I know that the rhythm and flow that / I’m putting on this track are gonna make you so sad.” Well, Johnson, you were right. Probably not in the way you were hoping, though. The biggest problem with the song “Distance” is that it just sounds — well, sad. After a bland instrumental intro, Gilinsky sing-raps about some fight with a vague significant other. He sounds bored, and the vocals fall horribly flat until the chorus. Gilinsky sings during this part, the song’s only redeeming quality. He still sounds awkward, but the chorus has a nice melody.

In the next verse, Gilinsky has a similar rap to the first verse, but then throws in some words like “uh” and “girl.”

It sounds like he just listened to the Top 40 and tried his best. After the second chorus, Johnson raps, sounding painfully messy and inexperienced. The chorus repeats, and thankfully, the song ends. To give them the benefit of the doubt, this is their first single, and they used a producer who doesn’t have any talent. That being said, they should have worked much harder on the lyrics. They’re recycled garbage from every love song on the radio. Most of them just sound like they found a word to rhyme, and created some line to fit with the song. “Can we be consistent? (girl)/Are you even listenin’? (yeah).” Honestly, I wouldn’t waste your time listening to this track — it’s not like they spent that much time making it.

Ah, the first step to a real pop song. Still not close to a pleasant sounding synthesizer in the beginning, and then Johnson starts rapping. Compared to his last two singles, I was pleasantly surprised. The rap sounds like it has more structure and same lyrical substance. He raps about how it’s a shame people need material things to be happy. It’s suspicious how they suddenly changed their ideals completely after the last single.

The thing that completely ruins it is this awful, ridiculous accent Johnson puts on. I understand the song is supposed to sound Caribbean, but there’s no reason that a boy from Nebraska should fake a Caribbean accent. It sounds absurd and embarrassing. He removes it about halfway through the rap, ironically right when the line “we never change for anybody” starts. Gilinsky sings about not having a care and relaxing by the beach while in the Caribbean with our favorite anonymous girl. The song is fine, not very close to the radio, but getting there. Overall, this song did improve in quality. The lyrics are starting to make more sense, and both their performances on this song sound cleaner and better rehearsed.

This song is a complete 180 in meaning from their last single “Paradise.” “Doing It Right” is all about making money. It’s obvious it was created as a response to all the hate they’re getting, lots of it stemming from the fact that their fan base is mainly comprised of teenage girls. Johnson starts on the track, telling listeners, “Your mama’s talking to you sayin’ clean up the basement/while the money’s talking to me, that’s personification.” Both Johnson and Gilinsky talk about how they don’t care about “haters” because they are doing what they want to do and making money at the same time.

They, once again, sound pretty much the same as “Paradise” here, just a little bit better. The thing that brings this song down is the fact that it sounds like someone made the beat in GarageBand. Fake snare and hi-hat hits litter the song. The bridge is the best example of this: it’s introduced by an embarrassingly electric drum sound, and when Gilinsky is almost done singing, the drums come back sounding so incredibly fake they ruin the whole part. While both of them are obviously improving, their producer isn’t.

wild life

tides

groove

released: aug. 7

released: sept. 2

released: nov. 22

rating:

rating:

rating:

Jack & Jack’s fifth single “Wild Life” is better than their first four songs put together. Johnson starts after a pretty good intro involving animal sounds. Lyrically, it’s a typical club song. He raps about dancing and having fun.

It still isn’t as polished as most songs on the radio, but hey, it’s getting there. He raps fast, but it doesn’t matter because the lyrics don’t mean much, aside from the occasional joke. The pre-chorus is Gilinsky singing about continuing to party, and the song builds in the background to the chorus. “Wild Life” has a good drop. Typically, we’ll hear something very bass-heavy or dub step on the radio, a pretty cheap and overused way to make a pop song sound fun. “Wild Life” doesn’t have that. The drop sounds stripped and clean, with few sounds. Johnson does a similar rap in the second verse, and then it goes to the bridge.

Gilinsky’s voice works well during this part. The only awkward sounding portion is the bridge and second prechorus. While Gilinsky is singing about the exact same thing (partying), Johnson adds unnecessary words to the background. They’re just kind of annoying and childish.

Another problem with this song is it doesn’t really fit their vocal style. Commercial club music doesn’t work well with them; they sound a little too nice. Other than that, the song was a good change of pace. They aren’t pushing any artistic boundaries here, but they don’t need to.

Their aim was to make a fun song, and they did just that.

It sounds well produced (probably because they switched producers), and they both sound pretty professional.

Lucky for us, “Tides” sounds nothing like Jack & Jack’s other beach-themed song “Paradise.” They also decided to not go for the Caribbean accent. Johnson starts off the song with a rap, his strongest lyrically and the best flow of all the songs they’ve released. He’s relaxed and calm, and he’s not trying to throw fast-paced lyrics we can’t keep up with like in “Wild Life.” Sonically, this is one of their best instrumentals. It has a simple beat, a breezy guitar riff, and great sounding horns from Westside graduates Ezra and Adeev Potash. It’s a fun listen, and he throws in some ocean puns while he’s at it. “When the tide hits you straight in the face/Life is getting harder treading water, got nowhere to go.” Gilinsky comes in with the hook, harmonizing with himself on a layered track.

The chorus is nice too, and once again, it has a very catchy chorus. This one has better sounding instrumentals that fit best with their voices so far. However, one of the major downfalls is halfway into the second verse.

Gilinsky “whoas” over Johnson’s rapping, and Gilinsky sounds distracting from one of Johnson’s best sounding raps. The whole song plays out similarly, and even though their lyrics get a little repetitive, this is one of their better sounding songs. It still doesn’t sound like professional sounding pop song. Even though both Johnson and Gilinsky have stepped it up, both of them sound inexperienced.

Their best song to date, “Groove” is a song where Jack & Jack finally found the style they should be going for. A funky guitar riff and beat starts the song off, and Johnson raps, sounding confident and collected. The song isn’t trying to be anything that Jack & Jack aren’t, like on “Wild Life.” Johnson’s flow has drastically improved from “Cold Hearted” to “Tides,” and it shows on this song. The chorus and pre-chorus sound fitting. Gilinsky’s voice is perfect for this kind of groovy singing, and he ultimately makes the song.

There are some downfalls, however. The chorus gets too busy at times, and the line “The feeling that I’m feeling inside of here” falls flat and sounds out of place. Sonically, though, the chorus and most of the song is good and just really fun to listen to. The guitar riff that starts the song off repeats for the whole track, and electronic drum beats and synthesizers push the song along. The second verse isn’t the best; there’s unnecessary cussing that doesn’t fit the theme, and Johnson changes his tone sometimes, which doesn’t end up sounding clean at all. The rest of the song plays out similarly to their others, once again having the Johnson’s unnecessary add-ins in the background of the second verse. Even though there are some problems, this is the kind of light-hearted fun song that their style fits best with, and their best song they have put out so far.