THE WISCO PILOT
Vol. 28 No.1
Articles by and for students
November 2021
International Trips During the Pandemic by Lucy Li
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fourteen-hour flight without food or bathroomis certainly hard to bear, let alone the masks and face shields covering everyone’s faces that make it extremely difficult to breathe. The gloves on my hands kindly offered to me at the airport prevented me from using any electronic devices. It was still the middle of the global pandemic, and the start of the worst phases of the disease in the United States. Struggling to find a good sleeping position on my seat without having to touch the guy next to me, I started to think about how far I still was from home. I know that I would still have to stay in a hotel for two whole weeks in another city before being able to go back to my sweet home Shanghai. I strangely felt a bit more excited than anxious for this quarantine schedule. Having two weeks all to myself sounded kind of appealing. After spending the first two days of quarantine in the hospital just because my overly honest mind told myself to tick “yes” on “heaviness on chest” in the survey chart on the plane when it’s certainly caused by that huge mask on my face, I was finally standing on the outside of the quarantine hotel with my suitcase. All I could see was a long corridor leading straight from the outside hotel door to the elevators. The smell of disinfectant and sanitizers was strong enough to go through the mask and into my nostrils, yet the medical workers kept spraying those onto my bag and my suitcase as I walked. Continued on page 8
Inside . . . 2-3 New Staff 4-5 The New School Year 6-7 Academics 8-9 Traveling 10-11 Trending 12-13 Business/Showcase 14-15 Homecoming Week 16 Look and Find
Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me
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The Wisco Pilot
New Staff
New Faces at Honey Creek Hall by Frank Quan-Pham, JoonWoo Ha, and Hieu Than, photography by Micheal Wiechmann
Since 2019, Honey Creek Hall has been the place of residence for nearly 70 Wisco students from overseas and elsewhere in the United States. This year, these dorms welcome four new staffers to serve as supervisors and other roles such as advisors, counselors. Here are their experiences with Wisco’s students, dorm, and school.
A Reverse Legacy –– Mrs. Sra. Peterson-Lehr
Sra. Catherine Peterson-Lehr, a daughter of a native from Puerto Rico avid folk dancer, served as a teacher at Morgandale Elementary School for 33 years. She still serves as a substitute teacher for the suburbs in and outside Milwaukee County. During a service she attended at Grace Lutheran Church, an announcement was made that Wisconsin Lutheran High School needed new supervisors in their residential halls. In fact, Sra. Peterson’s oldest son was a student at WLHS, who graduated in 2016. During her first weeks at the school and dorm, she has been impressed by the modern facilities that Honey Creek Hall and the school has to offer. She’s also taken interest in conversing with the other staff and the “fascinating students” at the dorm. She commends the high standards that Wisco demands of its students and approves of our religious education and theology programs. Sra. Peterson states that she looks forward to developing relationships with the students, staff, and faculty within and beyond Honey Creek Hall, and to helping and serving the school and the students whenever and wherever her assistance is needed. She advises everyone “to always do [our] best and to love one another,” as commanded by God.
Dorm Bitter-sweet Dorm –– Mr. Jacob Bitter
During his senior year at Martin Luther College, studying to become a pastor at the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mr. Jacob Bitter (brother of alum Sarah Bitter ‘21) was contacted by Mr. Douglas Carter, the Dean of Residential Life at Honey Creek Hall. Mr. Carter told him that the dorm has supervisor positions available and asked if he’d like to become one. Trusting in God’s calling and in his 8 years of living in dormitories in high school and college, Mr. Bitter decided to take this job and make Honey Creek Hall his own home. Since then, he has taken note of the student body at school and in the dorms, praising them as extremely gifted, driven, and hard-working; moreover, he appreciates that the faculty and staff are dedicated and want to see the students succeed. During his time working as Dorm Supervisor, Mr. Bitter is excited to grow in his relationships with the diverse community that resides at Honey Creek Hall. The students come from 19 vastly different countries and cultures around the world. As someone born in Montana and raised in North Dakota, he also hopes to become closer to Wisco, Milwaukee, and Wisconsin as a whole. His advice for students is the following: “Learn as much from your friends as you do from your teachers.”
A Retirement Twist –– Mrs. Frau Joanne Kohler
In 2018, after 23 years of teaching German and ESL at the Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Mrs. Frau Joanne Kohler was ready to retire. Shoreland Lutheran High School, however, was having a problem: their German teacher was seriously ill, and they needed a replacement. She became that replacement for two years. After that, while teaching at Whitefish Bay High School, she found out through the bulletin at her church, Woodlawn Lutheran, that Wisconsin Lutheran High School, where she attended with her siblings and graduated in 1970, was looking for new Dorm Supervisors. Mrs. Frau Kohler said that when she was a student here, there were, in fact, more students within a smaller campus, and that conditions are now much more spacious for each student, including those residing in Honey Creek Hall. She considers the location of our school and dorm to be very beneficial to students, with many stores, restaurants, and parks within walking distance, and food options from home readily available within Milwaukee. Having worked with international students before in Michigan, she takes pride in the students at Wisco. She said they are a large, diverse, nice, group of young people with a good command of English.
Continued on page 3 Illustration by
Willow Zak
The Wisco Pilot Continued from page 2 One thing she loves about her job is that she never comes to work already knowing what’s in store for her. This variety in her job includes her interactions with the students, especially the chance to speak some German to students who know the language. She understands the hardships that new international students may face, and recalls from her previous experience that students who kept trying were happy that they tried and would become successful. Her advice? “Appreciate the Christian education and Christian atmosphere of the school, where you learn about [our] Savior. And remember, it’s the most important thing in life that [we] are children of God.”
New Staff The Alum Strikes Back –– Mr. Andrew Fink
After graduating from Wisco in 2015, Mr. Andrew Fink went to the University of Colorado at Boulder to pursue a PhD program and to work as a teaching assistant in Economics. He was then called by President Fisher to teach Money Matters at WLHS with housing provided. The catch? He’d have to keep about forty adolescent boys in check. It might not always be sunshine and rainbows, but to him, it’s worth it to experience a lively, happy, and friendly dorm environment built by the international student community. As far as the students in his classes, he appreciates their dedication and eagerness to learn. Things have changed since Mr. Fink attended Wisco. There were no
Page 3 Chromebooks given to students, and he thanks God for this major blessing. When each student has a Chromebook, this allows students to increase peer-to-peer collaboration instead of working on every assignment individually. Mr. Fink also noticed the improvement and addition of facilities (Honey Creek Hall) and the change of teachers that took place during his sixyear absence. He is excited to lead his international students on various excursions and activities, asking them questions, and finding out what they have in common. He enjoys teaching his classes. He believes the content will be used by students for the rest of their lives. He’s cheered for the Cross Country team, which he was once a part of, this season. Looking back on his high school years, Mr. Fink considers them to be his best years, having grown the most in them. “Make as many friends as possible, because they’ll stick around, even six years from now,” he recommends to his students.
More New Faculty and Staff Mrs. Bauer
by Oliva Hermanson
Mrs. Bauer is Wisco’s newest history teacher. She teaches Modern World history as well as U.S. History. She did not attend Wisco, but her two oldest kids (Allison (23’) and Aubrey (24’) are both students here. Mrs. Bauer loves the diversity and the classes Wisco offers. Before she came to Wisco, Mrs. Bauer raised her kids and helped with daycare. Prior to that, she has taught 7th and 8th grade classes. She and her family attend Garden Homes Lutheran, where her younger two kids also attend school. She loves college sports and the University. of Michigan. A piece of advice Mrs. Bauer has for the kids at Wisco is to take time to enjoy high school because it flies by.
Mrs. Uttech
Mrs. Gospodarek
Mrs. Uttech teaches Freshman Choir, Acappella Choir, Wisco Kids, and Spectrum of Music. She herself is a 1998 graduate of Wisco. Her oldest daughter, Eviana, is a sophomore at Wisco. Mrs. Uttech loves that she can share God’s love daily with her class in the Christian environment Wisco has created. She was previously the director of parish music and the music teacher at Christ the Lord Church & School in Brookfield, where she also attends church. The biggest advice she has for the students is to “Never be shy or embarrassed about using the gifts God has given you, especially musical talents, to praise the Lord.”
Being a 98’ Wisco alumni, Mrs. Gospodarek is happy to return here because of the amazing faculty and environment that is surrounded by the word of God. Before serving as a central office receptionist, she worked in various positions, but most recently was at home with her 3 kids. She loved being home with her kids and at the same time built a health and wellness business. Teaching classes related to this business enabled her to bless others as well as helped her and her son recover from illnesses. She also taught a community workshop on emotions that was standing room only! Mrs. Gospodarek ran college track and can knit. She has a wide variety of talents that are already blessing WLHS.
by Oliva Hermanson
by Alex Wang
NEW
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by Frank Quan-Pham Trap & Skeet
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ho is the oldest athlete you can think of? Do you know any people who are 90 years old and over, and still regularly participate in a sport? Well, with this sport, you’ll be able to do that. It doesn’t matter if you’re short, tall, or have terrible joints. The main quality necessary is decent eyesight. Trap, skeet, and sporting clays is something that you could participate in for the rest of your life. That’s the idea behind the Viking Clay-Breakers, coming this February, under the guidance of soon-tobe-Coach Joshua Nelson, currently a Chemistry teacher. Shot gun sports and target disciplines have been a personal, joyful passion of Mr. Nelson for many years. In order to expand this life-long discipline and to build strong relationships with his students outside of the lab, he has been looking for ways to introduce these sports into WLHS. Wisco is one of the few high schools in Wisconsin without a shooting team. Now, with official endorsement from, and an invitation to join, the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), Mr. Nelson is ready to launch this new club. According to Mr. Nelson, this activity allows students to participate in Christian fellowship and witness their faith in public by their actions “in the context of a supervised, structured, supportive environment that emphasizes self-discipline and focus.” He wishes to train his students, through this “no-cut” sport,
The New School Year into becoming coachable, humble, and responsible Christians. According to current plans, when the season starts, practices will be held at Boxhorn Gun Club in Muskego, every Tuesday from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. In order to participate, students need to bring their own 12-gauge shotgun, should have taken the State of Wisconsin Hunter Safety Education program, and will have to pay for equipment. Any inquiries should be made to Mr. Joshua Nelson (josh.nelson@ wlhs.org).
Kindness Crew
The Kindness Crew is an idea that has been budding since 2019 under the guidance of Mrs. Jennifer Hennen. They are part of Wisco Witnesses in the World’s Jerusalem Committee which serves within WLHS. The idea for Kindness Crew came from a group of students who had a goal to spread much-needed kindness to the Wisco student body. Ms. Hennen hopes that students realize that being kind to one another is more than just being “nice.” It’s also one of the simplest ways to follow the example of Jesus. It’s free, easy to give, and needed by all. Kindness is pretty much the best thing to give and to receive. The primary goal of the Kindness Crew is to sow kindness in the student body. They also hope to nurture an environment where kids look forward to fun activities even during challenging times. Anyone who wants to be part of something bigger should join. The Crew always welcomes new members through WWW. Email Mrs. Hennen (jen.hennen@wlhs.org) or talk to her in room 128 for more information.
The Wisco Pilot Current Wisco Student Organizations
The Wisco Pilot
The New School Year
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Fun Facts About Mr. Robinson by Brooklyn Dressler
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any of the students at Wisco know that Mr. Robinson is a commons supervisor, and has been for the past five years. However, what did he do before working at Wisco, and what exactly does he love most about his job? Before working full time at WLHS, he spent many years being a coach or assistant coach for a variety of sports teams. Throughout the years, he helped coach varsity, JV, and freshman girls’ basketball. He also was an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at WLC and went to the NCAA Division 3 Basketball Tournament for two years in a row. Mr. Robinson even coached high jump for three years. When asked if he could have any other job at this school, like a principal or a
teacher, Mr. Robinson says he enjoys the job he has. Mr. Robinson went to Brookfield Central High School and then moved on to Waukesha County Tech, learning automotive repair. Later, he worked on the police force for 30 years, being an active officer for 18 of them. In his free time, he likes to fish, camp, and relax. As a commons supervisor, Mr. Robinson works with hundreds of kids a day. He describes commons in one word-- “Interesting.” His favorite parts about the job are working alongside Mrs. Matus and also building relationships with the students. He enjoys talking with the students and “making them think,” he explained. He appreciates that even after graduating, he still
Food picture by Marco Verch (altered slightly and used with permission)
by Hope Larabee
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keeps in contact with some of his former students that he talked with during their time at high school. He loves seeing them mature and grow. It is a blessing to still be involved in their lives.
hen Wisco’s student body was asked to vote for their favorite Viking Cafe food, a staggering 459 results were sent in! The school’s top three foods have been revealed. The third most-liked food in the cafe is Teriyaki chicken with fried rice and an egg roll with 6.5% of the votes. The second-best food to eat in the Viking Cafe is Mac and cheese with 8.1% of the votes. Finally, the best food served by the Viking Cafe is the Chicken Bowl, which received 9.2% of votes! Thanks to everyone who participated in the Viking Cafe poll. We want to especially thank the workers who provide these great foods.
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The Wisco Pilot
Academics
Homework
by Taiquan Robinson
How to Become a Better Student by Kirstin Neuwirth
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t the beginning of every school year, we all intend to start strong. However, those intentions often go down the drain as our organization, time management, and rest deteriorate. How are we supposed to stay on top of our school work, have some time to ourselves, and get enough sleep? Hopefully, some of these tips will help you this school year. First of all, it’s extremely important to maintain quality organization as you jump into this new quarter. The Wisco Student Services Office advises everyone to have a planner in order to keep track of assignments. Willamette University agrees that all students should keep a planner or cal-
endar to keep track of time and assignments. This will help you prioritize when to complete assignments and accomplish goals that you might have. Along with that, the University of Kansas suggests making a schedule for the day and planning when to do certain assignments. Furthermore, you should make sure your work area and notes are organized in order to efficiently complete your school work. Next, it is hard to balance both school, extra-curriculars, family, and maybe even a job, so it is key to have time management skills. The first step, according to Purdue University, is to identify things that are wasting your time and avoid them. This may mean putting your phone in a different room
or working in a quiet space. The Wisco Student Services office suggests that students should contact teachers ahead of time if you will be missing class. Also, ask teachers questions before an assignment is due. These steps can allow you to work on assignments throughout the time it is assigned, so that you don’t have to rush at the end. It will also allow you to stay on top of your school work, especially if you are absent. Lastly, Dartmouth suggests setting up a schedule for the day and rewarding yourself especially after completing difficult assignments or a long
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The Wisco Pilot
Academics
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by Ryan Parker
Everyone
reading this has made an excuse for his/her behavior at some point. It seems practically impossible for a bad situation or predicament to arise without giving a reason why it occurred. It’s human nature to rationalize or shift the blame away from oneself. Isn’t this exactly what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden after they sinned? Everyone wants a reason for why something bad happens, but no one wants to be that reason themselves. Unfortunately, when a problem comes up, there are times when the person that problem afflicts is the same with who caused it. Certainly this happens in school just as often as anywhere else. Younger people seem particularly prone to giving excuses. When a young child breaks something, he/she may say someone else broke it. If they get into a fight, each person might claim the other person started it. Why do you think the story of a child claiming the
Illustration by Juliet Chin
dog ate the homework not only exists, but persists? Simply put, some children can have difficulty taking their share of the blame for something, which is to be expected. Most high schoolers don’t often regale insane tales about how something that they caused happened, but they still may try and explain why something unfavorable occurred. For instance, a student may say he/she was late to class because the walk was a long distance when in actuality, the person simply wanted to speak with their friends about something and lost track of time. Another example is that a student may say the homework was completed, but simply forgot to turn it in; therefore, no points should be docked from the overall score because the assignment was completed on time. In reality this individual may know he/ she simply forgot to do the work. Why is this done? Would it not make more sense to be honest and simply admit one’s mistake as opposed to making a false rationalization that won’t alleviate the consequences of the mistake? The concept of the excuse is, at its core, logically unsound. Yet, excuses are constantly made and will continue to be made for as long as people are flawed--meaning they will be made for as long as people exist. The most we can do, as a student body, is to own up to our mistakes, and move forward from there, whatever the consequences may be. We earn the blame for our own actions and inaction, and to say that we don’t is an excuse in and of itself. If this is something that is a problem, for you, pray about it. Prayer can lead to repentance and a changed heart and attitude.
study session. The most important idea is to not procrastinate-stay on top of your assignments. Finally, everyone is always saying that high schoolers need sleep, but it is impossible to get enough with everything going on. Harvard says that at least 8 hours of sleep each nigh is essential in order to be a good student, because without it, your concentration and memory suffer. This means that sleep deprivation is even worse for students. Without proper reset, students will have a difficult time learning and remembering things, especially on tests. Luckily, Dartmouth is here again with some tips for sleep. They say that you should keep a regular sleep schedule, avoid caffeine before bed, take care of worries before sleep (prayer helps with this), and wake up early as opposed to staying up late. Harvard also says that you should avoid electronics before bed and have a wind-down routine to get into the sleep mood. Getting enough sleep is important for students. Being a good student is hard work, but the effort pays off. Not only will good grades get you into good colleges but they will also allow you to feel the success you earned. Get enough sleep, manage your time, and stay organized. You will be glad you did.
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Traveling
The Wisco Pilot
International Trips during the Pandemic Continued from front page I called them medical workers, for there was no way I could recognize their positions, appearance, or even gender. They all looked the same to me in those plastic white suits covering from head to toe, fully geared up with the gloves, masks, and glasses too. I could only try to know them through their names they wrote with markers on the back of the suits and their eyes half-visible through the protective glasses, of which the other half was hidden behind the vapor formed on the glass surfaces. Despite my effort to get to know them, they clearly didn’t care at all if I would recognize them again when I saw them, for a room card was shoved in my hand, and I was hurried into the elevator while none of them said a word. I soon got used to the quarantine life routine. I got to know when the daily three meals are served on the chair out in the hallway, when I should take my own temperature and text one of the nurses, and how to order takeaway shampoo and towels from nearby shops. The medical workers, still wearing their full gear, kept running to and fro, busy with something I didn’t know about. Probably about cleaning and data recording.
To be honest, I haven’t remembered any one of them since my first day at the hotel: all of them looked exactly the same in those suits and it was hard to hear their voices through the door. The fact that all those living in the quarantine hotel were high school students didn’t make them any friendlier, for they never stayed for even a short conversation with anyone. They didn’t seem to care about introducing themselves to us in quarantine, either. All I could see from the peephole on the door was suited people busy running around with carts full of water or food. It’s very easy to get bored in such a repetitive routine and environment. Since coming back home was an emergency decision, I didn’t have a lot of luggage with me and thus no books or art supplies, which I rely a lot on to keep myself entertained while not touching electronic devices. The media described those medical workers outside my door as heroes, and I myself may be in one of those numbers reported to be quarantined. All this experience that I might not be able to go through ever again made everything around me feel unreal, as I couldn’t help but realize the twoweek quarantine was coming to its end and I would not be able to remember anything about anybody
there. On the second-to-last day of the quarantine, someone knocked on my door for the first time and asked if she could come in. I was surprised when I learned she was the supervising nurse that asked me for my temperature every day through text: recognizing her signature on the back of the suit, I realized that I had seen her before in the hallways. “This would be your final testing procedure here in quarantine. The test results will be out tomorrow so you may show it to the airport workers,” she said while poking the long cotton swab in my nostril. That was the first time I got to see her close: one would imagine shocking beauty within those protective glasses, as it would be written in a romance story. Instead, she had normal dark, calm eyes just like a normal person, a person I would meet on the crowded subway trains without bothering to look back to. Some hair wet with sweat was sticking out of her protective suit, and her eyes were moist, probably because of all the heat and staying up. Those, together with the red marks left by the glasses and the mask, made me wonder how uncomfortable it must be in that gear. When she was about to leave, she reached into her bag on her shoulder, as if searching for something. I was surprised by what she pulled out, though: it was a tiny chocolate bar, something I definitely would not expect a busy medical professional to give to the patient
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The Wisco Pilot
Traveling
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International Trips During the Pandemic by Edward Cao
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OVID-19 brought a totally new way of living to society. Words that were rarely used became more common. Activities and our normal ways of doing things became very different such as online classes, zoom meetings, and masks. During COVID-19, travel became one of the biggest challenges for international students. They not only needed to deal with different procedures for entering different countries, but they also had to face the danger of exposure to COVID-19 in the closed plane compartments During that time, many countries chose to control the number of people entering the country by limiting the number of planes that flew to each country. Therefore, not being able to find a plane ticket was one of the most common problems that international students were facing. For example, China decided to cut the number of flights from the U.S. in half. This caused the price of those tickets to increase dramatically: some tickets even cost ten thousand dollars. This forced many of the international students who could not afford the tickets to stay in the U.S. Even after obtaining a ticket, the struggle for international students was not necessarily over. Because of the fear of the spread of the disease, many airline companies added new COVID-19 policies to their boarding requirements. Companies like Delta Airlines and United Airlines added that each passenger has to get a negative result 72 hours before flying in order to get on the plane for an international flight. Besides that, some countries also add their own requirements to make
sure that the person is “clean”. For instance, the Chinese Health Department added that whenever someone wants to enter the country, they need to fill a form on the phone before flight in order to get a green health code. The form includes COVID-19 test results “can only be taken in certain Medical Lab”, an antibody test result, the flight number, etc. Before boarding the flight, passengers were asked to fill another form called Customs Code, which includes other information that the Chinese Customs need to know. Most countries required the passengers from international flights to be quarantined for 14 days in the hotel or house to double check. In China, after the plane landed, all passengers were called out by number. Then, the health department workers performed a COVID-19 test again for each passenger. After that, the passengers were separated into small groups, and arranged onto a private bus to quarantine hotels. In the hotel, they received a temperature check twice a day. After all this, the passengers were released from the quarantine. However, some cities with large populations like Beijing and Shanghai required another seven days of home quarantine to make sure that the person was not infected during their domestic journey. Although all this limitation looks inconvenient and complex, they were all done for public safety because controls the separation of viruses and prevents people from being infected. Each life is important, and governments are doing their best to stop this pandemic. They do not want to see the separation between families, or the loss of someone’s life.
Continued from page 8 she is responsible for. I took it and expressed my gratitude towards her hard work during my stay and the chocolate, of course. I was sure she smiled to me after I said it, although I couldn’t really see her face. I stared hard at the chocolate bar. This hero, one of many I have read about on the news, would probably never meet me again, and I don’t think she would care about texting me back since I’m only one of her many patients. However, another thought hit me as I was packing up my luggage: what if I have met her before? Or, what if I meet her again in the future somewhere? She was just a normal person living a normal life, and yet the efforts she had given in her work have made a great impact on others around her. Once again geared up in my glasses and mask, I was on the bus heading back to the airport, only this time I was going directly back home. I couldn’t help but look around me at all the people walking by, wondering what they do and what they have done: are they like the nurse and those medical workers I met, who committed so much to their jobs and influenced so many of their patients? Could they be doing great things that others aren’t doing or don’t care to learn about? Thinking of that, I started to feel a growing sense of respect towards everyone around me: they may seem plain and normal, but no one would know how great they can be and what good things they can do.
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The Wisco Pilot
Trending
Video Game Fun Facts: According to Techstory, people spent 14% of their time playing video games in 2020 The most popular game as of 2021 is Call of Duty: Warzone
by Julie Carter
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hat comes to mind when you hear the words video game? Perhaps you thought of a horror game with terrifying jumpscares, or maybe a sandbox game where the world is at your fingertips. Video games are extremely popular worldwide. Students within Wisco’s student body who greatly enjoy video games were asked several questions, including why they are so passionate about them. Why do people love video games? A number of students said they play for entertainment, or as something to do to pass time. Other students said that video games let them spend time with their friends in many different ways. “It’s a good way to connect with my friends. It’s really easy to get on a console to talk to friends. You can have an actual conversation while playing games,” says Andrew Piontek (‘24). Others, still, explained that they played video games to break away from reality, whether that reality is school, stress, or negative emotions. What video games do these students like to play? Games have a great number of different genres. A few of the most familiar are probably sandbox games such as Minecraft and Terraria or shooter games, whether first- or third-person. Another popular category is action/adventure games. These types of games can be described as a very broad category, whether categorized by story, game-play elements, or by oth-
er sub-genres altogether. You could have a type of game that on the surface seems dark, but the deeper story contains themes of family and teamwork. Or you could have Sydney’s favorite game: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, in which she explains, “Basically, your goal is to get rid of the darkness from the Twilight World [sic].” In this game, many of the inhabitants of the world would just accept their fate of death until they found hope in the protagonist, Link. One more category that students enjoy is team games which could be divided into individual genres. A few examples of these are League of Legends and Overwatch. The games have many different characters in order to promote variety among teams. They also happen to be among the numerous games that Viking ESports competes in. Games like these are fun for a variety of people because they create a way to meet and interact with others. How much time do kids dedicate to gaming? Are they spending too much time playing rather than doing things like schoolwork or interacting with friends? This is actually not always the case, according to our results. Some students said with confidence that they don’t think it takes up too much of their time. Brody Ban (25’) said, “No, because I put school and social things first. Just because a game is fun doesn’t mean you should play it all the time.
The youngest professional gamer, Victor De Leon III, or Lil Poison, is only 11 years old. Sonic the Hedgehog was almost an armadillo. Because of the title “Mario Bro’s”, it is speculated that Mario’s last name is, in fact, Mario.
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Put school first.” Others said that they wish they got to play more depending on the circumstances. Based on our results, students need time for themselves to unwind before or after tackling responsibilities, and many Wisco students unwind through playing video games. Even though playing video games is fun, the amount of time someone should play depends on how well he/she can manage school, work, and fun. Time management for every student will always be important.
The Wisco Pilot
Trending
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by Nariah Riddick Indie- Vintage based loose fitted clothing with bright colors, often used to express individuality. These different styles can reflect different types of ideas and personalities. Some of the best places to shop for these styles are thrift stores, Hot Topic, Aéropostale, American Eagle, and various other online stores. While the styles of fashion have been changing over time, the color schemes of fall fashion have not necessarily done likewise. Popular fall colors are browns, oranges, reds, yellows, and basic warm
Grunge- A modern take on old gothlike clothing, associated with darker colors, frayed and rough looking fabric, and an overall edgy style. Light academia- A style centered around neutral/nude tones with items like skirts, sweaters, and vests. Photography by Brooklyn Dressler and Tina Chen
tones, yet new color schemes like pastels are also popular. Clothes and colors that used to seem out of place are now becoming more popular as time goes on. These newer fashion trends have made people eager to stand out more frequently in a world that is obligated to conformity.
by Cindy Wang
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t’s time to pull out the annual fall attire. Coats, sweaters, cardigans, vests, turtlenecks, quilted coats, shawls, and shackets (a jacket in the style of a shirt) are some of the popular fall styles. A few of the top fall shoes are Lug Sole Boots, Uggs, and Square-Toe Boots. In the past years, many teens have been experimenting with different styles of pants, like mom jeans, but recently pieces like twotone jeans and faux leather pants have also gained popularity. Recently, fashion trends have changed in a fascinating way. Late 90’s to early 2000’s fashion has been brought back, mainly because of the influence of social media. There has been a 90’s revival with pieces such as mini skirts, mom jeans, and baggy clothes. A few of this year’s most popular styles are:
Pilot Editors Editor in Chief Emma Kammholz Assistant Editor in Chief Mason Marrari Layout/Editing Lucy Li Brooklyn Dressler Frank Quan-Pham
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Business
The Wisco Pilot
A Satirical Proposal by Benjamin Doerr
Ever since Covid-19 began,
blue-collar companies across the nation have been plagued with a chronic lack of workers. A simple drive downtown in any city reveals a plethora of “Help Wanted” and “Now Hiring” signs. Companies are looking for 1 million more workers than there are people looking for work. They are going to extreme lengths: according to CNBC, 19% of companies are offering pet insurance to prospective employees! Although companies have been trying hard to get these workers, results are minimal. To gain workers without excessive incentive, a source of unused labor lies right under our nose. In your formative years, your parents likely sent you off to child care and then to preschool and kindergarten, where you learned early skills such as basic arithmetic and reading and writing. Right? No, in most cases, kids don’t learn to read until first or even second grade and basic addition isn’t taught until first grade. So, what do kids do in preschool? Frankly, not much: they may learn simple concepts such as the alphabet or fire safety, subjects that kids often can learn outside of school either naturally or in a matter of minutes. Children can surely learn to “Stop, Drop, and Roll” in less than a week. The rest of preschool generally consists simply of keeping the children contented and contained. The fertile minds of youth can certainly be put to better use than such basic tasks. The obvious solution to both of these problems is to put the children to work. Most of the positions hiring right now are unskilled jobs
like pushing buttons on a cash register, sticking stickers to items, or watering plants. These positions were left open because an unskilled worker is generally easier to find than a skilled worker, so unskilled workers were more likely to be fired during the pandemic. At the same time, children are less likely to catch Covid-19 and therefore less of a threat to the workplace. These children, being three to six years old, are eager to try new things and their young minds are perfectly suited to learning simple repeatable tasks. You may be wondering if children are capable of performing such work. Now, it is unlikely that the children will be put to work on dangerous manufacturing work, because their clumsy fingers are liable to wreak havoc. However, studies show that children are much faster learners than adults, and tasks that neither an adult nor a child have ever done before are likely to be perfected by the child before the adult by a considerable amount. Such children may not learn much in the lack of rigor provided by a preschool or daycare environment, but they certainly have the capability to. Relatively straightforward tasks such as operating machinery would be taught to children easily. Now, with children in the workforce, accommodations would
have to be made. First of all, their height alone would call for certain changes to the places where they work. Further, they would need shorter hours and tighter supervision, ultimately resulting in lower pay for the children than for an adult. However, the advantages are clear. Not only are the companies provided with efficient workers, but the children benefit immensely. Already having learned a workable job, the children head into grade school with work on their resume. These children also will have a pool of money that parents could choose to set aside into investments that would produce large returns by their high school years. Not only this, but parents would be relieved of the massive financial burden of child care. Rather than being a burden to society, these children would become a boon. There may be other concerns, such as mistreatment or unfair advocacy. However, in today’s progressive society, those issues would certainly be quickly resolved; parents would be sure to keep an eye on their children’s workplace. But among all of these doubts, it is clear that this system would provide massive benefits to the economy. Any workers displaced by this new source of employees would be more likely to pursue a skilled job, lifting millions out of poverty and serving society wholly. It’s time to let our kids be useful!
The Wisco Pilot
Showcase
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Showcase of Projects
Photos of Exploratory Arts taken by Makiyah Sconiers and Jenesis Wesley
Photos of Ceramics taken by Makiyah Sconiers
Page 14
Homecoming Week
The Wisco Pilot
Photography by Emma Kammholz, Lucy Li, Brooklyn Dressler
The Wisco Pilot
Homecoming Week
Page 15
FALL LOOK AND FIND by Hope Larabee
Directions: Search the picture for the listed items: Cross-Duck-Umbrella-Boat-Kite-Crown-Candle-Fungi-Snail-Grapes-Pie
Vol. 28 No.1 Pg. 16