Will Texas Democrats be saved by Bell?
By Alex Dowd and Mia Terminella
January 17, 2020
During an election, politicians find wisdom and inspiration in many places. Congressman Chris Bell shared that he found his political guidance in an usual place: a cartoon. In his conversation with Texas Tribune co-founder and CEO Evan Smith last Thursday, Bell referenced Hilary B. Price's cartoon o...
New ordinance alters straw accessibility
By Sam Swisher, St. Louis Park High School
January 17, 2020
After the city’s new straw ordinance went into effect Jan. 1, the city’s solid waste manager Kala Fisher said the ordinance was put in place to reduce the number of straws used in St. Louis Park. “(The ordinance) would both reduce the amount of straws that people have to throw away and it would...
Students use fake IDs to drink while still underage
By Dylan Rowe, Granite Bay High School
January 17, 2020
Generation after generation, teenagers have always found new ways to cause mischief. One thing that has stayed constant is the undeniable demand of some teens for alcoholic beverages that are supposed to be unavailable to them. The law in almost every state in the United States prohibits people...
Small Electrical Fire Causes Power Outage At Liberty
By Kay Copeland, Wentzville Liberty High School
January 16, 2020
*UPDATE 7:39 a.m. Mr. Kiesel has confirmed that the Liberty building resumed power at 9 p.m. on Jan. 15. The intercom and bells are not working as of now, but the school is working on it. Liberty students noticed something unusual while making their way into the school building on Wednesday, Jan....
As Climate Crisis Worsens, La Salle Curriculum Lags Behind
By Maddie Khaw, La Salle Catholic Preparatory High School
January 16, 2020
“Our future > your fortune,” read a sign held by junior Isa Sale at a climate change inaction protest in downtown Portland in September 2019. Sale’s sign was one among hundreds of others in the midst of the thousands of activists that day. Other signs said “no place like home” and “ma...
B-A tries to move forward following board member’s arrest
By Julian Bartlebaugh and Haley Campbell
January 16, 2020
A Bellwood-Antis School Board member who has been arrested on multiple felony and misdemeanor counts will remain on the board at least in the short term, B-A superintendent Dr. Thomas McInroy said today. The district became the center of local media attention Tuesday when reports surfaced that school...
Iranians deal with the effects of Trump’s actions
By Khalid Kishawi, Carlmont High School
January 16, 2020
When Farhad Farnia hears his country’s name in news headlines, it never has to do with its 24 UNESCO World Heritage sites, over 4000 years of rich history, or its diverse cuisine. Farhad Farnia is a chef, grandfather, and one of 1 million Iranians living in the United States. He moved to Oklahoma...
Aftermath of Soleimani killing leaves countries tense, students conflicted
By Lucas Barr, Liberty High School - TX
January 15, 2020
The Trump administration is targeting Iran with sanctions, days after Iran fired missiles at a U.S. occupied base in Iraq in retaliation for an American drone attack that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. As the situation begins to settle, Iranians in Frisco are conflicted about the situation...
Irvine’s Safety Is Nationally Recognized
By Sophia Stewart, Woodbridge High School
January 15, 2020
As one of the safest cities in the country, Irvine’s security is owed to the support from the police department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI reported that Irvine has the lowest crime rates out of cities relative to Irvine’s large size of 250,000 residents and growing....
Construction seeks to fix chronic issues with Carl Knox facilities
By Daniel Davidson, Lawrence High School
January 15, 2020
Anyone who has swam at Carl Knox Natatorium knows exactly why students call it “the swamp.” Past and current swim team members report that Lawrence High’s pool faces problems unlike any other they have swam at. Inadequate facilities and poor communication throw doubt that current construction...
B-A feels the effects of teacher shortage
By Alyson Partner, Bellwood-Antis High School
January 14, 2020
English teacher Mr. Kerry Naylor remembers how competitive it was to get a job at Bellwood-Antis fifteen years ago. When he applied to teach at B-A in 2006 after teaching at Tyrone for nine years, he was one of more than fifty people applying for the position. That has changed. Superintendent Dr....
Minnesota: No Hate. No Fear. unites community
By Anna Benishek, St. Louis Park High School
January 10, 2020
In response to an anti-Semitic attack on the seventh night of Hanukkah, Temple Israel hosted an event called Minnesota: No Hate. No Fear. Over 1,400 attended the event. Sophomore Ella Roether said she attended the gathering to stand up against anti-Semitism. “A bunch of different people spoke and...
Student reportedly brought gun to Lawrence High in response to off-campus threat
By Daniel Davidson, Lawrence High School
January 10, 2020
Parents need to help students and faculty keep schools safe by securing weapons in the home, Superintendent Anthony Lewis said Thursday in a tweet. His call to action came a day after a loaded handgun was confiscated without incident from a student at Lawrence High on the first school day back fro...
Lawsuit filed over Seattle Children’s Hospital mold
By Mia Tavares, Inglemoor High School
January 10, 2020
On Dec. 2, a class-action lawsuit was filed by the Stritmatter Firm in association with Layman Law Firm against Seattle Children’s Hospital regarding the Aspergillus mold contamination in the air-handling system. The lawsuit alleges that the mold has been present in Seattle Children’s Hospital since...
Students in the Quad Cities area dispute over immigration forum
By Cienna Pangan, Pleasant Valley High School - IA
January 9, 2020
A forum discussing immigration was held by local Republicans on Monday Dec. 2 in Bettendorf, IA. The forum was intended to discuss policy change and honor “angel parents”, or parents whose children died due to the involvement of an illegal immigrant. However, this event did not go as planned....
DHS, Danbury Police, and city representatives work together to resolve altercations in school
By Viktoria Wulff-Andersen, Danbury High School
January 9, 2020
After the evaluation NEASC gave last Wednesday, Nov. 20, which described DHS as an “overall positive and supportive environment to be in,” DHS should have been elated. Yet, the rumors, physical altercations, and threats left the school anxious, tense, and even scared. “It seems like everywhere...
City Council bans sale of vape products, e-cigarette products
By Marta Hill, St. Louis Park High School
January 9, 2020
At the first reading of the ordinance, former City Council member Steve Hallfin said the City Council should not get to decide what adults put into their own bodies. “People put bad things in their bodies all the time. We could be up here trying to ban alcohol. We know how many people get killed beca...
General Election poses questions for UK
By Sajah Ali, The American School in London
January 8, 2020
Boris Johnson became the new Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party in July 2019. The U.K. was due to leave the EU on Oct. 31, 2019. As the deadline approached, newly elected Johnson negotiated a new deal with the EU and put it to a vote in parliament. Disagreements on timing to review...
Writing on the wall: racial hate notes found at York, Elmhurst College in late October
By Mary Kett, York Community High School
January 7, 2020
On Oct. 24, a hate note with racial overtones was found in a boys restroom at York. While the note indicated it was meant to be a joke, York administration and the Elmhurst Police Department investigated the matter and determined no credible threat. As a precaution, police presence at school increased...
Greta Thunberg finds local angle on climate change
By Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, Shalhevet High School
January 6, 2020
Thousands of protesters gathered outside of Los Angeles City Hall Nov. 1 heard the leader of the world’s youth climate change movement connect wildfires that were burning that day near the Getty Museum to the dangers of climate change. Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who is the...
Green Alert: Lack of Recycling a Challenge at TAHS
By Mario Grugan, Tyrone Area High School
January 6, 2020
To recycle or not to recycle? In 2020 this shouldn't really be a question, but surprisingly at Tyrone Area High School and many other rural schools across the state, it still is. While TAHS currently does recycle cardboard, the only paper recycling containers in the school are in the copy rooms, which...
Uncertainty persists as PG&E blackouts continue
By Cori Nicholson, Carlmont High School
January 6, 2020
The recent power outages administered by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) have caused inconvenience for Bay Area residents. In the past two months, PG&E has shut down the power four times due to weather issues. However, their handling of the situation and last-minute communication...
Shortened winter break prompts discussion
By Isabel Kjaer, Marta Hill, and Kaia Myers
January 6, 2020
According to Superintendent Astein Osei, there are several factors that influence the district’s calendar, including feedback from the community regarding having a longer summer break. “Feedback we were receiving is that people were wanting to get out earlier and in order to do that you have to...
Fighting for faith
By Misha Canin and Annabel Hendrickson
January 6, 2020
It’s that time of year again. The bitter December wind whips through the air, bringing with it an equally chilling obstacle for students: the influx of exams crammed in before break. When the seemingly endless piles of work after Thanksgiving finally start to melt away, students are awarded a two-week...
Voter’s Choice Act aims to improve democracy and voter participation
By Elle Horst and Raina Lahiri
December 27, 2019
To increase voter turnout, California has implemented the Voter’s Choice Act. The U.S. is one of the only nations in the world where everybody has the right to vote freely. However, only a little over half of the population exercise this freedom, potentially affecting the outcome of electio...
Securing safety?
By Marta Leira and Isaac Young
December 27, 2019
As technology has become more prevalent, security monitoring has increased, and people’s sense of privacy has gone down. Schools are no exception to this trend. Since West has opened, the administration has added security cameras and began locking doors. Now, the ICCSD is looking into yet another s...
Nobody is above the law
By Auva Soheili and Ayal Meyers
December 27, 2019
"This is what democracy looks like!" chanted a crowd of over 500 protestors. On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the evening before the House of Representatives would vote on the impeachment President Donald Trump; people took to the streets in over 600 locations nationwide. In San Mateo, across the street from Hillsdale Mall...
Board unanimously approves new sex-ed curriculum
By Kate Boyle, McCallum High School
December 26, 2019
The Austin ISD board of trustees unanimously approved a new sex-ed curriculum on Tuesday, Oct. 22, but this did not happen overnight. The new curriculum is something that the school district has been working on for years and aims to be more comprehensive and inclusive. At the school board meeting...
Coppell joins lawsuit against bill cutting telecom company fees
By Anjali Krishna, Coppell High School
December 26, 2019
Texas municipalities are suing to protest Senate Bills 1152 and 1004. These bills cut the fees cities receive from telecom companies running phone and cable lines through city property and cap the money cities receive when cellular nodes are placed on city land. Previously, telecom providers paid...
New search and seizure policy limits students’ privacy
By Katlyn Kenny, Lincoln High School - OR
December 20, 2019
A new district-wide search and seizure policy may drastically expand the ways in which students can be legally searched, allowing administrative oversight on students’ technology and events outside of school property. Portland Public Schools has proposed an update to their search and seizure policy...
Private School Privilege
By Victoria Weckmann and Jesse Hausknecht-Brown
December 20, 2019
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 5.8 million students were enrolled in private schools as of 2016. “I know most of the people in my grade and I like that,” Becky Reinhold ‘21, a student who attends a private school in Manhattan called Trevor Day School, said....
Black students nearly two times as likely to be suspended as white peers in the ICCSD
By Nina Lavezzo-Stecopoulos, Iowa City High School
December 20, 2019
Malcom* was playing with a BB gun. He was with two friends, but they are white, and he is black. They shot at a shed, and then the cops came. Malcom served 17 months and his friends served no time. What Malcom never knew was that he had been on the track to incarceration since kindergarten. “[I’ve...
First semester finals set to commence after winter break
By Charlotte Zera, Parkway West High School
December 20, 2019
Governor Mike Parsons passed a bill in July that will allow school to start only 10 or fewer days before Labor Day. The bill is intended to give families another week of summer vacation and increase tourism in Missouri. As a result, the Parkway calendar committee pushed first semester finals to...
Snow Days Lead Local Districts To Modify Finals Policy
By Kay Copeland, Wentzville Liberty High School
December 20, 2019
Students and faculty in many Missouri school districts were bundled-up at home due to the snow days on Monday and Tuesday of this week. But many students were not relaxing. This week is finals week, which is arguably the most important and stressful week of the semester. Having two snow days during finals...
Teachers fear they lack a voice and representation in RJUHSD
By Cori Caplinger, Granite Bay High School
December 20, 2019
For some teachers who work in the Roseville Joint Union High School District, the general attitude and relationship between the district and its educators is tense. The dissatisfaction of some RJUHSD teachers isn’t overwhelming, but a recent vote on a teacher contract proposal exposed some of the...
Nutritional Services has many plans in mind to accommodate student food needs
By Emily Corona, Middle College High School
December 19, 2019
If you have had a complaint about the food you are served at school, it is likely other students share the same feelings. Although students may think school lunch food isn’t of much importance to their school district, the truth is there is about a group of 400 staff members on board preparing school...
Counter-Protesters Rally to Support LGBTQ+ Students Against Hate Group
By Ben Anderson and Rian Dolph, Maize South High School
December 19, 2019
Last Wednesday, a hate group from Topeka visited USD 266 high schools to protest a district decision from September regarding their to enforcement of one graduation gown color for commencement in May 2020. Following this decision, it has been questioned by not only those in the Maize community, but...
Campus closures spark controversy
By Bella Russo, McCallum High School
December 19, 2019
The historical marker outside Pease Elementary School, celebrating the campus as the oldest continuously operating public school in Texas, has been sharing the spotlight with frantic handmade fliers and banners since early September. The signs, hung around the campus, read “Keep our school open to...
Oregon ban on vaping products yields mixed reactions
By Isabella Lo, Lincoln High School - OR
December 19, 2019
In Oregon, one in four 11th graders have reported vaping a nicotine product. Youth vaping of marijuana has increased by 295 percent over the last three years, according to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). This does not come as a surprise to many Lincoln students. “I think people originally...
“It’s Not an Easy Situation” – Former Interventionist’s Arrest Leaves Unanswered Questions
By Henry Larson and Cameron Hunt
December 19, 2019
On the evening of Tuesday, December 3rd, Principal Stensrud held an “Evening with the Principal” meeting in the College and Career Center. The majority of the evening was spent discussing the recent arrest of a Fairview student, Aidan Atkinson, and the school’s response. Many parents had...
Is the news scaring our students?
By Emanuel Negrete, Middle College High School
December 19, 2019
A school one hour away from Middle College endured two deaths and three injuries at the hands of an active shooter November 16. News outlets were quick to break the news and affect the mindsets of all who tuned in. It is becoming more common for students to feel unsafe due to the rate of which negatively-charged...
Akins staff, students deal with grief
By Dee Carreon, Akins High School
December 19, 2019
The daily grind of high school doesn’t usually factor in time to contemplate matters of life and death. But death has a way of intruding into our lives and upending our routines. And for young people who have never experienced the death of someone close to them, it can be a particularly difficult...
Principal proves successful with high scores, equitable schools
By Katherine Esterl, Henry W. Grady High School
December 18, 2019
In 2013, she led the biggest gains in student achievement of all traditional Atlanta middle schools. In the years following, she raised test scores at different schools. In 2018, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called her “one of the most respected leaders in Atlanta Public Schools.” But...
Petition to change final policy to match other districts gains traction in RSD
By Hayden Cottrell, Lafayette High School
December 18, 2019
On Dec. 16, school was canceled for the Rockwood School District (RSD) due to an ice and snow storm. On Dec. 17, school was canceled again. The second snow day, however, caused students to miss their 5th Hour final, which is now scheduled to be made up on Jan. 6. The day off on Dec. 17 also led to several school districts around the St. Louis area san...
Guns, Schools, and Activism
By Isabella Calcagno, Woodside High School - CA
December 18, 2019
On February 14, 2018, seventeen-year-old Joaquin Oliver walked to class with a bouquet of flowers and a plan for a date with his girlfriend to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Later that day, Oliver was shot in the hallway outside his creative writing class. He and 16 others died that day at Marjory Stone...
Coach Arrested for Contact and Communication with a Minor
By Riley Goodfellow, San Juan Hills High School
December 18, 2019
Assistant Offensive Line Coach, Cole Austin Cazel, was arrested Oct. 30 for inappropriate contact with students, including requests for child pornography, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) press release. Cazel graduated from SJHHS in 2015 and coached football at the school...
Foreign language classes have become an inventive mix
By Lynlee Derrick, Forest Hills Central High School
December 18, 2019
Thinning budgets and thinning class size has left French teacher Laurie Van Houten teaching two different French classes at the same time—an odd yet necessary mix. This mixture is due to classes at FHC requiring 20 students to run. If a class has less than that, it’s at risk of not being run or...
From supercity to southern suburbs: McLaren Automotives shifting North American headquarters to Coppell
By Akif Abidi, Coppell High School
December 17, 2019
Coppell’s business sector has progressively made a bigger name for itself in the Dallas-Fort Worth business market, something validated by companies such as McLaren Automotive leaving New York City for North Texas. This summer, McLaren, one of the top quality sports car manufacturers in the world,...
“We’re A Very Pressure Driven Student Body” – How Cheating Is Interpreted As Acceptable
By Anna Wenzel, Fairview High School
December 17, 2019
Almost every student fears having cheating on their record, whether it be for a small infraction, like copying homework, or something more serious, like cheating on a test. Despite that, students can find cases of cheating — minor or major — at almost any school. A part of the problem of admitting...
Students voice concerns about school safety
By Sophie Fenton, Tigard High School
December 17, 2019
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Santa Fe High School in Texas., Noblesville West Middle School in Indiana. These are the most publicized examples of schools around the United States that were met with gun violence in 2018. As gun violence in American schools becomes more prominent a...