The St. Louis American celebrates 90th anniversary
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CAC Audited MARCH 15 – 21, 2018
COMPLIMENTARY
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U. City robotics team wins regionals Alex Hogan, a sophomore at University City High School, is a member of the school’s robotics team, the RoboLions, which is raising funds to compete at the FIRST Robotics world championship in Houston, Texas in April.
RoboLions raising funds to travel to Houston in April By LaShana (Shan) Lewis For The St. Louis American Sophomore Alex Hogan toured a guest around the tiny robotics lab at University City High School, where everyone dons safety goggles. It was 7 p.m. on a school night. The team was putting the final touches on a 5-foot-tall robot named Yoshi, named after the Super Mario Brothers’ dinosaur-like video game character. The team, named RoboLions, was preparing to compete at the world championship for the FIRST Robotics competition in Houston. When they recently won the Miami Valley Regional competition, announcers hailed the RoboLions as the “Pride of St. Louis.” For the world championship, international teams of high school
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Vol. 89 No. 51
Photo by LaShana (Shan) Lewis
Percy Green honored by Harris-Stowe To receive inaugural HSSU Presidential Social Justice Icon Award on March 20 By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Legendary St. Louis activist Percy Green II was 28 when he became a direct-action protestor in 1963 with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) – one of the leading activist organizations in the early Civil Rights Movement. Before that, Green had led a pretty quiet life working as a radio and electric mechanic at McDonnell Douglas, where he was hired in 1956. He came from a two-parent home and grew up in the near South Side on the 3400 block of Lasalle Street. When his mother learned about his protest efforts, she didn’t approve, Green said. “She didn’t think that most of the black people would appreciate the sacrifices I put forth,” Green said. Percy Green has undoubtedly made Green sacrifices – including losing his job and being arrested more than 100 times – during his decades of fighting for equality. Between 1965 and 1985, Green led some of St. Louis’ most historic civil rights demonstrations with his group ACTION (Action Committee to Improve Opportunities for Negroes), which was a nonviolent, direct-action protest organization made entirely of interracial volunteer members.
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Photo by Wiley Price
There have been 18 fatal crashes and more than 1,400 crashes in total since 2012 along a four-mile stretch of Natural Bridge Road, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation, many involving pedestrians and motorists driving at high speeds.
Photo by Wiley Price
Students protest over gun violence McKinley High students participated in a national school walkout that started at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14. The protest was in response to last month’s school massacre in Parkland, Florida.
Burroughs students respond to anti-gay protest with celebration of love ‘They are scared of us,’ say Jake Bain and Hunter Sigmund By Sophie Hurwitz and Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American The chanting and singing from the more than 100 supporters for the LGBTQ+ community drowned out the hateful cries of the anti-gay protestors outside of John Burroughs School early Monday morning. “The other protestors only had about 20
people,” said Alayah Lipnick, a sophomore at Whitfield High School, who stood among the crowd at about 7:45 a.m. on March 12. “I think we really brought it today to let the LGBT community know we support them no matter what.” Last week, the approximately 600 students at John Burroughs School were informed in a morning assembly that they would be
picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church, a hate group based out of Topeka, Kansas. Westboro learned that the school had a gay football star – Jake Bain, a senior who will be playing for Indiana State in the fall – and announced on their website that they would protest the school.
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Making Natural Bridge safer MoDOT seeks community input By Jessica Karins For The St. Louis American The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is attempting to improve the safety of Natural Bridge Road, a four-mile stretch where there have been 18 fatal crashes since 2012 and more than 1,400 crashes in total. Michelle Forneris, an area engineer at MoDOT, said the agency is in the process of studying the root causes of Natural Bridge’s high collision rates and seeking community input on how to best address the issues. Forneris said local and state officials have been collaborating on how to make the roadway safer for all users. Many of the fatal collisions, she said, have involved pedestrians who were jaywalking as well as motorists driving at high speeds.
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