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In your next AP biology, AP psychology, or AP language class, take a look at the student on your left and then the student on your right. Do either of these students look different from you? Most likely not. Have you ever thought about the lack of diversity in your advanced placement classes? “I think APs and honors are less diverse because, for generations, minorities have been told they're not smart enough, they don't have the work ethic, and they're not equal to their white counterparts, and this thought process has been so deeply rooted in the minority.” Elijah Gross, a junior at East high school, expressed his experiences about being one of the only black students in his honors courses and how he strongly believes APs and Honors classes at East high school lack diversity. So why do our schools promote diversity, but when walking into specific classrooms, it's the complete opposite? The wage gap and the justice system continuously let minorities down, and, to a certain extent, schools are still continuing the trend of minorities not experiencing what white students are given. Currently, in Thomas Anderson's advanced placement psychology class, there are 116 students taking the class, and there are only 35 students of color. Students are constantly encouraged to take rigorous courses by counselors and parents, but it seems to be only white students who see these promotions. The “achievement gap” has separated people in jobs and schools. Minorities have been told that because of the color of their skin, they will automatically make less money and that the potential they hold is less than their white peers. Due to these stereotypes haunting generations, black students underperform because society gives them no hope for their future. If society continuously told you your culture doesn't make it as far as others in life, what would you do in school? Not only is society bringing minorities down, causing students to underperform, but students aren’t motivated to join a class where their peers and even teachers don’t look like them. East experiences a great amount of Homophily: the tendency for humans to associate themselves with others who have similar backgrounds and views on life. It lets people feel a certain comfort in the world and who they surround themselves with. According to a transcript about Brown vs. Board of Education, it states if a student of color has one educator who shares similar characteristics by the time they end 3rd-4th grade, the likelihood of them going on to college increases by 13 percent. Because of the psychology behind the term homophily, you will create better connections with people who look like you. That being said, who would want to feel so alone in a class of 35 students, where you are one of two students who identify as a different race than white? Tatum Blakesly said, “if I were in a white-dominating class, I would feel like I had more pressure on me. Not only would I be the only minority in the class, but I would also be in an advanced class. I would feel like I’d have to prove something.” Her friend, Camille Haynes, replied to that comment explaining the reason she is not in advanced placement classes at East is that she would never feel comfortable because no one would understand her. So next time you are in one of your AP classes, look to the student on your left and then the student on your right. Do they look like you?

After a historic season, The Denver East Hockey team hopes to have a promising season but with the loss of the seniors and the star goalie, it is a challenge to return to glory. Coming off a 64-7-1 record and seven seniors left for college this year will be tough to get back to the place they were at. This season the team has high expectations to defend the title and perform well at nationals. With the loss of the star goalie Noel Friedman, who went to play at Northstar, it’s a prep school in Minnesota to try to further his hockey skills to make it to a higher level. Northstar is a AAA hockey team that travels around the country and competes with other programs. With him leaving and the seniors include Kayden Dunham, Colby Asheim, Connor Smithburger, Alex Larchenko, Ben Pedigo, Benjamin Kluza, and former captain Conor Hase. Senior goalie, Sam Cozart tells us “ Even though we lost some key guys, I expect us to make another championship run. Once we start to form chemistry between the new guys and the veterans, this team certainly has what it takes to win another championship.” This fall season they have gone 12-7 with the leading scores this year being Zeke Romero with 10 goals this fall season, Jack Paterson 15 goals, Nicholas Chadd 13 goals, and Aiden Yourkin with 13 goals. With Captain Zeke Romero on injury reserve not likely to come back for months. Role-players will need to step up to fill the scoring void. However the angels have help on the way, Joe Capra last year's player of the year will return in the winter to provide reinforcement. Cozart says “ I don't know if a high school team will ever be as good as we were last year. We had high-end talent everywhere on the roster, which is a rarity in high school hockey in Colorado. There is no reason we shouldn't be a championship contender again this year but it will require more of a grind than it did last year.” The fans want a back-to-back championship but it will take work. With the winter season starting soon all eyes will be set on the team hoping they return back to glory.

This year, the East golf team is having a breakout season with the new talent and the upperclassmen guiding the way for the freshman. They are currently ranked 13th in the state and 1st in the DPS region. They have won four league matches, and they are sending two kids to state to compete for east, Elijah a 9th grader, and Oliver a 12th grader. East Head Coach, Mr. Hornecker, was asked about the new freshman on his new team; he said, "we had five freshmen make the varsity team this year, which is super impressive, and actually, we had 16 freshman tryouts those were kind of some high numbers Elijah J., Alex K., Keegan H., Mason M. and Rama N. who are all five freshmen that are very very talented." Mr. Hornecker has been coaching at East for 14 years, the school needed a girl's golf coach, and they knew he played college golf, so they asked him to interview for the position. The program has never changed; it's the same coaching method. The only thing that has changed is the introduction of the 6 a.m. practices before school for varsity. Practice consists of some players playing nine holes and others hitting the driving range, but it is hard to get all 9 in when you have school in 2 hours, so they roughly get around seven holes. The highest ranked freshmen on the team are Elijah and Alex; Alex is homeschooled but competes as an East athlete. Recently, in the last DPS invite, the team won. Alex was 1st with a score of 78 at Kennedy golf course. Mr. Hornecker sent Elijah, the other freshman, to compete at regionals. Elijah qualified for state alongside Oliver, with Elijah shooting 75 to qualify for state. Since the start of the 2022 golf season, East has been looking very good with the freshman phenoms and the help of the upperclassmen. With states coming up they hope to perform well, and to show what the East golf team has become. After this season, while they will lose some upperclassmen, they have a very bright future for the years to come.

Whether this is your first year at East or your last, you might be unaware of the official attendance policy at East. You are not alone, it seems barely anyone in the building knows the official policy and this may be the reason why it is so consistently ignored. However, this year teachers and administration are cracking down on tardies and absences. Although it is unknown whether or not it has been updated for the 2022-2023 school year, the attendance policy on the East website states that, “When a student has 5 or more days of excused absences the attendance clerk will contact the dean to see if there is a significant concern regarding the students’ attendance.” For many that may seem very dramatic, 5 days out of the 160 in the year isn’t a lot. Though the consistency with which this is enforced varies case by case, it’s still a scary concept. Especially when Mr. Anderson informed parents at the beginning of the year that they would be receiving home visits if their child’s attendance fell too low, it’s unknown whether or not this is being enforced. Faith from the attendance office says that the requirements for an attendance contract “varies case by case”. But still, the concept of an attendance contract for many students is daunting. It’s not just the administration that makes low attendance a concern, but teachers especially. When students miss school for reasons out of their control, they’re missing valuable information being taught in class and oftentimes fall behind. While some teachers are understanding and patient, not all of them are the same. When I missed a couple weeks of school last year due to health issues, many of my teachers were very understanding, but there were still the few that would make catching up on work much more difficult than it needed to be. But what about students with disabilities? Or chronic illnesses that cause them to miss school? Is this policy fair? Are teachers fair? Student Chelsi Evans doesn’t think so. Chelsi suffers from ulcerative colitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Last year, Chelsi was only able to be in school for three months of the year, the other time she was out for medical reasons. This affected her grades greatly and made school a lot more stressful in an already very stressful situation. When asked how teachers respond when she misses so much school, she replied “They don’t really know what to do. East is so big and they have so many students to keep track of that it’s hard for them to focus on certain students.” Teachers at East are in charge of many more students than other schools and Faith in the attendance office is solely in charge of the attendance of every student at East, almost 3,000 kids. This is very hard for anyone to manage alone. Chelsi also said that extensions on work would make school work much easier for her. Chelsi says, “I feel like they made the policy for students that are more able to go to school and don’t really consider the rest of us.” She believes that not only is the attendance policy unfair, but East’s size makes things extremely difficult as well. As teachers have more students they are responsible for, ones that miss a lot of school slip through the cracks. When asked if she feels she is at an unfair disadvantage, Chelsi replied instantly, “Oh yeah. It sucks.” Chelsi is not alone. According to the DPS website, 12.1% of the students in our district have disabilities, not including those with chronic illness. When asked if she thinks the attendance policy is effective and fair, Faith said, “I believe we are doing the best we can with what we have.” The question of whether East’s attendance policy is fair is a complicated one. But it’s clear that there are students at a great disadvantage who do not feel that East is doing enough to support them.

Did you know that Cheesman Park wasn’t always a park? It was actually established as a cemetery in 1858, but by the 1890’s it was barely used as a cemetery anymore. 5,000 bodies used to be buried there, and now 2,000 bodies remain underneath the surface of Cheesman. The remaining bodies are unclaimed, either because their families didn’t have the money to relocate them, or no family or anyone who knew the deceased lived in Denver. Congress granted Denver the ability to change Cheesman from a cemetery to a park in January 1890. Denver Mayor Robert W. Speer wanted to enhance the beauty of Cheesman Park while it was still a cemetery, but the city did not have the money to do so. He encouraged residents to donate to the cause but had little success until the children of Walter Scott Cheesman donated $100,000 for a park pavilion. Therefore, the park was renamed from Denver City Cemetery to Cheesman Park. With so many bodies unclaimed, (and Denver wanting a corpse-free park,) the City of Denver hired E.P McGovern to help relocate the caskets to a more permanent home. McGovern and 18 of his employees were told to dig up and relocate the 5,000 bodies. They were paid $1.50 per relocated casket. In the first days of the transfers, this seemed like a great idea to all. If they got all the bodies moved and nothing went wrong, they would have roughly $9,500 by the time they finished. The process was going smoothly, until the Denver Republican newspaper wrote an article that changed everything. McGovern realized that the more bodies he moved, the more money would be made. Allegedly, instead of putting each body in its own individual casket, they split the bodies up into portions and put them into children's sized caskets (making more money with each casket). After this horrible scam was discovered, McGovern’s contract was pulled. This presented a new problem: the job was partially unfinished. And headstones had been removed while many bodies remained. Denver never hired anyone else to finish what McGovern’s work. Instead, the city left the remaining bodies and started to level the ground in order to start the process of building the park. The Denver Post states that four skeletons were found by people doing irrigation work in the park in 2010. In 2008, two rows of coffins were found by crews working near the Botanic Gardens. Bones and sometimes whole skeletons are sometimes still found. Before the Homecoming Dance at East, most people go to Cheesman Park to take pictures with their friends. Most of the students do not know about the horrifying history of the park. Cheesman is a beautiful park that many love, but it comes with a haunted past.

With the 2022-2023 school year, East High School has introduced a new phone policy and, as a result, a plethora of controversy has surfaced. As many individuals know, on September 22nd, the East community was rattled by the active shooter threat. Many students had to leave belongings, such as their cell phones behind, as a result of this new phone policy. Stowing phones in bins and shoe hangers have become a common practice in classrooms, which has caused many communication and safety issues among parents and their children. Is our new phone policy safe in this day in age? This topic was discussed with a handful of East students to get the most raw responses and opinions. Biz Levin, a junior at East was stuck in the bathroom in the midst of this terrifying experience, and she stressed that the “only comfort was the communication with my mom and friends,” she follows this statement with, “it’s not okay to take away peoples only communication with their families. It’s unsafe and unfair.” Biz mentioned that law enforcement didn’t sweep the area she was in and without her phone, she wouldn’t have been able to communicate with law enforcement to inform them where she was. Should the phone policy be taken away fully or just handled differently? Junior Skye Vacanti brought up the idea of only taking students' phones away if it becomes an issue or distraction with that specific student. Letting students keep their belongings will allow a sense of responsibility and will make students feel safer and more in control in situations such as lockdowns. Looking further into the cons of the phone policy is vital in perfecting it and finally finding a happy medium for both students and teachers. Considering our age, students should be trusted and capable of handling belongings such as phones in a school environment. Under different circumstances, the confiscation of phones is understandable and even respectable, but considering the amount of threats East has gotten and the terrifying events that took place on September 22nd, East needs to prioritize the safest option that will benefit student’s safety. Phones have definitely actively changed how students learn in school, as well as how teachers teach. It is no secret that they are an inconvenience, especially to administrators. However, phones are not the only factor in a student's fragile education. Active shooter as well as bomb threats have rampaged highschools and might just outweigh the inconvenince of telling students to “put their phone away” ten times in a class period.

East’s Theater Department has consisted of Shakespeare and other notable writers for as long as most remember. For theater enthusiasts, the classics are a necessity for developing their skills and resume, however, for inexperienced theater viewers, they can get quite boring. Reading the classics in English class is enough, no need to put on a two-hour production as well. For the first time in East’s recent history, there will be a student-written and directed (with assistance from Deborah Voss) play: senior Conrad Branch is the culprit who broke the trend. His self-written play titled Red Ink is already making history and making some students do a double-take. Murder mysteries, “friendly” competition, and the classic whodunnit trope are just the starting points for Conrad. The play follows a narrative of the infamous Clue characters and other renowned fictional detectives like Nancy Drew and Nate the Great, who work together to solve a murder. The odd mix of characters and seven (that’s right – seven) murder mystery narratives make Conrad’s play a must-see for all East students: snoozing won’t be an option with all this anticipation. Conrad sat down for an interview with the East Spotlight and offered insight into the creative process and struggles of creating a play: When producing a piece of work for thousands of teenagers to critique, there are bound to be many complaints. Do you feel pressure from your peers in terms of the success of your play? “I was most nervous for the actors to see it. Although now it’s odd because it’s a little less of mine and a little more of the whole cast. I guess the feedback will go to us as a whole now.” Who helped you along the way? Was this purely a student-driven passion project or did someone in your life encourage you to write a play? “Ms. Voss and I have been meeting frequently ever since the beginning, although she has given me a lot of liberty to do whatever I want, which feels nice. Noah Kaplan, the former speech teacher at East, also helped me tremendously in making my play a more fluid narrative and narrowing down my ideas.” What is one tip you have for students who want to see their scripts and ideas come to life? “Believe in yourself. Just because you don’t have the world's greatest script right now, doesn’t mean you're not the world's greatest writer. Writers tell many stories, the first one doesn’t have to be perfect — there will always be future chances.” Come out and support East’s Theater Department by purchasing tickets. Opening night of Red Ink is on the 25th of October and everyone involved is absolutely buzzing. From Nancy Drew to Jack the Ripper, this play and its characters will have everyone gripping the edge of their seats until the final curtain closes.

Imagine throwing rocks onto ice, cathartic fun that anyone can enjoy. But what if someone wanted something more than rocks on ice? That’s when bikes come into the picture. In cities like Amsterdam, with a combined 100 kilometers or 62 miles in canals and hundreds of thousands of bikes, tourists and vandals alike find themselves throwing bikes into the watery depths for the catharsis of it all. This is one of the more common ways in which bikes end up at the bottom of the Amsterdam canals. But it isn’t the MOST common way for bikes to reach their watery graves. The number of bikes in Amsterdam might be a factor in why so many end up in the water each year. With an estimated 881,000 bikes, bikes outnumber people in Amsterdam by nearly 60,000. They are also readily used, with 40-60% of all travel in Amsterdam being made by bike. Even while keeping in mind the number of bikes in the city, it still comes as a shock that 15,000 of them end up at the bottom of the canals each year. But the habit of throwing things into the canals isn’t a new occurrence. In the 1800s the canals of Amsterdam were used as open toilets and trash cans. Around the 1860s, city officials began to take offense at the smell and pollution of the canals so they decided to start cleaning the water. But even 200 years later the people of Amsterdam still haven’t gotten rid of the habit, and keep tossing their trash into the depths, such as unused electronics in a state of disrepair, scrap metals from various sources, and sometimes even loose bike rails. On a more absurd note, cars also fall into the river. It’s estimated that a car falls into the river about every week and a half. Luckily for the canals and the people of Amsterdam, Water-net, the organization responsible for ridding the canals of trash, has a team of people to make daily clean-ups in the water. Commonly known as bicycle fishermen, these hard-working citizens pull all the scrap metal out of the river. Most of this gets recycled into new bikes or used as spare parts, but a small fraction of scrap metal is used in creating beer cans. These beer cans are sometimes the cause of more bicycles getting thrown into canals, and the same process is repeated again and again, giving fuel to the bicycle wheel of fortune spins in an endless loop.

In each classroom, you’ll find a poster that writes: NO PHONES IN CLASS AT EAST At East High School, we care about your learning and mental health. That is why phones will not be used or visible in class unless stated by your teacher. Recurring issues with phones will result in conferences with families and referrals to the dean's office. The roar of disapproval from students when the cell phone policy was addressed at the 2022 school assembly sums up the student population's reaction to the change. The policy itself isn’t new. In previous years, East’s “off the phones in classrooms” policy has been somewhat sparsely enforced and decisions around phones were mostly left up to teachers. This year, however, a group of teachers brought forward a plan to crack down on phone usage and make a more universal expectation. A slide show presented to teachers before the school year began reveals that teachers have been asking the Student Leadership Team for a school-wide cell phone policy and the team gave them one. The slides encourage teachers to collect cell phones at the beginning of class and recommended that teachers “have a private conversation” if a student uses their phone during class, and “by the third instance (they use their phone), write a referral to the Deans.” However, despite this push for consistency, just as in previous years, the phone policy differs in each classroom depending on the teacher’s own rules. Senior Madison Allen explains that in French and Marine Biology, she is asked to put her phone in the phone holder, but in all of her AP and college level classes, teachers asked phones to be in a backpack, and “some teachers haven’t really said anything about it”. Madison believes that the phone policy “should be implemented for underclassmen, that way they get used to it. ” Geography and African American History teacher Mr. Dysart believes that in previous years, East has been “extremely liberal with allowing students to use phones” and agrees that the policy is long overdue. Mr. Dysart is one of the teachers who introduced the cell phone policy before the start of the year. “The science supports that it’s hard for even adults to multitask. So when we have young high school students with young developing minds trying to multitask in class, on top of instruction… it can be a tumultuous task” he explains. The long-term plan for cell phones isn’t all that far from Madison’s idea. Mr. Dysart described a plan where a standard around phones is set for Freshmen each year a new class enters 9th grade so that over time East creates an environment where technology isn't such a distraction. He explains that he makes his freshmen students put their phones in the rack on the wall, but allows upperclassmen to keep phones out of sight. “You have to have a compromise,” he elaborates, “We’ve helped you (upperclassmen) set the norm.” It seems that the new phone policy isn’t so much of a new school-wide expectation, as it is a long-term plan for future generations at East.

For the 2022-23 school year, nearly 200 different class options were available to East students, among these was a new class: Queer Literature Honors. The class, which was first added to Denver’s South High School in 2016, is now offered at East and is the first year-long Honors Queer lit class in DPS. Two years ago, a student came to the English department to propose that the class be added to East since the material wasn’t being taught. It has now been added to the DPS class catalog, which will make the process easier for any other schools in the district to add it. Mr. Velasquez, the teacher for this class, was thrilled that the class was being added to East. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to teach and how much joy I’m getting, but a lot of it is because the kids are feeling so comfortable in this class. The conversations we’re already having, the community we’re already building, is something I’ve never seen throughout East, especially for the queer community.” Before this class, Queer literature wasn’t taught in any class at East. “Everyone wants to be recognized by society, …[and] I don’t think we’ve chosen books that have valued the queer community in the past, [which is] needed to see positive stories that represent our lives.” Although it’s a good step forward, Mr. Velazquez says we’re not done yet, and that the class should be included at every school: “Every school needs it because every school has a queer community, and I know they’re not feeling welcomed or represented in that building.” Last year, a parent called the school to complain that The Queer Bible, by Jack Guinness, was being taught in this class, while the Bible was not. In response, Mr. Anderson argued that a bible just means a book in a specialty. Since that incident, there has so far been no pushback outside the community about the addition of the class. Inside East, the class has overall been met with excitement. The English department was originally hoping for one class, but after more than 80 people requested it, two additional classes were added to accommodate the extra students. For students who are worried about being outed or getting push-back from their families, the class can be sent on emails and report cards home as "Honors English". Harper Friend, a student in the class, said she found the course material to be honest and open to talking about heavy subjects. “I would [recommend it] especially if you’re interested in the community and the material, it comes very naturally and it's easy to comprehend.” She added, “You can really get into class discussions more than with other English classes.” The class has created a safe space for students to talk about not only the class material but also about their own lives and the things they see in the world. Mr. Velaquez emphasized the importance of having the class. “There’s a need out there, especially for your generation. I never thought I would ever teach this class, so it’s amazing to me how far we’ve come, and I think we need to continue.” The English department was happy with the popularity of the new class, including Mr. Velasquez, who was also hopeful that there would be more students joining next year, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender. “I wish more straight students would take this class to see that there’s common themes for humanity, not just for the queer community.” He added, “Any time you cut yourself off to any group, you’re just cutting yourself off to new experiences.” Mr. Velasquez is hopeful for the future of the class and the welcoming and accepting community it is creating at East. “We’re still developing this course, ...[and] I want student voices to help develop this course.” Although it’s a new class this year, it is a big step forward for East in being welcoming to all students, and it has a bright future here at East. Mr. Velasquez finished by saying that students are, “feeling that they are actually valued by EHS, they’re actually seeing positive stories about themselves, but they’re also getting the chance to talk openly and freely about things that have affected them in their lives.”

As the 2022 NFL season begins, the anticipation for Broncos football is higher than it’s been in years. With nine time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson being traded to Denver in March, it’s easy to see why there is so much excitement for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2015 season. With the Broncos having eleven starting quarterbacks since 2016, Wilson brings to the table what hasn’t been had in Denver since hall of famer Peyton Manning’s retirement, competent quarterback play. Many fans and analysts would tell you that having at least an above average QB has been Denver’s biggest drawback during their current playoff drought. After adding what seems to have been the missing piece to the puzzle, the Broncos should be right back in the playoff hunt for the 2022 season. On top of the addition of Wilson, the Broncos have also made some additions to higher-up positions within the franchise. Shortly before the blockbuster trade for Wilson, Denver filled another hole on their team by hiring former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to be their head coach. After parting ways with the not-so-fan favorite Vic Fangio, Hackett’s hiring is just another asset to building onto the anticipation of the 2022 season. With a new head coach taking the reins, Denver is destined for success through a new game plan. Another major piece that the Broncos have added is a new ownership group, taking control of the team. Chairman of Walmart, Rob Walton has bought the team in a well-renowned leadership group. This group includes noteworthy names such as Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice, and Lewis Hamilton. With a net- worth of $57.6 billion, Walton is now the richest owner in the NFL, bringing a security to the franchise that has not been present since previous owner Pat Bowlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014 and later passing away in 2019, leaving a void in the team’s ownership for years. After the week one contest vs. the Seahawks, the excitement over Denver’s season was tampered with a disappointing 17-16 loss. The Broncos got off to a slow start, trailing 17-13 at half and failed to score more than 3 points in the second half, despite having many opportunities to find the end zone. On consecutive drives, running backs Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams fumbled at the goal line, which was the difference between a 30-17 lead and continuing to trail throughout the second half. Russell Wilson was strong, throwing for 340 yards and a touchdown, but his lead of the offense was still not enough to take advantage of Seattle’s scoreless second half. On top of poor first half defense and an inability to score touchdowns, the Broncos also took a whopping 12 penalties for 106 yards, which did not help. Despite many woes, the game still came down to the final drive, where Denver had an opportunity to win it late. It came down to the final play in which head coach Nathaniel Hackett decided to send kicker Brandon Mcmanus out to attempt a 64 yard field goal, opting not to go for it on 4th and 5. The decision turned out to be costly, as Mcmanus missed the kick wide to the left, leaving the Broncos in disappointment. Hackett’s late-game decisions have been widely criticized since the loss, with Peyton Manning even expressing his confusion for Hackett’s clock management during the “Manningcast” on ESPN 2, jokingly calling timeouts for Denver during their final drive, as the clock continued to run out. After Monday’s disappointment, fans had to put their excitement aside for the next game against the Houston Texans. Following the loss, the Broncos came out slow on the offensive side of the ball, continuing their main issues from before. Despite multiple trips to the red zone, Denver failed to find the end zone and had to settle for two field goals in the first half, entering halftime tied 6-6. The third quarter entailed a continuation of the Broncos’ sloppy ways, as they were stalled on offense and more questionable play calls by Nathaniel Hackett kept them that way. With boos raining from the stands, the crowd had begun to voice their displeasure with how the team was operating. In a sarcastic response to ongoing struggles with calling plays on time, the fans even began to count down the play clock to let the offense know how much time they had to snap the ball. Late in the fourth quarter, Russell Wilson was finally able to lead the offense to a touchdown, finding tight end Eric Saubert on a 35 yard pass. Thanks to that score and the defense remaining stout, the Broncos held on to a 16-9 win, which still left more questions than answers about how this team will operate from here forward. In their next game against the 49ers, a similar theme was the story of the day. The offense remained dormant, as they struggled to find a groove and only came away with 11 points. Punter Corliss Waitman’s name was called much more than fans would have desired, kicking the ball away 10 times for an average of 47.6 yards. Although the offensive struggles continued, Denver’s defense had yet another incredible performance, forcing 3 turnovers, two of which coming on the 49ers’ final two drives, to seal an 11-10 win. Including the turnovers, the Broncos’ defense was able to put two points on the board, as San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo stepped out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety. The 49ers may have even gotten a bit lucky that Garoppolo had stepped out of bounds because Bradley Chubb intercepted his pass and ran it back for a touchdown that would not count on the same play. With yet another win thanks to the defense, the Broncos are now on a two game winning streak and hope to keep that going next week in Las Vegas when they take on the Raiders. With a disappointing loss followed by two sloppy, low-scoring wins, it is still too early to determine if the Broncos are for real this year. If Russell Wilson can lead the offense to pick it up as the defense looks to be among the top in the league, Denver can be a strong playoff team, but it will be difficult to continue winning games in the manner that they have been for a 17 game season. We did see them win a Super Bowl 6 years ago solely because of an elite defense carrying a below average offense, but there is a long way to go before the Broncos can prove that they are back to their contending ways for certain.

1. All Too Well - Taylor Swift Everyone loves Taylor Swift, especially her song “All Too Well” which was THE favorite song by far of students who responded to my poll. Taylor has released multiple versions of this song including newer releases, “All Too Well Taylor’s Version” and “All Too Well 10 Minute Version” which are only two of four versions of this song. Originally released in 2012 on Taylor’s “Red” album, “All Too Well” has been a hit song continuing to evolve even in 2022. It’s no wonder that this song is beloved by so many. 2. Bad Habit - Steve Lacy “Bad Habit” was released by Steve Lacy in 2022 and it has been a definite hit since people first heard it. Steve Lacy has gained recognition by many listeners because of previously released songs like “N Side” and “Static,” so it's no wonder that “Bad Habit” gained substantial popularity that has carried into the 2022 Fall season. Due to trends created on social media platforms like Tik Tok, “Bad Habit” has only continued to grow in popularity. 3. Stick Season - Noah Kahan “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan amassed large amounts of popularity from Tik Tok. The significance of the title, “Stick Season,” has to do with the literal stick season in Vermont which is when the leaves have fallen from all the trees but no snow has fallen yet which leaves sticks, or bare trees, between Fall and Winter seasons. Newly released in 2022, Kahan’s brand new single has seemingly been the most popular song in his career. 4. Redbone - Childish Gambino One of Childish Gambino’s many successful songs, “Redbone,” was released in 2016 on his album “Awaken, My Love” which has reached over one billion streams in six years. Listening to “Redbone” especially brings tranquility and comfort on a lazy Fall evening - so it's no wonder that this song is favored amongst East students. Whether you are relaxing at home, driving to school, or doing homework, “Redbone” is a great pick. 5. Thriller - Michael Jackson A classic. “Thriller” by Michael Jackson brings definite Halloween energy to the Fall season. Released in 1982, this song has had continuous success and is currently the world’s best-selling album. With over 70 million copies sold worldwide, it's no figure that the “Thriller” music video was also a ginormous hit at over eight hundred million views since its release in 1983. The fact that it is still loved by many East students today shows how the popularity of “Thriller” never truly went away. 6. The Hills - The Weeknd Released in 2015, The Weeknd’s single, “The Hills,” has remained popular among East students even in 2022. The Weekend recently stopped in Denver and performed at Empower Field for his tour, “After Hours Til Dawn,” in August where he included “The Hills” on his setlist. It's no surprise that the pop and R&B artist has had success and upward trends in “The Hills.” 7. Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood It’s all in the title! Released in 2013, the alternative indie pop song “Sweater Weather” seems to be a fan favorite during the Fall season. Today, “Sweater Weather” has been circulating on Tik Tok because of a new dance created that correlates with the chorus of the song. American rock band, The Neighbourhood, definitely achieved a Fall feeling with their number one song, “Sweater Weather,” in a way other than the title. 8. Dark Red - Steve Lacy Steve Lacy again? - his popularity seems to be high among students at East High School. Released in 2017 as a single, “Dark Red” began to gain higher popularity because of Tik Tok videos in August of 2021 which led into the Fall season. The soul and R&B singer has continued to achieve more and more as his new album in 2022, “Gemini Rights” has climbed the charts and inevitably, had success in the Fall season. 9. Bound 2 - Kanye West Is East Bound 2 loving Kanye’s music? The 2013 release of “Bound 2” is currently Kanye’s #1 streamed song on Spotify. Again, Tik Tok trends have only contributed to this success by creating new “sounds” revolving around lyrics that have been altered to a high-pitched sound level. The rapper’s songs are listened to no matter the season - this song especially is among East students’ favorites. 10. Eventually - Tame Impala “Eventually” by Tame Impala is the type of song that you blast on the way to school in the cold Fall months. “Currents,” the album of “Eventually,” was released in 2015 and stands as Tame Impala’s most popular album. Even though it has been seven years since the release of “Eventually,” the results of the fall song poll have spoken and the popularity remains strong among students at East.