The Sandra Day O’Connor High School
Talon 25250 N. 35th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85083
Volume 14. Issue 2. December 2015
thetalonohs.com
Depression hits home for students Vaping Page 4
By RYAN TEMPLE Editorial Chief
If a student is suffering from depression, it is more than likely that someone else near them is struggling as well. At this point, it is almost a guarantee. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 10.7 percent of people between 12 and 17 years of age suffered at least one major depressive episode in 2013. This breaks down to about 2.6 million teenagers in the United States. At OHS, unfortunately, depression is a problem that hits far more students than many at the school realize. Saroj Jagernauth, head of the counseling department, knows this all too well. “In terms of O’Connor, I think depression or a feeling of helplessness does exist for some students,” Jagernauth said. “When you look at the large population of close to
2500 students, our school being a microcosm of society, I think the percentage of school here is pretty reflective of a general population beyond school.” In several cases, depression spreads beyond simply feeling sad, often to physical results. “Every week there is a situation pertaining to depression or self harm or maybe having suicidal ideation,” Jagernauth said. Debbie Rodrigues, nurse at OHS, agrees with this estimation. “I see quite a lot of students, I would say a daily basis, that are feeling depressed or not feeling good about themselves,” Rodrigues said. Even more serious problems from depression are also being brought to the surface every week. The cause behind these cases of depression tend to vary a great deal. “I see a wide range of things that cause it,” Ro-
drigues said. “From things at home, to personal issues and stresses the student puts on themselves for academic reasons, or maybe athletics as well.” Allison Lattanzi, junior, has not dealt with depression herself, but has felt the impact from someone she knows very well. “A close person I know deals with it and has attempted suicide four times and actually faked her death,” Lattanzi said. “It really takes a toll on everybody, not just the person going through it.” Several serious cases of depression lead to these dangerous outcomes. This is one of the reasons Nicole Santillo, senior, helped to form Encourage OC and remains the current president of it. “As Encourage OC, we want to have a group of students that do care about other people so we can help each other,” Santillo said. “I feel like a big reason why we want our club to be a club and have
When the results were first announced, it seemed that DVUSD was fated to lose its funding, however after counting the provisional votes, DVUSD was relieved to know the override did pass by a total of 383 votes. According to the
DVUSD website, the maintenance and operations override is voter authorization to exceed to amount of money delegated to an individual school district by the state, the extra money is funded through local taxpayers. The override posed
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY VALERIE BOND our hand in the school is to say, here’s an outlet for you if you are struggling.” The subject is a very personal one for Santillo, and deals with a challenge that she knows first hand is beatable. “I used to self harm, and I’ve overcome that, so it’s totally doable,” Santillo said. The trick to beating a monster like that is that it takes more than just one person according to Santillo. “It’s not something that you can completely do on your own which is why community is so important,” Santillo said. For a student looking for help to end their battle with depression, OHS has several resources and steps ready at all times. “Usually I just sit them down and talk. Try to get a baseline of how severe the depression is,” Rodrigues said. “Then I make a judgement call.” Jump to Page 12
Editorial Page 7
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OHS is overjoyed with the override outcome By VALERIE BOND
Design Chief
Almost all of the OHS staff and faculty members are familiar with the maintenance and operations override that was voted upon in early November.
PHOTO BY VALERIE BOND Cindy Garraway assists Destiny Siegrest,sophomore, with her end of the year speech in the dual enrollment communications class. If the override had not been passed this class and others like it would most likely have lost its funding.
a question to voters, asking if they wished to continue to fund the district at the current rate plus a slight increase. The vote occurred on Nov. 3, stirring up conversation amongst teachers and students who feared the effects of the possible funding losses. The day after the election it appeared the override was defeated, however after provisional ballots were counted, the measure passed. “If it wouldn’t have passed, it would’ve been a 5.4 million dollar deficit this year and the next year it would’ve been another 5.4. It goes down a third each time. So it [the override] was definitely needed,” said Lynn Miller, OHS principal. The 5.4 million dollars will be maintained with an increase of five percent thanks to the passing of the DVUSD override.
The threat of losing the much needed funding stirred up the emotions of OHS teachers. “I was shocked,” said Cindy Garraway, OHS language arts teacher and member of the district for 14 years. “I knew we would be close but I did not think the initial result would come back with us being down because it’s very hard to come back when you are down.” Despite the disbelief among teachers, Miller said he “talked to more people that believed we still had a chance than those that didn’t.” The override was a much needed piece of legislation to reassure teachers that the community appreciates what they do for their children. The increase in money will be used to fund speciality programs and create an increase in wages for DVUSD teachers.