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Volume 89, Issue 14
St. Louis University High School | Friday, December 6, 2024
sluh.org/prep-news
Volume LXXXIX, Issue XIV
St. Louis University High School | Friday, December 6, 2024
sluh.org/prep-news
WHY NOT US?
The team celebrating after winning the Class Four State Championship. photo | Courtesy of SLUH Soccer
Sacred Spaces: Annual Voices of SLUH assembly finds God in Backer Memorial BY Lucas Hayden News Editor
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Soccer captures first State Title in 21 years with emphatic win over Jesuit rival De Smet BY Aiden Erard and Theo Agniel Sports Editors
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hy. Not. Us. These three words defined the season of the St. Louis U. High soccer team. Losing impactful players from last year, having a starting lineup with only two seniors, and not scoring as many goals as opponents, it looked like chances for a state title were slim for SLUH. However, against all expectations and led by stellar coaching and de-
fense, the Jr. Billikens were crowned state champions for the first time in 21 years and for the fourth time in program history, beating out Jesuit rival De Smet in penalties (3-2) in a staggeringly tight Missouri Class 4 State Championship final. ”It just felt surreal,” said junior Andrew Chalmers. “Because nobody on the team thought we were gonna even have a chance. We didn’t even think about state the whole season. I don’t think one person on our team mentioned it a single time, and
Jr. Bills show spirit in lively debates at Model UN BY Andrew Hunt and Jack Williamson News Editor, reporter
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hirteen Jr. Bills dressed in sports coats and ties headed to Webster University on Saturday, Nov. 23 for one of the coolest programs SLUH partakes in: Model United Nations. The SLUH students who attended represented seven different countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, South Sudan, and Yemen. Throughout the four-hour conference, they were tasked with debating, amending, and voting on resolutions brought forth by delegates from any of the 50-plus countries represented at the conference, between snack breaks and heated, fun debates over how they planned to vote.
The weekly student newspaper of St. Louis University High School 4970 Oakland Ave. St. Louis, MO 63110 (314) 531-0330 ext. 2241 online at sluh.org/prep-news prepnews@sluh.org ©2024 St. Louis University High School Prep News. No material may be reprinted without the permission of the editors and moderator.
“It was really fun,” said junior Reed Shah, who represented Jordan, a country he lived in for seven weeks this summer through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program. “I learned a ton, and it was just a really positive experience.” Model UN is a program organized internationally that gives young students the opportunity to represent various countries they select as if they were delegates for the real United Nations General Assembly. Similar to Youth and Government, it allows students to bring forth resolutions (much like bills) proposing the establishment of committees, dollar contributions of specific countries, or other changes for the betterment
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news Vox Una What’s that I hear? Ahhh, the beautiful sounds of an elite SATB choir scattered with SLUH students singing perfect spiritual songs. Page 2 news SLUHtique Is this even real? Jr. Billiken stress toys sold at SLUH Mothers Club SLUHtique. Page 3
so once we were there, most people didn’t see us doing well. Just rushing the field, beating our rivals, winning the State Championship. That was the best possible outcome we could have had.” Despite having the program’s worst regular season record since 2020, the team’s tenacious postseason performance set up one of the most hyped matchups SLUH sports had seen in years: a strictly Jesuit soccer final. Two hefty losses to De Smet during the regular season, 2-0
and 4-0, gave the Spartans unneeded confidence going into their biggest game of the year. Trash talk made its way to the Jr. Bills side well before the game even began. However, SLUH handled it with class and turned this talk into fuel. “As a team, we were feeling pretty good. We felt that we had the upper hand because they were really underestimating us,” said senior captain Nicholas Hammond. “There were some guys on the other team
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tudents and faculty packed the Danis Field House on Tuesday to attend St. Louis U. High’s annual Voices of SLUH forum, where a handful of speakers give talks on various aspects of their experience at SLUH. This year’s theme, in wake of the Centennial, was places around the 100-year-old school building where each person finds God. “Sometimes, with Voices, we have an idea of what it’s going to be, and then it morphs and changes,” said director of the event Kate Toussaint. “Because Voices of SLUH is, obviously, community. I’m the director, technically, but I think it’s kind of a retreat in some ways. I have to allow the Holy Spirit to do its work.” This year’s featured speakers were senior Evan Zimmerman, Broadway actor Michael Schimmele ’14, physics teacher Paul Baudendistel ’90, and Ralph Houlihan ’52, SJ. The original idea was to invite alums in from a wide range of graduation years to have them speak and
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Feature Nagel ’07 voice of city’s urban renewal BY Leo Hahn Features Editor
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ne of the biggest worries for most graduating students is the same: “Where am I going to live after all this?” The United States’ housing crisis and urban decay is a pressing issue for many cities like St. Louis, with over 16 million vacant buildings nationwide. But some are trying to fix it. For the last two years, St. Louis U. High alumnus Tom Nagel ’07 has been a face of the St. Louis government as Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Community Development Administration (CDA)—the first PR position for the department in over 40 years. As PIO, Nagel works with his team to publicize the CDA’s variety of city restoration efforts, bringing attention to valuable government
work that many usually don’t notice. “The way I feel is, if the city government isn’t telling its story, people assume the city isn’t doing anything,” said Nagel. Despite its wide impact, the CDA is a lesser-known city department. Established in 1970, one of the main
roles of the CDA is to grant government money—like HUD funds— to public and nonprofit organizations that will invest that money into projects like redeveloping neighborhoods and creating new social programs.
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Nagel leading students on a tour of City Hall.
features No Shave November Breaking news! Students at SLUH are too hairy for upcoming all school Mass! Page 3
sports Hockey Daniel Boone who?? The IceBills bounce back from J-Cup loss by conquering the Pioneers. Page 5
news All District Band 11 SLUH students, hours of preparation, one All District Band performance. Page 5
sports Fantasy Bye weeks have you stumped? Not sure who should ride the bench? Look no further than our trusted expert picks to carry your team to a victory! Page 7
photo | Leo Hahn
entertainment Crossword Clues await up and down this week’s puzzle. Compete for a shoutout in next week’s edition. Page 8 INDEX 2-4
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Sports
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Entertainment