May 2022

Surviving Riverside's Bathrooms p. 4-5 After two Years Mask Mandate Lifted p. 8 Little Shop of Horrors Play Review p. 3 PROM 2022: A Night in Vegas p. 6-7

Founded in 1991 Vol. XXXI Issue III

May 2022

@thepirateshook

thepirateshook.com

2

The editorials, unless signed, are the consensus opinion of the editorial staff and do not necessarily reflect the views of the adviser or the school administration. The newspaper welcomes letters to the editor. The newspaper reserves the right to edit letters for space and clarity.

All letters must be signed, however, the newspaper will withhold names upon request with good reason. Advertisements in the newspaper are paid.advertisements and are not the opinion of, or the endorsement of, the newspaper or school administration.

www.riverside.dpsnc.net THEPIRATESHOOK.com @THEPIRATESHOOK

Victor ia A lcindor, Susa na Br iones Ga rcia, Keshaun Bu r ns, Jaden Butler, Don na Diaz, Em ily Diaz Reyes, Ja kyies Eva ns, Dulce F lores, Etha n Ha ine, Jacob Hindma n, Jacqueline La r ios-Dom inguez, Jada Love, Abby Ma r tinez, Benja m in Meglin, Ja nel Per r y, Mijalen Poole, Em mer R ice, E den R ich ma n, T homas Roma no, Genesis Sm ith-Lopez, Isaac Ja nia k Stein, Giova n ni Va rela-Benitez, Rya n Weaver

3218 Rose of Sharon Rd. Durham, NC 22712

OPINION

Editorial The ideal caseload for counselors is 250. At Riverside it's 367.

The Pirates' Hook greatly appreciates the years of service Catherine Sebring and Deondra Jenkins have dedicated to our school.

Over the thirteen years Ms. Sebring has worked at our school she has exuded kindness, as she arranged thousands of schedules and written countless recommendations. Jenkins over the past four years has helped numerous students stay on track, always coming from a place of care.

However, with these open positions, Riverside faces a new level of uncertainty. In recent years, unfilled positions have been an increasingly visible trend at Riverside. With a history of longstanding vacant teaching positions and leadership vacuums between principals, students, parents, and teachers alike have been thrust into turmoil.

When students returned to school after virtual learning, nearly every person in the front office was a new addition to the Riverside community. The remaining staff, including Jenkins and Sebring, connected the new counselors to the former ones by showing them the ropes and familiarizing them with the school. Severing these ties could propel us into an era of even more anxiety and ambiguity.

This is important because counselors are essential to our school functioning properly. Writing recommendations, arranging schedules, providing college counseling, and laying out a line of communication between staff, students, and parents are all necessary duties counselors must complete. They also help students navigate personal emergencies as needed. In high school, students are at a pivotal place in their lives, striving towards the high stakes, life-changing high school diplomas and college acceptances. We rely on our counselors to perform their appropriate responsibilities in order for us to be successful.

Though Quenci Bradley, a certified professional counselor and Riverside's success coach, will be stepping in to cover Jenkins' caseload, there are still systemic problems within our counseling department that are of deep concern. The problems stem from a broader issue within DPS, North Carolina and beyond. According to the American School Counselor Association, the ideal caseload for one counselor is 250 students. At Riverside, the average caseload is 367 students per counselor. The state average of 386 students. Additionally, if our extremely large freshman class size is an indication of future trends, their caseload is only going to increase, and this problem is only going to grow.

Many of our counselors are at the beginning of their careers, without the experience necessary to properly equip them to handle complex problems at such a large and underprivileged public school.

Riverside has a graduation rate of 78.8 percent, nearly 10 percent lower than the state average. Even with experienced staff, there is no way that counselors can supply the individual attention necessary to remedy this issue with over 100 students more than any one counselor can handle.

Riverside administration, DPS officials, and our entire state needs to prioritize this issue. Our school needs more counselors. Students need more help. Our principal reminds us daily that we should all be striving to walk across the graduation podium at the conclusion of our senior year, but we can't do that without the help and support of our counselors.

Filling the positions quickly is a minimum requirement, but to truly fix the problem we need smaller caseloads, more experience, and more individualized attention.

El número de casos ideal para consejeros es 250. En Riverside es 367.

El Gancho De los Piratas aprecia mucho los años de servicio que Catherine Sebring y Deondra Jenkins han dedicado a nuestra escuela. Durante los trece años que la Sra. Sebring ha trabajado en nuestra escuela, ha derrochado amabilidad, ya que organizó miles de horarios y escribió innumerables recomendaciones.

Jenkins durante los últimos cuatro años ha ayudado a numerosos estudiantes a mantenerse encaminados, siempre con intenciones de cuidar y guiar.

Sin embargo, con estas posiciones abiertas, Riverside enfrenta un nuevo nivel de inseguridades. En los últimos años, los puestos vacantes han sido una tendencia cada vez más visible en Riverside. Con un historial de puestos docentes vacantes de larga data y vacíos de liderazgo entre directores, estudiantes, padres y maestros por igual, se han convertido en un caos.

Cuando los estudiantes regresaron a la escuela después del aprendizaje virtual, casi todas las personas en la oficina principal eran nuevas incorporaciones a la comunidad de Riverside. El resto del personal, incluyendo Jenkins y Sebring, conectaron a los nuevos consejeros con los anteriores mostrándoles los trucos y familiarizándose con la escuela. Cortar estos lazos podría impulsarnos a una era de aún más ansiedad y ambigüedad.

Esto es importante porque los consejeros son esenciales para que nuestra escuela funcione correctamente. Escribir recomendaciones, organizar horarios, brindar asesoramiento universitario y establecer una línea de comunicación entre el personal, los estudiantes y los padres son todos los deberes necesarios que deben completar los consejeros. También ayudan a los estudiantes a navegar por emergencias personales según sea necesario. En la escuela secundaria, los estudiantes se encuentran en un lugar fundamental en sus vidas, esforzándose por alcanzar grandes metas, diplomas de escuela secundaria que cambiarán sus vidas y aceptaciones universitarias. Confiamos en que nuestros consejeros desempeñen sus responsabilidades apropiadas para que podamos tener éxito.

Aunque Quenci Bradley, un consejero profesional certificado y entrenador de éxito de Riverside, intervendrá para cubrir el número de casos de Jenkins, todavía hay problemas sistémicos dentro de nuestro departamento de asesoramiento que son motivo de gran preocupación. Los problemas surgen de un problema más amplio dentro del DPS, Carolina del Norte y más allá. Según la Asociación Estadounidense de Consejeros Escolares, el número de casos ideal para un consejero es de 250 estudiantes. En Riverside, el promedio de casos es de 367 estudiantes por consejero. El promedio estatal es de 386 estudiantes.

Además, si el tamaño extremadamente grande de nuestra clase de primer año es una indicación de las tendencias futuras, su número de casos solo aumentará y este problema solo crecerá.

Muchos de nuestros consejeros están al comienzo de sus carreras, sin la experiencia necesaria para prepararlos adecuadamente para manejar problemas complejos en una escuela pública tan grande y desfavorecida. Riverside tiene una tasa de graduación del 78.8 por ciento, casi un 10 por ciento más baja que el promedio estatal. Incluso con personal experimentado, no hay forma de que los consejeros puedan brindar la atención individual necesaria para remediar este problema con más de 100 estudiantes más de lo que cualquier consejero puede manejar.

La administración de Riverside, los funcionarios del DPS y todo nuestro estado deben priorizar este problema. Nuestra escuela necesita más consejeros. Los estudiantes necesitan más ayuda. Nuestro director nos recuerda todos los días que todos debemos esforzarnos por cruzar el podio de graduación al final de nuestro último año, pero no podemos hacerlo sin la ayuda y el apoyo de nuestros consejeros.

Cubrir los puestos rápidamente es un requisito mínimo, pero para solucionar realmente el problema necesitamos menos casos, más experiencia y una atención más individualizada.

Thank you Hook sponsors!

Steve Schewel Michael Reckhow Kenneth Duke Steven Unruhe Scott Laird

Orin Starn David Ascher Ginny Busch Robin Kirk Laura Richman

Mary Boatwright Tim & Dianne Wooldridge The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting In memory of Lenny May

To become a sponsor email bryan_christopher@dpsnc.net

May • PHOTO BY WILL OKUN

3

• PHOTO BY ELOISE WESCOTT

• PHOTO BY VICTOR RIOS LUVIANO

(Left) Cast members celebrate before their first performance. (Middle) The three urchins portrayed by Eva Mills, Madeline Strobel, and Norah Laughinghouse. (Right) Production Director Monique Taylor poses in front of prop Audrey II.

Student talent shined bright in Little Shop of Horrors

By Eden Mae Richman

important, especially to the seniors, because For this year’s musical production, River- due to the pandemic, they were deprived of performances for much of their high school side presented Little Shop of Horrors.

The cast and crew performed the show three careers.

“So many seniors wanted to times, on the evenings of April do a show before they left,” 21 through 23.

"We're Taylor said.

The show featured Seymour Devon Cholon, stage manKrelborn (Senior Donnel Esbringing ager and junior graduating tes), an orphan taken in by a together all of early this June, agreed. kind, albeit stingy, floral shop “It’s my magnum owner in Skid Row, a seedy these people a way,” she said. opus in part of the city. In a desperate from different Additionally, due to the attempt to save the failing pandemic issuing a harsh stop shop, Seymour cultivates an walks of life to theater, the show presented exotic plant, Audrey II, named together on this a learning opportunity for after his love interest, which many performers. he soon learns consumes project."

“Most of our cast is novice, human flesh. meaning they have never Seymour begins to feed performed in a show before, characters to the plant, includtheater teacher or they’re entirely new to ing Audrey’s evil boyfriend. theater,” Taylor said.

As the plant grows, he accuMonique Taylor Opening night had the usual mulates both fame and guilt. slight kinks, from microphone The impressive set depicted feedback to a loud band that the florist shop, the heart of at times drowned out the cast.

Yet, the cast which was a massive $2,000 venus fly trap displayed unflappable professionalism.

As rented from Cary High School that fully they powered right through, their talent shined. swallowed the characters upon their deaths.

One of these exceptional talents was Joseph “The musical is a collaborative project with Walker, playing the evil Dentist Orin Scrivello. the whole cultural arts team,” said production They successfully milked every bit of comedy director Monique Taylor. “We combine chofrom the dentist’s hilarious and sinister solo. rus, theater, visual arts, technical theater, and From energetic, full-body choreography to orchestra. We’re bringing together all of these exceptional vocals, Walker left the audience people from different walks of life together guffawing in their bright and short-lived life on on this project.” stage.

The sharp juxtaposition of the shocking This massive production takes place every other year, and this year was especially cruelty of the dentist’s on stage persona with

Walker’s amiable flamboyance off stage only school population,” Taylor said.

For Little Shop of Horrors, this means added to the hilarity.

Another standout was senior Chris Hammet, casting Adilene Alantis, a Latina actress, who nailed Mr. Mushnik, the Jewish florist for traditionally white character Audrey, shop owner and eventual adoptive father. and white students Norah LaughingHammet mastered a Yiddish New York accent, house, Eva Mills, and Madeline Strobel as which he gracefully blended into his dynam- the trio of urchins, typically depicted by ic solos. I appreciated the many references black actresses. This proved to be a very to Yiddish words I’ve grown up with, like effective choice, because all four actresses boychiks, shticks, mensches, and mishegoss. displayed exceptional vocals that wowed His stage presence was unmatched, and if it the audience. The true tragedy, aside wasn’t publicized in the program, I would have from Audrey’s heart-wrenching death, had no idea that this was his first production. was that due to technical difficulties And of course, the extraordinary talent of with microphones, it was difficult to hear their voices, especially the lead Donnel Estes playing urchins. However, the trios' Seymour Krelborn. This Above all else, charismatic choreography was only Estes’second procompensated for filling in any duction and first musical the incredible auditory gaps. production, yet he carried Above all else, the incredthe show like someone feat of producing ible feat of producing a muwho had been performa musical sical production less than a ing for years. Cholon production less year after the pandemic left remarked that her role as empty, is truly stage manager has given than a year after classrooms remarkable. her the unique opportunity “We were faced with many the pandemic to watch Estes blossom, challenges coming back from from doing a little dance left classrooms the pandemic,” Taylor adevery time he correctly mitted, from limited pools of empty, is truly performed a line in his students to a lack of common first show, Ghosts in the remarkable. periods, the great asset of a Machine, to dominating diversity of perspectives also the stage. proved to be a challenge.

In an attempt to best Yet, the cast, crew, and directors perseshowcase Riverside’s talent, the directors vered, and delivered an exceptional and chose to do colorblind casting.

“In our school we choose to always go hilarious performance. for diversity to reflect our multicultural

4

Pirates' Hooko

“Esto es el peor.”

"Sinseramente siento que podemos hacer mejor.

Nos estamos comportando.

Como estudiantes de la secundaria.

Sentimos que necesitamos mas responsibilidad."

- Arianna Harrison, noveno grado

El vandalismo en los baños dificulta el trabajo de los conserjes Por Jada Love and Taliyah Cooper George Pettiford ha limpiado muchos baños, pero nunca ha visto uno tan malo como el de Riverside.

“No está tan mal… esto es lo peor”, dice Pettiford, supervisor de mantenimiento de Riverside.

Pettiford comenzó a realizar trabajos de mantenimiento en 2013 y se unió al equipo de limpieza de Riverside durante el año escolar 2018-19. No recuerda que los baños fueran un problema antes de la pandemia, pero cuando los estudiantes regresaron este otoño para recibir instrucción en persona a tiempo completo, empeoró mucho.

“Fregaderos rotos, muchos dispensadores de jabón y dispensadores de toallas de papel dañados”, dijo. “Y es [mi] trabajo arreglarlo”.

Como supervisor de mantenimiento, Pettiford asigna a cada miembro de su personal diferentes áreas de trabajo. Su propia función es revisar el edificio y el campus para asegurarse de que todo se vea bien. Comprueba las luces, las tejas del techo y los extintores de incendios. Todos los días limpia el campus, los campos y tiene que sacar casi 100 botes de basura.

Mantener la escuela limpia es un trabajo de tiempo completo en sí mismo, pero él y su personal ahora pasan más tiempo limpiando después de los estudiantes que también están destrozando los baños de la escuela. Esta es una carga enorme para Pettiford y su personal y les agrega una carga adicional de trabajo.

“Las demandas de tiempo están volviendo a la normalidad”, dijo.

Pettiford dijo que limpiar y reparar los baños también es costoso. Aunque el distrito cubre algunas de las piezas de repuesto, el presupuesto ya ajustado del equipo de limpieza no tiene fondos para comprar suministros adicionales.

“Conseguir repuestos para arreglar cosas no es barato”, dijo.

Y cuando las cosas se estropean, puede llevar un tiempo pedir las piezas que necesitan para reemplazar los lavabos rotos, los espejos rotos y los dispensadores de toallas de papel dañados.

Mientras el personal de limpieza de la escuela continúa reparando lavabos rotos, espejos rotos, paneles de techo que faltan y toalleros de papel derribados, Pettiford cree que la rápida disminución de la limpieza de los baños de Riverside se debe a un cambio en el comportamiento de los estudiantes.

Los baños están disminuyendo rápidamente y esto con la ayuda de los estudiantes de Riverside.

“Diría que la capacidad de los estudiantes es un gran [factor] de por qué los baños son como son”, dijo Pettiford, “Hay muchos más estudiantes de primer año este año, lo que puede ser parte del problema”.

By Emmer Rice

Brutal, sangroso, quebrado Son riesgos los banos de Riverside?

Por Emmer Rice “¿Cómo se rompe un fregadero? Aparentemente no encendiéndolo, porque lavarse las manos en un baño de Riverside es prácticamente imposible, ya que no hay jabón”.

Eso es lo que Kelvin Allen y Katelyn Johnson dijeron sobre los baños de Riverside. Sin embargo, no lo dijeron el mes pasado, el semestre pasado o incluso el año pasado. Allen y Johnson lo dijeron en un número de Pirates’ Hook hace 17 años.

Poco parece haber cambiado desde 2005. Los baños de Riverside son un desastre y nadie parece estar limpiando pronto.

Testimonios de estudiantes actuales prueban que esto es cierto.

“Los baños [de Riverside] son desagradables”, dijo la estudiante de segundo año Nesiya

Smith. “Llegaron pañuelos de papel por todo el piso, escritura tonta en las paredes, dejaron envoltorios de almohadillas en el piso. “Personalmente siento que podemos hacerlo mejor. Nos estamos manejando como si fuéramos estudiantes de secundaria. Como somos estudiantes de secundaria, debemos ser más responsables”.

Según una investigación realizada por Pirates' Hook en marzo y abril, los baños son impredecibles. En algunos baños, todos los lavabos funcionan, y en otros, ninguno funciona.

Si bien más del 95 por ciento de los inodoros y urinarios funcionan, los lavabos son considerablemente menos funcionales. Solo el 73 por ciento de los lavabos en los baños de hombres y el 67 por ciento en los baños de mujeres son completamente funcionales. Esencialmente, los estudiantes juegan un juego de adivinanzas cada vez que recogen un pase

para ir al baño.

Los dispensadores de toallas de papel también han sido víctimas del alumnado de Riverside: a menudo se ven en el suelo. Los estudiantes rompen los dispensadores con frecuencia y las piezas de repuesto pueden tardar días o semanas en llegar.

Incluso hay una página de Instagram dedicada al estado de los baños de Riverside. Las publicaciones incluyen puertas de cubículos rotas, videos de estudiantes bromeando en los baños, hasta un inodoro sin cadena. Con comentarios que van desde "Esto es tan triste" hasta "Acabo de vomitar por tener que mirar eso", la página es menos una crítica sobre los baños y más una plataforma para burlarse del caos.

"Cuando el papel de bano no esta en la tasa, para mi eso lo hacen a proposito," dice Okun. "Yo piensoque los estudiantes necesitan hacer mas responsables en como cuidan los banos."

• GRAPHICS BY AMORY PEREZ JUAREZ

ok

5

May “Personally I feel like we can do better.

We’re handling ourselves like we’re middle schoolers. Since we’re high schoolers, we need to be more responsible.”

- Freshman Arianna Harrison Fruit thrown on a urinal in the boy's bathroom. Food is often found in the bathroom after SMART lunch.

Brutal, bloody, broken Are Riverside's bathrooms a biohazard?

By Emmer Rice “How do you break a sink? Apparently not by turning it on, because washing your hands in a Riverside bathroom is virtually impossible, since there is no soap.”

That’s what Kelvin Allen and Katelyn Johnson had to say about the Riverside's bathrooms. However, they didn’t say it last month, last semester or even last year.

Allen and Johnson said it in a Pirates’ Hook issue 17 years ago.

Little seems to have changed since 2005. Riverside’s bathrooms are a mess, and no one seems to be cleaning up any time soon.

Current student testimonials prove this to be true.

“[Riverside’s] bathrooms are nasty,” said sophomore Nesiya Smith. “They got tissue all over the floor, dumb writing on the walls, leaving pad wrappings on the floor. “Personally I feel like we can do better. We’re handling ourselves like we’re middle schoolers. Since we’re high schoolers, we need to be more responsible.” said freshman Arianna Harrison.

According to research conducted by the Pirates’ Hook in March and April, bathrooms are hit or miss. In some bathrooms, every sink works, and in others, none do.

While over 95 percent of toilets and urinals work, sinks are considerably less functional. Only 73 percent of the sinks in the men's bathrooms and 67 percent in the women's bathrooms are fully functional.

Essentially, students play a guessing game every time they pick up a bathroom pass.

Paper towel dispensers have also fallen victim to the Riverside student body they’re often seen on the floor. Students break the dispensers often, and it can take days or weeks for the replacement parts to arrive.

There’s even an Instagram page dedicated to the state of Riverside’s bathrooms.

Posts include broken stall doors, videos of students joking in the bathrooms, to an unflushed toilet. With comments ranging from “This is so sad” to “I just vomited from having to look at that,” the page is less of a critique on the bathrooms and more of a platform to make fun of the chaos.

Assistant principal Will Okun says students have to be more conscientious.

“When the toilet paper is not in the toilet, to me that’s on purpose,” Okun said. “I think students need to be more accountable and treat the bathrooms the way they want them to look.”

(Left) Paper towel holder knocked off the wall. (Center) Missing ceiling tiles in girls' bathroom. (Right) Used feminine napkin on toilet.

“This is the worst.”

Bathroom vandalism makes janitors' job even harder

By Jada Love and Taliyah Cooper George Pettiford has cleaned a lot of bathrooms, but he’s never seen any as bad as Riverside’s.

“Not this bad…this is the worst,” says Pettiford, Riverside’s supervisor of maintenance.

Pettiford started doing maintenance work in 2013 and joined Riverside’s janitorial team during the 2018-19 school year. He doesn’t remember the bathrooms being an issue before the pandemic, but when students returned this fall for full-time, in-person instruction, it got much worse.

“Broken sinks, a lot of soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers being damaged,” he said. “And it is [my] job to fix it.”

As the supervisor of maintenance, Pettiford assigns each member of his staff different areas to work on. His own role is to check around the building and campus to make sure everything looks good. He checks lights, ceiling tiles, and fire extinguishers. Every day he cleans the campus, fields, and has to take out almost 100 trash cans.

Keeping the school clean is a full-time job by itself, but he and his staff now spend more time cleaning up after students that are vandalizing the schools bathrooms, too. This is a huge burden for Pettiford and his staff and adds an extra load of work for them.

“The time demands are getting back to normal,” he said.

Pettiford, who is leaving Riverside for a similar position in Orange County, said cleaning and repairing the bathrooms gets expensive, too. Though the district covers some of the replacement parts, the janitorial team’s already tight budget doesn’t have funds to buy extra supplies.

“Getting parts to fix things is not cheap,” he said.

And when things break, it can take a while to order the parts they need to replace broken sinks, smashed mirrors and damaged paper towel dispensers.

As the school’s janitorial staff continues to fix broken sinks, smashed mirrors, missing ceiling panels and knocked down paper towel holders, Pettiford thinks the rapid decline in the cleanliness of Riverside’s bathrooms is because of a change in student behavior. are rapidly declining and this with the help of Riverside students.

“I would say the capacity of students is a huge [factor] of why the bathrooms are the way they are,” said Pettiford, “There are a lot more freshmen this year, which may be a part of the problem.”

Prom 2022: A Night in Vegas, City of Gold Lessons from the Past: Teachers Share Their Prom Stories E-learning advisor and Prom Committee chair Kimberly Nelson graduated from Durham High School, now DSA, in 1987.

“I went to senior prom in a dress made by a seamstress,” Nelson said. “It was royal blue and black with lace gloves.”

The dress was so jaw-droppingly stunning that in nearly every picture her mother took, her head had been cut off.

“It was at the Marriott and the food was just cheese and crackers,” Nelson explained. How absolutely delectable! “Times have really changed.”

“The guy I went with and I didn’t get along,” Nelson said, so she dropped him off at home before staying out until 2:30 am.

Spanish teacher Ana Kistler attended prom in 1983 dressed in a poofy, lemon yellow gown.

“I wore a typical 80’s dress,” Kistler said. “It was the era of Princess Diana’s wedding gown.”

She topped off the look with iridescent lipstick.

Classy.

Back then, Kistler noted, the dance was more of a partner thing, and people attended with dates.

Kistler was accompanied by a good friend.

“He was actually homosexual,” she said.

The problem was prom took place the day before the SAT. “Nobody really stressed the importance of the test, so we all showed up exhausted after prom,” Kistler said.

Environmental Science teacher Shaun Thompson attended his prom with his toxic high school girlfriend, Nicole.

“All my friends hated her because she was an awful girlfriend,” Thompson said. “She was manipulative and drove a wedge between me and one of my close female friends.”

His friends even excluded him from the limousine on the way to the dance because they disliked her so much.

“That stung,” he recalled.

He advises that if all your friends hate your significant other, it probably isn’t a relationship you should be in.

Thompson is engaged to be married this spring, and fortunately Nicole will not be in attendance.

Prom was a big deal for biology teacher Mika Tweitmeyer. And not only because of the opulence.

All 900 students in her grade enjoyed a live band, three separate dinner seatings, a DJ, a hypnotist show, and water fountains filled with fish.

“John Mayer played at my brother’s prom,” Tweitmeyer said.

These festivities began on their way to the dance.

“The big thing was how you got to prom,” Twietmeyer said. “There was a red carpet, risers for the parents.”

Students pulled up in a variety of comical entrances ranging from horse-drawn carriages to ice cream trucks, from bulldozers to trolleys.

Despite this, the most important part of her prom was her date. She was accompanied by her now-husband, Jon. Twietmeyer.

“We dated in high school, then broke up when we were in college, I got married to someone else, and then we later found each other, decades later, and got married.”

If we can learn anything from Twietmeyer, take your date screening seriously, because instead of walking down the red carpet, you could be walking down the aisle. Keep your standards high!

Theater arts teacher Monique Taylor was not like other girls; she never attended prom.

“We were too cool to go to prom,” Taylor said. “So we went to a nightclub instead.”

She was accompanied by her friend and their dates.

This choice left a void in Taylor’s life, that she has attempted to remedy through volunteering on the prom committee to organize prom for three years.

“I kind of used it to fill in the hole for me,” Taylor said.

English teacher Mary Foster has served as prom chaperone numerous times over her 23 year long career at Riverside. She describes this experience as both lovely and disturbing.

“Besides the children trying to have sex with their clothes on it’s always lovely,” Foster said. “It’s amazing to me how beautiful the ladies are, and then they’re humping all over someone.”

Foster echoes the same sentiment of many other teachers: that it is so striking to see their students dressed up and in a non-academic setting.

“I see my serious, good students dressed up like princesses,” Foster said. “And then I see them on the dance floor and I think, ‘does your father know what you're doing on the dance floor? Because if so, I bet he’d beat you and kill that boy.’”

No one knows how to party like the chorus kids.

Conner Bolen and Anna Allman attended Riverside prom with their Chorus friends. After a fancy Italian dinner and a picture taking session down by the Eno, they danced the night away.

But the real capstone of the event was the after party.

“We went and watched Les Mis in somebody's basement,” he said.

So if you’re short on afterparty ideas, consider Bolen’s example of singing along to a basement musical extravaganza.

8

Pirates' Hooko

Freshman Kaliyah Hunt (left), freshman Arianna Harrison, social studies teacher Sarah Cade, freshman Muhammad Ahmad (center) and junior Eli Matheson (right) pose for • PHOTOS BY THE PIRATES' HOOK photos on Mnday, April 11. DPS now recommends students, faculty and staff wear masks, but it is not required.

The masks come off

On April 11, DPS made masks optional for students and staff. How does it feel?

"It feels good. I don't have to be sufficated by a mask."

"People are uncomfortable. They gave me weird stares."

- Kentrial Young, freshman

- Abe Cunningham, sophomore

"The mask fogs up my glasses, which is annoying. I think we are just going to have to live with [COVID] like the flue. It has to stop getting in way of everyday choices."

"It feels good to, you know, show my beauty to everybody at the school.

I feel like people should still wear their masks because of COVID. I still wear mine in big crowds, but when I'm in small crowds I take it off."

-Francisco Forester, sophomore

- Zalin Johnson, sophomore (left)

"I'm getting married in May so I don't want to get COVID. Students should, if they want to, wear masks. It's very pleasant but strange.

- Anna Allman, social studies teacher

"Terrifying. I'm scared of so many new faces. It's also refreshing and different because of the time we are in. I feel like it's dangerous as well because people can still carry COVID and I don't want to get sick, so I am keeping my mask on."

- Kendrell Lewis, senior

ok

9

May

Where does our recycling Go? After it is picked up, Riverside's recycling heads to a center where it will be turned into new materials to be reused.

By Ethan Haine Recycling is proven to be one of the best ways to reduce carbon emissions. At Riverside, it is also one of the biggest ways of reducing the carbon footprint.

In the 1950’s, America had a culture of “Throwaway living.”

Consumers had the idea that single-use items were a necessity, which led to the increase in plastic, styrofoam, and other disposable items.

Recycling programs started becoming popular in the 1960’s and 70’s, when people realized that the large-scale production of plastic was going to harm the environment, and that we needed to be more mindful of our environmental impact.

Every week, students in Riverside’s Occupational Course of Study (OCS) program, which focuses on preparing students to go into the workforce after college, go around the school to collect the recycling from classes.

OCS is led by Perry Tharrington, who has been at Riverside for 14 years.

“As a school we end up with more trash than we would like,” Tharrington said. “Recycling cuts down on the amount of stuff going into landfills.”

Students collect about 15 large trash cans with recycling each week and empty them into the dumpster. The recycling then goes

to a material recovery facility (MRF). There are 17 of these MRFs in the state. One is in Durham.

After cans are picked up for recycling, they are taken to Wall Recycling, a local environmental service company that buys recyclable products.

This money Riverside makes from its items is used to fund the OCS program.

Most of what goes into the classroom recycling bins is recyclable, but about 25 percent is trash.

Tharrington says enforcing what people should and should not put into the recycling bins has proven difficult.

“A lot of students don’t really care, they just see a bin and they don’t care whether it's trash or recycling,” said Tharrington.

This is a problem because if one piece of recycling is contaminated with trash, the whole group is unable to be recycled, it will all end up in a landfill. The most common cause of contamination is plastic bags.This discourages some people because they believe that it is impossible to recycle anyway.

Only 17 percent of recycling ends up in landfills in the state, according to the NC Department of Environmental Quality.

Students throwing trash into the bins may, however, be acting with good intentions.

Ineligible items often end up in the bins (Top) Perry Tharrington helps his students empty the recycling into the dumpster. They due to aspirational do this twice per week. (Bottom)Aiden Ingram and Braxton Banfield carriy recycling bins recycling, which is through the halls. The OCS program filled five bins with recycling. when someone puts • Photos by Ethan Haine something into a recycling bin in hopes that it will be recycled, but actually just ends up allowing less materials to be recycled.

Aware of this problem, Riverside’s environmental club is starting a terracycle program at the school. Terracycle is a program that provides a way to recycle objects that would otherwise not be recyclable. There are now bins all around the school for students to bring their items to be recycled.

"As a school we end up with more trash than we would like."

Perry Tharrington, OCS teacher

Please

recycle this paper!

And Terracycle too!

10

Pirates' Hooko

Connor Bolen: From student to teacher

By Tate Gasch

Before Connor Bolen was a PLTW Engineering Teacher, he was a regular Riverside student.

In 2005, Bolen attended Brogden Middle School. In his final year, his class was visited

by Tim Velegol, who is now the head of the program.

“Mr. Velegol came and talked about the Engineering program, though he didn’t do it nearly as big as he does now,” Bolen said.

In 2008, Bolen left Brogden for Riverside, and fell in love with Engineering his freshman year.

“After I took my first class here, I loved it,” he said.

His senior year he decided to attend North Carolina State University with a focus on Engineering. He found himself challenged in the NC State Engineering program, which is one of the most prestigious in the country. U.S. News and World Report ranked it twenty-fifth in the nation in engineering programs.

“The way NC State does things, you get in as an engineering student, but then you have to go through these ‘weed-out classes’. I did not get through Physics.”

Bolen did not get the 75 or higher needed to pass the class. However he didn't give up on his passion for Engineering.

“I was looking for another major that still applied a lot of the things I loved,” he said.

His new major was Technology Engineering and Design Education with a licensure concentration in Graphic Communications minor.

This was a catalyst for his switch to teaching, which led to the return to his alma mater.

He was hired by Velegol in the fall of 2017 and began teaching Drafting 1, which is the only non-AP class he has taught.

He transitioned to teaching the Principles of Engineering class in 2018, which is commonly advertised as a “weed-out-course” by Velegol.

As students prepare for the class in the summer, they are continuously reminded of the challenges they will face through extensive summer preparation from Velegol.

Bolen’s goals for the engineering program are ambitious indeed. PLTW has a multitude of courses that they offer, but Riverside only teaches seven. “I would love to offer all the engineering classes, because there are some we can’t offer and some that require a lot of teacher dependency,” he said.

The Riverside Engineering Program is known for more than just it’s difficult classes.

Although the demographics of the program is not proportional to the rest of the RHS student body, it is significantly more diverse than the engineering industry. In the last five years, the program’s demographics have fluctuated almost 20 percent.

On the diversity front, Bolen’s second goal is to offer an engineering track that would begin in elementary school and lead all the way to high school. He thinks this would help combat some of the obvious inequities that have caused students of color to be in the minority as opposed to the full Riverside population.

“There is [an issue with diversity] to some extent,” Bolen said. “There is inequity throughout the system.”

• PHOTO BY TATE GASCH

Engineering teacher Connor Bolen teaches students in his Principal of Engineeing class. Bolen is one of five teachers in the PLTW program.

What is the Riverside Engineering Program?

By Isaac Janiak Stein Well known for its advanced classes and impressive students, the Riverside engineering program currently has 425 students in the program.

Students within the program are required to take four engineering classes - at least one every school year. Half of all students in the program actually take more than the required four engineering classes, but all students still take the majority of their courses outside of the program.

The program has been awarded the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) distinguished school recognition for the past four years, and many of its teachers have won individual awards for their exemplary engineering teaching.

The program takes pride in its accomplishments, especially in sending hundreds of

students to collegiate engineering programs. Specifically, in the last five years, 96 percent of engineering students went on to attend college.

PLTW is a national non profit organization that provides training for teachers and courses for students from preschool through high School. Riverside’s association with PLTW gives teachers and students access to class resources.

A lottery-based magnet program, the Riverside Engineering Program is a pathway within Riverside High School allowing students to take Engineering courses. The program has been certified as a PLTW school since 2008.

All rising DPS high school students can apply to the Riverside’s Engineering Program through the DPS Magnet Lottery, where magnet programs and schools are

ranked by each applying student. It is a blind lottery, meaning applicants are not evaluated, and it doesn't involve any preference except for students who are in the Riverside district and choose the program as their first choice.

In 2021 the Engineering Program had around 450 students, with the demographic breakdown: 63% Male and 37% Female, and 68% White and 32% Minority. Data shared with The Pirates' Hook did not separate Black and Hispanic demographic information.

This current school year, Riverside High School as a whole was 57% Male and 43% Female, and 26% White, 39% Hispanic, 26% Black and 6% other.

Students in the program are required to take at least 4 courses, one every year, to complete the program: Introduction to Engineering, Principles of Engineering, Digital Engineering, and an additional course. While some students opt to only take the minimum required courses, many take advantage of the nine classes that are offered, and take multiple every year.

How do Riverside and the engineering program compare to national industry demographics?

k

11

May

Penalties and Prozac Athletes challenge the mental health stigma in sports

By Ryan Weaver

Distance runners assemble a human pyramid on the football field during an April track meet. Many of Riverside's athletic teams use the field for games.

• PHOTO BY ELIZABETH HEALY

The grass is always greener Riverside athletic director Robert Duncan calls a turf field "a goal and a dream." Though it’s weather-proof and easy to maintain, turf isn’t perfect.

Schools have to weigh many pros and cons before making the switch.

Pros :

Cons :

Lower maintenance costs The cost of maintaining natural grass football fields ranged from $40,000 to $100,000 in 2021, according to Turf Factory Direct, a Georgia-based company that installs and maintains turf athletic fields. Maintenance costs for schools that have a turf field average only $8,000 per year.

Turf also saves schools time, as it does not require mowing or lines to be painted. Riverside athletic director Robert Duncan said Riverside's athletic staff spends 3-4 hours per week cutting grass.

Expensive According to Sport Venue Calculator, the cost of installing an artificial turf football field ranges from $750,000 to $1,350,000, depending on the turf quality, local conditions, material, and local price discrepancies.

“If [DPS] redeemed all of Durham County Schools, it would be about $1,300,000 to $1,400,000’’ Duncan said.

Riverside’s annual athletic budget is $15,000. The district´s is $1,800,000.

Pesticide Free Unlike natural grass, artificial turf does not require pesticides or fertilizers, according to Lindsey Barton Strauss, a co-writer and researcher for the PBS documentary The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer.

Pesticides contaminate the soil, reducing reproduction and growth, and contaminate water, which can eventually render it unfit for both human and agricultural use.

“Pollution of surface and groundwater is a serious environmental issue,” according to NC State University’s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. “Improper fertilization practices...pose a risk to water quality.”

Heat Hazard According to a study by Brigham Young University, on a 98-degree day the temperature on the turf could reach more than 120 degrees.

This increases the risk of athletes and other users contracting life-threatening heat-related illnesses. In extremely hot weather, the heat-absorbing properties of an artificial field make it too hot to play on.

This could force teams to cancel practices, especially during summer months, that could happen as scheduled on grass fields.

Increased playability Seven of Riverside's athletic teams - football, men's and women's soccer and lacrosse, field hockey and track and field - are played on Riverside’s main field.

Additionally, if a turf field was used, there would be fewer injuries, less stress on the trainer, and more events could be held.

Artificial turf fields are far more durable than natural grass fields. They can be played all year. The problem of spring and fall rains, which result in the cancellation of numerous games and practices scheduled for grass fields, is eliminated. One match on a muddy field will no longer ruin the field for the rest of the season.

Environmental Impact According to Strauss, Turf can have adverse effects for students with asthma, as breathing in dust from ground-up tires may aggravate their symptoms.

Additionally, when it rains, artificial turf fields drain the rain quickly and efficiently, but the run-off may contain lead and infill material (synthetic products placed between the blades of grass) may seep into and contaminate a community's ground and drinking water.

By Jaden Butler

On the outside, sports fans often believe athletes have the easiest and best lives. Social media is a big reason why. NFL Players like Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Andre Dillard.

Both frequently posted photos and videos of their expensive vehicles and themselves in fancy clothing.

Both athletes, however, also took breaks from social media to focus on their mental health. Mayfield made his decision to leave social media back in January. He said that he will be “getting off of social media for the foreseeable future.” and that he’s “gotta do what’s best to focus on me, my family, and my loved ones”. Dillard also announced his decision to leave social media in June of 2021.

Their breaks from social media were reminders that, for many athletes, The glamour and fame that comes with a toll on their mental health.

Professionals aren’t the only ones impacted by this issue. According to a study conducted by the NCAA, 85 percent of certified athletic trainers believe that anxiety disorders are currently a major issue on their campus.

“While everybody experiences some of these symptoms from time to time, student-athletes with anxiety disorders experience these symptoms frequently and severely enough to negatively affect their ability to function to their potential.” said Scott Goldman, director of clinical and sport psychology for the University of Arizona’s athletic department, after quoting the NCAA study.

“To best help someone with an anxiety disorder, it is recommended that the provider know the emotional construct of anxiety and understand basic treatments, interventions and referrals.” Goldman added.

Many high school athletes report struggling with their mental health, too, especially during and after the pandemic.

Goldman says the most common diagnoses of student athletes are the development of anxiety disorders and depression.

What exactly is an Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety disorders are, as defined by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) definition, “a mental health disorder that is characterized by feelings of fear, worry, and anxiety that prohibit you from carrying out daily activities”. This is a generalized term as there are many disorders that fall under the term “Anxiety Disorder,” including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias.

They are common in adolescense, as one in three children in the United States meet the criteria for having an anxiety disorder, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Anxiety disorders can be treated many different ways, such as with self-care, therapies, and medications. With therapy being the most common type of treatment for those sufferring with Anxiety Disorder.

What is depression?

Depression is another common mental health disorder found in student-athletes. By definition it is a disorder that is characterized by a persistant depressive mood and loss of interest in activities that lead to an impairment of completing and participating in daily life, according to the CDC. Unlike Anxiety Disorders, the term depression is not a generalized term. It affects behavioral, emotional, physical, mental health. The symptoms of depression include extended periods of sadness, loss of interest, changes in sleep schedule, change of apetite, low self-esteem, and can lead to thoughts of suicide according to the APA. Treatments for depression are similar to Anxiety Disorders. Therapy and medication can both help.

There is also a procedure called “Electroconvulsive Therapy,” a procedure that is conducted under general anesthsia and sends small electric currents through the brain to cause a brief seizure. This procedure is only conducted in cases of severe depression in an attempt to reverse the symptoms.

Editor’s note: to learn more about anxiety and disorder and depression, visit www.mentalhealth.gov. If you or someone you know is struggling with severe anxiety or depression, contact 1-800-273-TALK (8223).

12

Pirates' Hookok

• PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX RAMIREZ

Students in Alex Ramirez's ESL English class published personal narratives on a Padlet page. The assignment aimed to build writing skills as well as a sense of community.

ESL English class shares narratives in "Humans of Riverside"

By Genesis Smith-Lopez and Mijalen Poole High school can be a tough experience for kids who were born and raised here. Now imagine adapting to high school and a new country all at the same time.

Lesli Maldonado Martinez, a sixteen year old sophomore who came from Honduras three months ago and does not feel completely comfortable yet.

“I feel supported but at times,” she said. “I also feel strange because everybody speaks English and I mostly do not.”

One of the teachers Martinez and

other students said are supportive and responsive to their needs is Alex Ramirez.

“I have a hard time interacting with teachers,” Martinez said, “[but] Mr. Ramirez really has helped me a lot.”

Ramirez teaches ESL English II. Many of his students are new to the US, so in addition to teaching them reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, he also wants to help build a sense of community.

“We are working through the narrative unit, so basically talking about how to tell stories,” Ramirez said.

He gave an assignment to the

students in his first period where he asked them to write about an experience or story in their life that has impacted them in any way.

“I needed a form of story that was short but still powerful and interesting.”

Ramirez was inspired by the project called “Humans of New York,” created by photographr Brandon Stanton. Stanton finds people going about their days and asks them questions that can shed light on their personal lives. Finally, he takes a portrait of them and posts their story on a website and Instagram.

“I didn’t know anything about

Humans of New York until I met my wife many years ago and she showed me the website,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez designed a similar project for his students. “It’s a shameless rip-off,” he wrote in an email to Riverside faculty. “Students picked from a list of questions to focus their narratives, and there were two rules for the photos: 1) It had to be on Riverside’s campus. 2) No filters.”

Ramirez compiled students’ work and posted it on a Padlet page.

“This was an easy way to show that powerful narratives do not have to be long,” he said.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the

percentage of ESL students in North Carolina is 7.5 as of fall of 2018. 10.2 for the United States.

Riverside’s ESL students make up approximately 21 percent of the school’s total population.

Sophomore Emily Rican Salvador, a student in Ramirez’s class, thinks the project showcases Riverside’s diversity.

“Riverside High School is diverse in all categories and I hope everybody in this building knows that,” she said. “I state that because everybody should feel included, accepted, and heard throughout all the differences and similarities.”

Estudiantes de ESL comparten sus experiencias en "Humanos de Riverside" Por Genesis Smith-Lopez y Mijalen Poole El colegio puede ser una experiencia muy difícil para niños nacidos y criados en los Estados Unidos.

Ahora imagina tener que adaptarte a una escuela nueva recién llegado a un país nuevo.

Lesli Maldonado Martinez, una estudiante de dieciséis años en su segundo año de colegio. Ella llegó a los Estados Unidos hace tres meses y todavía no se siente completamente cómoda.

“Me siento apoyada a veces,” Maldonado explica. “También me siento rara porque todos aquí (Riverside High School) hablan español y yo casi no lo hablo.”

Uno de los maestros a quien Martinez y otros estudiantes han reconocido por apoyar y ayudar sus necesidades es Alex Ramirez.

“A mi me cuesta interactuar con los maestros,” dice Maldonado, “El Sr. Ramírez realmente me ha ayudado mucho.”

Ramírez enseña ESL Inglés II. Muchos de sus estudiantes son nuevos en los EE. UU., por lo que además de enseñarles habilidades de lectura, escritura, comprensión auditiva y expresión oral, también quiere ayudar a construir un sentido de comunidad.

“Estamos trabajando en la unidad narrativa, básicamente hablando de cómo contar historias,” dijo Ramírez.

Les dio una tarea a los estudiantes en su primer período donde les pidió que escribieran sobre una experiencia o historia en su vida que los haya impactado de alguna manera.

"Necesitaba una forma de historia que fuera breve pero poderosa y interesante."

Ramírez se inspiró en el proyecto llamado “Humanos de Nueva York,” creado por fotógrafo Brandon Stanton. Stanton encuentra personas que se ocupan de sus días y les hace preguntas que pueden arrojar luz sobre sus vidas personales.

Finalmente, les toma un retrato y publica su historia en un sitio web e Instagram.

No sabía nada sobre Humans of New York hasta que conocí a mi

esposa hace muchos años y ella me mostró el sitio web,” dijo Ramirez.

Ramírez diseñó un proyecto similar para sus alumnos. “Es una estafa desvergonzada,” escribió en un correo electrónico a la facultad de Riverside. “Los estudiantes eligieron de una lista de preguntas para enfocar sus narraciones, y había dos reglas para las fotos: 1) Tenía que ser en el campus de Riverside. 2) Sin filtros.”

Ramírez compiló el trabajo de los estudiantes y lo publicó en una página de Padlet.

“Esta fue una manera fácil de mostrar que las narrativas poderosas no tienen que ser largas,” dijo.

Según por el Centro Nacional de Estadísticas Educativas, el

porcentaje de estudiantes de ESL en Carolina del Norte es de 7,5 a partir del otoño de 2018. 10,2 para los Estados Unidos. Los estudiantes de ESL de Riverside constituyen aproximadamente el 21 por ciento de la población total de la escuela.

La estudiante de segundo año Emily Rican Salvador, estudiante de la clase de Ramírez, cree que el proyecto muestra la diversidad de Riverside.

“Riverside High School es diversa en todas las categorías y espero que todos en este edificio lo sepan,” dijo. “Digo eso porque todos deben sentirse incluidos, aceptados y escuchados a través de todas las diferencias y similitudes.”