[Uncaged.] Volume 5, Issue 1

freedom high school newsmagazine | october/november 2019 | volume 5 | issue 1

STAFF the

Adviser Dana Baker

Editor-in-Chief Ava Proehl Managing Editors Kaise Dualeh Aayusha Khanal Online Editor Lauren Balser Photo Editor Claire Wodack Director of Media Emily Peacher News Editor Madison Roney Features Editor Eliza Agi Culture Editor Camille Desjardins Opinions Editor Lindsay Brisson Sports Editors Morgan Maiden Bailey Elliott

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The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. //excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou

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[news] [culture] [features] [sports] [opinion] [back cover]

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Staff Writers James Czarnaski Carina Funk Dan Gittelman Lauriane Razafinjatovo Josue Torres Uncaged is the newsmagazine of Freedom High School. The attitudes, opinions, views, and ideas expressed in Uncaged do not necessarily reflect those of this staff, the faculty adviser, Freedom High School, or the Loudoun County Public School system. Uncaged follows the county and state guidelines established for student high school publications, and disclaims any liability with respect thereto the use or reliance on any such information contained in this publication. The Uncaged staff welcomes contributions and encourages the expression of students, faculty, staff, and members of the Freedom High School community.

Cover photo by Aayusha Khanal photo illustration by Ava Proehl

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table of contents

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CONTENTS

from the editors Welcome back, free birds!

One quarter down, three left to go! We hope that you had a great summer and are enjoying your school year so far. We understand that the period between summer and New Year may feel like a lull, but there are plenty of fun things to look forward to: holidays, colder weather and (fingers crossed) some early snow days.

This is the last year before the start of a new decade, so take some time to reflect on the past 10 years and how far you’ve come since then before 2020.

Listen to some of your favorite songs from 2012, rewatch your favorite episode of “iCarly” and get ready for the next 10 years. You’ve grown since 2010, both in height and spirit.

Also, our online website uncagedfhs.org has grown and we have new content for you to check out! If you want to catch up on a football or basketball game you couldn’t make, or a recap on homecoming, give our site a visit!

Freshmen, we hope your first quarter has gone smoothly and that you feel like you’re at home here. Sophomores, think about joining a new club or two this year, trying out for a new sport or auditioning for a theatre production; this is the year to broaden your horizons. Juniors, be sure to take a breath as you start harder classes; don’t forget to relax. And to all our seniors, good luck with the college application process; be sure to make the most of everything in your last fall at home!

We can’t wait for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year! Thank you for all your support throughout the years and as we continue to grow.

letter from editors

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FREEDOM LAUNCHES FIRST E-SPORTS TEAM

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reedom is officially starting a com[Story By: Lauren Balser] petitive esports team for the 2019reedom is officially starting a 2020 school year. competitive esports team for the According to VHSL, “Esports 2019-2020 school year. competitions have grown in recent years and According to the Virginia High many high school students are engagSchool League, (VHSL), “Esports coming in cooperative, collaborative, and petitions have grown in recent years competitive activities on their own. ” The and many high school students are Virginia High School League approved engaging in cooperative, collabora- a one-year pilot program for esports (i.e. tive and competitive activities on their video games) at its May 2019 meeting. own.” VHSL approved a one-year pilot Senior Bernardo Lopez-Vasquez is the program for esports (i.e. video games) Overwatch and League of Legends Hand at its May 2019 meeting. forSenior the Casual Side of the League; the Bernardo Lopez-Vasquez is term “hand” is a reference to Game of the “Overwatch” and “League of LegThrones. ends” hand for the Casual Side of the “Esports a place whereisgamers can League; theis term “hand” a reference be appreciated and appreciate each to “Game of Thrones”. others skill,” is Lopez-Vasquez “Esports a place wheresaid. gamers can FHS’ league variety of games, be appreciatedoffers and aappreciate each including League of Legends, said.

Overothers skill,” Lopez-Vasquez watch, Smash Ultimate FHS’Super league offersBros a variety of and more.

This year, Rocket League was games, including “League of Legends”, added to the mix.

“Overwatch”, “Super Smash Bros “Normally it feels like [traditional] Ultimate” and more.

This year, “Rocket sports take all the fame, ” Lopez-Vasquez League” was added to the mix. said.

“Esports ithas become such a big “Normally feels like [traditionthing where a lot people have al] sports take allofthe fame,” Lo-actually started appreciating it. ” pez-Vasquez said. “Esports has beWithsuch the official competitive come a big thing whereteam a lot of starting this year, one topic many stupeople have actually started apprecidents are discussing is the dues required ating it.” byWith the organization. the official competitive team starting this year, one topic many

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“There’s the really competitive [league] like an actual schoolissport.

In every students are high discussing the dues high school sport, you have to pay $150. required by the organization.

Casual league is the normal fee, $35, “There’s the really competitive ” said Cesarlike Barreda, senior and Sports [league] an actual high school Hand. “[Casual league] more laid-back sport. In every high school sport, you than official leagueis isthe have competitive. to pay $150.The Casual league considered varsity. ” normal fee, $35,” said Cesar Barrecompetitive league is primarily da,The senior and sports hand. “[Casual for League of Legends.

It is the only game league] more laid-back than competoffered where players are able to comitive. The official league is considered pete against other schools each week. varsity.”

“VHSL runs the whole event, ” LoThe competitive league is primarily pez-Vasquez said.

“We have an actual for “League of Legends”. It is the only company running all of this and order game offered where players areinable to one of the accounts that’s like to have compete against other schools each $65 for each member.

Another cost is week. the“VHSL jerseyruns and the ” Lothe computers. whole event,” While some students argue thatactual pez-Vasquez said. “We have an jerseys are not necessary for the company running all of this andleague, in ormembers of one the organization disagree. der to have of the accounts that’s “I $65 was for competing in FIFA last year and like each member.

Another when got my jersey, was computers.” like, ‘Why cost isI the jersey andI the would I need this?’

It’s not really the jerWhile some students argue that jersey itself, but it’s what it means, ” Barreda seys are not necessary for the league, said.

“When put organization my jersey on, disagree.

I felt like members ofI the I was playing for more than just FIFA “I was competing in FIFA lastayear game. ” and when I got my jersey, I was like, “[Jerseys not needed, like ‘Why wouldare] I need this?’ It’sbut notjust really with any other club, it’s about getting the jersey itself, but it’s what it means,” the wordsaid. out,” “When Lopez-Vasquez “It’s Barreda I put mysaid. jersey showing that you’re a part of something on, I felt like I was playing for more bigger than just agame.” tiny club. You’re proud than just a FIFA “[Jerseys are] not needed, but just

of the team and group you’re in.”

For students who club, are not to pay like with any other it’sable about that fee upfront, however, there are varigetting the word out,” Lopez-Vasquez ous plans in place. said. “It’s showing that you’re a part of “One thing that we’ve about is a something bigger than talked just a tiny club. monthly payment system, ” Barreda said.

You’re proud of the team and group “I think in.” it’s a pretty good idea. You just you’re gotta reach yourwho $35 are payment.

If they For students not able to just want to join and don’t pay, what pay that fee upfront, however, thereI’ve understood is that in it’llplace. count as a loss.” are various plans “A lot of clubs have a feetalked and ifabout you “One thing that we’ve want to be a part you do have to pay is a monthly payment system,” Barreit, ” Lopez-Vasquez said.

“There’s always da said. “I think it’s a pretty good aidea. special the sponsor won’t Youcase just where gotta reach your $35 care too much about the money. ” payment. If they just want to joinHe and said the purpose of the leagueisisthat to don’tthat pay, what I’ve understood “grow a community and make something it’ll count as a loss.” special to make “A lotfor ofother clubspeople, have a” not fee and if money off of the sport. you want to be a part you do have to While not all FHS students the pay it,” Lopez-Vasquez said.in“There’s league plan on pursuing esports a always a special case where theas sponcareer or source of income, the students sor won’t care too much about the have created a community of collaboramoney.”

He said that the purpose of tive and competitive gamers. the league is to “grow a community “It’smake become a place where and something specialsome for other students that might not be social people,” not to make money offthat of the might not be part of other club, they can sport. join and find they canconrelate Inthis addition to people some student to.

I’ve seen it happen, ” Lopez-Vasquez fusion, some parents are hesitant to said.

“That’s the biggest partfor of video it, the let their student pay dues community. ” games.

“Some parents have that issue of understanding about the fee in the first place and why you have to pay that much for video games and stuff, but I feel like that is necessary for the equipment and games,” Syed said.

“At least with my dad, with the fee, as long as I do something that I like and am productive in, then it’s not really a concern with my parents.”

While not all FHS students in the league plan on pursuing esports as a career or source of income, the students have created a community of collaborative and competitive gamers.

“It’s become a place where students that might not be social or part of other clubs, can join and find people they can relate to. I’ve seen it happen,” Lopez-Vasquez said. “That’s the biggest part of it, the community.”

MEET YOUR YOUR CANDIDATES CANDIDATES MEET MEET YOUR CANDIDATES [Story By Lauren Balser]

JENNIFER WEXTON

Twitter: @RepWexton Democrat Jennifer Wexton has served as a representative for Virginia’s 10th congressional district since Jan. 3, 2019, and is up for reelection in 2020.

Wexton sponsors bills mostly in finance and the financial sector (100% of legislation sponsored). Wexton sits on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

Recent bills that Wexton sponsored include the Personal Needs Allowance Modernization Act (H.R. 3853) and the Empowering Law Enforcement for Safer Firearm Transfers Act of 2019 (H.R. 3404).

MARK WARNER

Twitter: @MarkWarner Democrat Mark Warner has served as a senator for Virginia since Jan. 6, 2009, and is up for reelection in 2020. Warner sponsors bills mostly in taxation (20% of sponsorships), government operations and politics (20%) and armed forces and national security (15%). Warner is the vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and sits on the Senate Committee on Banking and on Housing and Urban Affairs, as well as the Committees on Rules and Administration, Finance and the Budget. Recent bills that Warner was the primary sponsor of include the Ashanti Alert Act of 2018 (S. 3714) and the Protecting Access to Diabetes Supplies Act of 2017 (S. 1914).

TIM KAINE

Twitter: @timkaine Democrat Tim Kaine has served as a senator for Virginia since Jan. 3, 2013, and is up for reelection in 2024. Kaine sponsors bills mostly in education (38% of sponsorships), labor and employment (16%) and international affairs (11%). Kaine sits on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, as well as on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the Senate Committee on Foriegn Relations and the Committee on the Budget. Recent bills that Kaine was the primary sponsor of include the Cyber Scholarship Opportunities Act of 2017 (S. 754) and the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017 (S. 691).

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LADY GAGA PROMOTES MENTAL HEALTH [Story by Morgan Maiden]

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n May, Freedom High School was selected to participate in a peer-topeer mental health program pilot, teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) along with eight other high schools around the country.

FHS was selected due to their major focus on mental health compared to other schools around the county. This experience has helped the counseling department tremendously as they have been able to implement what they have learned during the tMHFA pilot to improve mental health around the school.

“The program (tMHFA) teaches that mental health is not just bad days it’s

also on good days, mental health is all the time and tMHFA wants to end the stigma of this,” said Kenneth Christopher, FHS director of counseling.

Celebrity Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation partnered with the National Council for Behavioral Health to create a program soon to be nationwide to mental first aid certify students across America.

After the Class of 2021 completed the tMHFA pilot, Lady Gaga and her foundation held a debrief in Las Vegas, NV to get more in touch with students who went through the pilot.

“With teen Mental Health First Aid, we like to say, it’s okay not to be okay,” said Lady Gaga, onstage at a concert in Las Vegas in front of stu-

dents across the country.

Lady Gaga asked two students from each pilot school to come to the debrief. Juniors Katie Ramboyong and Jake Beyer completed this pilot program and were selected to travel to Las Vegas with Christopher.

“When I found out Jake and I had been chosen I remember feeling excited, proud and motivated,” Ramboyong said. “It was such an honor that the counseling/PE staff would want me to represent them and that they trusted me to tell our community’s story.”

Over the course of two days, they met with other students from high schools in Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Virginia. They often gathered

Prior to entering the Lady Gaga Museum, the eager group of high school students and sponsers from around the country capture a photo to preserve this experience. Photo provided by Kenneth Christopher.

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Robyn Freedman-Schnapp’s class shows off their teen Mental Health and First Aid certification, ensuring their promise to help those who may be struggling. Photo provided by Kenneth Christopher. together for discussion to share stories on how the training impacted other communities.

“The National Council was so incredibly opening to hear anything we had to say along with validating our thoughts and feelings during our discussion,” Beyer said.

Ramboyong and Beyer have shared what they learned with the other students who participated in training.

Plus, they received more training by attending mental health session and were even able to meet Lady Gaga.

Beyer explains how the program changed his life, making him more sympathetic when he sees a child being quiet.

“It definitely geared my life in a more positive direction, because last year I saw everything from me me me instead of focusing on helping others,” Beyer said.

During the mini session, Lady Gaga invited all students to attend her con-

cert that night. When up on stage, all the students circled around her at the piano in front of hundreds of people, Lady Gaga she asked if Ramboyong would like to sit next to her.

“I tried to soak up the noise, the lights, and the feeling of being up on stage,” Ramboyong said. “It was a lot going on all at once but my mind was trying to dedicate the emotions to the people I know who have struggled and fought everyday, regardless of how hard it was.”

Ramboyong and Beyer have felt such an impact from the program and really try to spread the messages they learned in Las Vegas.

“I feel so grateful for the experiences that I was given, when it’s so easy to get caught up in what other people have it’s easy to get down on yourself,” Beyer said. “What I loved about the teen mental health program was that we all have the same goal, that’s to help everyone making sure they all

feel happy and included.”

During their time at the debrief, they were able to attend mental health seminars and meet with suicide prevention companies, such as Find Your Anchor. Find Your Anchor is a suicide prevention grassroot organization that creates mental health first aid boxes that are free to order for those needing help.

“They were some of the kindest women I’ve ever met and I hope to work with them in the future. During our time with them, they allowed us to help make a FYA box and each one of us took one home so we could give it to whoever we felt needed it,” Ramboyong said.

FHS was very honored to take part in this pilot program, Born This Way has announced that they will be adding several other high schools across the country to bring a more positive light on mental health.

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MSAAC’s CALL FOR HELP

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[Story by Eliza Agi] ithin Loudoun County, and specifically South Riding, there is a diverse culture including various cultures and ethnicities. To ensure equal treatment within the groups the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee (MSAAC) group was created to protect Loudoun County students.

The end goal became unclear due to information which discredited the county.

A report released from Loudoun County revealed a series of issues being addressed by superintendent Eric Williams. Testing scores, level of diploma, and other factors varied through students with different backgrounds.

The racial inequality and challenges create not only academic issues, but influences in the culture at a school.

Targeting certain groups of students can lead to the creation of social classes. The inequality of individualized groups begins to emerge when the power dynamic raises the privileged to the top.

Former Freedom High School student, Melina Watson, was a finalist for the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee award.

“There are definite hierarchies, preferences and privileges for certain

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students at Freedom,” Watson said.

“Not every student is treated equally or valued the same.”

One’s status can lead to judgements and opinions based on assumptions. These opinions can cloud a students mind which can lead to educational deficits as well.

“The culture at Freedom needs to be one that is accepting of all students regardless of their differences,” Watson said. “School is not a place that should be complicit to racism, sexism, homophobia or ableism.”

The students at FHS should free their peers of uneducated conclusions and treat every peer with the same level of respect.

“I would hope that students at Freedom can be their authentic selves without this overarching fear of being ostracized or outcasted for not fitting into this ‘standard’ the culture has created,” Watson said.

Students within a minority group have struggled due to social pressures from peers of various backgrounds.

The seemingly insignificant jokes can lead to deficits in the student’s educational career and mental health.

“As a minority at Freedom High School, I am always challenged with all the stereotypes and jokes made about my race” said junior Sohil Shah.

“This can create setbacks in a person’s high school experience, especially socially, because of the sense of not belonging.”

Although there is room for improvement, the FHS community has established different successful clubs and activities that celebrates many cultures and backgrounds. The organizations are a good opportunity for students of similar backgrounds to relate better to their peers.

“Giving minority students the opportunity to form clubs like the Black Student Association, Hispanic Student Association, Asian-American Student Association, Muslim Student Association and Jewish Student Association is a great start,” Watson said.

There are multiple clubs and activities already in place along with the option to create a group or club with a teacher sponsor.

“The different groups show the acceptance we have for all cultures and backgrounds,” junior Nadia Stupec said. “[They] give other students opportunities to learn about those cultures.”

“I am very much appreciative of the administration for giving minority students that platform and that space to exist judgement free” Watson said.

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[Story by Camille Desjardins]

ik Tok is a new social media that allows people to record themselves to a sound or create their own videos. Many Freedom High School students spent the summer recreating Tik Tok trends in hopes of becoming famous on the app.

They are definitely not alone. The app was previously called Musical. ly, and after being bought by a new owner, it was renamed and completely rebranded. Over the past year, the app has gained popularity from people of all ages, but primarily it has gained interest from teens. According to Maryam Mohsin, 41% of Tik Tok users are aged from 16-24. The app became a big activity for bored teens over the summer to make jokes, learn dances, or post cool videos of themselves in hopes of going viral.

When Tik Tok was renamed the app was considered a joke of sorts. Very few people used it because it was still considered cringey by most teenagers.

It was mostly used for memes and edgy humor.

“In the beginning the jokes were

more offensive and people’s content was more original,” said Sydney Lemmerman, junior and Tik Tok veteran.

“And now there’s more trends that everyone copies there’s also there’s a huge focus on dance and clothing style.”

Though none are exactly sure why Tik Tok gained success so rapidly, sophomore Josh Gittleman thinks a major part in it may be the target audience of the app. Musical.ly was catered towards younger kids, with lip syncing videos to funny songs and famous YouTubers using the app.

Tik Tok catered towards teens and young adults. Many have compared Tik Tok to Vine, an old popular video app, because of the jokes and funny videos created on the app.

Tik Tok trends often involve popular rap songs, relatable memes about teenage situations, or even songs from musicals some kids may like.

Appealing to teenagers was a primary reason that Tik Tok gained success, due to the amount of time teens spend on technology.

“When [teens] find a new app and use it they get addicted and it starts a

chain,” Gittleman said.

Many people participate in the Tik Tok app. Compared to many other social medias, it’s fairly easy to get famous on Tik Tok. If someone makes a good video that people like, it often times gets on the For You page, which is a page on the app that shares videos to several users around the world. If people like that video, it gets shared to even more people.

Senior Jordan Pastro believes that it doesn’t require much to get famous on Tik Tok. Pastro had been using Tik Tok for a few months before she went viral on the app after posting a popular video of her and friends pretending to be triplets. Pastro thinks anyone can be Tik Tok famous.

“It’s random people doing funny videos and things like that and then it blows up,” Pastro said.

Though Tik Tok has only been popular for about a year, there’s no sure reason why so many people are desperate to be popular on the app. Pastro, who has about 72,300 followers, feels like the idea of Tik Tok fame is something that people want for bragging rights and clout.

“A lot of people just want that recognition in their life,” Pastro said.

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[Story by Maddie Roney] ollege, trade, travel, apprenticeship, military or job? Out of the many opportunities awaiting high school students, they not only choose a potential career, but also identify a path to get there.

Children are often asked, “what are you going to be when they grow up?”

They might answer artist or astronaut, but when they enter high school, it’s time to seriously consider their personal road map to success.

Students decide if they want to go to college, take a gap year or join the military. It is not common to hear young adults planning to go to a trade school or accept an apprenticeship.

According to the Arlington Magazine, “Of the 1,438 members of the Class of 2018 who responded to a recent Arlington Public Schools survey,

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1,253 or 87 percent said they were heading to two- or four-year degree programs this fall,” “Only 30 students or 2 percent indicated plans to enter a business, trade or technical school.”

At Freedom High School, students responded similarly in a survey taken by 50 students in September with 84% planning on going to college right after high school. In addition, 8% of students plan on joining the workforce. The remaining 4% of students are split between going to a trade school, and taking a gap year. With so many students planning on going to college, why is this the most appealing choice?

Kelsey French, a junior plans on going to college for four years and then furthering her studies at a veterinarian school. French is currently taking a vet

science class at Monroe Technology Center to prepare for this course.

“I have always been taught that education is very important and it is crucial that you get an education in order to succeed in life,” French said.

“I wanted to go to do the basic four year program, and then move on to a veterinary school.”

French is taking an extra step in education and was taught its importance. Senior, Anthony Decarlo, has a different plan, to get into electrical entrepreneurship. In preparation, Decarlo was under contract by an employee of Facebook to engineer data centers and is currently taking online courses for the field.

“I never really wanted to go to college, because I have a twin, so if one goes to college, I have to find something else,” Decarlo said. “I also never liked the idea of general learning, it’s very rigid.”

Junior Abby Doyle is aiming towards going to a four year college, majoring in hospitality. Doyle is currently taking culinary classes at Monroe.

“Next year I plan to take the hospitality and tourism class at Freedom,” Doyle. said.

Many opportunities are available to prepare for a successful career, but with more education, comes less hands on experience. The average age to enter the workforce after college is 22, earning about $45,000, or at 18 earning $42,000 for a trade school. In addition, the average cost of a bachelor’s degree is $127,000 while average trade school costs $33,000. With these facts in mind, what will students choose?

S t r e t c h Your T

[Story by Carina Funk] hroughout Freedom High School, students strive for greatness. The majority of students take advanced classes, play sports, participate in theater, or clubs, and more, but how does that affect their mental health?

A study conducted on the stress of high school students found that 94% of the high school students said their stress levels were above average. There are ways for students to improve their mental health.

The FHS Yoga Club can help students relieve stress both physically and mentally. In the club, student’s practice different types of techniques that can reduce stress and anxiety naturally.

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yoga modulates stress response systems by reducing heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and easing respiration.

The club is sponsored and run by Sarah Verdis, a gym teacher at FHS and a certified Yoga teacher.

Verdis explained that “Yoga involves moving the body through a combination of poses or postures that can be aimed toward stress relief, all while practicing mindfulness and focusing our attention on our breath.”

A lot of students who are in the club have said that it helped them prepare for the day, and reduce their stress level. Ramboyong is a co-president of the club who also participates in cross country as well as indoor track.

“Yoga club not only impacts students by improving their mental and physical well-being, but it also makes a statement for Freedom’s value of mental health,” Ramboyong said, “It shows that our school cares about their students and wants to provide the resources to keep us healthy.”

There are also a lot of student athletes who join the club for it’s recovery abilities, and because it helps build muscle. Verdis has a variety of stretches that can help release tension in tight areas which help athletes recover from strenuous games, practices, and injuries.

Junior Alex Arriza goes to yoga Club for recovery because he participates in

Stress Away soccer, cross country, and wrestling.

“Since I do multiple sports, going to yoga club helps me because it gives me a lot of time to stretch and relieve my muscles from the stress that sports put on them.”

The yoga club also creates a friendly environment that is open to any students who are interested. Junior Maddie Garber, and co-president of the club, said that it’s a great way to meet new people and relieve stress.

“I look forward to it because I love everyone that does it, the environment, and the results I get from it,” Garber said.

Sophomore soccer player and yoga Club participant Reagan Gary also shared this attitude when describing how he felt about the club environment.

“Yoga club has a really relaxed and chill environment, and everyone is really friendly,” Gary said, “ I always tell my friends to come because it’s relaxing and it’s fun to be there with friends.”

The benefits of Yoga are endless.

Whether a student is seeking stress relief, to strengthen their muscles, or to meet new friends, the Yoga Club at FHS can provide all of the above.

87% of people feel better after a yoga class -DisturbMeNot

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ATYPICAL [Story by Lindsay Brisson]

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40% of children with a food allergy have experienced anaphylaxis

One in every thirteen children have a food allergy

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Milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish are the 8 main allergens Information from FARE Food Allergy Research and Education.

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nce summer came to an end and the transition into fall and winter began, allergy season came along with it. Almost everyone has suffered from allergies at some point in his/her life. Some people may have more severe allergies than others; such as one person may have seasonal allergies which manifest as cold symptoms in the fall while another could go into anaphylactic shock if he/she touch or consume a peanut.

Multiple things can trigger seasonal allergies. A big factor is pollen, and this is why the human body reacts with a stuffy nose and itchy eyes when one’s nose gets a whiff of pollen or other kinds of things that cause allergies. When a foreign substance enters the body, such as pollen, the immune system gives out an adaptive response; just like when someone is sick and his/ her immune system works to fight the sickness.

The immune system goes to attack the environmental protein, which is the pollen or other substances, that then results in our body developing symptoms like a runny nose, fever, itchy eyes, itchy throat, stuffy nose and many more cold life symptoms.

Even though allergies technically are not a sickness, it can often feel like one. Doctor David Rubio, a pediatrician at the Virginia Pediatric Group, has seen multiple cases of bad allergies and offers his suggestions on how to keep allergies under control.

“Your immune system recognizes

things that you are breathing in as irritants so much so that it sets off like a defense mechanism,” Rubio said. “It releases histamine into your bloodstream and so many of the allergy medicines are antihistamines [which can help treat symptoms] such as Benadryl, Claritin and Zyrtec.”

Even though pollen and other environmental factors can cause an allergic reaction, it could be something as simple as a cat or dog that can cause a person’s throat to close up so he/she cannot breathe.

This is a reason that some people have hypoallergenic dogs, such as a Shih Tzu, Poodle, Maltese Terrier, and multiple other breeds.

Junior Madeline Dailey, has severe seasonal allergies and allergies to her pet cat for years.

“Anytime my cat sleeps with me, I wake up in the middle of the night with a stuffy nose,” Dailey said. “I also had an experience at my friend’s house, her dog was licking me and rubbing against me, and about a half hour later I had broken out in hives on the areas her dog had touched.”

Dailey’s experience goes to show the struggles of having severe allergies to pets or things in the environment.

To see what a person is allergic to, he/she can go to an allergist and get an allergy tests to find out what he/ she can and can’t eat or should and shouldn’t be around.

It is more common for people to have seasonal allergies or be allergic

“Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S.” -Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

ALLERGIES to animals, however some people have way more severe allergies to certain things than others.

The struggle for those who have severe allergies is a big one, and some are so severe they have to carry an epipen in case they go into anaphylactic shock.

Anaphylactic shock can occur within seconds to minutes of being exposed to something one is allergic to. When someone is exposed to the substance, the immune system will release a ton of chemicals that can cause the body to go into shock. The blood pressure will begin to drop suddenly and his/ her airways will get narrow which limits breathing significantly.

In order for a person to reverse the

effects of anaphylactic shock, an epipen must be used on the outer thigh and held in the thigh for three seconds. It works by injecting epinephrine into the body, which is a chemical that works to narrow blood vessels and open airways to the lungs. It works to reverse the effects of anaphylactic shock.

Even though allergies seem to be an incredibly scary thing and are always dreaded, there is really no way to keep them from happening. Medicine is available for those who have bad allergies in the fall or spring or to animals.

An epipen can be used for those who have severe allergies to certain substances, but allergies in general cannot really be prevented.

STRIVING FOR DIVERSITY AT [Story by Dan Gittelman]

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tress: the nuisance that wreaks havoc on sleep schedules. A lot of stress is a product of school, and students at the Academy of Science and the Academy of Engineering and Technology can only be feeling more stress due to their commitment to two different schools. Now, add the Loudoun County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, investigating the admission processes of these schools due to their lack of diversity.

Although the students themselves are not being investigated directly, they are aware of what is happening around them.

“It’s difficult to tell how much ethnic background could be impacting admissions decisions,” said Isabel Mittal, FHS and AOS sophomore. “I think a big factor to take into account is that many Asian or white students prepare for many years to get into these magnet schools, while other students may not even hear about these schools

until the year before application time.

Due to this, Asian and white students have a much larger chance of being accepted compared to minorities.”

The Loudoun County NAACP has launched an investigation into the admissions processes for AOS and AET. For the fall of 2018, only 1/30 African American students were offered admission into AET, and 0/35 were offered admission into AOS. The investigation is intended to identify whether there’s possible bias involved in the admission process.

“The admissions process is blind, so the admissions team does not have access to [a student’s ethnicity].” said Ashley Ellis, assistant superintendent for instruction. “The NAACP requested a meeting with the Department of Instruction staff last spring, and so we met with them multiple times in the spring to answer their questions about the admissions process and admissions data they had requested. They were doing their own investigation.”

The NAACP did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

It’s difficult to identify if the admis-

Information for graphs provided by LCPS

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sion process impacted this statistic, but the students at the academies generally seem to believe that it’s due to cultural norms rather than ethnic background.

“I wouldn’t feel that it’s necessary to launch the investigation because I don’t think you would find any kind of sort of foul play going on in the admissions decisions,” said Sala Ba, Rock Ridge and AOS senior. “I would rather devote those resources to [discovering] why there’s less of that STEM influence for the younger black kids growing up, and how can we encourage them to pursue this other passion.

I feel like there might be a lot of pressure from within the community to not go into these kinds of careers and not apply to these kinds of schools, or not work as hard. I think if I were the NAACP I would rather be focusing on getting rid of that stigma than investigating the academies’ admissions process.”

While the NAACP’s investigation process may not be able to confirm nor deny the existence of foul play, community emphasis appears to be

THE ACADEMIES something that all students are more interested in.

AOS and AET did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

“A way for the community to become aware of this issue is to start some organizations which promote the spread of a more colored population to these STEM, or higher education projects or school academies,” said Sumedh Julapalli, AET and FHS junior.

It may be undetermined whether the admission process is at fault, but students of all backgrounds are hoping that this isn’t the case. AOS and AET students all appear to be rooting for some change so the schools can become more diverse, and offer equal opportunities for everyone to succeed.

“This is actually something I care a lot about, and it frustrated me when I saw that there were people who were potentially losing opportunities and not being accepted because of their race,” said Madeline Reames, FHS and AOS freshman. “I think that there’s still a lot of steps that need to be taken in our community, and honestly in our country, to make sure people, no mat-

ter who they are and where they come from, that they’re treated fairly and given the same opportunities.”

The students at AOS and AET have mentioned raising interest in communities as a solution to the lack of representation in schools, but this is not the only way. Wayde Byard said to Loudoun Times Mirror, “Beginning with admissions windows opening in the fall of 2019, changes to the admissions process will be made to decrease testing bias and better measure aptitude and passion for STEM, rather than achievement alone.”

“If it is possible for there to be a way to measure interest in STEM, it should definitely be a factor in the applicant process,” said Ryan Kim, FHS and AET senior.

It is a common belief that AET and AOS need to explore a solution to create a greater representation of different ethnicities and cultures in the schools. This could better the social environment by giving students more people to relate to, and also more people who have different backgrounds and experiences.

“So, honestly I would say my class,

2020, is probably better than most other classes because there were two other [African American] kids, one of them dropped out after sophomore year,” Ba said. “There really hasn’t been any racial diversity because it’s really just the two of us now, and I think sometimes it’s kind of a shame cause there’s not really people you can relate to, or a lot of times when everyone else has something in common with their race, and you’re not really a part of that, it can be kind of isolating, but it hasn’t really affected the quality of my education because I can still relate to everyone else at AOS.” In 2018, roughly 31% of white and Asian students who applied to AET were accepted, and about 18% were accepted into AOS. The same year, only .33% of African American students who applied were accepted into AET, and 0% were accepted into AOS. The NAACP would like to see an increase in the representation of minorities in AOS and AET, and minority community awareness of the academies and interest in STEM seem to be the common suggestions of where to begin efforts to better the diversity.

Information for graphs provided by LCPS

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INCLUSIVITY WINS HOMECOMING

[Story by Ava Proehl]

right lights shone down onto the football field as the homecoming court stood, smiling, waiting to hear their names. The homecoming court at Freedom High School has traditionally consisted of one king and one queen. But this year, for the first time in FHS history, there was a new, more inclusive nomination process.

The court broke barriers in another way as well, with seniors Jaya Tuggle and Steven Booker making this the first time the school has had two African-American students win the homecoming court.

In previous years, the nomination form has always stated that students should nominate one male and one female. The tradition of homecoming

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court been around for as long as all of the Student Council Association (SCA) members can remember. But this year, the nomination forms allowed for the entry of any two names, where the gender wasn’t a factor.

“Throughout the years, FHS Student Council Association as a whole has been acting really reflectively and has worked with how the school is changing,” said Austin Roberts, SCA president. “We want to be open to every single thing, every possibility, and we want to be inclusive towards everybody.”

SCA has continuously worked towards representing as much of the student population as possible in everything they do.

“Every year since I’ve been an adviser, for homecoming court, I think that process is evaluated to just make sure that it is authentic and genuine to allow people to be who they want,” said Jason King, SCA Adviser.

This philosophy was also applied to the homecoming court. The goal of the new nomination process this year was to make sure the court encompass all the different student identities at FHS. “I think the students continue to just be open and receptive to what the students wanted,” King said. .

“This new process definitely gives way to allowing people to identify as they identify, for example for transgender students,” said Elizabeth Clay,

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AT HOMECOMING SPREAD

SCA vice president. “Especially in the nomination process you can nominate two females [or two males] together.

I think that we’re doing our best to adapt with the community.”

“I think that this is a great step in the right direction for increased inclusivity,” said Shannon Herrmann, Milk Club co-president.

While the nominations were gender neutral, the final court decisions only allowed the students to select one male for king and one female for queen. But, Herrmann says that there are still improvements that need to be made to the court.

“I understand that they have it separated into male and female to try to make it a little more fair, however it might be beneficial for everyone to get rid of the two categories and just make it a popularity contest, since that’s all it is already,” Herrmann said. “That would give LGBTQ couples and non-binary students the chance to run, and

possibly, win more comfortably, and it doesn’t hurt anyone.”

SCA hopes that this is a change that will continue to be extended throughout Loudoun and possibly even further in the upcoming years.

“I think that our area as a whole, as Loudoun County, has relatively similar student body populations,” Roberts said. “I feel like this could be really impactful and helpful all over.”

With this new policy, SCA looks to serve as a role model for other schools around the state, and to promote equality and inclusivity in the homecoming court process.

“I hope that everyone always feels accepted and included,” King said.

Another positive result came with this year’s homecoming court: the school had its first homecoming royal couple where both the queen and king were African-American. Tuggle and Booker were both very excited to be elected onto the court.

“Hearing people cheer for me as I walked out felt good,” Tuggle said.

“Honestly, I was just happy I made it that far.”

Booker said that it was surreal to him that there has never been a court where both the queen and king were African American, even though FHS has been open for more than 10 years.

“It was great to make history and include some diversity,” Booker said.

Tuggle agrees that using a gender neutral process the final court voting as well as nominations could still be altered to allow for a less heteronormative court.

“It makes everything more inclusive,” Tuggle said. “It kinda sucked that I couldn’t vote for two queens or kings after they were nominated, but to have it where you can nominate any two people is a positive step in the right direction.”

“It’s always good to start a conversation,” Clay said.

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LIFE THROUGH TWO LIGHTS [Story by Aayusha Khanal]

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o, what are you? Biracial people all around the world let out a collective sigh. The question is frequently asked among biracial individuals since the ambiguity of their ethnicity can raise curiosity among peers.

Biracial people, individuals with parents from two different ethnicities, lie somewhere in the middle of the racial spectrum. Oftentimes, their mixed ethnicity translates into their physical appearance. As a result, biracial people may struggle with finding their ethnic identity since societal pressures may push biracial people to label themselves with one ethnicity over the other.

Junior Louis Cresci has a mixed heritage since his mother is Philipino and his dad is half-Irish and half-Italian.

“I believe that the culture and traditions have a very big role in my personality but it doesn’t make me who I am,” Cresci said. “I am not just confined to my race.”

Although senior Isabel Richardson embraces her racial background, she has had many negative experiences due to intruding comments or guesses on her ethnicity and intraracial exclusion.

“I look more racially ambiguous in terms of my physical appearance,” Richardson said. “People are really confused when they see me and can’t put me in a certain box.”

Richardson has an African-American father and a Hispanic mother and sometimes feels the societal pressure of not being ‘enough’ of one race or ethnicity. Because Richardson cannot speak fluent Spanish like her mother and her side of the family, there are language barriers between Richardson and that half of her family. While this does not diminish her Hispanic heritage, she says that she cannot

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communicate with her Hispanic family as easily.

Although there may be difficulties of not being able to fully immerse oneself into a culture, Richardson finds a way to connect to her cultural roots through food. She loves eating food from her dad’s side; meals have become a cultural tradition for her family.

Outside of her household, however, her ambiguous ethnic appearance of curly hair and medium complexion is pointed out to her often.

“In middle school, I straightened [my hair] all the time so that my hair would look more like everybody else’s,” Richardson said. “I think a big motivating reason for why I wanted to straighten my hair so much was because of those messages I heard earlier in elementary school, like, ‘Your hair is not pretty,’ or, ‘Your hair is not good.’”

Richardson says that because she has lighter pigmentation than many other biracial people, people often doubt she is really African-American.

“There has been an overall attitude of ‘you don’t really count,’” Richardson said.

Some biracial people do not want there to be such a heavy emphasis around their ambiguous race since their ethnicity does not accurately define who they are. Others, however, feel that their experiences as biracial individuals influence a large part of their identity. Either way, they experience the frustration of people offering opinions on what race they belong to more when it is not those people’s place to decide.

Senior Cristiana Barno absorbs both of her family’s cultures as part of her own. Her cultural inheritance plays a large role in her identity, especially her Hispanic roots. Her mother is from Nicaragua and her father is an American.

Barno says that her identity can sometimes isolate her. When she is in the United States, she recognizes how ethnically different she is from her peers as a Hispanic-American. When she visits Nicaragua, though, she realizes how culturally different she is there, as well.

“Whenever I go to Nicaragua with my family, I definitely feel like I’m more American than everyone, but when I visit my dad’s family, I feel like I’m more Hispanic than them,” Barno said.

Either way, she says she does not want either part of her racial identity to be diminished or obscured.

“I’m really proud of my Latina side and try to express it in every way I can,” Barno said. “I’m just really proud of my background and I love to share it with people.”

In order to preserve her Hispanic culture, Barno has co-founded the Hispanic Student Association, which has made her feel more closely connected to her ethnic identity. But fitting under one umbrella term is not something that Barno anticipates doing; she embraces her ethnicity and the fact that she is not one singular thing that can be neatly categorized.

So, what are you? Barno usually just responds with: human.

“In middle school, I straightened [my hair] all the time so that my hair would look more like everybody else’s.”

-Isabel Richardson

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CHANGING FOR

“Building a culture takes

that results are going to [Story by James Czarnaski Photos by Ava Proehl]

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fter a tough go at last season Freedom football is looking to rebuild the program and change its culture. Since the end of last season players have been working countless hours on the field and in the weight room to improve themselves and the team.

“The team and I have been in the weight room since last November and nearly everyday since then,” senior Ethan Herschel-Arango said. “We have dedicated our time to the program, and I personally have noticed a change in everyone’s attitude and effort on and off the field.”

It’s easy for people outside of the program to criticize the team based on the results of their games and record of last year, but players try to not let the negativity get to them. Instead, they use the negativity as fuel to keep them motivated.

“We are able to ignore the negative things that people say because we are always focused on our goal and we got each others backs,” junior Gabe Turner said. ‘We are the ones going to workout everyday and suiting up on Fridays, so negativity from outside the program doesn’t mean much. It is one of the biggest motivators for our team.”

A lot of people have doubted the ability of the team since last year, but this hasn’t affected the way players try to carry themselves on and off the field.

“My teammates and coaches definitely have given me the confidence in order to play we are kind of like a family,” senior Shady Danial said.

The work put in the off season

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definitely showed, as they were able to get a win for the first time in over a year against Independence. The team is looking to constantly improve week to week.

“This season is going better than last year,” Turner said. “Our team is more dedicated and focused. For the first time in a while we are hungry and come to games expecting to win. We still have things to work on, but overall it’s a better start than last year.”

There is always lots of work to be done to have success throughout the season. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or if the team just came off a win or loss players still come to practice with a positive attitude and ready to work.

“I think that each week no matter who we play practice is with the same intensity,” said senior Andrew Heer.

“We like coming out as underdogs because we want to come out and make statements. Not every game is going to go our way, but who we have as opposition doesn’t effect the way we come out in practice or if anything it makes us work harder.”

The program is still trying to form a winning culture, but are taking steps each day to try and make it a reality in the future.

“Building a culture takes time and that people tend to assume that results are going to come right away,” Heer said. “It’s hard to be a rebuilding program and have instant success from the get go, and I feel like some people forget that. But, I know the effort that everyone from coaches to players give so at the end of the day it’s going to take its time.”

Even when things don’t go the

THE BETTER

time and people assume come right away.” -Andrew Heer team’s way they have a giant support system of teammates and coaches to help lift them up. This support has been a huge part of trying to change the programs culture. A long with support from within the program teachers have been sponsoring the varsity team and players by providing them with gift bags each game day on Friday.

“We are all a huge family, so we are all super supportive when things aren’t going our way,” Heer said. “We don’t let each other hang our heads because games can only take one big play to change an outcome.”

Getting over a loss and not dwelling on it can help contribute to a win in the next game. Players use a loss to learn from their mistakes and improve on them to become better.

“We try and stay positive by being optimistic and playing for the team,”

Turner said. “We have great coaches that lift us up when we get in our heads and it really helps when we hit a losing streak.”

There are many reasons why players still want to play for the football team, but one of the many reasons is to show the doubters they can win games and perform at a high level even when the odds are against them.

“What continues us to still play is our hunger to win and get better,” sophomore Nathan Chen said. “We know we’re good enough to win games, we just have to execute. It can sometimes take awhile, but you have to start somewhere, especially since we’re trying to build a program. And yes, I would also say we’re trying to prove people wrong, but we’re also trying to prove something to ourselves.”

“We have always had people doubting the ability of our team, but at the end of the day we are the ones playing the game, so If we have faith in ourselves as players we all buy in and give 100% no matter what people say or how much people doubt us.”-Andrew Heer

“The only thing people notice is the score at the end of the game and they don’t know what we do all week during practice and how we prepare for the game.”-Nathan Chen

“The confidence just comes from the trust we have as a team. We all hold ourselves accountable and do our jobs on the field so as a team we are confident in our ability. We just block out the doubt and lock in.”-Gabriel Turner

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SKATING THROUGH LIFE [Story by Ava Proehl Photos provided by Kim Blanchfield]

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enior Lindsay Blanchfield never knew she would one day be a nationally placed and recognized ice skater when she started looking around at different sports in the area at age five.

“My mom was looking through lists on the Internet and she came across skating and I was like I want to try it,” Blanchfield said. “So we went to public skate, and I went around once and I was like, ‘I want to do it.’”

After going to public skate at the local rink a few times and going around the rink with her Dad just to make sure she really wanted to do it, her mom signed her up for lessons.

There are two main types of competitive ice skating, singles and synchronized, synchro for short.

“Singles is where you do jumps and spins by yourself,” Blanchfield said.

“And synchro is a group of 18-20 girls and they skate together and do different formations.”

Blanchfield started competing in singles at age six and synchro at age eight. She has traveled all over the United States for competitions, from going up the east coast to compete in Massachusetts to traveling across the country to Oregon. These competitions normally take up an entire weekend for Blanchfield.

“We usually leave on Friday and we have an official practice for about an hour or 30 mins, but sometimes we have unofficial practice where the judges don’t watch us,” Blanchfield said. “Then the next day we compete but we usually have to watch our organization’s teams so it takes a whole weekend.”

Sometimes skating causes conflicts with Blanchfield’s school work due to the amount of school she misses when she’s gone for a while, but she schedules most of her practices in the mornings, which allows her to get her work done in a timely manner. “[I practice] Monday for an hour and a half, Tuesday for an hour and a half, Thursday for like 3 hours, Friday an hour, Saturday an hour and Sunday an hour and a half,” Blanchfield said.

All this hard work has paid off over the years. One of Blanchfield’s fondest memories of skating is qualifying for Nationals for the first time. She has qualified and gone to Nationals for synchro three times now, with their

best result being the most recent.

“At my last Nationals, we got fifth,” Blanchfield said. “We were less than a point of getting on the podium.

We were so mad, and it was kind of frustrating, but it was also one of our best skates.”Right now, Blanchfield is not looking to continue to compete once she goes off to college. But, she explained that she might go out and skate for fun if there was a rink near the college she chooses to go to.

With all these years of experience under her belt, Blanchfield can’t imagine doing anything else as a sport or stress reliever. “It has become a way of life,” Blanchfield said.

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Pepped with Power

Story by: Lauriane Razafinjatovo Photos by: Ava Proehl

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part from their shiny pom-poms and rallies at the football games, the Freedom High School cheerleading team has also been preparing diligently to compete against many other high school teams at the competitive level.“The competitive side of cheerleading is something that we train for all season,” Stacey Procaccini said.

Procaccini has been the cheerleaders’ coach for four years. “We spend between eight to 12 hours learning choreography, and then we practice two hours a day, five to six days a week for the remainder of the season, primarily focusing on that routine, polishing it and upgrading the skills.”

The team has two major competitions on Oct. 15 and 26, which are regionals and districts. The closer they get to these more rigurious competitions, the longer and more difficult the practices become.

The athletes are in the gym two days after school and at 6 a.m. three mornings a week. These efforts that they invest in preparing for competitions often go unnoticed, which leads to typical ste reotypes that competitive cheerleaders take offence to.

“A big stereotype about cheerleaders is that a lot of people don’t think it is a sport because they don’t know that we work just as hard as other sports,” said Emily Hutto. “We do nonstop two minutes and 30 second routines at competitions that require a lot

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of practice, time and energy.”

The team placed their best finish in third place in 2016 and fourth place in 2017 and they say that they have come a long way within the past four years. Their goal is to advance each year at competitions with a wholeheartedness to the sport, while keeping the team healthy and without injuries. This year, they are practicing at an off-sight cheer facility at Phoenix Elite in order to work with a diverse set of coaches and use their equipment to obtain more challenging skills. “When I took over the program, the skills that were required to make the team were at a much lower level,” Procaccini said.

“We worked really hard to build a reputation that these are not just cheerleaders, they’re athletes and what they do is hard.”

A few cheerleaders who have not obtained the skills in order to compete are still bringing spirit to FHS by supporting the football team on the sidelines and participating in pep rallies. They do not take the football games any less seriously than the competitions.

“I would describe the spirit of the team as really positive and outgoing,” freshman cheerleader Paul Rowser said.

“We’re just really here to pump up the football team and the school as a whole.”

[Editorial by Claire Wodack]

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onvenience. It’s how our culture functions. If it’s not right in front of me, why would I go seek it out? So many things are available to us by simply just unlocking our phones. Social media is so saturated, it seems unnecessary to go out of our ways to do anything else besides log on to Twitter.

So many of the people I know use Twitter to get their news. This is fine in theory, but the worldwide trends page can only cover so much. And most of the time, the content the app is displaying isn’t even important news. Sure, there’s a couple big news stories here and there, but for the most part, it’s focused on celebrities and pop-culture trends.

A really popular trend on social media is to post about a big news story with the caption “Why isn’t anyone talking about this? Why isn’t this being covered?” and it somehow gets thousands of retweets. A large majority of the time, the

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story at hand is being covered by every major news source in America, but because it’s not being posted about on the vacuum that is Twitter because no one’s talking about it. It’s really bothersome how ignorant people are about the news, when it really requires minimal effort to be accurately informed.

Twitter has so much fake news and false information because people can tweet anything they want, whether or not it’s true. Anyone can shape a story any way they want. It’s scary to see rumors fly around and spread false information. All it’s doing is just adding to the absolute garbage fire that is modern day journalism.

What I’m getting at here is Twitter news shifts our focus from what’s actually important and it gives us a false sense of being informed because it’s shoving so much information into our brains. Social media’s quick nature

trains us to not think too far in to anything because there’s always something else to know about. All we have time for is headlines, which is exactly the problem with journalism today. No one cares about a good, or even accurate story, they just want a funny or insane headline to retweet.

It’s not that difficult to be aware of both local and global issues. There’s subscriptions like The Skim, which gives people a little newsletter about whatever is going on in the world in their email inbox every day. Spotify creates a playlist mixed with people’s favorite songs as well as short summaries of news stories, and it really is not that hard to just simply go to a reliable news website and read the front page, just so you have some semblance of what’s going on. Ultimately, there’s no excuse to be uninformed.

[Editorial by Bailey Elliot]

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e’ve all seen or heard about shows like “The Bachelor”, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”, “Real House Wives”, along with many others. With the rise of such programs comes the concern that reality television may be setting up an unrealistic expectation of life as an adult for today’s young people. Reality TV is any television program in which an individual, usually not a professional actor, is being filmed during their day to day life.

Reality TV has become one of the most popular genres of television.

Many of these reality stars seem to portray a “perfect” put together life in which they appear perfect all the time with endless amounts of money and time. They also go on million dollar luxury vacations with almost no effort or

planning. Shows like The Bachelor give their “contestants” a mansion to live in while continuously traveling across the world for something as small as a “date” with the bachelor.

While this may be entertaining to watch, the effects of today’s younger generation growing up around these types of stars and “icons” could be detrimental to modern day society as these unrealistic views of life are spread across our screens. Young adults may also develop a greater need for instant gratification as they watch these stars become successful and live perfect lives by doing practically nothing.

The stars of many reality TV shows often look “flawless” with perfect, skin, body, and all around stunning looks followed by impeccable taste in fashion. Not only is this harming young

adults mental health, but it also promotes cosmetic surgery as stars like the Kardashians flaunt their seemingly “perfect” body. Famous reality TV star, Kylie Jenner, is a prime example of this as she appeared on Keeping Up With The Kardashians with new lip injections, sparking the “Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge” where teens sucked their lips in shot glass to make them appear larger.

While this is just an internet trend, it may become a reality for insecure teens who are constantly surrounded by these unrealistic beauty standards.

The reality is that in real life you can’t be a millionaire, party all night, look flawless every second, and live the luxurious life shown on TV without a proper job, education, and understanding on life and the real world.

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[Editorial by Kaise Dualeh] he first female president might have to be perfect. This is a sad reality that I have been grappling with recently, and it has nothing to do with a political belief. I often find myself attempting to rationalize more optimistic outlooks, but I always reach the same bleak conclusion. We may not be as close as we think to having our first female president, or any other president of a minority group for that matter.

With five women currently running for president, it might seem that the country is fingertips away from our first female commander in chief. While at first glance barely enough people to fill a basketball team starting lineup might seem like many, it is certainly a historic political landmark for the nation to have a variety of female voices heard.

However, while we are seeing landmark diversity in Congress and in local level politics, it seems as if the presidency is lagging behind.

Looking back at our last (and only other) president of a minority group, we can begin to dissect the forces that may hinder progress. Despite any faults you may think President Obama had, he successfully proved to be the antithesis of nearly every black stereotype imaginable. America threw him centuries of the notion that black people are genetically less intelligent. He handed back a Harvard Law degree. Black people are less eloquent? His 2004 DNC speech on race illuminated a path forward for a country divided on Iraq. The notion that black men are terrible fathers? He had a picturesque family and healthy marriage. You get the point.

Now, other groups face a similar challenge. It seems as if skeptics, those with hidden doubts of a female’s capability at the helm, are waiting for the perfect

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candidate. Someone who is strong yet not bossy. Smart but not aggressively so. Not overly emotional yet not robotic.

Completely contradictory criteria and yet we as a society seem hesitant to change them.

The same case is similar with other minority groups as well. Candidates are fighting a constant battle with the wounds that still exist in the fabric of our country. Harmful beliefs that America has not come to terms with are beginning to resurface, negatively affecting all of us.

As historically discriminated populations begin contributing as major figures on the political landscape, the standard for them to lead the country has been consistently and relently raised to a possibly unattainable level. Not only do I fear that the glass ceiling has been moved up higher, but it has been reinforced with concrete.

However, I am beginning to find solace in one thing: the effect of exposure. I hope that as we begin to hear more contributions from discriminated populations on the political scene, the idea of them having power will seem less of a leap.

The fact is we begin to find greater comfort in things we are exposed to more often. It is why a pop song you might not like begins to grow on you, or how the weird-looking new iPhone begins to look more normal over time.

Despite this, it is unclear how long it will take for this effect to level the playing field. It very well be in the near future, with more and more new voices being heard in the national conversation.

One thing is clear, it will take a great movement to begin the onerous work of healing the hatred that has characterized the darker parts of American history so we can begin to progress and create new history we can all be proud of.

[Editorial by Emily Peacher]

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h, the dreaded topic of class rank.

Freedom High School seniors tend to prioritize their class rank, degrading their worth into one single number.

All the experiences that a person has journeyed through, the full extent of the life that one’s lived, all the messages one has learned, singled down to one number that reveals academic intelligence, solely based on GPA and test scores. Many students tend to let this number control their lives, thinking it shows one’s value or achievement.

The stress that high school students face due to societal pressure and academic competition is damaging to one’s self-esteem and mental health.

This discrediting number makes students feel less than, making them lower expectations and goals for themselves, as they believe they will not amount to as much, all because they are number

212 rather than 50 of their class.

Shown in a study from The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), college admissions officers have noticed a sharp drop in the number of applicants that come from schools that rank students. Due to this extrinsic motivation based teaching style, students are conditioned to perfect memorization to get an A on the test, leading to an A in the class, and resulting in a 4.0 GPA, instead of genuinely comprehending the information.

The stress that students experience emphasize the value we place on prioritizing school, not just education, but grades. Acting as if one’s grades show the value of one’s education is, frankly, ridiculous. One should value their education over the percentage that they hold in the class. Does the harsh blow of a class rank truly need to

be shared when in 20 years it will not affect anyone or any decisions being made, despite changing the student’s self-esteem while applying to college?

This high grade point average may give the top of the class a sense of validation and fulfillment, yet will one be content with the amount of education they have gained?

Think about it, ponder if grades and GPA are more of a priority than the character development of one’s mind.

Will one be proud of the amount of education they have soaked up by the time one leaves high school, rather than just pure memorization?

That choice, Eagles, is up to you.

opinion

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[Photo by Josue Torres, 12]