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After two Years Mask Mandate Lifted
from May 2022
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Freshman Kaliyah Hunt (left), freshman Arianna Harrison, social studies teacher Sarah Cade, freshman Muhammad Ahmad (center) and junior Eli Matheson (right) pose for photos on Mnday, April 11. DPS now recommends students, faculty and staff wear masks, but it is not required. • PHOTOS BY THE PIRATES' HOOK
The masks come off
On April 11, DPS made masks optional for students and staff. How does it feel?
- Kentrial Young, freshman
-Francisco Forester, sophomore
"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 "People are uncomfortable. They gave me weird stares." - Abe Cunningham, sophomore
- Zalin Johnson, sophomore (left)
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 River"As a school we side makes from its end up with more items is used to fund the OCS program. trash than we Most of what goes into the classroom would like." recycling bins is recyclable, but about 25 percent is trash. Tharrington says enPerry Tharrington, forcing what people
OCS teacher 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 due to aspirational recycling, which is when someone puts 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. (Top) Perry Tharrington helps his students empty the recycling into the dumpster. They do this twice per week. (Bottom)Aiden Ingram and Braxton Banfield carriy recycling bins through the halls. The OCS program filled five bins with recycling. • Photos by Ethan Haine
PlEasE rEcyclE this PaPEr! and tErracyclE too!
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?
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Athletes challenge the mental health stigma in sports
By Ryan WeaveR
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.
• 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.”
