Spokesman Volume 55 Issue 6

WHSSpokesman Wheeling High School

900 S. Elmhurst Road

Wheeling, Ill. 60090

March 15, 2019

Volume 55 Issue 6

Page 5

Page 9

Recap of the Robot Rumble

Movie review of Roma

Page 6-7 A deeper look into vaping

Page 12

1000 career points for Best

Nanotechnology students present at regional fair

By Amanda Talalaj Editor-In-Chief The IJAS Region 6 science fair took place this past Saturday, March 9, at Niles North High School.

The nanotechnology students have been working on projects since before winter break and the fair emerged as the place for them to finally present their findings to a panel of judges.

“The event on Saturday is a science fair, so we picked out projects and for the past few months, we did trials, ran experiments, etc.

My partner Eric and I are doing a pressure sensor with different kinds of conductive pens and we chose to do it because it was a very simple kit to follow and it caught our eye. The benefit to the experiment is showing that pressure sensors are evolving into cars and other things that will help us later on,” Ted Giang, senior, said.

Although the science fair may be a rewarding experience for many

students, that was not the only incentive there was set in place for students to be motivated to present there.

“For nano, it is required to attend the science fair because it is a part of our final. So we go present our science project, which we researched for the past couple of months, and I can receive a good grade for my final and experience a science fair all at the same time,” Jasmine Kee, senior, said.

Although many students presented a plethora of various projects at the fair, there appeared no two experiments the same.

“My partner Nosa and I did an experiment to test the effect of climate change on marine life. We chose this because it seemed like an interesting topic and a fun experiment,” Meghan Hergert, senior, said.

Another example includes the project done by Emily Lucas, senior, and Taylor Gutt, senior, in which the effect of a chemical called Hexanal has on banana ripening post harvest.

“Nano is great because it mimics actual research projects in college and beyond, so we get exposure

as to how science in college will be, as opposed to just lectures. I do like nano because it’s a lot more open than most science classes; you can do your project on anything you’re interested in. Also, using the microscopes is super cool,” Lucas said.

Along with receiving a grade for attendance and presentation at the fair, the student with the best project would also receive a cash prize of $500.

Nonetheless, students still see the value of the fair without taking into regard what they could win from the competition.

“The science fair gives us the opportunity to present our experiment to judges and get feedback on our work. I’m in nano because it is fun to learn about different microscopes at the beginning of the year and it’s a very independent class, as going and presenting at this science fair shows,” Hergert said.

Apart from a cash prize for the “Best in Category” experiments, the panel of judges also determines if students qualify for state, as many students from WHS did this past Saturday.

Seniors, Brian Rayburn and David Martinez, describe their experiment to two judges at the fair.

Tyler Polak, senior, gestures to his experiment’s poster board.

Photos taken by Jackson Gross

Study halls for SAT prep The initiation of Initiative

By Katie Meyer Social Media Manager In previous years, juniors have come back to school from 6-9 p.m. to study and prepare for the SAT. This year, SAT prep is now also available during all study hall classes during the school day.

The idea first came about when many students were not able to commit to taking nighttime classes.

“The principal (Jerry Cook) was concerned about students who could not afford to take the nighttime prep because it is a paid course and students that had other activities and couldn’t come at night. There are so many activities, no matter which night of the week that we pick.

We now have research assistants that work for WHS and they were working in the study halls with students who had multiple D’s and F’s or were missing a lot of work. We then

took the assistants and decided to use them for some prep. We asked students if they wanted to and they voluntary said they would do it.

For nighttime prep, I usually have between about 80 students and we currently have 90 this year for prep during study hall, so it is a small increase,” Paula Kruty, assessment supervisor, said.

The students are also benefiting from the new time changes. “During study hall or lunch we can go to the classroom and get help with the SAT prep. There are a lot of teachers that can help with math, reading and writing. It gives us an idea of how the SAT is going to look like.

I prefer going during my study hall or lunch because it gives me more time. I also feel like I am not forced to sit in the classroom for multiple hours,” Rene Andres, junior, said.

Some students are also taking advantage of the classes offered at night, plus getting additional help during their study hall. “I am in both the evening

class and the study hall prep class. I am getting to see both and they are both beneficial.

The night classes are a little bit more beneficial because there is more reading and the one during the day focuses more on math. During the day, we are doing a lot of Khan Academy so we can choose answers. There is also a lot of probability and percents. It is going to help me to practice more because practice makes perfect. It will make me keep on practicing and get better as I keep on going,” Tiffany Emery, junior, said.

The resource assistants are very helpful for SAT prep, for some of them know the material very well. “We have an RA (resource assistant) who has done test prep for an outside company, so he has a ton of strategies, especially in the math area. I know he is working diligently and has put together a tip sheet for the students to remind them about some of the given items on the SAT,” Kruty said.

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By Jaspreet Kaur Staff Reporter Initiative, a new club at WHS, studies seven major religions, their beliefs and practices and how they stand in the contemporary world. Initiative was proposed by students who wanted to study religion, but couldn’t take any religion classes.

Initiative is led by Linhhai Nguyen, English teacher, and Brian Hauck, social sciences teacher.

The club had its first meeting on Feb. 21.

Although Initiative’s main focus is the close study of religion, it does not aim to convert

anybody to choose one religion over another.

“It’s not promoting religion, it’s studying religion. It’s definitely different from religious study classes because we’re looking how to compare and contrast different religions and how they function in modern context, instead of analyzing how they were created. It focuses on exploration of interfaith dialogue,” Geneve Halfman, sophomore, said.

During club meetings, religious discussion is interwoven with contemporary topics, such as gender, diet, security and school shootings, along with others, in a safe and relaxed environment.

“It’s an informal place to go where we have snacks, we play

games and we share experiences that we have had personally with religion and then to know that there are ways in which we can relate, even though there are differences, but there are ways in which we can learn from each other, be at peace and get along, ” Nguyen said.

“I look forward to seeing how other religions react to certain situations and how the other religions react to what my religion is like.

I want to learn about what the other religions do and what they think,” Grace Estes, sophomore, said.

Initiative meets twice a month. For further instructions on where they meet and how to join, contact Mr. Nguyen or Mr. Hauck.

Photos taken by Jaspreet Kaur

Top left: Flyer posted encouraging students to come join Initiative Club. Top right: Initiative members, Geneve Halfman and Fizza Nasir, sophomores, present a Kahoot! for discussion within a club meeting.

2

News

March 15, 2019

E-learning experiment extracts mixed reactions

By Ivan Muro Staff Reporter E-learning is a completely new experience for WHS. During an e-learning, or virtual learning, day, students stay home from school, but are expected to complete assignments given to them by teachers and sign in to a Google Form for attendance purposes.

The original day for the virtual learning experience was supposed to be in early February, but had to be rescheduled to March 1st because of the four snow days, which, due to most of the students having testing that day, allowed teachers to test the e-learning concept with their senior

students, who would otherwise stay at home.

“The e-learning day was something that we were piloting to help our seniors have a positive learning experience, while also logistically completing testing for 75% of our students,” Rebecca Kinnee, teaching and learning facilitator, said.

The reason why senior students couldn’t come in and be a part of school is because, if most teachers are administering tests, then they would not be able to personally instruct students.

The e-learning day received mixed reviews from students.

“This e-learning day experiment could also be seen as a future alternative for when there are snow and cold days, but the state still needs to decide if that is going to be acceptable as we move forward.” Kinnee said.

Some students don’t believe that it would work.

Taking A Global Glimpse Africa The current UN investigation of the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may possibly be considered crimes against humanity. Last year, 500 people were killed, some of which were burned alive, and a two-year old was thrown in a septic tank, which is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or The Middle East Gal Gadot, of 2018’s “Wonder Women,” is an Israeli actress who commented against Benjamin Netanyahu’s comment that Israel “was not a state of all its citizens,” in reference to 20% of Arabs that exist in Israel, on Instagram saying “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Netanyahu then proceeded to cite a “nation-state” law that Israel’s parliament approved in July.

The law says, “Jews have a unique right to national selfdetermination in the country and puts Hebrew above Arabic

plastic through which domestic wastewater flow for basic treatment. The UN believes that even though a year has passed, violence can flare up again at any time. A year ago, “ethnic violence broke out in an area of the country when one community wanted to bury their traditional chief on another community’s land.”

The dispute was between the Batende and Banunu communities. The Batende attacked the Bannunu before

they could escape because of the extreme violence and speed of the Batende. It is believed that the death toll is way above 500 because bodies were also thrown in the river and the number is probably closer to 890. The UN were only able to reach out to 3 of the 4 attacked villages, and some 16,000 residents have been displaced. Due to the violence, the December election was postponed until March 31st in Yumbi.

as the official language.” This dispute started on Saturday, when the actress, during an interview, made a comment about the upcoming election and Arab parties’ role in it. She put on her Instagram story: “When the hell will someone in this government convey to the public that Israel is a state of all its citizens and that all people were created equal, and that even the Arabs and the Druze and the LGBT’s and -shock- the leftists are human.” Netanyahu then responded saying that, “Israel is not a state of all its citizens. According to the basic nationality law we passed,

Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people- and only it. As you wrote, there is no problem with the Arab citizens of Israel.” He said that Israel is a “Jewish, democratic state with equal rights, but the nation state is not of all its citizens, but only the Jewish people.”

Gadot then commented that.

“This isn’t a matter of right or left, Jew or Arab, secular or religious. It’s a matter of dialogue for peace and equality and of our tolerance of one towards the other.” This public dispute has gained support on Gadot’s side, which can pose problems for Netanyahu in his upcoming election.

“I think it was helpful in that we were able to work on our assignments at our own pace, but I’m okay with it not happening again because I don’t think it’d work for days off, due to weather,” Shailie Shah, senior, said.

Some seniors don’t believe that e-learning is a good idea at all. “I thought the e-learning day was pointless. There was no benefit in having us take a day off of school just to do more homework at home,” Fernando Moreno, senior, said. Moreno also believes that students should not receive assignments on days they are supposed to stay home.

Recently, Illinois ruled that e-learning days are no longer going to count as actual school days in the future, meaning students might have assignments planned for them to do during an e-learning day, but the school cannot count that day as an official school day.

South America Jaguars are the big cats of South America and the endangered species is now being hunted to make a traditional Asian medicine on the black market.

Poachers are killing this animal and boiling down their bodies for up to a week until it turns a dark glue. The glue is sold in tubs and thrives on the black market in a trade that has only recently been discovered. A tub of the endangered jaguar paste goes for $3,000, if not more. People wrongly believe this is a treatment for arthritis and can also improve sexual performance and overall health; however, it has not

been scientifically proven to actually be a beneficial substance for somebody. Then, to not let the rest of the animal go to waste, its teeth and claws are sold as ornaments and jewelry. A single tooth dipped in gold is sold in tourist shops for $1,200.

Some traders have even gone as far as selling pieces of the animal through social media.

Moreover, killing these animals, due to their enlarged size, may require multiple bullets, which can prolong the animals’ suffering. Also, if the people who shot the animal do not go in for a kill, it leaves the jaguars extremely wounded.

Not only are adult jaguars targets, but

the cubs are also being taken from the wild and sold to wealthy men to be kept as pets, to show wealth and status.

Although the owners do not know how to properly care for the animals in the first place, once they grow up, majority of the time, the jaguars are slaughtered for consumption.

In recent years, the animals have been increasingly easier to find due to a destruction of their habitat.

Deforestation has now made these endangered animals easy targets. Now, approximately only 173,000 jaguars are left in the wild, and they have been classified as “nearthreatened,” which makes hunting them illegal.

All information collected and presented by Alexis Knight

Caremobile coming to vaccinate WHS juniors

By Nikko Sarmenta Staff Reporter On Apr. 9, WHS will be hosting an event that can aid juniors who may need to have extra vaccinations that are required in Illinois. The Ronald McDonald’s Caremobile is an event run

by Advocate Lutheran General where students are able to get vaccines or physicals during a school day. They will be giving out free meningitis shots for students who are on Medicaid or aren’t fortunate enough to have health insurance.

Since a requirement in Illinois states that to enter senior year, juniors need to have their second meningitis vaccine, juniors who haven’t received theirs yet will have an extra chance.

Jazmin Garcia, school nurse, states that this could be a great chance to have this vaccination.

“We’re trying to get all the kids that we can for next year, so that way, they don’t have to run around in the summer to try and get it, or if it’s difficult for their families, like if they don’t have

insurance, then we can be able to give them that vaccine here at school,” Garcia said.

Because this is a new event coming to WHS, people who are part of the WHS community are excited to have an event that can help benefit students.

“I feel really excited about it coming to Wheeling because I think it’s such a great opportunity for families and for kids,” Garcia said.

“I think that the Ronald McDonald charity organization is phenomenal,” Michael Geist, engineering teacher, said. “Especially with a vaccine like meningitis, which is a terrible, terrible disease, if it’s something that our students in our school don’t have access to, if Ronald McDonald can support the cause, I think it’s the greatest thing,” Geist said.

Since it is free, students can take advantage of the event by getting their vaccine shots during the Caremobile event.

“Vaccinations are the most important thing on planet earth, and if we don’t do it, then we’re all going to die,” Sam Gobis, senior, said.

Though vaccinations, such as the meningitis shot, are important for school, not as many students are signing up as Garcia has hoped.

“I’m a little sad right now because the turn out hasn’t been great for kids to return the forms back,” Garcia said. “If we get enough kids to come, then we can definitely schedule it to come back, and even next year. I’m hoping to keep bringing it to Wheeling High School because I think it will help a lot of kids.”

hard to access bathrooms during some periods.

Also, I remember one day I showed up late for a morning practice, and it took me 30 minutes to get into the school. I couldn’t message my team because everyone was in practice, and I had to wait for someone to come through the hall and hear me knocking,” Rugile Jacnius, senior, said.

Although the point is to dissuade the vaping problem that happens within the school bathrooms, many students think other ventures to end the problem should be tried as well.

“I think that there should be other options because it takes away time from class to search for a bathroom that is open. I don’t think it’s crazy since there is a good reason behind it, but there are other ways to prevent these issues,” Rachel Delmar, sophomore, said.

Students also believe the school locking select bathrooms is unfair to the majority of the WHS population who is not at fault for the issue, only because of a few students’ bad decisions.

“I don’t think it’s fair that the school locks the bathroom doors during the school day because when students have to go to the bathroom during class it takes time out of their learning to go and find a bathroom that’s actually unlocked,” Heidi Wenson, junior, said.

Students believe other guidelines should be in place to deter vaping at school, apart from locking up bathrooms.

“I think there are other solutions other than locking all the bathrooms and that the school should find other ways to prevent these things from happening,” Wenson said.

Photo taken by Nikko Sarmenta

Locked bathrooms inconveniencing students

By Alexis Knight Staff Reporter During the school day, various WHS bathrooms have been continuously locked, causing students to have to find alternate bathrooms farther away from their classrooms when they excuse themselves out of class. The bathrooms have been locked due to multiple issues of vaping in WHS bathrooms. Staff believes locking bathrooms will deter this behavior from continuing to happen on school grounds.

“I totally understand it, but it makes it really

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3

Arts

March 15, 2019

Dancing the season all the way to Phoenix

to have the dances look graceful and easier than expected. Having to do these performances, as smoothly as they flow, the

By Erica Hayden moves are often very intricate.

Staff Reporter “My first year in orchesis, there was a specific drop we had to do to the floor for a dance “Run Boy Run” I could never get Three successful nights of the Orchesis onto the floor because my legs would just Dance Company’s performance. As 23 not allow me to. I had to practice it every performances were held during the 2 hour day and stretch so it wouldn’t hurt to do it. shows, the crowd went wild as the dances I eventually pulled it off and was able to do became more enthusiastic and better. On it for the show. Now that move seems really Feb. 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, WHS Orchesis held their annual show, Phoenix. It was held easy to me, hard work pays off.” Kenny at the WHS Theatre at 7PM ending at 9PM, Martinez, senior, said.

Now, many believe the dance company although much of the audience believed this years performance was said to be better is simply based on learning a dance, than performing it. When in reality, Orchesis than last. gives leadership opportunities to encourage “I believe this year was a lot better. Last the students to choreograph their own year we had less people and many of them dances for their peers. were pretty lazy and discouraged to try.

“I did choreograph this year. It was my Also last year we had more guest artists who first time, and was very proud of what I choreographed pieces. Most of those were created. I did a Hip-Hop piece of course. contemporary dances and they had some In previous years I was also in a Hip-Hop hidden meaning buried deep down. Even Orchesis didn’t understand them. This year group, and that is what really inspired me to go for it.” Rene Andres, junior, said. not only did we get so many more inspired After the show came to an end, the Orchesis members, but also we had more dances choreographed by our own dancers.” dancers had taken a moment to give their appreciation to all the years, memories, and Anastasia Havryliuk, sophomore, said. opportunities the Orchesis Company had The dances consisted of different dance given them. As well as saying a heartfelt styles such as Hip-Hop, Contemporary, goodbye to the Orchesis seniors, as tears Latin, Vogue, Ballet, and many others. were shed, the memory of this performance As the show goes on, more dances were will forever be close to their hearts. Until performed, some being more intense and next time, when the season dances back extravagant than the lasts. That being said, around. the Orchesis performers have a tendency

Orchesis performs a variety of upbeat, slow and cultural dances in the WHS theatre for the Phoenix show.

Honors Music Festival

Photos taken by Claudia Chan

Performances At UIC

Local high schools visted WHS to perform various types of music. They did not charge admission and anyone could come in to enjoy the different performances.

By Erica Hayden Staff Reporter On Feb. 20, the WHS Fine & Performing Arts held their annual Honors Music Festival.

It was held in the school gymnasium at 7:00PM with free admission for anyone who wanted to come in and enjoy the show. The festival was conducted by the honors of orchestra, band, and choir with featuring guest conductors such as Dr. Shawn Vondran and Mark Meyers.

There were many talented and passionate musicians beyond each and every group, along with the various schools that had performed here in the very walls of Wheeling. Even so, some of the pieces and

guest artists that were introduced were nothing but favorited by the students.

“My favorite song to perform was Good Night, Dear Heart because it was a very moving piece that had a lot of feeling. One of the guest conductors I enjoyed working with the most was Mark Mayers because he was full of energy and wanted the best for our performance.”

Jocelyn Beltran, junior, said.

The entire performance lasted a little over an hour with pieces performed from each of the honor groups. Although, learning such pieces during the winter break and snow days can be quite challenging for our peers, especially with such challenging music pieces nonetheless.

“Yes, a lot of the songs were pretty challenging and I had to put in a lot

of time and effort. The challenging part about the pieces are playing difficult rhythms and having good intonation,” Daniella Perez, sophomore, said.

As many can tell, it is not easy to make honors.

Most musicians have played almost their whole life, and even some play more than one instrument.

“I play the clarinet and the saxophone. This is my 6th year for the clarinet and 3rd for the saxophone,” Brandon Sureth, freshman, said.

With so much to juggle our peers continue to amaze us with their talents and just how much talent they have.

This festival was one to remember from how well the students had performed, especially with such little amount of time they had to prepare for it.

Congratulations to all our hard working peers who had performed.

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The day before their visit to the University of Illinois, students held a small performance for the school staff to come see. They welcomed an audience to get a feeling of what it would be like on stage the following day.

By Claudia Chan Arts Editor On Feb. 21, 2019, Wheeling High School’s Symphony Orchestra held a small performance for the staff during 6th period. They did this to give the teachers a preview of what they would be playing on the following day at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It also helped the performers gain a confidence before the big show the next day.

More than 80 students performed on Saturday, Feb. 22, at UIC. A lot of them appreciated this opportunity because of the quality time they got to spend with friends and playing music for others they do not normally play for. They also had the time to get one-on-one advice from professionals.

“Going on the U of I trip was one of the best experiences I’ve had because I got to hang out with friends, while also doing what I love

(playing violin). We had a bunch of clinics with professional musicians that helped us individually through private lessons, as well as an entire orchestra, improve on our playing,” Julia Domanska, senior, said.

Prospect High School performed as well and stayed at the neighboring hotel that Wheeling’s Orchestra was staying at.

“We were there for nearly 2 days, and we stayed at the Wyndham Hotel while Prospect’s orchestra stayed at the hotel right next to us,” Domanska said.

Julia had the spotlight when she took the stage for her solo as well as a few other students. She enjoyed the chance to really show the audience what she had been practicing for a while and it really showed.

“I had a big solo in a Symphony Orchestra piece called “Danse Macabre.” It was really fun playing it, and our performance on stage at U of I was the best run through we’ve ever had,” Domanska said.

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Feature

March 15, 2019

Commitment: Success in WHS and in life

By Jared Moser Cartoonist A teacher once told me to be successful in this world, you have to be great at only one thing, rather than being a jack-of-all-trades.

However, no matter if you try to be great in only one thing, or multiple things, commitment is what brings you success. Commitment, a word that gets tossed around so ignorantly. A word used to describe how a school like WHS stays afloat.

From students, to teachers, to coaches, to academics, to clubs, to athletics. Commitment is a word that teachers and faculty are drawn to for its symbolism and its impact on a school.

“If you make a commitment in the beginning of the school year and say ‘hey, I’m going to get straight A’s’, now that’s where that sacrifice and that management comes in because if you set that goal, now be committed to you self and that goal,” Vincent Ray, staff, said.

Being the inspiration for this piece, Ray had a lot to say.

“The sacrifice and time and managing your time is key, because it took me some years to understand how to sacrifice time here, but

you also have to manage this. I’m a dad, I’m a coach, I’m a student, I’m an employee, so all these things have to line up and fit for my commitment,” Ray continued.

Michael O’Keeffe, staff, dove into the athletic side of being committed and what it means to him.

“Committing yourself to the team, rather than worrying about your individual stats or getting your name in the paper. It’s putting the team and putting the program ahead of yourself,” O’Keeffe said.

Another name to the WHS basketball program is Michael Best, senior, sharing what creates commitment within the student athletes with his experience at the school. “(We) definitely have a strong base of leaders, we have had just awesome people here throughout my four years, just the friends I have made and the leaders I have played with, whether it was my age or ages above mine, they just do a great job of keeping guys accountable, paving the way for the younger guys, and I think that is huge for commitment,” Best said.

As a three-sport varsity athlete, staying committed is something that comes naturally for Best.

The school psychologist, Mark Menich, staff, shared some experience and knowledge on the psychological side of commitment.

“You’re really committed to responsibilities in your life but even though you’re committed to these things, there is a certain amount of commitment that you put forth as well, and I’ve

Little Wildcatsvs. Parents

Spokesman interview members of the Little Wildcat preschool class Information collected by: Kaidence Katz & Ana Cozarivc

Q1: What is your favorite thing about your parent/ child?

Q2: Favorite thing to do with your parent/child?

Q3: What are you planning to do during your spring break?

Q1: They give me one piece of candy after school.

Q2: Go in pools and water slides.

Q3: Go to uncle Chris and go on his slippy slide.

Q1: His sense of humor.

Q2: Playing hide and seek.

Q3: Visit grams and gramps.

Q1: My mom brings me to school and my dad picks me up.

Q2: Played headbands

Q3: Go swimming.

Q1: Her personality.

Q2: Explore new things.

Q3: Going to a house in Wisconsin.

Conrad Klimek

Janet Aschenbrener

Hope Monola

Jump really really high lack widow Lauren Monola Created for free by https://foxyutils.com

always said that if you want to do something right you always give 100 percent,” Menich said.

During the 27 years Menich has worked in the building, he has always been a perfectionist.

This is because of the time and effort he puts into helping his players. That is commitment.

Similarly, Jerry Cook, principal, shared philosophies similar to Menich’s.

“It’s easy to be committed to one thing; if I wanted to singularly focus on my grades, that’s easy. If I wanted to be the best principal ever I could be singularly committed to that one thing, but if I wanted to be a good dad, if I want to be a good principal, if I want to be a good brother, if I want to be a good friend, I’ve got to be committed to those things, and that’s harder,” Cook said.

As if my former teacher’s statement was not ironic enough, Cook reiterated the fact that in the word we live in today, you have to be a swiss army knife, not just a knife.

During every interview the same question was asked: “What is commitment?”. While every answer was unique, there was one phrase that stayed the same: “Commitment to me is -” or some version of this.

According the Merriam-Webster dictionary, commitment is a noun, considering this it is more a trait, who not all possess, but that you need to possess to achieve success.

“To achieve your goal, it takes time, it takes a willingness to want to accomplish your goal, so I think the commitment, and all of that stuff is just all in there,” Ray said.

Junior Marshals

By Katie Meyer Social Media Manager

Graduation is going to become a little easier this year, thanks to some of the juniors in the new Junior Marshall program. Sandra Chico, Social Studies teacher, and graduation coordinator, decided that this new program would be a great addition to the WHS graduation day.

“We have never had a Junior Marshal program at WHS and I think it was a missed opportunity to give credit to juniors. My old school where I taught in South Carolina, it was a big deal.

Last year I became one of the coordinators for graduation and I changed a couple of things. The administration was very open to it and the other schools have the program too.

I know for sure that Hersey has the program because my daughter was one.” Chico, said.

Mara Leane, social studies teacher, is also helping build the new program. “The Junior Marshals will help graduation run smoothly. It takes a lot of effort and time to get the students lined up, to make sure everyone is in the correct spot, to collect tickets, to help escort people to handicapped seating, all these types of things. It is a lot of different jobs so we figured if we include some juniors to help and to kind of give them an honor as well. It not only helps the juniors, but it helps us make sure that graduation will run smoothly.” Leane, said.

Not just any junior can become a Junior Marshal.

The students selected have to have certain requirements in order to be chosen. “We picked students by top GPA. We emailed the counselors and deans and asked for the top thirty GPAs and then sent invitations out to all of them.

And if they said no, we keep moving down the list.” Leane, said.

Some of the selected students have already responded to the invitation and are very excited to be a part of graduation this year.

“When I received the invitation I thought, “Why not?” I know that this is a program where you get to help plan graduation and I hope that it helps me to become a better leader.” Mitchell Fister, junior, said.

While some students are focused on their leadership, some are also focused on how it will affect their future. “I joined [the Junior Marshal program] because I think it will look good on college applications, since it is a leadership program. I also think it is a good community service opportunity. I think it will be interesting to see how graduation is put together and we will be able to become better leaders by learning how to control situations. I think it is a good way to get more kids involved in graduation and we might be able to interact with the seniors more and see how senior year is like.

I am excited about it, it is new and I do not know what everyone else thinks about it. I do not know how it has been in the past but I think it will be interesting and fun.

I am proud to be one of the students that got picked.”

Rachel Lawson, junior, said.

Feature

March 15. 2019

5

D214 Community Education helps change lives

By Santiago Cuevas Associate Editor-In-Chief

D214 has more to offer than one may first anticipate. Other than being a school district meant for students, D214 offers also offers its adult education program, known as the Community Education program.

Patrick Mooge, Community Outreach cordinator, says “Community Education

is dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to community members. It is both a concept and a process designed to link identified needs with identified resources in a manner that helps people raise the quality of their lives. As one of the nation’s premier community education programs, it is our goal to expand lifelong learning opportunities for all ages through positive relationships, community involvement and collaborative planning.”

The classes offered in the programm are mostly free but some require payment due to

the materials required. Though,the programs due vary and are generally open to the public and non-residents.

Community Education is meant to help people improve their lives. It’s meant to help people receive an education in various areas.

“The central goal has always been providing opportunities for lifelong learning to improve the quality of life for our community members.

We hope to make a difference in people’s lives by offering impactful and relevant learning experiences,” Mooge said.

Robot Rumble review

By Matthew Posner Staff Reporter

Courtesy of Rohin Shah

Rohin Shah, senior, prepares for his Robot Rumble matchup by putting the finishing touches on his robot.

Let’s get ready to rumble! Robot Rumble, the MSL’s robotics competition, took place on Friday, Feb. 22, and Saturday, Feb. 23. Fourteen schools competed: all of District 211, 214, and Leyden High School District 212.

Hersey won first prize at Robot Rumble, while Wheeling had a great showing with robots Roadspike and Bowser Jr placing in 2nd and 4th, respectively.

Michael Geist, robotics and engineering teacher, coached the students of Wheeling. “I think Wheeling had one of their better years. Our robots went deep into the bracket, and I think the camaraderie of our team during build season helped that. That support really showed when competition day hit.”

Geist said.

Tom Steinbach, robotics and engineering teacher, coached alongside Geist at Robot Rumble this year.

“Overall we had a great year. Everyone worked together very well, and the work ethic was great,” Steinbach said.

“I especially would like to credit Johnny O’Grady (sophomore).

O’Grady spent a ton of time down in our lab this year, and he was a leader because he offered his help and assisted other teams in their building of robots. Even though he’s a sophomore he has the leadership that a senior should.” Steinbach continuted.

Members of WCAT Live’s crew also filmed the entirety of Robot Rumble, alongside members of the D214’s other broadcasting programs. All in all, it was an incredible run for Wheeling at this year’s competition, and the robotics club has high hopes for next year’s tournament.

ADVENTURES OF SAM & JOE Comic 1: A Humble Hero

Comic 2: Wake Up

Comic 3: Daylight Savings Comics By Jared Moser

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Courtesy of Rohin Shah

Mehul Schukla, senior, and Filip Kopec, senior, both duke it out against the opposing team whilst controlling their own robot.

6

Focus

March 15, 2019

Through the Smoke: real THE EFFECTS OF SMOKING

Cartoon by Jared Moser

Security guards and staff take on new responsbilites as students vape

By Kamila Walus Focus Editor Vaping at WHS has reached new heights, being nearly inevitable and requiring bathrooms around the schools to be locked, and for staff and security to keep an eye on the bathrooms. Although these precautions may seem excessive, WHS isn’t the only school to install them.

“It’s like in every school in the district, it’s like in other districts that we talk to,” Thomas Scotese, dean, said.

WHS staff has been doing their best to educate everyone on the dangers of vaping and how it affects students.

“It’s definitely a crisis because people have no idea of the effect and on top of that, teenagers never think that effect will ever hit them. We’re trying to educate.

Educate parents, educate staff, and educate students,” Svetlana Fastovskaya, social worker, said.

Students caught using drugs in school face major consequences. In-school use of marijuana include an out of school suspension, $250 in fines, and a restorative drug conference that includes a social worker, the dean and the students with their parents. Social workers are at the meetings also to help teach the

decision-making skills, analyze why they turned to substance abuse and to figure out alternatives to strict consequences.

Other drug violations, including vaping, require a Saturday detention, $150 in fines for tickets and a restorative drug conference.

“We’re having a lot of conferences, so a lot of the time, we’re educating the parents for the first time. We also try and give those facts to students so they fully understand what they’re doing to themselves,” Jackie Meo, dean, said.

Further punishments, which have yet to be determined, will be applied to those who are found using drugs on school property more than once. Attempts to prevent students vaping included warnings on the “Stall Street Journal” pamphlets found in the bathroom, sending out emails to parents, holding informational assemblies for parents to attend after school hours and having staff and security regularly check the bathrooms and check for any suspicious behavior. Staff and security encourage anyone who sees something to say something.

“Once in a while, we’ll get a student that might mention something, like ‘Hey, just so you know, there’s a kid vaping in the bathroom’, which is very helpful. I wish there were more students like that,” Meo said.

Do you think vaping at sch Graphic from Healthline

“Yeah, I have seen people carrying around Juuls and I do not think school is the right place to vape,” Beata Skora, freshman, said.

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“I feel like there is so much happening at WHS that it is kind of ridiculous. It has become a hassle that all of the bathrooms are locked,” Cristian Esparza, sophomore, said.

7

Focus

March 15, 2019

lities of teenage vaping SMOKING NICOTINE IS LINKED TO:

CANCER Ultrafine particles

HEART ATTACKS & CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

200 puffs of nicotine, the same amount of nicotine in a pack of cigarettes

LUNG DISEASES & EMPHYSEMA

Nicotine

* Cancer-causing chemicals

Volatile organic compounds *Juul pod

hool is a problem?

“Yes, I feel like a lot of good people are being punished for others. For example, the bathrooms are being locked because of vaping and it is not fair to everyone else,” Mayra Maldonado, junior, said.

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“Yes, as I know there are a lot of kids that are vaping and it is not good for their health. Sometimes, when I go to the bathroom I can smell it. I have also seen kids trading Juuls in the bathroom,” Zoryana Hachynska, senior, said.

Heavy metals such as tin, nickel and lead

“Yes, from what I have heard, it is an issue. I know that they have been locking the bathrooms during the school day due to the fact that vaping has become such a huge problem,” Judy Kraus, security guard, said.

Photo Opinion by Katie Meyer

La Voz

8

Un poco del sabor mexicano

15 de marzo, 2019

Grande reconocimiento para un gran poeta Por Jaspreet Kaur Staff Reporter

Por America Munoz Staff Reporter No por ser estereotípica pero a muchos mexicano les gusta comer. Hablando por mi misma, me encantan los tacos, chilaquiles, pozole, tamales y mucho más.

Por eso encontrando un lugar donde la comida está buena es importante.

Obviamente nadie puede hacer mejor comida que mi mamá.

No se puede comparar el pozole de mi mamá a uno de restuarante.

Por eso es muy importante para mi y a mi familia encontrar un restaurante decente.

En los años que he vivido en Wheeling Illinois he visto muchos restaurantes. No todos son buenos y no todos son malos.

El lugar preferido de mi y mi familia será Los Comales. Cuando no

estamos celebrando en casa o solo queremos unos taquitos, siempre vamos a Los Comales.

Aunque no todos piensan lo mismo “La comida se hace muy fría, en La Rosita dura más, también en La Rosita es más rápido y no tienes que pagar mucho” dijo Lisie Pereida, estudiante del tercer año.

Mi familia siempre ha sido muy cercana, por eso es muy importante comer en un lugar donde se puede platicar y chismear. En los comales se puede sentar la mayoría de mi familia en una mesa, en muchos restaurantes no es tan fácil juntarnos a todos porque somos muchos.

Después de que todos estamos sentados y listo para comer, ordenamos unas “charolas” de tacos.

Todos en mi familia

tienen diferentes gustos de tacos. Por la mayoría son los tacos de carne asada pero nomás para darle otro sabor mi familia orden tacos de cecina, tacos al pastor, o tacos de tripas.

“Porque los tacos estan pequeños y puedes comer muchos con un refresco, y también hay muchos tipos de comida como burritos de asada con chile y limo y para bebidas hay horchatas y jarritos,” dijo Raul Paredes, estudiante del segundo año.

Y paro completar siempre se ordenan una jarra de horchata y una jarra de Jamaica. Ya cuando llegan los tacos, empieza el chisme y la unión familiar.

Es cierto que esta un poco lejos de casa pero en verdad no es una molestia sabiendo que la comida siempre va estar deliciosa.

La verdad detrás del mentado senioritis Por Faviola Gutierrez La Voz Editor Muchos de los seniors en estos meses empiezan a no tener motivación para terminar el año como lo empezaron, echandole ganas. Senioritis es cuando no tienes motivación de hacer tareas, presentarte a clase, o estar puntal en llegar a cada una de tus clases a tiempo.

Yo misma he estado experimentando el típico “senioritis” que a la mayoría de los adolescentes les da.

Empezando el año todos están ansiosos estudiando cada noche, haciendo toda la tarea pero a mediados de noviembre, muchos dejan de poner el mismo empeño.

Recuerdo que al entrar a la escuela yo estaba emocionada ya que es mi último año en la preparatoria de la cual 3 de mis hermanos se graduaron. Estaba haciendo mi tarea hasta con una semana de anticipación y ahora encuentro cualquier excusa para hacerla a la última hora y mentalmente se que no está bien porque muchas de nuestras notas académicas pueden bajar drásticamente.

Pero también hay muchos jóvenes que se motivan mucho en su último año. Tengo a una amiga que está muy motivada para hacer toda su tarea a tiempo aunque trabaje y esté en un deporte.

Al contrario, yo he tenido dificultad tratando de enfocarme en tareas mientras tengo un trabajo. Siempre que estoy en

clase, me distraigo y no tengo motivación para echarle ganas aunque debería de tenerla porque en un futuro me podría afectar ya que muchas universidades se enfocan mucho más en tu último año en vez que en tus años anteriores.

A solo dos meses de graduación también es un problema el no estar al tanto con mis clases mucho más no estar al día con las tareas y ejercicios que tenemos en nuestras clases. No estar presente o llegar tarde a clase también te puede afectar ya que piedes mucho en un solo día.

Si eres un senior, enfocate.

Se que es estresante ya que es nuestro último año pero podemos sobre salir de este dilema. Vamos a ponernos las pilas y, ¡buena suerte, terminemos este año con toda la actitud!

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He leído muchas poesías sobre el amor y la naturaleza, pero nunca supe que los callejones vacíos, la desolación de la muerte y las guerras trágicas se pueden ver desde el punto de vista La poesía del poeta chileno trascendental.

Pablo Neruda, ganador del Premio Los poemas de Neruda muestran Nobel de la paz, se traduce y su necesidad de promover la paz en compila perfectamente en Poemas el mundo. Con la disminución de los seleccionados de The Essentials amantes de la poesía, este libro puede Neruda por un impresionante grupo de atraer a muchos lectores. traductores que son Mark Eisner, John “En nuestra Tierra, antes de que Felstiner, Forrest Gander, Robert Hass, se inventara la escritura, antes de Jack Hirschman, Stephen Kessler, que se inventara la escritura, la Stephen Mitchell, Alastair Reid. poesía floreció. Por eso sabemos que El libro contiene poesía tanto la poesía es como el pan; Debe ser en inglés como en español. Ambas compartido por todos. Pablo Neruda. versiones se imprimen cara a cara.

Recomiendo leer este libro y lo calificó Nunca había leído a Neruda antes, un ⅘. pero su poesía era lo suficientemente profunda como para dejar una marca atrás. De mares a guerras para amar, cubre temas específicos incrustados en sus poemas.

Los traductores hicieron un excelente trabajo traduciendo su trabajo. Aunque leo la versión en inglés de los poemas de Neruda, todavía puedo relacionarme con la poesía.

El libro contiene 50 poemas. Soy un lector de ritmo rápido, pero este libro es tan profundo y fascinante que dediqué mucho tiempo a cada poema.

Pasar una página era como dejar una historia completa. Como estudiante de APLAC llegué a un punto en el que podía identificar la intención del poeta.

Esta traducción es una celebración de los 100 años del nacimiento de Neruda. Hay varios temas transmitidos en el libro, pero uno de los que más me pegaron fue la muerte y la guerra.

Los beneficios y desventajas del bilinguismo Por America Munoz Staff Reporter

Mis primeras palabras las hable en español. Y desde entonces siempre eh estando hablado español. Pero en los años que estaba creciendo mi vocabulario creció conmigo.

Porque también aprendí hablar inglés y también escuché otros lenguajes como el italiano y muchos más.

Por esa razón es que mi español suena un poco extraño.

Por ejemplo cuando estoy hablando con mi mamá empieza la conversación en español, por en medio le meto una palabra en inglés y al final terminó con español “ma today at school me tome un examen bien difícil”.

No es un problema en casa porque mi mamá siempre lo entendió pero no es lo mismo cuando estoy hablado con otros adultos. Pero, no nomás es como hablo y mixto el inglés también es que palabras que siempre uso parece ser que no son la correcta manera de decirlas.

Por ejemplo siempre eh dicho “parqueadero” cuando en verdad la palabra correcta es “estacionamiento.”

Esto pasó con muchos latinos por la simple verdad que se confunde el español y el inglés.

Lo que a mi me afecta mas es escribiendo en español.

Por no saber cuales palabras son correctas y si llevan acento, si se ase un problema.

Siendo mexicana si es importante saber cómo escribir el español bien. Muchos hispanohablantes ni siquiera saben de este dilema. Ver como si aquellos que no saben el idioma lo aprenden en la escuela secundaria. Aunque, si no es el español que todos hablamos,cómo es beneficioso?

Es genial que la escuela tenga planes de estudio en español para hablantes nativos y no nativos. Pero si es el español adecuado de España en lugar de México, de donde proviene la mayoría de nuestros padres, entonces realmente no estamos aprendiendo nuestro idioma nativo.

Por Erica Haden Staff Reporter A partir de ahora, la mayoría de los estudiantes que hablan español nativo no tienen una calificación más alta que una C en la clase.

Si la escuela va a tener clases de español, la clase debe ser originaria de México, en lugar de España, donde la mayoría de nosotros no somos.

Sin embargo, los estudiantes prefieren aprender un idioma completamente diferente, como el italiano y el francés, en lugar de pasar por la lucha para aprender un idioma completamente diferente que se supone que es su lengua materna. En el momento actual, hay más americanos tratando de aprender español en vez de hispanos.

Al igual que las palabras que conocemos como “menso” ni siquiera existe en el español formal, hemos llegado a saber. Además, si queremos mejorar nuestras habilidades en español, lo menos que podemos hacer es nuestro “argot español.”

March 15, 2019

Entertainment

9

Raving about Academy Award winner “Roma”

By Ben Karp Copy Editor Alfonso Cuaron’s 2018 “Roma” may not live up to the perfect movieof-the-year standards to which most mainstream critics have held.

That doesn’t mean the rather mediocre story holds back the stunning cinematography and lead actress’ performance to make the film not a worthwhile watch.

The film, a passion piece for “Gravity” and “Y Tu Mama Tambien” director and Mexico native Alfonso Cuaron, chronicles the life of the middle-class Sofia family in 1970-1971 Mexico City, focusing specifically on its indigenous live-in maid Cleodegaria Gutierrez, portrayed by actress and medical student Yalitza Aparicio in her debut role; despite her inexperience, however, she is by far the best actor in the film.

Save for the horrendous, blindingly mundane first five minutes of the movie where I almost thought of abandoning it completely, throughout “Roma,” Cuaron’s cinematography and Aparicio’s subtle acting collaborate

to paint a bleak picture of Cleo’s monotonous day-to-day life working in the Sofia household; the film abstains from outright telling the viewer that Cleo is unhappy most of the time save for her sporadic interactions with the Sofia children and fellow livein maid Adela, (thankfully) preferring to show the viewer through painstakingly slow camera movements from room to room (although these get old over time), Aparicio’s submissiveness and frequent melancholy appearance, and the nearcomplete lack of backing music unnecessarily sugar coating each scene.

Upon its release, many who viewed “Roma” voiced concern about the possible romanticism of poverty, working for a European Mexican family, and the servant class, but any viewer who reads between the lines will be quick to

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see that the impoverished characters’ experiences are far from pleasant.

“Roma” is by no means poignant or privy to revealing any greater, universal truths about life; instead, it constitutes a series of snapshots of Cleo’s and the Sofia family’s life and 1970’s Mexico that, while interesting, doesn’t necessarily have a positive impact on the viewers life beyond the enjoyment of a good film and greater interest in 20th century Mexico, as in my case.

But as stated before, the level of love placed in the direction and cinematography of the film make it a worthwhile watch.

Background lighting and proximity to the camera can reveal to eagle-eyed viewers who will or will not pose a threat to the main characters or who is or who isn’t morally corrupt.

Most of the time, the film is able to give the viewer full analyses of its

characters without any dialogue which I think is really powerful qulity that the film possesses.

“Roma”’s quality reaches its peak during the latter half of the movie; the brutal yet tranquil tone continues to masterfully show itself through this period, but the heavily violent scenes interspersed between are by far the best part of the movie; the audience can easily feel that their life is as much as stake as the characters in the movie.

This is a large testament to Cuaron’s abilities as a director and cinematographer, as many of the most pivotal actors in these scenes have never been in movies or even acted before.

A pivotal scene with doctors occurring later in the movie comes to mind; the actors were real-life doctors and had never acted in a movie before.

There were some problems with how the film presented one character’s awful actions as compassionate and as results of Freudian excuses in the latter half of the movie, but the excellent direction and acting during the rest of the movie more than made up for it.

Despite an assortment of flaws, “Roma” is a masterpiece, and can serve as a wonderful lesson for budding, young directors and cinematographers and a gateway into foreign films and modern Mexico.

I give this movie 7 out of 10 stars. I believe this movie rightfully deserved the Academy Award for best foreign film. “Roma” is available to watch on Netflix with English and Spanish subtitles available.

10

Forum

March 15, 2019

Why high school students should watch “Andi Mack” development along with her friends Buffy Driscoll, Cyrus Goodman and Jonah Beck.

The show most notably features Cyrus Goodman, played by Joshua Rush, is the first gay main character in a Disney Channel show. Cyrus talked about his sexuality multiple times even as far as saying the

By Jessica Bezkhlebetskiy word ‘gay,’, another landmark Staff Reporter “Andi Mack” created for the Disney Channel.

“Andi Mack” is by far the most The show has also explored his controversial show on the Disney Jewish heritage. It covers anxiety Channel. There’s many reasons why and poverty with Jonah Beck’s high school students should watch storyline. this show.

Buffy Driscoll has military parents The number one reason is and helps recurring character T.J. because of the diversity and with his learning disability. representation on the show. The Season 3 has also talked about main focus of the show revolves gun safety with T.J., Cyrus, and around Andi Mack and how she other supporting characters in a finds out her older sister is actually two-part episode. her mother.

T.J. Is speculated to be Cyrus’s The show follows her character love interest which we are getting

to see how far Disney actually lets the writers go with that storyline.

They also had a deaf character on the show, played by deaf actor Millicent Simmons. There is so much representation from a ton of different characters.

Disney Channel might cancel “Andi Mack” due to backlash from parents, even though the show has received a lot of positive feedback and is Disney’s most viewed show; even teens and adults watch the show. “Andi Mack” is the highestrated show on Disney Channel, and it can help the network survive, as its other shows suffer from declining ratings.

The respectful representation of marginalized peoples and problems facing teenagers today intertwined with the beautifully written and sometimes harrowing storyline makes “Andi Mack” a necessary watch for any high school student.

Actors of Andi Mack. Character names (From left to right): Cyrus Goodman, Andi Mack, Bex Mack, Bowie Quinn.

Editorial It seems that every Friday, half the students in each class are missing and absent. Due to field trips, students continually have to retake tests, make up class assignments and reorganize their whole schedules in order to accomodate for what they missed while they were on field trips.

Because this becomes such an inconvenience for the students along with the teachers who have to sometimes reorganize their lesson plans due to all their absent students, we are left to question if some field trips are really worth absence from school. Field trips are taken by almost every organization at WHS to locations all over the Chicagoland area as well as sometimes out of state.

Because of this, students can miss days of school, where they should be completing classwork, projects, tests and quizzes. Although some field trips are beneficial to students and further their understanding and commitment to an organization, some field trips should not be mandatory by teachers when students possess a valid excuse for wanting to attend school. Many students need to take more time to consider whether they should miss a day of school for a field trip.

Every field trip should be really thought through to whether it will aid in a student’s growth or if it is just another excuse to not skip on a Friday.

13 out of 13 members of the editorial board

Limited bathroom passes make natural tasks complicated

By Alina Wojcik Staff Reporter Every student has asked “can I go to the bathroom” to leave class, a request that a teacher usually allows.

Many teachers, however, report multiple instances where students ask to go to the bathroom, but instead skip class to go the library or talk with friends. A large group of teachers at WHS have now created bathroom passes, this helps limit the amount of times kids go to the “bathroom”. Some have created an incentive, if u do not use them you can get extra credit. Tod Schwager, staff, has been one of the many teachers who have

implemented these passes.

Schwager states, “ I feel the need to have them because otherwise they get up and want to go to the bathroom everyday. I feel there is plenty of time during passing periods to go.”

The bathroom pass system turns the process of asking the teacher to go to the bathroom into a hassle.

If there are good students in the class that genuinely just use the bathroom then they should not have to use the passes. I believe it’s unfair and makes it so much harder. If you have to go, you have to go. There’s no controlling that. The situation becomes even more unfair if the students have run out of passes and become forbidden from going. The need to go to the bathroom is something nobody can control and

the teachers have to be a little lenient with students’ bathroom needs. Schwager also stated that “It’s all relative: as long as you are more responsible then you get more freedom to go more often.” On the other hand, not every teacher will be lenient on the bathroom rule, which then can cause problems between the teacher and the student. At the end of the day, the bathroom pass system makes a simple process difficult. Bathroom passes or not, students can still not listen. The pass does not stop students from still roaming the halls. The passes only make it harder for kids to accomplish a simple task. School is already difficult enough; don’t make things more complicated than they need to be.

Should celebrities with troubled pasts be forgiven?

District, and later dropped out of high school to sell marijuana and partake

By Nikko Sarmenta in multiple criminal activities as part of a gang.

Staff Reporter Many today use their fame to get out of their environment by writing music about their experiences.

Rappers such as 21 Savage use their songs as a diary of what they With the start of the new year, experienced before fame. odd controversies began to spring In his two recent albums, “Issa up. With rapper 21 Savage arrested Album” and “I am > I was”, are shifts

by Immigration and Customs from his old, violent self.

Enforcement and facing deportation With the growing number of to his birth country, the United artists with controversial pasts, do Kingdom, many of his fans were left we condemn them for their criminal confused with what had happened. pasts, or do we forgive them because Though this information isn’t new, of the conditions they lived in? it has caused a dilemma that had For many controversial rappers, caused me to wonder how we should their past behavior were most deal with people who have had a likely influenced by the community rough past. surrounding them.

As a teenager in Georgia, 21 In the poor neighborhoods these Savage was expelled from every rappers grew up in, gangs, violence school in the DeKalb County School and drug use were prominent.

Drug dealing was one of the ways poor people could make money.

In modern rap music, many of the most popular rappers talk about their experiences.

While many critics view these artists as thugs and drug dealers, the artists, due to the community in which they grew up, had to find any way to survive that they could.

Of course, nothing justifies drug abuse and violent criminal activity, but they grew up in different communities than more fortunate people.

Many of these rappers chose their careers in order to escape from unsafe conditions.

If someone who grew up in awful conditions, like being surrounded by gang violence and drug dealing, but turned their life around and made money from becoming a popular artist, then I believe that they are forgivable.

Spokesman Staff 2018-2019 Editors-in-Chief Amanda Talalaj* News Editor Amanda Talalaj Associate Editorsin-Chief Santiago Cuevas* Giuliana Geati* Feature Editor Santiago Cuevas Focus Editor Kamila Walus* La Voz Editor Faviola Gutierrez* Arts Editor Claudia Chan*

Social Media Editor Forum Editor Katie Meyer* Brianna Eloiza* Staff Reporters Sports Editor Jessica Bezkhlebetskiy Giuliana Geati Ana Cozariuc Assistant Sports Editor Gisselle Franco-Munoz Jackson Gross* Jared Freeman Web Editor Erica Hayden Nicole Massat* Jaspreet Kaur Alexis Knight Copy Editor Chrissy Makris Ben Karp* America Munoz Adviser Ivan Muro John Uhrik Entertainment Editor Claire O’Donnell Matthew Posner Leslie Hernandez* Nikko Sarmenta Cartoonist Alina Wojcik Jared Moser*

*Staff members with asterisks are members of the Editorial Board

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This is the official student newspaper of Wheeling High School, 900 S. Elmhurst Road, Wheeling, Ill. 60090.

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Corrections-

Sports JV volleyball coach Kolcz leaves for Prospect

By Jared Moser Staff Reporter Being a dedicated to get to work,” Kolcz member to the WHS said. Having a solid volleyball program for relationship with the the girls and the boys WHS volleyball players for seven seasons, and coaches made it a Kevin Kolcz, staff, had loss for the program as to leave and take a job a whole. Despite this as a JV girls volleyball makes more sense for coach, and a freshman him to coach at Prospect. boys volleyball coach “Coach Kolcz is a full at Prospect everyday employee at High School. Kolcz has been working in the Prospect building for five years, and has been commuting to WHS for every practice and game.

“One of my fondest Courtesy of Lair memories is Standing with Jason Kopkowski, head boys varsity volleyball easily having coach and PE teacher, and Jared Uretea , senior, Kevin Kolcz, some of the staff, worked with both varsity and JV players. last seniors and this Prospect High School so year’s seniors on JV. it only makes sense for This team, Jared Urueta, a everyday employee at Joe Hernandez, Aidan Prospect, to just coach a McCoy, Kuba Ciepiela, team at Prospect,” Jason and Ryan Thomas, Kopkowski said. While seniors, and last year’s Kopkowski is the varsity seniors, Jorge Carbajal, volleyball coach at WHS, Mario Lemanto, and he has created a bond AJ Rutenberg, alumni. with Kolcz.

They were just a fun “I will miss the fact group to be around. You that he really connected could joke around with with this senior class these guys but they also especially, as a result knew when it was time he made a request to

me to make our senior night against Prospect because he really wanted to be there for the seniors,” Kopkowski said. Since the coaching spot opened up Kellie Kuzmanic, the JV girls coach, and a WHS volleyball alumna, filled the spot.

“I just think it’s a little bit of a different game, obviously guys have a little more energy sometimes, so getting that new side and working with this program, working with Coach K is great, he’s a great guy, so just being underneath him and learning a lot from him.

The seniors on this team are pretty studly I hear so it’ll be a fun season to be in,” Kuzmanic said.

In regards to Kolcz’s departure, Kopkowski and the program wish him the best of luck in his endeavors at Prospect High School.

“Having gone to Wheeling as a student this place will always be home to me. I have always had an easier time connecting with the students at Wheeling partly because I can relate to them and vice versa,” Kolcz said.

11

March 15, 2019

Wildcats stun Zee Bees, but fall short against Mustangs

By Jackson Gross Assistant Sports Editor

and everyone was ready to go Coming into the regional win that day” Zalewski said. tournament, the boys varsity Head coach Michael basketball team had the O’Keefe, staff, credited the win opportunity to host the regional. to fundamentals, Not many expectations were “We were the more put on this fundamentally team by the sound team fans because that day of their against opponent Zion-Benton. in the first That was an round, Zionexciting win.”

Benton.

O’Keefe said.

However, the After that boys took exciting win that doubt they had and fueled another tough it for their task ahead motivation, Courtesy of Lair of them the Staring down the court, Michael Best, senior, was one “It was of the key contributors to the Wildcats regional run. day after, playing awesome, Mundelein, the it was definitely unexpected by four seed. However, the magic a lot of people but I knew we was gone after they lost to all had it in us to beat ZionMundelein 48-36.

Benton” Michael Best, senior “I thought we played said. awesome, just all of our guys That is what the boys did, were playing with heart, defeating Zion-Benton in the which is awesome because we first round of the Wheeling struggled with that early in the regional. Cade Zalewski, junior, year, but, we couldn’t really was confident heading into the contain their big guy which but game, Joe and Cade do great jobs with “I wasn’t surprised; we had containing other teams big guys a really good game plan and without their size, but that was we just came ready to play, and probably the only downside but once we came out we had that I thought we played awesome,” energy from the student section Best said.

Nguyen jumps her way back to the record books

By Jackson Gross Assistant Sports Editor

The record books will have to be re-written for the WHS indoor track long jump record.

Nicole Nguyen, senior, jumped a school record 18 feet, 1 inch on her second attempt during the Wildcat Invite on Feb. 23,“It’s something I’ve been wanting so bad since last year, it’s my senior year so I felt like I have to go all out,” Nguyen said.

Many people were impressed with the feat, including Tim Nowicki, head girls varsity track coach. “I just didn’t think she would do it so soon, and the fact that she did it in flats was even more impressive. I thought she would pop one off at the GBS meet or the North Central meet. I didn’t expect her to do it in flats (racing shoes without spikes) and on her second attempt” Nowicki said.

Some of her teammates celebrated in her achievement like Nosa Igiehon, senior, “I’m happy for Nicole, she just (keeps) adding to her list of records she’s already broken,” Igiehon

said.

That jump continued the girls track team’s dominance as they have stayed undefeated, “You have to be an athlete, that’s number one, number two, (you have to take) advanced PE which I know she is in, so we have a great weight training program. Number three (is) working technique and reps with our jump coach, who is Coach Thomas, so I definitely can’t take credit for that,” Nowicki said.

This jump helped keep up the girls dominance as they won the Wildcat Invite and have stayed undefeated, “So far, so good, we just won our (Wildcat) Invite for the third year in a row and goals for this year we’re looking for our first outdoor conference championship in about 30 years, that’s on the table, another sectional championship, and were eyeing top ten in the state as a team with a lot of state qualifiers and a lot of medalists. Great start so far, but it’s a long way to go,” Nowicki said.

Courtesy of Wheeling CC and Track Twitter Nicole Nguyen, senior, broke the indoor long jump record, helping her team place first at the Wildcat Invite.

Boys volleyball to hit the court with new jerseys

By Brianna Eloiza Forum Editor This season of boys volleyball has started on a nice note, as members of the team customize their jerseys. Jason Kopkowski, Varsity volleyball coach, explains how he hasn’t ever had a team actually design their jerseys, but he always pitches the idea to do so.

“Since I’ve been around for a little while, I just tell them ‘If you do [a design], we’ll submit it’ but I knew that the guys were never really going to do it” Kopkowski said.

Of course, this was true, until this year.

Jared Moser, senior, explained how it was very special to commemorate the season with these custom jerseys because of the history that the members of the team have with each other.

“We have a very senior heavy team. We’ve been playing together for three or four years now, and we wanted something that we could have to keep to remember this team” Moser said.

The idea of custom jerseys all began with Jan Baranowski, senior, who has wanted to design the team’s jersey since he has been on the Varsity team.

“I knew that it would be difficult to try to design them as a team, so the only people who have made and seen the jerseys are me and Jared (Moser). We started designing them over the summer. We wanted to get it done and early before the season started so we could actually do it and not just talk about it” Baranowski said.

Coach Kopkowski explained that although the boys volleyball season didn’t start until March, Baranowski had been pitching the designs to him since November of last year. “(Jan) has done an amazing job with the designing, with contacting the vendor, with the ordering process, as well as keeping me in touch. I’ve literally done nothing, it’s a coach’s dream” Kopkowski said.

Baranowski has also done a great job with working with the budget.

“We have had several designs; one was like a

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high end, one was in the middle, and one was on the low end. The one on the high end was over 100 dollars for the jersey top alone per person” Kopkowski said.

Baranowski thought that it wouldn’t be right to ask each player to pay that much money for a jersey, so he decided to ditch the idea.

The entire uniform consists of a jersey, shorts, a complete warm up suit, as well as matching socks and shoe laces.

“The jumpsuits all have our names and our numbers on them so it’s all very customized” Moser said.

While many of the guys on the team are aware that they are getting custom jerseys, they have no idea what they look like yet. “I know what it looks like, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy

by Jan not to show because he really wants it to be a surprise for all his teammates” Kopkowski said.

The jerseys are set to arrive in time for the boys first game on Monday March 18 so be ready to support your Wildcats!

WHSSports March 15, 2019

Volume 55 Issue 6

Upcoming Events Boys Varsity Track Meet: Saturday, March 16, at 8:00 AM, @ North Central College Baseball Double Header: Saturday, March 16, at 10:00 AM, @ WHS Softball Double Header: Saturday, March 16, at 10:00 AM, @ WHS

Wildcats transition from winter to spring sports

Photos Courtesy of Lair

Pictured Athletes:

Girls Basketball: Chloe Drozdz, junior; Wrestling: Fernando Olvera, senior; Girls Track: Alexis Knight, Christina Pierini, seniors; Boys Volleyball: Joe Hernandez, senior

Best claims one thousand point career title

By Giuliana Geati Associate Editor-in-Chief After four years of playing Wildcat basketball, working and improving by scoring points every game, Michael Best, senior, has reached his accomplishment of scoring over one thousand points by the end of his high school basketball career.

“It means a lot. This is something I have strived for ever since I was up on varsity,” Best said.

For Best, this was an accomplishment that he had been reaching for time coming, but he has stayed humble about his skills throughout the process. Best realized that his basketball skills weren’t perfect, so he worked to develop his weakest areas.

“The number one thing I have been working on to achieve this goal was being able to create my own shot. I am not really athletic or really quick, so being able to create my own shot was a weakness of mine I worked hard to improve,” Best said.

Best’s teammates have been watching him achieve this goal since his freshman year and have been able to credit him for contributing to the success of the team.

“We recognize this as a personal accomplishment.

Michael is an essential part to us winning and succeeding. By him getting one thousand points, it really makes it public to how much Michael is contributing.

Personally, as a point guard, it’s

my role to find the open guy and to also recognize who’s shooting well. More times than not, Michael is shooting well and I will get him the ball whenever he is open,” Jeremy Kim, senior, said.

“I have only been on the team for two years now, but I have just done everything I can to get him the ball in a lot of situations. He was our best player this year, so we really tried to get him open and get him the ball in a lot of situations. (We) let him just take the ball and do what he needed to do. It’s just awesome especially for him. I’ve known him for a couple years now, and I have been on the team since I was a freshman. He really brought me in and treated me great and made me feel welcomed on the team, even though I was younger. That’s the type of guy Michael is. That makes it even better that he reached one thousand points.

He’s not just a great basketball player, he’s a great person and there’s nobody else who deserves this accomplishment as much as he does,” Joe Jordan, sophomore, said.

Best credits his career achievements to his teammates over four years of playing, three of which have held a varsity position.

“My teammates are the only reason I got this accomplishment. They always did a great job setting great screens and looking for me and it definitely made my job easier,” Best said.

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Courtesy of Lair

Dribbling towards the basket, Michael Best, senior, works to get past his opponent from Hersey. Best serves as the shooting guard and contributes to the team and his own one thousand point record by driving towards the net.