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VOLUME 94. ISSUE 3. CLAYTON HIGH SCHOOL. CLAYTON, MO. NOVEMBER 2021.

Contents

NEWS Is SummerQuest Ending? Serial Killer in St. Louis?

8 9

FEATURES 2 Miles Out Native Naming Vintage Revival on the Runway Burned Out Substance Abuse Ben Hochman: Alumni Success Story

10 12 13 14 16 18

OPINION The Cost of College

SPORTS Our Athletes and Academics Success at State Erin Connolly: Badger Bound Is the NFL “Going Soft”?

34 36 38 40

REVIEW Dune Squid Game

41 42

PRO/CON: SECTION 230

STAFF ED: GRADING

ON THE COVER: DEATH IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

Reflecting on the grieving process in America, the Globe looks at death in other countries and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

NOVEMBER 2021 VOLUME 94, ISSUE 3

Pictured: CHS senior and middle linebacker Campbell Brinkman at an Oct. 22nd, 2021 varsity football game against Jennings High School. Photo by Lily Kleinhenz

G EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Ella Cuneo Shane LaGesse Ivy Reed

Kirby Miller Isaac Millians Naveed Naemi Iris Park Sophie Srenco Sofia Mutis COPY EDITOR

Ruby Nadin

CHIEF DIGITAL EDITOR

Kaitlyn Tran

ART EDITOR

Sonali Dayal

SENIOR MANAGING EDITORS

Owen Auston-Babcock Vivian Chen Seraphina Corbo Kate Freedman Alexandra Hagemeister Kaia Mills-Lee Ana Mitreva FEATURE SECTION EDITORS

Emma Baum Daphne Kraushaar NEWS SECTION EDITORS

Dheera Rathikindi Alex Slen REVIEW SECTION EDITORS

Rachel Chung Moriah Lotsoff SPORTS SECTION EDITOR

Alex Cohen OPINION SECTION EDITOR

Enoch Lai Sophie Yoshino PRO/CON SECTION EDITOR

Sasha Keller

STAFF REPORTERS

Stella Bishop Alison Booth Samantha Braidwood Zoe Daniels-Sankey JiaLi Deck Kenneth Gould Norah Gross Riley Kerley Charlotte Meyers Caitlin Kuhlmann Micah Lotsoff Sidra Major Sam McDonough Omeed Naemi Poppy Orchard Caleb Park Ezri Perrin Spencer Pompian Abby Rosenfeld Ivy Slen Samuel Smith Samuel Sun Leo Taghert Charlie Thompson Kipp Vitsky Chloe Wolfe Santi Vaqueiro-Espinosa PHOTO EDITOR

PUZZLE MASTER

Thomas Gustafson

Lily Kleinhenz PHOTOGRAPHERS

STORY IDEAS SECTION EDITOR

Max Hagemeister PAGE EDITORS

Isabella Bamnolker Chloe Creighton Izzy Erdmann Maya Goldwasser Sahi Gokaraju Isra Kayani Sophia Lu Charlie Meyers Charlie Miller

Angela Wirthin Ava Marsden Esther Wang Gabrielle Thomas Kendall Turner Maci Klaus Maya Richter Sofia Klein Owen Wohl Paige Conrad Sophie Matiszik FACULTY ADVISER

Erin Sucher-O’Grady

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! The Globe is an entirely self-funded publication. We receive no funding from the school district for printing. Each issue of the Globe costs approximately $2,000 to print. We are deeply grateful to our sponsors for their support of our publication. They make our work possible. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please email us at globe@claytonschools.net

Issue Level Sponsors ($2,000+ level) Gail Workman Clayton Education Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Barry Berlin

Golden Greyhound Sponsors ($200+ level) St. Louis Suit Company All In Clayton Coalition Dave Stine Woodworking Carlie Chiou Mark Hagemeister Naomi Erdmann David Auston Deck Commerce

World Traveler Sponsors ($100+ level) The LaGesse Stanton Family Bob and Betsy Cuneo Christy Auston Peter and Sheila Nadin The Chung Family Gita Krisnaswamy Angela and Troy Quinn The Erlin Family The Family of Lary Baker Kay Quinn Malone Marica and Josip Kos The Slen Family

Lan Yang Enoch Lai Bill Moore The Bassnett Family Laura Pierson Alicia Espe Allison Creighton Bill Dupor Jennifer Baer Michael Reed and Julie Layton Marci Boland The Cuneo Family

From The Editor

Globe’s Kaia Mills-Lee reflects on the takeaways of Globe and other extracurricular activities.

alk to any senior at Clayton High School right now and the first thing they’re going to mention is how they’re drowning in their college applications: applying for scholarships, mapping out their most important activities and honors and scrambling to complete their supplemental questions. In the past few weeks I, too, have become trapped in the process. I’ve narrowed my focus on the stress of getting everything completed by the deadline rather than the opportunities presented by the process. Many colleges ask you to reflect on one of your extracurricular activities, explain why

LILY KLEINHENZ, PHOTOGRAPHER

you’d be a good fit for their programs or elaborate on how you’ve overcome various challenges. You’re even asked to rank your activities in order of their importance to you. These requests force you to reflect on the experiences you’ve had and the many things you’ve learned throughout high school, something not to be taken lightly. That being said, I’ve been doing lots of reflecting lately. How important is that miscellaneous club I participated in for a year? Does it outrank the job I just started? What did I learn from these opportunities? These questions raced through my head

as I attempted to rank and elaborate on my activities. But let’s consider my experience on the Globe. To start, no, I’m not going to be the next acclaimed journalist for The New York Times or Wall Street Journal, nor am I going to be comparable to these positions (for reference, my plan is to major in the STEM field). And yet, the Globe appeared at the number one spot on my activities list and was always the extracurricular I chose to elaborate on when asked. For me, and probably anyone else on the staff, the Globe isn’t just a club you put on your resume where you practice your grammatical skills and write the occasional article. It fosters a community and encourages us to collaborate with people we might never have even given a second glance. It develops perseverance in students when they don’t get calls back about interviews and implements a sense of confidence to go after the interview with an actress, mayor or esteemed doctor. It provokes a sense of leadership in students who once never considered themselves the influential type. We learn that our voices make a difference and deserve recognition. We take the obscure topics and offer our opinions; we aren’t afraid to take a stand. The Globe teaches its students to focus on both major and minor events around them, allowing them to stay informed and craft their own unique output on the world. The Globe shapes its members from a club into a family. The editors’ dinners and time we spend together aren’t included in the club description, yet these are the most influential parts of being on the staff. Your initial insecurities slowly fade as these people become equivalent to your brothers and sisters. When choosing how to rank my activities I didn’t take into consideration the ones that taught me the most obscure facts that I’ll never have to recall again, the ones that I only participated in for a short year, or even the ones that directly related to my future endeavors. The highest ranked activities taught me how to be a leader, taught me perseverance and taught me the meaning of comradery: The Globe. The most influential activities are the ones that teach you life skills, the ones that are so much more than their initial descriptions.

KAIA MILLS-LEE SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR

EDITOR’S LETTER 5

Trunk or Treat Students and staff from 22 sports teams and student organizations at CHS showed up on Friday, Oct. 29, for a drive-through trick-or-treat event organized by the high school activities department. The event, dubbed “Trunk or Treat,” was moved to the parking garage at Wydown Middle School following a forecast of rain during the event. Cars lined Wydown Blvd from the middle school past Big Bend Blvd, waiting for their turn. (Left) CHS students hand candy to two children driving through the event.

OWEN AUSTON-BABCOCK SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR PHOTO BY OWEN AUSTON-BABCOCK

Is SummerQuest Ending?

Globe examines the lack of summer activity in the School District compared to previous years.

chool may have started only a couple of months ago, but that’s not stopping discussions about Clayton’s primary summer camp: SummerQuest. SummerQuest, started in 2001, was a summer camp hosted and run by the Clayton School District in a collaboration with Clayton Parks and Rec. Run by teachers, worked by student and alumni volunteers, and open to campers grades K-8, SummerQuest was a staple of going to school in the Clayton School District, regardless of when one attended. During the summer of 2020, SummerQuest was obviously canceled — COVID-19 was still new and scary. Then during the winter of 2020, it was announced that SummerQuest was to be canceled for the summer of 2021; it was later announced to the community that the School District of Clayton would no longer continue involvement with SummerQuest, but that it may be able to be moved to the Center of Clayton. In July, the Center announced they would not be taking it and SummerQuest would no longer be running. SummerQuest was beloved to the community, allowing parents to have a couple hours free of children everyday, and gave younger kids the chance to learn about something they’re interested in and have fun doing it. It also provided job opportunities to Clayton teens who wanted childcare experience. Some previous SummerQuest student volunteers even said that working at SummerQuest during high school was one of the reasons they went into teaching in the first place. The permanent end to the SummerQuest program was not received well. Teachers, students and parents alike emailed the Board of Education their complaints to be read aloud at one of their regularly livestreamed meetings. Still though, the decision is final: SummerQuest will no longer be apart of the Clayton community. But that doesn’t mean there will never be a Clayton summer camp ever again. Though that’s not to say SummerQuest itself will be coming back--it’s not. Dr. Robyn Wiens, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services at

8 NEWS

Clayton, has stated that though SummerQuest is gone, there’s plans to create a new summer camp that serves the same purpose. “We decided to not move forward with SummerQuest as our template for summer programming because we felt like it was time for us to kind of re-imagine what that could look like.” The Clayton School District is walking away from SummerQuest specifically, but not summer programming as a whole. Wiens clarified that the decision was not solely influenced by COVID-19 as many have assumed, but it was prompted by the virus; “In the same way that it [COVID] has given us

a chance to totally reevaluate how we look at teaching, and how we look at learning, it has also given us a chance to revisit how we look at summer programs’.’ Not only was the decision based on the chance to rethink things, it made sense in the long run. “It’s not like we can just flip that switch and go ‘Okay, it’s back on!’” Wiens says. A lot of moving parts go into summer camps, and many of those need to be paid and planned for, or cancelled, in advance. Though cancellation of SummerQuest wasn’t a certainty, it was too much of an uncertainty to take the risk and

have to suddenly cancel on all the volunteers, teachers, and resources prepared. So in the end, it was easier and more affordable to cancel beforehand than to cancel right before. The plans for the new summer camp are still in the creation phase, but Wiens has disclosed some of her thought process; saying that she was thinking of ways to take the best parts of SummerQuest and re-situate them into a new program. She heard how people reacted, and understands why. “I know people have a lot of nostalgia surrounding it. I don’t want to take that nostalgia away from anybody. That’s why I’m using ‘recreate SummerQuest’ — just ‘creating a new summer learning experience’.” She also acknowledges that the way the district went about it wasn’t done all too well. A major reason there was such backlash against the decision to end SummerQuest was the lack of communication between the school district, Clayton residents, and employees (including the director) of SummerQuest. Wiens is fully aware of this, and even mentioned it when questioned about some of the decisions made: “The communication out to the rest of the teaching staff. I could’ve done that differently for sure.” Some questions were still left open. With the temporary lack of a summer camp for rising middle schoolers, how will the three elementary schools get their students to connect before 6th grade starts? Well, there’s no exact answer. Parents will have to send their kids to other camps until the new one is in place, which may be frustrating but is a part of the process. Not all is lost, however; older students and Clayton teenagers will still be able to volunteer and gain work experience at all the regular places like the Center of Clayton and for other summer events. So, while there might not be summer programming for the next year or two, the Clayton School District is working on a new camp with the goal that it will be as educational and engaging as SummerQuest was.

SAM MCDONOUGH REPORTER

As I mulled over the sheer versatility of 49-Across, I knew I had to do a tribute puzzle! 13-, 27-, 37-, and 60- Across came as I tried to put the theme of this puzzle in a creative light. When solved, you will discover Mr. Bergeron’s answer to the age-old question of “what came first?” Get cracking! T.G.

8. 10. 11. 13.

15.

16. 17. 19. 21. 22. 23. 25. 27. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

41. 44. 48. 49.

52. 53. 54. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 63. 64. 65. 66. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 9. 10.

City hall leaders Stayed (at) Ω The theme of this puzzle, or Mr. Bergeron’s answer to an age-old evolutionary question Money “Baloney!” Singers Bareilles and Evans Certain curriculum including chemistry What Mr. DelaPaz uses to walk the dog? Whatsoever Male turkeys Ones cooking two 49-Acrosses at a time? Certain stadium worker Battle reminders One way to cook a 49-Across Chops, as wood DOWN Burgundy and Weasley, for two A Hong Kong license plate with this number sold for $2,300,000 Michelle Obama or Jill Biden, informally Climax Eliminate Otherwise Characteristics Unsettles They might be Pythagorean or fundamental

35 37

30 33 36 39

43 49

58 60

52 55

56 59 62

61 63

38. 39. 40.

26. 28. 29. 30. 37.

25 28

24. 25.

23.

12. 14. 15. 18. 20. 22.

It’s a new year and the Globe crossword puzzle is getting a makeover! The Globe is now featuring longer puzzles that will be accompanied by a relative difficulty rating. To access answers or submit feedback, scan the QR code on the bottom corner of this page. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions!

1. 4. 7.

(OVER-MEDIUM)

ACROSS Soccer judge Imitate Fencing implement, maybe Some prefer it in their breakfast juice “I have,” in Ibiza By land ___ Ones chasing each other with bits of breakfast potatoes and 49-Acrosses? Word with the most definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary One getting private instruction Lead-in to light 3.6 x 1027 yoctoseconds View Shades What dogs love to lick out of bones Bob of Reggae One cooking 49-Acrosses on the podium? Emeralds and sapphires and rubies More sick It’s possible to do this upwind by tacking Snake sound Ready-___ (how some 49-Acrosses are sold) Where pigs live One cooking 49-Acrosses in the Mariana trench?

64 65

Also Consumed Ovals and ovoids Cry of discovery Huge mythical bird What pigs produce (goes well with 49-Acrosses) Voice mails or texts: abbr. Parts of 49-Acrosses Jesus was the quintessential one, arguably Every 12 mos. Pig food Bass or tenor, maybe Backside Clayton High School, spiritedly The “E” in B.C.E. The 30th, often: abbr. Male counterparts to those who produce 49-Acrosses

41. 42. 43. 45. 46. 47. 49. 50. 51. 54. 55. 61. 62.

“___-Dick” In ___ (irked) Answer to “Who, me?!” Engines Foundational chemistry bits: abbr. Architectures of beavers Place to catch a meal Catch Rubber overshoe Black Friday is known for them Piece of the pie Hindu Consonant Newton’s first, perhaps (Scan for answers)

THOMAS GUSTAFSON, PUZZLE SECTION EDITOR PUZZLES 9

11/2021

GOOD MORNING!

2 Miles Out

Examining socioeconomic factors of food deserts and how they affect St. Louis families.

GRAPHIC FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

etting into your car, walking into a grocery store and buying food for you and your family is something that many of us take for granted. However, for some people and their families, even a simple task like that can be the most grueling. This type of inability is known as living in a food desert. Food deserts, by definition, are geographic areas where access to reasonably priced and healthy options are limited or even nonexistent since grocery stores are too far away. Food deserts are commonly associated with socioeconomic factors as well. Looking at the history of food deserts, despite the uncertainties, the term reportedly originated from Scotland in the early 1990s. It was used to describe the poor access people faced to an affordable and healthy diet. There are plenty of socioeconomic factors when thinking about food deserts. Urban planning and supply-and-demand tend to be the recurring ones. These types of factors connect transportation services and food retailers to consumers, and they have smaller, more detailed factors which focus mainly on individual behavior and personal preference. Apart from those factors, educational background also plays a vital role with regards to food deserts. For example, when there is a lack of general knowledge about nutritious and healthy food options, people tend to stick to the unhealthier or less nutritious options since that is all they

10 NEWS

know about. Hence, demand is maintained since the only kind of food they would have information on is the cheap and unhealthy kind. Access to food has a great deal to do with ethnicity. According to the latest USDA census in 2015, 23.5 billion people live in food deserts. The majority of those people are also living in low income housing, which means about 2.2% of Americans within the U.S. live in low income housing and in food deserts which results in them living approximately around 10 miles away, or more, from their local grocery store. Comparing that statistic to the St. Louis area, about 33% of St. Louis residents qualify for living in a food desert. To condense it down even more, at least 4,000 people must travel at least a mile to get to their local grocery store. This disparity is even larger for the Black population in St. Louis. The USDA census also shows that Black residents within the St. Louis area are at least 1 mile away from a grocery store and about 13.9% of the residents live in low-income housing. Whereas only 4.2% of white residents face the same demographics previously mentioned. For some, having to travel a mile or more might not seem like much of a challenge. However, consider now the fact that you have to travel a mile or more with no car and kids. Seems impossible. Take Wells Goodfellow, a neighborhood in St. Louis where 20% of the residents there have no access to personal vehicles, which means they rely heavily on public transportation. Even then when public

transportation is not available, people have to walk by foot on the edges of the roads (since there is no sidewalk), parking lots covered with plants that have been allowed to grow wild, and other horrific natural elements. Thinking about major factors that determine the qualities of someone living in a food desert, you think about low-income thresholds and low-access thresholds. When asked if postal codes have anything to do with food deserts, Mike Sankey, a science teacher at Clayton High School, brought up a fascinating point. “There have been studies that show that zip codes and income coincide with restaurant and calorie intake. The more money you make, the more access you have to better restaurants with lower calories and healthier foods. Whereas the less money you make, the odds are you are going to live in neighborhoods with higher caloric intake as well as restaurants with fattening food.” Calories are cheap. Typically fast food places/restaurants in places where people have low economic backing, low levels of education, and low residential home value. Looking at all those factors is where you start to realize and find a lot of fast food places popping up. Clayton does not have this problem. However, if you travel up to North County or even in South County you will notice that there are more fast food restaurants in those places than there are in Clayton. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, Black populations have half as much access to chain supermarkets as White populations, independent and nonchain stores make larger appearances in predominantly Black and Hispanic communities rather than in predominantly White communities, and generally lower-income neighborhoods have less access to chain stores. The next time you get in your car, press that push start button, and happily drive to the store for groceries, remember that not everyone has that luxury. Don’t take it for granted.

ZOE DANIELS-SANKEY REPORTER

Serial Killer in Saint Louis? Recent linked homicides have invoked fears of a possible serial killer.

SAINT LOUIS ARCH AT SUNRISE IMAGE BY KEVIN MCCOY COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

September 13th, 2021, at around n 9:30 pm, tragedy struck. 16-year-old Marnay Haynes of North Saint Louis County was shot. She was discovered a few minutes later by police lying in the middle of the road. She was pronounced dead at the scene. On September 16th, tragedy struck again as 49-year-old Pamela Abercrombie was found injured and unconscious on a Spanish Lake sidewalk. Abercrombie was moved to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. On September 19th, 24-year old Casey Ross was found dead in an empty lot by police. Police have since called these three murders linked and have opened a special investigative task force. On social media, rumors have spread of a potential serial killer in Saint Louis. Viral Tik Toks have received hundreds of thousands of views, and national media has reported on these three homicides. However, St. Louis police Maj. Shawn Dace said in an interview with The Saint Louis Post Dispatch. “We don’t have enough information to concretely categorize it as a serial killer.”

These killings have spread lots of fear into the community because of social media platforms such as TikTok. One common belief is that black women are being targeted by the so-called serial killer. Dace, however, refutes this claim saying “I’ve heard some of these outlandish theories, is not true.” The police so far have not released what links these three homicides. Following Abrocrombie’s death, St. Louis Metro Police issued a public safety warning for sex workers in the city but have refused to comment on whether or not all three of the victims are sex workers. These recent homicides are part of a recent uptick of violent crimes across the St. Louis region. In 2020, St Louis saw the murder rate increase by close to 40 percent, the highest ever increase. That year alone, there were more than 200 homicides in the city and around 115 in the county. The locations of these incidents are highly concentrated. The neighborhoods of Jennings and Spanish Lake had the highest increase in murder rates. Richard Rosenfeld of The Saint Louis Post Dispatch wrote in March of 2021

that “Half the homicide increase over 2019 was concentrated in just six of the city’s 79 neighborhoods. In those neighborhoods (all of them on the city’s North Side), 40% of the residents are poor and 92% are black.” Nation-wide homicides have increased as well. According to FBI crime data, homicides rose 30 percent in 2020. In St. Louis, many attribute the rising murder rates to the availability of high-powered guns. Rosenfeld addresses this by saying “ There’s good evidence that there are simply more powerful weapons out on the streets and used in homicides. Those weapons…are more likely to end in the victim’s death.” St. Louis today is known as the most dangerous city in the United States. Plagued by an epidemic of gun violence and poverty, St. Louis must figure out new and innovative ways to address the current crisis. If not this cycle will only continue claiming innocent lives like Marnay Haynes, Pamela Abercrombie and Casey Ross.

ALEX SLEN NEWS SECTION EDITOR

NEWS 11

Native Naming

The term “indigenous” has recently grown in popularity, but what is correct, and how should Clayton address the first peoples of America? waiians, as well as Pacific Islanders. Using this blanket term to identify different indigenous nations removes the individuality and specific histories of those groups. “It’s important for educators to know about the debate about terminology and to stay up-to-date about it, and I appreciate it when my students help me with that responsibility. When discussing a specific group of people, it’s best to use the name of their nation or tribe, not the general term,” said Glossenger. While it can be difficult to pick a term that is “correct,” honoring a specific indigenous nation and their preferences keeps their history alive. Having dedicated conversations in history classes about why we use “American Indian” or “Native” to refer to certain tribes ensures that we are being as correct as possible. “It’s my hope that I empower all of my students, irrespective of their identities, to share their voice and perspective, not as a representative or speaker for all of their identity groups, but as an individual,” said Glossenger.

ART BY JIALI DECK

ndigenous, Native American, American Indian, Native, Indian; these are the terms most often used to describe the first nations peoples in America, but which one is correct? Indigenous people in America have a long history of being misrepresented and forced into white culture. From seizing their land to forced assimilation, America has suppressed the representation of indigenous culture. Using inappropriate terminology for tribes can further eliminate their culture by making generalizations and/or amplifying pre-existing stereotypes. From Native Knowledge 360 in the National Museum of the American Indian in the Smithsonian, “Every community has a distinct perspective on how they describe themselves. Not all individuals from one community may agree on terminology. There is no single American Indian culture or language.” So, if different indigenous nations prefer specific terms unique to their culture, how should the Clayton School District teach and address these differences? Dr. Daniel Glossenger teaches a History of St. Louis class at Clayton High School, where he often has to address indigenous culture that existed prior to the founding of the city. “In most cases, I use the terms American Indian, Indian, Native, or Native American interchangeably for the first

12 FEATURE

peoples who lived or are living in the United States, given that all of these terms are widely accepted both by academic and legal institutions and by the peoples themselves,” said Glossenger. The term ‘Indian’ has proved to be problematic. According to the article “What We Want to Be Called” by Michael Yellow Bird, “The uncritical use of the label ‘Indian’ not only casts a monolithic identity for Indigenous Peoples, it has little application to many who do not identify themselves as ‘Indian.’” Indian, as a label, misrepresents indigenous culture, and is often incorrect. An example given in the article is the fact that indigenous peoples in Alaska, commonly referred to as ‘eskimos,’ do not identify as Indians. Additionally, some find the term Indian entirely offensive. Kiarra Spottsville, a member of the Navajo Nation, states that this term is often used without thought in a 2018 article “Native American vs. Indian” from Indian Country Today. “We aren’t Indian. When other people [non-Natives] say ‘Indian’ it’s because they don’t know any better. And sometimes it comes out of ignorance.” In addition, some indigenous nations believe that “The history of the term ‘Native American’ is ambiguous,” according to Yellow Bird. Native American intends to describe American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Native Ha-

SASHA KELLER PRO/CON SECTION EDITOR

Vintage Revival on the Runway A return to early eras of fashion houses during the Spring/Summer 2022 Fashion Month.

intage and resale shopping has been blowing up over the last several years. With the help of sites such as TheRealReal and many other small business vintage curators, consumers have been introduced to the history behind many of the fashion brands known today. For the Spring/Summer 2022 fashion month, runways featured true vintage revival pieces that paid homage to icon eras of the houses. At Chanel, Creative Director Virginie Viard paid tribute to her predecessor Karl Lagerfeld’s 90’s era of Chanel, utilizing the belly-bearing mini skirts and pastel tweeds. At Dior, Maria Gratzia Churi celebrated Mark Bohen’s long reign in the 60s. Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli created the Valentino Archive project which featured select pieces from the 60s and 70s with a few pieces featured on the Spring/Summer 2022 runway. Similarly, Gucci launched its experimental Gucci Vault complete with a oneday pop-up store in Milan. The website features history and detailed information about each piece in the collection, allowing viewers to get a history lesson while shopping vintage pieces, some directly from Gucci’s own vault. The website periodically gets new items pushed out. The website also features new up and coming designers in order to expose luxury shoppers to them. The sudden resurgence of vintage revival is most likely due to sustainability having become a more important issue during the pandemic. People are wishing to shop more sustainably and environmentally conscious.

Cherie Balch, the founder of Shrimpton Couture, told Vogue in an interview, “The conversation about sustainability is becoming more and more relevant and vintage is a part of that. I think some designers see that their clients are actively buying more vintage and perhaps want to capitalize on that.” Luxury vintage stores such as Shrimpton Couture, sell carefully curated pieces from many brands, and expose shoppers to many aspects of vintage couture. These vintage revivals introduce younger generations to the legacies of the couture fashion houses and reassure the foundations of these houses. However, vintage revivals are not all good. For some, such as museums and private collectors, the revivals of vintage pieces can devalue their own originals. In many ways, the vintage revivals are a great first or next step for many brands, especially those that are older. It is great to see them embracing sustainability and trying to connect to a younger generation who is changing and challenging ideas.

Valentine for Valentino’s Spring 2022 collection PHOTOS BY ALESSANDRO LUCIONI / GORUNWAY.COM

IRIS PARK, PAGE EDITOR FEATURE 13

Burned Out

Clayton teachers struggle to stay on top of growing workloads.

ART BY JIALI DECK

o be a teacher these days means to be the following: content expert, pedagogical expert, ‘collaborator,’ and at crucial times, therapist; it means working outside the school day, frequently in a state of exhaustion, grading the high-level work students produce and preparing the circumstances for more high-level work in the classroom, five days a week; [...] it means short-changing your own mental and physical needs and sometimes doing things to your body you shouldn’t do very often if you want to live a long time.” John Ryan, former teacher at Clayton High School wrote when explaining his reasons for early retirement. After 25 years of teaching, Ryan decided he needed to take a break from the profession and pursue other interests. Ryan is not the first teacher to deal with the strain of being an educator. Recently, teachers at Clayton High School have been struggling more than ever. With the start of in-person learning, many were hoping this year would mean a “normal” return to the building; however, both teachers and students have quickly realized this is not the case. More than half the school has never

14 FEATURE

had an entirely normal high school year, and teachers have been forced to rework their curriculums time and time again. Such difficulties make completing additional work strenuous. Josh Meyers, a history teacher at CHS, explained how the current workload for teachers is unreasonably vast: “We have an educator plan for student growth, which is commonly known as an EPSG. That’s due next week. [...] Right now, I feel a majority of teachers don’t have the time or the mental capacity to do that with fidelity. That’s just one example.” Teachers are juggling more than just teaching their classes, and wish administrators would do more to help. “Nothing has been different during this time, even though we probably need a little bit more [support] during this time than what we’ve always had,” said Tobie Smith, one of CHS’s counselors. The district currently offers two mental wellness supports for teachers, according to district superintendent Nisha Patel: “A program we have that’s called the Employee Assistance Program gives them access to counseling and mental health specialists. [...] We also have, for all of our employees, free

access to the Center of Clayton in hopes that it would allow them to utilize some of the classes there which are focused on overall physical and mental wellness.” However, Justin Seiwell, another Clayton teacher, notes how current mental wellness supports aren’t as helpful as they seem. “I’m thinking about 40% of people who use [the Employee Assistance Program] have said it’s really good, and the rest have said it’s completely worthless,” he said. The feelings of teachers in the district are being felt worldwide in the form of “burnout.” Burnout, as defined by the World Health Organization, is “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job.” With the difficulties of teaching during a global pandemic, burnout has become a common occurrence in the educational system. Seiwell recalls having experienced burnout as a result of too much work. “Last year was the first time I was like, I’m gonna quit. I’m done. And it hit about December, because it was like, there was so much piling on [...] I remember walking out of the building for winter break

and saying, ‘I am okay if I never walked back into this building.’” Ultimately, Seiwell decided to stay, but is still discontent with the district’s actions to alleviate stress. Meyers said the real thing that would help teachers would be reducing workloads: “The first thing that [administrators] should ask is, ‘What can we be doing to take things off your plate in order to make your job more manageable?’ They need to protect sacred classrooms, planning time and snowplow everything else out of our way [...] Teachers are wrestling with a third new schedule in three years; they have been asked to pivot and pivot and pivot again. And they are really, really, tired.” Dr. Patel has encouraged teachers to rest and focus on self care, “I have to say, our teachers here in Clayton are phenomenal. [...] It’s almost as if we need to allow them to say ‘it’s ok’, and to take time for themselves as well.” However, Meyers says that teachers don’t feel like they can take time off due to substitute teacher shortages and fears of burdening their coworkers. “When you care about people in your department, you’re worried that your absence is going to add stress to their lives because they’re going to end up having to cover your classes,” said Meyers. “It’s simply not worth it.” The immense pressures put on teachers ends up overflowing into their ability to teach classes. Meyers noted how, “Teachers, in order to improve their craft need to take risks, they need to be okay with feeling vulnerable, they need that growth mindset. Right now, [...] it feels like more teachers are in a survival mindset. It is hard to think outside of the box in the mental space many teachers are in.” Even students have begun to recognize that their teachers are struggling. AnMei Deck, a CHS sophomore said, “I sometimes feel really bad emailing teachers with small questions and stuff, because they always seem so stressed and I don’t want to add another thing to their plate.” Schools all over the country have begun to realize burnout for students and staff is getting increasingly more problematic. In Illinois, one solution being implemented is “mental health days”. Instead of calling in sick, a student or teacher can take a day off to focus on their mental health and would be given opportunities to make up for missed work. Smith has proposed a similar idea to the administration saying, “[Solutions] I have in mind and what have been approved, are very different. I think we should have a catch up day where everyone is able to take a break and just students go to class, but no new material is taught and teachers can kind of just grade and students can

study and take a breather.” Overwhelmed teachers in the district also support the idea, “That would be great. [...] The ability to take a day off for teachers and students would be a welcome refresher,” said Meyers. Patel was originally opposed to the idea saying, “Having one mental health day may appear like it would help to some while others feel it would disrupt their plans for their classes they have already mapped out.” However, on November 2nd, the district announced they would be extending fall break an extra two days to help alleviate stress for students and staff. Many are feeling a sense of relief as a result, but it’s clear more long term work must be done. Seiwell says Clayton needs to think outside the box and find creative ways to help improve mental wellness. “There are things that we used to do that we could go back to doing. Something as simple as bringing back sabbaticals for teachers. would empower teachers. [...] Clayton needs to be the innovative school district that pushes back on some of the state mandated stuff and says, ‘we’ll do it’.” According to Ryan, another thing the district should do is educate parents on the toll it takes to produce a world-class education. “If the community is okay with teacher burnout and

believes it can always replace those casualties with someone else eager to work at Clayton, let’s consider the morality of that proposition for just a moment in stark terms: we are okay with human sacrifice for the purposes of educating our children. I don’t think progressive Clayton wants to live with that on its collective conscience. Instead, give teachers some grace, treat them as human beings, nurture their longterm well-being as conducive to the community’s children’s long-term well-being.” Nationwide, teachers are done having conversations and are ready for change. Adding an extra two days to the break is an important first step, but it is imperative that administrators in the Clayton district continue to listen to what teachers need and help them to avoid burnout. “I do think the conversation has started,” said Smith. “I am very excited by some of the conversations and actions we’re trying to put in place. We have our Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, and the principal, and our mental wellness committee, and we’re done talking and we’re ready for action. So hopefully, we’ll be able to get some traction because of where we’re at right now, but we have a lot of work to do.”

SOPHIA LU, PAGE EDITOR JIALI DECK, REPORTER

ART BY SONALI DAYAL

FEATURE 15

Understanding Addiction A look into the personal stories of CHS students battling addiction and the influence of quarantine.

layton High School Junior Rebecca Johnson (who goes by a pseudonym in this article) never wanted to vape or smoke herself, even though all her friends did it. However, being around substance use all the time changes a person’s view on the severity of it, and what was actually a ‘big deal‘. “Eventually, vaping and smoking became so normal that I basically stopped noticing it. In January of 2020, I used my friend’s vape for the first time. I really didn’t view it as a big deal, I thought `oh, I’m never going to buy my own, this is a one time thing,” Johnson said. High school students doing drugs is not an anomaly, and in Clayton some may even view substance use as the norm. According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS), 86% of teens know someone who drinks, smokes, or uses drugs during the school day. Although widespread, addiction is still a taboo subject, leaving those struggling with substance abuse feeling isolated and hopeless. Over quarantine, widespread feelings of isolation and boredom led to increased substance use, and for many, turned what was previously a casual hobby into a life-consuming addiction. “Over quarantine I had nothing else to do and that is when I really started. When I first started doing it I wasn’t using it that much, but

over lockdown there was nothing else to do so I would just be vaping all the time. That’s when my addiction got bad,” said Johnson. Not every experience is like Johnson’s, and CHS sophomore Taylor Smith has a contrasting experience in their struggles with substances. For Smith, their first experience being around substances was not through social pressure. “When I got involved with drugs, it was 100% my own fault. I was seeking these things out because I thought they would make me feel better, not because all my friends were doing it and I wanted to be included. I started smoking weed a lot, and then got into stronger stuff, like Xanax and Adderall. It got to the point where I was always high just because I never wanted to be sober and alone in my head,” Smith said. Rather than an unavoidable aspect of party culture, for Smith, drug use was an escape from serious mental health struggles. Despite the number of people who struggle with substance use, only a fraction of them reach out for help. In Smith’s case, they finally reached out to their parents, and the reaction they received was less than helpful. “I felt like so much of a failure because I knew how bad hard drugs are, and there was so much stigma around addiction that I felt like I couldn’t reach out for help. When I finally told my parents, instead of getting me the help I needed, I was punished. I felt so much guilt and like my parents thought I was a terrible person,” Smith said. Since getting sober, Smith and their parents have gotten a lot closer. “It was hard to talk to my parents in the midst of my addiction because I was living a life they knew nothing about. I stopped recognizing myself and my actions, my entire life felt foreign to me.” Moving forward after addiction is a crucial but difficult step for anyone who has overcome substance use struggles. The physical dependence the

(Above, right) CHS students exchanging e-cigarettes; (Left) CHS student holding e-cigarette

ALL PHOTOS BY LILY KLEINHENZ human body develops for drugs comes with nasty withdrawal symptoms. Drugs don’t just affect the body physically, however. It is very difficult to overcome the mental dependence that comes with active substance addiction. “The only thing I thought about all the time was where my next high was going to come from,” said Smith. “When I first got sober, my head hurt all the time and I felt physically sick for days. My life felt so empty without drugs, I had to redefine who I was a person.” Addiction, as defined by the American Medical Association as a disease of the brain and body. Education about addiction is often very skewed, and focused on fear tactics rather than understanding. According to the NCDAS, 19.7 American adults reported struggling with addiction in 2017. Understanding this widespread struggle as a mental health issue rather than a series of bad decision making is incredibly important for those affected and could be the difference between someone getting help and becoming a victim of their addiction.

AVIE MALLON REPORTER

We Do Want Diwan The story of an unexpected homecoming victor.

“T

he memes have succeeded! The trolls are here! Homecoming king! We do want Diwan!” These were the historic words shouted by the newly crowned Aaradhya Diwan, as he was surrounded by a throng of cheering high schoolers. It may seem like a strange quote, but as the product of an unusual campaign for an unlikely candidate, it isn’t so out of place. Aaradhya, who goes by the nickname Aadi, was sitting in AP

CAMPAIGN POSTER BY ISAAC MILLANS Physics when he first received an email informing him of his status as one of 10 candidates for Homecoming King. “What I’d known was my Physics class had joked around with nominating me,” said Diwan, considering that first moment of realization. He never expected them to actually go through with it. Although he was hesitant at first, Diwan chose not to back down from the opportunity, saying he felt “it would be funny if I run, so I just went through with it”. Still, he believed his chances were slim. “Aradhya”, as was labeled on the ballot, certainly seemed like the odd one out. Diwan decided to just “let it run naturally” for the first round of voting, only relying on friends who had already pledged their support and word of mouth. That proved to be enough, as Aadi was announced as one of the remaining five candidates left in the race. While he had gotten by with relatively little effort, Diwan felt he would have to “do a little bit of campaigning” if he wanted to keep up. The operation began by targeting student voter apathy and “voter comedy”. Diwan stated he approached those who weren’t fully serious about the whole affair, with the attitude of, “vote for me, it’ll be funny”. This was generally the tone of the campaign as

a whole, encapsulated in a poster which invaded the line of sight of eligible voters everywhere. In front of contrasting images evoking heaven and hell, Aadi stands in the middle and offers a clear choice: “Vote Aaradhya for Homecoming King! Or else…”. The slogan “We Do Want Diwan!” is featured prominently, and it soon became the rallying cry of Aadi’s campaign. Developed by Diwan’s campaign manager, these posters were quickly disseminated around CHS. “After analysis of school pathways, we hung them up at the weirdest and most noticeable places”, Diwan recalls. These included an overhang above the lunch line, at the CTE entrance, around stairwells, and in the boys bathroom. In other words, they were hard to ignore. Besides gaining some support from other candidates who had dropped out, this was about the extent of Diwan’s campaign. According to Diwan, “I didn’t care too much about getting first place. I just wanted to make a noticeable impact”. Diwan was unable to attend any of the major functions before the dance, like the parade and pep rally, where a teacher called for him to take the stand only to be followed by awkward silence. However, he says he wouldn’t have gone if he could. While these stunts limited his ability to self-promote, they might have worked to Aadi’s benefit, reinforcing his image as an anti-establishment figure. Diwan wasn’t expecting victory on the night of the dance, although there was an undeniable aura around the polling stations that might have suggested otherwise. Still, it was too early to call anything, especially as shady dealings in support of other candidates were afoot. “As I walked up to the stage, my only thought was ‘How am I not going to embarrass myself?’”, said Diwan, who felt nervous walking up to the stage and standing in front of the crowd. As chants were given for each candidate, keen participants might have tried to notice imperceptible differences between the volumes of names to predict the results. Then came the moment of truth. As the crowd held their breath, 2021’s Homecoming King was announced: Aaradhya Diwan. The trolls had arrived. The memes had succeeded. The people had spoken. They did want Diwan. Cheers of celebration erupted, although a few murmurs of “who?” could be heard beneath the commotion. Diwan had a large, bright blue crown placed on his head, which he let others try on for photo ops. The moment was only interrupted after repeated calls from his father, who was waiting outside to pick him up. When Diwan eventually revealed his triumph to his parents weeks later, he opened up a piece of family history that was unbeknownst to him. “My mom looked through her phone for a long time until she found a photo of her as Homecoming Queen. I guess it’s genetic.” Although the title of Homecoming King comes with some level of clout, Diwan denies he wanted any of it, already feeling uncomfortable when a few teachers bowed to their new sovereign on his first day back. “I don’t want the extra attention”, stated Diwan, although in reference to his new status, he added that, “the only thing I intend to use it for is senior prank ideas”. Diwan also provided a cryptic and rather ominous remark: “Keep voting like this in the future and you’ll prosper”. He refused to elaborate further. When asked for his thoughts on the entire affair, Aadi asserted that, “it was still a joke the entire time”. But when a joke manages to support a grassroots campaign, elevate a populist candidate into the spotlight, and win an election, perhaps it’s worth more than just a simple laugh.

ISAAC MILLIANS, PAGE EDITOR FEATURE 17

ALWAYS A GREYHOUND: BEN HOCHMAN Class of 1998

Clayton Alumni accomplish interesting and incredible things in every industry, all across the country and even around the world! Each month, we’ll profile a different Greyhound graduate. If you know a Clayton Alum who should be recognized, we want to tell their story! Contact us at globe@claytonschools.net.

CHS alumni 1998 Ben Hochman (left) with KSDK sportscaster Frank Cusumano.

rom Clayton to New Orleans to Denver and back again, Clayton High School alumnus and professional sports journalist Benjamin Hochman has spent the past 20 years producing captivating stories in the world of college and professional sports. Although the St. Louis native initially had ambitious dreams of becoming a professional basketball player, as a high schooler he decided to reevaluate his strengths and combine his interests, finding an outlet for connection and creativity through being part of the CHS Globe. “I wanted to be a professional basketball player, but when I stopped growing at 5’7,” I realized that the closest I could get was writing about professional basketball. I’ve always wanted to be a sports storyteller. The name of my job is ‘sports writer’-- it literally combines two of my favorite things, sports and writing.” Although Hochman had long held an interest in sports and writing, his early mentorship and encouragement as a freshman journalist on the Globe is what truly developed his interest and passion for what would become his career. Chris Holmes, current gifted education specialist at Wydown Middle School and recipient of the 2015 Missouri Teacher of the Year Award,

has taught journalism and social studies for over 20 years. When Hochman began his high school career at CHS in 1994, Holmes’ instruction was what motivated the budding journalist to take risks and develop his skills. “[Holmes] was the advisor, and he took a chance on me. I was the only freshman writer on the staff, and so I didn’t have any experience. He threw me to the fire and had me writing some challenging and tricky stories topic-wise. I learned so much that first year as a journalist, including some traits and tricks that still help me today almost 20 years into my professional career.” From Holmes, Hochman learned that the key to writing a good story lies in the use of descriptive and engaging language-- a skill he has honed as a sports journalist, able to capture the attention of both die-hard sports enthusiasts and skeptics alike. Many times, the power and creativity of journalism is less about the topic itself and more about the knowledge and entertainment that journalists can deliver to their readers. “One thing Mr. Holmes always said that sticks with me is, ‘You could write a story about toe fungus and make it interesting if you write it well enough and you provide neat enough descriptions. You can take a mundane topic and make it great. The writer should never say, ‘Oh, I have to write about this topic,” the writer should say, ‘I get to write about this topic.’” In addition to the invaluable skills he learned as a writer, Hochman explains that the “ecosystem” of student journalists at CHS immersed him into a culture that encouraged curiosity, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking. Spending time in the Globe office, Hochman was able to soak up the conversations of his classmates and gain significant insight into the most fundamental parts of the journalistic process such as conducting research and successful interviews. Equipped with four years of experience, along with the knowledge of his fellow journalists’ challenges and achievements, Hochman felt well-prepared as he graduated CHS in 1998, bound to study journalism at the University of Missouri (Mizzou). For Hochman, the transition from high school to undergraduate journalism presented a wealth of opportunities to work at a larger scale

than ever before. With greater freedom and a bigger playing field, competition was stiff for the young journalist just entering the realm of college sports. Unlike the Globe, where games are small and typically covered by a single student, in college athletics there are guaranteed to be at least several sources striving to put forward the most engaging portrayal of the same event. “Suddenly as a journalist you’re covering a higher level of sports, you’re covering the University of Missouri football team, for instance. The stakes are higher and the competition is greater. When you’re covering the football team, you’re a beat writer. You’re in competition with the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the Kansas City Star, the Columbia Daily Tribune, all the daily TV stations, and the blogs as well. I have to rise to the occasion.” After graduating from Mizzou in 2002, Hochman moved to New Orleans and wrote for the Times-Picayune until 2007. He then wrote as a sports columnist for the Denver Post until August 2015, when he moved back to his hometown to work for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He currently resides in Clayton with his wife and daughter. Although his job title is “sports columnist,” Hochman has pursued several other projects throughout his career. In 2007, he released his first book, titled “Fourth and New Orleans,” giving readers a personal, behind-the-scenes view of the effects of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the Tulane football team. His most recent book, “11 in ‘11,” brings to life the fascinating story of the Cardinals’ path to victory during the famous 2011 World Series. Currently he is working on his first fiction book- a young adult novel about a high school basketball team. His profession, Hochman has learned, brings unique challenges. Many people are capable of recounting events and writing decently, so a journalist must possess the ability to use their research to produce a story that effectively communicates the significance of a particular topic or event. Good writing requires diligence, practice, and risk-taking. It is a process of failure and success. Most of all, it means challenging the status quo. “It’s up to me to step up my game. That means being clever, doing a lot of research, and thinking about the game differently.” by SERAPHINA CORBO, SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR

Always a Greyhound Alumni Profiles are brought to you by the Clayton Education Foundation: Funding classroom innovations, providing educational opportunities and promoting lifelong connections for alumni. www.ClaytonEducationFoundation.org

DEATH SOCIETY IN AMERICAN

DEATH CULTURE CELEBRATIONS OF DEATH While many Americans view death as the end of life, other cultures around the world believe that life continues after death. Instead of somber funerals, some cultures have lively celebrations. Africa is full of diverse countries, tribes, cultures and customs, but some beliefs about death are widespread throughout the continent. Ancestors—dead family members who guide their loved ones after death—are an important part of many African cultures. Often in these belief systems, funerals and burials prevent an ancestor from becoming a lost ghost. Funerals across Africa tend to be spirited and colorful. In Southern Africa, the San people transfer their souls to the spirit world to speak with the dead through a rain dance. For the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, death involves two burials, the second of which is a multiple day celebration featuring music and poetry. Though Ghana is predominantly Christian, just like the US, Ghanaian practices surrounding death greatly differ from American ones. In many Ghanian cultures, traditional funerals are a long and elaborate process. Families of the Ashanti tribe are directly involved with preparing the body of their loved one before burial. Hundreds of people may attend the festivities that follow. Celebrations of death are also widespread across Central and South America. In some Central American countries, including Nicaragua and Costa Rica, a celebration called a vela is held for the deceased, in which guests spend the night exchanging memories of their loved ones. In Mexico and other parts of Central and South America, families celebrate their ancestors during Day of The Dead. Families visit graves and set up altars called ofrendas, featuring the favorite foods and beverages of their loved ones. Memories of family

members are recounted. The holiday is bright, joyful, and often humorous. In Mexico, discussions of death are open and common. In the United States, however, death is seen as morbid and taboo. Most families are not intimately involved in the dying process, as loved ones die in hospitals and bodies are prepared by second-hand parties. Though the celebrations of Halloween and Day of the Dead share roots, they are drastically different. Halloween lacks the intimacy and personal connection of Day of the Dead. Instead of remembering loved ones, Americans dress up as monsters and eat candy. In reality, Halloween is not a true celebration of death. The difference between Day of the Dead and Halloween reflects the difference between Mexican and American attitudes toward death. In one culture, death is openly accepted and celebrated. In the other, the topic of death is avoided and ignored. Our inability to face death head-on contributes to our denial and the pain of our loss.

DEATH IN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS For many people, religion plays an important part in the grieving process. Judaism, a religion that focuses on life, offers a unique perspective on death and mourning. While the topic of death is often treated as “taboo” in American culture, Judaism recognizes death as a natural part of the cycle of life. There are different perspectives within Judaism. Orthadox, Conservative and Reform practices all have distinctions. Judaism encourages individuals to interpret traditions for themselves. Still, core Jewish values guide many practices. In a traditional Jewish funeral, the body is cleansed and wrapped in a plain white shroud. This is so every person is viewed the same in death, no matter their access to financial resources. Bodies are usually buried in a wooden box without nails to allow for natural decomposition and a return to the earth. A rabbi leads the funeral service, and attendants say prayers. “Respect is a very important part of the funeral, the whole sense of respect for the person, the person’s life, and the body itself,” said Rabbi Howard Kaplansky of United Hebrew Congregation, a Reform synagogue in St. Louis. Prayer is an important part of the mourning process. The prayer El Malei Rachamim asks God for comfort and support. The Kaddish is another prayer that mourners say. During a typical Shabbat service, the Kaddish is said multiple times, but the Mourner’s Kaddish is said only once. The Mourner’s Kaddish does not actually reference death, or even hint at loss. Instead, it is an affirmation of God and an expression of thankfulness for the gift of being alive. “Even at a time of great loss and sadness, we still praise God and focus on life,” said Kaplansky. Orthadox Jews may say the Kaddish once every day for 11 months. In one metaphor, each repetition of the Kaddish allows the person being mourned to work their way up another rung on the ladder

“Death is not taboo, it’s something that is a reality that we have to react to.” - Kaplansky

between Gehenna, or purgatory, and Gan-Eden, the garden of Eden. Even the most evil soul would only spend 11 months in Gehenna before finding their place in paradise. In Judaism, God does not intend to inflict punishment or cause suffering, but instead allows for rehabilitation. The afterlife is not the focus of Judaism. Jews focus on the present. A heaven can be created on earth with devotion to “tikkun olam,” repairing the world. Some Jews believe in an afterlife, and some do not. Judaism allows for freedom of interpretation. “My response to the question of what happens after we die is, I don’t know, but I’m going to try to live my life in the best way that I can,” said Kaplansky. “And if there is a heaven or a hell, I’ll pack a suitcase for it based on how I lived my life.” Judaism’s focus on life also connects to community. Many traditions exist to help mourners through their loss. Being present at a funeral and providing support to the mourners is seen as a mitzvah, or a good deed. The Jewish value of community support is also present in shiva. Shiva is a period of time after a death, traditionally lasting seven days, when people come to the mourners’ home to support them. Many visitors bring food, especially heavy comfort foods that will help fill the mourners’ emptiness. Visitors make sure that the mourners are eating and taking care of themselves. “Death is part of the cycle of life, and at a time of loss and mourning, there are customs or rituals that are meant to not only serve as a tribute to the deceased, but really focus on support,” said Kaplansky. During shiva, mourners may sit on lower stools or chairs so they can be identified. Mourners may also cover all mirrors and reflective surfaces during shiva to prevent vanity and selfish thoughts. Some Jews who have lost a loved one may abstain from entertainment during the period of shiva. Sheloshim, meaning 30, is a secondary period of mourning time. During this time, many Jews return to work, but some may continue to abstain from entertainment. The yahrzeit is the one-year anniversary of a death, and a time of remembrance. Memorial candles are lit and prayers are said. Traditionally, mourners visit their loved one’s grave. Yizkor is a Jewish memorial service that takes place four times a year. While a yahrzeit may be observed privately, Yizkor is a community gathering. Mourners may come together to support one another through their loss. People who have passed away are named and remembered. “It’s important to remember,” said Kaplansky. “But it’s also very important to move on,” Jewish mourning periods have limits. Death is not meant to permanently halt the lives of mourners. Rituals and traditions exist to help with the healing process. Jewish views on life and death have been influenced by Jewish history. Though Jews have endured centuries of persecution, Judaism survives today, with life still at its core. “Throughout Jewish history, there have been different kinds of oppression and destruction,” said Kaplansky. “Our response to all that is to focus on life.” Though pain and loss may threaten to consume mourners’ lives, Jewish values help mourners see good in the world and heal. In Judaism, life has diversity. There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time for joy and a time for sorrow. It is important to find a balance. “Looking through a lens of balance is important to living in this world the best way that we can, which is what I believe Judaism teaches us to do,” said Kaplansky.

THE EXPERIENCE Many Americans’ views on concepts such as death are influenced by different facets of their identities, such as religion. But for some Americans, perspectives on death are also defined by their home country. The US census estimates that at least 25% of the US population are first or second generation Americans, who come from (or whose parents come from) different cultures, many with different views on death. “It’s more celebratory. It’s more accepting of the idea that it’s just a passage,” Clayton High School Spanish teacher Teresa Schafer said of the culture around death in Latin America. Schafer was born and raised in a Catholic family in Peru, and she moved to the United States in 1983. Fascinated with the variety of religions and philosophies she encountered in the United States, she took several classes at Saint Louis University about world religions. “[The classes] reminded me that all these different religions and views on death- instead of being so opposite, it just reminded me more of how similar we all are as human beings,” Schafer said. Immigrants often experience jarring differences in the customs, celebrations, and beliefs of their home country and those of their new country, especially in the United States, where strict (if often unspoken) social codes exist. But when something as universal yet personal as death occurs, the American practice of distancing or ignoring the loss can seem inconceivable. “[In Peru], when people die, they don’t go to a funeral home. The funeral home comes to your house and decorates, and the coffin is there, and people are there 24 hours a day, for two days. You do not leave the deceased alone. It’s a very personal thing.” Schafer said.

When asked whether the United States or Latin America was more accepting of different views on death, Schafer said, “Latin America, absolutely, because even though there some people are ‘pure Catholics’ or ‘pure Protestants’, we live, we coexist with a culture that celebrates different rituals”. Within Latin America, there is a rich variety of traditions around death. Perhaps best known in America is the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration, in which people go to the graves of their deceased loved ones and remember the lost lives with food and music. Schafer recalls Peruvian celebrations of Day of the Dead as cleaning cemeteries and going to church, remembering loved ones who had passed on. Because of Latin America’s history, many traditions and beliefs are a result of both indigenous and European influences. Celebrations such as the Day of the Dead, as it exists in a variety of countries, have roots in the traditions of the Aztecs. The presence of Catholic mass at many Latin American funerals is a reminder of the European influences still present today. One similarity between the variety of indigenous religions and the Christianity brought over by the Europeans is the idea of an afterlife, and many Latin Americans continue to believe in that idea today. In many regions of Latin America, the view on death is also influenced by African culture. Started in Cuba, the Santeria combines Yoruban traditions from West Africa with the Roman Catholic practices of Europe, and involves making offerings dictated by leaders specifically ordained in the practice of the Santeria. While many immigrants find ways to adapt their own practices and views on death in their new country, there remains a cultural divide because of the expected grieving process in America.

THE COVID CONNECTION

ONE DAY THERE, THREE WEEKS LATER GONE “Within a month, we lost our neighbors,” said Jay Epstein, Clayton parent and Lake Forest resident. Charles and Sally Kopman were longtime residents of Lake Forest and friends of the Epstein family. The two families enjoyed a friendly relationship, sharing the occasional dinner, picking up packages when the other family was out of town, bringing over cookies and enjoying neighborly chats during dog walks and yard work. The Kopmans took a particular interest in Epstein’s daughter, CHS sophomore Margot. “They paid a lot of attention to Margot. She would bring them cookies and do chores for them. They were at her bat mitzvah,” said Epstein. Just two weeks after the neighborhood progressive dinner, the last normal gathering for many Lake Forest residents, on a Thursday afternoon in late March 2020, Epstein entered the Kopman’s home to check on Charles. Epstein’s wife Deedee had seen him leave in an ambulance earlier in the day. The hospital had sent him home with an ambiguous diagnosis of weakness, as his symptoms were primarily neurological. The Epsteins tended to Charles for several days, helping his wife to ensure that he ate and drank and was safe, mainly from falling. Eventually, his neurological symptoms worsened, and Epstein decided to send him back to the hospital. “They took him the second time back to the emergency room and he was pretty soon thereafter diagnosed with COVID-19. And died probably four or five days later. He died in the hospital, no friends, no family. One of his daughters came in town but she never, ever saw her dad again,” said Epstein. His death was a shock to the Epsteins and the wider neighborhood community. The pandemic had just begun. People had yet to realize the death and destruction that were soon to come. Approximately three weeks later, the Kopmans’ adult daughter alerted Epstein that her mother, Sally, was displaying neurological symptoms and confusion. Epstein called ahead to the hospital to ensure Sally would be admitted and properly cared for; not just sent home just to return a few days later, as had happened with her husband. No visitors were allowed during her hospital stay but her daughter and the Epsteins received updates about her status and care. Sally was nearing discharge after 10 days in the hospital, but died in her sleep the night prior to her scheduled discharge, as preparations were underway for her transition to home care. “It was very emotionally traumatizing for all of us,” said Epstein. “And it brought to heart the seriousness of COVID.”

HOW THE PANDEMIC UPENDED DEATH Americans typically avoid death as a topic of conversation, placing it on the same plane as sex, money and religion. However, the pandemic has brought death on a large scale to the forefront of our collective mind, in a way that is nearly impossible to avoid. Millions of Americans have lost close family members and friends to COVID, or other causes, during the pandemic. “It’s been hard to avoid. So it’s forced people to think about the end of their own lives. People are still uncomfortable with the topic in general but they are a bit more willing to approach it,” said Professor Brian Carpenter, Professor of Psychology at Washington University. The pandemic has upended the typical end of life processes and circumstances around deaths. Social distancing requirements and hospital visitor restrictions, as well as restrictions on gathering sizes and locations impacted people’s last moments as well as grieving rituals. Many people in hospitals died alone, surrounded only by doctors as nurses, as well as loved ones on Zoom or FaceTime. Funerals were

cancelled, postponed and held on Zoom or with limits on the number of participants. Mourners could not embrace, share meals or spend too much time in the same space. “When people got COVID and died from it, it was not pretty. They were often in the hospital for a long time and were sometimes unconscious when they died. So these were really horrible, uncomfortable, distressing deaths to wittness, both for family members but also the staff in the hospital,” said Carpenter. Epstein also lost his mother in May 2020, and attended her funeral on Zoom. He described the experience as unsatisfying. “Improper goodbyes and not being able to grieve with your family is really difficult. There was no one to sit Shiva (a Jewish death ritual) for my mom, or for Sally and Charles,” said Epstein, “The whole feeling of being in the hospital, only having an iPad to talk to, not having anyone to hold you, not being able to say your last words in person, I think that’s one of the biggest tragedies related to COVID.”

UNCOMFORTABLE, DISTRESSING DEATHS Preparing for one’s death ahead of time is one way to ease the discomfort and anxiety for both the person and their family members. Proper end of life care includes the skilled management of physical pain and nausea as well as attention to the person’s psychological and spiritual needs. End of life care teams range beyond just nurses and doctors and can include social workers, chaplains and religious leaders. Psychological preparation for death can include saying last goodbyes to loved ones, voicing regrets and apologizing. However, a diagnosis of COVID can limit one’s ability to properly prepare for their death, and die peacefully, comfortably and with dignity. “Part of that preparation (with a COVID patient) was preparing people for the reality that death was going to be uncomfortable. The other element of being prepared is giving people the opportunity to say what’s important to them. To the extent that they could, even if it’s only through technology,” said Carpenter. “It’s a really challenging time for families,” said Doctor Candice Booth, a Clayton parent and Emergency Medicine Physician at Missouri Baptist Hospital, “I’ve had some times where I realized someone was at the end of their life and made special arrangements to get family members gowned up and in the room, because I felt it was really important to say goodbyes. But in some cases, family members were too scared to come in, so we made other arrangements, setting up a Zoom call. ” Technology such as Zoom and FaceTime has become crucial in end of life care, connecting families kept apart by social distancing practices. People had various reactions to pandemic deaths, with some becoming more open and willing to talk about and prepare for deaths. While others became more anxious, fearful and distressed surrounding the pandemic and the increased potential for infection and death. Witnessing an uncomfortable or painful death of a loved one also impacts family members in their grieving process. “When people witness a difficult, complicated or prolonged death, it puts them at risk for an extreme or elongated grief reaction. Witnessing a poor quality death of someone that you care about is a bad thing for the people who are left behind,” said Carpenter. One such type of an extreme grief reaction is known as prolonged grief disorder. According to the Washington Post, prolonged grief disorder is characterized by daily intense yearning for the dead, identity confusion, disbelief, emotional pain or numbness and intense loneliness, at least one year after the person’s death. One in ten people who have lost a loved one will be affected by PGD. This disorder was

recently added to the DSM, the diagnosis manual for the American Psychiatric Association. Witnessing a sudden or traumatic death puts one at greater risk for developing PGD. Ways to prevent an extreme grief reaction such as PGD include taking advantage of provided supports, such as bereavement support provided by hospice. Witnessing a poor quality death also effects for the staff who cared for the person. The pandemic has shone a light on the plight of nurses, doctors, housekeeping staff, social workers, health aides and other workers who care for dying patients. “We’ve learned (during the pandemic) how to take care of really sick people. We’ve also learned the importance of caring for the doctors, nurses, chaplains, social workers and other people who are doing the work. We need to cherish them, support them, make sure they’re well paid and have plenty of time off,” said Carpenter.

LIFE CONTINUES “I don’t think you ever become numb to it. Each one still affects you personally, seeing the patient and the family,” said Booth. Staff in the ICU can have different experiences, as they can spend days or weeks treating patients and getting to know them and their families prior to their deaths. But staff in Emergency Departments deal with the initial shock for families of patients who die immediately or those who come in very ill. Particularly at the start of the pandemic, there was also a lot of fear among hospital staff members. They had to put themselves and their families at risk of death from a relatively unknown virus on a daily basis. The Epstein family contracted COVID in December of 2020. Their previous experience with the Kopmans impacted their emotional responses to the virus. “When we were diagnosed, I think there was a lot of fear. When Margot heard that both her mom and dad and her had COVID, there was a lot of anxiety. Our only prior experience was with our neighbors and their tragic outcome,” said Epstein. “It’s definitely been difficult. But I’m very thankful for our staff,” said Booth, “Everyone’s kind of had their moments where you need to lean on somebody and we’ve all been there for each other. Many hospitals, including Missouri Baptist have offered mental health supports and resources for their staff during the pandemic. “Community is a big part of you not feeling isolated. When we had COVID, all of our friends said they would get us anything we needed, go to the store for us. Even if you can’t see anyone, they just leave things on your doorstep,” said Epstein. One day as she arrived at work, Booth noticed hundreds of pinwheels scattered about the lawn at Missouri Baptist Hospital, to honor all the patients that had been affected by COVID. “It just kind of gave you that mental image of how many people have been affected by this,” said Booth. “I really wonder if the younger generation will carry the COVID pandemic with them, the way that older people have carried the polio epidemic and other things like that. Will it be a marker, an important milestone in their lives? A big life event that they’ll talk to their kids and grandkids about when they get older?” said Carpenter.

THE INDUSTRY OF DYING

Total Cost of Funerals and End-of-Life Care in the U.S.

Dollars (billions)

60 50

55.8

40 30 20 10 0

“When a family comes in, they’re often overwhelmed, they’re sad, they’re in shock,” said Emily MacDonald, funeral director at Berger Memorial Chapel. “And sometimes they’ve been working with individuals who have been sick for quite some time, so they have a weird, it’s kind of hard to explain, but a sense of relief, in the sense that their loved one is no longer suffering.” Where grief, shock and relief converge, the funeral process begins. For MacDonald, that process is initiated in the form of a simple email to the family she is working with. “I often will send them an email actually just kind of outlining the decisions that need to be made and information that we would need to gather and discuss,” she explained. After the family has time to assess a basic overview of what the process ahead of them will look like, MacDonald typically meets with them to start planning. “We talk about service logistics, what the service can look like, where it’s going to be, when it’s going to be, transportation to and from the service rituals and traditions that we will help prepare,” said MacDonald. “We then gather information to inform a death certificate.” She also works out information to include in newspaper notices and helps the family select a casket. This is where the underlying inequality of the funeral industry begins to emerge. “The greatest variable in any funeral is actually going to be a casket because they range across the board in cost,” said MacDonald. “So if I’m talking to a family, regardless of their socioeconomic background, the cost for our services and the cost for the services provided by the cemetery and the rabbi and others are generally the same. It’s just the difference is really within a casket.” According to the Federal Trade Commission, an average casket costs slightly above $2,000, but prices can reach up to $10,000. MacDonald explained that Berger makes price adjustments for clients facing financial hardship and has worked with Jewish Family Services to develop a “burial fund.” Other efforts

63.8

2019

2020

D to make funerals more accessible and equitable include the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit which works to help people make informed decisions and know the rights of funeral industry consumers. Some states also offer direct financial assistance for people who cannot afford to bury a loved one. No statewide assistance is offered in Missouri, but some counties provide assistance to indigent funeral consumers. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has also provided financial assistance for COVID-19 related funeral expenses. MacDonald explained that there are many cremation service providers in St. Louis who offer inexpensive packages. However, these prices do not include services or spaces to hold services, and families may have to provide their own urns. When a family is dealing with monetary constraints, it can make planning a funeral even more overwhelming. Even for families who can comfortably afford funeral services, the process is emotionally taxing and unfamiliar. Because families planning funerals are in vulnerable positions, it is the responsibility of the funeral director, as well as the funeral home, to guide people through this process while making it as easy as possible. MacDonald is sensitive to this by sending an overview of costs to her clients ahead of time. “I always include an anticipated breakdown of cost,” she said. “I always attach the price list, and then I give them the price list when they’re here as well, because I want people to have a good understanding of what to expect.” Because people are in such a compromised position while planning with funeral homes, there are regulations in place to prevent families from being exploited.

Average Burial and Funeral Fees

Printed Materials

Ceremony Fees Vehicle Fees Body Preparation

Casket

Embalming Service Fees

Transfer to Funeral Home

s and o i x A om Data fr

cial n a n i F Self

“The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Missouri separately have really stringent, strict laws and penalties for not providing individuals information, 1) as soon as we speak, 2) to take home with them,” said MacDonald. The Federal Trade Commission Funeral Rule requires providers of funeral services to give clients “General Price Lists,” itemized lists of goods and services offered that include prices, descriptions and specific disclosures. These disclosures include important information for consumers, such as their right to select only the services they desire. The funeral industry is also regulated at the state level; Missouri statute 333 establishes licensing requirements and inspection procedures for funeral establishments. Some individuals try to make it easier on their families after they pass away by choosing a pre-arranged funeral, paid either in full or in installments. There are many ways to plan a funeral in advance, including setting up a trust with a specific funeral home or buying funeral insurance. Even though funeral homes such as Berger are transparent about cost, funerals in the United States are costly. According to a 2021 report by Self Financial, the average cost of funerals

has risen 23% since 2006. Cremation costs have also risen 9% since 2014. On average, dying in the U.S. costs about $19,566, including end-of-life care, funerals and cremations. “If you’re a working adult, they give you typically three days off after a loss, and then you’re supposed to come back and act like everything’s normal,” said Taylor Sedano, Bereavement Specialist for BJC Hospice. Under both Missouri and national law, employers are not required to provide bereavement leave (paid leave after the death of a loved one) or leave for an employee to attend a funeral. Though many employers provide three days of leave, workers in low-wage jobs are more likely to be denied any leave after a loss. Death is not only costly to the individuals who experience loved ones’ deaths, but it also affects the economy as a whole. One study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that on average, every COVID-19 death will affect nine people. Across the country, there are minimum-wage employees who are forced to work while struggling with the mental and physical burden of grief. Dying is an industry, just like any other industry that provides goods or services. But unlike cars or hospitality, how it evolves over time will have profound effects on America’s cultural understanding of death and its significance.

“They give you typically three days off after a loss, and then you’re supposed to come back and act like everything’s normal. ”

CONVERSATIONS AROUND GRIEF Walking into the BJC hospice center, a small golden tree in the front doorway catches your eye. This tree is known to Evelyn’s House patients and family members as “The Hope Tree.” This colorful heart-studded centerpiece is lined with small paper hearts written with messages and wishes to the Evelyn’s House community by the families who attain residency there. Evelyn’s House is a part of the BJC Healthcare and hospice system that provides emotional, medical, physical, and spiritual care for terminally ill patients of all ages. Evelyn’s House is a home-like setting that provides a holistic approach to the therapy side of medical-care and the aftermath of losing a loved one. Grieving the loss of a loved one for families can cause emotional, mental, and physical symptoms. Physical symptoms can range from headaches and stomachaches to trouble sleeping. “We talk about how grief affects you as a whole. So, a lot of times when you hear the word grief, you think about the emotional aspects. But anyone who’s lost someone significant in their life knows that it can really affect you physically,” said Barnes Jewish/Christian Healthcare hospice bereavement specialist Taylor Sedano. Dealing with these symptoms, especially for someone who has never gone through a heavy loss, can seem confusing or stressful. Fortunately, there are programs and associations that can help with that healing process, managing the symptoms and paving the way for a more emotionally stable future for those who may be dealing with grief. Andrea Tritinger, a Social Work Supervisor of Evelyn’s House, said, “The goal of Evelyn’s House [is centered around the fact that] the patients that come here typically have symptoms that are not able to be managed in their house. So maybe they’ve got pain that their nurses aren’t able to get under control, so instead of sending them to a hospital, they are able to come here and it’s just more of a comfortable and calm environment for families. So, it is to help get those symptoms under control so they can have a peaceful end of life.” Evelyn’s House does not just provide a comfortable home-like environment for their patients, it also provides therapies of all kinds, retreats for grief counseling and grief support for every family that has lost a loved one. The patients’ therapies consist of art, music and communicative sessions with their therapist or social worker. These therapies help focus on the patient’s anxiety and pain and can help with memory making, or just simply be used as a distraction from the world around them. Group therapy can also be provided and they also provide a supportive staff of people, such as Tritinger, who have comforting personas and constantly make you feel at home. “With any mental health situation or issue it’s better to get it out then to hold it in, so being able to to have opportunities to process that as [the patient is] going through the dying process, and then immediately after in grief as well, it just helps those long-term outcomes, which hopefully reduces depression and long term mental health issues,” said Tritinger.

BJC Hospice Logo

Tritinger discussed that many times the families of the patients actually want that connection with others that have gone through a similar loss, because it can help them feel that they are not alone. To help form connections, and speak out on personal experiences, Evelyn’s House also holds retreats for those who have lost loved ones due to terminal illness. Tritinger said, “We also offer a camp for kids ages six to twelve, who have lost a loved one, and it’s not just our hospice families; anybody in the community can come. It’s a weekend long camp, and we do a retreat for moms who have lost a loved one as well.” These retreats are a great way for people in the community to view different perspectives of similar experiences, and help verbally process their emotions. Evelyn’s House also has personal assets, known as “The Legacy Project.” These are small, but meaningful projects that bring out the creativity in the families, to make a story or a meaningful relic of their terminally-ill loved one. This could be a quilt, made of their favorite clothes, a video of their favorite family movie, or just a memorable story about them. The workers of Evelyn’s House all find major pride and accomplishment in the work they do with these projects. Tritinger said regarding the Legacy project as a whole, “Especially when they’re creating that story, you know you can make an impact.” Creating those impacts -no matter the size- all around helps patients grieve and come to terms with the death, and aftermath of losing a loved one. Evelyn’s House and Barnes Jewish Hospital/Children’s Hospital (BJC) provide grief support for the families after they’ve lost a loved one for around 13 months after they’ve passed. Through this support, Evelyn’s House will send you pamphlets to help look at the statistics of grieving and the act of dying, to help make more scientific sense of what you’re going through. Within the pamphlets is a section on “The 5 Dimensions.” These five dimensions are presented in a diagram consisting of five main factors: spiritual, relational, emotional, physical and mental. Regarding the five dimensions, Tritinger said, “In grief we often think of the emo-

tions that come along with [it], but then when you look at the diagram it’s like overlapping circles. So, you realize that the emotion which impacts the physical which impacts the mental, is all intertwined, and you have to find ways to heal in all of these different areas.” In addition to the physical factor of grief, PGD, known otherwise, as prolonged grief disorder, is a newly designated disorder similar to “complicated grief.” It’s effects are quite similar to that of PTSD, and depression. Some treatments looking into the cure for it are considering psychotherapy, antidepressants, and grief support groups, “especially when they involve mourners with similar grief stories,” stated the Washington Post on the recognition of Prolonged grief disorder as an official diagnosis. These treatments could be similar to that of what Evelyn’s House is aiming to achieve- a connected, safe space where any grieving person can share their experiences and feelings. The pamphlets also offer quotes from people who have experienced loss and have gone through the BJC Hospice care experience. “We’ve got quotes in there too from some of our family members that we have supported in bereavement before, just talking about their experience with grief. I think it really helps people to hear from others

that have gone through it,” said Tritinger. These different healing processes, therapies and supports, along with grief support provided by BJC and Evelyn’s House, all assist to help deal with the un-navigated terrain of death and the symptoms that grieving may cause. For many people, the grieving process is a journey. There is no right or wrong way to grieve and the impact of death can affect people for the rest of their lives. This is echoed by BJC, who urge their patients to remember that each of their grieving processes will be different, due to their unique relationships with the deceased. The culture surrounding death in the United States pushes the idea to “just get over it” and move on with life. With many people only being able to take three or four days off of work after the death of a loved one, the timeline for grief can be shortened. However, BJC emphasizes that there is no timeline or universal set of stages for grief. Their message stresses patience with yourself and taking the time that you need to grieve. Although each person’s journey is different, many people try to compare their situations to others.

“I find a lot of the people I talk to who have lost a loved one try to compare those situations. Like ‘I’ve had time to prepare,’ ‘I got to talk to them about it’ ‘oh, well you know, that’s better than something that could have happened suddenly like a heart attack or car accident.’ But really, to me, I don’t think it’s ever helpful to compare your route to somebody else’s,” said Sedano. Grief is not only different for each situation but also for each age group. For children, grief can look and feel extremely different. Many children are not fully emotionally mature when they first experience grief. These feelings can be completely different for them than they are for adults going through the same loss. At Evelyn’s House, there are many different resources provided specifically for children who have lost a loved one. “With kids in particular, we use a lot of books to help explain what’s happening… We have picture books that talk about maintaining a connection with someone even when they are gone, and knowing that they will always be in your heart,” said Titinger. For kids, communication is key. Having open discussions surrounding death can help normalize the emotions that they are feeling. Continuing to view conversations about death as taboo is harmful for children, and can invalidate the grieving process. Many of these discussions start with parents or other family members. “We do a lot of education with the parents to help normalize that experience and tell them that it actually is better if they’re involved, and that it’s better if they know upfront what’s happening, and have a chance to ask those questions, because kids pick up on things. And usually the stories they make up in their heads are sometimes worse than reality,” said Titinger. Body language is also an important factor for kids when it comes to grief. “If young kids don’t have the words to express themselves, a lot of the time it comes out when they play, it comes out in their attachment issues,” said Sedano. “Are they starting to distance themselves? Are they being more clingy? By talking and offering space, it helps people process what’s going on.” At both BJC and Evelyn’s House, having those specific resources and opportunities for kids is crucial in the grieving process. Creating safe spaces for open communication between adults will help kids understand the impact of death and is a way for them to experience different emotions in a healthy environment. “Sometimes the more that you keep it in, the

“By talking and offering space, it helps people process what’s going on. Especially with kids, having someone that you can talk to about those serious things, is instilling coping skills at a younger age, to help you through life.” -Taylor Sedano

stories that you are creating in your head and are spinning around and around in your own thoughts, make it worse than when you speak it out loud, and are able to process it,” said Tritinger. One of the most highlighted aspects of coping with the death of a loved one is being able to have conversations. At BJC hospice they urge bereaved people to “find someone to talk with who will accept you wherever you are in the grief process.” “It makes it a little less scary when you can say it out loud to somebody else- especially to someone that has some training, like a social worker or a chaplain, where whatever you say they are going to be this non-judgemental and open listener,” said Tritinger. While it is clear talking through grief is beneficial, our society often shys away from those conversations. When grieving, people often become trapped in a negative spiral of thoughts which can become harmful to their mental health and overall daily life. Being able to discuss these ideas allows them to process the thoughts before they become damaging. While the grieving process is challenging in any manner, if we can start conversations surrounding death and grief, when it comes time to experience those things ourselves, the grieving process and being able to talk about it will be easier. “I do think that that’s a huge problem with our society- the fact that we don’t talk about death and grief. People, I feel like, struggle then when they’re going through it because it’s hard to talk about,” said Sedano. We start this through having tough conversations at young ages. Many times, children will experience the death of a grandparent or a loved one during the time they are still reaching emotional maturity. If we are able to converse about feelings and demonstrate the value of talking through them, the message will pass through generations. “We do a lot of education with the parents to help normalize that experience and tell them that it actually is better if they’re involved, and that it’s better if they know upfront what’s happening, and have a chance to ask those questions,” said Titinger. Grieving the loss of a loved one is never an easy subject to approach but if we start forming constructive conversations now, it will only become easier. Similar to how grief manifests in a variety of ways, it also stems from many different things. Over the past 18 months, we have experienced a variety of losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether that is the loss of a loved one, better education, or experiences in general, everyone has something to grieve.

Homework at CHS

Reporter Samantha Braidwood argues that CHS’ homework system negatively affects students.

“D

uring the pandemic, it was a lot more flexible, teachers were a lot more flexible, almost everyone I knew turned in homework late, it was more acceptable. But now everything has gotten more strict and the homework load has increased a ton. So it’s been hard adjusting immediately to that,” says Jessie Wang, a senior at CHS. Once we started the long process of transitioning back to “normal,” the half day schedules were still abnormal. With students either going to school in the morning or the afternoon, it gave them extra time to spend on homework. Now that we have returned to an 8:15 a.m - 3:00 p.m schedule, the homework stress has set back in. Since the majority of students participate in after-school activities, there is barely enough time for sleep and homework (not to mention spending time with your family or eating dinner). According to John Hopkins, teenagers should get nine and a half to 10 hours of sleep. If you wake up for school at 7 a.m, nine hours of sleep would have you going to bed at 10:00 p.m. For students at Clayton, that’s rarely achievable. From a survey of 194 Clayton students, the results showed a majority of students spending around two hours on homework. The second highest being one hour, and a close third being over three hours. According to the same survey, students are getting on average six to seven hours of sleep. Which is two to three hours short of the amount of time that they are supposed to be getting at their age. And when asked if the amount of homework affects the amount of sleep they get, over half of the responses were a yes. “It [homework] 100% affects my sleep schedule. My sleep schedule has changed completely, like 360 degrees compared to last year. Last year I could hangout with friends after school. And now I spend all my weekends doing homework. Which I guess is expected out of a normal high school student,” said Wang. As shown in the survey, the largest percentage of homework is spent on AP and honors classes. So perhaps the result of taking these advanced classes comes with the consequences of not having as much free time as students experiencing less intense curricula. But should the consequences of taking advanced classes be so severe as to negatively affect mental health? But it’s not only the mental health of honors students. Anecdotal evidence suggests that all students at Clayton High are affected.

31 OPINION

How many hours do you spend on homework each night? 3 Hours

< 1 Hour 2 Hours

1 Hour

Do you feel that block schedule reduces your homework load? No

Not Sure

Yes “It’s kind of agreed upon in the counseling department and with all teachers and students that right now for some reason, our mental health at Clayton is just really, really bad,” says senior Clayton Student Council President Willa Stine after she met with school counselor Tobie Smith. “It was such a hard, abrupt, change from this summer, COVID summer, and COVID school last year, to suddenly having to go ‘back to normal.’ Back to sitting in a classroom for 85 minutes and having homework every night.” Not only is mental health poor at our schools right now, but with the COVID pandemic the mental health was just as unstable. Possibly the competitive environment com-

bined with the homework load at Clayton has something to do with that. “I think that [homework] is a big component of that. We already have this big competitive energy at CHS. And homework is actually a big component of that. It’s funny to think about but I know people that will be like, ‘Oh how much homework did you have last night?’ And their response will be, ‘Oh I was working until like midnight,’ but then the other person will say, ‘Oh well I was working till like 3 a.m on homework.’ The amount of homework breeds the competition even further,” says Stine. Clayton breeds a competitive educational environment. Sharing and comparing grades is common, and people are constantly trying to be the best, or work the hardest, or produce the most. “We have a very odd culture at CHS, competing to see who gets the least amount of sleep, or who does the most stuff,” says Stine. So how can we solve this problem of mental health at Clayton? If we can’t just take away homework, then what are we going to do to solve it? “Every year in one of your classes or in some school meeting, teachers bring up the fact that CHS mental health is not good and we talk about how it is not good and then we don’t do anything about it. Or we have a poster in the hallway saying something like ‘take a deep breath’. It’s frustrating. Every year they say we need to make some changes. The change really starts with the students, but we keep having teachers and administrators every year claiming that we are gonna make such great changes, but nothing ever happens,” says Stine. On a more positive note, one change that has recently been made at Clayton is the block schedule. The CHS block schedule simply means that out of your eight Day classes that you have, you attend four on one day and four on another in a rotation of “A days” and “B days”. Over half of the students responded that the block schedule was helpful in reducing homework. So perhaps this is a start towards a change in the way that learning is conducted and achieved at Clayton. “The mental health at Clayton right now is the worst it’s ever been, either major change needs to occur in the way we assign and complete work, or we need to stop being teased with fake change,” says Stine.

SAMANTHA BRAIDWOOD REPORTER

MARIJUANA: THE CHOICE IS YOURS... CHOOSE TO PASS:

CHOOSE TO USE:

A sharp mind will create the best opportunities for college and beyond.

The longer you wait, the less likely you are to develop an addiction.

A clean legal record helps with jobs, college admissions and leases.

Your example encourages younger kids to make healthy choices.

Impaired memory and learning can impact your academic record.

Using before age 18 makes an addiction four to seven times more likely.

A criminal record can cancel sports participation & scholarship opportunities.

Younger kids look up to you. If you use, they may think it is OK for them to.

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The Cost Of College

Despite being able to provide a higher education, colleges are actively robbing students of their passion and drive

s I’m starting to write this article, it’s 8:04 PM on a Sunday night. I have a 32 page long physics test in front of me, calculus homework sitting at the back of my mind, and about a million supplemental essays to write for college. Colleges act like they care about the mental health of students, but the reality is, they don’t. If they really cared about our mental health, they wouldn’t require four extra supplemental essays from us in addition to our common application essay that we spend about three months toiling over and revising. Also, the amount of college emails that I’ve gotten boasting about their test-optional policies is obscene. They are demonstrating their complete ignorance and disconnect to actual applicants, where they think that not requiring students to submit test scores relieves us from all stress, as if we didn’t still have to worry about essays, maintaining a perfect GPA, or stacking up on extracurriculars. One of the number one pieces of advice that college admissions officers give students is to

“be authentic”. However, with the expectations set for us during the application process, this is impossible. A schedule full of AP classes, leadership positions in every club you’re involved with, sports after school every day and a job, it’s nearly impossible for students to squeeze in the time to pursue their own personal passions when they’re focusing on making their resumes as attractive as possible. Additionally, colleges are incredibly greedy. It’s ridiculous that students who are too busy to work a full-time job are being charged tens of thousands of dollars per year just to get an education, especially considering the fact that the median household income in the United States was $67,521 in 2020. Also, despite the fact that colleges are literally sucking the money out of students, their professors and faculty (especially adjunct professors who are over-utilized in college systems) are underpaid and under-appreciated. In fact, students are already feeling the financial burden of a higher education in high school, as AP tests, application fees, and sending in scores add up to a hefty amount.

While colleges shouldn’t be completely blamed for this, they have definitely played a large role in creating a toxic college culture at Clayton and many other schools across the nation. In order for these schools to keep their reputations as elite universities, they increase competition among their applicants, pitting students against each other. The emphasis that is placed on reputation and attending a high ranking university has led to an underlying obsession with competition and prestige. People asking their peers about their GPAs and test scores is incredibly invasive, and people who aren’t taking enough AP classes are looked down upon. Students should be taught to collaborate and work with one another. Instead, we are now rooting for each other to fail, always thinking about our classmates as competition. Colleges are supposed to serve students. They’re supposed to be raising the next generation of thinkers and leaders, yet they’re actively killing our passion, our motivation, our financial stability, and our sanity. Are they serving us, or just themselves at this point?

Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts is regarded by many as one of the best universities in the United States (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/TNS)

VIVIAN CHEN, SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR OPINION 33

Our Athletes and Academics

Clayton is notorious for it’s academics, but what about it’s athletes striving for academic and athletic success?

Goalie, Hannah Teagan, leads the varsity field hockey team onto the field. Maci Klaus, Photographer

layton’s top tier academics are continuously highly ranked on not only the state level, but national as well. CHS isn’t only home to some of the brightest minds, it’s also home to dedicated athletes striving for athletic success alongside the good grades and high pressure classes. The pressure student athletes put on themselves to succeed can lead to mental stress and physical exhaustion, making it hard for them to achieve in both aspects. “A lot of times I am stressed about tests, and that affects how I play,” says star varsity golfer Amaya Everett. Everett discussed having tests within a day of districts for golf, talking about how she had to utilize her time in the best way possible, while also trying to avoid creating any more anxiety for the important upcoming events. Her strategy? Focus. “If I focus on the test and the question that I’m doing, then it definitely helps a lot more. I focus on the goal, my shot and what it’s going to look like, that helps a lot with my game,” describes Everett when asked what her strategy of focus looks like. Unbeknown to most student athletes, there is a whole department at CHS ready to help

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them with academic strategies like Everett’s that can also be used on the field, court, or course. The Learning Support Department, directed by Mrs. Lehnhoff Bell, is most commonly known for the Learning Center class, which students can take to get homework done while getting academic support from teachers. Lesser known is the work they do with student athletes. Lehnhoff-Bell, works with student athletes with direct help from Athletic Director Steve Hutson. With Hutson the Learning Support department figures out which athletes need help outside

of class with academics and communicates with the coaches of the athletes. In some situations Hutson creates personalized academic plans to help an individual. During the pandemic the Learning Support Department staff and CHS’s personal trainer, Kristin Saunders could be found running a study hall from the end of school bell until practices started, giving athletes time to focus on their individual academic needs in a uniquely stressful year. While these study halls have not continued into the current school year, the football team can be found in a study hall on Mondays, making sure they aren’t only making touchdowns but improving as students off the field as well. “If you’re always aiming to be better today than yesterday as a student, and if that’s your mantra, then I think you’d be a great captain and you’d be a great leader on that team,” says Lehnhoff-Bell. Academic support is here to help athletes on and off the field. The Learning Support department wants students to know their academic success isn’t valued just as a grade but as individual improvement and how you use it. Working to improve individually in aca-

Calvin Swinney celebrating with a teammate after getting a touchdown. Connor Burris, Photographer

demics can be hard at Clayton, especially with homework from numerous AP courses. The heavy workload can lead to sacrifices, especially with limited time due to athletics. “I have classes where teachers don’t necessarily check homework or homework doesn’t count for a grade, so I have to let those go because I lose time being at practice to work on it, and after practice I have to eat and I’m exhausted, and I get burnt out really quickly after working out and then doing all my homework and studying,” explains junior and varsity field hockey goalie Hannah Teagan. Teagan recently quit playing club soccer due to the heavy workload she was experiencing from her first year of taking AP’s and the pressure to do extracurriculars outside of sports in order to appeal to colleges. Opportunities to perform and become the best athlete is spent consumed by academic work outside and inside of school. Calvin Swinney, varsity football player, commented on how Clayton’s notoriously hard academics could affect an athlete’s ability to continue their sport in the future: “I feel like some people are actually really good at their sports and they can go to the next level and play collegiately but I feel like it’s harder here because the classes are much harder than other schools.” Swinney is not alone in believing that if athletics were more prioritized, Clayton athletes would be able to perform better as individuals and teammates. The no-cut policy and the priority put on academics at Clayton has Aanya Singh, a top tennis player on the state level, wondering if our schools performance in sports is affected. “It just leaves athletics to the curb almost. It’s like, oh yeah you can casually do that, so I think that really affects our overall performance, in sports in general all around, not just tennis but everything else too,” elaborates Singh. To athletes putting in the work throughout the off season, in the weight room or on the court, is a priority right alongside school, not something to be brushed under the rug and forgotten. Most athletes put academics first, but sports come second. Every athlete should have the time and energy to be able to pursue what they love without exhaustion from an overload of homework. How can an athlete improve their ability to perform both in school and sport with mentality? Dr. Dirk Downing, a mental performance coach, works with helping athletes do exactly that. Downing starts with educating athletes on mental game and the language that can

help improve it. He creates a bond similar to a coach-athlete relationship with the athlete and discusses recent performances of the athlete if they are in season. After reflecting on performances, Downing and the athlete work to create plans to mentally improve their game. In the offseason, regiments to stay mentally sharp are put to work. Even outside of training, Downing helps the athlete find ways to keep their mental game strong. What does he have athletes turn to for extra practice? Academics. “Academics is another opportunity to build your skills of focus and your mental stamina. Your ability to grit and work hard,” says Downing. A core belief Downing brings to his practice is that a nervous moment is an opportunity, not a threat, to improve mental game. These nervous moments are frequently found before taking a test or after receiving a large project at school. Downing has strategies to help an athlete overcome these nervous moments. One strategy is overcoming distraction, a way to do this is by taking a step back through deep breaths and focusing on the moment or what is being taught. Practices like journaling positive aspects of an athlete’s day lead to a new outlook on staying strong through a negative point during sport or school. Downing explained that being self aware is the best way to overcome the moments of anxiety that can pop up by surprise. Even without a coach present, with better self awareness, the

athlete will be able to fix the mental moment of anxiety or stress. Solid mental game leads to better performance in practice and better performance on game, race, or match day. “If you show up with a mission, you’re driven, you set goals, you control your arousal level in the gym and you have a ton of reps where you’re engaged in the same way you would be during a cross country event or a basketball game. You’re building your body at a faster rate and you’re becoming stronger and faster because your workouts are more effective,” describes Downing when asked how a stronger mental game can help an athlete physically improve. Downing has noticed a common trait in athletes wanting to succeed in sport and as well as being high achieving in school. This trait is common at Clayton, with athletes like Hannah Teagan, Calvin Swinney, Aanya Singh and Amaya Everett, pushing themselves to get top marks in some of the hardest classes while also putting hours of effort into improving skills to help win games, matches and races. The Clayton community of teachers, parents, coaches and athletes need to reach out to one another more often. Reaching out to student athletes, and directing them to available help like the Learning Support Department, are the key to a future of even more athletic and academic success at Clayton.

ISABEL ERDMANN, PAGE EDITOR

Aanya Singh embracing her racket after a point during individual tennis districts. Esther Wang, Photographer

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Success at State

Five CHS girls’ tennis players recount on the process that took them to State this year.

Emmy Sandquist

or as long as she can remember, tennis has played a role in Senior Emmy Sandquist’s life. “I started playing tennis when I was little because I used to go sit at my sister’s tennis lessons and I thought she was super cool and wanted to be like her,” she said. For Sandquist, tennis was always more of a social part of her life than competitive. “I’ve never played tennis competitively. A lot of people do competitions outside of school tennis, but I always just did clinics for fun with friends,” she said. As she entered into her fourth and final tennis season at CHS this fall, her main goal was to enjoy her last season with her teammates. “I didn’t really have many goals when it came to tennis achievements because districts weren’t even on my radar, let alone state. So I really just wanted to have fun for my last year on the team. I didn’t prepare much over the summer at all,” Sandquist said. After a successful post-season doubles tournament alongside her partner, Maddie, Sandquist reflected on her past four years playing tennis at CHS. “I’ll miss the team. Tennis is something I can do for the rest of my life, but I won’t ever get to play high school tennis with those girls anymore, which is really sad.”

MAYA RICHTER, PHOTOGRAPHER

Maddie Brown

enior Maddie Brown started playing tennis in fifth grade, along with several other sports, at the request of her parents to regularly get exercise. However, unlike the other sports she participated in, tennis became an essential part of Brown’s life. Brown plays tennis year round, playing on a club team outside of the fall tennis season at CHS. To prepare for the tennis season at Clayton, Brown typically practices throughout the summer. However, during Brown’s sophomore year she suffered an injury that took her off the court for five months. Then, because of Covid at the start of her junior year, Brown was unable to partake in her usual practice over the summer. But this year Brown prepared over the summer, likely contributing to her immense success in the state competition. The first match of the season offered a solid baseline for improvement. Brown said, “As a team, we didn’t get a game off the first team we played against and getting so utterly beaten like nothing can be worse than that. And so then, just having such a low baseline, everything is good and you can only go up from there.” And they did. With doubles partner Emmy Sandquist, Brown improved tremendously throughout the season. Having someone by her side throughout the tournament as a partner encouraged Brown to work harder and get in the right mindset for matches, contributing to their success. Brown ended her high school tennis career in the best possible way. “I didn’t think I was going to miss it at first, but I definitely will. I enjoy playing tennis and getting to play every day is a lot of fun, and I don’t get to do that outside of season. And then getting to hang out with everyone; we always have a good time,” she said.

ALL REMAINING PHOTOS TAKEN BY ESTHER WANG

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Riley Zimmerman

s the only CHS freshman to qualify for State, Riley Zimmerman surprisingly hasn’t played tennis consistently throughout her life. “I started playing tennis when I was eight years old, and then I quit. Then I started back up again when I was twelve, and quit again. When I was fourteen, I picked tennis up again and have stuck with it since then.” Zimmerman said. She credits her history with tennis preparing her for this past season. “Over the summer, Crève Coeur Racket Club really got me ready for the season. But in general, my past experiences with tennis and coaches have allowed me to be the player I am today.” she said. State being new territory for Zimmerman caused many nerves and excitement. “Leading up to the matches I obviously felt very nervous because I wasn’t expecting to get that far, but I also felt lucky that I had.” Clearly Zimmerman didn’t let this affect her because she placed fourth in doubles alongside her partner Riley Reeves. Already anticipating what is to come next year, she said, “Next season I want to keep working on my form and learn how to not get as frustrated when I don’t feel I am playing my best. But overall, I can’t wait to be able to play with this team again.”

Aanya Singh

or Sophomore Aanya Singh, what began as a hobby has now turned into a major part of her life. “I probably started playing [tennis] at around 5 or 6. But I didn’t really take it seriously until 10 or 11,” Singh said. However, her tennis career has not been smooth sailing since then. “I definitely have had to take breaks because of some injuries and Covid,” Singh said. “This past year is probably the most intense I’ve ever gotten in tennis and the most time and effort I’ve put in,” she said. Singh went into the season with a positive attitude, ready to work on a different aspect of her game. “I was really working on my mental game and how to block things out and problem solve if something wasn’t working,” she said. Singh was relatively calm during districts and had low expectations for the tournament. “I didn’t really have any nerves during districts and I had fun, because I didn’t expect any high results,” she said. The nerves Singh experienced during sectionals had mostly dissipated by the time she got to state. “Sectionals was the most nervous I was throughout this entire process. But when I got to state, I had already kind of reached my goal. I played my first match, went in with a good mindset, and just focused on trying to get points and see where it goes,” she said. “It was crazy windy during my fourth match, like chairs were falling over. But I was still able to manage through it.” After a 3rd place victory in individual state, Singh is looking forward to getting back on the court with her teammates next season. “I can’t wait to get practicing again next season and really just honing in and putting in the work.”

Riley Reeves

HS sophomore Riley Reeves picked up tennis when she was fairly young. “I started when I was seven and ever since then I have been playing on and off.” she said. Although she didn’t play regularly growing up, her experience level was still high going into the season. Reeves acknowledges she feels she has gotten better this season. “Practicing with my doubles partner Riley [Zimmerman] helped me improve a lot. And I think another factor in getting better was playing against people who are better than me.” she said. State was a surreal experience for Reeves to experience and accomplish because it came with a lot of pressure. She said, “At the beginning of the matches to qualify for State I was nervous. And for some reason as I won my first couple matches, I got even more nervous.” However, the nerves didn’t faze Reeves in the end because she placed fourth in the doubles category alongside her partner Riley Zimmerman. “Next season I’m looking forward to improving my volleys.” she said, already ready to jump into the next season. “I’ll miss the coaches that are leaving for sure but I’m going to miss not seeing the girls everyday the most.”

KAIA MILLS-LEE, KATE FREEDMAN, SENIOR MANAGING EDITORS SOFIA MUTIS, PAGE EDITOR SPORTS 37

Erin Connolly: Badger Bound Junior Erin Connolly looks to a bright future playing soccer at the University of Wisconsin.

unior Erin Connolly sports a grey Wisconsin sweatshirt with red lettering and pajama pants, despite the unseasonably warm temperatures for October, as we sit down to talk. Shortly after the interview, Connolly had to get on the road to Chicago, for a game this weekend. Her right eye twitched slightly, which she described simply as a quirk of her anxious, can’t-sit-still personality. She plays soccer for St. Louis Scott Gallagher, in the ECNL league. Connolly committed to the University of Wisconsin to play soccer and study, back in September. Connolly is the youngest of four children, all born within a three year span and all soccer players. “They definitely influenced me. My

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sisters were huge to me, I was always their number and stuff. They were big influences, and my brother was very competitive as well,” said Connolly. Her older brother is currently attempting to play on a semi-professional team. Connolly began playing soccer in preschool, progressing to a club team by first grade. “I used to play on a really low team actually. It was just for fun. We would have candy after practice. Then I switched to this team,” said Connolly. Connolly’s team this year is a mix of juniors and seniors, or 03’s and 04’s in soccer terms. With over 20 girls on the roster, competition for playing time is fierce. Much of that comes

from their English coach, Ralph Richards, who has a deep knowledge of the sport. “He’s helped a ton, so he’s really intense too. He used to be a college coach so he knows everybody,” said Connolly. The travel schedule is relentless, with one weekend per month off during the intense period of the season. In the two days after our interview, Connolly has one game in Chicago and then one in Wisconsin. For the most part, games are in the Midwest, with driving time kept under 8 hours. However, 4 times a year, Connolly plays a showcase game in a larger, often coastal city. “I miss homecoming like every year, but it is what it is,” said Connolly. June 15th of the summer before a player’s junior year is when scouting can truly begin. Players are flooded with phone calls from coaches and are under intense pressure and scrutiny of their playing abilities. “The first month of school, I missed more classes than I went to,” said Connolly. Numerous college visits, meetings with coaches and relationship building filled Connolly’s summer and fall. But she ultimately chose the University of Wisconsin. College isn’t just about soccer, Connolly also has to balance her grueling training schedule with the rigorous academics of Clayton High School. Homework and schoolwork are tough to fit in with hours a day of soccer training and drives out to Soccer Park. Her freshman year schedule was tight, with school, homework during lunch, a quick stop at home for some food, practice and then more homework. “It’s harder but I just learned to make really good connections with my teachers, so then they are understanding,” said Connolly, “I love the math department. They’ve helped me a lot with organizing stuff.” Connolly utilizes her time management skills, rarely hanging out with friends during the week, and prioritizing what is most important. Committing to a college during the fall of one’s junior year is unusual to say the least. It relieves some of the typical pressures of junior and senior year with standardized testing and applying to college. However, it can also come with a lack of motivation to work hard in school. “I thought it was going to be a lot better than it is, that school wouldn’t be stressful anymore, but there’s still a constant stress of ‘what am I going to do with my future?’,” said Connolly, “It’s also been hard because I just don’t care

about school anymore. I’m actually trying to graduate early.” Despite her incredible skill, Connolly has never played for the CHS girls soccer team. Each spring, Connolly plays on a co-ed team, in a more competitive environment than the CHS team. “I would love to do it one year, I always say I’m going to do it. Maybe this year since I’m committed, there’s a higher chance,” said Connolly. Connolly has been in the School District of Clayton since Kindergarten, attending Captain Elementary and Wydown Middle School as well as CHS. She also has been playing with many of the same teammates since seventh grade, and only has a bit more time left playing club soccer. “I already tear up all the time, because I practically live at soccer park. I go straight from school and do homework, eat, there’s couches and sometimes I sleep in there. I’m there constantly, it’s like a second home,” said Connolly, “I’m very sad and stressed about leaving that environment, but I know I’m going to have so much fun at Wisconsin. It’s bittersweet.” Playing a sport in college can be an intense experience, especially at a Division 1 school like Wisconsin. The discipline to follow a strict schedule to handle all of one’s responsibilities is important. “I’m excited to be independent. I love my family but I think it’s important to get the experience of living on my own,” said Connolly. Connolly has been attending soccer camps and tournaments at Wisconsin since she was in 6th grade. She was attracted to the positive environment, well-regarded academics and sense of motivation among the students. “I love the environment. Everyone at Wisconsin is happy to be at Wisconsin,” said Connolly. A shy smile developed on her face when asked about her plans for soccer after college. “Yes, I am 100 percent wanting to play in the NWSL or over in Europe. That’s why I would want to graduate early, because that already helps you go beyond college. So yes, I’m definitely planning to go pro,” said Connolly.

PHOTOS BY ERIN CONNOLLY WISCONSIN LOGO /MCT CAMPUS ALEX COHEN, SPORTS SECTION EDITOR SPORTS 39

Is the NFL “Going Soft”?

A look into how CTE has changed the way football is played, and how the game is becoming safer.

uring these first months of the 2021 NFL season, football fans might have noticed a major increase in penalties, including roughing the passer, targeting and taunting, a subjective call when a player’s behavior is considered unsportsmanlike. Social media users may also be hearing influencers ask whether the NFL is “going soft.” According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, there were a total of 10 taunting penalties called in 2020 compared to 16 in just the first six weeks of the 2021 NFL season. Why is there such a sudden increase? Chicago Bears’ four-time Pro Bowler and member of the famous ‘85 Bears team, David Duerson, played as a defensive back for 11 seasons. Duerson was drafted by the Bears in the third round of the 1983 draft and had a very successful career on and off the field, winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. On February 17th, 2011, Duerson fatally shot himself in the stomach. Suspecting that he had a disorder called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), Duerson felt he could not go on living. He intentionally shot himself in a place that maintained the integrity of his brain, allowing scientists to study it and learn more about the disease. Duerson’s case is not the only time something like this has happened. Other examples are former NFL Linebacker and Hall of Famer, Junior Seau, and former Atlanta Falcon, Ray Easterling.

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Little is known about this brain disorder. There is no complete list of symptoms, and it is typically not diagnosed until after an autopsy. CTE is thought to be caused by repeated hits to the head, a common occurrence for football players, military personnel, and boxers. Presumably, parts of someone’s brain with CTE will start to decay over time, possibly causing behavioral changes, difficulty thinking, and other symptoms resembling those of Alzheimer’s, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Parkinson’s disease. David Aiello, AP Psychology teacher at Clayton High School, noted additional symptoms including aggression, inability to focus and an increase in addiction problems, making a person with CTE very challenging to live with as well. The first evidence of CTE in an NFL player was found in former Pittsburgh Steeler, Mike Webster. Following this discovery, co-founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF), Chris Nowinski, invented a brain bank containing the brains of former athletes. He and Dr. Robert Cantu, who became the head of the Sports Medicine Section of Neurosurgery in 2003, partnered with Boston University and the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs. Together they established the VABU-CLF Brain Bank, led by Dr. Ann Mckee, a board certified neurologist focusing on CTE and Alzheimer’s disease. Over 1000 brains have been donated, ⅔ of which were diagnosed with CTE, enabling a greater understanding of how this disease works. Aiello described how other sports, such as hockey, have evolved. “I remember when hockey players didn’t wear helmets.” He mentioned former St. Louis Blue, Ed Kea, who had a major head injury when he crashed head first into the endboards. “That’s when the National Hockey League finally started making it a rule that every player had to wear a helmet,” said Aiello. “Now, every player in the NHL wears a helmet, and we don’t even think about it. We wouldn’t even question the idea of it.” However, when speaking on the topic of adjustments in football, Aiello said, “I just don’t know what could happen.” Aiello explained how toxic masculinity could be a factor of injuries like this. “Part of the problem is that most of the sports that we see these injuries occur in are

very masculine, macho sports,” Aiello said. Players who seem concerned about safety are seen as being weak. When Duerson shot himself, he knew about the studies of the Brain Bank. Right before he died, he reached out to his family and asked them to donate his brain to the NFL’s Brain Bank for CTE research. When speaking on the matter, former NFL running back Robert Smith told the New York Times, “I would have to guess it was a statement about football and its impact on the brain.” Dr. Susan Schwerin, a Research Assistant Professor at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, studies how the brain changes after an injury and tests ways to facilitate recovery. “Currently, there is limited treatment for brain injury survivors,” Schwerin said. She explained that not all brain injuries result in the same problems. A soldier who has survived a bomb explosion and a football player who has been hit multiple times in the head may not experience the exact same issues. Therefore, “we need to tailor the treatment to the type of brain injury,” she said. Schwerin thought the increase in taunting and roughing the passer penalties may be increasing because there has recently been more research on deceased football players with CTE. Because of this, the NFL has looked into what types of plays may be most harmful and are now trying to limit them to avoid such injuries. Aiello said, “When Dr. Omalu first presented this research to the NFL, they, of course, denied it … Not only did NFL doctors, coaches and owners know this was happening to their players, but they actually paid to cover it up.” Later, the NFL paid millions of dollars to players for them to get care and began to research ways to make the game safer, including better helmets and instituting new rules, such as targeting. The NFL seems to be trying to improve the safety of their game, whether fans like it or not. As far as the next generation of players, “It really starts with the adults, who coach kids, teaching them the right way to play their game and for the right reasons,” said Aiello. Since taunting itself is not directly violent, NFL referees are likely calling penalties more often in order to prevent potential aggression following a player roughing or teasing another. “Is the NFL going soft?” No. However, as more is discovered about injuries like CTE, there are efforts to make football a safer sport to play. Fans may not agree with these changes, but they may be for the better.

MICAH LOTSOFF, REPORTER SOFIA MUTIS, SOPHIE SRENCO, PAGE EDITORS

Dune

Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster will divide viewers.

Timothée Chalamet in “Dune“ (From the official movie website.)

he highly anticipated sci-fi adventure finally hit US theaters on October 22. “Dune,” directed by Denis Villeneuve and based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert, promised an epic telling of Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet) and his quest to Arrakis, a desert planet filled with a valuable, psychotropic “spice.” The film certainly succeeds in the “epic” part, showcasing gargantuan visuals that even the big-screen seemed too small for. Unfortunately, it fails at both the emotional and thematic level. The message was blaringly obvious from the beginning: taking the sacred resources of a country is immoral. The name “Arrakis” is pronounced Iraq-is and spice seems to represent oil in the Middle East. However, what could’ve been an excellent critique of imperialism and colonialism fell flat. The film’s themes, established in the first thirty seconds, never developed into anything profound. Most dystopian media like the novel “1984” present metaphysical issues about the world with enough ambiguity and nuance that the readers or viewers must interpret the message themselves and ultimately think critically about the current systems in place around them. With a run-time of two hours and 35 minutes, “Dune” certainly had enough time to fulfill this, but instead ended with a declaration of “this is only the beginning,” hinting at an unnecessary part two. Maybe this was intended

as a cliff-hanger, but I was honestly too bored to care. So, this part one that audiences waited so long to see, ended up serving as an overlong, yet confusing exposition. However, for those who have read the book, watching “Dune” was a different experience. “It was definitely made with people who have read the book in mind rather than just people who wanted a movie,” said Sam McDonough, a lover of the book. “In [the book and other official art] there never seemed to be strong ties to a specific culture for inspiration, but the new movie actually rolling with the more Arabic-coded language and Middle Eastern-coded culture adds a lot… The sets (especially the house on Caladan) were my favorite parts, since they did a really good job capturing the essence of each place and family,” said McDonough. With a completely fantastical setting, world-building is incredibly important. Visually, with expansive sand storms and beautiful cinematography by Greig Fraser, this 10191 A.G setting was off to an attention-grabbing start. Unfortunately, the dialogue and script’s storytelling did not leave me with any emotional response to the plot nor a connection with the characters. I found myself rooting (or attempting to root for) the main characters not because I cared about them but simply because they were established as the protagonists. In contrast, McDonough was relieved that she

didn’t have to sit through too much character background explaining and could get right into the action. Another issue was that much of the film’s marketing was based on the promise that the adored actors, Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya would have large roles. Every trailer and advertisement had these two at the forefront. Sadly, those hoping to see Zendaya will be left utterly disappointed. She had a screen-time of maybe eight minutes with very few lines and even revealed in an interview that she was only on set for four days. The last five minutes of the movie seemed to hint that she would have a bigger role in part two, further attempting to draw audiences to a second movie. For movie-goers like myself who haven’t read the book, “Dune” is not worth the watch. It came across as thematically vapid with a monotone feeling that failed to create any emotional dynamics. However, “Dune” book-lovers who already have a connection to the characters, will definitely want to check it out. McDonough said, “I’m very interested in what they’re going to do for the second part, and if I’m going off the quality of the first one, it seems like it’s going to be pretty good.”

SOPHIE YOSHINO, OPINION SECTION EDITOR REVIEW 41

Squid Game

A look at Netflix’s newest hit and commentary on relevant societal issues it portrays.

eleased on September 17th, 2021, Netflix’s latest hit, Squid Game, a satirical yet twisted take on capitalism, has racked up more than 110 million viewers and became Netflix’s most popular show of all time, surpassing Bridgerton and The Crown. In addition, it has become the first Korean drama to rank as Netflix’s top show in the US, and it held its number one position for 24 days. This nine-episode series follows ordinary individuals in immense amounts of debt. They sign up to compete in six childhood games with a lethal twist for a chance at winning a grand cash prize of 45.6 billion won (about USD 38M), promising to lift any contestant out of debt. The games are hosted by figures in red jumpsuits and black masks with either a square, circle, or triangle - correlating to their rank. Leading them all is a man in a full black suit, his identity hidden. Characters quickly realize that in order to make it further, they will need a team, but even then, only one can win. Almost a feature film, Squid Game was directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk and was over a decade in the making. He said current global events sparked the idea. “Over the past 10 years, there were a lot of issues: There was the cryptocurrency boom, where people around the world, especially young people in Korea, would go all-in and invest all their money into cryptocurrencies. And there was the rise of IT giants like Facebook, Google, and in Korea, there’s Naver, and they are just restructuring our lives.” These themes are included throughout the series as the characters and their situa-

tions are developed further. Power imbalances and the exploitation by the rich onto those less fortunate appear in every episode. The overarching theme present over the entire series is a critique of capitalism. Hwang does not leave this up to viewer interpretation. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said, “I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life.” The hopelessness caused by their debt gives them the urge to sign up for a game that is essentially a death warrant. This is not the first time popular forms of media have taken jabs at aspects of capitalism. Parasite, the 2020 Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards, and Snowpiercer, both directed by Bong Joon-ho, satirize the rich who are blind to the suffering of the impoverished. First-time viewers of the show are almost immediately exposed to extreme levels of violence and gore. Players are murdered in full dramatic detail. Kids and teenagers, however, cannot seem to get enough of it. As a result, YouTube videos mimicking the games in the show have become extremely popular. Additionally, video games like Roblox have also been making simulations. As of October 25th, #SquidGame on TikTok has 48.5 billion views. This is not the

first time the “death game” genre has been present in pop culture. The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner are recent examples of this extremely popular form of media that captivates its adolescent audience. While some may say that the violence of this genre is less than in others (e.g., Game of Thrones), the ability for the audience to put themselves into the protagonist’s shoes creates a feeling of terror along with the violence that disturbs viewers. According to the Child Mind Institute, “No one should watch Squid Game until late adolescence — with or without parents sitting next to them.” Children, however, don’t do that. Why? Because violent shows like these have a chain reaction effect where one person watches, then alerts others of the harrowing acts. Peer pressure influences the remainder of the group until it has been

ALL PHOTOS FROM NETFLIX 42 REVIEW

viewed by all, consequently introducing them to traumatizing material. This same problem occurred when the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why was released in 2017. The show created widespread controversy due to the graphic scenes and its target audience being teenagers. An additional issue has arisen concerning the English subtitles and alternative dubbing provided for non-Korean speakers. Those who understand the original dialogue have pointed out that the translation often does not match what the actors are actually saying. The change oversimplifies the characters and removes additional societal problems Hwang intended to include. Youngmi Mayer, a Korean-American co-host of the Feeling Asian podcast, tweeted: “Not to sound snobby, but I’m fluent in Korean and I

“I wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life.” watched Squid Game with English subtitles and if you don’t understand Korean, you didn’t really watch the same show. Translation was so bad. The dialogue was written so well and zero of it was preserved.” She included several examples throughout her tweets, and an accompanying video on TikTok posted on September 30th (@ youngmimayer). A way to view more accurate dialogue is to set the subtitles as “English” rather than “English CC” (Netflix’s automatic setting) Squid Game keeps its audience on the edge of their seats. Filled to the brim with twists and turns, the show was anything but predictable. The continuous character development led viewers to form emotional connections and a need to continue watching to see how the story would resolve. The set was beautiful,

and the plot was addictive, but overall, Squid Game was incredibly violent and morbid. However, the creative commentary on capitalism and other societal issues complimented the disturbing gore, making it a must-watch for those at an appropriate age.

MAX HAGEMEISTER AND MORIAH LOTSOFF SECTION EDITORS REVIEW 43

Pro/Con: Section 230

The Globe debates the merit of the controversial legislation protecting tech giants from liability.

“A

s long as Facebook is operating in the shadows, hiding its [work] from public scrutiny, it is unaccountable.” said Frances Haugen, the now famous Facebook whistleblower. Haugen’s testimony to Congress raised numerous questions on the future of social media and the internet as we know it. One such question has to do with the 26 words in the Communication Decency Act known as Section 230. Section 230 has recently been thrust into the spotlight, as people begin to question its place in regulating online interactions. The problem with this section is that it is outdated and needs to be revised in order to properly manage our current online landscape. Section 230 was written in 1996. The intent was to help emerging internet companies grow and regulate their platforms without facing massive litigation. Jeff Kosseff, a cybersecurity law professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, explained to the Washington Post, “The idea behind 230 was that the platforms were much better suited to come up with the rules of the road than the government.” While written with good intentions, the social platforms protected by Section 230 have expanded and become far more influential than 1996 lawmakers could have fathomed. Now, Facebook has over two billion active monthly users, and social media has become a headstone for not just communication, but also news. About one in three Americans say they regularly get news from Facebook. The broad reach of social media to inform citizens is a powerful tool that has the potential to bolster democracy; however, when it is abused to spread misinformation, it becomes very harmful. In the time between the writing Section 230, and today, the power of the internet has grown immensely. Social media platforms have more users than entire countries, and their reach affects everyone’s lives - directly or indirectly. The scope of digital media spans further than any other form of communication ever has. Take for instance the printing press. In 1821, if a person printed a harmful pamphlet they could distribute it to 100– maybe

1,000– people in a few days. In this scenario, the printing press shouldn’t be at fault; afterall it was the individual who decided to print the information. This same logic might be applied to modern social media platforms; however, it fails to acknowledge just how much more powerful the internet is. In 2021, when a person posts a false statistic about COVID-19, millions of people can view and repost it in a matter of minutes. As we have seen, this has resulted in the mistrust of science and refusal to heed the advice of medical professionals. Now, individuals are not the only ones distributing information, it is algorithms and platforms doing the work. As a result, the developers of such algorithms play a significant role in the spread of dangerous content and must be held accountable. Information is no longer limited to what can be spread by physical means, but rather it is in the hands of big tech companies. Section 230 was not written with this in mind because the internet as we know it simply didn’t exist at the time. As the roll of social media expands, laws must be updated in order to preserve the safety of the internet. Revisions to this section can be added, without completely removing company protections. For example, some have proposed adding a “transparency amendment” which would require social platforms to have public databases which would enable lawmakers to have accurate data as they regulate technology in the future. Other proposed legislation would require sites to take down content deemed illegal by court, or flag potentially illegal posts. Failure to do so would remove a company’s 230 protections. Of course, the conversation around revisions to Section 230 must be handled with caution. The regulation of online expression is a slippery slope into biased censorship, and thoughtless reform of this law will have disastrous consequences; however, something must be done to hold tech companies accountable. Updating Section 230 to see the internet for what it has now become will be imperative to protecting the future of the internet.

JIALI DECK REPORTER

ART BY JIALI DECK 44 PRO

hroughout history, the United States has stood firmly upon freedom of speech and expression being unalienable rights to all of its citizens. The birth and flourishing of the internet brought forth innumerable new avenues through which Americans could exercise these privileges, and exponentiated the speed and scale at which information travels both domestically and globally— and it is imperative that the ability for the providers of such avenues to operate be preserved. While much of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 has since been revised or voided entirely, Section 230 has stood firm as a barrier between tech companies and federal regulation. The legislation has recently come under fire for its role as a proverbial get-out-of-jail-free card for tech giants who host social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, for hosting misinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 US presidential election. Many argue for the repealing of Section 230 as a means of holding these “Tech Giants” accountable for content posted on their platforms, that by acting as the platform on which harmful misinformation was spread, the companies hold responsibility for its effects. Unfortunately, Section 230 allows for the internet to function. Yes, it removes the liability from tech companies for the content posted on their sites, but this freedom is essential for those sites to operate at all. Without some level of amnesty, no private corporation would even consider allowing unregulated real-time posting of content. To Youtube, over 500 hours of content are uploaded every minute, and on Twitter, users make over 500 million Tweets daily. If these sites were responsible for what their users upload, they would be forced to scan all new content for potentially incriminating material and prevent its posting. Given the niche and subjective nature of what that incriminating material could be, doing so by algorithm or automated system would be almost impossible. And it would be just as unfeasible to reach a level of human verification that could allow the sites to function as they do now.

This issue of censoring harmful content would not only apply to specific site platforms, however, but could also be passed directly to internet service providers. Meaning, entire sites might be blocked by your network provider out of fear for legal retribution based on the site’s content. Furthermore, the internet has served as the newest and largest platform for social discourse. Sites like Twitter or Reddit provide people a free and open space to discuss controversial topics and argue over hot issues. The removal of Section 230 could lead to a decrease in such platforms, as companies could be held accountable for what was said in debate. This is not to say that harmful content should be permitted on the internet, and posters should most certainly be held to the full extent of the law. After all, free speech is not an infinite privilege, and must be managed. But, it should not be to the fault of the medium, so long as they do not intentionally boost or actively spread the harmful message. But, as it stands, those who post harmful content are held accountable. Section 230 only allows for the government- a body designed to properly regulate to according to law- to be in charge of fairly determining what is harmful, rather than forcing the platform itself to be the sole arbiter. Certainly, disinformation and libel has become more prevalent in the digital age, and it must be regulated to an extent for the betterment of society. However, it is not the role of social media platforms to act as beacons of truth. These platforms, however controversial, serve as pathways for free speech, and it is Section 230 which allows them to survive.

SHANE LAGESSE CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF

CON 45

The New CHS Homework System CHS’s newly implemented grading system is faced with controversy

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ALEXANDRA HAGEMEISTER

he start of the new school year brings a lot of change for students: new friends, new schedules and new teachers. Over the past few years, something else has been brewing within the halls of Clayton High School. This year, one of the biggest changes was the implementation of the new grading system. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a discussion about equity in the grading system. Last year, The School District of Clayton implemented a standardized grading system. Before this change, teachers varied in their grading scales. The new policy also eliminated some disproportionate impact by replacing missing grades with a 49%. Arguably, the most significant change was the change made to the homework system. Formative assessments, like homework or in class practice, are now substantially less of the grade, and in some cases nonexistent. When talking about the reasoning behind this implementation, Dr. Dan Gutchewsky, CHS principal, said “The idea being, how someone performs in practice is not a fair indicator of what they ultimately know.”

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The new grading system, specifically the weight of formative assessments, has had detrimental effects on student and teacher stress levels. The new grading system has been noticed by the students at CHS, to say the least. Daphne Kraushaar, a senior and an AP student throughout her years at Clayton High school, says that she thinks the new grading system “fuels the competitive Clayton culture that already exists. When students only see that test grade and not the work they put in, they either are happy with it or upset by it. This can make people really upset with themselves. Teachers say that we are more than our grades, but in this system, students are judged based on scores and not work ethic, which can be really degrading.” She says that she is angered by this change and that it devalues that community of hard working students that rely on the homework and completion points to cushion their grades. Kraushaar also says that “In the age of COVID, too, students are really struggling with pre-existing mental health problems related to school. It makes the grading system so much

worse. People are getting really overwhelmed.” This is true. Many students are taking more mental health days to catch up on work and to give themselves a little bit of free time. Kids then miss what happens in class making the learning gap that much bigger, especially in honors and AP courses. Kraushaar, in response to the stress that comes AP and honors classes and getting good grades, says “[she] feels like the grading system has deteriorated people’s love for school and challenging themselves, including [her] own. It emphasizes the wrong things. In the real world, there is not always a test; you work hard and are rewarded for the work you do.” Historically, taking the harder classes at CHS have included lots of homework to help students learn outside the classroom, and to teach what may not have been covered in class. With the new grading system, the students who take AP and/or honors classes have hours of homework that they are expected to complete in order to do well in the course for no points or credit. Max Hagemeister, a senior at CHS, says that handling a course with multiple AP classes is really challenging, especially now with

the grading scale. When asked ‘if you were going to attend CHS next year, would the new grading system deter you from taking AP and honor classes’, Hagemeister responded by saying “would I feel a stronger need—yes. Would I do it— no. I already feel very compelled to take the hardest classes I can because of the culture here, but it makes it more stressful going into harder classes knowing the grading scale.” The immense stress that every CHS student has is concerning. But, when considering how many of the students take one or more AP or honors classes every year, the amount of stress placed on students even before their entire grade was depending on one test becomes almost depressing. The only class at CHS who has had a full year of high school before COVID is the Senior class: the class of 2022. When considering that most of the students at CHS right now have experienced some sort of learning curve due to COVID, the change in the grading system becomes more troublesome. Kraushaar, reflecting back on her freshman year at CHS, says that “CHS needs to be meeting students where they are at this year because of COVID. Freshmen and sophomores are not ready for this, it is offbase to think that underclassmen can do massive amounts of work every night for now credit; to know that the only reason that they are doing homework is to benefit their own learning.” Even though she will graduate CHS this year, Kraushaar is concerned for the generations of CHS students to come. “I know [the grading system] is not going to change this year, but if I were here next year, I would be very concerned about my grades.” “It doesn’t matter if you do homework or classwork anymore, all they care about is tests.” said Alex Cohen, CHS sophomore. Student grades depend on your performance a few days all semester, with no room for error. Students are supposed to be able to retake assessments, but in many classes it is challenging to find a time, or they are just not allowed. Many students enter CHS believing that high school will be something they just have to get through. Many students don’t enter the classrooms of CHS not prepared to strive toward getting all

As. Yet the teachers here expect greatness, they motivate us to try and get good grades while encouraging us to grow. Our need to impress our teachers and live up to those expectations pushes students to try on the homework, and study hard for every test. Even when we do study, sometimes we don’t get the grades we want. But we still had the homework and extra credit grades to cushion any “less than ideal” test scores. Our hard work was reflected in our grade; we were not defined by our test scores. As we progress through school and begin taking more challenging classes, we noticed how the habit of doing homework and extra credit was really helping us learn; not the several hours reading over studying guides and cramming for tests. Now, with the grading system, we are not given the 5 points of credit for every homework assignment. We do not have the buffer that used to be created by our hard work. If not for our previous years which we spent learning how to perform our best in school, we would not spend most of our time working on homework because we would not know that homework is integral to the learning process. So, why should we expect underclassmen who have experienced a very abnormal- or noexperience at all

to know how important homework is? Why should we not reward the hard-workers putting in the hours to understand? The school year is always stressful. In every class, new homework is piled on. Tests come up every so often. Projects and presentations need to get done. Those can all be stressors for students in a normal year. In a district where there is a lot of pressure to perform, grades are used as a standard of our academic worth. Almost everything about how we are graded has been changed, and with nothing else changing to fit it, students are dragged behind in the dirt. We have even more stress piled upon us, and unnecessarily so. Not just students have noticed these changes. Teachers are also having to adjust to this new system. Nathan Peck, a CHS science teacher, said “I don’t think it impacts teachers very much either way, but I think it benefits students, especially those that struggle with attendance or miss class time due to illness.” Other teachers think that we just need to be patient while going through change. Amy Doyle, a CHS history teacher said “I think it takes a shift in understanding what the purpose of homework is, and that will start to motivate you.” To uproot systems that have been in place for a very long time, and then expect the transition to a new one to happen immediately is unrealistic. In the long run, this system might be better for students. But, students wait for the rest of the academic systems to catch up with a new homework system, there is little more to do than stress and hope for the best.

CAITLIN KUHLMANN, REPORTER DHEERA RATHIKINDI, NEWS SECTION EDITOR ALEXANDRA HAGEMEISTER, SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR STAFF ED 47

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