News Writing
& Editing
My junior year, I joined the staff of the school newsmagazine, The Herald, which is published approximately bimonthly. While on staff, I served as an editor and wrote several news articles, personality profiles and op-ed pieces. As a senior, I continued to write for the publication, while serving as editor in chief of the digital sports focused product, The Spear.
Warriors Always Take Care of One Another (unless you're a girl)
Female athletes at Arapahoe know all too well what it’s like to compete without a crowd cheering them on. Parents? Yes. A couple siblings and maybe a handful of students? A few. A teacher or two? Perhaps. But a roaring cheering section supporting them as they take the court, field, pool, track or course? Even at state tournaments that just doesn’t exist.
Because the norm for female athletes is to receive little promotion, coverage or recognition from the school or their peers. Sadly, this isn’t only the case at Arapahoe. Like the majority of high schools in America, football and boys basketball are the center of attention, and students prioritize attending those games over any other sport. And they also seem to receive the most praise and attendance from administrators and teachers. These sports are popular for a reason and we understand the excitement that surrounds them. But the dismissal of the achievements of Arapahoe’s female athletic programs goes much further than just lack of popularity.
Myriad factors contribute to how Arapahoe treats girls sports systematically and culturally. The most obvious issue is social media coverage and the promotion of girls games and meets. The culture at Arapahoe is extremely focused on athletics and student promotion of games is seen on the @arapahoetribe and @ahsbarstool Instagram accounts. But nearly all of the posts are for the football and boys basketball teams. The vast majority of the time girls sports are only posted when there is a playoff game or meet, or upon request by female athletes or their coaches looking for recognition.
“People don't even know that our games are happening,” says senior girls basketball captain Sydney White, a Division I commit. “The boys aren't better than us, but they get so much more recognition and attention than we do.”
These accounts even go as far as to acknowledge losses from the boys teams, while ignoring girls’ wins. For example, after the Eaglecrest basketball games this season @ahsbarstool posted several stories supporting the boys team after its loss; the girls’ victory wasn’t recognized until a player requested a post.
The attitude that girls' sports are less important than boys’ extends to general conversations held among students, as well. Girls have to endure derogatory comments about the caliber of their play and hear about how much more fun it is to watch boys’ sports far too often. 16 of the 22 Arapahoe athletes that signed to play collegiate sports were girls. There is no evidence that the male athletes at this school are more talented or successful; if anything it’s the other way around.
“I think there's honestly just a stereotype at Arapahoe that girls aren't as good at sports as guys,” says senior volleyball captain Hannah Resley. “And I know that that is false, especially in specific sports. So, I think this is a big cultural issue because people don't want to support a girls team that they think are less than.”
Four-time first-team all-state runner and cross country captain Ava Michell also weighed in on the issue.
“I think that by announcing our meets and acknowledging our sport more, more people would come out to watch; specifically for our girls team where we have been having huge successes,“ the Division I commit says.
A teacher’s comment to a girls basketball player regarding why he doesn’t attend girls basketball games was especially painful.
According to White, he said: “ ‘Why would I want to go watch a bunch of girls double-dribbling and chucking the ball off the backboard?’
“What makes me the most upset is that a teacher has been so disrespectful to the sport that I've given my entire life to.”
How are teenage female athletes supposed to feel seen, respected and appreciated when adults in the building are making these kinds of comments to their faces? It’s not funny. It’s not flippant. And it’s certainly not something he would say to a player from the boys team.
Treating female athletes as less than their male counterparts is clearly a deep-rooted issue at Arapahoe that also appears to be systemic. Just take cheerleading. Only half the team attends volleyball or girls basketball games (a full squad appeared at one girls basketball game this year after a complaint was made). This means there are just six to seven cheerleaders for girls, whereas boys games will boast up to 14. Go to a boys wrestling meet and find cheerleaders at the mat, but don’t expect to see them at the girls meets.There isn't’ a more clear example of how unsupportive the school is of girls athletics.
All of these factors add up to a great deal of frustration for female athletes, and send a clear message to females in general. Females work just as hard and dedicate the same amount of time to their sports as male athletes–and have the winning records to prove it, so why should they not receive equal recognition?
This issue was recently brought to the attention of the administration, specifically regarding girls basketball, and the response was passive and unconvincing, saying it was sorry the team “feels” that its hard work is unappreciated and unnoticed. Telling female athletes their frustrations are just a feeling is completely invalidating, insinuates the issue isn’t real and feels like a refusal to ensure all students are treated with equal fairness.
“Warriors take care of one another.” We hear this constantly. It’s repeated in assemblies, in school communications, on T-shirts. But when it comes to athletics, the level of that care clearly depends on gender. If that’s a motto this school really wants to embody, it’s time to do better.
Holy HSS Hockey
This profile of an Arapahoe hockey captain explained what it's like to play a sport under the rival Heritage High School logo. I also highlighted the player's dedication to the sport and his connection to the Colorado Avalanche through his father's job.
In this editorial published in my school's newsmagazine, I focused on inequities between male and female athletic programs at the school. I interviewed top female athletes who feel slighted by the support shown by the school administration in an attempt to shine a light on a systemic issue. The editorial was much-discussed by the student body upon publication.
Often seen sporting Heritage High School red and blue, Luke Sokolowski wears his hockey paraphernalia with pride.
Playing for the LPS combined team, Arapahoe Warriors have to display a Heritage Eagle on their chest nearly everyday, “but It's important that everyone knows that we take Arapahoe first. Just because we got the H on our jerseys doesn't mean we're any less warriors than anyone else.” Sokolowski said.
Given the fierce rivalry between Heritage and Arapahoe, representing his team wasn’t always easy. Sokolowski was worried at first.
“My first couple years here, I was always so scared to wear the Heritage logo at Arapahoe,” he said.“The first couple times I wore a sweatshirt everyone looked at me a little funny.”
However, showing off the Eagles logo Sokolowski said “[it]started getting more normal. And it's always a great way to get publicity for the games. You get the Heritage logo, everyone's looking at it”
Regardless of the fact that Sokolowski wears the Heritage logo he still feels, “obviously, Arapahoe first.”
Now captain of the team for his senior season, Sokolowski has been contributing to the team since freshman year. He fondly recalled scoring a goal in an intense game as a freshman.
“I got a goal against a pretty superpowered Regis team,” he said. “beat them five to nothing, and shut them out.”
His love for the sport though was sparked much earlier in life. Sokolowski has been exposed to professional hockey for years as his dad is the athletic trainer for the Colorado Avalanche.
“I had skates on when I was four or five, he said. “So I think my dad working with the Avs and being born in Canada, hockey was just always on me. But it was never really a burden. It was just always something I wanted to do. So that exposure definitely fueled my playing.”
Playing alongside his younger brother, Sam has also been a highlight of Sokolowski’s time on the Heritage team. “It's been great having him play with me, it's been great playing with him. He's been a huge influence on my playing,” he said.
Sokolowski’s dedication to his sport is clearly paying off as the team has seen vast improvements since last season. “We were really bad last year. We went 3-13 and were 17th in the state,” he said.
However, contributions from younger players have led to a much different season this year.
“A lot of the guys we had on JV last year have stepped up,” Sokolowski said. “They've been super crucial in helping us win games and they've been able to help us find some desperately needed scoring opportunities, so having those guys on the ice has been great.”
The teams’ success is also thanks to the relationships they’ve built off the ice.
“I don't know if we would have been as close without hockey, but since we're all on the same team, we're all good friends. Closeness definitely helps in games when you're able to talk to someone freely and openly about what they should fix,” the captain said.
Despite the bumpy ride of the previous season, their struggle is what brought them together. “We went through a really tough year last year, and lost a lot of games. I think that really brought us closer together, so now winning is just a testament to us sticking together,” Sokolowski said.
Despite his passion for the sport, hockey has not been a deciding factor in his college plans for next year.
“It’s not really an influence but if I could play hockey that’d be nice,”Sokolowski said. But regardless of how hockey will influence his future, his dedication to the sport and his team is unwavering.
Now 6-4 and ranked 8th in the state, the Eagles are driven to make the playoffs.
“We're not in a great spot right now, Sokolowski said. “We're doing way better than we were last year, but right now the push is definitely to make the playoffs, so going into that we really got to put our heads down and focus. Once we hit the playoffs, I have enough confidence in the team to go far.”
Spring Health & Fitness
This umbrella coverage spread provided students with many different ways to stay active, healthy, and safe during the spring and summer months.
Off to the Big Leagues
I interviewed many of the athletes in the class of '22 about their plans to play collegiate sports. The spread highlighted their successes and all of the hard work each one fo them put in behind the scenes.
What's Goin' Down in Summer '22
This spread provided a variety of events and media releases for students to keep an eye out for after the '22 school year ended.
Build Back Block Schedule Better
Post-COVID, the school instituted a new schedule that students, and many teachers, hated. In this editorial, I hoped to express concern and perspective on the issues it caused. The story won second place in the Colorado Student Media Association Best of Colorado 2022 contest.
The new block schedule has been quite the hot topic among students and teachers alike this year. The majority of the conversation greatly criticizes the implementation. When asked about the schedule and their desires for improvements, students practically jump out of their seats to voice their opinions. And it’s clear many students, as well as teachers, feel the block schedule diminishes the learning process.
First, let’s talk about the obvious. A 90-minute period is absolutely too long. It’s draining. It’s exhausting. It’s painful. There are inconsistencies in how time is being used to best benefit students. Sometimes you hear a 90-minute lecture, while other days are spent staring at your computer screen until your eyes bleed. There is little-to-no balance of work and it affects the retention of information. According to allconnect at Harvard University, “Modern best practices strongly suggest limiting the length of a lecture to 15-20 minutes, or breaking up a longer lecture with hands-on activities, as research shows that 20 minutes is about as long as humans can maintain their attention on one source of information.”
If the lengthy block periods aren’t going to go away, we at least need lessons that will actually benefit our learning and accommodate our needs as students. The schedule, biologically, is not working for the majority of staff or students.
Aside from learning in the long classes being difficult, it’s a daily battle just to stay awake. Sitting and working for that long is an incredibly exhausting task. The lack of breaks is killing students' ability to focus and participate. Teachers complain about a lack of students who want to speak up and share ideas or answer questions, but how can you blame them when they’ve arrived in their fourth-period class after already sitting through three 90 minute lectures?
Another issue with such class periods, is that when students are absent they miss so much more than they did with the previous schedule. It’s almost the equivalent of missing two class periods and there is an insane amount of make-up work. This is especially concerning, as we continue to be in the grips of a global pandemic and coming to school sick is highly discouraged.
Assistant Principal Ryan Miwa says informal talks with staff and students show some people love the block schedule, while others are having a hard time with it. On the positive side, he says, it has lowered the number of classes for some students and that it can provide teachers with more flexibility. But he concedes figuring out ways to promote breaks during long periods of time has been a challenge.
“In education, we always look at continual improvement,” Miwa says. “I think that that's one of the things that we want to do: try to make our schedule better not only for students, but for our staff as well. So there may be some tweaks next year. We're in the process of having those discussions.”
The complaint heard most often throughout the halls and classrooms is that students really don’t feel heard or that their concerns are being taken into consideration. Administrators do collaborate with staff and students, but in the end, it just feels like lip service. The decisions being made seem to be more convenient for the people implementing the schedule than for the students. If the administration is going to continuously send out the message that the schedule is what works best for everyone, then they should actually listen to students and enact the changes they’re calling for. It’s a very defeating feeling for students when they feel their needs and wants are not being respected; because after all it is their education at stake. Credit convenience and other technical factors should not come before the learning itself.
Summoning the Spirits of the Season
This spread covered all things Halloween. I gathered data from surveys and student polls to provide stats about Arapahoe's favorite spooky movies, traditions, and trick-or-treating preferences.
The Batman: Is He Vengeance?
This is a mini-review I wrote last minute to help fill out the spread. At the time, the DC movie "The Batman" was all over the internet and social media, so I wrote a commentary on its popularity and teenage response to the film.
The millionth superhero movie has hit the big screen and it has taken the teen world by storm. Kids and adults all over are raving about “The Batman”. All over TikTok people are posting parodies of the movie, romanticizing their normal lives. For example, I, The Batman (a high school junior), am working hard to decipher the riddler’s clues (finish this issue of The Herald). The most iconic look from the movie is most definitely Robert Patinson’s heavy, dark eye shadow that many people are attempting to replicate online as well. Once again the beloved R-Patz has returned to the obsessive world of teenage girls that spend way too much time on the internet and we’re so happy to see it in the Batcave (for us student
journalists, also known as the j-room).