22-23 The Whirlwind - Issue 3

CONTENTS NEWS

Cafe Dismay: Why did the school cafe recently close down? 04

Prototyping to Adulthood: Exploring students and their life working 05

New Year New Semester: How students are planning for the new semester 06

Grow and Bloom: How one assistant principals grows flowers and students 07

OPINION

Parasocial Position: What do fans do when their favorite celebrity receives serious allegations? 08

An Advanced Issue: Should Advanced Placement classes rework the way they are structured? 10

A Helpful Tip: Why tipping shouldn’t be expected in the United States 11

SPORTS

Digital Score: How do Online sports games compare? 12

Minds, Meets, Tradition: How do big teams get ready for games? 14

Ski On: What is the history of the ski team 15

ENTERTAINMENT

A Disappearing Writer: Exploring AI writing bots and how they could be taking over human expression 16

Escape from Reality: Five reporters tackle an escape room in Downtown Albany 17

Cookie Plug: New store in North Albany sells cookies with a fresh take on advertising and design 18

FEATURES

Kids ‘N Classmates: Child Development teacher Shae Bender explains how her students interact and work with the Little Bulldogs preschool 21

House of Love: Exploring the ways that family can stem from unlikely circumstances or tight friend groups 22

EDITOR’S NOTE

There’s a fondness that comes from the bonds that form between people.

From each laughing grin, excited yell, and unspoken word, it can be easy to tell when people are meant for each other. This feeling of kinship is unique in the Journalism classroom, where the community uplifts each other daily.

This closeness is especially evident during our production nights, where we spend hours together slaving away at our computers, and our only sanity is found with each other. Although we may see each other at our worst, our shared experiences of exhaustion and copious amounts of stress have helped us form an unbreakable bond.

In Journalism, there are often deep conversations happening involving world politics, religion, and different controversial

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topics that could normally cause people to feel separated and divided. But in this classroom, people often feel like they can share their individual beliefs and ideas without being judged or ostracized from their peers. The classroom is primed for new ideas to be shared and explored, and even to be written about.

There is also the love that comes from teaching, or as we like to call it, raising the new members of the group, who don’t know the ins and outs of the class like we have grown to. People new to this environment are not only welcomed, but are lifted up as high as possible. Boosting each other up is one of the most important aspects of the class.

Journalism is a class room full of unique people from all walks of life, but the fact that we are able to form that kinship despite our differences is what makes the environment so amazing.

Any group of people can form a family, just like Journalism, whether it be a team, a group of friends, actual family, or more. Groups of people have found family within each other, their group of friends acting as some of the closest people in their lives. This is even present in the teaching world, with many teachers becoming close friends outside of school.

Unlikely, or unconventional families, make up many aspects of our day to day lives, which is a large reason why we chose to cover this topic. The special feature of this issue looks at West Albany’s individual unique groups, whether they be amazing friends, actual family, or more.

Editors-In-Chief

Gigi Roldan

Joe Wagner

Ming Wong

Mollie Brown News

Legend Engberg

Opinion

Violet Zinck

Special

Helen Whiteside Sports

Hailey Miles

Arts & Entertainment

Marshall Hamel Staff

A’Shyia Swenson

Avneet Dhaliwal

Jose Lopez Ortega Adviser

Michelle Balmeo

The Whirlwind Editors in Chief

INTERESTED IN SPONSORING?

The Whirlwind, West Albany High School’s student news publication, is seeking sponsors for this school year. Whirlwind provides a unique service to the school community, covering news and issues related to the WAHS student body. sponsoring The Whirlwind is a way to show your support for the civic engagement, open dialogue, critical thinking and free exercise of expression that good student journalism encourages. Any individual or business can sponsor The Whirlwind. Sponsorship does not indicate endorsement of the views or opinions expressed in The Whirlwind. Contact us at wahswhirlwind@gmail.com

THE WHIRLWIND is a dedicated student forum. Content and editorial decisions are made by student staff members exercising their rights as protected by the First Amendment and the Oregon Student Free Expression Law (Ore. Rev. Stat. sec. 336.477 (2007)). Opinions are those of The Whirlwind staff and not West Albany High School or the Greater Albany Public School District.

Mollie Brown, Gigi Roldan, Joe Wagner, Ming Wong

Café Dismay

VANDALISM

It used to be that when lunch started and the old building shut down, there was a little cafe on the west side that students could go to. If you had misplaced your lunch or just wanted something extra, it didn’t matter, the cafe was there for all students who could pay. Unfortunately, according to Jean Smith, general manager of the cafe, some students took advantage of the cafe, treating it like a dump.

“They would just leave their trash,” Smith said. “They would ignore what we said. They’d just pile up [in C7, the room connected to the cafe and the outside].”

Through the fall, the cafe sprang up with its snacks from Doritos to smoothie to muffins. At the start of 2023, it just shut down, becoming unavailable to students. According to Smith, this was due to not just one act of disrespect, but the combination of many actions from students that were just rude, which led to the day she had enough.

CAUSES OF CLOSURE:

-Leaving garbage around/ smashing milk cartons/ grinding cream cheese into the carpet

-Fights between students

-Students missing and messing around with general furniture

-Breaking of café windows

-Refusal to follow directions/ not leaving when asked -Swearing -Stealing orders

“Two days in a row there were squished cans thrown on the ground and I thought, ‘What is the point?’ Then the [projector] monitor got turned on…” Smith said. “I can’t reach up there and after finding a tall person to turn it off, I was like, ‘This is stupid. You can all leave [C7].’ I just kicked everybody out. We still had 20 minutes until lunch ended.”

According to Smith, this wasn’t just a contained incident. She stated that kids had always come into that room, and just stayed, to leave trash or spill their food. Even when told to pick it up, some kids would just not listen altogether or pretend to pick up their trash or whatever they dropped and throw it back on the ground.

Students who work in the cafe, such as junior Garrett James Wood, say that students just make more work for the custodians and the people who work in the cafe.

“[It] was just a certain number of people that did it [causing a commotion in the cafe],” Woods said. “Even though it was just them [the people making trouble], they made it worse for everyone.”

The closing down of the cafe meant that the opportunities provided to students were no longer able to be accomplished one of which needs the profits of the cafe to function. According to Tracy Stinson, teacher of record for the cafe, money raised from sales is used to provide food to students who can’t afford it.

At the same time, some students who work in the cafe find it enjoyable or like the social engagement it presents, such as junior Noah Peterson.

“It gives me something to do,” Peterson said. “I get to hang out with my friends, and it’s a good way to learn.”

The aspect of learning through working in the cafe was also emphasized by Kaysha Burgess, youth transitions specialist, which she says is done through giving opportunities to students to gain work experience.

“Kids work on resumes and they get a food handler’s card, and they just learn skills about being employed and having jobs,” Burgess said.

When it comes to the future of the cafe, the staff are currently just sticking to their new schedule of being closed during lunch and open for the 3rd/4th and 5th/6th break of the school day. When it comes to the schedule changing for next semester, Stinson says that it just might stick around until they are able to supervise the old building and open it up to students during lunch.

“Next semester, if we have enough people, and we have a good group, we may open it back up at lunch. So we’ll have to see.”

Prototyping to Adulthood

WHAT DO THE LIVES OF WORKING STUDENTS LOOK LIKE?

High school acts as the stepping stones to adulthood, which often means taking on a job. A portion of students at West have found themselves employed while attending high school, whether it be waiting tables, organizing inventory, or serving customers. So, what does working shifts look like for teenagers at high school?

Senior Boah Kim, sales associate at Famous Footwear and former member of the Heritage Malls Boba Tea Crew, compares her experience within the two workplaces. During her time at the boba

make it so hard, especially during busy hours when waiting times would naturally increase.

On a more positive note, junior Alayna Marie Peterson describes her experience working at Marshalls, as surprisingly positive. She thinks it doesn’t affect her time management in regards to school at all. In fact, school adds more stress to her life than work ever has. She says her coworkers are a great part of her day and management is reasonably understanding of her needs.

“The people are very friendly.

“I DON’T ENJOY WORK, OBVIOUSLY, BUT IT MAKES MONEY AND I CAN PAY FOR THE THINGS I WANT TO DO”

place she recalled having scheduling issues where her work would try to schedule her for a time she could not fill. She also remembered being racially profiled by customers, making her feel dehumanized. Along with her experience with racism, “They said I looked like hentai… {An oversexualized genre of Japanese manga} It makes for some funny stories,” Kim said. Kim’s problem with work was her struggle with entitled customers, not the workload itself.

“It’s not a hard job. I mean, you had to know how to do fast things,” Kim said. She just wished that the people she had to serve and, in a way, deal with didn’t

PAY DAY

Everybody’s open to communication and accepting of all people. It’s so collaborative… I only work four hour shifts on average four days a week,”

Peterson looks forward to being a senior, believing it will clear up her schedule even further and allow her to work more – mostly due to her only needing a credit and a half to graduate next year. The contrast, when compared to Kim’s experience, is stark; offering two completely different experiences.

Inside the world of job hunting comes the question of where one will choose to work. Senior Clair Loyd has had her fair share of jobs. She has worked for

the following businesses in Albany: Burgerville, McDonalds, Red Robin, Target and now finds herself working in a comfortable spot at Hasty Freez, a local ice cream and burger place downtown. The business being local has altered her decision to stay at Hasty Freez, Lloyd explains.

How much do junior Alayna Peterson, senior Boah Kim, and senior Clair Loyd?

$280

$200

“If you work at a corporate business, you have a lot more rules, and the dress code and things similar to that are much more strict,” Lloyd said. “There is much more structure. Working at a noncorporate place such as Hasty has given me much more freedom to do things I

want to.”

The feeling and responsibility that comes with a job is something all students in the workforce can feel the weight of. It announces responsibility and independence. But with that comes an array of real world issues that stick out in a place meant to garner productivity. Businesses and corporations make up our streets. Looking into the complex lives of the people running them, while attending the crazy place school is, can only be described as fascinating. It serves as a much needed effort at humanizing these beings most typically perceive as robotic.

1/3 of teenagers ages 16-19 are employed (Source: Zippia)

Teenagers in the US collectively spend 27.7 billion annually (Lexington Law)

Teenagers are Federally limited to 8 hours of work on non-school days (Oregon.Gov)

Junior Alayna Peterson

Senior Boah Kim

Senior Clair Lloyd

Story by Jose Lopez, Illustration by A’Shyia Swensen

New Year.

New Semester.

WHAT’S CHANGING AND WHAT’S STAYING THE SAME SEMESTER TWO

By Whirlwind Staff

NEW WOODS CLASS

Woods teacher

Ricky Hall is offering multi-material craftsmanship semester two. Hall says that this class is being offered to allow students to create hobby type projects such as charcuterie boards and jewelry. Although excited and nervous to teach this class, he says that he’s been learning what he isn’t familiar doing to prepare for it. While students will mostly be on their own, he says there will be some instruction from him in the class.

Sandy CarranzaHernandez

Senior

“Very excited just because that means I’m halfway done, and I get to go to college.”

HOW ARE STUDENTS FEELING AND WHAT ARE THEY CHANGING?

Mathieu King Sophomore

“My attitude. You know, this year has been kind of overshadowed by 2022, so I hope that it can be a bit more optimistic in the coming new year because it’s still pretty young.”

Brody Vosburg

Junior

“Nervous, since it’s only a year and a half left until I’m done, but at the same time excited.”

Esther Manzano-Lopez

Senior

“Definitely turning in my assignments, and actually doing my homework on time, and also being here on time. ”

Rae Schreiter Sophomore

“It feels weird. I remember being in sixth grade and picturing being in high school. And now I’m like, almost halfway through.”

Danielle Hernandez

Senior

“Honestly, it hasn’t hit me yet, but this is my last year. It’ll probably hit me in my last two weeks that ‘oh my gosh, I’m graduating high school and moving on to the next step in life.”

Raymond Miles Freshman

“As of right now I feel like I’ve been a little bit on the negative side. I want to change that. So I’m hoping by next semester get my grades up and just be a more likable guy.”

Kat Williams Sophomore

“I want to turn in my work more and then study more and be able to do good on tests.”

Samuel McLagan

Junior

Samuel McLagan says that he’s feeling a four out five when it comes to how he’s feeling about next semester.

Alyssa Schrman

Junior

“I’m feeling excited. I’m definitely ready for my senior year, and I think I can learn a lot from the second semester.”

Piper Planap Sophomore

“I am very excited because this is kind of where my clubs and activities have their heyday.”

bloom

grow and

SMITH NAMED OREGON ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF THE YEAR

By A’Shyia Swensen

a faculty meeting, and her family was there as well. “I’ve worked with some of those people all my teen years, so that was really special.”

As a regular routine, Smith explained that she arrives at the school in the morning and has a quick discussion with her admin team before attending to her station, which is a new protocol this year. Administrators are partnered with a counselor, and she works with freshmen. A lot of her day is spent working with students and their counselors to help keep them on track. Working with students takes time and patience, which is similar to gardening. Like flowers need special care and conditions, so does each student. They discuss issues such as attendance, grades, and behavior. In helping to relieve the pressure of these problems, she helps the student formulate a plan that works for their life situation. She also has the ability to refer students to mental health support. With over 300 freshmen in the school, there need to be multiple people helping students tackle problems that hurt their educational environ-

“Building those relationships is really satisfying for me,” Smith said.

er growing season has re cently started and she grows everything from seeds, tubers, and bulbs in small greenhouses set up in her garage. She keeps many types of flowers such as dahlias and peonies, her favorite. She and her family bought the farm of 5 acres (that’s 4.53 football fields) nine years ago, and they’ve been building upon it ever since.

Smith recommends students check out the Oregon State University extension Ser vice for anyone looking to grow their own plants or looking at starting up their own garden.

She insists that even students without much space can still grow a lot in raised beds and pots if their plants are given the right attention and care.

As for the job of an assistant principal, she recommends it to anyone who is interested in teaching and is really passionate about helping students in the future.

Photo

with permission of McAllister Photography

Parasocial Position

SEPARATING ART FROM THE ARTIST, A PERSONAL COLUMN

OPINION

My body was spread out across the green faded carpet of my grandmother’s living room. It was bright outside, and a song I had never heard started to play from the radio. When I first listened to Rex Orange County, my mind was turned upside down. His music was jovial and bright, while the lyrics cut into more complex issues and emotions. I felt lifted into another world, spirited away by the swaying of “Apricot Princess,” and the symphonies of “Bcos U Will Never B Free,” which brought new meaning to dreams.

Alexander O’Connell, better known by his stage name Rex Orange County, is a 24 year old musician from Greyshott, United Kingdom. He has been releasing music since 2015, when he was just 16 years old. On Oct. 10, news broke that O’Connell had been charged with counts of sexual assault against a girl, who is at least over 16 but remains anonymous.

Music has always been an integral part of my life that has shaped the way I perceive the world around me. So when an artist I idealized was suddenly thrust into a negative public perception, everyone who loved his music was put into a difficult, but not uncommon, situation — having to choose whether or not to believe this anonymous victim or wait until the trial that was set for January 3 of this year.

For most the choice was an easy one: believe this girl because this pattern of abuse from those in power is such a “normal” part of life. No one can really be stunned when an-

other rich man is accused of rape or sexual abuse. But when charges were dropped against O’Connell in December, many changed their minds, instantly deciding that because the London Police found that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict, he must be innocent.

For the rest of us, a peculiar situation arose. Our internal fight to stick to a construct of Feminism and defend a victim.

WHEN SOMEONE WE IDOLIZE DOES SOMETHING ATROCIOUS, WE ARE FACED WITH A DIFFICULT CHOICE. “

The Instinct we have to hold on to a mantra born of the #MeToo movement, and always believe the victim. Or instead to push aside moral quandary and listen to the adamant statement of a musician that we don’t actually know.

I have a parasocial relationship with a few musicians and celebrities, as many of us do though we might not know the term. Parasocial relationships are one-sided interactions often formed between fans and a celebrity, where the “fans” form an unhealthy emotional bond to another person they have never met. Forming these bonds is only natural considering the way media is consumed, as social media makes people feel like they really know someone through the lens of their public persona.

When someone we idolize does something atrocious, we are faced with a difficult choice. We may be unsure whether

to give up something we love or put our values first. By choosing the latter, it may seem like we are letting go of something important, which can cause a feeling of grief to emerge.

I was a fan of Rex Orange County for five years. My Spotify wrapped every year would have him circling around my top three artists. And at a time when my relationship with my father was tumultuous, my dad surprised me with tickets to his “WHO CARES?” Album tour concert. His music holds an immense sentimental meaning for me, and it sits alongside fond memories I share with my dad.

After the allegations came out, I cast aside my love for the singer and stopped listening to his music. I didn’t know how to separate his music from his actions and didn’t wish to support him. Now, regardless of his innocence in the eyes of the law, I try at least to recognize that his actions

shouldn’t have to affect my own happy memories.

Learning to differentiate art from the artist is something that I’ll probably have to do again in the future. Behavior like this in powerful people is nothing new and won’t be going anywhere. I can recognize the talent he has as a composer and singer without idealizing Rex Orange County. It’s a fine line to walk with arguably many routes even from there. You could say screw it and do whatever you want regardless of any actions your favorite singer might have made. Or like me, you could keep in mind the offenses someone has committed and maybe listen sparingly, keeping compassion for victims but appreciating wonderful music. Because I think at least that ignoring it, is only contributing to the entire systemic issue.

THE FACTS

June 1, 2022 the alleged assaults take place.

Oct. 10, 2022 the singer known as Rex Orange County Appeared in a London court to deny the allegations, pleading not guilty to all six charges of rape.

Dec. 22, 2022 all charges were dropped.

Story and Photo Illustration By Violet Zinck

ORION SIMPRINI

In July of 2022 allegations surfaced of Orion Simprini, 48, groomed multiple underage girls into “poly” relationship.

MUSICIANS OF THE LAST DECADE WHO HAVE FALLEN FROM GRACE

KANYE WEST

After his divorce in 2022, singer Kanye West lost million of dollars in brand deals, and millions of followers after repeated anti-semitic comments he made on twitter.

SIA

Singer “Sia” was canceled in 2020 after creating a film that was driven by Autistic stereotypes starring a dance moms star who is not neuro-divergent.

R KELLY

Rapper R Kelly was Convicted on Federal Child Pornography and Exploitation Charges. Along with a number of other sexual abuse charges, including against his 14 year old god daughter.

An Advanced Issue

HOW SHOULD AP CLASSES FIT INTO A HIGH SCHOOLERS LIFE?

AP Lit. APUSH. AP Bio. AP Chem. AP Comp. These are nicknames for some of the hardest classes at West Albany. There are a total of 23 Advanced Placement classes offered, each harboring a vigorous course load of textbook readings, essays, long assignments, or some combination of all listed. These classes will often put students in a position where they are stuck balancing their life’s responsibilities and schoolwork.

This amount of work is reasonable for a college student; college students typically take just four classes per semester, with each class meeting only a few times per week. But when this is transferred into a high school structure, the well working structure of college level classes begins to crumble.

High school students take up to eight classes per semester, with four classes per day on our current schedule. Instead of intermittent classes, as seen in college, high school students are at school every day for around seven hours. This leaves 17 hours in the day. Then add on the time it takes for sleeping, which should be 8-10 hours according to American Academy of Sleep Medicine, along with activities, personal life, homework, a job, and other parts of a high schoolers life, and suddenly those hours are few.

with the fact that these programs look for extracurriculars, sports, volunteer work, or other activities, it is clear that AP classes are built into a system that results in overworked, stressed, and tired students.

Some may argue that students should take an open period if they need extra time, but this is an unrealistic expectation. Not all students have the space in their schedules to allow for an open, so a class shouldn’t function on the idea that a student will have that extra time in their schedule.

What is the solution here? Taking AP classes completely out of the school’s curriculum does no good. AP classes, and their similarity to college, helps a student succeed when they move into higher schooling.

OPINION

AP classes do not take into consideration the amount of time a high schooler has and instead add large piles of homework on their plate.

But obviously, AP classes are not required; they are completely optional and up to the student to choose to take. But that is the thing. AP classes are framed as a choice, when students are often forced or pressured into these classes. Many students in these classes have grown up surrounded by expectations to exceed in school, including taking harder classes than their peers.

And even without the weight of parents, there are also kids who want to get into prestigious colleges or receive good scholarships, and those schools or programs often look for Advanced Placement classes on the student’s transcript. If this is added

Instead of trying to change the way an AP class handles homework and workload, a different approach can be taken within the initial class structure. College classes often follow three hour long class sessions, which cannot fit into a high school day, but can fit into a high school class week. One or two days could be used to teach coursework, while one day could be used for class work, readings, or anything else assigned for that week. This structure would allow students to have adequate time to work on material, discuss any questions with a teacher, and to ease students into something alike a college class.

Grading can even change; instead of focusing on homework grading, it can focus on discussion and participation from students in class. Participation and knowledge on the subject matter is often what is graded in college instead of daily homework. Focusing on this aspect of a class environment can further a kids experience with a college classroom.

Not only would a new structure of Advanced Placement classes fit in better with the rest of high school classes, it would also make it less intimidating for students who are interested in taking these classes but worried about the difficulty or heavy work load.

Story and Photo by Gigi Roldan

Tip? A Helpful

WHY TIPPING SHOULD BE LESS OBLIGATORY IN THE UNITED STATES, AND SERVICE WORKERS SHOULD HAVE HIGHER WAGES

Story and Illustration by Mollie Brown

Tipping in the United States can be traced back to medieval times, where it was a European master-serf custom. It continued to evolve, later becoming an excuse to continue underpaying African American workers in the period directly after the civil war-further increasing the disparities based on race in the United States at the time. This is because there was little to no regulation on pay at the time, and employers could deny these workers a salary on the condition that they received tips.

HOW

that employers make up the difference if tips do not meet the minimum wage; however, the law is difficult to enforce and is broken by many employers.

MANY TIPS YOU GET HAS A LOT TO DO WITH YOUR LOOKS AND YOUR GENDER “

Restauranters soon realized the monetary value in tipping, as it allowed for them to pay their workers less and rely on consumers to make up a part of their wage with tips. This is called a “tip credit,” which includes gratuities when calculating a workers wage. Federal law requires

Today, the federal minimum wage for tipped workers is only $2.13 per hour, because it is expected that the rest is made up by tips. Although some states, including Oregon, have legislation that require that all workers receive at least minimum wage, it is still customary that consumers tip their servers. This custom is something that is almost entirely unique to the United States, as European countries rarely rely on tips, a result from an anti-tipping movement that spread throughout the 1860s, which was largely adopted because tipping was seen as classist and condescending.

Restaurant Opportunity Centers Unit-

Q&A WITH SENIOR BECCA RITCHEY

Q: Tell me about your job at Gamberetti’s.

A: I’ve been working there for about a year and a half. Usually I work as a hostess, where I control the flow of the restaurant--I clean the tables, I see people. And then when I’m waitressing, I serve people and bring them up.

ed stated that people of color represent 60 percent of the restaurant industry in states like Oregon with a full minimum wage, and women make up over half of the entire industry. The statistics in states with a sub minimum wage differ slightly from those who require that all workers are paid at least minimum wage.

Since tips are the customer’s responsibility, individual prejudice can often get in the way of certain employee’s earnings. This creates an unfair imbalance in the wages of restaurant workers based entirely on presentation. Even in states with a full minimum wage, restaurant workers of color have a 1 percent higher poverty rate than their white counterparts. Similarly, 2.6 percent more female restaurant

Q: Do you ever feel pressured to act differently because you receive tips?

A: You look different and you act different, and you talk to them. Not because you want to, just because you want them to tip you. Its the worst when they’re super mean, and you have to be nice back, even if its out of your control.

Q: Do you think you would approach your job differently if tips weren’t involved?

workers are in poverty than men with the same jobs.

Although Oregon is one of the 8 states that do not have a sub minimum wage, there is still a lot of work to be done to remove the social biases associated with tipping. By eliminating tip culture altogether or requiring that businesses include a gratuity fee in the check, many of these issues can be prevented. Although these solutions may need to be refined through trial and error, it is crucial that we begin to assess how we are treating the workers that provide essential service in our everyday lives.

A: I definitely wouldn’t engage with customers as much, especially when I’m just a host.

Q: Do you think there are any benefits to making tips less important?

A: It would be beneficial if they paid us more. I mean, I make minimum wage, but when I’m a server, I make so much more in tips. So I make a lot more than someone would be making working for fast food or retail.

SENIOR MAC DAMON

SENIOR EVAN TOMICH

SENIOR NICK ANDERSON

EXCITEMENT

HOW REALISTIC ARE SPORTS VIDEO GAMES FIFA

BY HAILEY

The graphics are getting pretty good. I wouldn’t say hyper realistic but they’re at the point where if you see a clip of a game zoomed out it’s possible to confuse it for real life.

I actually really enjoy FIFA, coming from soccer, because it does provide the same kind of game play, plus it’s really satisfying to play as your entire team. It’s like teamwork without the team.

CHALLENGE/COMPLEXITY

SENIOR EVAN TOMICH MADDEN

The referees are extremely precise because they are AI, so they track the players in the case of an offside or out of bounds, but they can be a little bit weird when it comes to calling fouls, especially because the AI lacks context to different tackles.

It can be pretty hard against higher level AI, which honestly makes it more engaging and fun to play.

The graphics everyone

SENIOR GRAPHICS

I actually makes gives no football REFEREES

The refs pass interferences backs makes but barely

The AI is basically knowledge

VIDEO GAMES COMPARED TO REAL SPORTS?

MADDEN

SENIOR MAC DAMON NBA2K

The graphics are not great, too blocky, everyone looks fake, nothing looks real.

SENIOR NICK ANDERSON

2k is getting more and more realistic every year. The physical elements like sweat are over exaggerated. actually hate the game because it makes football look way too simple and gives no life a way to claim they have football knowledge.

The refs are terrible. They miss so many pass interferences and block in the backs makes the game a little more fun barely enjoyable.

I enjoy playing 2k more because it is more comfortable and I can dunk in the game.

2k is way easier because all you need to do is press a button. HAILEY MILES

The AI are so easy to beat and the game basically just luck and little football knowledge with funny dances.

The referees are not good in the game but compared to some referees they are not that far off.

The best selling sports video game worldwide is Football Manager

The most played sports video game is FIFA 23

The most realisitic sports video game is FI 2020

Mind, Meets, Tradition

HOW SPORTS TEAMS PREPARE BEFORE A BIG COMPETITION

Story and Photos by Avneet Dhaliwal

Four individuals give an insight into the intensive dedication and effort teams put to create great results for an important event. With perspectives from junior Owen Roberts (Cross Country Club), sophomore Elsie Mollahan (Soccer), sophomore Sarah Ward (Swim Team), and teacher Drew Halvorson (Basketball Coach).

Q: DOES YOUR TEAM PARTICIPATE IN ANY SORT OF RITUAL BEFORE A BIG EVENT?

Roberts: We have a chant we do before every race. [Team bus rides are a part of building team morale.] We always have a great time. We usually blast music super loud and have snacks. That sort of thing. Everybody uses their own different strategies and rituals for coping with nerves.

Mollahan: We do have a chant before every game. We huddle up into a circle. Our soccer team has a mini soccer ball that we all wrote our names on and we hand it to every other person.

Ward: We talk about what’s going to

happen at the meet, and then we usually have our captains [direct us on what we need to do next]. We try to keep the energy up and stay positive. For the state meet, all the girls bleach a strand of their hair and then all the boys shave their heads.

Halvorson: We dress up on the days of home games. We wear shirts and ties, usually slacks and dress shoes as well. We’ll have a team dinner before home games. We’ll watch a film and we’ll talk about the scout of the [other] team that we’re going to play. So, we look at their

plays, what players we need to watch out for, and the tactics they’re going to use for our game.

Q: DO YOU CARRY A LUCKY CHARM?

Roberts: I have a pair of lucky socks hanging in my room. They’re blue and have foxes on them. They’re too small for me now, but I hang them up and they’re my lucky socks for every race.

Mollahan: Not anymore. I used to. It was my mom’s necklace, but she took it back from me.

Ward: Oh, I have my necklace, my green necklace, but that’s it.

Halvorson: I don’t, I am not superstitious. But I know lots of coaches who are. However, we do have a certain player. We have a player that plays JV and all of the Varsity guys really love him. He sits on the bench for us during games just because we feel better when he’s around.

Q: HOW DOES THE TRADITION OR LUCKY CHARM IMPACT YOU?

Roberts: It’s just confidence. [Junior Tai Irwin and Owen Roberts dared each other to shave their legs for a race.] For most of the season, when I had hair on both legs, I would shave or wax two rectangles on either shin. We called them our “racing stripes”. The shaving of legs was mainly just a joke that went too far, but the lucky socks help?

Mollahan: I feel like I didn’t try as hard

hair] together is really good because we can talk about [the upcoming meet] and bond with each other. And also, it gets us ready for the meet and makes me excited.

Halvorson: Our lucky charm does a great job of providing positive energy. He does a great job cheering on his teammates, and I think he sets the precedent that we’re going to have good energy and we’re going to cheer on our teammates. It helps

bad that happens. During games, things are going to happen, mistakes are going to happen. What’s important is that we don’t dwell on the mistakes we made in the past, but more so we’re ready for the next play to attack with the next best action. We’re going to do whatever we need to do next to be successful.

Q: WHAT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO MOST RIGHT AFTER AN EVENT?

Roberts: After an event? Food.

Mollahan: Hanging out with my friends after the game or having a team dinner. Ward: Drinking enough water and laying down on the bench.

anymore after my mom took it back.

Ward: The time we spend bleaching [our

other people do that as well when they are on the bench, so maybe somebody got taken out or they didn’t play as well as they wanted to. If they see our lucky charm on the bench doing a great job of cheering, then they’re more likely to stand up and cheer for their teammates.

WHAT MINDSET DO YOU HAVE WHEN YOU HEAD INTO A GAME?

Roberts: I struggle with nerves big time, and I’ve only really gotten over that this year. A lot of breathing. I just say to myself, “Compete. Compete. Don’t participate.” That helps [me] a lot. Just being more aggressive when [I’m] running helps with nerves.

Mollahan: I have a “Let’s Go” mindset, trying to keep the team going, even when we get scored on or anything like that. Ward: We try to see the positive. Well, we want a balance, actually. In the past, we’ve kind of been a little too positive and then lost. But, we want to think about what we want to achieve and try not to get overly confident but not down ourselves either. So, a neutral headspace.

Halvorson: We try to work on what we call the “next-play” mindset, where we can either react or respond to something

Halvorson: I always look forward to getting together with our guys and spotlighting the positives of what other people did, so instead of going out and saying, “I played great” or “I did this”. We have them pick out a teammate and say, “This teammate did this thing really well”. So that’s one of the things I think that I enjoy. Sometimes, young men don’t always show their affection by saying nice things about their friends. So, I put them in a situation where they’re saying nice things about other people on the team.

Q: HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH STUDENTS WHO ARE FEELING EXCESSIVELY NERVOUS BEFORE AN EVENT

Halvorson: So with the nervousness, what we try to do is we rephrase that nervousness as excitement. So what happens in the human body when we get nervous or we get excited is we have adrenaline released, and we have the same physiological responses. So, your heart rate goes up, your breathing increases, and that might happen when you’re nervous, but instead of saying you’re nervous, reframe that thinking by saying, “Hey, I have adrenaline pumping through my body. I’m excited. I can run faster and jump higher.” Instead of being nervous, it lets them know that with that adrenaline, they’re going to give the best performance that they can.

Left to right, top to bottom: Bella Braaten, Hannah Johnston, Sarah Ward, Maggie Bass, Alice Whiteside, and Sam Cuzick- assistant coach celebrating their win at the state meet on Nov. 12th.

Photo by Grace Peña

Photo by Joe Wagner Soccer Team’s Lucky Charm. Photo by Elsie Mollahan

It was a team bonding event for those fleeting days, back when WAHS class of 1995 alumnus Josh McArthur was on the ski team from 1991 to 1995. He remembers the racing, cutting through snow and ice, tripping through rocks, and maneuvering down hills in the morning. After one event, he remembers, his team was treated to an overnight stay in a log cabin after an exhausting day on the bluff. West Albany has had ski teams throughout its history, beginning with athletic trainer Jeanne Bullock, who, according to her, proposed the ski team in the winter of 1990.

SkiOn

“It wasn’t just hey, we get to go ski every weekend. It was learning how to be a competitive ski racer,” Bullock said. “It was a developmental program.” Bullock herself was also a ski racer back when she went to OSU, a fact that she stated was a motivation for starting the ski team in the first place.

Over time, the ski team gained members from not only West, but also South Albany High School she said.

“We had a couple of kids, and then there was some interest from South Albany kids because there were quite a few skiers from South Albany that were like, ‘We want to be a part of this,’” Bullock said. “They couldn’t figure out how to start a ski team, so I ended up coaching both West and South Albany ski teams together.”

From 1990 to 1996 the team only grew, with it eventually growing to about 25 athletes.

everybody loved Eugene [and he loved] to ski.”

In the fall of 1995 Bullock left to work at Willamette High School but still remained as the ski coach through 1996.

“Because of the group of seniors, I didn’t want to stop coaching. I wanted to see this group of kids through their senior year,” she said. After that year, Bullocks’ friend, Candy Woods, took over duties of the Ski Club.

Through the years and up into the early 2000’s Josh McArthur, a former member of the Ski Club, said that he tried to keep up with what was going on with the program, which was made easy when his wife, math teacher Marcie McArthur, joined the school staff in 2001, but later the program seemed to died off.

There was a revival in the club later in 2016 by a student by the name of Ethan Pohlschneider, whose younger brother senior Justin Pohlschneider later took over the ski team in 2019 in his sophomore year.

WHAT IS THE SKI TEAM CURRENTLY DOING?

“As of now, we’ve competed in two races. The first was a state meet called Kelsey’s race, which was made in honor of a Portland ski racer that died at Jackson Hole a few years ago, and most recently we had a league giant slalom race at Hoodoo, and the hopes are for our team to qualify for state and if not, just me qualifying as an individual, but it’s going to be a hard fight this year to make it.”

- Senior Justin Pohlschneider

Bullock met all types of kids, but one stood out. “Eugene Hormats,” she recalled. “He was really integral… He was kind of the inspiration behind starting the competitive team. [Hormats was] one of those kids in high school that was [a] sort of leader… just super energetic and

“He saw these ski racing trophies,” Justice Pohlschneider said about his brother, “thinking, ‘you know, that’s not around right now. Why don’t we start that back up’ so he and my family, we worked together and worked hard to actually start up the ski team in 2016.”

With the current 2022 team they have made it to state twice, once in 2021 and 2022, with Justin gunning for state all

boys team for 2023.

Though the ski team is still around today, there is a difference between its two eras: the amount of members.

THEHISTORYOFSKITEAM

“This year we have about four or five,” Justin Pohlschneider said. It’s a large decline from what used to be a highly prosperous team of 25 back in its 90’s hay day. So what has changed?

StoryandIllustrationsbyLegendEngberg

Former member Josh McArthur believes they owed the success of the club to Jeanne Bullock-Shannon’s passion and her guidance. “Having that leadership, somebody that loves the sport for one … having someone to look up to and kind of guide you and maybe teach a few things.”

The guidance of an adult in charge, with a passion for the sport, is currently not in the modern version of ski team. According to Justin, the program is mostly student run without a coach to help the team out.

The type of person to guide the ski team and care for their ups and downs is what the current club lacks. The 90s one had to

keep it going, someone who looks at the students as a part of it and sees them as family in a way.

“You remember certain highlights and games and stuff like that,” Jeanne Bullock-Shannon said, “ [b]ut what I remember most are the relationships, you know, that you have with people. In the end, that’s just the best part … I watched these kids really grow and learn to be great athletes. As I look back 30 years, it’s the relationships with the people.”

aDisappearing Writer?

WILL AI REPLACE WRITERS? ONE REPORTER TRIES TO PASS ENGLISH TEACHER

KRISSY RASMUSSEN’S CREATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS WITH THE CLICK OF A BUTTON

By Ming Wong

as Creative Writing teacher

Krissy Rasmussen wanders around the room with a mug in her hand she looks from one side of the classroom to another as she passes each table of students in her window-lit classroom. Her students, with their faces resting on their hands, quietly concentrate on the work of editing their classmates' personal writings as they wrote and typed out their feedback and suggestions, the only sound besides Rasmussen’s Lofi music being the occasional flipping of the page.

Before students began the editing process, Rasmussen reminded her students that their peers were behind these stories.

While these students put hours into their stories and were now providing feedback, an online tool could produce a story in less time than these students took on edits.

In Nov. 2022, OpenAI launched Chat GPT, an artificial intelligent chatbot, and it raises the question – can a bot write as creatively as a human? The Wall Street Journal

class Person: def __init__(self):

self.emotions = {"overwhelmed": True, "determined": True, "happy": True, "creative": True}

def describe(self):

if self.emotions["overwhelmed"] and self.emotions["determined"]:

print("This person is feeling overwhelmed, but is determined to push through it.")

if self.emotions["happy"]:

print("This person is feeling happy.")

if self.emotions["creative"]:

print("This person is feeling creative.")

"it

put the bot to the test when it came to AP Literature and academic writing, but the question still remained when it came to Rasmussen’s Creative Writing class. As a reporter, I put the chat bot to the test with two weeks’ worth of Creative Writing assignments and asked Rasmussen, a published author, to evaluate the work of the bot.

The assignments for week five were based on poetry: three haikus, a riddle, a villanelle, and a petrarchan sonnet. In evaluating the poems, Rasmussen says that the only piece of poetry that was correctly written was the riddle, with the other three types of poetry failing in the number of syllables or rhyme scheme. However, what bothers Rasmussen is her inability to tell the difference between artificial writing and human writing.

“If I were reading those and grading those, and not knowing, I would give them feedback and say, ‘Oh, don’t forget about your format, or don’t forget about your syllable count or your couplet here,” Rasmussen said. “I would not know that they

ERASING THE WRITER: STORYTELLING THROUGH AI

(PROMPT/INPUT)

Write about a character who’s had their future foretold from birth — but isn’t sure if they believe it.

(VERSION ONE EXCERPT/OUTPUT)

Meet Alex, a young adult who has always known that their future is predetermined. From the moment of their birth, a seer visited their family and told them that Alex was destined for greatness. The seer foretold that they would one day become a powerful leader, and that their actions would change the course of history.

were written by AI.”

The assignment for week 16, a world-building story with the following prompt: Write about a character who’s had their future foretold from birth — but isn’t sure if they believe it. Through reviewing the four stories produced by the bot, each input providing the bot with more information about the setting and characters, she felt they lacked the human element of writing.

“I only read authors that I know I’m going to be like, wow, that was an emotional moment that I related to,” she said. “That’s what this [chat bot] is missing to me, is it tells us what happened. I don’t feel what happened.”

As a writer herself, Rasmussen personally writes blogs to provide a human connection. However, she says she gets annoyed that inputting the phrase “blog posts” into Google outputs a link to an AI generator to make them less annoying. She says she reads blogs not for tips, but for people and their emotions.

“I’m reading a blog to know that maybe some mom down the street felt like a failure like I did … I’m reading for camaraderie and to eliminate the feeling of isolation,” Rasmussen said after reading versions one and two of the short story produced by the chat bot. “I’m not reading so that something can give me a soul-less generated list. And I do feel like that’s what these first two are.”

Rasmussen says that as a child she conveyed her feelings and wants into characters due to her shyness.

As a result of this childhood, she believes that AI is taking away the struggle of conveying human emotions through writing as well.

“Isn’t art one of the ways that we give people our emotions? And I think we’re losing that if we’re not struggling, but we’re just saying, ‘Oh, I feel sad today,’ so I’ll type into my AI that I want it to draw me a sad picture or I want it to write me a sad story,” Rasmussen said. “You need to process that. And the way that you process that is by struggling and creating and having that cathartic moment.”

Although, she admits the stories, filled with details but lacking a connection, would still pass her Creative Writing class.

“[It’s] not a hard class to pass,” she said, laughing.

There is a Barbara Kingsolver quote on the wall of Rasmussen’s F12 classroom that says “the very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for.” It’s her hope that students take away that writing isn’t about your ability to be successful.

“Success does not determine your ability to write … Sometimes those stories and those words will never get discovered, but it doesn’t take away their impact,” Rasmussen said. “I hope my class gives kids who really want to write the knowledge that honing your practice and writing every single day is important, and nobody can ever take it away from you.”

teLLs Us WHaT HappeneD. i DOn’t FeeL WHaT HappeneD."

KrissY rasMUssen

Escaping Reality

5 REPORTERS. 1 MISSION. 1 ROOM.

CAN THEY ESCAPE?

We all stepped into our dear friend’s office, clutching the letter detailing his predicament. He had written us a frantic letter, detailing the days leading up to his plight. He was a renowned archaeologist and had begun researching an ancient culture, which led him to discover an ancient artifact. But he had ventured too far into the unknown and soon after found himself hexed with an ancient curse. Upon his call, we set forth into his office, determined to find a way to stop the hex.

Our team of five reporters stepped up to tackle the Enigma Experience, an escape room located in downtown Albany. The website for Enigma Experience describes the venue as a way to see things differently by working together with your team and as a way to escape to a new reality, where one can let go of their struggles to step into a new life.

age units, and large paintings littering the walls. Once our reporters had gawked for a second or two, they began tearing apart each nook and cranny, each participant felt a little bit different. “I felt like I was just standing there while everyone was scrambling about,” sophomore Avneet Dhaliwal said.

“

MY HUNTER GATHERER INSTINCTS WERE KICKING IN ‘CAUSE IT WAS FUN FINDING THINGS IN THE ROOM.

NEED TO KNOWS

PRICE:

$32 per person

NEW:

The group slowly worked its way into different crevices, finding joy in the various mysteries. “I was proud of my friends every time we uncovered one of the mysteries, but I also felt nervous we wouldn’t be able to escape,” junior A’Shyia Swensen said. “My hunter gatherer instincts were kicking in ‘cause it was fun finding things in the room.”

Recently added aimed for kids 8-12 called Geppeto’s Toy Repair

HOURS:

Open 5 days a week

WEBSITE: oregon. enigmaescapeexperience.com

Enigma Experience has three escape rooms available: Hexed, The Tomb of Atahualpa, and Murder Mystery. Our reporters decided to tackle Hexed, which followed the plot of trying to undo a hex upon a dear friend. Paying and booking was simple enough; we selected a date, time, and the number of people playing, and one credit card purchase, it was done.

On our scheduled evening, the team was inside at 5 p.m. Employees escorted the escapees into the room after a briefing of rules and warnings.

As the group entered the room, they were greeted with a small office-like room. It has a desk or two, multiple stor-

Alas, despite high hopes, our reporteres failed to save our friend from the curse. I don’t know what he expected. High schoolers are not very reliable. Regardless of our defeat, each member of the ragtag party had fun. “It was smaller than I expected it to be, but it was well lit and made up for its small size with various props,” junior Mollie Brown said. “It kind of reminded me of a dentist’s office.”

The Enigma Experience tested the group’s determination, teamwork, and problem solving skills, causing each new clue to be exciting and each puzzle solved to give a sense of elation. The Enigma Experience is a wonderful way to spend time with friends and family, allowing for bonding and elation that can be hard to find elsewhere.

Left to right: junior Violet Zinck, junior Mollie Brown, sophomore Avneet Dhailwal, junior Gigi Roldan, and junior A’Shyia Swensen. After the escape room, the reporters celebrated with a photo of them and varoius pieces of the room’s decor.

Story and Photos by Gigi Roldan

PIXIE JUNKIE

A sprinkly take on the classic sugar cookie formula, the pixie junkie is perfect for when you’re looking to add a little more pizazz to your plate. The cookie was very soft, and after about a minute in an air fryer it’s almost like eating a cloud of deliciousness.

CBaking Bad

WHAT’S UP WITH COOKIE PLUG?

the place. The walls are plastered in street art and bright colors that make the bakery more lively, both inside and outside. With that in mind, some customers were apprehensive about the stylistic choices.

FIRECRACKER OG

While on the surface it may present itself like any other chocolate chip cookie, the OG is far from just that. It’s thicker, chewier and tastier.

If you’re looking for a cookie that really brings the heat, the Firecracker is the perfect cookie to warm your soul. Stuffed with toasty marshmallows, it really couldn’t get any gooier than this.

SNOOPERDOODLE

The snooperdoodle provides a fairly true to form take on the snickerdoodle experience. The flavor is all there, but the texture is a little on the drier side, which is really where the cookie falls short.

PURPLE HAZE

They say purple is a color fit for royalty. The same can be said for the Purple Haze. The rich, delectable, purple velvet dough is just as tasty as it looks.

ookie Plug is a cookie franchise and bakery that recently opened its doors in North Albany. While the franchise boasts a total of 25 locations across the country, the Albany location is one of the first to open in the Pacific Northwest, although it’s far from the last.

“We are a franchise, which is definitely a big expansion because Cookie Plug corporate is based out of Los Angeles,” district manager Drea Andrews said. “My boss is franchising the Pacific Northwest. So right now it’s Eugene and Albany, but we have plans to head up to Portland. So a lot more.”

MY BOSS IS FRANCHISING THE PNW, SO RIGHT NOW

IT’S EUGENE AND ALBANY, BUT WE HAVE PLANS TO HEAD UP TO PORTLAND.

Cookie Plug’s main draw is its aesthetic, with a heavy influence centered around street culture and graffiti, a far cry from what you’d see at any ordinary bakery. Customers who enter are immediately greeted with a sense of energy teeming about

“We posted our Grand Opening information on Facebook, and what happened was people got really responsive in some of the photos that I tagged on the post,” Andrews said. “Like the street art that we have. One of the pieces is the beaver from the local university who has a tattoo on his leg that says plug light, but it’s got an assault rifle and a bullet for the ‘i’.” Despite the response from some online, the bakery has been a hit with people around town, especially for those who are looking for a different kind of cookie experience.

“I gotta say thank you to Albany,” Andrews added, “because the controversy has given us a bit of a run for our money. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Story and Photos Marshall Hamel

Cookie Plug is a recently opened cookie bakery located in North Albany Village

Packing for Success

A LOOK INTO THE MINDSET OF A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DURING FINALS WEEK

SOPHOMORE BRIANNA WILLIAMS

Williams withstands the pressure of finals by looking forwards to the upcoming four day weekend and “...being able to join leadership [next semester].” She recommends that every student carry a good calculator and a good attitude as they stride into test day. Inside of her backpack, she carries not only necessities but also many miscellaneous items.

SOPHOMORE MERCEDEZ BENGSTON

Bengston prefers to keep things a lot more straight forward. Bengston stores all her supplies in her navy-green satchel. She hopes her “lucky duck tape wallet” will aid her during the finals. She recommends that every student drink plenty of water on testing day.

A new menu each month offers the freshest local ingredients

Sunday – Monday: Closed Tuesday – Saturday: 5pm – 8pm

Last table seated at 7:45pm 442 W 1st Ave Albany, Oregon (541)928-8157

Sophomore Brianna Williams shares the items that she keeps in her school backpack.

Sophomore Mercedez Bengston shares the essentials that she keeps in her bag.

Family Matters

how relationships with people of all ages and our unique definitions of family shape our perception of the world around us

teen mom

natalie baas with her son nolan

Kids ‘N Classmates

q+a with shea bender, child development and little bulldogs preschool teacher

By Helen Whiteside

How long has the Little Bulldogs Preschool been up and running?

Last year was our first year of a fully functioning preschool. We started the Child Development program right before Covid-19 hit, so this is our second year in operation which is great.

How many days a week is the preschool open? What’s the average ratio of preschoolers to high schoolers?

Our preschool schedule is Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 7:50 10:50 am. On average, we try to stay somewhere between 14 and 16 preschooleres and then our high school numbers vary. I expect all of our numbers to just continue to grow with our program.

What do the Child Development classes aim to accomplish for the students that take it?

One of the things we talk a lot about in Child Development is the various opportunities to work with children. Whether that’s in education or a healthcare setting, indirect or directly, it really gives them the opportunity to have that hands-von learning environment.

What’s one of your fondest memories of the program?

One of my favorite things that we get to do here is our preschool graduation. It’s so rewarding to see the seniors up there with their preschoolers standing side by side.

Are there any specific skills you try to teach your students?

What’s really important is being a team player and learning how to really work effectively in a collaborative group. We do a lot of group activities in child development and you can always tell when someone isn’t quite pulling their weight on something because other people have to take on a little bit more ownership.

What do you see your students enjoying most in the classroom?

I think the biggest thing that I hear students look forward to is...an escape room. We called it “Escape the Womb” and they really really enjoyed that. The second thing is the baby project. They finish it and they’re like, “Oh, my goodness, I’m so tired”, but I think it’s a really rewarding experience. On the preschool side of things, I think the biggest hype is around Halloween, because they love seeing the preschoolers in their costumes.

How do you see bonds form between the two ages of students?

It’s really cool to see that bond formed between your students….and how excited they each get when everybody arrives in the same place…[It’s] been a really fun thing to see and watch.

Senior Sherlin Lopez reading a book to two preschoolers

Child Development teacher Shea Bender showing a preschooler how to brush their teeth

Sophomore Sabrina Ulibarri dressed up as a police officer with two preschoolers

The senior friend group of Alice Whiteside, Kyla Harris, Emma Bigner, and Ashley Williams dates all the ways back to first grade, with Williams joining in early middle school. The group agreed that their favorite memory together was trying to watch Ted Bundy, but having to stop because Whiteside started crying during the opening credits.

“We’re always there for each other,” Williams said. “It’s everything from helping each other with homework, being there for a cry, hot tub dates, getting food together, all the little things.”

Despite not spending all of their time together, when they do come together, they said it feels like almost no time has passed at all.

The Family Road trip The Awkward Family Picture

The four seniors, Aiden Terkildsen, Laik Gregory, Jaimeson Hogan, and Noah Sanders, met in Mrs. White’s third grade class in elementary school. Normally, they hangout at Terkildsen’s house playing video games or watching movies together. Lately they’ve gone to events together, like seeing the new Avatar movie. Their favorite memory recently was Sanders having to eat the “Blazing Wings” from Buffalo Wild Wings after losing in their fantasy football league. After they all graduate, the group is discussing the possibility of going on a trip together to celebrate graduating.

Left to right: Seniors Alice Whiteside, Kyla Harris, Emma Bigner carrying Ashley Williams

Left to right: seniors Aiden Terkildsen, Laik Gregory, Jaimeson Hogan, and Noah Sanders

House of Love

FAMILY TAKES SO MANY DIFFERENT FORMS, BUT ALL THAT MATTERS IS LOVE

Junior Brynna Gritter Kenneke never really understood how big of a change divorce had on other kids. “I haven’t lived with my dad since I was, like, two and a half. Most people are like, ‘Oh, my parents got divorced.’ It’s like this whole big change for them, but it really wasn’t because that’s kind of how my life has always been, you know?” Gritter Kenneke said.

“Like, it’s always been just me and my mom, which is weird. Because, you know, most people have like six people now. And it’s like, there’s two of us. Always.” Gritter Kenneke said.

Families have never been straightforward, but in the late 80s the nuclear family model started gaining traction in America. One dad, one mom, one son, and one little girl. Anything else didn’t really fit into the quiet suburbs of America.

For Senior Shai Bravo, she grew up with just her siblings and mom. When she was four, her mom moved down from Kenai, Alaska to get away from her abusive husband. Bravo said, “I say I haven’t seen him in 18 years because I don’t remember seeing him.”

But Bravo’s relationship with her

mom was full of love. “Growing up, I was super tight with [my mom], we were besties... I was the baby and she always had a good relationship with me. I was spoiled,” Bravo laughed.

Love is all it takes for a bad situation to feel just a little bit better. West Albany Alumni, Natalie Baas

IT WAS DECEMBER MY JUNIOR YEAR. I FOUND OUT I

WAS ABOUT SIX WEEKS PREGNANT.

can attest to that message.

“It was December of my junior year, I found out I was about six weeks pregnant,” said Baas.

“I was shocked.” But everyone in Baas’ family was supportive and made her feel a lot less scared and nervous.

“My mom already knew, she had the mom feeling. She said it was exciting. And she was also a teen mom. She was 19, so she was just a little bit older than me. She was my biggest supporter,” Baas said.

left a strong impression on her, too. “She’s like a superhero, because she’s always tried super, super, super hard to make sure she had all the time for me,” Gritter Kenneke said.

In July of 2020, Baas’ son Nolan was born.

Baas said that her mother helped lead her through almost her entire pregnancy and has continually helped to raise Nolan.

“Sometimes when I’m going through a stressful situation... I think ‘you know? This is all for him. He’s happy, he’s healthy, he’s just an overall well taken care of little boy.’ And that just always makes me feel better,” Baas said smiling.

Another West Albany parent happens to be custodian Chris Priest. He doesn’t have any blood children of his own, but he’s been the stand-in dad for his sister’s children.

Priest recognized that family comes in very different groups of people, he said that, “I had a stepdad, and he taught me that family is first. You always put your family before yourself.”

And for senior Rebecca Ritchey, her family is just as normal as everyone else’s.

“[Having two moms] is normal for me. I still have the parent who’s really strict and less,” Ritchey said.

Ritchey’s biological mom divorced her ex-husband, and her stepmom has been a part of her life since she was five.

“I consider her my mom... If she would have come into my life when I was older, it’d be a much different relationship. When I was five she was just automatically my mom,” Ritchey said.

Family is important to so many different people, and having a powerful bond with people that you care about is a crucial part of the human experience. All it takes is for one person to make the difference in someone’s life. “

Gritter Kenneke’s own mom

This friend group hasn’t been together for very long. They came together at the beginning of the wrestling season and they’ve pretty much spent all of their time together. They group agreed their favorite memory together was attacking Smith with tickles until Smith had to escape by jumping off the couch. Then also playing battleship together and cheating a lot. “They [Lloyd and Lodge] made a little heart with the pegs, instead of putting ships on,” said Fee.

“I’ve been there since they were born, and I’ve raised them ever since. I don’t really discipline them, I’m just there as that positive male role model, just trying to help where I can,” according to Priest. Their biological father was in and out of prison.

His niece and nephew refer to him as their, “Funcle, a fun uncle.”

Story and Photography by Joe Wagner

Left to right: freshman Cameron Lodge, Corbin Lloyd, Mari Smith, Jade Fee

HEAD HEAD

2

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEDIA?

JORDAN RUPPERT ENLGISH TEACHER

Ruppert says that there are two movies that come to mind: “Mom and Dad Save the World” and “UHF.” He says that he watched “UHF” becuase he followed his oldest brothers’ interest at that point in his life, and therefore, was into Weird Al Yankovic who starred in the movie. Ruppert also says that “Mom and Dad Save the World” is stupidly funny; however, he says he doesn’t recommend either of them.

MATT BOASE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS TEACHER

Boase said that he could think of more movies that he hated as a little kid rather than one’s he loved. So instead of movies Boase talked about his favorite TV show. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I don’t remember the show very well, but I always wanted to watch it. I liked the characters, the four really different characters who were funny and fought bad guys. They always won, and as a little kid what was better?”