The Northmen's Log - Issue 1, Volume 54

The Northmen’s

LOG Oak Park High School Kansas City, MO Vol. 54, Issue 1 October 2018

• INSIDE A MODEL SCHOOL • IT’S HAPPENING ALL AROUND US • • TO BURN OR NOT TO BURN •

Letter from the Editor HELLO, Oak Park! I’m Mina Buchholz, and I am so excited to be greeting you for the first time as Editor-in-Chief of “The Northmen’s Log” magazine. In the time since our last issue, the Log has undergone lots of changes both internal and external. You may notice a new ‘clubs’ page, and four pages dedicated to features rather than the traditional two.

In our cover story, we discuss human trafficking, and how it can be fought. In our other feature, we investigate Oak Park’s high expectations and how they affect both students’ lives and quality of learning.

Our editorial this issue covers hot topics relating to the recent Nike/Colin Kaepernick campaign. We touch on Kaepernick’s protest, the Nike boycott, and the meaning of

Staff

the First Amendment. In addition to our opinion, we have some do’s and don’ts regarding the flag and a list of places to donate your Nikes.

In our very first personal column by a staffer, Ivonee Morales-Mejia, talks about her experiences with sexism in the home and offers insights into how familial sexism negatively affects everyone.

I am so very proud to be presenting you with this fall issue of the Log. We work for you, the students of Oak Park, so I ask that you please direct any questions, comments, or concerns to myself or to adviser Christina Geabhart.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day, Oak Park!

Mina Buchholz, Editor-In-Chief Kayelyn Logan, Opinion & Photo Editor Jessica Begley, Sports/Clubs Editor Malea Biswell, News Editor Mackenzie Powell, People/Recreation Editor Caitlin Anderson, Staffer Leah Beatty, Staffer Emily Byrum, Staffer Lindsey Dunaway, Staffer Giselle Ferman, Staffer Faith Guinip, Staffer Ivonee Morales-Meija, Staffer Nathan Nance, Staffer Christina Geabhart, Adviser

Mina Buchholz Editor-In-Chief

Publication information “The Northmen’s Log” will publish four times during the school year.

“Log” staff strongly supports the First Amendment and opposes censorship. Freedom of expression and press are fundamental values in a democratic society.

Therefore, “Log” encourages readers to participate in the discussion by submitting Letters to the Editor in Room E134 or by email to christina.geabhart@nkcschools.org.

Letters cannot exceed 350 words and must be signed. “Log” will not run letters that are libelous, obscene, or that may cause a verifiable disruption to the education process at Oak Park.

Advertisers may contact the adviser at christina.geabhart@nkcschools.org for more information.

Subscriptions are available at $20 for a mailed copy, $10 for an emailed PDF version, and $25 for both.

Opinions expressed in “Log” do not reflect student, staff, or district endorsements of that opinion, product or service.

“Log” is a member of MIPA, NSPA, and Quill and Scroll. “Log” is affiliated with JEA, MJEA, and JEMKC.

An Early College Academy student gets some work done. See ‘Students take college classes’ for more (photo illustration Jessica Begley)

Table of Contents News - 4

Students take college classes: A new program lets students to go to college part-time while still in high school Latinos take center stage: The theater department tries to respectfully run a Latino-centered musical with a largely non-Latino cast

People - 6 Jumping into politics: An exchange student shares his political experiences in his home of Poland

Recreation - 7 Little Saigon: The Log reviews San’s Sandwiches inside Gladstone’s Little Saigon Plaza

Cover Story - 8 It’s happening all around us: A rash of kidnappings and suspected sex trafficking in the Midwest means it’s more important than ever to stay safe

Feature - 10

Inside a Model School: Oak Park was named a Model School for its high expectations, but these expectations can have consequences for students’ education and personal lives

Back Cover Personal Column: Staffer Ivonee Morales-Mejia discusses her experiences with familial sexism

Opinion - 12 To burn or not to burn: The Log weighs in on Colin Kaepernick, the Nike boycott, and the First Amendment

Sports - 14 Girls take to the mats: For the first, time, girls that want to wrestle in Missouri high schools will not be forced to wrestle boys

Clubs - 15 Buzzing in: After fielding a team of five last year, Scholar Bowl is beginning to grow and is hopeful for competition

On the Cover It’s happening all around us: Photo illustration of a girl being kidnapped. (photo illustration Nathan Nance)

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News // Biswell

Students take college classes

Oak Park introduces the Early College Academy

By Sports Editor Jessica Begley

The Early College Academy is a new district program in which students are enrolled at Maple Woods Community College, while also being enrolled in high school.

Eleven students enrolled in it this year, spending first and second block at Maple Woods, and third and fourth block in the building.

“It’s a concept that has been in existence on both coasts for over a decade,” said Kyle Anderson, director of advanced studies and post-secondary readiness for the NKC School District. “But like many other things, it’s taken a while for it to reach the middle of the country.

When it was announced the Early College Academy was coming to the district, students in ad-

Early College Academy student senior Ciara Carrel sits at the Maple Woods campus and works on sociology homework. (photo illustration Jessica Begley)

vanced courses were interested.

“I wanted to participate in ECA because in my junior year I had taken seven out of eight college classes and was not academically challenged,” senior Ciara Carrel said. “I felt that there was a lot of work with no real purpose. I was studying for the AP test, not to learn the content.”

Although there are many opportunities for students to participate in college-level courses within their own high schools, classes at Maple Woods can be more beneficial to students.

“You pay for your education at MCC and students become more mature and motivated to do well when that much money is on the line,” Carrel said. “At Oak Park, there is no motivation besides that you need a high school degree to

“I ... was not academically challenged,”

-senior Ciara Carrel

go to college. By the time students reach their senior year, they’re burnt out on education.”

Whether a senior is taking college classes, or taking AP or dual-credit, they are boosting their college applications. According to The Princeton Review, “The bottom line is that admission committees want to see that you are challenging yourself academically, which means taking honors, AP, or IB (International Baccalaureate) courses if they are available.”

The school district administration offers many ways for students to challenge themselves, and encourages whatever works best for the individual student.

“There are advantages and disadvantages across the board [on whether it is more beneficial to participate in ECA or taking AP courses],” Anderson said. “Whether we talk about AP, dual-credit, Early College [Academy], IB, the objective really is to make sure students are engaged in challenging-level work all through high school.”

News // Biswell

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Latinos take center stage

Theatre department performs ‘In The Heights’

By Photo Editor Kayelyn Logan

The theatre department, in the midst of producing its musical “In The Heights,” wants to accurately portray the Latino community. Even though the majority of the department is Caucasian, senior Lilyanna Law is pleased about the chosen musical.

“Even if we don’t have the exact ethnic representation, I think it can still spread a good light on the community itself,” said Law. Senior Josiah Fahnestock plays the lead, Usnavi.

Even though he is not Latino, he is of Filipino deSay Cheese: Senior Lindsey Jones smiles bright to warm scent. up her show time attitude during rehearsal. Practice makes “Latinos are a very broad term. It can fit a lot of perfect. (photo credit Faith Guinnip) people,” said Fahnestock. “Dominicans are differsian,” says senior Jordan Green. “I’m not going to try ent than Mexicans, skin part wise. Latino is just any and be someone I’m not. I’m going to try and play up Hispanic people.” that there can be Caucasian that have serious finanWhile there may be some controversy about percial struggles that live in a community where they forming a play when the cast may not have enough feel accepted where they don’t have the financial actors of that ethnicity. Some schools have even capabilities that other people have.” darkened or lightened up skin for their plays.

With this cast, the actors are “I’m really, really against that. I from different cultures and herialways have to be really cautious tages which is why the directors of what I do with the makeup decided to perform this musical. design and make sure I don’t end “We have quite a few Hispanic, up doing anything that can be have a quite few African-Ameroffensive,” said Law. ican, we have some Asian and Since Latino can describe a some mid-Eastern those type of wide range of people, the decultures and in addition,” said partment decided to portray the theatre director Matt Ashbough. wide range of diversity within “When you look at it, you acthe Latino community. For some tually see a typical white cast on students, it is difficult for them to Reading between the lines: Senior Cierra the stage.” portray a Latino.

Gonzales studies her notes along her fellow peers for the upcoming musical.(photo “Since I am Caucasian, that I am going to try and play Cauca- credit Faith Guinnip)

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Recreation // Powell

Devouring Little Saigon

by staffer Faith Guinnip

Little Saigon Plaza hosts multiple little shops and cafés. San’s Sandwiches, one of the most commonly visited restaurants, is exactly what the name sounds like. A little hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese café that blends in with the rest of the bland buildings around it. It doesn’t look extra special with its color scheme, there is no neon sign dragging you in, but I beg you, please, don’t let its outer appearance fool you.

Once Little Saigon’s shopping area opened; it quickly became a popular spot for teens. When I saw just how popular it had become, I knew I had to try it for myself.

Once inside San’s Sandwiches, you will be truly amazed. You will be greeted by a super friendly crew, who will take your order and explain anything to you if you have questions regarding the menu. The atmosphere was light and airy. Natural lighting adds a nice touch as well. Fresh plants sit around you to help filter the air, adding to the environment.

Looking into the menu I was slightly worried about the ingredients. I personally cannot handle a lot of soy sauce, because it makes me sick to my stomach, so I tried to avoid that as much as possible. With their wide variety of menu items, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get. I had so many options that I wanted to just order them one after another.

After deciding on San’s Sandwiches’ ‘Combination’ (steamed pork, grilled pork, Vietnamese ham), I sat there as they handmade everything for my dish.

It was quick, easy, and painless. What more could someone want from ordering at a restaurant? No one wants to be stuck with a mean waiter/waitress who takes forever to get their food in the system then has to wait while they thaw out the frozen hamburger or whatever they are preparing. San’s Sandwiches is nothing like that. My food came out fresh and full of

Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich: as they make your sandwich, they will call out different toppings to add to it, on this one there is carrots, lettuce, sauce, and jalapenos. This sandwich has a savory taste. (photo credit Emily Byrum)

flavor. I would honestly go back in a heartbeat just so I could try another thing on the menu.

Everyone worries about the price of food. Well at San’s Sandwiches price is out the window. All sandwiches, which are about the length of your two hands put together, range from $4.50 to $5 leaving you tons of money to spend on other things.

I one hundred percent recommend Little Saigon if you are ever out and about and just looking for some place to grab a quick, easy and fresh meal. You also have so many options for food in Little Saigon including End Zone, Broken Rice, San’s Sandwiches, GoCha Tea, the Poke Bar, Sushi Omakase, Pepperoni Pub and Mi Gia KC.

Little Saigon is a strip mall on North Oak Trafficway with some different Vietnamese restaurants including Sans Sandwiches, Go-Cha, Endzone II, Broken Rice, Poke Bar, Pepperoni Pub, Mi Gia KC, and Sushi Omakase. Some other stores around are Save a Lot, Advance Auto Parts, and Dollar General. (photo credit Emily Byrum)

People // Powell

ping into politics m u J

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By staffer Lindsey Dunaway

This year, Oak Park has many foreign exchange students; all of which, have different backgrounds. Exchange student Alan Gasiorek aspires to be a politician in his home country, Poland.

“I am [the] vice president of my political party in my state,” Gasiorek said.

The political party is called Nowoczesna. It was founded in May of 2015 by Ryszard Petru. The current leader is Katarzyna Lubnauer.

“We organize some kind of debates in the city [or] in the state,” Gasiorek said. “It’s a very, very, very big organization.”

However, the organization does more than just debates.

“We participate in some kind of international organization combined with other parties. [We have] national events, for example, elections in the party,” Gasiorek stated.

There are 4,160 members in the party.

“We are in the same international political parties’ union where [the] Democratic party is,” said Gasiorek.

With as many members as they have, they have quite a representatives in Poland’s Parliament.

“We have like 20 seats in the Parliament,” Gasiorek said.

Gasiorek has had many experiences that have inspired him to be a politician.

“I was in a meeting with my former president of my state and it made me interested [in politics],” Gasiorek explained.

Gasiorek has had more experiences than just debates and elections.

“I was active in TV and radio,” Gasiorek said. “I was on national television arguing with someone from the Fascist party.”

Senior Alan Gasiorek’s school in Poznań, Poland. (photo credit Alan Gasiorek)

Senior Alan Gasiorek’s town in Poznań, Poland (photo credit Alan Gasiorek)

Senior Alan Gasiorek (photo credit Emily Byrum)

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Cover Story // Buchholz

“Human trafficking is the action or practice of illegally transporting people.. typically for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation.”

-Oxford Dictionary

It’s happening all Human trafficking around us can affect anyone By staffer Caitlin Anderson

She comes to America looking for a job to send money back to her family.

He promises to give whatever she makes to her family, but she has to do whatever he wants.

She agrees to work for him, not thinking twice about it.

He dresses her up like a doll, displaying her to his clients She feels uncomfortable, but does it for her family.

He sells her body, breaking her and never relenting.

A series of photo illustrations show a girl being kidnapped and then rescued. (photo illustration Nathan Nance)

She never tells police when they see her on the street corner, scared that she won’t be able to provide for her family.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, human trafficking is “the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation.”

In its simplest terms, it’s sex trafficking. Usually abducting middle to high school age kids, mostly women but occasionally men, between the ages of 1 and 18 when

they are first abducted, although 11 to 14 is the average age, according to ArkOfHopeForChildren. org. And they usually only survive for an average of about seven years before dying from STDs, abuse, malnutrition, overdose, or even suicide, according to ArkOfHopeForChildren.org.

And some aren’t even grabbed off of the street. Some run away from home and get lost. Then a stranger offers them a ride home, a meal, or even a “safe place” to wait, and sometimes it works.

Since the average age is middle

to high school, a lot of times when most people feel most vulnerable and stressed out, they feel as though no one is listening, they run away from home, need a way back, and end up being sold as a sex slave.

Some people come to America for work opportunities to send money back to their family. Sometimes the person who comes to America has to work in the sex industry hoping that they are keeping true to their word to send money back, according to HighSpeedTraining.co.uk.

School Resource Deputy Justin Linard said, “a lot of times, if they’re a victim of trafficking, they do not want to admit to the cops that they were kidnapped or drugged for a period of time, or they were threatened. There’s a lot of threats that go out where people say ‘you’re going to work and you’re going to do this or we’re going to hurt your family” or ‘until you pay off this you’re going work for us’. And they give a statement saying they’re an escort or a prostitute. And the victim doesn’t really tell us what’s going on.”

The average cost of purchasing a person who has been trafficked is only $90, even though it is a multi-billion-dollar industry with over $9.5 billion in the US alone, according to the United Nations.

And most who are bought are only provided basic necessities, and most of the time not even proper or clean clothing.

(infographic by Caitlin Anderson)

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Feature // Biswell

Inside a Model School:

High expectations carry consequences

By Editor-in-Chief Mina Buchholz

A student glances at the clock.

It’s already 4 a.m., but she can’t go to bed yet. She has a project to complete by tomorrow morning. She wanted to study for her test, but that’s now a lost cause.

Overwhelmed, she hangs her head in her hands, unsure of how she’s supposed to handle it all.

In 2018, Oak Park was named a Model School by the International Center for Leadership in Education for the extremely high expectations it places on students.

AP for All

expanded to sophomore classes.

Then, all juniors are expected to sign up for AP United States government as a part of the school’s pilot program ‘AP for All.’ “[AP for All is about] creating a culture of no opting out. We don’t want a student to ever be able to say ‘I’m going to take the easiest path possible,’” said Principal Chris Sartain, Ed.D. To the school, AP experience gives students important life skills whether or not they are going to college.

“When I think about what a student needs to be a successful citizen, [I think of] persistence, their level of literacy, their ability to problem-solve, be collaborative, be able to do independent research,” Sartain said. “I think AP classes and dual-credit classes can provide that even to students that aren’t going to go to college.”

New, higher expectations for students begin freshman year with Honors contracting. With this program, both honors and regular students take the same core classes.

“The [honors students] have extra projects to complete,” said Kelsey DeGeorge, a freshman world history teacher.

Those extra projects range from a research assignments to extra questions At Oak Park, administrators take on a quiz. For pride in being a 2018 national model now, honors school. It shows collective data that administration were able to support, contracting excommunicate, and be focused on ists only in the ninth grade, but students to help prepare them for the future outside of school. (Photo credit it may soon be to Leah Beatty).

Affecting learning The rise in students taking AP classes has caused the classes to change to accommodate those students.

“This morning, we were looking through some notes and I realized I may

not put every single little thing [on the PowerPoint]. I assume that students are writing things that I say that I emphasize,” said AP U.S. government teacher Bryan Edinger. “But then I realized that some students have just written down [what is on the slide] thinking that that’s all I needed them to write down.”

Because of this issue, valuable time has to be spent teaching students studying, reading, and writing skills instead of AP content.

“I wish we could have an ‘AP for beginners’ class,” Edinger said.

“Whereas the class for students that have been through AP before and know the routine [would] focus more on content because we [wouldn’t] have to spend time teaching students how to take notes or how to ask higher-level questions.”

Meanwhile, in freshmen honors classes, the ‘honors’ curriculum differs very little from the ‘regular’ curriculum.

“A lot of the stuff they do is the same,” DeGeorge said of her honors and regular students.

Traditionally, if freshmen students wanted to take an honors class, they had to sign up for a separate honors block instead of contracting in. These blocks often had many more students in them and had specialized curriculum, different from the regular curriculum, that was designed for a faster-paced honors class.

“Originally, you’d have a class of 25 that was already honors. Now you have a class of 27 total, and

Feature // Biswell

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only seven of those sign up for honors,” DeGeorge said.

Consequences The fact that AP classes are so much harder than regular classes means that without a robust support system, it becomes difficult for students to succeed or even scrape by.

“It does stress me out a lot,” said Emily Hildebrand, a senior in AP physics, AP psychology, and AP seminar. “If it’s not a topic that I’m really passionate about, it’s not interesting to me. You end up with a lot of students who don’t care about what they’re doing, and they have to expend all this energy on a class that they find mentally and emotionally draining.”

Hildebrand has been enrolled in more than one AP class three out of four of her years in high school.

“It’s made easier by having a smaller class,” Hildebrand said. “[With AP for All] I think we might start to miss part of the point of AP.” With the pressure to enroll in at least one AP class during high school, many students have become more stressed. According to Oxford Learning Centers, stress in high schoolers is highly linked with class difficulty, amount of homework, and upcoming tests.

Senior Mickey Seely has had to delay applying to college because of her bad grade in an AP class she wasn’t planning on taking.

She didn’t try to drop the class because she was afraid that she would not be seen as having a good reason to drop.

“I was planning on sending transcripts out within the month at least, but I don’t want to have the

In the sppring 2018, Oak Park was nominated for being a national Top 8 Model School by Houghton Mifflin. In the lobby, administration placed one of the many banners to show the honor of being a National Model School. (photo credit Leah Beatty)

possibility of having a bad grade,” Seely said.

Trying to get out The district has long required students to get their principal’s permission to drop an AP class.

But AP for All has caused a surge of students seeking to drop their AP classes, and the administration has been forced to be more discriminatory.

“When they leave that [AP] class they have to go somewhere else, and we don’t always have enough room,” Sartain said. “If five peo-

ple want to drop, and I let them, and they all go into one class, that creates a tougher experience for the other students just based on class sizes.”

Seely said if the policy of Sartain signing off for students to exit AP classes didn’t exist, she definitely would have tried to leave the class.

Instead, she now is constantly behind on assignments, and feels stressed by the presence of the class in her life.

“I feel like the idea of [the AP for All policy] is good,” Seely said.

“They just put too many expectations on kids.”

Log’s View To burn or not to burn The Log gives its opinion on Kaepernick and the Nike campaign

By People/Recreation Editor Mackenzie Powell

It’s a Sunday, the stadium is filled with excited fans decked out in their favorite team’s apparel. The announcer interrupts the noise and says, “Ladies and Gentlemen, at this time we ask that you rise and remove your hats for the playing of our national anthem.” The entire stadium’s eyes fall upon you while you kneel during the anthem. The next morning, the media lights up with headlines criticizing you for disrespecting the flag.

This is exactly where Colin Kaepernick found himself two

years ago. Prior to a 49ers game, Kaepernick sat during the national anthem.

After the backlash, Kaepernick consulted Nate Boyer, a retired Army soldier, in order to find a more respectful way to protest.

This led to Kaepernick kneeling instead of sitting during the anthem. This grabbed the media’s attention with headlines condemning him for “disrespecting our troops.” More recently, his name has been brought to the forefront of the media following the controversial Nike 30th anniversary campaign.

“The Northmen’s Log” staff supports the First Amendment

right to peacefully protest as long as it’s safe, respectful, and not harmful to anyone else. The Log doesn’t support the Nike protest because it’s ineffective and wasteful while Kaepernick’s brought attention to a larger issue.

Rude Americans are the main people who disrespect the flag.

According to the Flag Code, you cannot put the flag on shirts, things that get sold, or athletic uniforms. All these things have become a part of normal every day lives.

Kneeling during the “Star-Spangled Banner” is not on the list of things you can’t do to the flag.

Kaepernick kneeling showed a

(Photo by Gisselle Ferman)

Opinion // Logan level of respect for our flag that most Americans do not have.

Kaepernick asked a soldier the best way to protest without any disrespect to the flag or the troops. Hating someone who is respecting the flag when most Americans don’t is hypocritical.

Burning Nike products is destroying your own money, not affecting Nike very much. Burning Nike gear will not hurt the company. People in opposition of the boycott have begun buying more Nike gear to offset the protest.

Nike has gained the support of other people who agree with what

Kaepernick kneeled for.

Kaepernick’s message did not go away when he got taken off the NFL roster - it only strengthened it. He kept his partnership with Nike to keep his message alive.

Despite the media backlash, Nike is still thriving. Since the first time Kaepernick kneeled, he has gotten attacked by the public. Destroying Nike gear is unsafe and useless.

A Florida man burnt down his house trying to burn his Nike shoes in his fireplace. Most people who are burning their Nike’s are not doing it in a safe way. Some are burning it in their backyards, in

(Infographics by Mackenzie Powell)

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open fire pits - even in their houses.

Protests that aren’t safe are counterintuitive. There are safer ways to show Nike that you don’t support what they are doing. This protest leaves too much room for things to go awry. Altogether, don’t burn your stuff unless you take the necessary precautions.

The Log supports the First Amendment wholeheartedly. However, we cannot stand for protests that are harmful, ineffective, and greedy. Stand up for what you believe in but do it in a way that gets the point across safely.

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Sports // Begley

Girls take to the mat

Wrestling team is now co-ed

By staffer Ivonee Mejia

This year, Oak Park became one of the many Missouri high schools that allowed girls wrestling to become an official sport starting this winter season.

Wrestling head coach Omar Padilla said, “What we’re going to do is group our athletes based on experience, so if you’ve wrestled JV for a while then you’ll be able to practice with the varsity athletes, and then those who are new they’ll practice together, that way it’s the same.”

In the past, girls could only participate in wrestling if they wrestled with the boys. With girls wrestling being recognized as a sport, the girls will be able to participate with other girls.

“Many people were supportive of my decision to wrestle,” girls wrestling assistant coach Tracy Jobson said. “I did receive some criticism and pushback though.

I was told that girls weren’t built for wrestling. It was ‘not ladylike.’

Many people told me that girls shouldn’t wrestle boys because it was unfair, and they’d lose every time. It pushed me to work harder.

I wanted to prove them wrong and I did.”

Infographic by Jessica Begley

“I feel if girls just push themselves past the boundaries and the initial hard work that is takes, then they can work our and do the routines just as well as the boys,”

-senior Mickey Seely Girls can wrestle boys for the first two years of this program, because MSHAA officials were worried there may not be enough competition for girls.

“I’m a huge advocate for women’s wrestling,” Jobson said.

“Girls need to be represented in the sport. We need more female role models. I want to be that. I want to see more opportunities for female wrestlers. I want them to feel empowered. I want them to feel supported. I want them to be

successful.”

Currently, the girls wrestling team consists of seniors Mary Anello, Cali Terrell and Mickey Seely, and sophomore Jazlynn Mahoney. Anello was a wrestling manager for three years.

“I know it holds a lot of girls back, it’s awkward and uncomfortable, you have that fear of like ‘oh if I beat the boys, they’ll get made fun of,’ if they beat me then they’re going to be like ‘oh, it’s just a girl.’ so I think it’s going to be really good,” Anello said.

Boy wrestlers said they don’t mind the new additions.

“We’re pretty much doing the same things together because girls wrestle with the guys too,” wrestler senior Julian Sanchez said. “I don’t think the boys will care if girls are wrestling, it doesn’t affect anybody.”

Girls are encouraged to join as the season begins next month.

“I would love to see a ton of hard-working and determined young women come out to join the team,” Jobson said. “It’s never too late to give wrestling a try. You’ll build up your self-confidence and you’ll learn to push yourself harder than you ever thought possible.”

Clubs // Begley

Scholar Bowl works to improve

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Buzzing in

By News Editor Malea Biswell

When six times the normal number of students showed up for the first Scholar Bowl meeting, head Scholar Bowl coach Brian Hance found a happy problem – he had more scholars to train than expected.

What is Scholar Bowl?

According to Hance, Scholar Bowl is an interscholastic quiz competition where students, in groups of four, compete against other schools, like team jeopardy.

“We have a varsity team and a JV team, and you can letter. I lettered last year in Scholar Bowl,” said senior Mawada Eskandar.

Last year’s struggles

“Last year was a rough year. We only had five people so that was rough, we struggled at the competitions, but this year we’re going to be strong, and this year we have a lot more people, so we should be better,” said senior Zach Ropka.

Hance agreed.

“Last year we gained a lot of experience and figured out how to compete in the tournaments properly,” Hance said. “There’s a lot of small rules about when you answer and how you answer, so I think the team last year got kind of eased into it. This year we’re well on our way. Our first tournament will be Nov. 1.”

Plans for this year

Moving into the current year, the team grew exponentially, and that depth should help them.

“There were times when people had prior commitments, so that kind of handicapped us a little bit,” Hance said. “This year we have 31 or 32 people who have shown interest and who were here for our first meeting and I had several come up to me afterwards saying ‘I couldn’t make the meeting, but I’m interested.’ So, I’m very excited for this year.”

Hance also sees these newbies as potential for future years.

Infographic by Mackenzie Powell

“My goals for this year are obviously to win as much as we can but I think more importantly this year we need to build the team as much as we can going forward,” Hance said. “Looking for underclassmen who will be able to compete in the next few years and carry things on and show the new people coming in the ropes.”

Scholar Bowlers also see the bright future.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully doing better, practicing more, and making Oak Park proud” said Eskandar. “We would love for you to join us.”

Practices are Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday is required; Thursday is optional. If you are interested, email Brian.Hance@nkcschools.org, or visit him in room N220.

Personal Column:

Sexism within the household By staffer Ivonee Morales-Mejia

I grew up the middle of three kids. I have an older brother, who is 19 years old, and a younger sister, who is only 10 years old.

I grew up sheltered, but being the daughter of immigrant parents at the time it made sense to me. However, I didn’t notice my sheltered lifestyle until I became older and more aware of the life around me.

Personally, I think for people of color, the oldest women are expected to take on the household duties as well as taking responsibility for raising the younger ones. when I was 6 years old, my sister was born and starting there I was expected to do chores, take care of my little sister when my father would be sleeping and my mother would be working. My brother wasn’t expected to do anything. Many people say the oldest sibling is typically the second parents to the youngest siblings meanwhile, this was untrue in my case.

My parents would often tell me, “A man isn’t the same as a woman,” and that became my mentality for a while. The first time I hung out with my friend I lied to my parents about staying after school for tutoring and I snuck out to hang out near the school to casually just hang out in the park near the school. Even then, my friends could see the visible panic when I would often check my phone to count down the minutes until my parents would pick me up from “tutoring” despite the fact that weren’t doing anything that would be

considered “bad.”

Immigrant mothers are notorious for babying their sons, yet their daughters they raise from a young age to become proper housewives who tend to their future husband’s every need.

That’s how it was for my mother growing up in western Mexico, a part of Mexico well known to be traditional and conservative.

My uncles spent their free time playing soccer while the girls did

Ivonee Morales-Meija. (photo credit Lindsey Dunaway)

the household chores and tended to the chickens and pigs on their farm.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama once said, “we love our boys but raise our daughters,” and I couldn’t agree more having first-hand experience myself at home. My friends would often comment on the fact that their parents - especially the mothers - often let their sons do anything, and still be adored unconditionally, however they were stricter with their daughters and would often point out every tiny mis-

take. They often felt like they were never enough and had a strained relationship with their parents because of this. Meanwhile, their brothers couldn’t do anything as adults because their every need was catered to them as children - the daughters were taught chores such as laundry and cooking. A friend commented that she was taught how to run a household at a young age while her older brother didn’t even know plastic doesn’t go into the microwave when he was almost an adult.

Sexism within the household affects both genders negatively and ends up hurting everyone involved. Girls often develop bad habits and relationships with their parents because they never think of themselves as worthy enough compared to their brothers who are put in a pedestal. On the other hand, the boys are in for a rude awakening when they go out into the real world when they learn that they can’t do basic things that the girls were taught to at a young age.

With women’s rights and equal rights being active throughout the world, the old traditionalist ways are slowly disappearing, some households have adapted to the times and have started raising their sons and daughters equally but it is still a common household issue that still goes on today. I can only hope that the next generation will not have to go through the customs of sexist traditions that have been passed down for generations.