WG ECHO February 2021 Issue

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V olum e 1 0 5 I s s ue 4 Februa ry 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 S e l m a Av e . w g e c h o . o r g

Annual STUCO blood drive takes place on Feb. 23 pg. 3

Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jaden Fields PRINT EDITOR: Maeve Taylor JUNIOR EDITOR: Jackson Parks VIDEO EDITOR: Calum Shank SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER/ GRAPHICS EDITOR: Zeke La Mantia NEWS/ OPINION EDITOR: Elise Wilke-Grimm FEATURE EDITOR: Ava Musgraves ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Addie Palmquist PODCAST EDITOR: Lydia Urice ADVISOR: Donald Johnson

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Annual STUCO blood drive takes place on Feb. 23 WGHS celebrates Black History Month Women’s Swim Team advances further to the final Columnist asks ‘Are these brownies worth the 100hour time commitment?’

COVID complicates dating for teenagers

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Find out if these 100-hour brownies are worth the time commitment on page 7

SOME MATERIAL FROM TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE The Echo is a monthly publication of the newspaper staff of Webster Groves High School, 100 Selma Ave., Webster Groves, MO. To contact staff members, call 314963-6400 ex. 11157 or write to wgecho@ wgmail.org.

Unsigned editorials are the opinion of a majority of staff members; signed articles are the opinion of the writer.

Letters to the editor of 300 words or less are welcome; submit letters by the 10th of the month to wgecho@wgmail.org, or room 155. All letters must be signed, although the name may be withheld from publication if requested. The Echo has the right to edit letters for publication as long as intent

remains unchanged.

The Echo is a member of SSP, Quill and Scroll, MJEA, JEA, MIPA, NSPA and CSPA.

Check out page 6 for an update on the progress of the women’s swim team

Read more about how teachers are honoring Black History Month on pages 4-5

Cover Cutline: Junior Evan Oliver donates blood for the annual STUCO blood drive in the secondary gym on Feb. 23. Photo by Calvin Lescher.

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Table of Contents | February 2021

Annual STUCO blood drive takes place on Feb. 23

Photo by Calvin Lescher

Junior Molly Stevinson gives blood for STUCO blood drive Feb. 23, during fourth period in the afternoon session in the secondary gym.

Ben Miller Contributing Writer Student council successfully hosted its annual blood drive on Feb. 23, in the secondary gym, collecting 45 units of blood.

The blood drive aimed to collect potentially life-saving blood from students throughout the day.

The blood drive took place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with multiple students donating blood.

Each year the blood drive takes place in the secondary gym with the help of outside volunteers.

“Each year STUCO teams up with Mercy to run our annual Spring Blood Drive,” Lauren Maedge said.

In order to donate students had to meet various requirements.

Donating students had to be at least 16 years old with parental permission, or 17 without, and pass a medical questionnaire and a short physical exam. These requirements ensured that all blood

was safe to donate and usable for the future.

According to the American Red Cross, donated blood is extremely important for medical procedures and emergency medicine.

Roughly 36,000 units of red blood cells are needed each day in the United States, and every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood.

In fact, Mercy Hospital states, “Monthly usage for Mercy St. Louis and Mercy Washington alone is more than 1,100 units.”

In addition to the charitable aspects of the annual blood drive, this year students were also provided with free $5 Amazon gift cards after donating.

“I’m really excited about it [ the STUCO blood drive]. I’ve never participated in a blood drive before, but I’m eager to donate since it’s such a needed cause,” junior Zoie Sellers said.

For any questions about the annual blood drive in the future, contact Lauren Maedge at Maedge.lauren@wgmail.org.

45 units of blood were collected from WGHS students and staff, surpassing STUCO’s goal of around 30 units.

Each unit saves 3 lives.

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WGHS celebrates Black History Month Maeve Taylor Print Editor Black History Month (BHM) is an important way to celebrate achievements of African Americans and recognizing their important roles throughout U.S. history.

According to TIME, BHM began as Black history week in 1926 as part of an initiative by Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), not becoming the official national observance of BHM over the entirety of February until 1976 under former president Gerald Ford.

The team that coordinates BHM celebrations includes social studies teacher Betty Roberts, assistant principal John E. Thomas, the social studies department, counselor Simone Cunningham, assistant principal Dwight Kirksey, assistant principal Shiree Yeggins, principal Matt Irvin and receptionist Teresa Adams.

Thomas said in an email that his “hope is that our way of celebrating informs, personalizes and inspires all students” and that he took such an active role so as to “...make sure the BHM is highlighted here at WGHS in ways that it didn’t when I was a student here.”

Regarding figures that are important to highlight, Thomas said, “Frederick Douglas, MLK, Sojourner Truth, W.E.B. Dubois, Nelson Mandela, Ida B. Wells, Thurgood Marshall and many more. I am finding that I am learning about great people every day.”

Thomas, regarding how people can celebrate BHM individually, said, “Learn that Black history is all around us and shouldn’t be regulated to February. We should embrace the history of African Americans, all minorities and women.

We have so much that we didn’t learn and need to learn.”

Roberts said, “As a World History teacher for many years I have seen how

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Elise Wilke-Grimm News-Opinion Editor underrepresented minorities are in curriculum in general. My goal is to make sure that all students see themselves represented in our curriculum in a positive way that encourages them to be proud of their heritage and their contributions to our school community and the world.”

As a way to develop this goal, there have been recent additions to the BHM celebrations.

“Last year we instituted what I hope will become an annual tradition, a door decorating competition that highlights Black History Achievements. It was a huge success. It started with just the social studies classes participating in a door decorating competition. As a team we enjoy competing in a fun way and each teacher facilitated, student driven curriculum to honor Black History Month. Then we enlisted the help of the Central Office to judge our doors. When other staff members, outside of our department heard what we were doing they wanted to be involved as well.

Soon there were many teachers participating throughout the building,” Roberts said.

“As with any project of this scale it takes many months of preparation and lots of teamwork to pull off. I began by writing a Parent Club grant and was awarded around $450 to purchase Black History Month posters to place along the long stretch of bulletin boards in our hallway.

This took quite a bit of time to put up and organize but I enjoyed doing it,” Roberts said, regarding the behind-the-scenes work it takes to put Black History month celebrations together.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed BHM celebrations as well.

“With Covid restrictions in place this year we were unable to do this fully. Some teachers were able to get door decorations up but not on the school wide scale as

News | February 2021

last year. This will become a tradition in years to come as COVID restrictions are lifted,” Roberts said. “...[W]e discussed how to celebrate BHM in a COVID environment and as a group we collectively agreed that the announcements were great to ensure all students had access to our recognition of Black Americans that have made a huge difference in our country. Originally we were going to just do this through the social studies department and it became larger by others in our building wanting to get involved. I fully believe in including everyone and in the power of teamwork. Many throughout the building have been involved this year,” Roberts said.

Roberts lists Jackie Joiner-Kersee and Oprah Winfrey as figures in black history that have been personally influential to her.

The continuing importance of celebrating BHM influenced other celebrations like Asian and Pacific Islanders History Month (month of May) and Women’s History Month (month of March).

Adams, who “has been instrumental in helping us push out our presentations each day in the announcements” according to Roberts, celebrates BHM every year by “consuming more black entertainment,” she said, and encouraging the members

of her family to do the same. Meaning watching movies or reading books that feature stories of Black history.

“I would love to see black history featured more prominently in history classes on a daily basis. Black history is our history… I read about a school in Utah that opted out of Black History Month this year. Hearing things like this make me very angry,” Adams said.

The involvement of students and the younger generations is extremely important in ensuring the security that African American history will continue to be remembered. This is why students are encouraged to participate in the various ways there are to celebrate BHM. “If students are involved in specific groups here at the high school, bring an idea to the group and go for it,” Yeggins said in a recent interview.

The art department has organized different projects around the school, including the decorating of classroom doors in honor of influential African American people in history.

Art teacher Jocelyn Reiss said that a huge part of Black History Month is to educate people on the artistic part of Black history as well as acknowledging important artists who were people of color and therefore did not get the amount of

attention that their work deserved.

Some African American artists that Reiss has enjoyed introducing to her students are one of her favorite local artists Cbabi Bayoc and Gordon Parks who would “document the discrepancies of life” as Reiss said.

“I have been really enjoying showing my students different videos that are being played for the announcements. Just giving the kids a taste of notable people from our area and from history,” Reiss said. “At my old school I taught my students all about John Johnson who was a very influential photographer from the town I taught in. I think it is very important for students to be educated about the history of their area.”

Photos by Calum Shank

The social studies department hangs door and wall decorations depicting various historical figures to celebrate Black History Month. These wall decorations were located on the second floor from the Chelsea Center through the History hallway.

February 2021 | News

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Photo by Madeleine Collier

To get ready for the State meet, swimmers prepare at practice. Junior Libby Seitz, sophomore Katie Downey, junior Lili Gregov, freshman Karson Bluette, junior Margot Siener, sophomore Ellie Tychonievich (under Siener) and junior Chloe Hagemann go over their starts from the block during practice at Lindbergh High School.

Women’s swim team advances further to final Kelly Woodyard Staff Writer

With one of the largest rosters at Webster, the women’s swim team advances to Conference and the State Championship. So far in the regular season, the team has a 5-6-0 team record.

The Webster women’s swim team placed sixth at State out of of 53 teams. The 200 medley relay placed ninth, 200 free relay placed fourth and only 0.87 seconds off the school record. The 400 free relay placed fourth and junior Lili Gregov broke the school record for the 50 freestyle and medaled in 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. Juniors Libby Seitz and Margot Siener placed lifetime bests in the 200 freestyle and the 100 fly.

At the Feb. 3, Conference meet on Feb. 3, the team gained a win for the first round of the more competitive meets. Its following meet against Rockwood Summit was cancelled, entering the team straight to the beginning process of the State meets.

Some struggles have come up regarding the pandemic that have affected the fluidity of the season, but the swim team was

able to overcome most of these obstacles. A lot of these obstacles have made adjusting difficult, throwing off the consistency of past years.

Practice times were changed, getting pushed back, taking place later in the evening rather than directly after school.

“It definitely has been different. At first we were practicing at Lindbergh, then they didn’t allow us to practice anymore, we didn’t have a pool for two weeks, and then after that we were practicing from 9:15 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. It was not the best time ever for practice, but everyone did amazing adjusting to the weird schedule,” senior Madeleine Collier said.

With a lot of its meets getting cancelled, much like other high school sports teams, the swim team’s season was compressed into fewer meets, yet it has had a positive outcome according to the swimmers.

“Despite all of that [the adjustments], the team has been doing amazing competition wise,” Collier said.

The State meet for women’s swim is planned to take place on Feb. 20, at the St. Peters Recreation Plex.

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Sports | February 2021

Ava’s Anecdotes:

Columnist asks ‘Are these brownies worth 100-hour commitment?’

Photo by Ava Musgraves

Columnist Ava Musgraves displays the results of her 100-hour brownie experiment.

Ava Musgraves Feature Editor Average box-mix brownies take around an hour from when the package is opened to a fresh baked good.

Alvin Zhou’s, producer at Tasty New York, 100-hour brownies don’t follow this standard time period in any sense, as in total it takes over four days to complete.

For most bakers, just the idea of spending 100 hours on a single dessert sparks an interest. The original YouTube video introducing the recipe has over 3 million views.

Other bakers, like myself, had to see for themselves if the wait for these brownies was truly worth it by trying the recipe first hand. News outlets that focus on lifestyle and entertainment have covered their opinion on the recipe, like Popsugar have covered their opinion on the recipe.

“These brownies, which I spotted on Alvin Zhou’s YouTube page, are perfectly rich, gooey, and sweet, and are as labor intensive as they are delicious (but totally worth it, I swear),” Rachel Aglar reported for Popsugar.

The recipe follows standard procedure

of eggs, butter, flour, and sugar but adds the special edition of espresso powder.

It as well involves four whole bars of dark chocolate, some melted others left in chunks and folded in as the last step.

If that wasn’t enough for the avid chocolate lover, the recipe recommends adding another whole bar of milk chocolate, chopped and folded in.

Then the hardest part of the whole process was saying goodbye to creation for three days as its new home became the bottom of the fridge. The anticipation was very real, and holding out to bake them proved very difficult, so was the process really worth it?

My final answer is possibly. This may not be the answer you were looking for, and it’s not really what I was either.

“A good brownie to me is dense and fudgy with a dark and complex flavor— not too sweet—, and not at all cakey. If I wanted something cakey I’d bake a cake.

A good recipe could set even a novice baker up to making the best brownies of their life” said Evan Thomas, writer for the blog “The Wannabe Chef.”

To use Thomas’ checklist as a grading standpoint, these brownies are an A, but the ridiculous time period it takes to make them does not earn them an A+. Brownies have done everything these brownies have in way, way less time.

My only restraint is that, I think if you really want brownies in the moment, go buy a Ghirardelli box mix, because by the time these brownies are done the craving is gone. A 60 minute wait time is a lot more appealing than 100 hours, it’s not worth it.

Spring Break begins March 22; school resumes on March 29 February 2021 | Entertainment

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COVID complicates dating for teenagers Zeke La Mantia Social Media Manager/Graphics Editor Dating during high school is a stressful time, but now with the added stressor of COVID, the dating scene is messy.

“As teenagers begin to develop a sense of personal identity, they often seek likeness and compatibility from those around them. Oftentimes the first love, also known as puppy love, occurs during these mid to late teen years, and if the high schooler selects the wrong counterpart, they may doubt both their ability to connect and relate to others as well as their ability to understand themselves. It’s often thought by elders that love is best delayed,” clinical psychologist Jamie La Mantia said.

Junior Jacey Van Leuven said, “I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with dating during COVID or dating as a teenager. I especially think because people have so little time on their hands with a pandemic, they’re able to get to know each other better and form better relationships, and I think it’s a good experience to date as a teen; the relationship probably won’t work out, but it’s a great way to experiment, learn lessons and figure out what you’re interested in.”

Relationships before COVID were difficult, nerves over meeting new people and developing bonds are normal feelings that many people feel well into adulthood, but now with quarantine and the added complications of social distancing and mask wearing, relationships for some seem unattainable.

Conventions, concerts, restaurants and schools have been closed or reopened under guidelines and physical restrictions that limit the areas where one typically meets new people. Because of this some have turned to online dating websites and apps to find romance. Online dating, though, brings with it its own set of problems.

High schoolers typically range from ages 14 to 18. This age bracket is too young for many if not all websites marketed for the purpose of forming relationships/ friendships, and joining at such a young, impressionable age can make one more vulnerable to predators.

Another possible problem with online dating in the age of COVID is that it is easier for people to lie about the precautions that they are taking to keep themselves safe from COVID. Unfamiliarity with the other person online can lead to being in the dark about whether or not they’re following regulated guidelines during the pandemic. People can say they are wearing masks, practicing proper social distancing and limiting their time in public spaces, but because the exchange is online, there isn’t a good way to verify the truth of their statements.

Senior Annalise McCann said, “I can see continuing a relationship that existed pre-COVID through the rest of the pandemic, but I think it would be really hard to be able to make a romantic connection with anyone now. I think the only way for that to really happen would be over social media, but in my opinion, you won’t be able to make a deep connection until you’re together face to face.”

Comic by Kelly Woodyard

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Comic | February 2021